Author Notes:
All right, I feel I need to clarify a few things.
This chapter is mostly going to be focused on Saito and Matilda's section. I feel the best way to get character development is to switch the focus on characters on and off. Also, as of this chapter the link to my site should be up.
One of the themes, I hope to come across is that power has consequences when just throwing it around recklessly. If not for yourself, then potentially your loved ones. One last thing, to relieve a bit of any concerns regarding power balance not to worry. Main characters such as Louise will still be up in the fore front, I have plans. After all if the bad guys are going to be stronger, its only fair the good guys have a bigger stick, even if said stick isn't as big as the bad guys.
Make no mistake though power levels will end up higher then the normal FoZ world, never mind end game for people like Louise, Saito and so on. Though It won't be too ridiculous as some others for the main characters, odds are if you hear really out there stuff power level wise 99 percent of the time its just background and lore stuff for Meus Ceus. To put it in another way; in a Spider-Man comic you know there are characters way out of their league in the verse itself but they'll only be mentioned or at best brief cameos for reasons that should be obvious.
However raw strength won't always win out as there's more ways to get past a more powerful foes(I.E. Team work, tactics and the holy grail known as Common sense I hear is a dying breed)
"-Miss Hiraga, I implore you to really think about what I said."
Saito sat down in the class room of his own school while his mother faced off against one of his teacher's, miss Helena in a 'debate' about his current grades. It wasn't so much a debate as it was more of a stand off with him caught in the middle. It was probably the next closes thing to angry lioness defending her cub.
He had tuned out the conversation for the most part. Saito was used to hearing he was stupid. Teachers were smart enough not to say that in so many words, but it was definitely there. The newer teacher Helena didn't seem to be that way, but after all this time he wasn't exactly getting his hopes up.
Helena's gaze went to the silent Saito, then back to the fuming mother. "Masako," She began, her voice changing to a more understanding tone as she used her mother's name. "I'm not saying he's stupid. I understand why you might be defensive, but please hear me out."
"Then..what are you saying?" Masako asked slowly.
The other woman sighed a bit. "I am saying, that Saito just needs extra help. Once he actually has a interest in something he seems to excel at it even if he has to work harder. It takes a bit longer for Saito to pick up things and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. There's special education—and before you jump the gun there's different levels. Saito's case is very mild comparatively speaking, he just needs extra help is all."
"..I see," Masako seemed to calm down before turning to Saito. "What do you think?"
"If you think it'll help." Saito shrugged but didn't want to go further into it.
Helena frowned to this but let it drop. "It seems there's things you two need to talk about. I'm going to give you a card, and then talk about it. Let me know what you decide."
Saito woke to the feeling of sunshine hitting his face as he stretched and yawned, rising up to a half sitting position on his bed.
Having that dream was strange, since it was something that happened years ago so he wasn't sure why he was having it now or it was just nothing more to it. It might have to do with the fact he was in a strange, unknown world.
Or absolutely nothing at all. It was too early to be thinking about it too much what appeared just to be a dream of a old memory. More importantly, he hadn't figured out how he was going to get a few things done. Mainly, about working and having Ameya around because as is, he had absolutely no one to turn to look after her which left the task solely to him.
Ameya was still out like a light which wasn't a surprise with her being a heavy sleeper but they needed to get up going. Saito still felt a bit tired but still never the less forced himself to get and try to rouse his little sister. She didn't much budge at first, at least at the first few times but around the third time she mumbled a bit as her eyes fluttered open.
"Ah..why do I have to wake up?"
"Because you'll miss out," Saito nodded. "After all how else are you going to continue to grow?"
Ameya frowned at him. "You don't stop growing if you don't wake up."
"It would stunt your growth though," Saito said, amused by her changing facial expression. As a big brother it was pretty much his job to give them a hard time after all. "Or maybe not."
Ameya made a strange noise in the back of her throat, then admitted defeat by getting out of bed but grudgingly as she sat half way up and on the edge of her bed.
Satisfied with that, Saito went to go dig into his back up to check up on a few other things, mostly as a mental reminder for what he had to be useful or not since his memory was a fickle thing at times. Ameya didn't say anything so it lead him to do so in peace.
"Saito?"
"Hm?" He didn't look up from his task.
"Where do we go when we die? Mom said dad went away, but where do we go?"
Saito instantly stopped what he was doing. The question had come completely left field and left him a bit off balance. While it was true his sister did tend to ask about random subjects of whatever filtered in her, mind this seemed more so.
More to the point he didn't know how to answer her question because he didn't know himself.
That sounded odd to say in a world where it was confirmed things like ghost exist and all other manner of supernatural beings but point of the matter is it was apples and oranges. No one had came back from whatever exactly lay beyond after death, if there was truly anything there to his knowledge.
Saito went over and sat down by his sister's side. "I don't know, Ameya. What brought this on? Did you think of dad?"
At her nod, Saito felt things were put a bit more into perspective where her line of thinking was coming from. Kids were smarter and more perceptive then people gave them credit for never mind what Ameya was. He gave her a half hug. "I miss the old man too. But he wouldn't want us to be sad all the time. Right?"
Saito reached into his back pack pulling out a picture, it had himself, a younger Ameya, their mother along with a man that greatly resembled Saito except older with darker hair. "Hold onto this for me. In the mean time, how about we get something to eat?" He offered his hand, which after a moment she took as they both headed down the stairs.
Luckily it didn't seem to quite sink in yet to Ameya about being unable to reach mom, but when it did he was going to know.
Loud. That was the impression Saito got for the morning as he and Ameya traveled down the stairs, there was a healthy number of people running too and about their business. He hadn't thought there were many people but then again he had probably came at a odd time.
Ameya's grip tightened when they got closer to the crowd; she didn't like them. She had always been like that from a early age but it may have had something to do with a certain event in the past, or she was just skittish about large crowds.
"-And I told them, to hell with their deal!" A burly man slammed their fist against the table to a gathered crowd which caused Ameya to jump.
It annoyed Saito a bit but he left it alone for now even as someone else came behind the man, the same woman that had let them in earlier.
