A Symphony of Unfulfilled Hearts and Shattered Souls

[Zantetsuken]

The wind blew deeply through the forests at the base of the Horogen Mountains blowing the leaves to the breaking point as the dust swirled in tiny circles amoungst the twigs and small patches of weeds and grass. It was as if it was an ill omen warning those who dared to venture northward that ill times were ahead and a journey forward should not be taken lightly. The spoils were truly unknown for non who ventured upwards had ever returned to share in the wealth and bask in the glory. Many men ventured upwards only to become skeletons amongst the path, like demonic totems to ward off simple weak mind fools.

History also told of grand armies marching up into the mountains, with only muttering, terrorized souls returning unable to speak of the horrors that happened. Needless to say that when a group of people decided they would try their hand at the mountain, strong words of discouragement would rise from the nearby townsfolk. The Horogen Mountains was nicknamed Death's Cradle. It was these mountains that the Saint of Swords, a Drunken Wanderer, and a traveling Swordswoman would brave.

Karel's eyes narrowed as the wind blew upon his body, his trench coat offering very little protection against the cold chill of the wind. A few steps behind him was his love, Rebecca Priam, and Sheex Deltin brought up the rear, muttering something about how cold it was. Karel was not a hundred percent sure why he exactly wanted to brave these mountains, but the last place he saw Vladimir's airship fly was towards these mountains, and the nearby peasantry only confirmed they saw the airship fly into the mountains. No matter what Karel thought his mind wandered to Vladimir, and so he decided to find him and take him on.

Vladimir Sigma, wielder of the Masamune, and Husband to Karel's sister. He was not only Karel's rival, but possibly the only man in existence that Karel felt he truly hated to every sense of the word. It took a sick perverted man to take the word revenge and go beyond it. It took a seriously twisted man to take well over 1600 dragons and set them loose upon the Black Archipelago turning it from the grassy thriving land into a barren ashen home for the beasts. But worst of all in Karel's mind was that he now was expecting a son, Karel's nephew. The very thought that Vlad was related to him hurt, but the fact that his blood mixed with Karel's was unbearable.

Karel's deep seeded brooding was quickly interrupted when a small, slender hand rubbed Karel's shoulder. He turned, giving a very weak smile.

"Oh come on Karel," Sheex said dryly. "You call that a smile?" Rebecca smiled sweetly as Sheex rushed forward getting behind Karel. Karel looked into Rebecca's ocean blue eyes and felt a deep connection from them. Suddenly his face felt two cold hands, mainly two fingers, pull upon Karel's lips forcing the Sword Saint to smile. Rebecca let out a soft laugh as Karel elbowed Sheex away.

"See!" Sheex said defiantly. "Look at her! Now she wants you!" Karel swung wildly with his fist, but the wanderer jumped away easily. "Tsk Tsk," he lifted but a single finger accusingly. "Must things always end in violence?"

"Yes Karel," Rebecca said pushing Karel teasingly. "You need to learn to have fun!" Karel laughed very lightly, his eyes looking at the fall sky. It was turning a beautiful orange. He remembered the nights he had with his sister back on Black Isle, starring at the sky waiting to see the first sign of stars in the endless sky.

"By the way Karel..." Sheex said confidently. "There's something I have been meaning to give you, really important and I don't think it can wait any longer..." Karel eyed Sheex suspiciously, who in return offered a genuine smile as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a flask.

"Really, what's that?" Karel asked. Sheex took a sip before dropping his smile and punching the Sword Saint in the face, square on the jaw, knocking the Saint of Swords into the air backwards.

"THAT'S FOR PUTTING ME THROUGH ALL THAT HELL IN BLACK ISLE!"

[Sheex]

Sheex was not a fighter by nature. He did not really enjoy picking fights, namely because more often then not Sheex would end up the loser in most of them. That being said, when someone took a punch square in the face, it tended to hurt no matter who it was from. The Saint Of Swords was no exception to this rule.

“Well check it out. I just whooped me a Saint Of Swords. Guess that makes me the best there is, eh Rebecca?” Sheex said with a grin as he flexed his muscles playfully as Rebecca looked on with a mild look of shock. Staring at her, Sheex had to admit that Karel had fine taste in women. So did Sheex, because he was the one who had managed to get the two together. Alas, such was the fate of Sheex Deltin to always stare at the women in front of him, and never his actual foe. It was an easy matter for Karel to scissor kick Sheex’s legs right out from under him.

“You act as if I wanted those dragons to wipe my home off the face of Althanas!” Karel screamed as he began to rise to his feet. Not one to be out done, Sheex quickly sprang to his own knees and dove headfirst into Karel’s chest. The end result was the two men wildly rolling down a nearby hill, throwing wild punches and cussing all the while.

“I nearly got my head bit off by a damn dragon! Twice!” Sheex screamed as he swung a wild punch at Karel, only to miss and connect with the solid green earth below. Ever the wise warrior, Karel quickly raised his knee into Sheex’s gut, instantly knocking the wind from Sheex’s chest.

“And I didn’t? You act as if I sat back while you did all the work!” Karel responded as he rolled on top of Sheex, only to receive a swift elbow in his ribs for his actions. The process repeated itself until the two reached the bottom of the hill, both covered in dirt and a good twenty feet or so from their original starting point.

“All I know is you got a beautiful woman at your side, and I got nothing! When is Sheex going to get his due Karel? When the hell is my payday? When is it Sheex’s turn to stroll in the sunlight arm and arm with the beautiful maiden?” Sheex shouted as the two got two their feet, ready for action. Sheex was the first to make a move with a wild kick at Karel’s knee, only to watch as Karel’s hands moved with lighting speed and caught the kick before it hit. It was an easy matter for Karel to then fling Sheex to the ground.

“Maybe when you grow up and start acting responsible. How can a woman love a man who comes and goes with the wind?” Karel muttered as he wiped the sweat of his forehead and stared at Sheex, who simply lay with his back on the ground staring up at the setting sun. The man was grinning.

“In this life, men have many responsibilities. With them come many privileges. As the Saint Of Swords, you are granted the privilege of great power, but also the responsibility of using that power properly. I am a simple wanderer. As such, I have given up many of the privileges entitled to me, so that I may do away with those responsibilities. In return for this, I am granted the one thing that eludes you. Freedom.” The second Sheex finished his statement (which left Karel quite wide-eyed, for Sheex was not known for his serious moments); Sheex instantly sprang to his feet and tossed a cloud of dirt into Karel’s eyes. Karel coughed violently as he swiped blindly through the dust, only to barely catch the shoulder of Sheex as he rushed towards him.

“Coming and going like the wind is the greatest feeling ever! Ladies love the mysterious stranger in a black coat! Why don’t you try it some time and leave Rebecca to me?” Sheex laughed as both he and Karel collapsed to the ground once more. Karel quickly placed his right foot into Sheex’s stomach and quickly flipped the wanderer through the air.

“You wish wanderer!” Laughed Karel as both of the men finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted from their battle. As the two lay laughing and staring at the sun above, the slim figure of Rebecca appeared in both of their visions. She was grinning as she leaned over the two men.

“Are you two done yet? I swear, you two will never grow up.” Rebecca said with a laugh as she helped her love to his feet. Sheex received no offered hand of help at the moment, so he chose to lay on his back and stare at the sunset while Karel tried to defend his actions.

“Hey, it’s not like it’s my fault! He attacked me! I only fought in self-defense!” Karel exclaimed as Rebecca just shook her head.

“Karel, you may act mature and serious, but Sheex brings out the kid in you. He brings out the kid in us all. And that’s why we love him.” Rebecca then turned towards Sheex and offered him a helping hand up. Sheex gripped it, momentarily enjoying the feel of the silk-like skin that Rebecca possessed. Karel was a lucky man indeed.

“Careful who you call a kid Rebecca. Cause if Karel is a kid, I guess that makes you a pedophile, doesn’t it?” Sheex asked with a huge grin on his face. This time, it was not Karel but rather Rebecca who managed to toss Sheex to the ground once more.

“And the violence continues! You two are made for each other! Never have I seen a couple so happy picking on someone weaker than they are. That someone being me, of course.” Sheex said as he picked himself up and dusted off his trench coat. Rebecca smiled as did Karel, although Rebecca’s smile was a bit bigger. But that was okay, Rebecca had been a tough nut to crack, but Sheex had worn her down. He was certain he could do the same to Karel.

“And I’ve never seen someone take such joy from being picked on.” Rebecca said as she leaned forward and gently traced her finger across the smile on Sheex’s face. Sheex, who indeed had a smile of his very own on at the moment, shrugged his shoulders, and adjusted his coat before turning back towards the road.

“Before I put the two of you together, Rebecca was ice cold and Karel was much the same. But now you’re as giddy as a couple of school kids at a prom. And we all know what that leads to. Karel, I bet if we hurry we can catch a late dinner and then…well, maybe I’ll take a walk while you two have some quite time together. Although I doubt the two of you are very quiet…” Karel laughed and Rebecca playfully kicked Sheex in the knees as the three began to walk towards the town was more. All in all, it was a rather happy scene and a rather happy story.

But all happy stories must come to an end, and the tale of Karel Hector Raven, Rebecca Priam, and Sheex Deltin is no exception.

[Disillusioned]

“COME ON TROY! YOU CALL THAT A SMILE?” Regal shouted as the flat part of Troy’s blade crashed against a man’s neck, effectively finishing the match. The surrounding crowd let out a cheer as Troy sheathed his sword while his opponent struggled to return to his feet. It was a useless gesture on the fallen man’s part, for the match was already over.

The salty air brushed against Troy’s face, gently coursing through his hair and causing his brown cape to flutter about. Troy had always liked the sea, and the port of this city had an ample view of the blue body of water. It was a rather large city, and as such it was busy and the docks were no exception. Many boats, both big and small, dotted the harbor. On the stone walkway that Troy stood, several people had gathered to watch the upcoming match.

“Well done Troy! Course, I would’ve finished the man off. In fact, I’d be more than happy to take over for ya. Free of charge.” Regal shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd and towards what a person might call his friend. Troy simply nodded at Regal as he approached while the wounded man was dragged off by his friends.

“I know you would have finished him off. That’s why I offered to fight him. The duel wasn’t to the death.” Troy reminded the man as Regal frowned at him. Regal Burnswidth was known as the Sword Demon for a reason, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out just exactly what that reason was.

“The only way to test one’s true skill is to fight to the death. By the way, winners usually do smile.” Regal said sarcastically as Troy just shrugged in response. The two men had been traveling together for some time now, and Troy had smiled for very little of it. Then again, Troy smiled very little for most of his life.

“We should go collect our prize money. That’s our ticket money, after all.” Troy stated as Regal patted him on the shoulder and took off towards the edge of the crowd. There, a relatively large man was scratching his head; for it wasn’t very often that his man lost these fights. After all, that was why the fat man kept good fighters around. So that they could win him more money.

“Well, looks like you lost. Guess that means you owe us some cash.” Regal said as he reached the man, who had begun to head for the exit of the docks. The man stopped in his tracks and scratched his nearly bald head as Regal tapped his foot impatiently.

“Well, the thing is…” The fat man began to stutter as Regal just glared at the man. Without saying a word, Regal quickly brushed back his gray coat, revealing the katana tucked away there. If given the chance, Regal would have happily cut the man down at that moment, right in the middle of the crowd.

“There’s not any problem here, is there Regal?” Troy said softly as he suddenly emerged from the crowd, walking up from behind the fat man. Realizing he was trapped, the fat man dropped his shoulders and held up a small leather pouch that Regal quickly snatched up.

“Thank you. You wouldn’t happen to have any more undefeatable swordsmen you’d like to test, would you? We can even up the ante. I’d happily play for blood.” Regal sneered as he tossed the bag of gold up and down. The fat man simply shook his head and scrambled off into the mass of people moving about the dock.

“I think you scared him.” Troy said softly as Regal just let out a sinister laugh. Several members of the crowd turned to stare at the two men, but most people just kept walking on. They had seen stranger things then two men, one with a look of defeat in his eyes and the other with a look of permanent hunger for blood.

