Chapter 11 – Back Home???
::The Second Bloodlines Chapter::
As Garlyle regained consciousness, he could hear a familiar hustle and bustle...
It was too familiar.
"No..." Garlyle sat up, and saw there was a crowd of people circled around them, staring at them. They were both upon the top ledge of a round fountain that was in front of a large palace. Thankfully they were both dry, somewhat.
He looked around quickly, and spotted Kozo near him. Quickly, he rolled over and shook the boy, to get him to wake up.
"Huh? We're here already?" Kozo pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Garlyle stared towards the palace. "I think... No, it's can't be..."
"What?" Kozo asked.
"That palace... that is... that is..." Garlyle pointed at it, jumping down. People jumped backwards. They weren't too scared of these two young children, but they were still looking at them curiously...
"Those two are the ones?" Garlyle could hear the murmurs.
"Yeah, the ones that fell from the sky..."
"I can't believe it! I wonder why the lord hasn't come to them yet..."
"Think they're aliens?"
Garlyle looked around, seeing each face, and the younger ones jumped back as he did. Garlyle smiled a bit. It felt odd, being known so well, and feared...
"So," he thought to himself, "Is this the kind of treatment a demon'd get?"
"I'd say that's what they think you are, Garlyle, but you should know that anything that falls from the sky here is treated with... fear..."
"What do you mean...?" Garlyle looked around, swearing he could recognize things. Then it came to him. "No, way!"
He grabbed Kozo and pulled him close. "Kozo, I can't believe it! This is my home!"
"Really?" Kozo looked at it. "Then how come nobody knows you?"
"Let's see..." Garlyle looked around, before approaching the people. "Umm..." he spoke loudly, and the crowd seemed to hush. "Hello..."
He wasn't sure quite what to say, but it was evident people were waiting for his words.
"Is this... Avel?" he asked.
There were nods among the crowds, as well as refreshed murmurs.
"I knew it!" Garlyle whispered to Kozo again. "This is my homeland! But... it doesn't feel quite right..."
He looked around again. Then an idea dawned on him. "What year is it?"
One young man wearing red armor, with brown hair and brown eyes like Garlyle's, slowly walked towards him. His skin seemed pale, and his hair seemed like it was starting to fade away into the grey of age, though he didn't look anything past 12.
"It's the year five hundred fifty since the Waves..." the man responded. "Why do you ask?"
Garlyle's eyes opened in shock. "I knew it! This... this can't be right!"
"No, it's right" Ceres spoke to him, mentally. "Garlyle, we've travelled back 450 years in the past! This year... this is the reign of Lord Savarius..."
"In... Incredible!" Garlyle gaped, interrupting Ceres' thought as he looked around. "Then..." he approached the one courageous young knight, as the rest of the crowd backed away. "Can you help us?"
Kozo walked up beside Garlyle, looking down at the shorter boy. He remained silent, for unknown reasons.
The man smiled. "What do you need, children of the sky?"
Garlyle had to force back the urge to laugh, and he could feel that Kozo felt the same way. After calming down, Garlyle answered him. "Please, take me to..."
Whatever he was going to say, was stopped.
"Halt, intruders!"
The entire crowd seemed to scramble away, and even the knight who looked regal before scurried off like a rodent.
"What the...?" Garlyle looked around.
"Didn't you hear me? These years were the reign of Lord Savarius Del Phied! The Dark Lord of Avel's History, the second most feared man in the history of Avel!" Ceres shouted at him, mentally.
Garlyle froze. His voice froze.
"Kozo, don't move a muscle..." he whispered to his companion, who nodded in return.
In a few moments, they were surrounded by regal-looking soldiers who had come from around the streets, all of them wearing black capes to signify their allegiance. "Identify yourselves, strangely clothed demons!" one of them shouted.
"We... We're..." Garlyle tried to think of what to say. "We're visitors from afar..."
"That's enough! Men, back away, they are dangerous!"
The voice was harsh, and Garlyle and Kozo's bodies froze involuntarily. They couldn't move an inch. Even Falcon, who wasn't exactly alive, seemed to freeze.
Garlyle saw him approaching, from the main gates, slowly coming into view.
His face was hidden under his long black bangs, his body hidden in a long black robe, though there was the sounds of metal as he walked. Something about him scared Garlyle, inherently, even though he couldn't see the man underneath.
"C... Ceres... It's him... I know from the paintings..." Garlyle thought to his inner demon.
Ceres couldn't respond. Even Garlyle could sense the demon's fear.
"Now, speak, fiends, who are you?" the man demanded.
Garlyle felt the will to obey. "We're travellers, trying to find our way back ho..." he began.
