Tales of Zeroth

The words echoed through Rapl's eardrums as his brain tried to comprehend what he had just heard. Rapl Tsukumo, an eighteen-year-old man of Mizuminese and Kendrian blood; his parents, known warriors of the great war, fought against the dreaded Empire of Zan. Yet, the Emperor of Zan, the Great Lich Artefus, asked the young man to be his successor.

"W-What?" Rapl disclosed his confusion, which Artefus expected, "W-Why me?"

"I told you," he quickly replied, his voice trying to be as soothing as possible, "You have the All-Seeing Eye, and I want my successor to carry on the symbol." Yet even with his explanation, Rapl wasn't satisfied; his main question remained unanswered.

"N-No, not that," he exclaimed, getting up from his seat as he stared Artefus deeply in the eye, his old fear now replaced with confusion. Even Artefus was stunned at how the boy who couldn't even walk properly near him, now looked directly into his eyes, "I'm asking why me? I'm a Kendrian, my father's Mizuminese, and they-"

But as Rapl was about to say the last part, he remembered his parents and their short-lived lives, all because of the man in front of him. "What is it, child?" Artefus asked, but Rapl didn't answer, a fury building up from his soul to his mouth.

"You killed my parents," he remarked, his voice muffled as if his brain was trying its best to resist what he was about to say, but his heart was stronger. Even though it was silent, Artefus heard it, "During the Great War, you cursed Kenjiro and Irene Tsukumo to die," he stated, his voice having a calm fury behind it.

Artefus stared with his deadly eyes at Rapl, he had become more serious now, but not aggressive, "I'm sorry child," he began as his eyes began spiraling, "But do you know how much people I cursed to die in that war?" He remarked, sending a chill down Rapl's spine as all of his confidence suddenly went away, "Tsukumo is a name I do not remember, the first time I heard of it was when I found out who you were."

"I will not become an apprentice of an evil person," Rapl replied, he was still terrified, but Rapl found himself able to stand up for his beliefs despite of it. This comment from Rapl made Artefus sigh, getting up from his seat as he walked near Rapl.

His head shifted slightly to the side in a questioning manner, "And what do you consider an evil person, child?" He asked, his voice totally normal, almost familiar with this question.

It took a while for Rapl to respond, trying to figure out exactly what it is that makes someone evil. Then, he got his answer, "You have killed many people before, I will not follow a man whose hands are drenched in the blood of millions."

"I see," Artefus replied, a small nod stunning Rapl for a bit. But then Artefus became silent for a while; Rapl expected him to be killed by talking to Artefus this way, but from the Lich's face was that of realization as he stared at Rapl more; it was as if a small memory had come back to him. Artefus flicked his finger, sending a small spark out of a window, "It should be time for us to take a stroll, we'll meet up with Edwin and you're friends, I also have to change out of my combat armor."

Rapl was a bit tipped off that Artefus had ignored his question, "Didn't you hear me? I don't want to be your apprentice," he exclaimed, his confidence now growing yet again. Rapl didn't mind dying anymore, he would stand up for himself.

"I heard you well, Rapl," Artefus stated as he turned his head back at the young man, "That's why we're taking a stroll, let me show you why I turn kingdoms into ruins." Rapl was taken aback by what Artefus remarked, so with hesitation, he followed him, curious.

It didn't take long for the two to meet the party, "Edwin," Artefus called out, leading the musician to turn to him, "Prepare them to go out, I'm going to change my clothes."

Edwin smiled at Artefus as the Lich walked passed the party, "Alright guys, let's get you in some traditional Zanian clothes." One by one Edwin gave clothes to them, aside from the dark shirts and long robes, Edwin gave them all a thin skin-tight black shirt and pants.

"W-What's this?" Sevi asked, holding the clothes with his red and black robes, "We didn't wear this in Kendro."

"That's to regulate body temperature, it's made from the wool of Sionian kelpies who live in both cold and hot climates. Kendro's climate is perfect in terms of not being too cold or hot, so that's probably why you don't wear them," Edwin explained, even showing that he was wearing one underneath his robes and shirt.

Alex, Leena, and Rico went to a room to wear theirs; and when they came out, everyone saw the traditional Zanian clothing. Leena was wearing a dark blue robe tied up by her waist, being covered by it was a blue shirt, and underneath the shirt was the skin-tight black shirt, and she was wearing pretty big black pants. Alex meanwhile was wearing the same thing, but she also had a blue fur jacket, and instead of pants she wore a long skirt.

"This is pretty comfortable," the ice mage remarked, rubbing her head against the fur, which their massive salamander Rico also was covered in, "Look he's wearing clothes." The boys went in to change, and Sevi left first, he was wearing red robes that reached down to his legs, and his black pants were very loose.

"These are some airy pants," he remarked as Bok left the room. He had a yellow robe on with the fur jacket that Alex also had. When Rapl exited, he simply had a black robe and the same loose pants Sevi had.

"You guys had color?" He remarked, feeling a bit bummed out that he didn't have one. After everyone was done changing, Edwin gave them all black capes, with the inner being red, it was the same cape Edwin and Artefus were wearing.