“Fat greedy men deserved to be picked on. It’s practically a rule.” Regal responded as Troy just shrugged (which was Troy’s usual response to almost anything Regal said). Together the two men headed towards one rather large ship that was still docked in the harbor, although the crew looked like they were preparing to get the ship ready to sail.

“So, do you really think you’ll find your sister at wherever it is we’re going?” Regal asked as the two men found themselves at the end of a line. Up ahead, a member of the crew was collecting gold for passage aboard the ship.

“It’s the best lead I’ve got so far. You don’t need to come of course.” Troy said, to which Regal just shook his head. The two men had been traveling for quite some time now, and although neither were about to admit it, the two had begun to get use to each other’s company.

“Are you kidding? When I’m around you, there are always plenty of people to test my blade against. What more could I ask for? By the way, when do you think I’ll get to cut something? You took all the fun from that prize fight back there.” Regal asked as Troy just stared at the man. Most people did not actively seek out battles, but then again Regal was not exactly like most people. Then again, neither was Troy.

“The cave of skeletons wasn’t enough for you?” Troy asked, and Regal just shook his head.

“Nah. Mindless skeletons aren’t much of a challenge.” Regal responded as the line slowly moved forward.

“And the island filled with hundreds of dragons, burning in flames? Or were those dragons mindless as well?” Troy questioned. Regal just shook his head once again.

“No, but we weren’t there that long. We didn’t have time to enjoy ourselves.” Troy shook his head at the man beside him. Regal’s bloodlust was practically insatiable. Although Troy did have to give the man credit, it wasn’t as if the man ran around town killing anything in his path. God help the person who decided to draw a sword on Regal though.

“Okay, how about that asylum we ended up breaking out of? Plenty of human foes with swords, and plenty of killing.” Troy looked at his own sword with eyes full of sadness as he spoke. He had killed plenty of people at that last place just like Regal had, although Troy took no joy in killing. He knew very well how bloody his hands were, and he hated himself for it.

“Yeah, and that was fun and all, but too long ago. I need something to fight now.” Regal said as the two men reached the boarding plank to the ship. There, a crewman had out a large book placed on a table, and Regal handed over the pouch of gold troy had recently won.

“Thank you. And your names gentlemen?” The crewman asked as he finished counting the gold and picked up the pen next to the book. It was standard procedure to take down the names of any person wanting passage aboard a ship, and this ship was no exception.

“Troy Priam. And don’t worry Regal. I’m sure with my luck, you’ll get your wish in no time.” Muttered Troy softly as he stared at the ship with his ice blue eyes. For months now Troy had been searching for his lost sister, and he hoped that he was getting closer. Then again, hope was not something that was abundant in Troy’s life. In fact, all but one single ray of hope had been extinguished.

Troy had abandoned his home, as well as his family. Yet that didn’t mean that he didn’t love his family, or his home. Somewhere along the line, he had just drifted away. But as chance would have it, fate had whispered in his ear the location of his sister, who had also left her home albeit for completely different reasons. Troy could no more pass up a chance at seeing her once more than he could cease to breath.

The only question that remained was would fate allow him this one last request, or would it extinguish Troy’s sole remaining ray of hope as it had with all his other ones?

[Unfulfilled]

“For your sake you better hope my lust for battle is satiated, because if it isn’t-“ Regal was instantly caught off guard when a firm hand pressed upon his chest pushing him back down the loading ramp.

“I said name,” The crewman said more forcefully this time to the sword demon. “Sir.” He added disrespectfully.

“Why you ignorant, loathsome, bottom-feeding filth.” Regal said in disgust. “You dare touch me? You dare not know me!?” He said louder. “I am-“ Again Regal was caught off.

“His name is Regal Burnswidth, and he’s with me.” Troy butted in not so much for defense of the crewman, but to get Regal to stop ranting. Killjoy… Regal thought miserably as the crewman nodded and motioned for Regal to board with a slight nod of his head. Regal walked forward, stopping by the crewman before locking eyes with him.

“It is a sad error in judgment to mistake me for a common swordsman,” Regal said bitterly. “Don’t think next time I will-“ For the third time Regal was caught off by an elderly woman who pushed Regal forward with her cane square on his spine. Regal buckled quickly, almost dropping to one knee as he awkwardly moved forward.

“NOT ALL OF US HAVE OUR YOUTH SONNY!” She bellowed in rage. “And my name is Elissa Fran.” The crewman nodded for her to enter as well, not even acknowledging Regal’s earlier threats.

“Come,” Troy said quietly. “You shall find no worthy foes here.” He said dryly. Regal nodded rubbing his back and following his traveling companion.

“You fear me, right Troy?” Regal asked childishly. Troy rolled his eyes, but answered the stupid question anyway.

“No Regal,” Regal was about to become infuriated before Troy spoke. “But then again, what do I have to be afraid of when I’m already dead?” Regal’s mouth was held open for a moment, tiny gears in his head shifting.

“And somehow yet again Troy Priam, you change the mood from bitter anger to dull depression. Remind me never to invite you to my saint of swords award party.”

“Deal.” Troy said non-chantingly. Regal stretched his arms out as he let his tongue out. The salty air of the sea tingled his senses as he took a deep breath of fresh air. The sky was relatively clear except for the few clouds that formed far to the mountain areas. Seagulls dove and weaved through the networks of boats and ropes as they darted for food, and Regal felt a sort of calm come over him.

“God I’m bored.” He said flatly.

“Regal,” Troy said looking at the clouds. “What do you think about most of the time?” Regal gave a quizzical look to Troy.

“Gee, um…let’s see…” Regal placed his left hand under his chin, wrapping his right arm around his chest. “Swords…killing…chopping things…killing…swords….”

“I feel so sad for you, if that’s all you can think about.” Troy said rather gruffly.

“What about you Troy? You wander the world in search of your sister,” Regal retorted. Troy looked at Regal with a quizzical look. He raised one eyebrow taunting Regal to finish his train of thought. “Let’s face it; your odds of ever finding her are so slim that people would think that you’re crazy.” Regal said looking down upon his blade. “So are you any less pathetic than I?” Troy looked away from Regal.

It was rare, but did happen for Troy to be completely surprised by Regal’s sage like wisdom. It wasn’t thankfully, all the time.

“Let’s go eat, Regal.” Troy said.

“Ya, I’m kinda hungry. Maybe I can chop something up along the way.” Regal said off-handedly.

[Zantetsuken]

Karel’s eyes moved upon surrounding terrain around the traveling party, looking for shifty shadows, silent scuttling and otherwise anything that would threaten him and more importantly his love. He rubbed his jaw as they approached the town at the base of the mountains, and judging by the sky it seemed early night was almost upon them.

“At last, civilization!” Sheex said running forward. “A place of wine, woman and song!” Rebecca let out a small sigh as she linked arms with Karel. “YIPPEE!” Sheex clicked his heels in the air after leaping for joy, a small gust of dirt lifting with him.

“Let’s stay the night, Karel.” Rebecca whispered into the sword saint’s ear softly, teasing his blood a little. “It would make the wonder dummy most pleased. And I promise it will benefit you as well.”

“Is your mind as dirty as his?” Karel replied pointing to Sheex, who was already asking an elderly gentleman for directions to the nearest tavern. Rebecca slid into Karel, wrapping her arms around his waist dragging him back shrugging her shoulders. “This could be interesting.”

“JACKPOT!” Sheex shouted. Again he was gone in a flash as he ran for what could be nothing else other than the tavern.

“He’s like a child,” Karel said irritably.

“Yes and thanks to him I’m alive. I would have been dead if he didn’t have the sense to put me on that small rowboat.” The Saint of Swords nodded in agreement.

“I was merely stating he acts like a child, and it’s mildly annoying.” Karel said flatly, shifting to place his arm around her shoulders bringing Rebecca closer. Her feather soft hair rubbed against his unkempt face and Karel let off a small smile. “But I do not doubt that Sheex is more than he let’s on.”

“I think he actually doesn’t know just how good he really is.” Rebecca debated, kissing Karel along the cheek. “Which is very sad.”

“With that ego?” Karel said in hysterics for dramatic effect. “He’d have no chance to even detect his greatness.”

“His heart is as big as the mountain. Saving that child and, while one may question his motives, he did save the College of Womanly Scholars.” Rebecca added while she watched Sheex stop before entering the door to the tavern to stare at a blonde haired woman in a long flowing dress.

“Whatever did happen to that child he sent in the boat with you?” Karel asked as he felt his fingers lock with Rebecca’s.

“Seed? I don’t really know. He asked me about who did this to his precious home, and I told him about Vladimir. He just nodded, telling me there wasn’t a whole lot he could do and I can only assume he left me to go find some form of closure for the loss of his home.” Karel’s heart was pierced with two polar feelings as Rebecca spoke of the tragedy of his home. Hate and Sorrow filled him as he didn’t know whether to cast his love aside and charge the mountains in blind rage or hold her tightly to him, crying. Rebecca slid in front of Karel, pausing their walk to look at Karel in the eyes.

“What do you see?” Karel asked distantly. Rebecca looked a little longer before she spoke softly, caressing her lover.

“I see the flames of hate in your left eye, a call of battle that is just bearable enough to prevent you from charging here and now. In the other I see great loss, a pain so devastating that it’s just bearable enough to keep you on your feet instead of dropping to your knees.”

“You see all that?” Karel said amazed that Rebecca told him exactly how he felt. She nodded as she kissed Karel, melting both emotions back into one, neutral state.

“Come; let’s get you food, and then some rest.” Rebecca said sweetly, Holding Karel’s hands gingerly taunting him forward. All the while Karel stared into her ocean blue eyes thinking how lucky he was to have her.

[Sheex]

Sheex slid into the chair at the far end of circular table, leaving the two chairs that were close together for Karel and Rebecca. For about the last ten minutes the two had done nothing but slightly fondle each other and whisper words into each other’s ears. Sheex was about thirty seconds away from telling Karel to either grab something juicy (any man could probably figure out what that would mean), or go grab a room. It was a small miracle that Sheex had restrained himself as long as he had.

“You know Sheex, I’m impressed. I thought for sure you’d take us to the sleaziest tavern you could find. This place looks like an actual restaurant.” Rebecca stated as she lightly held onto Karel’s arm. The tavern did have a bar at which several people were slumped over at, but also included many other things. There were multiple tables covered with white tablecloth, a small band playing decent music, and even a small area where several people were dancing. All in all, it was a rather nice little place to eat at.

“Don’t misunderstand me. I’ll never feel more at home than at a sleazy tavern filled with drunks and friendly, yet scantily clad, barmaids. That being said, I figured you and Karel might want a nice place to eat, considering you keep fondling each other and whispering into each others ears.” Sheex said with a chuckle, which soon turned into a grimace as Rebecca kicked his shin underneath the table. Several seconds later a waiter appeared and asked if the three would like anything to drink, which was a question that always received a yes from Sheex.

“Scotch on the rocks for me my good sir.” Sheex said in response as Karel flipped through the menu while Rebecca casually leaned over his shoulders. Sheex sighed slightly, for the two’s cuddle-time was interrupting his drinking-time.

“Gee. There’s actually a big selection here. What are you getting Karel?” Rebecca asked as Karel skimmed over the list of drinks. Truth be told, Karel was not much of a drinker. Actually, the only time the man had ever been drunk was the first time he had met Sheex, and that meeting had left Karel with a hangover he would remember for eternity.

“Just water for me.” The minute Karel had uttered those words a balled up napkin sailed through the air, smacking Karel in the forehead. The Saint Of Swords looked across the table, only to find Sheex scowling at him.

“Moron. I bring you to a nice restaurant, filled with good music and nice tables and all that other fancy stuff, and you order water. Man, that’s gotta be against some law. Why don’t you have a scotch with me Rebecca?” Sheex said as he leaned over the table grinning at the couple. Karel just shook his head and muttered something about Sheex’s immaturity while Rebecca nodded her head in agreement about the drink.

“Make that two scotches.” Rebecca told the waiter, who nodded his head and quickly ran off to fetch the drinks. Sheex then leaned back against his chair, stretching his arms and yawning as he did so.