"Do I need to remind you that those tables require fixing?" They said to the man, adjusting their glasses so their long black bangs weren't in the way. "We also have some guest, please try not be as rowdy Albel."
The mountain of a man shrunk a bit and grumbled. "I was just telling the lads of my stories Cerise."
"I'm sure you were dear." The middle-aged woman kissed his cheek and walked away. This got a couple of good natured laughs from the table and another man slapped the man dubbed as Albel on the back.
"Looks like the old wolf still has his own leash!"
Cerise ignored the friendly banter in the background, heading to Saito's location. "Good morning. You two sleep well?"
"Yeah, thank you." Saito was nothing else if not polite to someone who could have just as easily tossed them to the side instead of accepting their strange currency. "I don't think we introduced ourselves. My name is Saito Hiragi and this is my sister Ameya."
The older woman smiled a bit. "I see. My name is Cerise Faure, its nice to meet you both."
"Thank you for letting us stay miss Cerise." It was the first time Ameya spoke since coming down, she seemed to relax a bit once all the noise had died down.
Their smile gained a bit more warmth. "No problem little one. Now, if you'd please follow me."
Saito felt Ameya stop gripping his hand in a death grip and actually release his hand on their way to one of the empty tables. It did create the problem of Ameya having a harder at the table due to being so short before Cerise gave her something to sit on. Prior, only a short crop of red hair was barely visible by the table itself.
While Saito was thankful for all this, there was something he had to get out the way. Namely about what he was going to do for money and Ameya. "I have a question. What are you going to have me do to earn my keep? And is it anything I could keep Ameya around? I don't really have anyone else to look after her."
"Hm.." Cerise tapped her chin. "I figured you two were run aways or there's something with your living situation that brings you in the situation you are now. Am I correct so far?"
"Uh..yeah." Saito said somewhat lamely. Let it not be said he was a good manipulator or liar so he just sort of shut up and let her talk before he put his foot in his mouth. "How did you figure?"
Thankfully he had told Ameya to be more careful of slipping information about their home before they headed to be so there would be less slip ups.
"That's easy. You both are Nobles, I picked up your magic for one." Cerise said with a triumphant tone.
What magic? Ameya makes sense but I don't have any natural magic unless that Sync Device counts. He said nothing though, letting her continue.
Satio acted like much anything was more interesting then making too much eye contact right now.
"Secondly, being Nobles, it's odd to be traveling by yourself like that. At your age, its understandable but dragging a little one around is suspect." She paused, seeing Saito tense slightly and took it for something else her eyes softening. "I don't know your situation young man, but you must have had a reason for being away from home. I'm from a big family myself and had to take care of younger siblings so I can relate. That's why I'm going to help you."
That wasn't what he expected but he kept quite. It looked like they were home free.
"I have dishes and the like you can do in the back. Ameya is old enough to at least do a few basic chores instead of just sitting there bored. Should be good for her as well." Then she crossed her arms a bit. "I am curious about this Nexus City your sister mentioned. Is it from the Far East, or perhaps from the undiscovered lands even further?"
..Or not.
Crap.
Saito wasn't sure at all what he should say but if he was going to go with it, it was best to go with simple answers. "Yeah, we come from really far away further then the east I think. Me and Ameya are pretty clueless about this part of the world. I can't tell you how we got here though exactly, it was magic I think."
"Magic? Only thing I know that pulls people from far distances is the Summon Ritual.." The gears in the woman's head were turning but to Saito's relief they dropped it. "Like I said, I won't pry about the issue for now. There are some things you'll have to know, I'm sure you have questions."
And that was the exact problem. He had too many he didn't even know where to start.
"Do you have dragons here?" Ameya asked, feet slightly kicking off the edge.
"Oh yes little one. Fire Dragons, and Wind Dragons to name a few." She would have continued but heard some commotion in the back and sighed. "I'll catch up with you two soon, just need to take care of something."
Saito was curious what it was about but it didn't seem like anything dangerous so he left it alone and in the mean time took a glance at the other occupants. Most of them didn't seem out of place at all, or interesting.
Except for the man coming forward with blond hair, wearing a justacorps with a cape, and black dress pants.
Again nothing out of place. Except for the red eyes and subtle slitted pupils, it would have given them away for what they really were but Saito knew who they were already on closer look. He was just confused of what Levante Brunel was doing here, seeing as he was someone from his world.
The man paused when they reached the table, inclining their head slightly. "Mind if I sit here?"
Saito thought about it before nodding. "Yeah, sure." In this situation he was rather hurting for allies at this point in this strange world and Levante, if he was able to manage it would make a very powerful one.
Levante sat down after the offer. "Quite the fascinating times in these parts isn't it?"
Ameya seemed to be focusing on the man's cape with curiosity. "Where did you get it mister? I want one too, its cool."
What would she even do with it was another question entirely.
"Oh?" Levante glanced back briefly, amused. "Thank you small one. I quite like it myself. As for your question, it's from a little shop where they custom build clothes. I wanted something that reminded me a bit of where I came from. You two, you're from earth aren't you?"
Saito was going to get to that point but he had beaten him to it. "We do kind of stick out like a sore thumb with our clothes." His didn't fit in at all, and neither did Ameya's with her Mickey Mouse shirt. "My name is Saito Hiragi and this is my sister Ameya. We're..a bit lost." Understatement.
The other man paused, then nodded. "I see. I figured you weren't some estranged tourist the moment I saw you from the corner of the room. My name is Levante Brunel. You're related to Haru Hiragi, his son aren't you?"
Saito knew his father had been a bit famous before the time of his death because of his work in Nobus so it stood to reason Levante, from what little he knew of them. "Yeah. I get that a lot," It couldn't hurt to ask as the worse he could do would say he didn't know. "Do you know anything about this how to fix one?"
Levante looked over the Sync Device then shook his head. "I know of them. But if you mean about the technical know how of fixing one, I'm afraid is much out of my area of expertise. However, I could tell you a bit more. Much would probably would be redundant considering your father probably explained the bulk of it. That said, I think the rest of the conversation should be from prying ears considering the nature of it, don't you?"