"Silence! That is a lie..." he stepped forward again, and Garlyle found himself unable to move again, as he stepped closer. He stepped in front of Garlyle, looking down at him. Garlyle could see the famous 'pitch- black' eyes staring at him from underneath the hair.
If he could remember right, some young child eventually turned out to be his downfall, having revealed the man as a demon...
But when would that be? Garlyle had never been good with history...
"Who are you really?" a hand grabbed at Garlyle's neck, lost within the sleeves, and it lifted him up, raising him to eye level.
Instantly, Garlyle grabbed at the hand and tried to pry it off, kicking. With his other hand, Savarius grabbed Garlyle's two feet in turn, and with the touches Garlyle's legs became numb.
"I can sense it inside of both of you... demonic powers..." Savarius dropped Garlyle down to the ground, and the younger boy seemed to faint. He walked slowly towards Kozo. "Am I correct?"
Kozo was uncertain about this man, but could sense the evil within him. He didn't even flinch, though his insides were shaking. Garlyle had been scared of this man, and Kozo knew why. He could see some kind of strange black aura around him...
"Well, answer me!" the man's hand dived for Kozo's neck again.
Kozo's reflexes kicked in, as he grabbed the lord's wrist and brought it around behind, springing off of it and twisting around, raising his leg up high to smash the man's skull.
As he turned, Kozo's kick was stopped by some unusual, invisible force. It simply froze, in mid-air, as he grabbed it with one hand.
A shock ran through Kozo in that moment, one that rendered him instantly unconscious, making him drop to the floor.
"Kozo-dono!" Falcon cried. "Tell me you're okay!"
There was no response.
*****
"Garlyle, you have to wake up! Please, wake up!"
Ceres' urgent voice forced him to obey. Slowly, Garlyle tried to open his eyes and raise his head.
A strong, meaty hand held his head down against a hard wood surface. Garlyle gulped, trying to stretch.
His wrists were bound together, as were his ankles. He was kneeling down, as far as he could tell.
His eyes shifted to search along the crowd in front of him, as he wondered if he were on display or something. At the edge of his vision, he forced his head to turn, and he saw Kozo beside him, similarly bound, just barely waking up as well.
Then Garlyle recognised where they were.
This was... no way! The executioner's grounds? But...
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Avel..."
Savarius' voice. Garlyle felt the hand move away, but then something clapped over the back of his neck, clamping it right in place. He heard footsteps move away.
"Kozo, we have to get out of here!" Garlyle said, just loud enough for Kozo to hear over the roaring of the crowd.
"You've all come because you wish to see that I can protect you from demons such as these, right?"
There was a roar of agreement from the crowd.
"What's going on?" Kozo asked.
"We're going to be killed!" Garlyle growled.
"What?"
"Executed! They're going to lop off our heads!" Garlyle answered, frantically.
"No... No!" Kozo shook. "Falcon, is this true?"
"Yes, Kozo-dono... I caught every word while you're unconscious. This lord thinks you two are demons, and that you must be properly dealt with!"
"We're not demons!" Kozo hissed out, loudly.
There was the crack of a whip, and Kozo felt a powerful sting on his back. Garlyle couldn't see it, but he heard it, and Kozo's shout of pain afterwards.
"Silence, pathetic monster!" Lord Del Phied demanded. "It is not in your place to speak, judgement has been passed!"
"We haven't even been put on trial! How can you say..." Kozo demanded angrily, and Garlyle braced himself for the sound again. The whip struck again, and Kozo gritted his teeth so hard that they looked as if they would shatter with any more pressure.
"Trial! Hah! Fiends like yourself deserve no trial!" Savarius growled. "I will hear no more of these pathetic cries. Executioners, off with their heads!"
The crowd roared so loudly, that anything Garlyle tried to cry over to Kozo was lost in the general roar.
Kozo looked around wildly, as if trying to find a way to escape. He could hear Falcon's words only. "Kozo, you have to do it!"
"But I'm afraid, what if..."
"You'd rather die?"
That set his mind. He looked at Garlyle, then seemed to twist his head. Garlyle could see the other Executioner going over Kozo's head, raising his axe, and he could see the shadow of the other one coming up behind him.
"Damn, I'm not going to die today..." Garlyle growled.
Then he understood. Just as he could see the axe's shadow swinging down towards his own, he rolled sideways with all of his might, calling on his magic and the power of Ceres.
He broke straight through the wood with the roll, even succeeding in slamming into the bulky man and sending him crashing down into the crowd.
Meanwhile, Kozo focused hard. "Please, shadows... help me now..."
