Returning to the Palace

[Ryan - Loki]

The road through the land of Lavertia to Bereteca from the mountains on the border was a long and tiresome journey, one that could have been greatly sped up by the use of flight, but Ryan much preferred to journey naturally, on foot. Perhaps it was the link back to his Samurai roots or maybe it was old age beginning to take a hold on him, either way because of it nightfall would cover the land before he made it back, but only just.

Ryan had spent the majority of his life travelling from one place to another, alone, and he was hardly ever disturbed. He had always enjoyed the tranquillity, the peace of the open road. At times it did get lonely, but often that was the price one paid for peace, and it seemed that almost ten years down the line things had not changed one bit, in that respect.

At any rate the moon had already began to rise in the nights sky, the sun having already vanished over the edge of the horizon several hours earlier, but thankfully the lights of Bereteca were already creeping into view. The city was beautiful, a welcoming sight to any and all travellers who had travelled a long and weary road, and within the hour Ryan would reach the great gates to the city.

Though Dragonia had jumped in leaps and bounds in the sense of technology during the last seven years the planet, in a manor of speaking, still remained innocent. There were no ‘paved roads’ connecting each city and town to each other, and although you were likely to stumble across the odd dirt track from here to there that had been walked into existence by constant use, a person would most likely have to travel across the fields, over the hills and mountains, and through the woods that nature threw in their way, if they wished to travel from one place to another; unless they were rich enough to afford some form of transport that is.

Ryan was moving closer and closer towards the city, but it seemed that with each step that Ryan took the more and more tired be became; and this was happening at an extremely rapid rate. In an attempt to keep himself from falling victim to the recurring dream that he had been suffering from, Ryan had been starving his body of the sleep it so badly required. It had been four days since he had last slept. The situation had become so dire that he had even considered having nanomachines, breakthrough technology in the form of microscopic machines that regulate a person's body to near perfection, injected into his body to help him fight off the need for sleep.

Unable to fight it any longer Ryan found a nearby tree and collapsed down against its trunk, yawning. Before long he had slipped into a deep slumber, completely unaware of the world around him.

[Ryan - Loki]

Returning to the Palace – Continued[/i]

Ryan yawned. He was awake again. It took him a few moments to gather himself, and despite not yet having opened his eyes it was the cool breeze that helped him remember that he had decided to sleep under the stars. Despite having the dream again he had a relatively good sleep; perhaps only because he had starved his body from it for so long.

Eventually Ryan began to open his eyes, quickly blinking them just in case they took some time to adjust to the light, though to Ryan’s surprise it was still night. He finally opened his eyes, his eyes still having to adjust to the moonlight, and he glanced about his surroundings, sitting himself properly up against the trunk of the tree he had been sleeping underneath.

“Have I slept too long or not enough?” it was a logical question to ask himself. On the one hand Ryan had been unable to sleep properly for some time now, any sleep he did have being plagued with that recurring nightmare, meaning he was likely to have awoken during the night as usual; but on the other hand he had starved his body of the sleep it required for almost a week now, which could have equally caused him to sleep loads more, if simply in attempt to catch up.

For a short while he pondered over both theories while he surveyed his surroundings curiously, but in the end he concluded that he had only been a sleep for a few hours – if even that. With a sigh of realisation Ryan pushed himself up onto his feet. He looked off towards Bereteca; there were still several lights on within the city, even at this ungodly hour. At any rate Ryan clicked his neck, let out a soft groan, and once again moved onwards towards the city.

While moving towards the city Ryan had more time to reflect back upon the dream he had once again had. Something was different this time around as he couldn’t really remember his dream; he just knew that he had one. He had been through the dream so many times in the past that he had just assumed that it had been the same dream this time, but now he thought about it carefully, trying extremely hard to remember everything, he suddenly realised that the dream had been different.

Every so often a little piece of the puzzle would explode forward into clarity, some remaining clear and some fading back into obscurity just as quickly as they had appeared; it was frustrating, but Ryan prided himself on his patients. He caught glimpses of Loki, Natas and even Dramanius, but not much more than this. He knew these images had to be the dream, after all he knew both Loki and Dramanius to be dead, especially Dramanius; Ryan had been the one to end his life, slicing his head clean off.

Ryan was in the process of throwing about his thoughts within his cranium when he was suddenly interrupted.

“Who goes there?” It was a young man, a guard of Bereteca’s city gate. He carried a rifle but still had a blade sheathed at his side, though this was mainly due to Ryan. If it hadn’t been for Ryan’s samurai influence within the royal court, Lavertia would have more than likely lost sight of who they once were; technology was both a blessing and a burden in the world.

Ryan didn’t reply, merely he lifted his head up so that his mouth moved from behind his cloak, showing his face properly. It was weathered around his scars, though still smooth across the rest of his face where there lacked the stubble of his facial hair. “Oh god!” he exclaimed in realisation.

“It is I,” Ryan began. “Ryan Jiaoimasu, aid and friend to the royal family.” his title was far longer than that, but he was too sleep deprived to even consider spilling it all out.

