Disclaimer: I own no copyrights
Author notes: Sorry it took so long. I had planned to update all my stories on one day but the disk the chapters were on was corrupted somehow, then there was some kind of mistake made on some of my paperwork for college so I had to redo that, and then college started so I haven't had much time to work on this. Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long. And in response to the one review I received that was just the prologue we won't reach the events of the game until chapter 7 at the earliest.
Author notes 2: This is just a quick edit.
IS 550 (about six months later)
The past six months had changed James, he had grown taller and thinner, his black hair was cut shorter and the light in his eyes seemed slightly dimmer. He had inherited his father's bastard sword, Colada, but a bastard sword, while certainly easier to wield then a broadsword, was too heavy for his fighting style so he had talked his mother into hiring a blacksmith to forge a pair of sabers for him which he had named the twin blades of Tizon. The fact that he and his father had both named their weapons after swords from their mutual favorite epic poem had been shrugged off as the two of them had always had identical taste in stories. Work on the small farm they maintained had been easier then usual since rain had been more plentiful and James and his mother had come to Seika to sell the leftovers from the harvest and relax for a day or two.
Which left James wondering around a town where all his friends had moved out over the years due to money issues or parental deaths. He was passing the house of the last of his old friends who had moved during the spring when he heard his mother calling. Walking around the corner and narrowly missing a collusion with a pair of running 5 year-olds James found his mother chatting with Mathiu Silverburg, who he recognized from his father's funeral. "Hi mom. Hello Mr. Silverburg. When do you want to go to the Inn mom?" "Later, why don't you go inside and meet some of the students, you could use more friends and you might meet a nice girl." "Mom!" James protested shocked at the idea that his mother was discussing his love life, or rather the lack thereof, so openly. "Just go." "Fine." He walked inside muttering something about living to regret it if he wasn't careful and how he was only 9 so he shouldn't be worrying about girls yet.
The interior of the school was functional, if not particularly decorative. Fortunately there weren't any girls present at the moment. In fact the only person inside the room was a boy who looked a few years older then James sitting at a table with a chess set in front of him. "Good I could use a new opponent. I haven't played chess since dad died." He closed his eyes for a second then decided that it was time for him to start playing again. After all chess had been one of his favorite games and why should he give that up? His mind made up he walked over to the table. James and the young man traded hellos and James introduced himself asked the other boy if he was interested in a game. "Yes a new opponent should be interesting. My name is Shu.", the other boy replied. James sat down "Okay Shu which color do you want to be?" "Black."
James had counted on Shu choosing White so that he could get an idea of Shu's playing style before planning his own strategy but since that didn't work he had to change his plan. James wanted to play defensive so he could learn more about his opponent but he didn't want Shu to recognize that so he opened by moving his king-side knight forward two and left one. The first game ended with Shu winning after destroying James's center. They played a second game with the same colors and James opened with the same opening move but this time James followed up that move by sending his knights forward to harass Shu's army and disrupt his plans. It worked for a little while but soon the tide of battle turned against James, though he managed to force a draw. As they were setting up for a third game James's mother came in and told him it was time to go. "Well it least it wasn't mid-game," he muttered. "Mom Can I come back tomorrow?" he asked aloud. "I'm sorry James but we have to leave in the morning but we could come back next month." She replied. James turned to Shu and offered him his hand. As the two shook hands "James added I'll see you next month and this time I won't be out of practice at chess so I hope you're ready."