My Wind, My Requiem
Cast
Talim and Yunsung
TALIM"Talim, come quick!" called a familiar voice. "Hmn?" I blinked, then ran over to the other side of the hill, where my younger friend, Klonoa stood, body stiff. "I think I can... feel it! I can feel it!" she exclaimed happily. "Finally.." I laughed in relief. Lately I had been helping develop Klonoa's sense of the wind. "I feel its prescence coarsing through my veins!" Klonoa announced proudly. I could remember when I first felt the spirit of the wind in myself; although it had been when I had been very young, much younger than Klonoa when I discovered it. "That's good to know! You must continue to trust the wind's spirit- it will always be your guide." I softly reminded, my words woven with wisdom. "Yes.. I know.. oh Talim, look who it is." Klonoa then informed, looking down toward one of the town's main paths. "Who.." I started, trying to follow her sight, until my own eyes locked on. It was Yunsung, casually walking along with Seung Mina. "It's Mr. Yunsung!" Klonoa exclaimed obviously. "Yunsung.." Talim murmured, trailing off a bit. "And he's with Miss Mina too!" she added ecstatically. I could feel my shoulders stiffen at her statement, although I didn't want to admit to myself why. "Y-yeah." I answered, a bit vaguely. It went returned with a strange glance from young Klonoa. "He and Mina must be finished their training session already. That's a bit early." I spoke figuratively. "Let's go meet them, shall we?" she then proposed, taking off down the hill after them. I watched as the two swung arms around eachother happily, kicking and laughing, almost as if they were drunk. An unvoluntary sigh gusted my lips, and I was about to question myself when I realized I was so far off thought I almost missed the change in the wind!
Although I knew Klonoa waited near the bottom of the hill for me, impatient on my following, I stood stunned. I remember the wind hadn't coarsed in this manner before, although it was a quite familiar behaviour. "What.." I murmured, standing a few more seconds in the ill breeze. It's manner was so strong, I even notice it's fluxuation without any concentration. My knees grew weak. I recognized the pattern now, this prescence was very evil. It reminded me of my accident with the evil seed though the approach differed. I could hear the cry of the wind screaming in my ears for a semi-second instant, shocking me out of my mind, then vanishing. I stood still, my eyes widened. My chest was rising quickily, and it occured to me how short of breath I was. "Talim!" I was then called. I looked back down to Klonoa who was waving. "Come on already! We're gonna lose them!" she demanded. I looked at her, then to the sky, then back. "That was so odd.. I wonder what that was.." I began to run down hill after Klonoa.
"About time." Klonoa chastised as we met slightly closer to a town path. "What's the matter with you? You're acting so strange today." I ignored her concern, a slightly large conflict on my mind. "Klonoa.. did you feel that?" "Feel what?" she answered, raising a brow. I looked to the side, not answering her question, a dismissed look on my face. 'Ofcourse, Talim. She just discovered the wind's prescence and your asking her if she sensed something so advanced and abominal.' I thought, disappointed. "Talim! Are you listening!" she yelled in my ear, causing me to recoil. "Yes.. yea.. it's just; something's been bothering me. I felt-" "Miss Mina!" Klonoa then yelled, Yunsung and Seung Mina just appearing over the path. I stopped as they turned around. The young girl left me and ran at them. They both warmly intercepted her, each taking one of her arms and swinging her around. It sickeningly reminded me of a family, though I immediately disregarded the thought as I was called. "Talim!" friendily greeted a masculine voice. I froze. Yunsung was calling me over, which made me felt so good. I was really beginning to resemble an extra wheel. "You guys are out and about.. I thought you two vowed hard to train." I inquired, walking over. "All work and no play makes life dull, Talim!" Mina yelled, pumping a fist, Klonoa settled between them. "Besides," Yunsung started, drawing my eyes. He was carrying Mina's luggage. The designs decorating the heavy objects had Seung Mina written all over. "It's Mina's birthday. We ended the morning session early in celebration." he smiled, taking Mina's hand. I was suddenly beginning to feel sick, though plastered on the most sincere smile I could dig up at the very time. "Oh, Happy Birthday, Mina." I politely wished. "Thanks," she winked. "How old are you Mina?" Klonoa asked naively. Mina laughed bewilderedly. "I'm.." she trailed a bit, looking to Yunsung. He shrugged and smiled back, then looked down to Klonoa. "She's an Old Goose, Klonoa!" he laughed. "Hey!" Mina began to chase after him, he playfully leaping from her pounding session. I stood, doing nothing but watching, at a loss of words. He then grabbed Mina's hand. "Hey, by looks of it she didn't age a day, hey?" Seemed to me they had a moment. I wanted to turn and hurl, and I did, minus the hurling part. "I- I have to check something out." Yunsung, Mina and Klonoa all looked at me. I was a bit glad I was atleast noticed. "What? You won't come celebrate with us?" Mina asked. "I'm.. I'm sorry, Mina. There's just something I really need to take a look at." They all stood at a pause, as if I was to explain, until finally Yunsung spoke for the others. "What's the problem? Can we help?" I was glad of his offer, and though I wanted so much his company, I wouldn't be able to concentrate if I let social problems cloud my state of mind.
