Ever since they left earth, Yoshiro could not shake the anger welled up in him. Those ships, bore the marks of the very captain which destroyed his village so long ago. He would open a porthole to look out into space but he was instead staring down at the sword in his hands as he had for the past hour.
Vexsis sat across from him, two arms behind her head for comfort and the other two out to her sides for support. She set the ship on auto pilot and had just gotten relaxed after Yoshiro had his outburst almost an hour ago. Part of her was confused at his mixed emotions about leaving not just his village but earth itself. The other half knew where he was coming from, but he didn't need to make such a fuss about it.
(Just earlier...)
"Daaah!" He yelled as he pounded more dents into the seats around him.
"Calm down! Any more damage to this ship and it's likely to fall apart." She shouted.
"Calm down? How? We just left them back there, no damage no nothing! They bore the mark of the people who burned, killed, and kidnapped my village! Who knows what else those monsters did!" He yelled, tears forming in his eyes.
Of course she knew. How and when she would reveal such information was beyond her. Right now was not the most excellent time to do so, as it would destroy her plans, but she would eventually tell him the "tales" she heard while going through the mess hall. Some of them even made her stomach turn.
"The banners they bore were from a splinter of House devils, not true House Devils. If they were true house devils then they would not exist. Right now the houses are split all thanks to Skolas and his arrest at the hands of the guardians."
"Guardians? Skolas?" He interrupted, wiping his face off. "You mentioned Skolas earlier but...uh, elaborate?"
She would have been more upset if he had been there, even near to the man. The very presence of the Kell of Kells filled one with joy. To think their people would be united once more and finally have peace would stir many hearts to join him. Many did join the cause, including her.
The craziest part was when her sister offered her very womb to the would be "Kell of Kells". Vexsis tried to calm her down, but one of his lieutenants heard the offer and offered his hand in marriage instead. It annoyed her to no end the loyalty and devotion some showed him, then again desperation drove people mad.
All while fleshing out these details she eventually reached the part of her story where the guardians came into play. Yes, the "lightbearers" as some referred to them as. To her, there was not much brightness in tone or spirit when talking about their ilk.
"The guardians come from this massive city they call the 'last city'." She said with a snicker. "As you know there are other villages out there, but nothing compares to the might of their settlement. They have large concrete walls, gun emplacements, and more importantly the traveler."
The entire time she was talking Yoshiro had calmed down, somewhat. He still was not happy he did not seek revenge back on earth, but hearing about another city distracted him from the pain for a moment. Maybe it was what he needed after all.
"The traveler visited us before it ever saw humanity. We, in our grand stupidity rejected it and in turn came our downfall. This is why I have to drink from my flask every now and again. We cannot live without ether...but enough about that. The traveler is amazing in the one miracle it can do, raise the dead."
In the blink of an eye the man across from her unsheathed the sword in his hands and stared at the blade. Of course she could not see the images running through his mind, but she knew he was on to something. Even so, she continued on with her diatribe on the traveler.
"This settlement has yet to be taken by any of our houses, even when we united in the past the city would not fall. Because of the traveler's gift of undying, we could not match the guardians unshakable numbers. After all, how can you win a war against an undying army of fanatics?" She explained.
"But it can resurrect the dead...tell me why we're heading away from earth then?" He asked, tears in his eyes once again.
Pinching the bridge between her two front most eyes she shook her head. "It's not...it's not that simple. The guardians wouldn't help us more or less if they saw me. They would rather shoot me on sight than help one of my people. On another note, yes the traveler resurrects the dead, but not by any of our commands."
"Why not? Many lives could be restored..." he said as he trailed off.
All four arms of hers rose and shrugged, "I don't know. The only knowledge I have on the traveler is from what my father told me, not that he cared much for me anyways. Only reason I heard it was because of my brothers. He told them and they passed it on to me. Then they went off and joined Skolas for nothing...all for nothing."
Thoughts burned through her, of her father "proudly" sending his sons off to die. Unfortunately, they were the first to fall at the hands of the guardians, giving her another reason to hate them. So they both brooded over their pasts and what the traveler could and could not do.
(Present...)
"You know the crazy part about the guardians?" She asked.
Yoshiro slowly sheathed the sword back in its home and looked up at the one across from him, eyes swollen.
