Post by final_wolf on Aug 1, 2014 0:52:22 GMT
Thanks to the permission of my friends, I am using their characters. Either by their names and/or their personalities. Without them I would not be able to create this story. Thank you. Anyway this will be the concrete story of what really happened in all the 'books' of the Elemental Kingdoms. Enjoy.
"Leon, you need to take your sister and hide. Get out of the castle and do not wait for us. I can't promise you if you will see us again, but I will try my hardest to get to you. I know this is hard for a little ten year old, but you are growing up. You need to do this to save yourself and Sammy." A thin woman with sandy brown hair that was left loose, swaying in the middle of her back. She was the queen of the Imperial Kingdom. Her green eyes where locked on to her son's eyes. Sorrow, remorse. This wasn't easy for her, how could it be for anyone?
The small, ten year old boy, Leon, stood as tall as he could. He had long black hair with a stripe of white on his left side towards the front. Blue eyes that starred at his mother held so much terror. How could he just leave his parents? They were under attack by a vicious group called the Rebellion. This group, Leon had encountered a few times to be 'sent back' as a messenger for them. They wanted the four kingdoms to fall.
Leon slowly nodded his head. "All right, mama. I will." With that, Leon gave his mother a hug as he swiftly took off running to find his twin, Sammy. As he ran away, he heard his mother's scream. He looked back slowly, as he saw his mother's head roll off of her body, hitting the floor. Leon's eyes widen as it took every ounce in his body to turn away. He couldn't think about the blood he just saw. He couldn't think of the way his mother had just died. He had to find Sammy and save themselves.
Leon continued to run, as he tried to pick up on his sister's aura. This kingdom was known for their mind mages, and the royal family all had this trait. Of course each mind mage had their own special trait. For Leon, he was great at keeping others from reading his mind and also able to pick up on other people's aura fairly easy. Soon enough, he found where his sister was hiding. "Sammy!" Leon cried out as he opened up a closet door.
A young girl, with dirty blonde hair to her shoulders, leapt out and hugged her brother. "Leon!" She had a death grip hug on her brother. She had barely managed to escape the Rebellion and was scared everyone was dead.
"It's all right, Sammy. We'll be fine. We have to get out of here now." Leon carefully pulled away from her hug. Of course he hadn't minded the hug, it's just there were bigger things at stake. Having to grow up in the spur of the moment, wasn't something a typical ten year old boy had to do, and yet, here was Leon, doing just that. Leon tightly grabbed her hand in his. He had no intention of letting her go until they were out of the castle and somewhere safe. Leon closed his eyes briefly, searching for any aura that was near them. He would be able to get the two of them out of the castle without running into any trouble. Or at least, he hoped.
The two young siblings, soon found themselves out of the castle and at the kingdoms edge. "Leon, I need to catch my breath! I can't keep running." Sammy cried out as tears ran down her cheeks. "And where is Mama and Papa? They should be with us!" It had finally accord to her that she hadn't seen their parents.
Leon let go of her wrist and turned his back to her. He clutched his hands into fists, shaking. His eyes where tightly closed. "Forget about our parents. It's hard...but just forget about them. They aren't making it out alive and there is no help coming for them or us." Leon gritted his teeth. He couldn't pretend that everything was all right. Let alone, his twin was almost always able to tell when he was lying. "I know they didn't make it out." Leon finally muttered under his breath. "We have to move on. Find someone to take us in that doesn't know who we are." He hesitated. "From now on, my name is Slash. I suggest coming up with a new name for yourself." Leon turned around to face his sister.
Sammy studied Leon and shook her head. "No! You're wrong! They can't be dead! They're our parents. They are able to get through anything." Sammy continued to cry. Part of her knew that her brother was telling the truth, but she didn't want to hear it. Soon she saw Leon come closer to her and hug her. She returned the hug.
"Sammy, I'm sorry. I don't know if you'll ever be able to forgive me, but it's for the best." Leon whispered in her ear as he then entered her mind and erased her memories of who she once was. Between the two, he was the better mind mage, but she was a better healer. He replaced her memories with fake ones. About how they are orphans and how his name was Slash and her name was Sara. He kept them as twins of course. He didn't want to break them up at all. This was the last of his family and he would do everything in the world to keep her safe.
