Ch 4: They depart.... finally
Zesa fell to the ground holding her stomach . This new form of magical travel made her very
nauseous. Her mother gently placed her hand on the little girls shoulder and chanted a few
words. Instantly she felt better. "Welcome to my home world Hiades" Sara said to her daughter
softly.
The little green-haired demon looked around. It was a barren wasteland, even worse then the
sand river spanned across Filgaia. There was a collasped castle in the distance which was partly
buried in the brown earth. Zesa turned towards her mother, "This place is a dump. You stopped
me from running away to show me this!"
"I had to show you Hiades. We are on the verge of another demon war, and there is a good
possibility of Filgaia becoming this. We also came here for another reason, you are going to
learn how to fight." Sara grabbed Zesa and they walked toward the castle ruins. As they
approached what appeared to be the entrance to the pile of ruble Zesa saw an old man waiting.
When the two woman were close enough the old man approached them, "I've been expecting
you Sara." The blind woman bent down slightly "It's nice to see you again Elder Soren. This is
my daughter Zesa."
Zesa was shocked when she entered the castle ruins. It was very clean and decorated with the
finest gold and silk she had ever seen. It was hard to believe such a place existed in that dead
world. The winged creature which was on her mother's gold wand was also a running theme in
the castle. "What's that thing with wings?" She asked.
"That's Lyra, she's equivalent to a guardian." the old man said. "During the war 1100 years ago
Lyra was killed by the demon queen, Mother. It was then that the Hiadens truly lost the war."
"We don't have much time. Zesa I'm going to leave you here with Soren, he will teach you how
to use a sword and magic." Sara said forcefully. She then turned towards Soren "Teach her
teleportation last." Sara then began walking towards the door.
Zesa yelled out, "Mother, you're leaving me here alone?"
Sara didn't turn around, she just stopped and spoke "I'm sorry, I have some things to do on
Filgaia now. Once you learn how to teleport return to Filgaia. You must be ready to fight in the
war. It will be one giant battle, the final battle." Sara walked out the door leaving Zesa with
Elder Soren.
~
"Eric, I'm leaving you to watch the knights for me while I'm gone." Jack said to one of his
higher knights. "Queen Cecilia and King Rudy are also very happy with the decision to leave the
knights to you."
"Don't worry Captain, you can count on me. Good luck." Eric said as Jack walked to meet the
others. He wore silver armor with the Adlehyde unicorn symbol on the breastplate.
Jack walked out towards the meeting place, the gates of Adlehyde castle. Zed was already
waiting there in his usual clothing. "Didn't expect you to be here so soon Zed."
"I have nobody to say bye to. Sara disappeared and my kid ran away. And to make things even
worse, no bedtime stories for me until Sara returns." Zed replied.
"Bedtime stories?!" Hanpan said while giving Zed a confused look. Jack used all of his energy to
not show any signs of amusement, he didn't want Zed to hit him.
Cecilia and Rudy came out. She was dressed in her white dress, but it was modified to have pant
bottoms. She had her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Rudy was wearing a jeans, a plain
white shirt, and a nice red and gold vest. "It's time to go" The new queen said. "One of the
guards said the Gullwing is waiting outside for us."
Outside everyone gathered by Gullwing, it hadn't been used since the war. "Nice, old and dusty.
Hey can I drive?" Zed asked. He ran in and onto the pilot seat before anybody could even
answer.
"I guess, Port Timney is southeast from here." Cecilia replied. "Gee, it's been a while since this
has been used, I hope it still works."
Jack took a seat and strapped on a seatbelt. "It'll work fine. I'm more worried about Zed's
driving"
Zed turned on the ship and lifted it up a bit. The plane shock violently before taking off, and
some of the landing gear fell onto the ground. Jack looked out the window as it plummeted to
the ground. "SHIT! This can't be good. Zed move, I'm driving."
Zed pushed Jack out of the way, "Cecilia said I can drive, and besides that wasn't my fault. I'm
perfectly capable of driving a flying device."
Cecilia looked out the window and saw the Curan Abbey below. "Zed are you even paying
attention to where we're going? We're supposed to be going southeast, you are going
southwest."
"Oops sorry, simple mistake." He started turning the wheel, but before he could he moved his
foot to a more comfortable position. He rested his foot on the gas, the ship blasted more towards
the southwest. Gullwing started to shake more violently then before, and the controls stopped
working. "Alright Jack, you can drive" Zed got of the pilot's seat.
