Ouroboros

Chapter 7: Hero or Villian

Elrixr adjusted his frames. "Ah you must be the Calamity Marked." He strutted over to Solaris and extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you umm..."

"Solaris."

"Solaris. You can call me Yohan." He turned and faced Kong Altea and bowed. "Your majesty."

"Yohan," King Altea nodded.

"Is Mr. Solaris done here?"

"Just about, but before you take him, let me make another announcement." King Altea rose, "Solaris, from this day forth I hear by declare you a Vigil of Altea."

The hall made an immediate gasp and proceeded to take a knee in honor of Solaris' new title.

Solaris raised his brow and looked at Yohan, who was also in awe. Yohan noticed Solaris and chuckled. "To be called of Vigil is to be noticed as someone of great importance to that kingdom. In essence, you've become an honorary noble."

Solaris remained silent and looked back at the king.

"That is all. This court is now dismissed." King Altea ordered and sat back down. He smiled at Solaris. "Yohan you can take him now."

"Yes you majesty." Yohan bowed. He then motioned for Solaris to follow him. "This way."

****

Solaris was led to the back halls of the palace. The place smelt of herbs, dust, and had a certain humidity in it due to all the experiments. "You wanted to know how we came to conclusion of you being our deterrent to the Fell Dragon."

"Yeah."

"The legend merely mentions you and nothing more. It doesn't explain what you do and how you would bring about the destruction just that you're the signal of the beginning of the end."

"Okay?"

"So my colleagues and I decided to research further. What was your place in this world? We came to a conclusion thanks to your efforts in the South District. The power you possess. It's almost like it's a response to the future that lays ahead. In all forms of science, every action must have an equal reaction." Yohan stopped in his tracks. "This may sound stupid but what if, you were brought here to combat the Fell Dragon."

Yohan stood in front of Solaris and used his hands as scales.

"On one hand, a nigh omnipotent being of legend, destined to devour our world and bring about destruction or 'Ragnarok.' On the other hand is you. A being not from our world with different weapons and massive power, enough to wipe the floor with behemoths. What would happen if," he smashed his hands together, "the two of you were to clash? That was the basis of our hypothesis."

"Did you not consider that I can be accomplice with the Fell Dragon?"

"We did. And if that were true, you wouldn't have risked death to protect Altea. Also if you were using that to gain out trust, then the original hypothesis of you being the bringer of the end does not change and the world still ends."

"So it's a gamble."

"Yes, we, men of science are gambling or rather playing the probabilities." Yohan continued down the hall, "so Solaris, what are you? Our hero or our villain?"

"Guess we'll find out."

"Yes we shall."

The pair entered a laboratory that was beneath the palace. "Here we are. The Altea Hall of Elements or rather our lab where things go boom."

"Neat, I guess. Why am I here?"

"Well the normal blacksmith couldn't repair nor maintain your weapons for you so it was up to us. You do want them back right?"

"Obviously."

"Splendid. Right this way."

Yohan led Solaris to a dwarven smithing hole built right into the Hall of Elements. "This here is the station for or resident dwarven blacksmith, Regal." He knocked on the wooden table facing the auditorium of the lab. "Regal. Yoohoo." He called out.

"Ah blazes what da hail(hell) do you want Yohan," Regal emerged from the dark cavern, "ya daft cu-oh. It's you innit?"

Regal was a dwarf. Like all dwarves, he was short and stocky, extremely dense. His auburn facial hair was braided and the hair on his head flows like a mane. His face was darkened from the charcoal of his forge, but his eye circles were left untainted thanks to his googles.

"Yur dat guy wich dat weird ol' fancy doohickey."

Solaris raised his brow.

"You'no dat weird lil' crossbow thing. Small and fits in yur hand."

"My revolver. Yeah. Where is it?"

"In me forge lad." Regal pointed with his thumb towards the cavern.

Solaris frowned.

"Oi, don't get yur pants tied up. It's fine. Me forge is magical forge. Yur," Regal began making air quotes, " 'revulvor' is in good hands. I dunno a damn thing about it, but me forge does. It'll infuse its flames and cure that thing. Make it stronga."

Solaris rolled his eyes. "Is it almost done?"

"I hope so. It's been in da damn thing for four blasted days. Neva seen noting like it." Regal went back into his cave to grab an item. "Anyways while yur here lad lemme give you something."

Solaris was a little annoyed. This damn dwarf's accent was pissing him off. It gave off that "jolly ole fellow" feel.

Regal came back and placed a sword handle on the table. The handle was made of oak wood that was stained in a darker oil. It had a steel frame around it to strengthen it. Its guard was eight steel teeth that bit inwards into the handle. On the oak itself was some engraving, no a magic engraving, like runes.

"What's this?"

"Your blade was obliterated in the battle." Yohan answered, "so I asked Regal here to make a new one." He picked up the handle and gave it Solaris. "Frea told me that you dual-wielded your sword with your revolver. She also mentioned how it was a full length blade. However, I took it upon myself to improve that. In order to improve mobility and reduce weight, I told Regal here to make it a short sword. No longer than 20 inches."

Yohan flicked his wrist while holding the handle and a blade shot out and the teeth became a crossguard. "A hidden saber. Perfect for assassinations and dual-wielding while being light weight. A Yohan original design." He then pulled on the steel frame with his fingers, opening the handle. "This motion here, unlocks the mechanism holding the blade in place. As such," Yohan rotated the blade and it folded back into the handle, "a simple motion like this sheathes the sword." He handed the handle to Solaris. "I also told that your original sword had a spell on it that allowed you to warp to it, using it as a maneuvering device. These runes serve the same purpose."

Solaris accepted the sword.

"Just imbue your blood and mana into the runes, and you shall be able to teleport to them just like your old one."

Solaris nodded.

"Regal where's his other blade? The ivory white one."

"In Hitch's section. I couldn't touch it. Damn thing zapped da shit outta me."

"I see. Well how long before his revolver is finished?"

"I dunno prolly...another 30 minutes. Why?"

"I see we have some free time." Yohan made a devious smile. "Solaris, you've been asleep for quite some time. How about a little exercise to get the blood flowing?"

"Like what," Solaris asked.

"Oh nothing big. Just a little sparring match. A little bout that's all."

Solaris groaned, but like Yohan said there was time until his revolver was done. So, he gave in. "With who?"

"Why a Captain of the Altea Army of course. I think you know her."

Solaris rolled his eyes and facepalmed. "Really?"

"Really." Yohan giggled.