Chrono-Paradox
 

A public execution was taking place within the middle of the Reptilian city Terrapolis. onlookers packed the arena, now seated across from a black stone statue of a Tyrano, the "royal" pet t-rex's. The current Queen waltzed into the arena, sitting atop the statue. Back on ground level, a Reptilian soldier was accompanied by three armed royal guards. The guards made a prompt, almost cowardly exit.

"Have you found the Heretic?" The queen demanded. The soldier on trial replied surprisingly calm, after little hesitation and no stammering.
"Not yet my queen. It would appear that he has fled to the Archipelago, We've made contact with Lord Viper to---"
"You let him leave the city. While worthless, the infidel could still pose problems if he has aligned himself with the apes or the demihumans. Such failure is intolerable."

The crowd had begun to talk amongst themselves. Public executions were a source of entertainment to the civilians and a convenient means of execution. The queen rose to her feet, her nostrils flaring with anger. Waving her claw in the air, the reptilian soldier was jerked into the air, bringing him face to face with the enraged queen. "Nizbel!" The Queen bellowed, and soon a muscular, orange three-horned reptile emerged from the darkness, bringing with him a pair of curved daggers wrapped around his right thigh. "See to the immediate destruction of the Infidel, as well as any allies he may have made." She turned the soldier in mid air and forcibly removed a portion of his spine. The splatter of blood caused the spectators to roar in delight. As Azreal released the soldier from her telekinetic control, the stone Tyranno's eyes shot open, as it lunged forwards and devoured the soldier like a small piece of jerky.

"Do not fail me Nizbel, else your punishment shall be the same!"

"Understood my queen."
--------

Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Zeal, a similar trial was taking place. many of the citizens had traveled to the courthouse. A young half-breed stands accused of assaulting three human females.

"Raziel, you know of the crimes which you have been accused?"

The fox looked down at the floor, his hands shackled together and chained to his legs. his tail stayed motionless behind him. To his right, he could see the little bitches that landed him here, their little leader smiling smugly. No doubt in his mind she was going to play the sympathy card. Which sucked for him, she looked like a pathological liar, and a convincing one. To his right , practically clinging on his arm was the fairy girl. "I didn't assault anyone, you've got your facts confused buddy!" He snarled. He knew his mother was somewhere in the audience, as well as his instructors. He had specifically said years earlier he would never harm a human inhabitant of Zeal. If he was lucky, he'd be forced to leave Zeal, and his powers would probably be sealed off. However, looking at the judge, and the smug looks on the gang's faces, he'd end up with prosecution.

"Are you saying you didn't attack that young lady." Again, Raziel glared back towards the ringleader. "She made the first swing, and she was assaulting someone. You're trying to say I should've let that slide...or are you just mad because your daughter anything but a productive member of society, especially considering who you talk to..." The young half-fox snickered. Even if he didn't get a fair trial, he was going to enjoy it.

The thief looked over Larry, wondering what he might have of worth. The half-naked minotaur didn't have much, but the con artist just knew he could get anything Larry had of value.

"If you want to cross this bridge, the toll is 300 gold."

"Hm... Larry no have that much." Larry said. He reached into his pouch and pulled out an apple. "I have fruit. Fruit ok?"

The birdman noticed the intricate pendant and replied, "Sorry, I've got lots of fruit. Maybe your amulet would be worth it. It is a VERY nice bridge to cross. Beautiful scenery and everything!"

"But... Tauros is present from George. Tauros is important!"

"Let me just take a look at it..."

Probably shouldn't let him do that. He might steal it. He probably doesn't even own the bridge. He just wants to rob you.

"NO! You just want me forget George!"

The con-man knew his ploy failed, so he tried another method. He quickly spun around, and jabbed at Larry with a knife in his fingered wing. "Hua-" before he could land a strike, Larry grabbed the bird's hand, crushing the bones into the knife, "-aagAAAGH!" The guy screamed in pain. Larry held him up in the air, face-to-face, glared at him, and snorted in his eyes. "You.. ghghl... can... cross... for free... gaghl..."
Larry squeezed his hand once more before dropping the thief to sort out his bones and chunks of knife in his bleeding hand. He casually walked across the bridge as if he never encountered the crook.

