Author's Note: One more chapter of general happiness and pointless character introduction. Not too much happens in this one. Just you wait until next chapter, though! I'm pretty close to being done, I think. I still need ideas of what should happen between when Zelgadis leaves Rezo and Rezo dies, though. I know I can use artistic license and ignore the plot of the series, but I want to try to stick pretty closely to it. Otherwise, I'll never finish and the story will start to really suck.
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 12: Swordsman and Shrine Maiden
Kopii and Vrumugun walked to town silently, enjoying the nice day. Kopii was wearing all his Rezo-robes, including the big bulky shoulder guards, had his hair in Rezo's style. Since Eris had left a few days ago, he had been wearing just the white robe around the house. He also pulled his hair back in a ponytail when he wasn't going out. It made him look less like Rezo, and he liked that very much. With the help of one of Kopii's spells, Vrumugun was doing much better also. He could walk around town for a good part of the day without collapsing now.
The blacksmith had his shop in the very middle of Sairaag. Vrumugun stood outside while Kopii put on his best Rezo face and went inside.
"Excuse me, I believe you were making a staff for me. Is it ready yet?" Kopii asked, keeping his voice mild and his eyes closed.
"Oh, aka houshi Rezo-sama!" the blacksmith's greeting sounded very nervous. "Well you see, I had it almost finished, but then the mold for the top part of the staff broke. The best I could do was make it a plain ring with smaller rings on it. I can try to make another mold though, aka houshi-sama.
"Let me see it," Kopii said, extending his hand. He mentally kicked himself. Rezo would never say that! But the blacksmith complied, and Kopii held the staff. It felt well-balanced, and just the right weight. He felt the rings on the top all over, opening his green eye just a slit to look at it.
"Gomen nasai, aka houshi-sama," the blacksmith said, terrified. "I can make another one!"
"No, don't trouble yourself," Kopii said quickly. "I am very pleased with it. I'll take it. How much do I owe you?" Eris wouldn't like it at all. It wasn't like Rezo's! This week was just getting better and better.
"Oh, your assistant paid for it when she ordered it, aka houshi-sama," the blacksmith said, happy that Rezo was pleased.
"Oh good," said Kopii. Then a thought struck him. "If my assistant would happen to come back and ask you to make another staff like my previous one, please do not agree to it. She often tries to do what she thinks is best behind my back."
"Of course, aka houshi-sama!" the blacksmith exclaimed. Kopii smiled slightly, thanked him, and left.
Vrumugun was still standing outside, looking slightly bored. "Sorry for the wait!" Kopii said. "But look! It's MY staff, not Rezo's!"
Vrumugun nodded in silent approval. As they started back out of town, they heard a commotion from the next street over. Someone ran out of an alley and bumped into Kopii. He opened his eyes in surprise and his mismatched eyes met a pair of blue ones. The owner of the blue eyes had tanned skin and long curly blue-black hair. He was wearing a long brown cape-like thing and a tall bent brown hat. Kopii quickly closed his eyes again, and a crowd blocked all three of them into a small space.
"We've got you now, you thief!" said someone near the front of the crowd. "And aka houshi Rezo-sama can help us sort this out!" There was a general mumbling of assent.
"I didn't take anything!" the man in brown said indignantly.
The crowd was getting louder, so Kopii raised up his new staff and brought it down with a 'sh-ching!' It had a higher pitch than Rezo's. Perfect! The crowd was immediately silent.
"I will see if he is telling the truth," Kopii said, and 'stared' through closed eyelids at the man. He could see the man's shape in white. That meant he was innocent. He scanned the crowd… There! A reddish black shape. Kopii almost opened his eyes again in shock. A child? No, some great dark force! It felt more powerful than Xellos! He pointed his staff at the powerful child-thing, Ray Winging it just above the crowd. "Here is the real thief."
The crowd murmured in surprise. This cute innocent little boy? With his long black hair and wide blue eyes, he hardly looked like a thief.
The 'boy' said nothing. He had heard that his Master was in the body of the famous red priest. This man was, without a doubt, aka houshi Rezo. There was no need to even try to sense his master there. So he figured he'd better play along for now.
As the crowd went off to run the small thief out of town, Kopii turned to the man in the hat. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Hai, I'm fine. But you're not really Rezo, are you?" the man said. "He can't open his eyes."
Kopii panicked. What would happen if he was revealed for a fake?
"I know you're not him," said the man. "But don't worry, since you helped me, I won't tell anyone."
Kopii breathed a sigh of relief. "Arigato," he said gratefully. He started to walk towards the house, with Vrumugun following him, but the blue-eyed man followed as well. "So if you're not Rezo, who are you?" he asked.
Kopii hesitated, but since the man had already promised not to tell anyone, he told him the whole story. By the time he was finished, they had arrived at Rezo's house.
