Alright this is an OC fic and it might eventually become a Alnel fic as well but I'm not certain about that. Flames are accepted by the way along with anon reviews because I know you all hate OC fics. Anyway R&R.

This will be something abit different from normal alnel's in that there will be no love. no compassion. This is my interpretations of things with the addition of a character, who hopefully not piss off too many people. Feel free to flame me just don't be silent.

Also, I'd like to say that this fic will only be update every other week or so in increments ranging from 2000-4000 words. This is only a sub fic for me and will be taking a back seat to Of Brother and Angels. Sorry but then its not that good so it doesn't really matter.

Prologue

Self-Same Slaughter

The wind was sweet against his skin. Sickeningly sweet. A sweet ecstasy that would threaten to ruin his bad mood, but this was no usual depression. He sighed as his black-white hair was plastered against his face and the two braids that he had been trying to grow for sometime swung in the wind. They were still only half way down his back but would get longer unless he had anything to say about it. His left arm swayed dead in the wind and the claws of his new gauntlet scratched at his long loose pants. He didn't notice, he was running the events of the previous week through his head for the thousandth time. He could still feel the burning, the dragon fire lapping over his arm killing nerves, melting flesh, and turning bone to ash. They had managed to save most of the hand and some of the fingers but he would never be able to move the hand for the rest of his life. He would not have a useless hand though and at his request they had created a metal claw that went over his arm and with a twist of his torso and swing of his shoulder he could still launch a deadly attack with the hand.

That didn't matter though. All that mattered was that his father was dead. He had been reduced to a mass of bubbling skin and twitching ligaments before Albel's eyes. The once proud and strong knight known as Glou Nox. The man who had led the Dragon Brigade of Airyglyph had sacrificed himself in order to save his son, a son who was unworthy of life. The dragons had shown no mercy on the man who stood between them and their target, they would have a soul as forfeit and got one they did.

Not only had Albel taken the grave emotional injury of being directly responsible for the death of his father but his father in sacrificing himself for him had dealt a wound to Albel's precious hubris. Not only had Albel been too weak to succeed in his Ascension Ceremony but he had failed so spectacularly that someone had to protect him from the repercussions of his failure. Albel hated being protected, only the weak needed to be protected and he wasn't weak…or was he? He couldn't dodge the truth; he was indeed weak. He deserved to die and death is what he would get. He had found his way through the woods to a cliff near the border with Aquios that he and his older brother had often played near in the times of their youth. He would cast himself down about the ground below and fall to his death. Then would all be right with the world.

He gave no thought to those he was leaving behind. They would just have to deal with his lose. He doubted they would care much. Kasch could handle everything else; he would pass the Ascension of the Flame Ceremony he was being rushed into. Albel's brother had long been slotted to take over the Black Brigade while Albel would take over the Dragon Brigade, but with Albel's failure Kasch was being prepared for the position of Dragon Brigade Captain.

Albel leaned into the wind and it gave way beneath him. He could feel himself fall for but a moment when he jerked to a stop. He could see the rolling plains beneath him. They were a verdant tinge of green that just spoke of life and he could see small groups of people crossing them in peace. There was a border village not to far away and pillars of smoke rose from the chimneys and drifted away on the tranquil wind. Albel was hanging above all this neither standing on something nor falling. His left arm felt like it was being tugged out of its socket and looking up he noticed the dilemma that was preventing his free fall. Some how his claw had stabbed into the cliff face and was holding him up. He began pulling on it but it seemed firmly stuck and it did not want him to fall. What was odd was that the claw would find its way into a crevice and become so securely fastened into place and prevent his death. It was as though his father was protecting him from beyond the grave. But that thought was just silly. Albel didn't believe in spirits. It was just a freak coincidence.

Albel kept pulling on his imbedded claw for sometime and began screaming in frustration as it stubbornly refused to give. Drawn by his screams and yells a red head poked out from above the cliff. It was a red headed girl and judging from the strange (and very thin) clothing and the strange tattoos on her body she was an Aquarian. Oh well, at least if he didn't fall to his death than she would kill him. What he heard next made his heart sink. The girl spoke to him with concern obvious in her voice, "Are you alright? Here take my hand and I'll pull you up". She extended a thin arm towards him.

