Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers or its characters. Just this story. That's all!
Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews! They make me so happy! Keep them coming, they make me want to post faster. MoroTheWolfGod, Zelgadis will come in 2 chapters from now. See, I have this written already, I'm just typing it slowly. I only have partway through chapter 8 written, though, so I'll see about putting more of him in here in the future. Also, I have a piece of fanart I made of the scene with Rezo and his chibis. http://indigo.1afm.com/images/rezokopiisdraw.jpg. More interesting attempts at a cure to come! And a short hold will be put on most of the sad stuff. I promise though, by the time Zelgadis comes in, it'll be more of a sad story.
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 5: Golden Priest
The next day found Rezo and Eris back in the lab. The captive Kopii watched from his cage, and the little kopiis ran around, giggling happily. They played tag around the furniture, under tables, and in and out of the strange equipment in the lab.
The topic of the day was summoning. Eris and Rezo had both heard tales of the greatest sorcerers summoning demigods and demons to perform a task for them. Perhaps they could do the same!
It would be a difficult thing to control properly. Eris studied the diagrams and practiced drawing wards for sealing the creature in a small space. Rezo was reading up on types of things that could be summoned. They had decided that a servant of the gods would be better, at least to start with, than a mazoku. Kopii was quietly giving all the little kopiis in the area sight. He found that it was hard to do more than a couple of big spells per day, but he remembered a very simple eye-opening spell that Rezo had tried once. And so, the power of the kopiis grew…
Eris looked up from her practice in annoyance at the sound of the little kopiis squealing in glee. "Stop that!" she said sharply. "They're annoying enough without being able to see."
Kopii looked at her. Rezo looked up from his book, a rather pained expression on his face.
"And don't look at me!" Eris continued. "Your eyes are so creepy! Rezo-sama, can't we just get rid of him?"
"No," Rezo said, in a firm flat voice. "We promised him he could live here. And besides, he might have a use later on. But… you said his eyes are… creepy? How so?"
"They're scary!" Eris said, shivering a little. "One's green, and the other's yellow and slit-pupiled, like a mazoku's eye. It's… unnatural!"
"But if his eyes are like that, then mine must be also," reasoned Rezo.
"Oh no, Rezo-sama!" Eris said quickly. "The little kopiis who had their eyes opened with normal spells all have purple eyes. This one's eyes were probably warped by the mazoku powers called on in the spell we used on it."
"Hmm…" Rezo 'hmm'ed, and went back to his book.
The lab was relatively quiet for a while as Rezo read, Eris drew symbols, and Kopii tried a long-distance reading spell to see what Rezo was reading. Kopii found that while he hated Eris with a passion, he liked Rezo well enough. He could tell that Eris didn't like him either, though he didn't know why. She loved Rezo. And Rezo… well, Rezo tolerated him. At least the little kopiis were nice to him. They sometimes even brought him good things to eat or interesting things to look at.
Rezo looked up again. "As far as I can tell, our best bet is a dragon," he said. "The Ancient Dragons were the strongest and wisest, but they were all killed. So the next strongest ryuuzoku is the Golden Dragon."
"Oh, I think there's a clan of them in the Katahto Mountains!" Eris exclaimed. "That's not too far away. It should be easy."
"Don't let that make you sloppy," Rezo cautioned.
"Don't worry Rezo-sama," Eris said, blushing at her own eagerness. "I'll be careful." She thought she heard a quiet snicker from Kopii's cage, but when she glanced over at him he was just brushing some dust from the hem of his robes. She didn't want to embarrass herself further by saying anything.
So Eris and Rezo both read about summoning and the Golden Dragons, then they did a practice summon, calling a random kopii from the attic into their magic circle. They held it there for a short time before letting it go. It squeaked and ran away in fear. Kopii caught it and calmed it down.
