((This is the first of a series of stories from the perspective of a character of mine, Alceste the Seeker. I'll be doing it in periodic chapters, so, lemme know what you think!))
I met a man once upon a time. He, like so many others I've encountered during my wanderings throughout the years and worlds, was unique in a bizarre way. He dressed in a black hooded coat at all times, and insisted that he had no heart. Yet, every time I encountered him, it was inside a Cathedral, or other place of worship. Now, I, being an inquisitive young lad at the time, had to wonder how a creature without a heart held certain places in this sort of regard. It was quite the conundrum when I first met the black-coated man, who referred to himself as Nobody. I wouldn't know till later that he was a Nobody. One of several.
His name, or what he claimed his name to be after enough prodding, was Ixraelz. I noted how bizarre this was during our first encounter. I had recently arrived to a world that seemed to be caught up in a nearly-constant storm, with rain pouring down in sheets and thunder like a constant rumble in the sky. I opted to seek shelter in a small church, and found Ixraelz kneeling at the altar at the far end. For a long moment, he either did not notice or acknowledge my presence, but eventually he stood, and faced me. Granted, with his hood and the weather, he seemed fairly intimidating. As such, I acted as I always do in that sort of situation.
I smiled, waved, and said hello.
I must have looked a sight, what with my robes being soaked and all tussled about, my glasses crooked on the bridge of my nose, and various bags hanging around me in quite a mess, but he said nothing. He simply sat in the front pew, facing the altar. True to my profession, I chose the next closest seat, and plopped down next to him, and attempted to exchange pleasantries. I introduced myself as Alceste, a Seeker of knowledge. He said nothing. I then started with questions about the world we were on, about the residents and if they had been noticed by Heartless yet. Still nothing. In those days, I was a bit of persistent bugger, so I finally started asking about his name, the nature of his coat, if he worked in the church, and so on and so forth.
After what was likely a good twenty minutes of my mouth running wild to express my curiosity, he stood, and in a flat tone told me his name, before summoning what looked like a portal of twisting shadows, walking through, and vanishing into thin air. At the time I simply thought it a bizarre sort of magic trick, but this was of course before I knew of safe travel through Corridors of Darkness. I still was rather fond of my Gummi Ship back then. In any case, I did not see the black-coated Ixraelz for perhaps two years. What happened between those meetings brought me some turmoil, quite a few laughs, and the odd scratch here and there, but those are stories for a different time. Where was I again? Oh yes, my second encounter with the Nobody.
During my little quest for knowledge, I found myself in a ruined city of a world whose name I've forgotten, but I know I have written down somewhere. I'd look it up if I wasn't sure I'd lose my train of thought. Speaking of which, sea-salt ice cream is perhaps some of the finest dessert foods I've encountered in all my travels! It is salty, but deliciously sweet at the same time! I've never tasted such a-- what’s that? The Nobody? Oh yes! Right, right, my mind is not what it once was. Anyway, the ruined city. The locals had said that a powerful Heartless had taken up residence in the ruins and was making the residents rather unnerved. Well, I happened to come at a right time. Who better than a Seeker to take care of a Heartless problem? Now that I think of it, maybe Ixraelz might not have brushed me off so easily our first meeting if he knew I was an actual Seeker, but I didn’t care for flashing my Keyblade around frequently, or for all that heavy armor...usually.
Anyway, I did indeed find the poor Heartless in the Cathedral, and after a long battle that ended up with me getting a very interestingly shaped scar on my inner thigh, dispatched the tormented creature. Well, out of the shadows appears the man in the black coat, and this time he spoke! It was in a dry, flat tone that he'd always use no matter where we met and no matter what the circumstance. They always say Nobodies don’t have emotions, but I think maybe trying to fully believe that may have been his coping mechanism...oh dear! I'm rambling again! Anyway, he spoke to me.
"You are the one from before...years before. You did not have the look of a Wielder then...yet you released such a potent heart..."
I haven't changed ALL that much, so I simply smiled, bowed my head, and attempted to be as modest as possible...before my ever-burning desire to learn kicked in and I begin pressing for answers. He never removed his hood, but I knew he was evaluating me, and had been since I'd fought the Heartless, and he would keep evaluating me perhaps until he had me figured out. Child, let me tell you, at my age, I STILL haven't figured myself out, so Ixraelz didn't have a snowball's chance! Anyway, maybe he acknowledged my authority as a Seeker, or maybe he was trying to goad me into killing more Heartless later on, but he answered a few of my questions.
He reaffirmed his name, and told me what he was. Mind you this was back in the day where our primary concern were the few pureblood Heartless and whenever the Unversed popped up, so Nobodies were fascinating and new. More rumor and myth than truth. But here he was, and as soon as he'd arrived, he left, having wet my appetite to know more. I can't say I hid that desire. Still don't. But he laid down the bread crumb trail, and the next few months became something of an odyssey...