"Leave me alone and let me die! The only reason I'm still alive is this damned claw got stuck. You don't want to save me, anyway, I'm from Airyglyph. You should hate me!" Albel shouted viciously at her. Go away! Damn it! I don't want to return in shame again! Did the bastard who saved me have to be an Aquarian wench! Doesn't she know that the weak don't deserve life? But then that is why those from Aquios are so fragile. They do not do what is necessary to expel there pathetic maggots. Ha! Neither does Airyglyph if it gave me any mercy.

"No! I can't do that to someone. If it was me down there I would expect you to do the same for me." The Aquarian girl said back and reached down from the brink and grabbed.

"But I wouldn't! I'd let you die! Let go, maggot, let go!" he smacked at her wrists with his free hand as she pulled him onto solid ground. He could feel the ground beneath him and scrambled away a few strides before he collapsed. He was on his hand and knees his breathing, for some reason, felt labored as he punched the ground that mocked him with it solidness. He stood erect and turned on the girl, "I HATE YOU" Albel shouted, "I was supposed to be dead. But no you had to be a damned hero!" He began to advance on her, his claw swaying menacingly. She sidestepped and backed up so as to avoid going over the edge of the crag.

"I saved your life you should be thankful! What could possibly be so wrong that killing yourself is the only solution?" the girl spat back at him. She stopped retreating and stood facing him. She was skinny and half a head shorter then himself but the way she acted she tried to make it seem like she was looming over him. Pathetic.

Albel let mocking laughter, escape his lips and turned his back to her. "You have dealt a grievous and unforgivable wound to my pride today by saving my life. For this insult I will one day kill you and all your people, pathetic fool. I leave you with my undying hatred wench." He began to walk away into the woods that crept up to the cliff.

"I'm to be punished for being a good citizen. Do you not know justice you…" her voice faded into a distant buzz as he moved away from her. He hadn't been joking, he would rededicate himself to his sword, he would find that annoying slip of girl, and he would kill her in a most violent fashion. He had a reason to live. He would redeem himself by killing every weakling in the world and turning the world into a place where only the strong survived. And he would start by killing those, like the girl he had just met, who gave mercy to the weak. He knew that since he was among the weak he would have to kill himself once he was done, he didn't feel to bad about that. At least his death would not be in vain.

He caught sight of someone out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head he saw leaning against the tree a boy with bone white hair. Slung over his shoulders were a large two-handed sword and another weapon. Kasch, for that was his name, was famous for using the normally two handed Black Brigade sword in one hand but it was he ability with the other weapon for which he had gained the most renown. His white hair was scraggly and untamed. He wore no armor and his clothes covered almost every inch of his skin, from the gloves on his hands to the boots on his feet. The only part of skin that could be seen was his face and it was covered completely with scars. Kasch had possessed those scars all over his body since he had been found in the mountains after a meteorite impact. Kasch was technically the older of the two Nox brothers (by adoption, as Glou had taken over the fatherhood of the boy when the king had been deciding what to do with the strange lad) but he looked the same age as Albel and had always looked that age as the passing of years did not seem to affect Kasch in the same way it did others.

"Kasch, what are you doing here?" Albel said, not trying to hide the blade of hostility in his voice. There was little love between the two brothers and normally they avoided each other whenever possible.

"Just making sure you didn't kill yourself but, luckily you can't even kill yourself right." Said the Kasch with his usual arrogant humility.

Albel brushed him off. He was not in the mood to put up with Kasch's passive aggressive attitude and did the simplest tactic to get Kasch to go away, give him an order. "Go away Kasch."

"I am less then human I cannot refuse your request." The boy bowed and ran into the distance. Albel was always curious as to what made Kasch less then human in his mind but in all honesty he didn't really care. All he knew was that it meant that Kasch would do whatever he was told.