Act 1: Enter Zero

WARNING: mature language is used (such as "s**t", a*s, and "butt-monkey") and there's some violence

"Everyone! Evacuate your classes right now!" The groundskeepers' voices echoes throughout the hallways as the students flood through. "And for the gods sake", one of them yells, "someone find Zero!" 

High above the academy-castle, Zero free falls towards the attacking dragon. The wind pushes his hair on edge as he reaches for the stolen headmaster's sword, rotating above him. Clutching the handle, he zips through the clouds. Heat is rising. The dragon is growing near. Out of nowhere, a black-scaled skycrawler flies under Zero and he lands on it's back. For a second, the sky-beast flies in front of the sun, making its scales shine a purplish color. "No offense, buddy", Zero smirks, "but I'm trying to kill the big guy!"  With a swing of the headmaster's sword, Zero decapitates the skycrawler.

The limp body falls, swiftly to Hemlock's Knight Academy. Clutching to the the skycrawler's body, Zero closes his eyes, praying for a safe "landing". Fate is on his side as the body lands on the Great Kristaynian Ridgeback dragon. A dragon over ten times the size of a mere skycrawler. Its red and orange scales stand out in the gray skies. The howl of another skycrawler gets Zero into his "battle-mode". As the skycrawler slithers on its wings through drab, gray clouds, lightning strikes, revealing the shadows of more skycrawlers. "You gotta be kidding me!" Zero exclaims. The hungry skycrawler spots its next meal on the back of the Ridgeback. The beast darts forward and  swiftly, Zero lifts the sword above his head. The skycrawler impales itself, taking Zero with it. He feels the hilt of the sword slip. The hilt breaks off, leaving the blade inside of the skycrawler. He falls onto the tail of the dragon. The headmaster has some explaining to do, Zero screams in his head, Who the hell has a fake freakin' sword in a knight academy?!

He continues to climb up the dragons back. The monster continuously breathes fire on the school. As Zero nears nears the beast's head, he draws the sword on the left of his waist in his right hand. Remembering that sixty percent of Ridgebacks are born with a soft spot on the back of their head. If this one doesn't..well the whole school goes to Hell...almost literally. He stabs the dragon in the center of the back of the head. The blade slips right in like a knife in butter. The beast lets out a groan and starts to glide ungracefully to the ground. Zero keeps his sword in the dragons head and twists it to make sure its stuck right in there. The dying dragon increases speed as gravity pulls it to the ground. Its wing knocks over one of the academy's towers. "Oh, s**t!" Zero shrieks. The limp dragon crashes down at the entrance to the school, less than a meter away from the drawbridge. Silence embraces the crowd as they do not know if their savior lives or not. But then...a hand shoots out from behind the defeated tyrannical creature. Zero pulls himself up. 

In front, a chubby student starts to chant, "Zero...Zero...Zero! Zero! Zero!" Soon, the whole school joins in. Even Zero's rivals joined in. For once, Zero is their hero.

But then...

"You stole my best sword?!" Headmaster Hemlock is really pissed about this little incident. Ivan Hemlock always reminded Zero of a goat in the facial area. Not in an insulting way...he just does. He's bald and has a very pointy chin with a gray goatee on the tip. All he needs is a pair of horns and he'd be set. Zero shakes the thoughts out of his head as he almost giggles. "Objection, that was one fake-a*s sword." Zero wanders about the headmaster's office, looking at the trophies. Different swords, with weird languages, shields with unfamiliar crests, and different beast heads mounted up. "Zero, this isn't court", Hemlock continues, "you can't just say obj-...ugh.. I've had this conversation too many times."

"Look, Ivan-..."

Hemlock raises his voice, "No don't 'Ivan' me, Zero! Don't 'Ivan' me! That's the problem! You've been here so many times that we actually talk casually!" 

"I don't see the problem."

"Okay, well let's relay the past misadventures."

"Oh, classic Ivan Hemlock...about to lose a disagreement so he brings up the past! My gods, you argue like a menstruating girl..."

"Do you recall how you attracted the attention of the cyclops?!" 

"Killed it."

"The forest giant?"

"Kurt killed it."

"The goblins?"

"You handled that one...quite well."

"And the worst offender..."

"Oh, here we go..." Zero rolls his eyes.

"You summoned a storm of phoenixes!" Hemlock feels around where his hair used to be and his bottom lip quivers, as if he's a kid who's sweets have been stolen. 

"That was accidental!" Zero blurts out.

"Did you accidentally steal in which you summoned the storm?!" Hemlock opens his drawer and pulls out Summoning Spells for Expert Castors: Volume V. "I'm still bewildered on how you actually were able to cast anything!" Hemlock exclaims.

"Magic." Zero replies smirking.

"Don't be a smart-a*s! How?!" 

"Beginner's luck...?"

