The Heroes of Alexina

A Mabinogi Fanfiction

By: A.M. Lena

(Note: I own nothing. Don't sue! The main character in the story doesn't even belong to me but a person who plays the game of Mabinogi and Bardox is all theirs, they just gave me the honor to add this to the series.)

Bardox

Chapter One

As the sun began to rise over the horizon Bardox sat waiting upon a hill, staring off into nothingness, contemplating, waiting. Near to him, wolves and foxes could be heard waking with the coming of the new day, yipping, and snarling as they began the dance of their morning routines. Birds rustled from their nests in the trees above, sheep bahhed in the fields, and the clink clink clink of carts could be heard traveling along the trail leading to Dugald Aisle, people whistling as they made their way from Tir Chonail to Dunbarton in order to sell their wares for the day. Life bustled, the silence of the early morning fading into nothing more than a fond memory at this point for the young lad as he continued to watch the world pass him by and wait, hoping that his father and brother would return home like they had promised. Sitting as he was, Bardox had a clear vantage point of the comings and goings of the village. He could see everyone from Ferghus clanking away in his forge and cursing as he more-then-likely broke yet another sword, Deian chasing after a sheep that had wandered off to close to a pack of wolves and screaming at the top of his lungs for the dear thing to come back, to Alissa and Nora gossiping about something that Piaras had done the night before.

As the morning wore on, the deadline for when he was supposed to meet up with the other recruits in front of the Magic School grew closer by the minute. Bardox continued to watch anxiously as milletians and merchants bustled in and out of the tunnel to Dugald, many of them stopping to talk with the people of the Trading Post in order to find out the latest gossip or deals for the day, none of them being the two people he longed to see most of all. Especially on today of all days. Frustration setting in Bardox relented with a sigh and a heavy heart that they just weren't coming. Getting up and patting himself down he quickly groomed himself back to the order he had been in when his mother had tidied him up at dawn, knowing full well that he was going to wait up for his father and brother, then made his way to the Magic School, slouched over with his hands buried in his pockets in disappointment.

By the time he made it to the school, with scarce minutes to spare, a crowd had already formed. The other ten-year-olds from his class had already lined up on the practice field with Lassar, Ranald, Trefor and Duncan standing front and center before the crowd as they waited for the last stragglers of this year's recruits and for Tin to appear in order for the ceremony to commence. Getting into place near the back, keeping a distance from most of his peers and ignoring the whisperings of the crowd that seemed to erupt at his presence, Bardox stood at attention, keeping his eyes locked ahead and making sure to not directly stare at anyone or anything so that he could eventually just blend in with everyone else.

He knew what they were all talking about, the whisperings and awed looks were never hidden from him, people treated him as a celebrity due to being the son of Lennox – the first of the Royal Alchemists – and younger brother to Leymore – alchemist extraordinaire who was just as good or not better than their father – and was expected by everyone, including said father and brother, to live up to the family name. So far he had done just that. He ranked at the top of his class for the newest group of milletians in all of his lessons, he won all of the mock fighting tournaments that were held within the village not once getting hurt and breaking many records, but in the end, it was never good enough. No matter how hard he worked, no matter how powerful he became or the effort he put into everything that he did, the response was always the same. Bardox would forever be compared to his father and brother, never to be seen as himself, just another carbon copy of the great Lennox and Leymore, never Bardox. If it wasn't for the fact that he loved alchemy and idolized the Royal Alchemists, wanting to be one from the first moment he had seen his father fight a Fomor, he would go into another field all together just to spite everyone around him. Being as things were, though, he simply couldn't do that to himself, despite knowing that this road would be harder for him than others and that he may never actually establish a name for himself due to his family.

Shaking his head Bardox cleared his thoughts and focused on the bustle of the crowd around him. Tin had arrived and was waving as everyone cheered, happiness seeming to radiate off of him in waves. Taking a quick peek into the crowd Bardox looked for his mother and froze. Standing beside his mother, hands locked together, was his father. His silver-grey hair was still pulled back in the military fashion he had grown accustomed to, his uniform pressed and polished to the nines and cylinders attached to his arms as if they were not a weapon at all but a part of him instead. Next to him was Leymore the spitting image of their father, long hair falling over his shoulders and a picture of rebelliousness and laziness combined. He had brought his friends Cai and Jenna with him, who waved energetically when they spotted Bardox looking at them. Shyly smiling at them, Bardox nodded towards their direction then turned back around to face Duncan as he began to address the new recruits in the ceremony that was now familiar to them all.

"It is an honor and a privilege to see you all here today," Duncan extended his arms to the crowd as he gestured to them all in turn, "as we see these brave young souls off into the world. Today these children will no longer be as they once were. Today they will become milletians of the Kingdom of Aliech, and will not only protect Uladh but all of Erinn. They will hone many skills and lessons upon this journey they have chosen to embark upon, one that many of us here today have taken ourselves." The crowd murmured in agreement, most of them remembering when they had taken these first steps into the world of a milletian.

