Once Upon a Time
A Slayers Fic
by Hotaru
Disclaimer...
Me poor little girl who is trying to get by in life and graduate from high school while trying to finish all my homework and complete college applications in time and still have time to practice my music, get ready for Christmas concerts, find time to buy presents, wrap them up, do AP Literature reading, try to finish my French correspondence course, and find time to write. Please don't sue. *grin*
Chapter 8
They were silent. The only sound came from the swishing of the wind as they flew speedily. The moon was still out so there was a lot of pale white light around them. Slowly, Merlina settled herself a bit more comfortably. She was a bit tired. Imagine! They had interrupted her sleep to rescue her... so she was tired. And come to think of it, Xellos was probably a bit sleepy also.
'Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don'tthinkaboutit....' Xellos chanted this thought in his mind like a mantra, trying to calm down and concentrate on flying and not crashing or falling down or anything like that. He felt Merlina move a bit and get a bit more comfortable against him. He was holding her in his arms, and it was distracting.
It had been no secret, back in Zephyria, that Xellos was a loner. He had done everything by himself, and though he usually didn't hang around with other people much, he hung around with some. Usually guys... and even then, he hadn't done much with them. So, he was a bit awkward with people, especially girls. He'd get all rude and proud when talking to them, and they'd get the point and leave him alone. Which suited him just fine. But after one year of meeting other people and hanging out with Merlina, he wasn't as... nervous. Still!!! This was the first time he actually touched more than a girl's hand. Heck,... this was the first time he had held a girl. So, to keep it simple, he was tense and nervous.
They finally arrived. He gently put her down in front of the inn. Merlina blushed and he did likewise.
"Well, here we are." said Xellos.
"Yeah." said Merlina. The two entered and Xellos ordered another bed to be taken to the room. After fifteen minutes of waiting, it was delivered. When they were alone once more, Xellos took out the staff and sword from under the bed.
"You stuck them under the bed?" asked Merlina, her right eyebrow raising.
"Well... I didn't know where to hide them." said Xellos. "Here's the sword and your staff." He handed them reverently to Merlina. Merlina grabbed both of them and her eyes closed with relief on getting them back.
"Thank you." she said as she lightly ran her fingertips across the hilt of her sword. Xellos watched as Merlina got to work on her manacles. With her right hand she wielded her sword and concentrated on using it to try to slice the manacles. Seeing that she was having some trouble, he offered his help.
"I can try, if you want me to help." he said. Merlina had been giving him some lessons in sword play although they had concentrated mostly on staff and hand to hand combat. Still, he knew how to wield one.
"Sure." said Merlina. She handed him the sword. "Be careful with it."
"Your sword or your hand?" he asked, jokingly.
"...um... how about both?" asked Merlina.
After a few minutes of intense concentration and weird positions to put the sword in, the manacles were chipped and Merlina only got a small cut. Xellos had immediately cast a Recovery on her.
"Thanks." said Merlina.
"Sure." said Xellos. Merlina saw her bag beside his bed and reached for it. She took out carefully her flask of blood and checked for her belongings.
"It's all here. Thanks for getting my stuff." said Merlina.
"It's the least I could do after you saving me." said Xellos. "Speaking of which, what was the spell you used to make the shield?"
"Dragon's Shield?" asked Merlina. "Guess."
"Um... it sounds like holy or white magic." said Xellos. Merlina laughed softly.
"Yeah, it does... as if I were calling up a Dragon's power to shield you, right?" asked Merlina. "But, it's not. It's Mazoku spell."
"What?" asked Xellos.
"It's a Dragon's shield. Guess where the Dragon comes from?" asked Merlina. At Xellos's clueless look, Merlina spoke. "It summons up the forms of the millions of dragons slaughtered by the Mazoku to form the shield."
"It does?" asked Xellos.
"Magic is full of ironies." said Merlina. "You may find some in the white magic also. Anyway, enough about that. How did you find me? Oh, and can I have something to eat? I haven't eaten in like two days. And that feast you were helping cook up about drove me nuts."
"Sure," said Xellos. Inwardly, he was shocked... two days? Yet Merlina didn't look weak or anything like that. He went down and then a few minutes later came up with two plates.
"I'm hungry too." said he as he set the plates down.
Merlina's plate was wiped clean in five minutes.
"It was good," she said, sheepishly. Xellos laughed, and she joined in also. Xellos described to her the process in which he found her.
"You went to a tavern and had tea in there?" she asked, looking incredulous.
"Well, I had to find a place where people talked a lot, and I didn't want to drink what they offered. I assumed some hot, boiled water should be relatively free of bacteria, dirt and other things like that. And since I don't like to drink water by itself, I put in some tea." said Xellos in defense of his actions.
"And then this man came and told me that he had seen everything and that he'd like to help me figure out where you were. And he came up with a plan to poison off the dragons." said Xellos.
"What was the catch? Why did he have something against the dragons?" asked Merlina.
Xellos thought back to his conversation. He had asked that question to Nihl.
FLASHBACK
"So, why do you want to kill them anyway?" asked Xellos as they trekked to the mountain fortress of the Dragons.
"I have my personal reasons." said Nihl with a bitter smile. "But I don't think it'll hurt to tell. It might help people realize that not everything is white and black. A lot of what happens is a murky shade of gray, you know."
"Huh?" asked Xellos.
"The short version? Well... my wife died about a year ago." said the man. "The Dragon's had a chance to heal her or to stop her murderer. They didn't. Simple as that."
"They didn't?" asked Xellos, surprised. He had always assumed them to be generally just people. For example, the two dragons that had taken Merlina had done so because she was trying to summon up a mazoku. "So, what did they do?"
"They let my wife's murderer go free." said Nihl, bitterly. "It has taken me a year to gain their confidence. Now, I can avenge her death."
"where were you?" asked Xellos, too curious to stay silent.
"I was on a business trip." said Nihl. "Out of the country at that time. I got news and immediately went there. I've been planning this for a long time, you know. You see, kid... life isn't as straight as one would think. Many say that one thing is good and one is bad. Many people think that a Golden Dragon equals good and that Demos are bad. And then, they stop thinking at that point. But what are you supposed to say when a Dragon does something bad? Or when a Demon saves a child? What happens then? Well, you get gray,.. and that is when you have to drop prejudices."
Xellos nodded. Poor man. No wonder he wanted to kill the dragons so badly. But he didn't really want to. Perhaps he could convince him to make them sleep or something not as drastic...
END FLASHBACK
"And he wanted to kill the Dragons alone and that is why he told you to find me and to leave?" asked Merlina. She was feeling a bit sad at the story that Xellos told her. "Well, I hope he succeeds."
Xellos looked at her in surprise.
