Legion Saga III

Soul of a Meluvetian
Chapter One:- Audience with the Emperor
A Legion Saga fanfic by ACB

It has been three months since the alliance had returned from Avalon, and the world is a different place. Lord Kima ruled over Higanasu from Freedom Castle in Tudar City, whilst Lord Nastra worked to rebuild the fallen country of Krisdea, decimated by Dansa’s divine energy. Over in the Twin Empires, Lord Ridman works to restore the two countries of Meluvet and Garalas to their former glory.

However, our story begins in the wastelands formally known as Western Krisdea. Near the remains of Kegan, formally a fishing town, a man with light blue hair, bright red eyes, a tuxedo and a large rucksack, walks west. He is Cid Regule, former general of the Whole Moon guard, protectors of King Agaman Meluvet, and of the Blood Moon unit of King Zogoran’s army in Higanasu. It had been a confusing few months for Cid. He was sent on a mission to arrest Priestess Vugen of the Amun’Rah and the monks of the Amun’Rah temple. He fought a fierce battle with Priestess Vugen and was eventually overpowered by her. He blacked out, and woke up by the river Achelous, just outside the Rimeru forest. He soon heard news that a man by the name of Kima had become king of Higanasu and that Zogoran was dead. Now out of work, as he was after the Midland wars, Cid heads for Lu Yaio to find a job. He deeply resented the fact he had to leave his family in Meluvet, but he had no money and work was hard to find. Cid’s destination is the Lu Yaio checkpoint. He had heard that Emperor Xi Yung had lost a lot of troops in the border skirmishes with Krisdea that had occurred a few months ago. Cid hoped that he would have the same luck he had in Higanasu. The previous general of the Blue Moon unit was killed in the civil war 12 years ago, and so when Cid arrived, he found it easy to ascend to the rank of general in the Blue Moon unit, since he was the most experienced soldier available.

Cid had been walking for weeks, and the same view of barren wasteland every day was starting to get to him. Cid recognised the ruins of Kegan. He had been to Kegan once before, on his way to find work after the Midland Wars. He recognised the red archway in Kegan, although it was nowhere near red now, it was clearly black. Cid knew he must be close to the checkpoint now. Suddenly, a green creature with eyes of burning red malice, and sharp claws attacked. Cid drew his sword, Meluvet Soul, and stuck the creature. The monster jumped back and fired a blast of fire at Cid. Cid brushed the spell off and chanted “Demon Bird!”. A massive bird of fire appeared and scorched the creature, although the monster looked almost strengthened by demon bird’s attack.

“This must be some kind of demon!”, Cid thought.

The demon charged towards Cid, but Cid jumped back and chanted “Nightfall Blizzard!”, calling on the powers of his ice orb. The demon was struck down by a massive chuck of ice, and Cid sighed a sigh of relief.

“I should have expected demons here, from those stories I heard back in Higanasu”, Cid thought to himself. Cid had heard many tales of the war that was fought against Dansa and his army of demons, and of the fall of Krisdea.

A few days later, Cid Regule had made it to the Lu Yaio checkpoint. It was a tall wall, made out of stone, with a passageway in the middle. He saw two guard at the passageway, dressed in fancy red armor ornamented with lots if expensive jewels and gems, wielding Katana’s. Cid walked up to the entrance. The guards suddenly shouted “HALT!” in unison. “State your business here!”, one guard said. Cid thought for a second or two about what he should say. “Greetings, I am Cid Regule, former general of the Whole Moon Guard of King Agaman Meluvet, and of the Blood Moon unit of King Zogoran. I am currently out of work, and would like to offer my services to Emperor Xi Yung. The two guards whispered to each other for a minute or two. Then, one of the guards said “Well, we are looking for new recruits at the moment, and if you really are the famous Cid Regule, then we really should let you through, but we need proof.” “Proof?”, Cid thought to himself. What is there in my rucksack that I could give as proof of my identity. “Of course! My medal from King Agaman Meluvet! I remember, I was so proud when I was awarded this for 25 years of long service! Those were the days.” Cid pulled out his medal from one of his suit pockets and said “Take a look at this.” This kind of medal was one renowned for its worth. It was gold, with a jewel in the centre. This was known as the Meluvet Loyalty award, and was given only to high-ranking officials. It was known that only two people ever attained this medal, because most people in the Whole Moon guard didn’t live for 25 years. The two people who attained the medal were Cid himself, and General Kamza. The guards both said “Wow! I’ve never seen one of these before! Only two of these were ever given out. General Kamza died of unknown causes 14 years ago, so he must be…Cid Regule!” “Finally, we’re getting somewhere!”, Cid thought to himself. Cid put his medal back in a suit pocket. One guard said, “OK, you can go through.” Cid said, “Thanks” and walked through the checkpoint. The other guard muttered “Wow, a Meluvet Loyalty award!” Cid loved these kinds of complements. This was why he showed his Meluvet Loyalty award off often.