...Child, go fetch your grandpapa's medicine will you?
I met a man once upon a time. He, like so many others I've encountered during my wanderings throughout the years and worlds, was unique in a bizarre way. He dressed in a black hooded coat at all times, and insisted that he had no heart. Yet, every time I encountered him, it was inside a Cathedral, or other place of worship. Now, I, being an inquisitive young lad at the time, had to wonder how a creature without a heart held certain places in this sort of regard. It was quite the conundrum when I first met the black-coated man, who referred to himself as Nobody. I wouldn't know till later that he was a Nobody. One of several.
His name, or what he claimed his name to be after enough prodding, was Ixraelz. I noted how bizarre this was during our first encounter. I had recently arrived to a world that seemed to be caught up in a nearly-constant storm, with rain pouring down in sheets and thunder like a constant rumble in the sky. I opted to seek shelter in a small church, and found Ixraelz kneeling at the altar at the far end. For a long moment, he either did not notice or acknowledge my presence, but eventually he stood, and faced me. Granted, with his hood and the weather, he seemed fairly intimidating. As such, I acted as I always do in that sort of situation.
I smiled, waved, and said hello.
I must have looked a sight, what with my robes being soaked and all tussled about, my glasses crooked on the bridge of my nose, and various bags hanging around me in quite a mess, but he said nothing. He simply sat in the front pew, facing the altar. True to my profession, I chose the next closest seat, and plopped down next to him, and attempted to exchange pleasantries. I introduced myself as Alceste, a Seeker of knowledge. He said nothing. I then started with questions about the world we were on, about the residents and if they had been noticed by Heartless yet. Still nothing. In those days, I was a bit of persistent bugger, so I finally started asking about his name, the nature of his coat, if he worked in the church, and so on and so forth.
After what was likely a good twenty minutes of my mouth running wild to express my curiosity, he stood, and in a flat tone told me his name, before summoning what looked like a portal of twisting shadows, walking through, and vanishing into thin air. At the time I simply thought it a bizarre sort of magic trick, but this was of course before I knew of safe travel through Corridors of Darkness. I still was rather fond of my Gummi Ship back then. In any case, I did not see the black-coated Ixraelz for perhaps two years. What happened between those meetings brought me some turmoil, quite a few laughs, and the odd scratch here and there, but those are stories for a different time. Where was I again? Oh yes, my second encounter with the Nobody.
During my little quest for knowledge, I found myself in a ruined city of a world whose name I've forgotten, but I know I have written down somewhere. I'd look it up if I wasn't sure I'd lose my train of thought. Speaking of which, sea-salt ice cream is perhaps some of the finest dessert foods I've encountered in all my travels! It is salty, but deliciously sweet at the same time! I've never tasted such a-- what’s that? The Nobody? Oh yes! Right, right, my mind is not what it once was. Anyway, the ruined city. The locals had said that a powerful Heartless had taken up residence in the ruins and was making the residents rather unnerved. Well, I happened to come at a right time. Who better than a Seeker to take care of a Heartless problem? Now that I think of it, maybe Ixraelz might not have brushed me off so easily our first meeting if he knew I was an actual Seeker, but I didn’t care for flashing my Keyblade around frequently, or for all that heavy armor...usually.
Anyway, I did indeed find the poor Heartless in the Cathedral, and after a long battle that ended up with me getting a very interestingly shaped scar on my inner thigh, dispatched the tormented creature. Well, out of the shadows appears the man in the black coat, and this time he spoke! It was in a dry, flat tone that he'd always use no matter where we met and no matter what the circumstance. They always say Nobodies don’t have emotions, but I think maybe trying to fully believe that may have been his coping mechanism...oh dear! I'm rambling again! Anyway, he spoke to me.
"You are the one from before...years before. You did not have the look of a Wielder then...yet you released such a potent heart..."
I haven't changed ALL that much, so I simply smiled, bowed my head, and attempted to be as modest as possible...before my ever-burning desire to learn kicked in and I begin pressing for answers. He never removed his hood, but I knew he was evaluating me, and had been since I'd fought the Heartless, and he would keep evaluating me perhaps until he had me figured out. Child, let me tell you, at my age, I STILL haven't figured myself out, so Ixraelz didn't have a snowball's chance! Anyway, maybe he acknowledged my authority as a Seeker, or maybe he was trying to goad me into killing more Heartless later on, but he answered a few of my questions.
He reaffirmed his name, and told me what he was. Mind you this was back in the day where our primary concern were the few pureblood Heartless and whenever the Unversed popped up, so Nobodies were fascinating and new. More rumor and myth than truth. But here he was, and as soon as he'd arrived, he left, having wet my appetite to know more. I can't say I hid that desire. Still don't. But he laid down the bread crumb trail, and the next few months became something of an odyssey...
...Child, go fetch your grandpapa's medicine will you?