».......I may be a fool about to walk off a cliff,
.......but I am the fool with a sack,
.......and in this sack I have the things
.......with which I'll make my destiny
» [By Your Powers Combined] I am Captain Preposterous «
♦
Mattheis Hiashin III ♦
The Royal Stadium - Ravierin, Hylravi
(♫)
Edit, Jan 10, 2010: Wow, just looked back at this and realized... my posts only ended up getting longer. xD But, I like the way I write now. Anyway, if anyone sees this - just going back and making improvements/editing some of my older posts. Nothing major, just description stuff and all that. ]
.......Under the golden summer Hylravine sunset, the Annual Festival of Heroes was well-underway in the brightly lit city of Ravierin. Couples of every race danced under crystalline lights in the streets, children chased the tail of an older boy in a feathery Hylravine Servant costume, and drunken men, elves, and dragons sang in hilariously imperfect unison at the pubs. The main attraction of the festival, however, was taking place - and always took place - at the packed, magnificently designed Royal Stadium.
.......A relatively regal-looking young man in uniform stood by the highest seats in the stadium with his arms crossed and a slightly amused expression upon his lips as he watched the actors below play out the Histories and Legends. The first play, reenacting the ancient Hylravine Creation Myth, was over not too long ago, and so was the First Revolution; what was playing out now was - the man chuckled at the thought - the life of the hero General Makihyu Hiashin and the war against the reborn army of Alitharn a thousand years ago.
.......Somehow, this particular ancestor of his never failed to tickle his musings.
.......It was a little exaggerated, of course, and with some humorous scenes thrown in to offset what was really a depressing, tragic, and somewhat dark story. Not that he had any problem with it, of course - the man laughed just as hard as any other person in the stadium at the funny scenes, and had earlier chucked a few tomatoes at the actor playing as the horribly depressive main star of the story. Of course, when this happened, some of the spectators sitting in the stands next to him would give him the strangest looks - some with a wide grin, some with expressions of confusion, and others with a raised eyebrow. It was considerably strange, indeed, for him to be laughing along with them at his ancestor's misadvantures, for they all knew exactly who he was: his descendant, of course, but also a man who had given up a life of comfort, prestige, and a crown to fight for his people - for them - beyond this kingdom and beyond this world. Someone who the general public wouldn't really expect to be standing around so casually right next to them.
..........But like he really cared, right?
......."Hiashin? Hiashin?! Captain Mattheis Hiashin, what in the name of Hylkiras are you doing here?"
.......The whisper was harsh, rushed, and raspy - the said Captain did not need to look at his ancient dragon-Professor to know it was him. He smirked, both somewhat in rebellion and in actual amusement. "What am I doing? I'm doing as I please, sir. Surprisingly, you're the first person to actually ask."
.......The three-hundred year-old Drake hobbled up and hissed, though his snout reached no further than the young man's shoulder. "Mattheis, as unconventional you are, please think of your reputation. You're a K-"
......."Captain, Professor Huravali." Mattheis corrected, mid-sentence. An intense eye stared at his former mentor from the side, with only an inkling of respect swirling in those cerulean irises. He hardly had any respect for most anyone at the Capitol at all - and for damn good reason... at least, to him. They were slow, indecisive, abusive of vetoes, and they had all their priorities in all the wrong places. The wrinkling dragon before him was lucky to have the Captain's attention at all right now. "You and the rest of Parliament know that, along with the fact that I haven't cared about my rep for five years."
.......Laughter rang out in the audience again as spectators in the front seats threw onion cups and tomatoes at the antagonist shortly after his monologue. Professor Huravali waited for the laughter to die down before whispering again. "Fine then, Captain Mattheis. Nevermind what I last said, but listen: Parliament has been looking for you for the past few days."
.......Mattheis still took no interest. ******** Parliament, [******** Parliament. He was no anarchist, but damn it, they were always pushing it. Not to mention that he couldn't even come up with anything funny or witty to say to any of this, and that was just absurd - no, more like... Preposterous, and he was hating it. "Becaaaauuse? I just got home from my last mission, Professor. The useless stinkers - they ask for me and my help, and yet...! They treat me like I'm still a teenage delinquent, their little Chair Force still treats the Militia like we're some kind of reject Army, and don't do jack squat when we need help. Indeed, I enjoy the thrill of combat and being out in the Collective, but that doesn't mean that I'll give up my - and my crew's - time of rest. Not for them or any petty request - so it'd better be important."
.......A heavy and raspy sigh followed. Admittedly, it was slightly difficult to give all of one's respect to a man who played pranks on his crewmen to "train" them and gave the Militia's ships such... preposterous names, even with all of his credentials; still, Huravali decided it best to just stick to the subject at hand. "Will you hear me out? Not as a member of Parliament, but as your former teacher? And not as a demand, but as a request... and not a petty one?"
.......The Captain gave him the sideways stare again, this time in consideration. He scrutinized the Professor - old and wrinkly with droopy wings, a stiff tail, clothes dusted all over with shedded scales, an obvious limp, and hardly able to see an arm's length beyond his snout without his glasses. There were differences between the aging draconic educator-politician and his other colleagues, but Huravali was among the same ranks of the other old-timers with their self-imposed sense of authority who were at the head of the kingdom... Still, the dragon's eyes burned with sincerity, and upon seeing this in his former tutor Mattheis took it to heart.
