The Oathsworn

by Liandra Jake

  Panzer was caught in the fallout, her Shield flashing as she was flung sideways. Once she hit the ground, she immediately covered her head and curled up, looking up once the water and metal settled. Hunter and Alvori were in craters of mud, Shields crackling. Alvori was the first to move, letting out a long groan as he managed to sit up. He noted the bits of his shield embedded in his scrap armor. Ears ringing, he looked up as Hunter struggled to one knee.

  "That was Moon Orenth!" The announcer managed to exclaim as Hunter slowly stood, making Alvori slip into a look of awe. Sylvania looked from Panzer to Nem, who was slowly making his way towards them with the same look Alvori had. She slowly shook her head while she raised a hand. "Cobalt Soiden forfeits! Our fight is over!"

  The crowd erupted into a roar as Sylvania turned to Nem and Panzer. "I can't handle all of you at once, advantages aside." She motioned towards Corenden. He was standing, sword in hand, looking around at the crowd with a growing grin. Panzer and Nem did a double take. "He was fully ready to rejoin the fight when your friend self-destructed." Sylvania explained before she made her way to Alvori to help him off the field. Nem and Panzer shared a look before they burst into laughter and cheers.

  "Dragon's Den Vs. Cobalt Soiden! Let's hear it folks! Who's the baddest guild in the Alliance!?" The announcer yelled into his microphone. The crowd let out a roar. "Dra-gon's Den!" "That's rrrright folks! Let's have a second cheer for the tough SOB's from Dragon's Den!"

  The four on the field gave as wild a wave they could muster. Arend' whistle pierced though the noise. He gave them a thumbs up as they walked off the field. Corenden, Hunter, and Panzer were all tackled by their respective partners. Panzer immediately threw Kyrel off her. "Not cool dude."

  Hunter was pinned under Flake, who was talking faster than his tongue could keep up with. Berry was hugging Corenden tightly, tail twitching excitedly. "That was amazing Corenden!" Corenden laughed, wincing at his shoulder. "It was a team effort, dear." "It's what you'd call 'job securifty!'" Iode called as he, Rose, Kronth, and Arend joined the celebrating group. Nem silently edged away.

  "Well… It's a good thing he made it!" Berry replied, backing away from Corenden and wringing her hands nervously. Her face flushed. "What with a child on the way." "What?" Corenden asked softly. She grasped his hand tightly. "I had Janese check me out this morning! I asked her to set me up on a diet and everything!" "But we don't even know if I'll be able to keep doing this!" Corenden exclaimed, already pulling out his hair. We've barely moved in to the new place! We need to get it child-proofed! I don't know how to change diapers!"

  "Heeey…" Rose said softly, pulling Corenden's arms down from his head. "If you're so concerned, you can come over any time to deal with our troublemakers. You'll grow to understand them quickly." Arend leaned over to Kronth. "Hey Kronth," He said quietly, a grin plastered on his face. "Do Floxes really wear diapers? How does that work with the fur?" Kronth ignored him completely. "Itty bitty Pog babies!" She exclaimed, bubbling with excitement. "Have you ever seen them? They're adorable!" She immediately ran off and struck a high-speed conversation with a very confused Berry. Arend blinked.

  Iode nudged Arend with an elbow. "Watch it Arend. You may be the next in line to need a babysitter." "Not until Kronth moves in mind you." Arend replied with a nervous laugh. "That bridge is a few rivers over."

  - - - - Gathering of Legends - - - -

  Mysh struggled to stay upright as he carried a bag of potting soil. Cir laughed, taking end of the bag hanging over his shoulder. "It's easier together." "But it's great exercise!" Mysh protested as they brought the bag to Walter. "You can exercise later." Walter replied as he patted the soil of a freshly transplanted leafy houseplant. "For now, not spilling the soil onto the lawn is your main priority."

  Mysh and Cir placed the bag next to the half-full one Walter was already working with. "And reducing the stress to the plant…I know." Mysh replied, approaching Walter's plant. He placed a single, green cloaked hand on the stalk of the plant. He pulled it away and let his power fade a few seconds later. "A happy plant makes a happy home!"

