He stood by a pool of rippling water in a small, rocky alcove near the woodlands. Clad in the rust-colored civilian garb of the time, his tousled hair falling across his cobalt eyes, the young mortal practiced the art of swordsmanship. His battered old blade felt to him like a gilded saber striking and invisible foe, as his muscles contracted with each parry and thrust. Must be strong, he thought, his chest heaving with each breath. Must...be...strong... The young man paused briefly to wipe beads of perspiration from his brow and brushed his hair out of his eyes. Strong...I want to be strong...
The landscape around him suddenly changed to an ominous obsidian color and a fierce wind began to disturb the surrounding vegetation. A figure of almost inhuman height, clothed in red robes, appeared before the determined young man, approaching him at an accelerated speed. He was the great sage Lord Rezo, the Red Priest, and the young man's grandfather/great grandfather. The priest smiled as though he were keeping some secret behind his forever-closed eyes and placed his hands upon his grandson, casting a spell of infinite power on him. The young lad screamed in horror as his skin suddenly turned to a pale aqua color and tightened, his cells hardening nearly to the point of stone. Rocky spots appeared under his eyes and over other parts of his body. The Lord Rezo smirked as a horrifying look of realization appeared in the young man's eyes.
Zelgadis awoke with a start, his chest rising and falling heavily with each breath. Damn, he thought, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Damn you, Rezo. The lavendar-haired chimera turned to see the lazily rising sun outside the rustic inn, rays of light catching the clouds and casting beams of color over the dawn. Red, green, orange, and purple dotted the horizon. He stared at the dawning sun for a moment, his eyes hardening with the anger that consumed him whenever he thought of the late priest. Zel slammed his fist into the wall, creating a rather large indentation there. Damn... He slid out of bed, his feet curling back from the cold feeling of the floorboards, and quickly dressed. He slipped out of the room and quietly exited the inn, leaving his comrades to themselves. Lina, Gourry, Amelia...they'd be angry at him for leaving, but he didn't want to burden them with his journey. They could not help.
Once Zelgadis had left the vicinity of the small village in which the inn was located, he removed the sheath covering his face and pushed back his hood, for he would not encounter many people in such a thick forest. He had a long journey to make, in order to reach his destination and turn his body back to normal. I have one lead, he thought to himself. It is a longshot, but it's the only way I know of. The Orb of the sorcerer Xanthalin. Xanthalin had been one of the most powerful of the original Mages, who had existed several thousand years ago. The Mages were worshippers of the Lord of Nightmares, and they held unlimited power. The Orb was Xanthalin's source of power. It was said that L-sama herself had given Xanthalin the Orb as a gift for his services, and the Orb encased a little of L-sama's power. However, the mysterious sorcerer had disappeared many centuries ago and was never seen again.
Zelgadis turned his eyes to the sky, the sunlight peeking through the trees and glinting off his rock-hard skin. Xanthalin had lived in the hidden duchy of Sairiis, rumored to be a few kilometers from the seaport of San Doria, in the midst of the Mountain of Tears. Shimatta, he thought. That's a damn long way to travel from here.
A harsh cry echoed throughout the forest, like the clamor of an eagle in combat. The chimera's ears pricked up and he could distinctly hear the clang of swords not far from where he stood. Zel shrugged and was about to continue on his way, when he heard barks of insult accompanied by the inclination of a female voice. He self-consciously drew his hood over his head and masked his face before lurking into the brush to investigate.
Zelgadis found a clearing below a cliff, not far from where he had previously been standing when he'd heard the raucous noise. Not surprisingly, a large group of bandits, armed to the teeth, filled the clearing. They had probably chanced upon an unarmed traveler and planned to rob the person blind, as bandits customarily do. Zelgadis glanced around for the victim before spotting a slight figure in the middle of the clearing. Damn, he thought. It's a girl. Bandits were not only notorious for robbing defenseless travelers, but also for taking advantage of defenseless young girls. The chimera took a closer look at the scene.
Well, she wasn't completely defenseless. The girl looked about sixteen or seventeen, with long copper-colored hair and an olive complexion. She wore an attire similar to that of a sorceress, but much more conservative than most sorceresses. It consisted of a rose-colored tunic, loose-fitting coal black pants, and a navy-blue hooded cloak. The girl held a saber rather uncomfortably in her two small hands, looking unsure of how to use the sword and nearly dropping it from the weight. She doesn't have a chance, Zelgadis thought. He heard one of the bandits make a few crass remarks directed at the girl, who shot back with a taunting response, her azure eyes looking at him in an amused fashion. Well, the girl's got spirit, but that isn't going to help her against them. Zel could somehow sense the girl's nervousness about facing the bandits alone. I can't just leave her with them. He silently cursed himself for having a human heart and stepped from the brush, sliding down the cliff face with ease.
