Fragment

4. The Shield of the Protector ((Rewrite -- WIP))

  "A fight?" Ryou asked, incredulous. He couldn't say he didn't see it coming, but he had hoped that it wouldn't happen, especially considering the state he was in. Could he still fight with his new mechanical limbs?

  "Glad to see you can hear, Gramps." Jordan said, pulling a sword from the sheath on his belt. Without another word, they ran down the hall until they reached an arched doorway. Jordan approached it first and looked around the corner, Ryou coming up from behind.

  "People are fighting in the lobby," Jordan paused, looking around again. "If we're lucky, we can sneak past them. We might not have to fight after all."

  "Great." Ryou said, more relieved than sarcastic. Though, he kept his hand on the cane portion that doubled as a sword handle.

  Then, Jordan ran out from behind the corner, swift and quiet. Ryou followed closely behind him, out into the vast unknown.

o-o-o-O-o-o-o

  "Elliyos, I'd like you to meet your two bodyguards for the trip tonight." Renton said, nodding his head in the direction of two soldiers who had just approached them. They each crossed their right arms over their chests, their fists sitting above their hearts.

  "I'm Jonathan." said the man. His voice was deep and gruff, and his looks fit it perfectly. He was about as tall as Elliyos, but older. He wore black leather armor, and his black hair was relatively long. It stopped at his jawline where it was complimented by stubble. It parted at the start of the forehead in an attempt not to cover his eyes.

  "I'm Evera." the girl had said, taking off her helmet. She had long, black hair. Almost coal black. Her skin was fair, but not pale nor tan. She had a slight scar on her face, but it didn't come close to ruining her beauty. If anything, it gave her a battle-hardened look. She was tall, but not too tall. Probably around 5'10". Her grey eyes looked Elliyos over as he did the same to her. She wore black leather, much like Jonathan.

  "It's nice to meet the two of you." Elliyos said, copying their action from earlier and placing a fist over his heart. They nodded, and everyone exchanged glances for a quick second under the bright sunlight.

  "Nightfall will be upon us within the next hour or so," Renton said as he took another look up at the sky. "Get your affairs in order and meet me at the entrance of the castle."

o-o-o-O-o-o-o

  "Duck!" Jordan called, twisting backwards to look at Ryou. A condensed blast of energy was hurling directly at him. Just barely dropping under the blast, it smashed into the wall to the side of Ryou and left a hole the size of his head.

  "Damn.." Ryou growled, standing up again. He looked to his right, away from the wall, and ripped his sword from its cane-like sheath. Though, in the group of people fighting feverishly, he couldn't discern who shot the bullet of energy. A voice cut through his daze, bringing him back to the task at hand.

  "... Are you even listening?!" Jordan screamed over the loud atmosphere. Ryou shook his head, frowning. "I said we need to go! Get focused old man!" Before he could get his barrings, someone from the crowd whipped their head to look at them. Another followed in suit, and soon enough, the fighting quieted down, and everyone just stared blankly at Ryou and Jordan.

  "Your incessant screaming attracted the barbarians," Ryou concluded, not daring to take his eyes off of the strangely silent crowd of individuals. "See, this is why we can't have nice things."

  "Shut it," Jordan said, eyeing the crowd as well. Not one of the men before him spoke, just watched, unblinking. It was if they were under some spell. 

  Everything after happened so fast it was hard to discern what was real or not. The crowd of previous enemies leaped into action, every one of them throwing what was in their hands. Some even shot arrows, one after the other, emptying their quivers at Ryou and Jordan.

  "Shit!" They both called in unison, and Ryou raised his sword to fend off the swords, shields, arrows, and everything else that was sailing through the air towards them. Though, a part of him knew it wouldn't work. He had to run, but he couldn't. His new mechanical parts wouldn't move, as if they had become completely foreign to him once more. He knew that wasn't the case, though. He was afraid. Everything leading up to this point had put dents in his courage, and this was all it took to shatter his defense. Ryou stood there, useless, in the middle of an event that would surely be the death of him.

  I won't die here.

  As if trained to build itself on command, his defense was back up. He raised his sword once more, ready to do anything to stay alive.

  He didn't need it.

  As Ryou opened his eyes, he realized that the two of them were now encased in what looked like a golden barrier. As each projectile made contact with their new shield, they disintegrated, turning to dust and blowing away in the wind. Looking around for the source, Ryou spotted Jordan in deep concentration with his hands out in front of him. 

  ".. Amazing.." Ryou said quietly, watching everything turn to dust as it made contact. He doubted that even some of the strongest of wizards or witches could perform this technique. He'd never even seen it before.

  "I call it the Aegis." Jordan said, the strain in his voice clear. He had heard Ryou speak,  and looked over at him, trying hard not to lose concentration. "I might be able to maintain it until we hit the door, but once we do, we run. Like our lives depend on it.." He said, faltering. The Aegis jutted out of reality for a second before reappearing.

  "Our lives will depend on it." Ryou said quietly, taking one last look at the Aegis, and then back to Jordan. "Let's start making our way."

o-o-o-O-o-o-o

Something worried Elliyos as he made his way through the streets of Florin. It wasn't that he couldn't remember any of it, or even that he was to be shipped off to some mysterious school. It was that he needed bodyguards to get there.

The thought plagued his mind as he scanned the shops up and down the district he was located in. There were so many that it would take him days just to stop at all of them and look at their wares.