“Now, this will be an easy game to play,” Zento told him in a low voice.
They broke from the shadows of the forest – two winged harbingers of doom!
Zento landed lightly on his toes, shrugging the last of the moss from his shoulders. In the future he would choose his ambush spots better, away from dangling moss, spider webs and ant hills.
Caught within the jaws of a two-pronged attack, the foe was swept up in a wave of dismay.
Kudako’s huge form burst into the narrow gully from the other side, his vicious roar shaking the leaves off the nearby trees. His normal fighting staff was too small for him to wield, thus the Dragon had gone for hand to hand while in beast form. As much as he complained about his lack of fighting skills, Zento had yet to see a weapon that could match Kudako’s claws in speed and strength.
This was all topped off by the Fear Aura that bled from the Dragon’s very presence — a power that could twist an opponent’s fear into a weapon more devastating than a sword. Zento had seen a full brigade of men paralyzed under Kudako’s stare alone. Most of them hadn’t realized their fate until it was too late.
The brave… no… no. Magnificent..? No… more like… The glorious warrior, a noble hero of the people, loved far and wide across the Inner Realms, leapt into battle with his blade ready!
The yellow-haired warriors instantly puddled together under the pressure of fear as battle fell upon them. Their weapons hung loose in their grip. Legs grew weak and wavering as the men staggered back, seeking any form of escape from the massive beast that locked their mind in a waking nightmare.
No one could capture the speed and prowess of the mighty warrior, the illustrious warrior, the exalted warrior! His feet danced out a rhythm that only his own mind could comprehend. And the enemy fell in his wake!
Zento kicked the groaning warrior in front of him while blunting the next across the back of the head with a deft motion of the Bhinod’s grip. Striking at things that barely had the will to fight back wasn’t much of a challenge… hardly more difficult than picking flowers in the field.
In countless numbers they fall. The inevitable. And in glory, his name will be sung in songs far and wide!
Still, there was a reason to fight those of the Spiral. These were the people who trained their children to become Annihilators. They sent these terrible creations to the Inner Realms to hunt and destroy all – men, women and children. Innocent people all cut away under the flash of a sword.
This history Kudako taught him from the very beginning, when Zento was still a young boy. The Dragon brought him up with knowledge of the art of war as it was passed along through the generations of the people in the Outterlands. And from Zemi, Zento discovered how use the power of magic that lay dormant inside of him.
Between these great wells of knowledge, ZenToYa had grown into a man of immense stature and destiny.
…And a mighty warrior, an illustrious warrior, an exalted warrior!
“Zento,” Kudako’s deep voice rumbled over the gully. “Hold.”
Hark, the warrior stops!
The winged man paused, the blunt end of his weapon poised to strike the last standing Spiral warrior that stood shaking in the Dragon’s shadow. Zento’s green eyes turned to regard his companion with a hint of curiosity.
“We need one conscious,” the Dragon explained, eyes narrowing on the lone warrior. There was a low note in his voice that hinted terrible things, “We could use information.”
“Oh, all right…” Zento lowered his weapon.
…the great and merciful warrior! He spares his final foe – what virtue!
Zento pulled a length of rope from the packs that they left hidden among the tall grass. Carefully, he disarmed the terrified, pale-faced warrior and tied his hands behind his back. Then leading him away from the battle glade, Zento secured the man to a branch of a tree – not so much that it would be uncomfortable, but enough so that the man had only enough slack to stand.
Kudako paced behind them, a hulking shadow slipping through the forest. The man of the Spiral stared with horror at the Dragon, the whites of his eyes rolling in fear until Kudako was well out of sight.
Zento leaned leisurely against the trunk of the tree, palm of one hand holding him up. “Guess this is your lucky day, friend. You’ve officially been promoted to prisoner.”
The warrior turned his blue eyes on his captor, seeming to notice the wings for the first time. There was fear in his face, a fear too strong for his pride to overcome.
“Now, this is an easy game to play,” Zento told him in a low voice. “We’re going to ask you a few questions, each varying in difficulty and topic. For each of these questions you get right, I’ll give you a hundred points. But should you get one wrong… or should you decide to tell us anything less than the truth… my Dragon friend will have a plentiful meal tonight.”