"But that means the Dragons would die." said Xellos.
"It serves them right." said Merlina vehemently. "Just because Dragons usually look good doesn't meant they are. I should know. He does too. Anyway... let's talk about something else." She smiled at him. She knew that it was a bit shocking to him since he was a white priest and he probably didn't hear opinions like hers too often... speaking of which... why was he here?
Xellos was glad to take advantage of this and switched the topic to one that was more neutral.
"Let's talk tomorrow when you wake up." said Xellos.
"Sounds good." she said.
"You're not going to leave during the night, are you?" asked Xellos.
Merlina blushed and laughed. "Caught me there. But, if you insist, I'll leave tomorrow after breakfast."
"I do." said Xellos. He raised his eyebrow. "Goodness... must I keep an eye on you the whole time so that you don't run away?"
Merlina laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Gosh Xellos, you sound like a parent, already. Growing up so soon?" she asked. Xellos smiled and felt relieved. They were still friends. That was nice. Tomorrow, though... she might get mad at him.
Merlina went to sleep quite content. She had escaped from the Dragons. Xellos still treated her like a friend and a normal human being even though he knew that she was half mazoku, trying to call a full mazoku up and had the Sword of Light in her possession. Life seemed quite nice. After all, it was nice to be back among friends once more. She'd make the most of it before leaving tomorrow.
*****
The morning dawned bright and sunny over the small city of Trystinine. It was a small unimportant city. Not even the proper size of a city, Trystinine rested West of the already mentioned Lake of Gold. Due to its key location, close to a site where summoning a Mazoku could actually done, there was a small Dragon Temple on the outskirts of the town on the side closest to the Lake. A few days ago, a silly human had been caught trying to summon one of those dangerous monsters. Fortunately, the human had been stopped by the Dragon guards that were keeping a watch. Since the human had been taken care off and teleported to the authorities, the townspeople had calmed down and had resumed their daily and normal, mundane life.
The sun's warm rays hit the window at an angle and fell on Merlina's face. Her eyelids fluttered slightly but staid asleep. After a few moments, though, she tossed and turned a bit and finally decided that it was worth waking up.
She got up and yawned prettily and stretched her arms, working out the kinks in her shoulders and back. She then rubbed her eyes and got up to fix the bed. She had woken up later than normal, but that was normal considering she hadn't seen the daylight for the past few days. It was expected that her internal clock be a bit off. However, it would not happen again. She sat on her bed and looked about her. Xellos was on the bed at the other side of the room. She got the one closest to the window. He looked extremely peaceful sleeping there. She felt the corners of her mouth go up. He had also kicked off half of his covers during the night. A warm feeling began somewhere deep in her. Something she had yet to experience, and she enjoyed it while it lasted. He looked so... calm... happy... There was no tension on his face and he had a small smile on his face. She padded softly over to where he was and gently drew the covers to cover him up better. He burrowed under the covers a bit more and staid asleep. Then she smiled and went into the bathroom to freshen up. It was morning, after all, and she was usually dressed and descent looking at this time. Besides, breakfast time was almost here!
*****
Xellos woke up from a refreshing sleep. The past few days he had been sleeping on the road. When he had traveled to here in pursuit of Merlina. Then, when traveling with Nihl, they had slept on the road also. It hurt his back, and if he had the choice, he would definitely not sleep there again. Maybe he should buy a bedroll one of these days and take it with him. He got up and yawned as he stretched his cramped limbs. He looked at the window and saw the clear skies and the unmade bed that Merlina had slept in last night. He heard a slight humming from the bathroom. Which meant that she was up and about. He also got up and fixed his bed. By the time he had finished, Merlina was out of the bathroom.
"Good morning." she said to him.
"Good morning." he answered back as he took his stuff and went into the bathroom. Merlina tidied up her own bed and fixed a few things here and there. When Xellos finally was out, they went downstairs to the dining hall to have breakfast. Once that was over, silence reigned the table.
"..."
"..."
"So..." started Xellos. "...what are you going to do now?" He was pretty sure what her answer would be but he asked anyway.
"You know already." said Merlina. "I'm going to the next area. And once more... don't follow me."
"Why?" asked Xellos. His eyes were strict, just like Merlina's.
"Because... it's dangerous." said Merlina. "I thought that was obvious considering what has happened."
"You could get hurt." said Xellos. "And if that happens, then how are you to keep on? Or like last time. What happens if you get caught? Then you won't be able to escape and do the summoning."
"Well, I wouldn't have been caught had you not turned up." said Merlina.
"If I hadn't come, you wouldn't have even known they were there." said Xellos. The two glared at each other. Finally, Merlina sighed.
"Come on.. let's look at this rationally." said Merlina. "Pros of you staying here....1. You get to live a normal life. 2. You won't get hunted down by Dragons. 3. You won't be hunted or chased by Mazoku. 4. You won't have to deal with Mazoku, period. 5. You can start your life with no problems..."
"Actually, Merlina," interrupted Xellos. "You have only given me one reason, which is that I'll get to live a, what you call, normal life."
"There are five so far." said Merlina testily.
"Anyway..." said Xellos. "The Pros of my joining into your little adventure are... 1. I won't be bored to tears. I like adventure also, Ms. Merlina. 2. I'll be able to heal you if you get hurt along the way. 2. I'll be able to give you a hand if you end up fighting. 3. In case you are captured, I can find help or try to rescue you. 4. I will learn some more about the outside world, and see new sights. 5. We can still continue the lessons. 6. There is safety in numbers. 7. We can take turn keeping watch at night so that we are safer that way. 8. In cases where you can't use your magic, I can help."
"A con of you going along is the fact that you'll be confronting Mazoku and Ryuzoku alike." said Merlina. "And if worse comes to worse... you can die."
"If worse comes to worse, we'll fight them both off." correctly Xellos.
"You are impossible." hissed Merlina, her red eyes flashing like lightning.
"And why do you not want me to come along?" asked Xellos. "It would benefit you enormously."
"That's not the point!" said Merlina in an exasperated tone.
"Then what is?" asked Xellos, still acting cool and controlled.
"The point is that this is none of your business." said Merlina. "It's a family matter, and it will stay as MY family matter. I don't want other people just hanging around because it will be fun and interesting." She stared at him, daring him to offer a rebuttal against what she had just said. Xellos thought a bit.
"I understand that you don't want intruders," he said slowly. "But... well... I consider myself your friend. And honestly, you're the best friend I've ever had. Well, then again, I haven't had tons either. But, I wouldn't want to loose a great friend like you. Let me follow. We can keep an eye on each other. Besides, I don't have another place to go and I don't fit anywhere else."