It was about 7:00pm, and Cid had just reached the town of Banoto, a small farming town not far from the Lu Yaio/Krisdea checkpoint. Cid was tired, and hungry. He looked around for an inn, and eventually found one, which also served as a pub. Cid walked up to the reception desk. A lady stood at the desk. She had long black hair and was dressed in a fancy robe with pink flowers painted on. She said “Hello, welcome to the Banoto Inn. How may I help you?” Cid replied, “I wish to stay the night here. How much would that be?” The lady replied, “That will be 50 geld.” Cid said, “OK, here you go” handing over the money. “Thank you. You’re in room no.7. Would you mind telling us your name?” the lady then said. Cid replied, “Cid Regule.” Everyone in the pub turned round and started talking excitedly, and Cid couldn’t help but notice someone very familiar in a corner. The lady said, “Right, OK.” Cid suddenly felt his stomach rumble. He had eaten nothing but rations for who knows how many weeks he spent walking across the wasteland formally known as Krisdea. Cid asked, “Could you tell me what meals are available here, please?” The lady replied, “OK, we have a menu here with all our meals”, and she handed Cid a menu. Cid said, “Thanks, I’ll get back to you in a minute” and went to sit down at a table, and started to look through the menu, seeing lots of Lu Yaio delicacies that he liked the look of. Suddenly, somebody patted Cid on the shoulder. Cid looked up and saw someone with black hair, two scars on his face in a cross shape, and some pipe weed in his mouth. He said, “I believe we have met before, Cid. The names Sazaku.” Cid replied, “Yes, I remember you now. You were with Ridman when he stormed Bargon Castle. So, what do you want?” Sazaku answered, “I’m simply interested in what you’re doing all the way here in Lu Yaio”, and sat down at Cid’s table. Cid explained, “I’m currently out of work. I was the general of the Higanasu Blood Moon unit of King Zogoran up until three or so months ago. I was involved in an arrest of some members of the Amun’Rah cult, you know, those fanatical Dansa followers. After a battle with the priestess, I blacked out and awoke some time later to discover that a man by the name of Kima Roshgarde had become King of Higanasu, and so I was out of a job. I have a family to feed in Meluvet, and the only place where I was likely to find work was Lu Yaio. So, what are you doing all the way out here?” Sazaku replied, “Well, as it turns out, I’m out of work too. Lord Nastra of Krisdea and Veramonde cracked down on the guild that I belonged to a few months ago. As you know, I used to be an assassin for this guild, and now it seems that I’m gonna have to go freelance like that ninja guy, Shotan.” Cid then asked, “So, where’re you headed?” Sazaku replied, “The Lu Yaio capital, Abanoya. There’s bound to be work there.” Cid then said, “That’s where I’m headed. I hear that Emperor Xi Yung lost a lot of troops in the skirmishes with Krisdea, so I figured that I should be able to find employment easily. If we’re both headed to Abanoya, then why don’t we go together?” Sazaku replied, “Safety in numbers, I like the sound of that. You’ve got a deal. So, we set off tomorrow morning, right?” Cid said, “That’s fine by me.”

