~Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers. I DO, however, own this version of Grau
and Grou. Don't steal them.
.:Author's Notes:. I always write this after the story is written, no da... I am trying to break my habit of using "Dynast" as Grausherra's name. (It's his title.) So bear with me. I am also using dashes around words to stress them because I don't know how to make the italics appear on the page. This starts about forty-five minutes after the last chapter ended.
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A girl opened her eyes. It felt like it was for the first time. Hazily, she sat up, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. She steadied herself, and slowly looked about the room she was in. She was in a very comfortable bed in a strange, yet familiar room. It had a nostalgic feel to it. She looked down at the bedclothes. They were a sharp contrast of white, an ivory, to be exact, with pale blue satin border, and black blankets. The sheets were silk. Her attention then focused on her clothing. She was wearing a low-neck black nightdress that appeared to also be made of silk. It was warm. She put a hand to her head. What happened? Her memories were hazy; a jumble of sights and sounds. She couldn't even recall her name. She could recall faces, but not give them names. She remembered colors, but couldn't remember where she lived. Her gaze drifted across the room. She didn't know if it was morning or night; there were heavy blue draperies covering the windows, obscuring the light. The only source of light in the room was the fireplace. A low fire was burning in it, light enough to see, but dark enough to sleep comfortably.
The theme of the room seemed to be black. The floor was black marble, polished to the point you could see the reflections of everything in the room. The walls were painted black, or perhaps a very dark cyan. It was a fairly normal bedroom. There was the bed, of course, a vanity, and a dresser. There was a door to the right of the fireplace. "It probably leads to the bathroom," she thought. Shakily, she got out of bed, and walked over to the vanity. She gaped at her reflection. Her eyes were still pale green, like peridots, but her hair! It was no longer a rich brown so dark it could be mistaken for black in certain lights. Now it was blue, a cyan, though lighter than the walls of the room. Disbelieving, she pulled a lock in front of her for inspection. It was just as the mirror had been silently telling her. Her hair was blue. But that was impossible! Hair didn't change color at the drop of a hat. But it was blue. She turned back to the mirror.
She began to inspect her reflection intently. The nightdress was flattering on her. She blushed slightly. She focused her gaze back onto the whole scene the mirror was reflecting. Her eyes widened as her mind registered what she saw. She wasn't the only one in the room. There was a man sitting in a chair next to and a little behind the bed she'd just been lying in. She whirled around to face him, and fell to her knees as another wave of nauseating dizziness gripped her. The man stood and strode over to her. He crouched down in front of her. "Don't make any sudden movements," he murmured. She gazed up at him, suddenly calm. She couldn't explain it, but she felt so -safe- with him there. She studied him. He was young, maybe eighteen or nineteen, with black hair. His eyes were a gray-violet, and they gave a glimpse of his true age; years uncounted of experience were reflected in his cold stare. He was wearing a black tunic and black pants, black armor, and a snow white cloak. His pale skin looked paler next to all that black. He was really nice looking. Not being used to so much attention from guys, she blushed and looked away. Grausherra noticed her reaction and smirked before extending a hand to help her up. She took his hand tentatively. He pulled her up, and supported her when she began to fall. "Slowly," he mentally chided himself. He brought her back to the bed. "Try to relax," He said quietly, as if speaking any louder would bring the room crashing down. She sat on the bed, never taking her eyes off the man as he settled back into his chair. She looked at her hands as if they were the most interesting thing on the planet. "Sherra," the man began. Was that her name? It must be, she mentally resolved. She looked at the man. "Go to sleep," he continued, "you have been through a lot in these past few hours and you need rest." Sherra frowned, "I have?" She couldn't think straight. The man chuckled softly. "You have, now go to sleep." She was resisting his command, but then again, she had a lot of unanswered questions, not to mention she was untrained, the Dynast reasoned. He could feel her growing sleepier by the moment despite her resistance.
Sherra slid under the covers, being carefully mindful of her nightgown. "Who are you?" She asked the man. He blinked. "I am the Dynast, Grausherra," he said, gesturing at himself with a graceful wave of his hand. Sherra settled down into the bed. She could feel sleep conquering her despite her resolve to get some answers from the man. She gave in and fell into a deep dreamless sleep. Grausherra watched her for a few seconds before teleporting outside to make sure his priests were properly carrying out their punishment.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` several hours later...
"I can't take this anymore!!! We have been doing this for FOUR HOURS!!!" Grau wailed, on the verge of hysterics. Grou sweat dropped at his twin, "We only have a little more to go. Come on." Grou brandished his teaspoon at the snow. "We just have to get six more feet out of the walkway. You're overreacting." Grau glared at his twin. "I am -not- overreacting. If we only had to clear the walkway, that'd be fine despite the fact that it's like, eighty million miles long. But nooo, we have to clear it with teaspoons, not to mention that we are not allowed to use magic!!! What did we ever do to deserve -this-?" Grau wailed. "If I remember correctly, you failed in your duty to protect Sherra until I could change her over, not to mention that Dolgoufa was taken as well," Grausherra interjected from his sitting position on the roof about twenty feet from the twins. Grau and Grou turned to face their Lord. Grou waved. Grau scowled. "Hurry up," Grausherra ordered, "she'll have recovered enough strength to begin training in about an hour and I need you two to assume your positions in Dilss."