“Now this is a place I could get use to!” Sheex said loudly as Rebecca flipped through the menu while Karel looked at his friend. As usual, Sheex had on his cool grin that rarely ever faded from his face.

“Use to he says. I bet you could live here Sheex.” Karel responded, earning a nod from Sheex as an answer. Coolly, Sheex pointed behind Karel towards a rather well endowed brunette several tables away.

“You bet I could. I wonder if she comes with property or if she’s an add-on…”

An hour and a scotch or two later…

“Oh come on Karel! Dance with me! It’ll be fun!” Rebecca said, tugging on Karel’s arm while Sheex finished off the last of his dinner. Night had fallen by now, and the number of people inside the restaurant (or tavern) had increased by a good amount. The band was also playing louder music now, and several people were already out on the dance floor, with more people joining every few minutes.

“No thanks. I’m not big on dancing.” Karel said with a soft smile. Sheex quickly leaned across the table and glared at Karel, who in Sheex’s mind was making a very big mistake.

“Karel, when a good-looking woman asks you to dance, no is not the correct answer. Actually, it’s not even an answer as far as I’m concerned.” Sheex said as Rebecca continued to tug at Karel’s arm. However, Karel remained firm in his decision.

“Look, it’s nothing personal, but I just don’t feel like dancing at the moment. I just had a big dinner, and I’ve spent the whole day walking. Suffice to say I’m not in tip-top shape.” Karel responded as Rebecca sighed and crossed her arms, finally giving up. Now she sat with her arms crossed, with a bit of a look of disappointment on her face.

“Christ Karel. Not only are you being a moron, but your ruining Rebecca’s fun! She wants to dance, and you won’t let her! And it’s not like she can ask another guy to dance, cause if she does that you’ll get all pissy and go Saint Of Swords on his ass and then we’ll have this huge fight on our hands all cause you didn’t want to get off your lazy ass and GET JIGGY WITH IT!” Sheex said, flailing his arms about wildly as he spoke for dramatic effect. At this time Karel held up his hands, trying to calm Sheex down.

“Whoa there wanderer. I said I didn’t want to dance. She’s more than welcomed to dance with anyone here. I’m not the jealous time.” Karel said, which caused Sheex to not only cease his rant but also raise his eyebrows in surprise.

“Really?” Rebecca asked as she stared at Karel, who coolly nodded his head as he motioned about the room.

“Certainly. Go ahead and dance. Have some fun. I promise, I’m not going to be obsessive about it. Dance with anyone you like. I trust you.” Karel said, which had the effect of instantly melting Rebecca’s heart, which lead to a smile on her face (as well as a bit of lipstick on Karel’s). She then turned to look about the restaurant, but soon found Sheex out of his chair and standing right beside her with his arm held out.

“My lovely lady. May I have this dance?” Sheex said in a soft and charming tone that he reserved only for those he cared deeply about. It wasn’t sarcastic or lecherous; it was a sincere and soft tone that he rarely let out. Looking at Sheex, with his soft smile on his face and his hand stretched out ever so slightly as if he was offering to help guide her somewhere far away, Rebecca instantly remembered why he was one of her best friends.

“I’d love to. That is, if it’s all right with Karel.” Rebecca said as she looked over towards Karel, whose face had slightly reddened, but he quickly smiled and nodded at her. Smiling back, she took Sheex’s offered hand and the two began to walk towards the somewhat crowded dance floor. Sheex looked back at Karel once more, just to be sure.

“You sure about this buddy? No hard feelings?” Sheex said, and Karel nodded in response.

“No hard feelings. Just watch your hands. I won’t hurt you, but then again I won’t have to. Rebecca will take care of that on her own.” Karel said with a laugh, as Sheex winked back at him and lead Rebecca out to the dance floor.

“That’s right Sheex. You better watch those hands of yours. You and I know both know how often they get you into trouble.” Rebecca said with a grin as she walked away from Sheex while still holding his hand, causing the two of them to stretch out across the dance floor.

“Don’t worry. I know you want to make Karel jealous, I won’t spoil your fun.” Sheex said as the music suddenly stopped and then instantly picked up again. Rebecca quickly spun into Sheex, her back pressing against him as she leaned her head against his shoulder and looked at him with her dark blue eyes.

“And you danced with me anyways? You know Deltin, you really go out of your way for me sometimes.” Rebecca whispered to him as he quickly spun her about, wrapping his right arm around her waist and holding her left hand with his as the music began to pick up. Sheex still had his soft smile on his face.

“Hey, I’m not much, but I’ll always help my friends. I may not know much, but I do know that. Besides, it gives me a chance to sweep you off your feet, right?” Sheex said as the two began to move about the floor to the beat of the music, which at this time involved a fast pace violin.

“Is that so? All right, I’ll take you up on your challenge. Why don’t you show me just how Sheex Deltin comes and goes with the wind, sweeping women off their feet and vanishing like a gentle caress of wind against their cheek.” Rebecca said with a smile as she spun away from Sheex, only to quickly spin back into him, her brown shirt fluttering slightly as she did so. Despite her incredible looks, Rebecca dressed in a very modest outfit, which consisted only of a somewhat tight brown shirt that showed off no skin, as well as light brown pants which only hinted at her figure (but that hint was enough to raise most eyebrows). One of those fine legs wrapped around Sheex’s own legs, which definitely had the effect of raising his eyebrows.

“All right then. But I warn you. I come and go with the wind. Don’t blame me if I break your heart.” Sheex said as he quickly spun Rebecca and took a step back. Rebecca continued her spin while Sheex quickly took of his favorite black trench coat and expertly tossed it onto his chair. He had enough time to adjust his slightly rumpled blue long-sleeved shirt and run a hand through his hair before Rebecca had spun back into him, staring at him intently as she wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You wouldn’t break my heart Sheex. I don’t think you have what it takes.” Rebecca whispered as the two gracefully moved about the dance floor. Several people began to stop their dancing to stare at the two, most of them figuring that the two were in love. Karel was probably clenching his fists very tightly at this point, although Sheex couldn’t be sure since his eyes were focused solely on Rebecca Priam.

“As I said when we first met, bringing a tear to your beautiful face would be a sin against God, and I’d do anything to put a smile where it rightfully belongs. On your beautiful face. Guess that means I don’t have what it takes.” Sheex responded as the two quickly picked up their pace along with the music. The two came to a halt before a table, where Rebecca leaned back away from Sheex who supported her with his left arm.

“So that’s your secret eh? Charming words? I must admit, they’re not half bad.” Rebecca said as she wrapped her arms around Sheex’s neck and pulled herself up while Sheex reached his free hand across the table next to him.

“Words are part of it. A charming smile counts for a lot too. But you always have to have an ace up your sleeve to separate you from the rest. Mind if I borrow this?” Sheex finished his statement by looking at the couple sitting at the table and holding up a single red rose he had taken from the vase there. For some reason, this table had had a vase of flowers on it; perhaps it was the couples’s anniversary. Whatever the reason, the couple smiled and motioned for Sheex to proceed. He thanked them and danced Rebecca back towards the center of the floor where he gently brushed back her brown hair, placing the rose on her ear as he did so.

“Not bad Deltin. Not bad. But I have an ace up my sleeve too.” Rebecca said, quickly spinning around so that her back was once again against Sheex. She then wrapped Sheex’s arms around her chest, dangerously close to her breasts (dangerous for Sheex’s health in any case). Multiple people had stopped to watch the two dance, and Sheex was fairly certain that he heard a glass break somewhere in the background. Of course, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Rebecca. It didn’t help the matter when she started slightly rubbing her hips against Sheex’s legs.

“Not bad eh? That’s good, but I’m trying to sweep you off your feet. This is unusual for me, but I don’t think I’ll be settling for second best this time around.” Sheex said as he tightened his grip on her and waited for the music to slow down. When it did, he gracefully spun Rebecca about and pulled her close so that they were face to face. Sheex was fairly certain that the song was coming to an end, and when the music suddenly stopped he quickly wrapped a leg around Rebecca and gave her a gentle push, causing her to fall backwards where Sheex’s arms caught her the moment before she hit the floor. The violinist apparently sensed what Sheex was trying to do (it’s a guy thing) and quickly threw in one last and very long note while Sheex slowly leaned his face forward so that he was only inches away from Rebecca’s nose.

“So? How’d I do?” Sheex said softly as Rebecca stared at him. She smiled softly, and tightened her grip on Sheex’s neck.

“Might as well take a look.” She said, motioning towards her feet. Her left foot hovered a few inches above the ground, while her right foot was wrapped gently around Sheex. The wanderer smiled softly. He had indeed swept her off her feet.

Sheex quickly looked up as he heard a chair being harshly shoved, and saw Karel with a red face walking towards Sheex with a very determined look in his eyes. What he was determined on doing was the question.

“Hey there buddy. No hard feelings, right?” Sheex said with a grin on his face as Karel reached the two of them.

[Zantetsuken]

To say that Karel was a bit irked would be grossly understated as the glass in the Sword Saint’s hand broke apart, not even flinching as the pieces scattered across the table like falling dust. Sheex had taken his love, and was now dancing with her. The two moved as gracefully as Karel swung his swords, and it annoyed him to a boiling point, his last nerve ready to snap. The fact that Sheex had to be so cunning as to grab a rose from someone else’s table only served to intensify the jealousy in the saint of swords. Karel didn’t even want to dwell on the numerous eyes that were looking upon the pair in total awe.

“Well played, Deltin…” Was the only utterance able to be discerned from his lips as the song came to an end. The violinist had to make that last note linger for what seemed like and eternity, the same feeling one would get when waiting for the last grain of sand to hit the bottom of the hour glass. Karel had enough of this charade as he exploded from his seat, knocking the whole wooden chair over alarming the couples near him. With menacing steps Karel stalked to the dancers, his anger held in check only by the fact his swords were not with him. Rebecca and Sheex both played him for a fool and did it in a public way. They would pay for this most embarrassing stunt on his pride.

When he arrived Sheex was already backing up, his trademark grin covering his face as he slowly backed off. Karel’s hands were in two tight fists that made his knuckles ghost white as he was ready to let loose like two unfed wolves. Yet as his steps broght him closer he saw something that made his heart melt into a calm oasis. Rebecca was laughing, loudly, her pearl white teeth and beautiful ocean blue eyes filled with tears of happiness. No matter what Karel thought the two had done, that small scene of joviality made Karel’s hatred melt like the snow and he smiled as well, embracing his love who held him tightly, still giggling.

“Of course not, Sheex.” Karel said looking the wanderer in the eye. “After seeing her like this I can only say thank you for bringing her joy.” Karel grinned widely as he saw what looked like a sigh of relief on Sheex’s face. “Well my love, shall we retire for the evening?” Rebecca looked up at Karel and laughed running a hand through his hair and nodding, bringing him closer to kiss his lips.

“Take me home my prince.” She said lovingly as the two left the dance floor, a flock of women running towards Sheex.

~*~*~

“Oh Karel,” Rebecca said sighing loudly. “I truly wish you were the one I danced with.”

“The only dances I know are of the dance of death. My movements never truly were for dancing as I absorbed more and more knowledge of fighting. It’s all I ever knew as a kid.” Rebecca squeezed Karel’s hand as she leaned upon his shoulder.

“But from what I learned from your land before the attack, it seemed so peaceful. Why would a gentle soul like yours be obsessed with swords and fighting?” Karel grimaced slightly, knowing one day he would have to talk about his past. He mentally prepared himself and when he felt ready he spoke.

