There once was a young man who lost his father.
His name was Ignarathos Laude, son of Alistarius Laude, the king of Daethos. Upon the death of his father, it was declared he would ascend to the throne upon his twentieth birthday. The entire nation mourned for their king, but they celebrated and gave homage to their prince.
Prince Ignarathos’ uncle, the husband of his father’s sister, presented him with a gift to celebrate his ascension: a golden sword fashioned with precious stones. It quickly became his prized possession, and he even seemed to be a better swordsman with the blade in his hand.
As the time grew nearer for his rise to the throne, members of the court began to notice a change in his behavior. He grew short-tempered and angry. His senses were heightened, his actions became bestial, and even his stature had begun to change. Before he knew it, Prince Ingarathos found he was taking the form of a dracleon: a lion with the wings, strength, and ferocity of a dragon.
Unsure of the cause of the curse, Prince Ignarathos was unable to stop or reverse it. He abandoned his royal position and fled the kingdom with his gilded sword. And, as he had no closer relative to take the throne, the kingdom was given to Lord Argonne—his uncle.
The prince hid himself away in the mountains, and he was not seen again until a sorcerer sought out his presence.
“Prince Ignarathos?”
The prince, now fully dracleon, turned his maned head as long, twisted horns reflected the light from the cave’s opening. “What reason do you have to seek me?” The question escaped the leonine mouth, half as much a growl as it was spoken words.
“My lord, I know the cause of your transformation: it is the golden sword you were given. A curse was cast upon it.”
“A curse? On the sword?” The dracleon roused to his feet.
“Whenever it is unsheathed and used, the one who wields it gains power... as he begins to change into a dracleon.” The sorcerer seemed to curl forward around his own arms. “Lord Argonne ordered me to cast the curse upon the sword. I did not know of his motives until I heard he had replaced you upon your throne. It was then that I knew what he had done, and how I had played a terrible role.”
“What is it that you want,” the beast spoke, “now that you have admitted the deed?”
“All I ask is for forgiveness,” the sorcerer pleaded as he dropped to his knees.
Despite his bestial urges, the prince’s eyes warmed with compassion, and sparked with hope. “I will grant you forgiveness if you can give me something in return.”
“Anything you ask, my lord.”
“Tell me the way to return human.”
The sorcerer bowed his head, pained. “To return human, blood must be shed across your chest, directly over your heart. Then, the red stone upon the hilt of the sword must be placed against the wound. It is then that the curse will be removed, and you will return human. However,” his face twisted further, “because of the strength of the spell, not all of the curse can be removed. A drop of the curse will be left behind, and it is this drop that will slowly plague you until your heart stops entirely.”
Prince Ignarathos was faced with a terrible decision. He had to choose between the long life of a dracleon, or an untimely–and painful–death as a human.
At last, he gave the sorcerer his forgiveness and turned away, remaining a dracleon. He hid the sword so that no others would be touched by the curse, and it is said that he still guards the sword to this day.
But the story of a dracleon and a curse soon faded from history.
A new story arose of a sword so powerful that Prince Ignarathos left the throne in order to keep the power for himself.
The sword would call to all who longed to find it and experience its immeasurable power.
The sword became a legend throughout Daethos: The legend of the Sword of Ignarathos.
--
“Do you really believe all that mess?” The young woman blinked, staring incredulously at the lanky teen beside her.
“Eh, who knows.”
The young man grasped together his hands, half-covered in fingerless gloves. He wore sleeveless black shirt layered over a white undershirt rolled up at his elbows, dusty brown pants, and black boots. The chestnut mop of hair on his head was split on either side of his face thanks to a black headband pressed against his hairline. His green eyes always lit up when he was pretending to court a lady.
Through chirping crickets and the artificial glow of an electric lamp, the couple stood at the edge of a cobblestone path that led to a stone mansion. With an iron fence around a manicured garden and numerous power lines feeding into the roof, the home was clearly the residence of a wealthy family.
“That whole story sounds entirely too made up to be true.” The young woman shifted her weight on her high-heeled shoes as her thin legs bent at the knees. In her delicately embroidered bodice, golden chains, and short, flowing skirt, she certainly looked like she had come from such a house. “Besides, dracleons are storybook creatures.”
“They very well may be. I know I’ve never seen one.” He grinned and watched her hands rest on her hips. His eyes strayed to a woven moneybag tucked beneath a thin belt around her waist.
The young woman ran her fingers through a mass of red curls as she casually glanced to the mansion on the other side of the wrought iron gate. “Well, I do appreciate you walking me home.”
His attention returned to her face. “But, of course. I couldn’t have my date walk back alone.”
“Would you like to come inside?” She asked, twisting her form in such a way to accentuate her curves.
“Oh, I couldn’t,” he dismissed.
“Why not?” She tilted her head as the red curls bobbed. “My parents are out; the night doesn’t have to end here.”
His body tensed as she suddenly drew closer, and he was quick to scoot out of her fingertips.
Her lips pouted as she took a step back. “Did you not have a good time?”
The young man apologetically raised his hands and stepped back into place. “Of course I did,” he cooed reassuringly, gently bringing his hands to her hips. “I just wouldn’t want to try to do too much on our first date, you know. We need to save something for next time.”
“Next time?” She straightened up as her blue eyes widened.
“You never know.” The smile had returned to his face in full force.
The woman’s freckled cheeks flushed pink. “Well, I mean,” she began, only to giggle and gently bring her hands to his shoulders. “I just wish there was something I could do to repay you...”
She spoke softly, almost whispering the words as she leaned closer. Her decorative bodice pressed against the young man’s chest. Her cherry-red lips hovered before his face.
“Sorry, my dear,” he slipped one of his hands up to her chin. “Besides, I’ll have the memory of your smile to take with me.”
Her face shone a bright red as a smile broke across her lips. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
The young man smirked. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She took the smallest of steps back as he released her hips. “See you again soon?”
“If I’m lucky enough.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a smile. “Have a good night, Leesa.”
“Good night, Ace,” she turned to hide her chin behind her shoulder. “And thanks again.”
“Oh, no, thank you,” Ace turned and waved as he started back into town.
Leesa watched his lithe form pass into the shadow that collected between two street lights and gave a dreamy sigh. A wide grin stretched her lips as her fingers balled together at her chest. She broke into giggles and danced upon her heels for a moment before turning to look back at the street.
His figure hadn’t come out of the shadow.
Giddiness faded into curiosity, and she dropped her hands to her hips.
Curiosity faded into shock. Her eyes shot down to her belt and found that her moneybag was no longer attached.
Her eyes darted across the dimly lit cobblestone in an attempt to locate it, but it was clear that it hadn’t fallen.
When she rose back to her feet, shock had contorted her face into outrage.
“ACE GALLAGHER!!” She screamed.
-----
Ahh good ol' Ace Gallagher, haha.
This was me toying around with the opening of The Tale of Ace Gallagher; trying to get some foundation for the rest of the story while also making it intriguing enough you may want to keep reading past Chapter 1 😁
I had a thought that the only sorcerer powerful enough to make such a cursed blade would be The Phoenix... but the biggest flaw in that theory is I think the Phoenix would have known how to fully break the curse - which is something Mioko knows without even being that amazing of a sorcerer.
But thank goodness Ace gets friends to help him break out of this cycle, lol.