The first Casualty of war-A Wynn/Eria fanfic

Woah...the story of the war become dramatic and dramatic. I just smiled when i read the Avance-Noellia scene

nice story again, coming. no critics for now XD

Let’s go back in time a bit shall we?
*Plays the TARDIS sound effect*
Ok then, now it’s around eight years ago and beyond the Mist Valley, back at the place in which the charmers grew up and
learnt.
Ahem, I probably should have done this at the beginning of the story but I’m going to use this chapter to provide information about the history and beliefs of the residence of the Mist Valley in which war is to reign and hopefully give you a better image of the world as a whole. It will also tell of how the Charmer’s went from young students to the older spellcasters they are now, separated between different tribes across the world.
And who better to tell you this story then one of the most famous cards in Yu-Gi-Oh?
Important: Please note that in this chapter I will explain a background lore to the Mist Valley that is not official Duel Terminal lore. This is completely fan written background lore made up both for the sake of the story and from what I imagine it may be like so remember that it will probably be different from whatever you yourself may imagine.
The aim of the story is and has always been to provide a fleshed out version of the Duel Terminal storyline due to the (in my opinion) infuriatingly vague official one and that is exactly what this chapter is written to do

Warning: This is a long one


Beyond the boundaries of the Mist Valley, far from the trees of the Gusto forest and the stone city of the Gishki lay a small wood that stood separate from the world around by a series of fast running rivers and streams. Here the trees stand barely half the height of those within the Mist Valley and the lavish plant growth provided a sanctuary to a great variety of wildlife which had failed to survive in the habitats of the world beyond. The small makeshift island was in every way an isolated haven from the trials of the world.

And it was here, in a great school of stone and marble and glass that stood within a clearing in the centre of the wood, that Wynn the Wind Charmer had grown up.

“Hey Wynn! You coming?”

“Coming!”

Grabbing her green gem baring staff as she ran from her room, a ten year old Wynn jogged from the front doors of the school and ran over to where her friends and fellow students had gathered around a large horse drawn carriage. Just above her right shoulder, the small form of her familiar, Petit Dragon, gave a squeak of complaint as he flapped his tiny wings again and again in an attempt to keep up with her but she paid it no mind, focusing on moving faster as she saw the carriage door open and the other girls begin to climb aboard. All except for the blue haired Eria, who remained where she was stood, waiting until Wynn had finally caught up and exchanging a big grin before the two finally climbed into the carriage. With a shout from the driver and whip of the horse’s reigns, the carriage began to move and the young charmers held within gave loud cheers.

Today was a very important day for the trainees in the spiritual arts, it was to be the first day in which they left the wood that surrounded their home since they had first left their families behind and begun their teachings.

As the carriage moved through the forest, six pairs of eyes gazed from the windows towards the sights around or chatted eagerly about what the expected to find at their destination. Wynn laughed as a pair of birds flew down to fly alongside of them for a moment before vanishing back into the plant life whilst Hiita bragged to Lyna and Aussa about the latest trick she had managed to bend her control over fire to do.

Six charmers, five girls and one boy, each trained to wield complete control over a certain element, one to understand each of the six attributes that governed the very core of the world around them. Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Light and Dark all represented in turn and chatting happily amongst themselves and bound by a youthful friendship that had formed into a tight bond over the years they had known each other.

All unknowing parts in the grand plan for the world’s future.

But their young thoughts lay not with the future today, no today they thought only of the destination of their journey and of the excitement that they felt as they rumbled over the stone bridge that crossed the river that separated their home from the rest of the world. Today, they were going to a guild for magicians and mages which stood on the boundaries of the Mist Valley, a place where they were told they were to get a special lesion from one of the most powerful spellcasters in the region.

Added to the fact that their teacher had needed to leave the day before to ensure that this spellcaster was free to see them on that day, their excitement was understandably at boiling point.
………………………………………………….
By the passing of the second hour, that excitement had turned into annoyance.

“Ah! Are we there yet?” Hiita groaned as her head thumped against the side of the carriage repeatedly and shooting a venomous glare towards Aussa when the earth charmer attempted to ask her to stop. Then, with a loud thud, Hiita’s head was slammed against the side of the carriage with a lot more force as it drove over a bump in the road and the Aussa took satisfaction from her yelp of pain with a slight grin as pay back.

“Calm down back there” The gruff voice of the carriage driver called out and Hiita stuck her tongue out in his general direction through the wood “We’re there now”

“Wonderful”

Wynn gave a giggle to herself as she saw Dharc roll his eyes at the fire charmer’s outburst before looking out of the window to see the carriage turn around a corner to reveal a great building of white stone which stood in the centre of a field. Great banners of purple cloth and stain glass windows. It was a truly beautiful sight that made Wynn pause in her own breath as her green eyes opened wide.

This was it; she thought to herself, this is the magician’s guild.

“All right girls” The driver called out as the carriage ground to a halt around half a mile away from the gates of the guild and the door swung open “This is where you’re getting off”

“You’re not taking us all the way?”

“Sorry Mrs. Light” The driver grinned as he stepped aside to allow Lyna room to step down, tilting his head at her question “Aint my job to take you all the way. Besides, I think you’ve been given some…research to be seeing before you go in”

“Research?”

“Yup” the driver said no more as he gestured to where two figures could be seen standing in the in the middle of field. Once the charmers were looking in the right direction, he jogged back into his seat and left them to it as he pulled out a book and zoned out. Exchanging looks with each other, the Charmers began to walk towards the two figures…

…only for the two to suddenly start attacking each other.

With a series of loud crashes and magical explosions of light, the two figures threw their all against each other in a duel that both captured the attention of all nearby and forced them to look away in the face of the power that burned around them.

On one side stood a man dropped in purple robes that seemed a mix between cotton and armour seemed to be both made out of cotton and metallic armour all in the exact same material, all topped with a large hat that stood at a point twice as high as his own head, the tip leaning inwards. In his hands he clutched a staff in a double handed grip, spinning it around in blinding patterns as he formed a magical shield around himself to block a spell from his opponent which exploded with enough force to shake the ground. Wynn felt sure that the magical attack would have immolated the wagon they were in and all the charmers along with it in an instant, even had they all been focusing their powers into a single shield. Yet, as the bright purple flames of the spell died, the man hadn’t even taken a step back as he simply spun his staff around to blast an orb and darker purple magic out towards his opponent.

His foe didn’t attempt to block the spell from where she hovered in the air, simply doing a barrel roll where she hovered in mid-air to allow it to fly past her before retaliating again with a spell from her own staff, a miniature version of the males that was barely half the size and tipped with a golden swirl. Whilst she wore the same pointed hat style as the other, her clothes were much less armoured and designed more for freedom, a large amount of bare skin areas allowing her to carry out a dance in the air that would have been impossible in armour. She didn’t need protection in such a fight, her speed and grace of movement allowed her to avoid any form of injury from the other spellcasters attacks. Blonde hair flew in the wind that blew at her higher altitude and the sound of loud giggling echoed down towards them as she did a cartwheel before releasing her spell in order to give it momentum.

With a jolt, Wynn felt realisation of who the two where grip her and she exchanged an amazed look with Lyna when she heard a gasp that revealed she had come to the same realisation.

Right in front of the young Charmers, the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl were clashing in a duel of amazing proportions. It felt to them like this was a show being performed just for them, two of the greatest mages in the world (the master of magic and his apprentice) demonstrating their power at its height simply for them. It was both terrifying and exhilarating in one, a spectacle that thousands around the world would have given anything to catch a glimpse of…and they were seeing it performed just for them…

The children could only stare on as if mesmerised as the Dark Magician Girl rose a little higher into the air and summoned two large orbs of purple light on either side of her. With a loud laugh she swung her arms forward and the orbs shot down towards the Dark Magician who braced himself and raised his shield again. The first three orbs exploded against his magical barrier with a spectacular array of sparks and his shield faltered, instinctive he directed his energy towards the front of the shield but the fourth orb changed its direction and flew over his head to come crashing down behind him.

Taking advantage of the momentary stumble that the explosion caused, the Dark Magician Girl began to fall to the ground, keeping her arms straight to her sides to decreases the wind resistance as she aimed directly at him. With a triumphant cheer, the younger mage swung into the male mage, and for a moment, the entire area was engulfed in smoke and sudden airborne dirt.