  A low whistle made the three look up. Arend gave them a wave. "I see you've improved, Mysh!" Cir stepped back as Arend approached. Walter stood and bowed to Arend. "You caught me off guard, Mr. Myshcell. I take it you're doing well?" "I'm fine." Arend replied with a dismissive wave. "And I hope as a friend of Kyrel, you'll understand I'd prefer if you'd drop the formality." Walter nodded. "Very well. What brings you out here?" "I wanted to spend some time with Mysh while Kronth talks with Rose and Berry." Arend replied, gesturing towards the closing front door.

  "Berry?" Walter asked. "Corenden's wife. She's the pink Pog married to the little white Pog that fought in the Guild Tournament. She's pregnant, and Rose offered to give her some advice." Arend explained. He looked over to Cir. "I think I've seen you before… The name's Arend." She shuffled behind Walter. Mysh tugged on Arend' jeans. "Cir's uncomfortable around humans." Arend laughed. "But I'm not fully human."

  "It's not the same though." Mysh replied. "And to touch on that subject, I want to know how to better control my powers. I've handled Salve rather well." Aenfel laughed gently. "It's not that easy little one. You learned your more potent ability quickly, but Sonic is much too advanced. You're not even a year old yet and you're thinking about very dangerous things. By all means, use Salve, but Sonic will come later once your body grows strong enough to handle it."

  Walter and Cir had looks of silent horror. Arend' face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry. I forgot to introduce Aenfel." "It's not really all that nessicary." Aenfel replied. He took a bow. "I am the Pendragon responsible for these two continuing to exist in this mortal world. Aenfel, a Pencore infused in a Myshcell."

  "Amazing!" Walter exclaimed, approaching Arend with great curiosity. Arend extended a hand, coated in Slick. "I also inherited his powers just like Mysh, although Mysh is more inclined to different skills." Walter fidgeted with Arend' hand until Mysh interrupted. "Hey Arend, what do you know about plants?" Arend half shrugged. "Not much really. Only really what pertains to my job." Mysh took his free hand. "Let's leave Walter to his work. I have a few things to show you." Arend gave Cir a friendly smile as Mysh pulled him away.

  Mysh showed Arend Walter's prized White Wintervine, heavy with berries. A few wintertime bees buzzed lazily on the leaves, the last of the pollen collected for the day. Arend watched Mysh with a mix of pride and amusement swelling in his chest as the young Pog explained the plant's lifecycle and their relationship to the bees, like Walter had done for him before.

  "You sure know a lot." Arend said as Mysh led him along the empty rose beds, describing the colors to him. Mysh nodded. "I've spent a lot of time out here with Walter. 'Ro and Mar are more content with competing to be better at whatever game they're interested in at the moment, but I find books and discussions like this fascinating."

  Arend laughed. "I still can't handle you talking so coherently. Maybe it's just a hybrid thing, or what we did for you, but you've matured far beyond what I would expect from a child not even six months old yet." Arend compared Mysh to himself. His shoulders were already higher than his knees. Arend placed a hand on Mysh's head. "And you've already grown taller as well!" Mysh laughed in reply. "That I can't explain. Perhaps my body still thinks it's in the womb?"

  "It's only a matter of how large you'll grow if that's true." Arend said. "Hopefully no larger than my father!" Mysh replied. He tapped his chin for a moment. "But like you said, it may be my hybrid blood and the fantastic diet I have access to here. You see normally, Floxes don't live past fifty or sixty, but thanks to human-like standards of living and easy access to food, we can easily outlive you guys by decades. Despite Floxes maturing almost as twice as quickly as humans, we can maintain ourselves for far longer if we have easy access to food. I don't know what Sereph, or Pendragon for that matter, would do to change that, as I haven't the slightest what applies to me."

  "Don't forget about human!" Arend replied,
patting Mysh's head. "You've got a little of me as well. But even being the source of that Pendragon, I don't have any idea myself what it'll do to my age. I don't know how I can handle living the hundreds of years Pendragons are capable of."

  "It's still a long way off though." Mysh replied, tugging at Arend' hand. "There's no use worrying about it when you've only known for a fraction of your life." Arend smiled, letting Mysh direct him further into the expansive garden.