"There's Tryyad." mumbled Merlina. She was shocked at what he had said. Sure, she also saw him as a friend... but, she didn't know he thought that also... There was some silence. Xellos could tell that she was thinking hard. He could almost imagine smoke coming from her temples. Well, he wouldn't tell her that, lest she get mad... After a few minutes of thought, Merlina finally spoke.
"How's this for a compromise." said Merlina. "You can follow me. My next stop is a month's travel from here. But, you won't interfere in my dealings with the Mazoku." She fixed him with a glare. "It is imperative that you not butt in while I deal with business. But other than that, you are free to follow or to depart." There was some silence. "How about it?"
"I can handle that." said Xellos. "But..."
"No buts." said Merlina. "That's as much as I'm willing to compromise." Xellos thought a bit.
"OK." he said. Merlina stood up.
"I'll be going out to buy supplies." she said. "I'll be back for supper."
"OK." said Xellos again. She turned to leave and then turned back. She smiled at him and touched his shoulder.
"Xellos? Thank you." she said, her voice soft and shy. She then left the dining room.
Xellos smiled to himself.
*****
One whole month of traveling... They had left immediately to their next location, which was due South-West. It was not the next area on the list of places of summoning though. Merlina had explained to him that the Dragons were probably aware of a certain human girl and her friend trying to summon a Mazoku. The most likely place would have been to go North to Myriant. Instead, they traveled in the opposite direction to a different city. Xellos, being level headed and calm, stated that it didn't matter since all areas would be guarded by the Dragons, no matter what. But, Merlina wanted to go to Senarry. So, Senarry it would be.
During that one month, they encountered many things. For one, there were quite a few bandits who thought that two young travelers meant quick money. Merlina and Xellos quickly put a stop to that train of thought, although some of the more persistent and stubborn members didn't seem to get the idea. This group, for example....
"I don't want to fight. So bug off." said Merlina. She was wearing her black cloak and her normal black and red ensemble. In her hand she held her diamond tipped staff. Hidden within the folds of her cloak was her bag and her sword was strapped to her waist.
"It's OK, you don't have to fight!" said the leader of the bandits. "All you have to do is hand over all your valuables and we'll both go away happy." There were a few wicked snickers from the group that tried to radiate evil. To Merlina, they sounded like children.
"I'm warning you," said Xellos. "You better leave now. You don't want to see the lady angry." He was also wearing his black cloak and all black clothes. He held his staff loosely. He cut a pretty dramatic figure beside Merlina as the wind blew their loose hair.
"So, are you going to hand over your stuff?" asked the leader. Merlina noted, with some distaste, that half of his teeth were missing. He drew his sword, the edges with nicks and rusty spots that not only would relieve you of your arm, but also leave a nasty infection.
"I warned you." said Xellos as he watched Merlina's eyes begin to twinkle with mischief. It was always like this. She'd say that she didn't want to fight, but deep down inside, she truly wanted to. For her, it was like flexing her magical muscle. She had to blast some bandits to actually be happy and carefree. She was best in a fight. Xellos, personally, didn't like fighting too much. But he could hold his own. Merlina had kept on giving him lessons and the two sparred, either hand to hand or staff to staff, or sword to sword, or anything goes. So, he could fight. But Merlina seemed to enjoy it so much. It was a pity to interrupt her play. After all, that is what it was to her. It was fun. She never hurt them too badly. Just enough to make them think the next time. So he sat on a rock and watched with amusement as Merlina's eyes glittered.
She made a quick motion with her hands and the leader's eyes widened as he felt himself float slightly in the air. He drifted closer to Merlina. She 'tsk'ed at the state his sword was in.
"Such a pity." started Merlina. "It must have been such a nice sword before you started to kill rats just to make it look old and rusty." There was an uneasy silence coming from the rest of the bandits.
"Just look at this!" continued Merlina, as if she were the only one there. With another wave of her hand, the rest of the bandits were caught in similar spells and brought closer to where Merlina was. And then, she gave them a quick lesson.
"Now... I know it's fashionable to make your sword look like it's been used to slaughter countless humans before, but when you do this, it's just too much!" she said. She drew the man's sword and pointed to a few nicks here and there. "Sure, they look used... but then again, I bet his wife used the sword to try to chop up rats in their house. Nicks probably came from bad aim, not beheading humans. And look at this!" She fingered some of the rusty area on the sword. She put it to her nose and took a small sniff. "Just dried up paint. Blood has a type of tangy smell to it after it dries on your sword. I know... I have experience." She grinned wickedly. The men began getting worried. "Would you like to see?" The men frantically shook their head. "Such a pity..." She put on a sorrowful face. "And I so wanted you to see how a real bloodstained sword looks like..." But then she brightened up, her smile cute and innocent. "But, now that it's over... I'm afraid you'll have to pay up. I don't give lessons freely, you know."
After relieving the men of their money, valuables and weapons, Merlina put them down.
"Thanks for your cooperation!" she said happily. Then she let go of the spell that held them. "You can go now... unless you want another lesson. Of course, it'll cost you dearly though." She smiled at them. They turned around and ran. She laughed softly and then turned to Xellos. "Score?"
"9 out of 10," said Xellos promptly with a smile. She looked extremely innocent like that. It was hard not to smile back. It was hard to realize that she actually did have the power to blast the bandits into the next month with just a thought. Truly, life and magic were ironic, just like Merlina taught. Oh, hadn't he mentioned it? Merlina not only taught him how to fight, but talked about magic, history, and one of her favorite subjects... philosophy and the way things were. It always amazed him how a 18 year old girl knew so much on so many things.
"Just a nine?" asked Merlina, her mouth set into a frown.
"Too short." explained Xellos. Merlina laughed.
"I'll try next time." said Merlina. "Can't have my judge all bored and stuff, right?"
"Right." said Xellos. And they split up the money and were once more on the way to Senarry.
*****
At night...
There was a fire crackling in the cold dark night. It emitted golden red sparks as another piece of wood was thrown in. Two figures sat around the small fire.
"What's for supper?" asked Xellos as he watched Merlina spear the chunks of meat on a spear.
"Normal, plain, mundane beef." she answered. She then gave one to Xellos and the two put them into the fire to roast. The silence of the night was only interrupted by the sounds of twigs crackling in the fire that Merlina had so conveniently lighted up with a small Fireball.
"So, how long till we get to the next city?" asked Xellos. He turned his stick so that his beef wouldn't get crispy on one side.
"About a week." said Merlina. She was also spinning it. After finishing supper, they just sat there, talking.
"Merlina... how much white magic do you know?" asked Xellos during a lull in their conversation. "I mean... I've mostly seen you cast black... and then some levitation,... Ray Wind... Shields... and then some miscellaneous magics."
