Chapter III
Tasuki was slowly regaining consciousness. With more than a little annoyance he realized he had fallen unconscious a few times too often during the last 24 hours. Not sensing anything the bandit thought that maybe he had just imagined the dragon or if that encounter had been real, the dragon had left. Cautiously he opened one eye to a slit and when he couldn't see anything abnormal he opened both eyes fully.
When he turned around his eyes popped out of his head as he found the dragon watching him with its golden eyes, which sparkled with amusement. Tasuki's first reaction was to grab for his tessen on his back, but instead of his beloved fan he came up with air in his hands as the weapon wasn't at its usual place.
/You won't be needing your little toy. I don't intent to harm you in any way and even if I did the little thing of iron wouldn't make any difference anyway./
"Whaaa.."
/Didn't your mother teach you not to curse in the presence of an elder ?/ the dragon interrupted him. /Oh I see, she did try to do so and that's one of the reasons why you ran away from home./
The red head stared gaping at the being in front of him, which was presently speaking to him inside his head. For once the bandit was speechless.
/Good. If you are silent for a while I might actually be able to tell you where you are, why you are here and what to do to get back./
That sounded like a good idea to Tasuki and therefore he made himself comfortable on the ground. He had a feeling this would take a while.
/You're absolutely right about that. But where're my manners ? I am Zyan Silverarrow one of the last members of the silver dragon clan. My clan is responsible for watching over and protect the gates between the different dimensions of the earth./
"Whaddafuck ? Different levels of da earth ?!? Ya gotta be fuckin kiddin me !!"
/Watch your language child./
"I dun wanna disappoint ya, but I'm no kid. Bout this time next month I'll be 20."
/You are right, you are no child but merely a baby. A babe, which shouldn't be apart from its mother./
"Ah no, don't ya even mention my ma ! I'm sooo glad I 'aven't seen her in a looong time !"
/As you wish, I will drop the matter of your mother for now, but beware, we shall speak of it some more when there's enough time/
"Yeah, yeah .. Hey didn't ya want to tell me a nice lil bedtime story ?" /I see that this will be a very long afternoon. How about a deal ? I'll tell you but you will keep your mouth shut until I give you permission to ask your questions. Oh, and no cursing either/
After slightly hesitating Tasuki mumbled something which could be interpreted as ".whatever.." and turned his curious gaze to the dragon. Feeling he had the red heads undivided attention Zyan started to tell him about the world with its dimensions as well as about the creatures which lived in each of the dimension.
/At the moment you are basically still in Konan just on another level, called the 'supernatural' dimension. Here practically everything you can imagine is possible. After seeing more of 'our world' you'll probably wonder why every single fairytale creature really exist here. That's easily explained. Even though mortals, like yourself, cannot cross between the dimensions, but it sometimes happens, during near-death experiences, that one of you switch from one level to the other. Their stay though is only for a very short period of time as they think they are dreaming and when forcing themselves to 'wake up' they switch back to their own dimension. During their stay they often have seen some of our inhabitants and they start to spin stories around these beings they have never seen before. That's how most of your fairytales come into existence./
"If ya tellin da truth then what am I still doin here ?! I mean, . my stay 's already longer than I should 'ave been !" The bandit cut in rudely.
/I was coming to THAT part. You really should learn to be a bit more patient. Anyway, as you noticed this doesn't refer to you as well, since you are needed here. The four guardian gods of the heavens have disappeared and the world has devolved into chaos, shattering the balance between the dimensions. As the four gods are the only one who can restore the balance creatures as well as mortals have been sent out to find them./
"Come to da point will ya ? I mean I still 'ave no clue why I'm here!"
/Patience is a virtue! Your part in this battle, if you want to call it that, is to prevent the end of the world by fighting the chaos./
"Äh .? Whadya mean by that ? How can anyone fight chaos ?!?"
/The chaos was brought down on us by the forces of darkness and its jackals. Normally the forces of darkness are held in cheque by the forces of light but since the queen of the elves, the guardians of light, has vanished they have split. It is your obligation to find out her whereabouts and if necessary to free bring her back to her people so that they will once more be united. Once they are they will be able to drive the accomplices of the darkness back./
"Just wait a sec ! Why should I go looking for a .. a woman ? I dun even like 'em to begin with !!"
/She's not a normal woman but the queen ./
Zyan was interrupted by the noise of bustle from another tunnel. The dragon apologized to his guest and disappeared into the large opening to find out what caused the sudden nervousness of his subjects, leaving behind a very confused, weary and exhausted bandit.
Tasuki, figuring there wasn't anything for him to do, curled up on the ground and a few moments later he was loudly snoring.
