"Zel, dear, when were you planning to tell me that you're married to the princess of Seyruun?" Mrs. Greywords asked.
"I...I'm not!...really. Actually, I could use some advice about that." Zelgadis didn't bother to ask how she'd found out about Amelia's rank or their supposed marriage. His mother would know.
"Yes?"
"I'm really not married to her, but there was an incident awhile ago that slightly resembled a wedding."
Mrs. Greywords raised her eyebrows but didn't interrupt.
"It didn't occur to me that anyone could mistake it for a real wedding until Amelia started calling me 'Zelgadis-sama'. Then a demon put these rings on our fingers as a joke - at least I hope it was just a joke.
"I'm sure that the supposed 'wedding' meant nothing, but I can't convince Amelia of that. She's been looking at me as if we might be married for so long that it's starting to feel like the truth, even though I know it isn't." He ran his fingers through his tangled hair in frustration.
"I trust that you are not taking advantage of the situation," Mrs. Greywords said coolly.
"Of course not. My relationship to Amelia is utterly chaste, as it always has been." He thought guiltily of the few exceptions, but none of them really counted.
His mother nodded. "Are you certain that the 'wedding' was invalid?"
Zelgadis explained the circumstances.
His mother nodded, still withholding a decision. "What are your feelings for Amelia?"
If anyone else had asked him such a personal question, Zelgadis would have refused to answer, but this was his mother and he needed her help. He considered the question.
"I'm fond of her. She's one of my dearest friends. She can be annoyingly immature at times, but we've been through a lot together."
"Do you love her?"
"No...Only as a friend."
"She's the heir to one of the most powerful cities on this continent. Does that tempt you?"
"Mother, you know that I have no desire to rule. My only ambition since I was a child was to be a sorcerer and swordsman."
"I know." She smiled fondly at him for a moment before resuming her blank interrogation face. "One last question. Seyrunn's politics are very bloody. What will you do if someone tries to assassinate Amelia?"
"I will kill him," Zelgadis replied without hesitation.
"You would kill to protect her?"
"Or to avenge her, even if it cost me my life. I would do that for any of my friends."
"But especially for Amelia?"
"No...but she is the most likely to need my protection. My other closest friends, Lina and Gourry, take care of each other. They are also much better at taking care of themselves than Amelia is. I cannot convince her that the power of Justice won't protect her from all harm."
Mrs. Greywords stood up. "I think I understand the situation now. I'll have a talk with Amelia."
"Thank you."
"Wait before you thank me. You don't know what effect my talk will have."
"About Amelia," Arturos said as they headed into the woods.
"What about her?"
"I like her. You could do much worse."
"What makes you think I'm interested in her?"
"What am I supposed to think when you bring a girl home to meet your family?"
"She's just a friend I happened to be traveling with. I only brought her along because she thought I would try to take over the world if she let me out of her sight for a few days."
Arturos laughed. "Really?"
"Something like that. Since when are you interested in my relationships with girls anyway? Having a girlfriend must be affecting your mind."
"I don't care. All I said was that I like Amelia."
"Fine."
"Fine."
They tromped on in silence for several more minutes.
"I like Mirai too," Zel said at last. "She'll be good for you."
"Yeah." Arturos grinned.
And that was all that needed to be said about that.
"I think we're far enough from the house now," Arturos pointed out.
Zel agreed.
They moved to opposite sides of what would soon be a clearing.
"Whenever you're ready, little brother," Arturos called out.
Zel nodded.
They started with small stuff like freeze arrows and worked their way up. By mutual agreement they avoided fire spells because forest fires are a pain to put out. To the surprise of both of them, it gradually became clear that Zel was the superior sorcerer. His spells were slightly more powerful than Arturos' and he cast them faster. As they moved into the more creative attacks, Zel managed to surprise Arturos with a whole series of obscure shamanist spells that Arturos had never heard of. They were no more powerful than the shamanist and black magic spells that Arturos was using, but they were much harder to predict. Arturos increasingly had to depend on generalized defensive tactics.
The fight stretched on for a long time. The ground was blasted and littered with broken trees and pillars of dirt by the time Arturos made his fatal mistake. He was running out of energy. He knew that the only way he could win would be to catch his brother by surprise with an attack of overwhelming force. Unfortunately, the spell he picked was Gaav Flare. Zelgadis seized the opportunity and petrified his brother's body up to the neck.
"A Gaav Flare? Don't you think that's a bit strong to use against your own brother?"
"I don't understand it. Why didn't that work? There wasn't even a puff of smoke!"
