Scene Two: Magelet
...Of Act Two: Guardianship
In the eyes of Ryoku Dragontalen, we are in
Harohto Capital City, in the world of Harohto.
It is early afternoon
On November 7th, 2017.
"Well look here, a girl all alone in the streets!" The voice made me turn my head.
"How unfortunate fer 'er!"
A set of sinister cackling followed. "How fortunate fer us."
Just around the corner from the Registry, a circle of seven or more huge guys surrounded a lone girl. The sight immediately made a chill crawl down my spine. The girl was probably close to my age, with what looked like silvery hair glinting in the bright morning sun, and dressed in light colors. A staff hung at her side, but she looked far too afraid to raise it. Against these sizes of men, would it even do anything?
Sira tried to keep walking, ignoring the events unfolding right there, but Will and I weren't so complacent. He quickly drew his lance with a warm-up spin, catching their attention wordlessly. My chivalry threatened to fade under their huge figures and dark glares, but I held my ground. Muttering under her breath, Sira drew Sinistra from over her back, the blade seeming to ignite like the sun in the air. I chose to draw my bow and kept an arrow under my finger, praying Will and Kimball's lessons remained fresh in my memory.
"What're you two lookin' at?" one of the bigger ones demanded. I dutifully noted either a crack at my height, or that they didn't even consider me an obstacle. He took a threatening step toward us. Will didn't react. I flinched. Nobody noticed.
"These ugly-ass guys on the road," Sira replied, pointing her sword right at the man. "Freakin' hilarious. Wish you could see 'em."
One of them chuckled. Most of them just cracked their knuckles, and I wondered if they got the joke at all. "Girl has a mouth on her," one of them said. "Wonder if that mouth does more."
A few more of them guffawed. The way their intentions played out across their faces lit an angry spark in my chest, and I took a stride forward, levelling an arrow to point directly at the speaker's throat. He only chuckled throatily, holding my gaze. I wondered if he would really see the arrow coming.
Will slid out in front of me, perhaps saving me from a movement I could regret. "You would do better to focus on level opponents. Picking out the youngest fighter among us speaks volumes of your skill." He gestured easily toward them with two fingers, the other hand gripping his lance rigidly. "Come now. Which of you is foolish enough to try me first?"
The man chuckled eerily, jabbing his thumb at the girl behind them, frozen stiff. "You think we give a rat's ass about some fight? Could whallop a boy like you in my sleep, but these kids are money. A boy for horse keeping sells well. And a pretty girl?" His laughter turned sharp. "Similar to horses, but for the quiet of a man's bedroom."
Will's voice came out terse and stretched. "Stay behind me, Ryoku," he murmured. I didn't think he would strike first. He proved me wrong, and sprang forward with his lance as easily as walking. The men hollered and fanned out, all drawing weapons of their own. One of them lunged at Will with a hand-axe clutched in his meaty fist, and their weapons clashed in the midst of the street.
The side street of Harohto held little action, but I noticed anyone who kept about started to quickly evacuating as the fight began. Sira, who started to laugh with the promise of a good fight, rushed to help as a second man went after Will. Their swords clashed, and Sira's weapon forced the enemy sword to the ground like lightning.
The girl behind the thugs looked terrified. She might have been able to escape now that a brawl started, but she looked too afraid to move. If one of them started after her, we might not be able to stop them. Her snowy-colored eyes darted between them frantically. I started to wonder if she was worried for herself, or for us.
Will's opponent nearly forced him down, but Sira, forcing her own target to the ground, lunged and cleaved Will's opponent from shoulder to hip with an enraged scream. He cried out, eyes bugged, and his weapon clashed to the ground. The released force sent Will's lance straight through him. I cringed back, but still saw the splash of blood.
At the fall of their leader, all the remaining thugs swarmed forward with a clamor. They split up – three after Will, and three after Sira. My heart hammered in my chest. How could they handle three? Shouldn't they have abandoned ship when their leader went down?
Will rushed to defend himself. He thrust a sword astray with a bold lunge, then danced back and knocked the second assailant back with the butt of his lance. He spun it in a quick arc and came about to cross weapons with the third. At his side, Sira slammed the full weight of her weapon against an oncoming sword, knocking the vibrating weapon into the air. The powerful strike forced her into an awkward back step to dodge the second attacker, but she recovered enough to ram the pommel of her sword into the third.
I had to do something. If I didn't act, my two Guardians might be overwhelmed here. All it took was one half-second too late to block, and one could go down. I put aside my mediocre amounts of skill and refocused on my arrow, taking aim on one of the thugs running at Will. When I took aim, though, the thug saw me and turned my way, grinning in an ugly way. I lost the element of surprise, which was really about the only element I had.