In hindsight, Saito thought it was a bad idea to go further in depth just in case. They hadn't revealed anything too bad and most would just be confusing without the context but he conceded the man's point.
It just left a matter of trust. In reality he didn't have many options and while he didn't know the man personally from what he heard the Nosferartu was a good person, if not a bit eccentric.
"All right," Saito said, mind made up. "We can talk about the other stuff later."
"Excellent." Levante seemed pleased. "Trust is earned, not given so after our talk what you decide will be up to you. In the mean time, I'll be leaving you two to your devices."
"Then, how will we get a hold of you?" Saito asked as Levante got up who paused and kept his voice low for only them to hear.
"Simple. Simply call out mentally. As long as I'm here in this village I'll be able to hear you if I keep the mental channel open."
Ameya looked confused a bit. "..You can read minds then?"
Levante actually looked a bit troubled. "No small one. It's just conversation of a different kind, think of it as a telephone except its in your head. Reading mind its not something my kind can do, and its not something I'd do to respect privacy even if I could. You two enjoy your breakfast."
There was the question of why they couldn't continue the conversation mentally from people but Saito could think of a number of reasons and let it drop for now.
He had other things to focus on.
This has been a waste of time so far.
Agnes had been in this village for roughly two days with nothing of note happening since her time here after being sent by her queen. In a way it was a double edged sword only in the sense she was trying to avoid uneeded trouble but at the same time the longer she was away, the more axnious she got from being away from Henrietta.
The former princess now Queen was not just a employer but a dear friend. She had been the one that had given her and many like her a chance when she nothing to offer in return.
When others had sneered at them, Henrietta had encouraged.
When others had wrote them off a lost cause, she had given a path to succeed.
They had given Agnes and the musketeers something they'd never be able to properly repay. And for that if nothing else had earned their undying loyalty. It was the least they could offer in return.
Agnes didn't trust many of the silver-tongued nobles and 'advisors' around Henrietta. Or the many brats that knew nothing of the world but deemed it for them to offer their short sighed opinions on subjects they knew absolutely nothing about. Her presence along with the other musketeers was regarded as a amusing commodity that would fade away by the other nobles.
Until it turned out it wasn't a phase; Henrietta actually trusted them more then many of the mages. The amused condensation soon turned into cool and some cases hot contempt.
Not that she and her fellow Musketeers cared what those blowhards thought but it was annoying.
It didn't matter what they thought, it mattered what the princess now queen did which is why she had been chosen to go along with a few of her Musketeers. She couldn't refuse a request but Agnes wondered if the talk of monsters and strange occurrences was anything substantial or just wild rumors.
So far the endeavor had achieved little results but they had learned there was some truth the claims of orcs acting more intelligently and other unknown monsters being spotted.
Orcs were a pest that in Agnes opinion should have been wiped out long ago. They bred quickly and were savage but had a basic, if crude amount of intelligence with using weapons and armor. More disgusting was their taste of human flesh, and especially children and babies.
Of course, its just a 'commoner' problem.
That was the only reason they probably hadn't, along with the fact no one wanted to send an spread out manpower to complete the task in the first place.
Idly her mind drifted back to that strangely dressed young man and his sister(at least she guessed it was) she met the other day. Most people would have dismissed them as strangely dressed commoners but there was something more there. The fabric from what she could remember was a higher quality then what a typical commoner could afford, despite the oddness of them.
At best they were just some nobles with exotic taste, in her mind. So why then, did she feel there was something more there?
"We didn't find anything Captain."
Agnes looked up to see one of the soldiers under her command—Elise, a young woman who got ahead of herself and was impulsive at times but well meaning. Their training had done enough of beating her in the head to use her sense more thankfully. There were about two others with her.
"I figured," Agnes shook her head. "This has been mostly a waste of time, though I understand where Her Majesty's worries come from. We'll stay one more night before traveling back. The quicker we get back to protecting Henrietta the better."
"Understood," One of the other musketeers said as spied their surroundings which was in the middle of the epic center of the village. Even then it wasn't too busy besides the usual people going back and forth about their business. "Do you want us to continue the search or take a break?"
Agnes mulled it over. On one hand she took her duty very seriously, on the other hand so far they had come up with nothing of value so far at least far.
"I don't see why you can't. So go ahead."
Elise clapped her hands. "That means you too captain. You've been stuck in your room or wandering around working all day."
Agnes watched her warily. "..If this involves one of your hair-brained schemes or trying to get me a date then you can forget about it. I don't have time for that non sense. Its a waste of time."
"Oh, no. None of that." The brunette waved her hands defensively. "I promise."
The glint in her and others of her unit did little to relieve Agnes worries. Loyal and fierce as they could be, they still acted like gossiping hens during times like these.
She decided if there was something planned and it ended up like the last time, there would be a lot of double down with training the next time. She could still remember the last incident, and the less said about it the better.
Agnes decided to ignore it like she typically did and just enjoy the walk for what it was. Elise had a point she had been working almost the entire time or up in her room the other times but it was mostly because she took her job seriously. That, and she wanted to get things over with.
A bit of a commotion caught her attention along with a gathered crowd who blocked the view of whatever was going on. Normally Agnes would pay it no mind but while she was here she considered this place under her protection so it wouldn't hurt to see if it was anything serious or just something that didn't concern her.
It's that boy again. She realized once she pushed through the crowd. Not just him but the little girl from before along with a overly dressed noble. Agnes knew they were a noble the moment she laid eyes on them from their clothes, wand and just the way they carried themselves.
While she didn't know what was going on, she did notice the man was upset at one, if not both of them.
"Is there a problem?" Agnes asked as her gaze went to the two then back to the noble. "Your shouting could be heard from across the village."
The noble turned away from the two, though his face twisted into a slight sneer before they caught themselves. "This girl has ruined my marvelous clothing," For emphasis, he showed the front which was covered in what looked like honey that was sticking to them. "When they bumped into me, as you see. I was demanding they make amends."
Agnes already felt a headache coming on. She knew these types and she was starting to get a idea of how to deal with them.
"Listen, we don't have the money to pay you," The young man started. "And it was a honest mistake, I don't know what your problem is."