His body was enveloped in a black haze, and he felt the bonds loosen around him. He planted his hands on the ground and pushed straight upwards and to the side, his neck pushing straight through the wood clasp as if it was butter.
There was a gasp, and then another. Garlyle turned to face Kozo, to see what had happened. He gasped, too.
Kozo was standing in front of the executioner, and Garlyle could detect a faint dark aura. He swore that through the arm of the boy's vest, he could see the fang mark on his arm glowing...
"Be careful!" he saw the Executioner raise his axe from the failed attack, ready to swing again.
"Don't worry about me" Kozo laughed, darkly, and Garlyle was shocked by what kind of power he seemed to radiate. He grabbed the axe's blade with one hand, and pressed one hand up to the man's face.
Garlyle forced his head away a moment later, as flames erupted in such heat that the executioner's head was burnt right off of his shoulders.
"Kozo, how did you just..." Garlyle panted. He could have sworn, that Kozo had no magic in him, but now...
"Demons!" Lord Savarius moved quickly towards them, waving his hand in front of him as if casting a spell.
"Ceres, what kind of power is it that Kozo has?"
"It's a power so ancient... Garlyle, these two men both have power at least equal to mine!"
"W... WHAT?" Garlyle gaped in amazement.
"I don't even think Kozo is really human!"
But Garlyle didn't have time to think on this, as Savarius raised his hand to face the two boys.
With one command, a blast of icy air shot from his palm, a large crescent wave that froze things as it passed. People hurried away out of sheer need.
"Flames!" Garlyle planted his hand down on the ground.
"Let me help, you'll need my power!"
"Come to me! Pheonix Flight!" Garlyle finished, scooping upwards with his balled fist. A huge bird-shaped flame rose in front of him, heating the air so much that the two boys were almost burned by it. Some of the planks below caught on fire. He rose into the air with it, as the heat from the attack more than negated his opponent's magic.
Here, he was at home, and could tap into his own powers, all the secrets of high-level magic his father had told him as he was growing up...
Finally, as Garlyle stopped moving in the air, he remained floating. The phoenix seemed to have taken flight behind him, flapping its burning wings behind him.
"Incredible, ha ha!" Savarius laughed. "This will make a most interesting battle! Demons, I await your attacks, as it has been long since anybody has challenged me with power that begins to come close to my own!"
::The Second Bloodlines Chapter::
As Garlyle regained consciousness, he could hear a familiar hustle and bustle...
It was too familiar.
"No..." Garlyle sat up, and saw there was a crowd of people circled around them, staring at them. They were both upon the top ledge of a round fountain that was in front of a large palace. Thankfully they were both dry, somewhat.
He looked around quickly, and spotted Kozo near him. Quickly, he rolled over and shook the boy, to get him to wake up.
"Huh? We're here already?" Kozo pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Garlyle stared towards the palace. "I think... No, it's can't be..."
"What?" Kozo asked.
"That palace... that is... that is..." Garlyle pointed at it, jumping down. People jumped backwards. They weren't too scared of these two young children, but they were still looking at them curiously...
"Those two are the ones?" Garlyle could hear the murmurs.
"Yeah, the ones that fell from the sky..."
"I can't believe it! I wonder why the lord hasn't come to them yet..."
"Think they're aliens?"
Garlyle looked around, seeing each face, and the younger ones jumped back as he did. Garlyle smiled a bit. It felt odd, being known so well, and feared...
"So," he thought to himself, "Is this the kind of treatment a demon'd get?"
"I'd say that's what they think you are, Garlyle, but you should know that anything that falls from the sky here is treated with... fear..."
"What do you mean...?" Garlyle looked around, swearing he could recognize things. Then it came to him. "No, way!"
He grabbed Kozo and pulled him close. "Kozo, I can't believe it! This is my home!"
"Really?" Kozo looked at it. "Then how come nobody knows you?"
"Let's see..." Garlyle looked around, before approaching the people. "Umm..." he spoke loudly, and the crowd seemed to hush. "Hello..."
He wasn't sure quite what to say, but it was evident people were waiting for his words.
"Is this... Avel?" he asked.
There were nods among the crowds, as well as refreshed murmurs.
"I knew it!" Garlyle whispered to Kozo again. "This is my homeland! But... it doesn't feel quite right..."
He looked around again. Then an idea dawned on him. "What year is it?"
One young man wearing red armor, with brown hair and brown eyes like Garlyle's, slowly walked towards him. His skin seemed pale, and his hair seemed like it was starting to fade away into the grey of age, though he didn't look anything past 12.
