The Search For Clues Part Two [Nick and Varian]

large sphere of flames in the sky was the mark that the incantation of the phoenix gate had been spoken to teleport Varian the keyblade wielder from his home island of Avalon to not somewhere he wanted to go but somewhere he needed to be. As the portal opened up once more it seemed that Varian had been sent to some sort of dessert and unlike most times where he had to look around and find out why he was in a new place this time Varian instantly knew as the flaming orb vanished he saw another young man falling from the sky.

"Bloody hell!"

Once the flaming orb was gone Varian quickly went into a dive bomb position with his right arm held out so that he would race toward the man as he fell toward the ground. As Varian got close he managed to grab onto the young man with his right claw and as soon as he did he spread out his wide red and black wings and use them to be lifted back into the air a bit thanks to the air currents and away from what looked to be some sort of bandit heartless that had appeared.

"I got ya laddie! I'll have ye down in jiffy!"

Varian just looked down at the man he was holding before gliding down closer to the ground and then letting him go so that he would lightly fall into the sand. Varian then landed in front of the man with his back to him as the bandit heartless rushed their way toward them. Varian just flexed his wings and then hooked the small claws on their tips to his shoulder guards so that they hung like a cape. He then held out his right hand so that his stone guardian keyblade appeared in his hand causing him to grin as he rushed to meet the foes.

"Let's do this ya numpties!"

As the three heartless reached him one of them tried to slash at him with it's sword. Seeing this Varian raised up his keyblade to block the blow and then did a small jump and turn to deliver a slashing roundhouse kick using the claws of his right foot destroying his foe. As he landed he dashed forward and slashed clean through the second heartless right down the middle with a small grin. As it vanished he turned toward the man he saved.

"Do you want to take the last one or are you just going to sit there like a Bampot?"


(OOC Note: "Bampot and Numpty mean Idiot in Scottish and English Slang)

arian could hear the slight bit of fear and hesitation in the young lad's voice. It seemed that being in combat was something a bit new for the other boy which made him a bit wet behind the ears. As the last heartless moved to meet the young lad in combat while readying it's sword Varian just made his keyblade vanish and without a word used his left wing to push the heartless just slightly to knock it a tad off balance so the boy's punch would be a fatal blow. Once the heartless was destroyed Varian just nodded and crossed his arms.

"Well done Lad. That's showing the beasty what for."

Once Varian complimented the boy he hooked his left wing back onto his left shoulder guard and walked up to the boy to size him up by looking him up and down. They seemed to be about the same age but Varian himself was the more seasoned fighter but that would be rather normal considering his own upbringing. Once Varian finished sizing the boy up he just silently stepped passed him feeling the warmth of the sand under his gargoyle feet. It seemed that far in the distance was a city of some sort complete with a large palace. It was going to be quite a walk.

"Blast it all! It's going to be quite the walk to that city in the distance right enough. If we don't want to get baked like mutton we better get moving lad."

Before he continued walking he shot the boy one last glance and felt his sympathy kick in. Varian with a small growl just unhooked both of his wings from his shoulder guards and spread them both out as wide as they could so that the area in front of them was covered in the shade they created.

"I can't just leave ye to cook now can I? Use me wings as cover for now. It's not like I can use them for much here anyhow. The air current isn't strong enough this low to lift me back up. I'd have to use my air spell to lift me back up since there is nothing to climb but then you'd bloody bake. Come on then."

Varian sighed and kept his wings out stretched and just began to walk toward the walled city.

"Name's Varian Black. What about you lad?"

arian listened silent as the lad under his care introduced himself as Nick and then explained what his mission and goal was for coming to such a hot and dry world as this one. The lad's parents had left or had disappeared and so he was out wandering the worlds in search of them to bring them back to the world of Traverse Town. This caused Varian to let out a mournful sigh as they walked.