"Now then, little girl, how 'bout putting aside that pathetic excuse for a weapon and letting us have our way with you?" the bandit leader suggested crudely, not yet noticing the chimera striding up behind him.
"Stuff it, zitface," the girl snarled at him.
"Why you little..." he began, but was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps crunching in the fallen leaves. The leader turned his ugly face towards the sound, perceiving the cloaked figure approaching the group.
"Excuse me, fellas," the figure calmly intoned. "I hate to break up the little party here, but I'm afraid I don't agree with your methods of treating a lady".
"Who the hell are you?" the leader snarled.
"I'm wondering quite the same thing," the girl remarked, scratching her head and leaning against her sword thoughtfully.
"Oh, I'm no one, really," Zelgadis replied through his mask, shrugging indifferently. "Just a passer-by". The brigands gripped their swords tighter, facing the new opponent. There was a strained silence as the chimera sized up the offenders. Zel's ankle tendons tensed imperceptibly before releasing, and he sprung off the soil with all the grace of a panther, unsheathing his saber with ease and skillfully slashing through several bandits before they'd noticed he'd left the ground. He landed softly in the grass beside the surprised bandit leader and neatly cleaved him in two, then leaped away. Zelgadis stood in front of the girl, a glint of humour in his eye, for these ruffians were no match for him.
"Sugoi na!" Zel glanced over his shoulder to see the young femme sprawled on the ground, scribbling furiously on a roll of parchment and muttering to herself excitedly. "The mysterious warrior, his identity unknown to the radiant young maiden, appeared from the heavens to rescue her from the clutches of the malevolent thieves..." The chimera sweatdropped profusely, then turned to cut down another of the attacking bandits. The girl continued to write. "And he with his glinting steel rapier, the silver-tongued devil..."
"Hey, wait a minute," Zel protested, blasting the brigands with a fireball. "'Silver-tongued devil'?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "Hush. It's called poetic license, genius. This is going to make a great tale!" She bent over her parchment scrolls once more. "With his swift and sure strokes, the cloaked - hey!!" The scrolls were kicked aside by the ensuing bandits, who were attacking Zelgadis from behind. The girl watched as her precious scriptures were trampled and ground into the dirt, her face growing furious. "You've ruined my scrolls! The items which I breather life into and have devoted myself to!!"
"Shut up and get back," Zel told her harshly, cutting down several more bandits. "Let me handle this".
She snorted derisively. "Feh. Not after they destroyed my scrolls!" The girl bowed her head for a moment, her tresses of hair falling over her eyes. Zelgadis blinked, wondering what she was doing. She mumbled something under her breath and lifted her cerulean eyes to the brigands, grinning rather obviously. Her eyes flashed purple for a moment before... "Mega Brando!!!" At the snap of her fingers, she'd burnt all of the bandits to a crisp. Zelgadis looked on incredulously as she nodded proudly to herself and smirked. "Serves them right".
The chimera slid his sword back into its sheath and glared at her. "Why didn't you do that in the beginning?!"
She sweatdropped, looking sheepish. "Um...well, actually...I sorta sensed you coming and thought that a daring rescue would make a good story..."
Zel facefaulted. "Just for that you make me go out of my way and endanger myself?"
The girl shrugged indifferently. "Ah, you weren't in any real danger. And besides, you're a sorcerer. You could've healed yourself back up easily, right?"
He facevaulted again. "That's not the point..." he mumbled, picking himself off the ground. His mask slipped a little, revealing most of his face, and the girl's eyes widened. Zelgadis mistook the look on her face for one of horror and turned away, drawing his hood tighter around him.
"Um...you wouldn't happen to be...are, are you...Zelgadis Greywers?"
He blinked, surprised. "Nani?"
She clasped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, you are him! How lucky of me to find you!" The girl bowed her head respectfully, her copper locks bouncing after her and smiled. She was really rather pretty, in a striking sort of way. "My name is Solanna Chamier. I'm a traveling scribe and a part-time sorceress. I know this might sound kind of weird, but...um, you're probably going off on some exciting adventure now, right?"
"Maybe".
Solanna grinned. "Sugoi! Um...do you think I could tag along with you?" she asked hesitantly. Sensing a negative answer from him, she began to blurt out reasons. "Well, I mean, all great warriors need scribes to write down their escapades, right? And...I'm not really that annoying andIcouldprobablytakecareofmyselfinafightandIpromisenottogetinyourwayso...can I go?" she finished.
Zel blinked at her, sweatdropping rather profusely. "You're a peculiar girl," he commented.
