Whaler Cove

"So Boss, what do you sense?" Len asked, watching as Vergil meditated. His eyes were currently closed and he sat upright cross-legged, fists clenched and bashed together. He knew better than to interrupt him, but Vergil had been seated like that for the past 15 minutes without moving and that was got him a bit feisty. Even Mika seemed worried, cooing softly as she squatted in front of Vergil and stared hard at his face. When Vergil's eyes did open finally, it caught her by surprise, causing her to let out a soft squeak as she fell backwards.

"Multiple strong presences," Vergil started, causing both their eyes to widen in surprise. "It's the first in a while, to actually have a group of strong mages band together."

"You think they are in a guild already?" Len quipped, to which Vergil nodded in reply. For a place to share 2 strong mages, it usually meant two things. The first being that they were part of a guild. The second was that they were family. Between the two, Vergil was more inclined to the former, though he had seen rare cases of there being strong bloodlines before in Alvarez.

"Oh and another thing," Vergil added, this time turning to face Mika. "One of them's a Relic User."

"Ahhhhhh!" Mika moaned excitedly, jubilated that she may meet more comrades in arms.

With that, all three of them stepped out of the portal and began trekking towards their destination, Whaler Cove. The place was a medium sized trading town that was situated on a large circular bay at the base of a series of mountain formations found in the south of the Alvarez Empire. The town was named for the large amounts of whales that used to live there in the past, though their numbers had noticeably decreased in the past hundred or so years. Most of the town was carved into the mountains base and there were very few roads that would take the residents out of the city without the aid of a boat or ship.

"Ok, so where do we start," Len asked as soon as they arrived at the entrance of the town. All around them were miners hauling away with mining equipment and their sheer numbers made it difficult to discern a person from another. This was literally akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

"Find the trouble maker," Vergil smiled, giving a hint as to who they were looking for.

"Well that can't be too hard," Len smirked and as if by magic, they saw a huge explosion in the building to the left of the town centre. Though it was pretty far away, the trio could vaguely make out that it was white in color and was slightly larger than the rest of the others. What surprised them though was the columns of white sand that sprouted from the core of the building, indicating the source of the explosion.

"DAMN IT CHASE! GET BACK HERE!" a voice hollered from within the building. From the sound of it, he seemed to be buried under the sand pillars. Seconds later, a lithe figure darted out of the buildings' remnants, evidently the person whom the voice was calling out for. She was 5'5 feet tall with a slightly muscular but overall athletic build, having a Tawny skin tone with an average bust with slightly smaller hips. She had delicate features with a small nose, thin long eyebrows and long eyelashes. Her plum colored hair was straight but slightly curled towards the ends, kept in a high pony tail with only a small fringe falling onto the left side of her forehead. From afar, it was evident that she had numerous scars decorating her arms and legs, though the most obvious one on her face went from the lower part of her left ear towards her lips and ends a few centimeters below her bottom lip. She also had freckles that were more concentrated on the right side of her face, with a few specks to the left. She was currently wearing a long sleeved orange shirt that's slightly too large for her, the shirt having white stripes along the sleeves. Going with it was a pair of loose white shorts that reached her knees and black shoes with yellow accents.

"Blearrrgggghhhh!" Chase wagged her tongue at the building as she continued running straight. "That's what you get when you refuse my suggestions!"

So intent was she on gloating that she did not see where she was going, eventually crashing straight into Len. Instead of being knocked back like any other human, Len just stood still, most of the force rebounding back on Chase in the form of a massive headache.

"OWOWOWOWOOWOW!" Chase winced, groveling on the floor as she wrapped her aching forehead.

"Shit, you ok?" Len grimaced, reaching a hand out to help Chase up.

"Yeah I'll be fine," Chase replied, though the bruise on her head said otherwise. "Who are you guys though," she questioned, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "You don't seem to be from around here."

Much to her delight, Vergil replied "We aren't. We are actually from Vistarion and are currently searching for guild mates."

