Finally she went to bed, and surprisingly she slept well, no terrors or nightmares awaited her. In the morning she got up and had a long and leisurely breakfast, and spent the time in thought. What was she to do? After awhile it came to her she had to tell the world, but the question was how? Of course she could speak up but she would likely be taken for a wandering crackpot if she didn't plan it right and have help. Who could she get? The answer lept out at her. Amilia! Crown Princess of Seirune! Or wait, had she heard Phil had died some years ago? If so then Amilia was a Queen! Wow. And one bit of news Lina had heard, she had married Zelgadiss Greywords, her true love. Apparently it had been easy for Amilia to overlook the fact he was a chimera, and Lina had to admit that he was certainly an attractive man despite, or maybe because of, his blue skin, and the cute stones that were embedded in his body. Yeah, Lina, as a young woman knew what Amilia had seen in Zel. Truth was, Lina might have been a rival, but she was with Gourry when she met Zel and it was never something she wanted to pursue. Sigh...
So the plan was set. Lina set off in the morning and hit the open road towards Seirune. Along the way she kept mostly to herself, she prefered it that way as she would sometimes break down and cry again as emotions welled up, still resonating from her shock, but time and a sense of purpose healed all wounds to the point she could carry on. She also relearned the art of taking time to smell the flowers and remembered how sweet life really could be. How had she let things come to this? Well, now that magic was out of the question, she was going to make up for a lot of lost time. So, even though it was tiring, Lina kept on walking towards Seirune, and as she did so she started to heal and feel stronger. It was perhaps fortunate for her that she did, for there came the terrible night she was beset by the robbers.
She had grown weary and perhaps less wary, and had ended up falling asleep in the woods beside her little fire. She hadn't meant to doze off, but she did, until a rough boot awakened her. She sprang awake instantly, but it had been a long time since anyone had treated her so ill and she went off half cocked, letting into the theives with a verbal tirade that might have made lesser men blush. The men, all young and big and strong had laughed at her. One of them even asked if she thought she was that myth his father had been scared of, the bandit killer named Dragon Spooker. That brought Lina up short. In days gone by she'd have let them know why Dragons were spooked, but now she realised that without her magic she was just a tiny out of shape older woman faced down by a bunch of thugs with no one around to hear her scream. And she did, with fear, but not for the theives, rather at how close she had come to using her power, and all that entailed. Still, the bandits were appeased. The leader laughed and helped himself to her money and said she was lucky she was so old, or she'd have found out the price a young woman would pay for being so mouthy to a man. As it was, all she would lose was her cash...
Lina had shivered the rest of the night. So close to forgetting her pledge... Fortunately she had had a bit of spare cash hidden, and by careful use she was able to eek out funds for the trip. She also remembered she had packed her sword, which she had practiced with daily so as not to lose all her ability to defend herself without magic, but she realised that it was lucky it hadn't been to hand when the robbers had come, Ceified only knew what might have happened if she had drawn it. And as she walked Lina began to pray too, asking both Ceified and even the Lord of Nightmares herself for any encouragement or help they might be able to send to her. Not surprisingly there were no instant replies, no messages in the stars or angels decending to her side, but it felt better somehow to talk to someone, even if it was, well, god. And who knew, it wouldn't do any harm, right? Still, for the length of the trip there was no reply.
Finally came the day Lina crossed the boarder into Seirune. It had been so long since she had crossed the boarder anywhere that she had forgotten what the formalities were. It was a bit sticky, the guard didn't seem to want to believe she was going to see her old friend Amilia who was a shrine maiden in Seirune city. Something had told Lina that if she had said she was going to see her old friend Queen Amilia they'd have turned her back on the spot, or worse. Still it was a near enough thing as it was. She began to weep in frustration, there were many disadvantages to being non magical after all. One of the guards, misinterpreting her tears asked her why she was traveling alone. Lina replied evasively that she had lost everything in her life and simply wanted to see her friend, it was all she had left. The guard became more sympathetic and asked where her man was. "Gone." was the reply. "Children?" asked the guard, making the mistake that Lina was in the nintey plus percent of women her age that were married and had families. Lina, beginging to clue in, just shook her head. "Your house?" asked the guard again. "Gone, burned to the ground, along with everything in my life except what I have here..." she sobbed. The guard got the picture, here was a poor woman recently widowed and deprived of all that made her life worth living by a great tragedy. Well, he was almost right. He sighed. "I don't know why lady, but I believe you. Go ahead, go find your friend and may she be a comfort to you." he said in a kindly voice as he let her through the gates. Lina sobbed a thank you and went through.
It took a while for Lina to stop sobbing, she hadn't wanted to lie to the guard, but the bandits had clued her in to the fact that the name Lina Inverse meant nothing any more. She had been away for too long it seemed. Well, one thing, in Seirune the roads were just as long, but they were better patrolled, and safer. No more robbers. So one day, tired, hungry, and pennyless, Lina Inverse made it to Seirune City, the grand capital of the kingdom. A long time ago she could have given her name and walked up to the castle and gaind entry, now she found herself begging the captain of the guard for permission to ask for an audience with the Queen. "The Queen?" said the captain. "What business does a worn out commoner such as you have with her majesty? Be gone." Lina shook her head. "Listen, I can't really tell you why I need to see the queen, I just have to. I have some important news about magic and Queen Amilia needs to hear it." she said. "Queen Amilia?" said the captain, suspicious now. "Err, yes... what?" replied Lina, confused. "Hold her!" the captian ordered suddenly, and two big guards grabbed Lina. "What?" the petite woman cried. "What did I do?" "Silence." ordered the captain. "Lock her up! Queen Amilia indeed..."