Although the Dynast had taken quite a beating from a certain red headed sorceress, he still was in control of Dilss, and it needed its figure of authority present today for a meeting with the leaders of a few other kingdoms, including Saillune. The thought of Grau and Grou sitting through Princess Amelia's justice speeches almost made Grausherra feel bad. Almost. Usually he had lesser minions take his King of Dilss disguise and keep him informed of what was happening (Usually nothing. How boring.) through a telepathic link. Today, however, the King of Dilss needed to have a mind, and he would be busy training his new general, so Grau and Grou would have to go in his stead. They'd be able to handle it; they were diplomatic and they knew that if they messed this up, especially after last night, they'd have a lot more to worry about than shoveling with teaspoons.
Grau and Grou quickly hopped to it. The very thought of having this mind- numbing chore over and done with and going to have fun in Dilss was enough to give them the energy needed to complete the walkway within fifteen seconds, even if they were using teaspoons instead of shovels. By the time they looked up at where their master had been sitting he was gone, only an imprint in the snow was left behind.
Grausherra had relocated himself to his throne room, and was seated in his throne, contemplating this new situation he was in. Grau and Grou would have to get used to having a girl living with them again. Her training would need to begin immediately; he was at a disadvantage without a general. She would be in a daze for the next few days, and then her memories would begin to return to her. He needed her to be unquestioningly loyal by then. Not that it would be too hard for him; it just needed to happen in an incredibly short amount of time. And the current situation in the human world. The current leader of Saillune, Amelia, had married. Grausherra frowned. He couldn't remember the man's name. That chimera...Zelgadis. Yes, that was it. Zelgadis. The leaders of all the kingdoms had decided to make an alliance due to the fact that foreigners were coming across the Demon's Sea to this continent. Well, the majority of the people crossing the sea were destroyed by Dolphin's "pets." It wouldn't be long before they figured out how to slay the ugly beasts, however, and the leaders felt that an alliance needed to be formed. No one knew about Grausherra's control over Dilss, nor were the humans meant to, and so he had to keep up this front that Dirus II had left him in charge should something -horrible- happen when the moron went to challenge the Demon King of the North. Said moron was writhing in agony in one of the palace dungeons. Lord Ruby-Eye had taken delight in cursing Dirus II with the Raugnut Rusyavuna after annihilating his soldiers.
Grausherra was pulled out of his reverie when his priests appeared before his throne, their task completed. "Leave now. You have to be ready for the meeting in two hours," he ordered. The twins bowed and disappeared in navy blurs. He looked at the clock. That should be enough rest for her today. Grausherra sent a mental order to Sherra, telling her to take a bath and get dressed.
Sherra woke up with a start. She looked around the room. She was alone. Her gaze focused on the foot of her bed, where a set of clothes and a bath towel had been laid out. She slipped out of bed and looked around the room. She walked over to the door next to the fireplace and peeked inside. It was a bathroom. She walked back over to the bed and picked up the clothing and towel. She was growing more confident in her step; she didn't feel dizzy and nauseous any more. She went in and took her bath. She got out and wrapped the towel around herself. She looked at the clothing that had been laid out for her. It consisted of a black sweater and black leggings. She pulled them on and looked at herself in the mirror. The leggings were form-fitting, but the sweater was loose and went down to mid- thigh. It was a sharp contrast to her pale skin. The marble floor was freezing cold against her bare feet. She looked around the room, and saw a pair of boots, also black, next to the bed. "Someone has a fetish for black," Sherra murmured to herself, amused. She slipped the boots on and sat down at the vanity. She began to comb out her hair. She frowned when she noticed that her eyes were slitted. 'What happened to me?' she thought. Suddenly, a mental urge told her to get her sword. 'Sword?' she thought, 'what sword?' She frowned again, realizing that the "urge" had been more like a commanding voice in her mind. A voice she couldn't resist. She looked around, and noticed a scabbard on the dresser. She picked it up and drew the sword. A sudden wave of realization hit her. It was -her- sword. She remembered it from yesterday...but what had happened? She couldn't remember.
Suddenly, the world around her blurred. She felt a pulling sensation and a sudden wave of dizziness. When her vision cleared, she was in a different room. The theme was still black. It was a huge room, with torches on either side of the walls, making the atmosphere eerie. There was a throne atop a low set of stairs. The man from earlier, Grausherra was sitting in it, in a slightly reclined position. He got up and approached the confused girl. "Sherra," he said, "we are going to begin your training today." Sherra blinked, confused. "Training...?" she echoed him, "for what? What happened to me?" Grausherra smiled. "You are a mazoku now," he said. "Mazoku? What's..." Sherra trailed off, a memory of a story resurfacing. "Well, half mazoku. I have to teach you basic fundamentals of being one today. Namely, how to feed and how to teleport," Grausherra said. He noticed that she was still holding Dolgoufa. He formed a belt in his hands and buckled it around her waist, then strapped the scabbard to it. Sherra was temporarily paralyzed when he did this, and she could feel her face heat up in another blush, which made her blush even more.
"First thing's first," Grausherra began, tactfully ignoring her heavy blushing, "You need to learn how to feed; I can't keep on hand-feeding you like I did last night." That comment didn't help Sherra's blush at all. Grausherra paused, realizing that he ought to teach her how to teleport to the source of nourishment first. He sent a mental image of the front gate of the fortress to Sherra, along with the command 'go here.' Sherra automatically phased out. Grausherra teleported to where he felt her astral signature. 'Not bad,' he thought, 'she only missed by about fifty feet.'