"We wear capes around here, Sevi and Alex, you guys are about Quix's height so I borrowed some of his. Leena and Rapl you two are like Sheera so I got some of hers. And Bok I got you his Majesty's." While putting on the capes, Sevi and Rapl were a bit stunned, for someone like a Grand General, a name that spoke of power and strength, the current Grand General was a pretty small guy.

As all of them finished putting their capes on, Artefus suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making the party along with Edwin flinch in surprise, "You done?" He asked, leaning against the wall.

"At least make a bit of noise Your Majesty." As Edwin and Artefus talked, Rapl saw that Artefus was still wearing the horn-like shoulder ornaments, but underneath his cape was a red ornate shirt with buttons in the middle, but his waist was tied with black fabric, almost like a corset. Meanwhile, he wore black pants, the same loose pants Rapl and Sevi had, and at the end of his sleeves were fur. Artefus' hair was unchanged, his long messy black hair reaching down to his shoulders as his eyes glowed a bright red.

Artefus looked at the party, a gentle smile emerging from his mouth, "You all look good in Zanian clothing," he remarked. Rapl was still a bit tense, but when Artefus walked to him, the Lich gave him a reassuring shoulder tap as he walked passed him, "Alright, let's wait for our guide outside, shall we?"

The party led by Artefus left the castle, and even with the snow around them, they didn't feel the cold. The twins were surprised as snow fell on their faces, it was their first time feeling this weather, "Hey Alex, this is like one of your spells," Sevi remarked, picking up a ball of snow and throwing it toward Alex.

As the twins battled with snow, Rapl, Leena, and Rico were just observing the falling snow. Leena was unfamiliar with it, so her eyes widened along with Rico, "I've only really seen snow from books and spells," she stated, kneeling and making a snowball, then standing up and softly throwing it towards Rapl.

Rapl brushed the snow from his cape as he looked up, "There's a mountain in Kendro where it snowed, it was pretty close to where my village was located. My parents used to bring me there every once and a while," he recalled, but his gaze shifted to Bok, who had his palms open, letting the snow fall on it, "What's wrong with him?"

Leena shrugged her shoulder at Rapl's question, "Beats me, it might also be his first time experiencing snow." But as the rest of his party was either playing or talking, Bok felt the cold snow on his hands, his mind thinking it was the first time he experienced it, but his body felt as if he had felt this many times before.

"What the?" He asked himself. Meanwhile on the sidelines, keeping their distance from the party, Artefus and Edwin were chatting, the musician playing a gentle tune.

"Did you ask him?" Edwin asked, his voice a bit more serious than before; Artefus nodded, "What did he say?"

"He didn't want to, he told me he didn't want to serve an evil person such as I," Artefus replied, "That's why I'm going to take him to the statue, to expand his vision a bit more."

Edwin scoffed at what his Emperor had said, "You're horrible Your Majesty," he jokingly remarked, leading Artefus to chuckle.

"Yeah, maybe I am." But not a minute after, Artefus saw a boy in his mid-twenties running up to them, he then turned to the party, "Everyone, our guide is here."

As everyone gathered around, they saw a man, wearing similar clothing to them and a height close to Rapl. The man had maroon hair and was wearing a cheery smile, "I saw your spell your majesty, hopefully I'm not late. Are these the new guys?" He asked Artefus, his voice was bright and bubbly which made the party feel at ease.

"Yeah they are, everyone, introduce yourselves," Artefus commanded, leading the party to say their names.

"Ah~ I see, I presume you guys are Kendrians?" The man questioned leading them to nod, "Welcome to the Empire, I'm Larch, I'm a local tour guide around these parts of Nerio." The man named Larch turned his back as he signaled the group to follow him. What surprised the group with Larch was his kindness.

Constantly the young man would politely ask them questions about Kendro, something far off from how they thought a Zanian was going to react when a Kendrian was in front of them.

As they walked through the snow-covered roads, Larch was showing off places that he thought the party might enjoy, "This is my favorite bakery," he stated, showing off a small bakery with a nice-looking couple manning the station.

"Continue the tour, Larch, I'm going to stop by the bakery," Artefus exclaimed as he darted to the bakery; with Edwin following the Emperor, his face like that of a parent seeing their child get distracted by something.

As instructed, Larch continued, "This is the Calri park, known for a serene part of the Calri River." The party came across a river, one long with a shining surface, even though the blizzard was in full swing, the water was still that, water.

While walking past the river, Alex encountered a few ducks that tried to attack her. As they continued to walk, Larch took a way down some stairs; and below the surface of the city, were more city, closely knitted buildings lining the walls. It was like a maze, one full of people living their lives.

The group then came across a building separated from everything, it's separation from the buildings on top made a few dangling structures that Rapl saw were covered with glass with people in them, a sort of a lookout.

"This is the Library of Gwen, or Log as the people here say." When they entered the library it had rows of shelves with books lining the building, some so high the librarians had to float to get books.

But on the ground level were seats where Zanians could read; there was even a cafe in the library. While going around, Bok noticed Sevi wasn't with them, so he told Larch as he went around the library; after a few minutes of going around, he saw the young boy reading a book, his eyes wide in interest.