"It says expert Castors! There is no beginners luck!" 

"I think you're getting off subject about the whole hair thing." Zero leans against the wall. Hemlock sighs and there's a gap of silence. "How did you do it?"

"Kill the dragon?"

"No. How'd you get in the sky?" 

"Magic."

"Come on, Zero. There's loads of property damage, a dead dragon outside, and a bunch of students with banners saying, "Zero is a Hero!". Please...for once...toss me a bone."

Banners, huh? Zero thinks. He smiles at the thought of his fellow students, even the upper classmen, cheering for him. "Zero!" Hemlock snaps him out of his thoughts. "Remember when that fireball hit the fireworks for the festival?" Zero asks.

"Yeah."

"I rode the explosion."

Zero has never seen Hemlock's face turn purple before. "That...is the worst explanation...I've ever heard...in my life. How did you do it?!"

"Sorry, Ivan, I don't give away secrets."

Hemlock takes two tablets and washes them down with a glass of water. He looks at Zero sympathetically, "Look...I've done something I really didn't want to do..."

"Oh, what? Three months of kitchen duty instead of two?"

A gap of silence follows. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. "As of now you're expelled from Hemlock's Knight Academy. Please turn in your sword and your shield."

"What?!"

"There's a silver lining, though."

"How can there possibly be a silver lining?!"

"You're being transferred. To a nice Castor school in Kristaynia."

Zero stares at Hemlock in disbelief. "Casting?! In Kristaynia?! Hemlock, those people are flippin' snobs! They're so snotty with their magical-casting bullshit! Oh, my gods, I can't believe you put me with those prep-holes! How did you even transfer me?! They hate knights!"

"One: you aren't a knight. You were training to be one. Two: I wrote them a letter about your casting abilities and they want you there right now. Do you know how much they payed for you to go?"

Classic Ivan Hemlock. All about the money. All about the image. When you hear stories about him, it's always about how amazing he was. Was. The "knight" in Ivan Hemlock is dead. The replacement is a money-hungry fiend. A goat-faced has-been who will never add up to the greatness of his past. That's why Zero enrolled to this school. To make a difference amongst people who referred to themselves as "knights" but were all talk. All these thoughts make him ball up his fists. Zero runs up to Hemlock's desk and slams his fist on it. "Listen, you goat-faced sellout! You can't-!"

"You'll be leaving tonight. After supper, A carriage will take you to Kristaynia. A man named Ellis Artix will greet and take you to your school."

"One day...I hope you're still alive...so you can see that I became a legend!"

Hemlock gives Zero a cold stare. Did Zero strike a chord in him? Is he reflecting on himself? He says these words so coldly, it sends a chill up Zero's spine, "You think legends last forever...?"

That Night...

Zero draws near the horse and carriage. Angrily, he looks back at the school and balls his fist. "Zero! Zerooo!" One of his rivals runs up to him. Raxton Hodges. He's a pale boy, dotted with freckles and flaming red hair. "Hey", Raxton catches his breath, "we all chipped in", he reaches into his pouch, "and stole this from this from Hemlock." It's a medallion. A silver medallion with the side of a golden Ridgeback's face in the center. The Ridgeback's eye is a ruby. "And this!" Out of Raxton's pouch comes a paper. "Plans...for one of the greatest swords ever forged. It's a falchion. In the old world, the greatest warriors used these! This type, I mean...people still use fa-..."

"Rax! I get it. Tell everyone I said thanks. And thank you, bro." And at that, Zero climbs in the carriage. Just barely in hearing range he could hear Raxton saying, "A legend called me bro!" And past hearing range, he could hear Ivan Hemlock screaming, "MY MEDALLION! ZEROOOOOOOOO!"

"Yeah, we should probably get going." Zero tells the driver. 

"Humph!" The driver grunts as if Zero offended him and picks up the horses' paces.

"Oh, so you're one of those kinds of drivers..." Zero rolls his eyes. "Kristaynian, I presume?"

"Damn right. Lets cut the chit chat for now, okay?"

One Awkwardly Silent Carriage Ride to Kristaynia Later!

Market Place:

"Where's my fare?! I'm getting really pissed here, boy!" The angry driver lifts his right hand up, revealing a Castor ring, "I may not have finished casting school, but I can still  blast you into next week!" The ring begins to glow purple! "There will be no blasting of any kind!" A voice calls from down the road. A boy, roughly the same age as Zero makes his way down the road. Bystanders watch as he steps fearlessly towards the angered coach-driver. He has darkened, tan skin, a buzz-cut, dark brown eyes, and is slightly taller than Zero. He wears plated shoes, a pair of "casual" black pants, a red shirt, and a sleeveless hoodie. The boy tosses the driver a sack of coins and yells, "Now, how about you get on your way before you get hurt, okay?" The look in his eyes indicates that he's ready for a good old fashioned a*s-beating and he pops his knuckles. "What's it gonna be, my friend?" The two have a bit of a stand off. The boy looks like he's itching for a challenge as his fingers twitch at his side. Zero can't find anything to explain him except for: The caricature of badassery! 