Sherra was given a command to go to a gate, the front gate, she realized. She concentrated on the image for a moment, not recognizing it. The world around her blurred for the second time that day, and she suddenly found herself in about eight feet of newly fallen snow, about fifty feet from her target. She began to panic a little when she realized she was stuck in the snow. "How did I..." she trailed off when she saw Grausherra phase in in the air above her. He lowered himself so that his boots were just a few centimeters above the snow. "Not bad for your first try," he said, "Try again, concentrate harder on the gate this time." Sherra complied, concentrating on the gate in front of her. Then suddenly, she was there. She looked around. Grausherra phased in next to her. "Now that you know how to teleport, I'll show you how to feed." He phased out again, and Sherra felt him pull her along with.
They reappeared near a little village. Sherra looked over at Grausherra, who had lost his cloak and shoulder armor in the last teleport. He looked back at her. "We feed on human and ryuzoku emotions. Human ones tend to feed better, and the negative ones are what nourish us best, not to mention they tend -not- to get us ill. All we have to do is get into close proximity to the human or humans giving off the emotions, the rest just happens involuntarily. And no, we can't overfeed. We stop when we have had enough," Grausherra quickly explained. "It's best to go in looking like a human, and start something that would cause an uproar. Be sure not to make it obvious that -you- were the one to start it. Teleport in, do something, and teleport out before they know what hit them. Don't let them see you teleport. It's easier to do it when the humans are intoxicated in the area if you are new at it. Another thing to do is to summon a bunch of lesser mazoku to attack the town. I wouldn't suggest doing that too often, though." Sherra blinked at him, and looked back at the town.
Grausherra straightened up and began to walk into the village, beckoning for her to follow. Sherra got up and ran after him. It was a typical small village. It was a little warmer here, too. Sherra looked back at her master. "Where are we, exactly?" Grausherra glanced at her, "We are in the northern part of the kingdom of Lyzeille, east of Krimzon." (That's just west of Dragon's Peak, north of Sairaag.) Sherra looked back in front of her, just in time to see a guy get thrown out of a bar. 'We may not have to start anything,' Grausherra thought. Sherra nodded, not realizing it was a telepathic message. A lovely bar fight ensued, with plenty of swearing and bloodshed, seeing as the drunkards both had daggers. Sherra's mouth opened slightly when she felt the emotions hit her. She hadn't expected it to feel like this. It felt -good-. She was really hungry, she could feel it now.
The two of them backed away as the crowd grew. A few more men came out of the bar, some slightly drunk, and others that would have spectacular hangovers when their livers were done going through all that alcohol. They began to cheer on the brawl. Sherra watched, fascinated. She had never seen a fight like this before, nor had anger ever fed her. She was so wrapped up in watching that she didn't notice the guy approaching her, nor did she notice Grausherra stiffen. He swayed drunkenly and put a hand on the side of a building to steady himself. "Hey, you're a pretty girl...wanna buy me a drink? We can get to know each other better..." Sherra blinked at the man, and backed away from him. "Hey now, little misshy, I mean it, buy me a drink..." The man grabbed Sherra's wrist. Grausherra pulled Sherra away from him. "Keep your filthy hands off her," Grausherra spat, drawing his blade. Before anyone had time to blink, Grausherra ran his blade through the man. Sherra backed away even more. The man coughed, blood dribbling down his chin, and fell forward. The Dynast calmly wiped the blood from his blade on the back of the man's tunic. Blood began to pool around the man's prone form, staining the neat cobblestone a raw crimson. Grausherra glanced around; no one had noticed. How unobservant humans were still amazed him. He grabbed his general by the arm and pushed her into a nearby alley. Once in, he teleported them back to his headquarters.
Sherra suddenly found herself back in the throne room. Grausherra's violent reaction to the man had surprised her. He was so...possessive. And yet, here they were, back in the throne room, as if nothing had happened. She frowned when she realized that she could feel what Grausherra felt as he felt it. Now that she thought about it, right before he pulled her away from that drunken man, she had felt a surge of emotions in the back of her mind, emotions that were not her own. They seemed to scream 'get away from her!' She also knew what he wanted when he wanted it, and she felt a desire, no, a need to give him what he wanted. Curiously, she looked at Grausherra. He was studying her thoughtfully. She made eye contact with him for a moment, and then looked away. She felt herself blush again.
Grausherra silently regarded his new general. She was already incredibly loyal, though she'd probably deny it. It was all in the mind. He had been constantly sending her telepathic messages the moment she had awakened that second time. She probably wasn't aware of them, but they were there, and she was unconsciously bending to his will.
That was enough excitement for now. He decided to teach her Mazoku history and the geography of this continent. As a mazoku, not to mention one of his personal servants, the general, this would be one of the things she'd need to have engraved in her memory for all time. He decided to test her on her abilities to teleport while he was at it. "Follow me," he ordered, and teleported out of the room. Sherra stared at where he had been. Follow him? How? She hadn't received a mental image. Frightened, she began to panic. 'Find his astral signature and teleport next to him,' a telepathic voice offered helpfully. Sherra jumped slightly, and looked around. Where had that voice come from? Suddenly, she had it. The sword. It was her sword. It could talk; it had that "alive" aura about it. She quickly took its advice and teleported to where she could feel the Dynast's presence.
