Chapter One: Concerto. "Hurry up, Su!" The young woman stopped investigating the weapons long enough to send a fierce glare at her friend. Su Raja was a warrior from the slowly rebuilding continent of El, and she bore the marks of someone who had fought the demons. She had several scars criss-crossing her arms, and a single savage wound had left the right side of her face permanently scarred. She had long reddish-brown hair and sad grey eyes, and although she was short she was also strong. Everything she wore was black, from the well-cut but worn clothes to her custom armor. "You wanted me to enter this tournament, so now you can wait," she said quietly. It was rare for her to raise her voice, and those who knew her were smart enough to avoid antagonizing her beyond a certain point. Although she seemed calm, there was a boiling pit of fury just beneath the surface. She let her hand rest lightly on the haft of a finely-crafted axe.

"But. but it's the LACOUR Tournament!" Lear said. He was a Heraldry Mage, slightly older than Su but not half as mature. He was flamboyant, loud and rambunctious; all the hall-marks of a student of the legendary Celine Jules. He wore long silken robes in about twelve different colors, and had an annoying habit of suddenly letting sparks of light loose; a trick which had caused more than one panic in crowded areas. He was obsessed with the Lacour Tournament, but not brave enough to enter himself. He'd said, more than once, "I'd be skewered the instant I set foot in the Arena." Mages had been allowed to enter the Tournament for the first time the previous year: on, as some believed, the advice of the King's chief scientist, a youth named Leon Geeste. They had proven to be formidable opponents, and more than one supposedly excellent fighter had fallen under the onslaught of Heraldric power. "Entering the Tournament, then?" the shopkeeper asked. Su nodded. "You'll be wanting a good weapon. How about I show you some of my swords, I have a couple which are just perfect for a woman your size." "An axe will be sufficient, thank you," Su said. She hefted the closest one, a fine thing made from a metal known as Laconia, and etched with a pattern which would make blood drain from it quickly, minimizing the time spent cleaning it. "A piece of advice," Lear whispered as she moved towards the armor, "Never, EVER comment about her size or her choice of weapons. It makes her really grumpy!" "Come on, Lear," Su called. "After this I want to go back to the Inn and rest." She handed her entry papers to the shopkeeper to have them checked, and nodded a silent thanks when he was finished. When he finally caught up to her, Lear was breathless and annoyed. "What, you're not even going to go shopping? I thought women loved shopping!" He found himself on the end of a patented Su glare. "I shop when it is necessary, and at no other time. Maybe other women take pleasure in wasting their money, but not me." "You are one seriously weird chick," Alex told her as they entered the Lacour Inn, which was more on par with a hotel than with the small homely accommodation which the name implied. "You're just going to spend the next 28 hours until the tournament in a single room?" "Bite me," Su said, her eyes flashing. "I did not ask you to come with me, you forced yourself into my life! Now allow me to do this my way." "I'm so dead," he muttered, and followed her to the reception. "So, so dead."

Rena and Claude C. Kenni, recently married and expecting their first child, considered themselves to be the luckiest couple alive. Together, they had survived impossible situations and even saved the universe, and were now quite happy to settle down into a new life on Expel. And in order to help finance said new life, they were sailing from Cross to Lacour so that Claude could enter the legendary Tournament of Arms. On the same boat were Celine Jules, the legendary Heraldry Wizard and Rena's maid of honor at their recent wedding, Chisato Madison and Dais Flac who, rumor had it, were planning a small ceremony of their own soon, and Noel Chandler, an absent-minded and animal-loving Nedian. Rena leaned against Claude and sighed happily. "I love boats," she declared. "I always love watching the waves and listening to the birds. There's simply no better way to travel!" "True," Claude said. "On the Calnus, we were restricted to watching holograms of the stars, because the light and radiation would blind us. I got really claustrophobic sometimes." "You mean you couldn't even look out the windows?" Rena gasped, and Claude laughed. Celine emerged from below-decks, yawning slightly. "Good morning, darlings!" she said, even though the sun was well over the yard-arm by that point. "How is everyone?" Claude grinned. Celine's habit of sleeping in was relatively new, and mostly because she had taken on several teenaged students since their return, all of whom were nocturnal. "We're both wonderful," Claude said. "No morning sickness today." "I wonder how much longer it will be?" Rena asked. The gestation for a Nedian was supposedly five months, but because Claude was a human, nobody was entirely sure just how much longer Rena would be waiting. It had been six months already. "When it's ready," Celine said. "The child will come when it's ready. I suggest you just enjoy what few nights of uninterrupted sleep you have left!" "Don't we know it!" Rena laughed. "Seriously, though, Rena, please be careful," Celine cautioned. "We don't know when labor will start, and I'd hate it if nobody was there to help you." "I'll be fine," Rena said. Dias and Chisato heard none of this conversation. They were, in fact, right at the other end of the ship, enjoying the sun and the slow but steady rocking of the boat. "The captain says we should arrive in Lacour soon," Dias said. "The Tournament starts tomorrow, so it will be excellent timing on his part." "I wish you hadn't entered," Chisato said. "I'm so worried that you'll get hurt." "I won't," he promised. "The only fighter on Expel who proves any kind of danger to me is Claude, and we promised not to hurt each other." "You never know," Chisato murmured, looking deeply into Dias' dark eyes. "Just promise me." "I promise," Dias replied, and kissed her. Noel gazed up at the fluffy clouds above. He hadn't been terribly enthusiastic about the idea of attending a competition between warriors, but Rena and Celine had joined forces to convince him to come, to act as a healer for anyone seriously injured. He briefly pondered the merits of this. It wasn't as if Expellians had any kind of healing Heraldry, so it was the best course to have Rena and himself on standby. However, he was firmly opposed to unnecessary violence. He'd helped clear the Mars forest of monsters, and the resulting carnage had left him feeling slightly sick. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to witness thinking, rational beings hacking into each other like animals. Sure, he'd helped save Nede and, by default, the universe, from the Ten Wise Men, but that had been different. That had been personal. But this was a display of bloodlust. He couldn't, wouldn't support such a thing. The ship's cat wandered over to him and rubbed against his face. He stroked its fur and continued thinking, as the ship rode ever closer to land.