“You are correct, Rebecca. Black Isle was a peaceful island and my upbringing wasn’t of a military sort. My father constructed ships and designed weapons, but he never brought his work home. It wasn’t until I was twelve he taught me what he did. Yet the world of swords and fighting entered my heart when my sister and I both saw a swordsman competition with my family.” Karel’s eyes began to get hazy as he welcomed the memories back, beginning to tune out the world around him for the walk in memory lane. “The fighting was fierce but honorable, and it captivated me so, the swords moving not as a weapon, but an extension of somebody ideals and motives. Each blade strike was somebody’s force of will made manifest through steel and metal. It intrigued me as a small boy, and I later fell in love with it. My Sister, Serra, saw the eagerness in my eyes and I knew she felt it to.
We both wanted that kind expression for ourselves. We had to beg our parents for lessons; we did anything to prove we were serious about learning the blade. And my parents saw that. So after four weeks of manual labor, with no rest in between my mother and father saw that the desire to learn was strong enough and they granted us lessons. Both of us quickly became obsessed with fighting that we learned very quickly, master techniques on an accelerated level. It wasn’t to strange, some children did learn even faster than us, but our ability to retain the knowledge and learn more was at a higher level. Some of my best friends I learned behind a sword. Daniel was one of them…” Karel remembered the day he saw a dragon rip his best friend away from Karel and he shuttered to think that at that time all his power, all his cunning, all his force of will could barely even stand up to a small wyrm. It was a problem that plagued Karel deeply and Rebecca saw it.

She stopped their walk stepping in front of Karel and kissing him deeply. “Karel,” She spoke softly. “Please my love, nothing can change what has happened, and I know you still cast the burden alone for your ability to do nothing in a hopeless situation. But please dear, let these emotions go. Who knows what you’ll be twenty years from now when it’s long gone and you’re still the only one blaming yourself for the past. Let these feelings of regret go and cleanse your body of this burden.” Karel sighed pulling away, slightly causing Rebecca to feel hurt.

“I am the Saint of Swords, a man with no equal to the blade. Yet I still can’t even defeat Vladimir in combat, I still can do nothing. For all the power I possess, all the knowledge I know, I am about as useful as a bucket with a hole.”

“Karel,” Rebecca said grabbing his arm. “The past is last to know.” She said bluntly. Karel dwelled on the words she spoke, before eventually he gave up turning to her.

“WHAT?” He said confused, his head cocked like a confused dog. Rebecca smirked, placing her hands on her hips.

“You heard me.” She said confidently. “Look Karel the cast can’t be changed, and it can’t be helped. It’s the last to know what’s going to happen, but does it complain? NO! So neither should you. While other survivors of Black Isle are forging a new life, leaving the troubles behind, you are still skulking like a little boy. No offense my love, but grow up.” She said motherly. Karel looked at her and guilt filled him as he looked down upon the ground.

“Okay.” Rebecca laughed for a moment and grabbed Karel, taking him to the nearby hostel inn. “What is going on?” He said, smiling a little.

“You’ll see…” Karel laughed louder now.

He loved Rebecca with all his heart, and he silently thanked whatever god was watching him for bringing him to her.

[Sheex]

“Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure Karel. Whatever you say. Have a fun night kiddies.” Sheex said as Karel led Rebecca off and out of the tavern. Sighing, Sheex ran a hand through his hair as he slowly walked towards his table only to find several women winking at him. One was even nice enough to walk up and catch Sheex before he could pick up his coat.

“So, I take it that the two of you were not madly in love?” The woman said as Sheex gave her the once over. While the woman wasn’t a super model, in no way was she bad. If Sheex had to guess, the woman was about twenty-two, had brown hair and sparkling green eyes, a chest that was a little small, and a backside that was pretty fine. On the wanderer’s women watching scale, the woman would have ranked about a seven or so.

“No, I was simply trying to make a fool of my friend. Guess it worked huh?” Sheex said with a casual smile as he picked up his coat and donned it in one smooth motion. The woman smiled back as she leaned against the table and looked at Sheex with a bit of a twinkle in her eye.

“Considering his face was as red as a tomato, I guess it did. So, I think this means that you’re available. Care to show me those fancy moves of yours again?” The woman said, making it blatantly obvious that she was interested in Sheex. He felt a small smile cross his lips, for any man would smile when a good-looking girl was interested. However, completely contrary to his usual nature, Sheex just shook his head.

“Alas, I’m afraid this poor sap is all danced out. Besides, you wouldn’t want to dance with me. My hands tend to find themselves in rather interesting places if I let them run lose.” Sheex said with a small grin as he walked off towards the exit. The woman had a look of surprise on her face, which was understandable. Like Sheex had said to Karel, only a moron turns down a good-looking girl when the girl asks for a dance.

Guess that makes me a moron. Where were you about a month ago babe? I’d of taken you up on that offer in a heartbeat. Sheex thought to himself as he shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled out into the cold night. Rebecca was leading Karel off to the inn, and although that would be the destination where Sheex would eventually be heading towards, he saw no reason to tail the two lovebirds. After all, Karel looked like he was ready to go (in Sheex’s words) “Saint Of Swords” on Sheex’s ass, and the wanderer had no intention of pressing the Sword Saint’s buttons. He had probably already done enough of that tonight.

Tiredly Sheex wandered over to a nearby tree and leaned against it while he reached into one of his coat’s many pockets. Nonchalantly Sheex pulled out a cigarette from the pack he kept there as well as a book of matches. A single match blazed into life as Sheex lit his cigarette and took a long drag. It was a quiet night in a small town, which meant that very little noise could be heard save for the music still coming from the tavern. The cold wind danced across the grass around Sheex, chilling Sheex and at the very same time making him smile. Many a night had Sheex wandered alone on empty roads with wind much like tonight, cold and alone but happy nonetheless.

Times had changed.

Sheex coolly flicked his nearly finished cigarette high into the air above him, watching with mild amusement as the dying embers of the cigarette briefly lit up the night sky until cigarette vanished into the dirt before Sheex. Sheex took one last look at the tavern, from which he could still hear the music which he had been happily dancing to only minutes ago. Sighing Sheex pulled his coat close to his body to ward off the cold and trudged over to the inn. Thankfully Sheex had gotten a room that he did not have to share with Karel and Rebecca, which meant the two could be as loud and as noisy as the wanted. Well, hopefully they weren’t that loud, Sheex’s room was only two rooms over.

Sheex’s room was a simple one, which was exactly how he liked his rooms as well as his life. There was but one small wooden table with two chairs placed in the center of the room. On the table sat a glass of decent white wine which was no surprise considering that Sheex always tried to keep at least some type of alcohol around him, and next to the bottle sat one lonely glass. The only other things in the room were but a small bed tucked away in the corner and a window which showed the starry night sky. Other than that, the room was a creaky wooden floor with barren wooden walls. All in all, it was not a bad place to spend a night.

Sheex poured himself a small glass of wine as he turned one of the chairs towards the window and he then immediately flopped down in the chair, sighing as he did so. Sheex took a small sip of the wine and stared out the only window, his eyes tracing across the many stars that dotted the black night like sparkling diamonds. It took Sheex a while, but he eventually figured out just exactly what feeling he was experiencing at the moment, but eventually it dawned on the wanderer.

He was home sick.

As Sheex sat alone in his room, he found his mind drifting away to another time and to another place. Instead of seeing his small room in the inn, Sheex saw instead a house built of wood. It wasn’t a very big house, but it was big enough for Sheex. There was even a wooden porch with several chairs, but Sheex had never really enjoyed sitting on those chairs for some reason. Instead, Sheex had always enjoyed sitting on the three stairs that lead up to the porch . Instead of seeing the dark sky that enveloped the land before Sheex, he saw a beautiful sunset that caused dazzling orange rays to dance upon the windows of the small wooden house.

Instead of seeing the small town where he, Karel, and Rebecca where, Sheex saw his home.

Sheex saw himself sitting on those three steps, leaning his head against the railing that ran across the front porch. While the Sheex sitting alone in the room saw only an empty chair next to him, the Sheex on the porch saw two young children playing with a red toy ball. There was a boy there, about nine years old or so, as well as a younger girl who was about six and a half. The boy wore simple outfit that consisted of a blue shirt and brown pants, and the child’s short black hair danced about as he chased after the ball. The girl wore a red dress that slightly fluttered about as she laughed and watched the boy chase the ball, her lighter brown hair moving much more softly than the boys wild dark brown hair.

Sheex then saw a young women peak her head out of the door and smile at Sheex, who was smiling at the children playing. The woman was twenty one years old and had short dark red hair, parted down the middle with several long strands falling down in front of her face. Her dark brown eyes sparked as she walked over towards where Sheex sat. Still smiling, she sat down next to Sheex and leaned her head against his arm and watched the children play as well.

It was a perfect picture. Sheex could not have asked for a better vision on this cold night.

He could have stayed there. He could have been happy with those two kids, which weren’t even his kids. He could have been happy with that woman, who wasn’t even his wife. In fact, not a single person in that picture had been related by blood, but that didn’t matter. Those two children and that one woman had already taught Sheex that you didn’t need to have the same blood to be a family. Without a doubt, Sheex could have lived happily there for the rest of his life.

But Sheex didn’t stay there. Some time ago, Sheex had made a promise to a dying old man. That dying old man had been named Maliki, and he had been a young boy’s servant and caretaker. The young boy that Maliki had taken care of had been named Karel Hector Raven, the very same man who Sheex been walking alongside earlier today. Sheex too had been there during the destruction of Black Isle, and when Maliki had died the man’s last wish had been for Sheex to watch over Karel.

It was a bit of irony that Sheex, a man who knew very little of fighting, was asked to watch over the Saint Of Swords, a man who was suppose to be the best swordsman in the land. But for all of Karel’s abilities, Sheex knew he still had one talent that Karel seemed to lack. Karel may have been the one who knew how to fight, but Sheex was the one who knew how to live. As long as Karel lacked what came to Sheex so easily, Maliki had known that Karel would never find true peace. Sheex could have stayed behind with his family, but in doing so Sheex would have broken his promise to that dying old man.

Sheex always kept his promises.

But everything was changing, finally for the better. Despite all the heartache Karel had gone through when his homeland had been burnt, the man had at least came away with Rebecca Priam. That woman was probably the only person capable of changing Karel from violent to calm, and bitter to happy. And it wasn’t a relationship that only benefited Karel either. Rebecca had been cold and aloof when Sheex had first met her, but now she was warm and loving, which was something that Sheex would take a bit of credit for. After all, Karel hadn’t done all the work by himself.

So now, maybe Karel didn’t need Sheex anymore. Rebecca could take over for Sheex, for if any person could comfort the Saint Of Swords, it was much more likely to be Rebecca than Sheex. And of all the people in this world, Sheex knew that he could trust Rebecca to keep Sheex’s promise for him. Together, Sheex was sure that Rebecca and Karel could be happy as long as they stuck together. And if they did that, then Sheex was nothing more than a third wheel. Even if he was a well-loved third wheel, which he was (some of the time), he was still just a third wheel.

Sheex had promised that he would return to that woman sitting on the porch and those children playing on the grass. And they had promised to wait for him.

Sheex always kept his promises.

[Unfulfilled]

As the morning sun faded over the sky to bring forth the afternoon, the waves around the dock splashed back and forth as the wooden titan made anchor at the port. Crew members worked hurriedly as they grabbed a large wooden plank, tossing out onto the port pathways that led to the inner city. After the distinct thud sound was heard by all, civilians quickly began swarming off the boat like ants fleeing a watered out colony. Only two men walked off at a leisurely walk, one with his head down, the other with his head up, held highly as if very proud. And to nobody’s surprise, it was Troy and Regal who walked so casually.

“OH THAT WAS AWESOME!” Regal shouted the air, throwing a fist up and jumping onto the port pathway. Troy remained solemn as he walked all the way down. “MAN! Talk about luck, huh?” He asked Troy like an excited teenager. Troy cast a nasty look at Regal, who paid him no mind as he continued to talk. “I mean, who would have thought it…pirates! At first the trip was all dull and everything but then the pirates showed up and…YEAH! Man your luck sucks Troy!” At last Regal hit what could only be asserted as a last nerve on Troy’s permanently sad face, his voice at last speaking out into the air.

“Thank you Regal, I get it.” He said with a hint of irritancy in his tone. Regal continued on, ignoring the fact Troy even spoke.

“And they attacked not even 100 yards away from the shore! Risky business, I mean, there had to be twelve…no fifty…no sixty of them. I had to have killed like…twelve, forty, no seventy of them,” Regal turned to Troy mid-rant. “I mean you killed like five or six,” Regal turned back to his walk. “BUT THE KILLS I GOT! MAN I LOVE YOUR LUCK PRIAM!” Troy sighed giving up, Regal was in rare mood, and he decided to let the Sword Demon have his fun.

