Pyrrhic Destiny (Original Fantasy/Scifi)

[Abelithea]

Chapter 1

"The king's looking for his lost children!"

Rion burst into the small hospital with all of the grace and excitement of a newborn puppy. He spotted Azrael in the back sitting with his mom who promptly flicked two of her fingers and closed the privacy curtain around them. Rion made a beeline toward them regardless.

"Oh, come on doctor, Az just has a scratch!"

"Patient privacy is important," Az's mother shot back as she returned to swabbing at Az's bleeding elbow. His green, translucent blood soaked into the cotton swab and his mother applied her own red blood to the wound to close it up. He had as many answers about it today at 16 as he did the first time he got wounded at 5. Yes, his mother had told him that it was evident of his energy processing systems passed down through their matriarchal line blah blah blah, but it hadn't made any sense. He decided to hide it when he learned it wasn't normal even amongst the powerful mages and heroes that the world worshipped.

Outside, Rion wasn't willing to give up. "Oh please? Az and I are best friends, I just want to talk to him."

Az stared at the curtain and thought about when Rion had introduced him a new frog he had caught. "Isn't it so weird?" Rion had said while squishing it and eventually tearing into it with a knife. "I caught it near the broken power plant. Its entire inside is green jelly."

"Forget it," Az said. "What do you want?"

"Get this! The king's got this big shindig at the capital to search for his kids."

"Did they run away?" Az asked.

"I didn't know he had any," his mother muttered while dabbing some fake red blood on him.

"No, the king's never met them. Ow, Val, what the hell?"

Az's twin sister parted the curtain, peeked at what her family was doing, and promptly dropped the curtain back in Rion's face. "This is beyond stupid. No one knows what the king or the kids look like. They didn't even specify how many kids they're looking for or their ages. What are they going to do, DNA test everyone who shows up?"

"If only Anastasia had that," his mother said to no one. Az glanced at her for a second before Rion piped up again.

"No way, it's loads cooler. There's this big stone with a sword in it and they said only true royalty can pull it out."

His mother laughed this time. "So it's Arthur!" she said as she finished up Az's artfully fake wound.

Az crinkled his nose at her in confusion. "Who are these people, mother?"

His mother simply smiled and patted him on the back as she got up. His mother would often say or do weird things, but he had gotten used to it at this point. She was from the capital but hated it there and ended up leaving after Az's father died. This boring small town is where she ended up where she opened up a medical practice and let Az grow up terrorizing the townspeople with his elemental magic.

Az opened the curtain to see Val holding Rion in a headlock. While the guy liked to talk big, acting like he was Az's second in command, his power levels were pathetic. Everyone's was in this town. "So what? You think you're true royalty?"

"I could be!" Rion squeezed out. "Everyone gets a chance. The capital is going to partying for weeks because of it."

Az smiled. He didn't care about the king, barely knew he existed, but a trip to the capital sounded like just the kind of fun he was missing in his life.

Val let go of Rion and went to their mother. "Mom, we have to go see!"

She didn't even look up from where she was organizing bandages. "That place is a wasteland, it's pointless."

According to their mother, the capital of decades past used to be a metropolis where every aspect of life was controlled by a single megacorporation with a magical military force that razed everything in its path. He had never gotten the details about how they were destroyed, but he was told countless stories about how horrible and evil and corrupt the place was when it still existed. A convenient enough excuse to convince Az to be happy his mother moved away, but he couldn't help but prefer the idea of danger on every street to his banal reality.

"That's not what they showed on TV!" Rion said, pulling out his mini screen. Az and his family crowded around to see arial shots of a cityscape with intensely tall buildings and walkways between them that sat higher than the tallest mountain Az knew. As the camera swooped lower, the buildings started blocking out the light until they reached street level where the place was crawling with lights and people having an eternal night life. Az took the screen from Rion's hands and stared mesmerized as the inhabitants set off fireworks and let loose floating lanterns all while dressed in clothes he'd never seen before, dancing to music he couldn't hear.

"Amazing," he breathed out.

His mother watched horrified. "They made the place worse!"

Quick as a flash Az and Val surrounded her. "Mother, please." "Mom c'mon it was so cool." "I want to see how your home has changed." "That isn't the hell you left." "I'd love to visit the place you grew up." "I hate this boring town!"

