55th of Zi'da, arc 717
Immediately after this
Immediately after this
The first step to solving a murder, processing the crime scene. Zane was on it, without even waiting for other knights to get there. The second airman, the one that went with the boy and the knight to learn the patrol routes, was now rushing for the nearest settlement, which just so happened to be a little village called Fayham, on the outskirts of the Astedia barony. It was a fresh village, with new hopeful residents and next to no crime. It probably had half a dozen houses, at most, but it was still used as an outpost by the skyriders. In these times, where everyone and anyone had an enemy in the great kingdom, every village was an outpost to some part of the military or other. It really wasn't fair towards the villagers, who were only trying to leave a safe and peaceful life outside of the business of towns. But still, that couldn't be helped, thus the young man of messy hair continued his work. First of all, he needed to determine the cause of death, which was kind of pointless, since he did see the death through the dead man's eyes, thus knowing that he was killed with a dagger. A rather fancy dagger, at that, as far as he could remember. The place of death, he could remember that as well, since he looked through the dead man's eyes while he dragged himself across the ground, painting the nearly black dirt in red. So, he only needed to follow the trail of blood to where the dagger was placed into the poor soldier's body. And not even bits later, he was there. He could remember the place perfectly, considering it had only been less than half a break since he looked into the late knight's mind.
"The man who did this, he was a mage." Zane said with a careful look on his face, almost expecting the murderer to be back at the crime scene already. Halfway there, they found the dagger, which the soldier had managed to throw away from himself and at the border of a tree and the ground. It was not an important factor to the investigation, thus the young detective simply ordered his superior to pick it up and examine it, while he traced the outlines of the blood pool, where the dead man was sitting when he was stabbed. Moments later, however, his attention was caught by another body, meters away, hidden almost perfectly behind a tree. He slowly walked over to it, examining the details in, well, great detail, and noticing that the older man was wearing a black cloak with a small accessory portraying two swords on it. He was also of the military. And there was blood everywhere. Similar to his dead superior. It seemed like what the dead man had told him moments before passing, an ambush. Shortly afterwards, Zane, being the best detective that he was, noticed yet another pool of blood, with trails leading in the opposite direction. It passed beneath the trees and through the bushes, leading to a place he could smell from dozens of meters away. The clearing on the road, Zane discovered, was the main scene of the crime. There were seven dead bodies there, all lying on the ground, some sitting, with their backs turned towards the trees, some completely lifeless. Several of them still had their eyes open. The boy changed this. Slowly, he walked back over to the man with two swords on his cloak, and touched his skin, immediately falling into a trance caused by his abilities granted by Vri.
The man's death was similar to his superior's, having been chased by a teleporting murderer, who this time had a crossbow. He could see the mage pull a dagger from the murdered man's belt, and then move on forward, most likely chasing the leader of the band of knights. The soldier's death, unlike his superior's, was full of fear, and hatred, and uncertainty. He would be a troubling one for his immortal, the boy deduced. Slowly, he got up after the experience of death was over, and repeated the process with the others. Most of them were soldiers, men with honour, who fought to protect those they loved, with deaths coming too soon and with no real reason. Only two of the bodies, Zane would discover, were mages who died in the process of ambushing the soldiers. The ambush wasn't perfect, it was organised in a short period of time, by incompetent fighters who had no experience in real warfare. They were most likely fleeing from the law, also men who fought to protect what they treasured, also men who died only because of wrong circumstances. Who were the murderers, and who were the victims? Zane, as he exited the final trance, was clueless. He had less idea of who he was chasing than before he began his search. None of the men who died should've died. The soldiers, fighting with honour, wished death and destruction upon all of the mages, while the mages, who fought like opportunistic scum, wanted nothing to do with this fight, nor the war. Was he really supposed to chase them, just because of the way they chose to live their lives? Just because they desired more power? He often desired the same, only he hadn't had the opportunity to get magical abilities. If he had, he wouldn't have turned them down. Was he meant to chase himself then? Or anyone else who didn't think mages were the worst of the worst, for that matter? Half of the kingdom would be dead, either from hunting, or from being hunted. It was ridiculous, he thought. For the first time in forever, his morals and ideals were challenged by something, and for the first time in forever, Zane felt indecisive. He sat there, among the corpses, from where the horses upon which the knights were riding had already fled, and he wondered. Was he the good guy? He only wanted to fly, to be free, nothing more, and he could see from their deaths that the mages had felt the same. And yet, he wouldn't stoop so low as to murder and chase down his opponents without mercy, even if they would've done the same. He could relate to the mages, and yet he felt as though they were wrong. Was he wrong, in the core?