"Hai!" she agreed. "So I can come?" Before he could answer, she grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "Great! So, where to first?" Zelgadis could only stare at her, eyes wide in shock, and sweatdrop.
'For many a moon the young scribe and her esteemed companion had traveled, and finally chanced upon a small village in the midst of a great forest. The pair knew not well each other, but they dined in each other's company at a rustic inn, aged like the ancient lords whom live beyond the sea of chaos', Solanna wrote diligently onto a new roll of parchment. She paused briefly and tapped the quill pen against her smooth chin, then noticed Zel looking over her shoulder.
"'Many a moon'? We've only been traveling for a few days! And 'sea of chaos'?"
She waved her hand dismissively at him. "Hush. It's poetic license, Zel. And don't read over my shoulder".
Zelgadis went back to his seat at the table and gnawed on a piece of mutton thoughtfully while Solanna continued to scrawl. She'd followed him around for an entire day, begging him to let her travel with him, before he'd finally given in. It was actually kind of nice to have someone along for the journey, and Zel was a little relieved that he wasn't going to be alone for it. He often grew into phases of depression when he was alone, and he didn't feel all that comfortable around people due to his appearance. It was for this reason that he needed friends like Lina and Gourry, and even little Amelia and Sylphiel. And Solanna...she was an odd girl. She devoted herself to her writing, even though she showed supreme potential as a sorceress and probably could excel as a warrior if she took the time to train. She was very talkative and opinionated, but not so much to the point that he wanted to strangle her like he sometimes did Lina and Amelia. In fact, he found her tenor voice a rather nice change compared to the high-pitched sopranos of the other two.
He'd gathered from their conversation that she was an orphan but had been brought up by her beloved Aunt Pol with her cousins. She had gone through more formal schooling than most girls did, probably due to the fact that her grandfather was a philosopher. Solanna and one of her cousins had been apprenticed to an old sorcerer named Garavim when they'd both reached the age of thirteen, but the old man had died about a year later, leaving the two with an incomplete knowledge of sorcery. However, they excelled at the spells they did know and decided to leave their village and do some exploring of the rest of the world. The two had apparently gotten themselves into a lot of scrapes and adventures together before the cousin, Talmara, had decided to marry herself off.
Zel leaned back in his chair. He'd taken it upon himself to teach Solanna some swordfighting, since she didn't even know what kind of sword she should be using. He'd also begun to instruct her in magic, since she only knew a few attacks and could barely cast a minor healing spell. In a way, he'd sort of apprenticed her. Allowing her to tag along hindered him, however. Zelgadis's body allowed him to go without food, sleep, or water for longer periods of time; and he could run all day without becoming too tired. Solanna was only human; she needed more rest and food than he, although she claimed that a spoonful of sugar could keep her going for days.
The young scribe finished her writing for the day and folded up her parchment, tucking it safely into her cloak. She yawned and stretched, leaning back precariously in her chair. "Oy, that took too long. My hand feels like - waauuuggh!!" she exclaimed as her chair toppled over backwards and she went crashing to the floor. Zelgadis peered over the table at her and stifled a laugh. "Don't say it," she warned him, picking herself up off the ground and flushing with embarrassment. Zel kept his comments to himself, but couldn't hide an amused grin. Solanna glared at him darkly. "Check, please!"
The home of the Metalliums was exquisite, furnished in the dark and rather gloomy tastes of its dwellers. One room in particular reflected the exact personality of them, with ebony and crimson tapestries, mahogany furniture, and an overall air of mystery. In this room sat the Trickster Priest himself, a goblet of red wine in his hand an a musing expression on his face. On the desk in front of him stood a mystical crystal ball, of the kind used to spy on other beings. Not that he needed such methods, of course. Xelloss swirled the wine around in his glass thoughtfully as he watched his favorite group of humans in the crystal. "Interesting," he said to himself. "It seems that our dear old Zelgadis has skipped out on his friends". 'Much to the dismay of my dear Lina,' he added silently, noting the furious look on Lina's face. "I wonder what the old sport's up to..." The Mazoku changed the scene in the crystal without so much as a flick of the wrist. An image of the chimera appeared in the crystal ball, walking at a quick pace through one of the many lush forests in the world, a copper-haired girl struggling to keep up with him.
Xelloss leaned forward suddenly. "Now that's interesting..." the priest commented, sizing up the young girl. He sensed an incredible amount of untapped power emanating from her, similar to his own power. It was extremely well-hidden, and he might not have detected it had he not been looking for something out of the ordinary. He stroked his chin thoughtfully and wondered if he would perhaps use this bit of information to his advantage. "Such a girl could prove useful to me". Xelloss glanced at the wall next to him, adjacent to the room in which the Beastmaster usually resided at this time of day. Zelas Metallium would most definitely want to know about this recent discovery. However, the Trickster Priest was not about to let his master in on this little secret until he knew exactly who this girl was and why her power was so strong. "I believe I'll have to keep an eye on these two for awhile".
