Tales of the Wizard
Ch 9 Iselia
"Damn it! Where is she!"
Raiden had spend several hours looking for his companion.
He wished he could use Névé, but as it was still light it was not an option.
The roads were also target of robbers and Raiden 'convinced' them that attacking him wasn't a good idea.
Even several creatures were aggressive, including rabbits for some reason.
He reached a village north of the desert.
"Iselia, hmm, I remember that name from somewhere."
"Can I help you?" one of the guards asked.
"Have you seen a young woman, she goes by the name Sheena? She wears a pink scarf around the waist."
"No, we haven't. I am sorry."
"Damn, Damn, DAMN!" Raiden shouted, "She must be somewhere."
"Can I help you?" another voice said.
Raiden looked at an older lady, "Perhaps, but probably not."
"Would you accept some tea, at least? A young man like you shouldn't travel the world on an empty stomach."
"I do not want to.."
"I am offering it, be welcome."
"Well, fine then. I am Raiden, I work as a mercenary, all though I do some charity once in a while."
"I am Pheirdra, the elder of the village. This way,please."
Raiden was guided to one of the houses, he noticed that most of the others had been destroyed.
"Has there been a fire recently?"
"Unfortunately yes, the damage was caused by Desians. The treaty means little to them anymore, and they attacked more recently since two boys attacked at the human ranch. The two have been exiled after the Desians attacked out village."
"Exiled? Just because the two made a mist.a.k.e," Raiden stopped slowly as he realised something, "The two who were exiled, Lloyd and Genis right?"
"You met them? How are they?"
"They have caught up with the Chosen's group. All of them are doing well. They are making their way to the seal of fire."
"I see."
"Pheidra! The Desians want to speak to you," a man said, "It's about the Chosen."
"I am coming along," Raiden said, "I'll want to see them for myself."
Some soldiers were waiting at the gate, another villager stood near them.
"Hpmf, got yourself a bodyguard?" the leader said, looking at the ageing woman.
"Flattery will get you anywhere these days," Raiden mocked.
"Why you!"
Pheidra intervened, "Why are you here? The two responsible for the attack have all ready been exiled. Iselia is upholding the treaty."
"That's not enough! We want them to suffer more. You are close to both of them."
"If you want to kill her, you'll have to go through me," Raiden said.
He grapped one of his swords.
"GET HIM!"
"WHAT IS GOING ON!"
The soldiers looked behind them as another party of soldiers appeared.
"Trying to get your way again?" one Desian said to the leader of the first group, "Lord Forcystus has forbidden to attack unless Lloyd is back or the treaty is broken again."
"He tried to attack us."
"We arrived a lot earlier then that, we heard the treat you made. I know he didn't move yet." The Desian looked at Raiden.
"But."
"You and your party are going back to the base. NOW!"
The soldiers left.
"That was interesting," Raiden said, "It seems that there are two groups of Desians."
"I am sorry that you got involved."
"I decided for myself that I would be involved in this," Raiden said, "There are more pieces of the puzzle that need to be found. The disappearance of my friend and the Desians are only a couple of the pieces needed."
"Pheidra! Who is he?" another man asked, he reminded Raiden of a cross between his 'dear' uncle and Cornilius Fudge.
"And who are you?" Raiden shot back.
"I am the Mayor of Iselia. Now answer me!"
"My name is Raiden, I am looking for a friend of mine. I saw this village and decided to ask if they saw her. As I was leaving Pheidra offered me a cup of tea."
"I heard that Desians were at the gate."
"Man, for a mayor you aren't really fast on the uptake. Yes, there were Desians who wanted to kill Pheidra. I was prepared to stop them..."
"You fool! They might see that as a breach of the treaty! You could be the death of us all!"
"Will you STOP babbling and listen for once!" Raiden snapped, "Another group of Desians stopped the first as they were acting on their own. The treaty isn't broken."
"They might come back, so you should leave now."
"Mayor, aren't you being unreasonable?" Pheidra asked.
"Leave him, Pheidra." Raiden said, "It's the thought that counts, I'll promise I'll come back for that cup of tea."
"But why?"
"I met people like him before. Stubborn till the end, and unable to admit their faults. Besides if I stayed, I might kill him because he annoyed me," Raiden said.
"I thank you for jumping to my defence, and can I ask a favour?"
"It wasn't a problem, and what kind of favour?
"Please go to Dirk, Lloyd's adoptive father. He might be interested in some news about Lloyd."
Raiden bowed, "I will, I heard some stories about him so I am a little curious myself."
"Please take care," Pheidra said, "May Martel watch over you."
"Thanks, see you around," Raiden left the village and went into the forest.
The first thing he noticed was that the atmosphere was less evil then the forest near Mizuho.
"I guess that the Mana depletion causes less growth amongst the plants," Raiden said to himself, "That reminds me, what are the Desians anyway? They look like Renegades or in reverse."
Aside from the occasional wasp or rabbit, the journey was quite calm.
Ideal for Raiden to collect his thoughts.
One day I must go back to Hogwarts, to kill Voldemort.
It will be a lot easier now that I have really trained.
Really, what was Dumbledore thinking? Leaving me to my own devices like that.
Each year I faced Snake-face and each time I didn't come closer to knowing my destiny.
I should have been trained, but he didn't allow me.
The more I think about it, the more I realise I have been played like a fool.
I must assume that my parents knew that they could be killed, they must have left a will or something.
Sirius would be my guardian, but he went after Wormtail.