"Cool! Do you guys have anyone in mind so far?" she quipped. "Our town's quite boring though and we don't really have much travelling mages."

"Well, one of them actually just ran into us." Vergil grinned.

"Damn," she smirked. "Now that's just rad. And here I was wondering when things would start to liven up. What's your guild called?"

"Abyss Fang," Len snorted proudly. "Only the best of the best get to join us, courtesy of Vergil's skills at detecting magical presences."

"The best of the best huh," Chase smirked, liking the sound of things already. "Gimme a sec will ya," she suddenly added, her eyes sparkling with an idea. "I think there's someone else that yall might wanna have too!"

Before any of the trio could say anything, Chase immediately took off, sprinting towards the town centre at breakneck speeds.

"She's a ball of hype if you ask me," Len smirked, liking the girl's attitude and enthusiasm already. "We could definitely use more mages like her."

"True," Vergil replied. Most of the mages they have added thus far were either cold or arrogant. Compared to them, Chase was like a little ball of sunshine and he was pretty sure she could liven up the atmosphere in the guild.

Before they could continue with their musings, they saw a trail of smoke erupting from the town centre. At the head of it was Chase, her arm outstretched as though she was currently dragging someone along. If there was someone, they were currently engulfed in the smoke trail.

Her heels screeching to a halt, Chase stumbled slightly as she made an emergency brake to prevent ramming into Len again. She did not seem exhausted in the slightest even after taking off at such speeds. If anything, it only seemed to fuel her excitement even more.

"Tadah!" she exclaimed, arms outstretched as though giving a presentation. "I would like you to meet my sister, Kimber!"

The girl in question looked almost identical to Chase. Like her sister, Kimber stood at 5'5 feet tall with a fairly skinny build and very little defined muscles. She had a relatively small bust with slightly wider hips as well as delicate features with a small nose, thin eyebrows and long eyelashes. Her plum colored hair had unruly curls that reached a bit past her chin with a few random strands that were a few inches longer and was currently worn down with only a thin white hair band to keep most of her hair from her round hazel eyes. She currently wore a cream colored spaghetti strap shirt with dark red swirled designs on the bottom; she also wore red shorts that reached her mid thigh. She had dark brown boots that go just above her ankles to finish off the set. Unlike Chase, Kimber seemed to be slightly out of breath, panting heavily as she tried to remain standing.

"I'm…sorry…if….my sister has caused…trouble," she wheezed in between breaths, bowing slightly in apology. That caused Chase's face to blush slightly in embarrassment as she snapped back, "Hey I don't always do that you know!"

"Nice to meet you Kimber," Vergil smiled as he extended a handshake which Kimber took. Meanwhile Len and Mika were surprisingly silent. Not because of the similarities between the duo, but rather what Kimber was carrying on her back.

"I be damned," Len hissed. "And I thought Mika's one was huge."

The object in question was the giant halberd that Kimber currently had slung over her back. It easily seemed to tower over Kimber by at least 3 feet, having two rounded blades towards the end of the staff that end at sharp points creating a rounded 'W' weapon with a slightly longer spear head directly between the blades. The staff of the halberd was a crimson red color while the blades were gold in color. Around the other end of the halberd is a pure white clothe that was tied in a braid up the staff.

"Ahhhhhhhh," Mika gasped in surprise, holding up her own weapon in comparison. Compared to that thing, Virsago was a mere pair of hedge clippers.

"Ooooo!" Chase squealed in surprise as she spotted Mika's weapon. "You're just like Kimber, aren't you?" Before Mika could even answer, Chase was all over her, staring and poking at Virsago.

"Don't mind my sister," Kimber sighed, seeing Len's dumbstruck face. "She's always excited over anything new. Our village is quite isolated from Alvarez you see, so we don't really have many things to do every day."

"I see," Vergil noted, observing that majority of the town's folk were all wearing the same garb and carrying about mining equipment. "I'm guessing you don't have much training with your halberd too?"