The charmers all held their breaths as they watched the cloud of dirt that had been hurled into the air by the force of the clash begin to settle to the ground, unable to so much as blink as they awaited to see which of the two was still standing.

The dust seemed to hover for what felt like years as the charmers squinted in a vain attempt to see though the smoke wall and catch a glimpse of the duelling magicians, Hiita gave a grumble of annoyance as she took a step forward before jumping back in fright as a blast of wind tore the dust apart. The last flash of energy from the spell imploded in and exploded at the same time to send the dust high in a great tornado that shattered just as quickly as it came. The wind howled around them against the magic that swarmed the air before stopping in an instant as a tall figure walked towards the charmers from behind.

Turning, Wynn found herself automatically bowing slightly as she saw her mistress and teacher approach them, her hand steadying the wind around them with a magical efficiency that was still beyond the young wind charmer.

With a warm smile, the mistress of the charmers, Doriado the Elemental Mistress, returned the bow of your young pupil (as sign of respect that Wynn instantly felt unworthy off) before gesturing for her to look back towards the duel with the slow extending of her palm and nod of her head.

Slowly turning, Wynn saw that the dust had finally cleared enough for the two figures of the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl to be revealed to the on looking charmers. With the crackle of still charged energy, Hiita could be heard cheering as they saw that both mages will still stood tall, their staffs pressed against each other in a harsh lock that kept both pinned and yet both standing. Neither could move from the deadlock without giving the other the chance to strike a crippling blow and neither could strike out without the other moving. A perfect deadlock.

Then, with a silent nod to each other, the two magicians simply lowered their staffs and backed away from one another. Once far enough away they placed their staffs against their chests and gave a deep bow to mark the end of the duel.

The charmers stood in silence as they watched them, still too stunned by the sight of the two duelling to even move before the sound of slow clapping sounded out to their side and they saw Doriado take a couple of steps forward, her hands clapping in a slow, calm beat. After a moment, Hiita began clapping, faster and with the addition of a few cheers, before slowly all six charmers joined in and the sound of applause rose around them.

Looking up towards them, the two magicians began to walk up.

“Children” Doriado spoke as they approached; turning around to face them with a smile “I would like to introduce to you the ones known as the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl, though I suspect you may already know that. They are going to be the ones who will take over your teachings for the next two days”

Again a stunned silence struck the charmers as they heard her words and watched the magicians walk up towards them. That couldn’t be right could it? They still didn’t believe that the magicians had put on a show for them in that duel, believing it must have been pure chance that they saw it and now Doriado was telling them that the magicians were going to teach them!?

“Hiya!”

The charmers could barely mumble a reply as the Dark Magician Girl rose back into the air and flew the last few meters ahead of the Dark Magician, hovering at their head height with an almost childish grin as she waved in greeting. Behind her, the Dark Magician simply walked up towards Doriado and gave a nod, beginning to speak with the Elemental Mistress in a low tone that was utterly drowned out by the loud, bubbly voice of the hovering girl.

“So your Doriado’s students huh?” She grinned as she drifted from side to side to look each one of them in the face, Dharc being the only one to look away “Good to meet you all. I’m sure that were going to get on very well and have fun. Just because you’re here to learn doesn’t mean your can’t have fun am I right? Of course I am”

Something about the girl seemed to simply radiate enthusiasm and happiness and, even star struck as the charmers were, it proved to be incredibly contagious as they joined in with her laughing and quickly found themselves talking to her as if she was an old friend as she asked them each for their names in turn. She spoke to them each as if they were equals and not six kids speaking to one of the most famous mages in their region and her eyes seemed to shone with genuine curiosity and kindness as she gave them each her undivided attention when they introduced themselves.

There was nothing about her that even hinted at anything but the kindest of intentions and, for a moment Wynn found herself making a comparison to the kind smile of Doriado but she quickly realised that, whilst Doriado emitted ever caring motherly figure you could always turn to, the Dark Magician Girl instead emitted an aura of the giddy big sister that you could tell any secrete to or trust to have a laugh with. If that made any sense…

“If you are finished” The Dark Magician spoke out when the girl had finally managed to fish out a name from the uncharacteristically silent Dharc. His voice was a deep and authortive tone that made even the Dark Magician Girl break from her relentless questions to look back. Had he been alone, he would have seemed simply serious but, when standing beside the enthusiastic girl, he seemed angry at something and the charmers all fell completely silent. For a moment he simply ran his eyes across them, looking as though he was searching their very souls for something before he simply nodded and rose his staff.

“You are each welcome, students of Doriado” he spoke out to them “All of the services that my guild would provide a fully appointed magician or mage will be open to you, with a few minor submissions, and you will spend the next two days attending lessons in the arts of magical arts that range beyond the elements that you have so far trained in. My student will give you a tour of the building and answer any question that you may have. Is this understood charmers of Doriado?”

“Yes sir!”

The charmers all called out the reply in unison as an automatic reaction to his tone and the Dark Magician raised an eyebrow, though Wynn felt that was more at the fact that the Dark Magician girl had for whatever reason decided she was going to shout it too.

Then, with a clap of her hands, the Dark Magician Girl took back into the air and flew over the heads of the charmers calling for them to follow her. Zigzagging through the air, she lead them up towards the door of the guild and waited for them to catch up before disappearing within with a final big wave over to her own teacher and Doriado.
…………………………………………………..
“You always did think big” The Dark Magician remarked simply as he watched the children follow his own student through the large oak doors, before his small eyes turned to fix upon Doriado “Not many other people would have come up with this idea let alone put it in motion”

“What idea?” the Elemental Mistress asked innocently as she began to walk away from the door and towards the gardens with the Magician following in tow.

“Come now. These Charmers you have trained. Six children, each baring the blessing and power of a different element, it’s a concept that has always existed yet never made realisation until now” He paused as he looked at her “A group of mages who can form a bond between the attributes that make up all life in this world, taught by one who has an understanding of them all, a peaceful connection that can be used as a starting point to form kinder relations between ourselves and others tribes and societies should they manage to make themselves known to the world. It’s an interesting possibility”

Doriado simply smiled as she gazed out towards the flowers that formed the outskirts of the guild’s garden, her long hair blowing slightly against the wind.

“Yes” She finally replied, her voice quite “It is”

“And where do you intend to go with this now?”

“I will keep training them for now” Doriado said after another pause “Each of them has shown exceptional talents in the attributes I have chosen for them and are already beginning to reach my levels…and I have no doubt that they will soon exceed them”

The Dark Magician frowned as he found his mouth opening to argue with her, but stopped the words before they could form. Doriado was one of the greatest spellcasters the world had known and was indeed the only person in their age who had been able to gain control and mastery over every element (though dark had always been one she had avoided the use off) and he couldn’t help but want to point out that none of the other mages in the world had even come close to doing what she had done. Hell, even he himself could only wield the power of the dark with any effective amount of power.

But something about the pride that he could sense emitting from her told him to be silent.

Doriado had always been a kind person, probably the most compassionate person he had ever met, and it was with a motherly pride that she was speaking about the six children she had taken in and begun the training of. He had thought of them as a plan or idea for a future that she had envisioned but he could see that to her, these young Charmers may as well have been her own children as her pupils. Doriado did seem like the perfect motherly type…

“Are you ok?”

The Dark Magician blinked himself back to reality as he nodded, gesturing forward with a hand and allowing the two to resume their walk towards the garden.

The magician’s guild’s garden was a series of walls made from head high hedges and flowers crops which spun amongst themselves into wonderful and impossible formations. Arches of vine and petal reached across the heads of those that walked through and the hedges always seemed to shift and change to suit those who they met, children looking for play would swear blindly that it was a maze which changed every time they entered whilst elders would claim that a straight walk always took them where they wished. This was most likely because of some spell caste during the planting of the garden but Doriado loved imagining some mystical reason from beyond time where the plants thought and moved to show the world their beauty.

In her heart, Doriado still held her inner child dear.
…………………………………………………………………………………
Walking down the long corridors that formed the interior of the Magician’s guild, Wynn couldn’t help but be fascinated by the bubbly nature of the Dark Magician Girl. Since leaving the presence of her master, the younger mage hadn’t stopped skipping or humming as she led the charmers along the maze of walls and passed dozens of other mages and researchers, pausing each time long enough to greet them each by name before continuing on her joy movement.

