Short and sweet. My favorite chapter; it was fun to write! Sorry 'bout the cliffie.
I do not own Lina, Zelgaddis, Gourry, Amelia, Rezo, or any other "Slayers" characters. To the best of my knowledge, they belong to Hajime Kanzaka.
A boy stands alone in the thick fog, holding a heavy sword. He practices a single sword stroke over and over again, pledging, "Strong. I will become strong. I must become strong." He hears the familiar chimes of his great-grandfather's staff, but feels a sudden, paralyzing terror. Frozen, he watches his guardian approach through the fog.
"You want to be strong?" Rezo asks. "I will make you strong." The fog swirls red. He points his staff at the young Zelgaddis, and pain explodes in his chest, spreading to his limbs and then to his head. The lancing bolts of magic threaten to tear him apart. His mouth is frozen in a soundless scream as the magic reaches his skin and spreads along it. Zel feels suddenly heavy, terribly heavy. His skin is gray and rough. Stone, some part of him thinks. He has turned me to stone. Turning to face his attacker, he hears deep melodious laughter, chimes once again. Zel's sword halts mid-stroke, and it falls from nerveless fingers. The created body goes down on one knee to Rezo and bows its head. Horror fills Zelgaddis. "The Red Priest is a monster," he thinks. Then he sees the reflection of his own face in his sword's blade. A hideous face. "No", he realizes, "Rezo is not the monster. I am.
With a shout, Zelgaddis awoke. Disoriented, he looked around the dark room and found himself sleeping on the floor under the window. Amelia snored softly in the bed. He grabbed his cloak and strapped his sword to his side. He hadn't had time to practice his swordsmanship recently, and he was feeling too tense and wiry to go back to sleep. Throwing the hood over his head, he slipped silently out of the tavern and into the narrow cobblestone street. His boots clacked loudly on the stone, echoing in the narrow alley. Then he stopped, uneasy. He sensed the creature more than he saw it. It was only a breath of air against his cheek on an otherwise still night and a few missing stars that warned Zel of its existence.
Following his instincts, Zelgaddis yelled, "Flare Arrow!" and hurled the spell like a javelin at the creature. The figure swerved to dodge the bolt, and was illuminated for a moment by the flame: a small human-like creature with wings that spanned ten feet. With a hiss of surprise and rage the creature tumbled through the air, off balance, but managed to land on its feet.
The moment the creature's soft leather boots touched the cobblestones, it charged as it drew a slender curved sword, using the momentum of the charge to unsheathe the blade in an attack so fast that Zel could only see the afterimage. He had only managed to draw his own sword a hand's breadth, but he turned so that his attacker's blow struck the exposed steel. It leapt back as Zelgaddis drew his sword and turned to face his enemy.
Zel was startled to realize that his opponent was a female who was the same height as Amelia. A little girl? Her black hair was braided and coiled around her brow like a crown. Looking into her furious green eyes, he realized that this was no child he fought.
She charged again, this time using a low, sweeping stroke to put him off-balance. Zel jumped over the blow and attacked with all his strength. She parried his fervent attacks and sidestepped him while constantly giving ground, never allowing him to transfer the full power of any blow into her sword and sword arm. He was unable to land more than a glancing blow. Then, as Zel charged, she sideswiped his blow and, turning so her back was to him, drove her sword past her side to skewer him with his own momentum.
There was a screech of steel on stone, then the tip of her blade snapped. Unable to understand what had occurred, she turned towards him. He grabbed her as if in an embrace, pinning her arms to her sides. For a moment, staring into the face only inches from her own, she was afraid. The stone face was clearly that of a golem, but the intelligence in his eyes, the speed and adaptability of his attacksÉ this creature was like nothing she had ever encountered before. He caught the fabric at the nape of her neck and threw her as if she were a doll. Slamming into an old cottage, she left fracture lines in several of the oak boards. Only the steel exoskeleton saved her wings from being crushed against the wall. Zel pursued his advantage, but his stunned opponent managed to sweep his legs out from under him with her right leg. He wasn't able raise his sword fast enough to block the sword stroke that sliced through the shoulder of the robe and bounced of his stone skin with a clang. She cursed, threw away the broken sword and leapt vertically to land on the overhang of the cottage's roof.
Her whisper carried to Zelgaddis, who was scrambling to his feet. "Heat of the burning sun, sharpness of the crescent moon. Forge a blade of living fire, here within my grasp. Skraal Kenshir!" A sword formed, glowing white-hot, and flames licked along its length.