The odd pair of warriors walked forward, their paths beaten by feet that walked before them. The town was already hustling and bustling, people walking all over as the merchants walked their carts to a random location to stake out for the moment before exhausting every last sale in the area. Woman laughed in their flocks as men sat in corners laughing. Children ran through people as they chased imaginary foes or balls, their wailing not at all irritating to public. Except for Regal.

“Man,” Regal said kicking a rock and spitting at the ground. “Bet this place has nobody worthy to fight me.” Troy rolled his eyes as he spoke, hoping to take Regal off his one track mind for a slight detour.

“So where should we go first, Regal?” Troy asked looking at the town, his own mind thinking of the current events.

“I don’t know.” Regal said kicking a ball that strayed from a group of boys. “I’m kind of hungry.” He said holding his stomach lightly, shaking his belly.

“There,” the sullen warrior pointed to the nearby tavern. “That looks like a decent pla…” Troy stopped mid sentence looking for a new place to eat.

“What?” Regal said walking up to the tavern. “Let’s just go in here.” Regal opened the door walking in.

“Regal,” Troy warned; but his attempts feel upon deaf ears as the door shut behind Regal. Troy sighed looking down upon the ground, and slowly in his head he counted down to one starting from five and sure enough Regal exploded from the door in a raging mood.

“NO WEAPONS POLICY? WHAT KIND OF STUPID JOINT HAS A NO WEAPONS POLICY?”

“A tavern is over there Regal.” Troy said walking to the next one.

“NO, I WANT TO EAT HERE, BUTTTTTTTT NOOOOOOO!” Regal overly stressed the words and his volume.

“Hey Regal, I bet if you sit really close to a drunk he’ll fight you…” Troy muttered. Instantly Regal snapped his head to look at Troy, amazing him that the Sword Demon’s neck didn’t snap in the process.

“What?” Regal began that glazed look in his eyes with that one track mind process. “Somebody wants to challenge me? Then let’s go and I shall cut him down!” Regal already led the way.

Pirates, drunks, swords, cutting…this is truly the life of luxury… Regal thought blissfully.

[Disillusioned]

It seemed like ages since Troy had set out on his search for his sister, even though in reality he had only been searching for several months or so. Part of Troy wanted to simply blaze away at the road ahead of him, not stopping until he had found his sister. However, Troy’s more rational side knew that simply pressing forward without attending to basic human needs would only lead to disaster, which was why Troy sat patiently next to Regal at the bar’s table waiting for his food.

Although it was still late afternoon, the cold waves of the sea had brought in equally cold waves of air, causing the temperature in town to plummet rather quickly. As such, the tavern’s fireplace was already lit and roaring away, crackling as several cold travelers warmed their weary bones in front of the fireplace. Troy simply took a sip of water while he waited for his food, gently tapping his fingers against the old wooden bar as he did so.

“So Troy, what’s the plan?” Regal asked as he impatiently scanned the bar for any signs of worthy opponents. Unfortunately for the Sword Demon, all that populated the tavern at this moment were drunks and worn travelers, not a single of which could possibly satisfy the man’s appetite for battle. Troy just continued to sip at his glass of water.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. We’ll eat and rest up, and if time permits I intend to set out on the road tonight. Although I do hear that the weather in this land is subject to rather fierce rainstorms, so we could always stay here the night. I doubt my sister is making much better progress.” Troy said coolly as he stared out the window. Outside of the not so dense forest that populated the road, there wasn’t exactly many directions a traveler could go. Troy had already asked several dock workers if they had seen anyone resembling his sister, and they had told him that someone matching her description had already come and gone. So Troy was pretty sure that he would have to move onto the next town if he wanted to catch up with his beloved sister.

“No, not about our plan for tonight. I’m sure your luck will provide in that particular case, I meant what’s your plan for when you find your sister?” Regal asked, which in turn made Troy turn away from the window and gaze at Regal with a cool look in his ice blue eyes. Regal’s span of attention tended to vary like the weather, and it shouldn’t have really surprised Troy that Regal’s interest would eventually find its way to his sister.

“I’m...I’m not really sure. I’ve been searching for such a long time, I guess it just seems natural for me to keep searching. I haven’t really thought about what I’ll do when I catch up to her.” Troy muttered as the bartender placed Troy and Regal’s meals in front of them. The bartender (who was slightly balding and a little on the fat side) quickly rushed off to deal with other customers, leaving Troy and Regal to converse quietly, at least for the moment.

Staring at his reflection in the glass of water, Troy took a moment to think about what he had just said. Of course, doing that would mean that he would have to think about his past, which was something that Troy did not enjoy doing. After all, it was hard to look into the past without seeing all of his errors, and Troy’s many mistakes were weighing heavily on his shoulders.

It hadn’t always been like this. Troy hadn’t always been a drifter, he had once had a home that he loved very much. It wasn’t like his home had been destroyed by forces outside of Troy’s control either. No, Troy’s home was very much still standing. Bandits hadn’t wrecked it, armies hadn’t sacked it, and dragons hadn’t burned it. Troy’s home was still very much alive, and as far as Troy knew, so were his parents. No, the only person to blame for Troy’s failure was Troy and Troy alone. It had been him, after all, that had decided to forsake his loved ones and vanish without a trace.

Once Troy had been a knight, and a proud one at that. But, as the old saying goes, “Pride goeth before the fall” and when Troy had fallen he had fallen hard. He had sought glory as a knight, and when he realized the price of seeking that glory, the guilt had overwhelmed him. And as Troy’s mind turned the clock back towards the past, he could swear that he heard the sounds of battle in the tavern instead of the crackling fire.

The war had dragged on for ages, and as far as Troy knew it was still dragging on. But that hadn’t mattered at the time. All that had mattered was the Troy had recently been promoted, and he had been reveling in his new position. Beside him, his best friend Hector had been cheering Troy on, happy for the good fortune that had fallen upon Troy. Hector had never been a jealous friend, and he had nothing but words of kindness when Troy was given a command position. Hector had been a very, very, good friend.

Troy twitched involuntarily as he remembered the arrows raining down from the sky, shredding the skin of his comrades. Staring at nothing more than his cup of ice water, Troy remembered the screams of the dying as blood gushed from the soldiers standing by his side, the men’s eyes void of any signs of life as they fell to the ground. The entire army had been massacred in one fell swoop, and Troy could not help but blame himself for that.

It wasn’t as if Troy had been commanding the entire army. No, Troy had only been placed in charge of twenty or so men. It was nothing to brag about, but in the eyes of a young man filled with ambition it seemed like something great. Until those twenty men lay dead on the dirt floor, their blood seeping into every crack and crevice, mixing with the blood of countless other soldiers that once stood beside those fallen men.

And what of Hector, Troy’s faithful friend? Why had Troy survived and why had Hector died? The answer was simple. Hector had used his own body as a shield to block the arrows from reaching Troy, and in doing so saved Troy’s life. And, although Hector certainly had not intended to, it also gave Troy an overwhelming sense of guilt that he could not shake.

Even now Troy could see Hector before him, lying prostrate on the ground. The man’s red hair was covered in dirt and blood, and Hector’s muscular form was riddled with several arrows. Amidst the hundreds of dead bodies, it had been nothing out of the ordinary, but to Troy it had meant everything. How in the world was Troy suppose to go back home and tell Hector's parents that the man had died so that Troy could live? How in the world was Troy suppose to atone for that? In Troy's mind, he could not. So, on that day, Troy had left his home and never looked back. His family surely thought he perished amongst the many dead bodies that lay upon the battlefield, and were no doubt heartbroken when Troy never returned. That was yet another sin for Troy to atone for.

And so, with his best friend dead and with no desire to return home and atone for what Troy considered to be terrible sins, Troy had drifted. He cared not where he went, as long as it was away from his home and from his past. But no man could run from the past forever, and every night Troy’s dreams were still wracked with screams of dying soldiers and his best friend’s deadly body lying at Troy's feet. Troy had lived like that, if you could call such an existence living, until he had met Regal.

Unsurprisingly, Troy had met the self-proclaimed Sword Demon in an arena. Regal had in no way spurned Troy onto his current quest. It was the simple fact that Troy had learned that he was not the only member of the Priam family member participating in that particular arena which had motivated Troy to actually do something with the rest of his life. His sister had been there, fighting in that arena. Troy still had no idea exactly why his sister had been there, but he knew one thing. The bloodstained floor of prize-fighting was no place for someone as beautiful and pure as his beloved sister.

Having arrived after his sister had left, Troy knew what he had to do. He had to find Rebecca, that much was obvious. However, exactly what he was suppose to do after that was beyond him. Troy wasn’t even sure she would want to see him again. After all, the two had been extremely close as siblings, and how had Troy repaid his sister’s trust in him? By running away and never looking back. Some great knight Troy had turned out to be.

But he was still looking. Regardless of what she would say to him or to do him when they met, Troy pressed on. It bordered on obsessive, of that there was no doubt. But Troy knew one thing for certain. His nightmares were not going to stop if he did nothing. He wasn’t even sure they would stop after he had found his sister, but he still had to try. Maybe, just maybe, Rebecca would offer him some peace in a world where Troy would otherwise be forever haunted.

Troy stopped reflecting as he felt a firm hand slap his shoulder, and his head quickly jerked as he turned to look at Regal, who slowly took his hand away from Troy’s back. Regal pointed at Troy’s dinner, which Troy had yet to touch.

“I know you’re one of those deep brooding types that like to sit and stare at nothing, but I thought I should tell you that your food’s getting cold.” Regal said as he took another bite out of his steak. Sighing, Troy nodded his head slightly and started dig into his own steak. Apparently both men liked the same type of meals. It was amazing just how similar and how different the two warriors could be at the same time.

“So, you have absolutely no idea what you’ll say to your sister when you meet her? After all you’ve gone through to find her, I thought you’d be...you know...happy. I mean, I know happiness and smiles isn’t exactly your thing, but I thought even you would be overjoyed to see someone you love again.” Regal said as he took another large bite of his steak. Troy simply ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he took a bite out of his own steak, although it was much smaller than Regal’s bite.

“Can I ask you a question Regal?” Troy said softly as he continued to slowly eat away at his steak. Regal paused mid-swallow, and stared at Troy. After a rather long silence, Regal remembered he had food in his mouth and slightly choked as he finished that particular part of his meal.

“Christ you’re creepy when you talk all monotone like that. Course, that’s how you usually talk so...um...ask away I guess.” Regal said as he swiveled around on his bar stool to turn and face Troy, who simply continued to focus on his steak. However, Troy’s words carried the solemn tone that always commanded almost every word the man spoke.

“When you’ve bested the Saint Of Swords and claimed that title for your own, what will you do? When you’re the best swordsman in the land, and can best any foe in but a single move, what happens next? What will Regal Burnswidth do when there’s no worthy opponents left to challenge him?” Troy said softly, and although he wasn’t even looking at Regal, Troy could sense the man tense up as he thought about what Troy had just said. Troy took another sip of water, and turned to stare at Regal with his blue eyes, eyes that had once been full of life and passion but were now as cold and unfeeling as a block of ice.

“Answer me that Regal, and you’ll understand how I’ll feel when I finally see my sister once again.” Troy said as he took another bite of his steak.

[Unfulfilled]

Alcohol was known for many things, a perverted friend to degenerates and an all to common foe to many. It was the great changer of ways to sum, and it was true. One of the only non-magical substances that could literally take a sane man and corrupt to acts of disrespectful behavior. Why anyone would willingly drink this vile consumable was beyond normal reason, but its nature was mysterious and deceitful. While under it's spell one would forget who they were, or worse, pretend and exaggerate who one was. So to them, the drink was a form of some great elixir, allowing one to forget pain or grow in stature, even for the briefest moment. It was also a convenient excuse for Regal to forget and ignore Troy's response to his question.