Rezo and Eris took a short lunch break, grabbing some sandwiches to replenish their strength before going back downstairs. Eris grudgingly gave Kopii a couple of sandwiches, which he took and ate gratefully. He was fed two or three times a day, and he knew enough to appreciate every time. He fed bits of the crust to the little kopiis. They were a bit quieter than usual today, but not as quiet as they had been the day Kopii came into existence. When he was finished, he sat back and watched the beginnings of the summoning.
Eris drew a large six-pointed star. She drew a circle around that, and drew some mystic binding symbols. Rezo, who could sense the shapes, placed a large black candle at each of the star's points. He lit them all at the same time with a spell so that they would all burn at the same rate and the same time.
Clanging his staff, Rezo began to chant the spell. The air was thick with magical energy. A glowing shape appeared in the magic circle. As Rezo finished, a bright light flashed, making Eris, Kopii, and the little kopiis have to cover their eyes. In the middle of the circle, a handsome middle-aged looking man with long blond hair wearing light tan robes appeared. He looked mildly annoyed.
"Why have you brought me here, human?" the golden dragon in human form asked.
Rezo stepped forward. "Please, ryuuzoku-sama. I have been blind since my birth. I have tried everything to unseal my eyes. I would be eternally grateful if you could help me."
The dragon regarded him for a moment. "I am Milgazia, priest of the Water Dragon King," he said after a moment. If you will allow me to step outside of this barrier, I will see if I can help you."
"Should we…" Eris started to say. Rezo nodded, and they removed the warding spell. The symbols on the floor glowed and disappeared. Milgazia stepped out towards Rezo. Kopii and Eris watched in anticipation as Milgazia moved his hands in front of, and then over, Rezo's eyelids. Rezo held his breath. Milgazia frowned, then his eyes opened wide in shock.
"What is it!?" Eris asked quickly.
Milgazia coughed. "I am afraid that this is quite beyond me," he said, the eternal calm returning to his voice. "I have not dealt with this kind of… ailment… for over a thousand years. Even then, it took every dragon the Water Dragon King, and even the great Dragon God himself to overcome it."
"Well couldn't you help him anyway? All of you?" asked Eris bluntly.
"No. I'm afraid that is out of the question. There is no immediate threat at this moment and we cannot risk again what we risked then. You ask too much. Now, if you are finished, may I leave?" he said icily.
"No! There has to be something you can do!" Eris pleaded, her voice raising to a shout.
"Maybe you shouldn't make him mad," Kopii said quickly before he thought about the fact that Eris never listened to him anyway.
Milgazia turned to look at Kopii. Then he looked at Rezo. He looked back at Kopii. "It is too late. You have already incurred my wrath. Now none of you shall live to see the light of another day," he said in a perfectly calm voice.
Rezo, Eris, and Kopii cringed back. The little kopiis, who had been mostly silent until then, burst out laughing all at once. Kopii desperately tried to hush them, and Rezo and Eris cringed even more. Milgazia did not move for a moment.
The ryuuzoku priest turned away to look at the wall for a moment. "Only joking, of course," he said with a calm voice and a completely deadpan face.
Rezo, Kopii, and Eris all facefaulted. The little kopiis laughed even harder. Some of them climbed into Milgazia's boots and robes.
"Oh, err… sorry," Eris said, very nervous about this strange dragon-man. "They're… all over the place. We can't get rid of them."
"Perhaps I could help you with this problem a bit," Milgazia said. "I will take these ones with me. I think that there are enough images of you inhere to satisfy anyone's vanity."
Rezo and Kopii blushed, and the other kopiis giggled. Milgazia turned to Rezo. "It would probably be best for you if you ignored your plight. Sight is not everything. You might get more than you bargained for." With that, he teleported out, back to the valley he had come from with a few of the kopiis.
"What a totally useless dragon!" Eris exclaimed angrily.
"Please lower your voice, Eris," Rezo groaned. He had felt a growing buzzing in his eyes since Milgazia had arrived. When the ryuuzoku had touched his eyelids, it had turned into a pulsating, throbbing pain. It had lessened a bit after Milgazia left, but it was still painful and Eris's loud voice wasn't helping.