As he advanced on me, I panicked, and shut my eyes as I released the arrow. In retrospect, that moment of panic wasn't the best of ideas. The arrow missed its mark and struck the pain of one thug battling Sira, inciting a scream of pain. I cursed, stuffing away my bow and yanked out my knife.
I blocked his club as it came at me. Sparks flew from nails embedded in the wood weapon. Whatever force I'd anticipated from this huge man's swing, it wasn't like this. My knife became my lifeline. I caught a warning glance from Will, but he couldn't untangle himself from combat to help me. Sira fought like a dog, Sinistra screaming through the air like a monster and knocking every blow aside with all her strength. One of them was the one I'd struck with an arrow, but he somehow kept on fighting. I started to wonder how I thought we could handle this.
I had to move. Summoning every last drop of willpower I had, I forced myself to the ground. Dropping my weight against his club sent the weapon sailing over my head, where it struck and destroyed a patch of cobblestone road. I used my moment of momentum to swing myself around in a way I'd gleaned from Will's fight in the bar, slamming my legs into his with all my might. If I hadn't caught him by surprise, it'd be like hitting a tree with an arrow, but I lucked out. He crashed down like a rock.
Living off adrenaline, I lurched toward Sira and jumped in the way of one of her attackers, blocking his sword with my upraised knife. This time I was ready for the force, and I kept his weapon at bay with both hands on my knife. Even the odds, I thought. If Sira and Will each only had to fight two, then we could clear this out way faster. Unfortunately, it meant I had to deal with two as well, and I wasn't sure I could.
Sira continued her battle against the remaining two like a storm of fire, her blade screaming through the air as easily as I swung my knife. I caught a glance from Will. If he realized what I'd done to even the odds, he didn't appear fully approving of it.
I tried to lash out with a kick at my enemy, but he stepped out of the way easily. I didn't anticipate when he took a hand off his sword and grabbed my arm. My stomach lurched. The thug's ugly mug spread into a grin. The one I'd knocked down was off the ground now, and he approached, whacking his club against his open palm with a menacing glare.
A blue flash lit the air, burning lights into my eyes. It came with a strange, sweeping sort of noise, and a crackling noise like ice giving way underfoot.
Before my very eyes, a blue beam shot from afar and struck my assailant in the shoulder. He let go of my arm in a panic, trying to shake something off. I caught a glimpse of it. Ice was thatching its way across his shoulder, increasing to envelop most of his arm and back through his meager, torn clothes. I stared incredulously. Was that... magic?
I saw the culprit. In the midst of all the panic, the young girl had stepped forward, and now she held up her staff in both hands before her. A blue gem similar to the one in my oak staff gleamed upon the head of hers.
Luckily for me, I wasn't the only one to freeze up, and I gathered myself in time to lash out at my second opponent, who'd been staring at his friend incredulously while ice latched onto him. My knife struck true and bit into his side. He stumbled away, dropping his club as he grabbed his side.
I turned away victoriously, but the thugs had other ideas for me. A sword came swinging out of nowhere. I rolled away and it struck the road, spraying rocks and sparks everywhere. The thug that was quickly becoming an icicle swung at me in full rage. I stepped away again, this time just out of range of his weapon. I felt the wind of his slash, and I thought I could almost smell blood upon his weapon from how closely it cut.
Another blue flash illuminated the area. I saw the blue beam, and it spun out like a web as it fell upon my other opponent – the man I'd cut had been clambering to his feet, his club retrieved and ready to strike again. Now he fell, and ice spread across him with haste. Now I owed the girl, and I was supposed to be saving her.
My enraged opponent dropped his assault on me, turning his gaze to the girl with her staff held up. He, too, realized she was doing more damage than I was. She dropped her staff under the man's glare, clearly terrified.
The thug flexed, and the ice encasing most of his shoulders shattered, crumbling to the ground like broken glass. Freed of its effects, he advanced on the girl.
I had to act fast, and the girl's magic gave me an idea. Stowing away my knife, I pulled out my oak staff from my belt. I hadn't brought out the weapon since I unconsciously used it against the Keeper, if Will and Sira told the truth about that. Truth be told, I was a little nervous about the item. Kimball and Will both warned me that it could sap my energy to use it. If I wasn't careful, it could kill me.
It had to serve its money's worth, right? Will had bought this weapon specifically for me. If anything, that meant my stalwart friend believed I could use it. I'd thought him foolish with his money at first, but he was careful and wise about his spending later. No, Will believed it would do well in my hands. So it had to, right?