Az and Val looked at each other. "Stop trying to kiss ass with lies," Val said. "You don't care about mom's home, you just wanna see cool shit."

Their mother waved them both away. "Forget it, we don't even have transportation."

"Ahem." Rion, son of the town's mayor and only resident rich enough to afford a mini screen from the traveling merchant, cleared his throat and put his hand out. Az returned his screen to him. "I can take you," he said with a grin so smug, Az wanted to punch him.

-

"Hey, Mr. Mayor! Thanks for taking us, I can't wait to explore the capital together with Rion!" Az beamed so wide his face was threatening to crack. Rion's father laughed heartedly at his attitude and slapped him on the back so hard he stumbled. Val just rolled her eyes and knocked him out of the way to climb onto the front seat of the auto-carriage.

"Ass kisser," she whispered as slipped past.

"Hey!" Val had no appreciation for the amount of effort he put in to get people to like him. Plus, she was stealing the best seat! "That's my spot!"

"I'm the oldest so I get first pick."

That was a lie. Or at least Az believed it was. Their mother refused to tell them which twin was born first and neither one would let go of their assertion that it was them.

"Like hell-"

"Az, in here!" Rion waved from the interior of the carriage where two cushioned bench seats gave Az the pleasure of sitting opposite and staring at Rion for the rest of the trip. "These are the best seats, trust me. Only the servants sit up in front." Az watched as the driver sat the seat next to Val before he sighed and got into the carriage himself.

"Sucks, can't feel the wind in here," Az complained as he propped his elbow on the windowsill.

Rion squinted. "Isn't that the elbow you injured-"

Before he could finish, the door swung open, knocking Az off balance. "Hate it already?" his mother asked as Az scooted in to accommodate her. He looked away, refusing to admit that despite getting his first chance to travel ever, he couldn't help but wish for something cooler and faster. Rion's father squeezed in too and Az felt even more suffocated, wishing he could trade places with Val and feel the wind on his face. What he wouldn't give to fly.

The auto-carriage started moving and Az watched the desert landscape pass by until Rion pulled out a chess board and wagered against him. He had learned early on that Rion sucked and so he started acting like he was unwilling to play unless Rion offered a bet. It ended up becoming his source of allowance since his mother never had any extra. She was altruistic, treating people for essentially free, while he watched Rion's family make more money every year. Before long, he had even managed to gather enough to buy his mother new supplies. He was the breadwinner of the house, one dishonest chess game at a time.

Rion stared glassy eyed at the chessboard as Az slowly moved his hand underneath it. He pointed his finger at the underside of the spot where one of Rion's rooks was and carefully let his magic drag the piece off the board. Rion almost went to move a piece before glancing at the rook dangling off the edge. "Did this piece fall off?" Panicking, Az quickly got his magic to stuff a few grains of sand into Rion's eyes. "OW!" Rion shouted, covering his eyes. "Dad, is there a sandstorm? Kill it!"

Rion's dad poked his head out of the window and Az took this moment to quickly rearrange the chessboard. He felt a prickle at the back of his neck and looked up to see his mother expressionlessly watching the whole thing. He smiled at her and she said nothing as she flicked her pinky finger and sent a speck of sand into Az's eyes.

"Ack! Fuck, there is a sandstorm, Rion. There is."

-

They decided to take a break early and Az piled out quickly to stretch his legs as Rion sent the driver out on a fruitless search for incoming sandstorms. Az wandered off away from the pack and was doing full body stretches when his mother quietly approached him.

"Why, when you know you can win regardless?"

"Listen, mother, the mayor makes 100 sen an hour but I only get 1 sen per chess game I win. There's no way I can get close to the theoretical perfect speed of one game every 36 seconds without a little bit of a boost. Rion takes so long choosing a move, I've only been able to get a personal best of 10 games per hour once. And Rion only has so many games in him per day before he wipes out. I have to maximize my time."

His mother looked at him carefully for a moment before walking back to the carriage.

"Dear mayor," she said with a smile. Az walked back over to see what she was up to. "Our boys have been having a delightful time playing chess together, don't you agree?"

The mayor quickly pulled back his windswept hair and wiped his brow when she spoke to him. Az grimaced. "Yes, of course, Dr. Nuriel. Rion simply loves it. Can't stop talking about it. I can only wish my child were as talented as yours."