  [X]

  Michael laughed. "I think we're pretty much done here." He shut his filled notebook dedicated to Aegith. The archeologist smiled. "You know me well enough without the interview." Michael nodded. "You know me; I'm always cautious. And what with the standard I created with Arend, I can't afford any mistakes."

  Paine came sprinting out from the path through the woods with something clutched to his chest. He slid to a halt next to Aegith and Michael, his gasses balanced treacherously on the tip of his nose. "Slow it down a bit Paine!" Aegith exclaimed. "What did you find?" Michael asked, a little excited. Paine held out a quarter inch metal box the size of his palm.

  "It's an audio log. Read the name!" Paine replied, placing it in Michael's hands. Michael looked over the box, noting one edge had small prongs in four sets of four spaced evenly. He checked the opposite edge, finding faint scratched letters cut crookedly into the metal. "Ruby…Myshcell?" Michael said slowly, struggling with the poor handwriting.

  "The Grand Engineer." Paine said with a thrilled grin. Michael presented the back end. "I've never seen a connector like this before." "It's a First-Generation audio log. Ruby was known for using older tech to save cost with construction." Paine explained. "Normally Captains and high ranking officers would use them, but Ruby was definitely important enough to get her own recorder." "How are we supposed to find out if it still works?" Aegith asked.

  Michael let out a chuckle. "I know a guy with a First-Generation airship." Paine and Aegith frowned. "Arend." Michael explained simply. Aegith looked at Paine. Without turning his head, Paine let out a sigh and pushed up his glasses. I'll find a suitable box." He hurried towards his tent. "Are you sure it has the right equipment?" Aegith asked.

  "Arend is Arend." Michael replied. "If it didn't, he'd find a way to get it to work." Paine returned with a book-sized locking box that Michael assumed had been quickly emptied. Paine secured the audio log as best he could before giving Michael the box. "Make sure to send us a copy." Paine said rather gloomily. Aegith gave him a pat on the back. "I know how much you'd want to hear it yourself first, but it's part of Arend' heritage." Michael stood. "It was nice talking with you again, Aegith." He gave them a wave before disappearing into the jungle.

  [X]

  Sareville was in an uproar. Early that morning, Shifted Tilt revealed the big project they had been working on: a self-funded prototype of a completely new kind of airship, powered by what Arend called a "Heavy Drive." The sleek, striped silver airship rose out of a large hanger at the outskirts of the city, sporting a single red stripe down both sides.

  The GTS had worked closely with Shifted Tilt to keep the plans quiet until a flyable prototype could be shown off. Kyrel was at the helm, circling the edge of the city twice before settling into Sareville's harbor. Arend hopped out to direct Kyrel to the end of Dock 10. He admired the design as it bobbed in the water.

  It was built to carry and house a large crew, making it as large as most of the ships in the harbor. From a bird's eye view, the airship had a definite delta wing, starting from just behind the bridge and curving out around a large fan built into either wing, before dropping back into the triangle shape. The side view showed just how large the airship was; six floors from the bottom to the top, with the top floor only including the bridge at the front of the ship and the bottom two floors under the water.

  The wings of the airship were a story tall to accommodate both the large rear-facing engines and the powerful fans built into the structure of the wing. The insides of the wings as well as the rear quarter of the top floors were where the majority of the airship's mechanics were, the latter the location of the ten-foot diameter Heavy Drive that powered the entire ship. It was unlike any other Drive, with Matrices mounted on the ring rather than individual Korvan, creating the same incredible power at speeds slower than 100 RPM.

  The nose of the airship started where the wings began and where the bottom three floors ended. The bridge of the airship was at the highest point, the streamlined glass dome encasing it giving a view of the ship behind them and the sky above. Four stations were dedicated to visually monitoring what couldn't be seen from the bridge: The two sides, the rear, and what was below the ship. They wouldn't be occupied unless the airship was in danger of attack, instead a simple radar set up would track anything that approached.