Thus it was that a perplexed Lina found herself roughly escorted away to a jail cell and was roughly tossed inside. "We will deal with you in the morning." said the head jailer. Lina shouted "What did I do? I just wanted to talk to the Queen!" A woman's voice at the back said, with a dangerous, drunken slurr "Ah shut up short stuff!" Someone else giggled, also with a slur. "Oh great..." thought Lina. "Two mean drunks. They threw me in with two mean drunks. Dear Ceified, please, please, please! Don't let anything happen. I don't want to be tempted to use my powers." However, if the great Flare Dragon had heard her, he obviously had other plans. There was a shuffle and the mean one came forward. She was a big, tough looking woman, it was obvious she had been a long time user of alcohol, and that she had seen a few fights in her day. Lina's eyes went wide with fright, even going all out, she didn't know if she would be able to take on this woman just by physical means. "You looking at me, you flat chested shrimp?" said the woman. "I don't like you see?" "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude..." stammered Lina, not sure how to handle the situation. Once upon a time the woman would have been sobered up using the thermal method of applied fireballs by now, but with Lina trying desperately to avoid that she was at a bit of a loss. However, it was apparent the drunk had already decided to fight, no matter what. "Oh you'll be sorry alright!" she said, and cocked her fist back.
Lina discovered that she had a few god moves in her, but alas, the confines of the cell made them hard to apply. But she did land a few blows, and might have won even, if the other drunk hadn't suddenly grabbed her from behind. Now she was struggling as hard as she could but it was hard to keep her footing with the woman behind her tugging her around. Of course all this time Lina had been screaming at the top of her lungs and it was not very long before the jailer and some guards rushed in. Still it took a bit to get the keys out and the right one found, and the lock turned so that the door could be opened. By this time Lina's lip had been bloodied by more than one well directed blow. Then the door opened with a pop and Lina was tumbled to the ground with the women on top of her. The guards reached for the pile of pugilism, but never made it. A voice, horrible in it's intensity and it's tone shrieked "MINE!" and suddenly a monsterous wolf like creature, in armour, with one pupiless white eye, and one pupiless black eye appeared in the midst of the fray. In a second the two women on top of Lina were flying through the air and into the stone walls. One never rose again, such was the force of the blows. The monster screamed and the guards fell flat. Lina looked up and screamed as well.
"What did he tell you?" roared the beast at Lina. The room almost shattered from the energy in the voice. "What do you mean? Who?" screamed Lina back. The monster roared again "Don't play innocent with me Lina Inverse! Even if you ARE the greatest sorceress this age has ever produced! He told you something! Dolphin didn't say enough for you to guess! Yet right after you save my life you turn your back on magic and won't even use it now when your life is in danger, and you want me to believe Xellos said nothing to you!" There was a commotion at the door and a figure ran in. He held up his hands and started to shout "Ra-" "NO! BY THE GOLDEN LORD! STOP! NO MAGIC!" shrieked Lina at the man. He was so startled hed actually did stop. The wolf creature caught Lina up by the throat and snarled into her face "That proves it! Speak!" Lina gasped for breath and said "I- he- only said that it had something to do with the words of our spells and that the mazoku never give something for nothing! I figured it out from there!" Lina shrieked back in terror. This was all just going to hell in a handbasket before her eyes, and she didn't know what to do anymore. The great wolf screamed once more in rage, and yet, also in pain, then it fell on it's knees and then onto all fours, and... wept? Lina felt her grip release from Lina's throat and she rolled away and breathed deeply.
She looked back over and asked, tears in her eyes, only partly from the pain, "Beastmaster, please, what's happening to Xellos?" The wolf beast didn't answer at first, but soon it glowed like before and the beautiful, sensuous blonde woman was back, on her hands and knees on the floor, and now she was in human form it was obvious that indeed she was weeping. "I have to destroy him Lina." she said quietly. "I have to kill my child. I never knew a mazoku could feel this sort of pain in her heart, but, I'm his mother, see? And his Lord. I have to do it or Dynast and Dolphin will gang up on me and do it to both of us. And our Father Shabradnigdo stirs in the astral realm and is most displeased. I have to do it." She was silent for a minute more then looked up to Lina, her pain evident. "I hate you Lina Inverse, with every ounce of my being I hate you. I should kill you, but you saved my life once, now I will spare yours. This time. If we ever meet again I will kill you, is that clear?" Lina nodded, too scared to speak. Zellas-metallium lowered her eyes and Lina found the courage to speak again.
"Please Lady Zellas, make it quick..." she said. The beastmaster looked up, wonder and fear in her eyes and on her face. "You care about him?" she asked, shocked. Lina nodded. The beastmaster stared at her for a long time. Suddenly she shot forward with supernatural speed and grabbed Lina, pulling her close. She whispered fiercely "I must lose Xellos forever. But there is one thing I might try. Listen carefully. Lord Dynast walks the frozen regions of the northern pole of this pitiful world as you know and has made it a power for the mazoku. But there is another power Lina, and it lives at the south pole. You've never met this power, and your punny race has forgotten it is even there, but it is. It has your answers, go there, and I will set Xellos up there too, if you are quick enough, you might just save him. Save my boy Lina, and I will ignore you, fail and I will take you to hell myself!" She released Lina and stood up. "You can forgive and even care for your enemies? Now I AM afraid of humans. You will destroy us all yet." With those ominous words Beastmaster vanished.
Lina fainted.