'Areius looked out over the wast forest from the top of his tower'
"It seems I dont have the knowledge to gain the powers which the book has sealed...
Perhaps the knowledge is out there somewhere" He said to himself.
"I wonder if anyone would recognize me if I returned, probably not. I have changed a lot over the years and only my parents and those bastards at the academy should be able to" He said as he rose from the throne like chair and went down to the bottom level. "Its time to see if my exile has been worth anything"

A cold wind blew for just a moment, tossing Cassius's long bangs across his eyes and tugging at the man's dark red duster, throwing its hem into the air. His expensive, yet travel-worn, clothing--a blood red waist coat over a black cotton shirt, a pair of shining pistols worn on a leather belt, and a pair of black silk pants--was revealed for but a moment before the wind died and his coat settled back around, obscuring his body and protecting it from the natural cold at such an elevation.

A leather-clad hand clenched around the shoulder strap of his rifle, which he had slung over his shoulder. A sigh, which turned to fog as it exited his lips, hung in the air for a moment before he brushed his hair back out of his eyes and walked through the stone arch-way into the royal city of Zeal, his birthplace.

'I hate it here... the memories kill me. Perhaps I should just turn back..'

He began to turn, but, as his free hand made its way into his coat pocket, his reason for returning was quickly remembered. His fingers brushed across a few loose coins, barely enough to pay for a meal, and a few spare bullets for his rifle. He sighed once again, and looked up at the city before beginning to move, his finger moving up from his pocket to slide his thin, rectangular, wire-frame glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

The home he had grown up in as a child still existed, he knew that, but he also knew that going there would bring back even more memories. Another quick fondle of his pocket change, however, revealed that he had little choice unless he wished to sleep on street until the barracks could accept them. He silently resigned himself to his fate and forced his thoughts onto his future, instead of his past, as he made his way toward the mansion his family was still alotted, though no one lived there now.

'The military, once again. Becoming an errand boy once more, but what choice do I have? None. It is either that or starve. I will merely have to sacrifice my freedom, unless another option magically presents itself before supper.'

His feet finally stopped at the entry way and his eyes moved over the grand entrance which he had travelled so many times in the past. 'Of course, I could always sell this place.'

The thought was instantly dismissed, however, and the door opened with a protestant creak as he unlocked it with a key he had not used in years, and forced it open. He could never truly think of selling this home, he realized, as the memories flooded through him at the sight of the entry way, where he and his parents had played as a youth, and, as an adult, he had met with Naomi so many times before bringing her out into the city.

These memories, which may have been the only things still capable of wounding his frigid heart, were, also, they only things capable of reminding him of the beauty of life. Even if that beauty for him had been shattered long ago, in this home he could remember that he once felt it.

Right now, however, it was too painful to face them all, and he had things to do.

His rifle and pistols were placed inside the entryway before he made his way back out, locking the door behind him, and began to walk toward the conscription center, as his mind, despite his best efforts, wandered to the past, plaguing his mind with bitter-sweet remberances.

His thoughts carried him toward the center of the city, near the court house, where it seemed that there was a trial currently underway, judging by the number of people around the are. 'Well, there's no need to rush off to my sentence...' he thought quietly as he altered direction and headed toward the trial.

It was not long until he had managed to slip through and gain entrance, and see why the people were so interested. A demi-human was rare in the city, or at least they had been when he lived there. Seeing one on trial would be an oddity not soon forgotten.

Seos rounded the top of the hill, his shirt fluttering a bit in the wind. "Well, Diskn, here it is, the kingdom of the humans. Zeal. You sure you don't want to use this?" He said, holding out the single black cloak they had been able to afford between them. He had used it for a while: he had already been mistaken for a divine dragon several times, and found to be a half-breed, but the prejudice in this town was going to be much worse. After all, when your race was responsible for attempting the genocide of the race whose kingdom you were entering, it would be expected that there would be quite a bit of violence. Diskn shook his head. Seos frowned. Ever since that day three years ago, the reptillian had been talking less and less. These days he was lucky to get ten words out of him a week. Then again, what he lacked in words he made up with in writing. Give him a tablecloth and something to write with and he could fill up the whole damn thing in one meal. "The whole repenting for the sins of your race thing, right? I understand." He said, donning the cloak himself and folding in his wings. Diskn nodded, then snapped his fingers to get Seos' attention as the half gargoyle turned away towards the city, rubbing his stomach with his other hand. "Food? Alright. I think we should have enough to scrounge up something while we're there." Diskn nodded in approval, and the two set off towads the city.

Diskn walked silently, as always, as Seos stared up at the buildings of the city in wonder. No matter how many cities we go to, he always finds the buildings so fascinating. He thought to himself. He noticed the stares he was getting from several human townspeople and hung his head a little. They feared him and hated him because of his entire race, an entire race of nothing but murderers. He absentmindedly rubbed his neck and felt a cool wave of mental anguish come over him. That was the penalty he had gotten from his race, near death and limited use of his voice. It was his job to give back to these people. He heard some talking and turned his head, seeing the veritable buttload of people in the square. He tapped Seos on the shoulder and pointed. The half mystic nodded underneath the hood. "Yeah, now that looks interesting. Good eye bud. I guess eating can wait until we find out what that's all about." The reptillian nodded and they walked over to the square, noticing that the building they were gathered around was a courthouse. Diskn heard something that interested him over the general murmur of the crowd.