"They have no recollection of their past." She answered herself.
"So even if I were to somehow make the traveler resurrect my people..."
"They wouldn't know who you were or who they were before death. There is the blessing and curse of becoming a guardian, a blunt instrument for an inscrutable and omnipotent being.."
She had hoped to possibly lighten up the mood with her sarcasm but he failed to see the humor in anything at the moment. Giving up she sauntered past him and up to the cockpit where she grabbed a container of ether and started to down it. They had about all of three minutes until they were where they needed to be, so she had the time to enjoy her food.
One free hand reached for the ship logs and swiped to open it from her console. Files stored from the time the ship crashed were all corrupted. The only messages which could be read were those sent out to her by her "friend" at their destination. His replies to her questions were all quick and professional as he was to everyone. The issue was walking through all of the other Eliksni there with a human. Hope was a commodity in these times, and right now she was buying it wholesale.
A small light followed by a tone went off, signaling the drop from lightspeed. The sudden shift even caused the unhappy passenger in the back to drop his attitude. Opening the viewing ports in front of her she gave the new space explorer a view of their destination.
His eyes had never fallen upon such a sight. The imagery before him made him almost question if the stories he was read and did read were all fiction. Floating islands soared past them, all clinging together as if they would fall apart without their moorings. Great steel structures appeared in the distance broken and torn apart.
Then another sight appeared before him, more fallen dropships. Some had banners, some did not, others had stripes, characters. Many stood by the docks as two hovering robots butted at one another. None could say the place was not liveley.
"Uh, Vexsis...why are there so many dem..."
Slapping a hand over his mouth she shushed him. "First off, stop it with the demon shit, it's getting really annoying. Second, you may HATE the ones who attacked your village but none of these people are them, NONE, so don't go starting fights. Third, the proper term for my people is Eliksni, or as some call us the fallen. Four, keep your helmet on the entire time unless told to remove it. Do you understand?"
Yoshiro nodded, a gesture that gave some relief to the woman in front of him. She hoped he wouldn't screw everything up by being himself at least once. Maybe he could be dignified in the face of those who looked very similar to his enemy.
As their ship latched onto the dock open to them, a small contingent of fallen gathered outside. Green spikes covered their backs as the earthly porcupine had spines. Of the group, one approached the door to the ship, knocking on the hatch.
Slight hisses have way to an open hatch where a fallen female of average height and an oddly armored human stood side by side. The fallen standing at the hatch briefly bowed before the two and cleared its throat.
"Welcome Vexsis, daughter of Arrakrut the Damned." He stated.
"The damned?" Yoshiro repeated to the woman next to him. "What do you do to earn such a title."
Grabbing the back of his neck she forced him to bow with her and pulled him right back up. "I can explain that later, just shut your mouth and do as I do."
"Ok." He quickly replied.
"Arrha, it is a pleasure." She said, reaching out to the greeter.
"A pleasure? Hmmph, I take no pleasure in dealing with houseless wretches, but my Kell tells me to do so. Also, you owe us a ship so this ship is now our property."
With a simple snap of his fingers five of the men with him bolted aboard the ship, shoving the confused duo out. Thankfully Yoshiro grabbed his sword before he walked out, but his gun was not so lucky. Arrha motioned for Vexsis to follow him so Yoshiro did the same following in her footsteps just as she said.
"Question, how did you know about the ship?" She inquired.
Arrha didn't even look back to reply. "A homing beacon placed on your vessel, after all, it was my Kell's asset. The ship you brought in should cover it well."
"And what about all of the ether aboard? Does it cover the amount needed for my other purchases?" She asked.
"We'll see." Arrha replied, annoyance in his tone this time.
Walking around the settlement, Yoshiro noticed all of the attention being brought to them. Families, merchants, pirates for all he knew, looked on as they marched towards their destination. Up ahead sat a series of pedestals with beams coming from them. First glance they could be considered lights, but when one of the fallen approached it they disappeared. Vexsis dropped back knowing all of this was new to her comrade so she shoved him through the teleporter, being sure to follow right through to the other side .
Eyes open he looked and gazed at a massive hallway leading to some brightly lit room. Enormous fans spun on either side of them, fallen wearing all sorts of armors and clothes surrounded them on either side causing a certain human's jaw to drop. What was the true centerpiece of the room was behind a door guarded by more spiked fallen.