"Oh Rezo-sama!" exclaimed Eris, more softly this time. "Do you have a headache again? I wish we knew why you get them."
"It has something to do with the gods and holy things," said Kopii to Rezo. "They come when people mention Ceiph – the Dragon God. And when you're close to dragons."
"Shut up Kopii!" Eris lashed out at him. "What do you know anyway!? You're just a kopii!"
Kopii looked pained, but he straightened up in indignance. "I know everything your precious 'Rezo-sama' knows, so maybe YOU'D better shut up!" The two glared daggers at each other and anger could almost be seen pouring off of both of them.
"Would you two PLEASE stop," moaned Rezo. "That's enough, both of you."
"Oh Rezo-sama, I'm sorry," Eris said. "You just need to relax. I'm sure that's all it is. Come on, let me fix you dinner."
As Eris led Rezo up the stairs, Kopii glared after them. "You know I'm right, Rezo. I remember each time it happened just as well as you do!"
"Shut up, Kopii!" Eris called.
"Please, just drop it, Kopii," Rezo said. "It's hard enough to concentrate without you."
"You…!" Kopii called after them. The door shut behind them, leaving Kopii alone in the lab except for the little kopiis. "I… I thought you were on my side," he whispered. "I know what I'm talking about. You know I do!" The little kopiis crawled up his robes, chattering sympathetically.
Kopii sighed and settled down on the floor of his cage. He looked over at some of the little kopiis snuggled close to him. "I liked him," he told them softly. "I really did. But I guess maybe now it's us against them, ne?"
Kopii knew he would never find a human who would treat him as an equal, or even as a human. So he steeled himself to accept that fact as he fell asleep.
*Japanese for Beginners*
-sama – Lord, Master, or Dear
ryuuzoku – Dragon Race (ryuu=dragon, zoku=race)
mazuku – Demon Race (ma=demon/evil, zoku=race)
ne – huh?, right?, don't you think?. Etc.
Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews! They make me so happy! Keep them coming, they make me want to post faster. MoroTheWolfGod, Zelgadis will come in 2 chapters from now. See, I have this written already, I'm just typing it slowly. I only have partway through chapter 8 written, though, so I'll see about putting more of him in here in the future. Also, I have a piece of fanart I made of the scene with Rezo and his chibis. http://indigo.1afm.com/images/rezokopiisdraw.jpg. More interesting attempts at a cure to come! And a short hold will be put on most of the sad stuff. I promise though, by the time Zelgadis comes in, it'll be more of a sad story.
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 5: Golden Priest
The next day found Rezo and Eris back in the lab. The captive Kopii watched from his cage, and the little kopiis ran around, giggling happily. They played tag around the furniture, under tables, and in and out of the strange equipment in the lab.
The topic of the day was summoning. Eris and Rezo had both heard tales of the greatest sorcerers summoning demigods and demons to perform a task for them. Perhaps they could do the same!
It would be a difficult thing to control properly. Eris studied the diagrams and practiced drawing wards for sealing the creature in a small space. Rezo was reading up on types of things that could be summoned. They had decided that a servant of the gods would be better, at least to start with, than a mazoku. Kopii was quietly giving all the little kopiis in the area sight. He found that it was hard to do more than a couple of big spells per day, but he remembered a very simple eye-opening spell that Rezo had tried once. And so, the power of the kopiis grew…
Eris looked up from her practice in annoyance at the sound of the little kopiis squealing in glee. "Stop that!" she said sharply. "They're annoying enough without being able to see."
Kopii looked at her. Rezo looked up from his book, a rather pained expression on his face.
"And don't look at me!" Eris continued. "Your eyes are so creepy! Rezo-sama, can't we just get rid of him?"
"No," Rezo said, in a firm flat voice. "We promised him he could live here. And besides, he might have a use later on. But… you said his eyes are… creepy? How so?"