She seemed utterly unable to remain still as she bobbed up and down in the air as they moved and the wind charmer couldn’t help but think that the ground was simply unable to take her energy and the Dark Magician Girl had somehow been forced to take to their simply to have the room to fit her massive enthusiasm. Even as they passed a room with curtains drawn where a mage in dark grey clothes was giving a lecture she simply continued to hum to herself, seeming oblivious to the looks of announce that she got in reply.

The charmers all followed her in a huddle, trying to keep from making eye contact with the big shot mages that walked past as they chatted amongst themselves about the duel they had just witnessed or give the odd “wow” at the great architecture around them, though Wynn did keep noting with amusement Dharc’s eyes wondering towards the Dark Magician Girl.

“So where to take you first?” The hovering girl stopped in mid-air for a second as she turned to look at them, as if she had just that second remembered that she was supposed to be giving them a tour rather than going for a leisurely stroll (Or fly as her hovering case may be). Her eyes began to scroll across the room absentmindedly as she mumbled locations and reasons not to go there before shrugging “How about the library? I know that doesn’t sound very interesting at the moment but just you wait until you see it!”

The library of the magician’s guild was nothing short of a legend to any who hunted for the furthering of their magical skill, containing books from across the Mist Valley and the world beyond. Book cases stood as high as they did long, reaching high into the air with massive hovering platforms allowing mages to reach books at the top of impossibly high cases. Magic was carved deeply into the very wood of the book cases and everything that could be associated with a magician’s library existed within its walls.

(Based upon the Royal Magical library card?)

“Here we are” The Dark Magician Girl called out as she flew higher into the library so that she could gaze down upon the charmers, her voice echoing across the great room with such power that practically every person in the room, save for those who were used to her antiques “This is the great library of the magicians guild!”

The charmers all gave gasps of amazement as they stared at the sea of books and wood the strait out both before and over them. It felt like they were stood in the middle of a great tree full of hovering platforms and mages, a hub for the knowledge of the entire world’s worth of information held in a single places.

“You could find out anything you want to know here” She boasted as she hovered just above the charmers, her wand held behind her back, making Dharc very unsure as to where he should be looking, and began pointing in seemingly random directions “over there you can get books for new spells, and over there is great past mages and over there is…I forget…and over there is where you can learn some history. Everything from the construction of the this guild to the legends of the ruin markings”

“Ruin markings?”

“Yup” The Dark Magician Girl seemed to almost glow at Lyna’s question “You know, those ruins that turn up in ruins telling the story of the gods and the swarm” She gave a chuckle before pausing as she caught their blank expression “Oh so you don’t know that one?”

“No” The Charmers replied in unison.

“Ah, wonderful then, Story time!”

The charmers could only watch as the Dark Magician Girl turned and began to look around the room for a moment, a figure on her chin in thought without even giving any of the a chance to speak against her sudden plan for reading.

“Here” She grinned as she gestured towards a large book which stood upon a golden stand a few shelves away. With a shimmer of magic, the book began to levitate from the stand and flew towards them for her to simply pluck from the air with a grin “This book should tell us everything that we need to know”

Turning around and resuming her humming, the Magician Girl lead the Charmers towards a large table that ran across the impossible length of the library and gestured for them to sit before hovering over it and sitting on the other side, placing the book down where it could be seen by all of them.

“Here we are, I little bit of a history lesson for you all”

Gesturing down towards the book, she smiled as the Charmers all stared at a complex painting that covered a full page with the title ‘The end’. In the picture, a sea of black creatures which seemed to resemble insects could be seen gathering around a large door of gold and bronze above which hovered vast creatures that looked both organic and mechanical at the same time around which glowed a bright halo of light. The ground of the image resembled a battleground yet was void of the dead and in the night sky could be seen three great birds of shimmering light, one a wonderful gold, a second a bright jade and the third, hovering below the first two, was a bitch black with blood red eyes that seemed to stair back at the charmers.

“You see” The Dark Magician Girl said, her voice losing a touch of its playfulness so that she sounded more like a teacher would speak to a class “Runes and graphics that been found across the Mist Valley and beyond all bare testament to a single story about a plague of creatures that they call ‘The Swarm’ ravaging the world. We don’t know anything about them really, other than that they were great in number…but the markings of the ruins, which are themselves really just paintings and drawings, tell of a group of gods that descended from the heavens and purged the swarm. The world shuddered and the swarm were sealed beneath it and the these three great birds” she pointed towards the three bird like shapes that hovered over the battle “are said to have left the world in the care of the golden gods” She pointed towards the ones that battled with the swarm before looking back up towards the Charmers “Aaaaaand that’s about it”

“Huh?” Hiita frowned back “But that barely told us anything”

“I know” The Dark Magician Girl shrugged as she leant back in her chair and watched as Lyna and Aussa stared intently at the golden ‘gods’ in the picture “But you try making an in-depth story about characters which are nothing more than the same pictures in ancient ruins”
……………………………………………………………………………….
“You are right though” Doriado finally said, causing the Dark Magician to look up from where he had sat upon a garden bench, her hand running along the petal of an oversized flower almost absentmindedly “My students are indeed destined to be a link between the different factions that form across this world, or at least, that’s what I hope for them. But…”

“But?” The Dark Magician frowned, noting the suddenly sober tone that filled her voice with a touch of unease.

“For them to do this they will have to separate for a time at least” Her hand dropped from the flower and her eyes closed as if it pained her to speak of the future “In order for them to find these tribes that they can call home they must be split apart and sent their own ways. Then, once they have found their own place in the world….it will be up to them to find each other again. In a few years from now their training will be finished…or at least there will be nothing left that I can offer them. Then, it will be up to them”

A silence fell upon the two at her words as the Dark Magician allowed a sympathetic look to cross his face and a reassuring hand to land upon his old friend’s shoulder. The Elemental Mistress’ face was tainted with a worry that he hadn’t seen upon her before and for a moment he wondered if she had been right to trust herself not to get as attached to the children as she had but that thought was immediately crushed by the knowledge that no one else in the world could have done it.

Slowly, Doriado sighed and looked back up towards the flower with a strained smile. It wasn’t a worry about the charmers failing that she felt, she had no doubt in her heart that they would one day find one another again should they desire it, but it was a pain at having to leave them isolated and alone. Doriado had been watching the young ones laugh and learn together, even accepting Dharc and Lyna without pause despite the two arriving a couple of years after the first four, and it pained her to know that she was going to be the one responsible for cutting those bonds in just a few years, it felt to her like she was to betray them all.

But it had to be done. For the charmers to form the boundaries that the world needed they had to find their own places in the world alone, they had to find where they were needed and speak to the world as their own beings. Then, when they were accepted by others, they would find each other and their friendship would form a bridge between those that trusted the charmer they knew. If it worked this would allow trusts to grow enough for peaceful negotiations where war would have originally broken out due to the simple lack of communication.

That was what she had begun teaching the charmers for, to teach six children to become the foundations for a new world.

“You have trained them well Doriado” The Dark Magician gave a slight smile and he looked back towards the guild “From what I saw of the children then they bore a strong determination and loyalty to one another that very few could wield. I can say with true honesty that I believe they will find one another, where ever they end up in the world, and I am sure that they will find you again just as easily. True friends are like that are they not? Always returning when you least expect them yet when you need them?”

It was a true smile now that covered Doriado’s face as she gave her friend a thankful nod for his comforting before turning slowly walking towards a large statue that stood in the centre of the garden, her hands clasping one another before her as if she was about to pray as she gazed upon it with a sigh.

Carved out of pitch black stone, she was silent as she stared up into the blank face of a Vylon. Standing upon a large platform that also acted as a water feature, the statue managed to dwarf her whilst still being nowhere near a true measurement to the scale that a Vylon could be and she had to crane her neck upwards in order to view its ‘face’.