Before they could get any closer to the door ahead Vexsis pulled Yoshiro to the side for one last word. "Just whatever you do, don't talk about his weight, don't stare into his eyes...actually, remember to keep the helmet on. I don't think he will mind you with it on. Got it?"
"Got it." He weakly replied as she finally let him go.
Up ahead the door opened to reveal the throne room of a Kell. The sight caused a bit of confusion in the lone human as the ruler before him jiggled and shook. Every member of Fallen society he had seen thus far looked healthy compared to the tub of flesh before him. Nonetheless, he had to keep his confusion to himself.
"My Kell I give you..."
"Vexsis and her uh, her uh...hmm *snort* who is that with you?" The ruler asked.
Bowing before him she replied, "I apologize your grace, I've brought..."
"Grace? Why are you using such *snort* platitudes with me? You can be more precise with your words, there's no reason to be shy." He said with a laugh and yet another snort to follow. Waving his hand in front of him he dismissed the contingent which travelled with the two visitors, now leaving them with the ruler of this broken land and two guards.
"I would like to introduce my partner in crime here, Yoshiro." Vexsis replied.
Leaning forward he scratched at his chin...chins? "Ah, a human *snort*. Tell me..." he asked rubbing his hands together. "...where is your, ghost?"
Yoshiro tried to respond but his "partner" beat him to the answer. "He is not a guardian, Spider. I would never work with those bastards."
Both guards respond in kind by slamming their spears into the ground below, clamoring on in their native tongue. Their elation was cut short when Spider snapped his fingers together. "Enough! We both have a general dislike of guardians, this *snort* is true. The problem I see with you bringing in a normal human is the kind of opposition you will be facing."
Without warning her partner decided to speak up. "Lord Spider, if I may call you by such a title, I believe I am ready to take on this 'opposition' of which you speak."
Vexsis switched glances between the two and wished she could run out of the room. She didn't want him to open his mouth not even once and right after Spider told her to speak plainly. Only he knew what would happen next.
"So you say human *snort* yet you only bring a sword and that scrappy getup! You should appreciate that I am willing to give you and your partner access to my fine *snort* armors and weapons. Without them, you won't be putting an end to my competition and your enemy, Gralorik, self-proclaimed ruler of all Eliksni."
Just the mere mention of his name riled up the young man. He tried to remember what Vexsis told him to do, but he already broke one of her rules earlier. Lifting the helmet off his head he looked directly into Spider's eyes and kneeled.
"Then you have our utmost gratitude. We thank you for lending us such fine weapons and armors. They will be used wisely."
Spider stared at the face of the young man for a moment before coming to a realization. "After all these years of processing purchases, trades, everything I don't usually recall much with such *snort* clarity as the damage left from a bastard like Gralorik. I can see he left his mark on you as he has with hundreds of others. Tell me boy, what do you intend to do once you get ahold of him?" He asked, tapping each of his fingers against one another in rhythm.
For years he had been suppressing, holding down the feelings, the pain, the sorrow in him. A bottle held everything back but now, he was being asked what he had dreamed, no, fantasized about since he could put together such thoughts. Unsheathing his blade, an action causing the guards to be on edge, he took the dull end and ran it across the valley between his thumb and index on his left hand.
"I'm going to do terrible and unspeakable things to the son of a bitch." He began as the tone in his voice darkened, even causing Vexsis to back up. "For those who allied with him to destroy my village, I will make them beg for the afterlife. As for Gralorik himself..." he said as he sheathed his weapon. "I'm going to leave him for last. I want him to suffer as I carve up any offspring he has, any friends he holds near to him and give him the same fate I was given, a slow death." He finished, shaking his clutched fist for emphasis.
To both their surprise, Spider laughed. Vexsis was more shocked than Yoshiro, who was still trying to pull himself away from the dark words he just spoke. The gluttonous Eliksni jiggled and snorted with uncontained glee at the words he heard.
"Well, I now know I can trust my *snort* arsenal in your hands. Revenge is definitely a an excellent motivator sure to keep you alive. I'll tell you this , I won't just give you a few weapons and armor, whatever you need is at your disposal, just ask. You could say I'm giving you carte blanch."
