Chapter 1: The Road to Ruin
One Brings Shadow, One Brings Light.
Two-toned echoes tumbling through time.
He opened his eyes. His body ached all over but he felt as if he was atop something soft. A bed of some kind, which meant he was in a relatively safe place. There was also the gentle sway that rocked the whole area and outside he could hear the splashes of… water?
"Where the hell…?" he rose up, wincing ever so slightly as he observed his surroundings. The structure wasn't familiar, but he could tell he was in some kind of room with circular windows. And outside those windows… water. Seawater too from the look of things.
"Huh, that's rare." He said. He looked down at himself and sighed. Wrapped in bandages, his right arm left alone, his red coat and black shirt tossed off to the side. Now this brought back memories.
"Whoah, hey! You're awake!" a voice called out to him. He looked up towards the doorway and spotted a lively fellow with an oversized hat. Though the yellow bird atop said hat caught his attention more.
"How did I get here?" he asked, looking from the strange-looking man and then back to the portholes. "This is a ship ain't it?"
"Well yeah, what else could it be?" came the response. "To answer your first question though, that might be a little complicated. One of our scout ships actually fished you out of the ocean. We thought you were dead but when you were brought on board, we were surprised to find you breathing. There was no way we could just leave someone like that back in the water."
"I see, thanks I guess." He replied, calmly taking a deep breath as he took it all in. Fished from the ocean? What, had he been floating around since then? If that's the case, what was he doing before all of that?
"Hmmm… you're taking this surprisingly well." The other man replied, before he smiled and extended his arm out in greeting. "I'm Benwick, by the way. Our Captain will likely want to have a word with you before we let you go but for now, you should rest until they get back. Shouldn't be long." He nodded his head.
"Well, as long as you let me out of this room for some fresh air every so often." He shrugged, shaking the man's arm in response. "The name's Ragna. Also, one more question. You don't happen to have my sword do you?"
"Huh? Oh, that big hunk of metal? Yeah, it's here just outside the room. It's the reason why you were actually weighed down underneath the waters. Not gonna question how that works, but I've seen stranger." He shrugged, gesturing for him to follow.
It didn't take long before Ragna got himself prepared once more. He wore his red coat again and strapped to his side was the Aramasa blade. That was quite comforting to know that it wasn't lost. And while he waited for the ship's Captain and the crew to return from wherever it is they went to, he asked Benwick a few of his own questions. Nothing here was familiar, but as the other man said, he was taking it surprisingly well.
"Loegres eh?" Ragna said, leaning against the side of the Van Eltia. Their captain should be back from that city any moment now it seems. Even the names of the cities were as far removed as anything he was used to. He peered down below towards the docks where Benwick appeared to be negotiating with someone, frowning a little as voices began to raise. He really shouldn't pry but…
"Hmmm?"
A small group of people were approaching the ship; an odd assortment of many shapes and colors too by the looks of things. Could one of them be the captain?
He would have jumped down to stand beside Benwick… but then he felt something; An aura that radiated outwards from somewhere up north. He had never felt anything like it before and the feeling was highly unpleasant. It's as if something had just tried to invade his heart and mind before disappearing quickly.
"The hell was that?" Ragna muttered, glancing around the area. Everything had gone deathly silent. The busy chatter of the port had disappeared and people just stood around. All of them except for the group headed towards the ship. They seemed just as confused as he was. He was quick to make his way down to meet them, just as the dark-haired woman headed towards Benwick to snap him out of his reverie.
"You…" the blonde man of their number said, looking at him as he approached.
"Anyone care to explain what just happened?" asked Ragna. "Sorry for meeting up like this, but even I could tell that wasn't normal."
"You felt it too then?" wondered their colorfully-dressed Jester. "Aren't you that guy they fished out of the ocean?"
"I'd rather not be famous because of that but yeah, sure." He frowned. "That still doesn't answer what happened here."
"It's called a "domain." A malak's zone of influence. This one having come from the north it seems." Said the blonde.
"From the Empyrean's Throne?"
"Did that happen because of something Innominat and Artorius did?"
"…I don't know."
"I've got a bad feeling about this. We should get far away from here, and quickly."
Ragna continued to listen in, and as they talked… he could only mouth off a silent 'What?' He had no idea what they were talking about. A domain? A malak? Some Throne?
"As much as I'd like to let you go, I think I'm going to have to ask you to stay at the ship for a little while longer. I have a few questions to ask you. Especially since you don't seem affected by that domain. Name's Eizen by the way, and you are…?" the blonde man asked him.
"Ragna," he replied with a shrug. "I kinda figured that would happen though. Your friend Benwick said I'd be questioned when you people returned."
