• Tales of Xalthia

    Chapter 2: A Missions' Beginning


    Tsuki spent the rest of the day of his homecoming catching up with Cheria. Evidently, they had quite a lot to talk about. Their talks ranged from the affairs that happened within the kingdom of Eresseas to about what went on during Tsuki's mission. Since they were so close to each other, near inseparable actually, they didn't keep any secrets. They both were completely honest with each other. Because of their relationship, there have been rumors going around Eresseas. People have been saying that Tsuki and Cheria were lovers and that they were going to be the new King and Queen when Cheria ascends to the throne as Queen. Of course, they were nothing but rumors. They tried to deny them but with everyone in Eresseas gossiping about it, it was difficult to contain it. These kinds of rumors made Cheria flustered, leaving Tsuki to deal with it. He didn't have much luck though. Eventually, they started to ignore the rumors as they weren't true.

    The following day, it was time for Tsuki's debriefing. He knew from the moment he returned that it was going to be a very long debriefing. He knew that the King and Queen would want to hear everything that happened from the moment Tsuki left Eresseas to the moment he returned two months later. It was kind of like his punishment for the lack of communication and update. It was his own fault that Tsuki had unintentionally neglected to send in mission reports and due to that, the royal family were left in the dark and unaware of at least 95% of the stuff that went on in the past two months.

    Tsuki woke up early the next morning so he could see his companions off but when he got the the Iron Maiden, the clerk told him that they had already left. He was bummed that he missed seeing them off. His only other option was now to go give his debriefing. He then headed to the audience chamber in his newly buffed armor. Thanks to the castle's expert blacksmiths, his armor was as good as new. The scratches and dents were no longer there. He walked up to the thrones where the royal family were sitting and stopped at the foot of the stairs and bowed to them. "Thank you for letting me get some rest. I'm ready for my debriefing" he told them.

    Taichi held his hand up after he spoke. It seems he wanted to say something before Tsuki started his debriefing. "Hold off on that for a moment. Let's welcome our special guests first" he said. He then called out to a guard standing next to a door off to the right-hand side of the audience chamber. "Guard, send them in" he instructed him.

    The guard looked over to the king and saluted him. "Yes sir!" he acknowledged. The guard then walked into the room he was standing next to. He was gone for a few moments and the audience chamber fell silent. When the guard came back, he opened the door once more as three people walked in from the room.

    Tsuki turned around when he heard a door open following a series of footsteps that echoed through the audience chamber. He was surprised at what he saw. The three people that had entered the audience chamber were his companions "What? Guys, what are you doing here?" he asked them. He thought they had left on their journey. He didn't expect them to be in the castle.

    Among the small group, there was a young girl who was a healer around Tsuki's age, a man who appeared to be in his late twenties that had a broad sword and gun for weapons and a young man who was the same age as Tsuki and had steel gauntlets over his fists. They all matched Tsuki's description that he had given to Zero the day before.

    The group walked up to Tsuki and bowed to the royal family. Then, the older male of the group started to speak. "Thank you for having us, Your Majesty" the man said to Taichi.

    Tsuki couldn't figure out what was going on. Why were they here? He looked at his companions then back at the royal family. ”What's going on here? Am I missing something?” he asked.

    Emma shook her head. "We felt that it would be better for us to hear the story from everyone who took part in it. Zero had informed us where your companions were staying so we had him summon them to the castle" she told him. She looked at the group he had traveled with and examined each of them closely. "So, now that we have everybody gathered, tell us what happened in the two months you've been gone" she said.

    The young healer scratched her cheek with her finger in thought. She's never given a report to royalty, let alone meeting royalty in person. "I'm not sure where to begin. Since this was Tsuki's mission, I think he should explain most of it and we should just chip in bits and pieces" the girl said.

    The young male nodded and agreed with what the healer said. "She's right. None of us met for quite some time so we couldn't give a full report. We'll just leave all the main stuff to Tsuki and we'll add our parts" he said. He then looked over to Tsuki and waited for him to start.