Solanna hurried to keep up with her fast-moving companion, whom had unwisely chosen a route over the most rugged part of the forest. Although the sharp, craggy rocks poking through the soil and the steep, winding pathways gave the land a certain charm, they made walking a true nuisance. While Zelgadis had no problems traversing the rugged terrain, Solanna had already tripped and fallen several times, much to the chimera's amusement. She grumbled a few rather unpleasant things under her breath, causing his eyes to widen at the colorful language. "Watch it, Sol. Tsk, tsk".
She told him where he could go, accentuating the statement by tripping over a large tree root and landing flat on her face. "The hell with this! Levitation!!" Upon finding that traveling by air was easier than traveling by foot, she pulled out her scrolls and parchments and updated her story as she went along. Zel rolled his eyes and sweatdropped. "Don't say it, Zel," she warned him. "Not a word".
He gave her an innocent look. "Who, me?"
There was a short silence. "You know, Zel...I've been wondering something. I know you're on your way to the port city of San Doria, but you never told me why. Even though it's not really any of my business, what's in San Doria that you need to get to so quickly?"
Ah. Here we go. Zel had been expecting her to ask that one time or another. He cleared his throat. "There's a legend...about a hidden city called Sairiis. Perhaps you've heard of it. The sorcerer Xanthalin once lived there, and it is rumored that he left a great source of power behind".
Solanna blinked. "You're going after Mage Xanthalin's Orb? But why?"
Zelgadis sighed and glanced at his feet. "I want to change my body back to normal. I'm sure if I had that kind of power, the power of the Lord of Nightmares, it could be possible".
"What for?" Solanna asked. "You're fine the way you are now. Probably better, actually, since you can't be easily killed and your magic is so much stronger. It's not like Lord Rezo turned you into a monster or anything". She grinned devilishly at him as he threw her a disgusted look. "And besides," she added. "If you do get your body back to normal, what will you do then? Where will you go?" There was a silence, and Zelgadis declined from answering her. Solanna sighed and threw her hands into the air. "Leave it to a man to never think things through completely..."
Zel snorted. "And I suppose women are just the epitome of perfection, then?"
Solanna floated past him, hands folded behind her head. "Naturally. And of course I am the best example of it," she boasted, not noticing the tree branch rushing up to greet her. WHACK!!
Her companion tried not to laugh, but lost the battle and snickered anyway. "Oh, that was rich," he taunted, ignoring the dirty look Solanna gave him. "Very graceful, Sol."
"Jerk".
"Clutz".
Darkness settled over the ever-ominous forest, the only light stemming from a few insolent fireflies and from the tiny fire that slowly died in the midst creators. Solanna poked at the embers with a stick, hugging her knees to her chest and listening Zel contemplate just how they were going to find the hidden city of Sairiis. His voice was very soft and soothing, almost enchanting. Like a whisper of wind among the leaves. Solanna shook her head and smiled to herself. "Now don't be thinking like that," she scolded herself.
"Thinking like what?" Zel asked curiously.
She flushed, realizing that she'd been speaking aloud. "Uh...never mind". Zel shrugged and continued, his voice covering up the sound of rustling in the bushes behind him.
Two dark shapes retreated from the bushes, their lean shapes stealing silently into the night. The larger shape growled in an amused fashion and turned to the other. "Looks like we've got competitors for the Orb," it commented in a heavily accented, distinctly masculine voice.
The smaller shape smiled, white fangs visible even in that blackness. "Only makes it more fun," it purred softly, effeminately. "Do you suppose we should alert the Anointed One?"
The two had reached a secluded area in the forest. The larger shape stepped into the path of the moonlight, revealing itself to be a humanoid male, tall and muscular with white-blond hair. He wore loose-fitting black leather pants and a matching jacket, with a white shirt underneath that showed off his nicely-developed muscles. "Let's not, Dru. I hate taking orders from that bloody brat anyway, don't you?"
The smaller shape put her arms around him, her dark hair brushing against his cheek. She wore a dress of crimson and black, the bodice tight and low-cut. "Of course, Spike dear. And this way we'll have an edge on him and the others, right?"
Spike looked at her, feigning surprise. "Why, pet, do you truly think me to be a traitor?" Both smiled, and Dru ran her hands over his chest in a seductive way, careful to avoid piercing his skin with her lengthy nails. He looked at her again, vaguely interested. "Do you want to play, pet?"