"There's an easy fix to that, don't you think? Why not hire my son as Rion's official chess tutor?"

Az blinked at his mother. The mayor smiled faintly. "That sounds wonderful, what kind of rate were you-"

"15 sen an hour."

"Excuse me?" the mayor gaped.

"I know," Az's mother said. "A shockingly low price for someone as talented as Azrael but considering the deep friendship between our kids I found it only fair." She smiled brightly at Rion's father and his smile cracked but he couldn't help but agree to her terms.

Val propped her arm up on Az's shoulder despite them both being the same height. "I guess that's where you get it from, huh?"

Az swatted her off.

-

The finally arrived at the gates of the capital several hours later. Az's mother hid her face from view as they passed through the checkpoints, but Az needed to be forcefully dragged back inside because he was too busy leaning out of the window to look at everything. The black iron gates looked imposing as they stretched up high enough that Az got a crick in his neck looking at them, but as soon as they opened, he was introduced to a world of color. Each building was almost horrifying ornate and colorful with floors that stretched to the sky and banners hanging along and across the street. Val got caught in one by surprise and spent the rest of the ride crouching. There were so many people on the street that their progress through became achingly slow, but Az was only pleased as it gave him more time to look around. One building was all glass with each floor advertising a different animal to pet and play with. Another one was a smithy, an armory, a weapons shop, and a practice arena all stacked together in the same place. There had to be a mage training area somewhere too in all of this mess. Az pulled his body out of the window to get a better view when the auto-carriage came to a halt. Everyone got out in front of a luxurious and welcoming building with many people ready to take their auto-carriage and carry all of their bags. Az had never seen a fancier house in his life. He really was going too easy siphoning off Rion's money.

It took Az a few moments to find his way through the revolving glass door but eventually he made his way over to Rion relaxing in a chair in the middle of the big room on the first floor filled with more chairs than existed in the entirety of their hometown. "Welcome to the hotel," Rion said.

Hotel?

Az looked at his family. He hadn't thought for a second that they wouldn't have free lodgings at the capital. But this was no issue. He was officially a working man after all. He had made a cool 50 sen during the trip. That kind of money was enough to buy almost anything from the traveling merchant including the highly coveted digitally locked journal and invisible ink pen. He walked confidently toward the front desk and Rion instantly followed after him.

"Checking in, right? I should too."

"Oh, yeah, of course. You can go first and I can help you if you have some trouble," Az said, desperately trying to look magnanimous.

"Oh wait, my dad has our check in info. You can go, Az."

"Oh. Great. Thanks."

The person behind the desk smiled at Az as he approached. "How can I help you?"

Az slapped the 50 sen onto the desk and the receptionist looked at it with absolute surprise. Wonderful, they were amazed already. This was going to be easy. "I'd like three rooms please."

"That's going to be 10000 sen per room per night, sir."

Az slowly slid the 50 sen back into his pocket. "What?"

Rion looked genuinely upset and Az almost felt something until he opened his mouth. "It's okay Az, you can sleep on the floor of my room!"

Like fucking hell! "No, no, that's fine." Az smiled widely at Rion and quickly powerwalked back to his mother and sister. Rion's dad returned from getting the auto-carriage taken care of and gathered his belongings.

"Thank you again doctor for watching the kids. Are you sure you don't need to be accompanied to your lodgings?"

Az's mother took her kids hands, one twin on either side. Az felt so defeated, he was willing to be dragged anywhere. "Don't worry, these two are enough protection for me, mayor. Enjoy the capital!"

Az grumbled as he got dragged out, not even willing to say goodbye. Rion waved after him, telling him to message him later. "With what phone?" Az spat out underneath his breath.

When they got outside, Az let go of his mother's hand and leaned in conspiratorially close. "The mayor's doing some sort of shady business, there's no way he can afford a place like that on his salary."

His sister and mother gave him vastly different looks.

"How do you know what the mayor's salary is?" Val asked.

"The ledgers in towns with broken power plants never add up," his mother failed to explain as usual.

Az ignored them both. "See, this is why you should've let me steal more off the mayor."

"You were stealing from the mayor?" Val exclaimed.

"…No."

