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<blockquote data-quote="Fladian" data-source="post: 107300" data-attributes="member: 5833"><p>Well, there are two things about double posting.</p><p>1. I don't like double posting.</p><p>2. It is impossible to double post on this forum <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick Out Tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /></p><p></p><p>But I'll finish what I have of the story in this post. If people like it enough, perhaps I'll continue writing it.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>"It's an honor to fight on your side, sir Duran" Collins quickly mentioned as he took a step forward after hearing the explanation of Dale who Duran exactly is. It was a huge honor to for a rookie like Collins to fight side on side with Zane Duran who is known throughout the entire Empire. Even though Tyler Dale is known throughout the entire Empire as well, it is only because of his long service and because he is one of the oldest soldiers. Dale is an experienced soldier, but not as talented as Zane Duran, or ever as talented as him. </p><p>"Quit the formalities, Stephan Collins. You have the same rank as I am" the man clearly annoyed mentioned to Collins as he looked at him straight in the eyes, scaring Collins a bit because of Duran's directness. It just didn't make you feel comfortable could clearly be read from Collins' face. </p><p>"Who is this you've brought with you, Zane?" Dale asked, clearly not impressed by the rank and popularity of Duran. While asking, Dale clearly and easily pointed past Dale to a man dressed in normal soldier armor. </p><p>"Dain Sliverblade. Hot prospect from Anderson's selection" Zane explained, clearly showing that he isn't being impressed by Dale's stature or Anderson's famous name throughout the Empire. </p><p>The moment after hearing the name, Collins quickly took a step back again to reach the hearing area of Dale to ask, "Anderson?" showing that Collins didn't know who Andersons is either. </p><p>"Anderson is a commander of a certain selection of soldiers, not really a good soldier himself, but an excellent large group leader" Dale explained, not even bothering of keeping it quiet. None of the other 4 soldiers were bothered by the words from Dale. </p><p>Commander Anderson, as he is often called, is a man who scouts for soldiers and adds to his own selection. Most of those people he scouts and- places in the Empire grow out to be champions. Tyler Dale, Edgardo Hodges and even Taos Levens are examples of the people he scouted and brought them to the Empire on young age, to train them to the age of what they are now and all of those 'champions' were good assets to the Empire. In terms of leadership, commander Anderson is an excellent leader and does not have many problems of keeping a selection together, regardless of Anderson's old age. Even though Lord Gunthar and Tyler Dale are excellent leaders as well, Anderson is trained in being a leader for armies, in opposite of Dale and Gunthar who are trained in battalions. Anderson isn't the no.1 leader of all generals, but he is the first and only man who has an amazing vision to scout people. </p><p>"Anderson believes that he found more talented youngsters in a little brat named, David Tray and this rookie, Dain Sliverbla-..." before Zane could finish his sentence, he was forcefully interrupted by the words of the armor cladded soldier apparently named 'Dain Silverblade'. </p><p>"Never judge at sight" Dain mentioned as he walked past Zane towards Dale, Collins, Ezra and Price. Shaking their hands the moment he came in range. "Some people can be more skilled than you think, Duran" Dain mentioned with a stern look on his face, clearly showing that he can live up being in the presence of multiple champions, Ezra, Zane, Terres, Tyler and Stephan are people take note of after all.</p><p>"Well, we'll see what will happen with you around, Dain" Ezra mentions with a friendly smile crossing his face, hoping to give Dain a more comfortable place to be. A little nod from the head of Dain was the only answer Ezra got from Dain as he continued his walk towards Price and Dale.</p><p>"It is an honor to fight side on side with you, sir Dale" Dain mentioned as he stood in the range of Dale and shook his head. It was clear that Dain wasn't the right man for formalities, his accent was completely different from normal people who are used to be, or are introducing them selves to important people, something that Dain apparently did not know. Or he was too young to know such or he was never taught in it in his younger years. You'd wonder where Anderson picked Dain from. A farm perhaps?</p><p>"No, no, the honor is all mine" Dale quickly mentioned after he noticed that a silence was falling over the few people who stood there. "It is an honor for an old veteran like me to fight side on side with a promising soldier- sent by commander Anderson" Dale added to it, just like Ezra, trying to let Dain feel himself more comfortable. All soldiers had a smile ready for Dain except Zane and Collins. Collins only had a few years difference from Dain, and if he was already skilled enough to go with them to find Herasiel, then he must have one load of potential since Collins never got that order to find Herasiel, not even when Taos and Dale were with him. They just found it 'too dangerous' to let him go with them to find someone as strong as Herasiel, and you cannot blame them for saying something like that, but now that the situation is repeating its self, it is remarkable that a rookie is going with them, even though this might be one of the strongest combinations of the Empire that is available. But what is perhaps now more important than the potential rating, is Dain strong enough to keep him self defending from Herasiel. Herasiel is a man that you can't avoid in a small moment and is extremely strong, perhaps even stronger than Taos - who is considered invincible by normal soldiers. But even if he is strong enough to keep Herasiel off of him, is he able to keep up with other champions? Zane Duran is a man with the most skills of the group and perhaps one of the strongest men of the Empire while Collins is the weakest but in no possible way can be considered 'weak' he is just too young to be compared to the veterans that are in the group. Dale is one of the oldest soldiers in the Empire, and because of that, very experienced in many skills and situations, more than Zane. Price is the soldier who is under view of Dale and extremely skilled, just like his master (Dale). Whatever people may say, even without the help of Edgardo, the team is amazingly strong and it wouldn't be surprising to see the odds changing from Herasiel to the Empirical Team. It was no doubt that Taos knew these things when he selected the team to accompany Ezra and Dale, but it was mostly surprising that Taos has sent Dain with the crew while people such as Gerald Letson or Sykes Red didn't got a word of going with them, after all, they are clearly superior than Dain Sliverblade in every possible way, otherwise, they wouldn't gain the title of 'Champion' of their squadron.</p><p>"Well, you'll have fun with Dale and the others, Dain, I won't be around" Price suddenly mentioned after hearing the crowd was getting quiet again as he looked to Dain with kind eyes, surprising the entire group except Dale and Zane. Dale knew better than anyone, perhaps even better than Price himself, that he was injured beyond recovery in a short time such as this. Zane, as experienced as he is, could easily see Price struggle to stay standing, fighting not to fall to the ground and cripple of the pain. The attacks that Herasiel used on Price were no joke, and were even hard to take for an Empirical Champion, like Price.</p><p>"You aren't?!" Collins and Ezra said, nearly at the same time. The moment they finished their sentence, their look quickly went to each other, knowing that they felt the same way since the emotions in the words could easily be heard above anything else.</p><p>"No, I'm too injured to go along... Collins entered the battlefield later and Dale had a short time to rest, I didn't have that" Price softly mentioned, looking a bit sad to the people in front of him, clearly showing that he wanted to go with them, but was just too injured to face Herasiel again in combat. Price was able to do some light training and perhaps a small spar-combat, but Herasiel was really asked too much. Heavy training would already be pushing the limit, but Herasiel is someone with no pity, and would gladly destroy anyone in his path, not caring who it is. It could be Price, but for all he would care, it could also be lord Glodich that he'd face in combat and easily dispose of. Especially with these injures, it would be a huge penalty. "Collins, Dale, fight for me as well, okay?" the blonde man asked as he looked at his two friends while still being a bit wet from the showers he walked through while following Dale not too long ago. With a sad look on Price's face, he had no choice to decline to go with them, it was just too much for him... too much to handle. A little nod from both Collins as Dale was the answer for Price. Price knew well enough that Dale knew that Price couldn't go along, but it would only be considered offensive would he say it with people as Duran next to him.</p><p>"Well Price, if you're all that injured, then Dale and Collins should have the same proble-..." before Zane could finish his sentence, he was already interrupted by Dale who started shouting at Zane.</p><p>"Oh, be quiet already, Zane. Collins wasn't around most parts of the battle, and I wasn't all that injured" Dale shouted at Zane while everyone knew that Dale was heavily injured as well. The bandage that was bonded around his head could easily say that Dale was badly injured as well. "I have no choice to go with you anyway! Collins doesn't know the real power of Herasiel!" Dale managed to say as well. "I am not exactly sure of Herasiel true potential as well..." Dale pointed out, clearly showing that Price was the only man who knows how strong Herasiel really is. The eyes quickly switched from Dale to Price.</p><p>"Is that true, Price?" Ezra kindly mentioned as he looked at the blonde man.</p><p>"It is. When Herasiel fled the situation, I followed him and fought him seriously" Price mentioned, clearly pointing out that Herasiel was a lot stronger than everyone thought. "Even though he humiliated me badly, I have respect for his skills" Price managed to say as he looked down to the ground, knowing the best how strong Herasiel really has become. The man was completely amazing with no weakness as far as they could see, but Herasiel knew that as well, he knew that better than anyone. "Herasiel is a man who only shows his true potential when he is excited in combat. He was clearly now exciting when he fought us, the four champions, including Edgardo" Price spoke up, pointing further out how strong Herasiel now is. Not everyone is able to show his true potential only when he fights a strong opponent, because it has as much disadvantages as advantages.</p><p>"A type just like me" Zane interrupted Price with, with a smile on his face. "Interesting, to fight a man similar to my own style" Zane continued, showing that he is truly impressed that Herasiel is able to do such a thing, and be still so dangerous like it. Many people fail being able to do it, but those who can do it, often don't have enough potential to back up their own words.</p><p>"What do you mean, sir Duran?" Collins asked as he heard the words from Zane just a moment ago.</p><p>"Like lord Gunthar, Zane isn't able to pull out his true potential when he doesn't have a worthy opponent to fight against" Dale explained with a friendly smile on his face. "Did you know this, Dain?" Dale quickly changed the subject to ask Dain. Dain easily made a gesture that he didn't know and appreciated it that it was explained as well.</p><p>"Exactly" Zane mentioned, as he looked up at the sky, becoming slightly impatient where Muriel was staying to teleport them to an area close to the area they had to be. "If Herasiel is only able to show his potential when he is excited, then he will have his hands full on me" the dark haired man mentioned as he made a fist and lifted it in the sky, showing over flowing confidence from his words. "I'll make it exciting for him!" Zane shouted with a smile on his face and was over flowing with confidence.</p><p>"Don't be too confident, Zane" Price softly mentioned as he looked up at the dark haired man. "You are strong, but can you truthfully say that you can defeat me in a few seconds?" Price asked Zane while trying to hide his facial expression from Zane.</p><p>"Of course I can't! No one can. Not even Taos can defeat you in seconds, if someone could, you wouldn't be one of the champio-..." before Zane could finish what he was saying, he was interrupted by the words of Terres Price.