Thanks to all who gave me advice regarding this story. Your advice won't
show up in this chapter, however, because those issues (magic, geography,
pregnancy) don't play a role until later.
Historical note: This story takes place between SLAYERS & SLAYERS NEXT.
This is one of those stories where the first chapter gives you only the
barest clue as to what the story will be like. I thought about how this is
a problem in fanfic, but not so much in books. Why not? Then it hit me:
the cover blurb! That's how you know what type of story you're reading
before you open the book. So I've decided to write a blurb for this story:
------------
LOST ISLAND IN THE EYE OF THE STORM!
When Lina is approached with an offer to join a ancient secret society of
magic, she and Gourry travel to an island isolated from the world by a
centuries-old hurricane. There they become entangled in a war between two
factions for control of the tiny island. As the intrigue and danger mount,
Lina wonders what all of it has to do with the "Homeless God", a mysterious
being who confronted her at a sorcery tournament, who appears to be
stalking her...
And whose child Lina fears she is carrying.
------------
There! Sound interesting? Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter
one:
SLAYERS: "The Homeless God"
by Ryan Mathews
CHAPTER ONE: The Day Before the Tournament
"Look, Gourry!" said Lina. "You can just make out Jalora!" The
two
of them sat atop a large hill overlooking the tiny hamlet. Lina could
barely see the town, not so much because of the distance as much as because
there was very little to see.
"Jalora..." said Gourry. "Sorry, what was that again?"
"Our destination, idiot," Lina replied, with less impatience than
she might have expressed in the past. She'd gotten used to Gourry's
legendary poor memory for details long ago.
"Right, right! Remind me again why we're going there."
"I can't remind you because I've never told you."
"Oh!" said Gourry with some relief. "I figured you had and I'd
forgotten about it. So... Why are we going there?"
Lina sighed. "We've been through this before. I don't want to
tell
you, because it might be nothing."
Gourry gave Lina a look of concern.
Lina waved him off, embarrassed. "No no no! It's not *that* kind
of 'nothing'! I'm not in any danger!"
"Usually when you don't tell me something, it's either because you
don't want to worry me, or because you know I won't understand it."
"Well, this time it's for a completely new reason."
"Oh..." Gourry pondered for a moment. "And that reason would be?"
Lina clenched her fists in frustration. "Just because, okay?!
Look, let's just go down there and get some lunch!"
"Now *that*," said Gourry, getting to his feet, "sounds like a
plan." He offered his hand to Lina, smiling.
Once in town, Lina had Gourry wait by a fountain of unimpressive
size, Jalora's only significant landmark, while she took care of some
business. Her instincts led her to a storefront, a two-story brick
building advertising the sale of magical knick-knacks. She stepped inside
and sought out the proprietor, a man in his mid-sixties with thick, though
gray, hair.
<That's him,> thought Lina. <Well, here goes nothing.> She
screwed up her courage and stepped forward. "Excuse me. Sir?"
"Yes?"
"I'd... I'd like to register for the sorcery tournament."
"Ah! Certainly," said the gentleman. He pushed forward a large
book. "If you'll just sign here, please?"
Lina's nervous expression turned to one of unbridled delight. She
quickly scribbled her name.
"'Lina... Inverse'?" The man stared. "Not *the* Lina Inverse?"
"The one and only!" said Lina, striking a pose.
"My, my," said the man, thoughtfully. "This is going to be a
tournament to remember."
Reunited with Gourry, the once-secretive Lina now eagerly talked
his ears off, explaining everything.
"So it's a tournament? A sorcery tournament?"
"That's what I've been saying!" said Lina.
Gourry was confused. Not that that was unusual, but this time he
felt he had a good reason to be. "So why did you have to keep it secret?
What's the big deal about a tournament?"
"Well, you see," said Lina, "these tournaments are never announced.
Sensing that a tournament is about to be held, and where, is the only
requirement for entry. If you're a good enough magician, you'll just
*know*. But, on the other hand, if you *think* a tournament's on and it
isn't, or you get the location wrong, it's really embarrassing. If it got
out that I'd tried to register for a tournament that wasn't there, I'd
never
have lived it down!"
Gourry thought it over. "But Lina, if you'd told me, I would have
just forgotten about it anyway."
Lina blinked. "Wow. You're right. I hadn't thought of that.
Ah, forget it," she said, leading Gourry across the town square. "The
sorcerors are all gathering in this inn called The Wild Bull. They're
supposed to have awesome ribs!"
The ribs were indeed awesome, as was the chicken, the sausage, the
soup, the noodles, and most of the rest of the tavern's menu. A mountain
of
dirty dishes piled in front of them stood as a monument to the culinary
excellence of the tavern as well as to Lina's and Gourry's superhuman
appetites.