    Tsuki looked at his companions and nodded. He then took a deep breath. He had a lot of explaining to do and it was going to take quite some time. "Okay then. Well, it all started when I arrived in the neighboring village of Crescentia..." he said as he started to finally begin his debriefing.

    Time jumps two months back in the past to the start of Tsuki's long journey. He has left Eresseas and after two days of travel, he reached a small village in the middle of a giant grassy plain. That village was called Crescentia, his first stop on his mission out of plenty more to come. Tsuki walked into the gates of Crescentia and people knew right away who he was due to his armor. He received a warm welcome from the villages. Everyone in the village admired the royal family and their knights. After a few minutes of being in the village, the mayor had invited him to her house. Once he arrived at her house, they started to talk about several things such as why was there. They had been talking for about ten minutes.

    The mayor made some tea and poured some in a cup and walked over to the table Tsuki was sitting next to. She then sat down in a chair across from him. "We don't get many visits from the royal family or her knights here in Crescentia. To what do we owe this visit?" she asked him.

    Tsuki picked up the cup of tea and took a sip of it. It was good. He then looked at the mayor when she asked him a question. "I've been sent to oversee a government ceremonial ball and a change-in-power ceremony in Basilwell. I came to this village to rest for a bit before I head out again" he said. It was a long walk. He's been on the road for two days now and he's had to pitch a tent to sleep in. It would be nice to sleep in a bed.

    The mayor listened to Tsuki as he explained his reasoning for stopping in Basilwell. "I see. Well, this is a small village so we don't have the accommodations you're used to in the palace but please make yourself at home" she said. She wanted to make his stay as pleasant as possible.

    Just then, the front door was thrown open. A young girl then ran into the house and up to the mayor. She seemed to be in a hurry. She was around Tsuki's age too. "Mayor, those thugs are back! They're harassing people in the square!" the girl shouted.

    The mayor sighed heavily and then stood up. She had a serious look on her face. "Not again. I'll go talk to them. Please excuse me" she said. Then, she ran out of the house and headed in the direction to where the thugs were.

    The girl then looked at Tsuki. "You have to help us! These thugs have been coming here, demanding for food and money and we can't afford to give them anything anymore with the impending winter season!" she said. She was in a panic. She knows what the thugs would do to their mayor when she tells them they can no longer give them what they want. She then turned around and headed back to the square in a hurry.

    Tsuki nodded and followed the girl. As a knight, he has a duty to not only protect the royal family but civilians as well. When he reached the square, he saw the villages crowded around a fountain. He made his way through the crowd and saw four thugs with swords drawn. The mayor appeared to of been shoved to the ground. He then took a look at the thugs. Something about them was familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Those thugs...I've seen them before" he said to himself.

    One of the thugs who appeared to be the leader due to his vulgar look, walked up to the knocked down mayor. "I don't care about your winter problems. You're not in a position to make demands. You farmer-folk are so full of yourselves. The punishment for defying the Dark Wings is death" the leader said. He then started to lift his sword to strike her down.

    Before the thug leader had a chance to swing, Tsuki took the hilt of his sword that was strapped to his waist and rushed at the leader. In a swift motion, he drew his sword partial way and jabbed the hilt of his sword into his back. Afterwards, he jumped back to avoid a counterattack.

    The leader screamed in pain and fell to his knees as he saw the mayor struggle to her feet and sink into the crowd of people. He then turned his head and saw Tsuki. "You little runt! How dare you!" the leader shouted. He stood up a few moments later and faced Tsuki. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with? he asked him.

    Tsuki gave him a cold look. "It's funny how thugs like yourself think they have the authority to demand for food and money. Well, let me tell you one thing: it's not going to happen anymore. I'm going to have to ask for you to leave this village and never come back. If you don't, there will be consequences" he told them.

