First Eclipse [Open]

[Zabuza Midareta]

William was scanning the area, listening as much as he could when the block of wood made contact with the back of his head. His hands went to cover the part where he had been struck. He flipped over to see the man.

The grass then disappeared, leaving the ground bare. The man congratulated him for using the tree, even if he failed with the assault. In the blink of an eye two more of the men appeared out of thin air. William knew which was the real one, even if there were three.


They took turns, with arrogant grins on their faces. The three men took turns telling William off. "Easy? This is far cry from easy. This is like forcing diarrhea from your finger tips," William said keeping a straight face as he said it, because he was serious.

The wood each held in their hands were identical. The scythes appeared, they were identical as well. This would have confused a normal person, but William still knew which was the real one.

"Confused? I know exactly who is real," William spoke, taking on an arrogant tone himself. As he spoke the last word, they readied themselves. William thought they were going to strike him, but instead a loud bang went off and they all disappeared, Fuck! William got into a crouched pose.

As he got into position they reappeared, so much for knowing who's who. The man told him someone would strike, who? William had no idea. He swept his head back forth looking at the three.

A clone rushed forward and swung the scythe a wide sweep. It would kill him, no, it would cut him in two if he didn't do anything. William thought quick on his feet and brought up his right hand, with blade exposed, and made contact with the scythe. Right were the blade meets the handle. He redirected the scythe to go alot further, so unless the clone had a good grip, it would yank most of it out of his hand.

As he saw the clone try to fix the positioning William rolled under his and raised his left hand putting it, and grasping, the clones head. "Fake," William spoke as he willed the gun to shoot into the clone's head.

[grimmhallows]

The real Grey chuckled quite some distance off; a young girl with him as well.
"How's your first squire?" She asked, and Grey smirked with a small amount of pride.
"For a weak human, he might be promising."
Lia sighed, and shook her head, lightly smacking his with her gloved hand.
"I am human, you moron."

The Grey clone William had fought disappeared in a bust of dark smoke, obsuring vision; the scythes of the two others came rushing through, one lightly scratching the man's skin.
"Seems the recruit could use refinement, might need some of that enchated gear of yours.
Nothing too serious yet. New armor might help too."

Grey and Lia seemed to smile affectionately at the struggling recruit for a moment, before Lia disintegrated into shadowy tendrils.
"Have fun, brother. Don't break him."

Grey sighed, and waved her off, and stopped the attacks on the youth.
The clones disappeared, and Grey moved incredibly close and pushed William with his foot to the ground, the wood in his hands.
"Not bad. I'd say you pass." And with that, Grey snapped the board in two.

"I've sent my sister to get you some gear to make you better. Make you look like a real eclipse Knight, you know? Something subtle with enough flash." Grey chuckled at the contradiction and brought the man to his knees.

"So, tell me....What do you think of brunettes?" Grey smirked as the Library returned, the field disappearing.

[Zabuza Midareta]

William watched as the clone disappeared into a cloud of dark smoke, it was thick enough that William couldn't see very well. He stood there waiting for his next opponent to step through, instead he saw two scythes coming through the smoke. William jumped back but one of the scythes hit him, lightly, on his collar bone.

William gasped at the cold metal against his skin. The power of the attack, even if it was light, was enough to stagger him. He crouched, and grabbed the would with his left hand to cover it, waiting for the next to try and kill him. They approached and just as they were about to make a final blow, they disappeared.

"Huh?!" William's eyes flooding with disbelief. William looked around and saw the man was approaching. William let him get closer to him, Probably wanted to make the final blow himself, William thought. Though he was proven wrong, for when he got right next to William, all he did was push him to the ground with his foot.

William looked back up at him, as he lay on his back from being pushed, as heard him as he said he passed, "What? How? You still have the wood in your hands and it's still on peice," William argued over the fact that he lost, even though the man claimed he won. Without a single word the man grabbed both sides of the board and snapped it in half.

"Your sister? You have a sister?" William spoke, then shook his head, "Of course you do, why would you lie." William mumbled to himself. Gear? William thought I hope it looks bad-ass. William smiled at the thought. The man extended a hand and pulled William up to him knees.