"Why not? Now we're stranded on the street."

Their mother took their hands again before they could continue. "Alright, that's enough. We're not stranded on the street. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of us all."

"I don't think a street performance doctor is a thing."

Az's mother bopped him upside the head. "You're ridiculous. Every day you want to hear stories about my time in the capital, but now that we're here, you completely forget." She let go of their hands and they followed her single file behind the opulent hotel exterior to the back alley made purely of black brick. They continued through the maze-like narrow crevices between buildings until Az completely lost his bearings. At some point he started smelling something horrible he couldn't put his finger on. Ah, he really was the worst breadwinner. He couldn't win a chess game in 40 seconds and now they were going to be forced to sleep in damp streets with mice crawling all over his legs and spiders-

"Woah," Val gasped.

They finally exited the backstreets into a giant open courtyard. The crowd was so thick that Az had to put himself between it and his family so they wouldn't get pushed around. In the center there was a raised platform with guards surrounding something he couldn't quite see. Every so often someone would walk up the steps to the platform, stand in the middle, and leave disappointed.

A giant billboard above his head tinged and the number displayed ticked up. Number 4350 it is your turn for the choosing ceremony.

The choosing! This was it! Az would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit curious. He started walking toward the raised platform, but quickly got pushed back.

"Hey, fuck off, it's not your turn!" He got jostled and heckled by people in the crowd until he finally managed to make eye contact with someone who had a piece of paper with a number on it. He hit them with his best winning smile.

"Excuse me, can you tell me what the choosing process is? I'm a bit new here."

The stranger looked at him coldly for a moment before smirking. "You sure are. Go back home, kid," they said before turning away.

He stormed back to his family in a sour mood. "The people are assholes here!"

His sister pulled out a knife and offered it to him. The gesture of support made him feel a bit better.

"Let's go rest at our lodgings," his mother suggested and started walking toward a street filled with fancier buildings than Rion's hotel. As they continued to walk along, the buildings got progressively extravagant, and Az was filled with renewed hope. Of course, he may be new here, but his mother was a native. He just needed to place more faith in-

The last building on the street was a nondescript shell of steel tucked in behind the over-the-top spa building next to it. "We have the top floor," Az's mother said as she started climbing the exterior stairs. Val and Az looked up and stared in silence. "What are you kids waiting for?"

"Mom, why this?"

"The taller the building, the more it's coveted."

Val and Az kept looking. It was certainly taller than the rest of its neighboring skyscrapers, but…

"This time it's a bad thing."

"Don't complain, this place has the best view of the courtyard!" His mother's voice was getting progressively distant as she continued to climb.

"I regret this……" Val moaned as she slumped.

Az blinked at the bags in his hands. Of course! He'd almost forgotten. This was going to be his unforgettable adventure. He was going to see all of the sights the city had to offer and explore every inch. He came here because the buildings were stupid taller than any he'd ever seen. No way was he going to regret a single second of this.

He dropped his bags on Val's head and dodged her incoming fists. This was the perfect time to test some new spells he couldn't put to full use back home. Spinning around, he summoned wind beneath and around him and shot up into the air, landing neatly on the third-floor railing.

"Weak!" Val shouted from below.

"Fuck you, you do better!"

Val focused some fire in her palms before shooting up like a rocket to the fifth floor before sputtering out and falling, only managing to catch herself on the second floor stairs.

"Hah!"

Val dashed up the single story in order to grab onto her brother's face and pull it every which way. Az fought back and eventually they tumbled back down to the ground floor in a pile next to their bags.

-

It took them another 30 minutes to finally reach the top, but Az wasn't unhappy with his progress. By the end of it, he'd been able to use Gale to go up 10 stories at once. Val's record with Blast may have been 15, but it also came with a broken nose. Green blood dripped down her nose and her clothes, alarming their mother when they eventually knocked on the door. She pulled them both in and quickly went about setting Val's nose as Az dragged all their bags inside. There was also someone else in the room quietly watching the doctor at work, not at all surprised about Val's blood color.

He looked over when he noticed Az staring and smiled at him. "Hey kiddo, nice to finally meet you." The man stood up and started walking toward Az. He was taller than anyone Az had seen with a bright blue coat that matched his hair and a similarly colored sword as long as he was. Az took a subconscious step back.