“Sir there’s no need to introduce yourself!” the guard suddenly exclaimed, throwing himself down on one knee in front of Ryan. Ryan felt strange to have someone act this way around him. This guard was actually treating Ryan like the royalty that he was, after all he was the prince of his people, but he had grown so accustomed otherwise that it just didn’t feel right. “I should have realised who you were sooner! Forgive my ignorance.” Of course this man was only acting this was because Ryan was a hero to the Lavertian people, to many people around the world, after the great tragedy; it was such a hassle at times.

Ryan sighed. “Get up you fool.” He said sharply, bending down and pulling the guard up by his arm. The guard looked startled, unsure what was going on or what he had done wrong; Ryan quickly picked up on this. “You have done nothing wrong, except treat me like I am better than you.” Ryan explained. “I may be superior to you in rank, but that is all. You are as worthy as me as a person.” Ryan rested his hand on the guards shoulder, patting it reassuringly.

At that moment Ryan’s senses caught something. It was only a tweak, just around the corner of the circular city wall. “You are doing a fine job soldier…carry on.” Ryan muttered as he began moving around the city wall. In a few seconds the guard behind him fell out of view around the wall. “That is the problem with the soldiers of today,” Ryan began, now out of earshot. “The old veterans are overconfident in their abilities because of the hashes they have survived through over the years and the young recruits lack in confidence because of the veterans.”

The city wall was well lit, even on the outside there were several lit touches every ten metres, and soon enough the illuminated figure of who had caused the spike in energy a few moments before came clearly into view, attempting to sneak over the wall, and away from the city.

“Prince Seriyu!” Ryan exclaimed. Instantly, knowing he had been caught, Seriyu let out a sigh of frustration and stopped in his tracks, turning to face the oncoming samurai.

“How many times have I told you not to call me that? My name’s Seth.” this youth was no older than 16, though he looked much younger in the face; he would age well later in life. He wasn’t dressed like you would expect a member of the royal family to be dressed, clothed in simply a blue long sleeved shirt and a pair of faded, scraggly blue jeans. Ryan sighed.

“You are Prince Seriyu Mikomora II.” Ryan quickly replied. “Wear that name with pride young prince. You were given a great honour when your parents named you after your older brother.”

“I know, I know…don’t lecture me teach.” Seth responded. He took a few steps back towards the wall, dragging his feet through the dirt as he kicked a small stone. “But it isn’t easy being compared to someone like him, constantly looked upon to replace his legend.”

Ryan looked down at the ground. He hadn’t realised this, though now it was out in the open he felt almost stupid as it had been so obvious. “I…” Ryan couldn’t find the words. Had he been so obsessed with teaching the prince about his elder brother, about the brave acts and the sacrifices that he made, that he had forgotten to take notice of who the prince was? “You are a great young man my prince.” Ryan suddenly said, now looking towards Seth.

“You don’t have to say that teach-”

“I do,” Ryan quickly interrupted. “For it is true.” Slowly Ryan moved towards the prince, resting his hand on his shoulder and sighing. “Your brother was a great man, the greatest you can find. Together he, myself and young Aiedan helped saved Dragonia – Seriyu giving sacrificing his life for mine in the process.” he had told Seth this story many times in the past. “I know that when the time comes, though I pray to the elder gods that it does not, you will be the prince that everyone wishes you will be – no, you will be more than people expect, for you are a great prince.”

Seth looked at Ryan and the two shared a smile before a small embrace; though Ryan was Seth’s teacher he acted more like a father or older brother in some cases. He cared for the boy, hell he loved him like he had loved Seriyu. Maybe in a way this was his way at gripping at forgiveness for allowing Seriyu to die. Pulling away from Ryan again, still being a relatively young teenager, Seth couldn’t bare affection in large amounts. Ryan couldn’t help but be reminded of himself at his age, but even more of Seriyu at an older age. Just then he caught Seth’s eyes wonder down towards his bad arm.

“Teach…” Ryan knew already what he was about to ask.

“I have already gone over my arm with you Prince Seri– I mean Seth.” Ryan corrected himself. “It happened many years ago, not long after your brother passed on.”

“I know, but what happened exactly?” Almost instantly images of Dramanius and Ultima-Ryan flashed through Ryan’s mind.

“It was not a pretty time on Dragonia…many perished...” Ryan didn’t wish to tell Seth this story, not yet. The young prince was still extremely receptacle to influence, and many stories of the past could have swayed him in favour of anger and lust for vengeance; it was not a path he was willing to allow the boy to take. Just then the sky was illuminated by an explosion of white light, not even a few miles south of the city. Ryan ran forward a few steps, squinting his eyes to get a better view due to the blinding light. It was over a forest, one that was seemingly on fire; and it made the perfect excuse, as bad as it sounded, to avoid that conversation with Seth.

“Get back inside the city and inform the guards of the situation. Tell them that I have gone to investigate, and to send no one.” Ryan barked. “Do I make myself clear?” it was an order, not a request.

“Let me come Ryan! I can help! I can fight!”

“Go now!” Ryan exclaimed, this time actually turning his head to look at Seth. In clear frustration Seth let out a scream of anger and made towards the city gates, running as fast as he could. As he vanished from sight around the wall Ryan once again focused his attention back on the forest. “Right…” Ryan took off into a sprint and within a few seconds his feet were hovering inches off of the ground as he flew towards his destination, skimming the ground with the very tips of his boots; at this rate he’d get there in no time at all.