* * * * * * * * * *
"No...mother. Get away." A tossing and turning, twenty year old, Slash, spoke in his sleep. Sweat racing down his face. He had never gotten the images of seeing his mother die out of his mind, nor had he ever gotten over it. "Mother!" He shouted as he sat up in bed, his heart racing. Slash looked around his room widely. After realizing it was just his old memories, he took a sigh of relief. He had managed to find an elderly couple to take his sister and himself in. These 'parents' often tried to talk to Slash about the nightmares he had, but he never spoke of them.
"Brother?" Sara walked into her brother's room, slowly closing the door behind her. She walked over to him and gently sat on the side of his bed. "You were screaming out in your sleep again. I really wish you'd tell me what your dreams where about. Maybe I can help you get over them." Her voice was soft, gentle and trusting. Even her eyes showed the compassion and trust that so few held.
Slash shook his head. "I'm fine. I'm always fine, you know that." He smirked a bit. "They are just dreams of the past. You remember our parents dying. They got sick and never recovered. I just miss them. That's it." Part of it was true, but going into gory details would just make him sound mad or worse, blow his cover. "It's almost daybreak. I think I'll go start on my chores for the day. Why don't you try to catch another hour or two of sleep?"
Sara frowned when her brother didn't go into full details. Of course she remembered their parents getting sick. She just never thought it was bad enough for the memories she had to give her nightmares like they did to Slash. "You say you're always fine. You always do that. You're not though. I also know you aren't going to tell me and it's going to make me upset. Like usual, but that's how you are, isn't it? The big macho man whom thinks he is able to handle everything himself no matter what the case may be." She shook her head. "Having these nightmares at least once a week is not normal! Why don't you ride into the Imperial Kingdom with me and seek some help. Maybe a mind mage might be able to help you."
Slash raised a brow. "You care that much about me? How sweet." He chuckled a little. He had learned to coat a lot of his words with sarcasm. It helped hide his feelings and made him feel a bit better, even if it made him seem like an ass. Slash got out of bed and stretched a bit. "I don't need to see any mind mage. I know how to handle things, including what goes on in my head." He starred at his sister. After a few moments it was clear that Sara was not going to leave and go back to bed. He shook his head and sighed. "What is on your list today to do? We'll start on them."
Sara rolled her eyes. "You're always like this." She stood up and walked over to him, hugging him. "Whatever goes on in your head, you sure keep it to yourself. Anyway, I have to go into the Imperial capital. We have some trades to make. We might as well start early. Maybe, if we have time left, we can go shopping for fun stuff? I could use a new dress." Sarah smiled softly. That was one thing about her, she tried to always find the positives out of most things. For the most part, always optimistic.
"Yep, always like this." Slash chuckled as he returned the hug. "All right, so the basic trades. I'm assuming mother made cloth again and then we also have the eggs for trade. We could use another horse, but I doubt we'll have enough for that." Slash thought through the list of what they had for trade. Winter was still a few months away, but they needed to start building up their reserves. "A new dress? Didn't you just get a new one last month?" He shook his head as he grabbed his shirt and put it on. "Is mother up yet?"
"I'm sure she is up now. More than likely heard your screams again. She's `probably is starting breakfast. And yes, I need a new dress. I tore my last one horseback riding." Sara walked over to the door. "I'll meet you down for breakfast shortly."
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"George, you need a bartender today? The only other jobs at the guild is mainly outside work, repairing a wall." Dy spoke. He had purple hair and matching eyes. He was rather tall, but a bit skinny. It was clear by his appearance alone that he didn't quite fit in well in the Fire Kingdom. His pale skin burned way to easy in the desert sun. Fevers where quite often for him along with dehydration. He had been here in the town of Ifrit for the past ten years. He didn't leave though. He couldn't. He had no idea who he was. He lived on the streets until he was able to start working. He believed this town to be his home. Where he had been born. Or something.
"Yea, I can use your help today. Got a mess to clean up from last night. Couple of fights broke out too. Damn idiots broke two of my tables. See if you can patch them up." George had been a long time friend of Dy's. About five years now. Whenever Dy needed work, he could count on George to help him out. The pay was never the best, but he gave Dy two meals if he worked the entire day along with some copper coins.
