Javal walked excitedly into the beautiful starlight city, he had his ship anchored down somwehere on the shore. Javal had decided to enjoy the place and try to make new friends while he was there. He had arrived at the Crescent Isles to turn in a treasure to an employer and after that decided to take in the locale while he was here. His employees decided to separate and look into the Isles themselves, Nadia decided to shop for bows or fancy stuff that apparel to her former noble self, Bootsamon decided to explore the local ghost story scene, and Asleipmir decided to trounce around looking for hay or apples to eat.



That left Javal all by himself, all of his friends were gone and he was left to entertain himself. That was no problem; he knew exactly the place to go to find some fun and potentially some new friends.



Javal quickly made his way into the hustling and bustling building that any pirate former or current knew to go to have a good time, the bar. He entered the building by swinging open the creaky old door into a loud and bright setting before him.



He has a wide smile on his face as he sits down at the bar top. He waves over to the waiter and exclaims, “Hello there good sir may I have your finest root beer”.


The frowning barkeep sighs and says, “Yeah sure, here you go”, and quickly makes his drink and slides it over.



“Why thank you good sir”, Javal exclaims loudly, He sips his root beer scanning the room looking for someone to talk to, and sees a giant swordsman sitting by himself drinking.



“Well I have to talk to a fellow swordsman”, Javal thought as he made his way to him.



He sits down and exclaims, “Hello there sir you seem strong, what is your name, would you like to be my friend”?

Yasei downed another cup of sake and let out a satisfied sigh as he already began refilling it from the bottle on the table. It was some damn good sake and it had been a while since he'd been able to sit down and have a drink, even from his perspective. He was going to savor it. The giant pink ball of fluff behind him that was his tail slowly swayed from side to side as he enjoyed his drink, relaxing amidst the sounds of idle conversation of the other bar patrons.

And then suddenly there was someone else at his table, asking for his name and if he wanted to be their friend. Immediately asking if he wanted to be friends was coming on a bit strong, but alright. He was surprised at first, but then that faded into a bit of amusement as he looked down at his new, unexpected drinking buddy. He let out a short but hearty laugh.

"Oy, Bocchan, if you're gonna ask for someone's name shouldn't you give your own first?" He reprimanded jokingly with a chuckle.

Javal looked up at the furry fellow across the table that was currently downing a cup of sake. He was impressed at the fellow’s ability to drink such large amounts of liquor, he found it honorable. The fellow then noticed Javal and stopped drinking his sake to look down on the fellblood. He chuckled at Javal’s questions and asked for his name. It had dawned on Javal that he had forgotten to introduce himself before approaching the man with his countless questions.



He got up from his chair and immediately bowed deeply, “My apologies for my lack of respect good sir for my foolish behavior. I should have introduced myself first”. He then stands up straight at his full height and puts on a wide smile to introduce himself, “My name is Javal Zarrias, current president of the Drakon Security Company, a former member of the Black Dragon Pirates, and former student of Ronrick Emeraldcutter".



He sits down after finishing introducing himself and places his root beer on the table. "My apologies if I came off strongly, I got excited since you seem like a strong fellow", he then points at the staff located on the furry fellow's back, "I feel that you are very proficient in that staff".

Yasei was surprised once again when the lad suddenly got up and bowed apologetically. He put his hands up, palms forward, displaying the pink pads on his palms and fingertips. This Javal kid really needed to lighten up! He was just joking about the name thing, but it looked like he hadn't picked up on that at all. He took it so seriously!

Yasei had never heard of The Drakon Security Company, the Black Dragon Pirates, or Ronrick Emeraldcutter. Not surprising, really. Still, the names at least sounded impressive. And Javal had a sword on him, so he was probably sincerely a warrior interested in meeting a fellow warrior. There was no harm in that.

"A- ah. It's alright. Lighten up a little, I was just yanking your tail, you know. I'm not really into all that stuffy formal stuff." Yasei said, waving a hand and then picking up his sake cup. "Have a drink! I'm Yasei."

He nodded and pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the staff on his back. "Well, it is my favorite weapon! What about you? Are you good with that katana you got there?"

“Thank you for your forgiveness and hospitality, Yasei '', Javal says as he places his cup so Yasei can fill it with sake.



He eagerly drinks it but soon finds it to be stronger than he thought it would be. He then makes a sour face, “Yasei you must have great vitality, this sake is very strong”.



