01-Jul-2000
Disclaimer: I do not own these guys, nor am I making any money
off of this. The concept of the confessor is from Terry
Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. Also, I am drawing from Simon
R Green's book 'Blue Moon Rising' for various magics too. (What a
combination)
Pairings: 1+2 3+4
Warnings: AU; none for this one, necessary evil of setting up
the plot
Note: Any and all spelling and grammatical errors are mine.
General Treize Khushrenada, Dictator of the eastern kingdom of Oz, stared in consternation at the reports in his hand. The campaign to conquer the neighboring kingdoms in the Midlands to the west had been going smoothly for several years now and he had almost accomplished his objective, total domination. After the initial token resistance, each kingdom had been thoroughly crushed. His army was unbeatable by anything the individual kingdoms could offer. Treize had made sure of that.
Though Wild magic occurred widely throughout the Midlands, High magic was prevalent in the east. So, in order to remove the threat Wild magic might have to his army, Treize had sent special squads of soldiers to hunt down and kill those that had anything to do with that ancient power. He had done so secretly about three years before he began his invasion. Because of the destruction caused by Treize's sorcerers to other magical beings, the Midland kingdoms were almost helpless to defend themselves. Each individual kingdom did have it's own army, but without the support of the beings of power, not one of the kingdoms could stand up to Treize's army. And their own petty jealousies kept them from uniting and fighting Treize as one unit. Thus they were doomed when Treize turned his sights to them.
But now, even though he was one step away from total domination of the Midlands, he still felt trepidation. He had to conquer each individual country as quickly as possible. The reports coming in from the south were rife with warning. His predecessor who had begun the campaign had died unexpectedly of heart failure, and the investigators were unable to determine if it had been natural or assassination of a magical nature. Treize had doubled his security and magical wards.
Up until now, things were going as smoothly as possible. Then two reports appeared on his desk, each one of them heralding a change, though not even Treize could predict the far-reaching affects they would have on the upcoming events.
The first one was the most concerning to the General. A battalion of foot soldiers patrolling the southwestern border between Oz and Golgatha near Chaska, led by General Padua, an old friend of Treize, had been attacked an wiped out to a man. Subsequent investigations couldn't find a damned conclusive thing. It may have been magic, or it may have been an exceptionally well thought out attack.
The second report was less concerning, but still demanded attention. A sighting of a powerful creature in the kingdom of Chaska needed to be dealt with. He had thought they had successfully wiped them out. But apparently they had missed one. Well, he could solve this problem easily.
He called to his aide. "Please tell Captain Yuy to report to me as soon as possible."
The aide saluted as left, reappearing some fifteen minutes later with the slender dark-haired captain in tow.
The young man known as Captain Yuy, or Heero to those few that knew him well, was an exceptional soldier. He never failed his missions. He never failed period. He ate, breathed and slept his duty. He was one of the few people Treize held with genuine respect, and a little fear, though he would never show it.
"Have you heard about General Padua's battalion?" Treize starting without preamble, was not surprised by the affirmative nod. Gossip spread faster than dust in a summer windstorm in any army. "What do you make of it?"
Heero's cobalt eyes narrowed in thought. He knew he was being tested, albeit gently. "It appears Golgatha might be making a move."
Treize nodded in agreement. He knew they weren't ready, but if this were the case they would have no choice but to fight. But Treize hadn't called Heero in to discuss General Padua's demise. The captain had another specialty.
"Have you seen the reports from Chaska?"
Heero shook his head. Trieze handed him the report and waited while Heero skimmed the pages.
"It appears a creature has been spotted in several villages in the area of the Korona Plains. There is no confirmation but we can't take any chances that it may have anything to do with Padua. I need you to investigate this. Be careful, but if you can, bring it back alive for questioning." Treize hadn't even planned that last part, usual standard of operation was to kill it by any means necessary. But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he liked the idea. It was most amusing was watching Heero trying to keep his jaw clamped shut so it wouldn't scrape the floor. Treize knew that he had gotten all the reaction he could out of Heero for one session, but it was worth it. Sometimes he said things just to see how far he could push Heero's self control.
"Good luck Captain. Dismissed." Treize watched the young man execute a perfect salute and turn and stride from the room. After the door closed, he murmured, "You're going to need it."
United Kingdom of Chaska, Midlands
Three weeks after the Dictator-General had dismissed him, Heero was getting frustrated. They had scoured every inch of the countryside of where the massacre had taken place, and turned over every rock in every nearby village, but there was no sign of the creature. Being on horseback for days on end was bad enough, but now it felt like they were riding in circles with no rhyme or reason. Even Wufei, who had a knack for sensing magic, was unable to find more than the slightest trace. The weather itself was making life as miserable as possible too. It had been very hot and humid, but it refused to rain. Sweat clung to the soldiers' uniforms and dampened their hair. It was enough to make all of them irritable, and the short remarks came more and more frequently.