"White magic?" asked Merlina. "Honestly... very little. I'm not too good at it. I can cast a small Recovery, though. It took me months to learn it, though."
"How come?" asked Xellos. "I mean..."
"Well... here are my thoughts on it... mixed in with some of my mom's." said Merlina. Now that her mission was getting closer, she didn't feel as much pain when she talked about her mother. "My mother, if you listened to some of the rumors at Zephyria... well, first of all, do you even know what the rumors were?" At his clueless look, Merlina laughed. "You know... it's been so long!"
"Yeah... it's like almost a different life." said Xellos. "Can you believe it's over a year?"
"Unbelievable." said Merlina, in a tone of reminiscence. Then she straightened up. "Well... first of all, my mother wasn't a witch, contrary to popular belief. She was actually a pretty high level priestess of the Dragon God Ceipheed."
"What?" asked Xellos.
"Yeah." said Merlina. "Anyway... she was the best. She inherited this sword from her parents, who were both High Priests to Ceipheed also." She took out the sword at her side. "You probably recognized it when you took care of it after I got captured..."
"It's the legendary Sword of Light, right?" asked Xellos. Merlina smiled.
"Yes." she said. "My mom passed it on to me. Anyway... I have the blood of very good white magicians running through me. So, normally, white magic would have been a cinch."
"But... with your dad being a Mazoku,..." said Xellos.
"Exactly." said Merlina. "So,... I'm sort of stuck. My mother formulated a theory on it. It doesn't have much polish or magical evidence,... but that is because... be honest... how many half human-half mazoku children are there?"
"Not many... the only one I know... well... that's you." said Xellos.
"That's true." said Merlina. "Actually... mom said that there might be a few more... but they are either too weak in a physical sense... or they were killed by their human or mazoku parents." There was some silence. Then Xellos spoke again.
"So, what was the theory your mother thought off." he asked.
"Well... I jokingly called it the Law of Dominance. She didn't like it." said Merlina. "Anyway... Black and white magic are equally strong in their fields, right? I mean, you can't get really potent fighting spells with black... but you can't heal with black. White can heal, but can't fight. So mixed, you have a bunch of possibilities. Black can't totally defeat white because they sort of complement each other. But Black is slightly stronger because Dad is a full Mazoku. Mom wasn't a Dragon, she was human. So even though she had a lot of white ability, it isn't as strong as Dad's black ability. So, I get a mix where Black is the stronger, but I still have white. That explains why I can cast black easily, but white takes a long time to learn. I can still cast it, but it's harder. Do you get what I'm getting at?" Xellos listened in a fascinated way at her lecture. Sure, it had nothing to do with him, but everything to do with her. It was a pretty well thought out theory.
"That's pretty interesting." said Xellos. "You know... she must have been pretty smart to figure something like that out."
"She was." said Merlina.
"Makes me wonder, though..." said Xellos. "And don't tell anyone that I'm wondering this. If you do... my reputation will be ruined. But what happens... if a Mazoku and a Ryuzoku actually have a child?"
"That's..." started Merlina, but then she stopped. "Yeah... I wonder?"
"I mean... hypothetically speaking... the white and black would be on the same level. So black can't dominate. And white can't dominate either." said Xellos.
"You could end up with an offspring that is magically inept." said Merlina after some thought. "But that is only if they cancel each other out."
"Or... you might end up with one that can cast both types strongly." said Xellos. "Imagine... someone casts a huge attack spell, and then casts a Mega Recovery on all the survivors."
"But casting such... opposite magics would have a high cost on the individual, don't you think?" asked Merlina. "I mean... we all know that there is a price for casting all the magic we do. Calling on the dark side is risky. How about white? What risk do you run? I never learned too much about it since... I don't worry too much about that."
"Well... it might not sound as bad as pledging oneself to a demon, but it isn't a laughing matter either. As you call on Ceipheed, you ask for help to restore life. But life has to come from somewhere, you know." said Xellos, thinking hard. "So, the life comes from those who cast the magic. It's not a huge amount, thought. Recoveries take such a small amount it's insignificant. And we are always gaining energy. But if we cast something big, like a Resurrect... that takes a lot of energy. It saps all your energy and then some more. The final end is that...well... it ends up cutting into your own life."
"So, you end up probably dying sooner?" asked Merlina.
"Basically." said Xellos. Then he grinned. "But then again, it hasn't been tested. It's a bit hard to give evidence for this, you know."
"Yeah, I can imagine." said Merlina. "Out of curiosity, can you cast black?"
"I know the lower level spells." said Xellos with a smile. "I can cast, Fireball, Flare Arrow, Flare Bit... all the small ones. I don't really want to worry myself about a Dark Lord coming to collect on a huge debt and a shortened life at the same time."
"Well... I must admit... whether ones specialty is black or white... magic isn't as easy as it seems." said Merlina.
"True." said Xellos. "Which probably explains why not everyone is a sorcerer."
"Add to that the fact that some people have no empathy with magic and that it takes lots of concentration." said Merlina.
"But, you know something? Magic is fun! Sorcerers and Healers can have a pretty good life and who cares if life is a bit shorter for them? One must make as much of their life as possible, after all. After all,... what is there to fear about Death?"
"Absolutely nothing." said Merlina. "After all, you don't hear the dead complaining." The two smiled. After a bit, they went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a brand new day. Merlina smiled in her sleep.
'Nope.' she thought. 'There is absolutely nothing to worry about death...'
End of Chapter
Hi! Thank you to the brave and courageous souls who reviewed! It was great to see your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Not much action... mostly lots of thinking and lots of foundational stuff. But concerning the question on magic... the Law of Dominance is based on the same law as proposed by Gregor Mendel when he spoke about genetics. I thought it fitted quite well with how magic is structured here. And the price of magic... well... that was all my imagination. Basically, magic can't be free. There is no fun in it. So if there is a price to it, an element of importance is added to it. Black calls on Shabby-kuns power. Pledging oneself to a demon is quite dangerous. The caster counts on a lot of self will to be able to keep the magic in control. But how about white? If everyone can become a healer, then there's no need for doctors. Well, not as much. I read somewhere that it can heal cuts... but can't totally cure sickness... I don't know if it's an established fact of Slayersdom or not. Still... what price is there to heal someone? The one that came up, for me, was actual life. Healing someone means that there is an importance that they live. Life energy can't always come from Ceipheed because it also involves the one that is casting.
Anyway, enough on this. The next chapter will be out very, very soon since I'm in Christmas break! So, if you review, I'll get it up mega pronto! (so, please review???? (grin))
Take care people! It'd be nice if you reviewed. Imagine the life of a solitary writer without input. Pathetic, isn't it? *grin* Till next time!