</p><p>"Herasiel can!... no, not only can. He also did" Price shouted out, clearly showing the real strength of Herasiel. "All calculations of Herasiel are wrong!" Price shouted out, showing that everyone underestimated Herasiel, even Taos couldn't give an accurate report about Herasiel, the man is just far too skilled. "As far as we know, Herasiel never shown his real potential in combat with anyone. As far as we know, I am the first he really gave a taste of his true skills! He humiliated me in a matter of seconds!" Price kept shouting, while really knowing that Herasiel was a man not to be compared to people under him, not even multiple people since he would surely be superior. Sending an army at him is something what would be strange, but if this fails, it might be the only idea. Herasiel is a man called 'the Nightmare' and that name is very true. After hearing Price's words, Ezra and Zane could only look like a confused man to Price, they knew all too well that Price would speak the truth. He had no reason to lie after all, and Dale confirmed it.</p><p>Dale eyes travelled to the face of Dain, that looked quite surprised after hearing the words from Price. "Don't worry Dain, our forces combined should be more than enough for someone like Herasiel. We are just... with too many skilled people" Dale tried to reassure Dain with, knowing that Dale was right, his confidence increased a bit.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>"Aren't you supposed to go already, Taos?" a long haired - placed in a ponytail - girl asked as she walked past Taos. Without looking at each other, Taos could clearly hear who was saying something to her. The girl was dressed in a short chainmail and a huge bow dressed on her back.</p><p>"Can I help you, my lady?" Taos formerly mentioned as he stood still, not looking at her. Partly because she was more than a head shorter than Taos but also because she wasn't looking at him either. They just stood next to each other, both looking the opposite way of each other but still listening to each others words.</p><p>"'My lady' you say?! Taos! I'm not even twenty yet!" the girl yelled out at him as she turned around and forced him to at her in the face. It was clear the girl was still young, but it was remarkable that she could be found in the royal halls.</p><p>"Shhh! Be quiet, Abby!" Taos quickly mentioned after hearing her yell. "This is the royal hall, many people here don't want to be disturbed!" Taos quickly mentioned in a whispering tone.</p><p>"Sorry, Taos" the girl named Abby quickly apologized after hearing the words from Taos.</p><p>"What are you doing here anyway? Not just everyone can visit the royal halls" Taos softly whispered to her, awaiting for her answer.</p><p>"Lord Glodich invited me" Abby mentioned with a nice smile on her face. She clearly knew Taos better than certain other people. </p><p>Abby met Taos 6 years ago, when she was brought to the Central Palace 7 years ago, where she could train with multiple other promising archers from the same age and higher. After being there for a short year, she was mostly homesick and could not stand being so far from her parents. Something like that was to be expected from most 13 year old girls and no one blamed her for it. All the girls from her section act like that, it's their nature. Abby on the other hand, was a special case and stayed being homesick for several months, far more than anyone else. Eventually, she met Taos while being homesick who started caring for her because he felt sorry for her. Together with his wife who lived in the Central Palace back then, they helped her overcome her being homesick and eventually started to live the way she wanted. After 4 years more of training, she grew out to be the most promising archer of her age-class. There are more people who are far more skilled than she is, but on her age. But now she is even invited by Lord Glodich himself now, the Emperor; and if that isn't an honor, nothing is an honor.</p><p>"Lord Glodich did? Why's that, especially so suddenly?" Taos mentioned as he looked at her with a questionable look. Taos clearly heard nothing about the meeting with Abby and Glodich, even though he just came from lord Glodich.</p><p>"What is it that lord Glodich wants then?" Taos enquired, looking confusing to Abby.</p><p>"I don't know, I'll find that out when I'm there. But more importantly, how is Tesse?" Abby quickly changed the subject with. Even though she had respect for the question of Taos asking what lord Glodich wants, Abby was also very interested in Tesse Levens, the daughter of Taos Levens.</p><p>"I think she's fine. I haven't seen her for a while now" Taos confusingly mentioned, completely surprised she changed the subject so easily.</p><p>"You should go to her sometime" she quickly mentioned after Taos, shocking Taos even more. Taos was the master of swords, but not as 'masterful' with words and quickly fails to create an interested conversation.</p><p>"I should, but I just don't have the time, Abby" Taos mentioned with pain in his voice. Abby knows that Taos is willing to see his daughter again, but because of his rank, he does not even has the time to make a little trip to visit his family who recently moved from the Central Palace.</p><p>"Are you here in the Central Palace all the time?" Abby asked with a questionable look - to both - as a facial expression. Smirking a little bit while she asked, probably intending something behind her previous question.</p><p>"Yes, there is no where else I can go" Taos calmly replied, not finding out what her intention is.</p><p>"If that is so, then you should visit me more often. Perhaps I can give you some 'special service' if you behave well" the girl suddenly blurted out, clearly visible that she was waiting for Taos to say something like that. Her facial expression changed from a questionable look to a smirking look, taking every advantage of the joke that he could find. It was easy to see that Abby was trying to joke with the mostly serious Taos, but if it would work is the question.</p><p>"Abby!" Taos yelled while a little red blush appeared on his face. Taos saw Abby as his own daughter that he should protect whenever he can and heed her from unnecessary things. Hearing such words from the person he sees as a daughter can come as quite a shock to him what was now clearly visible with the red bloshes of Taos.</p><p>Abby was not even trying to cover that she was laughing at Taos' reaction and his blush. Even though Abby and Taos lived together for quite a while, it was unexpected to see the mostly-so-serious Taos blush at such a reaction. But even though Taos is mostly serious, a little laugh did appear on his face after seeing Abby laughing fiercely. Even though it was forbidden to make noise in the royal halls, even Taos couldn't hold in his laughter as he looked at Abby who was relaxed about what just happened.</p><p>"G... Go to lord Glodich already" Taos quickly mentioned as he quickly increased his pace to the exit as well, hoping to find a place as soon as possible where he can laugh without any limits.</p><p>A laughingly Abby quickly nodded in agreement with Taos and waved him good bye as she walked towards the great door of lord Glodich's room.</p><p></p><p>Only a few minutes before Abby and Taos left each other, Taos could already be found in a small nearby park, placing his weight on a little pole that stook out of the ground, clearly having fun because of Abby. His laughter attracted a lot of attention of an amount of people, seeing as Taos is one of the most known people of the Empire and he is also well known for being a very serious type, not falling quickly for jokes. Seeing Taos laugh like this was a rare sight and not many expected to see Taos laugh this loud in public; at the very most in a pub or at home, but not in a public park. Even though Taos knew that people were looking at him, he could care less about it. For no particular reason, he just couldn't stop laughing. The smile of Abby was such a comfortable smile for him and not only did it make him happy, but seeing her laugh it made Taos laugh as well.</p><p>"Taos, are you okay?" a man asked who approached him a moment ago asked. </p><p>Taos quickly looked up as he heard someone mention something against him. The tall man was clearly surprised that his sight could take a while to go up, the man who was spoke to Taos didn't have much of a length difference with Taos himself who was bended because of his laughter. The slightly tinted skin and the long black haired that was placed in a pony tail gave quite the ability to guess who it was. The little beard and mustache confirmed it completely.</p><p>"Don't worry Gunthar, I'm fine" Taos mentioned, chuckeling over his own words, knowing that there was nothing going on, except that he just couldn't stop laughing. It was not usual to see both Taos and Gunthar together, especially not in a public park. Both men have a huge name in the Empire but most importantly, the reason why they are never seen together is because their skills in battle don't match at all. Gunthar's best skill is his leadership while Taos rather fights on his own, but even though Gunthar is more than excellent in fighting alone as well, his skill is clearly less than the elite champion, Taos. Even though Jason Sharpe is the no.1 of elite champions in general skill, it is Taos who is the most dangerous. The largest penalty that Taos has is his speed. Taos isn't very fast in moving what also gives a lot of crucial penalties, fortunately, Taos has a lot of stamina so he doesn't necessary has to move much to evade. Jason Sharpe can't do anything what Taos does but is close. The largest difference than that Sharpe and Taos has, is Taos' lack of speed and Sharpe's swift and agille movement. Something that is extremely important for a class like that, unfortunately, Taos has a heavy body that not only makes him slower, he isn't very agille either, but what does makes the difference is that Taos is in every aspect of expectations better than anyone, not to mention that he is the best in swordsmanship and defending with only a weapon available - something that Jason Sharpe can't do flawless.</p><p>"Let me guess... Abby" Gunthar mentioned as he saw Taos bending his back again because of the laughter. Gunthar knew well enough that Taos and Abby usually got each other laughing, regardless how bad the situation was; it was always funny to see something like that, especially since Taos has a reputation of being a serious man who does not laugh a lot. But now, in the park, with the wind blowing through their hairs, Gunthar could easily see that the "reputation" was everything but true. Taos Levens was perhaps the strongest man with the blade, but far from the best in a normal conversation; famous people never get to rest.</p><p>"Yeah, it's Abby" Taos replied with a chuckle in his voice as he saw most people continue their work and lost interest in the laughing Taos. Not before some made a small sketch or a note about it though. Seeing something again could be rare for them, was the opinion of most. Especially since Taos wasn't the kind of man who would quickly mix himself among the people if it wasn't necessary. His huge length and his even bigger sword didn't really give him the best idea to do it either.</p><p>"Yeah, I thought so" Gunthar calmly spoke as Taos became calmer and calmer until he was finally back to his old self and stood straight in front of Gunthar again. To surprise of many bystanders, Taos was only an amount inches taller than Gunthar. Though it is easily visible that Taos was taller, it was surprising as it is for everyone to see that Gunthar wasn't too far from it. Knowing that Taos was one of the tallest men in the Empire it gives quite a shock to people. Even though Taos was in the top. 10 of the tallest people, it was still good to see that other people are still growing as well. Especially with Ezra and Gunthar with not too much difference from Taos.</p><p>"Now, what is it?" The tall blonde man finally asked as he stopped laughing and finally looked at Gunthar with clear eyes.</p><p>"Oh, nothing in particular. I just wanted to ask where I can find Dale and the others" Gunthar calmly mentioned, not showing any form of excitement. "I heard they were going to Herasiel, I'm quite interesting in going with them" Gunthar went on as he looked at Taos with honest eyes, while Taos was one of the only people who could see Gunthar's true intentions, that wasn't just "going with them" as Gunthar said it.</p><p>"Sorry" Taos mentioned with a more sad than happy looking face, clearly the face of a man that was apologizing to a friend of his. "I've sent Dale's team on his way already" Taos continued while he made a gesture of that they left. "I don't think you'll have another chance to see Herasiel anymore, so I suggest you'd find a new target to place your interest in" Taos kept talking, while he gave a little hint that Taos should be the new 'idol' or 'target' of Gunthar, even though both knew that they would nearly be equalls in skills.</p><p>"Ah, well, then I'll be going back to my squads" Gunthar calmly mentioned, though the fire in his eyes aren't that easily covered just yet. "I was actually feeling like trying my skills to Herasie-..." before Gunthar could finish his sentence, the hand of Taos could be felt on his shoulder.