Author's notes: When I started writing this, I did not have access to the map that Tom Fischbach posted online. As such, there will be major changes to the topography of the world, as well as where things are placed, on top of entirely new locations being added. This is not to detract from his work, but is simply the result of my over-eagerness to write. As I already had everything through chapter 40 written, (and a not insignificant amount of several chapters devoted to terrain descriptions) I will not be changing my work, and will continue as though I was working off of my own map.
I have gone ahead and put a few large headers throughout the course of the story as a way to break up the chapters a bit more. These will essentially be where I would split the story into another book. I had not intended to write so much, and thus will not be going through and changing chapter numbers to fit with the corresponding books.
There will also be chapters that could be extremely intense, potentially bumping up the age rating. Not for any 'adult content' but for things such as loss of loved ones, failed parenthood, violence and death. I heavily advise reader discretion. Don't take this as a way to dissuade you from reading this though, as this is a story about overcoming trouble and hardships. Technically speaking this story does still fall under the "Teen" rating, though I have recently learned that this is a rather wide spectrum, and this particular story would be on the more mature end. Typically "Teen" can be seen as things like Percy Jackson or Eragon, which would fall into the category of "Young Adult", while more intense stories like this one will fall into "New Adult", which leans much more heavily on the mature side, though still with nothing explicit.
Lastly, I would like to address the quality of the writing. I had not done any serious writing in over seven years, and it honestly shows, especially in the early chapters of the story. It does get better, I promise. Somewhere around chapter 25-30 I slowed down and started taking more care to make the story better, rewriting chapters and slowing down to make sure I was properly conveying everything I wanted to. This isn't to say the start of the story is bad, but it certainly isn't my best work. I do not plan to change them at the moment, as I have come to see this project as a way to hone my skills for a far more substantial and far larger project, but I won't be talking about that until after the entire story is completed. I do plan to commit to finishing this story, unlike some of the others I have started.
With all of that out of the way, we can now start our adventure after comic 1224: Disconnected. Enjoy!
Book One: Legends of the Past
"I suppose we're going to have to actually figure out how to talk to each other now, like normal people!" Zen laughed.
"Yeah…" Natani said. "It's going to be a strange."
Kathrine moved aside as Zen hopped in. "I'll let you two figure this out and I'll be back in a bit to check on you. And Zen, you had better not be on that leg too long, or I'll give you more injuries to worry about!" she barked, before closing the door.
"I should let you-"
"Don't." Natani grabbed Keith's arm as he made to leave the room. "I- You're my friend. When I had no one else, I at least had you. So, please. Don't leave." Natani blushed as she said this, quickly releasing him. Keith blushed as well, but smiled. Sitting down on the far end of the bed, he glanced at Zen.
"I know you two have a… unique… relationship. I promise I won't get between you. I am curious about your plans though. I know Trace and Flora were talking about heading towards Lyn'Knoll, but what about you two?" Keith and Natani looked at each other and there was silence for a few minutes.
"I… have an obligation to my people." Keith said slowly. "I'm an ambassador. I was tasked to visit other nations, to be the voice of my king. If I stayed here, I would be failing that duty. But I also have an obligation to Trace. He's my friend, and I owe him for sticking with me. I can send Lynn and Madelyn elsewhere. I can't make them come with me, not on a personal journey."
"You know I would go with you." Natani said, grabbing his hand again. "You wouldn't have to go alone."
"And so would I." Zen smiled. "You're basically family at this point after all you two have been through. And anywhere Nat goes, I'm going too. That's why I'm even here in the first place. I've been trying to reunite with my sister for so long, and I'm not about to give him up just because he's going with his boyfriend." Natani and Keith suddenly glared at him. "Call it what you want, I know I'm right." Zen sang as he leaned back and propped his legs onto the bed.
Meanwhile…
"I don't know Red."
"What do you mean 'you don't know'?! The entire reason we came this way was because you suggested it!" Raine shuffled her feet and looked down. Red was holding a map as he waved his arms in frustration. "First you want to go to Lyn'Knoll, and now you want to turn around and go the other way? Why? What's the point? Did coming here even do anything for us?"
"Shut up!" Raine suddenly shouted, stomping her foot. Red stopped and got very quiet, very quickly. "There is a war going on, and the front lines are going to be forming all the way along the border, which we are dangerously close to. I have zero control over my powers, and look like a wolf, which means anyone who sees me, and they WILL see me thanks to this stupid silver fur, will either turn me in or try to kill me!" Sighing, she took several deep breathes. "Coming this way was good because it gave us a place to lay low while we figured things out. There are plenty of other places we could go, other places we could be safe. We just have to find one."