He takes out his katana from his side and places it on the table, “I am well versed in the art of the blade, I was taught by my sensei Ronrick. This blade here is very special, I was given it by my teacher and named it katana. I’ve only recently awakened it to its true power after a strenuous battle against its previous undead owner”. He then unsheathes it and shows the blade to Yasei, “Its true name is Thesmos”.



He then chuckles, “Enough about me though, how about yourself what's the story about that staff of yours”?

Yasei couldn't stop himself from letting out a loud, boisterous laugh. Javal's face after taking a drink of his sake was just too funny! He slapped a hand on the table a few time. Some of the other bar patrons looked over in confusion, wondering what could be so funny. When he finally calmed down, he looked at Javal, holding a hand on his chest and wiping a tear from his eye with the other.

"This- heh, this stuff isn't even strong at all! This is just what I drink to relax a little. Do you not drink much?" Yasei stammered out between chuckles. It was true that, to him, this sake was pretty weak. Truly though, the sake wasn't the strongest, but it wasn't weak either. It was just Yasei that had a ridiculous tolerance for alcohol.

Yasei didn't refill Javal's cup. He didn't think he could keep himself from falling out of his chair if he saw him drink again.

Yasei took a few deep breaths to calm down and take the conversation seriously again. He listened quietly, taking sips of his sake as Javal told him about his katana.

"Undead owner, huh? That sounds like a fun battle. My staff doesn't have such an interesting story to it. No awakening its power or anything like that. It was a gift. Still, it's my most treasured possession."

“I drink sake on occasion but this however is a lot stronger than I’m used to drinking, to be honest. As I chugged it down it felt like my body was becoming sour all over, it was that strong”, Javal says a bit disappointed that the sake had beaten him so easily.



“Thank the dead gods that Yasei didn’t fill my cup. I don’t think I could even handle one more sip”, Javal thought to himself



“Yes, the previous owner was a great hero that died a long time ago but he passed down his powerful blade to his friend and his descendants. That was until it reached my master who entrusted its power to me, his best student”, Javal says proud of his own skill. 


Javal looks eagerly again at Yasei’s staff, “Who trained you if you don’t mind me asking Yasei you seem very strong. Although your staff may not have any magical properties I can still imagine you are a formidable fighter with it".

His best student? That was some big talk. Javal must be really confident in his fighting skills. Now Yasei wondered just how long ago that great hero had died. Maybe he'd heard of them if they were from around here. He didn't have a lot of knowledge about people from outside the Crescent Isle. Or about anything that happened recently, really. It could be helpful to fill in the gaps in his knowledge a bit through some friendly conversation. Javal sure had a lot of questions of his own for Yasei.

"Quite the history, huh! So, what was their name? The undead owner. Sounds like they must have been real famous! Were they from the Crescent Isle? I wasn't really taught by any great master or anything. I'm mostly self taught and did some guard training."

Javal got up quickly to go ask for more root beer. The grumpy waiter complied and filled his cup back up.

As he came back and sipped his bubbly delight he began telling the tale of the dead hero, “I don’t really know much about him to be honest, all I know is what the undead hero and my master told me about him. He was a powerful hero who traveled all across the lands slaying monsters, and defeating wicked foes. I think my master said that he was from Stormgale originally”.



Javal looks impressed at Yasei, “Your self-taught man your staffmanship must be great and powerful. I didn’t even know how to swing a sword before my master took pity on me and took me on as his student. Before him, I thought a katana was supposed to be a projectile weapon. Where do you work as a guard? I'm curious as a security company president myself. Were you some sort of knight or guard for Starlight City”.

Yasei looked at Javal's glass and raised an eyebrow. Was that root beer? It was no wonder his tolerance of the sake was so abysmal. Root beer wasn't even real beer. Did he ever drink actual alcohol before? Yasei just continued sipping his own cup, deciding not to say anything about that. He didn't want to bully him about his drinking habits. It wasn't really his business.

It was disappointing that Javal couldn't shar much information about the swordsman. Apparently his master hadn't even told him the man's name. Oh well.

"Oy, anything can be a projectile if you can throw it hard enough!" Yasei joked, laughing loudly again. He waved a hand in the air in front of him. "Sorry, I'm kidding! Don't go throwing katanas!" He chuckled and then cleared his throat. "Hmm. I worked as a guard at a mansion, but it's not around anymore. Now I'm just a travelling adventurer. I'm not really interested in working for a security company."