"Airman Black. Report your findings!" The strange sound awoke him from his internal debate, and the skyrider major moved closer to him, waiting on the boy to be up and about. Zane wasn't going to do that, though. He was still debating, and he needed more time. What if he was reporting to a man who was fundamentally wrong? What if he was listening to a man who was fundamentally wrong? He couldn't forgive himself, if he actually was on the wrong side, and decided not to change that. He needed to know.
"Ser Mason, major, I have a question, before the report." He said, not waiting for the older man with a couple greying hairs to allow him the question, before he continued. "Why are we hunting mages?" The question found its way, from the warmth of the boy's mouth, to the cold air of Zi'da in the forest. The youngster finally raised himself, reaching almost as tall as the knight. He needed an answer, and he needed it desperately, but the older soldier simply looked at him with eyes borderline disappointed. He didn't seem like the disappointed-not-angry type, but alas, people aren't what they seem.
"I kno' what's going through your head boy. We've all felt it. But you heard it yourself, these men are pirates, ambushers, murderers. It'll do you no good sympathizing with them." The man with greying hair spoke, firm and strict, and yet calm and collected. He had thought about it, Zane knew it, he just couldn't believe him. Countless questions, all beginning with what if found their way into his mind, and he recklessly tossed them about, trying to find the right one. He wanted to ask the older man one of those questions, but he knew by now how the military was. They weren't going to deal with questioning little kids, they'd just send him home. It's not the same after you've seen things from their perspective. Literally. Zane thought as he turned around towards the mages' corpses. They weren't that much older than him, ten arcs at most. And he saw how they died. They didn't want to die. They weren't ready for it. "Now, airman Black, report your findings!" The man said and Zane turned around, eyes a lighter shade of brown than usual, thanks to the tears that filled him on the inside.
"Nothing to report, sir, nothing you couldn't see as you came." He said, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself, and not make a fuss out of his doubts. Everyone had doubts, and surely they would simply go away. Or not, he thought as he got onto his horse, and rode towards Drakengard. It was getting late, and the sun was slowly setting on the horizon, behind the forests. He would sleep in the barracks tonight, he decided as he pushed the mount into a gallop. He couldn't deal with catching the eyes of the little tunawa who shared his home, for what if her eyes also had doubts of him. What if she had doubts about him from the beginning? Did he? No, he just wanted to fly. He didn't want to murder mages just for their choice of life. But they weren't just mages. They were pirates, ambushers, murderers. But what if they weren't?
"The man who did this, he was a mage." Zane said with a careful look on his face, almost expecting the murderer to be back at the crime scene already. Halfway there, they found the dagger, which the soldier had managed to throw away from himself and at the border of a tree and the ground. It was not an important factor to the investigation, thus the young detective simply ordered his superior to pick it up and examine it, while he traced the outlines of the blood pool, where the dead man was sitting when he was stabbed. Moments later, however, his attention was caught by another body, meters away, hidden almost perfectly behind a tree. He slowly walked over to it, examining the details in, well, great detail, and noticing that the older man was wearing a black cloak with a small accessory portraying two swords on it. He was also of the military. And there was blood everywhere. Similar to his dead superior. It seemed like what the dead man had told him moments before passing, an ambush. Shortly afterwards, Zane, being the best detective that he was, noticed yet another pool of blood, with trails leading in the opposite direction. It passed beneath the trees and through the bushes, leading to a place he could smell from dozens of meters away. The clearing on the road, Zane discovered, was the main scene of the crime. There were seven dead bodies there, all lying on the ground, some sitting, with their backs turned towards the trees, some completely lifeless. Several of them still had their eyes open. The boy changed this. Slowly, he walked back over to the man with two swords on his cloak, and touched his skin, immediately falling into a trance caused by his abilities granted by Vri.
