This is not a Touhou-related work. This is my personal work of the past three, four years. I've been unable to garner any feedback from the flesh-and-blood people I know in my social circle; I figure it's about time I share this with people who may actually like it.
Kaetir
Icarian Armor
Dedicated to Jack Van Kirk, for encouraging imagination
Foreword from Baedlius
I am Baedlius, a God-like being on a planet different from your own; Earth. Herein you will find a story of our history, present, and future, so that you may learn from it should any similar situations arise.
You should understand that there are Gods, and we are not all-powerful. Many of us are just like normal humans, although the humans on our world and on yours are slightly different. Due to a complex mixture of elements in our air that are not found on your Earth, humankind on Kaetir has evolved with what your kind would describe as Magic, and Psycho-kinesis.
I?ve observed your past, and found mention of the Gods that your race believes in. The Christian Bible has a man described as the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is as we, the Gods of Kaetir, are; advanced beyond the typical human, sent forth to do God?s Will.
When I said that we are not all-powerful, I was referring to the common Gods such as myself. We all follow the lead of the One Primary God, the one your Christians name as God, and the Islamic names Allah, and the Bodhisattva names Buddha, who is in fact the true ruler of all life in the universe.
Because of the nature of your world, your Jesus Christ was not required to return more than a few times ? and he has, despite your cultures believing he has yet to come again. Several times throughout your history he has returned, under a different body, name, and region, and continued to do the work of God, and to spread good deeds.
On our world, where the average human can wreak havoc on entire cities, we need a cabal of Gods to form a basis for an all-encompassing religion, to help guide our people. By that same principle, though, where a human can end up being born in such an evolved state that they themselves may end up a God, there has been a limit placed on us. We can only draw on our gifts and abilities as long as our population follows us in worship. The Gods who attempt to abuse this are cast out of our cabal and banished from returning to the spiritual realm we typically reside in, and must make do with their own abilities and are cut off from the support of God and any of the people, save for whomever they can convince to worship them.
There are two such types of Gods; we call them the Outer Gods, and the Rogues. Outer Gods may have simply chosen to directly intervene in human events, as opposed to the Inner Gods methods of guiding their followers through periodic appearances. They?ve left the ascended realm that the Gods reside in, either permanently or for extended periods of time, and roam the earth doing as they will. If however a God has been ejected from our ranks and stripped of his followers, and begins to wreak havoc, he is considered a Rogue God and is subject to any form of punishment, including death with no reincarnation, and is completely cut off from all the other Gods. All Rogues are Outer Gods in that they cannot and will not return to our realm, but Outer Gods are not all Rogues. Despite their being cut off from our rapport, the populace continues to worship the Outer Gods out of respect for them and at the guidance of the Inner Gods.
There are similarities between our worlds, however. Because we share the same general climate zones and terrains, many animals have evolved the same between our planets. Earth has some that we do not, just as we have animals you lack. The best example I could give is the work of one of my companion Gods; he took favor to the legend of the Phoenix and crafted one for himself. He uses it to move around when he?s in the human realm. Our people call it the Zer?tair, but rather than list all our animals and name your counterparts, I?ll simply call them by your name. None of my people will read this tale, so I don?t worry about confusing them.
A very large difference, however, is our societies. The Kaetir are aware of electricity; it is in fact the basis behind a great deal of magic, but they haven?t harnessed it as a power source. Instead of far-reaching networks of technology keeping the world linked together, we instead use human telepaths. To look at our cities, you?d think they were built in your medieval era, or perhaps late in the Renaissance of your world. People ride horses and oversized dogs to travel great distances, rather than your steel vehicles. Powered movement without the aid of magic has been sought, and developed, through the use of steam. However, with the abundance of mages and psycho-kinetics, the demand for such technology is low, and our development has stalled in such a fashion.
I also commend your world on its perfection of flight; there are only a few tamed avian specimens from an already rare species on our world big enough to actually carry people to be worth the effort; the main royal families use them the most. Otherwise, the only time people fly is in the presence of an incredibly gifted wielder of Telekinesis. Attempts have been made to make it easier for less gifted Mentalists to lift others, much less themselves, through the air, but for the most part it has failed. Improperly handling a human body in a telekinetic grip will either rip the specimen apart, or crush vital organs and veins. Having a subject hold onto a sturdier item and lifting that item can only work for as long as the subjects grip can last.
Entering our planets orbit is out of the question. Obviously, however, we can expand our awareness as far as the galaxy expands. Through you we have learnt there are other galaxies out there, but without our own to use as a focal point, the risk of losing yourself to the vastness of space are too great to attempt to reach them. That is, of course, how this story has ended up in the mind of one of your authors.
There are differences in your world compared to mine. Don?t read this tale and expect for it to have happened in your past, like the ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses did. This is our story, a tale of worldwide corruption seeping into one of the controlling factors of our entire society. I hope you can learn caution from this story, and thus prevent the same thing from ever happening to you. You do in fact have a part in God?s plan.
Perhaps you can also learn to harness other sources of power; you have an abundance of nitrogen and hydrogen on your Earth, but you do nothing with it, preferring to crudely burn petroleum in a very inefficient manner. I find that incredibly odd.
I just realized as I started to submit this, I'm going to have to reformat the entire thing.
....crap.
By the way, if that looked like a wall of text to you, good, it was supposed to. That little bit sits different from the rest of the story's formatting, as it's a separate entity. The rest of this will be tweaked to read better on the forums with how I normally present things (carriage returns instead of indentions)
If by the end of this chapter you don't think Sara is the most adorable person in the imaginary cast, I've done something wrong.
Lucas blinked groggily.
The sun comes up too damn early.