Javal in all seriousness said, “I’m glad you see the katana’s ability to be used as a projectile such as myself Yasei even if you’re simply joking. The blade is a versatile weapon; it takes a lot of practice and skill to be able to wield it to its maximum potential. I myself still have much to learn about the art of combat, every battle is a lesson, and every opponent is a teacher. I hope to be a master swordsman someday, maybe one day I’ll be as skilled as the previous user of my blade”.



Javal perks up as he hears about Yasei’s response to his question, “Oh really did you guard some noble family if so what happened to them”. He was a bit sad about Yasei’s rejection of his offer, “It’s alright, I respect and can understand your decision. So what’re your plans for Yasei, any great journey to go on or an honorable goal to accomplish”?

Yasei drank his cup of sake as he listened to Javal's speech about his goal of becoming a master with his blade. Learning from each battle and different opponent was respectable. Yasei himself had similar beliefs. That gave him an idea.

"You sure ask a lot of questions you know. If you really want to learn about me so much, I know a much better way." Yasei said as he stood up from his seat to his full height, an intimidating eight feet that was raised even a couple inches higher by his wooden sandals. He put both hands on the table and leaned forward, looking down at Javal with a big smile.

"Let's have a sparring match! Another lesson with another teacher, right? How about it?"

"Why I do ask a lot of question Sir Yasei", Javal says a bit sheepishly, "What can I say? I am a very curious fellblood at least that's what I've been told". Javal suddenly got very excited as Yasei proposed a way to get to know each other. What could it be would it be some sort of game like a drinking game or card game, he thought.

Javal was amazed to see Yasei’s full height. Javal himself was only 6 feet 2 inches. His eyes were sparkling with excitement and joy, “A sparring match you say Yasei? I’d been so honored to test my strength against you. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d been waiting to see how strong you are since I first saw you. I’d be honored to learn anything from you. I will take this as a very important lesson. I, Javal Zarrias accepted your sparring match Sir Yasei. I look forward to learning everything I can from this match”, Javal says as he almost jumps from his chair with excitement.

Yasei laughed at just how excited Javal was to fight him. He'd said many times during their conversation how strong he thought Yasei looked. He enjoyed a good sparring match too and hadn't actually fought anyone since waking up, so this was a good opportunity for both of them.

But, a very stern look from the grumpy barkeep told him this wasn't a good place to fight. Yasei grabbed his bottle of sake and tipped it back, finishing it completely with a satisfied sigh before leaving the now empty bottle on the table. He didn't want to waste any of it by leaving it unfinished, and it wasn't enough to even get him tipsy anyways.

"Well, let's go then!" He put on his conical star sedge hat and walked off toward the exit of the bar, ducking under the doorframe. Looking around from just outside the doorway, he saw a small field of grass with a shady pine tree in the center. That would make a fine battlefield.

He walked into the field and turned to face Javal, pulling the long, red staff decorated with cherry blossom tree imagery from his back and holding it casually, waiting for Javal.

Javal barely saved himself from falling off of his chair from all the excitement he was experiencing. His face turned into a wide giddy smile, he’d wanted to test himself against Yasei from the moment he saw him. He didn’t want to bring it up though since in the past asking to spar with people had gotten Javal into a bit of trouble especially when his opponents were seriously trying to hurt him. But at least with Yasei this was different, this was going to be an honorable match against a fellow warrior he respected Yasei as a fellow fighter and would give him as good a match as he could.



Javal was about to throw down his coat and start moving the table and chairs to start their battle right here right now until he got a death stare from the barkeep. He decided to follow Yasei outside the bar, he was sure they could find a way more suitable battlefield for their epic match, not some dingy mean bear with an equally mean grumpy barkeep.



He continued following Yasei until they stopped at a small field of grass a small walk from the bar itself. Javal wanted to jump onto the floor and lay in the grass so badly. But he resisted the urge although it was certainly hard to get his mind off of how comfortable it would be to just rest here.



He stopped as Yasei made his way to the other side of the small field turning to face Javal; he held his sheathed katana in the air matching Yasei’s movement.



“So what’s next Sir Yasei, how do we begin our battle”, Javal says, barely able to contain his excitement any longer.