</p><p>"I'm sure you'll have a chance similar to it to someone who is as skilled as him" Taos smilingly mentioned while he looked at Gunthar with clear honest eyes. Taos knew that Zane Duran was a ticket of success to fight Herasiel, that was the full reason why he'd picked out Zane out of everyone available. If Herasiel was already injured, than the battle would be over in a short moment, especially with Zane's skills. If Dain, Dale and Ezra could protect the knee of Zane, then the battle would be over in an instant. Even though Gunthar could easily decide the fight with an injured Herasiel better than anyone, it is a fight that you still take chances in. Letting Gunthar fight alone never has been the best idea in history either, even though Gunthar was more than the above average when fighting alone in a battle similar to it. Taos knew better than anyone (or maybe except for Price) how strong Herasiel is, and how little people are seriously equals to him. But now that he is injured on his arm - one of the most critical places for someone who fights with an axe like him - his is clearly weakened and should have his hands full with people like Tyler Dale or Terres Price in terms of skill. In this case, Zane Duran was a perfect ticket to victory and the end of the Nightmare, Herasiel.</p><p>"Maybe, but not in the near future" Gunthar answered on Taos as he winked at him and mentioned that is time to go back to his squad and end his conversation with Taos.</p><p>"Complain at lord Glodich if you want" Taos mockingly shouted at Gunthar who already made several steps away from Taos. A little backward waving hand of Gunthar was all Taos got as an answer. A little smile appeared on Taos' face as he saw it and finally took his leave from the area as well, leaving to fulfill his orders he got directly from lord Glodich Valentine himself.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>"He surely is taking his time, isn't he?" Collins softly mentioned as silence fell over the group moments ago already.</p><p>"If he doesn't hurry up, Herasiel already left the area!" Zane complained as he was clearly annoyed by waiting for Muriel to transport them already. Dain didn't look too nice anymore either, his teeth were already visible as he was pushing them on each other out of frustration.</p><p>"Calm down, I'm sure he'll be here any moment" Price quickly mentioned as he saw the faces of the soldiers getting more stricter at every passing moment.</p><p>"I could've gone to Parile for a match now!" Zane loudly shouted, trying to get rid of his frustration. Parile is an arena that can be found everyone in the grand castles. Several teams of rookie soldiers will battle each other to gain the status of a greater soldier if possible. If they win the title of the 'best team' three times in a row, the 'best team' will be promoted to real soldiers. If some of the rookies is doing good enough, they can either get promoted to real soldiers instantly (while the team gets an amount of gold) or they get placed in a continental team that is considered "the elite of rookies", if they are placed there, they usually are under interest of several commanders that are (perhaps) willing to promote them to the real soldiers.</p><p>"Parile? Do you like those things, sir Duran?" Dain asked, with a surprised face. Clearly intending of saying something remarkable with it, but not having the chance for it just yet.</p><p>"I do, why?" Zane answered, not really understanding what Dain meant as he looked at Dain with questionable eyes, clearly showing that he forgot he was frustrated. Dale made an 'oh well' gesture as he saw what was going on. Parile was the favorite subject of Zane, and when someone would start talking about it, Zane would lose all his worries and easily went into another subject to talk about.</p><p>"Maybe you've heard about the team named 'Arcshock'?" Dain asked, with no hesitation in his voice what was clearly heard before that. The moment Dain mentioned 'Arcshock' the faces of both Ezra and Zane changed. It was clear that both of them heard of it. Not too hard to guess what Dain meant with it.</p><p>"I do, come to think of it... I remember that the captain of the team was named 'Dain Sliverblade', you don't happen to be-..." before Zane could even finish his sentence, a smiling Dain nodded at the reaction, pointing out that he was the person of that team, the captain of the team. Not just the captain, but also the ace of the team.</p><p>"Impressive, so we have the champion of the Parile of last year here with us?" Ezra mentioned, looking impressed at Dain, looking at him with a completely different look than before; as if his entire opinion changed after learning that Dain was the champion of the rookies - by far. A nod of Dain was the same answer as what Zane got from Dain, just like Ezra has.</p><p></p><p>"Are you guys still here?" a female voice could be heard. Without any hesitation, Dale quickly looked up to see someone standing not too far from him, located between two guards on the second floor of the castle the soldiers stood in front. "You guys should have left by now!" she mentioned, as she looked Dale straight in the eyes.</p><p>"Cindise..." Dale muttered as he looked up to her.</p><p>"Cindise Coast. Dale, long time no see" she mentioned nearly instantly after Dale start muttering.</p><p>"Do you know her?" Price asked as he looked up at the person named 'Cindise'.</p><p>"Yes, she was one of the rookies back in the time when I helped commander Anderson. Anderson thinks she will grow out as a champion as well, but she isn't just yet" Dale explained to Price while he stopped looking at her and went with his look to Price.</p><p>"Wait a moment, does this 'new' generation only exist out of young champions?" Ezra suddenly spoke up while he hastily looks around, as if he found something very remarkable. "If Abby and Dain here are already on their way to become a champion, then we've suddenly got a lot of talents!" Ezra shouts, knowing that there was something special. More and more young talents seem to stand up and become a champion without too much trouble. Some of the young champions/soldiers are already strong than the veteran soldiers and if Dain here is already ready to go and find Herasiel, then it says a lot, not to mention Abby who has been invitated by lord Glodich, one of the greatest honors someone can get.</p><p>"What do you want, Cindise?" Dale finally asked as he looked up to her, clearly wondering what she exactly wanted.</p><p>"I was wondering if you could need some help in fighting Herasiel..."</p><p></p><p>When I think about it, it is pretty clear that Alex is spending more time with Claes than with Laura, I am sure it is because of that experience in that village. It is an experience no one can easily forget, and even if you cannot remember it clearly anymore, it is still a mental scar that will never dissapear. To put it more to ease, I think it is better to talk about it with people. If you can do that, then it will logically, be less problematic. It is also very understandable that Alex isn't going to Laura or anyone else with, for the problem. Even though Claes cannot remember much, or anything at all, from the situation, it is probably best to talk with her about it than anyone else - though the fact remains, I don't know who Cherry is, it is important that I'd visit her eventually as well.</p><p>As I was thinking, I could hear a soft melody going through the walls while the moon was slowly rising above the trees near the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, to see the sun going down in respect of the moon that would sparkle at the top of the heavens, looking down on us, mortal humans. With a beautiful melody that was creating the mood around, it was a beautiful sight and a manifest for your ears.</p><p>With a little shock, I quickly turned around, the melody was familiar; very familiar. But in opposite of the time I woke up, it wasn't If, and only if... what was it? Why was it so familiar in my ears? I never liked music enough to know many songs, but why did I recognize If, and only if, and now this one as well?</p><p>I blinked with my eyes as I tried to listen carefully how the song was played. It was played with a harmonica and it was lacking a few tunes. Just like Claes played the If, and only if song, it lacked a few tunes that weren't very important in it, but you could easily hear a difference between the original song, and the played song by Claes. "Speaking of Claes, isn't she playing this?" I suddenly asked myself as I walked towards the window, to see if someone was outside, playing it. I could hear the melody very clearly, so it isn't far away, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in my sight. More importantly, it is evening as well, the sun has gone down, and the melody was shaping the entire mood for the cool scene in the moonlight. As I looked forward, to the horizon, I just couldn't help but thinking about the strike force I had an invitation from while I listened to the beautiful calm music that was played on the background. I couldn't imagine how she learned the tunes she was playing, but for some reason, both melodies I've heard from that harmonica has been very fitting for the situation I was in - as if she read my mind to learn in what kind of mood I am.</p><p>I blinked with my eyes as I tried to find my reflection in the glass window as I saw myself looking quite stunned. Completely dumb-strucked, knowing that I was imagining things that are virtually impossible. I blinked a second time as I turned around, grabbed the book I was reading lately when I had some free time and quickly paged to the page I left it the last time, learning more about the current Empirical Champions such as Taos Levens and Jason Sharpe.</p><p></p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p></p><p>"So, what you are saying is that you found a gap in the defense of Wind?" the Emperor mentioned as he looked at an average sized black haired man in front of him. It was a rare sight to see lord Glodich together with a relatively unknown soldier alone in the throne room. Lord Glodich is usually under sight of at least one Empirical Champion that keeps him safe. Usually it is either Taos and sometimes it is Sharpe.</p><p>"Yes, there is a huge opening in the defense. After a lot of studying, it isn't a trap, it is just that she didn't notice" the kneeled black haired man mentioned as he looked as if he just ran a marathon. The man was muscular though most of his body couldn't be seen because of the chainmail that kept most covered. Normally, the too-big cap he wore was covering most of his upper face, but it was easily visible that he had black hair and a small scar on his left cheek. At the moment, he held the cap in his hands as he was still kneeled down on the ground.</p><p>"Vincent, if I'd send Sharpe and two other people of your choice with you, would you be able to come back with the necessary information?" Glodich mentions as he starts walking a bit, not to a particular place, but not being able to stand the pressure of standing still while a huge opening as that was opened up.</p><p>"Sharpe? Jason Sharpe, my lord?" the man, apparently named 'Vincent', mentions as he looks in awe as he just mentioned the name of his idol. Jason Sharpe, the man who held all champions under his thumb because of his extremely amazing skills. "Yes! Yes, of course I will be able to give the necessary information! I just need the people I trust" Vincent nearly shouted as his eyes started to shine and he looked as if he just won a golden medal. Working together with Jason Sharpe and the permission to command him by lord Glodich was an honor of no limits.</p><p>"If the gap is as big as you say, then this might be the end of the Fallen Angels. If that is true, then I am very willing to give you the command of the Empire's most assest" Lord Glodich mentions as he turns back to the younger soldiers, while the Emperor makes another friendly smile, like he usually does. His stuble beard increased a little bit of the last time Vincent and lord Glodich saw each other, but it did not hide the fact it kept him looking nice. "Dale, Duran and others just left to Herasiel, so if you hurry up, you just might find Wind in a good time" the Emperor spoke up as his smile never even for a moment dissapeared from his face. Many people think that lord Glodich isn't taking the wars seriously, as if he was just joking around throughout the time, but it was the complete opposite. If there was at least one man serious during the Empirical wars, then it must be lord Glodich Valentine, the Emperor, the boss of the Empire, the man above all others in command.</p><p>"Yes, sir!" Vincent called out, as he quickly stood up, replaced the cap back on his head, greeted the Emperor and quickly increased his pace as he left towards the door. Knowing that he will work with Jason Sharpe in a moment will be more than an honor for him. Working with any Empirical Champion is an honor, but to fight side on side with Jason Sharpe, that was an honor that was beyond belief.</p><p></p><p>As if it only took a second or two, Vincent opened the door, ran through the hall, and opened the second door to leave the royal rooms. The moment he stepped out of the royal rooms, he heard someone mentioning his name, as Vincent stopped walking, the smile slowly disipated and he took his time to turn around as his lips started to move as he looked the other person straight in the eyes.</p><p>"Cristina Merrill..." Vincent softly muttered as he looked her straight in the eyes, knowing all too well who he is dealing with while he sees the gorgeous soldier standing in front of him.