This time, as I raised the staff, I felt a strange spark in my hands. It was almost like numbness, a course of strange, warm energy rushing up my arms, but it made my fingers twitch. The energy seemed to flow in a pattern along my skin. Symbols, I thought. Images of the sun, of fire. They seemed to crawl from the staff, along my arms and into my mind as I suddenly envisioned them quite clearly. I hung onto those images and clutched my staff tightly. Was this it? Magic?
The sensation arrived with clarity through all my senses. It came with a dusty sort of smell, like an ancient library untouched for decades, its pages inviting eager hands and minds. A sound hung in the air that felt like it was only for my ears, like a thousand ancient voices whispering encouragement for the elements. My tongue felt thick with ash and heat.
The final sense came with a savage whoosh. From the red stone upon my staff, flames leapt up as easily as the campfire in the woods, but with unprecedented velocity, like we'd thrown our clothes into it. Heat lapsed through my entire body, leaving me oddly winded and cold after the flames shot forward, soaring to a height well above my head – and crashed straight into my target.
The regret came instantly, washing away every bit of glee and wonder I felt at the magic. The thug let out a banal, unhinged scream as flames enveloped him, bringing him straight to the ground. Regret washed through me like the girl cast her icy magic on me, settling like a pit in my stomach, knowing that I just sentenced this man to death.
I rushed past the fallen man and hurried to the girl as she fumbled for her staff, running justifications repeatedly in my head. If we hadn't intervened, they would have done much worse to this girl. If I hadn't fought with my all, then they would likely send me to Orden in exchange for that sizeable bounty. I wouldn't be able to save Chris or Roxanne that way, not like this. As a Defender, this was my responsibility. As much as the thought repulsed me, I might have to do this repeatedly, but it would be to save others. To keep such a soul alive and in good health. I had to.
"Are you okay?" I asked when I reached her, just as her trembling hands found her staff. "I hope we arrived just in time."
Then she levelled her staff at me. I stepped back, stunned, but she cried out, "Ryoku, watch out!"
Wow, was I ever a legendary hero at this point. I clued in at the last second what she actually meant, and spun around. The girl unleashed another blast of cold energy past me as the second thug I'd been facing ran at me, club raised. I strayed awfully close to her magic, and it felt like opening a door into the dead of winter before it shot through the air toward the incoming enemy.
However, the same trick might not work all the time. He threw up a piece of a leather doublet, possibly either torn from him or his fallen friend, and the magic struck it in his stead. I heard the girl gasp behind me.
Alright, I thought, and stowed my staff away in favor of my knife again. This fight was getting old.
My last opponent fell upon me. I ducked under his oncoming assault and rammed my elbow into his chest, inciting a pained growl. His hand caught me by the shoulder and sent me to the ground. My back scraped the cobblestone. Frantically, I lashed out with my knife, but the thug danced out of the way. I jumped to my feet, readjusting my grip on my knife.
We circled around one another. I was careful not to let him past me. All it might take was one hand on the girl behind me, and this fight would be for naught. I needed to settle this.
"Hey!"
A voice came from afar. I partially turned toward the noise, but dared not look away from my opponent. An object sailed into my vision. As the thug rushed at me, my other hand unconsciously grabbed the object. Was it the lid to a trash can?
Haphazardly, I used the item to block the club, causing a resonating smack that jolted my arm. Still, it was better than taking the club straight to my arm. He struck again, once, twice. Each blow rammed the lid in my hand, and I almost lost my grip on it. Using the added defense of the lid, I lashed out with my other hand. The knife bit into skin. The thug let out a savage growl and lashed our again. I blocked with more purpose this time, using enough force that it made my enemy stagger backwards.
Getting bolder, I pushed out again with the garbage can lid. I managed to use enough force to send the man to the ground. My heart leapt up in my chest, and I lunged, forgetting my temporary shield – and stopped short.
An arm came around the thug's throat from behind, trapping him. Another arm grabbed his and broke his grip, knocking his club away. A second later, and the thug was on the ground – Will loomed over him like a hero, pinning the last enemy to the ground with the butt of his lance. His chest was rising and falling steadily, his skin flushed, his hair tousled, and a wild light in his sapphire eyes. Sira was right behind him, Sinistra steadily dripping blood from its face as she fought to catch her breath.
"It is done," Will said vehemently. "Your friends are all dead. Would you press us to have you join them?"
Instantly the thug started screaming profanities at Will, who appeared unfazed. Rather than follow through, Will stepped aside, and a pair of Harohto guards stepped in to apprehend the thug, dragging him away.