  The center floor of the airship was comfortably above sea level, and was primarily a hallway that connected to the rest of the airship and held kitchen and entertainment services. The rear end of the third floor was an open-air terrace that doubled as an entryway, the tables and chairs bolted to the airship. The bottom two floors were the quarters of the crew and passenger, Arend' –the captain's- was set up in the nose of the ship, giving him the most privacy.

  Arend had given the airship the capacity to fire a few weapons, but the Silverwind wasn't made for fighting. Despite that, its maiden voyage would be through a land Arend did not know, to a destination equally mysterious, so Arend took a few precautions in whom to crew it with. He handpicked seven mercenaries to fill jobs that none of his friends would want or were qualified for.

  Allan and four people from his group were to act as security and protection during the journey. Myith was in charge of engineering, with Arend capable of superseding his command if nessicary. Rusty, Tawny, and Nate were among the contacts Arend brought along to help if anything went wrong. Tommori had arranged for five of his Floxes to meet him in Chewek when the Silverwind touched down for a check of its systems.

  Arend was alone on the dock, watching his creation bob up and down in the waves. Kyrel caught Arend' attention when he stepped out of the ship. "I've got a few things to get at my place. I'll be back soon." "Alright. How did she handle?" Arend asked as Kyrel stepped onto the dock. "She was pretty smooth." He replied. "She's definitely bigger than anything else I've flown." Arend nodded. "Over 300 feet long and the wingspan is almost just as much."

  "And hey, why'd you make the 'wings' so thick anyway?" Kyrel asked, looking up. "You had to put in two giant fans to get any sort of lift." "They need to be sturdy." Arend replied. "Especially if we need to make a quick getaway; the Heavy Drive is capable of a lot, Kyrel." Kyrel nodded slowly. "I see. I take it there's a few hidden things to increase maneuverability should that happen?" "Aye. It won't be a smooth ride in the least, but it'll be enough to get us away if the worst happens." Arend exchanged a look with Kyrel before tilting his head down the dock. Kyrel jogged away, leaving Arend alone once again.

  Arend laid down on the dock, his feet dangling above the surface of the water. He awoke from a short nap by the sound of approaching footsteps on the dock, which quickly grew to a thunder as the group of people came closer. Arend stood up to greet his passengers and friends. Arend hoped to talk a little with those from outside Dragon's Den, but he found there were far too many people to keep track of. Most of his crew was already on the Silverwind, but the fifty or so people all trying to find a place to stay and put their luggage was overwhelming even for him.

  Somehow Kronth found him and pulled him away to the side of the terrace and away from the crowd. She sat with him on a steel bench, watching the growing crowd. "Hey, there's Hunter and Flake." Arend said, pointing them out near the edge of the crowd. He immediately did a double take. "Is Flake wearing bellbottoms?"

  "WHAT." Kronth stared and immediately shook her head, a smile growing on her face. "Those aren't bellbottoms." "Then what are they?" Arend asked, noticing a flash of bright colors around Flake's legs as Hunter led him through the crowd. "Hunter must h
ave introduced him to raves. It's a style of wide pants popular in that scene; I'm sure you noticed the reflective tape?" Kronth replied. Arend shook his head, trying not to and failing to imagine Flake at a rave.

  Kronth nudged him, pointing to Faulken, who had brought his motorcycle. "He better not ruin the carpet." "I'm sure he'll be careful." Kronth replied. Her eyebrows jumped at who followed him. A group of Dragon's Den's S-Ranked were trying to be aloof, but they were obviously impressed with the Silverwind and some of the other people trickling into it. "Raser, Kune, Tel, Genifir, Sokeyes, Kancan… and Pike." Kronth said, naming them off for Arend. "If Arking was here, the entire Second Ring of our S-Ranked would be here." Their luggage were simple backpacks, each containing everything they would need for the journey and not much more.

  Nem and the Legendary Weapon users were the last to file into the airship, carrying only what they needed just like the S-ranked members. "We've got a lot of people coming with us." Arend said, doing a quick count in his head. "And it looks like we've got a few more tagging along."Kronth said, nudging him. He looked up and looked over to the dock like she was. Gliese and King gave him toothy grins. "Ahoy hoy cap-i-tan!" Ros called out, popping up on Gliese's back.