Zelgadis gasped for air, leaning heavily on the hilt of his sword, sweat dripping of his chin and nose. The sunlight drifted lazily through the canopies of the trees that sheltered his tiny, hidden alcove, the wind shifting the leaves and gently tossing at his wild dark hair. Unseen, a figure watched the young man.
He collapsed to his knees, his blade falling to the dirt with an audible thud. Resting his hands on his thighs, Zelgadis squeezed his eyes shut to push back his tears of frustration that threatened to spill.
I need to become stronger! Stronger! I have to beat Cephalus! I have to be stronger than him if she'll ever come to me! If I will ever be known as more than 'that quiet, weird ol' Zel' in this blasted world!
His hands clenched involuntarily, nails biting deep into his palms and drawing blood. It isn't fair! I knew her long before Cephalus ever saw her. I cared for her long before Cephalus ever came to the village. How could have she done this to me? I-I ... loved ... her ...
"I challenge you to the right of Lilandra's love, Zelgadis!"
Zelgadis slowly stood from his seat at the White Candle Inn's bar, his eyes of brilliant jade narrowing on the challenger. Cephalus was a tall, handsome, and solidly built man, an ex-mercenary that had settled into the village of Kyrma. He had been the village's mystery for the six months that he had been here, as well as the object of many girls' affections.
"What right?" Zel shot back dangerously. He was a soft-spoken young man, serious and rarely given to humor. Now his caressing voice sliced sharply through the suddenly quiet inn.
"Every right!" Cephalus bellowed, laughing. He stepped aside. "As you can see, you pathetic pipsqueak, I have every right to her love!"
Lilandra's soulful brown eyes gazed at Zelgadis almost sadly from where she had been behind Cephalus.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, meaning it. "I never meant for this to happen, but ... it just did."
Zelgadis shook his head in denial, his fingers curling up against the grainy wood of the bar.
"Are you scared, you ugly peasant?" Cephalus mocked. "Aren't you going to fight me for her?"
"I want a strong man, Zel," Lilandra told him softly, apologetically. "I need one. If you can beat him, Zel, then we could still be together."
He should've just let it go. He should've just forgotten her, let Cephalus have the damn girl. Then, perhaps, everything would've been fine.
But love is blind. And love just drains the wits straight out the head.
Zelgadis stepped away from the bar. "I'm not scared. And you have no right to her. She is mine."
Cephalus laughed boisterously. "Then step outside, little man, and back up your words with steel."
Zelgadis brushed past Cephalus out into the muddy road on that wet morning that would decide the course for the rest of his life.
I was sorely beaten. More than sorely beaten, more than whipped. He trashed me! Rubbing my face into the mud like a dog! He hung his head. Everyone lost the little respect they had for me yesterday. I never had a chance to fight back. All he did was play with me and then trashed me. She wanted to laugh at me, I could see. But I can't believe that. I can take everyone laughing at me, but not her. Oh, gods, not her. They had to drag me out of there like a dead animal. And the laughter ... and her ...
"I loved her," he whispered, lifting his head. Forcing his hands to unclench, he picked up his sword and held it out before him, studying the blade. The light glimmered off steel, reflecting across his determined face.
"I must become stronger," he declared. "Not only for her, but for me. Me, the oddball and laughing-stock of the town."
He slowly stood, ignoring the protest of his aching muscles. Taking a deep breath, he began to go through the training exercises that he had learned as a child.
Unnoticed by him, the forest chimed bells and blind eyes watched.
Zel parried against an imaginary enemy and rolled to the ground, hopping nimbly on his feet near a tall, weed-choked embankment, his sword blade biting deep into the hard wood of a fallen log. The bells chimed through the forest once more, loudly, scaring a few birds from the canopies. Suprised, Zelgadis whirled around , staring at the red crystal thrust into his face.
His eyes travelled up, past the crystal and a metal crest entwined with loose metal rings, past the long narrow pole, past the hand that held it, and finally rested on the serene, placid face the Red Priest. The wind gently ruffled through the Red Priest's hair, similar to Zel's, yet not as unruly. His eyes held Zel's own through the closed lids.
Rezo, the Red Priest, blind since birth, one of the Five Great Wisemen of the Realm. . .
"You want to become strong, don't you, Zelgadis?" The voice was gentle and deep, as calm as a sunny day.
My grandfather and great-grandfather ...
"Help me find the Philosopher's Stone and I can give you power beyond imagination."
What is he doing here? What does he want with me? Why is he offering me ... ?
"You do not want it?"
Zelgadis hesitated and then drew back slightly.
A slight smile crossed Rezo's face. "Are you sure? You will get this strength from no one but me. It will change you utterly."