"Earlier.. not too long ago, I felt a force.. I'm not quite sure of exactly what it is but it needs my attention. I'm afraid of what it may be." I stopped there. That would be as much as what'd I'd say. I never told any of them, except for Klonoa, about my encounter with the evil seed. "That's.. too bad." Mina said superficially. I was glad I could go without a fuss, even so a part of me was angry at them for letting me go so easily. They didn't care. I nodded, swallowing and left them. Klonoa then sparked up the story of how she had discovered the power of the winds. Behind me I could here them resume the day, as happily as before.
Not long after I departed the group, I was at the summit of my favourite hillside, where the winds were strong and usual. "Hello.." I spoke to the air, feeling it engulf me greetingly. The prevailing wind was regular. It showed no evidence of the earlier disturbance. "What happened?" I asked. I waited for the signs, the response of my guide. "Evil.. I knew that already." I spoke. I then hugged my sides, tainted by the reminder of feeling such evil pierce my body. "What must I do?" I asked intently. Suddenly I could no longer feel them, I could no longer sense the winds. They seemed to have disappeared. I paused. Maybe it would come back. Maybe.. I looked around, to the town, to the windmills which were ceasing to move. I was waiting for a panic from the elders, but ran back down my hill towards the settlement. What was even happening? I need to warn our priests.
"Amanidin!" I cried, rapping on the door of the nearest elder priest. The usual ringing of wind chimes and churning of miniature windmills that dressed the front of his house were silent. I wondered if he even noticed. As I waited for a response, I took a quick look around the city. It almost seemed lifeless without our winds. The skies also seemed to darken, a large grey cloud forming and lingering above us. I prayed this was a nightmare at that point but whipped back around when the door swung open. "Talim?" said the elden man, thin garments and much spiritual jewelry handing over every thin limb of his tired body. "High Priest.." His attention seemed to leave me as he left his doorstep and stood still. I could only assume he was beginning to notice. "Can you feel it, my Lord?" I asked. "Feel it.. no wind. Can you feel the absence, Talim?" he spoke. "Yes.. I'm scared." I admitted. "We must gather the council. I will do that. You, my dear, I need you to get all the villagers into their home, and tell them to stay there until we figure this foreboding out!" he ordered. "Yes, my Lord." I answered swiftly and sprinted out into the town to clear out as much of my kin as I could.