"It's the year five hundred fifty since the Waves..." the man responded. "Why do you ask?"
Garlyle's eyes opened in shock. "I knew it! This... this can't be right!"
"No, it's right" Ceres spoke to him, mentally. "Garlyle, we've travelled back 450 years in the past! This year... this is the reign of Lord Savarius..."
"In... Incredible!" Garlyle gaped, interrupting Ceres' thought as he looked around. "Then..." he approached the one courageous young knight, as the rest of the crowd backed away. "Can you help us?"
Kozo walked up beside Garlyle, looking down at the shorter boy. He remained silent, for unknown reasons.
The man smiled. "What do you need, children of the sky?"
Garlyle had to force back the urge to laugh, and he could feel that Kozo felt the same way. After calming down, Garlyle answered him. "Please, take me to..."
Whatever he was going to say, was stopped.
"Halt, intruders!"
The entire crowd seemed to scramble away, and even the knight who looked regal before scurried off like a rodent.
"What the...?" Garlyle looked around.
"Didn't you hear me? These years were the reign of Lord Savarius Del Phied! The Dark Lord of Avel's History, the second most feared man in the history of Avel!" Ceres shouted at him, mentally.
Garlyle froze. His voice froze.
"Kozo, don't move a muscle..." he whispered to his companion, who nodded in return.
In a few moments, they were surrounded by regal-looking soldiers who had come from around the streets, all of them wearing black capes to signify their allegiance. "Identify yourselves, strangely clothed demons!" one of them shouted.
"We... We're..." Garlyle tried to think of what to say. "We're visitors from afar..."
"That's enough! Men, back away, they are dangerous!"
The voice was harsh, and Garlyle and Kozo's bodies froze involuntarily. They couldn't move an inch. Even Falcon, who wasn't exactly alive, seemed to freeze.
Garlyle saw him approaching, from the main gates, slowly coming into view.
His face was hidden under his long black bangs, his body hidden in a long black robe, though there was the sounds of metal as he walked. Something about him scared Garlyle, inherently, even though he couldn't see the man underneath.
"C... Ceres... It's him... I know from the paintings..." Garlyle thought to his inner demon.
Ceres couldn't respond. Even Garlyle could sense the demon's fear.
"Now, speak, fiends, who are you?" the man demanded.
Garlyle felt the will to obey. "We're travellers, trying to find our way back ho..." he began.
"Silence! That is a lie..." he stepped forward again, and Garlyle found himself unable to move again, as he stepped closer. He stepped in front of Garlyle, looking down at him. Garlyle could see the famous 'pitch- black' eyes staring at him from underneath the hair.
If he could remember right, some young child eventually turned out to be his downfall, having revealed the man as a demon...
But when would that be? Garlyle had never been good with history...
"Who are you really?" a hand grabbed at Garlyle's neck, lost within the sleeves, and it lifted him up, raising him to eye level.
Instantly, Garlyle grabbed at the hand and tried to pry it off, kicking. With his other hand, Savarius grabbed Garlyle's two feet in turn, and with the touches Garlyle's legs became numb.
"I can sense it inside of both of you... demonic powers..." Savarius dropped Garlyle down to the ground, and the younger boy seemed to faint. He walked slowly towards Kozo. "Am I correct?"
Kozo was uncertain about this man, but could sense the evil within him. He didn't even flinch, though his insides were shaking. Garlyle had been scared of this man, and Kozo knew why. He could see some kind of strange black aura around him...
"Well, answer me!" the man's hand dived for Kozo's neck again.
Kozo's reflexes kicked in, as he grabbed the lord's wrist and brought it around behind, springing off of it and twisting around, raising his leg up high to smash the man's skull.
As he turned, Kozo's kick was stopped by some unusual, invisible force. It simply froze, in mid-air, as he grabbed it with one hand.
A shock ran through Kozo in that moment, one that rendered him instantly unconscious, making him drop to the floor.
"Kozo-dono!" Falcon cried. "Tell me you're okay!"
There was no response.
*****
"Garlyle, you have to wake up! Please, wake up!"
Ceres' urgent voice forced him to obey. Slowly, Garlyle tried to open his eyes and raise his head.
A strong, meaty hand held his head down against a hard wood surface. Garlyle gulped, trying to stretch.
His wrists were bound together, as were his ankles. He was kneeling down, as far as he could tell.
His eyes shifted to search along the crowd in front of him, as he wondered if he were on display or something. At the edge of his vision, he forced his head to turn, and he saw Kozo beside him, similarly bound, just barely waking up as well.
Then Garlyle recognised where they were.
This was... no way! The executioner's grounds? But...
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Avel..."