"I see. That's pretty weird," said the man in brown. "Well I'm Zangulus. If you ever need a swordsman just let me know. I'm the best."
"Arigato!" Kopii said. "This is Rezo's house, where we're staying. Come by any time you want!"
"I may just take you up on that offer," Zangulus said, grinning.
* * *
Eris was not happy. Just when she thought she could be with her dear Rezo-sama again, she couldn't! He came very infrequently, and it was only to teach Zelgadis, not to see her. That boy… Even though he was related to Rezo, Eris couldn't stand him. He had no respect for the great priest at all! Or for her, for that matter. She'd like to take him down a notch or two. He thought he was so great… But he was learning white magic from her at an amazing rate. He could probably surpass her easily. She wouldn't teach him the really strong spells because of that. So in white magic at least, she would always be his superior.
* * *
Zelgadis was absolutely furious with his new teacher. She was such a little Rezo fan girl! Didn't she realize how cruel the priest was!? He didn't even seem to like her. How pathetic. He could also tell how jealous she was of his ability to learn magic quickly. And the fact that he spent more time with Rezo than she did. She could have that time as far as he was concerned. Rezo wasn't even teaching him much shaman magic anymore. It was mostly just useless stuff that he'd probably never use. He wished he could talk more with the tall man he'd met in the bar. He could teach him all about shamanistic magic, Zelgadis was sure. But since he didn't even know the man's real name, he knew it was unlikely.
* * *
In one of his many hidden properties, Rezo had summoned a low-level mazoku to him. It looked like a thin creepy old man. This mazoku had a proposition for Rezo, from the entire population of mazoku. If Rezo would resurrect one of the pieces of Shabranigdu for them, they would guarantee that he would get his sight. He agreed, thinking that he would comply with the mazoku's requests and then kill the Dark Lord if he could. Naturally, the mazoku knew of this plan. They were all counting on Rezo to be completely controlled by Shabranigdu by that time. Not that he would have a chance anyway. Each walked away form the deal believing that he would have a distinct advantage.
* * *
Meanwhile, back in Sairaag, Kopii had gotten a proposition of his own. One of the most respected men in town had stopped him on his way to pick up some groceries, about a month after the day he had gotten his staff. This man had a daughter who was a shrine maiden of Flagoon, the holy tree. At one time she had practiced black magic, but now she only used white magic. She wanted to advance in the shrine's ranks, but could not do so unless she learned some higher-level white magic. Kopii had agreed to go to their house to teach the girl what he could.
So a few weeks later, Kopii found himself in the back yard of Sylphiel Nels Rahda and her father. He and Sylphiel stood under a tree as he taught her some of the more difficult spells of white magic. She was a wonderful student: kind, quiet, talented, and eager to learn. She already knew the basic healing spells for mind and body. So Kopii was teaching her some more advanced techniques and spells. He taught her how to set a bone and heal it, how to carefully repair damaged nerve tissue or blood vessels, and how to heal the sensory organs, like eyes and ears. He also taught her how to bring someone back from the brink of death and stimulate blood replacement. And how to heal, or at least calm, an insane mind. He had tried this on Rezo himself, just before he left, but it had been no good.
"Rezo-sama," Sylphiel said, after learning to heal sensory organs, "I can try to heal your eyes, if you want me to."
Kopii smiled at her. "No Sylphiel, that's all right. I have tried that spell and many others. I'm afraid I'm beyond help."
* * *
As he walked home, Kopii wondered if Rezo knew how well-loved he was. He couldn't tell from the memories he had.
Kopii passed Zangulus on the way home. They smiled and waved, exchanging greetings before going on their separate ways. Zangulus was a bounty hunter by nature, and he had stayed in town renting himself out as a guard of one type or another to pay for his room and board at the inn. He sometimes came to visit Kopii and Vrumugun, and Vrumugun often went into town to see him. Kopii was surprised that the mage had suddenly become so social, but he was glad that his friend was happy.
When Kopii got back to his house, he found that Vrumugun was trying to teach the little kopiis to do magic, with mixed results. They'd had to move outside because the few times the kopiis got a spell right, the house had nearly burned down. There were scorch-marks all over the kitchen.
"Any luck so far?" Kopii asked Vrumugun. The sorcerer made a face.
"None to speak of," he said, motioning for the little kopiis to go play. They did so happily. "Collectively, they have the attention span of a single gnat. If they would just concentrate, they could be almost as strong as I am, though still no match for you."
Kopii nodded sympathetically. He knew it took ages to teach them anything, despite how intelligent they were.
So Kopii and Vrumugun and the little kopiis ate fish for dinner. They had kept the same sleeping arrangements, with Kopii on the couch, Vrumugun in Rezo's room, and the little kopiis all over. Before he fell asleep, Kopii found himself thinking of Rezo again. And for the first time in a long time, he could do it without any hate.