He rolled over in the bed and let his arm dangle over the edge. Huffing noisily into the pillow, he stared at the wall nearest his head. He could feel his hair sticking up in each direction, but just couldn?t muster the energy to care about it. Instead, he squirmed about until he had slipped further under the blanket, and pulled it over his head again, shielding his eyes from the light seeping through the window.
He was still at the Shrine, having returned yesterday since informing his parents what had happened. The other four travelers were still at the Shrine, and of course the monks and Clerics would be there for an indefinite period of time. Lucas was thinking of joining the other four, just to give him a place to go to immediately.
He let his mind start to wander, and began to slip back into a sleep-state. He felt as though a warm fog was enveloping him, and as though his body had started to float to a gentle rhythm.
After a few minutes of him loafing in bed, Sara got tired of sitting in the lone chair plucking at her harp and set it down next to the Heaven?s Headpiece on the table. She promptly threw herself on top of Lucas with a playful shout.
Startled, Lucas jumped, feeling as though the entire world was exploding around him, his head pounding in alarm. Sara yanked the blanket he was huddling under off of him, bundled it up, and flung it at his head. She waited for him to flail enough to get it off of his face, then pulled the pillow out from under him and started beating on him with it.
Desperate to escape the torment, Lucas clutched the edge of the bed and heaved himself off, tumbling to the floor in a glorious mess of bedclothes and wild hair. Sara managed to keep herself on the bed proper, sitting there looking rather pleased with herself.
Lucas, now free of pillow torment, took the moment of respite to take in his surroundings. Unfortunately, in his sleep-fogged state, he still couldn?t make sense of anything, especially from the floor.
?Wake up!? Sara shouted at him from the bed, making Lucas nearly jump out of his skin.
Damian and Acied both were in the dining hall, sitting at the same table, both clutching mugs of coffee and glaring out from under heavy eyelids, Damian?s hair obscuring the left side of his face.
With a whisper of fabric on wood, and a clatter of wood on stone tiles, Lucas ? still clad in a loose pair of pants and a light shirt ? sat down and joined them. The two of them aimed their glares at him to make certain that Lucas was the one joining them, and nodded at him as he glared back at them. Damian raised his mug and offered it to Lucas, who took it graciously and drank a long draw from it.
Keroth and Sara both came to the table at the same time, both cheery enough for the entire group. Keroth took his chair and spun it around, setting it next to Damian and straddling it. Sara pulled her chair closer to Acied and leaned on his shoulder, humming to herself and smiling comfortably.
Keroth reached over and pulled Damian?s mug out of his hands as the senior Paladin went to go take a drink. Damian groped towards his face, confused about the lack of his mug until Keroth handed it back.
?This isn?t like you, Damian. Normally you don?t have any problem waking up at the crack of dawn.?
Keroth felt his cheerful grin waver under the assault of the combined glares of Acied and Damian.
?Normally I don?t have someone leap on me and beat the ever-loving crap out of me while I?m still asleep. I think I?ve woken up to surprise assaults from Zealots with less shock to my system. You?re lucky I didn?t beat you back, Oberos.? Damian tipped his mug back, chugging as much of his coffee as he could before someone else took it from him.
Lucas looked across the table at Acied. ?You put up with this every day? How are you not a hollowed-out shell of a man yet??
Acied grunted. He remained silent for a few moments, leading Lucas to believe he was being ignored until he finally answered. He started with another grunt, and followed it with ?Sara and I are on different circadian rhythms. Since she has to stay awake to keep the music going for me for so long, she tends to sleep more during the day and wakes up earlier in the morning. And, yes, she does wake me up like this practically every day we go somewhere with a comfortable bed.?
Sara leaned against him a little harder and let her self-pleased smile spread even further.
After a successful round of coffee by the three assaulted men, they felt suitably awakened. Damian quietly plotted his revenge against Keroth, but put it out of his mind once the group had decided on breakfast and spoke with the monks working in the kitchens about helping. The monks politely declined the offer for help, telling them to rest at the tables while they cooked for them. As they returned to their seats, Sara continued to squirm about, inadvertently causing her cheeriness to wear off on the older Paladin and the Puppet Master?s Pactio.
Lucas slumped over on the table and laid his head down on the top, heaving a weary sigh. Keroth peered at him.
?You don?t seem tired enough anymore, to heave such a sigh. What ails you?? he asked.
Lucas tipped his head over, so he was lying on one ear and could see from the vast expanse of the table, to the wall, then finally the ceiling.
?I would like to join you as you travel. Being a Pactio to a God, especially one that hands you a suit of flying armor, doesn?t make much sense to stay in one place forever. I don?t know what I?ll do when I get there, or what may happen on the way, but I feel I should start traveling. Especially considering the things Liez?rial has told me about,? he said.
Keroth clapped him on the back, inadvertently causing him to rock forward just enough to make his cheek stick painfully to the tabletop for a moment, before saying, ?Of course! Since you can fly on your own, Acied won?t be burdened by your weight. Since Damian and I ??
At this, Damian cut him off by holding his hand up, and beckoned for Lucas? attention.
?Through my actions I caused Keroth and myself to be dismissed from our posts at the Rispaire Maging Guild. We?re on our way to the west, to the coast itself. Rispaire has been our home for too long; we?re going back to our actual hometown. Once we?re there, we?re probably going to relocate to another one of the Maging Guilds ? most likely the Koleir Maging Guild ? and take up swordsman training positions. Acied has said he has no final destination in mind, either, and is helping us get there as payment for a favor Keroth did him. Sara is Acied?s traveling companion.
?As you can see, we?re not really a collective group ? just travelers banding together for convenience?s sake. You are, of course, welcome to join us ? my only condition is that you pass on anything Liez?rial says to us.?
At this, Sara calmed down long enough to interject, ?Or I could. I?ve been talking to him for a while now.?