William blushed as the man spoke with a smirk on his face about brunettes, "Um, well..." William's voice trailed off. He went to complete the sentence but choked on the words. He took a breath and spit them out "Brunettes can be pretty cute, and can be pretty smart. I like them, I guess." William spoke, unsure how to reply to the man's odd question.

William watched as the grassland turned back into the library. He looked around at all the musky books, when a question popped into his head, "What is your name, sir?" William turned to the man.

[grimmhallows]

Grey eyed him curiously, and then remembered the lack of any sort of introduction.
"My name is Grey. Sir or Lord will do fine; respect is of course necessary, if only in public." Grey bowed and then rose, and then rather flamboyantly seemed to show off the Library.

"This library has any information imaginable; well, except on more modern things, it seems. But, this is our home now; the great Library protecting us from harm, and giving us time to plan our moves. The order of the Eclipse has always had such a Library, I've read; even my sister has confirmed this. I myself cannot say; I awoke with no memory." Grey trailed off, and then returned.
"My sister just so happens to be brunette; hence the question. So now I know I must be careful of just how much time you spend with my sister...." he chuckled, his joke being corrected.
"No, I have no quarrel with who courts my sister. She has always lectured me on how she'd be the one to choose."

Grey's face then seemed to darken in quick thought, and a book came flying at William; several, actually.
"You need to study. First, a study on how the Library works; that would be the large, overly thick black book. Over ten thousand pages, but it shouldn't take too long." Grey mused, and then looked to the red book that had come flying out of no-where.
"That is a study on wormholes and how to control them. It's only five thousand pages long, even though it's only a summary." Grey chuckled, and then motioned to the set of purple books.
"That's my homelands history, if you get bored. 20 books, each nine thousand pages long, at least. Volume 12 goes to twelve thousand."
Grey seemed quite serious in his intent for the books; William was to read them all.

"The books themselves are surprisingly easy to study and memorize. The words seem to stick in your head. Something like subliminal messages. Really handy. "
Grey chuckled, and waved.
"I will be quizzing you on multiple choice soon. You should be able to get a hundred percent, if you study correctly. Lia, my sister, will bring you food and water. You may speak with her as you study, should you like. I've been requested for something elsewhere; so be sure to be quick about your reading." Grey said, rather forcefully. He shook his head, and sighed, and then disappeared into a vortex of shadow that appeared as he moved away.

"I have faith in you, Squire William."



"Salutations. My name is Lia, Knight of Eclipse. I saw your fight with Grey.... You had no chance in hell." she laughed lightly, and brought a plate with some biscuits up.
"Here, and some water too." As she spoke the words, the glass appeared from no-where; as if a silent sheet of invisibility was suddenly lifted.
She set the tray down and stood patiently, reading her own book.

[Zabuza Midareta]

William stood up to his feet as Grey introduced himself. "Grey, what a peculiar name," William whispered to himself. Call him Sir or Lord, check, William wrote a memo in his head. Grey went on explaining how the Library had information on everything, except more modern things, If it has all the information, about everything, why doesn't he look up a book about himself, William made a note that he should tell Grey this later.

William looked around as Grey told him about how this was his home now, protecting him from harm, giving us protected time to let us plan. The Knights of the Eclipse have all ways had a Library such as this one. William moved closer to a table with a few chairs around it and sat down atop the surface.

As Grey talked about having no memory of his earlier life William was dumb struck. That has to suck so much. William's eyes sympathetic for Grey. Grey's voice trailed before he began talking about his sister, who happens to be a brunette. William's face become a bright red from embarrassment. "I... uh" William stuttered before Grey cut him off saying that he was joking about it.

William tried to gain back his composer as the topic became a little serious. "Your sister has a right to marry who she wants, as does any woman," William added his two cents into it.

