Memoir

Zachary Wright

Memories of an Old Friend

My name is Charles Lansport, but most people know me as Wolvesbayne, the Silver King. I am a collector and ex-king of the seven thrones. I am sure that by the time anyone is reading this, no one will remember the person who made a difference in the lives of many. Someone who broke every barrier placed in front of him and made the ultimate sacrifice to live forever with the one he loved dear. This is the story of Saioh Otomah, the God Eater.

Originally he was a normal high school student living with his foster parents, until the day came when his class won a cruise trip for three months. It wasn’t until the day that ship set sail that this boy’s life would change. For good or bad, no one knew. This is where he met Shira Yukihime, a snow woman, as well as the one who escaped Astreiya. I won’t explain Astreiya and all of it’s rules for it would take too long to explain and answer all of the questions you may have. Besides this is not the story of Astreiya, but of the boy who saved it.

After the two met, they became friends, but it wasn’t too long before he noticed her secret “talents.” Shortly after his discovery, I tried to take her back to Astreiya as per my instructions. Little did I know that Saioh was like the character of a tragic love story and made a deal to keep her in this dimension. The deal was that if he could prove that she has the right to chose where she wants to reside by the end of the cruise, that I would allow her to live as she stayed. He delivered his end of the deal and started to show her what life was all about and for the moment, she seemed more alive than the rising sun. However, words travel faster than light it seems and in their case, words traveled far too fast as our deal attracted the attention of the seven thrones or kings as others may refer to them. Damien Creed, the most powerful of them all, warned Saioh that if he continued to disrupt the nature of the Collectors, that he would surely perish a thousand times. Sure enough like a main character, he put one leg forward, threw back his right arm, and challenged them to try as they would.

After that came a series of events that would shake the very foundations of both worlds and it was all started after King Ebony Royal, the Harvester, was assigned to end his rebellious existence. In the midst of trying to retrieve Shira, Saioh found out that he had the abilities of a Collector and with my help, was also able to control them. One of these attempts was also to use Shira’s own self-proclaimed sister Arita to capture her. Due to her failure not only did Royal go to capture her in person, but also ordered her execution. This was a mistake that Royal should never had made because after Saioh, Shira, Saioh’s best friend Kira, and I journeyed to Astreiya, a huge battle broke out to prevent the execution resulting in Arita’s death, Kira gaining an all powerful jewel, Saioh giving into the God Eater’s power living within him, Ebony Royal’s defeat and death and a proclamation of war against all beings.

It took about the next week or so to rehabilitate Saioh to his former self and it didn’t help that he was forced to reside in my residence. As a Collector, a part of my job is to take care of the beings I collect and raise them as Astreiya’s own. It doesn’t help much though if the four girls living there though turn him into a provocative womanizer. But trouble did seem to bear no mind for the fresh fruit as Tsubasa Kurokin and his partner, the Avarice, put their plan to overthrow Astreiya into effect. This not only resulted in plenty of chaos, but it also resulted in Saioh unlocking the potential of his second form and stopping the anarchy before it engulfed everything. It was shortly after that though that Saioh, Shira, Kira, and I all returned back to the cruise where we realized we needed a good excuse for not showing up for any of the on-ship classes for almost two weeks. It truly was a stress test to be around these people, but at the same time I never felt life to be so enjoyable and breath-taking than I have now.  Saioh was just that kind of character, being able to change the people around him in ways no one could imagine.

I think I’ll skip most of what happened between then and when the war starts because most of it is simple recruitment, family bickering, and a whole lot of defense for people’s pride and honor. I will highlight a few moments as they did happen and should be spoken. First their was the recruitment of the four sea dragons, the only humans who have been able to go on par with beings and collectors without having any special powers other than superhuman strength that was well crafted and trained. Then came the recruitment of twilight circus, a group that does whatever it wants and doesn’t side with anyone without compensation. With them we were able to add both “Jack the Ripper” and Sir Arthuria Pendragon or commonly known as “Lancelot.” Then there was Saioh’s meeting with the divine god Anyes within the Temple’s Throneroom, the war between the Scyfer and the Royal households, and the blood feud between the Light Brigade and the Prophecies breaking out. Just like the main character, Saioh seemed to never stop getting involved in things beyond his comprehension, but at the same times good things would be brought out by his doing. For instance, Shira can now fight alongside us in big fights, Kira proposed to Lady Sharlott Scyfer, a throne and the eldest daughter of the Scyfer family,   and one hell of a dawning party as I refer to it. This party signifies the last chance warriors have before they throw themselves into the sunlight of the battlefield.