Zel bit his lip. He's right. He, the Red Priest, the one who performs miracles in the name of White Magic, is perhaps the only one I know that is powerful enough to grant what I wish. And with this power I can finally achieve what I want ...
His eyes still fixed on the face of his great/grandfather, Zelgadis dipped his head in accordance.
"A wise choice, Zelgadis." A light glimmered deep within the crystal on the end of Rezo's staff. Zel's eyes glided to the gleam, fascinated by the way it sparkled within the deep red depths.
The world exploded into ugly slashes of crimson light.
The young man cried out in surprise as the tendrils of light snaked around His limbs, sinking into his flesh. A dull, prickling sensation tickled just beneath his skin, like the healing itch one feels when the body is mending itself. Zelgadis staggered back a few paces, blinded by the brilliant red, stumbling to the ground.
And then, just as quickly as it came, the light faded away.
Zelgadis opened his eyes, panting and shaking. He sat on the ground for several moments, trying to orient himself. He noticed that his eyesight seemed to have improved; everything was clearer than before, every detail exact. His gaze landed on the tall form of the Red Priest. Rezo dug the butt of his staff into the earth, the rings on it jingling.
"It is done," the wizard intoned, a smile of pure amusement on his face. "Now come, so that you will help me upon my quest."
Zelgadis jumped to his feet, surprised by the vigor in his slender limbs and the speed at which it was done. Delighted, he stepped forward and put out a hand to climb the embankment.
And stopped, dead cold. Trembling.
His hand was no longer the color of his pale flesh. It was a pale green- blue, like the color of light ocean water. Hard, blue bumps, like the barnacles that covered the docks at sea, dotted his skin, as if he were a leper. Numbly, he touched his skin and the ridges with his other hand, also similarly afflicted. The skin was cold, and as hard as stone.
Sluggishly and with fear, Zelgadis tentatively felt his face. Same as his hands--the ridges, the hard, cold skin . . . His ears were now pointed, like a monster from hell, and his hair felt coarse and wilder than ever.
Slowly, he lowered his arms, his eyes fixed ahead.
What happened to me? What ... am I? WHAT AM I?!!!!!!?
Yellow lines striped across his vision as anger boiled within him. Deep inside, a temper that had never existed before erupted into flames.
"What have you done to me, Rezo?!" Zelgadis shrieked, his emerald eyes flashing up to his great/grandfather. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!!?"
"You are now part human, demon, and golem." Rezo turned his serene face to the heavens, a peaceful, almost kindly smile crossing his lips. "I gave you what you wanted, Zelgadis--power."
"You've made me into a chimera! I'm a monster!"
The Red Priest chuckled softly, whirling away, red robe flying. He tapped the end of his staff against a fallen log, the beads chiming. "That is the price of power," he replied softly, derisively. The air around him shifted and twisted as the wizard prepared to teleport.
"No!" Zel shouted, climbing up to Rezo. "You can't leave me this way! Don't you dare leave me this way!!"
Rezo suddenly spun around, his normally calm face twisted in fury. "You are now my creation. You work for me!" He swung his staff in front of him, the red crystal atop glowing a brilliant red. "Don't ever forget that, monster!"
The crystal flared, shooting out a beam of crackling energy. Zelgadis screamed in surprise, hiding his face with his arms in a pathetic attempt to protect himself. The fiery bolt slammed into his slender body, permeating his entire being with a sharp, burning pain. As the blast smashed him into a tree, his skull cracked sharply against the unyielding bark. Tiny lights swarmed in his vision as the magic fizzled away.
There was a soft whisper of robes as Rezo stepped into Zel's vision, looking down on the creature that was once his great/grandson. Zelgadis lifted his head groggily, peering at the figure in robes as red as blood through the field of dancing lights that clouded his vision.
"You are now my creation," the Red Priest repeated in his serene, unruffled voice. "You may now be a being of great power and invincible to the common man, but I can destroy you as easily as I can breathe. Do not cross me again."
Darkness slowly descended over Zel's mind, but he struggled to push it back.
Rezo turned around, studying his newest acquisition over his shoulder with his closed eyes. "You wish to know what is truly funny, Zelgadis? You yearned to be strong and powerful so that you can earn respect from the people in that small village and from a girl that you love. But now, you will never have these things. Not how you are."
"But that is the price of power."
Zelgadis groaned, his body twitching as if he was wishing that he could throttle the Red Priest right now. Instead, his eyes rolled back in their sockets and his head fell forward. He had fainted.
After not hearing anything for several moments, Rezo shook his head in wry amusement. "You will learn. There is a price for everything."
The air shimmered a faint crimson, and Rezo disappeared into night.