If she could fall to the floor without embarrassing herself she would. The human, with a chip on his shoulder the size of Phobos, just haggled the Spider without glimmer, ether, or anything else with a price tag! He wasn't even a great speaker, he was just a disgruntled man with a grudge against a Kell. Then again, someone with that kind of hatred just might be the man you want to eliminate your competition.
With a snap from their Kell the escorts from earlier came marching back in, splitting the two up. Both did not understand what was going on at all. Unknown to either of them, they were about to see for themselves the arsenal harvested by the king of the tangled shore.
Each group lead their captives to chambers fitted from wall to wall with weapons and armor. Vexsis remembered what she had picked out earlier, which was not much in regards to armor. She cared more about mobility and firepower more than anything else.
Yoshiro on the other hand had no idea what to choose from the stock. What was more annoying came in the form of a crotchety Eliksni, one they called Duadara. He was the keeper of the armory and knew what was best for a warrior, in Eliksni regards anyways.
"This weapon has the capability to launch multiple rockets at the same time. Now this weapon right here..."
"I'm sorry, but what was the weapon you were pointing at earlier?" He interrupted.
Duadara did not mind much, so was the way of youth. Going back through the racks he pointed to different weapons waiting for his customer to elicit some sort of positive response. Then when he pointed towards a bow he got what he wanted, a nod of approval. Pulling the light weapon off the wall he handed the bow to his associate, who packaged the weapon in a small crate.
After walking away from the weapons for a moment the old fallen looked up and down his buyer. Using all four of his limbs he rapidly started ripping off the old armor Yoshiro wore, throwing each piece to the ground. The human was intrigued at how fast the old man could move, more importantly how he knew to remove each strap before taking a piece off.
Bare stood the warrior in his hunting gear, without the armor he held onto for so long. With a strand of cloth in one pair of arms he stretched the fabric all around him examining his waist, neck, arms, legs, back, and feet. Clapping two of his hands together he summoned two other fallen, clearly different from him. He leaned in to the group, whispering something out of range which made them nod. Before he could even respond, the duo skittered up to him, ripping the clothes from his body.
"Wait, wait! Why are you..." he trailed off as they quickly grabbed an undersuit from a nearby chest, cutting and resizing as they went.
He attempted to cover himself, only having his hands to cover himself until someone provided the right attire. As quick as a flash they had the undersuit ready and tossed it at him. Not even as much as a second thought he slipped the two piece on, feeling some sense of relief as he covered himself.
There was tightness in some places he didn't quite appreciate, but it would have to do if this was the only thing they had for him, after all it was free. Off to the side one of the fallen tailors, so they could be called, wrapped a piece of cloth around his head and muttered words unintelligible to him. With great speed he skittered back to his station, sorting through different helmets.
The other tailor ran up behind him with another piece of fabric, measuring distance between the shoulder blades once more and the length and depth of the spine. Yoshiro himself knew about measurements and the need for precision since both were necessary in crafting the bows he made years past. Just like the other tailor she skittered back to her station, resizing a chest piece she pulled off the wall.
Sounds of leather being cut, metal banging, and more important the chatter between the clothiers echoed. It took him only a moment to notice the eldest of the three slowly walking up to him with boots and some other armor. With snap of his fingers one of the tailors left their station and brought up a small stool for him to sit on.
"Uh, thank you." Yoshiro awakwardly said as he sat down.
"I had no need to measure your feet thankfully. The previous boots, if I could call them that, you wore gave me a close estimate on the size of your feet. Now, try them on." Duadara implored.
Of course he thought it odd how an Eliksni would know how to make boots for human feet. What surprised him more was how well they felt like his old boots. They were somewhat more stiff than the ones he had before, but a pair of boots was all he needed anyways. There was no room for being picky when you're getting everything free.
Sitting to each side of his feet were long plates with straps. The only issue he had was the bulky nature of the leg pieces. They covered most of the area between his ankles between his thighs, but he didn't like the ability to move and move quick being taken away.
"I can see the apprehension in your face. Does the armor not fit properly?" Duadara asked.
"No elder..." a voice replied behind him. "He only dislikes the armor because it wasn't made by his hands."