"DAMNIT!" Jack yelled. "The controls won't work. I think we're going to crash. "Zed this is all
your fault."
"Teleport" Cecilia said waving her wand. Nothing happened. "Teleport" Again nothing
happened. "Weird, my magic isn't working."
Zed pulled out a small black bomb, "maybe demon teleportation magic will work" He threw it
down, It created smoke but it didn't teleport. "Alright we're screwed"
The Gullwing started pointing downwards, it was ready to crash. Rudy grabbed Cecilia close.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Cecilia kissed him lightly on the lips "I never thought
I'd die like this, I'll miss you my love."
Zed was watching the two kiss "awww, everybody's getting all warm and fuzzy but me." Zed
grabbed Jack and hugged him really tight, nearly suffocating him. To top it off he kissed Jack on
the cheek.
The ship hit a shrine, the guardian shrine north of Milama village, then flew off further to
slightly south of Milama, nearly missing the town itself. Everybody was alright, but half of the
shrine was destroyed.
"We're alive!" Zed released Jack who was now gasping for air. Jack realized he was alive, he
then looked at Zed which brought a disgusted look on his face.
Jack ran towards Cecilia and ransacked her belongings. He pulled out a vase began cleaning his
cheek using the water.
Zed looked and realized what just happened. "Please don't tell Sara about the kiss."
"I'm gonna kill you Zed" Jack said.
"Well it's not my fault. Cecilia and Rudy were getting all touchy-feely, I felt left out" Zed said
while pointing to the two.
"Let's just pretend that never happened, and go to Milama. Our ship is destroyed and teleport
magic won't work, we need to stop fighting each other." Cecilia said in an attempt to get the
group moving.
"She's right Jack, it never happened. Now lets go. Well now you can see your girlfriend, isn't
she the waitress in this town?" Zed happily stated.
The grouped walked for about ten minutes and approached the entrance to the town. Hanpan got
on Jack's shoulder and started sniffing the air, "What's that weird smell? Smells like something
died."
Zed unsheathed his sword and ran before the group "It smells like blood."
~
An hour before their arrival...
"Could I take a break now? I want to go see that traveling merchant who just arrived here last
night." The beautiful red-headed waitress asked the pub owner, Jones. The waitress had
appeared eight years ago with amnesia and has been the waitress since. Some men named her
Rose, since her hair was a red as one.
"Sure, Rose. I heard that he sells snacks from some town faraway." The pub owner said. Rose
took off her apron, put it on the counter, and went outside. Jones yelled out "get me something
too."
She approached the merchant who was already surrounded by a throng of people buying
interesting looking snacks. The merchant was hiding underneath a dark blue cloak. When Rose
saw this cloaked man her head ached a bit, something was oddly familiar about that man. Rose
thought to herself "This man seems familiar. I feel almost like I did when I met that man, Jack
Van Burace. But unlike Jack, I feel I can't trust this man."
Rose turned around and began to head back to her job. She felt too uneasy about that man and
his wares. She looked back one last time to see if she could remember who it was, but she
quickly turned away and ran back to the pub. She wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but it felt as
if that man was watching her.
Rose put back on her apron and began working again. Jones turned towards her, "Is something
wrong Rose? Did you get anything?"
"I'm sorry, something doesn't seem right about that merchant. Also it feels like I've met him
before" She replied speaking in a decrescendo.
"Maybe you should ask him. You never know, he may know about your past and who you are."
"I would, but something really doesn't seem right about him. Something inside is telling me to
stay away from him." She stated softly. Right when she finished her sentence the cloaked man
entered the pub and sat in a stool next to her.
The strange man looked at the owner "I'll take a glass of water." He then grabbed Rose by her
hand "and this beautiful waitress of yours."
Rose was extremely disgusted by this, she grabbed his hand and moved it off of her "I'm sorry
sir, I'm engaged to be wed."
Underneath his cloak the mystery man smiled "I see no ring."
Rose paused for a few seconds to think of an excuse "It's currently being cleaned, I got some
grease in it the other day."
The man grabbed her hand and held it. "Well since you're taken, may I at least know the name
of the woman who has stolen my heart."
She backed up until he wasn't touching her anymore "I'm known as Rose around here."
He got up from his chair and began walking towards her, "Your name is not Rose my dear.
Would you like to know your real name?"
Rose was now very uncomfortable, he wouldn't stop getting closer to her. "Please sir, would you
sit down. We could talk over tea."