Though he knew that the others had faith in his abilities as a soldier, Heero could sense their growing doubts. He couldn't blame them. He had his own doubts too. But failure was unacceptable, so he insisted they keep on looking. He resolutely spurred Wing, his white stallion, into a ground-eating jog. The great beast pinned its ears against its neck in irritation, lather dripped down its neck, which was dark with sweat. It too hated this aimless wandering, preferring instead to charge into battle or race its brethren.
Quatre, the only one in the group who had any abilities when it came to magic, was handling communications through the use of a telepathy spell. He was able to relay messages from each member of the squad with a mere thought. Quatre was trying not to let the uncertain thoughts of the other two filter through to Heero but sometimes he couldn't stop it. The mental arguments were giving him a headache, but he kept the pain firmly tucked away, intent on doing his job. Sandrock, Quatre's palomino mare sensed her rider's discomfort and made her pace as smooth as possible. She wasn't as big as Wing, but she was just as loyal to her rider and would fight to the death for him.
Trowa, a former army scout turned ranger, knew that Quatre was in pain. He could tell just by looking at the pale face and the soft blue eyes that were often clouded. But Quatre made no comment on it so Trowa kept silent as well, respecting the other's privacy and attention to duty. Trowa never said much anyhow, preferring the solitude of the forests and plains to the uproar of the towns and cities. He was one of the best trackers in the business. It was said he could follow a wraith back to its lair and know what it had for breakfast four days earlier. An exaggeration of course, but not by much. His own mount, a copper chestnut stallion whose name was all but unpronounceable in common speak, but sounded something like Heavyarms, was a muscular beast, made more for power than speed. He wasn't quick, but he could go all day. Heavyarms was probably the most even-tempered of the steeds. He had stood without flinching as a huge grizzly had come barreling down on them. Trowa had, of course, killed the bear with an expert bowshot through the left eye mere meters from where they had stood.
Chang Wufei was by far the deadliest of the group. He was a blademaster, no less. Put a sword in his hand and he was literally unbeatable. He was also arrogant, blunt to the point of being rude and had a vicious temper. He had been assigned to Heero's squad because no one else could put up with him. His skills made him invaluable, but his temperament made him a liability. His dapple-gray mare Shenlong had a temper to match her rider's. But when it came to close quarter fighting, there was no horse better trained to kick or strike with deadly accuracy. Wufei and Heero had worked together before and to everyone's surprise, they got along quite well. (Much to the disappointment of those who were making bets on who would kill whom first) Wufei respected Heero and followed his orders. Heero treated Wufei with courtesy and listened to his ideas. In the end, everyone was satisfied.
"This is unsatisfactory," Wufei stated with his usual bluntness, wiping away the sweat that dripped in his onyx eyes. "Heero, are you sure that this creature exists?" he asked for the umpteenth time.
"Yes Wufei, it is a logical explanation for what happened. We will just keep looking," Heero stated with extreme patience. Only Quatre caught the impatience flowing off of the leader, and wished for the hundredth time that he could turn the spell on and off at will. Being plugged into the other's heads was not his idea of a good time.
Suddenly, Trowa who had been scouting ahead came into view. He was sitting easy on Heavyarms back with one leg slung over the cantle of the saddle, playing his flute. The horse was grazing peacefully, not even glancing up when the others pulled up nearby.
"Well?" Wufei asked impatiently, ignoring Heero's glare.
"It's near," was all Trowa needed to say. For a few seconds there was complete silence then Wufei and Quatre exploded into questions. Heero let this go on for about thirty seconds then raised his hand to command silence.
"Explain."
"It is very good, but it finally let its guard down. I found its tracks, or should I say its mounts tracks, going away from that hamlet across the river. Up until now it has stayed in populated areas, blending in. But now it thinks its safe and probably has gone off to wreak more havoc on our troops."
"Hn. Which way is it heading?" Heero was thinking furiously, trying to come up with a way to catch it alive.
"It is heading east, probably going to travel through King's Gorge to intercept the cavalry troop on the Korona plains." Even though Trowa was guessing, every one in the squad would have bet a month's worth of wages that he was right.
"Very well, we will split into two groups. Wufei and I will get ahead of it and the two of you will drive it to us. We must be very careful, but we have to catch it and bring it back alive." Heero had not revealed the last part to the others and the stunned looks on their faces indicated just how dangerous their quarry was.
"A-alive?" Quatre stuttered. This was unthinkable. One simply did not bring back one of these creatures alive. One touch from these things and they were dead, no they were worse than dead. "How?'
Heero pulled out a map from his saddlebag and the others clustered around, peering intently as he pointed to a space on the map.
"All you have to do is drive it to us, don't worry about capturing it, that job is for Wufei and myself. Just make sure it ends up here, ok? And another thing, Trowa, have your bow ready. If it touches either of us," Heero indicated to Wufei and himself, "Do not hesitate to kill us immediately, especially Wufei. It could mean all of our deaths if you hesitate." He held Trowas emerald eyes steadily with his own. "I mean it, this is deadly business, do you understand?"
Quatre and Trowa nodded.
Heero looked at Wufei and nodded. "Lets go."
End Part 1
(:./annabell/confessor1)