William looked at Grey as his face gained a consecrated look. His face darkened as a book came out of no where speeding towards William. William grabbed the book with both hands just before it hit him in the face. He set the book down and saw another, at least 23 more come straight toward him. William ducked as the books flew onto the table. William stood back up and winced as his arm stung again. He ignored the pain and listened to Grey explain that he needed to study. "I like reading, I can dig this,"

The books will stick in your head? Well that makes it easier, I only have to read one time through, William laughed at himself. Grey seemed to be giggling as well. William's eyes became wide I should have expected a quiz, hence studding, William let out a sigh.

William's stomach growled at the talk of food. "Sounds great," William said bringing a smile to his face. Grey told William about how he may have social interactions with his sister. William eyed Grey, wondering what was going on. Without missing a beat Grey explained to William that he has to go somewhere and that William was to read, all of it. Grey said it rather forcefully so William turned around and sat down on a chair and grabbed a book with a black cover and flipped it open and started to read. Just as he read the first word, he heard Grey say that he has faith in him.

William felt proud and kept on reading, knowing that he was gone. William was deep into the book when he heard a voice from behind him. It made him jump a little, he turned around to seeing Grey's sister, or at least William presumed it was Grey's sister.

She introduced herself to William, which was pleasant. Then, without even taking a breath, made a flat out statement about how he sucks at fighting. William's head sank a little as he let out a sigh. He listened to her laugh, which just made him feel worse. William looked over and saw that she had a plate with some biscuits up. William's stomach growled as he saw the plate.

She said something about water, and then a glass of water appeared on the tray. How did she do that?! William's mind was in shock. He watched as she set the tray down next to him on the table. He reached for a biscuit and took one and brought it to his mouth and started to munch on it. After he chewed and swallowed he noticed she was standing there, right next to him.

Is there something I can do for you, ma'am? William tried to be polite, but his voice was weak.

[grimmhallows]

Lia shook her head, brown hair barely perturbed by the movement; her hand coming up to make sure it stay it's place. She merely stood silently for a while, and then giggled lightly at the book the young man read.

"Grey is having you study the easy stuff first. Normally you'd start with how to control light and turn it to darkness." She mused, and then sat down.
"Altenia was once beautiful, before the war with the Imperialists. They won, but as you can see in the book, the Altenian Eclipse Knights regained control of the most important stronghold in our world; this Library." She stated, pointing to a dark man in a hood; Grey's face visible even in the unlit image.

"Grey isn't human, and at first we believed him to be a god; several times this will be shown in the book, but just remember it was only Grey." She giggled then, and stood back up and walked off, with a few words left to be rung in his ear.
"If you need me, call me. If not, read. There's a lot more books than that to read, if you hadn't noticed." She motioned to the massive book cases that reached into darkness.

[Zabuza Midareta]

William took another bite from his biscuit as he stared up at her. He watched as she shook her head and her hair moved with the movement. As she stood there silently he looked back to his book and started reading. He kept on eating and reading. As he flipped the page he heard her giggle at the book he was reading.

He kept reading, ignoring the notion. As he read a paragraph she spoke about Grey having him read the easy stuff. "All this is amazingly rich, but it is really easy," William mused as he flipped the page again. ]"This is like reading lore to a fiction book. Except apparently all this happened," As the last of the sentence left his lips, his voice got a little higher, making it sound as if it were a question. He listened a little bit more till her hand appeared next to his face and pointed to a picture on the page. It was of Grey, William was sure of it.

"Grey isn't human? You're kidding," William spoke, not feeling the need to even add a sarcastic tone to his voice. The statement to him was outrageous. He had so much stuff happen today that he added two plus two together and got four. He knew this much to be sure, Grey is far from human.

He tuned back into her when she spoke about how is is shown several times in the book. He kept reading and grabbed another biscuit and started to munch on it. He listened to her giggle again between the sounds of crunching every time he took a bite.

She spoke one last time, these words ringing in his ear. He felt his face grow hotter and saw his nose was a bright red. "Not sure why I'm blushing. Those words don't mean anything to me," William mumbled to himself. He kept reading, and after an hour was finished with the black covered book. He placed it to the side and massaged his temples. "So, much, information," William groaned.