Sherra reappeared in a library. She looked around. It was huge and very well kept. There was row upon row of books, all tightly packed in shelves. The floor was still the black marble, but there were rugs here and there, scattered about the floor. There was a central fireplace, and about fifteen feet away from it were tables made of polished mahogany. There were arcane scrolls and books scattered all over them. The room was fairly brightly lit, much brighter than her room or the throne room. Grausherra was sitting at one of the tables, looking at her expectantly. She walked over to him, and he waved her into the seat next to his. She looked at the scroll laid out on the table. It was a map. It looked like it was ready to fall apart and end its pathetic existence at any second.
"This is a map of the continent we live in. Five thousand years ago, our Lord, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, fought against Flare Dragon Cephied. Each side was unwilling to give in, and they were equaled in power. But Cephied used up the last of his strength to split our lord into seven pieces of equal power. Cephied was exhausted and sank into the Sea of Chaos. He's never coming back. He left behind four gods, the Dragon Lords, to fight with Lord Ruby-Eye should he ever awaken. Then around one thousand years ago, Hellmaster Phibrizzo discovered a piece of Lord Ruby-Eye in a sorcerer named Lei Magnus. Lord Ruby-Eye was reawakened by Hellmaster, and another war started, called the War of the Monster's Fall. The Aqualord, Laguladia, awakened and challenged Lord Ruby-Eye.
He knew that Laguladia had a fourth of Ceipheed's power, while he had only a seventh of his own at his disposal. So he had Hellmaster Phibrizzo, Beastmaster Zelas-Metallium, Deep Sea Dolphin, and myself position ourselves at the four compass points. Myself in the far north, here in the Northern Footholds, Beastmaster in the deep south, at her abode, Wolf Pack Island. Deep Sea Dolphin in the west, deep beneath the surface of the Demon's Sea, and Hellmaster in the east, in the desert of his own creation, the Desert of Destruction. Phibrizzo was angry when his priestess and general were killed earlier in the war and blew up the eastern side of the continent, creating that desert. No plants will grow there, even to this day.
Together we created a god-sealing field that fractioned the Aqualord's power. Lei Magnus had Chaos Dragon Garv with him, and used Garv to channel the energy at Laguladia. Using the last of -his- strength, Aqualord imprisoned Lord Ruby-Eye in the Kataart Mountains, and sealed Garv into a human body. Now, about 20 years ago, Lord Ruby-Eye was resurrected in Rezo, the Red Priest. A sorceress named Lina Inverse cast a spell calling on the power of the Lord of Nightmares, the mother of all, and defeated Lord Ruby-Eye.
A couple of years later, Garv decided that he wanted to take over the Mazoku. Phibrizzo wanted to be the one to take care of it, and we had no objections. It was then that Lord Ruby-Eye, who is still imprisoned in the Kataart Mountains, told us of a sorceress, Lina Inverse, who could cast a spell that should it go out of control, it could destroy the world. World destruction, chaos, that is the ultimate goal of the Mazoku. Phibrizzo decided to ruin all of Garv's plans, and wanted to manipulate this sorceress into doing it for him, and while he was at it, have her cast the spell, the Giga Slave. He borrowed Beastmaster's General/Priest, Xelloss, to do the manipulation. Garv was killed by Hellmaster, and then Lina cast the Giga Slave, but it did NOT go out of control, so now Phibrizzo's dead.
Meanwhile, I was quietly taking over the Dilss kingdom, and had just succeeded when none other than Lina Inverse wandered into the scene. I sent you out to kill her, and you would have succeeded, but her bodyguard, Gourry Gabriev, killed you with his blade, the legendary Sword of Light. I challenged them afterward, and that sorceress nearly killed me. Shortly afterward, when I was still recuperating, one of Garv's followers, Valgarv, summoned Darkstar into our world. He is the head Mazoku in a world parallel to ours. And once again, Miss Inverse and her companions came through and killed both Darkstar and Valgarv. Gourry gave his Sword of Light, Gorun Nova, back to the overworlders. That's basically all you'll need to know right now," Grausherra explained.
Sherra blinked at him. That was a lot to take in. She had a million questions. "So, you still have control over Dilss?" she asked, stumbling over the name a little. Grausherra nodded in affirmation, "Yes, we still do. Grau and Grou are there right now, taking care of some business." "And Garv and Phibrizzo are dead?" She said slowly. "That's Lord Phibrizzo to you, and yes, they are," Grausherra replied. That made three still alive. Deep in thought, she gazed a Grausherra. Was he as old as that first war? Five thousand years? Are Mazoku immortal, then? He certainly didn't look old. Did that mean that she wouldn't age? Grau and Grou, they sounded familiar...that's it! Those two kids!! They were the priests, and she was....the general. The full meaning of those words hit her right then. She was the general. Grausherra silently met his general's gaze as she processed what he had just told her. That was a lot to take in, but she needed to be trained as quickly as possible. He could start her on swordplay this afternoon or tomorrow. Tomorrow, he decided. She still needed to hone her teleportation skills, and learn Levitation. It was decided. Starting tomorrow, she would truly be his general.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` And so endeth this sixth installment of this fic. What'd you think?? If I got anything wrong, or you have a comment, say it in a review!! If I get some more reviews, chap. 7 will be posted!! Yay!!
Phibby: And I was -finally- mentioned!! ^o^
Author: Yes... ^^
Come on, you know you want to review....
