Eleven
Scratch's Journal
Fields of Grann, Tellius; Year 1465
The Time Tables dropped us off as quickly as they had picked us up, among the grassy knolls of the country of Grann. Unlike the desert after which this independent state was named, this area was known for rather pleasant weather, though some of the southern section of the state was still desert. It was founded shortly after the Goddess War some eight hundred years ago by the people then known as the Branded; people with both Laguz and Beorc blood running through their veins, a different breed of humans entirely. They took on the normal unremarkable appearance of their Beorc ancestry, save for a mark somewhere upon their person that served as the sole physical manifestation of their unusual blood. The lifespan of their Laguz blood was also passed on, making it difficult for them to fit in with other Beorc because of their slow aging rate.
For the longest time, the Branded were cast down and hated by all major civilizations of Tellius, even more so than were the animalistic Laguz by the Beorc. They drifted from place to place in the Beorc countries- Crimea, Daein and Begnion- never staying for too long or growing close to anyone. They dared not set foot in Gallia, Goldoa or the Bird countries, for the Laguz's acute animal senses allowed them to detect the mixed blood almost instantly, and they treated the Branded as though they did not exist. Such was the solitary and tortured life of these children of circumstance back then.
However, just after the Goddess War, two major players changed all that: Queen Micaiah of Daein, and the drifter Stefan, eventual founder of Grann. Both Branded themselves, they were perfect to sympathize with the plight of their fellows, and when Micaiah took over the abandoned throne of Daein, she was put in a position to do something about it. Stefan- leader of a group of Branded living in a village in the Grann desert and off-the-map- had traveled with the young queen through the end of the war, and received massive loans and assistance from Daein and Begnion, led by Empress Sanaki, close friend of Micaiah.
With these tools and allies under his belt, Stefan was able to found the relatively small country of Grann- a safe haven for all Branded people, but welcoming of anyone else as well- and became its first king. Grann still to this day served as the ultimate in neutrality in the entire world, anyone and everyone welcome within its borders, though much of Tellius had begun to warm up to these ideals as well, and the need was not quite as demanded as it once was. For the most part, the vicious racism in Tellius had managed to be swallowed up by time; the terms 'Beorc', 'Laguz' and 'Branded' were almost never used outside a technical sense, and everyone was simply 'a person'. It never ceased to amaze me how well they were able to shape up.
Our Base C was located here in Grann, and that would be where we stayed for the night. Base D was just about on the other side of the country, in the heavily wooded kingdom of Gallia. The new calmness applied to Laguz nations as well as Beorc ones, and Beorc were just as welcome in the beast country as the beast tribe was elsewhere.
"So, where do we start?" I asked, shifting my pack uncomfortably. "Those Order guys are doing something here, right? There's a lot of ground to cover still."
"Fear not." Doc said dismissively. "Tomorrow afternoon is when we need to be somewhere first, and the location is in southern Grann, within the desert town of Kakori. It's literally within walking distance from base C. We'll rest up for the night, get an early start tomorrow, and begin our grand quest then."
I nodded, suddenly realizing how sleepy I was and how long the day had stretched on already, and shuffled along behind Doc as we made our way to one of our two Tellian outposts. We passed through the grassy field, a preserved park among the rather densely populated state, and soon the cool late summer breeze gave way to a slightly chillier, stiff desert air. We hadn't actually entered the desert proper yet, but the change in air quality was noticeable. The star-filled sky illuminated our path, glinting off my sunglasses.
Soon we reached a medium-sized town, the home to base C and a stepping stone between the fields and Kakori. The two of us navigated through the paved streets and to our home, Doc opening the door with the same old brass key that went to all six bases. I dropped my pack by the door and navigated quickly to my bed, then dropped onto it and passed out almost instantly. It had been an insanely long day, beginning an eternity ago with starting my date with Tavi...