    The leader grew irritated of Tsuki. He then pointed his sword at him. "Runt, I'd watch what you say. You don't want to make an enemy of of the Dark Wings. I'd suggest running along now and play with your toys or something and leave adult business to the adults" he said, almost mocking him. He then turned around and started to walk in the direction the mayor went.

    Tsuki shook his head. He clearly didn't know who he was dealing with. "You don't seem to understand the position you're in. Allow me to clarify it for you..." he said, drawing his sword. He took the sword in his right hand and placed it over his shoulders behind his neck and hunched over a bit with his left arm dangling in front of him, standing in an attack stance. "By the laws of Eresseas, you are all under arrest. I suggest not resisting if you don't want to get hurt" he ordered the thugs.

    Another one of the thugs on the far left finally noticed the armor Tsuki was wearing. "Hey boss! Don't you recognize him? He's one of the Eight that serves directly under the royal family!" the man shouted to the leader. He looked quite terrified when he had realized who Tsuki really was.

    The thug leader stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Tsuki once more. He knew of the kind of reputation the Eight have around Cayhill. The Eight's reputation even expands out to some of the other nations as well. Still, after examining Tsuki once more, he didn't believe he was actually one of the Eight. "Ha! He's just a wannabe! A pipsqueak like him could never be a guard of anything especially as royal guard. I've had enough of this runt. Kill him!" the leader ordered.

    The three thugs looked at each other with a worried, unsure expression on their faces. It didn't sit right with them because they knew that they were no match for one of the Eight. However, they couldn't disobey the leader. They then charged at Tsuki with swords drawn. For Dark Wing thugs, they had a poor combat sense.

    Tsuki sighed and stood still, letting them get close to him. When they got within arms reach, the thugs swung at him. Due to their poor combat sense, Tsuki could easily dodge the attacks by simply side-stepping. In retaliation, he made swift swings with his arm, knocking them on the backs of their necks, effectively knocking them out cold. After the three bodies dropped to the ground, he turned and faced the leader once more. "I thought the Dark Wings were an elite group of thieves, outcasts and assassins. I never would of guessed that recruitment standards were so low" he said mockingly.

    The leader grew more agitated. It gritted his teeth in anger. You could almost see the veins bulge out. Tsuki was taunting him. It was an embarrassment that the Dark Wings were being beaten by some kid who thinks he's actually one of the Eight. Of course, he still never realizes he's one of the Eight. The leader clenched his fist tightly as he gripped the hilt of his sword just as tight. "You...little...runt! You're in way over your head!" he shouted. He then charged at him just like the thugs but in a blind rage. He had more of a combat sense than the average thug but because he was in such a blind rage, his combat sense was just as poor as the thugs. Once he was in arm's length, he swung at Tsuki in a fast motion.

    Tsuki took the bottom of his hilt and blocked his swing. He then pushed his sword back and threw the thug off-balance. He then spun his body around and held out his leg in a sweeping motion and swept him off his feet. Before he hit the ground, he took his knee and slammed it against his stomach.

    The leader groaned in pain as Tsuki swept him off his feet then used his knee to kick him in the stomach. Since he was wearing armor, the pain was pretty bad. "Agh! How...dare you!" he shouted, coughing. He basically had the wind knocked out of him.

    Tsuki sheathed his sword as he looked over to the thug, folding his arms. He wasn't amused at all. In fact, this was a huge waste of time. "Had enough yet? You're only making it harder for yourself the longer you stay" he told him. He didn't want to resort to killing him. He only does that if the situation deems fit.

    The leader struggled to his feet and gave Tsuki a nasty glare. He then walked over to the thugs who were out cold and tossed their bodies in a wooden cart. After that, he walked towards the village exit, pulling the cart but looked back before leaving. "You'll pay for interfering with the Dark Wings" he mumbled to himself. He eventually left the village with his lackeys .