As the night went on Regal had finished his fourth shot and was still roaring loudly as he looked upon his captivated audience. He had just finished telling the tale of how he had killed his parents and family in blind rage and the looks of disgust told him to tell more, more of the great Sword Demon's story. He pounded the table and a fat man waddled over, looking at Regal oddly before dumping more into his shot glass. Troy had already excused himself and left this scene, muttering that Regal was a fool. But Regal could only think that Troy was the fool and that he was the one who was the moron for how could anyone leave in the middle of his tantalizing stories. Never-the-less Regal moved on.

"But that's just the start." Regal boomed. A few curses flew at Regal as people began to move away from him. "Allow me to tell you how I became the Demon of Swords!" Regal took another shot.

"Let me tell you how you became a drunk!" a man shouted. Regal ignored him as he began to speak.

"I was walking around the Torggodon Mountains when I had stumbled across a beautiful woman with waist long blond hair and a rack that you could sit upon." he added nudging the woman next to him, who promptly got up disgusted and left. "Ah her voice was as beautiful as a song bird - never heard the voice of one, but I
assume they both sound very pleasant-,"

"It'd be pleasant if you shut your trap, sonny!"

"Yes! It was a trap my old deluded fool! Little did I know that the woman was non-other than the Queen of the entire region! I was enraptured by her song, and I followed her back to the castle where I met her personal attendant, a shoulder length black haired girl with tender skin that would excite even a bull
to rise! But my luck would not end there! For then the princess arrived, a frail pale girl with Blond hair as well and a smile that could light the moons! I took all three at once in the king's bedroom and -"

"Seriously, that's enough!" A woman bellowed holding her children ear's.

"Was exactly what the king screamed when I was discovered! I was captured and sentence to death, placed in a small room under the castle by the base of the cave a single stone column big enough for two men to fight sat in the middle, only a chasm surrounding it. Two wooden planks were dropped and I crossed with my sword close at hand.The king declared that I would fight until my death against the King's elite. One by one I had fought some of the greatest challengers of my life. My body was growing tired but the spirit was stronger than ever as I defeated
a thousand of the king's men!"

"That's BULLSHIT!"

"Was exactly what I thought of the ridiculous! But eventually the king rose his hand, and ordered the massacre to end. He banished from the kingdom and told me never to return. As my body crossed the state line I collapsed and slept for three days."

All night Regal told the stories of how he had slaughtered many a foe, each story growing in number as he detailed everything. But in his head he saw the crowd enticed by his speech, joining him at the critical moments with shouts of gasps and insults meant for the foes in the tales. His madness blinded him as he continued to talk, and people came and went. He talked to the entire tavern, then to the patrons surrounding him at the bar. Soon he was talking to just the hostess as she walked back and forth cleaning up. She looked at Regal with a sad face. She smiled to the sword demon, kissing the top of his head in mid rant as she figured he should have his one moment of glory. Regal kept shouting well into the night before soon the hostess sighed and began to blow out the lights.

"The fat don!" Regal shouted. Two lights went out.

"Hordes of zombies!" His voice steadily began to trail. Four more lights stopped dancing to his words.

"A dragon..." He almost half whispered. The place was almost closed. One light was left on in front of Regal. He cupped the candle in his hands gazing into it mezmorized by the flickering flame.

"The damn asylum..." He said defeated. Nobody would know it, and nobody could have seen it. The last light went out when a single tear dropped upon the flame.

[Sheex]

Yawning slightly, Rebecca strolled into what qualified as the dinning room of the inn she and Karel had stayed at. Of course, it wasn’t really a dinning room. It was more like a common room, with multiple wooden tables set up all over the room and the necessary chairs to accompany those tables. Several tables were filled, and one table had a small buffet of food on it that guests were picking at rather quickly. Deciding she would not be left out of the free meal, Rebecca hurried over and filled up her plate with several pieces of fruit as well as some type of porridge. She looked about the room, spying Sheex flipping through a newspaper all by himself in the corner. She quickly walked over to him.

“Well now, what are you doing up so early?” Rebecca asked as she slid into the seat next to Sheex. With a slightly sleepy look in his eyes, Sheex looked up from his paper and smiled. He also had a bowl of porridge in front of him, and he gently stirred it with his spoon.

“Had a case of insomnia I’m afraid. I assure you, if I could sleep for another few hours, I would gladly do so. What time is it anyway? Seven in the morning?” Sheex asked as he let out a loud yawn, drawing a few looks from the small amount of people sharing the room with him. Rebecca only sighed and took a bite out of the shinning apple she had on her plate.

“Try about ten. Not very good with time, are you Deltin?” Rebecca asked with a grin. Sheex simply shrugged and continued to browse through his paper.

“I’m of the opinion that sleep is one of the few times that mankind can truly be at ease. It’s only natural to want as much of that time as possible. By the way, did you know that they’re having a sale on swords and other weapons of death at the blacksmith? I figure you and your slightly-worse-looking-than-me boyfriend would love to get your hands on that.” Sheex said as he passed the paper over to Rebecca, pointing at a particular article. Rebecca simply shoved the paper back onto Sheex’s side of the table.

“Don’t even get me started in that Sheex. Karel just happened to see that article and hasn't shut up about it. Some things never change I guess. I'm going to head over there myself after lunch and pick him up something nice. I know what he likes." Rebecca said with a small smirk of female confidence as Sheex slightly raised his eyebrows.

“So why'd you have trouble sleeping anyway? You're usually the first to fall asleep whenever we have to camp out. Rebecca asked. Sheex simply leaned back in his chair and carelessly put his feet up on the table, drawing a slightly irritated look from the inn’s proprietor.

“This.” Sheex said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small metallic hip flask. He placed it on the table for Rebecca to inspect.

“A hip flask gave you insomnia? Sheex, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but drinking straight whiskey in the morning doesn't exactly work wonders for your body. Not to mention your sleep schedule.” Rebecca said with the tone of a slightly sarcastic doctor. Sheex just sat himself up and began to move the hip flask about the table with his hands.

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about. Well, it is true that I occasionally have a morning eye opener but…” Sheex was quickly cut off as Rebecca rolled her eyes at him.

“Occasionally. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. We all believe that one Sheex.” Rebecca said with a small grin. Sheex’s face became slightly red but he pressed on nevertheless.

“That’s not the point! The point is that this is my hip flask. Yet for some reason, my hip flask was not in my coat last night. Now I wonder why in the world it would not be, since we all know how much pride I take in my alcohol.” Sheex said as he tossed the hip flask to Rebecca, who caught it with the grace of a well-trained artist. She simply shrugged and placed it back on the table.

“I have no idea Sheex. I’ve never even seen that hip flask of your before, so I wouldn’t know if you lost it or gave it to a woman in a moment of passion, would I?” Rebecca said as Sheex spread his lips into a sly grin. Slowly Sheex stood up and began to pace around the table like an attorney questioning a witness.

“But then my dear Rebecca, if you have never seen my hip flask before, how did you know I keep whiskey in it and not my favorite liquor scotch?” Sheex asked with a glare. Rebecca instantly turned slightly red and quickly looked out the window avoiding Sheex’s gaze.

“Lucky guess I suppose.” Rebecca said in the feeble voice of a young kid whose parents had just caught reaching into the cookie jar before dinner. Sheex quickly seized the opportunity.

“Oh admit it! You stole it from me when we were dancing! Not that I don’t admire your technique mind you, I didn’t even feel a thing. But the point is you stole my hip flask and drank my alcohol!” Sheex said loudly, causing several more people to turn their heads towards the two friends.

“Oh fine! I took your alcohol so me and Karel would have something to drink last night! Are you happy now? Now sit down, you’re making a scene! Besides, it’s not like Karel didn’t give it back to you.” Rebecca said as Sheex sat back down and shot her a puzzled look.

“Don’t know what your talking about. Haven’t seen Karel all day long.” Sheex said with a slightly impish grin. It took several moments for Rebecca to process the events and determine the cause of the grin.

“Well if you didn’t see Karel, then how in the world did you get the hip flask back before…SHEEX! YOU DRUNKEN BASTARD! STAY OUT OF MY ROOM!” Rebecca shouted at the top of her lungs, causing every single person in the room to look at her. This time it was Sheex who motioned for her to calm down.

“Oh relax. I waited until you were in the shower.” Sheex said as if that would make things better. As most people could probably guess, did not.

“IN THE SHOWER?” Rebecca said, red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. She was about three seconds away from hitting Sheex with his own bowl of porridge, but the man calmly took the hip flask back and put it away.

“If you’re upset about me trespassing, then you shouldn’t have taken my hip flask in the first place. I wouldn’t have gone into your room if you had obeyed the law, after all.” Sheex said as he crossed his arms and looked at Rebecca, who simply muttered to herself angrily and took another bite of her apple.

“By the way…” Sheex said as he leaned in closer to Rebecca. Confused, she stared at the man as he reached into coat once more. Sheex made sure no one was looking at them, and then pulled out yet another object he had found in Rebecca’s room.

“Shouldn’t really leave things like this lying around you know. Bad for company. Imagine if the cleaning lady came in and saw these.” Sheex said as he held up a pair of handcuffs with a bit of purple fuzz on them. If Rebecca’s face was red before, it was now pink.

“Are you insane Deltin? Do you want me to kill you?” She said in a harsh whisper as she grabbed the “toy” and quickly put it away. Sheex just let out a loud laugh and leaned back in his chair as if he did not have a care in the world.

“Oh come on. We’re all adults here. Course, that particular toy is really adult, but I’m not a man who likes to judge people. Why, if cuffing Karel to the bed post turns you on, then by golly what you do behind close doors is your own business. Or is it Karel that’s doing the cuffing?” Sheex said as Rebecca clutched her fist so tight that Sheex thought she might actually break her own skin.

“Shut. Up. Wanderer.” Rebecca ordered, but Sheex just shrugged and continued talking about things better left for closed doors rather than in a dinning room. Thankfully, he wasn’t talking very loudly.

“Hey. I get it. I understand. But you gotta be careful you know. Karel isn’t as experienced as you are and such rough treatment might…” Once again, Sheex was interrupted by Rebecca. This time it was her fist grabbing his neck.

“Just what the hell do you mean more experienced?” Rebecca said in a voice a bit too loudly. Several people turned their attention towards her as Sheex struggled to get free from her death grip.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I’m just saying that Karel’s main focus has been, and may still be, swords and such things. You can’t let Karel rush you into the fancy stuff. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Sheex said as Rebecca finally let him go. Gasping for breath, Sheex pushed himself away from her and took in several large helpings of air.

“I’m going to pretend we never had this conversation Sheex. I’m also going to pretend you didn’t sneak into my room while I was in the shower. You, however, will never mention such things AGAIN! Okay?” Rebecca said with a smile that conveyed a possible amount of hurt if Sheex decided to do anything unwise.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh. Thought you were a bit more mature than this. You’d think you were some sex-depraved school girl who finally got a chance to live out her fantasy or something.” Sheex said as Rebecca coughed and went back to her meal without saying a word. Common knowledge dictated that Sheex let the situation drop. But, common knowledge just wasn’t something Sheex was too fond of.

“Wait. Karel was the one suggesting it, right? You weren’t…you didn’t…you wouldn’t…” Sheex was at a lost for words as Rebecca simply kept eating her meal. The next time Sheex spoke, every single eye in the inn was on him.

“OH MY GOD! REBECCA’S A FREAK! REBECCA’S A FREAK!” Sheex shouted as loudly as he could, pointing a finger accusingly at her. Instantly Rebecca leapt at the man aiming for blood, but Sheex quickly darted to the side and up onto the table.

“Holy crap! I did not see this coming!” Sheex shouted as Rebecca tried to grab him. Unfortunately, Sheex was just a bit too quick for her.

“I’m warning you Deltin!” Rebecca shouted loudly as everyone stared at her.

“I mean, I guess I never really thought about it. But it makes perfect sense. You were such an ice queen when we met! Now I know why! You needed to get laid!” Sheex taunted as he ran about the table, spilling the contents of both his and Rebecca’s breakfast.

“You have five seconds to get down Sheex before I come up!” Rebecca shouted as she ran around the table, making even more of a mess as she did so.