"Glad to hear you need me." Dy frowned at the mention of the broken tables. "I'm assuming at least one of the fights broke out due to a female." Dy walked over to a messy corner. It was clear the table was in bad shape. So was the chairs. "Did the guards catch wind of this?" The guards where probably the worse in the Fire Kingdom. Each kingdom had their issue since the Rebellion took over. They, the Rebellion, had put someone powerful on each throne, but they didn't see eye to eye and war broke out between the four kingdoms soon enough. The guards in the Fire kingdom where bastards. They picked on the poor just to show them their place. Talking back to a guard was stupid and could easily cost you a hand. If you weren't that lucky they would cut out your tongue.
"The first one was over some damn whore. Damn bitch was the one to actually start it. She told the first guy she'd fuck him but then decided another guy was better looking. I don't give a damn if whores want to fuck men, but don't start shit in my damn tavern." George walked over to Dy and was picking up the chairs that had fallen over. "Thankfully, no guards heard. That's the last thing I need here, guards. I'm just lucky they don't seem to like my place for a hangout." He chuckled a little. "They come, you know damn well I'll lose plenty of business. Whether it's them having a drink or breaking up a fight. People will be too scared to come."
Dy knew George didn't seem to enjoy the whores. Honestly, Dy didn't either. By his appearance alone he was different and that caused plenty of the women to want to sleep with him. He wasn't around here, or so they thought. Like any man his age, of course Dy had slept with one of them. He wanted to know what sex was like. Honestly, the way that night had gone, Dy didn't care for it and would rather not have sex until he was married again. The whore had been quite the dominatrix and very demanding. "Glad they didn't come. It's been about two years since they last really set foot here. Wasn't that the time when some fire users where here."
George nodded. "Yea. Nearly burned my place down. As much as I hate to say thanks to the blood guards, I had to. If it weren't for them, the fire would have destroyed this place. Still, the bastards asked for a fee to cover their service. Don't our King tax us enough." George grumbled as he grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the broken debris.
"You'd think we pay enough as it is. Especially you or any other store owners. Guess we should just be thankful the ruckus we do get isn't that bad here. Either yourself or myself we're able to stop it before it gets too bad." Dy grabbed a hammer and nail as he started to fix the wooden tables.
"Unless you're sick at home with one of those damn fevers." George smirked. "I don't get that about you, Dy. You aren't from around here. It's clear. Written all over your face. You say you think you belong here cause it's all you remember, that's bull shit. You don't got family here, Dy. You can go out and explore the world. Find a nice place to live. One without the damn Fire guards."
"I might not have any blood relatives, but I like to think of you as part of my family, George. You taken me under your wing and helped me out plenty. Hell you still help me out." Dy didn't consider many to be his family. Or even really friends when it came to this place. There were two others that were actual closer to Dy's age. Sol and his sister Fia. It was always odd to see Dy hanging out with them though. Sol was a goof and Fia was a troublemaker, even if by accident.
An hour or so passed and Sol, a orange haired, shirtless man. Fairly well built too, walked into the tavern. "Hey Dy! I've been looking for ya! I got us some work for tomorrow. A ship from the water kingdom for trade is coming and they need some extra hands to haul the stuff. I signed us up. Two whole silvers for the day and meal. Can't complain with that." Sol walked over to Dy and put his arm around Dy's shoulders.
"That isn't bad at all. Thanks for signing me up. Knowing you, you probably camped out at the sign up sheet the night before. That, or as soon as you got wind of it. Where's Fia?" Dy had managed to fix one table, and was placing the table back to it's rightful spot when Sol had put his arms around Dy's shoulders. "She didn't go off on her own again, did she?" Dy worried about Fia more than he did with Sol or anyone else here in this town. Fia had bad luck. Or was it perhaps that she was just too smart for her own good. She would gamble with some of the men and she knew how to win, by cheating.
Sol shrugged. "She's out having fun. I lectured her not to gamble today. Last thing we need is the guards to get on our heels. In fact, just two days ago, we had the guards after her. She got into a fist fight with a guy calling her a cheater and three guards where nearby. Luckily, I was near and heard all the commotion. Got her to a hidden safe spot before the guards knew what was up. She does need to be more careful, but it isn't like I am able to watch her every step of the way."