.:Author's Notes:. I always write this after the story is written, no da... I am trying to break my habit of using "Dynast" as Grausherra's name. (It's his title.) So bear with me. I am also using dashes around words to stress them because I don't know how to make the italics appear on the page. This starts about forty-five minutes after the last chapter ended.
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A girl opened her eyes. It felt like it was for the first time. Hazily, she sat up, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. She steadied herself, and slowly looked about the room she was in. She was in a very comfortable bed in a strange, yet familiar room. It had a nostalgic feel to it. She looked down at the bedclothes. They were a sharp contrast of white, an ivory, to be exact, with pale blue satin border, and black blankets. The sheets were silk. Her attention then focused on her clothing. She was wearing a low-neck black nightdress that appeared to also be made of silk. It was warm. She put a hand to her head. What happened? Her memories were hazy; a jumble of sights and sounds. She couldn't even recall her name. She could recall faces, but not give them names. She remembered colors, but couldn't remember where she lived. Her gaze drifted across the room. She didn't know if it was morning or night; there were heavy blue draperies covering the windows, obscuring the light. The only source of light in the room was the fireplace. A low fire was burning in it, light enough to see, but dark enough to sleep comfortably.
The theme of the room seemed to be black. The floor was black marble, polished to the point you could see the reflections of everything in the room. The walls were painted black, or perhaps a very dark cyan. It was a fairly normal bedroom. There was the bed, of course, a vanity, and a dresser. There was a door to the right of the fireplace. "It probably leads to the bathroom," she thought. Shakily, she got out of bed, and walked over to the vanity. She gaped at her reflection. Her eyes were still pale green, like peridots, but her hair! It was no longer a rich brown so dark it could be mistaken for black in certain lights. Now it was blue, a cyan, though lighter than the walls of the room. Disbelieving, she pulled a lock in front of her for inspection. It was just as the mirror had been silently telling her. Her hair was blue. But that was impossible! Hair didn't change color at the drop of a hat. But it was blue. She turned back to the mirror.
She began to inspect her reflection intently. The nightdress was flattering on her. She blushed slightly. She focused her gaze back onto the whole scene the mirror was reflecting. Her eyes widened as her mind registered what she saw. She wasn't the only one in the room. There was a man sitting in a chair next to and a little behind the bed she'd just been lying in. She whirled around to face him, and fell to her knees as another wave of nauseating dizziness gripped her. The man stood and strode over to her. He crouched down in front of her. "Don't make any sudden movements," he murmured. She gazed up at him, suddenly calm. She couldn't explain it, but she felt so -safe- with him there. She studied him. He was young, maybe eighteen or nineteen, with black hair. His eyes were a gray-violet, and they gave a glimpse of his true age; years uncounted of experience were reflected in his cold stare. He was wearing a black tunic and black pants, black armor, and a snow white cloak. His pale skin looked paler next to all that black. He was really nice looking. Not being used to so much attention from guys, she blushed and looked away. Grausherra noticed her reaction and smirked before extending a hand to help her up. She took his hand tentatively. He pulled her up, and supported her when she began to fall. "Slowly," he mentally chided himself. He brought her back to the bed. "Try to relax," He said quietly, as if speaking any louder would bring the room crashing down. She sat on the bed, never taking her eyes off the man as he settled back into his chair. She looked at her hands as if they were the most interesting thing on the planet. "Sherra," the man began. Was that her name? It must be, she mentally resolved. She looked at the man. "Go to sleep," he continued, "you have been through a lot in these past few hours and you need rest." Sherra frowned, "I have?" She couldn't think straight. The man chuckled softly. "You have, now go to sleep." She was resisting his command, but then again, she had a lot of unanswered questions, not to mention she was untrained, the Dynast reasoned. He could feel her growing sleepier by the moment despite her resistance.
Sherra slid under the covers, being carefully mindful of her nightgown. "Who are you?" She asked the man. He blinked. "I am the Dynast, Grausherra," he said, gesturing at himself with a graceful wave of his hand. Sherra settled down into the bed. She could feel sleep conquering her despite her resolve to get some answers from the man. She gave in and fell into a deep dreamless sleep. Grausherra watched her for a few seconds before teleporting outside to make sure his priests were properly carrying out their punishment.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` several hours later...
"I can't take this anymore!!! We have been doing this for FOUR HOURS!!!" Grau wailed, on the verge of hysterics. Grou sweat dropped at his twin, "We only have a little more to go. Come on." Grou brandished his teaspoon at the snow. "We just have to get six more feet out of the walkway. You're overreacting." Grau glared at his twin. "I am -not- overreacting. If we only had to clear the walkway, that'd be fine despite the fact that it's like, eighty million miles long. But nooo, we have to clear it with teaspoons, not to mention that we are not allowed to use magic!!! What did we ever do to deserve -this-?" Grau wailed. "If I remember correctly, you failed in your duty to protect Sherra until I could change her over, not to mention that Dolgoufa was taken as well," Grausherra interjected from his sitting position on the roof about twenty feet from the twins. Grau and Grou turned to face their Lord. Grou waved. Grau scowled. "Hurry up," Grausherra ordered, "she'll have recovered enough strength to begin training in about an hour and I need you two to assume your positions in Dilss."