He grabbed her and held Rose close to him she screamed. "I'm sorry, I have no time to chat with
you here my dear."
Jones jumped over the counter to defend his waitress. The cloaked man pulled out a spear and
pierced it through her employer's heart. Jones fell to the floor. Two others in the pub got up to
help, but the man sliced their torsos. Four large bloody masses of human flesh fell to the floor.
One slide a bit leaving a trail of blood.
Rose screamed and pushed her way out of the mans grasp. She ran into the corner of the pub
crying and she held the green ribbon that swordsman had given her, oddly it brought comfort to
her. "Please stop" she begged.
The man said a few words which caused roars to be heard from outside. "Right as we speak my
monsters are destroying the town. You used to enjoy hearing the cries of dying people and the
smell of blood, is anything wrong my dear?"
He pulled off the blue cloak, underneath was a demon wearing blueish armor. "I will soon be
king of this world." He held out his hand to her "Would you be my queen."
She pushed his hand away. "Never, I'd rather die."
He grabbed her and began carrying out the door outside she lost grip of the green ribbon. It fell
onto a body so mangled you couldn't recognize it. She was squirming trying to free herself.
"Once Alhazad gives you your memory back, you'll be more cooperative with me."
"Zeikfried" An almost black unicorn appeared in front of him. "It is important you go to the
hideout, you have a visitor. I'll watch your little girlfriend for you."
"Go away, Odoryuk. I don't have time to deal with you." Zeikfried yelled at the unicorn.
"It's best you do go, it's about the deal made 1000 years ago with me." I'll watch her for you.
"Fine, I'll go. This better be important. Watch her for me." He threw Rose towards Odoryuk and
vanished in a pit of black goo.
"He'll never be back my dear, now lets see how you should die. I know women love the cold. I'll
toss you out in the freezing north with just your skimpy waitress dress on." The unicorn laughed
evilly and as he did he became even blacker. They both vanished in a black light.
They appeared out in a snowstorm. Odoryuk threw her in the snow and vanished. Rose saw a
castle in the distance, a familiar one. She thought to herself "If I can just get there maybe I can
survive."
Rose wasn't able to make it to the castle. Unable to go any further she collapsed in the cold
white snow and closed her eyes. With her last seconds of consciousness she thought of the man
who had given her that ribbon, who was he?
Zesa fell to the ground holding her stomach . This new form of magical travel made her very
nauseous. Her mother gently placed her hand on the little girls shoulder and chanted a few
words. Instantly she felt better. "Welcome to my home world Hiades" Sara said to her daughter
softly.
The little green-haired demon looked around. It was a barren wasteland, even worse then the
sand river spanned across Filgaia. There was a collasped castle in the distance which was partly
buried in the brown earth. Zesa turned towards her mother, "This place is a dump. You stopped
me from running away to show me this!"
"I had to show you Hiades. We are on the verge of another demon war, and there is a good
possibility of Filgaia becoming this. We also came here for another reason, you are going to
learn how to fight." Sara grabbed Zesa and they walked toward the castle ruins. As they
approached what appeared to be the entrance to the pile of ruble Zesa saw an old man waiting.
When the two woman were close enough the old man approached them, "I've been expecting
you Sara." The blind woman bent down slightly "It's nice to see you again Elder Soren. This is
my daughter Zesa."
Zesa was shocked when she entered the castle ruins. It was very clean and decorated with the
finest gold and silk she had ever seen. It was hard to believe such a place existed in that dead
world. The winged creature which was on her mother's gold wand was also a running theme in
the castle. "What's that thing with wings?" She asked.
"That's Lyra, she's equivalent to a guardian." the old man said. "During the war 1100 years ago
Lyra was killed by the demon queen, Mother. It was then that the Hiadens truly lost the war."
"We don't have much time. Zesa I'm going to leave you here with Soren, he will teach you how
to use a sword and magic." Sara said forcefully. She then turned towards Soren "Teach her
teleportation last." Sara then began walking towards the door.
Zesa yelled out, "Mother, you're leaving me here alone?"
Sara didn't turn around, she just stopped and spoke "I'm sorry, I have some things to do on
Filgaia now. Once you learn how to teleport return to Filgaia. You must be ready to fight in the
war. It will be one giant battle, the final battle." Sara walked out the door leaving Zesa with
Elder Soren.
~
"Eric, I'm leaving you to watch the knights for me while I'm gone." Jack said to one of his
higher knights. "Queen Cecilia and King Rudy are also very happy with the decision to leave the
knights to you."