......."You have my ears."
.......To his surprise, the Professor's next whisper was a single word: "Keepers."
......."What? Finders-Keepers? You're keeping my ears? I do want them back, you know."
.......The old dragon snorted - the boy was finally loosening up. That was more like him. "Keepers. Cyrasili Keepers. You're familiar with them, right? It's a simple request, really - we've found quite a few young souls who may qualify to be educated as Keepers. There are neighboring worlds who have also found some new blood for Vectiras Academy, and we just want you to pick up these hopefuls and escort them to Krux for evaluation. I know you don't normally li-"
......."When do I leave?" The Captain interrupted, now turning full-face to his Professor. His sudden lack of hesitation was replied to with the c**k of an eyebrow - no matter how many times it happened, it always caught people off-guard.
......."Well, if you've no answer, then tell those smelly old geezers to make it in two days. The Preposterous will be waiting at the national airfield." Mattheis whirled around on his spurred heel with a wave of his tattered red cape with the intention of leaving, but then turned his head back toward Professor Huravali. "By the way, I know all the commercial ships are off in other worlds, but why didn't the Navy take up this mission?"
......."Hm?" The dragon-man's gray eyes blinked once, twice. And then, to the Captain's near-disbelief, the Professor gave the grin of a malicious prankster - a smile that made him look much younger. "I could give the 'official' reason, but you and I both know that those fools up there are just lazy."
.......Captain Mattheis Hiashin III returned the same smile, then disappeared into the Stadium's exit hallway with the echoes of the actors following him into the darkness.
--- Part Two ---
.......The two days after that meeting passed quickly. The Festival was still going, and would go on for the remainder of the week - however, one Captain and his crew were ready to go, and so was the glorious warship behind them.
.......The H.K.M.S. Preposterous - a shining example of the union of modern Hylravine engineering and age-old wizardry. While the aptly christened war vessel was not exactly the fastest, the strongest, nor the most advanced in the Collective, her Captain and crew still took great pride in sailing upon one of the first major Worldships to ever be constructed by Hylravine hand. As it was to be her first-ever voyage to the world of Krux (aside from maybe passing it once in every blue moon), all seventy-eight of the current crew members - even her captain - took their time in scrubbing, cleaning, and polishing the ship, which was quite the feat for a ship of such a grand scale. Their efforts paid off, however, and her black and silver coat shone brightly in the afternoon sunlight, reflecting the sky.
.......It was not until four in the afternoon when officials, the ship's first passengers, and cargo loads came in. Could this have taken any longer? The Captain and crew bowed (most insincerely) to the black-suited, gold-caped royal officers when they arrived mounted on the white, dinosaur-like bird creatures that were Hylravine Servants. Mattheis tilted his head and gave a small smile to the creatures, as if the feathered beasts were old friends, and he was granted a jolly clicking of beaks in return.
.......His attention soon returned to the mounted men. Most stayed on their comfortable seats, but one of the riders, which Mattheis recognized as Professor Huravali, dismounted and shook the Captain's hand. "Apologies for keeping you waiting Pr- er, Captain."
......."Accepted, but let it not happen again, Professor." he said, grimacing. With his precious crew stuck out in the hot sun, waiting to give the formal salute, the Captain was not too pleased with their superiors' lack of punctuality. There were times to be unorthodox, and others where one should be the opposite - and this was one of them. "Are all the passengers present and accounted for?
.......The Professor gave him a questioning look. "Aside from the ones that you need to pick up in the stopover worlds? Well, there are a few missing, but we can have them picked up with the next batch. Most of them are here."
......."Hey? Potential Keepers are kind of important, y'sure about that?"
......."Of course, but you're not known to wait for anyone who's irresponsible enough to be late for this kind of thing, are you?" Mattheis smiled at this. Huravali was one of those few folks that knew him enough to almost read his mind. Almost.
......."No, I guess not." He shook his head, and then saluted the Professor and his companions. "I'll be seeing you later, then. Enjoy the Festival. Tell me if anything... funny happens when they reenact the life of Matt II." At this, Huravali gave his former student a suspicious look - King Falstiar was in for something, he knew it.
......."Why?"
.......Mattheis turned his head and gave him a smug look as he and his crew started toward the great shadow of a ship, with their cloaks and coats trailing behind them. "Oh, no reason. Just pretend I didn't say anything." His mentor rolled his eyes. That man would never get rid of that awful, child-like habit. "Practical training for the battlefield," yes, absolutely believable.
.......The crewmen, eager to finally get off the ground, wasted no time in preparing their vessel and passengers for launch. It was not long before the Preposterous's hybrid thrusters and Vylli crystal lines began to glow a bright blue, and her majestic wings unfolded as the engines roared to life. Soon, the great vessel was airborne, then moving, and then was finally disappearing into the afternoon sky as her operators charged at full-throttle toward a new adventure which would change the lives of those on board forever.
With these things I have chosen.......
to build a ship, my wings to fly.......
to fly off this cliff, to fly above the world.......
and to fly my own path to freedom........«
