Five Swords

Gerard never knew his parents. Heck, he didn't even know where he came from. Ever since he could remember, he had always been in that dojo. The one in the woods secluded from the outside world. The one that he always swept every day in the morning, scrubbed every day in the afternoon, and trained at in the evening. There was nothing else he knew. Whenever he asked his masters they would always reply, "You were found on the outskirts of a forest fire. Your parents were nowhere to be found, so we took you in." After that the case was closed, you never talked back to the masters.

There were four of them back then: Coba, Viri, Terak, and Xoru. Each one of them was a character in themselves. There was Coba, the gentleman swordmaster, with his waxed moustache and fancy fighting clothes. He was always courteous to the female students and guests; while somehow being a real man's man at the same time. He danced, he fought, he courted, and he hunted- there was really nothing Coba couldn't do.

Then there was Master Viri the only female swordmaster at the dojo, and one of the best swordmasters in the world... She was also incredibly beautiful. Every guy in the dojo had a thing for her, and Gerard was no exception. Her soft and silky skin; her elegant silk kimono; her incredible smile; everything about her was simply perfect, including her fighting skills.

Master Terak... that man had the loudest laugh and an even louder belch. His two best friends were the sword and the bottle. Sometimes he even fought opponents WITH a bottle; but that was just his style: he didn't take many things seriously. He had a dark side to him though. Try to spoil his fun and he would turn into someone completely different. A machine hell bent on destroying that which stood between him and festivity. Then, as soon as the problem was dispatched, he would turn back into that same jolly man.

Finally there's Master Xoru... the youngest and probably strongest of the four. He was... neutral... that was really the only way to describe him. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't as good as Coba. He wasn't serious, but he didn't have that same fun loving nature as Terak. He was good looking, but not as good looking as Viri. He was just all around "normal", and yet.... he wasn't. The way he fought with his swords completely dominated any other opponent. Defense or offense - it didn't matter, he was superior. But he was also a dragon type... which brings us to a pivotal point in the story.

You see the four masters had a friend; a very special friend. I mean VERY special: Arceus himself. I never saw him though, it was before my time when he left. They said the dragons drove him off, but Xoru always objected. It wasn't every dragon's fault, since he was Arceus' friend as well. But the other three didn't see it that way. They said it was partially his fault, that he somehow had something to do with that war; even though he had been at the dojo the entire time. One day, it escalated. There was fighting, yelling, throwing of furniture, broken windows, damaged doors, and frightened students. Afterwards Xoru simply left, and a new master had to be picked... There were three candidates, but who would be picked? Gerard, Reido, or Melody?.