Yoshiro leaned around Duadara to see Vexsis standing there with a different set of armor on. She had blades which came down each of her arms, a mask with multiple glowing eyesockets covered her face, and plated armor covered her elsewhere underneath the new robes she had on. They had obviously retooled her somewhere else and she did not mind. The question was would he?
"Not exactly true." Yoshiro replied. "I'm just not used to having less mobility while wearing armor."
"Hmmph." The older Eliksni replied as his hands hung on his hips. "The weapon you brought with you is not light by any means. We even managed to reinforce it somewhat to take a direct attack from someone say, a captain. Your armor is made in the same fashion since Gralorik will be unrelenting."
Mere mention of his name caused the other two tailors to shy away. The name of the new, self-proclaimed Kell of Kells carried weight and spread far. Reaching down to Yoshiro's side the elder looked into the eyes of the helmet they had picked out and sighed.
"After Skolas died there was a power vacuum. Gralorik, a new member of the house of wolves back then, thought to seize power and bring what was left of the wolves to house devils. The problem was the difference in leadership, or to be more precise how the future of the Eliksni must shape out. I was there when Gralorik showed his true colors and newfound strength.
Months ago they had decided to meet in a desolate place, far from any Vanguard interference or intrusion by the other houses for that matter. Earth had many empty cities devoid of anything but wildlife and plants which gave them the privacy they needed. Their dropships landed on opposite sides of the mall, the name the place held before the collapse.
Gralorik, a former wolf stood proud and strong on one side stood on one side, and Meldantz on the other. Both represented different generations of my people. The only problem was the traitorous archon on Meldantz's side. His name was Aksis, and he sought to destroy and remake the Eliksni as we know with human technology. I stood as witness as the one claiming to be the new Kell of Kells crush an able warrior such as Meldantz, as well as the hope of my people.
Little did everybody know Aksis poisoned Meldantz through his ether supply, making him weak. The bastard Kell Gralorik would not have won the competition otherwise. Afterwards I fled with loyalists as well as Mithrax, a friend of mine.
We fled as far as we could from Gralorik and his forces, eventually reaching the tangled shore, under the rule of Spider and more importantly the awoken queen. Our arrival was welcomed by the Kell of these shores, and more importantly one of Queen Mara's advisors, the one called Verriks. He told us we would be protected by the queen, and more importantly the future of the fallen would be secured.
Since then I've wondered what Verriks meant by his words. Then again I do not doubt our people will be made whole again. What I do worry about is what Aksis has in store for the Eliksni under him. Before I left there was mention of something called Siva. I have no clue what it means or is for the matter, but I do know this if Aksis or Gralorik wants it, then it is evil."
Taking the helmet from the elder's hands he slid the it on, fidgeting to get it in place. With an extra pair of hands he was able to snap the helm on and the power connectors to it. Screens inside hummed to life and in a minute he could everything around him, clear as could be.
"Thank you." Yoshiro replied, voice echoing around the room. "Now, it's time to test everything out, get a feel for it."
"And just where would we do that?" Vexsis replied, all four arms crossed.
Between the two the elder Eliksni raised a hand. "If you two will follow me, then I will show you where you can test your new equipment. It's not a training facility in the traditional sense, but you can surely test your gear and strength there."
"Ok elder, lead the way!" Yoshiro exclaimed as he took one step forward. One foot fell right in front of the other and before he knew it he was flat on his face.
"Hmm." The elder thought as he scratched at his chin. "I think your armor might need some adjustments."
(Elsewhere in the system...)
The sounds of a small group moving through the corridor echoed off of the walls. Everyone else on board was at their stations, loyal to their orders. Leading the charge was a grizzled gunman, a lone wolf who once had a house and chose to cling to none.
Their path led to a large door, grandiose and distinguishable from all the others on the ship. The doors opened leading to a final entrance with armed guards standing watch. Each of the loyal shock troops readied as to attack, but held back seeing who it was. The gunman grinned underneath his mask as he marched right past them and into the next chamber, the center of the flagship.
Inside was an ornate throne, decorated with the helms of the deceased. To each side of the throne sat the voluptuous brides taken by the one claiming to be the new Kell of Kells, who was enjoying the company of one as they approached. Before anything could be said the gunman, against his own wishes, kneeled before his contractor and began to speak.