</p><p>"Cristina Etta Merrill, or also known as 'Melody'" Cristina mentions as he she slowly approached Vincent. "I heard you found a weakness in Wind's defense... is this true?" Cristina softly and smirkingly mentions as she pushes her finger against Vincent as they already stood in each other's arm range. Cristina's blond hair was dropped over her shoulders as she looked at the black haired man in front of her. It was clear that Cristina was older than Vincent, but it would either be in months of time, or a year or two. Whichever it was, they were not much apart from each other in age, and probably not much in skills either.</p><p>"Y-Yes, that is true. I just got permission to ask the help of sir Jason Sharpe" Vincent stutterly mentions as the fire regained its strength in his eyes, something that surprised Cristina a bit as she quickly pulled her finger back and made a little disgusted look when she saw the burning flames in the eyes of Vincent. But even though she was surprised about the sudden determination of Vincent, she was not as surprised as Vincent only moments ago when he heard about Jason Sharpe - something that is an honor, even for champions. "I can also bring two other people with me, to my choic-..." before Vincent could even finish his sentence, Cristina placed her finger on the lips of the younger man as she placed her face in kissing range of Vincent.</p><p>"I am sure you'll find your necessary help in me..." Cristina softly mentions in a seductive voice while her eyes became smaller, trying to seduce the younger man even more. "But the combination of the grand Jason Sharpe, or the living sword as he is called, the brave Vincent Diaz and the gorgeous Melody, isn't that a grand combination?" the girl mentions as she looked seductive in the eyes of the black haired Vincent, who seemed to walk straight into her intentions.</p><p>"Y-Yes, that sounds great" the man mentions, clearly showing that he lost complete control of his body, and only listened to the person who is also called, 'Melody'.</p><p>"Yes, yes, yes, that's enough Melody" are the words that opened the real eyes of both humans as a hand pulls Cristina backwards that nearly made her fall, but was easily picked up by the man behind her.</p><p>"Murray Hawkins!" Vincent nearly shouted as he looked at the muscular man in front of him. "Am I being visited by celeberties?" Vincent quickly added to it as he looked his eyes out, seeing an Empirical Champion in front of him, and one of the biggest prospects throughout the world. It was unbelievable to see the grand Murray standing in front of him. Murray was a man that had no equal in his skills, no equal at all. After a painful, scarful and more importantly a near death situation, the Empirical Champion's muscles became looser, and the doctors were afraid that they'd become too loose. Apparently, that wasn't the case for the man, and eventually, his muscles became normal again; though there was one large change. Murray was able to move more comfortable and could make movements not just everyone can make. 'Murray Hawkins, the man that has no bones' was something he was often called. Murray became a sword fighter with no equal in combat when you compare his skill to anyone. In terms of technique and strength, Taos is far superior than Murray, but if you look at one special technique, than Murray has no equal. Murray Hawkins, is the only man who can flawlessly, change his attack in mid-air and change it into a completely different attack. Even though several high skilled swordsmen are able to do it too, all of them have flaws in it because it is impossible to make it flawless unless you want to break some bones; Murray that is able to bend his arm as much as he wants is able to change in mid-air and create a completely different attack the same moment he decides.</p><p>Together with Cristina Merrill, or also known as, 'Melody', was the perfect assistent for Murray Hawkins as they fight side on side. Though some say that Murray took Cristina in because of her looks and personality, it is known among the more experienced soldiers that that is wrong. Even though Cristina never really showed much potential in battle - she does on training, therefore, becoming a prodigy - she is full of it, only waiting to break it out at the right moment. But because of Murray's swift movements and Cristina's love to dance, they created a movement that no one else will be able to do without a teamwork of such a size. Cristina learned Murray to dance and a dance that can also be called, 'the dance of death' in fairy tales. The dance is slightly adjusted to attacking movements while they can both fight on a certain rhytm. They heard the song they fight on more than enough to memorize everything in their head. If the opponent is of no real importance, the movements can be done with closed eyes without even risking a little bit of your life. The dance has no real weakness since the movements are unexpected. Herasiel would have his hands full on a combination like that, if they would go together to the lair of the tiger, than the situation might even be better, especially with the combination of Jason Sharpe and Vincent Diaz.</p><p>Vincent Diaz was a man that was still in training, and was not even close to become an 'A' soldier (champion) and was only somewhere in the middle of the 'B' class with no particular good skill. The only thing Vincent was good in, was finding the weakness of the opponent, just like Herasiel, but both knew, that they were miles away from each other in terms of skill, but therefore was Herasiel world famous while Vincent was just a normal man with no name.</p><p></p><p>"Well, do you two want to go then?" Vincent bluntly asks as he looks a bit shy to the two who stood in front of him. Named with two official names, 'Cristina Merrill' and 'Murray Hawkins', two soldiers who have made a name by their excellent team work. Their team work is one of the best throughout the Empire because of multiple reasons. Both of them have nothing special to fight with, but Cristina's excellent luring and daring tactics are in complete harmony with Murray's fast and dangerous swings. The prodigy title of Cristina is well fit if you know what she is capable of in training, but it is a shame that she does not show it all in battle.</p><p>"Do you even have to ask?" Murray answered with, with a false smile on his face. He clearly showed that Cristina and he were pointing out to go with him. Attacking the base of Wind, while being defended by the great Aurora while you attack with someone like Jason Sharpe is a dream that came true. Jason Sharpe, the best of the best, and Murray and Melody on the sides is a dream that would come true for any soldier. Vincent could not even believe his eyes when he saw them around, asking it fight with him, side on side.</p><p>Would the mission succeed, then Vincent would be in one-shot famous, together with a huge increase of the reputation of Melody, Murray and Sharpe. Not that Sharpe actually is in need of a boost in reputation, he is already the most looked up to champion in the Empire.</p><p>"Well, if you want Jason to go with you, then you should find him quickly. Jason is a busy man" Cristina whispered to Vincent, trying to keep it a secret from Murray for some kind of reason.</p><p>It's not that Jason Sharpe was a man that goes on every missions he gets, but he is a busy man. Being the no.1 of the Empire is something you can't become in just a few days of time. Jason Sharpe fought his way to the top until he reached the final day where he finally could be named as the very 'best', because of that, he has many orders of teaching younger soldiers to get them into the right fight style, to let them fight in their own style. Jason Sharpe was the man with the best tactics and would be superior to every non-champion and the lesser champions.</p><p>"I'm on it right away!" Vincent shouted as he jumped a bit into the air and ran like a man on fire, as if it was a cartoon. After seeing Vincent react like this, a friendly smile appeared instantly on both the faces of Cristina as Murray. They knew how happy a normal soldier as him would be to learn such a flaw in the defenses of Wind, and to attack that. While knowing that the famous Aurora would definitely protect Wind was one thing, but with the help of Melody, Murray and Sharpe, he couldn't offer too much trouble.</p><p></p><p>...right?</p><p></p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p></p><p>"No, you'll stay here, Cindise!" Dale shouted at the top of his lungs. It was easy to see that Dale was getting red out of anger. He didn't want Cindise to go with them, and Cindise stayed stubborn of going with him, regardless of what Dake kept shouting at her. Fighting Herasiel could perhaps be done only once in a life time, fighting him would be a dream coming true for normal soldiers. Even for champions it would be something of unlimited value. Herasiel was the greatest enemy to the Empire and his brother was the second man who would be feared, but his younger brother - Aurora - was someone few knew he could be defeated. None knew if Herasiel could even taste the bitter taste of defeat. Even though he was injured because of Dale's quick reaction last time they faced each other in combat, it isn't something that would guarentee a victory. Many were confident because of Zane's pressence and the experience of Dale, but it would not hide the fact just yet that Herasiel was a powerful man who had to be watched out for, always.</p><p>"Come on! It's Herasiel! Herasiel, the Fallen Angel! You can't just leave me here!" Cindise shouted at Dale, pointing out that she wanted to go no matter what. The faces of Price, Ezra and Collins remained quite blank, to see a girl like that being so stubborn to go with them. Fighting Herasiel is an honor, but are you willing to risk honor for your own life? Even with Zane, Herasiel is the strongest man the Empire has ever faced, therefore, the strongest champions has been sent.</p><p>"Cindise?" soft, but old words were suddenly spoken as a shadow overlapped the body of Cindise from behind. Without any hesitation, the two long men, Ezra and Zane quickly tried to see who it was, but the lights of the pillars blocked their view.</p><p>What was very visible, was the eyes of Cindise who grew larger every second when she saw the older man standing in front of her. Dressed in a light chainmail and brown boots. His red-yellowish cape was hanging on his back and a staff that was nearly the double of himself easily confirmed who it was. His small beard was the last confirmation the people had to have to learn who it was. "Muriel..." Cindise softly mentioned as she looked in awe and complete surprise at him. She knew that Muriel was the one sending the soldiers to Herasiel, but it was not possible to imagine that it was also the same Muriel she would see here, just at the edges of the castle. Seeing Mace Muriel, Terres Price, Tyler Dale, Stephan Collins was an honor that had no equal. Ezra Hodges and Zane Duran also added to it, but just seeing the other four was enough to let your head twist out of excitement.</p><p>"You won't go, Cindise, it's as simple as that. I don't have the power to send you too" Muriel softly mentioned as he looked at Cindise with his old eyes. Muriel was a semi-old man who had to drain a bit of his strength everytime he teleports people, especially a larger amount, like now.</p><p>"But, sir Muriel! It's Herasiel!" Cindise shouted at him, looking desperate to go with them. Muriel knew just as well how eager Cindise was to fight Herasiel, but how much chance would there be for Cindise to win of Herasiel in combat? Less than 0%, that would be for sure, the chances that she'd survive even with the help of five champions would be something to doubt.</p><p>"You won't go, I make no discussion of that." Muriel completely finished the conversation with as he moved his head towards the soldiers who still stood at the same position. "Dale, others, are you ready?" Muriel asked as he already saw that Price was out of the list.</p><p>A confirming nod was all Muriel was in need of as a huge teleport circle appeared both under and above the five champions as they could feel their pressence being transported from their bodies, to be placed elsewhere. A feeling that was impossible to imagine unless you felt it. It was as if something was pulling your spirit from your body, and placing it elsewhere, together with your body. That was Muriel's power, to teleport people.</p><p>"Good luck, soldiers..."</p><p></p><p><div align="center">---</div></p><p></p><p>There. That should do it.</p><p>When people go to the story section, they have something to read <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick Out Tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> Together with JetPack's story, it fills the section up a bit.</p><p>If you actually got this far, then I hope you enjoyed it.