The Vylons were a race of legends for most, a force of machine like beings that were said to reside within the heavens themselves where they gazed down upon the world in eternal watch, sworn never to interfere with the lives of the world below save for one the cry of pain was so great it called them down to fight. Some even considered them to be gods. They had not been seen in the world for thousands of years and, even to the Dark Magician and his scholars who had made a point to read every book within the guilds library they almost felt like nothing more than stories. They were the guardians of the peace who were summoned to the innocent at the call of a pure prayer, it was really now more a children’s tale than reality but she liked it.

The statue before her was of the one that legend told to be their leader, a being simply known by the name of “The Omega”. It was truly a magnificent site, even in pitch black statue form it looked to the Elemental Mistress as if it was gazing down directly upon her and considering her actions and choices concerning her beloved students.

Doriado wondered if the Vylon’s would have agreed with her plan to use her students as a bridge to bring the hope of peace…


*Plays TARDIS sound effects*
Ahem…next chapter I will return to the Mist Valley and the war but I hope you enjoyed this little interval and found it informative
Next chapter will be an action packed one with a nice, big battle between the Gem-Knights and the Laval forces.
Now if you will excuse me, the last parts of my roid deck just arrived in the post and have some deck building to do

Alright, question time.
That last chapter was intended to give an explanation for the creation of the Charmers...but I've had some people tell me that it didnt explain well whilst others said it worked. Can i ask anyone who reads this to post a reply to let me know if it worked or not? If it didnt then...I guess that chapter was kind of pointless and I'll have to think of another way to explain their reason for being gathered by Doriado...

comingdarkness wrote:

Alright, question time.
That last chapter was intended to give an explanation for the creation of the Charmers...but I've had some people tell me that it didnt explain well whilst others said it worked. Can i ask anyone who reads this to post a reply to let me know if it worked or not? If it didnt then...I guess that chapter was kind of pointless and I'll have to think of another way to explain their reason for being gathered by Doriado...

The only thing I get from the explanation is they were created simply to avoid the meaningless war and they could become a key for it. That's actually a good concept for them. If that's actually the real reason why Charmers were created, I don't see why this chapter is a failure. Even if it is, the story is still enjoyable and as always, you are always very good when it comes to describing something.

Meh, thats close enough
Oh and as of today, this story is now also avalible on Fanfiction.net because....why not right?
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8182188/1/The_First_Casualty_of_War

"The first of a trilogy which makes a novelization of the 2nd Duel Terminal Storyline told mostly from the points of view of the charmers Eria and Wynn. As the tribes of Gusto and Gishki plunge into total war, a threat of a much darker and ancient power awakens beneath their feet…"

So, now that we have the Gusto and the Gishki fully introduced and some back story to the charmers provided I’m going to the other side of the Mist Valley, to another war that has been raging for a few months now and some new characters who will later come to play a big role in the fate of the Gusto and Gishki.
I’ve taken a little bit of writer’s leeway here in terms of imagining how the Laval would fight and have thus designed units and creatures that are not from any of the cards which would flesh out an army that is effectively made out of molten rock. Plus making up a social order for these beings proved to be very interesting and fun to do Also, in case you are worrying that I’m just going off in a different direction now, the war between the Laval and the Gem-Knights will come to play a part in the fate of the Gusto and Gishki.
I’ve also decided to turn a couple of the non-named cards into OC in this chapter
Warning: this chapter contains a very negative look upon the Laval faction. Whilst they may take a slightly more positive image later in the story, for now however, people who view them well may not find this chapter to their liking.

Chapter 7
Gems and fire

“Incoming!”

The ground heaved and windows of stained glass shattered as the ball of bubbling rock came crashing down against the stones of the city road with an explosion that sheered the very air with agonising heat. As the projectile smashed under its own impact, its surface suddenly becoming liquid, the figure of a beast with a body made of magma and rock tore free in a sick parody of birth and hurled itself towards a group of human figures that were moving to intercept it.

In a movement that carried the efficiency which could only come from a great amount of experience in facing the same foe, the figures separated to allow the beast room as it gave a roar of rage and brought a pair of axes made from slowly solidifying magma to bare and jumped into the air, aiming to land directly among them. Crashing to the now open ground, the magma born beast spun its axes around in a decapitating arc and one of the men fell, the glowing green of his gem encrusted armour becoming tarnished with the red of his own blood before another figure managed to strike a blow against the monster and it unleashed a roar of pain. A man clasped in armour of ruby swung out a scythe and the beast’s front was opened in a shower of burning blood and a third man, clasped in armour of a mix between orange, brown and red slammed a fist against the dying magma born being and it fell still.

“Well done Garnet” The man in ruby said as he straightened and levelled his scythe based weapon “Keep the creature’s pain to a minimal. It is not the Gem-Knight way to cause unnecessary suffering to our foes…even when they attack our homes”

“Yes sir” Garnet nodded, his armour clinking against the movement and his hand flexing to work back the feeling into where he had struck the creature but his commander had already turned and was calling for a status report from the other men around them.

“Laval Warrior drop artillery!” One of the Gem-knights called out and the other reformed the squad, beginning to move towards where the next burning projectile was angled towards.

This was the opening stage to any Laval attack, a hail of burning pods made from fire and ash which formed a terrible fusion between exploding artillery attacks and drop transports for their warriors. Each orb exploded upon contact with the ground, showing all around in burning ash and liquid rock and each carried a Laval Warrior organism which was released by the proceeding explosion and immediately went on a bloodlust driven rampage.

Garnet had often found himself wondering if this was indeed the birth of the creatures, if they had been sealed into the artillery projectiles before the battle or if the very first second that the poor beasts knew was falling from the skies and an urge to kill. Was their very first sight in this world the gathering of Gem-Knights to fight them? Did the life span of the Laval Warrior that now lay dead at his feet really only last the few seconds that it had taken for him to kill it?

With a grunt, Garnet pushed the thought to the back of his mind. It wouldn’t do to have such thoughts running through his mind at a time like this…

“First unit with me” came the gruff voice of his commander, a giant of a man clasped in armour of deep red armour. Golden trimming seemed to glow across the joints and the deep rubies that had been engraved into his shoulder and thigh plates seemed to glow and live under the flickering lights of the flames that marked where the Laval Warrior had landed and a deep blue cloak blew harshly around him in the heat induced wind. In his hand he held a great scythe of red and gold and his face plat was void of features save for eyes that glared an emerald green.

The leader of Garnet’s combat unit, designated simply Ruby in honour of the high regard that baring such jewels marked in the pecking order of the Gem-Knight army, was a truly impressive sight as he called to them from where he stood along in the centre of the burning street, the bodies of three Laval Warriors by his feet.

“Second unit, move to secure the civilian convoy as best you can, protect them with your lives if you must”

“Yes sir!”

“Garnet, I need you to move to meet with second company at the city hall and get the non-combatants who are trapped their out”

“Of course my lord”

Ruby nodded at Garnet’s acknowledgment before leading his men away, leaving Garnet alone to run in a different direction towards the town hall. Looking up, he could already see columns of fire and smoke rising into the air from where Laval forces were already landing around the city and unleashing their wrath upon anything that they could. Where the pods landed, anything remotely flammable was ignited by the sheer heat of their arrival and the Warriors that were spawned launched themselves into a bloodlust that would not be ended until they lay dead. Garnet had even head tales of Laval Warriors who had survived a battle simply ravaging the battlefield to they collapsed and died from exhaustion, whatever mind that had designed then obviously saw no need for the poor beasts outside of war.

Tilting his head upwards, Garnet narrowed his eyes under his helmet as he heard the sound of shouting ahead and made out the vague shapes of a pair of said warriors attacking an overturned cart, the shape of a woman lying motionless underneath the hulk of wood. Yelling out in riotous rage, he charged as fast as he could run towards the Laval creatures, the noise of his arrival doing the trick in prompting the warriors to turn their attention towards him and not the woman. The first of them took a couple of steps towards him and banged its burning axes against its rocky hide in an act of intimidation whilst the other took a more defensive pose.

Throwing all of his body weight into this forward charge, Garnet simply smashed the first of the Warriors to the side and sent it stumbling backwards before aiming to slam his shoulder into the second, hoping to pin its body against the cart where it would be vulnerable to an undercut from his gauntleted fist.

The beast however it seemed, had other plans.

