Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

[Arc 17] Ch.1 Razing Hero

Zen was a warrior Hero unlike any the world had been able to fathom, in that or any time period. He was not only a natural, he was a genius. For every one thing Justice taught him, Zen learned two, invented a third, improvised a fourth, and mastered a fifth.

He learned the magic of the immortals, the mortals, and the spirits. He mastered every weapon and his own body as well. He was the object of both envy and hope.

Before he was sent out to battle, he was given armor enchanted by the best mortal craftsmen, a sword blessed by the combined might of the spirits, and an amulet of protection from his master Justice.

His first battle was on the plains of Alabaster, a field of war littered with so many bones of the fallen that had been trodden on it that changed the landscape. No longer were areas named after their lord's immaculate territories, nations of prosperity, or the vibrant life of the forests and rolling landscapes. No, those names were lost. Now the only things that remained were the battlefields.

The Plains of Alabaster were home to the power immortals known as the Lichkind. Once they were powerful magicians and guardians, stewards over men who used their mighty magics to turn magic beasts into beasts of burden for agriculture. They lived closest with the mortals and when the war started, they felt the most agony from the pains of betrayal. The once humble stalwart men of faith cast aside the gods that cast them as the villains and razed field after field of farmland. Since they could no longer feel any pain those who still had flesh stripped it from their bones and left the rotten meat around to turn the fertile land unusable.

This destruction caused famine, droughts, and plagues to the mortals. So great was the devastation and resentment between them that is said to have stained history itself. It was this betrayal that seems to be felt by all undead towards the living and it is the survival instincts of the living that leads us to destroy them in turn.

It was the betrayal of both the mortals and the gods that turned the Lichkind from pious guardians to a plague on anything living for all generations to come. And so, in a stubborn effort to make up for these mistakes the Gods created what they called light magic to both aid the mortals and repel their enemies.

It gave the mortal races an edge in fighting the new wicked magics of the Lichkind, but it wasn't until Zen took the battlefield that the Lichkind finally knew fear.

The first time that zen stepped on the field the bone dust scattered as if running away from this presence leaving only the freshly revealed soil to cradle his footprints.

Zen was a frightful site not only because he was the hero of the mortals, it also wasn't because he was the only warrior ever blessed and trained by the unparalleled moon god Justice, it was his unnerving smile of anticipation.

Most soldiers rely on their training and do little more than follow basic orders when they first step on the battlefield. They are also easy to frighten and there are even many who can't stomach taking a life.

Zen defied all expectations of him. In his first battle he didn't even draw his sword or use an ounce of attack mage. He overwhelmed the first wave of the unholy skeleton army of the Lichkind with his bare hands and sheer untiring strength.

The second wave was full of burden beasts and monster skeletons, but with just a few waves of his hand he destroyed them with his limitless magic.

Everything was going according to plan and moral for the mortals was high. The third wave was made up of skeleton soldiers armed with basic weapons from the long-used battlefield. This was the first time there were casualties, which was a huge problem on the Alabaster Plains since the Lichkind's magic turned friend to foe.

However, Zen was unfazed.

He cut down every foe even if they used to be an ally. This was because he had long since hardened his resolve. Zen played the part of the hero admirably, but the truth was that he was a Crusader and the lines between friend and foe were fragile at the best of moments.

It wasn't that Zen was a remorseless killer. He was very observant and concluded that even the "heroes party" that were supposedly his "closest friends" were putting on a show to deceive him. This world was not adept with the silver-tongued arts as his world was. Which meant that lying and seeing through lies as a skill set was one that he had spades.

From the awkwardness of their smiles and the way they never looked at him in the eyes for any given length made choosing sides a matter of common sense. Justice was the only one in the world that had never tried to deceive him or gain his favor with meaningless compliments or bribes. He was the only one who gave him the naked truth of the war while everyone else seemed to think their greed and pride were justified.

Truthfully, he was on a battlefield surrounded by enemies on both sides; the only difference was that one side was smiling at him and was only biding their time. So with his wealth of skills and experience he played the naive justice obsessed sap for all to see, and smiled for both of them.

Due to his swift action and overwhelming strength, they were able to defeat the Lich Lords with high morale despite their losses.

The second pillar of the Immortal army was the Oni. They were mortals who attained immortality by consuming a special blend of herbs and monster meat to absorb their power. Due to this their bodies often grew in size and power. One of the ceremonies was after they gradually increased the meat they consumed and when they reached a certain threshold, they would consume the heart of a magic beast they killed with their own hand and would undergo their greatest transformation based on the heart they ate.

It was a great rite of passage and once one consumed their hundredth magic heart they were officially accepted as an immortal. it was a long and arduous process that few went through but those that did were obviously of the immortal faction even though the bulk of their numbers weren't Immortal yet. But this also meant that many weren't more than dumb brutes so Zen used magic to counter their physically adept forms.

On the Battlefield of Red Iron many swords, shields, pikes, knives, breastplates and other weapons gathered dust and rusted in the elements. It was mostly because they were too small for the Oni and the corpses were used by the Lichkind. The Oni used large clubs made from trees or mallets reinforced with iron. The biggest hurdle for fighting the Oni wasn't necessary their size but their endurance and ability to regenerate their wounds.

Fighting them slowed the army considerably but every day it was apparent that Zen and his direct forces were inching further and further through the Red iron battlefield. Regardless of the casualty count, the Hero Zen persisted and steadily they overcame the Oni and exterminated them to the last, just as they had the Lichkind.

The third pillar of the Immortals were the Fae, a group of mortals blessed by an accident of fate or a mysterious blessing. They were fair creatures and the only race of immortals that could pass down a pseudo-immortality through children with other mortals and immortals. The pseudo-immortality could be easily cultivated until they became officially recognized immortals.

This race was troublesome for multiple reasons, they were powerful craftsmen and clever warriors. They may not always match an Oni in pure strength, and few could, but they could run circles around them with tactics. These tactics matched with superior arms, and crafty magic made them an enemy to be weary of.

However, the mortals, drunk on their pride and greed, petitioned for them to be captured. This was because their women and young were desirable for many different and disgusting reasons. Zen put on a confused face and naively resisted it talking about how it wasn't right and how slavery is bad. Meanwhile he gathered the names of the strongest proponents of these petitions and passed them onto Justice for his side of the Crusade.

This brought a near standstill to this battlefront of the war, meanwhile the others seemed to pick up.