| Fan Fiction |
by Aelk
Every single building is built entirely of the sand which surrounded it, thus giving the whole kingdom a beige tint. And it was due to this that the different colors the citizens wore brought the plain and sweltering city to life.
Numerous people gathered at the central area in front of the palace gates of the Tartan kingdom, adding to the heat surrounding everyone. Lilith finally understood the reason behind the light clothing of the Tartans. As she fanned herself with her five fingers clasped together to form a fan, Azure waited patiently beside Ladhul and her for the Race to begin, with his ear ring in his pocket instead of his left ear. Together with other contestants, they were standing on a platform just in front of the palace.
“Anyway Lilith, “Azure whispered to her ears because of the crowd commotion, “why are you dressed like this?!”
Lilith donned a green robe which Ladhul said was the typical garment of an aristocrat. Resting on her upper lip was a weighty beard curly at both ends. Her hair was brushed upwards and the longer fringes were hid under the strange white turban she wore. Rather than going barefooted like normal peasants, she wore pointed rubber shoes.
“I am eligible for the Race too you know.”
Her pitch was deliberately lowered to make her sound manly.
“But you’re…”
“Now I’m not, so I am eligible. I will seize any chance I could to let the princess escape~!”
Ever since the day before when they decided on taking part in the Race, Lilith has been trying to infuse into him the importance of women rights in a society.
“Women nowadays should seek a balanced status as men;” she exploded the other day, “and not married off to men like offerings!”
”Hur…”
Azure sighed helplessly. Although he agreed with her in this aspect and pitied the Desert Dancers too, joining the Race is the only way to have their request granted by the King without any strings attached. Ladhul rubbed his nose with his index finger and laughed. Human girls never fail to amuse him, he thought.
Then, some strange music sounded, and the empty space on a raised platform in the palace was filled by a group of people. From afar, Azure could not see their faces properly, but judging from the clothing, he reckoned that the couple in the middle is the rulers of Tartan ---- King Alliduddin and his queen, Narlah, who hid her face behind a golden veil.
The commotion died down by the sound of a gong, the peasants and contestants kneeled for a brief moment, and the King began to speak.
“Rise, my people.”
The crowd obeyed.
“Today, as all of you have known, is a special occasion for all brave-hearted ones. Winner for the Race shall not only win a wish I grant, but also the chance to ask for the hand of my very own daughter, Fatimah.”
As she looked around for the Princess, Lilith’s solo hisses were quickly buried in the cheers from the crowd and the contestants. Azure wondered whether Princess Fatimah was allowed to show herself in the public, for she has not appeared yet. King Alliduddin then carried on his speech.
“Warriors, your objective is to be the first to find the dowry for the Princess: the Desert Rose.”
Desert Rose? Ladhul explained to the baffled Azure and Lilith that it was actually precious stone formed from sand. It was said that the gem was the standard material to make into ear rings for royalties when they marry. But it was so rare, that the gem became increasingly harder to find and now, it has become a legend.
Resembling a rose in full bloom, its ivory-white petals were slightly opaque and its sparkles shamed even the sapphire ring the king and queen wore on their ears.
”That was the hardest thing to find in the desert… Looks like the King wouldn’t give up his daughter so easily...”
Ladhul sounded a little down, but Azure assured him that they will find it.
“Once you are out of the city, you will no longer be protected by the King’s Mu. If none finds the dowry within two days and two nights, there shall be no winners for the Race. Now, take your positions, warriors.”
Queen Narlah spoke to them in her gentle voice masked by the veil. The contestants half-knelt down in a line. The crowd in front of them shifted to both sides of the plaza so that their run towards the desert will not be obstructed.
For a moment, Lilith thought her breathings will stop, for the cheery atmosphere soon took a plunge and became tensed. Azure took a slight peek at the other contestants… Royally-clothed nobles kneeling alone and side-by-side with the peasants proved that the Race was a fair one and thence, Azure’s worries were relieved.
Another gong was struck, and the Race thus began.
*************************************************************************************
“Damask, so you have returned. “ King Schwartz Geiger VI, leader of the Empire, said calmly without any trace of anger, “Or do you want me to call you by your old name?”
“Damask is fine, your majesty, I have no more connections to my other name. Your majesty… I have something to report…”
The commander knelt low in guilt.
“Speak no further, for I have received the news. Although you have gained another credit by capturing the Mu-using Giants and their lands, you have let those rats and even the Princess to escape from your hands.”
“I am willing to accept any punishment.”
“No… no… how can I punish someone who has been loyal to me for so long?” the King smirked, “even dogs deserve a second chance, and don’t you think so? It will be a pity to kill you…So I shall give you one final chance. Bring Iris back from Tartan where she is now heading towards.”
“!”
Before Damask asked for the reason, Schwartz continued.
“The Apocalypse is finally charged up thank to the Giant Elder’s energy. As I expected, Mus are far more efficient than long-living creature’s lifeforce. I want to test its firing range and power, Tartan will be a good choice. ”
Damask knew his King is an ambitious person right from the start. He knew that he would do anything to achieve his goal. Now that Schwartz Geiger is set to prove that Humans are the dominant race, he will by all cruel means achieve it.
The Apocalypse is the Empire’s pride and a weapon made using the Human’s intelligence and technologies. Other than conquering, its success would mean that the hidden worlds stretching far ahead of the Empire will no longer be inacessible. The heart of this technological feat lies in the combination of Mu and Machina, the same principle behind Damask’s formidability.
Tartan, being a kingdom protected by its natural sandstorm barrier provided by its king’s Mu, would be an ideal place to test out the Apocalypse since it is the furthest known kingdom from them and had a huge population of citizens. By firing at Tartan, the Humans will then officially be starting the war with the other races.
”Bring her back within 5 days or I will have to fire despite my daughter is there.”
Schwartz Geiger laughed hysterically. To him, blood-relations are nothing more than a burden. Furthermore, he had known about the secret resistance the other races were trying to put up, and he needs to give them their deserved ‘huge present’ as soon as possible --- If he has to kill his own flesh and blood, he will.
As Damask leaves the audience hall to board the teleporter, he peered towards the far north through the windows, and remained mysteriously silent.
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A/N
Sorry for the wait, been busy =(
Errr, i guess i've lost 99% of readers too
lol~
anyway i've finally chosen a poster to replace
my horrendous drawings, so that's a cheer =D