The Past – Centuries Ago
The rain would not stop, no matter how much she wished for it.
Today was their last day, she knew. The grim looks on her friends' faces told her everything. She didn't want to admit it, but this may be the last thing they ever do together.
It broke her heart to see him in such a state; sleepless, worn beyond repair, yet still willing to give it all his all.
All for his friend. His best friend.
Maybe she was jealous of both of them having such a relationship. Maybe she was angry for the other to have betrayed his own friend. She didn't know.
And she didn't want to know. She wanted nothing to do with that other man. She just wished for it to go all away.
But how? How can she wish for such a horrible thing when she herself is guilty? After all, was not all her actions for her sister? Her family? Her friends? Who's to say there's no reasoning behind this madness.
Who's to say no one here is even sane?
Present – August 23th, 2010 - 8:47p.m.
"In ancient times, kingdoms were ruled solely by royal blood and nobility. However, everything changed when King Sion Astal came to the throne. Born from a lowly peasant woman, he rose up in the ranks as a hero, and when the people of Roland grew so fond of him, it was almost child's play to take the throne from the current king.
"Still, a vast road was before the king. The kingdom weakened from the short civil war, if such a minor scuffle could be called a thing, and the young monarch had to scramble everything together before neighboring kingdoms took advantage of the confusion.
"He anointed several people into positions of power, removing most of the nobles in the process. This greatly angered the nobility, as their entitlement ran deep, and their hatred for the Hero King even deeper. But their resistance was soon ended quickly, and quietly to rest. Even so…"
"Boooo-riiiiing!"
Leon looked up, a frown line forming on his brow and lips, gold eyes glowering ever so slightly. "What is?"
Ryan waved his hand lazily, eyes closed and expression lax. "History. College. Everything. It's so boring. I don't get why you're forcing me into taking these lame classes."
"Because I don't want to see you in bum clothes begging for coins on the street." Leon closed the large textbook and let out a sigh. "Seriously, Ryan, it wouldn't hurt to try to get involved in your studies a little more. At this rate, the dean will kick you out before you even get your Associate's."
Leaning forward a little, Ryan groaned, looking on at Leon, his eyes completely void of emotion. "Yet why I am wasting my time and hard earned money on classes I know I suck at?"
Leon waved a pencil in his face, grinning. "That's why I'm here. History just happens to be my forte. But you know I can't make you learn anything, Ryan. That's your job."
"Ugh, I know. I know." Ryan paused in mid-complaint, shifting in his chair and reaching into his back pocket. Pulling his wallet, he peeked inside and groaned loudly. "Urgh! Erin ate up all my cash! Literally!"
Leon chuckled. "Well, it's as they say. You can't keep dango away from Erin."
Ryan snorted. "Oh, yeah? What about you, Mr. History-boy? How come Kate let you off easy?"
Grinning, Leon rested his head on his palm, elbow leaning on the desk. "Simple. Unlike you, I am a dedicated and loving boyfriend. I keep Kate happy, and when I mess up, I'm quick to apologize."
"You mean quick to blame." Leaning back in the chair, Ryan slouched. "Well, at least that movie didn't suck like I thought it would."
"'The Hero King, an epic retelling of King Sion's mighty conquest to save the world from the tyranny of darkness,'" Leon recited, chuckling. Ryan glanced at him, then let loose his own 'hmph.'
"If you ask me, they overdramatized the whole thing. I mean, come on. The history books say the final conflict with the King and that traitor dude was quick and silent." Pausing, he looked up, a slight look of perplexity on his face. "Come to think of it, no one really knows how the final conflict went down."
"All that historians know is that it left both the traitor, Ryner Lute, and the King, Sion Astal, dead." Leon gazed out, his tone lowered. "Not even their bodies could be found."
"Yeah…" Ryan could sense the mood was getting a little too uncomfortable for his tastes; thus, he prepped himself, changing his tone to match a more chirper manner. "But back to the overdramatization; how do those producer dudes even know how the King and everyone else looked like? I mean, come on!" He held out his hands in front of him, his arms outstretched completely, hands cupped and palms pointed to his chest. "That blond chick had boobs the size of a hippo's ass! And the other chick was so damn skinny, it was amazing she could still stand. And what's with the low, evil seductress's act for the booby-lady? And why was the King so bluff and good-looking? Erin and Kate were practically drooling the whole time he was on screen! And Ryner, he looked like the Devil himself! How do they even know—" Ryan stopped, halted by Leon's loud laughter.