"Gaav's dead. Didn't you know that?"
"I thought that was just a rumor."
Zel shook his head. "I saw it with my own eyes."
"Oh, come on! Is there no limit to your arrogance?"
"I wasn't the one who killed him, but I was there. Anyway, that spell won't work anymore."
"Rrrrg. If that spell had worked like it's supposed to..."
"Do you want a rematch?"
Conflicting emotions struggled over Arturos' face. At last he sighed. "No. You really are the better sorcerer."
Zel grinned euphorically. "You don't know how long I've dreamed of this day."
"Oh, I know."
"I planned out a hundred different things I'd say or do once I finally defeated you."
Arturos winced.
"But somehow I don't feel like doing them anymore." He freed his brother from the petrification spell. "Let's just go home."
"You've really grown up."
"So have you. I thought I would have to nearly kill you before you would ever admit defeat."
"Yeah, well. I'm still a better swordsman than you."
"Only until I get used to this human body again."
"We'll see. Damn, I was sure I could beat you in magic at least. I've been working as a professional sorcerer for the last five years!"
"Professional sorcerers get lazy. Why do you think I work freelance?"
"Because you're a bad tempered little freak with no team spirit?"
"Do you want me to fry you again?"
"Nah, we're too close to the house now. You might accidentally hit one of Mother's flowerbeds."
"Gods forbid."
"Well, you might get Rozlin to patch you up afterwards, but it still wouldn't be fun. Our Rosy is quite a good healer now, you know."
"Mmm."
The boys quietly let themselves in the back door. Arturos slipped straight up the stairs to change into clean, unscorched clothes. Zel was about to follow when he overheard voices.
"I know exactly how you feel, Amelia-san," Rozlin's voice drifted in from the living room. "It is hard having a sibling vanish for years and not even knowing whether she's still alive. But don't give up hope. My brother came home. Maybe your sister will too."
"I will never give up hope! But I wish she would at least send us a message to tell us she's alright. Even if she has a good reason for not coming home, it's inconsiderate to make family worry for so long."
"Yes, it is," Rozlin agreed with feeling.
Zelgadis winced.
"Zel, is that you at the backdoor?" his mother called.
"Yes, it is," he admitted, stepping into the room.
Amelia was sitting on the couch, mending her cape. Rozlin was on the floor at her feet, grinding herbs in a mortar. Mrs. Greywords was in a chair opposite them, knitting. The golden light of early evening streaming in through the large windows cast a warm glow over the charming domestic scene.
Rozlin spoke up importantly, "Father told us to tell you to go to his tower as soon as you got back. He wants to show you all his latest projects."
Zelgadis nodded and walked back out of the house.
As he left, Rozlin was saying, "I can still hardly believe that he's really here. Isn't it amazing how grown up and handsome he looks?" Zel closed the door before he heard the answer.
Mr. Greywords' laboratory took the form of a miniature sorcerer's tower in the backyard. It was approximately three stories tall, just tall enough to see over the house. Zel opened the plain wooden door and looked up. Stone steps attached to the walls spiraled up into the distance. The laboratory itself was at the top of the tower. The bottom two stories were just there to support it. The structure might have reminded Zelgadis of Rezo's tower except that it was too familiar to remind him of anything other than itself.
Zel peeked curiously behind the stairs. Sure enough, the trapdoor leading down to the underground experimentation chambers was still there. The door itself was new though. Zel wondered whether the old door had been destroyed by an explosion again or if it had just worn out. He shrugged and started up the stairs.
He could have saved himself some effort by using a levitation spell (the tower was hollow in the middle for just that purpose), but he chose to take the steps using muscle power alone. He had always taken pride in using his body's natural strength rather than depending on magic.
He paused at the top of stairs and looked around. Currently, the laboratory looked like the garden had tried to invade it. Bunches of flowers and grasses stuffed into vases of all descriptions crowded the shelves. Leaves littered most of the flat spaces. There were even some tree branches leaning against one of the walls. Zel's father was seated at the table in the center of the lab, looking intently at something.
"You wanted to see me, Father?" Zel said to announce his presence.
His father looked up. "Yes. Come take a look at this. I think you'll like it."
Zelgadis walked around behind his father and took the seat next to him.
Mr. Greywords held up a thin metal rod in one hand. "Watch. Windy Bladu." A transparent shimmering appeared at the top of the rod. Mr. Greywords picked up a leaf in his free hand and waved the metal rod at it. The top of the leaf fell onto the table. "It's a wind blade. It's even sharper than a scalpel and completely sterile. It should be of great use to surgeons and healers. It was your mother's idea. Actually, she suggested a fire blade. The advantage to fire is that it cauterizes as it cuts. The disadvantage is that scorches whatever it touches."