He grabbed the closest one and flipped it open. He placed his head on the book, still reading, lifting it up only when he had to slip the page. After about an hour he drifted off into sleep, where he lay unprotected from any tricks.

[grimmhallows]

Lia walked silently up; her silent sigh was more than exasperation.
"Lazy... time to pay the price...." She giggled quietly to herself. She tied her here up quickly in a knot, and then rolled up her sleeves on her pants.
Saying a few words, the bookcases disappeared; replaced by the deep ocean, hidden under surface.
She slowly tapped Williams shoulder, and when he stirred, revealed a fish tail instead of feet; her hair now hanging loosely.
A simple levitation trick, and I bet he freaks out and thinks he can't breathe..... she giggled in delight at this plan, and waved as she lifted herself of the floor, and flew around the "ocean".

She quickly came to the ground and grinned.
"It's just an illusion silly." She told him with glee.
Her dress returned and the ocean disappeared to return the Library in all it's glory. It's wooden shelves raced back into place, and the water disappeared into the ceiling.
"Like it?" She laughed and walked off, waving.

[Zabuza Midareta]

William lay with his head against the book, exhausted from his long day. He heard something in his dream about being lazy, but his subconscious ignored it. He felt something touch his shoulder and he flipped out and sent himself backwards, flipping the chair and himself onto the wooden floor. He let out a sharp inhale as his head hit the ground. His hands went to the back of his head as he rolled out of the chair. He opened his eyes and saw he was surrounded by ocean.

What in the fuck is this? William wondered to himself. He looked up and saw Lia. With a fish tail and her hair was everywhere. "Nice trick, Lia. Was it you who called me lazy?" William asked his head still in pain as well as him just being drowsy. He rubbed the back of his head as he grabbed the chair and stood it back up. He brushed the imaginary dust off the chair and sat down.

"For the record, I'm not lazy. I was up at 6am in Chicago getting ready for my three hour concert which was at 6pm, twelve hours later. Then Grey got me here, then I had to battle Grey, whom you say was treated like a god, and he isn't human. I think I deserve a bit of a nap, don't ya think?" William tried not to sound agitated

William had turned back to the books when Lia told him it was all an illusion, I figured as much by now. William grabbed the book and started reading again. "It was a nice trick, it would have worked if I hadn't inhaled when I smacked my head against the ground," William let out a chuckle.

William went back to reading flipping from page to page, skimming over, until he found something that seemed important and then he read it.

Hours had past, he lost track from reading, and he finished all the books except 5 of the purple volumes. William let out a sigh and grabbed the cup of water and drank deeply. He grabbed volume 15 of 20.

[grimmhallows]

Lia was a little disappointed her trick had been figured out so quickly, but then she lightened up as the boy began to study again. She even giggled as he read the last page, and began reading a new set.
"You know, you might actually be able to impress Grey." She said, and the glass refilled as William drank it.

A cell phone rang, and Lia spoke softly to someone on the other end; seemingly Grey.
"Just make sure it isn't in pieces when you bring it."
She sighed, letting her long brown hair fall in front of her before quickly restraining it.
"You know much about the "Death Song", Mr William?" She asked, slipping silently on the desk that the young man worked at. She looked to her gloved hand, and clenched it slightly, testing the grip. She looked to the books for a moment, and drew her long sword, running her covered hand over the blade, which seemed to make it almost sing.

"It's something fearsome that Eclipse Knights have to master. And it does have to do with this Library." Lia murmured, more to herself than anyone. Shaking her head, she retreated into the darkness, her voice echoing out.
"Grey will be back shortly; he's dealing with a necromancer."

[Zabuza Midareta]

William stopped reading to hear Lia's compliment, or at least he thought it was a compliment. The boy looked back over to the glass and watched as it refilled magically. William heard a cellphone ring and Lia answer it. William went back to reading when he heard her talking to Grey. Normally people talking when he is reading irritates him, but this time it didn't.

