Fighting enemies of the kingdom of Zephro was something she was used to, something she trained for, but this specific opponent, she didn't manage to win… yet. Her best friend, Ivy wondered why she even agreed to face someone like this. Sparks flared as their swords clashed, the sparks were accompanied by the essence of their power, both red, but one darker than the other. The sparks lit up the area for the split second they occurred. Ivy noticed that she was fighting with a few thoughts in mind, this reflected to her fighting, if she didn't get her head straight, things were not gonna end well. "Alloy!! What are you doing??!! If you're distracted, she'll win!!" she shouted. Alloy clashed swords one more time and the force sent both her and her opponent flying to some of the trees across the battlefield. "You're strong, girl!!" Perilius, the enemy, shouted.
"You should listen to your friend, distracted thoughts during a fight will be your downfall," she looked up at the gray clouds that floated on a sky filled with stars, it dawned on her that her time was ending. She looked back at Alloy with her new stolen sword, pointing its tip at her before lifting it up to see its blade against the moonlight. It was beautiful. Its blade's edge held a black color that shone like the stars in the light. "I like this sword," She said. "It'll help me serve the master well. The swords you make with your shadow drift don't come close to this."Over a dozen logs, cut and broken into the pieces spread around the battlefield surrounded both her and her opponent. Perilius sheathed the sword and flicked her right wrist above her head, holding a grey ball, she threw it down, upon impact, it imploded, bellowing smoke around her to which, she disappeared immediately after.
"No!! Get back here!!" Alloy exclaimed. She had sat down on the pile of rocks she was thrown to, she looked at her swords, shaped into black katanas made from Alloy's drift. The Shadow Drift. It allowed her to create solid objects she could use to fight. She settled on dual swords due to how well they fit her fighting style in the past. Being able to summon them also meant when she was done with them, through a mere thought, they would dissolve into thin air, like smoke from a dying flame. She did so, looked behind at her green haired friend and asked, "She's gone… what do we tell Soran??"
Ivy arrived to flick her finger on Alloy's cheek. Forcing her to wince in the pinch of pain she felt. "That it's your fault.""MY FAULT??!!" Alloy asked.
"Yes. You showed up out of nowhere when Lore-san was about to land the final blow to Perilius.""Well… yeah… but…"
"But?? But?? But??." Ivy replied with her usual sarcastic tone. "Look around you, this is totally justifiable. Right??"Alloy stopped her train of thought to see what Ivy was saying, aside from her clear sarcasm. She saw a bunch of people as the moonlight shone on the area. Knights of the king were splayed on the ground, some whining in pain, others completely knocked out. A few dead. She sighed with her head down. "I'll stop her next time."
"Sure you will…" Ivy added. She chuckled.
"Hey!!" A raspy old voice broke the conversation between the two friends.
A horse neighed as an old-like figure stepped down from its back. The two jumped back, startled. "S… S… S… Soran-san??!!"
"Alloy!! Ivy!! What happened here??!!"
Their expressions turned pale. Forcing them to deflate as well. Soran was the mayor of the town of Navi, and what had happened recently was the theft of his most treasured item. With Alloy's interference, they lost it to Perilius. With their heads down, Alloy, holding her left shoulder in her nervousness, spoke.
"Uh… you see… what happened was…" Ivy was better at ripping the band aid off, she stood in, immediately saying, "Perilius stole your sword… we were about to get it back, but Alloy interrupted and let her get away with it."
"I'm really so…" Alloy began.
"OUCH!!"Her apology was interrupted by a punch to her head granted by Soran. Ivy burst out laughing when she also received one.
"You're responsible for this as well!!" Soran urged."Ouch…" She said, rubbing her head. "Alloy's the one who interfered with our business!!"
"Like you didn't know that was going to happen!!" He sighed, speaking in a normal volume."That sword is special. Alloy. Ivy… It is a very rare sword, passed to us as a gift and a sign of peace from a country far away. If they ever find out we let it go… it will bring shame upon us all, your father included."
"Zed??" She said.