"My problem? My problem?" The man(or boy in a man's body as Agnes was dubbing them) seemed more irritated. "It's the insult itself. I, as a proper noble, unlike these vagabonds cannot afford to simply let this pass as is. It would be a insult to the Edgard name otherwise."
"And you thought to rectify that by harassing a girl probably five winters old at the most over a mishap most others would let pass?" The sarcasm in Agne's voice was palpable throughout the group. "How would it look for your family? And how would it look if you hurt a little girl over a pride issue?"
Edgard opened his mouth to say something then closed but was obviously furious. They probably hated the commoner had a point, employed by royalty or not.
"..Fine," They said, their tone stiff. "Since I am feeling generous I will consider this matter dealt with." Edgard then turned on his heel and walked off, a few of their armored guards going to accompany them.
The young man glowered at Edgard's back. "Man what a dick-" He cut himself off. "Sorry you didn't hear that Ameya. Mom will kill me with cursing in front of you too much."
Agnes decided not to question the word choice and nodded. "Are you two all right?"
"Yeah. Thank you," They said turning to Agnes and the rest of the few Musketeers. "If you hadn't come it might have gotten a bit uglier. I'm Saito Hiragi and this is my sister Ameya."
"Agnes. This is my charge-" Agnes was cut of as Elise went to Ameya and crouched down. Should have known, she had always liked children.
"Hey there. Glad you're okay with your big brother, what happened that made him so upset?"
Ameya looked thoughtful, probably more then what was really needed. "Hm..I don't know. They said: 'A true noble takes what he wants when he wants.' And then I said: 'But I thought noble meant being a a good person so how can they be a true noble?' And they got mad, and tripped into some honey jars. I don't know why he was mad at me, he tripped on his own." She looked confused.
Agnes snorted, Elise laughed as she stood back up and Saito gave a half helpless shrug.
Agnes shook her head to the question. "Nobles like that have a habit of blaming others for their faults, I wouldn't worry about it." Her gaze fell on the pendant Saito was wearing. She knew that from somewhere but she couldn't place where. "If you'll excuse us, we have to get going. Be more careful next time."
The pendant was after thought but it still stuck to the back of her mind.
That had been almost a total disaster as amusing as the aftermath was.
Saito had underestimated how petty some people could really be. He knew from experience it could range from the most trivial things but he hadn't expected a grown man to get upset for his own failings at a little girl who had innocently pointed a hole in their speech without meaning too; never mind the honey thing being their fault to begin with.
Cerise just wanted them to pick up something for her and while Saito was grateful and could hardly refuse considering, it only made him slightly uncomfortable in the sense he just met them. Still, if that's what she wanted he wasn't exactly just going to say no.
"..Are you mad?"
Saito looked to his sister who took his silence as being upset.
"No," Saito sighed running a hand through his hair. "But you have to be more careful. We're not on Earth anymore and the people here might hurt, or even kill us if we say the wrong thing to the wrong person and get away with it. Remember how upset that jerk was even if it wasn't your fault?" Ameya slowly nodded. "Like that."
"Oh.." Ameya said, shoulders slumping.
"Hey, hey. None of that," Saito ruffled her hair, annoying her on purpose. "You're not stupid or anything you're just a little kid."
If anything he was the stupid one, not that he'd say that out loud. It would upset Ameya and his mother would be pissed at him again.
That little blunder in the village aside, he had learned a bit more about this world and it was enough to make them nervous.
Cerise had talked to them during the time they were washing dishes with Ameya helping, who thankfully only broke a few before it was decided just some general cleaning around the kitchen would work for her more. The first question had naturally been about the whole 'noble' business followed by some of the politics. Saito had no interest in politics, whether it be on earth or the Demon Council in Halzara it was all the same to him.
Apparently anyone who used magic was considered a Noble and it didn't much matter about other factors such as money and status. So a normal person, or 'commoner' would be considered less then in a sense and that was because of their religion in this guy Brimir had brought magic to them, said to be due being asked by their god.
Hearing that, he had expected Cerise and her husband to look down or treat commoners a bit badly being nobles themselves but they didn't. They treated everyone kindly as far as he could tell so far. But it wasn't too much of a surprise at the end of the day, the real world didn't deal with absolutes; there always plenty of gray areas.
If Saito was honest he and Ameya had a bit more to worry about by monsters and bandits then they did most nobles since they were considered one.
"I apologize for the wait. There had been a few matters to deal with."
Levante came into the main room, his form more or less towered over the average person's size now that Saito really was paying attention to them. "It's fine. We had a bit of a problem ourselves."
"I see." Levante said simply,glancing at Ameya then to Saito. "I'm not much of a believer in wasting time so I'll get straight to the point. Your Sync Device, there is another way to fix it but its not ideal. The first is extreme stress or a overwhelming desire to protect something, and it would trigger it to repair itself in response. This is, assuming of course it doesn't reject you which it shouldn't being tied with your family. The second.."
The Nosferartu paused only slightly before continuing. "The second is related to the first, but doesn't require extreme stress. Just a strong enough drive to try get the power to react to you. I wouldn't know where to begin with that, though, if its anything like my race's powers then I could potentially help. Of course, should go without saying practice should be done in private. It's admirable you're trying get by under your own power. Once you repair it, you'll have your other half."
"Figures it wouldn't be that easy." It never was but he had to clarify something looking at his pendant and holding it. "Can this really be considered my 'own' power if its not apart of me?"
"But it is," Levante said disagreeing. "It's simply another tool used to get a edge. If a human uses a sword, would you consider that not their own power?" At shaking their head he went on. "Or learning how to use Ki or magic, both which most time aren't part of their natural power set. My point is this Saito. Man didn't have the natural powers or abilities of other races so they improvised. Man did not have claws, so they invented swords. Man did not have the natural physical prowess of other races so they learned to tap into energies to amend that."
"Your Sync Device, all it is create a level playing field, a base as it were. Different races have different starting points," He nodded to Ameya. "Some notably higher then others but that hardly means the naturally much stronger race always wins. Even then you'd still have to earn any further power. So yes, I would consider it your own. Further, that particular Sync Device was created by humans."