He stopped flipping pages and listened in on the conversation. Pieces? What? William's mind flooded. He heard Lia sigh, he looked over his shoulder and saw she let her hair drop then grabbed it again. William turned his head back around and pretended to be reading.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up as Lia sat on the table. "I've read about it, they referenced it in the red bound book, if I remember correctly." William said rubbing the back of his neck trying to remember.

The boy looked up at her as she clenched her gloved hand. He heard the weapon being drawn before he acknowledged its existence. The girl ran her hand over the blade, which made William nervous, but as she did it he heard a noise. William's brow furrowed at this.

"Well if every Eclipse Knight has to master this 'death song' as the new guy I want to learn this as fast as possible." William's voice filled with enthusiasm. The new Eclipse Knight watched as Lia faded into the darkness and spoke of Grey.

"A necromancer? Jeez! I guess this world, and others, are pretty interesting compared to Earth." William scratched his head. He shook off his thoughts and went back to reading.

[grimmhallows]

Grey appeared from no-where. A little blood on his sleeve indicated he was probably bleeding somewhere, but it didn't seem to phase the young man with the scythe. Looking to William, he noted how well the boy had been studying; but insteda of praise, he sighed in exasperation, and shook his head when he walked into view.
"Hmph, you're slow. At this rate, you won't be getting field work ever. Hmm..... Might try the shock method...." Grey thought to himself, shaking his head.
"You don't mind if I force info into your little mind, do you? It'll make things quicker." Grey asked simply.
He raised a hand, and seemed to focus. Hundreds of books formed a solid, curved wall, until it completely blocked off any escape. The books, now hundreds of thousands reached well into the darkness; a darkness that seemed to lift as the pages of the books began to glow bright red.
"I remember when I did this last time for Lia. I'm pretty sure she complained of bad dreams for a good 14 years afterwards...." Grey smirked.
"It's all set. Now, do you think you are ready for the Library? You can back out now, if you want...." Grey stated, his eyes hard on the young man. Grey's scythe flashed into view, and seemed to hang loosely in the reapers hands. A small wind picked up, and something eerily beautiful rose from behind Grey; a white ghost of a woman with a scythe hung like the Reaper's own weapon. It mimicked the young mans posture and pose.
And both glared at the recruit, demanding an answer....

[Zabuza Midareta]

William put down the 16th volume and started rubbing his temples with his index fingers when he heard a noise, one that hadn't accompanied him during his time of studying. It was most likely Grey, and he came to talk to Lia. The boy figured it wasn't his business to get in the conversation. He went to grab the 17th when he heard a sigh. He stopped mid-grab and turned his head.

"What?" William asked, his tone indifferent. "Slow? I have been forced to read 23 tomes and history books! You try an-" William stopped and remembered that Grey isn't human. William listened to Grey say something about a shock method. Lucky for the boy Grey shook his head.

"Force info into my little mind?" William respoke the sentence then realized that Grey basically called him stupid, "Hey! Wait a sec, you know what? Never mind. Just do it." The boy's argument was futile against Grey. He sighed and shook his head.

William shut his eyes and expected to feel something inside him, but instead the room just got darker, and darker. He didn't dare open his eyes in fear of seeing something terrible. The room started to get a vibrant red glow to it. He heard Grey speak about when he did this to Lia she complained about nightmares for 14 years. His jaw dropped at the thought. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all William thought to himself. Thinking was hard, he noted, when someone is shoving information into your brain.

"All set? Just like that? Well someone find the staples button cause 'that was easy'." William said in a sarcastic tone. William opened his eyes and saw all the book surrounding them. That would have taken a long time the boy mouthed to himself, "I want to continue, if I am going to have nightmares for the next 14 years I want to use the reason why I have them, logical, eh?" The singer said watching as Grey pulled out his scythe, then a shadow of a woman mimicked his movement.

"No need for scythes, I said yes." William spoke putting his hands up in front of his face, palms out. "So now what?" The new Eclipse Knight spoke to Grey.