Lucas blinked in surprise. Liez?rial, is that true?
Liez?rial, still using the voice of McAre, echoed back to him, It?s true. She?s a telepath just like you are; any telepath can theoretically seek me out and start conversing with me.
Lucas wiped the confusion off his face. See, now, that?s something I should?ve been able to figure out on my own, but I would?ve appreciated knowing that altogether.
?That?s easy enough. Remember, though, there?s nothing to stop me from just following you on my own,? he said to the Paladins.
Damian stared at him coldly. ?I like to think that a pair of Paladins, trained to work in tandem, could take on a country boy with no combat experience. It shouldn?t come to that, of course, but it would be good to establish now that we are not worth making enemies out of. It won?t come to that from any of our actions, so do your best not to offend our current companions or ourselves. Do not harbor fantasies of grandeur just because you have the Icarian Armor ? not only against us, but also to anyone who would do you harm. However, of course, if we had decided to reject your request to follow us to Koleir and you followed us anyways, we would have no reason to draw swords against you unless we needed to defend ourselves. But do not assume that we are ?nothing?.?
Despite Damian?s cold tone of voice and that he was staring intently at him, Lucas was more disturbed by the fact that Keroth was still grinning. The amused light in his eyes was extinguished, however, and replaced by a cold cunning shadow. The fact that he was obviously so prepared to suit actions to words just because his comrade-in-arms was offended, and had easily sized Lucas up before the younger man had even noticed Keroth was looking at him as a predator, was the cause for his discomfort.
He pulled his head up off the table. ?Forgive me for being impudent, but, I think that I would be smarter than that. For one, I wouldn?t try to start a fight with a pair of Paladins ? actual soldiers. Two, I wouldn?t actually start anything with anyone while in a Shrine full of Clerics. They?d heal the wounds then lock our minds in a stupor for a week just to drive home their philosophy of ?no violence?.
?And of course, I wouldn?t want to make Liez?rial think he?d picked an idiot to be his newest Pactio.?
Damian nodded, and started to stare off into space. He absently took another draw from his mug of coffee, still waiting for the cooks to finish with their breakfast. Keroth had gone back to watching the events with an aloof attitude.
Lucas was surprised at how easily the two of them shifted between being combat ready to relaxing again. He was a little bothered by Damian assuming he was being egotistical, but he acknowledged that the Paladin had a very valid point. Swinging the swords of his armor through the air was much different than actually being in the thick of a fight.
?So how much fighting have the two of you actually seen?? Acied asked.
Damian blinked over the rim of his mug and looked at him. Once he registered that Acied was talking to him, he set his mug down and pushed his hair aside, revealing his blind eye. When Acied and Lucas leaned in to take a closer look, they noticed that the scar traced a line through the pupil, which was a lighter shade of gray than the opposite orbit.
?I?ve seen enough, I guess you could say.?
Keroth let out a single chuckle.
What? A one-eyed swordsman? How does that work? Simple - SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO READ IT TO FIND OUT SOCIAL LINKS SOCIAL LINKS SOCIAL LINKS
XBAWKS HEEEEEUUUUUUUG
After asking several of the wandering monks, he finally gleaned the location of his companions. He could’ve just opened his mind, as he did in the library, but short of digging through the various minds he would’ve felt, he would’ve had no way to tell who was who unless they were telepathic and wanted to be found.
So, he found himself back in the center courtyard that their group had come into, where he found the Paladin, Keroth, listening to Sara as she strummed absently at her harp.
The girl was sitting on one of the handrails that lined the spacious courtyard, leaning against one of the pillars that dotted the covered walkways, holding the very coverings up and in place. Keroth had opted to stay on solid ground, but instead of standing under the awnings on the stone tiles that made up the open-air corridors, he was standing on the grass, leaning against the same rail that Sara was sitting on. Lucas came up to the railing, opposite of Keroth, and leaned against it as well. He nodded past Keroth at Sara before bowing his head slightly to the senior swordsman. He kept the book closed in his hands, letting it hang against the pull of gravity.
“Keroth, if I may – I’ve been wondering something about you and Damian.”
The Paladin turned away from Sara and looked blankly at him. “Lots of people wonder about us. Its just part of the way I act, I suppose, that makes people curious.”
Lucas paused, considering the Paladin’s words. “Actually, it was mostly about Damian. He’s blind in one eye, but he’s worked in a Maging Guild for I don’t even know how long, and I’d assume that a battalion of Paladins would have a squad of Clerics nearby just in case something like that happened. Why hasn’t it been healed?”
Keroth’s blank expression became slightly blanker as he stared off into space. “You know, I really don’t know why. That’s actually a good question, one that never dawned on me to ask. If you’d like, I could find out for you,” he offered.
Lucas looked at Sara to gauge her reaction. As was usual for the energetic girl, she seemed to have an amused smile on her face. She had stopped playing a tune and was just strumming in melodic chords now, while the two men talked.
“At the very least, find out for your sake. He’s your partner, after all.”
Keroth chuffed, and shook his head. “A lot of things nowadays escape my notice. It’s a wonder I didn’t get a sword through my neck during the Cleansing.”
Sara gasped at him. “Shame! No depressing thoughts like that, sir! From what Liez’rial and Damian told me, you’re an excellent fighter who was never surprised. We all have our moments, so you’re allowed to be a little absent-minded when you’re at peace.”
Keroth looked at her and studied her for a bit. “Damian’s been talking to you, has he?”
She stopped playing the harp altogether and hugged it to her chest. “I’ve been talking to Damian. Acied’s been too busy praying to do any conversing, so it’s up to me. Damian’s not here right now, it’s you, so now it’s your turn to be talked to.”
Lucas blinked. This girl was hard to keep up with.