"Don't worry Captain, you can count on me. Good luck." Eric said as Jack walked to meet the
others. He wore silver armor with the Adlehyde unicorn symbol on the breastplate.
Jack walked out towards the meeting place, the gates of Adlehyde castle. Zed was already
waiting there in his usual clothing. "Didn't expect you to be here so soon Zed."
"I have nobody to say bye to. Sara disappeared and my kid ran away. And to make things even
worse, no bedtime stories for me until Sara returns." Zed replied.
"Bedtime stories?!" Hanpan said while giving Zed a confused look. Jack used all of his energy to
not show any signs of amusement, he didn't want Zed to hit him.
Cecilia and Rudy came out. She was dressed in her white dress, but it was modified to have pant
bottoms. She had her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Rudy was wearing a jeans, a plain
white shirt, and a nice red and gold vest. "It's time to go" The new queen said. "One of the
guards said the Gullwing is waiting outside for us."
Outside everyone gathered by Gullwing, it hadn't been used since the war. "Nice, old and dusty.
Hey can I drive?" Zed asked. He ran in and onto the pilot seat before anybody could even
answer.
"I guess, Port Timney is southeast from here." Cecilia replied. "Gee, it's been a while since this
has been used, I hope it still works."
Jack took a seat and strapped on a seatbelt. "It'll work fine. I'm more worried about Zed's
driving"
Zed turned on the ship and lifted it up a bit. The plane shock violently before taking off, and
some of the landing gear fell onto the ground. Jack looked out the window as it plummeted to
the ground. "SHIT! This can't be good. Zed move, I'm driving."
Zed pushed Jack out of the way, "Cecilia said I can drive, and besides that wasn't my fault. I'm
perfectly capable of driving a flying device."
Cecilia looked out the window and saw the Curan Abbey below. "Zed are you even paying
attention to where we're going? We're supposed to be going southeast, you are going
southwest."
"Oops sorry, simple mistake." He started turning the wheel, but before he could he moved his
foot to a more comfortable position. He rested his foot on the gas, the ship blasted more towards
the southwest. Gullwing started to shake more violently then before, and the controls stopped
working. "Alright Jack, you can drive" Zed got of the pilot's seat.
"DAMNIT!" Jack yelled. "The controls won't work. I think we're going to crash. "Zed this is all
your fault."
"Teleport" Cecilia said waving her wand. Nothing happened. "Teleport" Again nothing
happened. "Weird, my magic isn't working."
Zed pulled out a small black bomb, "maybe demon teleportation magic will work" He threw it
down, It created smoke but it didn't teleport. "Alright we're screwed"
The Gullwing started pointing downwards, it was ready to crash. Rudy grabbed Cecilia close.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Cecilia kissed him lightly on the lips "I never thought
I'd die like this, I'll miss you my love."
Zed was watching the two kiss "awww, everybody's getting all warm and fuzzy but me." Zed
grabbed Jack and hugged him really tight, nearly suffocating him. To top it off he kissed Jack on
the cheek.
The ship hit a shrine, the guardian shrine north of Milama village, then flew off further to
slightly south of Milama, nearly missing the town itself. Everybody was alright, but half of the
shrine was destroyed.
"We're alive!" Zed released Jack who was now gasping for air. Jack realized he was alive, he
then looked at Zed which brought a disgusted look on his face.
Jack ran towards Cecilia and ransacked her belongings. He pulled out a vase began cleaning his
cheek using the water.
Zed looked and realized what just happened. "Please don't tell Sara about the kiss."
"I'm gonna kill you Zed" Jack said.
"Well it's not my fault. Cecilia and Rudy were getting all touchy-feely, I felt left out" Zed said
while pointing to the two.
"Let's just pretend that never happened, and go to Milama. Our ship is destroyed and teleport
magic won't work, we need to stop fighting each other." Cecilia said in an attempt to get the
group moving.
"She's right Jack, it never happened. Now lets go. Well now you can see your girlfriend, isn't
she the waitress in this town?" Zed happily stated.
The grouped walked for about ten minutes and approached the entrance to the town. Hanpan got
on Jack's shoulder and started sniffing the air, "What's that weird smell? Smells like something
died."
Zed unsheathed his sword and ran before the group "It smells like blood."
~
An hour before their arrival...
"Could I take a break now? I want to go see that traveling merchant who just arrived here last
night." The beautiful red-headed waitress asked the pub owner, Jones. The waitress had
appeared eight years ago with amnesia and has been the waitress since. Some men named her
Rose, since her hair was a red as one.