Saito hadn't thought of it like that before, but he saw some logic to it.
"Can I really get strong then when I grow up?" Ameya asked.
"Of course Ameya," Levante smiled. "You are, after all, are one of the strongest races on earth naturally but never forget where you came from, become arrogant, or forget what you're fighting for in the first place. The later is the most important. Though I enjoy the vigor of combat, its definitely not for everyone or most people. But for now, just enjoy your childhood."
Ameya nodded a bit, satisfied with the answer. "Um, so how did you get here mister Levante?"
"Just Levante. As for how.." He chuckled. "I honestly couldn't tell you."
Saito blinked. "..You don't know?"
"Not exactly." Was their answer with a small shrug. "Before I was here, I was visiting a few friends in Halzara and before that I was in earth there was a portal that sucked me in and then I came here." His face turned into a frown. "There was some of the typical old fossils at themselves at the Demon Council complaining about 'purity' of blood lines. Bunch of fools. How many times has it been proven hybrids have the potential to get just as strong, if not many times much stronger then their counter parts? I suppose they haven't been given the Darwin Award yet."
He shook his head. "Of course.." Levante mused. "I believe many of the old guard are rather sour the current Demon King is a pint-sized girl with pink hair with the power to destroy a planet and is far too progressive for their conservative taste."
Eleswhere, another pink-haired girl sneezed.
"We got here the same way, a portal that came out of nowhere and we were being chased by something.." Saito frowned, this all seemed too much of a coincidence. "And now you're here. Something has to be going on, they did say there was some really strange dimensional activity lately and things going missing."
"If you're referring to earth, I can't say as I haven't been there. But since you came here the same way, that is indeed troubling." Levante said. "Honestly, the only way this makes sense if we were brought here on purpose by someone, or something."
That had to be it. Saito knew it was but even if that was true it left him no closer of finding a way back home safely here.
"I don't know where to really go from here." Saito hated to admit it, but he really didn't. "The owner of this place mentioned about summoning bringing people far away but I don't think that's it. If that's all it was, then something like this would have happened before earlier right?"
"More or less I think. We could start with learning as much as we can about this world's magic. I did learn the basics by asking around, I assume you do as well?" At the nod Levante continued. "Apparently, there's a magical academy so that may be worth looking into. In the mean time, we could see if we can get that Sync Device working."
"Yeah, but where?"
Levante glanced outside. "Outside somewhere. Or even here. Judging by what was told it's not like as if you'll get into trouble. It'll just 'prove' you are a noble by their standards. The choice is yours."
Ameya got a bit excited. "That'll be so cool! Maybe you'll look the Tuxedo Man and use roses!" Saito had a look of confusion that soon grew to horror.
..Is she talking about what I think she is?
Levante chuckled. "Tuxedo Man? Interesting. How very interesting. I guess we'll see. Do you want to get it over with or wait? Keep in mind, there's no guarantee my idea will even work."
"I might as well get it over with." And hopefully it wouldn't be what Ameya wanted to see. His friends would never let him live it down either if they saw, either.
No one really bothered them when they headed out and further into the village besides a few glances but otherwise they didn't stand out enough to really warrant any kind of attention from anyone. They just had to find a less populated area, which wasn't too hard since the village was actually pretty small all things considered.
There wasn't too much in the area; the whole place was rather lacking in people which was the whole point in the first place.
Levante glanced around as if inspecting the area before nodding. "This should suffice." Ameya went and sat down and Saito walked towards the center. "I want to try something first. Grab your Sync Device, and close your eyes. From there attempt to block most everything out."
Like mediating? Saito didn't like meditating because his mind had a tendency to wander to different subjects at random, but still he tried and did as instructed.
"Good. Now close in your senses around your heart and focus on that. Once you have that, try to 'feel' for lack of a better word your Sync Device."
How the hell am I suppose to do that? Saito tried to recall some of his old lessons of how to get around a problem if he was having issues processing it. Just ask and confirm until it made sense to him. "..So..what exactly am I looking for?"
Levante briefly paused. "It's difficult to explain, but I will try. When you concentrate on that particular point you should feel something. What that is, I can't say but that's what I've been told. The reason you're having this much trouble tapping into it is because its broken in the first place. It'll be almost like breathing once it fixes itself. After that, just say whatever phrase fits. If you say something particularly ridiculous I won't hold it against you, but it will be funny."
All right, he could do that.
Saito did as he was instructed, closing his eyes again. That was the easy part, the harder was trying to get a 'feel' of his own device. Even when he did, he lost the feeling a moment later which frustrated him around the fifth time before he forced himself to calm down. No one was judging him here. No one was making comments in the back, and Levante was just as patient while Ameya..was Ameya.
That helped a somewhat but it still left him trying to find his center until around tenth time he found something, it felt like heat. Whatever it was it was a pleasant feeling and he wanted to focus more on it just as the random words that came from the first thing on his mind:
"Link up."
After those words. A golden light shrouded Saito's form before dying down just as quickly as it came standing there, he was changed. A plate of golden armor that covered him from head to toe was now in place of the casual clothing he had been wearing before. The large great sword, while impressive looking posed a bit of a problem. Kendo was fighting with swords, but the ones used had a different balance and weight then great swords did. That would be something to work on for later.
It wasn't just the physical appearance that Saito felt different either.
Power. Every part of his body felt charged with energy.
To Saito, it felt like his body had been plugged into a nuclear reactor over night. He of course knew he wasn't that powerful, but it was the best way to describe what he was feeling right now.
"Wow. That is cooler!" Ameya had forgotten about the 'Tuxedo Man' thing thankfully.
"Well done," Levante said with a note of approval. "To power down just think of another phrase and concentrate on your normal self visually."
It took a surprisingly shorter amount of time to do that. "Link down."
There was no flash or anything when the opposite took effect, it was just one moment gone as if it was never there which felt a bit anti-climatic. The drop in power he felt was instantly notable to him, it was like someone being in their prime to suddenly being a sickly old man.
I guess that makes sense. I'm just a normal human without it.. Saito looked back at his Sync Device which seemed to look better then it ever had before when his father had been using it.
