"Dust." A single syllable splintered the silence. Sailing through the darkness like a ship in uncharted territories, the word continued to drift and weave its' way through the plains of existence, wandering without end for a destination it could not know.
"Dust." Again. There was something alive in the word. An echo of a time gone by. Or…was it something else? A word too familiar to be commonplace. A life attached to four letters. A name?
"Arise." A light flickered and the darkness fled. Clarity succeeded over oblivion and the world flooded back into Dust's vision. The sound of birds singing all around dragged him into the waking world, the sensation of life to be met by the gentle brush of wind. Blades of grass stroked the turquoise fur lining his face. Somewhere high above his head there hung the sky, bursting in a vibrant shade of orange with splashes of burnt grey cloud dotted here and there. Was it dusk already? Or…perhaps it was dawn? He felt too disorientated to find a way to differentiate between the two.
His hand struggled for purchase and it was rewarded with the firm hilt of a sword. "Is that you, Ahrah?" he asked as he pulled himself up onto his knees. At first he wasn't sure what this name meant either, but then the memories eked their way back into his mind, like water trickling through a brook. Ahrah, one of the five blades of Elyisum.
The sword was half embedded in the ground and only shifted slightly as he used it to support his weight. "What happened? We…We were fighting General Gaius and then we fell…And…I remember Fidget and Ginger and then nothing but…" He paused for a moment as if heavy in thought, before jerking his head upwards. "General Gaius! I-"
"Defeated him, yes," Ahrah interjected. The symbols along the steel length of the blade flared into life with each word. "He is dead now, as is the tyranny of his army. You have done the world a service, Dust, and one that it would rightfully be grateful to you for. Should you choose to return to it."
"What do you mean?" He clambered to his feet, taking a moment to ensure his balance was properly regained before daring to take a clumsy step forward. He stumbled and had to use Ahrah for support once again. "What's happened to me?"
"You died, Dust. The battle was three days ago and you are believed to have perished along with General Gaius in the magma flows of Everdawn Basin. There were even witnesses to your demise. Perhaps you might wish to return and reclaim the life you were building before? Or alternatively you might wish to remain a martyr, your sacrifice in the name of bravery and compassion to be an example for future generations to follow? With Gaius defeated, you no longer have a purpose to fulfil for the Moonbloods. You have the opportunity to live life to find your very own."
Dust greeted Ahrah's suggestions with a careful silence. There would be time for making that decision later on and until then he would have to give it some careful thought. He wasn't sure he could face the people who presumed him dead, but he was equally uncertain as to how he could get by without his friends. He had not lived long since the first time he had arisen in the Glades but it had been long enough for others to make a serious impact in his life. No, now was not the time to deal with that issue when there were more pressing matters at hand. "So I died? Like, actually died died? Then what am I doing here?"
Ahrah's reply was almost instant, as though the sword had anticipated the question. "Though the Life Thread claimed you, it would seem that there was yet another force at work, more powerful than that which has woven our very existence. Perhaps there is more to the Sen-Mithrarin that neither you nor I have knowledge of yet."
"So…It's a mystery then?"
"If I had to guess I would presume that because you were not born naturally and that your death was in the name of restoring the balance, you were granted with enough strength to resist the Life Thread's call and begin again. Consider yourself in good fortune Dust, very few are given a second chance in life."
Dust was about to reply with his own thoughts when he found himself being drowned out with a particularly loud screeching of his own name. He looked up and through a veil of branches and leaves he could just about see a fuzzy orange shape falling from the sky directly towards where he now stood.
"I think you spoke a little too soon about my good fortunes, Ahrah," he mused seconds before Fidget set herself upon him, small furry fists flying fast against his face.
"Don't you ever," she screamed with tears streaming down her face, "ever ever ever do that again, you hear me?! Don't you dare scare me like that again! Y-You…You big, stupid, dumb, arrogant-"
He couldn't contain himself. He broke off her expressions of grief and relief with a short chuckle before batting away and brushing his fur where she had struck him. "It's okay Fidget. I…I promise I won't burn to death again, if that makes you any happier?"
Fidget paused and tilted her head. For a second she actually seemed to be weighing up his proposal and determining how authentic his reassuring smile seemed to be. For another second, it appeared as though she was trying to figure out whether Dust really was there and whether this might all be some kind of cruel dream. Eventually she must have decided that if it was a dream, for if it was then it was a good one. With her eyes welling up with a second round of tears, she flew forward and embraced Dust's sleeve, burying her face into the fabric and soaking it through to his fur.
"I was…I was so scared, Dust. I didn't know what I'd do without you. Not after what we've been through…I…I just…"
"It's okay, Fidget. It's okay, I'm here. And I'm not going to be going away again anytime soon."
He reached down and gently brushed the top of her tiny head with one finger, reassuring her with his touch. She looked up at him and produced a choked sound from the back of her throat before regaining her composure and swiftly flapping away from him.
"Yeah…Yeah, I know that." She looked down at the ground and played nervously with her paws. "Oh…A-and I was worried about you too Ahrah. 200 years spent guarding you is enough to help me build up some kind affection for you."
"I appreciate your concern, Fidget," Ahrah replied. Dust could have sworn he could hear a note of amusement emanating from the sword's otherwise stoic voice.
The tiny orange Nimbat nodded and the old familiar smile that Dust knew so well grew back over her face. "So, uh, now that we've got the introductions out of the way where exactly are we? Do you still have that map, Dust?"