"Aye that's a worthy pursuit lad. Make sure not to lose sight of it and stay the course. Take it from someone who lost most of his clan by his own fault. There is nothing a man,gargoyle or beast of any world should cherish more. I travel the worlds in order to not only do my duty as a keyblade wielder but do right by those i lost so that when the day comes that I join them they can forgive me and I can forgive me self."

Once Varian said his piece he went completely silent until they reached the large stone and metal gates that led into the city which seemed to be shut tight. For a moment Varian used his right claw to scratch his chin before snapping his talons with a rare grin. Varian then held out his right hand causing his keyblade to appear in it once more. He then pointed it toward the large gates causing the keyblade to shoot out a beam of light at them which led to a loud unlocking sound as if a key had been turned in a lock as the doors slowly slid open. Varian then made his keyblade vanish once more.

"As I thought! I'll meet you inside lad."

Varian then nodded at the lad and pulled his wings back in and hooked them back to his shoulder guards so they hung like a cape. He then dropped to his hands and feet and began to run at top speed like a gargoyle did to get around when they couldn't use their wings. Once he reached the city's wall he sunk his hands and feet talon's into it like it was wet paper and began to climb quickly. Once he reached the top he looked out at the city. It was rather simplistic with an open bazzar for purchasing, stone and clay homes and the large palace down the way. It seemed rather cramped as well with sword carrying guards keeping the order.

"That could be a wee bit of a bother."

Varian quickly spread his wings and jumped off of the wall into the city using his wings to slow his decent before once again hooking them to his back. He then found a nearby large sheet that was only held down by a barrel,took it and tied and draped it around himself like a cloak so that his wings weren't visable and so that his claws weren't as noticeable. He then walked back over to the gate to wait for Nick. 

"I think we should find out where we are, get food and maybe get to know some of the locals lad. Should we stay together or separate to cover more ground?"

s Varian waited for Nick to catch up he couldn't help but consider the young boy's words about not straying from his path. Varian had told himself that at one point but as the days went by the line between light and darkness began to become harder and harder to see and he know that at some point he would end up crossing the line without even knowing it. 

Once Nick rejoined him Varian listened to the boy say that it would be best if they stuck together. To this idea Varian just nodded and began walking toward the rather busy Bazar. As he walked he heard Nick asked him what his weapon was called and where he was from. Varian decided to start with the less complicated question which was about the weapon he carried. Varian stopped at a stand selling fruit and turned to face Nick.

"Alas I don't know much about my weapon because I just recently obtained it. I can tell you that it is known as a keyblade and that it is used to destroy the monsters that we fought earlier which are known as heartless. When a heartless is destroyed by a keyblade the hearts that the monsters had stolen are released to find their owners or just to move on. As for where i'm from.."

At the thought of his home and his destroyed clan crossed his mind Varian's heart began to ache as his guilt,shame,regret and grief took hold once more causing him to clench his fists and fought back his tears as he looked down toward the sand at his feet. Once he had his tears subdued he looked back up he decided to try and fake a smile but couldn't quite do it.

"I'm from a magical island known as Avalon. It's a place where magic is it's life blood and the three races of human,gargoyle and Oberon's children live together in mostly harmony. On Avalon every hour that passes there is equal to a day everywhere else and so it is still like a mideval paradise. All of the humans there are from a place called castle Wyvern during the days of knights and vikings. Oberon's children are what you humans call the faer folk,dark elves or changlings. They are beings of pure magic. They are the children of King Oberon and queen titanya."

Before Varian explained the gargoyles he spotted a young man and a young woman walking through the market with the young woman resting her head on the man's shoulder. It seemed they were a couple and it made Varian long for Blossom all the more.

"Gargoyles are nocternal guardians and warriors with claws that can cut through iron and wings that help them soar through the air as well as tails. During the day they turn to stone as their method of sleep. The human's and gargoyles have a pact that the gargoyles protect the humans during the night and the humans protect the gargoyles while they are stone during the day while they are defenseless. I was partially raised and trained by the gargoyles which is why I asked to be given the wings and claws of one. That and so i could soar with my love."