</p><p></p><p>Any comments on it, is appreciated, though I must admit that I can't really remember what I wrote in the story. I'll have to read it myself some time <em>if</em> I would have to continue <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p></p><p>If there are any questions about it, feel free to ask it. Most characters that have been introduced in the story have a detailed history, though not all characters that have been introduced - not to mention that the characters that <em>has</em> been introduced, isn't even half of who played a large role in that world. Edgardo Hodges as example, is not one of the main characters, and does not have a detailed history to fall back to, when I don't know something.</p><p>If I remember correctly, Edgardo dies somewhat early in the 'If, and only if' story, but that does not mean that the non-main characters all eventually will die and that main characters will stay alive.</p><p></p><p>But by all means, any comments?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fladian, post: 107300, member: 5833"] Well, there are two things about double posting. 1. I don't like double posting. 2. It is impossible to double post on this forum :P But I'll finish what I have of the story in this post. If people like it enough, perhaps I'll continue writing it. --- "It's an honor to fight on your side, sir Duran" Collins quickly mentioned as he took a step forward after hearing the explanation of Dale who Duran exactly is. It was a huge honor to for a rookie like Collins to fight side on side with Zane Duran who is known throughout the entire Empire. Even though Tyler Dale is known throughout the entire Empire as well, it is only because of his long service and because he is one of the oldest soldiers. Dale is an experienced soldier, but not as talented as Zane Duran, or ever as talented as him. "Quit the formalities, Stephan Collins. You have the same rank as I am" the man clearly annoyed mentioned to Collins as he looked at him straight in the eyes, scaring Collins a bit because of Duran's directness. It just didn't make you feel comfortable could clearly be read from Collins' face. "Who is this you've brought with you, Zane?" Dale asked, clearly not impressed by the rank and popularity of Duran. While asking, Dale clearly and easily pointed past Dale to a man dressed in normal soldier armor. "Dain Sliverblade. Hot prospect from Anderson's selection" Zane explained, clearly showing that he isn't being impressed by Dale's stature or Anderson's famous name throughout the Empire. The moment after hearing the name, Collins quickly took a step back again to reach the hearing area of Dale to ask, "Anderson?" showing that Collins didn't know who Andersons is either. "Anderson is a commander of a certain selection of soldiers, not really a good soldier himself, but an excellent large group leader" Dale explained, not even bothering of keeping it quiet. None of the other 4 soldiers were bothered by the words from Dale. Commander Anderson, as he is often called, is a man who scouts for soldiers and adds to his own selection. Most of those people he scouts and- places in the Empire grow out to be champions. Tyler Dale, Edgardo Hodges and even Taos Levens are examples of the people he scouted and brought them to the Empire on young age, to train them to the age of what they are now and all of those 'champions' were good assets to the Empire. In terms of leadership, commander Anderson is an excellent leader and does not have many problems of keeping a selection together, regardless of Anderson's old age. Even though Lord Gunthar and Tyler Dale are excellent leaders as well, Anderson is trained in being a leader for armies, in opposite of Dale and Gunthar who are trained in battalions. Anderson isn't the no.1 leader of all generals, but he is the first and only man who has an amazing vision to scout people. "Anderson believes that he found more talented youngsters in a little brat named, David Tray and this rookie, Dain Sliverbla-..." before Zane could finish his sentence, he was forcefully interrupted by the words of the armor cladded soldier apparently named 'Dain Silverblade'. "Never judge at sight" Dain mentioned as he walked past Zane towards Dale, Collins, Ezra and Price. Shaking their hands the moment he came in range. "Some people can be more skilled than you think, Duran" Dain mentioned with a stern look on his face, clearly showing that he can live up being in the presence of multiple champions, Ezra, Zane, Terres, Tyler and Stephan are people take note of after all. "Well, we'll see what will happen with you around, Dain" Ezra mentions with a friendly smile crossing his face, hoping to give Dain a more comfortable place to be. A little nod from the head of Dain was the only answer Ezra got from Dain as he continued his walk towards Price and Dale. "It is an honor to fight side on side with you, sir Dale" Dain mentioned as he stood in the range of Dale and shook his head. It was clear that Dain wasn't the right man for formalities, his accent was completely different from normal people who are used to be, or are introducing them selves to important people, something that Dain apparently did not know. Or he was too young to know such or he was never taught in it in his younger years. You'd wonder where Anderson picked Dain from. A farm perhaps? "No, no, the honor is all mine" Dale quickly mentioned after he noticed that a silence was falling over the few people who stood there. "It is an honor for an old veteran like me to fight side on side with a promising soldier- sent by commander Anderson" Dale added to it, just like Ezra, trying to let Dain feel himself more comfortable. All soldiers had a smile ready for Dain except Zane and Collins. Collins only had a few years difference from Dain, and if he was already skilled enough to go with them to find Herasiel, then he must have one load of potential since Collins never got that order to find Herasiel, not even when Taos and Dale were with him. They just found it 'too dangerous' to let him go with them to find someone as strong as Herasiel, and you cannot blame them for saying something like that, but now that the situation is repeating its self, it is remarkable that a rookie is going with them, even though this might be one of the strongest combinations of the Empire that is available. But what is perhaps now more important than the potential rating, is Dain strong enough to keep him self defending from Herasiel. Herasiel is a man that you can't avoid in a small moment and is extremely strong, perhaps even stronger than Taos - who is considered invincible by normal soldiers. But even if he is strong enough to keep Herasiel off of him, is he able to keep up with other champions? Zane Duran is a man with the most skills of the group and perhaps one of the strongest men of the Empire while Collins is the weakest but in no possible way can be considered 'weak' he is just too young to be compared to the veterans that are in the group. Dale is one of the oldest soldiers in the Empire, and because of that, very experienced in many skills and situations, more than Zane. Price is the soldier who is under view of Dale and extremely skilled, just like his master (Dale). Whatever people may say, even without the help of Edgardo, the team is amazingly strong and it wouldn't be surprising to see the odds changing from Herasiel to the Empirical Team. It was no doubt that Taos knew these things when he selected the team to accompany Ezra and Dale, but it was mostly surprising that Taos has sent Dain with the crew while people such as Gerald Letson or Sykes Red didn't got a word of going with them, after all, they are clearly superior than Dain Sliverblade in every possible way, otherwise, they wouldn't gain the title of 'Champion' of their squadron. "Well, you'll have fun with Dale and the others, Dain, I won't be around" Price suddenly mentioned after hearing the crowd was getting quiet again as he looked to Dain with kind eyes, surprising the entire group except Dale and Zane. Dale knew better than anyone, perhaps even better than Price himself, that he was injured beyond recovery in a short time such as this. Zane, as experienced as he is, could easily see Price struggle to stay standing, fighting not to fall to the ground and cripple of the pain. The attacks that Herasiel used on Price were no joke, and were even hard to take for an Empirical Champion, like Price. "You aren't?!" Collins and Ezra said, nearly at the same time. The moment they finished their sentence, their look quickly went to each other, knowing that they felt the same way since the emotions in the words could easily be heard above anything else. "No, I'm too injured to go along... Collins entered the battlefield later and Dale had a short time to rest, I didn't have that" Price softly mentioned, looking a bit sad to the people in front of him, clearly showing that he wanted to go with them, but was just too injured to face Herasiel again in combat. Price was able to do some light training and perhaps a small spar-combat, but Herasiel was really asked too much. Heavy training would already be pushing the limit, but Herasiel is someone with no pity, and would gladly destroy anyone in his path, not caring who it is. It could be Price, but for all he would care, it could also be lord Glodich that he'd face in combat and easily dispose of. Especially with these injures, it would be a huge penalty. "Collins, Dale, fight for me as well, okay?" the blonde man asked as he looked at his two friends while still being a bit wet from the showers he walked through while following Dale not too long ago. With a sad look on Price's face, he had no choice to decline to go with them, it was just too much for him... too much to handle. A little nod from both Collins as Dale was the answer for Price. Price knew well enough that Dale knew that Price couldn't go along, but it would only be considered offensive would he say it with people as Duran next to him. "Well Price, if you're all that injured, then Dale and Collins should have the same proble-..." before Zane could finish his sentence, he was already interrupted by Dale who started shouting at Zane. "Oh, be quiet already, Zane. Collins wasn't around most parts of the battle, and I wasn't all that injured" Dale shouted at Zane while everyone knew that Dale was heavily injured as well. The bandage that was bonded around his head could easily say that Dale was badly injured as well. "I have no choice to go with you anyway! Collins doesn't know the real power of Herasiel!" Dale managed to say as well. "I am not exactly sure of Herasiel true potential as well..." Dale pointed out, clearly showing that Price was the only man who knows how strong Herasiel really is. The eyes quickly switched from Dale to Price. "Is that true, Price?" Ezra kindly mentioned as he looked at the blonde man. "It is. When Herasiel fled the situation, I followed him and fought him seriously" Price mentioned, clearly pointing out that Herasiel was a lot stronger than everyone thought. "Even though he humiliated me badly, I have respect for his skills" Price managed to say as he looked down to the ground, knowing the best how strong Herasiel really has become. The man was completely amazing with no weakness as far as they could see, but Herasiel knew that as well, he knew that better than anyone. "Herasiel is a man who only shows his true potential when he is excited in combat. He was clearly now exciting when he fought us, the four champions, including Edgardo" Price spoke up, pointing further out how strong Herasiel now is. Not everyone is able to show his true potential only when he fights a strong opponent, because it has as much disadvantages as advantages. "A type just like me" Zane interrupted Price with, with a smile on his face. "Interesting, to fight a man similar to my own style" Zane continued, showing that he is truly impressed that Herasiel is able to do such a thing, and be still so dangerous like it. Many people fail being able to do it, but those who can do it, often don't have enough potential to back up their own words. "What do you mean, sir Duran?" Collins asked as he heard the words from Zane just a moment ago. "Like lord Gunthar, Zane isn't able to pull out his true potential when he doesn't have a worthy opponent to fight against" Dale explained with a friendly smile on his face. "Did you know this, Dain?" Dale quickly changed the subject to ask Dain. Dain easily made a gesture that he didn't know and appreciated it that it was explained as well. "Exactly" Zane mentioned, as he looked up at the sky, becoming slightly impatient where Muriel was staying to teleport them to an area close to the area they had to be. "If Herasiel is only able to show his potential when he is excited, then he will have his hands full on me" the dark haired man mentioned as he made a fist and lifted it in the sky, showing over flowing confidence from his words. "I'll make it exciting for him!" Zane shouted with a smile on his face and was over flowing with confidence. "Don't be too confident, Zane" Price softly mentioned as he looked up at the dark haired man. "You are strong, but can you truthfully say that you can defeat me in a few seconds?" Price asked Zane while trying to hide his facial expression from Zane. "Of course I can't! No one can. Not even Taos can defeat you in seconds, if someone could, you wouldn't be one of the champio-..." before Zane could finish what he was saying, he was interrupted by the words of Terres Price. "Herasiel can!... no, not only can. He also did" Price shouted out, clearly showing the real