Ground rules.
Every place no matter how chaotic it seemed had some, either expressively laid out or unwritten ones even in some of the most cut throat of places. Don't talk to certain people, avoid this place and whatever you don't promise anything without reading the very fine print on the dotted line.
That was why Emanulle could respect Matilda for laying out a few of them for as long as he was guest within her and Tiffania's household. Not only that but she was trying to protect herself and family and they knew next to nothing about him so he could understand. If she had been acting hostile it would be another matter and he'd promptly leave earlier then he intended to do in the first place
The rest of the talk was moved inside where Tiffania, Matilda, a the children and the two unnamed animals were moving about. In the later's case, they did a rather good job of keeping the more energetic children entertained but they'd behave; either some words from Matilda or Tiffania gently scolding them was enough to halt them for a time but at the end of the day they were just children.
Just because he was leaving didn't mean he wasn't going to be a good guest, so that meant a bit of trust was needed. He could at the very least give them some basics but he needed to prod for a bit of information first as well.
"If I'm going to be staying here then I think it would be a good idea to get a basic idea of who we are with what we're comfortable with. A mutual exchange, if you will. Ask some questions and we answer the other the best we can, if they want to that is. That sound fair?" He was gauging their reactions, Tiffania seemed both happy and nervous and Matilda just nodded. Out of the two, she was much harder to read, where Tiffania seemed to wear her emotions on her sleeve.
"There isn't much to say. Me and Tiffania grew up here, my parents died a long time ago so I provided for myself and Tiffania," Matilda kept her voice. "The children that come here are those left behind; either from war, orc raids or the nobles petty squabbles." The last part was said with some distaste.
"One moment.." Emanulle reached into his pockets of his coat, pulling out a notepad and a pen. Sure it wasn't high tech but there was advantages such as breaking down and the like. "Just a few questions to start. First, who are these nobles exactly? Second is there a sponsored religion here?"
"Nobles are people born with magic, they were given it as a gift from Brimir who claimed to spoke with god. That's the gist of the Brimic faith." Matilda snorted, waving her hand. "There's a Pope who's word is considered law. That's the main religion. There's other ones, which while frowned upon aren't crushed under their heel. Mostly because its the commoners who believe in them which they don't consider worth the time."
"So, the Brimir faith would be considered monotheism then.." Emanulle muttered as he scribbled a few notes. "And a theocracy from the sounds of it."
That..was troubling. If the place was like others he had been to, it was more reason to keep what he was a secret. After all, he doubted they were going to listen to his explanations that the word 'demon' was really just a broad racial category as they would likely be too busy trying to flay him alive or use 'holy' objects on them. Not that they would work or anything, holy items only worked on things that were inherently evil to begin with most of the time.
Just saying his actual race name should do if needed no need for the actual category. He had no desire to be stabbed with pointy objects or magic. All it did was confirm he needed to leave this place as quickly as possible when he was able too.
"I've never heard of those..what do they mean?"
It took a moment for Emanulle to realize Tiffania had been speaking to him. Of course he would space out slightly overthinking things. "Ah, sorry. Monotheism is basically the belief that only one deity exist. Basically the later the government and ruling political party is ruled by its religion more or less."
Tiffania glanced at Matilda for a moment then back to Emanulle. "We're not really religious. What about you Emanulle?"
The scribbling of notes stopped for a moment. "I'm not either. As long as people leave others alone or aren't bothering me or anyone else I don't care what they believe. It's none of my business." For the most part. He would be lying if he said he didn't have some slight prejudice against it but always tempered the fact that people were people at the end of the day.
"I'm not religious, though ff I'm honest, I'm not too fond of it. But its more dogma I have problem with then anything else," He said, starting notes again, making another note to ask a few other things for later. "Just out of scholarly curiosity, does the Brimir God have a name?"
"You and I have something in common then," Matilda admitted her expression changing a bit as she tried to rethink. "Veel, I think. They aren't called by their name too much just 'God'. The church thinks calling them by their real name is disrespectful outside of reading the holy books."
Veel? Why does that name sound familiar?
Emanulle's list so far consisted of the following, things he asked and other cliff notes:
-Ask about the current political climate
-Current sponsored religion if any
-Common races and their perception to get a feel of the world's social conditioning and progress along with their technology and magic.
-Keep head down and avoid fighting as he didn't know the power level of this particular world and the like if he could help it.
The last one was hilarious he may as well cross it out already. It was never that easy for him.
"I think I have enough for a gist of that at least," Which wasn't saying much but he wanted to absorb bits of information at the time and not hound his two host with too many questions. "I just have a few more questions for now then we can switch to be fair; though I have many more it can wait. First what other races are here if any? Do familiar runes bind the person they bind mentally in anyway? How does your magic work? And finally what language are we speaking?"
The first question got a few interesting responses.
Tiffania visibly tensed slightly, Matilda frowned a bit but answered.
"Besides humans and orcs, there's Winged-people, and a few other monstrous races. Then you have Elves, which are the mortal enemy of man kind. At least that's what the Brimir Faith has it." The last part was said with a bit of bitterness. "Though it is true humans and elves have been fighting for many years. Before you ask, I don't know how the fighting started. All that is known is many years ago, humans were expelled from the Holy Lands and Brimir was killed by an elf before he could complete genocide on them."
That caused Emanulle to completely pause in his note taking, trying to quell the rising sense of disgust he felt. He wasn't sure of the exact reasons, but the only way he could perhaps ever see that even a option if it was literally your race or theirs and even then he was wary about the matter. Self-defense against a opposing force but he was missing vital pieces of the puzzle.
Some races would go through with something like that, even if meant destroying a peaceful race that had never wronged them if it meant survival. Others would rather die then become monsters. His race, the Arkons were a good people but he wasn't sure if they would take the later route if something like that came but he would have liked to say yes. He could have been wrong, even the best people could give into their worse impulses in desperate times. Ditto for the Alusarian's that lived there as well.
