Chapter Five – The start of a Journey! Zillas' Teacher!

The first week of the journey was uneventful. They travelled along the part of the road where the vegetation was sparse, so there was little chance of being ambushed by bandits.

Zillas discovered that she liked the outside world, and travelling, and she found that the name of her new friend was Gorian, the Travelling Teacher, and that he was going to teach her all about the world as they travelled through it, as well as teach her magicks that would help her survive.

He did not, however, tell her about his Master, the Chaos-Dragon Gaav, and the fact that he had been watching her over the past few years. Nor did he tell her that she would either serve him, or die. She would find out soon, though, when they reached the Desert of Death and she met him – Chaos-Dragon Gaav.

For the moment, however, Gorian was given the task of looking after the thirteen-year-old girl and teaching her some black magicks.

*-*-*-*-*

Zillas sat in the light of the fire on the first day of the second week of her journey with Gorian. He had told her to stay close to the fire while he went out and hunted for their supper.

The flames reflected dully against her plain brown tunic and pants. She had discarded her sandals for the night and was warming her feet by the fire. Her talismans shone a dull red in the firelight, but she took no notice.

She was thinking about her mother. What was she doing now, at that very moment? Did she miss her daughter? Zillas missed her mother – missed her laugh, her smile, her voice. She missed the comforting feeling of being hugged, the comforting thought that, no matter what Zillas was, her mother would always love her.

Zillas let out a deep breathe and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, as it had been for the past several nights, and she could see the stars and the moon shining down at her. She used to feel that the moon and the stars were her only friends, that they were the only ones that smiled a real, genuine smile at her (besides her mother, of course).

But not anymore – now she had Gorian, her new friend, and teacher. He smiled at her genuinely, a friendly, loving smile.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound so small, so minute, that no normal human could hear it. Then again, Zillas was no normal human…

She turned cautiously. "Gorian?" she asked, her hands cupped as she called on the magick she knew was everywhere around her.

It wasn't Gorian – it was a massive wolf with glowing red eyes. Its teeth were bared in a vicious snarl.

Zillas panicked and threw the spell. The fireball struck the wolf head on, enveloping it in an explosion that sent Zillas flying over the fire to land on her back.

The wolf, completely unaffected by Zillas' fireball, leapt over the fire and landed heavily on Zillas, who tried to fend off the deadly teeth and claws with little success.

So suddenly wished that she were away from this wolf, anywhere but under it.

The air seemed to shift around her, and suddenly Zillas found that she was five feet away from the wolf. It twisted around, its nostrils flaring as it detected her scent. It growled once, and vanished into the night. Zillas just stood there, confused. How had she ended up away from the wolf? She glanced at her hands and arms, which had bore the brunt of the attack, and gasped.

The wounds were healing, fast. Soon there weren't even any scars to mark where she had been hurt.

"H-how…?" she said, frightened. "What am I?!"

"You are part Mazoku, Zillas Metallium."

Gorian seemed to fade into sight, the seemed to heat up for a few seconds, and then Gorian appeared. He was a blur for a few moments, and then he stood in front of her, his dark grey eyes looking down at her, his lips curled into a smile. She staggered backwards.

"Why did you call me–" she began, but cut her off with a laugh.

"You have no idea who and what you are, young one," he said, still smiling. "Tell me, do you know what a 'Mazoku' is?"

Zillas nodded. "A monster," she said. "They feed off of fear and–"

She stalled. "You mean I'm…?"

He nodded. "You are the daughter of Xellos Metallium, the single most powerful Mazoku under the five Dark Lords. He is also, unfortunately, my Master's enemy."

Zillas suddenly understood. "You want me to serve your master and, perhaps, defeat Xellos."

Gorian nodded. "You catch on quickly," he said.

Zillas nodded. "Teach me," she said, "so that I may serve our master."

Gorian nodded. "We will start in the morning," he said. "I know that you, being part human, do require sleep. I don't."

Zillas nodded and lay down next to the fire and was asleep in moments.

Gorian spent the rest of the night watching her in case anymore of Zelas' demon wolves showed up…

Author's notes: The truth about Zillas' heritage is revealed! Will she remain loyal to Gaav? Only time will tell…