"Today a new generation of milletians has begun," Duncan directed his attention to the recruits who were staring rapt in anticipation at him and Tin behind him, "Now you all shall join one by one the ranks of the milletians before you, to learn from them, to grow and harness your talents to the greatest of your abilities no matter what path the Gods lead you." With that Nao bowed and backed away a few steps to allow Tin a chance to speak.

Pulling a scroll from the inside pocket of his tunic, Tin cleared his throat from behind his helmet then loudly spoke to the recruits and crowd before him, "In a moment I shall call each of you by your name and you will come forward to stand next to Duncan and myself where you will announce what path you have chosen as your starter skill and you will be assigned a mentor who will train you for the next year. Remember, it is perfectly acceptable to switch paths at any time before the year is up, just know that finding a replacement mentor will take some time resulting in you having to wait until the ceremony next year in order to get a new one. If you stay within your chosen path you will continue to train with your mentor when the year is up as long as everyone is agreeable with the arrangement," Clearing his throat once more Tin continued, "We will begin with the recruits who had switched paths last year then work our way forward alphabetically to the recruits from this year's crop." He then turned to Duncan who had gathered a group of people, presumably the mentors that Tin had spoken about, behind him who stood shoulder to shoulder facing the recruits. Each of them looked intimidating in their own respects, but none more so then the tall man at the end.

The man at the end of the line of the mentors seemed to radiate power. With his arms crossed in front of his chest the male stood as straight as a soldier, his maroon uniform pressed and tucked meticulously against his solid frame and long black hair falling down his shoulders and his back in waves, the matching maroon hat on his head seemed to conceal his left eye completely. A long beautifully crafted sword hung at his waist and an equally impressive cylinder was attached to his arm along with a shield the likes of which Bardox had never seen before. It was attached to his arm like a cylinder would have been if he had a second one like most alchemists did, but instead, the device on his arm looked like a medium sized shield, it being nearly as large as half his torso. As Bardox looked over the mentors, he couldn't shake the feeling that the strange man at the end would be the one that he received.

"We are ready to commence," Duncan's voice rang over the crowd, "Tin will begin reading the names." With that, the process of going through all of the recruits began. When called each recruit walked forward, shook Duncan and Tin's hands, then announced what their chosen path would be. A mentor would then walk forward alongside Duncan, who would hand the new milletian a pack with some starter supplies, and they would then walk back together in the line the mentors came from originally. All the recruits from the year before had gone up and now stood in the growing line and the list that was for the new recruits for this year's batch began. Starting with a shaky and nervous Bardox.

When his name was called he hadn't heard it at first, lost in the moment of everything going on around him. After being called a second time, however, he stumbled forward, tripping over his own two feet, face a deep scarlet as he righted himself and marched forward. With a sweaty hand Bardox shook hands with Tin then nervously spoke in front of all the watchful gazes before him, "I have chosen the path of alchemy were I plan to become a Royal Alchemist like my father before me," a cheer rang from the crowd and he quickly turned away to face Duncan and his future mentor. Stomach falling at seeing who his mentor would be Bardox masked his feelings of fear as best as he could as he saw, like he somewhat expected, the intimidating tall man in maroon that he had been staring at before. Duncan smiled cheerily as usual at him as he accepted his new bag gratefully and learned that his mentor's name was "J" or as he liked to be called "Professor J", then walked to the line like the other new milletians before him and waited out the ceremony so that he could join his family and talk to his father and brother who he hadn't seen in months.

An hour had passed before the last of the recruits had been called and Bardox could have collapsed in relief, having grown tired of standing and waiting during the whole process, impatience having completely taken over, and was about to make a beeline for his family when a sturdy hand clasped his shoulder and J peered at him discreetly before nodding in the direction of Duncan who had begun to talk again. Turning scarlet once more at almost making a fool out of himself by bolting in the middle of Duncan's closing speech, then faced forward once more and tried to pay attention to everything that was being said and failing completely. Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait long and everyone was allowed to go celebrate with their families before they had to depart with their mentors in the morning.

Before he could even take a step towards his family though once more a strong hand landed on Bardox's shoulder and prevented him from moving. J once more peered at him, the silence around them permeating the air like a thick marshmallow, before the man spoke, his voice a smooth base, "I will come for you in the morning before dawn, be ready or I will leave without you and you will have to find a new mentor," Bardox's eyes widened in shock at the audacity of the man then grabbed the scroll that was being shoved at him, "this is a list of supplies that you will need. I have already given a copy to your father and he has assured me that you will have everything but you need to see this as well," as J spoke his eyes slowly locked with his fathers who had made his way behind Bardox when he hadn't immediately joined them after the ceremony was over, "if you do not have everything on the list you will have to do without until we can procure you the items elsewhere for I will not be bringing extras." With a final nod, J turned away from Bardox and his family and walked off without another word.

"That is a strange man," Jenna piped up after a while of silence upon J's departure.

"He is a royal scientist, they are all mad," Leymore piped in before being smacked on the back of his head by Cai then scolded by their father.

