Look! A real chapter! Enjoy!
Mmm he slowly opened his eyes, looking into a clear blue ceiling…no wait. His eyes shot open as a white cloud flew through his vision and he jolted upwards.
The sky it was a clear blue, dotted with clouds, looming over a vast expanse of green plains and forests. He stood there for an unknown amount of time as he marveled at its beauty. Never, in all his life, did he think he would get to see a tree, much less a forest. They were just so rare and protected. Being the number one producers of air, they were kept under maximum security and always under watch. There was even a protocol to seal the tree in a carbon dioxide filled tungsten container should something happen.
As if unsure of his own feet, he stumbled over to one of the trees and leaned his head against it. It was rough, strong, and undeserving of its status as an endangered species of plant life back in the Old World…ah, right. Old world.
Yggdrasil: New World
So…a whole new world huh? He moved himself form the tree and raised a pale, human hand and grimaced. So, he was starting out as the basic human then? Alright, he could work with that…what he couldn't work with was his lack of armor, only just noticing he was in a simple tunic and pants.
Frantically, he searched around the field he was in for something! A piece of black scrap, a small link in chainmail, a freaking sliver of cloth! After an hour of fruitless searching he fell on his ass and groaned. Whatever had happened to him must've been insane.
Wait…if I was unstable, and possibly just going wild…okay, yeah, glad the armors gone he shuddered at the implications of what state he was in when he blacked out. If he had been rampaging, he sincerely hoped that the lack of Sarlossa's shadow over him wasn't due to him destroying his ship. Would've been a real kick in the ass.
Hopefully my armor is with the ship…and all my NPCs… Hoo boy. That was a can of worms he wasn't ready for just yet. Before he could even think of heading to Sarlossa, he wanted to be sure he was strong…and wanted to explore the world a bit. And to do both of those would require a little testing.
Lets try…"[Tremor]." He smashed his fist into the ground, using his monk skill, and was shocked as the ground began to shake from the force of his punch, cracks appearing in the ground. As the mini-quake stopped he looked down at his own hands that were shaking.
Woah he looked at the shook earth around him, he thought up another skill, "[Thunder Clap]!" He clapped his hands and marveled at the force of the shockwave as it blew away the dust from the mini-quake and summoned a roar of thunder.
He looked at his hands, before a grin began to spread across his face, "[Fireball]!" He flung out his hand as a ball of flame flew from them, towards a tree in the distance. As the tree exploded in a ball of flame he laughed.
"Magic…" He brought his hands together and as he separated them, lighting arced between his hands, "…rocks! [Lightning]!" He brought his hands together and launched the attack at the already destroyed tree, sending the scraps into the air.
Hmm, if this magic works… he looked down at his attire, not really enjoying how it looked, and having a sudden giddiness to him. He cast another spell, one he used quite a bit in his old adventuring days.
"[Create Item: Armor: Cobalt Steel Armor, no helm]." He got even giddier as a blue light enveloped his whole body, shattering and revealing himself covered in a blue plate, no helm to be seen.
Ohh! I wonder what else I coul-! A low rumbling could be heard in the distance, his eyes roving the plains as he searched. It was at a particularly large hill, where a contingent of armored horsemen came over, heading straight for him.
He cast [Dragon's Sight] and looked over their equipment, thinking up a multitude of spells to…slow down their….what? There armor was shit! Ordinary steel, the only exception being the one in the front, adorned in black armor with a gold cape, the helm of a snarling lion covering their face. But even then it was such a low-tier it was basically paper.
Perhaps he could capitalize on this? If he was truly trapped here, then he wasn't going to live like a hermit for the rest of his life with no human contact. Unless Sarlossa was still there…for later, cavalry now.
The lion knight was the first to speak, in a deep, old voice befitting an aged commander, "You are trespassing on the land of His Grace, Klaus Von Fredrekstein. Surrender now…or die," For added effect, they all drew their swords and pointed them at him, and it was then he started noticing the lion motifs on them. A lion engraved there, a cloak with a lion here.
Let's take a look at the locals "I surrender."
Nice place he was being walked through a massive garden with high hedges and statues, a rather extravagant place, to be sure, but somewhat expected considering he was on the lands of a supposed king. His armor had come off easily, though the men said it was crap and left it there. That was for the best, as that 'crap' was made of pure mana and could deflect the greatest of blows. There were even more guards here, all lining a wall that encompassed the massive garden, and after a full minute of walking through gardens, he saw the palace.