"Is there any reason why the blade has to be that small?"
"No, I can make it any size but, before you ask, no, I will not make you a wind sword."
"Why not? It would be almost weightless but incredibly sharp. I can think of any number of people who would want such a sword."
"No. I did not invent the wind blade so that the world could have yet another gimmicky weapon. Besides, I don't think it would block a steel sword reliably. It can't cut through metal." Mr. Greywords gestured to his cutting board, which was a square of solid steel.
Before Zel could argue any more, Mr. Greywords held up a small, transparent rectangle. "I invented this magnifying device last year."
He put his half-leaf down on the cutting board and used the wind blade to slice off a paper-thin cross-section of it. He knocked the crystal rectangle open, revealing that it was two thin sheets of flawless crystal connected by hinges so tiny that they were invisible to the casual glance. He carefully placed the leaf slice on one of the sides and flipped the other down on top. Immediately, a floating green line appeared in the air above the table. When Zelgadis looked closely, he could see tiny circles all along its length.
"This is what the inside of a leaf looks like," Mr. Greywords said proudly.
Zelgadis reached out to touch it but his hand passed right through. "An illusion spell?"
"Yes, built right into the crystal. I hope to make the magnification level adjustable someday but I haven't figured out where to put a control knob yet.
"Of course, not everything is flat," the inventor continued. He grabbed a crystal sphere from the center of the table and handed it to his son.
Zel took the sphere. There was something inside already. A huge, three-dimensional illusion of it hung in the air above his hands. It was brown and more-or-less round. Zel turned the sphere in his hands. The illusion rotated to match his gestures without changing its location. It was an impressive piece of work, but no more than he would expect from his father. He pointed to the illusion. "What is this?"
"A seed. My current project is a study of plants. I want to figure out how energy flows differ in different species. What makes a rose a rose rather than a reed or a willow?"
"I came across something similar to that in my studies," Zelgadis said with interest.
"Really?"
"Living things know the shapes they are supposed to be. Even a tiny part knows the shape of the whole." Zelgadis searched for a way to explain less abstractly. "Let me demonstrate."
He flipped open the crystal sphere and tipped the seed out into his hand. Then he grabbed a handful of wilting flowers out of a nearby bottle with his other hand. He chanted the words to his transformation-based anti-chimera spell. In his grip, the flowers changed into fuzzy-headed blades of grass.
"It was a grass seed?" Zelgadis asked.
"They're the easiest kind to collect," his father replied absently, focused on more important aspects of his son's demonstration. "Does that work with things other than seeds? I would expect a seed to contain the potential for the plant it will become."
"Yes. I developed the spell for undoing chimeric transformations. Often the easiest way to unmake a chimera is to transform the parts that are the wrong species to match the parts that are unchanged from the original creature."
"You developed that spell?"
"Yes, I synthesized it from several other spells. I needed a transformation spell that would affect only part of a creature. It was one of several chimera unmaking strategies I tried."
"What were the others?"
Zelgadis explained them and even demonstrated a few. It was the first time he had ever been able to show his spells to someone who truly appreciated them. The only other person who had been interested in them at all was Amelia, and she just wanted to use them to right injustices or punish bad guys. His father followed every detail with fascination and even suggested ways of extending the spells for other uses. Zel had never enjoyed talking with his father this much before. Maybe the old man wasn't as crazy as he had always thought.
At last, the old sorcerer leaned back with a contented sigh, "You have made me very happy."
Zel stared at his father in surprise.
"I always hoped that one of my children would follow in my footsteps. Zelgadis, these spells are worthy of one of my projects. They show a true grasp of magical theory combined with practicality and good craftsmanship. They also prove that you know how to track down obscure spells and put them to use."
Zelgadis was absolutely stunned by this rare shower of praise.
His father smiled with satisfaction. "I always suspected you would have potential if you ever got over that foolish obsession with swords."
"I'm a very good swordsman! I don't know why everyone in this house..."
"I'm sure you are, but you're wasted on it."
That shut Zelgadis up. "What do you mean?"
"You have a very good mind, my son, yet what are you using it for? Picking fights with bandits? Blowing up things on royal orders?"
"Well, yes. And tracking down rare magical artifacts."
"Now that is something I approve of! I spent many happy years of my youth tracking down magical artifacts."
"You did?"
"That's how I met your mother, in fact. Hasn't anyone told you that story?"