"Who are you?"

"I'm an old friend of your mother's."

"Huh."

His mother finished up with Val and wrapped an arm around Az's shoulders to pull him close. "Kids, this was your father's close friend. Onyx, meet Azrael and Valravn."

Onyx sighed. "I can't believe how much they both look exactly like him. I'm sorry about…what happened."

Val and Az looked at each other, at Val's wiry and thin build with her pin-straight blue-black hair falling down to her knees and at Az's more stocky build and curly mop of white hair just short enough to be manageable. Both?

Their mother sighed and sent them off to unpack in their rooms. Apparently the festivities were going to last for several weeks so it was best they got comfortable. Az was practically a whirlwind as he unpacked and raced to take a shower. He popped back into the living room to hunt some snacks when he realized even more people had arrived.

They turned to face him as soon as he entered. One was a red-haired swordswoman with endless scars and a neutral expression. "Alaire," she introduced herself. The second was a blonde brawler who Az actually recognized.

"Ahh, you're that knight that keeps visiting our town!" Az shouted, pointing straight at him. The brawler pounced on him, messing his hair up.

"Hey kid, you gotta remember the names of your elders!"

"But you never gave it to me!"

"Huh?" The man stopped and started fixing Az's hair. "Sorry about that kiddo, can't believe it slipped my mind."

Az couldn't hold back his grin.

The man instantly figured out Az was being cheeky and set about attacking him again. "Hey, Nuriel! You raised a real smooth liar!"

"He's Iagan," Alaire told Az. "Feel free to forget it again."

Az broke free of Iagan's clutches and readjusted himself before standing in front of Alaire. "Nice to meet you, I'm Azrael."

Alaire nodded. "Yes, a clear child of his. Remarkable really."

Az needed to figure out what the hell they were talking about. "Do you happen to have some pictures of my father. My mother lost them all when she left."

Alaire shivered. "No. They all burned along with him."

….Okay. So dad burned in a fire. That's new information at least.

Val chose this moment to pop her head in and Az took the opportunity to slip away into the kitchen for snacks.

-
After dinner, Az spent the entire evening surrounded by his new aunt and uncles, learning more about the capital and the choosing system they had in place. It had started weeks ago yet still more and more people were pouring in and lining up for a chance. Not a single person had succeeded, but with the super relaxed rules in place, nothing stopped them from trying a second or third time.

"It's an absolute clusterfuck," Iagan stated. He was in the process of getting more than a little drunk and Az could just barely still understand him. "I don't know why everyone's still buzzing about. After a month you'd think everyone would have realized it was a scam already, but they keep returning like desperate moths to the lottery." Well, there went his comprehensibility. "And you," he said, pointing his drink at Az, "why are you gearing up to give it a try. Fancy being the king's boy?"

Az shrugged. "It looks like fun to try. Just another one of the capital's attractions."

"A complete moshpit, it is." Iagan settled back into his chair and quieted down. When Az's mother left to get him a blanket, Az drew closer to Alaire and Onyx.

"Can you guys tell me what happened to the capital when my mom lived here? I need to know."

Alaire and Onyx looked between themselves. Onyx spoke first, slowly and reluctantly. "It was a horrible place, filled with the worst that mankind had to offer all the while the puppet masters drove people to greater and more desperate lengths all in the pursuit of survival before pulling the rug out from under them."

Az sighed and sat back as his mother re-entered. He still wasn't getting anything close to a straight answer from these adults.

Alaire sat pondering for a moment before speaking up. "Nuriel, why don't you tell the boy about your experiences in your home?"

Az's mother finished tucking Iagan in and looked at Alaire in confusion. "I have told him about it."

"Not anything concrete or useful," Az grumbled. "You won't even tell me or Val who was born first."

"What? I told you, you were both born at the same time."

"And we know that's a completely impossible lie!"

Alaire and Onyx looked away awkwardly. Az couldn't believe he expected for half a second that they would be on his side. He got sent to his room, grumbling about useless adults the entire way. Maybe he did want to be the king's kid. He was sure his dad would give him the answers he needed.