“Hey! I don’t even want to talk about you coming anywhere!” Sheex said with a laugh as he danced about. Not entirely unfamiliar with sexual humor, Rebecca’s face turned quite red.

“Not that it’s a bad thing or anything…” For the last time Sheex was interrupted, this time with a sludge of porridge being slung into his face. It hit him with enough of an impact to knock him off the table and land him onto the hard wooden floor below.

“You…you threw a bowl of porridge at me?” Sheex said with astonishment as he looked up into the usually cool eyes of Rebecca Priam. Now those cool eyes were filled with fire and vengeance.

“Yes. I did. What are you going to do about it?” Rebecca said with a small grin, finding Sheex’s look of helplessness quite an amusing sight. Then again, she found most things about Sheex amusing.

“I…I’m not quite sure. Guess I’ll do the only thing I know how to do. The only thing I’ve learned in all my years of wandering.” Sheex said as he stood up and looked about the room and saw that all eyes were on him. Coolly he wiped the porridge off of his face and placed it into his hand.

“FOOD FIGHT!” Shouted Sheex as he flung the porridge right back into Rebecca’s beautiful fiery eyes.

[Zantetsuken]

The sun filtered through the cotton fabric curtains that blocked the view of the outside world from the room that held a simple bed, a simple table, and a floor littered in one man’s clothing. That same man shifted slightly as he grabbed his head in slight pain, trying his best to block out the sun. Eventually he gave up with a loud sigh getting up and stretching.

Karel’s body felt rejuvenated and alive, a feeling he never before experienced in over twenty years. His dreams that night had been so pleasant, so happy. No nightmares or tortures of the past, no vile demonic grins from his ancient rival. For the first time he could admit to himself that he was happy. Karel Hector Raven, the blessed Saint of Swords, had been laid.

He knew it was childish to be this excited to have experienced something so pleasurable, but the woman he had been with made him feel like he could move onwards in a positive light, the darkness of the past melting like the snow.

Karel got up with a slight spring in his step as he moved towards the shower. He noticed that Rebecca had early done her morning duties to herself as her twoel was removed and upon the floor wet. Karel turned to the sink and saw a small note made for him, with her signiture a simple kiss upon the parchment. Karel grinned slyly as he took his shower, enjoying the warmth it brought. If he knew any songs, he would sing it at the top of his lungs. Alas the only song he knew was his countries song they sang when people went off to war, and that was a sad song. He wanted to be happy now.

After he finished his mourning duties Karel moved out into the hall, locking his door and twirling the key upon the ring it sat upon in his finger as he whistled to himself down the stairs. As he reached the bottom level where the dinning area was his face turned to shock. Tables were overturned, chairs littered everywhere. Food was caked upon the walls and the overturned tables, fruits and porridge dripping upon the ground like a faucet from even the ceiling. It was like a war was raged through this tiny room, and the blood of the fallen was oatmeal. Unsurprisingly in the middle of the clean up duty Karel found the source of all this calamity. Sheex Deltin.

“How a fine dancer and gentleman like yourself would dare defile the good name of this hostel by your actions is beyond me, Mr. Deltin! I expect everything to be clean before the dinner rush tonight!” A man in a very fine tailored suit shouted to Sheex.

“I’ll be honest with you buddy, I don’t see it happening…” Sheex said honestly.

“HUMPH!” The man stammered kicking the ground. Sheex looked up to the man and repressed a laugh.

“Just being honest.” Sheex said with his trademark grin. “I would never lie to a fine gentleman like yourself.” The man sighed in frustration and walked away past Karel. Karel walked forward with a look of pure amusement on his face.

“So Sheex Deltin, master wanderer, what did you do this time?” Karel said dropping into a crouch in front of Sheex. His wandering friend just smiled dropping his sponge and relaxing his muscles.

“My friend, beauty took place here.” Was his reply. Karel just laughed looking around the room. “Rebecca isn’t here. She took off four minutes ago.” Karel’s face frowned in slight disappointment. “Which gives me time to ask you this question…What kind of sick girls are you into?!?” Sheex shouted at Karel. The Sword Saint’s face grew red with embarrassment as he grabbed a sponge and started to help out Sheex.

“None of your business, and for the record, you set us up.” Sheex just whistled.

“Kind of makes me glad I didn’t bag her. I’m not into that kinky stuff myself but hey, I’m not into swords either. To each there own right?” Karel answered by flinging porridge at Sheex’s general direction. “So…you guys hit it off huh?” Sheex said distantly.

“Ya, I think we did.” Karel replied with a huge grin upon his face.

“Think?” Sheex said is disappointment. “Honestly Karel, you don’t accidentally take a girls pants off and fall in.” Karel laughed and suddenly Sheex moved away in a hurry.

“What’s wrong?” Karel asked looking at Deltin’s quizzical face.

“Who are you, where is the Saint of Swords? You are not the grumpy miserable wreck who clearly is convincing a girl to slum it with you!” Karel laughed again. “No seriously, usually you’d be threatening my life with ‘Oh Sheex if you ever try that again I’ll kick your butt…’ or ‘Sheex you bastard I’ll get you one day.’” Sheex mocked Karel’s voice in a high pitched girls voice.

“I don’t know.” Karel said honestly. “It’s just…this morning I feel so alive and well. All that tension is just…gone. No wonder you’re a wanderer, this feels nice.” Sheex grinned and got up. The two men slowly began to turn the tables back over and scrubbed them together, talking about good times with drinking. How they missed the cat Thor, and what a booze god would look like. (Which they believe whole heartedly that Thor the cat was incarnate.) After the last table was cleaned they both stretched and ate a meal.

“I wonder where Rebecca went?” Karel asked through a mouthful of ham. Sheex just shrugged. “Well, want to go look for her?” Sheex pondered it for a moment and took out a coin. He flipped it and then looked at the results.

“Heads, so I guess I’m going then lady luck…” Sheex looked to the sky with a look of determination.

“You can say no you know.” Sheex gave Karel a vile look.

“It’s the coin man,” Sheex said darkly. “You never go back on the coin. In fact…I’m pretty sure we went over this before! God! How the hell can Rebecca stand how slow you can be at times?”

“What can I say,” Karel said non-nonchalantly. “Chicks dig guys with big swords.”

[Unfulfilled]

The morning rays were unkind as the Sword Demon tossed and turned, the thin sheets offering no solace from the sun. After a moment of pure hatred Regal decided to cave in, and finally after much hesitant moving he groggily lifted his head from under the sheets. Looking over towards Troy's cot, he found his bed already made and a folded towel resting on the table near it.

"Who honestly does that?" Regal said aloud. With stiff motions he made his way to the bathroom, his head a swirling mess of intoxication, each step creaking against the wooden floor much louder in his head than it probably really was. He managed to reach the bathroom with all his might and tact and he looked upwards seeing a reflection in the mirror. He glared back into the mirror and he saw deep in the reflection a man he had come to loathe. The Demon inside him had utterly consumed him, his focus of right and wrong only perpetuated by the rumors of his own engineered insanity. His cold eyes reminded him of a time long ago, a time where he was at one point very sane. Those times had faded into the farthest recesses of Regal's mind, the clouds of insanity like a drape to his past. He no longer had any connection to his surroundings, and each day he drew breath he knew that soon the man that was once Regal Burnswidth the sane would wither and die to become a slave to Tenacity and fulfilling his role as a demon forever.

He looked deep into his own eyes, looking past the hate and mailce, to see a curtain there. He pushed it aisde with all his might, despite the demons inside him crawling to keep it shut, too afraid of what may lie beneath. There he saw himself, his hair not messy and unkempt, but flowing freely and cared for. His eyes looked tired and confused, a table before him of the people he had killed. The virtues of right and wrong danced before him like a puppet show, and as he gripped his own head to keep the migraine from consuming him he looked at himself and felt the conflict suddenly start to burst from within. He was not a demon, he was confused. His time in the asylum opened his eyes to the possibility that Regal just didn't know better. As he fought with his own mind to keep focus he suddenly felt the curtain rip shut, his own reflection starring back at him in the coldest of glares.

Shaking his head quickly as if the motion would destroy the thoughts he began his morning duties, taking time to shave himself and relish in the cool water. It took him a while to get over the hangover, but with each drop that hit his face sobriety came back into him. He stepped into the shower, and took time to just sit in the face of the water, letting it slam into his face. The memories of the cold night that he killed his family started to resurface, and he began to tremble as the conflict began to grow again, but this time he didn't want to learn more, he wanted to get as far away as he could. With a definitive palming hit to the shower knob he turned it off quickly standing in the stall for a few moments reciting his demonic nature. Who he was and killed to get to where he was. At long last he knew that Regal Burnswidth is the Demon of swords. Karel Hector Raven, he was the Saint of Swords. He would take the title of Saint of Swords and become good. His evil past will be washed away as surely as the drops of water upon his body. All he needed was to kill Karel.

After he completed his morning duties he grabbed Tenacity and walked downwards towards the main area. He looked around for Troy, expecting to see him in a corner of the bar area with one water and a pallet of food half eaten, his depressed face reeking of failure and regret. Yet the rest of the bar was in a jovial mood, and Regal summarized that if Troy had been here, this certainly would not be happening. He looked to see all the people looking at him with disgust, no doubt patrons of his performance where he regaled them with stories of his past. Not today, people. I have buisness to get to.

Walking outside he saw a few people running off to the end of the street. Curious of the event, Regal followed them and saw a group of people huddling in a circle. A FIGHT! Regal thought hopefully charging over towards the crowd. He thumbed his way forward and reached the front and saw two men beaten to within an inch of their lives, the fight in them already clearly spent. Guardsmen were tending to them, and Regal was about to leave bored when he heard something of particular interest that actually made the demon stop thinking of killing the Saint of Swords, and think of his friend Troy.

"You, bloody!" Regal said cutting in front of the guards and pushing one away. "Tell me everything you know now!" As the man looked up he saw the intent to receive harm should he not do what Regal asked and began to speak the tail. Regal's mouth curled into a demonic grin as he heard it.

[Zantetsuken]

Karel walked outside with Sheex looking upwards towards the sky. The cool afternoon sea breeze mixed with the fall air, the crisp hint of winter stinging his ears. The sun was at a brilliant orange tint letting the people know that the night was soon to come, and not much time left for the day. Buttoning up his trench coat he turned to Sheex with a smile on his face. "So, Sheex," Karel said wily. "If you were chasing Rebecca down to work your magic, where would you be?" Sheex shrugged as he looked around the town, his eyes darting back and forth before he simply shrugged again.

"Honestly I don't know, there are a lot of places we could find her. Jewlery store, fancy dress shop...sex shop...Sword shop. Anywhere." Karel caught the small whisper in the utterance of Sheex's words, but just let it slide as he adjusted his weapons.

"Split up and meet back here in an hour?" Karel offered. Sheex nodded solemnly as he watched a particularly attractive woman walk by, and as she walked away Karel would notice Sheex's head following her every move. "Well, guess I'm looking on my own..." Karel muttered as he left Sheex to his own pleasures.

Karel felt the invigoration of his happiness overwhelm him, and he couldn't help but smile. He felt as if the woman had completed Karel, making him whole again. He realized the name Vladimir didn't even cross his path, and the tragedy of his home didn't fill his heart with rage and regret. He felt content at the moment, still sad for all that happened yet seeing himself walking the path of recovery with each day he spent with her. At long last he came upon a simple conclusion. Rebecca was the only person in his life to make him feel this way, and the love he had for her was so strong that nothing could break it. With a huge smile on his face he concluded he would ask her to marry him.

This very notion made Karel almost giddy, but he composed himself in public. He walked over to the Jewelry shop and stopped seeing the ring he knew would be the best suited for her. He walked inside, and flagged down a seller. Pointing to the ring he smiled, and the seller nodded grabbing it for Karel to inspect. It was a soft silver, the edges almost a pearl white, a single diamond held itself proudly erect in the middle. He juggled his coins and looked inside pulling out the amount the man asked for it. It would take nearly half the coins he had from the last of his family inheritance, the rest of his money locked away by dragons on his home isle never to be disturbed again. He handed over the amount and took the ring. His heart swelled with emotions as he couldn't believe he would attempt this. But his heart never felt doubt.