Sidestepping with a loud grunt, the Laval warrior seemed to give a snarling laugh as it swung its axe wielding hand up and slammed the legs out from beneath the charging Garnet, sending the gem armoured knight crashing into the ground.
Cursing loudly, Garnet was sure he heard the sound of the two beasts exchanging gruff looks of amusement before advancing towards him. The young Gem-Knight mental swore at himself for his own stupidity as a burning foot was slammed down upon his chest plate and searing heat consumed his chest, the jewel forged armour bending slightly under the weight as it heated. They sneered at him as the Warrior standing over him raised its lava axe ready to execute him where he lay, ready to end him without a second’s pause. As the beast snarled and swung down, Garnet closed his eyes and braced himself.

He heard the sound of flesh tearing and the roar of the Laval Warrior but felt nothing.

Daring to open his eyes, still hidden behind his red helmet, Garnet could see the shape of the warrior still stood over him with its axe held but a couple of inches from his deck. The burning face which was normally so full of hate was twisted in confusion as a tiny stream of liquid fire like blood dripped down from its mouth. The second that passed felt like an age he waited for the beast to stop playing with him and end it before, swaying where it stood, the Laval crumbled and fell the floor with a spray of blood from its mouth as whatever it used in place of a lung caved in upon itself. Its companion took a step back in shock as it fell only for a beam of light to fly out and strike it across the face, sending the beast flying backwards.

Looking up, Garnet saw a tiny silhouette hovering in the air with glowing arms before shimmering yellow eyes tilted down towards him and the creature hovered downward, a small gloved hand straightening the hat it wore as it made a loud ‘humph’ sound.

“You have my thanks Jamian”

“Your damn right I do!” The small creature called out to him as it swung down to hover in front of his face, tilting his hat in a friendly greeting and chuckle that seemed utterly out of place in the battle situation.

Nothing more than a hovering silver pin with arms and two yellow dot like eyes glowing from a featureless black face hidden beneath a blue wizard hat. He was a member of a group of mages that were known as the Gem Merchants, wizards who aided around the daily lives of the city for the payment of gems and other precious stones. They used powerful magic to do the work that their small and frail bodies were unable to take and, as had just been demonstrated, were able to use that magic for offensive purposes. Though they much preferred to shift that power over for allies to use in battle for them.

“Whats the situation?”

“Well” Jamian grunted as he clicked his fingers and a scroll of paper appeared in front of him in a puff of emerald smoke. Plucking it out of the air with his small fingers he began to list information about the on-going attack which had been written down by gods knew who in a speed that would have needed to have been written before the attack even began were it made by anyone other than the Gem Merchants. “We’ve got Laval drop infantry landing all over the place and at utter random so its proving tough for you big guys to mount a decent defence against them. This does however look like the opening moves to a big attack on the city so the orders been given for all the none combatant civilians to be evacuated from the area whilst they can still get out of here”

“I see” Garnet mumbled as he turned to look towards the sky where a still constant stream of burning pods containing Laval Warriors was falling from the night sky “You should go and aid with the evacuation of the civilians, that will be where your magic will most be needed”

“Well yer” Jamian replied, his voice slightly high pitched due to his small size and with a touch of squeakiness that many found cute (much to the merchants dismay), as he clicked his fingers again and sent the scroll away into another puff of smoke “But there are already loads of my kin there and I figure you’re gonna need me around a whole lot more. We both know how clumsy you can get when the pressure is on”

“If you are referring to last night’s drinking contest old friend then at least I lasted for more than one pint”

“Hey! To someone my size one may as well have been ten! And besides, at least I didn’t end up face down in the dirt singing a song about goblins”

Laughing amongst themselves, the two turned and ran back along the street towards where the next group of Laval pods could be seen landing in the hopes of delaying the invaders long enough to give the evacuees more time…
…………………………………………………………………………..
From outside of the giant walls that marked the border of the Gem-Knight city, the Laval army was marching into battle positions.

The very air seemed to howl in agony at the sheer heat that emitted from the magma born monstrosities that were moving through the now ash cloaked dirt, a searing wind howling around them as it was bathed in unnatural heat and rose beyond any degree of what it should have been. Legions of warriors carrying weapons of rock and fire roared and bellowed to one another as squawking Dragun creatures sored over head with a sea of Coatl circling around like moths to flames. The very ground cracked and melted where their feet fell and in their wake they left nothing but blackened ash.

At the head of the advancing army were a set of now stationary monsters which seemed to shimmer as the superheated air boiled around them, massive beings a fire and rock whose bodies were shaped into canon like structures. The sound of cracking rock could be heard as the living weapons on their backs began convulse and spasm to eject an orb of ash and fire from within their own bodies and spit it out with enough velocity to send it hurtle over the Gem-Knight walls and into the city beyond. Within each of the orbs was a warrior born from great birthing chambers within their bodies destined for war. A short life upon the battlefield, but such was the expectancy of the Warriors, they existed to fight and die. Voices rang out in cruel chants as entire battalions marched towards the wall under cover of the artillery, almost seeming to echo in beat of the constant cracking from the giant organic guns as the rock that formed their outer shell snapped and melted under the heat only to solidify again between shots.

This was the war machine of the Laval legions, an unstoppable army born from fire and rock which would stop at nothing before nothing of their foes remained but ash upon the air…

And in the middle of it, at the heart of the forward Laval gun lines, a figure that resembled a girl could be seen jogging between the artillery.

“Move it Handmaiden!”

Gritting her teeth, the Handmaiden of the Laval forces gave a cursed mutter under her breath of “My names Fraya...” before jogging over to the nearest cannon. Around the monsters six feet, other handmaidens worked endlessly to clear away the constant stream of superheated rock fragments that fell from the canons every time they fired pieces of the living weapon’s flesh that broke with every cannon blast.

Her hair was nothing but a sea of flames that flickered and hissed in the air as she ran whilst her skin and was a soft form of rock covered with cracks and tears where the heat of her own internal body temperature had caused it to morph. Around her body she wore a piece of clothing which resembled what humans may have called a dress but it was in fact simply a casing designed to keep her temperature at a steady level to keep herself from being incinerated by the storm of heat that boiled the air around her whenever the cannons fired and a pair of deep red ‘gloves’ allowed her to lift orbs of my lava without damaging her own hide. She was a member of the underclass in the Laval armies, a handmaiden unit that existed solely to aid in the existence of the other, more important creatures that formed the higher ranks.

And she hated it.

“Get moving”

Fraya gave a yelp as she felt a blow strike against the base of her spine and fell to the ground, her face coming far inches away from slamming into the burning leg of one of the artillery beasts, forcing her red eyes to shut closed as the heat from the creature caused even her rocklike hide to sheer in pain. Scrambling away from the creature, she cast a look of distain at the amused face of one who had struck her, a massive figure whose body was nothing more than a mass of orange rock, before dropping to her knees and taking up the work.

The thankless task of keeping the base around the artillery creatures seemed like a waste of time for Fraya as she and three other Handmaidens crawled about the spaces between the beasts and a few of the unlucky ones actually crawled underneath them into the impossible heat beneath. The living cannons fired around once every three minutes and every time that they did so the shell of organic rock that had reformed and solidified between shots snapped clean of and fell down around them to be cleared away. It was a never-ending test that would last until the end of the attack, which could take weeks, as the shell fragments continued to replace whatever the maidens managed to collect yet it was a vital job. The fragments each emitted what should have been an impossible amount of heat and the very air around them almost seemed to search existence as it was incinerated and this had been known to cause the artillery monsters to succumb to their own heat and collapse. Thus, to keep them safe from the heat of their own body waste, the Handmaidens had to crawl on hands and knees in that same deadly heat to carry away the debris.

Heaving a chunk of rock that was still glowing yellow, Fraya was thankful for her ‘gloves’ protection as she carried it away from the beast and hurled it onto the ground, pausing to watch as the ground hissed and bubbled where the rock touched before turning and repeating the procedure.
…………………………………………………
“Waaaaaagh!”

Garnet cursed as he swung his armoured body around to meet the charge of a large Laval Warrior which bellowed a harsh war cry as it charged, his own fist glowing with emerald energy courtesy of Jamian and he swung out with a grit of frustration. The Warrior’s roar was abruptly cut short as the knight’s fist clove deep into his head and the ground was sprayed with the liquid fire that the beast used in place of blood. With a kick from an armoured boot, the now decapitated beast crumbled to the ground and Garnet rushed onwards, the small form of his Gem Merchant companion keeping close to him.