Savarius' voice. Garlyle felt the hand move away, but then something clapped over the back of his neck, clamping it right in place. He heard footsteps move away.
"Kozo, we have to get out of here!" Garlyle said, just loud enough for Kozo to hear over the roaring of the crowd.
"You've all come because you wish to see that I can protect you from demons such as these, right?"
There was a roar of agreement from the crowd.
"What's going on?" Kozo asked.
"We're going to be killed!" Garlyle growled.
"What?"
"Executed! They're going to lop off our heads!" Garlyle answered, frantically.
"No... No!" Kozo shook. "Falcon, is this true?"
"Yes, Kozo-dono... I caught every word while you're unconscious. This lord thinks you two are demons, and that you must be properly dealt with!"
"We're not demons!" Kozo hissed out, loudly.
There was the crack of a whip, and Kozo felt a powerful sting on his back. Garlyle couldn't see it, but he heard it, and Kozo's shout of pain afterwards.
"Silence, pathetic monster!" Lord Del Phied demanded. "It is not in your place to speak, judgement has been passed!"
"We haven't even been put on trial! How can you say..." Kozo demanded angrily, and Garlyle braced himself for the sound again. The whip struck again, and Kozo gritted his teeth so hard that they looked as if they would shatter with any more pressure.
"Trial! Hah! Fiends like yourself deserve no trial!" Savarius growled. "I will hear no more of these pathetic cries. Executioners, off with their heads!"
The crowd roared so loudly, that anything Garlyle tried to cry over to Kozo was lost in the general roar.
Kozo looked around wildly, as if trying to find a way to escape. He could hear Falcon's words only. "Kozo, you have to do it!"
"But I'm afraid, what if..."
"You'd rather die?"
That set his mind. He looked at Garlyle, then seemed to twist his head. Garlyle could see the other Executioner going over Kozo's head, raising his axe, and he could see the shadow of the other one coming up behind him.
"Damn, I'm not going to die today..." Garlyle growled.
Then he understood. Just as he could see the axe's shadow swinging down towards his own, he rolled sideways with all of his might, calling on his magic and the power of Ceres.
He broke straight through the wood with the roll, even succeeding in slamming into the bulky man and sending him crashing down into the crowd.
Meanwhile, Kozo focused hard. "Please, shadows... help me now..."
His body was enveloped in a black haze, and he felt the bonds loosen around him. He planted his hands on the ground and pushed straight upwards and to the side, his neck pushing straight through the wood clasp as if it was butter.
There was a gasp, and then another. Garlyle turned to face Kozo, to see what had happened. He gasped, too.
Kozo was standing in front of the executioner, and Garlyle could detect a faint dark aura. He swore that through the arm of the boy's vest, he could see the fang mark on his arm glowing...
"Be careful!" he saw the Executioner raise his axe from the failed attack, ready to swing again.
"Don't worry about me" Kozo laughed, darkly, and Garlyle was shocked by what kind of power he seemed to radiate. He grabbed the axe's blade with one hand, and pressed one hand up to the man's face.
Garlyle forced his head away a moment later, as flames erupted in such heat that the executioner's head was burnt right off of his shoulders.
"Kozo, how did you just..." Garlyle panted. He could have sworn, that Kozo had no magic in him, but now...
"Demons!" Lord Savarius moved quickly towards them, waving his hand in front of him as if casting a spell.
"Ceres, what kind of power is it that Kozo has?"
"It's a power so ancient... Garlyle, these two men both have power at least equal to mine!"
"W... WHAT?" Garlyle gaped in amazement.
"I don't even think Kozo is really human!"
But Garlyle didn't have time to think on this, as Savarius raised his hand to face the two boys.
With one command, a blast of icy air shot from his palm, a large crescent wave that froze things as it passed. People hurried away out of sheer need.
"Flames!" Garlyle planted his hand down on the ground.
"Let me help, you'll need my power!"
"Come to me! Pheonix Flight!" Garlyle finished, scooping upwards with his balled fist. A huge bird-shaped flame rose in front of him, heating the air so much that the two boys were almost burned by it. Some of the planks below caught on fire. He rose into the air with it, as the heat from the attack more than negated his opponent's magic.
Here, he was at home, and could tap into his own powers, all the secrets of high-level magic his father had told him as he was growing up...
Finally, as Garlyle stopped moving in the air, he remained floating. The phoenix seemed to have taken flight behind him, flapping its burning wings behind him.
"Incredible, ha ha!" Savarius laughed. "This will make a most interesting battle! Demons, I await your attacks, as it has been long since anybody has challenged me with power that begins to come close to my own!"