Although the Dynast had taken quite a beating from a certain red headed sorceress, he still was in control of Dilss, and it needed its figure of authority present today for a meeting with the leaders of a few other kingdoms, including Saillune. The thought of Grau and Grou sitting through Princess Amelia's justice speeches almost made Grausherra feel bad. Almost. Usually he had lesser minions take his King of Dilss disguise and keep him informed of what was happening (Usually nothing. How boring.) through a telepathic link. Today, however, the King of Dilss needed to have a mind, and he would be busy training his new general, so Grau and Grou would have to go in his stead. They'd be able to handle it; they were diplomatic and they knew that if they messed this up, especially after last night, they'd have a lot more to worry about than shoveling with teaspoons.
Grau and Grou quickly hopped to it. The very thought of having this mind- numbing chore over and done with and going to have fun in Dilss was enough to give them the energy needed to complete the walkway within fifteen seconds, even if they were using teaspoons instead of shovels. By the time they looked up at where their master had been sitting he was gone, only an imprint in the snow was left behind.
Grausherra had relocated himself to his throne room, and was seated in his throne, contemplating this new situation he was in. Grau and Grou would have to get used to having a girl living with them again. Her training would need to begin immediately; he was at a disadvantage without a general. She would be in a daze for the next few days, and then her memories would begin to return to her. He needed her to be unquestioningly loyal by then. Not that it would be too hard for him; it just needed to happen in an incredibly short amount of time. And the current situation in the human world. The current leader of Saillune, Amelia, had married. Grausherra frowned. He couldn't remember the man's name. That chimera...Zelgadis. Yes, that was it. Zelgadis. The leaders of all the kingdoms had decided to make an alliance due to the fact that foreigners were coming across the Demon's Sea to this continent. Well, the majority of the people crossing the sea were destroyed by Dolphin's "pets." It wouldn't be long before they figured out how to slay the ugly beasts, however, and the leaders felt that an alliance needed to be formed. No one knew about Grausherra's control over Dilss, nor were the humans meant to, and so he had to keep up this front that Dirus II had left him in charge should something -horrible- happen when the moron went to challenge the Demon King of the North. Said moron was writhing in agony in one of the palace dungeons. Lord Ruby-Eye had taken delight in cursing Dirus II with the Raugnut Rusyavuna after annihilating his soldiers.
Grausherra was pulled out of his reverie when his priests appeared before his throne, their task completed. "Leave now. You have to be ready for the meeting in two hours," he ordered. The twins bowed and disappeared in navy blurs. He looked at the clock. That should be enough rest for her today. Grausherra sent a mental order to Sherra, telling her to take a bath and get dressed.
Sherra woke up with a start. She looked around the room. She was alone. Her gaze focused on the foot of her bed, where a set of clothes and a bath towel had been laid out. She slipped out of bed and looked around the room. She walked over to the door next to the fireplace and peeked inside. It was a bathroom. She walked back over to the bed and picked up the clothing and towel. She was growing more confident in her step; she didn't feel dizzy and nauseous any more. She went in and took her bath. She got out and wrapped the towel around herself. She looked at the clothing that had been laid out for her. It consisted of a black sweater and black leggings. She pulled them on and looked at herself in the mirror. The leggings were form-fitting, but the sweater was loose and went down to mid- thigh. It was a sharp contrast to her pale skin. The marble floor was freezing cold against her bare feet. She looked around the room, and saw a pair of boots, also black, next to the bed. "Someone has a fetish for black," Sherra murmured to herself, amused. She slipped the boots on and sat down at the vanity. She began to comb out her hair. She frowned when she noticed that her eyes were slitted. 'What happened to me?' she thought. Suddenly, a mental urge told her to get her sword. 'Sword?' she thought, 'what sword?' She frowned again, realizing that the "urge" had been more like a commanding voice in her mind. A voice she couldn't resist. She looked around, and noticed a scabbard on the dresser. She picked it up and drew the sword. A sudden wave of realization hit her. It was -her- sword. She remembered it from yesterday...but what had happened? She couldn't remember.
Suddenly, the world around her blurred. She felt a pulling sensation and a sudden wave of dizziness. When her vision cleared, she was in a different room. The theme was still black. It was a huge room, with torches on either side of the walls, making the atmosphere eerie. There was a throne atop a low set of stairs. The man from earlier, Grausherra was sitting in it, in a slightly reclined position. He got up and approached the confused girl. "Sherra," he said, "we are going to begin your training today." Sherra blinked, confused. "Training...?" she echoed him, "for what? What happened to me?" Grausherra smiled. "You are a mazoku now," he said. "Mazoku? What's..." Sherra trailed off, a memory of a story resurfacing. "Well, half mazoku. I have to teach you basic fundamentals of being one today. Namely, how to feed and how to teleport," Grausherra said. He noticed that she was still holding Dolgoufa. He formed a belt in his hands and buckled it around her waist, then strapped the scabbard to it. Sherra was temporarily paralyzed when he did this, and she could feel her face heat up in another blush, which made her blush even more.
"First thing's first," Grausherra began, tactfully ignoring her heavy blushing, "You need to learn how to feed; I can't keep on hand-feeding you like I did last night." That comment didn't help Sherra's blush at all. Grausherra paused, realizing that he ought to teach her how to teleport to the source of nourishment first. He sent a mental image of the front gate of the fortress to Sherra, along with the command 'go here.' Sherra automatically phased out. Grausherra teleported to where he felt her astral signature. 'Not bad,' he thought, 'she only missed by about fifty feet.'