*A Bit of Japanese*
Gomen Nasai – I'm very sorry
Aka Houshi – Red Priest
Hai – Yes
Arigato – Thank you
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 12: Swordsman and Shrine Maiden
Kopii and Vrumugun walked to town silently, enjoying the nice day. Kopii was wearing all his Rezo-robes, including the big bulky shoulder guards, had his hair in Rezo's style. Since Eris had left a few days ago, he had been wearing just the white robe around the house. He also pulled his hair back in a ponytail when he wasn't going out. It made him look less like Rezo, and he liked that very much. With the help of one of Kopii's spells, Vrumugun was doing much better also. He could walk around town for a good part of the day without collapsing now.
The blacksmith had his shop in the very middle of Sairaag. Vrumugun stood outside while Kopii put on his best Rezo face and went inside.
"Excuse me, I believe you were making a staff for me. Is it ready yet?" Kopii asked, keeping his voice mild and his eyes closed.
"Oh, aka houshi Rezo-sama!" the blacksmith's greeting sounded very nervous. "Well you see, I had it almost finished, but then the mold for the top part of the staff broke. The best I could do was make it a plain ring with smaller rings on it. I can try to make another mold though, aka houshi-sama.
"Let me see it," Kopii said, extending his hand. He mentally kicked himself. Rezo would never say that! But the blacksmith complied, and Kopii held the staff. It felt well-balanced, and just the right weight. He felt the rings on the top all over, opening his green eye just a slit to look at it.
"Gomen nasai, aka houshi-sama," the blacksmith said, terrified. "I can make another one!"
"No, don't trouble yourself," Kopii said quickly. "I am very pleased with it. I'll take it. How much do I owe you?" Eris wouldn't like it at all. It wasn't like Rezo's! This week was just getting better and better.
"Oh, your assistant paid for it when she ordered it, aka houshi-sama," the blacksmith said, happy that Rezo was pleased.
"Oh good," said Kopii. Then a thought struck him. "If my assistant would happen to come back and ask you to make another staff like my previous one, please do not agree to it. She often tries to do what she thinks is best behind my back."
"Of course, aka houshi-sama!" the blacksmith exclaimed. Kopii smiled slightly, thanked him, and left.
Vrumugun was still standing outside, looking slightly bored. "Sorry for the wait!" Kopii said. "But look! It's MY staff, not Rezo's!"
Vrumugun nodded in silent approval. As they started back out of town, they heard a commotion from the next street over. Someone ran out of an alley and bumped into Kopii. He opened his eyes in surprise and his mismatched eyes met a pair of blue ones. The owner of the blue eyes had tanned skin and long curly blue-black hair. He was wearing a long brown cape-like thing and a tall bent brown hat. Kopii quickly closed his eyes again, and a crowd blocked all three of them into a small space.
"We've got you now, you thief!" said someone near the front of the crowd. "And aka houshi Rezo-sama can help us sort this out!" There was a general mumbling of assent.
"I didn't take anything!" the man in brown said indignantly.
The crowd was getting louder, so Kopii raised up his new staff and brought it down with a 'sh-ching!' It had a higher pitch than Rezo's. Perfect! The crowd was immediately silent.
"I will see if he is telling the truth," Kopii said, and 'stared' through closed eyelids at the man. He could see the man's shape in white. That meant he was innocent. He scanned the crowd… There! A reddish black shape. Kopii almost opened his eyes again in shock. A child? No, some great dark force! It felt more powerful than Xellos! He pointed his staff at the powerful child-thing, Ray Winging it just above the crowd. "Here is the real thief."
The crowd murmured in surprise. This cute innocent little boy? With his long black hair and wide blue eyes, he hardly looked like a thief.
The 'boy' said nothing. He had heard that his Master was in the body of the famous red priest. This man was, without a doubt, aka houshi Rezo. There was no need to even try to sense his master there. So he figured he'd better play along for now.
As the crowd went off to run the small thief out of town, Kopii turned to the man in the hat. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Hai, I'm fine. But you're not really Rezo, are you?" the man said. "He can't open his eyes."
Kopii panicked. What would happen if he was revealed for a fake?
"I know you're not him," said the man. "But don't worry, since you helped me, I won't tell anyone."
Kopii breathed a sigh of relief. "Arigato," he said gratefully. He started to walk towards the house, with Vrumugun following him, but the blue-eyed man followed as well. "So if you're not Rezo, who are you?" he asked.
Kopii hesitated, but since the man had already promised not to tell anyone, he told him the whole story. By the time he was finished, they had arrived at Rezo's house.
"I see. That's pretty weird," said the man in brown. "Well I'm Zangulus. If you ever need a swordsman just let me know. I'm the best."
"Arigato!" Kopii said. "This is Rezo's house, where we're staying. Come by any time you want!"