He also did his best to ignore how the harp was affecting her chest. He turned his attention to the book in his hands, lifting it up into a better position to read it in.
Before he could say anything about it, Keroth reached over and clapped his hand on Lucas’ forearm, nearly knocking the book out of his hands.
“Well, like the girl said, I’m absent-minded when I’m at peace, but sharp and in control when I’m not. Damian said you’d be no match for us, but let’s just see how far his words go, shall we? How about a little sparring match, or perhaps you’d rather call it training?”
Lucas blinked and worked his jaw up and down, before finally producing a reply. “Uh, I’d be honored to train with you. When?”
Keroth patted his thigh. There was a rustle of fabric on metal; he slipped his hand into his pocket, and pulled the hilt of his dagger out. The hand-guard caught on his pocket, tripping him up.
“Eh, normally, they have special slots in my armor that they can slide in and out of without complications… like this…” he tugged at his pocket, freeing his dagger from the fabric.
“Well, then, in that case, let me get the armor.” Lucas straightened up, and set the book down on the rail.
Liez’rial suddenly spoke up in his mind; Of course. Lucas felt the dull fog fall across his mind, and he stepped away from the railing without actually willing it. He held his arms out slightly, then hopped lightly into the air by pushing off with his feet; while he was suspended, weightless at the top of his jump, he felt a bit of a rush and there was a muffled pop of displaced air. The armor was suddenly on him, and he held the swords in his hands.
Rather than landing, he stayed suspended just a few inches off the ground. The fog lifted from his mind.
Keroth nodded at him, his other dagger in his hand. “Very impressive. We’ll take this into the center of the courtyard, so we have some room to work with.” He backpedaled away from Sara and the railing, stepping over anything that would’ve tripped him up without actually looking to see where he was planting his feet. His situational awareness really did seem to pick up and take hold when he was ready to fight. Lucas filed the thought away from future reference.
Making sure to hold the blades so the martingales didn’t drag across Sara, and the large wings on the hilts of his swords didn’t slap against her, Lucas rose over the railing and let himself glide forward.
Keroth flipped one of his daggers into the air, and snatched it so it was in a reverse handed grip. He held the dull edge against his forearm, and held that arm in front of his torso. The other dagger was held upright, as though he were going to use it as a sword, and this hand was kept lower, to his side. He wiggled the reserved dagger slightly, beckoning Lucas forward.
“I suppose it would be a bit unfair of me to throw my swords against you, since it’d be such a massive advantage of range and all-”
Keroth cut him off with a short laugh. “Lucas, I’ve fought alongside Liez’rial before. I know what to expect. If you can think of anything to use against me, use it. I’ve been in many fights, against soldiers who fought with pole arms, spears, bows and arrows, and even against Magus. And, no offense to you, but I’m sure they were all combat-trained. Fight me to the best of your abilities. If either of us gets injured, the Clerics here will patch us up.”
Lucas nodded, and promptly flicked a sword straight at Keroth.
Keroth blinked and grinned as the sword came rocketing towards him; he hopped up, bending his knees and tucking his legs under him, giving the sword plenty of room to pass underneath him without touching him. He swung his leading hand in an arc below him, knocking the blade to the side and getting the martingale out from under him.
Since he was only physically a human, and lacked telekinesis or magic to aid in his leap, he didn’t stay airborne for very long. As he touched down, he spun away from the sword and the chain that connected it to the young swordsman. Continuing his turn, he used the momentum to help him push off towards the armored youth.
Lucas reared backwards, and upwards. He yanked on the chain, pulling it back. It coasted past Keroth, snapping back into his hand with a slap of metal on chain.
With the other sword, Lucas heaved back to swing it, but realized too late that the extra motion was wasted; Keroth had already closed the distance and was holding the reversed dagger out to catch the long sword. Crossing his arms over, he hooked the blade Lucas had thrown and tried to apply pressure to it in an attempt to remove the winged blade from his grasp.
Since Liez’rial was always working to make the blades manageable, he was ready for the trick and kept the blade firmly rooted to Lucas’ hand. Push your arms down. He’s got himself pinned with –
Before Liez’rial could finish, Keroth planted his foot on Lucas’ chest and heaved away from him. The spry man fell backwards and hit the ground, sliding a short distance across the grass before curling over backwards and pushing off with his hands, flipping upright. Before he completely touched down, Lucas began to advance forward, all the wings attached to the armor proper angling backwards. He crossed the long-swords in front of his chest and turned them to present the flat edges forwards.
As Keroth spotted his advance, he reacted just as fluidly as he did to his first attack failing. As soon as his feet made contact with the ground, he continued his arc and fell backwards again, slipping away from Lucas’ charge as though he were made of water.
Because Lucas was gliding, and kept one knee bent and turned, Keroth’s foot wasn’t able to kick all the way to his groin, and instead struck his shin. Despite it not landing where Keroth was aiming, the kick still surprised Lucas and he recoiled his legs upwards, away from the now supine man. As he somersaulted, he twisted about so he’d be facing the way he came when he righted himself. Rather than continue floating above the ground, Lucas let himself fall completely to the ground. As soon as he landed, he swung one blade in a small arc in front of him and threw the other in a wider arc, snatching the martingale before it uncoiled out to its full length. Keroth didn’t rise off the ground into the path of either, but he flipped over on the ground and put his hands under his shoulders, still clutching his daggers tightly.
After the thrown blade passed over him, he pushed off the ground and got his feet back under him. Lucas took the sword that was still in his hand and slashed back in the way he’d taken it from. Keroth ducked under that blade, almost bringing his daggers together to deflect it before deciding to just dodge it. He was a bit surprised when Lucas didn’t catch the other long-sword, instead whirling it around again. Because of the angle he’d thrown it, however, the blade dipped downwards, and Keroth pushed off of the ground and flipped over the blade, narrowly pulling his shins away from the point of the blade. Keroth shoved against the blade with his dagger, disturbing the swing and driving the sword against the ground.