Cid woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed from sleeping in a proper bed, rather than the sleeping bag he’d been sleeping in for the last few weeks. The room was furnished lavishly, with red carpets, and lots of paintings of Lu Yaio landmarks on the walls. Cid looked out of the window of his room, and saw an amazing view. Cid saw a large forest in between two huge mountain ranges. He thought, “The Kinomei woods. I’ll have to make sure I have enough supplies. I’ve heard those woods are dangerous.” Cid heard a knock on the door. “Come in!”, Cid said. Sazaku walked into the room. “So, are you ready to go?” he said. “Ready?! I haven’t even had breakfast yet! You may be used to eating rough, but I’m not!”, Cid said, rather shocked by Sazaku’s question. Sazaku replied, “OK, I’ll just go down to the local hardware store. I’ll meet you there”. “That’s fine with me. See you there”, Cid replied.

After Cid had his very large breakfast, which was consisted of about 10 rice balls, two large bowls of rice, sweet and sour pork, and a large teapot of Lu Yaio herbal tea, he headed to the hardware store to meet up with Sazaku. The hardware store looked quite small from the outside, but when Cid walked in, it seemed massive. The shelves seemed packed with just about everything you would need for a long journey. Sazaku was browsing the shelves. Sazaku turned to see who was coming into the shop. “Ready?”, Sazaku asked Cid. “There are a few things I need to buy first.” Sazaku replied, “Fine by me” Cid stocked up on potions and other bits and pieces he needed, then Cid and Sazaku left for the Lu Yaio capital of Abanoya.

Cid and Sazaku walked for about an hour before reaching the Kinomei woods. The woods looked quite unwelcoming. The wood looked quite swampy and dark. “You ready?”, Sazaku asked, as he and Cid walked into the woods. Cid said, “Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ve had to venture across some pretty horrible places before. Ever been through the Neinya Marshes in Higanasu?” Sazaku replied, “Once, although I have been in worse places” Cid shuddered. Cid and Sazaku walked through the woods for about half an hour, and it wasn’t the most pleasant of journeys. The ground was swampy, and the smell was pretty bad. Suddenly, giant vines grabbed Cid and Sazaku, seemingly out of nowhere and held them up in the air. Out of one of the pools of swampy water came what looked like a giant Venus flytrap, which was where the vines came from. Cid’s hands were held well and truly still by the plant, so using orbcraft was quite impossible. Sazaku’s hands were free however. “Sazaku! Can you reach your sword!”, Cid shouted desperately. Sazaku attempted to reach his Katana, which in its scabbard on his back. “Nope!”, Sazaku shouted. “Use your orbs to get us out of this then!”, Cid shouted. Sazaku replied, “I haven’t got any!” “What?!”, Cid shouted. “Now’s not the time to explain!”, Sazaku replied. Cid shouted, “Now this is just great! We’re about to get eaten by some monstrous plant, and all because you haven’t got any orbs!” Suddenly, the flytrap’s vines were sliced off in just over a splitsecond. The vines loosened, the flytrap sank back into the swamp, and Cid and Sazaku fell down onto the ground from where they were held by the vines. Cid and Sazaku stood up and in front of them was a man with black hair and dark red eyes, wielding two swords. “Hey, thanks, uh…you are?” “Taisu”, the man said. Cid replied, “OK, thanks for saving us. My hands were held tight by those vines and my friend, Sazaku, here with free hands didn’t bring any orbs with him. Cid Regule’s the name.” Sazaku shouted back, “Hey, I have my reasons!” “Cid Regule? So, what are you doing in a place like this, huh?”, Taisu asked. Cid replied, “We’re headed for the capital. We’re both out of work and need a job bad. You?” Taisu answered, “There are many questions which plague me. I seek answers here. It’s personal.” Cid replied “OK, well anyway, do you want to tag along with us until we get out of this blasted forest?” Taisu answered, “OK, this place is a dangerous place to be on your own.” Cid, rather sarcastically said, “It’s pretty dangerous, full stop.”

Cid, Sazaku and Taisu soon got out of the Kinomei woods. Cid turned to Taisu as the group left the woods and said, “So, I guess this is goodbye.” Taisu replied, “If you don’t mind, I’ll tag along with you guys until we reach Abanoya. That’s where I’m headed next. The plains of Lu Yaio are quite inhospitable.” Cid answered, “Yeah, its fine if you come with us.