Hotaru
A Slayers Fic
by Hotaru
Disclaimer...
Me poor little girl who is trying to get by in life and graduate from high school while trying to finish all my homework and complete college applications in time and still have time to practice my music, get ready for Christmas concerts, find time to buy presents, wrap them up, do AP Literature reading, try to finish my French correspondence course, and find time to write. Please don't sue. *grin*
Chapter 8
They were silent. The only sound came from the swishing of the wind as they flew speedily. The moon was still out so there was a lot of pale white light around them. Slowly, Merlina settled herself a bit more comfortably. She was a bit tired. Imagine! They had interrupted her sleep to rescue her... so she was tired. And come to think of it, Xellos was probably a bit sleepy also.
'Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don'tthinkaboutit....' Xellos chanted this thought in his mind like a mantra, trying to calm down and concentrate on flying and not crashing or falling down or anything like that. He felt Merlina move a bit and get a bit more comfortable against him. He was holding her in his arms, and it was distracting.
It had been no secret, back in Zephyria, that Xellos was a loner. He had done everything by himself, and though he usually didn't hang around with other people much, he hung around with some. Usually guys... and even then, he hadn't done much with them. So, he was a bit awkward with people, especially girls. He'd get all rude and proud when talking to them, and they'd get the point and leave him alone. Which suited him just fine. But after one year of meeting other people and hanging out with Merlina, he wasn't as... nervous. Still!!! This was the first time he actually touched more than a girl's hand. Heck,... this was the first time he had held a girl. So, to keep it simple, he was tense and nervous.
They finally arrived. He gently put her down in front of the inn. Merlina blushed and he did likewise.
"Well, here we are." said Xellos.
"Yeah." said Merlina. The two entered and Xellos ordered another bed to be taken to the room. After fifteen minutes of waiting, it was delivered. When they were alone once more, Xellos took out the staff and sword from under the bed.
"You stuck them under the bed?" asked Merlina, her right eyebrow raising.
"Well... I didn't know where to hide them." said Xellos. "Here's the sword and your staff." He handed them reverently to Merlina. Merlina grabbed both of them and her eyes closed with relief on getting them back.
"Thank you." she said as she lightly ran her fingertips across the hilt of her sword. Xellos watched as Merlina got to work on her manacles. With her right hand she wielded her sword and concentrated on using it to try to slice the manacles. Seeing that she was having some trouble, he offered his help.
"I can try, if you want me to help." he said. Merlina had been giving him some lessons in sword play although they had concentrated mostly on staff and hand to hand combat. Still, he knew how to wield one.
"Sure." said Merlina. She handed him the sword. "Be careful with it."
"Your sword or your hand?" he asked, jokingly.
"...um... how about both?" asked Merlina.
After a few minutes of intense concentration and weird positions to put the sword in, the manacles were chipped and Merlina only got a small cut. Xellos had immediately cast a Recovery on her.
"Thanks." said Merlina.
"Sure." said Xellos. Merlina saw her bag beside his bed and reached for it. She took out carefully her flask of blood and checked for her belongings.
"It's all here. Thanks for getting my stuff." said Merlina.
"It's the least I could do after you saving me." said Xellos. "Speaking of which, what was the spell you used to make the shield?"
"Dragon's Shield?" asked Merlina. "Guess."
"Um... it sounds like holy or white magic." said Xellos. Merlina laughed softly.
"Yeah, it does... as if I were calling up a Dragon's power to shield you, right?" asked Merlina. "But, it's not. It's Mazoku spell."
"What?" asked Xellos.
"It's a Dragon's shield. Guess where the Dragon comes from?" asked Merlina. At Xellos's clueless look, Merlina spoke. "It summons up the forms of the millions of dragons slaughtered by the Mazoku to form the shield."
"It does?" asked Xellos.
"Magic is full of ironies." said Merlina. "You may find some in the white magic also. Anyway, enough about that. How did you find me? Oh, and can I have something to eat? I haven't eaten in like two days. And that feast you were helping cook up about drove me nuts."
"Sure," said Xellos. Inwardly, he was shocked... two days? Yet Merlina didn't look weak or anything like that. He went down and then a few minutes later came up with two plates.
"I'm hungry too." said he as he set the plates down.
Merlina's plate was wiped clean in five minutes.
"It was good," she said, sheepishly. Xellos laughed, and she joined in also. Xellos described to her the process in which he found her.
"You went to a tavern and had tea in there?" she asked, looking incredulous.
"Well, I had to find a place where people talked a lot, and I didn't want to drink what they offered. I assumed some hot, boiled water should be relatively free of bacteria, dirt and other things like that. And since I don't like to drink water by itself, I put in some tea." said Xellos in defense of his actions.
"And then this man came and told me that he had seen everything and that he'd like to help me figure out where you were. And he came up with a plan to poison off the dragons." said Xellos.
"What was the catch? Why did he have something against the dragons?" asked Merlina.
Xellos thought back to his conversation. He had asked that question to Nihl.
FLASHBACK
"So, why do you want to kill them anyway?" asked Xellos as they trekked to the mountain fortress of the Dragons.
"I have my personal reasons." said Nihl with a bitter smile. "But I don't think it'll hurt to tell. It might help people realize that not everything is white and black. A lot of what happens is a murky shade of gray, you know."
"Huh?" asked Xellos.
"The short version? Well... my wife died about a year ago." said the man. "The Dragon's had a chance to heal her or to stop her murderer. They didn't. Simple as that."
"They didn't?" asked Xellos, surprised. He had always assumed them to be generally just people. For example, the two dragons that had taken Merlina had done so because she was trying to summon up a mazoku. "So, what did they do?"
"They let my wife's murderer go free." said Nihl, bitterly. "It has taken me a year to gain their confidence. Now, I can avenge her death."
"where were you?" asked Xellos, too curious to stay silent.
"I was on a business trip." said Nihl. "Out of the country at that time. I got news and immediately went there. I've been planning this for a long time, you know. You see, kid... life isn't as straight as one would think. Many say that one thing is good and one is bad. Many people think that a Golden Dragon equals good and that Demos are bad. And then, they stop thinking at that point. But what are you supposed to say when a Dragon does something bad? Or when a Demon saves a child? What happens then? Well, you get gray,.. and that is when you have to drop prejudices."
Xellos nodded. Poor man. No wonder he wanted to kill the dragons so badly. But he didn't really want to. Perhaps he could convince him to make them sleep or something not as drastic...
END FLASHBACK
"And he wanted to kill the Dragons alone and that is why he told you to find me and to leave?" asked Merlina. She was feeling a bit sad at the story that Xellos told her. "Well, I hope he succeeds."
Xellos looked at her in surprise.