Distracted by the blade striking the ground with a dull thud as it sliced into the grass, followed by a sharp retort as it struck a rock and stopped dead, Lucas didn’t notice Keroth’s flip bringing the Paladin’s boot down.
Though he was only wearing leather boots, the impact still shoved the Heaven’s Headpiece down against Lucas’ cranium hard enough to daze him. He nearly dropped the other long-sword.
Rather than drop it, though, he gave himself a sharp shake of the head to clear the stars that threatened to edge into his vision, and turned the sword he still held sideways and heaved downward with it. The flat of the blade struck Keroth down his back just shy of his spine, and he grunted in surprise.
Lucas wrapped the extended blade’s martingale around his hand, taking up some slack and getting a sturdy grip on it before he snatched it back. The blade freed itself from the ground with a small shower of dirt and sliced grass and coasted backwards through the air, mimicking his first throw in reverse.
Once he had the blade back in his hand, he settled his grip on both long-swords and pulled himself backwards through the air, coming to a halt a half a meter above the ground and two away from Keroth.
Keroth let go of his daggers and put one hand across the small of his back, pushing against the ground with his other hand until he rolled over with a groan. A fine layer of dirt powdered his left cheek.
Lucas didn’t realize that Sara had been playing her harp until she stopped and hopped off the railing, making her way to Keroth. Lucas turned the swords down and stabbed them into the ground, and let himself fall out of the air and stooped down to help Keroth sit up.
“You’re not hurt, are you? Should I send Sara to get a Cleric?” he asked.
The Paladin shook his head and let out a small cough. “No, don’t worry about it. Just got the wind knocked out of me, and hitting the ground with your mouth open in surprise tends to invite dirt in.
“I’ve been hit by worse. Don’t worry about me; Sara, could you continue playing your harp for us?”
Lucas looked up and met Sara’s gaze, and they exchanged nods. Lucas offered his hand down to Keroth, who let the youth help him up. Once he was back on his feet, Sara retreated to the far side of the railing she had been sitting on, and Lucas pulled himself backwards through the air until he was between his blades, still sticking out of the ground. He reached out and wrapped his hands around the grips, grinning at Keroth.
The Paladin returned the grin and collected his daggers.
Damian and Acied both stared at the man wearing the heavy coat. He stared back, a very silly grin slowly falling off his face. Neither of the two men seemed to share his enthusiasm at his sudden arrival, or his request.
“So… You want to join us as we travel westward. Because you know Acied can shape-shift into something big enough to carry us.”
Sifarus nodded. “Yeah, two for two so far.”
Acied focused his stare a little harder on the man, who still hadn’t taken off his coat. “Without ever having met us.”
The bard looked at him. “Well, I’ve never met you, no, but nothing says I haven’t met the Paladins here. What are your names, again?”
Damian and Acied exchanged glances, before staring Sifarus down again. “You can understand why we’d be wary of just handing our names out to people we don’t know yet, especially ones who come out of nowhere – wearing a massive coat, no less – and start discussing someone’s magic, someone he’s never met before, without even giving his name in exchange.”
Sifarus paused, grin slowly fading. “Ah, yes, of course. Sifarus Idikus, traveling storyteller. Lesser-known fact, too; Pactio to the Outer God, Sithenth.
“That’s the important thing. Being one of Sithenth’s Pactios means that I’m a little more influenced by his plans than the average mortal is. Tends to happen to a lot of Pactios, actually. I understand Liez’rial is here with his Pactio?”
Damian narrowed his eyes. “Look, bard, you appeared out of nowhere, you started spouting nonsense like you’re everyone’s buddy, and you seem to expect us to trust you. You’re not doing a very good job at the moment. Why don’t you come with us, and tell us what exactly it is that you need and what you want to do.”
Acied sighed and turned away, striding off without waiting for Damian or Sifarus to follow. The young bard pointed after him, one eyebrow cocked. Damian nodded once and turned after the silent traveler, scowling slightly. So much for just going from Rispaire to Koleir.
Acied was heading to the center courtyard at a rapid pace, not waiting for Damian to catch up, nor giving the impression that he was concerned with the distance he was putting between them. Sifarus came up alongside Damian, and pardoned himself. The Paladin allowed him to get in front of him; the youth seemed to know he would be more comfortable having Sifarus in his sight, rather than behind him.
Damian began to search his memories; Sifarus had said there was a chance that he’d met Damian before, but he said ‘the Paladins’, implying Keroth as well. It could’ve just been that he knew Paladins worked in pairs; that wouldn’t explain him knowing that Damian was a Paladin, though. He wasn’t wearing his armor, and preferred to keep it off unless he felt danger was afoot.
While Sifarus had his arms stuffed in his coat pockets, and he probably thought he was being real clever about hiding his right arm, but Damian had spotted the slight glimpse of gilded metal coming up his forearm, and could see the bulky outline through the coats’ pocket. Natural human flesh didn’t have such a profile. Was the bard an old soldier, perhaps a Paladin himself? Or was he just a mercenary who knew a soldier when he saw one, and took a shot in the dark about Damian being a Paladin? Either he was a great, overconfident fool to act so suspicious around a soldier, or an incredibly clever young rogue.
Ahead, Acied shoved a door open, and stopped to hold it for the two stragglers. Sifarus nodded to him as he stepped through.
“Thank you,” he said. Acied nodded back.
Damian let Sifarus pass through and get a little further ahead before he allowed himself to step through the door. “What do you think?” he uttered to Acied.
