My Specialty is Saying the Town's Name: The Tale of Qlon
It was a cold spring morning, and the mail would not come for several more hours. Still, Qlon awaited the fateful letter carrier, hoping that today would be the day. Patiently, he sat on his swinging bench, kicking his feet and humming a tune he had just made up. His patience would pay off--soon, it would come. Soon…
He sighed, shaking in the cold, and bounced off of the swinging bench. He hummed his way inside the house, and made a beeline to the kitchen. With his parents away, Qlon was forced to take care of himself for a little while. He knew how to cook (somewhat), but more importantly, he knew how to make a cup of hot chocolate.
Obviously, that was not his real name. When he was a little bit younger, Qlon had visited a very special temple with his parents. He loved the temple's name so much, he started calling himself that. Soon, not even his friends remembered his real name--Jesse von Stuart von Eigel--just Qlon. Qlon loved his new name, naturally, and he loved expressing it wherever he went. His specialty was saying new and fun names.
The hot chocolate in a cup, Qlon sat on a stool in his room, rereading his old comic books and romance novels. He was fascinated by stories of knights in shining armor, and of dragons and fair maidens and powerful wizards. Half of the time, he fantasized about this world, and desired nothing more than to be a knight himself. True, he was young, but after reading how some of the most famous knights often started out at early ages, his hopes flared up.
Well, the day waned on, and morning gave way to afternoon. Qlon finished his drink and his stories, and ventured outside once more to wait for the mail. He had been saving his allowance for weeks, just so he could buy a new book. He was still a little young to venture into the market by himself (he turned 9 but three months ago), but he was allowed to buy things through the mail.
His patience paid off. After many faithful minutes, the postman finally arrived with a small handful of letters, and a brand new novel for Qlon. The young boy squealed with delight as he saw his friend, and gave the old man a hug as he handed Qlon the book. He thanked him an endless amount of times, and just like that, he ran off to his room to read the novel. Instantly, he was drawn once again into the world of knights and kings and myth, and so desperately wished to live out that life.
Once upon a time, Qlon got separated from his parents while wandering around the streets of Antei. Antei was a sprawling suburb with a vast population and an impressive array of merchandise. Qlon had been occupied with several shelves of historical and fantastical novels while he was there, but was far too enraptured to notice his parent's leave. He continued reading, even when night fell.
Qlon managed to find himself at the Antei inn. A famous dancer named Mina paid his bill, on the condition that Qlon would dance with her. Despite being so young, Qlon was a great dancer, and gave the crowds an amusing little jig to clap to.
When asked about his family, Qlon could not say where they were. The dancer that had paid for the young boy's bill grew rather upset at this revelation, and offered to take care of Qlon until his parents came back. Qlon eagerly accepted the offer, and soon began calling Mina his "damsel in distress".
One day, the great imperial general Milich Oppenheimer came through the area. He was a strange cad with an "interesting" sense of fashion and an equally bizarre taste for names. Qlon did not like the idea of having his precious Antei being renamed, but since Milich had occupied the area, he had little choice in the matter. Besides, it wasn't all that bad--they had "the Flower General" for protection, and a competent guardian he was, and the name of the town wasn't that bad, really.
While he lived in Bier Blanche (or Antei), Qlon whiled his days away searching for his parents, reading his books, and learning how to dance from Mina. He loved bugging "Albert" to death, and he learned a great deal about the sea from Kimberly. From Chapman he learned how to be a good salesman, and from Jeane he learned the ways of the Rune master (he especially loved playing with the smaller suits of armor that Chapman would have). But he still missed calling the town by its proper name, and maybe he missed his parents as well.
News of the Liberation Army spread fast. Qlon even got to talk to the leader of the army! He was overjoyed when he saw him, and once again thoughts of romance and adventure sailed through his young mind. But he was still searching for her parents, and he really would not leave Bier Blanche until he could call it Antei once again.
He got his wish a few days later. Milich had been defeated, and the towns regained their proper names. Qlon spent half of that day shouting out "Antei, Antei, that feels so good!", and the other half waiting for his parents or the leader of the Liberation Army. Half of his wish was granted, and Qlon was allowed to tag along with said leader--just like his dreams!
A few more weeks passed. Qlon busied himself memorizing the names of everyone that resided in Toran Castle. So far, he knew Gen, and then there was Tai Ho and his brother Yam Koo, and Kimberly of course. In the basement there resided the Blink Mage Viki, the sage Hellion, the inventor Kamandol, Krin the thief, Juppo the trickster, and old Crowley the famous wizard.
The basement and the roof were the easiest to remember, since so few people hung around those areas. The three ninjas were on the roof, along with Pesmerga and Clive, and of course there was Rubi. Qlon strained a little harder to remember everyone else: Kreutz, FuSuLu, Kanak, Sydonia, Eikei, Marco… Well, not even he could remember everyone, so he often made treks up to the third floor, where the Tablets of Promise were. Inscribed on these tablets were the names of everyone who had joined, and Qlon made it a mission of his to memorize them all.
After the raid on Moravia Castle, Qlon grew very close to some new recruits that had joined the army. One of them was the half-crazed old knight named Maximilian, the other his earthy squire Sancho. Although the unlikely duo was a few cards short of a full deck, they were both surprisingly competent warriors (although Max was more of a fighter, while Sancho was his aide in times of trouble). More importantly, though, they were both under an honorable code of knighthood.
Qlon hung around Max and Sancho more than anyone else in the group. Oftentimes, he would ignore his books and would sit back with wide eyes as Max wove stories about his younger days as a knight. Sancho would clarify some of the more unbelievable parts, though, so sometimes the fancy stories that were being told had to be edited.
After the fall of the Scarlet Moon Empire, Qlon said good-bye to his friends and gave Max and Sancho a big hug. He elected to stay behind as a guard for Toran Castle, and in the months to come, his parents would join him. He still kept busy reading his comics, but more often than not, he would reminisce on his own adventures. One day, many years from then, he would grow up to become the legendary Templar Qlon, the very same one that saved an entire country from a terrifying magician, the very same spoken of in myths, the very same that is still whispered about in legends.
The End