One reason Dy probably liked Sol and Fia so much was they were a lot like him. They didn't have their memories either. Ten years ago they had awoken in the orphanage. Dy met Sol a year afterwards and the two hit it off. Sol often asked Dy to come back to the orphanage, but Dy had always refused. He didn't want to be a burden. He did feel bad though for Sol and Fia. They would get adopted, but within two weeks they were always back. It was always because Fia was stirring the shit pot. Fia was like a wild horse. One that no matter how hard you tried you couldn't tame her. "You know, her word when it comes to gambling isn't something to really be trusted. We should probably go try to find her." Dy walked over to George and explained the situation. "I promise, I'll be back before the lunch rush hour starts. Just, you know Fia and you know me. I worry." Dy smiled as he walked out of the tavern with Sol behind him.
"I'm sure Fia will be fine. You know the way you act with her, you aren't in love with her are you." Sol grinned. "Not that I'd mind that though. I bet you could tame her if you where to ask her to marry you." Sol often did tease Dy about things like this. Dy was older than him and was at that age where he should be thinking about settling down.
"I don't like her like that. You know I see you and her as my siblings. It'd be kind of weird, don't you think?" Dy arched his brow. "I know I'm not getting any younger, but marrying just doesn't feel right at the moment. I'm still hung up with." Dy was cut off.
"Hung up with finding out who you really are. Besides our stupid pendants, none of us know who we really are, Dy. Get over it. Nobody is able to help us. The past is in the past and whoever we where in the past doesn't matter today. Look, man. I want you to be happy and you ain't happy here. It's written all over your face. When we where younger, the three of us were making promises that we'd get the hell out of Ifrit and go explore the world. Where's that Dy? Come on." Sol shook his head. "You're the one that doesn't like change, Dy. You like order, I get that, but staying here, isn't good for any of us."
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"Slash, slow down!" Sara ran after Slash whom had already dismounted his horse and tied him up to a stable. "What's the big hurry!" They were in the capital of Imperial. It took about two hours to reach it from their home back in Volt. "You know, I'm the one that's suppose to make the trades with the cloth and if you go on ahead like that with the cloth I can't do my job!"
"Then hurry it up." Slash shouted from ahead. He wanted to hurry up and get the trade business done. While Sara was out dress shopping he had someone to visit. Someone that Sara did not know, but he was very dear to Slash. Slash seemed to live a secret life. He often came to the capital to stay the night. He got drunk and slept around. Sure he could do that back in Volt, but then word would get out about him and he didn't need Sara to hear. He had enough issues as it was.
Sara puffed her cheeks out a little as her face grew a little red. "You're so mean to me, Slash!" She ran over with the basket of eggs and finally caught up to Slash. "We have the entire day to spend here, there's no need to rush things!" She glared up at him. "All right, so daddy says we should try to get a cow and some jerky with the trades today. I know we need another horse too, to help with the plowing, but we haven't replaced Betsy yet either. We need another cow for more milk." She frowned.
"Well, if we can't get a cow but are able to get a horse that's what we are doing." Honestly, Slash didn't mind trading. When he wanted something all he did was go into the traders mind and make things go in his favor. Thankfully, most don't have powers outside of the castle. Ugh, thinking of the castle, the king for Imperial was a basket case. There was so many rules that were just insane. If their King was out and about you better smile and be happy. That was just one thing of many.
Sara nodded. "Yes, I know. Still, it'd be nice to get what Dad wants. Oh, we could have a nice lunch together here too." Sara smiled as she walked along side her brother.
It wasn't long before the twins came to the trading district. Slash took notice of a gentleman selling calves and colts. A breeder. Good. Slash smirked as he walked over to the guy and without warning went inside the man's head. Slash laid it out quite easily that they would give him all the cloth and the eggs for one female calf and a colt. "All of this for a calf and a colt. I think this is quite even, no?" Slash spoke to the man whom nodded his head. "Thank you. Sara, hand over the eggs." Slash handed over the cloth.
"Wow, really sir!? You're so kind." Sara smiled to the trader. "Oh! Slash I want this calf. Look at her. She's so cute." Sara untied the calf.
"Fine with me." Slash walked over to a black and white colt. "And this will be the colt. I'll keep an eye on them if you want to go dress shopping. I got to go somewhere anyway. We'll meet up at that lunch place you like so much." Slash could not recall the name of the place she liked so much. He didn't care to remember such things.