He got shipped to Azkaban, and out of Dumbledore's way.
When Padfoot returned he was on the run for two years and stuck at a place he hated for another year.
Then he got killed, he was out of the way. Literally and Permanently.
Lupin was second choice probably but him being a werewolf complicated things.
No, big D had his hand in this for a long time.
The wizarding world is stupid as well.
Praising me one moment, sticking knives in my back the next.
Did they really think a kid is able to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders?
I am lucky I didn't break a long time ago.
And after I killed Voldemort, then what?
Do I stay in the wizarding world or not?
Perhaps my skills will allow me to return to Tethe'alla or Sylvarant.
The chant did throw me into the hands of the summon spirits after all.
Maybe Sheena will help me, once the mission is over.
But even then, I must first find her.
Raiden came into a small clearing, a path to the left went to a human ranch.
He knew what the Desians did, from stories Raine and the others told him.
He glared at the building, but walked straight ahead.
Ten minutes later, he looked at a small house.
It had two floors, a balcony.
Next to the house was a grave, Raiden looked at it
A name and a date of death were the only inscriptions on the grave.
"Anna," Raiden whispered, and he bowed slightly.
I really must visit my parents' grave.
He turned and knocked at door.
"Come in."
Raiden opened the door, "Hello, I am Raiden. I have some news about Lloyd, Pheidra thought you would like to hear it."
The dwarf was surprised but held his composure, "I see, you have met Lloyd?"
"I have met Lloyd, he was doing well."
"Really?"
"Well, he had some trouble in the desert."
"What kind of trouble?"
"He was captured."
"And his Exsphere!" Dirk said alarmed.
"His Exsphere was still attached when I last saw him. That was some hours ago. He has joined the group of the chosen."
"I see," Dirk said relieved, "Anna would be heartbroken if something happened to him."
"His mother?" Raiden said.
"You saw the grave." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.
"I did."
"Anna was indeed Lloyd's mother. She was killed by Desians, or to be exact, Lloyd's father killed her," At Raiden's surprised face he explained, "Do you know what happens if an Exsphere is removed and it lacks a keycrest."
"No, I don't."
"The Mana in the person goes out of control and the person turns into a monster. Once such a monster is killed, it sometimes returns to its original form. I found her body at the bottom of a cliff, barely conscious. She clung to Lloyd like it was her lifeline. She told me of a Desian experiment called the Angelus Project, and what had happened. She confessed that Lloyd's father had dealt the final strike as she asked. She died shortly after that." Dirk sighed, "I have never shared this with anyone."
"Then why?"
"It became too much of a burden, I had to share it. You felt trustworthy."
"I guess it's because I too carry a big secret. I am not of this world."
Dirk's eyebrows rose, "I am of a different world, one where humans can use magic and elves do not exist."
"Seems like a better place, so why leave?"
"There is a caste-like system, there are people who can use magic called wizards. People without magic called Muggles."
"The same as Elves and Humans," Dirk noticed.
"Then there are children of Muggles with the ability to use magic and children of a Wizard and a Muggle, Half-bloods."
"Half-elves."
"And the children of wizards without the ability to use magic, Squibs."
"I think I understand."
"In the wizarding world being 'pure' is best. Anything less is ridiculed. In the Muggle world it can go two paths, excitement or fear. I mostly saw the latter. I was feared because I was different. My parents were murdered by a dark lord, when he tried to kill me his spell rebounded upon himself. I was placed in the 'care' of my aunt and uncle. I was both physically and Mentally abused. The people that placed me there, brought me back in. It turned out I was famous because the spell was the killing curse, nobody had survived it before. I went to the school where my parents went to, where everybody either saw the famous person or my parents' son. Every year I came across my parents' murderer.
"You met the murderer of your.."
"Yes, and every time I tried. Others came with me and got hurt. After the last time it was revealed that a Prophesy was made. I have to kill him, nobody else can."
"You must kill him?"
"The funny part is that the one who knows that I am the only one that can kill Voldemort doesn't allow me to train, so I searched a way out of that world and into a different one. I came here in this world."
"You look as if you could kill without problems, so I would say your mission as been a success."
"While my own mission is complete, it feels like I have something to accomplish here. Something on a entirely different scale."
"Can I see your weapon? You can not succeed if you rely on blunt weapons."
Raiden looked at the dwarf and removed his weapon's holder from his back.
"It's a Swallow."
"I see, these designs are pretty rare in Sylvarant. Many people chose either a staff or a sword. Lloyd is one of the few who has learned to use twin swords, " Dirk said, "Whoever made this is quite a master."
"The one who made them passed away a long time ago. His swords are considered pieces of art."
"If you gave me permission, I could customise it, and learn more of its design."
Raiden got out his wand, it felt foreign now, "Could you split this wood and use it in the weapon?"
"I probably can, I shall try."
"Thank you."
The dwarf looked outside, "It's already dark outside. If you would accept it, you can take Lloyd's bed, it's upstairs."
Raiden looked at Dirk, "I will, Thank you for your kindness."
"Dwarven Vow #2: Never abandon someone in need. I'm just doing what I was taught."
"I thank you once again, goodnight."
Raiden went upstairs and went to bed.
He fell asleep almost immediately.
Damn what a long chapter, my fingers seem to have a mind of their own with this fic.
Really fast updates, I can't help it.
My fingers started typing chapter 10 almost immediately.
Jim Carry Liar Liar - nothing can stop the CLAW!
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