"Professor J is a brilliant man and it is an honor for your brother to have been chosen by him. He is in the process of creating a new form of alchemy as we speak and could have been a Royal Alchemist if he had not chosen the field of science instead. So you will show him respect," Lennox turned away from his eldest son who seemed to be ignoring him anyways then turned to his youngest, "I'm sorry we were not able to meet you on the road this morning Bardox. Your mother told us you had been waiting for us." He looked sheepish for a moment then returned back to the strict image he maintained always, even in the face of his family, "I am very proud of you and know that you will make a great addition to the ranks as soon as you join in a few years."

"We should be heading home now," his mother Astoria chimed in from behind his father, "Its already late and Caitin was kind enough to cook a feast for us in a certain someone's honor," she winked at Bardox and with that they made their way to their small home on the grasslands before Ciar Dungeon.

On opening the door to their cottage the smell of food smacked Bardox instantly, followed by the sight of streamers and balloons lining the walls from floor to ceiling along with a large banner with 'Congratulations Bardox" painted with different shades of red and smeared in multiple places. Caitin greeted everyone as they walked in and gave Bardox a bone crushing hug followed by a kiss on the cheek resulting in him turning a dull pink. Then everyone began to dig into the meal before them, becoming reacquainted again after so long of being apart. After a while Leymore, Cai, and Jenna were reciting tales of their adventures and Bardox was left alone to his thoughts for the first time in hours since the ceremony.

The sun had started its descent for the day, its orange hue fading down along the horizon and casting shadows on the wooden walls of the cottage, setting a relaxed atmosphere in the home. Bardox faded in and out of the conversations going around, choosing to focus on the journey ahead of him and what was going to happen in the morning when he left with J – or Professor J – his mentor. Not feeling up to celebrating any longer Bardox carefully stole away from the party, taking care for no one to notice him, and made his way outside where he sat down on the porch that he would not be seeing for a long time. Stowing away in the corner underneath the cottage window Bardox pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Not knowing what to make of his mentor and stressing out about how he was going to somehow make a name for himself and be taken seriously for his skills despite the family he was born into.

Bardox was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the front door opening and closing in front of him until his mother was kneeling in front of him and placing her hands on top of his own. Giving her son a loving smile Astoria pulled him into her arms and ran her fingers through his hair like she had done his whole life when he needed comfort, gently rocking him back and forth, humming the lullaby that her mother used to hum to her. "Being a milletian is scary," she finally said after a few moments, "and no matter how grown you become you will always be my son, my baby." Pulling his face upwards she stared into her son's eyes for a moment before continuing, "the road you have chosen is rough Bardox, I won't lie to you. But that doesn't mean you won't be successful. I know you feel you have a lot to live up to given your father and Leymore but don't let that consume you. You do not have to be like them, you can be anything that you want to be and it doesn't matter what anyone else has to say about the matter. Just be you, and be the best you possible. By doing that you will carve your name onto the world even more so than them."

Tears had begun to prick at Bardox's eyes, the love from his mother and the truth of her words overwhelming him and lifting a weight off of his shoulders that he hadn't realized that he had had. Giving her son a final hug Astoria reached behind her and handed Bardox a long wooden box that had been carved with various pictures of phoenixes all over its surface. He knew what this was, and couldn't believe that he was still actually holding onto it. With stuttered breath he managed to ask, "Mom, is this- is this what I think it is?"

With a nod, Astoria opened the lid off of the box and revealed the sword that had been inside. "It was my fathers, passed down to him by his father and his father before that and so on for five generations. When I became a milletian all those years ago he had given this to me as my celebration present and I am now giving this to you."

Bardox couldn't believe that this was happening. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Why?"

"Because even though you have chosen to be an alchemist, something tells me that you are going to need this. That you will use this alongside your alchemy and that you will become something far greater than your father and brother combined. You always did have more of my blood in you after all, and we are said to have been descendants of the God Nuadha, of which this sword originally belonged to." He had heard the story of his mother's family for many years, and though part of him wished to believe the part of Nuadha being his great-great-great-great-great grandfather he wouldn't place any bets on it.

Never-the-less as he lifted the sword out of the box and inspected its ethereal beauty and for the first time a part of him was thrilled to even be able to hold it, though he doubted he would actually ever be able to use it, but would still carry it on him as a reminder of his mother when he left in the morning. With a whispered thanks and an emotional last hug the two went back inside to the party were Bardox excused himself for the evening, using the legitimate excuse of him having to leave early in the morning as a way to get out of staying any longer and headed for his room on the upper floor. On entering his room bags were packed in a corner of everything he will be having to bring with him in the morning and with a final goodbye to his room Bardox slipped into bed, set a charm to wake him in time for him to leave in the morning, then fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

The next morning when he awoke breakfast had been laid out for him and for the last time in a long time, far longer than he could have ever realized or known, he ate with his family and enjoyed their company, joking around with Leymore, Cai and Jenna like they all had done when they were younger, bonding with both of his parents at the same time of which was a rarity in itself given that Lennox was constantly having to stay in Tara as leader of the Royal Knights despite having a family to care for. All was well and cheerful in the cottage.

When Professor J had finally arrived everyone was at peace for this new stage in their lives, and as Bardox packed his things into the caravan and climbed in beside his mentor he made sure that his mother's sword was strapped securely on his person, even as he received strange looks from everyone around him, including J.