Disclaimer: I don’t own Beyblade.

I’m using the Japanese-version names:

Yuri = Tala    Giancarlo = Enrique  

Takao = Tyson     Mao = Mariah

Sergey = Spencer

Boris = Bryan

 

For All Who Gave Their Lives

 

Chapter 10: Power (Is in Every Time)

 

Try, if you can, to come where we have gone

You may achieve what can’t be simply done

Look back and there

You are were we have been

And still there’s so

Much in between

                                                           (Helloween ‘Power’)

 

 The continent Aragorn is by far the best developed. There are five important countries and many other of much lesser meaning.(…)

 The Varan Empire lies on sea: two large islands – Var and Reva and the Dragon Archipelago. It is the best-developed country on Aragorn and thus on the whole planet. Its ruler, the Eternal Emperor Varlanreva, had proved to be a person of great insight and political wisdom. The fact of him being a dragon did not hinder the countries development. The society seems well integrated, although many species are part of it. The strangest thing, however, is the fact that there is no aristocracy there.

 Republica di Venezza lies on the Venetia Peninsula. It is well developed, ruled by a parliament and the dodge, who is chosen every four years by the inhabitants of the capital city: Azzuro. Its political structure is especially benefiting for the merchants and craftsmen. There are few elven enclaves and some dwarven cities in the Black Mountains, which are also the border between Venezza and Schafland.

 The Kingdom of Schafland (Königreich Schafland) had been ruled by the von Schwarzhaffen dynasty since 4 year S.I.H. The land is quite prosperous and the social classes appear to live in harmony. This country is well known for its many kinds of sheep, their quality wool and woolen products. It lies between Venezza, Elderskagg, Skaggerak  (in the west), the Varan Empire (in the south), the Desert of Grey Sands (in the east) and the Northern Plains (in the north).

 Elderskagg and Skaggerak are two islands with a very harsh climate. They lie near to the Northern Plains and Schafland – their inhabitants are considered to be a splinter group (known as Scandinavians) from the same cultural circle as the Shaflanders. The ruler of these two islands is a king – currently the grandson of Einherjar Gunnar and Valkyrie Maya. The Scandinavians are fierce warriors, while their national occupation seems to be piracy.

 Irion is the only elven country on Aragorn – it borders with the Desert of Grey Sands in the north and with the Triangal Countries in the south. The ruler is known as the Faery Queen, while her name is a secret. This country has the only matriarchal society on Aragorn, with customs, which can surprise even the most liberal Varans and Venzzans. It is known for beautiful cities, having the days of power behind itself.

 The Triangal Countries are small and in the state of constant war. The last time they were united was during the War Between Ages*.

  The Nippon Empire consists of two islands: the Dragon island and the Crane Island. The Tenno comes from the First Sun Dynasty and has only cultural and religious influence. He is more of symbol than an actual leader. The real ruler is the shogun with his bakfu government. The Nipponians are great sailors, warriors and talented craftsmen. One can only marvel at their art – so very different than that of other aragornian countries.

 Several nomad tribes, known for their stamina and horses, inhibit the Desert of Grey Sands. Little more is known about them.

 The northern Plains are very close to North Pole. Their bigger part is covered by snow most of the year or all the time. There are no countries there, however you can come across human settlements and elven cities.

(from the notes to the Great World Atlas of lady Miriam)

*War Between Ages (also known as the Grand War) the war between humans and orcs ended by the Battle of Iron Hill.

 

 Suddenly a small scaly head peeked out from Giancarlo’s beg. Meanwhile another one – identical one – appeared at the second end of the beg. The first one started hissing.

-         Amphy? <Do you want to get out?> - the minstrel gave the first head a curious look.

-         Ey? An amphisbaena? – Sergey raised an eyebrow. – ‘Ere me ‘eve been thinkin’ they be only pets of stuck-up Varans.

 The minstrel took out the lizard out of his beg and placed it on his arms, ignoring the sailor. The burly Varan smirked slightly and started staring at the amphisbaena. It was green with a red crest from its first head to the second. Its eyes were yellow and beady. You really couldn’t tell which part was the hind one – both heads were placed on long necks. The reptilian hissed again and curled contently on Giancarlo’s shoulders.

 Little Sister was running next to Apple, however in a reasonable distance from his hooves. The horse was rather nervous, but Yuri managed to keep him on track. The wolf appeared amused.

-         Stop being so smug, you don’t want me to fall down. – the redhead gave the wolf an annoyed look.

-         One considers riding on food strange. – the wolf seemed unfazed and the half-elf sighed.