"Yeah," Kimber smiled sadly. "We do have a mages guild in town but our mentor doesn't really know much about it so or about pole arm fighting so I am only getting by with using its most basic abilities only."

"I could train you if you like. Both of you." Vergil addressed the two sisters. "You guys could certainly get a lot more exposure and experiences with other mages. I'm pretty sure you guys are gonna love the guild."

"Awesome!" shrieked Chase in jubilation. "Anything to see the outside world!"

"Well, if she goes I go too," Kimber gave a small smile. "Someone has to keep her company and out of trouble at times."

"HEY!"

"Well then, welcome aboard!" Vergil smirked.

"SIR YES SIR!" the twins replied in unison.

Easter Town

"Come one come all!" a villager yelled amidst the horde of people that were swarming around him. "There's a fight breaking out! It's time to take your bets! Who do you think will win?"

"A thousand on the Knight!" one yelled out, tossing a large sack of coins towards him.

"No way man! 500 on the Dragon!" another retorted, raising a bag full of gems.

Bets continued to flow in from the endless stream of villagers that were currently standing at the edge of the forest. From there, they had a good view of the clearing that lay ahead as well as the two fighters that stood there. Not that anyone of them had the balls to get any closer, seeing as how stray sparks and clashes of metal rang out in all directions.

In the left corner was what appeared to be a human dragon hybrid. Said male was standing at about 6'5, having an athletic build and Caucasian skin tone. His black hair was cut into a short crew cut and his eyes, while normally round and brown, were currently gold and slitted. Sharp canines were visible as he snarled at his opponent, white scales plating his arms and legs. He donned a white set of armor whose breastplate had various ancient runes inscribed onto it and spiky, jagged shoulder guards and arm gauntlets. Barely visible beneath the armor was a white t-shirt, long black pants, and brown combat boots. To add on to his appearance were a pair of snow white wings and a triangular tail, further affirming his identity as a dragon.

In the right corner, his opponent seemed much more docile, though one would be careful to judge a book by its cover. Like what the bystanders described, the man was literally a knight, though his armor was way less complex, having what seemed to be a simple iron forged chest plate, helm, gauntlets and leggings. Above his armor, he wore a blue gambeson and beneath it, one could faintly make out a black shirt and pants. Currently shielded by his helm were his raven black, tousled hair and a pair of crimson red, upturned eyes. Overall, he was slightly dwarfed by the dragon, standing at an even 6'0 but equally as muscular seeing as how he was holding his weapon. In his right hand was a great sword that had a golden handle, a glinting silver blade and an iron chain attached to the hilt. While normally held with two hands, the Knight seemed to have no trouble wielding it with just one, spinning it around his fingers with ease.

"This is annoying," the Dragon grunted. "Why are you called the knight? Can't they see the shining white armor I'm wearing also? Ridiculous!"

"That's ironic coming from the guy who looks, smells and talks like a dragon," the Knight retorted. "Don't sweat it though, for I am the light which overcomes the shadow. I am the henchman of justice. I am the sword of the poor…" he rattled on and on before the Dragon cut him off.

"Blah blah blah…" the Dragon made exaggerated faces as he emulated the Knight's speech, sticking out his tongue and rolling his eyes. "Talk is cheap if you don't have the skills to back it up."

"Well then," the Knight smirked under his helm, "How about I shut you up. Permanently. After all it's the job of knights to slay dragons." With that he readied a battle stance, his arm cocked back and holding his Greatsword in a reverse grip.

"Bring it."

Before the words even left the Dragon's mouth, the Knight had already moved. In an instant, he closed the gap between the two and was at the Dragon's feet before he knew it. In a swift movement, he swung his weapon intending to end it in a single strike. Too bad for him though as the Dragon's instincts kicked in way before the weapon was swung. The Dragon's eyes caught the slight contractions in his muscles and in a heartbeat, took to the skies, causing the Knight to cleave the air instead. The force behind the strike though was strong enough to unleash a destructive wave that shredded the trees behind the Dragon.