"But that means the Dragons would die." said Xellos.
"It serves them right." said Merlina vehemently. "Just because Dragons usually look good doesn't meant they are. I should know. He does too. Anyway... let's talk about something else." She smiled at him. She knew that it was a bit shocking to him since he was a white priest and he probably didn't hear opinions like hers too often... speaking of which... why was he here?
Xellos was glad to take advantage of this and switched the topic to one that was more neutral.
"Let's talk tomorrow when you wake up." said Xellos.
"Sounds good." she said.
"You're not going to leave during the night, are you?" asked Xellos.
Merlina blushed and laughed. "Caught me there. But, if you insist, I'll leave tomorrow after breakfast."
"I do." said Xellos. He raised his eyebrow. "Goodness... must I keep an eye on you the whole time so that you don't run away?"
Merlina laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Gosh Xellos, you sound like a parent, already. Growing up so soon?" she asked. Xellos smiled and felt relieved. They were still friends. That was nice. Tomorrow, though... she might get mad at him.
Merlina went to sleep quite content. She had escaped from the Dragons. Xellos still treated her like a friend and a normal human being even though he knew that she was half mazoku, trying to call a full mazoku up and had the Sword of Light in her possession. Life seemed quite nice. After all, it was nice to be back among friends once more. She'd make the most of it before leaving tomorrow.
*****
The morning dawned bright and sunny over the small city of Trystinine. It was a small unimportant city. Not even the proper size of a city, Trystinine rested West of the already mentioned Lake of Gold. Due to its key location, close to a site where summoning a Mazoku could actually done, there was a small Dragon Temple on the outskirts of the town on the side closest to the Lake. A few days ago, a silly human had been caught trying to summon one of those dangerous monsters. Fortunately, the human had been stopped by the Dragon guards that were keeping a watch. Since the human had been taken care off and teleported to the authorities, the townspeople had calmed down and had resumed their daily and normal, mundane life.
The sun's warm rays hit the window at an angle and fell on Merlina's face. Her eyelids fluttered slightly but staid asleep. After a few moments, though, she tossed and turned a bit and finally decided that it was worth waking up.
She got up and yawned prettily and stretched her arms, working out the kinks in her shoulders and back. She then rubbed her eyes and got up to fix the bed. She had woken up later than normal, but that was normal considering she hadn't seen the daylight for the past few days. It was expected that her internal clock be a bit off. However, it would not happen again. She sat on her bed and looked about her. Xellos was on the bed at the other side of the room. She got the one closest to the window. He looked extremely peaceful sleeping there. She felt the corners of her mouth go up. He had also kicked off half of his covers during the night. A warm feeling began somewhere deep in her. Something she had yet to experience, and she enjoyed it while it lasted. He looked so... calm... happy... There was no tension on his face and he had a small smile on his face. She padded softly over to where he was and gently drew the covers to cover him up better. He burrowed under the covers a bit more and staid asleep. Then she smiled and went into the bathroom to freshen up. It was morning, after all, and she was usually dressed and descent looking at this time. Besides, breakfast time was almost here!
*****
Xellos woke up from a refreshing sleep. The past few days he had been sleeping on the road. When he had traveled to here in pursuit of Merlina. Then, when traveling with Nihl, they had slept on the road also. It hurt his back, and if he had the choice, he would definitely not sleep there again. Maybe he should buy a bedroll one of these days and take it with him. He got up and yawned as he stretched his cramped limbs. He looked at the window and saw the clear skies and the unmade bed that Merlina had slept in last night. He heard a slight humming from the bathroom. Which meant that she was up and about. He also got up and fixed his bed. By the time he had finished, Merlina was out of the bathroom.
"Good morning." she said to him.
"Good morning." he answered back as he took his stuff and went into the bathroom. Merlina tidied up her own bed and fixed a few things here and there. When Xellos finally was out, they went downstairs to the dining hall to have breakfast. Once that was over, silence reigned the table.
"..."
"..."
"So..." started Xellos. "...what are you going to do now?" He was pretty sure what her answer would be but he asked anyway.
"You know already." said Merlina. "I'm going to the next area. And once more... don't follow me."
"Why?" asked Xellos. His eyes were strict, just like Merlina's.
"Because... it's dangerous." said Merlina. "I thought that was obvious considering what has happened."
"You could get hurt." said Xellos. "And if that happens, then how are you to keep on? Or like last time. What happens if you get caught? Then you won't be able to escape and do the summoning."
"Well, I wouldn't have been caught had you not turned up." said Merlina.
"If I hadn't come, you wouldn't have even known they were there." said Xellos. The two glared at each other. Finally, Merlina sighed.
"Come on.. let's look at this rationally." said Merlina. "Pros of you staying here....1. You get to live a normal life. 2. You won't get hunted down by Dragons. 3. You won't be hunted or chased by Mazoku. 4. You won't have to deal with Mazoku, period. 5. You can start your life with no problems..."
"Actually, Merlina," interrupted Xellos. "You have only given me one reason, which is that I'll get to live a, what you call, normal life."
"There are five so far." said Merlina testily.
"Anyway..." said Xellos. "The Pros of my joining into your little adventure are... 1. I won't be bored to tears. I like adventure also, Ms. Merlina. 2. I'll be able to heal you if you get hurt along the way. 2. I'll be able to give you a hand if you end up fighting. 3. In case you are captured, I can find help or try to rescue you. 4. I will learn some more about the outside world, and see new sights. 5. We can still continue the lessons. 6. There is safety in numbers. 7. We can take turn keeping watch at night so that we are safer that way. 8. In cases where you can't use your magic, I can help."
"A con of you going along is the fact that you'll be confronting Mazoku and Ryuzoku alike." said Merlina. "And if worse comes to worse... you can die."
"If worse comes to worse, we'll fight them both off." correctly Xellos.
"You are impossible." hissed Merlina, her red eyes flashing like lightning.
"And why do you not want me to come along?" asked Xellos. "It would benefit you enormously."
"That's not the point!" said Merlina in an exasperated tone.
"Then what is?" asked Xellos, still acting cool and controlled.
"The point is that this is none of your business." said Merlina. "It's a family matter, and it will stay as MY family matter. I don't want other people just hanging around because it will be fun and interesting." She stared at him, daring him to offer a rebuttal against what she had just said. Xellos thought a bit.
"I understand that you don't want intruders," he said slowly. "But... well... I consider myself your friend. And honestly, you're the best friend I've ever had. Well, then again, I haven't had tons either. But, I wouldn't want to loose a great friend like you. Let me follow. We can keep an eye on each other. Besides, I don't have another place to go and I don't fit anywhere else."
