A ragtag group of soldiers marched in the pouring rains as their boots became caked with mud trudging through the puddles. They wore the colors of the local Thane of the Region, much of their equipment in ill condition. Returning from a disastrous military campaign along the southern borders of the eleven sections, the company made its way toward the capital, only a few tattered banners hung up to show the once proud military army of the Thane.
Among the bunch wearing a hooded tabard to shield against the rain was one of the knights of the Thane, some times referred to as Swordmaster by others, Gourry Gabriev. The main brunt of the elements were shielded from him though he was getting slightly fatigued from the massive suit of full coat-of-plate armor he wore underneath. Upon attaining his position as a knight, he was gifted with his own suit of armor and wore it proudly as a mark of his status. Right now, Gourry would be more than happy to be wearing something that didn't weight so much.
Walking ahead of him at the head of the group carrying a strange device called an umbrella was Zelgadiss Vagabond. His surname was giving to him to cite his position in the army, one that Zel was known to happy about. He walked silently ahead of them all with his eyes fixed down the road as he evaded any puddles he came upon. Most of the company was distrustful of Zelgadiss, though Zel could hardly care about what they thought of him. Serving as the scout and procurer for the group, his skills were quite valuable indeed.
Brushing his purple hair aside as he noticed a crossroad post up ahead, Zel wordlessly quickened his pace as he spotted numerous pages stamped onto it. His eyes finally settled down on one particular parchment as he tore it from the crossroad post and studied it a bit. Frowning a bit at the contents, he turned and walked toward the company till he stopped in front of Gourry.
"What's wrong Zel?" Gourry inquired before Zel shoved the parchment into Gourry's face. Stumbling back a bit as he peeled it off, he stuttered, "You don't have to be so rough. It was just a simple question."
"Read it," was all that Zel said as he turned to look off into the distance.
Looking at Zel for a moment before he looked at the parchment, Gourry slowly read the contents of it as he could only stare in shock. The other men of the group all gathered around the two as they whispered about the possible news on the paper. Zel cleared his throat as he drew the attention of the group as he snatched the document from Gourry's hand and present it to them all.
"This is an official proclamation from the Thane Gustav. According to his words we have been branded as traitors. The reward for each of our heads, is five hundred gold." Zel summarized as gasps of shock emanated through the crowd. Crumpling the paper up, he stated, "Apparently we have been betrayed and if you wish to live, I advise you to go into hiding since I'm sure that the Thane will be sending his men after us. As for me, I doubt you'll be seeing me again."
With that Zel turned from the shocked group as he walked off leaving them in the distance as he went on his way. After walking for a short period of time, he stopped. Looking back he saw Gourry trailing after him a few steps behind. Ignoring the knight, Zel continued on his way a bit before he reachd a sign post pointing in two different directions.
One pointed to a road that would lead out of the Province.
The other would lead him straight toward the capital.
"So why are you still following me? You've been trailing me ever since I split from the company." Zel remarked as he looked at the sign before glancing back at Gourry.
"I just thought it would be beneficial to the both of us if we traveled together," Gourry remarked as he closed the distance between the two. "With my sword arm and your finesse, I'm sure we could make a great team."
"Do you even know what finesse means?" Zel inquired as Gourry blinked a bit.
"Not a clue," Gourry said proudly as Zel sweatdropped and slouched his shoulder. "But I'm sure you're pretty good at whatever it is."
"Well I can't argue against that logic," Zel sighed as he turned his attention back to the fork. "I guess you can tag along with me if you don't become a burden. So which way do you think we should go? One road leads to possible freedom and the other leads to some interesting times."
Scratching his chin as he looked at the two posts, Gourry said, "Well do you want to test fate a bit more?"
Cracking a smirk, Zel said, "Sure why not, I don't have anything better to do with my life."
The two turned down the road as the head toward the capital.
In the capital at that moment, sitting in his throne room in the massive castle that he built around himself was the Thane Gustav. He silently tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair as he sat back on the throne in deep thought. The mercenaries have already been dispatched to deal with any survivors of his failed military campaign. By branding them traitors and having them executed as such, he could spare himself some problems with his elven neighbors.
"Curse those tree hugging pointy ear freaks," he cursed under his breath. "Their land should be under my rule. I require their mass expanse of trees and minerals to fuel my other campaigns, but without those resources..."
Curse the elves and their power over nature. Though he hadn't witnessed it himself, Thane Gustav heard of the elves' ability to animate the forest to fight for them. The elves' form of magic was totally alien to the ones that humans used, but both were equally deadly. If there was a mage present during the battle, things could have been different. Unfortunately, it was a bit too risky to use one of his mages, especially with the rare few numbers he actually had under him. He needed to have them near him to ensure none of the other Thanes would try to use magic against him.
"Is something on your mind dear Thane? I will depart if this is a bad time," Xelloss smiled as he stood in the center of the throne room.
Sitting up as he studied the eccentric being, Thane Gustav was sure that he would never get use to the popping in things. He guessed that wielders of magic were entitled to do their own sorts of quirk or weird things. Xelloss was a rare find. Even though he didn't swear loyalty to the Thane, Gustav was assured that Xelloss was interested in working with him.
For a mage of considerable power, Xelloss dressed rather simply wearing a long cloak that drags against the ground over his belted robes. Both were shaded in the universal black that he wore that clashed with the brown satchel he had on his side. Gripped in his glove hand was a brown wooden staff with a large ruby orb on the top wedged between the u-shaped top of the staff. An oval gem was the clasp from his cloak resembling a slitted yellowish eye. Xelloss's face was always one of open cheerfulness despite any situation.
"Ah Xelloss," Thane Gustav smiled trying to appear unimpressed. "I was just pondering something a bit. I take it that the lessons are done for now?"
"Yes, they are done for now. Through I'm quite amaze by the leaps and bounds your daughter has taken." Xelloss confirmed with a smile. "Her talent in the arcane far surpasses most people in her age group."
"Well she takes after her mother," Thane Gustav smiled as Xelloss looked at him for a moment before smirking.
"Is that why she still bears her mother's maiden name, Inverse?" Xelloss inquired as Thane Gustav's face darkened at the comment. Shrugging a bit, Xelloss said, "Well I'm afraid I've worn out my welcome so I'll be taking my leave. You'll see me when you see me."
"Do you know something?" Thane Gustav demanded as Xelloss stood in the doorway to the chamber.
"What I do know is a secret, but I'm sure we are all entitled to our little skeletons in the closets. I just wonder what will happen when yours come to light," Xelloss said as he exited.
Thane Gustav stood there for a still moment before he sat back down in his throne and pondered silently.
Chapter 1 | Fanfiction