"CALL HIM FATHER!!" Soran demanded, hitting her head. She winced once more.
"Why??" Ivy asked. "Zed-san adopted her, she has every right to call him what sh…"
"OUCH!! STOP HITTING US!!""Call him King Zedlis-Sama!!"Alloy finally got her bearings from the beatings when the events of Soran's sword dawned on her. She held her head and began speaking.
"I'm sorry about your sword Soran-san. I'll get it back for you. I promise." He sighed. "Even if you could… my swordsman days are over for me. Still. It is important one of us wield it. Not one of those damned followers or anyone else." He gazed at a star that twinkled in the sky, noticing the horizon was near.
"Anyway, the sun will be up soon. You'd better report back to His Majesty soon, Ivy."
"Yeah. But Lore-san is still unconscious. Until he wakes up, we can't…"
A grunt was heard from among the soldiers who were beaten or cut unconscious. A short, athletic-looking, and toned woman in slimmer than usual shining silver armor had gotten up, her first words from her slightly high-pitched voice were, "The day I'm out of commission…" she pulled herself up from the ground with her hand. "Is the day I die." She walked three steps before she stood her ground in front of Ivy. Ruffling her hair. She added.
"Your commander can't die this early… who will take charge of these idiots who fell without making a single move??"
"I will." Ivy replied.
"Not like I do." Lore smiled.
"I know."
One by one, the soldiers of Zephro began waking up, standing, others laying next to the few that lost their lives. They shed tears next to the green grass that swayed left and right by the command of the wind. Some of them struggled, the blood splattered on them was heavier than most believed, than most know. Alloy and Ivy watched the scene, both of them looking at each other for a second.
"What are you looking at?!?!" They both shouted before looking away again.They felt a wave of emotion course through them. Remorse to be precise. Ivy especially, knew most, if not all of them, seeing as she was second in command for all of that squad. "We'll see to it that their families are taken care of… any less and His Majesty will punish us." Lore spoke. The wind blew loudly as Soran decided to head back into the town.
"Alloy, give my regards to Zed, tell him I will see him soon." The grey haired man with a mid-sized beard, old but still muscular body and a younger looking face than most would expect after hearing that he was a seventy two year old man. He got atop his chestnut brown horse, right on its shiny black leather saddle. Looked at both of them, the rest of the soldiers, and said. "I mourn your soldiers. May they rest in peace. Send my regards to Naja as well."
"We will!!" Alloy replied. "Say hi to Aunt Eliza!!"
"She's in Zeron. You can say hi to her when you get back."
"That's great!! I'll see her soon then!!"
"See you later!!" Ivy added. Soran waved as he and his horse left.Looking back at the soldiers, they had already placed the dead atop their horses, Ivy's Commander, Lore had decided to head back to the palace with her party, Alloy and Ivy were waiting for them to get ready. The eerie darkness that shrouded the place, along with the finally settling dust and smoke of the fight that just occurred. The duo watched as the soldiers prepared to leave. Lore was next to her knights, her dark blue hair tied back into a ponytail.
"Let's head back to the palace!!" She commanded.
"Yeah!!" The men and women atop their horses shouted in response.
"Alloy, Ivy…"
The duo mounted Ivy's ebony black horse, silver shoes below his hooves, a great black saddle that held green pillows for their comfort, its mane was exquisite, braided by both Alloy and Ivy whenever they used him to head out to the forest to watch the sun set. They both jumped on him, Ivy saying, "Hey Macha!! I told you I'd be back!!"
"Back?? Where did you go??"
"Shut up, Alloy." She said, ignoring her poor sarcasm. "Let's go, Macha!!" She flicked the reins ever so slightly and Macha began trotting along with the rest of Lore's squad. They were headed directly South from the town of Navi toward the palace. The sounds of clanging metal and trotting hooves filled the air, forcing tiny animals like squirrels on the way to move aside. Ivy led Macha through the numbers of her knights, Alloy right behind her on the same saddle. The three got to the Commander's position within seconds, what they found was a com-crystal in her hand. A simple blue crystal that everyone in the kingdom used to communicate, it was a crystal that's sensitive to drifts and foreign energies, engraved with a rune that allowed users to use their drifts to access them at will. The ones given to those who served the king directly, at least in Zephro, were encased in a small golden frame. It glowed and dimmed, like a tiny star's twinkle… if they were blue too… that is.