Now it was the Dragon's turn. Tucking his wings in, he proceeded to dive-bomb his opponent, spirals of white magic charged up at his fist. The Knight evaded swiftly as well, just in time as his fist ploughed through the earth that he once stood upon, causing a miniature explosion of mana. The Dragon wasn't done yet though, spinning around and slamming his tail into the Knight. Once again the Knight guarded with the edge of his Great Sword, grunting slightly as he felt the force behind the attack. Making use of the situation at hand, the Knight ran his sword along the length of the Dragon's tail, succeeding in scoring a gash along the Dragon's chest plate and forcing it back.

"Oh now you've done it!" The Dragon snapped as he examined the gash. If anything, it hurt his pride more than it did to him. He then got into a crouch on all fours, a white magic appearing before his mouth.

"Holy Knight Dragon's Roar!" he yelled as he released column of white flames directed at the Knight. The Knight swiftly brought his Greatsword before him, blocking the breath attack head on, the white flames washing over his armor as though a cool breeze.

"A for effort, but that's all you're going to get." He laughed, swiping his Great Sword to aside as he charged once more.

"You're gonna regret doing that!" the Dragon growled back, white magic swirling around his fist as he called out, "Holy Knight Dragon's White Knuckle!"

As both of them were in the midst of charging, Vergil suddenly chose that moment to land right in between them, obscuring either party's view.

"Now now, would you two be so nice as to halt for a second?"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" both of them yelled in unison. "YOU"RE INTEFERING!"

"Oh well," Vergil shrugged. "I did try to stop them."

Just as they were inches away from Vergil, Len and Mika both landed next to him, weapons drawn and magic circles charged. Using Virsago, Mika caught the Knight's Great Sword and with a heave, sent him flying backwards, crashing him into a row of trees which crumpled like wet tissues. Len's arms were transformed into two sledgehammers that seemed to spark with thunder. As soon as the Dragon neared, Len swung them, the first connecting with the Dragon's arm and burying it into the ground. The second was directed at his chin, nearly crushing his jawbone as he was sent flying backwards, tumbling into the dirt end over end before finally stopped by a tree.

"Well screw me, that's gonna leave a mark," the Knight groaned as he examined his Greatsword, the blade slightly chipped where Mika had grabbed him.

"For once I agree," the Dragon grunted as he held his hand up to chin, a bruise already swelling where Len's blow had connected. "The hell are you anyway."

"The name's Vergil," Vergil smiled before addressing his two other companions. "And these two are Mika and Len. We were just passing by and your magic interested me so we decided to drop by for a look."

"So…You're trying to recruit us right?" The Knight asked, stepping back and mulling over the situation. There was a high chance that the man was probably lying and just trying to capture strong mages. He had come out of nowhere just to talk to them. How did he even mange that anyway? He was pretty sure his guard wasn't let down the whole time during the spar, so why didn't he notice his presence to start with? Then again, there seemed to be a fairly innocent look in his eyes and he did see a guild mark on the back of his palm.

"What's your guild called again?" he enquired, just to make sure that they weren't hiding anything.

"Abyss Fang," Len grunted, "Only the strongest are chosen to join us."

Well that checked out at least for the Knight. He had heard stories about said guild recruiting members at random. Looks like the rumors were indeed true.

"Hmph, well you have come to the right place lad." The Dragon snorted arrogantly as his transformation subsided. The white scales on his body were disappearing and the wings and tail shrinking back into his body. "You stand before the almighty Holy Knight Dragon Slayer and I have never lost a fight." His chest was puffed out slightly in pride as he proclaimed his awesomeness, causing Len to roll his eyes.

"Great, another bigot," Len muttered under his breath, causing Mika to nudge him in the gut to shut up before he was heard.

"So will you join?" Vergil asked.

"Of course," the Dragon smirked.

The Knight thought for a moment. "Are you really going to just let people like us into the guild? Aren't you gonna ask about our histories and stuff?" he asked, just to err on the side of caution.