"Not on me," Dust said back after a small search through his clothes. "I guess we lost it after…well, that happened in Everdawn Basin."
"Really? Then how did your clothes not get singed if everything else did?"
"I…I'm not sure. I'm starting to doubt this material isn't something celestial. Either way, I guess I'm not complaining. I'd rather be resurrected fully clothed than…well, not."
"Yeah, me too," Fidget agreed before flapping around in a circle, trying to get better acquainted with her surroundings. "Nope, I'm lost. I knew I should have paid attention before flying off into the unknown abyss chasing a stupid sword. Again. You know Ahrah, when most people lose a sword it's usually down the side of a sofa or something. Why do you always have to be the difficult one?"
"It's just another of my many talents," Ahrah said. "Though with that said, I'm afraid I can't offer much more assistance as to our location. It's just as much a mystery to me why we were brought here as it is to you. I was compelled to fly here with Dust's essence by some unknown force, so it is here I came to wait as he reformed. At least it was a safe enough environment for Dust."
"Wait, I reformed?" Dust asked, discomforted by the idea of ever being unformed.
"Of course. I most certainly didn't carry your body, did I?"
"You gotta admit, that would have been a little difficult for Ahrah given the whole melting part," Fidget commented, before shivering at the thought and falling silent again.
Dust furrowed his brow and stared into the distant. There was nothing but forest all around, no change in territory to even bestow them with a landmark. Above their heads, the sky had darkened and Dust could finally assume it was close to nightfall. A bird let out a solitary cry to pierce the void and somewhere away, a branch snapped. Dust tried to place its origins but it echoed through the vapid air so thoroughly that it seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. They were, for all intents and purposes, lost.
"Well, I suppose if fate brought us here for a reason then we might as well go out and find that reason. Fidget, could you fly up and find the quickest way out? There has to be a village somewhere around here."
Fidget nodded and soared out of site. Dust kept his hand on Ahrah's hilt, feeling more than a little conscious as to whether they really were alone. It felt all too likely that they would be set upon in the darkened depths of the forest, even if it were by nothing but a roving group of bandits. Normally they wouldn't be a problem for him, but in his current condition he didn't trust himself. His head still felt light and every step he took was met with a wary sway.
Finally, Fidget returned and drifted around his head as she tried to regain her bearings. Once satisfied, she raised her paw eastwards and beckoned for Dust to follow her. "I couldn't find any houses but there's a road over there. It's gotta have been built to take us somewhere, right?"
"Well, it's better than nothing," Dust agreed, following close behind.
They wandered in silence, keeping their thoughts to themselves as the stars emerged overhead. In his mind Dust was in a frenzy, though he saw no reason to admit it to his companions. Every thought he had was laced with fear, tinged with doubt and uncertainty. He had died. It was terrifying to imagine. A threshold that every life crosses eventually and he had passed through it not once but twice in order to return. It was too intimidating an idea to imagine yet it pervaded through every attempt to distract himself. And yet, for all he worried and mused over all the hows, whats, whens and wheres there was one question he did his utmost to avoid.
Why?
"Tread carefully, Dust," Ahrah's voice suddenly cautioned. "I sense a presence among these trees. We are no longer alone."
Drawing a hushed breath, Dust drew Ahrah closer to his chest and trod with more caution, ensuring that he kept his gaze levelled at as much of the forest floor as he could. Indeed he could feel a tickling sensation down and through his spine. Fidget's fur stood on end as she drifted closer to Dust's head and she kept her arms out in case her projectiles were required. They were prepared for battle, but none knew the other's current limits. Too much had changed in too little a time.
Something cracked. The splintering sound of a twig snapped through the air and Dust bolted around to face the direction he had first heard it from. There. A dark shape moved in the distance. It was too tall and too slender to be a deer. Something was watching them.
"What do we do, Dust?" Fidget whispered.
He paused for a moment and kept his eyes on the dark shape still slinking its way between the trees. Had it noticed that they'd spotted it yet? "We…We'll keep going. If they're not here to fight then we've nothing to worry about. If they are…we'll make sure they regret it."
So saying he lowered Ahrah to his side and trod carefully towards the forest's edge. The figure suddenly paused and through the veil of darkness, Dust could just about make out him turning his head to face them. They'd been spotted.
More twigs snapped as the figure approached and Dust tensed all over again. His lips parted to reveal rows of long, narrow teeth and he did his best to warn the newcomer of a hostile greeting. "Who are you?" he called.
The figure paused. He was now close enough for Dust to make out a few more of his details. He was tall and slender and wore leather armour against his long, gangly limbs. A long snake-like tail drifted behind him and deep-orange eyes stared out at them from beneath a reptilian face. The Moonblood observed them with a curious gaze and then raised his hands above his head, giving the group a glance at the strange curved object in his hand that began to glow with a soft violet light.
"Dust," Ahrah's voice snapped! "Get away from here now!"
"Uhh, Dust…" Fidget said with a voice transfused with awe. "I don't think that's any old sword."
"Dust, be careful! Please heed my advice and leave!"
"I'd never seen it before but…But I can recognise them. Can't you?"
Dust nodded. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to say anything as his voice had caught in his throat. He wasn't sure if it was fear or surprise that quelled his words but it had a strong grip and refused to let him speak. All he could opt to do was stare at the Moonblood as it advanced with arms still raised.
"My name is Ash," it said, "and this is Kazyshia…One of the five blades of Elysium."