-         Yuri-kun? Is something wrong? – Takao asked.

-         Nah. Little Sister tries to be annoying.

 The young samurai looked curiously at the wolf, which did seem to be quite amused. But suddenly she raised her ears and stopped, baring her fangs. Yuri jumped of his horse only a second later, taking out his sword even before he landed.

 In that moment a group of men ran out from the nearby bushes. They were dirty and in rags, but they brandished some weapons – several in a good shape.

-         Ruffians. – hissed the half-elf. Takao and Sergey jumped of their horses, while Boris slipped off ungracefully. Giancarlo and Lucrezia remained mounted, assuming they would cause more trouble down. The mage touched her cheek with her thumb and index finger thoughtfully.

-         ‘And ovah yah money weapons an’ da gal. – said one man, showing a small collection of broken and rotten teeth.

-         Why? – Sergey took out two sabers he usually carried on his back.

-         ‘Coz there’s more o’ us. An’ ya ain’t gonna win. – he stated cockily. Suddenly Lucrezia snapped her fingers and the ruffians started either blinking or rubbing their eyes. One of them charged blindly with a loud hoarse yell. He was running straight at Yuri and probably didn’t even notice when his head parted with his body. Boris took out silently some small metal objects, holding them between his fingers in both hands. In a fluid motion he threw them at the bandits.

-         Falcon Claws? – wondered Giancarlo. Sets of daggers known as Falcon Claws were rare and expensive – there was no way Boris could afford them. Well, he wasn’t called a thief for nothing, it seemed. The said daggers could use the air to slide through it much faster and further. Of course, they were magical and thus hard to obtain.

 The thief meanwhile took out a pair of normal throwing daggers and tossed them quickly, hiding behind Sergey. The burly sailor leaped at the nearest opponent slashing at his abdomen. Takao stood calmly before the two Venezzans, his wakizashi and katana crossed in front of his face. Suddenly one of the attackers lunged at Yuri, who was busy fending another one. Before he could reach the half-elf a rainbow-coloured ball of energy hit him in the chest, making him scream in pain and double over. Soon similar ones hit two others causing the same reaction. The living bandits started running away.

-         Good work, magician girl. – said Yuri. The black-haired woman tossed one of her braids back, grinning proudly.

 

‘A rainbow aura is rarely met and strongly related to the Chaos Domain. The side effects of normally neutral spell, when used by a person with such an aura are impossible to predict(…).’

(‘Encyclopaedia Magica’ Myrddin ap Taliesin)

 

 The group had reached the forest, which lay between the lands of the Hiwatari and von Wartburg families. It was a big dark scary wood that seemed to be an ideal place for some mysterious creatures to have their dens. Lucrezia seemed quite nervous, while Amphy curled even tighter around Giancarlo’s neck. The minstrel moved his arms, trying to force the lizard not to suffocate him.

-         What a lovely place. – mumbled Yuri.

-         We should be startin’ a camp. – suggested Sergey.

-         Hai! – Takao nodded vigorously. – I’m hungry.

-         You ate a while ago. – snorted Boris. The blue-haired samurai ignored the thief.

-         Who’s cooking?

-         The one who be askin’. – the sailor replied matter of factly. The Nipponian only shrugged and started looking through the supplies, popping something into his mouth from time to time. He seemed perfectly happy with his task. Yuri meanwhile managed to gather enough wood for a bonfire. The others prepared their sleeping begs, while Takao managed to produce a soup from dried meat and vegetables. Soon they were all seating, eating and talking.

-         Gianny? – Lucrezia looked at her cousin with large pleading puppy-dog eyes. – Tell us a story, please?

-         You sound like a little girl. – huffed the minstrel annoyedly.

-         I want to hear a story too! – Takao joined in.

-         Even if I’ll sound like a little kid: ME TOO! – Yuri grinned somewhat psychotically.

-         Si, si bambini! – the Venezzan sighed. – What should I tell you? A-h-h, how about the story of Einherjar Gunnar and Valkyrie Maya?

-         Yes! – chipped the mage, while Takao nodded furiously. Boris wrinkled his nose disdainfully and Yuri merely raised his eyebrows.

-         This story started long ago on the cold island of Elderskagg. The old king Sigurd and his wife – Brynhild had five daughters: Freya the Beauty, Gunhild the Warmaiden, Tove the Swift, Idun the Good and Gudrun the Clever or the Sorceress, but only one son. The problem was the boy was blind. However whatever god had been awake the day their heir was born, he had been generous. The boy – named Gunnar – could not see, but he always knew where other people far better than those blessed with normal eyesight. He had grown to be a fine warrior, thus he had been named by others Einherjar.