"There's Tryyad." mumbled Merlina. She was shocked at what he had said. Sure, she also saw him as a friend... but, she didn't know he thought that also... There was some silence. Xellos could tell that she was thinking hard. He could almost imagine smoke coming from her temples. Well, he wouldn't tell her that, lest she get mad... After a few minutes of thought, Merlina finally spoke.
"How's this for a compromise." said Merlina. "You can follow me. My next stop is a month's travel from here. But, you won't interfere in my dealings with the Mazoku." She fixed him with a glare. "It is imperative that you not butt in while I deal with business. But other than that, you are free to follow or to depart." There was some silence. "How about it?"
"I can handle that." said Xellos. "But..."
"No buts." said Merlina. "That's as much as I'm willing to compromise." Xellos thought a bit.
"OK." he said. Merlina stood up.
"I'll be going out to buy supplies." she said. "I'll be back for supper."
"OK." said Xellos again. She turned to leave and then turned back. She smiled at him and touched his shoulder.
"Xellos? Thank you." she said, her voice soft and shy. She then left the dining room.
Xellos smiled to himself.
*****
One whole month of traveling... They had left immediately to their next location, which was due South-West. It was not the next area on the list of places of summoning though. Merlina had explained to him that the Dragons were probably aware of a certain human girl and her friend trying to summon a Mazoku. The most likely place would have been to go North to Myriant. Instead, they traveled in the opposite direction to a different city. Xellos, being level headed and calm, stated that it didn't matter since all areas would be guarded by the Dragons, no matter what. But, Merlina wanted to go to Senarry. So, Senarry it would be.
During that one month, they encountered many things. For one, there were quite a few bandits who thought that two young travelers meant quick money. Merlina and Xellos quickly put a stop to that train of thought, although some of the more persistent and stubborn members didn't seem to get the idea. This group, for example....
"I don't want to fight. So bug off." said Merlina. She was wearing her black cloak and her normal black and red ensemble. In her hand she held her diamond tipped staff. Hidden within the folds of her cloak was her bag and her sword was strapped to her waist.
"It's OK, you don't have to fight!" said the leader of the bandits. "All you have to do is hand over all your valuables and we'll both go away happy." There were a few wicked snickers from the group that tried to radiate evil. To Merlina, they sounded like children.
"I'm warning you," said Xellos. "You better leave now. You don't want to see the lady angry." He was also wearing his black cloak and all black clothes. He held his staff loosely. He cut a pretty dramatic figure beside Merlina as the wind blew their loose hair.
"So, are you going to hand over your stuff?" asked the leader. Merlina noted, with some distaste, that half of his teeth were missing. He drew his sword, the edges with nicks and rusty spots that not only would relieve you of your arm, but also leave a nasty infection.
"I warned you." said Xellos as he watched Merlina's eyes begin to twinkle with mischief. It was always like this. She'd say that she didn't want to fight, but deep down inside, she truly wanted to. For her, it was like flexing her magical muscle. She had to blast some bandits to actually be happy and carefree. She was best in a fight. Xellos, personally, didn't like fighting too much. But he could hold his own. Merlina had kept on giving him lessons and the two sparred, either hand to hand or staff to staff, or sword to sword, or anything goes. So, he could fight. But Merlina seemed to enjoy it so much. It was a pity to interrupt her play. After all, that is what it was to her. It was fun. She never hurt them too badly. Just enough to make them think the next time. So he sat on a rock and watched with amusement as Merlina's eyes glittered.
She made a quick motion with her hands and the leader's eyes widened as he felt himself float slightly in the air. He drifted closer to Merlina. She 'tsk'ed at the state his sword was in.
"Such a pity." started Merlina. "It must have been such a nice sword before you started to kill rats just to make it look old and rusty." There was an uneasy silence coming from the rest of the bandits.
"Just look at this!" continued Merlina, as if she were the only one there. With another wave of her hand, the rest of the bandits were caught in similar spells and brought closer to where Merlina was. And then, she gave them a quick lesson.
"Now... I know it's fashionable to make your sword look like it's been used to slaughter countless humans before, but when you do this, it's just too much!" she said. She drew the man's sword and pointed to a few nicks here and there. "Sure, they look used... but then again, I bet his wife used the sword to try to chop up rats in their house. Nicks probably came from bad aim, not beheading humans. And look at this!" She fingered some of the rusty area on the sword. She put it to her nose and took a small sniff. "Just dried up paint. Blood has a type of tangy smell to it after it dries on your sword. I know... I have experience." She grinned wickedly. The men began getting worried. "Would you like to see?" The men frantically shook their head. "Such a pity..." She put on a sorrowful face. "And I so wanted you to see how a real bloodstained sword looks like..." But then she brightened up, her smile cute and innocent. "But, now that it's over... I'm afraid you'll have to pay up. I don't give lessons freely, you know."
After relieving the men of their money, valuables and weapons, Merlina put them down.
"Thanks for your cooperation!" she said happily. Then she let go of the spell that held them. "You can go now... unless you want another lesson. Of course, it'll cost you dearly though." She smiled at them. They turned around and ran. She laughed softly and then turned to Xellos. "Score?"
"9 out of 10," said Xellos promptly with a smile. She looked extremely innocent like that. It was hard not to smile back. It was hard to realize that she actually did have the power to blast the bandits into the next month with just a thought. Truly, life and magic were ironic, just like Merlina taught. Oh, hadn't he mentioned it? Merlina not only taught him how to fight, but talked about magic, history, and one of her favorite subjects... philosophy and the way things were. It always amazed him how a 18 year old girl knew so much on so many things.
"Just a nine?" asked Merlina, her mouth set into a frown.
"Too short." explained Xellos. Merlina laughed.
"I'll try next time." said Merlina. "Can't have my judge all bored and stuff, right?"
"Right." said Xellos. And they split up the money and were once more on the way to Senarry.
*****
At night...
There was a fire crackling in the cold dark night. It emitted golden red sparks as another piece of wood was thrown in. Two figures sat around the small fire.
"What's for supper?" asked Xellos as he watched Merlina spear the chunks of meat on a spear.
"Normal, plain, mundane beef." she answered. She then gave one to Xellos and the two put them into the fire to roast. The silence of the night was only interrupted by the sounds of twigs crackling in the fire that Merlina had so conveniently lighted up with a small Fireball.
"So, how long till we get to the next city?" asked Xellos. He turned his stick so that his beef wouldn't get crispy on one side.
"About a week." said Merlina. She was also spinning it. After finishing supper, they just sat there, talking.
"Merlina... how much white magic do you know?" asked Xellos during a lull in their conversation. "I mean... I've mostly seen you cast black... and then some levitation,... Ray Wind... Shields... and then some miscellaneous magics."