    Once they left from sight, the villages cheered and thanked Tsuki. If he wasn't there, the mayor could of been killed. Then, the girl who told him about the thugs approached him. "Wow, you're strong. I guess the rumors are true; the Eight that serve under the royal family are quite strong" she said.

    Tsuki looked at the girl and scratched his cheek with his finger. "It's all a part of my job. I have a duty to carry out to protect the weak and innocent. I couldn't just ignore some thugs that were terrorizing the village" he said in response. His primary duty is to serve the royal family while his secondary duty is to uphold the peace.

    The girl examined Tsuki a bit since she didn't get the chance to do it before with everything that just happened and thought for a moment. Something struck her about his fighting style. "Why didn't you kill him? He did attack you and almost killed our mayor, after all" she asked. She was curious to why he didn't use force.

    Tsuki shrugged at her question. "Personally, I try not to kill other human beings unless I have to or when a situation calls for it. I know that seems kind of like contradiction with my job being a knight sworn to protect the royal family" he answered. He didn't like senseless bloodshed. He tries not to use excessive force when the situation doesn't call for it.

    The girl nodded at his answer. Despite being a knight who's constantly thrown onto the battlefield, she could understand where he's coming from but still thought it was a bit weird given his position as a knight. In the midst of all the excitement, she forgot to introduce herself to him. "Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Lynette Suzaki but you can call me Lyn for short" she said. She then held out her hand, offering a handshake.

    Tsuki looked at her hand and back up at her face. He nodded and took her hand and shook it. "I'm Tsuki Himura. Nice to meet you, Lyn" he said. When he shook her hand, he felt a strange power coming from her. He could feel a strong sense of magic coming from her. Apparently, she was some type of magic user.

    Soon, the mayor walked through the crowd once more and approached Tsuki. She had a few bruises on her arms and a deep scratch on her face but nothing life-threatening. She then bowed to him. Thank you for coming to aid us, Mr. Himura. If you'd like to continue our talk, come by my house later. For now..." she said, looking over at Lynette. "Lyn, be a dear and show Mr. Himura around the village, would you?" she asked.

    Lynette looked at the mayor and nodded. "Yes ma'am" she said. She didn't mind giving him a little tour. After all, he just saved the mayor's life and possibly everyone else since the impending winter season was coming. Winters in the village can be quite harsh at times. The village was small with a population as little as one hundred, so there wasn't much to see besides huts and farmland.

    The mayor nodded and looked back at Tsuki. "I'll see you two later then. Feel free to stop by whenever you want. As a reward for saving me, I'll have the inn prepare a room for you on the house" she said. Then, she walked past them and through the crowd and headed back to her house.

    Lynette walked forward a bit then turned her head to Tsuki. The crowd started to disperse as well once everything had calmed down a bit. "I know this is a bit late but welcome to the countryside, I suppose" she welcomed him. She turned her head back around and started to walk up a small pathway that led further into the village.

    Tsuki chuckled a bit. He wasn't a stranger to the countryside since he had previously lived in the countryside before moving to Eresseas. His experience in the countryside wasn't exactly a good one, however. "The countryside, huh?" he mumbled to himself. He followed Lynette as she showed him everything around the village.

    Tsuki and Lynette walked around every inch of the village. They looked at the huts that ranged from small to large and a pretty big farmland. The village seems to rely on old technology of agriculture. There wasn't a hint of anything high tech compared to most places in the world. Tsuki lived in a countryside village like this when he was about five years old but something extremely tragic happened that changed his entire life. No one, not even the royal family know of it. That includes Cheria. They may not keep secrets from each other but this secret is much too tragic and sensitive to him that it's the only secret he keeps from her. All that's known is that there was a village very similar to Crescentia that was mysteriously wiped off the face of the world with all it's villagers mysteriously vanished as well. Many believe it was a well thought-out plan by the Dark Wings since they were in conflict with this particular village for ages. No one has been reported alive from the attack. No one even knew that Tsuki could be the only survivor from this tragic event. It's a very deep, emotional scar that he never mentions. He lost his entire family and a friend he cared for very deeply. He's all but forgotten it to avoid risks of flashbacks but sometimes, he just can't help but remember back. Sometimes, it's caused him nightmares of the same thing happening to Eresseas. He just shakes it off and keeps it to himself. When the tour was done, they ended back up in the plaza. The sun was beginning to set.