“The Laval artillery has begun to focus upon two areas of the city” Jamian reported as they rounded a corner, another scroll of paper clutched in his tiny hands “They seem to have focused upon the centre of the city, using that as a staging point to send forces in all directions and keep our defences too occupied to stop the second group which is aiming for the main gate. The warriors that get on our side of the wall are intending to open the gate to allow the big guns in”

“How are our defences holding up?”

“Well enough. But there’s a whole army of those fiery gits gathering outside the walls and I’m getting a lot of doubts about whether or not we are going to hold this city for much longer…”

“I see”

“But hey” Jamian shrugged as he looked up “At least if we do flee the sun will be up in time”

Garnet simply grunted in reply as the ground shook to announce the arrival of yet another Laval pod somewhere nearby. It was a small mercy that they would not have to lead the refugees out into the forests that surrounded the city during the clear of day, the land outside was a harsh and corrupt place filled with horrors that stalked the wilderness during the night, but it was of little constellation to him as they ran passed the blackened shape of a child lying in the debris of what had once been a shop.

Garnet wanted revenge. He wanted to run head long out of the front gates of the city and take the fight to that Laval army that was gathering there. He knew that would bring no conclusion other than his own death but he would at least take a couple of the bastard’s heavier troops out before he fell. It would be more than just stopping this small fry warriors that were sent into the city simply to die and delay.

“Now don’t be thinking about doing anything stupid” Jamian warned from where he flew, somehow guessing what his friend was thinking despite the armoured helmet that blocked sight from the Gem-Knights face “It won’t help anyone if you throw your life away like that”

Garnet didn’t reply as he continued running through the burning streets, noting signs of battle all around him as he went. Fellow Gem-Knights lay in blackened armour where the flames of their foes had found chinks in their armour, lying amongst the slowly cindering bodies of the Laval Warriors they had died fighting. Gashes ran along the sides of buildings where swords had scratched against them and here and there were the blackened marks left behind by the spells of the Gem-Merchants. All showed signs that the Laval’s were pushing the cities defenders back towards the city centre, where the refugees were attempting to gather and flee.

Time was running out.
………………………………………………
Far above the burning city, gazing down from an omnipotent sight with cruel satisfaction, a great intellect watched as the Laval army gathered and the Gem-Knights fought to the death against their foes. A creature that had left its own body behind for a time to allow its consciousness to drift across the world to witness the death that raged below for itself, the entity couldn’t help but enjoy the sound of screaming that echoed across the super-heated air, enjoying the stench of death that filled every atom.

It had taken the entity a long time to work things into being the way they were now. A planted thought here or a desire twisted there, a work spreading across time to make rivalries and hatred brew amongst the lesser beings that now fought beneath it. Now open war raged between them and it was allowing itself a moment to simply enjoy is work.

And this was still only the beginning.
…………………………………………………….
As Garnet and Jamian rounded the final corner to the city centre, they were greeted by the sight of eight Knights fighting a fierce melee with several Laval Warriors, fighting to keep the monsters from reaching a set of civilian packed carriages standing at the far side of the marble paved square. At the feet of where they stood, bodies lay broken from the clash and slowly the Knights were being to buckle under the attack.

Nodding to his small friend, Garnet ran forwards towards the beasts as Jamian’s hands began to glow and bright orange light glowed upon the Gem-Knight, the small Merchant fusing his own power with the larger warrior to give him further strength. This was revealed in all its bloody light as Garnet threw himself into the fighting and his gauntlets, pulsating with power, crashed down upon the skull of a Laval Warrior that had been about to slay a knight, obliterating its head in a flash of light. At the sight of aid, the nights already fighting cheered and renewed their efforts, pushing back against the Warriors and forcing them to back up. After a few more moments of bloody fighting, the last Laval slumped to the ground.

“Nice of you to join us Garnt” A Knight called as the rest paused to catch their breath or returned to check on the civilians. Wearing armour of tinged metal and green and a helmet that resembled that of a cat in a way, Gem-Knight Emerald stood out strangely amongst his comrades “I was beginning to think you stopped off for a drink on the way here”

“Ha Ha” Garnet grunted sarcastically as Jamian chuckled, walking up to stand beside the other knight and the exchanged the warriors hand shake, gripping each other’s wrists for a second “I just wanted to give you some time to get your fun before I came and saved you ass”

Emerald made a motion with his head which indicated he was rolling his eyes, his actually eyes hidden behind his green helmet before turning around to watch as the evacuation carriage began to be loaded with women and children, the shield like weapons that he mounted on each wrist glistening where fire like blood remained around the blade edges. The final part of the planning was now almost done and in a few moments he could get them out of here and join the battle on the front lines where he was meant to be…

Then the door of a house a few feet down the road exploded as the limb and broken body of a man was hurled through the wood.

Spinning around, Emerald cursed as he saw smoke bellow from the cracks in its wall and the light of fire flicker across the curtain drawn windows as flames came to life within the seemingly vacant house. There was something within, and it was coming.

“Knights, incoming!”

The glass of the windows exploded into a cloud of glassy vapour a second before the beast charged through them, the air trapped within the glass plains evaporating under the sheer heart the beast emitted and clearing the way as it melted. People screamed as Garnet ran forward to face the foe, and his eyes narrowed against the light of the flames beneath his helmet as he took in the new adversary.

Standing a full head higher than on of the Laval Warriors even whilst it was stood at a low stoop, the monster gave out a bellowing roar of challenge towards the nights as it beat its rocky chest with arms that were each wrapped in metallic gauntlets and fire. The Gauntlets seemed to emit fire, causing the flames to run across the entire length of its forearms whilst red hear blew wildly across its back. Rocky teeth formed the crude shape of a jack-o-lantern grin as yellow eyes burned with the joy of its own hate before the beast lunged forward towards them.

The Laval Burner was unlike anything Garnet had seen before.

“To arms brothers!” Came the roar of some of the knights and they moved to stand in a defensive position, a method they had used countless times that day during the conflict against the warriors and swords were raised and gauntlets held at the ready. The seven Gem-Knights that stood in the square gritted their teeth in anticipation as they watched the Laval Burner hurl itself towards them, its rocky teeth seeming to curve deeper into a grin at its own anticipation for the coming struggle “Hold!”

The air heated around the knights and sweat covered their bodies within the confined of the gem encrusted armour as the flames around the burner’s gauntlets grew to shocking heights as if to copy their masters rage but they held firm, ready for the moment that the burner would leap into the air and attempt to come crashing down atop of them as all Laval did.
Only this time, the Laval beast kept running and slammed directly into their lines.

With a single swing of is thick arms, the beast hurled the knights backwards against the cracked pavement, using its own momentum to body slam them out of its path. The knights at the side of the line managed to right themselves without falling and Garnet saw them charge into the beast with a shout only to have its burning gauntlets rip into their armour as if it were paper.

He screamed out as he saw a Gem-Knight whose armour boar the markings of diamonds, a veteran of countless battles, get lifted into the air by a single hand of the beast before its other hand curled into a fist and smashed into the knight’s chest. With the sickening sound of cracking bones and tearing metal, the knight’s torso was simply smashed away from the head that was still held within the Burners grasp.

“Monster!” A younger Knight, whose armour was the same colour as Garnet’s, roared as he charged towards the beast only to have it spin and hurl the decapitated head towards him. The makeshift projectile provided just enough of a distraction for the youngling to allow the Burner to swing its fist around and pulverise his armoured head in a single hit. The body flew across the road and smashed against the wall of a house on the far side, nothing more than a sack of broken bones contained within his armour.

“Get up Garnet!” He heard Jamian shout out to him from somewhere but the Merchant’s voice was drowned out as the Laval Burner let out a deafening roar and picked up the body of one of its kills and latterly hurl it through the air towards where the Merchant hovered, the small spellcaster barely even having time to realise before it was smashed away and went crashing down into the ground beneath the hulk of the dead knight.

“Jamian!” He shouted before immediately regretting his vocal outburst as the Burner slowly turned towards him, its burning yellow eyes narrowing upon him as it zoned in on the one it had selected as its next kill.