There was a grumble from Kudako in the depths of the forest. He was obviously staying out of sight so that the prisoner wouldn’t be scared into silence. “Just get on with it.”
“You understand the rules of the game?” Zento eyed the prisoner sharply.
The warrior nodded, looking even paler.
“Good,” the winged man murmured, turning towards the shadow in the trees. “He’s all yours.”
Kudako’s voice was level, neither harsh nor gentle. “What is the nature of the banners that fly over the outposts?”
As if he had expected something much more complicated to answer, the prisoner began to blather, very eager to please, “It is the mark of the High Clan.”
“High Clan? That is ridiculous! They are nothing more than a Ghost Clan.”
“N-no, Master. They are the High Clan,” he stuttered, sensing Kudako’s displeasure. Probably wondering if he had answered wrong and would soon find himself devoured.
“Define the term ‘High Clan’.”
“It is the Clan that has been designated to lead us.”
“Are you saying that the Spiral has been united under the command of a single Clan?” the Dragon growled.
“So it has been for many hundred years,” the warrior nodded vigorously. There was no doubt that he was telling the truth.
“I see,” then, silence from the forest.
Something’s not right with that, I suppose? It’s got Kudako pretty agitated.
“Who was the one to identify this High Clan?”
“Why, the Great Lion, of course. It has been discovered that SugiRu is a Speaker of mighty talent and wisdom,” the prisoner replied, squirming a bit at his ropes.
“And what of UragiRu?” Kudako’s questions were quick. Closing in on something.
“He is the Armsmaster while his sister is the Speaker.”
A low growl rose from the forest. “Their Clan should have been destroyed for the acts that were committed against fellow Clans. And yet, these are the ones that have taken power in the Spiral?”
The warrior gave a blank, frightened stare. Just to look at him, it obvious he was far too young to know about the times that Kudako spoke of.
As the Dragon stewed to himself, Zento decided to pull out a few questions of his own. “What was your business in this forest?”
“We were to hunt and kill the intruders…”
“Intruders?”
“Yes,” the warrior replied fearfully. “The ones who made a camp in the forests.”
AsaHi… SoYa!
“Were you successful?” Zento grasped the warrior by the front of his armor, yanking him forward roughly.
“No!” the prisoner flinched away, as if he knew the trouble he was in. His dirt-stained face was desperate, a glint of terror flickering in his eyes. His words stammered over each other, “The Dragons c-came… and fought on the side of the intruders. We lost all our scouts in retreat!”
The Dragons we saw earlier… oh… thank the Light..!
“Where are the ‘intruders’ now?”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head, slumping a bit. Fear stold his strength away. “I don’t know…”
Zento sighed softly, looking into the face of the frightened warrior. His enemy. One that would have slain his son and his future daughter-in-law. One who would have not spared a second thought in cutting himself down if given the chance. Yet, just beyond the edge of boyhood… hardly older than his own sons.
Then, the winged man peered back towards the forest. “Is that all you need to know?”
There was a long silence. Then finally, “Yes. That is all.”
“So whadda do you want to do with him now?” A hint of loathing trailed in his voice.
The shadows began to move forward, as the Dragon emerged from his spot. Everything about his manner spoke his displeasure. The prisoner stared up with glassy eyes, paralyzed at the vision before him. Every inch of his body shook, but the rope did not allow him the convenience of falling to his knees.
“You will return to the Spiral. And you will bear a message for UragiRu, the Armsmaster,” Kudako’s gold eyes shown in two thin slits. “You will tell UragiRu that his enemy, KudakoRe, has returned to avenge the murder of his Clan.”
Zento’s breath came in a quiet hiss as things began to fall into place.
Avenge… the murder of his Clan? This is one story I haven’t heard yet.
“Is that clear?” Kudako growled.
The prisoner nodded vehemently, eyes never leaving the shape of the Dragon before him.
“Good. Zento, release him.”