Damn was the only word he could think as he looked at the super-structure before him. Fashioned like the Disney palace with red instead of blue, several high towers pierced the sky, their coned roofs above the clouds, gargoyles clutching at their rims, snarling down at the ground. At the base, a series of domed roofs could be seen, all of which formed the base of the massive building, like the cake for candles. As they neared a massive oak tree near the palace, he took note of a rather old man sitting under the shade, while three children ran around the clearing in front of it, a blonde women in an elegant dress watching over them.
The lion-knight kneeled before the old man, "Your Grace, we have found the one Far Seer located in the forest." The old man regarded him for a moment before looking down at the lion-knight.
"Take your helmet off Franklin, you needn't follow procedure with me, your men as well, and get this man out of his chains, if he wanted to cause trouble he would've done so by now, if Far Seer is to be believed." The lion-knight stayed still for a few seconds, before saying, "At once Your Grace." He removed his helm, and Urasai blinked at the full head of rich brown hair on his head.
When he turned, his eyebrows rose even further at the near thirty-year old man staring at him with piercing blue eyes. As his men removed their helms, he walked over to him and undid his chains, before grabbing him and pulling him close.
"Try anything, and I'll be the first to lop your head off." He only nodded as his chains fell to the ground, making a show of rubbing his wrists. He was making quite a lot of them today.
"Come, sit. And forgive him, please. He sees foes everywhere nowadays/" The old man motioned to a spot right next to him and he walked over and sat down, saying nothing.
A few minutes drifted by, a tension in the air that only the knights seemed to notice as this 'Klaus' continued to watch the children play.
Finally he spoke, "You are in a precarious position, aren't you? Found on lands not open to the public, lands forbidden, adorned in armor, like you're ready to fight. Quite precarious indeed." He nodded, to which the old man hummed.
"Perhaps…we can come to an impasse." He handed him a letter, and already Urasai felt things were already coming along rather nicely. Not every day an emperor handed him a letter.
As he read the paper the old man spoke, "I will not ask why you were there, or what you want, all I know is that my people found someone…someone strong…someone who could help get me something…someone." Ah, so that's how it is.
"So you need my help?"
"Officially? No. To the lands, my empire is standing strong and firm in its battle against our neighbor, and Damon's attempts to seize my kingdom…but unofficially? Yes, very much so. Tell me, what do you know of the Klaus Empire?" Urasai shook his head.
"Nothing." The old man seemed surprised, but only for a moment, replaced by a stoic face.
"Then I suppose I must educate you. My founder, whose name I share, created these lands through a series of wars which he benefited from immensely. Using the treasures he gained, he created our empire, which has stood a thousand years…until now." He handed Urasai another letter, this one in all black with red letters.
It was a declaration of war.
"The Lucien Empire, born from the brother of the first Klaus, has been at war with us for generations. And after hundreds of years of lax and lazy foes, their line has finally birthed someone determined to kill us. Already, I have had to go to no less than five funerals, two for my cousins, and three for my allies. I grow worried, stranger. With each passing day, more attacks occur everywhere in my lands, in our very walls. And now, they have taken one of my own children." He handed him a small painting, and Urasai had to say, that this was without a doubt a princess.
Beautiful golden locks, sharp features, and gentle blue eyes, a beautiful golden crown atop her head with diamonds. The only thing marring her features and dress were the words, 'WE HAVE HER!' written in what could be any type of red substance. From red ink, to blood.
"Every time I see that I grow weaker. Damon has a grip on me unlike any before, I can feel his fingers closing. I ask of you, stranger, to go save my daughter. Will you do this?" Urasai already had his answer, but to appease his sense of theatrics, he made a show of thinking, before sighing.
"Before I answer, what are my chances of survival?"
"If you are as strong as Far Seer says, you need only worry for my daughter's life, but if you are a common criminal, your chances will be the chances like those of a fawn in a wolves den." He mulled over it for a minute.
"What would you give me?" He didn't see it, but that Franklin person must've been fuming.
"You should be honored to even be considered for this yo-!"
"Franklin! That is enough." The knight looked like he wanted to argue, but moved back to his men, when the emperor glared at him.