"Ok. Then where are we going? If we can't go past the Templars into Keidran lands, then we'll have to look for somewhere in human territory we can go."
"Perhaps we might be of assistance?" A voice said in the door. Standing there was an elderly and a young Basitin. "Master Keith is going on a personal journey. Our services, while they most likely would be useful for him, could not be called upon, as if anything went wrong, it would be a personal matter, rather than a matter of the state. Thus, we cannot join him. You, however, we could be of service to." Raine and Red raised their eyebrows. "As a diplomatic representative of the Basitin Empire, I have power over people. Power that everyone seems to underestimate."
"Alright. So, where are we going then?" Red asked. Raine took the map from him and began looking over it. "Somewhere out of the way. No major roads in or out. But not too far out of the way either. Somewhere we could… here." Her finger landed on a town named "Valinos". Red looked over and raised his eyebrow again. "It's perfect. This river runs by it, meaning it would be busy enough for us to hear about what's going on in the world, but there is only one road leading to the city, and not a major one at that. It's surrounded by woods, so it's pretty secluded, and it's only a 5 week journey."
"Valinos [Vall-in-oss] is a trade city." The young Basitin piped up. "It's plenty busy throughout the year, and would be a good place to lay low and listen. It's also only a few days from several influential cities, so we can make sure this is actually a diplomatic mission."
"Who are you two? I know you came with Keith, but what are your names?" Red said, exasperated.
"My name is Lynn. This is Madelyn. If Valinos is your goal, then you will most likely need these." Lynn pulled out a dozen papers from his bag. "Diplomatic passes, envoy immunity, that sort of thing. As long as this remains a strictly diplomatic journey, these will get you where you need to go."
"Alright. It's settled." Raine said. "Valinos. We should let Maren and Karen know. And Sythe, he probably would want to come with us. He's wanted to get as far away from the war as he could and was really not happy when we kept moving this way."
On the other side of the estate:
"You're sure you're fine?" Sythe asked. "Your soul was ripped out of your body for a short time, you are really sure you don't want to stay here and rest?"
"I'm telling you, I feel fine." Maren was packing up her things. "I want to get as far away from Trace as possible right now. I hate him! He tried to possess me with the soul of his dead wife! I want nothing more to do with him, and I want to just leave." Maren kept pushing the white strip of hair out of her face. It was something that appeared while she was possessed by Saria, and it hadn't gone away. "I don't care where I go as long as it's away from Trace. If I never seem him again, it would be too soon!" She was shouting at this point, and Sythe backed up, only to get thrown to the floor as the door flew open.
"Maren! You're alive!" Karen ran in and threw her arms around her sister. "I knew you would be just fine! I went to go find Raine and Red and figure out what we were gonna do next but I couldn't find them and came back here and Sythe didn't want to leave you alone while you weren't feeling well and-" She was cut off as Maren hugged her back.
"Yes, I'm just fine. I'll feel better once we leave, but I'm fine." She glanced up at Sythe who was lightly blushing as he picked himself up off the floor. Then the door opened again and pushed him off balance and back to the floor he went as Raine poked her head in.
"What are you doing down there?" She asked looking down at Sythe. "I wanted to check on you and see how you were. Whenever you are ready, we know where we are headed next. I hope you don't mind, but Lynn and Madelyn will be joining us, since they seem to know everything that's happening apparently."
"I'll be packed up in a few minutes." Maren said, prying her sister off. "I'll meet you in the lobby shortly." Raine left, and Sythe picked himself up again.
"I suppose I'd better go collect my stuff too. If we're leaving, I want to make sure I have it all." Half an hour later, Raine, Red, Lynn, Madelyn, Sythe, Karen, and Maren were gathered by the front door with their small handful of belongings. Sythe was smiling as he heard Raine talk about the plan. "Valinos? I've heard of it. Not too big, not super small. Could be a nice break from all the chaos we've been through. Never been there myself, but I've heard only good things about it."
"I wish you luck on your journey." A voice said in their minds. Reni walked into the lobby in her dragon form, once again adorned with her military garb. "I have been there, and it's a decent enough place. I wish I could go with you, but I have more important things to do."
"I thought dragons did as they pleased, not as they required." Red commented. "Where are you going?"
"I have to see Nana Nora. She still hasn't returned after the incident with the Basitin tower, and I need her… expertise. Clovis is still stuck in the form of a dragon." At the mention of Clovis, Reni's bag squirmed and growled, and everyone knew exactly who was in there. "Admittedly, they are a small dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. If they remain in that form, then they would theoretically become as powerful as a dragon over time, and given what happened when they only 'borrowed' my power, Clovis as a full dragon would be bad indeed. I'm not skilled enough to change them back, but Nora is."