"Are you saying you didn't attack that young lady." Diskn's eyes moved open a bit wider. It was a case for assult or murder, something like that. He tugged on Seos' sleeve and motioned to listen.

"She made the first swing, and she was assaulting someone. You're trying to say I should've let that slide...or are you just mad because your daughter anything but a productive member of society, especially considering who you talk to..." Diskn could hardly contain himself. This was a trial, much like the kind he had been given, and the person was throwing away their chance. He spoke, angrily, his voice so raspy it was almost inaudible, and deep enough that it sounded like the words of a demon. "We go." He moved smoothly into the crowd, who immediately cleared a path after they saw it was a huge reptillian that was coming. Seos followed quickly behind, knowing better than to try and stop him. This was an injustice, something that Diskn had pledged his life to erase. He let out a sigh and followed him through the crowd, making polite apologies to people they passed by.

Raziel could only sign as he noticed the girl he "assaulted" take the stand and begin testifing against him. She wore extremely short black robes, probably posing as a dark magician. or a whore, he still wasn't sure which. He heard her meaninglessly drag on details about her day before their meeting at the fair. It was at this time that Raziel realized he was never appointed a lawyer. the way the courts normally operated is that a member of the royal family acted as judge, and the accused, being him this time around, was awarded a prosecutor.

Raziel started listening once she got to the fair. A pathalogical liar if he ever saw one, he claimed the fairy had attacked her and she retaliated, she unsurprisingly ommited the part about her friends joining in. He was accused of being a savage beast...blah blah blah...the fairy started poking him on his shoulder. He turned his head to acknowledge her.

"Um...thanks."

the half-fox smiled. "It's no big deal, ok."

"Yeah but--!"

"Oh, this? This isn't really a big deal. They'll probably just seal my magic away and what not. so stop looking so depressed." the halfbreed turned back to the front. it was his turn to speak.

"Step up to the podium." the acting judge commanded.
"Sure thing boss." Raziel rose and walked up to a raised podium to the left of the judge. "All right, i won't bore you with any details leading up to the fair, so we'll just start there. I got there around twelve-ish and started looking around. I ran into them," he motioned at the three girls "near a Nu statue. From what I saw, the three of them were mugging a smaller, winged girl. I asked what they were doing and She lunged at me. I moved out of the way only to be hit by a pole on the side of my head. Her friends tried to help her, I'm guessing she wasn't very strong without playing the numbers...Anyway they missed and she tried striking me with that pole again. When i grabbed it some of my magic transferred through it and burned her. She went running, and I tended to the winged girl's wounds and took her to a doctor. That's all!"

Looking out into the croud, he noticed a few new faces and most of those were foriegn.

By the time that Diskn and Seos had reached the front of the crowd, it was in an uproar. Not only were they demanding that various harsh punishments be inflicted upon the defendant, who Seos now saw was a halfbreed, but they were also scattering because of the Reptillian who had just moved forwards throughout the crowd. Seos sighed, listening to the court's proceedings. Maybe he was a bit biased, but he felt like the halfbreed was telling the truth. He could see, after getting to the front row, that there was also a smaller person nearby him. "A pixy?" He said, audibly, and Diskn stared adamantly at the trial, as though ready to jump in at any moment. The guards stationed for the trial stared at him, one a bit shakily and the other with a stern expression on his face. Seos wrote it off as nothing, and stood in silence to watch the rest of the trial.

"Rinna? Rinna!"

"Oh, hell." Rinna said, recognizing the voice and turning to get away before realizing she still had the bundle of bananas in her hand. It only took a "Hey, you need to pay for those!" from the gruff street produce merchant to stop Rinna in her tracks. The moment she turned around to put the bananas back, her friend was already at the produce stand, grinning like an idiot.

This girl was Cassi, and Rinna was one of the few friends she had, considering that she was an aggressive gossip. Rinna's friendship with Cassi existed solely out of purpose. There were jobs and bounties to be dealt with, and Cassi often got the information before the local guild did. Meeting up with the spirited Cassi always made Rinna melancholy, because she knew all it would take to change Cassi's unattractive habit would be a boyfriend or something. It was a vicious cycle. Cassi would need a boyfriend to halt her gossiping habit, but no boyfriend would date her because of her gossiping habit. Rinna swallowed whatever negative emotions she felt and returned to the produce stand.