~
The next morning started early, but was easy. We ate a full breakfast before taking off, leaving the town behind and hitting the road to Kakori. The two of us walked along the road- paved, but growing ever dustier- and the grass along the sides gradually gave way to sand. However, we never really found ourselves outside of civilization, though the buildings did thin out between the two settlements. When the spaces between grew smaller, we knew we were getting close to Kakori.
A stiff wind buffeted me as we stalked the streets, a sure sign that we had arrived. Another was the actual physical sign saying 'Welcome to Kakori'. I stuck my hands in my pockets and turned to Doc. "Well, we made it. What now? The Order is around here, right?"
"Not exactly." Doc corrected. "An attack by them is bound to occur today, but it is no more than a probing attack manned only by creatures of darkness. If we act swiftly and intelligently, we can deal with the whole troupe and go unnoticed by the Order entirely-"
Just as he was finishing, a sudden crash from further into the town reached my ears, followed by a scream or two. I cast a single alarmed look to him, and when he nodded tersely, I drew my battle discs once again and charged headfirst into town, in the direction of the noises. For a few moments, silence had fallen over the dusty town, but soon I was able to make out the sounds of combat, and the occasional crash of something ramming full-speed into something else. Soon I was led into a clearing, once a busy plaza, now bust only with fighting between a few local soldiers and countless dark forms. They were rather tall, with lanky arms ending in sharp claws, which lashed out at anything that moved. The few police soldiers still standing were taking heavy damage, their spears impaling the creatures well enough, but their armor being ripped to shreds all the same.
However, another figure not wearing the uniform of city guard, was holding his own much better nearby. He instead wore a light windbreaker jacket and white cloth wrapped around his forehead to protect against the weather. Even from where I was, I could make out his striking blue eyes and rather pointed nose, and saw some shaggy black hair poking out from beneath the cloth on his head. He moved efficiently in battle, dancing around the enemy's attacks and lashing out with his weapon: a short, curved blade, metal as blue as the sea, held in alternation between normal and backhanded position.
This fighter allowed no creatures to pass by, tearing through one after another, eventually managing to gain some ground towards the center of the plaza. I decided to stick close to him for both our protection, and lit a fire spell on my battle discs before leaping into the fray myself. I spun around on the heels of my feet, slashing through and destroying the weak but numerous shadow forms, brutally fighting my way over to the unknown warrior. When I drew near, our eyes locked for a split second, long enough for him to nod in acknowledge me, then he went right back to the battle.
I moved in behind him, and the two of us fought back-to-back against the oncoming creatures. There were too many of them to count, but the fact that they were so weak individually made it a simple fight, albeit one that dragged on for ages. We both fought as efficiently as we could, not using up any more energy than we had to in order to kill the current wave of shadows and brace ourselves for the next. Their claws raked at us, only occasionally landing a hit, but the threat was all too real. My battle discs and his sword were the only things keeping the two of us from being ripped to shreds, holding the beasts just out of the range of their claws.
At last, I could feel the crowd begin to thin out. The swordsman and I pushed with all our remaining energy against the creatures, felling one after another, and with one last mighty slice, the last of them was destroyed. We both stood panting from the effort, still back to back, until the surviving local police force and townspeople came out of the woodwork to give us a huge round of applause. With that- a sure sign that the fight was well and truly over- the swordsman and I turned to each other as equals.
He spoke for the first time since I first saw him, with an odd accent but roughly the same dialect as others from Tellius. "I'm impressed." He admitted. "You held up well, especially with such unusual weapons. Who trained you?"
"A wanderer from Ivoire." I answered simply. "I could say the same for you, good sir. I've never seen a fighting style quite like your own. May I ask where you learned to fight, and your name?"
He dropped his gaze cooly. "I taught myself," he answered, "and no. I'm afraid you may not ask my name. I will show you as much courtesy in turn and not ask yours."