"Well I don't really care so much about that," Vergil stated. "As long as you are willing to help others in need, I accept all regardless of background. Besides, if you guys do have any ill intent, I would have noticed at first glance."

'Excellent, then I too shall join. Be glad that the Knight of Justice stands with you."

"Fantastic," Vergil clapped his hands together, "The only thing I need of you now is your names."

"Sakai," the dragon grinned.

"Nero," the knight said.

Owl City, Appraisal Shop

A 5'9 man in his late teens closed the door to the appraisal shop that he had just visited as he let out a small sigh, casually spinning the combat knife in his right hand. That was the tenth shop that he had visited in the week and none of them knew anything about the knife that he carried. Most of the owners either chased him out of their stores shouting voodoo or could barely understand the inscriptions on the knife. It really wouldn't surprise him if he never found out about the secrets to the knife.

The man was had golden spiky hairy that was being held by a black headband with the word speed in kanji along with two strands of hair that extended out from his forehead. He had a rounded face with fairly average features and peach colored skin. His eyes were blue like the sky and a pair of blue goggles with silver trimmings hung from his neck. He wore an electric blue sweat shirt that had yellow streaks of lightning across the sleeves and pair of identical running pants, coupled by the storm blue sneakers on his feet.

His combat knife though, stood out like a sore thumb against his outfit. For one, it was almost pure white, save for the bronze guard and grey leather on the hilt. The white blade was stretched with red veins that resembled cracks and when the man pumped magic into the blade, they would shimmer and spark with energy.

He had barely taken a few steps before bumping into Vergil, lost in his own world as his mind was filled with questions about his mysterious weapon.

"Sorry about that," he said holding up his hands.

"Its fine," Vergil smiled. He was looking around for the source of that large… His eyes fell onto the knife and widened slightly in amusement. There it was, though it kinda surprised him how small it actually was.

"Hey," he questioned the man, just to be sure. "Sorry for probing but did you lose something when you got that weapon?"

"Yeah, I did," the man answered in a surprised manner as he rolled up the sleeve on his left arm to reveal an organic metal material that replaced everything from below his forearm. That was more information than any appraisal owner had given him thus far, and it came out of a passing stranger nonetheless. "Do you recognize it?"

"In terms of category yes," Vergil stated. "But as to what it does, I'm not really sure." From what he could tell, the knife was currently dormant. That was a scenario that he had never come across before. Most relic users he had encountered had already "awakened" their weapons' powers to a certain extent but yet this man's one was still fast asleep.

"Do you think you can help me?" the man pleaded. "I have asked so many people but no one could give me a definite answer. At least I would like to know what it does or if there was a way to get my arm back."

Vergil thought for a moment, not sure how to reply the man. Of the two questions, he already knew the answer to one of them. The weapons went by the law of equivalent exchange, meaning the greater their strength the more valuable something is taken from you. The only way to return to normal would be to relinquish control over the weapon but that was easier said than done. August had spent a good 5 years researching how to do so but to no avail so he wasn't so sure if he knew how to do when the most almighty of Alvarez mages couldn't do so.

"Well, my name is Vergil and I do have some knowledge about your knife. I was wondering if you would like to join my guild and maybe we could figure things out from there."

"Great, that would help out a lot! The name's Zephyr by the way," Zephyr chimed, elated that he would finally be getting some well deserved answers.

Vergil's face frowned ever so slightly at the man's joy. He wasn't so sure he was gonna like the answers that lay ahead of him but then again, the future was uncertain so all he could do now was take a step at a time and hope for the best.

Author's Note

Chase and Kimber Zornitta – ShadedLyht

Nero Anderson – RavensWorld

Sakai Nemagin – Coolfireblast

Zephyr Damon – Carnation Cascade

Well sorry for the short chapter cause I'm currently working on papers for my Bachelor's degree. Updates will be sporadic depending on the time I have on my hands so please be patient.