The shape-shifter shrugged. “McAre says he’s been here before. We can ask the Cleric about him later, get some confirmation on his story, and his claim to be a Pactio. I myself think it’s a little convenient for two Pactio’s to show up and want to go to the same place. There is, of course, the chance that their respective Gods – Liez’rial and Sithenth – spoke to each other and decided to have these particular Pactios travel together for some reason. Personally, I want to talk to Lucas about Liez’rial; something is missing here.”
Damian absorbed the input and marched forward, catching up with Sifarus as the bard realized that he wasn’t originally leading and had no clue where they were taking him. The young man turned back to face him, charming smile back on his face. Damian gestured further down the hallway that stretched out ahead of them.
They had started their small trek through the Shrine in the library Sifarus was found in; the bard had opted to stay there and asked McAre if he could talk to ‘the Mage that just recently arrived here, the one who’s traveling’. McAre retrieved Acied and Damian together, deciding they were the ones in charge of the group. From there, they had left the library to the intermediate hallways. Acied was taking them towards the center courtyard, which seemed to be as good a place as any to start looking for the other three.
Apparently, Acied could home in on his energetic companion. That was Damian’s theory, at least.
What surprised him more, however, was the sparring match between Keroth and Lucas, being musically accompanied by Sara.
The older Paladin and the enigmatic self-proclaimed bard blinked at the fight, and Acied flinched at the sound of Lucas’ long-sword being parried by Keroth. The bard stepped closer to the handrail that Sara was perched on, and leaned across it for a better look, resting on his left arm.
After Keroth had parried Lucas’ attack, he rushed in close to the younger man. Unable to prevent this, the Pactio began to close his arms around, trying to pin Keroth.
The Paladin didn’t stay close for very long; after flicking the flat of one of his daggers against the chest-piece of Lucas’ armor, he dropped fluidly and darted under his opponents’ legs. What would’ve ordinarily been a difficult maneuver was simplified by Lucas’s altitude; unlike a normal combatant, Lucas was able to keep himself off the ground, and hovered at a height of two feet.
Sifarus returned Sara’s nod when she noticed his arrival, and smiled at her. After slightly nodding in tune with the melody Sara was playing, he took a deep breath and straightened himself upright.
“A lone man stands atop cliff-side, who’s blades seem to sing, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5juc6fmgylw#t=2m32s)
He takes to skies, with Heaven’s granted wings
Mountains and isles, seasons ne’er the same,
Pious and free, a faceless man without a name
Skies are limitless, seas with endless shores,
The Gods Man travels all ‘cross the world
Many a different man, with many a different heart,
They are all remembered long, in the tales of the bards
He is the Gods Man, light of the Lords
Life forsaken, family ‘n’ tears left long ago.”
Sara turned her attention to the man during his sonnet. Halfway through, she altered her melody to match his.
Acied buried his face in his hand. “I was afraid of this,” he mumbled. Damian cast a sidelong glance at him.
“Afraid of what?”
“That he really was a bard. Unless you can convince Sara otherwise, we’re going to be forced to take him with us.”
Damian kept his face neutral. He was mildly amused by this notion; Acied may be the shape-shifter and the arbiter to their travels, but Sara was the one who was truly in charge. If she didn’t agree with Acied’s choice or actions, she could simply deny him the music he needed to unlock his power. It hadn’t dawned on Damian until then, but he mused that it wouldn’t’ve occurred to him that such an energetic young girl could also be clever enough to keep Acied wrapped about her finger.
During Sifarus’ short song, Lucas and Keroth had continued fighting. Much to Lucas’ dismay, Keroth had managed to rap his daggers against the chest of Liez’rial’s armor multiple times, as opposed to his earlier, and only, strike against the Paladin.
With a single strong flex of the many wings adorning his armor, he pulled himself up into the air, out of Keroth’s reach. He relaxed his arms, but kept his grip on the swords.
“Okay, I forfeit for this round. I’m getting winded, and it looks like our companions have something to say.” Lucas allowed Liez’rial to seize control of his body and holster the blades, while dropping to the ground at the same time. Liez’rial returned control of his body, teasing Lucas for a moment in his mind. I promise I’ll work on learning how to do that on my own soon enough, Puppet master.
Keroth hopped back and forth from one foot to the other, slowly wind-milling his arms twice before stretching them out straight in front of his chest. Rather than try to slip the blades back into the cloth sheaths sewn into the sides of his trousers, he kept the daggers in a reverse-handed grip and strode over to the handrail. He nodded at Sara, and sized Sifarus up.
“That was the first verse of the song about Liez’rial, wasn’t it?” he asked. The bard nodded.
“It’s called ‘Lord of the Sky’. People tend to confuse the purpose of the song with Lozenreald, Goddess of the Skies. No matter how often I explain that Lozenreald is a female Goddess, no one seems to learn,” Sifarus mused.
Sara chuckled at his comment, and hugged her harp to her chest again. Lucas sensed a small amount of disappointment in the bard; he was hoping to have gotten more of a reaction out of his simple complaint. With the equivalent of a mental shrug, Sifarus moved on.
“So, I understand that you’re the Pactio of Liez’rial?” he asked.
Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but Damian cut him off. “We’ve gone over this before; you should introduce yourself first.”
Sifarus bowed his head and tapped his hand against his forehead in apology. To Damian, he said, “Ah, but the young Master here and I have already met. He may still yet remember my name, as I properly introduced myself in the library. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten his name – was it Louis?”
Lucas shook his head, feeling the drag of the wings on the Heaven’s Headpiece. “Lucas. And, yes, obviously, I’m Liez’rial’s Pactio. What can I do for you, Sifarus?”
The bard grinned. He gestured at the ground on the opposite side of the handrail; the book Lucas had been reading had fallen off the stonework and dropped to the earth.