"No."
"Remind me to tell it to you sometime.
"Zelgadis, of all my children you may be the only one with a true talent for magical theory. Rozlin has potential but she's so focused on learning healing spells that she has no interest in anything else. Arturos is hopeless. I'm very fond of him but he will never be more than a mercenary. He has no sense of intellectual curiosity. I think you have the potential to be a truly great sorcerer like so many of our ancestors. You are free to choose your own path of course, but I hope that you will continue to study magic."
"I...I'll think about it."
"Good. You might consider joining the Sorcerer's Guild too."
"What, that bunch of petty, infighting lunatics?"
"You don't have to get involved in guild politics. I joined in order to get access to the guild library."
"I didn't know you were a member."
"Oh yes. I have a blue robe hanging up somewhere in the house."
Zel and his father were deep in a conversation about plants when Rozlin came to collect them for supper.
As soon as Zel stepped in the door, Amelia grabbed him and dragged off to somewhere they could talk privately. She was almost bouncing with excitement.
"Zelgadis-san, I've found a solution to our problem!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "Your mother explained this concept to me called 'annulment'! I think it will work for us!"
Zelgadis buried his face in his hand. It was his 'if we ignore it, it isn't a real marriage' argument put into legal terms. Why hadn't he thought of that? He was supposed to be an adult so why was it that his mother could still solve all his insolvable problems?
"Zelgadis-san?" Amelia asked, concerned.
Zelgadis looked up with a rueful not-quite-a-smile. "Yes, that sounds perfect."
"I thought you'd be happier about it," Amelia muttered.
"I am happy about it. I just...We can start looking for someone to perform the annulment as soon as we get back to Atlas City."
"Okay!" Amelia's agreement sounded wholeheartedly enthusiastic but her eyes, as she followed Zelgadis down the stairs, were thoughtful.
"Are you two finished?" Arturos asked pointedly. "The rest of us are hungry."
Amelia blushed and looked guilty. Zel just nodded expressionlessly. They quickly took their seats at the table.
"Wow, your hair is so thick!" Amelia exclaimed admiringly.
"Bushy hair is our family curse," Rozlin sighed as she yanked the fluffy mass back into its habitual braid in preparation for going to bed.
"No," Zelgadis retorted coolly. "Having Shabranigdo sealed in our bodies is our family curse. Bushy hair is just an inconvenience."
"You mean that thing about us being descended from Lei Magnus?" Arturos raised derisive eyebrows. "That's just a family legend."
"I was thinking more about Rezo," Zelgadis replied calmly but with a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Rezo?" the others replied, startled.
"He summoned a piece of Shabranigdo which turned out to be sealed inside his own eyes. That 's how he died."
"That...explains many things," Mr. Greywords muttered.
His wife nodded in agreement.
Arturos looked deeply surprised, thoughtful and a little scared.
"Grandpa Rezo's dead?" Rozlin wailed piteously.
Her formerly chimeric brother grimaced. "I wish you wouldn't call him that. He was an evil, hypocritical man who was willing to sacrifice the whole world for the sake of his own selfish desires."
"I liked him," Rozlin muttered sulkily, well aware that she was alone in that opinion.
"Zel, you shouldn't speak so harshly about him," Mrs. Greywords reprimanded. "If it wasn't for him, neither of us would be here today."
"I know, but I can only be grateful to him for saving my life for so long. The things he did to me afterward more than balance it out."
"Rezo-san saved your life?" Amelia repeated in surprise.
"Yes." Mrs. Greywords smiled at her middle child. "Zelgadis was difficult child right from the beginning. He tried to come into the world feet first. If Rezo had not happened to pass through town that day, I would probably have died and taken my baby with me. I will always owe him a debt of gratitude for that day."
"Yes, but did you have to let him give me such an awful name?" Zel asked wretchedly.
Amelia leapt up to protect him from himself. "I think 'Zelgadis' is a lovely name!"
Zel, who had already been blushing at the description of his birth, now blushed much redder. "People always mispronounce it and no one knows what it means," he complained weakly. Hearing Amelia pronounce his name without tacking an honorific onto the end was an odd sensation.
The rest of the family gave their blushing son or brother knowing looks. Rozlin giggled.
Zel scowled at them and changed the subject. "Father, how did you and mother meet? You said to ask you later."
"Ah, yes." Mr. Greywords sat up straighter in his chair. "I was searching for the legendary staff of Xo. The clues had led me to a certain cave located halfway up a sheer cliff. Unfortunately, it turned out that a family of wyverns were using the cave as a nest."