    Tsuki sat in a bench and sighed heavily. "Whew...for a small village, there's a lot to see here. I haven't been back in the countryside in a very long time. It brings back memories" he said. Being in a village that closely resembles his old village, he couldn't help but think back at his village.

    Lynette sat down next to him and laid her head back on the bench. "Yeah, we may live small lives but we got a lot going on. When it comes to the average thief though, it's a little too much excitement for us though" she said. She fell silent for a bit before looking at Tsuki to ask a question. "Say, I'm curious. What was your childhood like? Did you used to live in the countryside?" she asked. She wanted to know a little bit more about him.

    Tsuki went silent at her question about his childhood. He didn't answer her for a few moments. He tried to think of what to tell her. "I don't remember my childhood. I was in an accident that caused me to lose part of my memory" he said. He obviously lied about his past. He doesn't like to lie or make up stories but it was for personal reasons. He didn't want people to know of his past. It's a past that no one should have to ever experience in their lifetime. "All I remember is being put in a foster home in Eresseas and then becoming close to Princess Cheria when I was a kid which eventually led to me serving under the royal family" he said. Part of his lie was actually true; he was put in a foster home when he first arrived in Eresseas. How he got there was something he kept to himself. His village was no where near Eresseas so until he speaks about his past, it'll remain a mystery on how he arrived in Eresseas. Even Foster Care didn't have any records on him. To everyone in Eresseas, he's a boy with an unknown origin which has raised many questions about him.

    Lynette could tell when someone was lying. She knew that the first part of his explanation was a lie. She could tell that it was a past that had a lot of pain in it. Seeing this, she realized that she had asked a rather tough question for him to answer. She felt bad for having to ask. She knew he was lying for a reason but decided not to say anything about it until he's ready to talk about it. "I-I'm sorry. It seems I asked you a difficult question" she said, looking down at the ground.

    Tsuki looked at her and patted her head gently. He knew that she didn't mean it. Then again, it's what he gets for hiding his past from everyone. He knew that people would ask such questions. "Don't be. I'm used to it. You should head on home. It's getting late" he said, looking up at the darkening skies.

    Lynette looked up at him and nodded. "You're right. I better head home. I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she asked, standing up and stretching. There was still so much more she wanted to talk to Tsuki about. She wondered how long he would be staying in the village.

    Tsuki nodded and stood up with her. "Yeah. I'll finish what I was telling the mayor before I was interrupted and I'll be on my way again. I want to get this mission wrapped up so I could return to Eresseas" he said. He didn't want to stay away from Eresseas for a long period of time. He knew that Cheria would have panic attacks from her constant worry about him being away.

    Lynette nodded. "We'll have to make sure to send you off in style then. Goodnight, Tsuki. Wait for me by the gate so I can see you off, okay?" she asked. She didn't want him leaving without saying goodbye. She waved at him one last time then walked off in the direction of her house.

    Tsuki nodded and waved back at her. He then headed towards the inn to rest of the night. Once he entered the inn, he was told that his room was already paid for. He walked into one of the rooms and closed the door behind him as he entered. He took his sword off his waist and set it up against the bedside dresser. He then walked over to the window and looked out it in thought. He then had a very brief flashback that showed a village in flames with blood and corpses everywhere. He shook his head, not wanting to remember anymore of his past. He held his hand over his face for a moment. "No...this place is different. I don't want anything happening to this village too" he told himself. He soon walked over to the bed and crawled into it. After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, he slowly fell asleep for the night.

    To be continued...