Looking across the street he saw a very simple formal play being held the next night. He pulled out a few coins for that performance, figuring he would ask her to marry him during the intermission. At long last he had everything set up. Now all he had to was find her.

He couldn't help but imagine the scene in his mind. Her glowing face, the corner he would pull her to. How she may react never crossed his mind. He knew in his heart she would say yes. That was all that Karel needed to feel completely content in his life. Forget all about the Masamune and the Zantetsuken, his rivalry with Vladimir. He was now going to just let it be the past, and look forward to a bright future.

He smiled thinking about how it would all play out, but he pushed those thoughts aside realizing he already took up half the time he promised Sheex to search for her. His mind began to worry for the town was very small and he felt a little concern that he had not yet ran into her. His eyes darted around as he walked back to the meeting place with Sheex and all he could see out of the usual hustle and bustle was a solitary swordsman, his eyes looking like a tragedy had occurred in his life and he was re-living it with each breath he took. As he continued to look at the swordsman his world began to grow grey, a wave of dark depression seeming to pollute the clear air. He pushed the swordsman out of his mind as he walked over and sat a bench at the meeting spot, waiting to see if Sheex found Rebecca.

Soon the cycle will end...soon I shall be happy... Karel thought with all the hope in his heart.

[Sheex]

“Excuse me folks, official guardsmen business here. Let me through please.” Sheex muttered as he maneuvered his way through the small crowd of people. Of course, Sheex was not in anyway related to any branch of any law enforcement office, but he figured that no one here knew that. Granted, his lack of uniform was slightly suspicious, but for the most part people moved out of his way with only mild looks of either disbelief or annoyance.

“All right sir, why don’t you tell me what happened?” Sheex said in his best detective voice. As Sheex helped one of the two bloodied men to his feet, Sheex noticed the rather large amount of shock in the man’s face.

“And who exactly are you?” Spat the man as he wiped the blood from his chin. Ever the pretender, Sheex just kept up his ruse of being someone that actually had some reason to be part of this scene.

“Off duty guardsman. Heard the commotion, came running. Heard something about a woman being dragged off by a group of men. Care to elaborate for me son?” Sheex said as he patted the man on the shoulder. The man bristled at the “son” comment (Sheex figured the man was about sixteen or so), but began talking anyway.

“Yeah, there was this woman here having some problems with this guy. So, I figure I’d give the fine lady a hand and step on up. But out of nowhere this other thug smacks me to the floor then dragged the woman off down that street. Stupid jerks, had they fought me like men I’d have whipped their asses.” The teenager said as he pointed down a street while puffing out his chest with pride. Sheex just studied the man closely, trying to piece together the puzzle.

“And this woman, what did she look like? Have to file a missing person’s report after all.” Sheex asked, praying the answer would not be what he already thought it was.

“I’m not sure. Long brown hair, wearing a brown shirt or something…” The man continued to mutter a few more descriptive terms; terms which could have applied to Rebecca as well as any number of other woman. Realizing the real guardsmen would be here any moment, Sheex figured he had to short-cut this interview.

“So you’re saying she’s about five foot eight or so, long brown hair, brown shirt complemented rather well with similar color brown pants, well-defined ass, and breasts about this size?” Sheex said as the man stared at him in awe.

“Uh…yeah. That about sums it up.” Replied the man as Sheex began to make his way out of the crowd that surrounded him.

“Great. Thanks. You’ve been a great help, a credit to the society and all that jazz.” Sheex muttered as the other bloodied man shook himself awake and grabbed Sheex’s coat. Cursing silently, Sheex turned to look at the man.

“Hey guardsman! Aren’t you going to ask me what I saw?” Questioned the man as Sheex tugged his coat out of the man’s hands.

“Of course I am. After I file this report. Just wait here all right?”

“You want me to wait here? With my nose bleeding? What kind of a guardsman are you?”

“Like I said, an off-duty guardsman. Now excuse me!” Sheex said as kicked the man off of him and turned away from the scene. Unfortunately, the crowd had multiplied substantially and judging from the racket in the back of the crowd the actual guardsmen were on their way now. Deciding he would prefer not to explain himself to the guardsmen, Sheex figured some fast acting was in order.

“It’s about time you got here! We’ve got a kidnapping as well as battery,. You take care of the witness statements, I need to go report to the captain.” Sheex said as he shoved his way towards the oncoming guardsmen. Puzzled, the two men in armor stared at Sheex as he did his best to keep his face straight.

“And just who the hell are you?” Demanded one of the guards as Sheex inched his way towards the more crowded areas.

“Who am I? How long have you been a guardsman rookie?” Sheex demanded as he found his exit blocked by a couple who refused to move out of his way. Sighing under his breath, Sheex walked back towards the guardsmen, for he could see someone behind them paving a path on his way in, and Sheex figured he could use that path for his way out.

“Five years” Replied one of the guardsmen as the other went to help the two injured men. Sheex knew he had only one option. He quickly grabbed the five-year veteran by the collar and pulled him close.

“Then you ought to know better to question an order! You’ve got two wounded citizens there and your busy questioning a fellow guardsmen! You’ve got a lot of nerve pal! What‘s your badge number?” Sheex spat as the man just looked at Sheex.

“We don’t have badge numbers.” Said the guard as Sheex’s face turned red. Immediately releasing his grip, Sheex slowly walked back towards the white haired man that was shoving his way through the crowd.

“Well…I’ll be sure to bring that up at the next meeting. Bye.” Sheex said with a wave as he ducked under the white-haired man who had just shoved aside the guardsman helping the bloodied citizens. Immediately he began running as fast as he could away from the scene and towards the spot where he was suppose to meet Karel.

“Yo! Karel!” Sheex shouted as he spotted his friend sitting on a bench not too far away. Silently cursing at his lack of breath (Sheex figured his constant smoking might have something to do with that), he forced himself to pull through the last few feet as Karel neatly stepped to the side while Sheex tumbled over his own feet.

“What’s the rush?” Karel asked as he offered Sheex a hand up.

“Get your swords Karel, have I got a story for you!” Sheex said as Karel helped him to his feet.

[Unfulfilled]

Regal ran as fast as his body was able, his mind unable to focus as the sheer joy at the news the broken teenagers gave him filled his heart with joy. A group of men had kidnapped a woman very similar in description to Rebecca Priam, and if she was kidnapped he knew Troy would go after her, and thus a fight would ensue. He cared not for the life of Troy's sister, so long as his blade could cut into flesh and he could feel the warmth of the blood splattering across his face. He kept one hand on Tenacity at all times, just in case anyone was foolish enough to get into his way.

"Get your swords..." The voice was coming off from Regal's left side, and he turned when he heard that people were grabbing blades, but instead of seeing them prepare for a fight, he saw them instead talking. Ugh, wasted youth! Regal thought as he starred into the cold eyes of the man in the blue trench coat.

Regal felt a cold familiarity, like as if he knew this man from long ago. Visions of dreams he didn't know he had started to fragment into place. He knew this man he concluded, but not why he knew him. But as the two talked it looked more like a comedic side show than anything else.

THE FIGHT! Regal thought suddenly, his brain forcing him to move onwards. His feet began to start walking away from the man, but his head didn't turn until the last second. Who is he...why do I know him? he thought angrily. At long last he had found his prey, and Troy was sitting at a small table, a drink in one hand, and a geographical map of the surrounding area in front of him. Without even looking up he sighed heavily, and a wave of depression seemed to pulse outwards from him. Regal felt the wave hit him, but his fiery temper reached the fore as Regal took the map and tossed it to the side.

"You would be wise, Troy Priam, to stop looking for your sister and listen to me." Regal said sharply. "You never know what you could find with my wisdom." Troy looked to Regal, unaffected by his outburst with cold, sad eyes.

"And what have you to say, Sword Demon?" Troy said in a sarcastic way.

"I know where your sister is..." Regal said devilishly with a grin that would put a cat to shame. For the first time ever since he knew Troy, he saw some something behind his eyes he had never expected to be honoured to see. And it chilled his bones to the core and made him wonder if Troy was actually a far better man than he.

He saw fire and passion for the first time in Troy's eyes.

[Sheex]

"See my bet is, she's at this old abandoned windmill about a mile or two outside of town." Said Sheex as he and Karel walked briskly down the street. They weren't exactly sure where they were heading, but to the passersby they were certainly heading somewhere in a hurry.

"Why's that?" Asked Karel as the two reached a crossroad. Both paused to study the situation, although they realized they had little time to spare.

"A hunch I guess. I just figured, you know, kidnap the girl and take her somewhere secluded. It's a busy town so they'd choose somewhere out of the way. Abandoned windmill just sorta screams hideout." Sheex said as he glanced at the sky. It was probably around two o'clock or so. The sun was high in the sky, and although it bathed the city in its light, Sheex couldn't help but feel cold and sickly inside.

"And then what Sheex, are they going to hold her for ransom? Perhaps they're Vladimir's men, if he even has a social life, out to test me? No wait, I bet it's some asshole I wronged in the past, now a deranged psychopath. I seriously doubt it's such a cliché." As Karel finished speaking, Sheex just chuckled as he crossed his arms and grinned his usual grin, which involved him grinning slightly with one side of his lips and keeping the other half as stoic as possible.

"Karel, your life is a cliché." Sheex said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Karel snapped as his face turned dark red and he took several menacing steps toward Sheex.

"Don't get all pissy Sword Saint. Take a step back and observe. You hate Vladmir, he hates you. Most people would either just kill each other or, you know, move to distant parts of the world. But no, you two constantly one-up one another creating and ensuring that you two are each other’s nemeses for all eternity. Oh, then there’s Vladimir's love interest, who out of the millions upon millions of people in this world just happens to be your sister.”

“That may be so, but-”

“I left out the part of you both being extremely skilled swordsmen, a match for ninety-percent of Althanas give or take. It wouldn’t be very clichéd to actually have a nemesis who was a shopkeeper I suppose. Want me to go on?”

“I don’t think that-”

“Your the Saint Of Swords. Saint. Vladmir is the last Knight Of The Apocalypse. Apocalypse. Good versus evil. Not that I think you’re a paragon of good, but the shoes fit.”

“If you’d stop interrupting and let me-”

“Then there’s the swords. Simple steel? Of course not. Weapons of extreme magical power that can only be used when facing one another? That one’s pretty overdone if you ask me though. I wonder why you never hear about legendary maces or axes destined to face one another. It’s always swords.”

“HEY! Just because-”

“Dragons. Dragons attacked your home.”

“How dare you-

“Amidst the chaos you found love.”

“I swear I’ll-”

“She changed you from a cold warrior to a compassionate human being.”

“Shut your mouth you-”

“And now you’ll go through Heaven and Hell to get her back. Forsaking all else just to be with her again.”

“Of course I’d-”

“Even your quest to hunt down Vladmir, which until she came along was all you ever thought of.”

“Well that goes without-”

“And now you wonder if she worth doing that, then maybe that epic duel you’re dead set on maybe isn’t the most important thing in your life. Maybe, just maybe, you could let it go. Something that hasn’t occurred to you since, well, ever.”

Karel stared at Sheex, although Sheex couldn’t be sure if Karel’s expression was filled with awe or filled with hate. Either way, Sheex just reached into his pockets and pulled out his box of cigarettes.

“Then there’s the fact that the guy I talked to said she was dragged this way. Guess that's another reason, but I rather prefer my own logic. Don't you?" Sheex said as he lit a cigarette and puffed on it. Karel said nothing for a moment, then gave him a playful (yet still rather painful) punch on the arm.

"Jerk." Said Karel as he gazed off towards the windmill and where (he hoped) Rebecca was. Although Sheex could not figure out the exact thoughts running through his friend's head, it didn't take a genius to see the look of longing in Karel's eyes.

"So, we gonna go Saint Of Swords on their ass or what?" Sheex said after several silent moments. Karel grinned as Sheex tossed aside his spent cigarette. Together, the two began a mad dash towards the windmill.

"So, tell me again how you came by this information?" Shouted Karel who could easily have ou