strength of Herasiel. "All calculations of Herasiel are wrong!" Price shouted out, showing that everyone underestimated Herasiel, even Taos couldn't give an accurate report about Herasiel, the man is just far too skilled. "As far as we know, Herasiel never shown his real potential in combat with anyone. As far as we know, I am the first he really gave a taste of his true skills! He humiliated me in a matter of seconds!" Price kept shouting, while really knowing that Herasiel was a man not to be compared to people under him, not even multiple people since he would surely be superior. Sending an army at him is something what would be strange, but if this fails, it might be the only idea. Herasiel is a man called 'the Nightmare' and that name is very true. After hearing Price's words, Ezra and Zane could only look like a confused man to Price, they knew all too well that Price would speak the truth. He had no reason to lie after all, and Dale confirmed it. Dale eyes travelled to the face of Dain, that looked quite surprised after hearing the words from Price. "Don't worry Dain, our forces combined should be more than enough for someone like Herasiel. We are just... with too many skilled people" Dale tried to reassure Dain with, knowing that Dale was right, his confidence increased a bit. --- "Aren't you supposed to go already, Taos?" a long haired - placed in a ponytail - girl asked as she walked past Taos. Without looking at each other, Taos could clearly hear who was saying something to her. The girl was dressed in a short chainmail and a huge bow dressed on her back. "Can I help you, my lady?" Taos formerly mentioned as he stood still, not looking at her. Partly because she was more than a head shorter than Taos but also because she wasn't looking at him either. They just stood next to each other, both looking the opposite way of each other but still listening to each others words. "'My lady' you say?! Taos! I'm not even twenty yet!" the girl yelled out at him as she turned around and forced him to at her in the face. It was clear the girl was still young, but it was remarkable that she could be found in the royal halls. "Shhh! Be quiet, Abby!" Taos quickly mentioned after hearing her yell. "This is the royal hall, many people here don't want to be disturbed!" Taos quickly mentioned in a whispering tone. "Sorry, Taos" the girl named Abby quickly apologized after hearing the words from Taos. "What are you doing here anyway? Not just everyone can visit the royal halls" Taos softly whispered to her, awaiting for her answer. "Lord Glodich invited me" Abby mentioned with a nice smile on her face. She clearly knew Taos better than certain other people. Abby met Taos 6 years ago, when she was brought to the Central Palace 7 years ago, where she could train with multiple other promising archers from the same age and higher. After being there for a short year, she was mostly homesick and could not stand being so far from her parents. Something like that was to be expected from most 13 year old girls and no one blamed her for it. All the girls from her section act like that, it's their nature. Abby on the other hand, was a special case and stayed being homesick for several months, far more than anyone else. Eventually, she met Taos while being homesick who started caring for her because he felt sorry for her. Together with his wife who lived in the Central Palace back then, they helped her overcome her being homesick and eventually started to live the way she wanted. After 4 years more of training, she grew out to be the most promising archer of her age-class. There are more people who are far more skilled than she is, but on her age. But now she is even invited by Lord Glodich himself now, the Emperor; and if that isn't an honor, nothing is an honor. "Lord Glodich did? Why's that, especially so suddenly?" Taos mentioned as he looked at her with a questionable look. Taos clearly heard nothing about the meeting with Abby and Glodich, even though he just came from lord Glodich. "What is it that lord Glodich wants then?" Taos enquired, looking confusing to Abby. "I don't know, I'll find that out when I'm there. But more importantly, how is Tesse?" Abby quickly changed the subject with. Even though she had respect for the question of Taos asking what lord Glodich wants, Abby was also very interested in Tesse Levens, the daughter of Taos Levens. "I think she's fine. I haven't seen her for a while now" Taos confusingly mentioned, completely surprised she changed the subject so easily. "You should go to her sometime" she quickly mentioned after Taos, shocking Taos even more. Taos was the master of swords, but not as 'masterful' with words and quickly fails to create an interested conversation. "I should, but I just don't have the time, Abby" Taos mentioned with pain in his voice. Abby knows that Taos is willing to see his daughter again, but because of his rank, he does not even has the time to make a little trip to visit his family who recently moved from the Central Palace. "Are you here in the Central Palace all the time?" Abby asked with a questionable look - to both - as a facial expression. Smirking a little bit while she asked, probably intending something behind her previous question. "Yes, there is no where else I can go" Taos calmly replied, not finding out what her intention is. "If that is so, then you should visit me more often. Perhaps I can give you some 'special service' if you behave well" the girl suddenly blurted out, clearly visible that she was waiting for Taos to say something like that. Her facial expression changed from a questionable look to a smirking look, taking every advantage of the joke that he could find. It was easy to see that Abby was trying to joke with the mostly serious Taos, but if it would work is the question. "Abby!" Taos yelled while a little red blush appeared on his face. Taos saw Abby as his own daughter that he should protect whenever he can and heed her from unnecessary things. Hearing such words from the person he sees as a daughter can come as quite a shock to him what was now clearly visible with the red bloshes of Taos. Abby was not even trying to cover that she was laughing at Taos' reaction and his blush. Even though Abby and Taos lived together for quite a while, it was unexpected to see the mostly-so-serious Taos blush at such a reaction. But even though Taos is mostly serious, a little laugh did appear on his face after seeing Abby laughing fiercely. Even though it was forbidden to make noise in the royal halls, even Taos couldn't hold in his laughter as he looked at Abby who was relaxed about what just happened. "G... Go to lord Glodich already" Taos quickly mentioned as he quickly increased his pace to the exit as well, hoping to find a place as soon as possible where he can laugh without any limits. A laughingly Abby quickly nodded in agreement with Taos and waved him good bye as she walked towards the great door of lord Glodich's room. Only a few minutes before Abby and Taos left each other, Taos could already be found in a small nearby park, placing his weight on a little pole that stook out of the ground, clearly having fun because of Abby. His laughter attracted a lot of attention of an amount of people, seeing as Taos is one of the most known people of the Empire and he is also well known for being a very serious type, not falling quickly for jokes. Seeing Taos laugh like this was a rare sight and not many expected to see Taos laugh this loud in public; at the very most in a pub or at home, but not in a public park. Even though Taos knew that people were looking at him, he could care less about it. For no particular reason, he just couldn't stop laughing. The smile of Abby was such a comfortable smile for him and not only did it make him happy, but seeing her laugh it made Taos laugh as well. "Taos, are you okay?" a man asked who approached him a moment ago asked. Taos quickly looked up as he heard someone mention something against him. The tall man was clearly surprised that his sight could take a while to go up, the man who was spoke to Taos didn't have much of a length difference with Taos himself who was bended because of his laughter. The slightly tinted skin and the long black haired that was placed in a pony tail gave quite the ability to guess who it was. The little beard and mustache confirmed it completely. "Don't worry Gunthar, I'm fine" Taos mentioned, chuckeling over his own words, knowing that there was nothing going on, except that he just couldn't stop laughing. It was not usual to see both Taos and Gunthar together, especially not in a public park. Both men have a huge name in the Empire but most importantly, the reason why they are never seen together is because their skills in battle don't match at all. Gunthar's best skill is his leadership while Taos rather fights on his own, but even though Gunthar is more than excellent in fighting alone as well, his skill is clearly less than the elite champion, Taos. Even though Jason Sharpe is the no.1 of elite champions in general skill, it is Taos who is the most dangerous. The largest penalty that Taos has is his speed. Taos isn't very fast in moving what also gives a lot of crucial penalties, fortunately, Taos has a lot of stamina so he doesn't necessary has to move much to evade. Jason Sharpe can't do anything what Taos does but is close. The largest difference than that Sharpe and Taos has, is Taos' lack of speed and Sharpe's swift and agille movement. Something that is extremely important for a class like that, unfortunately, Taos has a heavy body that not only makes him slower, he isn't very agille either, but what does makes the difference is that Taos is in every aspect of expectations better than anyone, not to mention that he is the best in swordsmanship and defending with only a weapon available - something that Jason Sharpe can't do flawless. "Let me guess... Abby" Gunthar mentioned as he saw Taos bending his back again because of the laughter. Gunthar knew well enough that Taos and Abby usually got each other laughing, regardless how bad the situation was; it was always funny to see something like that, especially since Taos has a reputation of being a serious man who does not laugh a lot. But now, in the park, with the wind blowing through their hairs, Gunthar could easily see that the "reputation" was everything but true. Taos Levens was perhaps the strongest man with the blade, but far from the best in a normal conversation; famous people never get to rest. "Yeah, it's Abby" Taos replied with a chuckle in his voice as he saw most people continue their work and lost interest in the laughing Taos. Not before some made a small sketch or a note about it though. Seeing something again could be rare for them, was the opinion of most. Especially since Taos wasn't the kind of man who would quickly mix himself among the people if it wasn't necessary. His huge length and his even bigger sword didn't really give him the best idea to do it either. "Yeah, I thought so" Gunthar calmly spoke as Taos became calmer and calmer until he was finally back to his old self and stood straight in front of Gunthar again. To surprise of many bystanders, Taos was only an amount inches taller than Gunthar. Though it is easily visible that Taos was taller, it was surprising as it is for everyone to see that Gunthar wasn't too far from it. Knowing that Taos was one of the tallest men in the Empire it gives quite a shock to people. Even though Taos was in the top. 10 of the tallest people, it was still good to see that other people are still growing as well. Especially with Ezra and Gunthar with not too much difference from Taos. "Now, what is it?" The tall blonde man finally asked as he stopped laughing and finally looked at Gunthar with clear eyes. "Oh, nothing in particular. I just wanted to ask where I can find Dale and the others" Gunthar calmly mentioned, not showing any form of excitement. "I heard they were going to Herasiel, I'm quite interesting in going with them" Gunthar went on as he looked at Taos with honest eyes, while Taos was one of the only people who could see Gunthar's true intentions, that wasn't just "going with them" as Gunthar said it. "Sorry" Taos mentioned with a more sad than happy looking face, clearly the face of a man that was apologizing to a friend of his. "I've sent Dale's team on his way already" Taos continued while he made a gesture of that they left. "I don't think you'll have another chance to see Herasiel anymore, so I suggest you'd find a new target to place your interest in" Taos kept talking, while he gave a little hint that Taos should be the new 'idol' or 'target' of Gunthar, even though both knew that they would nearly be equalls in skills. "Ah, well, then I'll be going back to my squads" Gunthar calmly mentioned, though the fire in his eyes aren't that easily covered just yet. "I was actually feeling like trying my skills to Herasie-..." before Gunthar could finish his sentence, the hand of Taos could be felt on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll have a chance similar to it to someone who is as skilled as him" Taos smilingly mentioned while he looked at Gunthar with clear honest eyes. Taos knew that Zane Duran was a ticket of success to fight Herasiel, that was the full reason why he'd picked out Zane