"Please, go inside! Go home!" I asked all who lurked in the bazaar. "What is the problem, Talim?" a woman asked. I met this question more than once, and as much as I didn't want to raise a panic, but I also needed to make sure this people would listen. "Something evil's stirring. There are no winds! Please, go home! It's your safest haven now!" I instructed. "I must leave, I must warn the others!" I exclaimed, leaving as fast as I could. "Please! Tell the others! Return home! Do not come out until this is dealt, you must listen to me!" I screamed to the people as I travelled through the roads. I was glad I was well-trusted in my town, and people followed without question. My status as the Last Priestess may have helped that along. After a while, with reasonable people and much warning, I cleared a good bit of the outside population; though there was still more left. "Talim.." I was stopped. I turned around to face an old woman, my nanny when I was younger. "Please Omi, please, go inside. I would die if anything happened to you." Omi was one of the few whom I could consider true family anymore. We were distantly related. "What about you, my sweet? Come inside. I would die if anything happened to you." she restated, taking my arm with thin and wrinkled hands. "I.." I hesitated. "Do not leave me alone, sweetheart." I thought of warning the others, then it came to me. 'Yunsung!' What if he was still out? Oh no. I began to back off from my nanny. I could see the look of betrayal in her eyes. "Omi.. I.. I have to go! Go inside!" I ran from her. 'I'm sorry, Omi.. I must find Yunsung.' the thought repeated in my head. "Return to your homes! A dark spirit's about! Leave now to safety! Stay inside your houses!" I continued to tell remaining townspeople. I then spotted the firey-haired boy sitting at an outdoor table of a restaurant with Seung Mina. They were continuing their happy celebration, a Wind Village cake between the two. "Yunsung!" I cried overhead as I ran to them. By the time I reached them, I was almost too out of breath to speak, and I rested my hands on my knees to catch my breath after all that running. "Talim.." Yunsung spoke in slight concern, placing a hand on my shoulder for support. "You're exhausted." Mina remarked. I didn't near notice how much weaker I was without the winds with me. I could run double the length I did without a problem provided I had the winds with me. "What's wrong?" Yunsung started.
"Please.." I spoke, still short of breath. "Go inside. Stay in your homes! There's something dark, very evil spreading. We must run to safety!" I informed them. "Evil, eh?" Yunsung's arm left me to draw his White Storm sword. "I'll take 'em!" he spouted confidently. "I'll fight them down!" he added, spinning his weapon and making a stance. "Me too," Mina agreed with a spunky smile, picking up Scarlet Thunder, her partisan at her side. "Ready," she stanced aswell. I watched them helplessly. "Don't you understand!" I cried, grabbing Yunsung's shoulders and shaking him back and forth despairingly; although he stood tall unflared by my shoving. "There is no wind! It's gone! It's vanished!" I screamed at him, feeling my eyes burn up with tears. I made haste to blink them away, I couldn't lose hope now. How could I be so stupid, he and Mina seemed unaffected by my deathwarning. They obviously didn't know the importance of the winds in the Village of the Winds. "Go in... go inside.." I felt my strength begin to wane. I whimpered. "Where is Klonoa?" I asked in fear. "She left," Mina started. I stared her down, looking for more of an explanation. "She left to look for you," Yunsung put in. "She had this weird moment and panicked,.. she then began to ask of where you were, but took off before we could get a word out. She seemed very desperate to find you." he explained. I paused, thinking. Could she have felt the abscence of the winds? At this early a rate? "Where.." I panted. I began to grow weary and overwhelmed by the evil.
"Talim.. Talim. What's the matter?" Yunsung's voice was but a blur to me. I felt like I was standing on quaking land, though my friend didn't let me off so easily. "Talim! Talim!" he grabbed my shoulders, trying to snap me out of it I'm sure. I looked him in the eyes, I could feel my bottom lip quiver and my eyelids grow heavy. I then felt it. A cold, piercing evil fill every vein, every limb with terror. I could see bright purple spots and flashing black thunders, until Yunsung's face, calling my name right infront of me became as unclear as a shattered mirror's reflection. My eardrums rang with high pitch shrieks, I felt pain surge through my body and suddenly I could hear my heart pound like a hammer against my ribcage. Every limb of my body froze and stiffened, fear striking through every bone. I noticed I wasn't breathing and I was growing blind to the evil. "Talim!" he yelled. And finally, it ceased. The immense horror had again vanished, and in final submission I collapsed. My body gave in on me and I fell unconscious in the strong arms of Yunsung.