It was clear that Varian wasn't telling the entire story but it was all that he could bare to tell and so the young man walked away from Nick through the crowd until he saw a cluster of guards which he quickly pointed at with one of his talons.

"Ask them where we are. I will be watching in case you need me to jump in."

arian just nodded silently and chose to lean against one of the produce stands with his arms crossed and even though he knew he should have been watching Nick he couldn't take his eyes off of the young couple that was walking happily through the market. Nick's situation finally caught Varian's attention when he heard one of the guards laughing.

"Has the sun cooked your brain boy!? You are in Agrabah home to the sultan and his daughter princess Jasmine! You know the royals that live in the large palace!?"

Varian upon hearing the guards response could tell that they were raising suspition within the guards and so Varian quickly stood up straight and walked silently but quickly over to Nick and the guards and just cleared his throat to get the guards attention. Once all of the guards had their eyes on him he gave them a rather stern look.

"You must forgive my young impetus friend here. You see we have come from a far off kingdom known as Avalonia because we heard tell of strange creatures carrying large swords as well as other oddities. Our king and Queen sent us here to see if those monsters have also infested this land. Pray tell noble sir have you been burdened with such creatures?""

Once Varian was finished speaking all of the guards looked at one another rather nervously almost as if they were ashamed that they could not deal with the problem themselves. Once a couple moments had passed the head guard looked back down at Varian.

"They have been popping up for about a fort night  now. We have sent guards out on patrols during the night outside the city's walls but very seldom do they return. We are to ashamed to tell our Sultan of our failure. Some have even been spotted inside the city."

Varian listened silently to what the head guard told him. The heartless had been around in the open for about two weeks both inside and outside the city. Something was drawing them here but what that was Varian did not yet know. He just knew that it was his job to fix the problem and so he faked a small smile for the guards.

"Fear not noble sirs. Go to your sultan and tell him that the intruders will be dealt with by the morrow. All my compatriot and I ask for in exchange is food and drink as we ran out of provisions during our long journey."

The guards with relieved sighs just nodded at Varian and quickly began to go to the different vendors buying them fresh apples, cooked fish on sticks,bread and jugs of mango juice. Once all of the supplies were packed into a couple sacks the guards brought it all to the pair with grateful faces. Varian just nodded and tied it all to his back and motioned for Nick to grab the jugs as he headed down an alley to an abandoned looking building and walked inside where he noticed a ladder leading up to a roof hatch.

"Follow me."

Varian then climbed the ladder and opened the hatch to the roof. Once he was on the roof he unpacked their food and made sure he was facing the city gates.

"Now we wait. You may ask me any other lingering questions you may have. If I choose to answer them all is another story."

s Varian took one of the large cooked fish on a sticks out of the food back and bit into it without care or tact and began to chew he listen silently as Nick said that what the guards had said to him had made him feel insulted Varian just shrugged as he continued to eat. Once he was a few large bites in he looked over at Nick from his sitting position with one knee pulled to his chest and the other laying flat.

"Do not let your mind dwell on it lad. Warriors should not  pay any mind to the words of fools and jesters. Take it from one who knows what it's like to be judged just for being different. It's the nature of human kind to fear what they do not understand and what they do not understand they seek to destroy to make themselves feel powerful."

Once Varian's first fish was finished he reached into the bag and pulled out a second one and took a large bite as he just stared at the very few clouds in the sky. Once he swallowed his first bite he looked over at Nick with an almost heartbroken gaze behind his eyes. This young innocent lad had yet to see the dark and horrid side of his own race or of the universe. He was still so full of a light that was oh so rare.

"You have been asking me questions about me and my life. It's only a wee bit fair that I get to do the same aye lad? This family your searching for. Tell me about them. What did they do for a living? What are they like as parents? Do you have a special someone? If you answer my questions truthfully you may ask me any question you would like with no fear of consequence."