Climbing to stand tall, Garnet’s own gauntlets ignited with the magical power that had been fused into them upon their creation and he readied himself as the Burner began to slowly walk towards him, as if it was savouring the moment before its attack. For a moment it simply stared at him before, with a roar that seemed to shake the very ground, it charged forwards towards him.

Then, as it was about to swing, its head fell free of its body.

Garnet could only garb in shock as the Burner’s body suddenly changed its direction of momentum as a blow from the side sent it flying of course and tore its head clean from its body. Where he had expected to face death standing, instead it flew past his left side in the first of several limp barrel rolls that resulted in the beast simply lying in the centre of the pool of powdered glass that marked the former window it had made its grand entrance through just over 2 minutes before. By his feet, the Burner’s head still snapped its jaws in mute screams of rage and pain before that too fell still and he yellow light of its eyes faded into oblivion.

“Stand tall Brother Garnet” A voice called from behind him and the massive form of Commander Ruby walked into sight, his great scythe dripping liquid fire from where it had slashed through the rock formed neck of the Burner. Seeing him brought a flush of hope into the younger knights heart and Ruby’s voice echoed with the calm authority that Garnet could rally behind “You fought well but the fight is not done yet”

With a gauntleted hand, Ruby pointed up towards the sky and Garnet felt a chill despite the blistering heat as he saw the sky darken as the Laval artillery barrage come to an end.
………………………………..
Fraya looked up from her work as a shiver on anxiety crept along the Laval battalion that was stood around her, the blocks of burning warriors all seeming to straighten and become still at once as a single figure marched down the centre of their ranks. The artillery beasts that towered over her gave a low grunt as the cannon upon its back finally came still and the pain of it’s continues firing finally came to an end. For a moment Fraya found herself staring in fascination as the rock upon its shell bubbled and cooled until it solidified finally and if seemed to slump in content.

Looking back towards the ranks of warriors, the Handmaiden found herself backing away slightly as a massive figure emerged into the clearing that had been forged by the artillery and her small body instinctively took her to stand on the far side of the one of the beasts legs as her eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer.

Standing over a head higher than any other around him and clad in armour of metal that glowed against the heat of his own body and red cloth that swung wildly in the heated air yet seemed to somehow remain untouched by the heat itself and flanked on both sides by a Dual Slasher, hulking figures of red rock and blades as hard a diamond that rose from elbow blades and ankle blades, the Laval Judgment Lord brought an aura of fear that made all around him instinctively back away.
Standing before the Laval army, he gave a growl that echoed around the heat filled air and another figure broke from the ranks of Warriors, a bare chested hulk of rock carrying a lance of molten rock that made the air around it ripple red with heat.

This was the leader of the military decision that Fraya was assigned too, their Lancelord.

“My Lord” The Lancelord bowed to the Judgment Lord as he reached him, his pupiless eyes seemingly unable to look directly at the massive commander “The attack is going as planned. Our warriors have dropped across the entire city and already the Gem-Knights are attempting to evacuate their civilians from our path. I estimate that the city will belong to us and all our foes in the area decimated by night fall tomorrow”

“That is too long” the Judgment Lord hissed and the Lancelord’s eyes flashed a look of worry “The city must burn by tonight”

“B…but my lord. We are working to the full of our capacity and the knights are falling…just give us more time. If we only-”
With nothing more than a growl of contempt, the Judgment Lord’s hand swung out and smashed across the Lancelord’s face in a backhanded strike that tore clean through the rock of the unfortunate Laval being’s face and sent his body flying backwards where it crashed against the pile of artillery beast debris that Fraya had been stacking in an explosion of ash and heat.

The Lancelord did not rise again.

“The knights must die” The Judgment lord growled to everyone around, his arms parting slightly as if to mutely challenge someone else to challenge his decision before he began to walk forwards without so much as a glance towards the dead Lancelord.

As he walked between the artillery beasts, Fraya creped around the beast in order to keep the width of it between herself and the Judgment lord, the flames of her hair flowing wildly in her fear and her wider eyes never leaving him. The Dual Slashers kept by his side as he walked and Fraya couldn’t help but feel as if they were waiting for her to make the slightest movement they could interpret as a threat and gut her on the spot with their arm mounted blades.

Finally, the Judgment Lord came to a halt and stared at the burning Gem-Knight city for what felt for an age before simply glancing back to the Duel Slasher on his right and saying in his rough and harsh voice.

“Bring forth my pet”
…………………………………………………………………….
“Get those carriages moving!”

Ruby’s voice echoed across the crackling of flames as his men cleared the cindering remains of the Laval Warriors and Burner off the road in order to clear the way for the civilian’s to move their carriages out of the square and towards the rear gates of the city. It pained Garnet to see the carriages move because it felt to him like they were surrendering the city to the enemy but as he looked back up towards the now clear sky he could see no other course of action. The only reason that the Laval’s would cease their bombardment would be if they didn’t need to keep the Gem-Knights occupied anymore. It meant that the city was already lost.

“We need every woman and child out of here now before—“

Then the ground shook.

Commander Ruby paused in his orders as he turned to look around the square, his emerald eye lenses shimmering in the fire around him to cover what Garnet could only assume to have been a confused frown before a terrible realisation seemed to strike him and he suddenly spun around and screamed.

“Get those civilians out of here now!”

The woman atop the wagon had just enough time to turn and whip the reigns of the houses into motion before the ground beneath her exploded into a mess of debris and a whirlpool of fire that consumed the jewel encrusted transport in the blink of an eye. The agonised screams of those held within were heard before they were drowned out by a deafening roar as something truly massive pulled itself out of the ground.

Pure wild fire burned across its entire length as clawed limbs of rock that bubbled over angry red liquid grabbed onto the shattered pavement around it and pulled its body upwards. Crude armoured glowed across its front and the flames that burned across it exploded into life as it touched the air above ground, forming a searing tempest around itself that forced any who didn’t already wear a faceplate to turn away and protect their face. Four eyes of burning nothing fixed upon a second carriage as the beast pulled itself up tall, as high as any of the buildings on either side of the street and its maw opened to unleash a roar that made the ground shake, revealing the inside of its throat to be a glowing inferno of bright yellow heat and releasing a stream of embers into the world around it.

“Laval Chain!” Ruby barked as he readied his scythe and backed away a couple of steps from the roaring monstrosity “All Knights to me! Protect the civilians!”

Ignoring the shouts of the Gem-Knight commander, the Laval Chain pulled itself tall and swung its head low, vomiting a stream of liquid fire upon the second carriage and immolating it instantly before the driver had time to respond. Garnet could only look away as he saw the figures of the women and children within silhouetted by the light of their own destruction before they were burned into nothingness.

“Bastard Lavals!” Emerald screamed as he watched the monster seem to pause for a second to bask in its work “Those were none combatants…why would they send a chain to murder civilians?”

“To the Lavals there is no such thing” Garnet muttered “Almost their entire culture is built around war so they have no concept of anyone not being a part of that war. They exist in a permanent state of total war and they fight in that same way”
As if to prove his point, the Laval Chain again swung its head around and the flames around it exploded into harsh energy as it brought hits head back and prepared to unleash another stream of fire at the third wagon. The women and children within it had now at least had time to clamber from the transport that was supposed to be their salvation as they tried to reach the safety of indoors but all they really did was place themselves in the open for the beasts attack. Watching them go, the Laval Chain almost seemed to grin before its head swung forth and fiery death again filled the square. Jamian gave a loud groan from where he hovered as the fleeing civilians vanished from view.

Only to reappear as the flames faded.

Looking up, the stunned civilians could only look up towards the hulking form of Gem-Knight Ruby as he knelt on one knee with his scythe held before him. His ruby armour was scorched black and one of the gems on his left leg plate was shattered but he slowly stood back tall and barked out an order for a couple of knights to escort the civilians away. Around him, the other knights gathered around their commander and Garnet felt a swell of pride as he saw a dozen of his order stand tall against the Laval monster, proud to be standing amongst them.

With a pounding of its arms, the Laval Chain roared out in rage at being denied its kill and pulled itself free of the hole it had emerged from, revealing a long serpent like body to replace any legs it should have had. On either side, long wing like shapes made out of flame rose from its thighs and its four eyes glowed with a bloodlust that would have made lesser men falter. Instead, Ruby held his weapon high and roared at the top of his voice.

