• Chapter 12: New Comrades, Old Stories


    “You trained my brother? That is quite interesting to know. So now that I’ve beaten you, won’t you tell me what your intentions are?” Deckard asked calmly. Hark stood up and brushed his clothes off quickly. “I merely wished to test your strength, is all. If you’d like however, I can accompany you on your trip to wherever it is you are heading. The past few years have been quite boring for me to say the least. You are intending to fight Maximus Farien, are you not? I’ve fought against him countless times in the past; he is a demon in battle to say the least.” Hark walked over to Deckard and Rydia. “Maximus Farien? No, my quarrel is with Toren Falsted first. Toren is the man who slew my family, friends and village.” Hark shook his head. “And on whose orders did you think he did that on? Do you think he did it of his own free will? The man pulling the strings behind all of this is Maximus Farien. Your real family was killed by him.”

    Deckard looked at Hark for a while. “If what you say is true, then it would appear that I will also be going after Farien, but Kaneas said to find Toren first. Although I know nothing about you, I suppose this is the same as when I met Kaneas. Just remember to bear in mind that I’ll have no mercy towards you should you decide to betray me.” Hark laughed loudly for a while. “Very well, but I somehow don’t believe you can take me on if I become serious. If you are going to defeat Farien, there is something you should know first. I will tell you, but we should move to a place that isn’t getting rained on. I’d hate for my gear to rust.” Deckard looked at Hark. “There isn’t any rain-“Deckard was interrupted suddenly as the skies began pouring down a heavy rain from nowhere. “You’re a psychic. This will be interesting to see how much you know of the world and its secrets.” Deckard grinned and looked at Rydia. “A place with an inn would be nice. Maybe back in the big city somewhere?” Rydia looked at Deckard and nodded. She closed her eyes slowly and held out her hands. Hark and Deckard each took a hand and the three of them vanished in a beam of light.

    Moments later, the same beam of light appeared in the Royal District of Beythemisia in the middle of an alleyway. “I hate this city. It’s too bright and vibrant.” Hark muttered. “It doesn’t matter, where exactly are we though Rydia? I haven’t seen this part of the city yet.” Rydia grinned and ran out of the alley and into the open streets, making the other two follow her. “We’re in the Royal district! I always enjoy coming here, it’s so pretty, but the streets are mostly empty. The nobles tend to have their servants buy everything for them, so anytime you see someone walking around it is usually a maid or a butler that is running errands. There’s an inn called the Crimson Peacock nearby, that’s where I want to stay at. I’ve never been there, but I always was told that it is the most luxurious inn in the city.” Deckard walked over and pat Rydia on the head. “You’re going to burn a hole in my wallet, I can already tell.” Rydia stuck her tongue out at him. “Teehee.” She giggled and grabbed his hand, then began running down the streets.

    “The young ones are always so difficult to handle sometimes.” Hark shook his head and followed them, but at a walking pace. Eventually the three of them came upon a large, red and white building. The building was indeed a sight to behold, as it was quite colorful and looked like something a nobleman would definitely wander into. Rydia dragged Deckard into the inn. “A room for three please!” she said, her head reaching over the counter by a about 7 inches. “Two adults and a child?” the man behind the counter asked politely. “I’m not a child! I am twenty one years old!” Deckard put his hand over his mouth to contain his laughter as Hark entered the lobby. “My apologies madam, you just looked to be so young.” Rydia smiled for a moment before looking at Deckard. “The price is 10 crystals per night, how many nights will you be staying with us?” Deckard blinked for a moment. “It is 10 crystals?How much is 1 crystal in gold?” The man behind the counter looked at Deckard. “One crystal is worth 10,000 gold.” Hark placed 10 crystals on the counter. “This should cover it then.” The man nodded and placed the crystals into a safe.

    “Your room is 104, here is your key.” Deckard smiled and nodded. “Thanks.” The man bowed slightly. “Please enjoy your stay here with us.” The three of them walked down the hallway and entered their room. "How do you have so much money Hark?" Deckard asked as they walked. "Because I'm the best assassin in the world and I only take high priced targets." Deckard looked at Hark. "You kill people for a living?" The room was large, and was mostly red, with the occasional gold coloring on the sheets, carpet and many pieces of the furniture. There were three beds, each having the gold emblem of a Peacock in the center of the sheets, and red everywhere else, with gold trim. “Wow, this is a pretty nice room.” Deckard walked over to the bed against the windows and sat down on it. “It’s just like I was told it would be!” Rydia ran over and sat down beside Deckard. “You’re an expensive one Rydia, 100,000 gold?” Rydia looked at Deckard and smiled innocently. "Well, Hark paid for it, so what are you complaining about?" she stuck her tongue out at him.

    “Let’s get down to business then shall we?” Hark sat on the middle bed and both Rydia and Deckard turned around to face him. “Yes, lets.” Deckard nodded. “Farien has a very unique past. The man, as you should already know, is over 200 years old. What you may not know about him is that he is also a Nephilim.” Deckard’s and Rydia’s eyes opened wide. “What!? So he is an angel?” Hark shook his head. “Maximus is not an angel. Just as an angel can fall to Earth, a demon can rise to it also. Maximus is half human, and half demonic. Not many people are aware of this fact, because he has killed almost all those who know his past. That is, he killed everyone except for me.” Deckard looked at Hark more closely. “Why hasn’t he killed you?”

    Hark chuckled a bit. “That is because we almost fight on even ground. Not to mention I have several artifacts in my possession that make me harder to kill. I can’t kill Farien, but I can injure him. He can’t even injure me, so we are almost even in power. I’m the only known person alive who knows about Farien and his past. You could say that the information was passed down to me.” Deckard closed his eyes. “So that would make Farien capable of using Mystic magic right?” Hark shook his head. “Not anymore. Farien was injured greatly a long time ago, and in order to prevent himself from dying he used his powers as a mystic to restore his life and grant himself the ability to never grow old. He is a mortal, but he will live forever until someone takes his life. He’s since learned how to heal himself using his Dark magic. Since he is a half demon, the dark magic can be used to restore his power. It can also be used to injure him, but it can never kill him. I believe this is why your brother sought you out and trained you. Those who have the ability to use Light magic have unnaturally high reserves of power. Because of that, it is easier for them to train and become stronger.”

    Suddenly, there was a large amount of commotion going on outside in the streets. The three of them ended their conversation and quickly headed outside. “Firomis…” Rydia whispered, trying to hide slightly behind Deckard. “You know one of those men?” Deckard said as he looked at a group of people walking down the street towards the direction of the Palace. “They are all Magistrates of the city.” Hark looked at Deckard. “Firomis Caine, he is the leader of the 2nd district, but he is the most powerful of all the Magistrates.” A group of nobles suddenly began chatting amongst themselves nearby as the Magistrates walked out of view. “Did you here? Fenix Derringer was killed in Thelmios not even 6 hours ago. The servants at his house said that his Gemstone suddenly stopped shining, and apparently the death was confirmed by some of Firomis’ contacts.” One of the nobles began gossiping. “Well, it only serves the fool justice; he was controlling illegal underground black markets in Sector 14. The day Fenix took power was the day that district became a home for criminals.” Another one said. “Shh, if you talk about Fenix like that someone will surely come and take your life.” Rydia looked up at Deckard in complete surprise and shock. “Fenix… was killed?”