"Ryan," Leon breathed, still laughing hard, "you do realize you have the most hysterical expressions when you complain?" His response was Ryan puffing, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted. Leon, in turn, laughed again.
Shaking his head, Leon looked at the history book set before him. "I'll have to agree with you on your complaints, though. The movie was overdone. That's Hollywood for you. But in either case, photos did not exist at that time. We don't have records on what King Sion looked like, other than what the history books have told us."
"Yeah, well," Ryan waved a finger up in the air, declaring, "Couldn't they have tried writing down what the king and everyone else looked like? Or even painted a picture?"
"They did that, but sometimes the artists' opinions reflect in their art. Like for example," he held out the now opened book to Ryan, a picture of a red demon with glowing eyes inscribed with pentagon symbols held, "this artist honestly believed that Ryner Lute was a demon, and depicted him as such. He also chose to depict the King as some kind of angel." He tabbed the other half of the picture, which had a knight with six angelic wings and a halo over his ivory head. "But in the end, they did some facts straight. Sion Astal was a very young king when he first came into power, and he had silver hair and gold eyes, whilst Ryner was around the same age, black haired with apparently cursed eyes."
"Yeah, yeah." Ryan gave a dismissive wave. "What else is new?"
Leon shook his head. "Anyway, it's getting late. I still need to finish my quota for the night, so why don't you continue reading where I left off?"
Ryan returned a wishful smile. "Or better yet, I can go into blissful sleep and not bore my eyes out with old literature?" His response was to be expected, however, as Leon, without a word, shoved the book rather forcefully into his hands and stood up, walking to the desk with the desktop hooked in. Ryan watched him dully as Leon turned on the computer, before Leon's voice stated;
"I don't hear any learning."
"Of course not," Ryan muttered. "Learning is supposed to be silent." But he still opened the book, gazing at the page where Leon stopped.
"Even so, there was still another matter to deal with in the kingdom of Roland. Not only quarrels on the inside, but battles on the other side. Small forces of Anti-Roland troops made headway during the third year of Sion's reign. Their true purposes were never truly revealed, but it is often speculated that they were in liege with the noblemen. And also, the Gastark empire was quickly gaining power, having recently conquered the realm of Stohl.
"While it is speculated as just how they gained so power, militia intellect was perhaps the most prominent. What's more, many countries at the time seemed to be struggling with a genetic illness, called the Alpha Stigma…"
Ryan paused, blinking. The term seemed oddly familiar to him, yet he could not put his finger on it yet. He continued to read, "The Alpha Stigma was an eye related illness that seemed to infect the mental stability of its victims, eventually driving them insane. The overall cause of the Stigma is believed to be genetically based; however, the Stigma no longer exists, having mysteriously disappeared along with what historians called magic."
Magic? Ryan scoffed, smirking lightly. Gee, that's such a kid thing. Who knew history had stuff like this?
"I had no idea history was so amusing to you, Ryan."
Looking up, an annoyed look on his face, Ryan glowered at Leon, who had turned back to grin at the dark haired man. "Seriously? Don't you have a quota to meet or something?"
Leon shrugged, his grin weakening slightly. "Suffering from writer's block, unfortunately, so I thought I'd check on my best friend."
Ryan looked back down at the textbook. "Unfortunately, I need silence to read. So—"
"Would you at least tell me what's so funny?"
Ryan then grinned, holding up the textbook. "How's this? Magic is real and your mother is a space alien from Mars."
Leon retorted by throwing a pencil at him. "Very funny. Well, your mother comes from deep within the earth, and your father is a dango."
The end result was more objects thrown, some light, some heavy, and some just weird, along with insults and cracks at each other that would probably make a man blush.
However, neither did they know they were being carefully watched.
Turning his head slightly, the man from the other side observed how the two behaved and mused, how similar they were in this life as they were in the past. Perhaps it would be best if he let them be.
However, he noted, things have not yet been set in place. If he should back down, then everyone, not just the king and his son, would be doomed to a fate worse than death.
Turning, trench coat billowing in the wind, he spoke to the air around him.
"Soon. Very soon. It shall all come to pass."