“For the order!”

And the Gem-Knights charged.

With a swat of hits arms, the Laval Chain sent the first of them flying away only to have the second knight grip onto its arm before it could raise it and plunge a sword beneath its elbow. The beast roared in pain as it swatted the knight away and vomited out fire upon the other onrushing knights. Another of their number fell as the flames found chinks in his armour and boiled him alive inside, but Ruby and Garnet charged on, reaching the underside of the beast and striking with mad fury against its softer underbelly. Garnet’s glowing fist carved a bloody tare into where he hoped its stomach would be whilst Ruby’s scythe slashed through one of the molten rock like outgrowths that supported its wing like side. Blood that felt like it was nothing more than more fire poured out into the ground and Ruby was forced to step away to save his already abused armour from further damage as the beast howled in agony at their attacks.

“Strike true my brothers” Ruby called as his enchanted blade sliced deeper into the Chain’s body “Bring this foul beast down!”
And slowly, but surely, that is what the Gem-Knights did. Almost as if they were having to bring the monster down step by step, the beast began to fall as they continued to beast against its body with fist, magic and blade, even Jamian hurling a couple of spells its way before it finally crashed against the ground. With a roar, Ruby stood tall above its head and swung his scythe down, hacking at its rocky neck again and again until its roars of agony fuelled rage become twisted gargling noises and the beasts spasms ceased.

Liquid fire blood surrounded their feet as the Gem-Knights panted before, as one, their rose their fist up high and bellowed in victory.

(A/N: I felt that fight should have been a little longer but…meh didn’t want it to get repetitive so made it quick)
………………………………………………………………………………….
At the cities’ main gate, the Laval Warriors that had breached the walls during the bombardment gathered and cheered.

Inhuman voices howled up into the sky as they watched the sky darken and axes made of fire slashed against rock and stone as they attempted to carve a way through the iron of the gates.

From the top of the gate house, a set of civilians that had managed to reach to temporary salvation of the gate house joined in with the Knight guardians in hurling whatever form of projectile they could lay their hands on at the Laval Warriors to little effect other than to increase their blood rage. Here and there a couple fell, a lucky arrow plunging into the upward looking eye of a Warrior or a spear burring deep within another’s chest but the rest simply took the blows and beat at the gate, the ancient metal groaning under the strain.

Then, with a loud roar of sudden excitement, the Laval group separated to allow three larger, hunched figures to assault the gates. The three Burner’s howled and grinned as their flame engulfed gauntlets tore at the gates and the metal finally gave way completely under their sheer brute power, allowing them access to the gatehouse.

The few Gem-Knights within put up a valiant struggle as the Warriors and Burners crammed into the claustrophobic room but slowly the gate swung open as the mechanism holding it closed was broken and it was over the dripping blood of the knights that the main Laval army finally charged into the city.
………………………………………………………………………………...
Garnet looked up as the sound of roaring and chaos began to swarm from the direction of the main gate and saw an inferno spreading within the walls. The sound of screaming echoed across the heated air as the civilians who had not managed to reach them were consumed by the legion of fire and hate that was now breaching their homes and bringing nothing but death and agony in their wake.

They had tallied for too long…the city had fallen.

“Move now!” Ruby roared and the carriages that had survived the attack from the Laval Chain broke into movement, heading in the opposite direction from the inferno and towards a hidden gate that stood on the far side of the city. Women cradled weeping children as the carriages smashed through the smoking body of the Chain, knocking it from the road as the Knights jogged alongside, ready to protect it should something else attempt to intercept them. Here and there a Laval Warrior threw itself blindly from the buildings on either side of the road but they were quickly cut down and the convoy made its way to the rear exist as without further loses.

Stopping in front of the solid stone walls, Ruby paused as he held something concealed within his palm to an engraving upon its surface and the rocks parted to allow them to pass.

As the rocks slowly suddered back into place once they had all passed through, Garnet looked back into the city he had grown up in to see nothing but fire…


So, I hope you enjoyed that one New characters galore and all that. But don’t worry, next chapter we do return back to the Gishki and the Gusto where events are going to take a turn for the worse for all in the Mist Valley and beyond.
This chapter again felt to be slow to write due to wanting to introduce characters as well as have action in it and at the same time trying to avoid being repetitive (though find a song that felt appropriate aided me a great deal) so please excuse any chunkiness to it….next chapter is already underway and is flowing a lot better in terms of writing due to being back to the main characters.

This is indeed an interesting chaptr. Love how you made the Gem-Knight's personality and ethic code. It seems like Gem-Knights are actually like this in canon. Laval Judgment Lord too has some kind of fearsome aura which seems to make him looks so powerful. Too bad in the end their city fallen.


Still, there are few things which bugs me :


a.) Laval Chain is actually Ritua/Gishki Chain (both are same creature), and Chain appears later after the battle with Inverz/Steelswarm is over. Laval chain was created when Ritua managed to absorb Laval's power and used them as their power source.


b.) I don't know about it in canon but I think Gem-Knight Ruby is the more powerful version of Gem-Knight Garnet (He is a Fusion monster which used Gem-Knight Garnet + 1 Gem-Knight monster as the material). And so far, I haven't seen a Gem-Knight Fusion here. Correct me if I'm wrong.


c.) It's weird to see Gem-Knight fight individually and not using a Gem-Knight Fusion which is actually the very root of their power. (And yes. Dueling any deck without Gem-Knight Fusion would make me losing most of the matches. at least in my case)


Aside of these three, this story is interesting. I'm looking forward for your next chapter :]

Glad you liked it

As for you points:

1. I admit that when I first decided that there was going to be a Laval Chain in this chapter I hadnt realised that it was a gishki/laval monster but did see smilarites between it and many Gishki units (for some reason it didnt click). I knew of it since then but decided to keep the Chain in this for a reason that will come more apparent later on when the tribes do ally with each other and the Gishki begin to take power for the Laval.

2. I have plans for what I want Garnet to be later on and so made Ruby into a more mentor/leader like figure to him. Ruby taught him most of what he knows and thus he is in a way a more powerful version of him as Garnet wishes to be like him.

3. I did consider having the fusion aspect for the Gem-Knights but it didnt quite feel right whenever i tried to imagine how I would write that. I'm trying to keep this story as realistic as a fantasy story can be so I was too sure about how to go about it (other than have knights shout "Laval!" and run into each other ). I have got some ideas about how I will incorprite Gem-Knight fusion later on but it wont be exactly what it is like in the game, it will most likely be introduced next time the knights are seen. For now I wanted them to be more like an order of elite warrior/knights.

So in summery: All you points are completely correct, but I has a plan

Another good story from you, coming-san. (well i have a bad feel if call u coming, but well)

To be honest, i agree for the point no3 since it'll strange if the true power comes suddenly in the early story. except, we're on Super Sentai series/fanfic, it'll really strange if no " Henshin " and the ranger fight by theirself without their transform power. i think gem knight doesnt strong by fusion alone. their ATK power is a bit, well, beatie. Even so they must have their fusion card.

Well, what can i say is...im waiting for the Gishki x Gusto scene. I'm thrilled by ur way to describe them XD

Hmmm..Coming-san. I like it ^_^ But you can call me Darkness if saying Coming is strange (its what most other people do.

Also, glad your enjoying it and I will address the fusion thing later on for the knights. For now however, we return back to the Gusto and the Gishki

A/N: I return from my couple of weeks of holiday armed with the reworked version of chapter 8-now with completely rewritten Reeze section!

Hello peoples. I’m aware I have been void of updates for a while just wanted to post a little ‘hey’ up to say that I am now returning to unit after the summer and this means I am now able to devote time to writing (I work better when I have structure to my days). Chapter 9 is well under way and has been named “The Tomb and the Cathedral” so look forward to that

So yer. I’m not gone and am back to work now. Expect updates soon.

Also first lesion I had of the year was Writing Fiction and the moral of the lesion was that guys can not write well for female characters and vice versa…I look at this story and I laugh.

what can i say is...lol too long

but ill read. . glad you've back~

what a great story comes from you, coming~

now this is how the Inverz comes out to the surface?

It is indeed. The swarm has awoken! *evil laughter*