A sense of slight relief fell over Zento’s mind as he flipped out his dagger, slicing through the rope. The Spiral warrior reclaimed his freedom by falling flat on his face. With a wild-eyed look, the yellow-haired man stared over his shoulder at the two. Then without another sound, he staggered to his feet and dashed away through the forest with the speed that spoke of nightmares burning his heels.
May I ask what inspired you to include Zento’s mental commentary in this chapter? I was so amused that the implied violence didn’t bother me… which was a good thing!
And yeah… when you give the enemy a face, and it’s not a face you personally are out to destroy, it’s really hard to kill them. I’m glad you let him off.
Of course, now he’s going to be fed to some monster for coming back with bad news. Off-camera, of course. *sigh*
*laughs*This reminds me of one Ozy and Millie cartoon, about narrating your own life…
Hey, if I’m honest, I’ve narrated my own life several times! I dunno what kind of weird book my existence is-bit hard to classify-but it makes Monty Python seem like a party political broadcast!
Edit: Although, on reflection, I don’t think my ego is quite as big as Zento’s.
KJ: Zento’s commentary? Well.. I remember I wanted a “battle” chapter for this part… but I also remember not being in the mood to write a full out battle. I wanted to find a way to get this section done that wasn’t just straight out fighting. And then Zento sprang in and pleaded that I let him have the spotlight, claiming that he’d take care of it all.
So I did. And that’s what came out of it. ^^;
I just think some humor was needed after all the seriousness in the past few chapters. Plus, I really didn’t want to get all violent and nasty here (which I’m sure Kudako and Zento can do during battle).
Not to mention, we haven’t had the chance to see Zento ham it up too much during Dreigiau yet. Zento begins to take on a stronger role during Book 3… as you’ll see. There are still a lot of things even he doesn’t know about yet…
Agla: I hope not!
At least Zento tends to be able to keep most of his ego to himself now adays. He knows where and when to turn it on or off… and it usually doesn’t get in his way of dealing with the people he cares about. Which wasn’t the case when Zento was a lot younger.
Now you guys know where TsuYa got his arrogant streak, eh?
It’s one of the inheirited thingies of the Family Ya. They take over the world.*nods firmly*
Well. That was jarring. I didn’t quite remember this scene and at first I thought it was a flashback to a younger Zento. Simply because he seemed to actually be enjoying killing people. Helpless people too. I don’t have all that much sympathy for him now. I had quite a visceral reaction to this.
Also, I recall something about behaviour modification, meant to remove fear and other such emotions. Yet, these people are obviously afraid… I suppose it is not everyone who receives this? Or they only receive it at a certain age? I’m going to re-find out as I read…
Yes. I just edited this chapter a day or so ago and cut the killing completely out. I was pretty jarred by it, too, as I didn’t remember that they were actually slicing and dicing (rather than roughing up). I guess it was amusing at the time, but it’s not amusing to me now… nor would it be in character or amusing to Zento.
I guess I should have rushed back here and fixed it on the site but I didn’t know someone was going to read through this section again before I did. Sorry. ^^;
Don’t take it out on poor Zento. I have no idea what I was on when I wrote that. I’m going to work to edit the consistency as well — I think they mentioned that the warriors didn’t get the modification until they passed a certain rite of passage. It’s been so long since I’ve read through this. : /
This is why these old chapters need editing. *sigh*
*shamefully slinks out to change this chapter real fast*
I suspected that this wasn’t the final version (Yay)! And I do just choose the most… irritating times to do things sometimes…
No, no… it’s not your fault! I haven’t gotten much beyond this chapter in editing Book 3, honestly, so please let me know if you find other things that -really- need to be addressed like this. I started reading this chapter to edit and had the same reaction thinking, “How did I ever consider this funny?”
It’s odd what half a decade of time can do to a point of view, I suppose.
Even Zento was mortified! Poor guy.
Will do!
I believe we all have those moments where we wonder how we could ever have done or said something that we did in the past.
Noticed something, and this seems to be the revised version, so I’m bringing it up.
“Fear stold(stole) his strength away. “I don’t know…”” Typo…