"I may just take you up on that offer," Zangulus said, grinning.
* * *
Eris was not happy. Just when she thought she could be with her dear Rezo-sama again, she couldn't! He came very infrequently, and it was only to teach Zelgadis, not to see her. That boy… Even though he was related to Rezo, Eris couldn't stand him. He had no respect for the great priest at all! Or for her, for that matter. She'd like to take him down a notch or two. He thought he was so great… But he was learning white magic from her at an amazing rate. He could probably surpass her easily. She wouldn't teach him the really strong spells because of that. So in white magic at least, she would always be his superior.
* * *
Zelgadis was absolutely furious with his new teacher. She was such a little Rezo fan girl! Didn't she realize how cruel the priest was!? He didn't even seem to like her. How pathetic. He could also tell how jealous she was of his ability to learn magic quickly. And the fact that he spent more time with Rezo than she did. She could have that time as far as he was concerned. Rezo wasn't even teaching him much shaman magic anymore. It was mostly just useless stuff that he'd probably never use. He wished he could talk more with the tall man he'd met in the bar. He could teach him all about shamanistic magic, Zelgadis was sure. But since he didn't even know the man's real name, he knew it was unlikely.
* * *
In one of his many hidden properties, Rezo had summoned a low-level mazoku to him. It looked like a thin creepy old man. This mazoku had a proposition for Rezo, from the entire population of mazoku. If Rezo would resurrect one of the pieces of Shabranigdu for them, they would guarantee that he would get his sight. He agreed, thinking that he would comply with the mazoku's requests and then kill the Dark Lord if he could. Naturally, the mazoku knew of this plan. They were all counting on Rezo to be completely controlled by Shabranigdu by that time. Not that he would have a chance anyway. Each walked away form the deal believing that he would have a distinct advantage.
* * *
Meanwhile, back in Sairaag, Kopii had gotten a proposition of his own. One of the most respected men in town had stopped him on his way to pick up some groceries, about a month after the day he had gotten his staff. This man had a daughter who was a shrine maiden of Flagoon, the holy tree. At one time she had practiced black magic, but now she only used white magic. She wanted to advance in the shrine's ranks, but could not do so unless she learned some higher-level white magic. Kopii had agreed to go to their house to teach the girl what he could.
So a few weeks later, Kopii found himself in the back yard of Sylphiel Nels Rahda and her father. He and Sylphiel stood under a tree as he taught her some of the more difficult spells of white magic. She was a wonderful student: kind, quiet, talented, and eager to learn. She already knew the basic healing spells for mind and body. So Kopii was teaching her some more advanced techniques and spells. He taught her how to set a bone and heal it, how to carefully repair damaged nerve tissue or blood vessels, and how to heal the sensory organs, like eyes and ears. He also taught her how to bring someone back from the brink of death and stimulate blood replacement. And how to heal, or at least calm, an insane mind. He had tried this on Rezo himself, just before he left, but it had been no good.
"Rezo-sama," Sylphiel said, after learning to heal sensory organs, "I can try to heal your eyes, if you want me to."
Kopii smiled at her. "No Sylphiel, that's all right. I have tried that spell and many others. I'm afraid I'm beyond help."
* * *
As he walked home, Kopii wondered if Rezo knew how well-loved he was. He couldn't tell from the memories he had.
Kopii passed Zangulus on the way home. They smiled and waved, exchanging greetings before going on their separate ways. Zangulus was a bounty hunter by nature, and he had stayed in town renting himself out as a guard of one type or another to pay for his room and board at the inn. He sometimes came to visit Kopii and Vrumugun, and Vrumugun often went into town to see him. Kopii was surprised that the mage had suddenly become so social, but he was glad that his friend was happy.
When Kopii got back to his house, he found that Vrumugun was trying to teach the little kopiis to do magic, with mixed results. They'd had to move outside because the few times the kopiis got a spell right, the house had nearly burned down. There were scorch-marks all over the kitchen.
"Any luck so far?" Kopii asked Vrumugun. The sorcerer made a face.
"None to speak of," he said, motioning for the little kopiis to go play. They did so happily. "Collectively, they have the attention span of a single gnat. If they would just concentrate, they could be almost as strong as I am, though still no match for you."
Kopii nodded sympathetically. He knew it took ages to teach them anything, despite how intelligent they were.
So Kopii and Vrumugun and the little kopiis ate fish for dinner. They had kept the same sleeping arrangements, with Kopii on the couch, Vrumugun in Rezo's room, and the little kopiis all over. Before he fell asleep, Kopii found himself thinking of Rezo again. And for the first time in a long time, he could do it without any hate.
*A Bit of Japanese*
Gomen Nasai – I'm very sorry
Aka Houshi – Red Priest
Hai – Yes
Arigato – Thank you