The food momentarily depleted, Lina took a look around while a
waitress cleared plates to make room for the next dish. "Look at them all,
Gourry. Isn't it incredible?"
"The costumes, you mean?" asked Gourry, drinking from a bowl of
soup.
"No, all the sorcerors! Well, I guess the costumes, too." Lina
rested her chin on her hand and took it all in. "You don't know how long
I've wanted to enter one of these tournaments. I've always been too far
away or too busy."
"I never figured you to be the type to be interested in something
like this. Tournaments are for determining champions, right?"
"So?"
"So don't you already know you're the best?"
Lina thought about how to respond. "Well... Haven't you ever
wanted to test yourself against your peers? You know, fight a duel with
the greatest swordsmen you ever met?"
"I did," Gourry replied. "The guy with the hat."
"Okay, Zangulus. Right. That's one guy. Imagine testing yourself
against a dozen men of his caliber. Wouldn't you like to do that?"
"Hmm..." thought Gourry. "No. After the tenth or so, I'd be a
little tired. I might leave myself open."
Lina began to feel the frustration welling up inside her, as was
often the case when she attempted to engage Gourry in intelligent
conversation. "This is different! This is a tournament, with rules! It's
an opportunity to see how good I really am, and to learn!"
"The first-place prize is worth a lot, isn't it?"
Lina grinned. "Gourry, you have no idea." The waitress returned,
setting a fresh plate of ribs and another jug of wine between the two of
them. Lina's eyes went wide with joy, then she tore into the food in a
display of carnivorous rapture.
"Well! If it isn't Lina Inverse," a voice mocked from behind her.
"Still haven't learned any table manners, I see." Lina looked up to see a
tall blonde woman, her long wavy hair pulled into a ponytail that reached
halfway down her back. She wore a two-piece suit of "armor" that left very
little to the imagination.
"Prileina. What a wonderful surprise," said Lina sarcastically,
her
voice heavy with disgust.
"Likewise," replied Prileina. "Words cannot describe my joy upon
learning you had entered the tournament. I've never forgotten Caldonis,
you
know."
"Really?" said Lina, her mouth full of rib meat. "I had, until
now."
Prileina laughed. "Ah! How fate has smiled upon me. To finally
be
given the chance to humiliate the 'great' Lina Inverse in public."
Lina laughed and nearly choked on her food. "What are you trying
to
do, kill me? I'd never lose to *you*!"
"How can you be so sure, overconfident one?"
"Because," Lina said, finally turning to look Prileina in the eye,
"I've never once lost to a sorceress who walks around in her underwear."
Prileina shrugged off the insult. "Hmph. 'If you've got it,
flaunt
it', that's what I say. And if you don't got it?" She continued with a
grin, "Well, I guess you can wear a baggy outfit to cover up your complete
lack of breasts. Seems to work for you!"
Lina glared at Prileina, fuming. Around the tavern, all
conversation died as the two women became the center of attention. Only
Gourry seemed unconcerned, continuing to work on a piece of chicken. Lina
turned to face him, an evil gleam in her eye.
"You see, Gourry, Prileina here is what is known as a 'slut
sorcereress'. She has no real power or talent, so she compensates by
walking around half-naked in the hope of distracting her opponent. Sadly,
though, that tactic only works on straight men, gay women, or in Prileina's
case, people with incredibly bad taste."
Prileina turned beet-red. "Why, you... You little *bitch*!"
Behind her someone laughed. Prileina turned on the man, enraged. "What
are
*you* laughing at?"
The man, a mercenary by appearance, wearing armor and carrying a
sword, wasn't cowed in the slightest. "What do think I'm laughing at?
This
is the best show I've seen all week!"
"You're no sorceror!"
"Didn't see no 'Sorceror's Only' sign outside."
The other man seated at the table, a perfectly ordinary,
unremarkable individual, stared at Prileina. She turned on him as well.
"And what are *you* looking at?"
"You," said the man, matter-of-factly.
Her tantrum gaining strength, a glowing sphere formed in the
sorceress' right hand. She raised her arm. "You loathesome... I ought
to--!"
Suddenly Prileina went pale.
The tavern became eerily quiet. Prileina was frozen in place, her
right arm still raised. Her body began to quiver and shake. The energy
sphere flickered and vanished. A small trickle of urine escaped from her
uniform and began to snake its way down her leg.
"Hey lady, are you alright?" asked the mercenary.
Prileina turned and ran out of the tavern, tripping over tables and
chairs on the way.
"Shit, did you see that?" the mercenary asked his companion. "She
pissed herself! What are you, some kind of badass?" The man just
shrugged.
As Gourry watched, people began to stand and leave the tavern, one
by one. All leaving were those who wore costumes of some sort, the
sorcerors. "Lina, what's going on? Lina?"