I sniffed slightly. It always annoyed me when I wasn't able to extract even the slightest bit of information out of people, as it made keeping track of them extremely difficult. He shrugged in a manner that I took as apologetic. "It's nothing personal. I don't tell anyone my name, except for those closest to me. It's a simple matter of security, and I'm waiting for a very specific person to arrive before I open up. You're not them."
"Scratch! Very well done!" I heard Doc call from across the plaza. The swordsman froze, a look on his face that started out puzzled, then slowly gave way to anger.
"Doctor." he practically growled, then spun around and ran towards the taller man approaching us. His curved blade remained sheathed, but he grabbed Doc by the collar with both hands and held him within a very small distance, unable to lift him off the ground simply because of height. I started with alarm the moment I realized Doc was under attack, but he simply laughed and locked eyes with the swordsman without concern.
"Ah, my old friend." Doc greeted him. "I thought we might bump into you today. How go things?"
"We're not friends, Doctor." The swordsman stated. "You know full well I only do this because I lack any other choice. Now, I know that with your gallivanting across time, your own clock can get a little confused, so let me put things into perspective for you. I have been waiting here, without a single sign of you or the person you told me to wait for, for four years. Four years since you brought me here, left me with some vague prophecy and left without ever looking back. Now that I've got ahold of you at last, I intend to finally get some answers out of you."
"I see." Doc answered. "Yes, I can see why one would be rather frustrated by these circumstances. Very well, then, release me and I will do my best to set your mind at rest."
The swordsman released Doc at last, and the taller figure dusted off his clothing gently while the other began. "Right. So I've basically come to terms with my own existence here and the purpose you've decided to give me already, so I won't waste your time with becoming depressed. But I have to know: how much longer must I wait before my time to act arrives? And when all is said and done... What will become of me? Of everything I've worked for?"
Doc sighed. "I'm afraid you may not care for the answer to those questions. Unfortunately... you're not even halfway there yet." The swordsman's jaw practically dropped. "You've around six more years to go. But fear not, for when that time comes, you will know precisely what to do, and your destiny afterward made clear."
"Six more years..." the swordsman repeated in a whisper, "What am I supposed to do until then?! Just sit and twiddle my thumbs?"
"I trust you're capable of keeping yourself busy. You have the young boy to keep you company, do you not? And if I may offer a piece of advice, keep a close eye on the relations between the countries of Tellius: Crimea, Daein and Grann in particular. To put things simply and to not break the continuity of things, soon you will find yourself quite without the need to occupy yourself."
" 'The Young Boy'..." he repeated. "So you know even about him. I shouldn't be surprised, of course. He can be a handful sometimes, but... Yes, I can keep myself busy with him. And... What of my other question? What happens to me after all this is over?"
"That all depends on how you choose to act when the time comes. You may well die completing your mission, but at the same time, you may slip through death's grasp. The potential and tools for you to live on will be presented to you, and it is up to whether to use them, or try your chances without."
"Seems kind of like a no-brainer to me, but I'll take your word for it." the swordsman answered. "So, is that it? You're just going to drop in to tell me to wait for six years until I can choose whether or not to die?"
Doc thought for a moment, then nodded. "Pretty much. Trust me, though, you'll hardly notice the time go by. It's all about having fun getting there, so they say."
The swordsman folded his arms, then huffed and started to walk away. "Fine then. If that's all there is, I'll keep playing along to your little game. But believe me when I say I intend to win."
Doc shook his head as the swordsman walked away, then said under his breath: "Believe me, the game we're all trapped in is far worse, and I can only wish it was me pulling the strings..."
I stepped forward, somewhat apprehensive. "Who was that?" I asked.
Doc sighed lightly. "An old associate of mine. The poor boy has been through a lot, more than you can imagine, but through a deal with me, I think he will be able to find peace. He has one last role to play in the grand destiny of the world, as do we all." Doc shook his head, then smiled and held out a hand to me. "Well, today's work is done. Tomorrow, we begin reconnaissance against the Order. Shall we be off?"