Tasuki was slowly regaining consciousness. With more than a little annoyance he realized he had fallen unconscious a few times too often during the last 24 hours. Not sensing anything the bandit thought that maybe he had just imagined the dragon or if that encounter had been real, the dragon had left. Cautiously he opened one eye to a slit and when he couldn't see anything abnormal he opened both eyes fully.
When he turned around his eyes popped out of his head as he found the dragon watching him with its golden eyes, which sparkled with amusement. Tasuki's first reaction was to grab for his tessen on his back, but instead of his beloved fan he came up with air in his hands as the weapon wasn't at its usual place.
/You won't be needing your little toy. I don't intent to harm you in any way and even if I did the little thing of iron wouldn't make any difference anyway./
"Whaaa.."
/Didn't your mother teach you not to curse in the presence of an elder ?/ the dragon interrupted him. /Oh I see, she did try to do so and that's one of the reasons why you ran away from home./
The red head stared gaping at the being in front of him, which was presently speaking to him inside his head. For once the bandit was speechless.
/Good. If you are silent for a while I might actually be able to tell you where you are, why you are here and what to do to get back./
That sounded like a good idea to Tasuki and therefore he made himself comfortable on the ground. He had a feeling this would take a while.
/You're absolutely right about that. But where're my manners ? I am Zyan Silverarrow one of the last members of the silver dragon clan. My clan is responsible for watching over and protect the gates between the different dimensions of the earth./
"Whaddafuck ? Different levels of da earth ?!? Ya gotta be fuckin kiddin me !!"
/Watch your language child./
"I dun wanna disappoint ya, but I'm no kid. Bout this time next month I'll be 20."
/You are right, you are no child but merely a baby. A babe, which shouldn't be apart from its mother./
"Ah no, don't ya even mention my ma ! I'm sooo glad I 'aven't seen her in a looong time !"
/As you wish, I will drop the matter of your mother for now, but beware, we shall speak of it some more when there's enough time/
"Yeah, yeah .. Hey didn't ya want to tell me a nice lil bedtime story ?" /I see that this will be a very long afternoon. How about a deal ? I'll tell you but you will keep your mouth shut until I give you permission to ask your questions. Oh, and no cursing either/
After slightly hesitating Tasuki mumbled something which could be interpreted as ".whatever.." and turned his curious gaze to the dragon. Feeling he had the red heads undivided attention Zyan started to tell him about the world with its dimensions as well as about the creatures which lived in each of the dimension.
/At the moment you are basically still in Konan just on another level, called the 'supernatural' dimension. Here practically everything you can imagine is possible. After seeing more of 'our world' you'll probably wonder why every single fairytale creature really exist here. That's easily explained. Even though mortals, like yourself, cannot cross between the dimensions, but it sometimes happens, during near-death experiences, that one of you switch from one level to the other. Their stay though is only for a very short period of time as they think they are dreaming and when forcing themselves to 'wake up' they switch back to their own dimension. During their stay they often have seen some of our inhabitants and they start to spin stories around these beings they have never seen before. That's how most of your fairytales come into existence./
"If ya tellin da truth then what am I still doin here ?! I mean, . my stay 's already longer than I should 'ave been !" The bandit cut in rudely.
/I was coming to THAT part. You really should learn to be a bit more patient. Anyway, as you noticed this doesn't refer to you as well, since you are needed here. The four guardian gods of the heavens have disappeared and the world has devolved into chaos, shattering the balance between the dimensions. As the four gods are the only one who can restore the balance creatures as well as mortals have been sent out to find them./
"Come to da point will ya ? I mean I still 'ave no clue why I'm here!"
/Patience is a virtue! Your part in this battle, if you want to call it that, is to prevent the end of the world by fighting the chaos./
"Äh .? Whadya mean by that ? How can anyone fight chaos ?!?"
/The chaos was brought down on us by the forces of darkness and its jackals. Normally the forces of darkness are held in cheque by the forces of light but since the queen of the elves, the guardians of light, has vanished they have split. It is your obligation to find out her whereabouts and if necessary to free bring her back to her people so that they will once more be united. Once they are they will be able to drive the accomplices of the darkness back./
"Just wait a sec ! Why should I go looking for a .. a woman ? I dun even like 'em to begin with !!"
/She's not a normal woman but the queen ./
Zyan was interrupted by the noise of bustle from another tunnel. The dragon apologized to his guest and disappeared into the large opening to find out what caused the sudden nervousness of his subjects, leaving behind a very confused, weary and exhausted bandit.
Tasuki, figuring there wasn't anything for him to do, curled up on the ground and a few moments later he was loudly snoring.