"If you must know, the prize I have for her safe return is near ten million gold." He held up one of them, and he was thinking he should get used to surprises, because he was surprised yet again.
So…thin he held it, marveling at the sheer lack of quality in its craftsmanship. Twenty of these would be half a Yggdrasil coin but he'd rather not say something like that, better to have them think he was all for it.
"So, do we have a deal?" All he did was nod, and Klaus smiled.
"Good. You will set out in four days, the Lucien Empire is in the west. You will be allowed access to secret contacts and any and all support from our allies. Should you need to, you are authorized to use my name." He looked him in the eyes, and in their reflection he realized they both had the same kind of eyes.
Deep blue.
"Do I have your word you will bring my daughter back?" He nodded, and the emperor let out a breath he seemed to not know he had.
"Franklin, take him to one of the inns and provide him a bag of gold, enough for him to make it to the border." The knight nodded before putting his helm back on and walking away, saying nothing, as if he was expecting him to follow.
…Huh, not even the end of the day and already on a mission to save the princess…neat.
Far Seer, the name of the strongest sorcerer in all of the Klaus Empire. Some spoke of her in admiration, dreaming of her beauty, respecting her strength, and marveling at her feats of heroism. Some spoke of her in fear, of her immortality, of her destructive power, of her god and his religion from the far side of the east, where her dark skin and red hair were common place.
Only a few spoke to her, and one of them was getting on her nerves.
"For the. Last. Time!" She turned to Franklin, who seemed so tired and weak now, as he stopped in the middle of her library room.
"Yes! I am absolutely sure this is the person from the vision!" Franklin seemed pained, and the second he opened his mouth she went "Ahbubub! No, even if he looks like a frail, even if he's practically a pathetic worm! Whoever you found out there is him!" She truly wondered how long it would take for him to finally accept this, perhaps that could be and experiment of her? 'The Limits of Human Stubbornness!' yeah, that sounded like a good title.
"You know why I ask, the princess' safet-!" She cut him off.
"Is of your utmost concern, 'blah blah blah' I get it!" Her glare softened at his haggard state, and she put a hand to his shoulder.
"Look, I know you're worried, your practically apart of her family, but you have to trust me. Whoever Damon used to get her is too powerful for the likes of you. And besides, this gives you time to do all that stuff you told me you wanted to do, right?!" He suddenly looked guilty and Far Seer thought ah…I see.
"…you meant with her, right?" He sighed and Far Seer groaned.
"You do realize she can't exactly, you know, break a marriage contract with Klaus' most adamant supporter?" Manna, a kingdom in the west, whose ruler was good friends with Klaus, were responsible for suppressing most of the armies sent Damon.
They worked hard for them, and while Klaus was good friends with him, the ruler of Manna was definitely expecting compensation for the blood his people spilled and bled.
"I know…bu-!" She raised a finger to his mouth, shushing him.
"Just relax, and let fate go about its ways. Who knows? Maybe you're destined for her?" He still seemed troubled, but nodded nonetheless, and headed for the door.
She smiled at his back, happy she both at least tried to help him and that he was finally leaving. She moved for one of her more frequent books, a dogma of her god, and read through a few lines before she heard the door opening and stopping half way.
I swear if he asks again I will send down fire onto him! But his question was both unexpected…and a bit uncomfortable.
"What are they?" A simple question, but so heavy with worry and fear.
She bit her lip, flipping through more of her pages, stopping at the one that she had been studying for years and was only now learning what it truly described.
"I don't know…" She moved a finger over her god's sigil, something that was said to bring both fear and joy, hate and love, anger and eagerness…death…and life…
A black skull, covered in runes, with two words carved into its forehead.
Mad God
"I truly don't know…" As the door clicked shut, she shivered as a cold wind blew through her room, a wind that blew out a small candle in a far corner of her room…a small flicker over a red book…a book…of evil's hope, in a mad, mad world…
Love? Hate? Tell me what I can improve on and I'll listen! Hope you enjoyed!
Reference:
"Chris.."
"Hwruhh?"
"Catch the chicken."
"Throw it to me baby."
*throws*
"Ah! You whipped me with rope!"
*keeps going*
"STOOP! GIMME!"
"Chris, say give me the funny chicken."
"GIMME THE FUNNY CHICKEEEN!"