Tiffania was obviously half elf, even with the scarf on her head it wasn't as if her scent wouldn't lie unless she was hiding it somehow. First impressions gave him of a sweet, but quite young woman there had to be a story behind the whole conflict of what had sparked it in the first place.
The girl in question shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat, then spoke again. "..Do you hate elves Emanulle?"
"No," He said shaking his head. "I've encountered a lot of races in my travels, and pretty much all of them are capable of cruel and kind acts. Usually there's enough common ground to work with. Other times, a race's mind set may be too..foreign to have any peaceful co-existence if not outright hostile. They're both rare in my experience, the later more so."
After all, a race that was needlessly cruel would implode onto itself before too long in a few generations. Barring exceptions like the Infernal and Abyssal Demons from the rule who would be more then happy to strangle you with your own spine for the hell of it.
What Tiffania he guessed was really asking for, was if he had a problem with her personally so he decided to add on: "I've met elves before, befriended some. There were some that were kind, some that were arrogant and some, the less said the better so like most any other race really. So I just judge people as individuals, or try too."
Tiffania brightened up at that and Matilda's expression shifted to something of vague approval; but he couldn't tell one hundred percent for sure and he didn't want to assume. Assumptions were kind of a quick way to get killed after all.
"As for your other questions, I don't think the runes effect owner too much. Then again, its always just been animals. I don't know about cases where the familiar can think." Matilda admitted. "Magic, I'm not sure I understand your question exactly," She frowned a bit slightly at the end. "You're speaking Tristian. How could you not know that when you're speaking it just fine, but with a slight accent?"
"I mean what is your magic like? Is it elemental, or something else? You did say it was passed down." The last question was a bit tricky. "You'll have to believe me when I say I don't know," Matilda's skeptical expression grew. "I promise when I talk a bit about myself it may make more sense."
Matilda looked as if she'd continue on with that line of questioning but let it drop for the moment. "It is elemental, but the elves use a different kind of magic altogether. I don't know much about it. Now, are you going to talk about yourself?"
Doesn't sound like a request, and its only fair..
Emanulle finally put his notebook away back into his pockets. "All right, and thank you for that. To answer your question, first I'm from another world." He scratched the back of his head slightly. "I couldn't tell how far away exactly, but I'll show a bit of proof. One moment."
A bit of digging into he pulled out a blue cube, roughly the size of a large baseball, placing it in front of himself.
"Hold on," Matilda interrupted, frowning. "Where did that come from? I checked to see if you were armed, but didn't see anything like that, no offense but I don't know you and we just found you."
Emanulle waved it off. "It's fine, you were being smart. I got it from something called 'subspace' where other things are stored away. This large custom built jacket of mine isn't worn just because of my fashion sense, its to store things. There's a limit though. I can't obviously store say a person or anything too large plus the amount. Before you ask, I didn't make it. The stuff required is out of my pay grade."
He tapped the cube once and moments later a holographic image appeared, showing a large, towering city that's architecture looked completely different from anything else seen in Halkegenia. What was more notable was the sky, instead of a clear blue it was red. The sunlight reflecting off the tall buildings gave a somewhat haunting, but beautiful view.
The others gathered around, Matilda no longer hiding her surprise while Tiffania had a look of wonder on her face more then the former did.
"That," Emanulle pointed to the image. "Is a city called Tanius, located in a realm called Halzara. I was there on one of visits for there. Would both of these be enough for my claims?"
Matilda snapped out of her trance, shaking her head. "Of..course." For once she seemed rather rattled. "You never said you were a noble though. And what was that?"
"Because I'm not." Emanulle said simply. "Different realms and worlds, different rules. You aren't a noble just because you can use magic. Magic is powerful but its not the end and be all of things. As for the item, its called a Arcane Recorder. You can capture things into a picture, pretty much. It is magical in nature but not entirely and not under my own power."
"Wait." Tiffania had interrupted him before he placed the cube away. "Um..could I see more of those places you visited?"
He saw there was something a bit more then idle curiosity. "I don't see why not. But not now. It has to recharge a bit." Emanulle looked slightly embarrassed as he put the Arcane Recorder away. "I left it on over night on accident. It had enough energy to put out one solid image."
"Oh." Tiffania sounded both relieved and disappointed at the same time. "..I pulled you further far away from home didn't I?" She asked quietly.
"None of the sort. I have no real home anymore, I'm just a simple traveler." Matilda glanced at him. "..All right, I suppose 'simple' isn't the right wording. Point is, to me this is simply another adventure and place to explore. What's life without things like these to make them more exciting?"
Tiffania gave him a slow, shy smile in response. "So what were you doing before you got here?" One of the animals she summoned, the Rish Sheppard found its way into the sitting elves lap as she stroked its head gently making it close its eyes and ears go flat to its head. The other one, the Yanmeko was curled into the corner of the room sleep, its tail moving lazily from time to time.
"I wasn't doing much of..we'll anything." Emanulle admitted. "I was just taking care of those two temporary when I was brought here by a portal." He tilted his head. "I heard a voice, I'm assuming it was yours?"
At the nod, he went on. "Anyway, one other thing I'd like to get out the way: I'm not human. I'm something called a Arkon. If its all right with you Matilda, could I show a bit of what I mean? Promise it won't damage anything."
Matilda watched him before nodding. "As long as you don't do anything."
Satisfied he wouldn't get accidentally skewered by magic or something he held out a hand in front of him which soon showed a glowing red ball of energy the size of a baseball. "This is a bit of what we can do, energy manipulation, its not magic. We also have enhanced senses and physical abilities, and healing. But its not instant, it basically means a broken bone will heal in hours instead of months but that won't exactly do you any good in a real battle against a opponent with half a brain."
Most battles were over very quickly as is.
He closed his hands, dismissing the energy. "Lastly, we can..transform which basically is long a extended adrenaline rush. We're faster and stronger in that state, but only a short time and we're tired after. Plus, we can grant wishes."
"..Really now?" Matilda asked with a skeptical expression.
"Of course not. I'm teasing." Tiffania's face fell at that and Emanulle patted her on the shoulder. "I'm not sure what you're thinking of, but remember something a mentor told me: Power like that always has a price. Always. Either personal or external. I wouldn't take that kind of power even if someone offered it to me with no strings attached."