"Don't take this the wrong way," said Eizen, gesturing for Ragna to start heading back, "…we have to take a few precautions after everything that has happened so far. If you were any normal person, I might consider just letting you leave. But I suspect there's more to you given your survival in the depths of the sea."
"I can't even remember how I got there." He admitted, raising both arms. "Still, I owe your people for getting me out of there. I'd hate to imagine what would happen if I woke up in that state."
"Funny guy, eh? Well, we'll sort these out eventually. Let's get going."
The room prepared for him was the same one he had been staying at during his unconscious state. Nothing has changed, and he could still somewhat amuse himself better by looking outside the portholes to watch the waves as the ship, the Van Eltia, sped through the waters. A rare sight, even from where he came from…
A knock on the door.
"Hey, uh… they told me to come fetch ya. Seems they're done questioning someone so now it's your turn." The voice said.
Ragna didn't answer as he continued to look outside. It was an unfamiliar voice, certainly not Benwick's. They wanted to question him now did they? He sighed, shaking his head. He really shouldn't complain.
Ragna was at the door when the voice called out again, "You still alive in there? I'm not sure if…"
The door opened and Ragna came face to face with someone… or rather something quite unexpected. In terms of looks, it was a bipedal lizard with scales and claws. They sent this being to bring him up? "I don't think I've seen a lizard beastkin before…?" Ragna muttered to himself as he stared ahead.
"I uh… don't think you were supposed to meet me yet." The lizard replied, one clawed hand coming up to scratch the back of his head. "But I guess that's a good thing if you're not surprised by my appearance. Anyways, head on up. They're waiting for you up at the deck."
"I'll make my introduction there I guess." Ragna said, beginning to walk past the lizard before suddenly pausing. "Hey, you have a name?"
"It's Dyle. Thanks for not freaking out by the way. That should probably get you into the rest of the crew's good graces."
Ragna acknowledged him quickly with a simple wave of a hand as he headed up. Another person passed him by, the hooded man who had been travelling with the crew from earlier. For now, he paid him no attention as he stepped onto the deck of the ship. His turn to be questioned eh? That should be interesting.
"Well now, you're definitely a strange one." Eizen said, the man standing with the rest of the group having their collective gaze on Ragna.
"I assume Benwick told you enough about the basic stuff. So what am I in for?"
"Technically, you're not in for anything. But as mentioned earlier on, you do appear to be an oddity. From your survival in the depths of the ocean and even something as minor as your reaction to a daemon like Dyle." Eizen continued.
"A little harsh to be calling him a daemon don't you think?" Ragna shrugged.
"See, that's the problem." A woman said, a much harsher one in comparison to Eizen. Ragna looked towards that member of their group. An odd choice of tattered garments to be sure, but he had seen worse. Still, her gaze upon Ragna made him slightly hesitant in giving her a nickname. "Why do you find that normal? You don't look like you're from the Abbey, so are you a daemon yourself?"
"Velvet's certainly getting direct to the point." One of the other women said.
"I'm finding half your terms a little hard to follow, honestly," Ragna said. "But gimme a moment. I need to think a bit." He closed his eyes, arms crossed as he tried to think of his answer. He could just tell them that he had no idea at all, or he could just play along and at least make things interesting. Besides, they're getting nowhere if they just keep asking like this.
Ragna opened one eye, looking back at the group. "Maybe a proper introduction should be in order first?" He straightened his back, "My name is Ragna. Occasionally called the 'Grim Reaper' where I came from but almost certainly human. So, not a daemon, or whatever those are." He said.
The group looked at him for a moment before Eizen chuckled. "Heh, I like you. Alright, you guys heard him. Introductions then. You already know my name as well, but let's add a bit more. I'm Eizen, First Mate of this ship, the Van Eltia. I bring Ill fortune to those around me so I also share the title of Reaper. Let's hope your title doesn't mean the same thing." He looked at Ragna.
"Ooh! Ooh! Me next! I wanna introduce myself next!" the girl in the odd-looking hat and a skirt made of books raised her hand. Ragna had seen her too, but he hadn't really paid much attention to the others yet.
"Ahem…" she coughed, stepping forward as if to prepare herself. "I am…"
"Magilou. She's a witch who's occasionally useful." The dark-haired girl said, not even allowing Magilou to finish. "Let's get this done quickly. My name is Velvet, and I seek revenge against the Abbey."
"Hey!" Magilou cried out.
"Well, guess it's my turn. Pleased to meet you, Ragna. I'm Rokurou, a daemon on a mission." Another man spoke, clad in attire that looks like that of a traditional samurai. Ragna took note of the right side side of his face, dyed black with red markings around his eye… similar to his own whenever he's at a certain state…
"Eleanor Hume, ex… ummm….ex-Exorcist of the Abbey I guess." Another woman said. She certainly had a different aura from the others, Ragna observed. That also seemed to extend to the last member of the small group.