"They're scary!" Eris said, shivering a little. "One's green, and the other's yellow and slit-pupiled, like a mazoku's eye. It's… unnatural!"
"But if his eyes are like that, then mine must be also," reasoned Rezo.
"Oh no, Rezo-sama!" Eris said quickly. "The little kopiis who had their eyes opened with normal spells all have purple eyes. This one's eyes were probably warped by the mazoku powers called on in the spell we used on it."
"Hmm…" Rezo 'hmm'ed, and went back to his book.
The lab was relatively quiet for a while as Rezo read, Eris drew symbols, and Kopii tried a long-distance reading spell to see what Rezo was reading. Kopii found that while he hated Eris with a passion, he liked Rezo well enough. He could tell that Eris didn't like him either, though he didn't know why. She loved Rezo. And Rezo… well, Rezo tolerated him. At least the little kopiis were nice to him. They sometimes even brought him good things to eat or interesting things to look at.
Rezo looked up again. "As far as I can tell, our best bet is a dragon," he said. "The Ancient Dragons were the strongest and wisest, but they were all killed. So the next strongest ryuuzoku is the Golden Dragon."
"Oh, I think there's a clan of them in the Katahto Mountains!" Eris exclaimed. "That's not too far away. It should be easy."
"Don't let that make you sloppy," Rezo cautioned.
"Don't worry Rezo-sama," Eris said, blushing at her own eagerness. "I'll be careful." She thought she heard a quiet snicker from Kopii's cage, but when she glanced over at him he was just brushing some dust from the hem of his robes. She didn't want to embarrass herself further by saying anything.
So Eris and Rezo both read about summoning and the Golden Dragons, then they did a practice summon, calling a random kopii from the attic into their magic circle. They held it there for a short time before letting it go. It squeaked and ran away in fear. Kopii caught it and calmed it down.
Rezo and Eris took a short lunch break, grabbing some sandwiches to replenish their strength before going back downstairs. Eris grudgingly gave Kopii a couple of sandwiches, which he took and ate gratefully. He was fed two or three times a day, and he knew enough to appreciate every time. He fed bits of the crust to the little kopiis. They were a bit quieter than usual today, but not as quiet as they had been the day Kopii came into existence. When he was finished, he sat back and watched the beginnings of the summoning.
Eris drew a large six-pointed star. She drew a circle around that, and drew some mystic binding symbols. Rezo, who could sense the shapes, placed a large black candle at each of the star's points. He lit them all at the same time with a spell so that they would all burn at the same rate and the same time.
Clanging his staff, Rezo began to chant the spell. The air was thick with magical energy. A glowing shape appeared in the magic circle. As Rezo finished, a bright light flashed, making Eris, Kopii, and the little kopiis have to cover their eyes. In the middle of the circle, a handsome middle-aged looking man with long blond hair wearing light tan robes appeared. He looked mildly annoyed.
"Why have you brought me here, human?" the golden dragon in human form asked.
Rezo stepped forward. "Please, ryuuzoku-sama. I have been blind since my birth. I have tried everything to unseal my eyes. I would be eternally grateful if you could help me."
The dragon regarded him for a moment. "I am Milgazia, priest of the Water Dragon King," he said after a moment. If you will allow me to step outside of this barrier, I will see if I can help you."
"Should we…" Eris started to say. Rezo nodded, and they removed the warding spell. The symbols on the floor glowed and disappeared. Milgazia stepped out towards Rezo. Kopii and Eris watched in anticipation as Milgazia moved his hands in front of, and then over, Rezo's eyelids. Rezo held his breath. Milgazia frowned, then his eyes opened wide in shock.
"What is it!?" Eris asked quickly.
Milgazia coughed. "I am afraid that this is quite beyond me," he said, the eternal calm returning to his voice. "I have not dealt with this kind of… ailment… for over a thousand years. Even then, it took every dragon the Water Dragon King, and even the great Dragon God himself to overcome it."
"Well couldn't you help him anyway? All of you?" asked Eris bluntly.