Lina was trembling gently, her gazed fixed on the ordinary man in
the plain, boring clothes as he nursed his drink. "We have to go, Gourry."
"But I'm not finished eating."
"Now."
"Okay," said Gourry, disappointed. "I'll ask for a doggy bag.
Waiter!"
"There's no time. We have to get as far away from here as
possible."
"But what about the tournament?"
"The tournament's off."
Lina exited the tavern and walked briskly away across the square,
back the way they had came.
Gourry scurried to keep up. "Lina! Lina wait!" Finally reaching
her side, he asked, "Will you explain to me what's going on?!"
"No time! We need to be out of here." Lina continued walking as
fast as she could without breaking into a run.
"Lina!" Gourry put a hand on Lina's shoulder, trying to slow her
down.
"LET GO OF ME!"
Gourry stared at Lina, stunned. The sorceress was terrified.
Gourry had seen Lina in many moods, laughing, angry, determined, concerned,
hungry. But never had he seen her in a state of sheer hysterical terror.
"Lina," he said softly, "please tell me what's wrong."
"I... I can't."
"Is it that guy in the bar? Do you know that man?"
Lina started shaking. "He's not a man. That was the Homeless
God."
She hugged herself as the shaking became more violent.
"You should sit down."
Lina shook her head. "No. We need to get away."
"Just for a moment?"
Still shaking, Lina finally relented. "Okay. You're right. For a
moment. Let me get my wits back."
The two of them sat down under a tree. Lina took several deep
breaths, and soon was almost her usual self. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to
worry you like that."
"Forget it," said Gourry. "It wasn't just you, was it? Every
sorceror in the tavern left, and that one woman... had an accident. Who
did
you say that guy was?"
"The Homeless God."
"Never heard of him."
"That's not surprising," said Lina. "Knowledge of him is not
widespread. Except among sorcerors. We're *all* familiar with him."
"So... He's like, a super-nasty sorceror?"
"No, I told you, he's a god! Possibly the most powerful god
currently in existence. Only he has no domain, no purpose, no set of rules
that he follows. He has no name, and he's only been around for maybe two
hundred years. That's why we call him 'homeless'."
"That ordinary looking guy was a god?" asked Gourry, incredulous.
"That's what I said."
Gourry thought it over. "Nope. I just can't see it."
"I didn't see it either, until he dropped his guard. Then it was
like a bomb went off in the tavern." Lina took another deep breath and
closed her eyes, feeling her pulse come under control. She felt uneasy
about running away, but the fact was, running away lessened the threat.
Jalora was a quiet town, and with no sorcerors around to provoke the god,
there was every chance he'd just leave.
"Oh. There he is."
"What?" Lina's eyes snapped open. The perfectly normal individual
from the tavern was walking by, less than a hundred feet away.
Gourry stood up and waved his arms. "Hey! Excuse me! Over here!"
Lina jumped to her feet and tried to pull Gourry's arms down. "Are
you insane?! What are you doing?!"
"I want to meet this guy."
"No you don't!" said Lina. "Trust me, you don't!" But it was too
late. The man was headed their way. Before Lina could decide whether or
not to run, Gourry was greeting him.
Gourry offered his hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Gourry
Gabriev." The man shook hands but said nothing. Gourry continued, "and
this is--"
The man's eyes registered recognition. "Ah! Lina," said the man.
"I've been looking for you."
"Oh! R-really?" Lina said. She leaned against the tree to keep
from collapsing, trying to look nonchalant when it was all she could do not
to wet herself like Prileina.
"Yes! I want to apologize. I am *so* sorry about what happened in
the tavern. I just came here to watch the tournament, and now it looks
like
I've ruined it. Would you do me a favor?"
"Uh, s-sure! Anything!" Lina tried to smile while she gripped the
tree harder.
"Find the tournament manager. It's not too late. Most of the
participants aren't out of town yet. Tell him that the tournament will no
longer be disrupted by my presence. I'd do it myself, but I get the
feeling
he wouldn't be inclined to listen."
"Sure! We can do that! No problem!" said Lina. <He's leaving!!>
Gourry spoke up. "You wouldn't believe the things Lina said about
you!"
Lina went pale.
The man smiled. "Don't tell me. I'm supposed to be a god, right?"
Lina laughed nervously.
"It's okay. I get that a lot. Well, if you'll excuse me, I guess
I'd better go do some 'god stuff' or something. Nice meeting you, Mr.
Gabriev." He shook hands with Gourry again. "And Lina? It was nice
seeing
you again. It's been a long time."
Gourry watched him walk off. "He certainly seemed like a friendly
guy. Didn't get his name, though. So, should we find the manager? Lina?"
Lina was out cold.
END CHAPTER ONE
Next: The Tournament
------RM