As he went back to eating his fish Varian decided to lay on his back with his knees slightly pulled up in an arching fashion so that he had a better view of the small clouds as the breeze began to blow slightly causing him to smile slightly.

"No matter what world I find myself on nothing beats a nice warm breeze."

arian remained completely silent as Nick talked of his humble beginnings of coming from a seamstress and a mailman who both seemed kind and good at heart. The father even let his young son help deliver this "Mail" he spoke of which was probably a modern day name for delivering scrolls and the like. Once Nick said he didn't understand what he meant by special someone Varian sat up and looked at him with a raised brow.

"You know a young lad or lass that makes your heart feel like it's gliding through the air. Someone who makes you feel like you could face an entire army with nothing but your fists just to see them smile at you. You're still young and wet behind the ears. You'll meet that person someday. I..had someone like that once."

As Varian said he used to have someone the words seemed to get caught in his throat and almost didn't leave his mouth in the pained tone they held. To calm himself Varian took a deep breath and moved across the roof so that his feet hung off the edge. He then held out his left claw with it's palm up and summoned a small fireball and just held it.

"I was born to both a powerful good witch and a powerful dark wizard as the product of both side's love. I was raised from the age of five in the art of swordsmanship, magic and traversal. I was meant to be one of the magical island's mightiest warriors but my father had different plans even though I didn't always know it."

As Varian spoke he focused on the flame in his hand making it take the shape of his beautiful now dead gargoyle love Blossom who danced in his hand in flame form which Varian just watched with a sad longing gaze as he ran his right claw along the flames shape and yet never touched it.

"When I was but a wee lad at the age of six I was introduced to the gargoyle race and one night when I was supposed to be asleep I sneaked out to explore the castle's towers and battlements. That's when I met the gargoyle that would forever change my life. The beautiful lass was named blossom and by human standards was the age we are now since gargoyle body's mature half as fast as us humans. I knew i wanted to be around her for the rest of my days."

As Varian spoke his voice started out almost whimsical as he spoke of his gargoyle love until he took a deep breath making the darkness inside him manifest turning the flames black as Varian made the flame version of Blossom fall to her knees and break apart as he closed his hand.

"Insuperable we were for many a year. We officiated our union of love when I was the age of but 15. That's when my mother channeled the magic in the island itself to grant me my wings and claws so that I could soar with my beloved. You see in gargoyle culture when a gargoyle finds their mate their bond is for their entire life times and they have gargoyle hatchlings together. Despite the fact that we could not sire hatchlings our love and bond was deep and true that is until.."

Felling his sorrow and grief filling his heart Varian slammed his left balled up claw down hard onto the roof leaving a rather deep dent into it as his arm shook.

"I turned 18 and my father returned from his banishment from the island with the heartless in tow at high noon while all the gargoyles including my love were stone. I saw him bloody coming and tried to reach the castle battlements where Blossom slept as fast as I could but I was too late by the time I got there my father was standing next to Blossom with fireball in hand. My father told me he wanted a dark protege. He wanted someone to carry on his dark deeps once he was gone. He then shattered blossom in front of me just as my mother broke free of the heartless attack and joined us."

As Varian continued his story, he spread out his left claw and then scraped his talons across the roof carving dents into it with his grief.

"The thing about the heartless lad is that they follow the person with the strongest darkness in their heart and for just a moment in my grief and sorrow my darkness was stronger then my fathers. I ordered the heartless to destroy him and they did. Once that was done however I lost control and they..they took me mum too. If it hadn't been for king Oberon and his children they would have gotten me too. After that day I took a magical talisman known as the phoenix gate and have been using it to travel between the worlds so that I can make sure what happened to my clan happens to no one else. Hold close the ties of family that bind you and fufill the vows of love you make because one day if your not careful you could lose them."