“I think you may have an idea what my motives are. Although, maybe, I should give you a slightly crucial hint, to help you figure me out.
“I am Sifarus Idikus, Pactio to Sithenth the Trickster, and traveling bard. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said, bowing his head slightly to Lucas and finally drawing his right arm from the pocket of his coat. He twirled his gauntleted hand about with a slight flourish as he tilted forward in a bow. Sara let out a small coo of appreciation at the polished shine coming off the spiky arm-guard.
Damian and Keroth sized the golden gauntlet up quickly. Judging by how fluidly he was able to wave it around, it probably wasn’t solid gold, just gold-plated. Perhaps just made out of a similarly shiny metal; either way, it wasn’t the soft, malleable precious metal. If it was built properly, it could probably be expected to absorb shocks throughout the entire forearm instead of just the wrist; he could probably punch into Damian’s armor without breaking any bones. Whether he’d actually puncture it or even want to was another matter entirely. The gauntlet could be expected to survive punishment, at the least; it was obvious just looking at it that it was well built and whoever put it together knew exactly what they were doing.
Lucas blinked at the gauntlet, then turned his attention back to Sifarus himself.
“There’s a small problem with joining me right now; I was just about to tell them. You’re about five minutes too early for them to completely understand why you’re here.”
Rather than say anything, Sifarus just froze his charming smile on his face, and nodded once. He knelt down and reached through the spacious scrollwork under the handrails and gathered up the fallen book. Standing upright, he turned and presented the book to Damian and Acied. The title of the book read History and Relationships between Maging Guilds.
“If you’ll allow me, Lucas. Sithenth and Liez’rial are Outer Gods; this is common knowledge. They aren’t restrained by the common conventions that prevent Inner Gods from directly influencing day-to-day proceedings of the people; if an Inner God diverts their attention away from protecting their niche of the environment from the rampant effects of magic, things can rapidly spiral out of control. As such, they use the Outer Gods as their arbiters, who in turn use their Pactio’s to spread their influence even further. Louis here –” “Lucas.” “– Lucas here, as well as myself, are said Pactios of Outer Gods. We have been charged by our respective Gods to identify the source of corruption behind the Maging Guilds’ and their leaders – specifically, whoever is in charge of the Order of Seers. Whoever is in charge now is hiding his identity from the Gods and making changes to the Guilds that would be rather adverse for Kaetir.”
Behind Sifarus, Lucas’ eyes bugged out in shock as the other man blurted out something that he would’ve rather had been subtler about. He had no idea what his companions’ opinions of the Maging Guilds were, and he didn’t want to risk offending them. At least, now, he was already in his armor and outside in case he had to get away from their potentially angry responses.
The Paladins are not directly affiliated with the Guilds, Lucas. There is the risk that they may be corrupted as well, but more likely, they’re neutral. Acied and Sara don’t pose enough of a threat to worry you.
Sure enough, Sara was still observing the situation with a bemused smirk on her face, and Acied still had his blank expression. Keroth broke the momentary pause in conversation.
“I didn’t think there was such a thing as real-life exposition.”
Sifarus snorted. “It’s my job, I’m a storyteller. Details are just what I do,” he sighed.
Acied started to look about as apprehensive as Lucas felt. The armor-clad youth noticed that the Magus was watching the Paladins as well; he was completely ignoring Sifarus and Lucas.
Damian nodded. “Go on. Is there anything else we should know about you two?”
Lucas shook his head. Sifarus tilted his head towards Sara. “I can play her harp. I’m also an excellent cook.”
Keroth began to flip one of his daggers about in his hand, rolling it across his opposite hand, flicking it up and down, catching the tip and the handle alternatively. “I think what he means is, is there anything else about the Maging Guilds we should be worried about? Are they in pursuit of either of you, are there any others that are going to be doing the same, how much support are the Gods willing to give you, and do you want our help?”
Lucas gestured halfway towards Keroth as he finished with his last generalization. “Yeah, that one. Liez’rial has instructed me to put together a group of people who can hope to –”
Suddenly, Lucas clamped his mouth shut. He was slightly confused until he felt the feathery sensation of possession by Liez’rial; the God had seized his vocal chords.
“Liez’rial speaking now. Damian, Keroth, are you willing to aid us? I will need your answer now.”
Keroth looked to Damian for direction. Damian locked eyes with Lucas, and by extension, Liez’rial. “The second any innocents get dragged into this conflict is the instant you lose our support. We are Paladins, protectors of the people. We are not bloodthirsty killers.”
Lucas shook his head to clear it; Liez’rial had given him full control of his body back. “Lucas in charge again. I don’t think I’m going to want a bloodthirsty killer working with me, anyways. I’d personally rather avoid fighting until absolutely necessary; from what I understand, any Magus we end up fighting with will probably be uninformed, following orders they didn’t come up with on their own.”
Acied coughed lightly into his fist. “It’s a type of brainwashing. The trainee mages are convinced they owe a massive debt of gratitude to the Guilds for discovering and honing their talents. I’m not sure how, but the scouts for the Guilds are finding massive amounts of talented Magus - more than ever recorded in the past. If not for my parents, and Sara, I’d probably still be at a Guild, believing I would’ve never discovered how to use my magic if not for them.”
Sara’s bemused stare had slipped into neutrality. Her eyes were unfocused as she spoke. “Acied’s parents are both Alteration Magus as well – because all three of them are Magus, they have bloodline telepathy. I’m a bit of a telepath as well, and we all felt Acied get twisted and turned into someone else. Before it got too far, we slipped out of the dormitories one night and have been traveling. We were originally in one of the Guilds on the Yira continent, in gauge… gauging…” she trailed off, stumbling over the words.
“Gejun Fir,” Acied offered up.