"So, there's a huge event at the courthouse! Someone got convicted of assaulting three girls! I heard the guy was a fox demihuman. Don't you want to go see it?" It's was Cassi's annoying high-pitched flash of speech that always got to Rinna the most, but Rinna had listened to Cassi talk enough that she could pick out the whole conversation. "Why bother? It's not like the guy assaulted you or me or anything." Rinna said as she examined the bananas she still held. She looked up at the shopkeeper. "These look really good. How much for these and the three oranges there?"

After the exchange, Rinna proceeded home, followed closely by Cassi. Cassi just wouldn't give up, and before Rinna could give it a second thought, she was following Cassi to the courthouse after leaving the fruit at home.

'After wandering for some days Areius found himself at the gates of Zeal, when he got closer two guards stoped him.'
"Identify yourself!" The first guard said. "I think he is a magician" the other said.
"As a matter of fact I am. My name is Arus (fake name) and I have been away for a long time. Is there anything special that has happened here resently?" Areius said.
"I heard there was going to be a trial of a demi-human of some sort but thats all I guess. Anyway I will allow you entry, welcome to the Kingdom of Zeal."
'After getting clearence Areius wandered into the sprawling city.'

Xhar stood solemnly atop one of the higher ridges of a deep valley. On either side, veritable walls of granite extended off over the horizon, silvery mountain peaks piercing the sky itself. Between the two stone rows a warm breeze flowed, smelling slightly of saline from the distant sea; it flicked at his cloak and brushed his face warmly. Sighing deeply, Xhar looked out over the nearby cliff, seeing a distant forest and a small river flowing over the rolling, emerald countryside. Birds flew through the cerulean sky, looking down on the deer-like animals that stood, in clumps, devouring the grass.

"The herbivores eat the grass... raptors eat them young--or vultures old--or any number of other animals in between... and when they all die, they feed the grass. The cycle... everything comes full circle. That is the way of the earth..." Xhar whispered softly to himself, contemplating the landscape before him. For a moment he paused, and then kneeled and placed his hand upon the earth beneath him. "So simple... and yet the earth screams. There is something wrong here... and how can I know what it means? How can someone as small as I assume to know what the earth feels? And yet..." he froze in mid thought, his gaze focusing on a nearby Bellflower. It was young, and small--only slightly passed budding, and it's stem was broken by the gnawing teeth of some small rodent. Gently, his smooth, scaled hands glimmering slightly in the warm sunlight, Xhar scooped it up and sniffed it quickly. It's smell was weak against the sea-smell that hung in the air, even at this height.

Standing, Xhar turned to the nearby skeleton of what was once a dragonite. A massive dragonite... his most ancient of brethren. It must have once been so grand... posessing knowledge beyond that, that even he could comprehend. And yet these great, massive reptiles had died so long ago. Even the greatest, most powerful things succumed to death... that was the way of the universe. Death was, in the end, the only constant. But to think that the planet itself could succumb to that...

Oddly, it was at these thoughts that the ring on Xhar's finger seemed to throb. His eyes turned to it almost of their own accord and he gazed at its gleaming, silver surface that the sunlight reflected off of so brightly. From the extravagence of the ring to the symbols engraved in the surface, nothing about this ring seemed like it could have come from his family. There was nothing in Terropolis with this writing, and Xhar's family had been poor up until... until it had ended abruptly in everyone but him. And it had all been his fault. If he hadn't... but he couldn't think about that. There was something in his past that was specifically strange, that was why his family had been watched. That was why his small rant had gotten to the queen so very quickly. There was something there and Xhar would have to find out what it was... and the only tie he had to his heritage was this ring and these symbols. And there had to be someone who would know something about it.

As best as Xhar could tell, the symbols were human. It had seemed as if there were simmilar, if different, ones in the various human villages he had stolen from to stay alive. In order to properly find out exaclty what the ring stood for, he would need to find a human who would be willing to talk to him... and thus would have to find centers of human activity. Part of him felt that Zeal, the pinnacle of human civilization, would probably be the only place where he could find answers, but for now the city of Termina was only a few hours journey from this mountain pass... so he would try there first. The only problem was finding a human who could and would answer his questions before trying to kill him.

But if there was anything Xhar had been taught, it was that every problem had a solution, he would just have to find it. With a slightly higher resolve, Xhar let out a small sigh and, tucking the small Bellflower into the collar of his mantle, turned from the dragonite skeleton to head down the path to Termina, and whatever that city might bring.