"I'm… Laphicet. But originally I had just a number, not a name." a boy spoke. He didn't know who this was, but something about his voice sounded familiar. Not from any of his old acquaintances for sure. "I'm a Malak. And Miss Eleanor is my vessel at the moment." He nodded.
There's that word again, Malak. Probably best to ask them about it later on when he's settled down long enough, assuming he gets to stay here at all. And there was that incident at the docks as well. On the run from something, and apparently some of them had issues with a group known as the Abbey.
"In any case, I suppose that's good enough for now. I think we can let you come with us for now. You don't seem like such a bad guy yourself, though maybe you have some reservations about being with a group of scoundrels like us?" Eizen asked him.
"Nope, no complaints there." Ragna answered, waving a hand. "Besides, you could say I'm not too different from the rest of you. Treat me the same as you would normally."
"Well, before that…" Rokurou smirked, stepping forward. "We need to know if you can hold your own in a fight. If you're just a regular guy, maybe that bravado of yours wouldn't be as useful." He explained, drawing two large daggers.
Ragna smirked, facing the man as his left hand reached for the handle of his sword. "You just want to see what I can do with this, don't you?"
"Maybe." The daemon replied, lowering his stance. "Curiosity's a good thing sometimes."
"Just be careful not to break the ship." Eizen called out with a frown.
"Got it!" the pair replied in unison as their sparring began.
Blades in hand, Rokurou launched himself at Ragna. What meets him is a heavy swing of Ragna's large weapon. It was like a raging wind colliding with a tree that endured the blow. The sword was swung, grazing against Rokurou's right dagger while his left struck at Ragna from the side.
"…!"
Rokurou stopped. Ragna did not permit his rush any more with a deft counter-attack, swinging his right fist at the attacking daemon's head. Rokurou rolled to the side, the momentum of his attack stopped. Distance is preferred, but Ragna closed the gap near instantly.
Normally, someone with a larger weapon only needs to attack when an enemy comes into their range. But even so, Ragna began to capitalize on Rokurou's surprise. But that wouldn't be enough.
One swing, and another swing. Rokurou either let the blade graze against his daggers, or he simply leaped out of the way. None of the swings were aimed down at the ship thankfully, but there was certainly a lot of power behind them that even Rokurou had doubts in taking a direct impact to block them.
Had they been normal humans, the ferocity of these attacks could make one wonder if this is still a non-serious fight. Ragna's sword struck for the throat, shoulders, the head, or the heart. If Rokurou faltered in any of his dodges, he could be seriously injured.
But he responded in kind with his own attacks whenever he could. A parry, and then a quick strike. A slice from the side. A cross-slash aimed at two different areas of the body.
All also avoided or blocked by Ragna. The large sword was his main offensive weapon, but he was also using just his right arm to block and parry. It was a style Rokurou was unused to facing.
The pair broke off the skirmish with a smile on their faces. And then they stood up straight, their weapons lowered as they chose to end it early.
"Impressive." Rokurou said.
"Thanks. You're not bad yourself."
"So you can hold your own, good. Welcome to the crew of the Van Eltia then, Ragna." Eizen approached the two, extending his right hand out to officially greet him. "It might be a bit odd at times, but someone of your caliber could likely get used to this."
"Likewise." Ragna answered, shaking Eizen's hand with his own. "Where are you headed off to right now anyway?" he wondered.
"Just a prison. Hopefully that doesn't spook you."
"Probably not, no." Ragna said, his eyes glancing over towards the other members of the group. What had he gotten himself into?
Chapter End
Skit: Ragna's Training
Rokurou: So then, Ragna. I can't help but be curious about your fighting style. Massive sword like that wielded in such a way. Where did you learn to fight like that?
Ragna: Eh? Well, it took a few years of training I guess. My master taught me a few tricks, not just in combat, but in survival as well.
Rokurou: Sounds like an interesting guy. I'd love to meet him sometime.
Ragna: He was fairly easy to get along with, even if he's a little strict sometimes. Just hope you don't mind training with a walking, talking cat.
Laphicet: A talking cat… like a Normin?
Ragna: What's a Normin?
Rokurou: Doesn't sound like that then. Maybe a Katz?
Ragna: No… like a cat. Who walks on his hind legs. And fights with a sword. That kind of cat.
Velvet: You're not making up these stories are you?
Ragna: Does it look like I'm the type to do something like that?
Magilou: I mean with a title like 'Grim Reaper…'
Ragna: We've a long way to go before I get used to all of you. *sighs*