"Wyverns?" Amelia interrupted.
"A cousin of the gens dracona. They are much smaller than dragons but even more vicious. They attacked me as soon as I entered the cave. I backed away, forgetting that I was standing on the verge. The fall broke my leg and gave me a concussion. While I was lying there helpless, trying to fend off the wyverns, your mother came to my rescue. She fought off the beasts and then healed me."
"Then what happened?" Rozlin asked breathlessly. She had never heard this story before.
Mrs. Greywords smiled nostalgically. "We turned out to be headed in the same direction so we decided to travel together. We worked so well together that we ended up forming a partnership and eventually getting married."
"Did you ever find the staff?" asked Arturos, who believed in paying attention to details.
"Yes. I believe it's in the attic."
The Greywords children nodded. They knew about the attic and the basements.
"That reminds me," Zel said, "Do you, by any chance, have the books of Hekron the Red?"
"Hekron the Red?" Mr. Greywords repeated. He exchanged a questioning look with his wife.
"He founded a branch of the Sorcerer's Guild in Sairaag devoted to researching kopii and chimera making techniques."
"Oh, I remember now. Yes, we did find a collection of books like that - I am almost certain they belonged to Somebody the Red - but we gave them to Rezo several years ago. He said something about a young girl who showed a lot of promise in those areas."
"That would be Eris," Zel muttered. "Which means that the books were probably in Rezo's Sairaag lab. Full circle."
"Lina-san is going to be annoyed," Amelia commented thoughtfully.
"Did you need those books for something, Zel?" Mrs. Greywords inquired with concern.
"No, not at all. I was just curious about their whereabouts."
"Good." Mrs. Greywords stood up. "Now, I believe that it is bedtime. Good night, everyone."
The others quickly followed her upstairs.
Between visits from all the neighbors, who wanted to see how the Greywords boys were growing up, and household chores like repainting the house, digging new flowerbeds, replacing damaged floorboards, dusting, mopping floors, and polishing silverware, furniture and the swords over the fireplace (Mrs. Greywords believed in taking advantage of captive labor while she had it), the remaining few days passed much too quickly. Even Mr. Greywords got caught in the frenzy once he discovered that helping with chores was the only way he could talk with Zelgadis about magical theory.
The Greywords family let Zelgadis and Amelia go on the morning of the fifth day only after they made Zelgadis promise to come back soon. ("Within a year," his mother said pointedly.)
They also expressed the hope of seeing Amelia again. Mrs. Greywords told her, "You will always be welcome in our house, with or without Zelgadis, but bring him with you if you can."
Rozlin hugged Amelia warmly, "Promise that that you'll come visit me when I arrive in Seyruun next year."
Amelia hugged Rozlin back just as warmly. "Of course! No true friend would let you be lonely in a new city."
"If you ever decide to join a mercenary troop, Zel, I'll give you a recommendation. You're a passable swordsman and a good sorcerer." Arturos said.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Mr. Greywords just clasped his son's hand. "Goodbye, Zelgadis. Remember what I told you."
"Goodbye, Father. Goodbye, Mother, Arturos, Roz-chan."
Zelgadis turned and left without a backward glance. Backward glances only made parting more painful. Amelia looked back over her shoulder and waved enthusiastically until they were out of sight.
Author's Note: Hmm... I can't make this the only chapter without an author's note but there's not too much more to say about Zel's family. The author's note for the last chapter covered everything important. I'd still love to hear what you think of them though....I know!
It's easy to get caught up in the spell casting side of magic, but magical artifacts are at least as important. These can range in value and power from the magical amulets Lina makes in the second episode of Slayers, to Zangulus' Howling Sword, to the Shadow Reflector that causes Lina and Naga so much embarrassment, to god-made artifacts like the Sword of Light and the train in Slayers TRY. Some great mages, like Rei Magnus, are remembered for the spells they created, but many more owe their reputations to the powerful objects they left behind them. Maybe even Rezo will someday be remembered more for items like the Howling Sword than for all the people he healed. (He certainly won't be remembered for summoning Shabranigdo since practically no one knows about that.) I somehow doubt that Zel's father will ever be famous, but he is a great sorcerer anyway. I suspect that in thirty years everybody will be using his inventions without ever thinking about where they came from. Maybe they already are. It will be interesting to see how magical technologies mix with non-magical technologies from the New World in the future. Both cultures could change dramatically in the years to come if they take advantage of each other's knowledge. (For a cool take on that last idea, take a look at http://pixelscapes.com/slayers/demiurge/ )