"No. I'm afraid that is out of the question. There is no immediate threat at this moment and we cannot risk again what we risked then. You ask too much. Now, if you are finished, may I leave?" he said icily.
"No! There has to be something you can do!" Eris pleaded, her voice raising to a shout.
"Maybe you shouldn't make him mad," Kopii said quickly before he thought about the fact that Eris never listened to him anyway.
Milgazia turned to look at Kopii. Then he looked at Rezo. He looked back at Kopii. "It is too late. You have already incurred my wrath. Now none of you shall live to see the light of another day," he said in a perfectly calm voice.
Rezo, Eris, and Kopii cringed back. The little kopiis, who had been mostly silent until then, burst out laughing all at once. Kopii desperately tried to hush them, and Rezo and Eris cringed even more. Milgazia did not move for a moment.
The ryuuzoku priest turned away to look at the wall for a moment. "Only joking, of course," he said with a calm voice and a completely deadpan face.
Rezo, Kopii, and Eris all facefaulted. The little kopiis laughed even harder. Some of them climbed into Milgazia's boots and robes.
"Oh, err… sorry," Eris said, very nervous about this strange dragon-man. "They're… all over the place. We can't get rid of them."
"Perhaps I could help you with this problem a bit," Milgazia said. "I will take these ones with me. I think that there are enough images of you inhere to satisfy anyone's vanity."
Rezo and Kopii blushed, and the other kopiis giggled. Milgazia turned to Rezo. "It would probably be best for you if you ignored your plight. Sight is not everything. You might get more than you bargained for." With that, he teleported out, back to the valley he had come from with a few of the kopiis.
"What a totally useless dragon!" Eris exclaimed angrily.
"Please lower your voice, Eris," Rezo groaned. He had felt a growing buzzing in his eyes since Milgazia had arrived. When the ryuuzoku had touched his eyelids, it had turned into a pulsating, throbbing pain. It had lessened a bit after Milgazia left, but it was still painful and Eris's loud voice wasn't helping.
"Oh Rezo-sama!" exclaimed Eris, more softly this time. "Do you have a headache again? I wish we knew why you get them."
"It has something to do with the gods and holy things," said Kopii to Rezo. "They come when people mention Ceiph – the Dragon God. And when you're close to dragons."
"Shut up Kopii!" Eris lashed out at him. "What do you know anyway!? You're just a kopii!"
Kopii looked pained, but he straightened up in indignance. "I know everything your precious 'Rezo-sama' knows, so maybe YOU'D better shut up!" The two glared daggers at each other and anger could almost be seen pouring off of both of them.
"Would you two PLEASE stop," moaned Rezo. "That's enough, both of you."
"Oh Rezo-sama, I'm sorry," Eris said. "You just need to relax. I'm sure that's all it is. Come on, let me fix you dinner."
As Eris led Rezo up the stairs, Kopii glared after them. "You know I'm right, Rezo. I remember each time it happened just as well as you do!"
"Shut up, Kopii!" Eris called.
"Please, just drop it, Kopii," Rezo said. "It's hard enough to concentrate without you."
"You…!" Kopii called after them. The door shut behind them, leaving Kopii alone in the lab except for the little kopiis. "I… I thought you were on my side," he whispered. "I know what I'm talking about. You know I do!" The little kopiis crawled up his robes, chattering sympathetically.
Kopii sighed and settled down on the floor of his cage. He looked over at some of the little kopiis snuggled close to him. "I liked him," he told them softly. "I really did. But I guess maybe now it's us against them, ne?"
Kopii knew he would never find a human who would treat him as an equal, or even as a human. So he steeled himself to accept that fact as he fell asleep.
*Japanese for Beginners*
-sama – Lord, Master, or Dear
ryuuzoku – Dragon Race (ryuu=dragon, zoku=race)
mazuku – Demon Race (ma=demon/evil, zoku=race)
ne – huh?, right?, don't you think?. Etc.