That was around when I noticed the crowd. The streets were empty last time I'd looked, but now people flocked. Women, children, and men lined every nook of the street around us. Many of them were cheering, applauding, whistling. In my focus, I'd been entirely deaf to it. Will and Sira finished off their own opponents just in time to step in. If nothing else, I could be glad I didn't have to take another life as the guards led the last thug away. He screamed bitterly, enraged, and I saw his glare long after the guards dragged him past the crowd.
"You did well, kid," Will told me, clasping my shoulder firmly. "A fair step from your bar brawl. I wonder, if I let you assist me back then, if you could have done as well as you did here."
I gave him a sheepish smile. I didn't think I did well. I just survived, barely. "I couldn't have done it without you," I told him squarely. "If the bar would have ended badly, then this would have been a horror story."
Will chuckled. "Perhaps. But it is only my job as your Guardian, my friend."
"Are you a Defender?"
The girl spoke from behind me, drawing my attention to her. She looked uneasy around all the attention, her staff still held tightly in her grip. This close, I realized she was probably around my age, dressed in a white skirt that reached her knees and a low-cut pink shirt that ruffled around her neckline. A thin pink hair band tucked most of her silvery hair from her face. Was that normal in Harohto? I'd never seen anyone close to my age with silver or white hair, except Kioru. Kioru was so strange that I'd come to accept that more readily.
"Yep, that's him," Sira replied as she approached us, looking the girl over. "We're his Guardians. He's new, but not all bad, surprisingly. What's your name?"
Coming from Sira, that was like praising my name in the streets. The young girl gave me an odd look, as though waiting for my reassurance that my friends were okay. I gave her the slightest nod. Then she said, quite softly, "M-My name is Lusari Atella. I'm... I am a mage from the Harohto Capital Magical Academy. I'm afraid I've been absent for a few weeks, though, and I'm a little rusty. I'm just glad I was able to help."
Sira nodded to her. "A mage, huh? Well you did alright out there. I'm Sira Jessura." She jabbed her thumb to Will, who was letting Sira do all the talking for some reason, his gaze somewhere else. "The guy with the spear's Willy-boy. Likes to be called Will Ramun, though, for some reason."
Will sighed, and Lusari giggled. The sound was like wind chimes. "Willy-boy it is, then."
"Please do not," Will said sheepishly, scratching his head.
"And this is our Defender, Ryoku Dragontalen," Sira introduced me by way of poking me with her thumb. "I'll let you know if I find a better name for him."
Lusari smiled at me, and curtsied. "I would eagerly await that."
The four of us turned toward the great-amassed crowd. People still cheered at us. Men whooped and sang our names in praise. I wasn't sure how knew them in the first place. I thought I saw a young girl swooning over Sira, but she retreated behind her mother's skirts. Women were fawning over Will, who absently sheathed his lance over his back and stared out over the crowd.
"Would you?" Sira asked shrewdly. "Maybe we can talk. We've been sorta lookin' for a mage, if that's something you're interested in. You handled yourself pretty well back there, and probably saved our little Defender."
Lusari blushed heavily. "A-Are you serious?"
"Only if you are," Sira replied. "But we got stuff to do. Tag along, if you want, and we'll talk. Maybe Willy-boy's the one you'll like better."
I thought Lusari looked a little timid before Will, but he was easily the friendliest among us. Moreover, had it not been for him, I might not have won in the last part of my fight.
A thought occurred to me, and I scanned the crowd. I wasn't focused, but clearly, somebody from the crowd had tossed me my makeshift shield. Without that, I wouldn't have survived a minute. I looked for signs among the sea of faces, and saw something near the back of the street. A man in a brown cloak, his white hair like snow beneath his hood. There was no mistaking it. He gave me a curt smile, and vanished into the thick of the crowd with a wave of his cloak.
We had to track him down, I realized. He was the only other one stated by name on my wanted poster. If he would just let me catch up, we could help each other!
I tried to grab Sira's attention, but she didn't follow. Instead, she grabbed my arm and thrust it into the air with hers. The crowd erupted into a rancorous cheer, jumping into the air and shouting our names.
Will came around to my other side and took my hand, mimicking Sira's motion.
"This is it, friend! The beginning of our journey – a heroic Defender and his Guardians!"
"I think you have it backwards," I murmured, but he didn't seem to hear me.
"Now we're talkin'!" Sira declared excitedly. "This is what it's gonna be like from now on! The heat of battle, the roar of a cheering crowd, prevailing over evil!"
She gave me the most gleeful, almost child-like grin I could have imagined from her. With her tone, it was almost euphoric to her. I gulped, adopting a shaky smile. What Sira found exciting only made my heart tremble. I still saw the burnt corpse of my first kill, even as guards carted off the extinguished body, and those of the men Will and Sira had killed.
If it were all to be like this, how would I ever survive?