Christina and the GullBlade
October 10th, 2005 by Salem
Chapter 4 – The road to the secret place known only as The Dead Swamp was not long enough for the Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters, Salem and Selene. Darkwind and Syntax each with a twin on their back, walk slowly on the beaten dirt path away from Koror until the busy city could no longer be seen. Rook and the GullBlade are high in the air racing each other, and playing as Pawn sleeps on his master’s shoulders making it look as if she had some kind of fur stole on. The twins decided to stop and give Christina and Skyclap a chance to catch up. “Did she fall off again?” asked Salem, looked back down the path as she dismounted Syntax. “No”, replied Selene, “I think she got her hair caught on a low hanging branch this time.” Selene dismounts Darkwind and looks at the map to find the shortest way to Death’s home.
Selene fights in her mind to keep her memories from overpowering her, but soon the map just will not enter her head. The image of Christina’s mother was in its place and will not move. Selene remembers Christina’s mother very well. Her name was Christina as well but everyone called her the Dream Dancer. Christina was a brown haired, very well endowed, six foot four inch tall vagabond who traveled from town to town, dancing naked in pubs, taverns, and homes for money. She soon started to gain fame and a reputation that arrived in a town before she got there. After a year, monarchs such as dukes, earls, kings, and even the occasional lesbian queen would invite her into their castles and pay her to perform. The main reason why she was called the Dream Dancer was due to the talk that after one sees her dance, she will still be dancing in your dreams.
This was the Christina everyone knew about; however, she had a life only few knew of. The Dream Dancer had another name. She was PhoenixRaptor, a spy for the Raptor Clan. Everything she did was a cover for the missions she did for Lord DarkRaptor. She would report with meticulous detail on the numbers of an opposing force as well as each soldier’s likes, dislikes and habits, of a layout of a village or town, and was able to account for every room in any castle she has been in. Her dancing was more than an act, she actually hypnotized those who saw her dance, allowing her to question any member of her audience or time to sneak around and use her unbelievable memory to remember every brick of a place. Her information led to the overthrowing of many kings and tyrants. She was the number one reason for the one hundred percent success rate of Lord DarkRaptor’s missions. This was until the known lands were finally free. PhoenixRaptor retired and fell in love with a man she met in one of the villages she had been to on one of her missions. She married the man but did not let him in on her secret. She became pregnant and was to have his first born child. This was the woman Selene remembers. And along with the woman comes the tragic end.
Selene was not there to see, however she remembers PinkRaptor’s account of the event. Lord DarkRaptor with Queen BlueRaptor were on their way with the Lord’s 6 most trusted and closest generals to PhoenixRaptor’s home on the 9th month of her pregnancy so they could be there to see the birth and shower the baby with gifts. When they arrived at the top of the hill near the home, they saw destruction and a party of mercenaries laughing and going through wreckage that was once a beautiful prairie home. Lord DarkRaptor gave her generals the order to attack. They killed all but one of the mercenaries so they could question him later. In the wreckage, laid the pregnant PhoenixRaptor who was on the edge of death. She had only the strength to tell Lord DarkRaptor to save her baby before slipping away. DarkRaptor took her dagger out and opened up the corpse that was once PhoenixRaptor and she saved the small life that was inside. Lord DarkRaptor named the baby after her late mother and took her back to the Raptor Battle Hall.
The mercenary was broken and gave up everything he knew. The man who hired them was an ex-tyrant named De La Groot. One of the many Tyrants Lord DarkRaptor had taken down. He became a wanderer and by some twist of fate he found PhoenixRaptor. All he knew was that she was Dream Dancer. He remembered how much he fell for her and how beautiful she looked as she danced in his old hall. But discovering her pregnant and with a commoner was too much for the man and so he attacked the home with mercenaries. The tortured mercenary told them that he found something in the house and ran off with it without explanation. Lord DarkRaptor could already guess what it was he found, PhoenixRaptor’s Raptor Clad Seal. Lord DarkRaptor vowed to kill him and she put a search party together to find him. This was the event that triggered a series of Raptor deaths ending with the death of Lord DarkRaptor herself after using the SaintBlade to kill De La Groot who did meet his end. The Raptor Clan then went their separate ways and baby Christina fell under the care of Salem and Selene.