Without warning she pounced, battering him with a series of blows from above before she furled her wings and landed before him. Blinded by the sword's light and unable to match the speed of the winged girl with his own heavy body, he was forced back again and again. She faked a blow to the thigh, but swept her sword up to his chest the moment he moved to protect his leg. He felt the sword graze his stone skin, but was shocked when the tip of the blade penetrated. He could feel the steel cutting and burning him in the same stroke. Distracted by his wound, he loosened his grip on his sword, and her second blow sent the blade clattering and spinning across the cobblestones. The glowing sword, whose tip rested against the chimera's throat, illuminated his face from below, casting deep shadows under his eyes.
"Speak a word of magic and I'll slice out your throat," she murmured. Her voice was quiet, but low and rich. "Now tell me," the woman demanded, "who is your master?
Zel blinked, confused. "I have no master.
"A puppet without a master?" she sneered. Zel growled, but the pressure of the sword at his throat prevented him from attacking her. "Who, then, was your creator?
"My creator? If you mean the one who gave me this monstrous body, it was Rezo, the Red Priest. But my companions and I defeated him. I am my own master now.
"Your own master? You claim to act of your own free will?" Her tone was peculiar, a mix of disbelief and pain. She lowered the glowing sword, but did not release the spell. She gave him a measuring look, as if trying to decide something. "If you are truly free, then you and your companions should flee tonight. Tomorrow, my master and his army will seize this city. He is a great sorcerer of the black arts, and he leads a hundred powerful chimeras. What he wants, he takes.
She took a step towards Zelgaddis; there was only a hand's breadth between the faces of the small woman and the chimera. "Swear to me that you will leave this city immediately. You risk your freedom if you stay.
The moon was the only light. It highlighted her face, casting her pale skin even paler; her dark hair shimmered. He could see his own reflection in her large, almond-shaped eyes, fringed by heavy eyelashes. Her full lips mouthed the word "please.
"No." The woman stepped back, angered and confused. "I will not run before an enemy," Zel snapped.
"So be it," she whispered and slashed at his chest. He stepped back, but his boot caught on an uneven stone and he crashed to the ground with a yell. "You have chosen death, boy. I will not allow any other to fall into the hands of the Puppetmaster."
I do not own Lina, Zelgaddis, Gourry, Amelia, Rezo, or any other "Slayers" characters. To the best of my knowledge, they belong to Hajime Kanzaka.
A boy stands alone in the thick fog, holding a heavy sword. He practices a single sword stroke over and over again, pledging, "Strong. I will become strong. I must become strong." He hears the familiar chimes of his great-grandfather's staff, but feels a sudden, paralyzing terror. Frozen, he watches his guardian approach through the fog.
"You want to be strong?" Rezo asks. "I will make you strong." The fog swirls red. He points his staff at the young Zelgaddis, and pain explodes in his chest, spreading to his limbs and then to his head. The lancing bolts of magic threaten to tear him apart. His mouth is frozen in a soundless scream as the magic reaches his skin and spreads along it. Zel feels suddenly heavy, terribly heavy. His skin is gray and rough. Stone, some part of him thinks. He has turned me to stone. Turning to face his attacker, he hears deep melodious laughter, chimes once again. Zel's sword halts mid-stroke, and it falls from nerveless fingers. The created body goes down on one knee to Rezo and bows its head. Horror fills Zelgaddis. "The Red Priest is a monster," he thinks. Then he sees the reflection of his own face in his sword's blade. A hideous face. "No", he realizes, "Rezo is not the monster. I am.
With a shout, Zelgaddis awoke. Disoriented, he looked around the dark room and found himself sleeping on the floor under the window. Amelia snored softly in the bed. He grabbed his cloak and strapped his sword to his side. He hadn't had time to practice his swordsmanship recently, and he was feeling too tense and wiry to go back to sleep. Throwing the hood over his head, he slipped silently out of the tavern and into the narrow cobblestone street. His boots clacked loudly on the stone, echoing in the narrow alley. Then he stopped, uneasy. He sensed the creature more than he saw it. It was only a breath of air against his cheek on an otherwise still night and a few missing stars that warned Zel of its existence.
Following his instincts, Zelgaddis yelled, "Flare Arrow!" and hurled the spell like a javelin at the creature. The figure swerved to dodge the bolt, and was illuminated for a moment by the flame: a small human-like creature with wings that spanned ten feet. With a hiss of surprise and rage the creature tumbled through the air, off balance, but managed to land on its feet.