[grimmhallows]

Grey completely seemed to ignore the young man's rather rash statements; the scythe being necessary for the control of so many books. The spirit above the young reaper was silent; until Grey began to sing. It's eery soprano voice was something scary and creepy; but irresistible to listen to. A siren song in the death song.
Grey's own voice was risen, and he lead the spirits slow drawl into a recognizable harmony; the spirit's lighter voice now dropping to lower alto notes.
Other instruments now joined the song, but it after a good few seconds it ended suddenly. Grey's eyes now closed as he motioned with his scythe to ghostly instruments that now appeared from the books. A full orchestra was there.... And so were some more modern instruments. He hummed a little 3 note tune for a few seconds, and suddenly, the instruments and the books both erupted in light.

The light engulfed the Eclipse's new squire rather violently; and all that information was forced through this light.
And the song seemed to lighten up, for a moment, revealing tree; The Library Tree. Grey started to hum again, and the light returned pushing more and more information before finally the large black book appeared; The secret to Death Singing inside.
Grey walked beside it.
"Know that once you know this gift, it will be difficult to sing without something strange happening. And you will always have to serve the Eclipse; regardless of personal opinion. You will be a true Eclipse Knight." Grey said, almost somberly. A hooded character now came forth, a scythe not unlike the one Grey carried into battle.
"If you try to run from the order, your life is at my leisure; my mercy. And I am not a merciful sort." Grey stated bluntly.
"Prepare yourself."

The massive black book then transformed into Grey's spirit and it lunged forward, rushing William suddenly and violently. And then, all was black....

******

"So you made him learn the hard way, Grey?" Lia said, as Grey stepped from the rising pile of books. The scriptures and writings all slid back into the darkness or the shelves, back into place.

"Let me know when he wakes up. You have his gear?" Grey's head was throbbing in pain. Lia smiled, and brought forward a pair of black gloves, and some black leather armor with a hood and silver detailing; an emblem of a black rose and silver moon etched on the breast. The armor included some rather nice looking black slacks, and some similar looking leather boots, which had spikes on the toe and heel.
"Think he'll be fine with it? All the knowledge of what happened in our world, before the joining..." She murmured more to herself than Grey.

Grey smiled, hugged his sister lightly, and bowed, disappearing as he formally saluted the young woman.
"Try not to be too much of a nuisance when he wakes..." Grey added smugly.
"I won't. "

[Zabuza Midareta]

William looked at the man standing in front of him, everything silent, until Grey began to sing. It was a higher pitch, very soprano tone to it. It made William's back tingle the song was so eery. William tried to form thoughts in his head but when he did the only thing that came to him were the notes the man was singing. The singing was so good that William had a hard time putting it into words.

William saw as the instruments from the books turned into light. The light surrounded William and the squire started to panic in his mind. William felt something entering into his mind. It was knowledge in a light form, it was amazing, but at the same time cause alot of pain to the young man's mind. He couldn't see from all the light and missed something appearing before him.

The light slowly faded, but he could still feel the information burning into his brain. As the light was dim enough that William could make out objects he was a big black book. The knowledge inside unknown to William, but he could tell its importance. He looked and saw Grey walk up beside it. He told him about the gift that lay inside for him, and what will happen no matter his opinion. William gulped down his fear, which was very hard.

William saw another hooded figure appear with a scythe. Grey told William about how if he tries to run, it will probably be the last thing the squire will ever do.

Prepare myself? For what? William was able to make the thought coherent to himself. The young singer watched as the book changed into a spirit, Grey's if William was able to guess. The spirit rushed William and all the boy could do was yell as it rushed him. The last thing William could do before he blacked out was think. Fuck.

The massive black book then transformed into Grey's spirit and it lunged forward, rushing William suddenly and violently. And then, all was black....

William woke with a jump, "Don't do that again, I'll take you all together!" William yelled. He looked around and saw he had awoken. "Oh, it was just a dream." William laughed forcefully.

He looked over to the woman and saw she had black armor in her possession. William groaned as all the information hit him. His head hurting violently. He stay laying on the ground. He collected his thoughts and rummaged through the knowledge he now possessed in his mind. He looked over the history of the planet and how Grey was treated like a god before whatever happened.

William sat up slowly and stood. "I'm guessing that is for me?"