He sat wide awake in bed, going over the things he did know. Everyone always said 20 years ago the capital got destroyed. His dad died and his mom left around the same time. He and Val were only 16 though, so it couldn't have been 20 years exactly. Either everyone was rounding up or something else was going on. 10 years ago, envoys suddenly arrived in his hometown telling them to pledge their loyalty to the new king that was taking over. The mayor was quick to comply. Come to think of it, that was around when Rion's family started getting richer. Otherwise though, his home never felt any different, but they must've completely rebuilt the capital. Now they're playing this oddly enticing game of "Are you the secret royal heir?" Everything about the situation felt weird.

He turned over in bed and closed his eyes. One thing was certain though, he was going to wake up bright and early tomorrow and crack their ridiculous game.

-

Az arrived at the courtyard out of breath and heaving. Val caught up to him and collapsed on the floor at his side. The counter was already in triple digits and slowly moving toward quadruple. "Fuck, we're late as shit, aaaahhhh." Az started pulling at his hair as Val turned over to look at him.

"Who was the one who was certain they could get us to street level with one spell and sent us careening over rooftops?"

"You trying to course correct with fire while I was keeping us afloat did not help!"

"Fuck this, just get us tickets already!"

Az went to pull a number from the machine and got rejected when he tried to get one for his sister too. Once per day, he was told. Apparently that was the single limit placed on attempts. He nudged his sister with his foot. "You gotta get it yourself."

Val rolled her way over but ended up returning standing. "What number are you?"

"689."

"I got my number seconds after you and I'm already 854."

Az waved his ticket around. "Ahh, laziness just doesn't pay." Moments later he got bumped into and his ticket snatched. Instead of laughing at him, Val just looked at him with pity. Az couldn't decide which reaction was worse.

Val gave him some noncommittal pats on his shoulder. "Hey, someone stole your ticket, you should just steal someone else's."

"What? No, that feels too mean somehow."

"Well excuse me Mr. Pristine and Perfect Everyone-Loves-Me-Cause-I'm-A-Spotless-Genius, some problems are best solved with violence."

"I'm not taking advice from someone who gets mad at inanimate objects-"

Val tossed her ticket at her brother. "Here, I'm going to get myself a better one." She pulled a random kid out of the crowd and aimed a fireball at his face. "Give me your ticket or else." The poor kid dropped it and ran away crying. Az felt a bit bad for him until his curiosity won over.

"What number did you get?"

"2234."

Az crumpled on the floor laughing.

-

Number 854 it is your turn for the choosing ceremony.

Az let out a slow breath. It was finally his moment. He wiped his sweaty palms on his sisters shirt and got kicked toward the platform. He caught himself before he could fall and presented his ticket at the gate. 10 steps until the top and he took each one carefully. He almost tripped again at the top, but quickly summoned a wind that led him gracefully to the center of the platform. The guards parted and Az was ready to see what kind of sword was causing everyone so much trouble.

There wasn't one.

Az blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. All he could see was a basic stone slab with the indent of a sword in it. He approached cautiously but hit himself for being so silly. The sword was invisible. He grabbed at where he imagined the sword would be and missed completely, falling forward on top of the stone. He stared down the sword shaped hole in the stone and waved his arms wildly all around it. Eventually he started cramming his hand in there to see if he could feel anything. He sat back for a moment to think. What the hell was the trick here? There was no sword to pull at all. Next time should he sneak a sword in to "pull"? Maybe he could nab of the guards' swords and pretend to pull that out. He reached toward the guard circle but stopped. No, too risky. Maybe he needed to find the perfect sword that would already fit in the stone's indent or better yet make one and "pull" that out. He lay on top of the stone, going over his options. The attempts were given no time limits so he could even take a nap here if he wanted to. He stared at the stone, tapping it. "What are your secrets?"

Fuck it, he'll make one that fits perfectly and pretend with it. But what kind of sword would he want? He had never thought about it, his family had solely dabbled in magic casting. He tried to picture the ideal sword in his mind and it came to him surprisingly easily. Pure black blade and handle with gold thread crisscrossing across the grip. Wait, this sword felt too small for the stone's indent. He opened his eyes to check when he saw his perfect sword sitting right there in the stone, asking him to pull it out. Az stared at it, wide-eyed, as he carefully reached toward it, making sure it wasn't some sort of illusion. He reached around it, but moment he made contact with it, it fizzled out of existence.