Project ZEAL

Scene 21 - Don't Come Around Here No More (Leebot)

[OOC, aside: You may have noticed I'm using song titles as titles for Backer's chapters. The relevance may be simply in the title (War Pigs), it may be in the lyrics (Slip Kid), it may be in both (as below), or it may just be the music.]

Larin, Choras Territory
1021 AD.

Backer walked into the town's bar and took his usual seat at a small table in the corner. His work today was more strenuous than usual; Porre had accompanied this division with a prototype golem. He'd been able to fight them off and destroy the golem, but it had exhausted him, and he was looking forward to relaxing with a cold drink.

A waitress named Rose came by within a few minutes. Normally, she'd see him and nod, then return with a soda--never a beer, he couldn't stomach alcohol--a few minutes later. If he was still around when her shift ended, she'd sit down and talk with him for a while. She was one of the few people who'd ever shown any interest in his life. This time, however, as she approached, her eyes locked on him for a moment before she quickly looked away and walked past him, around the corner. Backer waited, but she never came with his drink. He sat out the remainder of her shift, waiting. She passed by a couple more times, but she never again looked at him. At the end of her shift, she left without a glance at him.

Attempting to find an explanation for this behavior, his mind recalled in vivid detail the end to their conversation the last time he'd been in:

/Rose smiled at him. As far as he could remember, she was the only person to ever smile at him. He made his decision; he was going to take another shot at finding happiness. The only thing that ever scared him was reaching out to others, but he'd have to face that fear.

"Rose," he said. "I was wondering... if you might like to join me for dinner?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dinner, together. As in, you know, a date?" She stared at him blankly. "I was hoping we might... expand our relationship."

The look she gave him was possibly the worst that she could have. He'd hoped she'd be flattered, even if she turned him down. He could have handled her pitying him. Even had she appeared disgusted or insulted, it wouldn't have hurt him as much.

She appeared confused.

"I-I can't. I'm sorry."

"Of course," Backer muttered; rejection was all he knew. No one had ever given him a chance. He casted his gaze downward and rested his forehead on his hand so she wouldn't him weeping. She'd left without a further word./

In his search for a reason behind her behavior, he'd asked everyone he knew who knew her. She wasn't involved with anyone. In fact, a few people had commented that she was actually looking for a boyfriend. This made her behavior even more confusing.

He'd tried to reach out and improve his relationship with her, and now it felt as if he'd been punished by her taking away what little he had. It was as if fate were mocking him for daring to believe he could be treated as a human. It seemed he'd never get certain basic rights that others took for granted. No one ever seemed to notice him, or be thankful when he helped them. He'd single-handedly saved Larin from 14 separate attempts by Porre to annex it, without ever having been asked. The residents certainly knew about it, but only Rose had ever thanked him. He was getting tired of helping people who never appreciated him, but he couldn't abandon them.

It was at this point that he realized that in his pondering, he'd stopped paying attention to his vision, as happened to him from time to time. The bar was abandoned; he'd been left in there alone. He replayed the past few hours in his mind. The rest of the customers had left and the bartender had cleaned up, turned off the lights, and left without even looking at him. The town had abandoned him. Perhaps it was time, after all, that he tried to make his way elsewhere. There were other people in the world who could use his help; maybe they'd be more deserving.

It didn't take him long to decide where to go. The El Nido Archipelago had the highest concentration of demihumans of any area of the world. It was also the home of one of the world's best blacksmiths, and man named Zappa. If anyone was capable of forging the shard of the Rainbow Shell he'd appropriated into a weapon, it was him.

Backer left Larin without a word to anyone; no one would care--at least until Porre decided to attack again.

Termina

Backer exited Zappa's shop with his newly-forged sword in hand. Zappa had been so eager to work with Rainbow Shell that he'd agreed to work for free, with a couple of catches. First, Backer had to help him with the smithing. Given that Backer had learned the trade in his attempts to create an improved sword design, this was less of a problem than Zappa had anticipated. The second catch was that the remainder be used to craft an axe for Zappa himself.

Backer's new sword was of the same design as his old one: It had a diamond-shaped cross-section, typical of longswords. It was as long as a longsword, but tapered steadily to a point from the hilt like a dagger. The hilt featured a pistol grip, which, in allowing his fist to remain perpendicular to the blade, gave him an optimal range of motion and improved precision. The far side of the blade continued past the hilt and curved back in a hook, which made it useful in catching an enemy's blade and then overpowering them by pushing from a better angle. He'd named this type of blade a "Swift" for its speed and grace in combat. The notable difference between his new sword and his old one was that while his old sword was made of steel and seemed to shine with a rainbow of colors (courtesy of the magic Backer had used in crafting it), his new sword was made with crystalized Rainbow Shell covering a Denodorite body, affording the blade both strength and a sharp edge. Its appearance even more prismatic than his old sword; even in darkness, it emitted a rainbow of color.

Backer channeled a short burst of ice energy through his sword, gauging its receptiveness to his energy. It held the energy even better than his old sword. He shot of the energy into the mana layer. /Ice... *************--/

It provided a sharper mental image than before, and seemed to have a wider range. He continued with the other elements. /Fire... ***************--
Lightning... ***********--
Wind... ***************--
Light... ***********--
Shadow... *********--/

The response was just as good. But something in it concerned him. At the end of each response was an odd signature, consistent for each element. Relaxing his mind, and pulsing again returned the same feeling. It was an energy unlike any he'd felt before. It was far away, but powerful. Deciding it warranted investigation, he set out.

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