The group reached the Lu Yaio capital Abanoya at about 3:00pm. The city looked huge. There were lots of houses and shops and overshadowing the city was the castle of Emperor Xi Yung. “I’m impressed.”, Cid said as he gazed up at the castle. He’d never seen a castle so huge before. This castle was even larger than the one in Tudar city. Sazaku replied, “It’s the largest castle I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a few. Well, anyway, its been fun, but I really need to be going now” Cid said “Same here” Sazaku walked off, towards the local pub. “Well, its been nice meeting you, but I’ve got business to sort out”, Taisu said. “OK, see you around”, Cid replied. Taisu walked off into the crowd.

Cid headed for the castle, and at the entrance, he met two guards in the same uniform as the guards at the checkpoint, red with jewels embedded in the armor. “HALT!”, the guards shouted. “Who goes there?”, the two guards then asked. Cid though for a second about what to say, ready to get his Meluvet Loyalty award out of his pocket if he needed proof of identification. “Cid Regule, former general of the Whole Moon guard of King Agaman Meluvet and of the Blood Moon unit of King Zogoran of Higanasu. I request an audience with Emperor Xi Yung. One guard said, “Emperor Xi Yung doesn’t let just anyone into the castle. You’ll need proof of your identity.” Cid showed his medal, and said “Take a look”. The guards looked at the medal and whispered for about a minute. “OK, Cid, that’s proof enough. I’ll go and check with the Emperor to see if you can come in”, one of the guards said before walking into the castle. Ten minutes later, the guard came out. “OK, Cid. You can go in. The Emperor’s audience hall is on the fifth floor, so you’ll need to wait on the fourth floor until you are called. Emperor Xi Yung will see you in about half an hour. A word of advice. The Emperor isn’t the most patient man in the world. Just try to stay on his good side” Cid replied, “Thanks”. Cid entered the castle. It was well decorated, with bright red wallpaper, and all sorts of ornaments on the wall, such as antique jars and paintings. Cid walked up the stairs to the fourth floor. There, Cid found the stairs leading to the audience hall and a row of seats for people waiting to see Emperor Xi Yung, like Cid was. There were corridors leading to all sorts of different rooms. Cid went to sit down and thought to himself “This place is massive!”. Cid waited for what seemed like forever. After a long while, a lady walked down the stairs from the fifth floor and came up to Cid. She had long black hair, combed very tidily, and she wore a long pink dress with writing written in the old Lu Yaio scripts written on it. She asked, “Are you Sir Cid Regule?” Cid replied, “Yes, I am.” The lady replied, “Emperor Xi Yung will see you now.” “Thanks”, Cid said before he got up and walked up the stairs.

The audience hall has huge. There was a long red carpet leading up to Emperor Xi Yung’s throne, and there were candles on long black stands all across the walls. At the front of the room, Emperor Xi Yung sat on his throne, which had a gold frame, and red cushions. Cid walked towards Xi Yung and knelled down. Xi Yung had long silver hair and wore a purple shirt and purple trousers. Xi Yung said, “State your business here, Cid Regule.” Cid thought about what to say for a moment, then answered. “Emperor Xi Yung. I seek employment in your army” Xi Yung stared into Cid’s eyes intently for a second, then answered. “I sense great energies within you, Cid Regule of Meluvet. You possess the true spirit of a Meluvetian. A spirit that cannot be destroyed, no matter what force stands in your way. I accept your offer, General Cid Regule of the Lu Yaio Jade Dragon army. You may rise.” Cid stood and said “I am eternally grateful to you, Emperor Xi Yung.” Xi Yung then said, “I shall send one of my servants to show you to your room later. In the meantime, please feel free to look around the castle.” Cid was quite surprised. “I never expected Xi Yung to give me the job just like that, let alone promote me to general. Although I’ve heard that he has the ability to stare into people’s souls, and my powers would be easy for someone with a power like that to see.”, Cid thought to himself before walking downstairs to take a look round the castle.