"You wouldn't?" Matilda questioned with a frown. "Why not? What could possibly be the downside?"
Emanulle felt he could write a book on the subject(and there probably was, somewhere out there). "Hm..how to start. Now, I'm not going to pry but I'm assuming you have things you'd want to change about your past. Maybe lost loved ones?"
"So then, imagine a person brings back dead relatives to use a example. Not a problem, right? Except it doesn't end there, there would be other things. Like other things that had gone wrong. Eventually nothing wrong ever happens in your personal life." He stressed the last point. "You would basically be living in a bubble."
"I still don't see the problem with it." Matilda disagreed. "So what if you are?"
He wasn't sure if he was explaining it correctly, but he tried again. "All right, it sounds good on paper but not in actual reality. Giving a human being anything they can possibly want with no hardships and nothing going wrong a utopia if you will, is basically the opposite. Eventually, sooner or later you would grow bored of it. You would have to literally make things up to entertain you, and since you have gone through no hardships your empathy and sense of scale would likely be shot. This could lead to at best leave a off kilter view of things, to outright amoral."
"And its not taking in the fact there may be beings just as powerful or stronger that would be attracted to said power. Power tends to attract more power, more so when its carelessly tossed around."
Matilda didn't completely agree with Emanulle, but she could understand the logic behind it. "I guess. Still I think it would be better to control your own fate."
Before Emanulle could say something else, Tiffania fidgeted a bit then let her scarf fall, revealing two pointed ears.
Instantly, Matilda snapped her attention to her. "Tiffania! What are you doing?!"
Tiffania turned to the older woman. "..Emamulle said he doesn't hate elves, right? And he's not from our world. He's been honest with us. I want to be honest with him."
"Even so.." Matilda muttered, glancing back at Emanulle.
He honestly already knew that already, but he hadn't been comfortable just blurting out what he had been guessing was a secret.
Still, he shrugged it off and smiled. "I think not having the scarf fits you. You shouldn't have to hide who you are around here."
Now he felt like a hypocrite considering.
A loud crash was heard in the background, followed by a few children voices.
"Look what you did!"
Matilda rubbed her temples a bit, then stood up with a sigh. "Better go see what trouble they got into this time." Tiffania followed soon after, the wolf-dog trailing behind her.
Emanulle was slightly amused. This place wasn't going to be dull while he was here finding a way off this world.
Ending Notes:
Took forever but finally have it done. My new goal is to get two chapters per month(maybe three) but definitely don't count on it. I really want to finish this story. As you may have guessed, Agnes is definitely one of the main characters. Honestly, FoZ does have some interesting characters besides Louise and there's potential to do things beyond her.
On a aside, Tuxedo Man, originally was just affectionate teasing of Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon but it blew into its own idea. Think of a gag super hero that gives inspiring speeches and advice that can actually be used for real life stuff. If he cannot defuse the situation with gentlemanly words, his fist will do the talking. Best super hero ever, also arguably one of the most sharply dressed, I hear he's good at parties. Saito as a Magic Knight is now up in the gallery.
Reviews and comments welcome. And now for more terms expanded.
Nosferartu:
Nosferartu are one of the main Primogen races of earth, having the ability to control dark shadow energy. It should be noted, they aren't actual shadows though they do look the part. This energy can be solid as in the case of holding something, or explode violently.
Besides the standard physical stats and senses, they can travel through shadows but only if any are actually present. Their healing rate is above average, and while they have regen abilities its something that has to be taught. On top of that, since it drains on their energy reserves, the amount of times they can do this is limited; with more dangerous wounds naturally using up much more energy in the process.
A head shot, assuming it destroys their head will instantly kill them like anyone else. They also weak to silver weapons as it acts like a poison to them and slows their healing. They do have telepathy(limited to mental conversations in a short range and can easily be blocked out) and empathy, but only to an extent of feeling emotions of someone close by. In most cases, the later is more trouble then its worth so its taught to be muted out.
Demon King:
The 'Demon King' as they are known as in and outside of Halzara has a interesting history, as its more of a 'title' and a power. It's said to be the result of primordial demonic energy that scattered to the various realms creating many of the demon races known today. Barring of course Infernal/Abyssal types which are Outsiders.
The power developed something of a will of its own, and as such the energy jumps to different host. This mass of energy bonds with the person, becoming the Demon King. When the host dies of natural or unnatural causes, the energy finds a new host and the process begins anew. Since the energy is far too massive to be used all at once, they can truly only access a fraction of the power. By training they can increase the limits of what they can safely call upon.
Ironically, the next host always seem to be half-demons or at least those with demo ancestry. No one is sure why this is, but they are theories. Each DK is stronger then the last.
Magic:
Magic, to the ignorant is nothing more then a person waving their hand and having it take form or some silly incarnation. But its deeper then that. Magic is one of the fundamental forces that make up this Multiverse. By various means, people can tap into this power. Of course, its a limited fashion as a body can only handle so much of it never mind the different types of magic. Elemental being among one of the more basic ones. Over time, this energy can bond with a group of people or species which give the rise of 'race specific' magic."
Getting deeper into it, magic is just a branch of science. Science is really of just how things work around us, nothing more nothing less. It's not your toaster or ones laptop. Even things as simple as a spear or a stick to poke a animal with is technology, fairly primitive one but still all the same. Myriad Crusaders have particularly studied this. If you test and study enough one can learn to tap into this magic in various ways, think of it almost like a programmer with code with the universe being a computer.
This also means, in more plain English that Meus Ceus is a setting where technological and supernatural/magical might are more on even terms to low to high levels. As the study of magic becomes deeper, it becomes stronger just as technology becomes more advanced gradually over time. This is true(to an extent) with racial abilities that are supernatural in nature. Both have their pro's and cons instead of one flat out dominating the other.
Simply put this is one of the few settings where you can have MC Generic Ancient Demon Lord(TM) from the Abyss fight against a planet raising mech beating the shit out of each other and it being a fair fight.
…...
..In all seriousness, that image is awesome. If anyone knows a anime like that, please let me know.