At this point the great war between Solomon Djinn and Astreiya have begun with thousands of brave men and women fighting for their resolve on both sides while bathing in the blood of those who collapse around them. The sight of real war is never one to be overlooked and is always a scarring image for anyone to bear, except those who are lost in wonderland. Anyway, the group and I head out to take down the generals of his army including the Astral Projector, Aster Rose, the one and only corpse manipulator, Dreadmaster, the truth behind the lies, Alister Ash, the living explosion, Kelvin Arrow, the wondering mad scientist, Dr. Thestalos, and Solomon Djinn himself. Friends died and soldiers lost, but in the end Saioh had tapped into his third, fourth, and fifth form and defeated Solomon, but the luck was only for a little. Solomon had achieved his goal of uncovering the legendary Jewel, Anyes’ Grimoire, that Shira uses to revive all of their dead friends and restore all destruction done by “The Puppeteer.” What she didn’t know was that the grimoire was the prison for all demons created by Anyes’ twin sister Nemesis including Nemesis herself and that by using the grimoire, she released all of them. Not only are these demons and Nemesis now free, but the dark power released from that cursed book also infected Shira, turning into a monster of her former self.

With all of his friends backs, Saioh griefs in despair as the world crumbles around him. But it doesn’t take too long to remind him of what he must do, and so he gathers everyone he knows, acquaintances and friends alike, and takes the final fight straight to Nemesis and Shira. Most people were able to fend off most of the creatures at least until Saioh achieved the full power of his fifth form and defeated Nemesis for good, destroying all of the demons she created and freeing both worlds of her evil. This however did not return Shira to her original self and as such many soldiers died horrifically and now Saioh has to fight the one he loves more than anything selfless desire he has ever known. Tired and lost in despair, we all are translucent to the resolve to kill our friend. However, something clicked inside Saioh because he looked back at all of us and said, “You know. Its funny. We all want the happiest ending we can think of. But I guess sometimes the best ending isn’t for everyone.” With a bright smile on his face that felt like it held back rivers of tears, he stood up and ascended to his final form, a form that seemed to radiate with a god’s glare. He began to fight the one he loved dearest with nothing held back. It made no sense to me, but as he fought, his body cracked and through these cracks beamed violent light. It was at that moment that we all realized that he was going to destroy the evil within her even if it meant destroying both of them. And in that last moment, as the radiant light engulfed both of them into a blazing end, he looked back, apologized, and said goodbye.

It was about 17 months later when everything in Astreiya and on earth had returned to everything it should be. The thrones have been reorganized, all groups involved in the war, went their separate ways after declaring peace, Kira and Sharlott got married, and I returned to my everyday life wasting away while looking back at the adventures and fun I had so long ago.

This letter is not to tell you a story of a difficult time in both worlds, but to tell you the story of a normal man who ascended to becoming a legend. Most will write this letter off as just an old man trying to remember his life during his dying breath or a story someone wrote but was never published. Some will think that Saioh is just the main character of another story. But I want at least someone who reads this to remember and hold dear at least one thing. Sometimes, we all just need a character in our life, to inspire us and to push us back on the path that we belong on. Saioh was that kind of character. The kind that lives in fairy tale or in folklore. The kind of character that passes down through the generations as one who was selfless to an extent, who wasn’t thick minded, who was open to new possibilities, who lived his life the way he wanted it to live. I end this letter to anyone who is still reading this with one question in mind?

What kind of character are you?