“Yeah, Gejun Fir. I can’t pronounce those stupid complicated names. I wanna slap whoever thought them up.”
Sifarus chuckled at her harmless threat. “Those ‘stupid complicated’ names are actually ancient Inner Gods’ names. That’s why you have what seems like a self-explanatory name, like ‘Ironwood’, or ‘Dustfall’ for simple townships and settlements, and confusing names like ‘Rispaire’ and ‘Gejun Fir’ for large cities and continents. I do believe the Galalid Islands are the only landmass that managed to escape the naming conventions.”
Lucas gave a miniscule nod. He had read about this, but long since forgotten it; there was very little demand for such eccentric knowledge.
Damian, however, had ignored the almanac fact and seemed preoccupied with the notion of the brainwashed students.
“Well, now that makes it easier to understand why Heighler was so short-tempered. Maybe he’s in on it…”
Sifarus looked over his shoulder at the elder Paladin. “You know Heighler, huh? I have good news – his personal apprentice isn’t in on the corruption and has offered to help us monitor him, and try to gain his trust. She could be a very handy inside source of information.”
Keroth perked up. “That also puts her into a lot of danger. Are you willing to be responsible for anything that may happen to her?”
Sifarus nodded. “She knows how dangerous it could be, and I’m confident she can quickly and easily get away if she needed to. She’s a very talented Magus, who can tap into all three primary schools of magic. She’s also nearly as clever as I am, so I’m certain she’ll be safe.”
Lucas was a bit surprised at how easily everything was progressing with the arrival of this bard. He had been apprehensive about bringing up the Guilds to Damian and Keroth in particular; they had said they were guardians to one of the Maging Guilds, but apparently they only took that as an assignment, not an affiliation – he supposed they were more concerned with the people in general than the Guilds. If Acied was right, and the Guilds were brainwashing their students, it was easy to understand how the Paladins would be offended by this injustice. Acied and Sara already being aware of the situation in the Guilds was a pleasant surprise; Lucas hadn’t predicted running into anyone that was already aware of the problem.
After a moment’s consideration, he frowned at himself. I shouldn’t assume that just because it took a God to tell me what’s going on, no one else could know. I live out in the middle of nowhere, the nearest Maging Guild a half a week’s ride away. Aside from the monks here and the other farms, there’s hardly anyone out here, and travelers rarely offer gossip up when passing through.
Liez’rial praised him. Very astute observation. I didn’t expect the two to already be on the run from the Guilds, but I didn’t rule out that there would be others who know. I did not, however, count on running into some so soon.
Sifarus was saying something when Lucas turned his attention outward again.
“…not sure about others. I’m fairly certain Sithenth has his other Pactio’s gathering intel, but I doubt any of them are as qualified as I am. Other than that, I’d wager there are a few other Outer Gods who are doing their own work or having their Pactios on the move.”
Acied raised his hand slightly, beckoning Sifarus’ attention. “What makes you say you’re more qualified amongst Sithenth’s Pactios?”
Sifarus folded his gauntleted hand across his waist and bowed graciously. “I’m the only one who made a Pact on my conditions, not Sithenth’s. I tricked the Trickster.”
Keroth let out a low whistle.
“Impressive,” Damian agreed.
“But wait, there’s more,” Sifarus said, straightening out and grinning again. “I’m a very good storyteller; none of my stories are based on speculation. I get unbiased facts and details to back them up, because I’m a very convincing interrogator. Observe!”
He straightened his fingers out, and three chains that were previously dangling slack from his fingers pulled taut across his palm and tugged a medallion out of a recessed groove in his gauntlet. Holding it up for the Paladins to observe, he set it swinging.
“This makes for an excellent hypnotizing aid, and my magic can put someone at ease and calm them down, or put them into a trance-like stupor if I focus it on one person at a time.”
Damian nodded as Sifarus aimed his forearm skyward, letting gravity pull the medallion back to its magnetized slot. “What’s your condition, if you don’t mind us asking?”
Sifarus raised his opposite hand as he lowered his gauntlet, and splayed his fingers out, gesturing
for dramatic effect. “I have to have contact with their mind. Luckily, I’m a bit of a telepath myself, and if someone tries to barge into my mind, I can shut them down with feedback.”
Acied nodded. “That’ pretty useful. Damian, Keroth, Lucas, how do you feel about bringing him along?”
Sifarus’ grin seemed to broaden slightly as Acied finally called out for a definite answer. He noted, however, that the Magus had excluded the girl. He mentally reached out and brushed against her mind, testing for a response. He got one.
Yes? she asked.
Oh, good, you are a telepath. I know you said so, but there are always varying degrees.
Sara affected a mental shrug and muttered a lazy Uh-huh. And…?
Sifarus snickered out loud, too soft for anyone to actually hear.
Well. I was just curious as to what your name is, and why Acied here didn’t ask for your opinion.
Sara snickered this time; Acied said my name earlier, silly. And, he already knows that I’d vote to bring you along. It’s not often I can get someone to sing along with me when I play my music.
Sifarus checked back in with reality for a moment. Their exchange had barely taken two seconds; thoughts could convey back and forth much faster than spoken words.
Damian and Keroth had paused after Lucas had agreed to bring Sifarus along; after all, he’d said, Liez’rial and Sithenth were already working together, their Pactios might as well, too.
Still didn’t tell me your name.
Pay attention next time.
Keroth gestured to Damian. “You know I’m just going to go along with whatever you say, so, go ahead and decide already.”
“Right, then. Looks like you’ve got one more person to carry along, Acied. Are you up to it?”
Acied nodded easily. “Of course.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been a beast of burden, and I’m positive it won’t be the last.”
End of Act I. Act II begins on page 104, with Chapter 9.