"Lore-san!!" Ivy called as they began trotting side by side. The glowing meant that someone was trying to reach them. It was the palace. Lore answered by using just a flicker of her drift, activating the crystal.
"ZED!! YoU… CAn'T… gO…. OUT THerE… NoW!!" They heard a voice on the other side. Soft, highly pitched but clearly motivated.
"That must be Naja" Alloy said.
"Hello??!!" Lore shouted, aware of what was going on already. "Huh??!! Oh… OH!! KING ZEDLIS-SAMA!! THEY ANSWERED!!"
"REALLY??!!" They heard a quick whoosh when the chaotic argument ended. A clear demanding voice had began speaking. The first word boomed.
"LORE!!!!"
"Yes, King Zedlis-sama!!"
Immediately, his voice changed to a concerned tone. "Are you okay?? Are your squad members okay?! Is Ivy okay?!? IS ALLOY OKAY?!?!?!?!" The more questions he asked, the louder the volume got as well. Lore began answering when the king interrupted. "You'll give me the full report when you get back. I'm sure you won't be long."
"…Yes, Sir." Lore answered. The crystal dimmed its light, turning back into the lifeless decorated rock it was on her hands. He looked at Alloy and Ivy, the two were trying to braid Macha's hair whilst Ivy rode on him. She accidentally moved the reins of the horse, making him move slightly off course. He neighed as they headed for a tree and switched back to the road. Regardless of the startle they got, they laughed. Lore sighed with a smile.
'These two will never be separated.' She thought, and they continued their journey back to the palace. "Alloy!!" She called to her. Both of them finished laughing as they looked at him in response. "How will you make up for Soran-sama's sword??"
She chuckled. "When I get it… I'll wield it as my own." She said with another chuckle and a giant smile on her face. After a bare moment of silence, the shock of her words spread through the entire squad.
"WHAT??!!??!!" They shouted.
"Are you serious?!?!" Lore asked."Yeah!!" Alloy replied.
"HUUUUHHHH?!?!?!?!" They shouted again.
"Well… he did say its important that one of us wield it. It doesn't necessarily have to be him." Ivy said.
"That twisted logic of yours surprises me every day Ivy." Lore said.
"I do my best." She replied with a smile on both hers and Alloy's faces. Lore chuckled to set the thought aside and soon enough, the shine and glimmer of the great silver palace of the kingdom of Zephro began disturbing them as it usually does. The sun hit them from their left side on the East, morning had arrived, and so did they. The yellow rays hit and reflected the silver pillars that stood between the squad and the palace. Hitting everyone's eyes as well, and bringing color to the end of one of their dark nights.
"We're here." Lore said. Her horse, Macha, and the others behind them all reining their horses to halt at the entrance. The dust cloud settled faster due to the gusts of wind felt constantly around the palace.
The Kingdom of Zephro was a beautiful and thriving country, it had four towns spread across it, all simple looking and beautiful in their simplicity. The palace ,however, was different, it was a giant silver masterpiece, crafted atop literal clouds and woven together by precise streams of lightning that flow in and out like cloth being sewn. The palace floated above a waterfall from the direct stream of the sea, making a straight line on the entire southern side of the kingdom. The first thought one would have is that the palace is secure, they would be right, except that the security begins the minute one enters a 5 km radius within a bridge that connects the land to the palace.
Lore stood in front of both silver pillars, the left one reflecting a great difference of light than the one on the right. She took out a silver crystal from a space in her armor, the size of her palm. It looked simple, silver, with carved veins of black running through it. She held it out in between the pillars, letting out a large surge of her drift through it. The cracks in between the crystal glowed blue from the dimmed black. The bridge activated.