"My Kell, it seems we..." he said before stopping when Gralorik raised his hand.
"She got away, I know." He said, focusing on the flirtatious female in front of him. "Tell me Brintiks, how did one female escape from you and your many men?" He continued, now taking a darker tone.
He hated every minute of it, being talked down to as a Dreg. Reasons he kept to himself about being houseless manifested in Gralorik, one who had he wealth of Skolas, but not the same purpose. Staring down at the ground caused his anger to swell but he did well to keep all of it down.
"She was accompanied by a human from what my men saw. A male covered in heavy armor from the head to his very feet." He answered.
Before the new information came to him he simply thought the daughter of Arrakrut was living up to his name, now he knew exactly why she escaped from his clutches. Regaining his composure, the somewhat taller captain waved his harem off, causing them to sigh. Waving his hand at the men behind Brintiks he made sure the room was empty with the exception of his own shock troops.
"So you think the Vanguard is finally taking notice?" Gralorik asked, resting his helm on the hands he held right in front of him.
Brintiks shook his head. "No. I don't believe he was a guardian judging from the armor we saw, this and the distance they were from the city."
Unknown to the two a servant had entered the room as usual. Even with the presence of the newcomer they still continued.
"Hmm, but the location of the craft isn't too far from where..." the Kell paused for a moment glaring down at the servant as she scrubbed the entryway. "...where um. Tell me, was there any way to get a glimpse of his face? Any way at all?"
"No sir, why do you ask?" Brintiks replied.
"Servant! Come here and present yoursel!" Gralorik commanded. As he asked she dropped everything she was doing and ran over to him, bowing before she got any closer. "Guard! Give me the logs from our raids."
"Yes my Kell." The closest guard replied, stopping just before he got out the door.
"Oh what is it?" Gralorik yelled.
"Records from what time period? I wish to make things easier." He replied.
"Hmm, quite right. Look for our records on earth villages, focus on a time about 13 years ago and make it quick! My patience is slow remember?" He retorted.
The guard quickly ran out of the room and down the hall. Meanwhile the So called Kell of Kells stared down at the smaller creature in front of him. She stayed face down on the ground, making sure to please the one sitting on the throne feet from her. He chuckled at the sight of her before him, so small and frail, but he and his crew remembered her very well.
"While the guard is coming back Brintiks I want you to know I am giving you a blank check. Not saying you won't get paid, but what I am saying is anything you need to hunt down the bitch and her new bodyguard, you can have." Gralorik said, pointing at the various weapons on the walls.
For once the mercenary could agree with the Kell. Getting paid, having unlimited access to a vast cache of ordinance, and free transportation almost made him rethink leaving after this job. Now standing before the Kell he bowed and turned to leave. He tried to move as fast as possible to get out of the room but as he reached the door another lumbering from met him from the other side.
The form of an archon priest was to be met with welcome greetings and praise, but instead was met with a mercenary finding his way around. He snorted as Brintiks skirted on by and bolted down the hall towards the troop bay. Slowly making his way across the room he evened out his steps just so he would eventually come to land on the servant bowing on the floor.
"Gralorik, Gralorik, Gralorik, you and I both know you do not need to revisit our records. You realize your foolish practice of leaving a man behind has come back to kill you." He said, pressing the servant further into the floor. "Guardian or not, once he finds out what we did to his people, he will come at us with the force of the whirlwind."
His words rang true in the Kell, even if he wanted to deny it. "Brintiks will put a swift end to him Aksis, there is no need to worry. The houseless one believe it or not can be trustworthy, believe me when I say this."
"Cocky and defiant until the end? Will you say the same words when a blade is put to your throat?" He replied, grinning under his mask.
In one swift movement the Kell unsheathed the blade he had at his side and held it out right next to the priests helm. "The bastard will not come close to this throne priest, and I would think twice about making such traitorous statements! I don't think you would like to be cast off like the many experiments you've so happily done on our captives?"
"Is that a threat I hear?" He replied, grinning again.
"Yes now get out!" He snarled. As he said so the priest left the room leaving the Kell and two others left. Even then he waved the last man out, staring down at the servant below him. His anger had risen, and usually when it did so did something else and he planned on letting it all out.