The man drives his coach down the road in a huff, as Captain Badass shakes hands with Zero. The bystanders go back to their daily routine. "Ellis Artix?" Zero asks.

"Eh, no. The name's Trent. Trent Mustang."

"I think my head just exploded from how badass you are."

He chuckles and is almost bashful of the compliment, "I'm a um...special friend of Ellis...if that's what you'd call me."

Ah, Zero thinks, he's gay. Well that's okay, Zero. Just...whatever you do...don't come off as homophobic

"Gay whether today, huh?" Zero blurts the words out and instantly wants to bury himself in the ground and never talk to Trent again.

"Um...sure...if that's what you wanna call it."

The whether is gorgeous, though. The sky is completely blue without a cloud in sight and the sun smiles down on the wonderful land. To the left of Zero and Trent is a lovely, crystal clear lake. To the right are trees leading into a large forest. In the distance is the Kristaynia Castor school, Auranius Lumen: Academy of Castors. Excuse me, dear audience. I haven't explained "Castors" or "casting". Castors are similar to what you'd call "wizards" or "witches". Castors are beings born with magic in their blood and they are sent to these type of school so that they can be on the front lines of the constant struggle between good and evil. 

Now that I have broken the fourth wall, we shall continue. Trent leads Zero closer to the school. " I don't see why I couldn't get dropped off at the school." Zero says.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"There's fun in this?"

"Well you made a new friend."

"Really? Who?

"Not a smart one, are you?"

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the academy...

The blue haired, blissfully ignorant, Skye Silverview waves her want around. Amazed b the light at the very end of it. She starts to chase the wand around a her friends, Gloria Gladison and Avarora (who goes by Ava) Daine continue to practice casting for their big day. Gloria is light-skinned with orangey-brown hair and amber eyes. Ava is semi-lighter than her with jet black hair and sea-green eyes. Gloria demands that she tries harder with her magic, "Come on, Ava! Today's our big day! What do you want our house animal to be?! A fish! Or a dragon?!"

"A fish would seem far less dangerous..." Ava is very soft spoken. She usually never argues and mostly keeps to herself. Mostly during lunch, she sneaks off campus to hang around the lake. Allow me to elaborate on the "house animal" thing. Second year students at Auranius Lumen form their own house of up to five students. Their house animal is determined by a random portal spell and one student from the house casts a capturing spell and whatever animal comes through, be it a squid or a tiger, becomes the house animal and a crest is made. 

"Perhaps you should try using actual magic!" That's Jax Praxis. The "blonde-b*****d" as Gloria would say. He's what people would call a snot-hole. A total snotty, snobbish, entitlement sensing, egotistical, dick who is somehow still popular with the ladies. "What do you want, Jax?" Gloria points her wand in his direction. Backing her up, is Ava, with her white-wood staff and Skye with her wand.

"Whoa, whoa! Don't shoot the messenger! This guy wanted me to tell you that you suck."

Gloria lowers her wand. "Is...is that supposed to phase me? Or is it like...meant for us as a house?"

Jax is struck by that comment, "I...I don't know. I kinda just thought of it on the spot. It was sorta just like, 'Hey I'm walking past these guys, so I might as well insult them'." 

"Okay, well...can you just go? We're practicing the capturing spells. I'm sure you can come up with something better in about ten minutes. I mean that's when it begins."

"Ah. Yeah. I'll go find my house. Until then."

"Later."

As he walks off Gloria thinks about the conversation she just had with him. "Did I just tell him to come up with a better insult...?"

"I think so." Ava replies bashfully 

Gloria's face turns bright red, "That...BUTT-MONKEY!" 

Zero and Trent enter through the front entrance, between the red tower and the blue tower. The grassy courtyard is lovely. On either side of Trent or Zero, beautiful flowers grow. Scattered throughout the courtyard are picnic tables and the students are getting ready for the capturing. "Yeah, here's a fair warning", Trent says, "The girls here aren't as loose as they seem."

And that turned him gay? Zero thinks.

"A few of them are my exes."

And...all of them turned him gay...? He's still trying to piece it together. "I'll show you where my house is." Trent continues.

"Your house?"

"Yeah-..."

A loud, booming voice cuts Trent off, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S TIME FOR THE CAPTURING!" An older looking man, standing on a balcony, raising a glowing staff. His apparel resembles something a cartoon-esque wizard would wear. A long blue robe with various stars and moons. He has a long, white beard and a monocle. 

Reviews

[jay]

this is good can't what to see what you come up with