The moment the creature's soft leather boots touched the cobblestones, it charged as it drew a slender curved sword, using the momentum of the charge to unsheathe the blade in an attack so fast that Zel could only see the afterimage. He had only managed to draw his own sword a hand's breadth, but he turned so that his attacker's blow struck the exposed steel. It leapt back as Zelgaddis drew his sword and turned to face his enemy.
Zel was startled to realize that his opponent was a female who was the same height as Amelia. A little girl? Her black hair was braided and coiled around her brow like a crown. Looking into her furious green eyes, he realized that this was no child he fought.
She charged again, this time using a low, sweeping stroke to put him off-balance. Zel jumped over the blow and attacked with all his strength. She parried his fervent attacks and sidestepped him while constantly giving ground, never allowing him to transfer the full power of any blow into her sword and sword arm. He was unable to land more than a glancing blow. Then, as Zel charged, she sideswiped his blow and, turning so her back was to him, drove her sword past her side to skewer him with his own momentum.
There was a screech of steel on stone, then the tip of her blade snapped. Unable to understand what had occurred, she turned towards him. He grabbed her as if in an embrace, pinning her arms to her sides. For a moment, staring into the face only inches from her own, she was afraid. The stone face was clearly that of a golem, but the intelligence in his eyes, the speed and adaptability of his attacksÉ this creature was like nothing she had ever encountered before. He caught the fabric at the nape of her neck and threw her as if she were a doll. Slamming into an old cottage, she left fracture lines in several of the oak boards. Only the steel exoskeleton saved her wings from being crushed against the wall. Zel pursued his advantage, but his stunned opponent managed to sweep his legs out from under him with her right leg. He wasn't able raise his sword fast enough to block the sword stroke that sliced through the shoulder of the robe and bounced of his stone skin with a clang. She cursed, threw away the broken sword and leapt vertically to land on the overhang of the cottage's roof.
Her whisper carried to Zelgaddis, who was scrambling to his feet. "Heat of the burning sun, sharpness of the crescent moon. Forge a blade of living fire, here within my grasp. Skraal Kenshir!" A sword formed, glowing white-hot, and flames licked along its length.
Without warning she pounced, battering him with a series of blows from above before she furled her wings and landed before him. Blinded by the sword's light and unable to match the speed of the winged girl with his own heavy body, he was forced back again and again. She faked a blow to the thigh, but swept her sword up to his chest the moment he moved to protect his leg. He felt the sword graze his stone skin, but was shocked when the tip of the blade penetrated. He could feel the steel cutting and burning him in the same stroke. Distracted by his wound, he loosened his grip on his sword, and her second blow sent the blade clattering and spinning across the cobblestones. The glowing sword, whose tip rested against the chimera's throat, illuminated his face from below, casting deep shadows under his eyes.
"Speak a word of magic and I'll slice out your throat," she murmured. Her voice was quiet, but low and rich. "Now tell me," the woman demanded, "who is your master?
Zel blinked, confused. "I have no master.
"A puppet without a master?" she sneered. Zel growled, but the pressure of the sword at his throat prevented him from attacking her. "Who, then, was your creator?
"My creator? If you mean the one who gave me this monstrous body, it was Rezo, the Red Priest. But my companions and I defeated him. I am my own master now.
"Your own master? You claim to act of your own free will?" Her tone was peculiar, a mix of disbelief and pain. She lowered the glowing sword, but did not release the spell. She gave him a measuring look, as if trying to decide something. "If you are truly free, then you and your companions should flee tonight. Tomorrow, my master and his army will seize this city. He is a great sorcerer of the black arts, and he leads a hundred powerful chimeras. What he wants, he takes.
She took a step towards Zelgaddis; there was only a hand's breadth between the faces of the small woman and the chimera. "Swear to me that you will leave this city immediately. You risk your freedom if you stay.
The moon was the only light. It highlighted her face, casting her pale skin even paler; her dark hair shimmered. He could see his own reflection in her large, almond-shaped eyes, fringed by heavy eyelashes. Her full lips mouthed the word "please.
"No." The woman stepped back, angered and confused. "I will not run before an enemy," Zel snapped.
"So be it," she whispered and slashed at his chest. He stepped back, but his boot caught on an uneven stone and he crashed to the ground with a yell. "You have chosen death, boy. I will not allow any other to fall into the hands of the Puppetmaster."