"White magic?" asked Merlina. "Honestly... very little. I'm not too good at it. I can cast a small Recovery, though. It took me months to learn it, though."
"How come?" asked Xellos. "I mean..."
"Well... here are my thoughts on it... mixed in with some of my mom's." said Merlina. Now that her mission was getting closer, she didn't feel as much pain when she talked about her mother. "My mother, if you listened to some of the rumors at Zephyria... well, first of all, do you even know what the rumors were?" At his clueless look, Merlina laughed. "You know... it's been so long!"
"Yeah... it's like almost a different life." said Xellos. "Can you believe it's over a year?"
"Unbelievable." said Merlina, in a tone of reminiscence. Then she straightened up. "Well... first of all, my mother wasn't a witch, contrary to popular belief. She was actually a pretty high level priestess of the Dragon God Ceipheed."
"What?" asked Xellos.
"Yeah." said Merlina. "Anyway... she was the best. She inherited this sword from her parents, who were both High Priests to Ceipheed also." She took out the sword at her side. "You probably recognized it when you took care of it after I got captured..."
"It's the legendary Sword of Light, right?" asked Xellos. Merlina smiled.
"Yes." she said. "My mom passed it on to me. Anyway... I have the blood of very good white magicians running through me. So, normally, white magic would have been a cinch."
"But... with your dad being a Mazoku,..." said Xellos.
"Exactly." said Merlina. "So,... I'm sort of stuck. My mother formulated a theory on it. It doesn't have much polish or magical evidence,... but that is because... be honest... how many half human-half mazoku children are there?"
"Not many... the only one I know... well... that's you." said Xellos.
"That's true." said Merlina. "Actually... mom said that there might be a few more... but they are either too weak in a physical sense... or they were killed by their human or mazoku parents." There was some silence. Then Xellos spoke again.
"So, what was the theory your mother thought off." he asked.
"Well... I jokingly called it the Law of Dominance. She didn't like it." said Merlina. "Anyway... Black and white magic are equally strong in their fields, right? I mean, you can't get really potent fighting spells with black... but you can't heal with black. White can heal, but can't fight. So mixed, you have a bunch of possibilities. Black can't totally defeat white because they sort of complement each other. But Black is slightly stronger because Dad is a full Mazoku. Mom wasn't a Dragon, she was human. So even though she had a lot of white ability, it isn't as strong as Dad's black ability. So, I get a mix where Black is the stronger, but I still have white. That explains why I can cast black easily, but white takes a long time to learn. I can still cast it, but it's harder. Do you get what I'm getting at?" Xellos listened in a fascinated way at her lecture. Sure, it had nothing to do with him, but everything to do with her. It was a pretty well thought out theory.
"That's pretty interesting." said Xellos. "You know... she must have been pretty smart to figure something like that out."
"She was." said Merlina.
"Makes me wonder, though..." said Xellos. "And don't tell anyone that I'm wondering this. If you do... my reputation will be ruined. But what happens... if a Mazoku and a Ryuzoku actually have a child?"
"That's..." started Merlina, but then she stopped. "Yeah... I wonder?"
"I mean... hypothetically speaking... the white and black would be on the same level. So black can't dominate. And white can't dominate either." said Xellos.
"You could end up with an offspring that is magically inept." said Merlina after some thought. "But that is only if they cancel each other out."
"Or... you might end up with one that can cast both types strongly." said Xellos. "Imagine... someone casts a huge attack spell, and then casts a Mega Recovery on all the survivors."
"But casting such... opposite magics would have a high cost on the individual, don't you think?" asked Merlina. "I mean... we all know that there is a price for casting all the magic we do. Calling on the dark side is risky. How about white? What risk do you run? I never learned too much about it since... I don't worry too much about that."
"Well... it might not sound as bad as pledging oneself to a demon, but it isn't a laughing matter either. As you call on Ceipheed, you ask for help to restore life. But life has to come from somewhere, you know." said Xellos, thinking hard. "So, the life comes from those who cast the magic. It's not a huge amount, thought. Recoveries take such a small amount it's insignificant. And we are always gaining energy. But if we cast something big, like a Resurrect... that takes a lot of energy. It saps all your energy and then some more. The final end is that...well... it ends up cutting into your own life."
"So, you end up probably dying sooner?" asked Merlina.
"Basically." said Xellos. Then he grinned. "But then again, it hasn't been tested. It's a bit hard to give evidence for this, you know."
"Yeah, I can imagine." said Merlina. "Out of curiosity, can you cast black?"
"I know the lower level spells." said Xellos with a smile. "I can cast, Fireball, Flare Arrow, Flare Bit... all the small ones. I don't really want to worry myself about a Dark Lord coming to collect on a huge debt and a shortened life at the same time."
"Well... I must admit... whether ones specialty is black or white... magic isn't as easy as it seems." said Merlina.
"True." said Xellos. "Which probably explains why not everyone is a sorcerer."
"Add to that the fact that some people have no empathy with magic and that it takes lots of concentration." said Merlina.
"But, you know something? Magic is fun! Sorcerers and Healers can have a pretty good life and who cares if life is a bit shorter for them? One must make as much of their life as possible, after all. After all,... what is there to fear about Death?"
"Absolutely nothing." said Merlina. "After all, you don't hear the dead complaining." The two smiled. After a bit, they went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a brand new day. Merlina smiled in her sleep.
'Nope.' she thought. 'There is absolutely nothing to worry about death...'
End of Chapter
Hi! Thank you to the brave and courageous souls who reviewed! It was great to see your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Not much action... mostly lots of thinking and lots of foundational stuff. But concerning the question on magic... the Law of Dominance is based on the same law as proposed by Gregor Mendel when he spoke about genetics. I thought it fitted quite well with how magic is structured here. And the price of magic... well... that was all my imagination. Basically, magic can't be free. There is no fun in it. So if there is a price to it, an element of importance is added to it. Black calls on Shabby-kuns power. Pledging oneself to a demon is quite dangerous. The caster counts on a lot of self will to be able to keep the magic in control. But how about white? If everyone can become a healer, then there's no need for doctors. Well, not as much. I read somewhere that it can heal cuts... but can't totally cure sickness... I don't know if it's an established fact of Slayersdom or not. Still... what price is there to heal someone? The one that came up, for me, was actual life. Healing someone means that there is an importance that they live. Life energy can't always come from Ceipheed because it also involves the one that is casting.
Anyway, enough on this. The next chapter will be out very, very soon since I'm in Christmas break! So, if you review, I'll get it up mega pronto! (so, please review???? (grin))
Take care people! It'd be nice if you reviewed. Imagine the life of a solitary writer without input. Pathetic, isn't it? *grin* Till next time!
Hotaru