"Well, then good luck and safe travels, my lady." Lynn said, bowing.
"I like you." Reni walked out the door and took flight.
"Well, no time like now." Maren said, striding out the door. The entourage followed her as she led them clear of the estate. From the second floor window, Trace watched as the seven of them walked across the lawn and out of sight.
"I don't think she's wrong. I was a monster."
"And I still love you."
"But I killed people. I made the Templars what they are today. I summoned demons. I made demons. I-" Trace was pulled away from the window and Flora pressed close to him.
"I was a slave. I was afraid and I ran away. And I still love you. Even if you can't or won't love yourself, I will love you enough for both of us. Everyone does thing that they regret. Everyone has their own kinds of demons in their past. Keith was an outcast who thought he killed his parents. Natani used to be an assassin, and was sent to kill you when we first met. Just because your demons are actual demons doesn't mean we care for you any less." Flora pulled him closer and tucked against his chest. Trace embraced her and slowed his breathing.
"You're right. But it still hurts. I don't remember all the horrible things I've done, and it fells awful having to find out with everyone else. I wish I could remember who I was, and go back and change it. I don't want to hurt you, but can't shake the feeling that I'm just going to make things worse." Tears welled in his eyes, and his voice cracked. "I love you Flora, I truly do. But how can I give you the life you deserve when I lost most of my own?"
"You don't have to try and do anything for me Trace." Flora looked up and stared into his eyes. "I have you now. That's more than enough for me." Tears rolled down his face. Not tears of sorrow, but joy. Smiling, he let go of Flora.
"Thank you. You're too good for me, you know that, right?" Smiling, Flora pulled him across the room.
"Obviously." she chuckled "and don't you ever forget it!" Flora yelped in surprise as Trace picked her up and spun around. Smiling and laughing together, they were lost in each other for a few minutes. A soft knock on their door caught their attention. Still smiling, Trace walked over to the door and opened it.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." Zen stood just outside the door, his bad foot still up. "Keith and Nat are still resting, but I never have been able to stay down. I was wondering what your plan was. Mind if I come in?" Trace stepped back and Zen hopped into the room.
"I thought Kat told you to stay off that foot?" Flora said, sitting down on the bed.
"I am staying off it! I wish I could use both feet though, hopping around the entire house on one foot is rather slow, and those stairs are not fun." Trace rolled his eyes, and took a seat next to Flora. "Anyways, what's the plan? You can't exactly stay here, there is a war going on. This might be your estate, but the Templars haven't done you any favors recently, and this area might become the front lines of combat. I might not be part of the Brotherhood of Assassins anymore, but there was a bounty on your head three months ago, posted by one of the Templars. They will come after you, and you won't exactly be able to avoid notice if you stay here."
"Lyn'Knoll." Trace said. "My own house isn't a safe place, but Lyn'Knoll is. We can avoid roads and paths to cross where combat might be, and things are still pretty calm. If we leave today or tomorrow, we can get moving before things get worse. And as much as I don't want to leave the house unguarded, I'd be happy to let Eric stay as long as he likes. He'd probably like that, since he can manage his business from pretty much anywhere, and this is basically a vacation for him."
"What about Nat and Keith?"
"If they want to come with us, I'm not going to stop them. They are my friends, after all."
Zen was quiet for a moment. Quietly he said "What about me?"
"What about you?" Flora asked.
"I'm an assassin. I was sent to kill you a few months ago. You didn't even know who I was until a few days ago. But I came all this way to be with Natani. I don't want to leave Nat, but if I'm not welcome, then I'll stay here and guard the estate." Trace was silent for a moment. He hadn't even considered that Zen was an enemy still. Flora was likewise quiet, the same thought running through her mind.
"Does Natani trust you?" Trace asked.
"What?"
"Does he trust you?"
"Of course Nat trusts me!" Zen said defensively.
"Does Keith trust you?" Zen opened his mouth, but stopped.
"Yeah. I trust him." Keith suddenly appeared in the door. "I've had suspicions about you, but I trust you not to drive a dagger through my chest. You know everything about me and Natani."
"Does Flora trust you?" Trace glanced at her as she opened her mouth. "I want to hear what he thinks."
"I… I hope she does. Natani trusted you with her secret, but then again it's not really a secret anymore. Basically everyone knows about her." Trace blinked a few times.
"Natani's a girl?!"