"Sevi," Bok whispered, "C'mon we don't have all day," he remarked, grabbing the boy on the wrist as the red-haired kid tried to go back to reading. Bok and Sevi met up with the group outside the library.

Larch showed the group many more landmarks, his cheery attitude and kind personality really made the group forget that they were in Zanian lands, but what made them forget Zan's reputation was it's people. Smiles and greeting met the party from every corner of the city.

Kids played with Rico as Bok was complimented by some nice old people; Leena was brought to a chuckle as a street performer made a pretty funny joke; Sevi and Alex were given free food from a street vendor while Rapl was greeted nicely by most people he saw.

Overall the kindness of the people of Zan were abundant, but then they came across a statue that stunned the group. In the surface of the city, in a wide area was a massive statue, made from silver as the sunlight reflected unto the eyes of the group.

It was of a man with four people behind him, the man carried the flag of Zan whilst the others carried axes and blades. They had their mouths open in a roaring shout, and the whole sight took the group's breath away.

"This statue is called, the Undying Will of Zanians," like a black paint landing on a canvas of white, Larch's slight depressed tone stood out from his earlier voice. And what the man uttered next stunned the group, "This statue is one out of five scattered around the city, and they are made from the silver tags of soldiers who fell during the battle of Nerio."

The group turned their faces towards Larch, his face carried a melancholy expression. But he tried to smile as he walked near the statue.

"The man holding the banner is Saquin Veltor, named as the hero of Zan for his bravery shown during the battle," he exclaimed, but Larch didn't look at Saquin; instead he looked at the woman behind Saquin, "This is Verosha Ilbin… my own mother," he exclaimed, clearly trying to hold back tears.

Rapl's eyes spoke of the pity he had for Larch, but as Larch smiled brightly again, his pity turned into admiration; it was clear Larch was an expert at moving forward despite the burden he carried, and it was something Rapl wanted to have himself

"My father often spoke of the bravery my mother had, so I want to honor that by making the city she fought so hard to defend a little bit better with my presence," Larch stated, his smile bigger than ever, "I'm sure you guys are hungry now, let's go to my favorite place to eat."

As the group followed Larch, Rapl stayed looking at the structure, its meaning spoke deeply within him, "Larch Ilbin." But a voice called from behind him that took Rapl out of his trance, "The son of two warriors, but due to his father having heavy injuries, he's took it upon himself to take care of his three siblings, I'm proud of that child." It was Artefus, but his gaze was transfixed upon the statue.

Surprisingly, Rapl wasn't so scared, quickly turning back to the statue. They stayed like that for a few moments, but then Artefus cleared his throat as if he was getting ready to do something he was unsure of.

"Rapl, you said that an evil person is that of a being that takes the lives of many correct?" Artefus asked, leaving Rapl to wonder what he was going for, "Do you consider Verosha innocent?"

Rapl thought about it, she was a warrior, meaning she had killed people before, "No, I do not," he replied, leading to Artefus to nod.

"But do you consider her an evil person?" The Lich asked again, leading Rapl to shake his head. Rapl didn't know what Artefus was up to, but there was something about his voice that made him feel uneasy, "Then, what if I told you, the person who killed Verosha Ilbin was The Wisp, Kenjiro Tsukumo."

Rapl's eyes widened at this news, "W-What?" He remarked in disbelief, that his father, a man so warm and loving, had taken the life of the mother of Larch.

"And your mother," Artefus continued, his voice unrelenting, "Led a charge and desecrated a village south from Nerio, killing hundreds of people, innocent, village people. Now child, do you consider your parents evil?" He asked, breaking Rapl's idea of what his parents were.

"I-I… I-Ye-" But before Rapl could say anything, Artefus interrupted him.

"They are not, Rapl," he answered, stunning the young man, "They fought for their nations, to protect their own people, I do not consider that an evil act, though I might hate them and did curse them to die, I do not think they are evil."

Rapl's mouth was trembling at everything happening, in such a little span of time his entire world had opened tenfold, "W-What are you g-getting at?"

Artefus stared at Rapl, his eyes that of genuine curiosity, "Am I evil Rapl? For protecting my Empire, my people?"

Rapl's mind was circling, he was starting to question everything in the world. But there was a fact he knew, a fact that meant the man he was talking to, the Great Lich Artefus, was evil, "B-But you started the g-great war, you caused b-billions to d-die for world domination"

Artefus stared at Rapl with an intimidating gaze, "I started it?" Artefus asked, his tone that of someone offended, "Is that what they're teaching you, THAT I!! COMMANDED THE DEATH OF BILLIONS FOR SOMETHING SO LITTLE AS LAND!?!?" He roared with pure anger in his voice, but when he looked at Rapl's shocked expression, he began to calm down. He understood it was none of Rapl's fault, he was brought up this way. The Lich cleared his throat, "Let me educate you Rapl, I do not preach that my nation is that of a kind and peaceful nation, nor am I a perfect Emperor, but I assure you, Zan isn't the only one at fault that caused the great war."