out of everyone available. If Herasiel was already injured, than the battle would be over in a short moment, especially with Zane's skills. If Dain, Dale and Ezra could protect the knee of Zane, then the battle would be over in an instant. Even though Gunthar could easily decide the fight with an injured Herasiel better than anyone, it is a fight that you still take chances in. Letting Gunthar fight alone never has been the best idea in history either, even though Gunthar was more than the above average when fighting alone in a battle similar to it. Taos knew better than anyone (or maybe except for Price) how strong Herasiel is, and how little people are seriously equals to him. But now that he is injured on his arm - one of the most critical places for someone who fights with an axe like him - his is clearly weakened and should have his hands full with people like Tyler Dale or Terres Price in terms of skill. In this case, Zane Duran was a perfect ticket to victory and the end of the Nightmare, Herasiel. "Maybe, but not in the near future" Gunthar answered on Taos as he winked at him and mentioned that is time to go back to his squad and end his conversation with Taos. "Complain at lord Glodich if you want" Taos mockingly shouted at Gunthar who already made several steps away from Taos. A little backward waving hand of Gunthar was all Taos got as an answer. A little smile appeared on Taos' face as he saw it and finally took his leave from the area as well, leaving to fulfill his orders he got directly from lord Glodich Valentine himself. --- "He surely is taking his time, isn't he?" Collins softly mentioned as silence fell over the group moments ago already. "If he doesn't hurry up, Herasiel already left the area!" Zane complained as he was clearly annoyed by waiting for Muriel to transport them already. Dain didn't look too nice anymore either, his teeth were already visible as he was pushing them on each other out of frustration. "Calm down, I'm sure he'll be here any moment" Price quickly mentioned as he saw the faces of the soldiers getting more stricter at every passing moment. "I could've gone to Parile for a match now!" Zane loudly shouted, trying to get rid of his frustration. Parile is an arena that can be found everyone in the grand castles. Several teams of rookie soldiers will battle each other to gain the status of a greater soldier if possible. If they win the title of the 'best team' three times in a row, the 'best team' will be promoted to real soldiers. If some of the rookies is doing good enough, they can either get promoted to real soldiers instantly (while the team gets an amount of gold) or they get placed in a continental team that is considered "the elite of rookies", if they are placed there, they usually are under interest of several commanders that are (perhaps) willing to promote them to the real soldiers. "Parile? Do you like those things, sir Duran?" Dain asked, with a surprised face. Clearly intending of saying something remarkable with it, but not having the chance for it just yet. "I do, why?" Zane answered, not really understanding what Dain meant as he looked at Dain with questionable eyes, clearly showing that he forgot he was frustrated. Dale made an 'oh well' gesture as he saw what was going on. Parile was the favorite subject of Zane, and when someone would start talking about it, Zane would lose all his worries and easily went into another subject to talk about. "Maybe you've heard about the team named 'Arcshock'?" Dain asked, with no hesitation in his voice what was clearly heard before that. The moment Dain mentioned 'Arcshock' the faces of both Ezra and Zane changed. It was clear that both of them heard of it. Not too hard to guess what Dain meant with it. "I do, come to think of it... I remember that the captain of the team was named 'Dain Sliverblade', you don't happen to be-..." before Zane could even finish his sentence, a smiling Dain nodded at the reaction, pointing out that he was the person of that team, the captain of the team. Not just the captain, but also the ace of the team. "Impressive, so we have the champion of the Parile of last year here with us?" Ezra mentioned, looking impressed at Dain, looking at him with a completely different look than before; as if his entire opinion changed after learning that Dain was the champion of the rookies - by far. A nod of Dain was the same answer as what Zane got from Dain, just like Ezra has. "Are you guys still here?" a female voice could be heard. Without any hesitation, Dale quickly looked up to see someone standing not too far from him, located between two guards on the second floor of the castle the soldiers stood in front. "You guys should have left by now!" she mentioned, as she looked Dale straight in the eyes. "Cindise..." Dale muttered as he looked up to her. "Cindise Coast. Dale, long time no see" she mentioned nearly instantly after Dale start muttering. "Do you know her?" Price asked as he looked up at the person named 'Cindise'. "Yes, she was one of the rookies back in the time when I helped commander Anderson. Anderson thinks she will grow out as a champion as well, but she isn't just yet" Dale explained to Price while he stopped looking at her and went with his look to Price. "Wait a moment, does this 'new' generation only exist out of young champions?" Ezra suddenly spoke up while he hastily looks around, as if he found something very remarkable. "If Abby and Dain here are already on their way to become a champion, then we've suddenly got a lot of talents!" Ezra shouts, knowing that there was something special. More and more young talents seem to stand up and become a champion without too much trouble. Some of the young champions/soldiers are already strong than the veteran soldiers and if Dain here is already ready to go and find Herasiel, then it says a lot, not to mention Abby who has been invitated by lord Glodich, one of the greatest honors someone can get. "What do you want, Cindise?" Dale finally asked as he looked up to her, clearly wondering what she exactly wanted. "I was wondering if you could need some help in fighting Herasiel..." When I think about it, it is pretty clear that Alex is spending more time with Claes than with Laura, I am sure it is because of that experience in that village. It is an experience no one can easily forget, and even if you cannot remember it clearly anymore, it is still a mental scar that will never dissapear. To put it more to ease, I think it is better to talk about it with people. If you can do that, then it will logically, be less problematic. It is also very understandable that Alex isn't going to Laura or anyone else with, for the problem. Even though Claes cannot remember much, or anything at all, from the situation, it is probably best to talk with her about it than anyone else - though the fact remains, I don't know who Cherry is, it is important that I'd visit her eventually as well. As I was thinking, I could hear a soft melody going through the walls while the moon was slowly rising above the trees near the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, to see the sun going down in respect of the moon that would sparkle at the top of the heavens, looking down on us, mortal humans. With a beautiful melody that was creating the mood around, it was a beautiful sight and a manifest for your ears. With a little shock, I quickly turned around, the melody was familiar; very familiar. But in opposite of the time I woke up, it wasn't If, and only if... what was it? Why was it so familiar in my ears? I never liked music enough to know many songs, but why did I recognize If, and only if, and now this one as well? I blinked with my eyes as I tried to listen carefully how the song was played. It was played with a harmonica and it was lacking a few tunes. Just like Claes played the If, and only if song, it lacked a few tunes that weren't very important in it, but you could easily hear a difference between the original song, and the played song by Claes. "Speaking of Claes, isn't she playing this?" I suddenly asked myself as I walked towards the window, to see if someone was outside, playing it. I could hear the melody very clearly, so it isn't far away, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in my sight. More importantly, it is evening as well, the sun has gone down, and the melody was shaping the entire mood for the cool scene in the moonlight. As I looked forward, to the horizon, I just couldn't help but thinking about the strike force I had an invitation from while I listened to the beautiful calm music that was played on the background. I couldn't imagine how she learned the tunes she was playing, but for some reason, both melodies I've heard from that harmonica has been very fitting for the situation I was in - as if she read my mind to learn in what kind of mood I am. I blinked with my eyes as I tried to find my reflection in the glass window as I saw myself looking quite stunned. Completely dumb-strucked, knowing that I was imagining things that are virtually impossible. I blinked a second time as I turned around, grabbed the book I was reading lately when I had some free time and quickly paged to the page I left it the last time, learning more about the current Empirical Champions such as Taos Levens and Jason Sharpe. --- "So, what you are saying is that you found a gap in the defense of Wind?" the Emperor mentioned as he looked at an average sized black haired man in front of him. It was a rare sight to see lord Glodich together with a relatively unknown soldier alone in the throne room. Lord Glodich is usually under sight of at least one Empirical Champion that keeps him safe. Usually it is either Taos and sometimes it is Sharpe. "Yes, there is a huge opening in the defense. After a lot of studying, it isn't a trap, it is just that she didn't notice" the kneeled black haired man mentioned as he looked as if he just ran a marathon. The man was muscular though most of his body couldn't be seen because of the chainmail that kept most covered. Normally, the too-big cap he wore was covering most of his upper face, but it was easily visible that he had black hair and a small scar on his left cheek. At the moment, he held the cap in his hands as he was still kneeled down on the ground. "Vincent, if I'd send Sharpe and two other people of your choice with you, would you be able to come back with the necessary information?" Glodich mentions as he starts walking a bit, not to a particular place, but not being able to stand the pressure of standing still while a huge opening as that was opened up. "Sharpe? Jason Sharpe, my lord?" the man, apparently named 'Vincent', mentions as he looks in awe as he just mentioned the name of his idol. Jason Sharpe, the man who held all champions under his thumb because of his extremely amazing skills. "Yes! Yes, of course I will be able to give the necessary information! I just need the people I trust" Vincent nearly shouted as his eyes started to shine and he looked as if he just won a golden medal. Working together with Jason Sharpe and the permission to command him by lord Glodich was an honor of no limits. "If the gap is as big as you say, then this might be the end of the Fallen Angels. If that is true, then I am very willing to give you the command of the Empire's most assest" Lord Glodich mentions as he turns back to the younger soldiers, while the Emperor makes another friendly smile, like he usually does. His stuble beard increased a little bit of the last time Vincent and lord Glodich saw each other, but it did not hide the fact it kept him looking nice. "Dale, Duran and others just left to Herasiel, so if you hurry up, you just might find Wind in a good time" the Emperor spoke up as his smile never even for a moment dissapeared from his face. Many people think that lord Glodich isn't taking the wars seriously, as if he was just joking around throughout the time, but it was the complete opposite. If there was at least one man serious during the Empirical wars, then it must be lord Glodich Valentine, the Emperor, the boss of the Empire, the man above all others in command. "Yes, sir!" Vincent called out, as he quickly stood up, replaced the cap back on his head, greeted the Emperor and quickly increased his pace as he left towards the door. Knowing that he will work with Jason Sharpe in a moment will be more than an honor for him. Working with any Empirical Champion is an honor, but to fight side on side with Jason Sharpe, that was an honor that was beyond belief. As if it only took a second or two, Vincent opened the door, ran through the hall, and opened the second door to leave the royal rooms. The moment he stepped out of the royal rooms, he heard someone mentioning his name, as Vincent stopped walking, the smile slowly disipated and he took his time to turn around as his lips started to move as he looked the other person straight in the eyes. "Cristina Merrill..." Vincent softly muttered as he looked her straight in the eyes, knowing all too well who he is dealing with while he sees the gorgeous soldier standing in front of him. "Cristina Etta Merrill, or also known as 'Melody'" Cristina mentions as he she slowly approached Vincent. "I heard you found a weakness in Wind's defense... is this true?" Cristina softly and smirkingly mentions as she