Sherra was given a command to go to a gate, the front gate, she realized. She concentrated on the image for a moment, not recognizing it. The world around her blurred for the second time that day, and she suddenly found herself in about eight feet of newly fallen snow, about fifty feet from her target. She began to panic a little when she realized she was stuck in the snow. "How did I..." she trailed off when she saw Grausherra phase in in the air above her. He lowered himself so that his boots were just a few centimeters above the snow. "Not bad for your first try," he said, "Try again, concentrate harder on the gate this time." Sherra complied, concentrating on the gate in front of her. Then suddenly, she was there. She looked around. Grausherra phased in next to her. "Now that you know how to teleport, I'll show you how to feed." He phased out again, and Sherra felt him pull her along with.
They reappeared near a little village. Sherra looked over at Grausherra, who had lost his cloak and shoulder armor in the last teleport. He looked back at her. "We feed on human and ryuzoku emotions. Human ones tend to feed better, and the negative ones are what nourish us best, not to mention they tend -not- to get us ill. All we have to do is get into close proximity to the human or humans giving off the emotions, the rest just happens involuntarily. And no, we can't overfeed. We stop when we have had enough," Grausherra quickly explained. "It's best to go in looking like a human, and start something that would cause an uproar. Be sure not to make it obvious that -you- were the one to start it. Teleport in, do something, and teleport out before they know what hit them. Don't let them see you teleport. It's easier to do it when the humans are intoxicated in the area if you are new at it. Another thing to do is to summon a bunch of lesser mazoku to attack the town. I wouldn't suggest doing that too often, though." Sherra blinked at him, and looked back at the town.
Grausherra straightened up and began to walk into the village, beckoning for her to follow. Sherra got up and ran after him. It was a typical small village. It was a little warmer here, too. Sherra looked back at her master. "Where are we, exactly?" Grausherra glanced at her, "We are in the northern part of the kingdom of Lyzeille, east of Krimzon." (That's just west of Dragon's Peak, north of Sairaag.) Sherra looked back in front of her, just in time to see a guy get thrown out of a bar. 'We may not have to start anything,' Grausherra thought. Sherra nodded, not realizing it was a telepathic message. A lovely bar fight ensued, with plenty of swearing and bloodshed, seeing as the drunkards both had daggers. Sherra's mouth opened slightly when she felt the emotions hit her. She hadn't expected it to feel like this. It felt -good-. She was really hungry, she could feel it now.
The two of them backed away as the crowd grew. A few more men came out of the bar, some slightly drunk, and others that would have spectacular hangovers when their livers were done going through all that alcohol. They began to cheer on the brawl. Sherra watched, fascinated. She had never seen a fight like this before, nor had anger ever fed her. She was so wrapped up in watching that she didn't notice the guy approaching her, nor did she notice Grausherra stiffen. He swayed drunkenly and put a hand on the side of a building to steady himself. "Hey, you're a pretty girl...wanna buy me a drink? We can get to know each other better..." Sherra blinked at the man, and backed away from him. "Hey now, little misshy, I mean it, buy me a drink..." The man grabbed Sherra's wrist. Grausherra pulled Sherra away from him. "Keep your filthy hands off her," Grausherra spat, drawing his blade. Before anyone had time to blink, Grausherra ran his blade through the man. Sherra backed away even more. The man coughed, blood dribbling down his chin, and fell forward. The Dynast calmly wiped the blood from his blade on the back of the man's tunic. Blood began to pool around the man's prone form, staining the neat cobblestone a raw crimson. Grausherra glanced around; no one had noticed. How unobservant humans were still amazed him. He grabbed his general by the arm and pushed her into a nearby alley. Once in, he teleported them back to his headquarters.
Sherra suddenly found herself back in the throne room. Grausherra's violent reaction to the man had surprised her. He was so...possessive. And yet, here they were, back in the throne room, as if nothing had happened. She frowned when she realized that she could feel what Grausherra felt as he felt it. Now that she thought about it, right before he pulled her away from that drunken man, she had felt a surge of emotions in the back of her mind, emotions that were not her own. They seemed to scream 'get away from her!' She also knew what he wanted when he wanted it, and she felt a desire, no, a need to give him what he wanted. Curiously, she looked at Grausherra. He was studying her thoughtfully. She made eye contact with him for a moment, and then looked away. She felt herself blush again.
Grausherra silently regarded his new general. She was already incredibly loyal, though she'd probably deny it. It was all in the mind. He had been constantly sending her telepathic messages the moment she had awakened that second time. She probably wasn't aware of them, but they were there, and she was unconsciously bending to his will.
That was enough excitement for now. He decided to teach her Mazoku history and the geography of this continent. As a mazoku, not to mention one of his personal servants, the general, this would be one of the things she'd need to have engraved in her memory for all time. He decided to test her on her abilities to teleport while he was at it. "Follow me," he ordered, and teleported out of the room. Sherra stared at where he had been. Follow him? How? She hadn't received a mental image. Frightened, she began to panic. 'Find his astral signature and teleport next to him,' a telepathic voice offered helpfully. Sherra jumped slightly, and looked around. Where had that voice come from? Suddenly, she had it. The sword. It was her sword. It could talk; it had that "alive" aura about it. She quickly took its advice and teleported to where she could feel the Dynast's presence.