 One day a strange black ship appeared near the coast of Elderskagg. It was big and silent, only one woman standing on the front. She had ebony-black hair and wore black armour, which seemed to swallow the light. When the ship came nearer the people observing her could see how beautiful she was, with pale blue eyes and a fair skin.

 When the ship reached the coast a man came out. He was older then the woman and his hair was the same colours as the woman’s, however his eyes were as black as the darkest night and as sinister. Then an army of black-clad warriors filled the dark ship. When they reached the harbour of Elderskagg’s capitol the man said in a booming voice:

 ‘I am the Dark Lord, surrender or feel my wrath!’ But none of the brave warriors wanted to listen and King Sigurd, although old awaited the invaders with his son, four of his daughters and his warriors. Meanwhile Gudrun the Clever hid somewhere with the queens holy insignia – because if she had promised her mother to protect them.

 The royal family had suffered great loses during the battle: King Sigurd and his four daughters died. But both Gunnar and Gudrun managed to survive. The Dark Lord escaped with his army, but if he thought it would be the last thing he heard from the Einherjar and his smart sister, he had been very wrong.

 You must know that the people of Elderskagg considered vengeance a great duty – and it was their king, who had died. It was no wonder than, that in a short time Gunnar had a large army of blood-lusty warriors and warmaidens at his side.

 They took their fast drakkars and Gudrun used her magic to track the Dark Lord. Soon they were on his tail, hunting him like an angry pack of wolves. However, they managed to catch his ship at the coast of Aleareena (one of the Triangal Countries). It was empty.

 And yet again did Gudrun use her magic to track the Dark Lord and she did not fail. The warriors fallowed the trail, soon reaching the Desert of Grey Sands. Meanwhile the Dark lords army had reached a nomad tribes wedding party. They had mercilessly slaughtered most of the unexpecting tribesman, but those who managed to grab their weapons fought bravely. Yet it seemed they would loose.

 Than Gunnar’s army reached the battlefield and they joined the battle. In that moment the black-clad woman stopped and called out in a melodious sinister voice:

 ‘I am the Dark General the lord’s lover. Shall any of you have the courage to challenge me?’ Many of Gunnar’s warriors wanted to kill the arrogant general, but the first person to reach her was the nomad bride. She was fighting like the other nomads, still in her white wedding robe. The young woman leaped with the grace of hunting cat and landed in front of the Dark General.

 ‘I do not care, who you are and were you come from!’ She said angrily. ‘But you shall pay for attacking my tribe!’ And she raised her scimitar driven by the fury no one, who hadn’t lost their family knows. Fear struck the Dark Generals’ heart like a thousand needles, not allowing her even to wink. The bride cut her sword trough the general’s mighty armour, crushing it. As the Dark Lord’s lover fell, her blood spilt like a fountain over the bride’s robes, marking her victory.

 As soon as the Dark General’s corpse touched the ground another fight has begun. The Dark Lord and Gunnar fought viciously, the song of their of blades was heard on the whole battlefield striking fear in the hearts of men. The Dark Lord seemed to be gaining the upper hand, yet as with a mighty strike he broke the young kings sword, a splinter shot through his heart freeing the world of his evil presence. The warrior’s of Elderskagg had won, however only one nomad survived: the bride.

 Gudrun was deeply impressed by the nomad woman, who did not show her pain, when she realised there were no people from her tribe left. The Sorceress knew se found the right person to give the queens insignia to. Now she had to convince her brother.

 She went to his tent to talk to him, but a feeling told her to take a peek before coming in. And what she saw told her she did not have to convince her brother after all…

 They young nomad – named Maya, came back with Gunnar and his warriors. The people of Elderskagg took a liking in her very fast, for she was warmaiden like their women. No one opposed when her and Gunnar’s marriage was announced. – Giancarlo finished his story and grinned. Suddenly someone snored loudly. The others turned around and saw Sergey sleeping soundly.

-         Seems he doesn’t like stories. – sniggered Yuri.

-         They rather work like a sleeping charm on him, Rotkopf. – snorted Boris.

-         I take the first guard! – piped up Takao with a broad smile.

-         Sure. – the half-elf nodded. – Wake me up if something happens.

 Unbeknown to them a small child-like figure listened to their every word…

 

Translations:

Hai(Japanese) – Yes

Si, si bambini(Italian) – Alright, alright children

Rotkopf(German) – Redhead

<…> - means something in Italian

 

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