pushes her finger against Vincent as they already stood in each other's arm range. Cristina's blond hair was dropped over her shoulders as she looked at the black haired man in front of her. It was clear that Cristina was older than Vincent, but it would either be in months of time, or a year or two. Whichever it was, they were not much apart from each other in age, and probably not much in skills either. "Y-Yes, that is true. I just got permission to ask the help of sir Jason Sharpe" Vincent stutterly mentions as the fire regained its strength in his eyes, something that surprised Cristina a bit as she quickly pulled her finger back and made a little disgusted look when she saw the burning flames in the eyes of Vincent. But even though she was surprised about the sudden determination of Vincent, she was not as surprised as Vincent only moments ago when he heard about Jason Sharpe - something that is an honor, even for champions. "I can also bring two other people with me, to my choic-..." before Vincent could even finish his sentence, Cristina placed her finger on the lips of the younger man as she placed her face in kissing range of Vincent. "I am sure you'll find your necessary help in me..." Cristina softly mentions in a seductive voice while her eyes became smaller, trying to seduce the younger man even more. "But the combination of the grand Jason Sharpe, or the living sword as he is called, the brave Vincent Diaz and the gorgeous Melody, isn't that a grand combination?" the girl mentions as she looked seductive in the eyes of the black haired Vincent, who seemed to walk straight into her intentions. "Y-Yes, that sounds great" the man mentions, clearly showing that he lost complete control of his body, and only listened to the person who is also called, 'Melody'. "Yes, yes, yes, that's enough Melody" are the words that opened the real eyes of both humans as a hand pulls Cristina backwards that nearly made her fall, but was easily picked up by the man behind her. "Murray Hawkins!" Vincent nearly shouted as he looked at the muscular man in front of him. "Am I being visited by celeberties?" Vincent quickly added to it as he looked his eyes out, seeing an Empirical Champion in front of him, and one of the biggest prospects throughout the world. It was unbelievable to see the grand Murray standing in front of him. Murray was a man that had no equal in his skills, no equal at all. After a painful, scarful and more importantly a near death situation, the Empirical Champion's muscles became looser, and the doctors were afraid that they'd become too loose. Apparently, that wasn't the case for the man, and eventually, his muscles became normal again; though there was one large change. Murray was able to move more comfortable and could make movements not just everyone can make. 'Murray Hawkins, the man that has no bones' was something he was often called. Murray became a sword fighter with no equal in combat when you compare his skill to anyone. In terms of technique and strength, Taos is far superior than Murray, but if you look at one special technique, than Murray has no equal. Murray Hawkins, is the only man who can flawlessly, change his attack in mid-air and change it into a completely different attack. Even though several high skilled swordsmen are able to do it too, all of them have flaws in it because it is impossible to make it flawless unless you want to break some bones; Murray that is able to bend his arm as much as he wants is able to change in mid-air and create a completely different attack the same moment he decides. Together with Cristina Merrill, or also known as, 'Melody', was the perfect assistent for Murray Hawkins as they fight side on side. Though some say that Murray took Cristina in because of her looks and personality, it is known among the more experienced soldiers that that is wrong. Even though Cristina never really showed much potential in battle - she does on training, therefore, becoming a prodigy - she is full of it, only waiting to break it out at the right moment. But because of Murray's swift movements and Cristina's love to dance, they created a movement that no one else will be able to do without a teamwork of such a size. Cristina learned Murray to dance and a dance that can also be called, 'the dance of death' in fairy tales. The dance is slightly adjusted to attacking movements while they can both fight on a certain rhytm. They heard the song they fight on more than enough to memorize everything in their head. If the opponent is of no real importance, the movements can be done with closed eyes without even risking a little bit of your life. The dance has no real weakness since the movements are unexpected. Herasiel would have his hands full on a combination like that, if they would go together to the lair of the tiger, than the situation might even be better, especially with the combination of Jason Sharpe and Vincent Diaz. Vincent Diaz was a man that was still in training, and was not even close to become an 'A' soldier (champion) and was only somewhere in the middle of the 'B' class with no particular good skill. The only thing Vincent was good in, was finding the weakness of the opponent, just like Herasiel, but both knew, that they were miles away from each other in terms of skill, but therefore was Herasiel world famous while Vincent was just a normal man with no name. "Well, do you two want to go then?" Vincent bluntly asks as he looks a bit shy to the two who stood in front of him. Named with two official names, 'Cristina Merrill' and 'Murray Hawkins', two soldiers who have made a name by their excellent team work. Their team work is one of the best throughout the Empire because of multiple reasons. Both of them have nothing special to fight with, but Cristina's excellent luring and daring tactics are in complete harmony with Murray's fast and dangerous swings. The prodigy title of Cristina is well fit if you know what she is capable of in training, but it is a shame that she does not show it all in battle. "Do you even have to ask?" Murray answered with, with a false smile on his face. He clearly showed that Cristina and he were pointing out to go with him. Attacking the base of Wind, while being defended by the great Aurora while you attack with someone like Jason Sharpe is a dream that came true. Jason Sharpe, the best of the best, and Murray and Melody on the sides is a dream that would come true for any soldier. Vincent could not even believe his eyes when he saw them around, asking it fight with him, side on side. Would the mission succeed, then Vincent would be in one-shot famous, together with a huge increase of the reputation of Melody, Murray and Sharpe. Not that Sharpe actually is in need of a boost in reputation, he is already the most looked up to champion in the Empire. "Well, if you want Jason to go with you, then you should find him quickly. Jason is a busy man" Cristina whispered to Vincent, trying to keep it a secret from Murray for some kind of reason. It's not that Jason Sharpe was a man that goes on every missions he gets, but he is a busy man. Being the no.1 of the Empire is something you can't become in just a few days of time. Jason Sharpe fought his way to the top until he reached the final day where he finally could be named as the very 'best', because of that, he has many orders of teaching younger soldiers to get them into the right fight style, to let them fight in their own style. Jason Sharpe was the man with the best tactics and would be superior to every non-champion and the lesser champions. "I'm on it right away!" Vincent shouted as he jumped a bit into the air and ran like a man on fire, as if it was a cartoon. After seeing Vincent react like this, a friendly smile appeared instantly on both the faces of Cristina as Murray. They knew how happy a normal soldier as him would be to learn such a flaw in the defenses of Wind, and to attack that. While knowing that the famous Aurora would definitely protect Wind was one thing, but with the help of Melody, Murray and Sharpe, he couldn't offer too much trouble. ...right? --- "No, you'll stay here, Cindise!" Dale shouted at the top of his lungs. It was easy to see that Dale was getting red out of anger. He didn't want Cindise to go with them, and Cindise stayed stubborn of going with him, regardless of what Dake kept shouting at her. Fighting Herasiel could perhaps be done only once in a life time, fighting him would be a dream coming true for normal soldiers. Even for champions it would be something of unlimited value. Herasiel was the greatest enemy to the Empire and his brother was the second man who would be feared, but his younger brother - Aurora - was someone few knew he could be defeated. None knew if Herasiel could even taste the bitter taste of defeat. Even though he was injured because of Dale's quick reaction last time they faced each other in combat, it isn't something that would guarentee a victory. Many were confident because of Zane's pressence and the experience of Dale, but it would not hide the fact just yet that Herasiel was a powerful man who had to be watched out for, always. "Come on! It's Herasiel! Herasiel, the Fallen Angel! You can't just leave me here!" Cindise shouted at Dale, pointing out that she wanted to go no matter what. The faces of Price, Ezra and Collins remained quite blank, to see a girl like that being so stubborn to go with them. Fighting Herasiel is an honor, but are you willing to risk honor for your own life? Even with Zane, Herasiel is the strongest man the Empire has ever faced, therefore, the strongest champions has been sent. "Cindise?" soft, but old words were suddenly spoken as a shadow overlapped the body of Cindise from behind. Without any hesitation, the two long men, Ezra and Zane quickly tried to see who it was, but the lights of the pillars blocked their view. What was very visible, was the eyes of Cindise who grew larger every second when she saw the older man standing in front of her. Dressed in a light chainmail and brown boots. His red-yellowish cape was hanging on his back and a staff that was nearly the double of himself easily confirmed who it was. His small beard was the last confirmation the people had to have to learn who it was. "Muriel..." Cindise softly mentioned as she looked in awe and complete surprise at him. She knew that Muriel was the one sending the soldiers to Herasiel, but it was not possible to imagine that it was also the same Muriel she would see here, just at the edges of the castle. Seeing Mace Muriel, Terres Price, Tyler Dale, Stephan Collins was an honor that had no equal. Ezra Hodges and Zane Duran also added to it, but just seeing the other four was enough to let your head twist out of excitement. "You won't go, Cindise, it's as simple as that. I don't have the power to send you too" Muriel softly mentioned as he looked at Cindise with his old eyes. Muriel was a semi-old man who had to drain a bit of his strength everytime he teleports people, especially a larger amount, like now. "But, sir Muriel! It's Herasiel!" Cindise shouted at him, looking desperate to go with them. Muriel knew just as well how eager Cindise was to fight Herasiel, but how much chance would there be for Cindise to win of Herasiel in combat? Less than 0%, that would be for sure, the chances that she'd survive even with the help of five champions would be something to doubt. "You won't go, I make no discussion of that." Muriel completely finished the conversation with as he moved his head towards the soldiers who still stood at the same position. "Dale, others, are you ready?" Muriel asked as he already saw that Price was out of the list. A confirming nod was all Muriel was in need of as a huge teleport circle appeared both under and above the five champions as they could feel their pressence being transported from their bodies, to be placed elsewhere. A feeling that was impossible to imagine unless you felt it. It was as if something was pulling your spirit from your body, and placing it elsewhere, together with your body. That was Muriel's power, to teleport people. "Good luck, soldiers..." <div align="center">---</div> There. That should do it. When people go to the story section, they have something to read :P Together with JetPack's story, it fills the section up a bit. If you actually got this far, then I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments on it, is appreciated, though I must admit that I can't really remember what I wrote in the story. I'll have to read it myself some time [i]if[/i] I would have to continue ;) If there are any questions about it, feel free to ask it. Most characters that have been introduced in the story have a detailed history, though not all characters that have been introduced - not to mention that the characters that [i]has[/i] been introduced, isn't even half of who played a large role in that world. Edgardo Hodges as example, is not one of the main characters, and does not have a detailed history to fall back to, when I don't know something. If I remember correctly, Edgardo dies somewhat early in the 'If, and only if' story, but that does not mean that the non-main characters all eventually will die and that main characters will stay alive. But by all means, any comments? [/QUOTE]
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