The man's death was similar to his superior's, having been chased by a teleporting murderer, who this time had a crossbow. He could see the mage pull a dagger from the murdered man's belt, and then move on forward, most likely chasing the leader of the band of knights. The soldier's death, unlike his superior's, was full of fear, and hatred, and uncertainty. He would be a troubling one for his immortal, the boy deduced. Slowly, he got up after the experience of death was over, and repeated the process with the others. Most of them were soldiers, men with honour, who fought to protect those they loved, with deaths coming too soon and with no real reason. Only two of the bodies, Zane would discover, were mages who died in the process of ambushing the soldiers. The ambush wasn't perfect, it was organised in a short period of time, by incompetent fighters who had no experience in real warfare. They were most likely fleeing from the law, also men who fought to protect what they treasured, also men who died only because of wrong circumstances. Who were the murderers, and who were the victims? Zane, as he exited the final trance, was clueless. He had less idea of who he was chasing than before he began his search. None of the men who died should've died. The soldiers, fighting with honour, wished death and destruction upon all of the mages, while the mages, who fought like opportunistic scum, wanted nothing to do with this fight, nor the war. Was he really supposed to chase them, just because of the way they chose to live their lives? Just because they desired more power? He often desired the same, only he hadn't had the opportunity to get magical abilities. If he had, he wouldn't have turned them down. Was he meant to chase himself then? Or anyone else who didn't think mages were the worst of the worst, for that matter? Half of the kingdom would be dead, either from hunting, or from being hunted. It was ridiculous, he thought. For the first time in forever, his morals and ideals were challenged by something, and for the first time in forever, Zane felt indecisive. He sat there, among the corpses, from where the horses upon which the knights were riding had already fled, and he wondered. Was he the good guy? He only wanted to fly, to be free, nothing more, and he could see from their deaths that the mages had felt the same. And yet, he wouldn't stoop so low as to murder and chase down his opponents without mercy, even if they would've done the same. He could relate to the mages, and yet he felt as though they were wrong. Was he wrong, in the core?
"Airman Black. Report your findings!" The strange sound awoke him from his internal debate, and the skyrider major moved closer to him, waiting on the boy to be up and about. Zane wasn't going to do that, though. He was still debating, and he needed more time. What if he was reporting to a man who was fundamentally wrong? What if he was listening to a man who was fundamentally wrong? He couldn't forgive himself, if he actually was on the wrong side, and decided not to change that. He needed to know.
"Ser Mason, major, I have a question, before the report." He said, not waiting for the older man with a couple greying hairs to allow him the question, before he continued. "Why are we hunting mages?" The question found its way, from the warmth of the boy's mouth, to the cold air of Zi'da in the forest. The youngster finally raised himself, reaching almost as tall as the knight. He needed an answer, and he needed it desperately, but the older soldier simply looked at him with eyes borderline disappointed. He didn't seem like the disappointed-not-angry type, but alas, people aren't what they seem.
"I kno' what's going through your head boy. We've all felt it. But you heard it yourself, these men are pirates, ambushers, murderers. It'll do you no good sympathizing with them." The man with greying hair spoke, firm and strict, and yet calm and collected. He had thought about it, Zane knew it, he just couldn't believe him. Countless questions, all beginning with what if found their way into his mind, and he recklessly tossed them about, trying to find the right one. He wanted to ask the older man one of those questions, but he knew by now how the military was. They weren't going to deal with questioning little kids, they'd just send him home. It's not the same after you've seen things from their perspective. Literally. Zane thought as he turned around towards the mages' corpses. They weren't that much older than him, ten arcs at most. And he saw how they died. They didn't want to die. They weren't ready for it. "Now, airman Black, report your findings!" The man said and Zane turned around, eyes a lighter shade of brown than usual, thanks to the tears that filled him on the inside.
"Nothing to report, sir, nothing you couldn't see as you came." He said, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself, and not make a fuss out of his doubts. Everyone had doubts, and surely they would simply go away. Or not, he thought as he got onto his horse, and rode towards Drakengard. It was getting late, and the sun was slowly setting on the horizon, behind the forests. He would sleep in the barracks tonight, he decided as he pushed the mount into a gallop. He couldn't deal with catching the eyes of the little tunawa who shared his home, for what if her eyes also had doubts of him. What if she had doubts about him from the beginning? Did he? No, he just wanted to fly. He didn't want to murder mages just for their choice of life. But they weren't just mages. They were pirates, ambushers, murderers. But what if they weren't?