Sherra reappeared in a library. She looked around. It was huge and very well kept. There was row upon row of books, all tightly packed in shelves. The floor was still the black marble, but there were rugs here and there, scattered about the floor. There was a central fireplace, and about fifteen feet away from it were tables made of polished mahogany. There were arcane scrolls and books scattered all over them. The room was fairly brightly lit, much brighter than her room or the throne room. Grausherra was sitting at one of the tables, looking at her expectantly. She walked over to him, and he waved her into the seat next to his. She looked at the scroll laid out on the table. It was a map. It looked like it was ready to fall apart and end its pathetic existence at any second.
"This is a map of the continent we live in. Five thousand years ago, our Lord, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, fought against Flare Dragon Cephied. Each side was unwilling to give in, and they were equaled in power. But Cephied used up the last of his strength to split our lord into seven pieces of equal power. Cephied was exhausted and sank into the Sea of Chaos. He's never coming back. He left behind four gods, the Dragon Lords, to fight with Lord Ruby-Eye should he ever awaken. Then around one thousand years ago, Hellmaster Phibrizzo discovered a piece of Lord Ruby-Eye in a sorcerer named Lei Magnus. Lord Ruby-Eye was reawakened by Hellmaster, and another war started, called the War of the Monster's Fall. The Aqualord, Laguladia, awakened and challenged Lord Ruby-Eye.
He knew that Laguladia had a fourth of Ceipheed's power, while he had only a seventh of his own at his disposal. So he had Hellmaster Phibrizzo, Beastmaster Zelas-Metallium, Deep Sea Dolphin, and myself position ourselves at the four compass points. Myself in the far north, here in the Northern Footholds, Beastmaster in the deep south, at her abode, Wolf Pack Island. Deep Sea Dolphin in the west, deep beneath the surface of the Demon's Sea, and Hellmaster in the east, in the desert of his own creation, the Desert of Destruction. Phibrizzo was angry when his priestess and general were killed earlier in the war and blew up the eastern side of the continent, creating that desert. No plants will grow there, even to this day.
Together we created a god-sealing field that fractioned the Aqualord's power. Lei Magnus had Chaos Dragon Garv with him, and used Garv to channel the energy at Laguladia. Using the last of -his- strength, Aqualord imprisoned Lord Ruby-Eye in the Kataart Mountains, and sealed Garv into a human body. Now, about 20 years ago, Lord Ruby-Eye was resurrected in Rezo, the Red Priest. A sorceress named Lina Inverse cast a spell calling on the power of the Lord of Nightmares, the mother of all, and defeated Lord Ruby-Eye.
A couple of years later, Garv decided that he wanted to take over the Mazoku. Phibrizzo wanted to be the one to take care of it, and we had no objections. It was then that Lord Ruby-Eye, who is still imprisoned in the Kataart Mountains, told us of a sorceress, Lina Inverse, who could cast a spell that should it go out of control, it could destroy the world. World destruction, chaos, that is the ultimate goal of the Mazoku. Phibrizzo decided to ruin all of Garv's plans, and wanted to manipulate this sorceress into doing it for him, and while he was at it, have her cast the spell, the Giga Slave. He borrowed Beastmaster's General/Priest, Xelloss, to do the manipulation. Garv was killed by Hellmaster, and then Lina cast the Giga Slave, but it did NOT go out of control, so now Phibrizzo's dead.
Meanwhile, I was quietly taking over the Dilss kingdom, and had just succeeded when none other than Lina Inverse wandered into the scene. I sent you out to kill her, and you would have succeeded, but her bodyguard, Gourry Gabriev, killed you with his blade, the legendary Sword of Light. I challenged them afterward, and that sorceress nearly killed me. Shortly afterward, when I was still recuperating, one of Garv's followers, Valgarv, summoned Darkstar into our world. He is the head Mazoku in a world parallel to ours. And once again, Miss Inverse and her companions came through and killed both Darkstar and Valgarv. Gourry gave his Sword of Light, Gorun Nova, back to the overworlders. That's basically all you'll need to know right now," Grausherra explained.
Sherra blinked at him. That was a lot to take in. She had a million questions. "So, you still have control over Dilss?" she asked, stumbling over the name a little. Grausherra nodded in affirmation, "Yes, we still do. Grau and Grou are there right now, taking care of some business." "And Garv and Phibrizzo are dead?" She said slowly. "That's Lord Phibrizzo to you, and yes, they are," Grausherra replied. That made three still alive. Deep in thought, she gazed a Grausherra. Was he as old as that first war? Five thousand years? Are Mazoku immortal, then? He certainly didn't look old. Did that mean that she wouldn't age? Grau and Grou, they sounded familiar...that's it! Those two kids!! They were the priests, and she was....the general. The full meaning of those words hit her right then. She was the general. Grausherra silently met his general's gaze as she processed what he had just told her. That was a lot to take in, but she needed to be trained as quickly as possible. He could start her on swordplay this afternoon or tomorrow. Tomorrow, he decided. She still needed to hone her teleportation skills, and learn Levitation. It was decided. Starting tomorrow, she would truly be his general.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` And so endeth this sixth installment of this fic. What'd you think?? If I got anything wrong, or you have a comment, say it in a review!! If I get some more reviews, chap. 7 will be posted!! Yay!!
Phibby: And I was -finally- mentioned!! ^o^
Author: Yes... ^^
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