"Sure, Rose. I heard that he sells snacks from some town faraway." The pub owner said. Rose
took off her apron, put it on the counter, and went outside. Jones yelled out "get me something
too."
She approached the merchant who was already surrounded by a throng of people buying
interesting looking snacks. The merchant was hiding underneath a dark blue cloak. When Rose
saw this cloaked man her head ached a bit, something was oddly familiar about that man. Rose
thought to herself "This man seems familiar. I feel almost like I did when I met that man, Jack
Van Burace. But unlike Jack, I feel I can't trust this man."
Rose turned around and began to head back to her job. She felt too uneasy about that man and
his wares. She looked back one last time to see if she could remember who it was, but she
quickly turned away and ran back to the pub. She wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but it felt as
if that man was watching her.
Rose put back on her apron and began working again. Jones turned towards her, "Is something
wrong Rose? Did you get anything?"
"I'm sorry, something doesn't seem right about that merchant. Also it feels like I've met him
before" She replied speaking in a decrescendo.
"Maybe you should ask him. You never know, he may know about your past and who you are."
"I would, but something really doesn't seem right about him. Something inside is telling me to
stay away from him." She stated softly. Right when she finished her sentence the cloaked man
entered the pub and sat in a stool next to her.
The strange man looked at the owner "I'll take a glass of water." He then grabbed Rose by her
hand "and this beautiful waitress of yours."
Rose was extremely disgusted by this, she grabbed his hand and moved it off of her "I'm sorry
sir, I'm engaged to be wed."
Underneath his cloak the mystery man smiled "I see no ring."
Rose paused for a few seconds to think of an excuse "It's currently being cleaned, I got some
grease in it the other day."
The man grabbed her hand and held it. "Well since you're taken, may I at least know the name
of the woman who has stolen my heart."
She backed up until he wasn't touching her anymore "I'm known as Rose around here."
He got up from his chair and began walking towards her, "Your name is not Rose my dear.
Would you like to know your real name?"
Rose was now very uncomfortable, he wouldn't stop getting closer to her. "Please sir, would you
sit down. We could talk over tea."
He grabbed her and held Rose close to him she screamed. "I'm sorry, I have no time to chat with
you here my dear."
Jones jumped over the counter to defend his waitress. The cloaked man pulled out a spear and
pierced it through her employer's heart. Jones fell to the floor. Two others in the pub got up to
help, but the man sliced their torsos. Four large bloody masses of human flesh fell to the floor.
One slide a bit leaving a trail of blood.
Rose screamed and pushed her way out of the mans grasp. She ran into the corner of the pub
crying and she held the green ribbon that swordsman had given her, oddly it brought comfort to
her. "Please stop" she begged.
The man said a few words which caused roars to be heard from outside. "Right as we speak my
monsters are destroying the town. You used to enjoy hearing the cries of dying people and the
smell of blood, is anything wrong my dear?"
He pulled off the blue cloak, underneath was a demon wearing blueish armor. "I will soon be
king of this world." He held out his hand to her "Would you be my queen."
She pushed his hand away. "Never, I'd rather die."
He grabbed her and began carrying out the door outside she lost grip of the green ribbon. It fell
onto a body so mangled you couldn't recognize it. She was squirming trying to free herself.
"Once Alhazad gives you your memory back, you'll be more cooperative with me."
"Zeikfried" An almost black unicorn appeared in front of him. "It is important you go to the
hideout, you have a visitor. I'll watch your little girlfriend for you."
"Go away, Odoryuk. I don't have time to deal with you." Zeikfried yelled at the unicorn.
"It's best you do go, it's about the deal made 1000 years ago with me." I'll watch her for you.
"Fine, I'll go. This better be important. Watch her for me." He threw Rose towards Odoryuk and
vanished in a pit of black goo.
"He'll never be back my dear, now lets see how you should die. I know women love the cold. I'll
toss you out in the freezing north with just your skimpy waitress dress on." The unicorn laughed
evilly and as he did he became even blacker. They both vanished in a black light.
They appeared out in a snowstorm. Odoryuk threw her in the snow and vanished. Rose saw a
castle in the distance, a familiar one. She thought to herself "If I can just get there maybe I can
survive."
Rose wasn't able to make it to the castle. Unable to go any further she collapsed in the cold
white snow and closed her eyes. With her last seconds of consciousness she thought of the man
who had given her that ribbon, who was he?