So here she is now traveling with them. Christina grew to look just like her mother but she was an albino. Born from her dead mother to become her living ghost, and now she is the master of the GullBlade on the way to Death’s home. The thought now having run its course leaves Selene’s mind as the map reenters her mind’s view. Salem packs a few reload clips in her jacket fearing the worse when they arrive. Christina, Skyclap, and the GullBlade finally arrived, and she dismounts to join the twins. Skyclap walks to a nearby stream where Darkwind and Syntax were already drinking. Skyclap is about the same age as Darkwind and also been around long enough to know all the ropes that goes into a journey. Syntax was still the freshmen here, and was having trouble getting his head down low enough to get a drink. Syntax was use to the water being in a trough above ground. They were on an incline with a muddy bank in front of them. Syntax looked to Darkwind and Skyclap for a clue but they were not helping. Darkwind and Skyclap just stood there watching Syntax. Finally, Darkwind started to bring his head down leaning his body just enough to get to the water. Seeing this, Syntax starts to do the same, getting his tongue closer and closer to the cool water when Skyclap bumps into him causing Syntax to fall into the mud with a great splash. Darkwind and Skyclap whinny with laughter as Syntax looks around to see where he was and starts to pulls himself out of the mud.
The 3 Blade Masters turn to see what the commotion was. “Looks like they are hazing the new guy now”, observed Salem. Selene continues to look through the map as Salem and Christina find large rocks to sit on. The GullBlade flies down and comes to a rest on Christina’s shoulder. Christina pets it’s little head and looks at Salem, “I was hoping to get a Sword Blade like your GunBlade or at least an Accessory Blade, was not expecting to get a Companion Blade. All of that training with Tram for nothing.” “Shut the Hell up, you do not know what you are talking about. Your GullBlade can do more than my GunBlade and Selene’s WitchBlade combined. You very well know that the Blades choose their masters. GullBlade chose you because I guess it thinks you are the best one to use its powers” yelled Salem. Selene rolls the map and places it in her jacket, “Salem, give her a break. She has a right to ask what her Blade can do.” Salem looks at Selene, “She should know the basics about Companion Blades already.” Selene walks over to Christina and puts a hand on her head, “Christina, please be honest with me. I promise I will not get angry with you and I will stop my sister’s yelling.” Christina shakes her head in agreement. “You were hoping to get a Sword Blade so much you did not bother to pay any attention to your teachers in your classes unless they were talking about Sword Blades, am I right?”, asked Selene with her hand still on Christina’s head. Christina nods her head yes. “There is your answer sister. You say teaching calms you!, start teaching”, Selene turns back to the patch of grass she was standing on before and pulls out the map again. Salem gets up and walks to Christina, “Ok. I am sorry. I guess I better tell you how to use GullBlade so you can help us in a fight.” Christina looks up at Salem as she pets the GullBlade’s head.
“First thing’s first, The Basics. A master of a Companion Blade can see through the eyes of their Blades. You can have your GullBlade fly over an enemy camp and you can see everything the enemy has. The enemy soldiers can look up and only see a bird flying over and not think twice about it. Your Companion Blade can go places you may not be able to go and retrieve things from places that are too far from you or you cannot get to due to some obstruction or in your case no ground between you and the object you want. Last but not least, all Companion Blades can transform into a weapon.” Christina quickly looks at her GullBlade trying to find a clue of what weapon it can change into. Salem continues, “Your GullBlade can attach to your back and you can remove its wings to become double swords. You can even combine the swords together to become a battle wing. What is a battle wing? It is kind of like my GunBlade when I throw it. You throw your Battle wing at a target. It will slice that target in half. Then the battle wing will return to you. Lastly, there is the GullBlade’s main power. You notice that the wings are somewhat thick compared to Rook’s wings. That is because the GullBlade’s wings can become 3 times their current size, with the wings attached to the GullBlade and it on your back, it will give you the ability to fly.” “FLY?!” Christina excitedly says as she quickly gets up from her rock. “Yes, Fly, as well as other things, however not even I nor Selene knows what else it can do. Only you as its chosen master can find other abilities”, concludes Salem.
“Ok, we rested long enough. Let us get to the swamp before it gets dark” orders Selene. “Like that would make any difference”, glumly replies Salem. The Blade Masters start to mount their horses again. Salem sees her horse, “Ewwww, Syntax! Could you have at least washed off the mud by swimming around in the water?” “You can ride Skyclap, I want to try flying”, said Christina as she gets herself ready to take to the sky. “GullBlade, Flight Mode”, yells Christina as the GullBlade’s main body opens up to reveal a 5 point metallic harness that attaches to Christina and the head folds into its body as expanding straps crosses her body until they were all secure. The straps then expand and start to cover her chest to become a full silver and gold breast plate. The wings then started to transform and expand until they were at their full size making Christina look like an angel with silver metallic wings with gold feathers. Christina looked at her new wings. They moved with such fluidity and so organically, it was as if they were truly a part of her. Christina’s wings opened up to their full length and she jumped off the ground taking off like a bird. Instinct took over, she did not know why but she knew exactly what to do and how to stay in the air with little to no effort at all. The twins who were left on the ground watched the new angel as she danced in the sky. “PhoenixRaptor is reborn to dance again”, says Selene to herself as Salem mounts Skyclap. They start off to the Dead Swamp with a still very muddy Syntax following behind as Rook joined Christina in the air.