Act 1: Early Years

3000 AC (After Creation)

The Kingdom Era

Xilo Mountains

In the dimming twilight over Equivos, nothing moved. Corpses of trees remained frozen in the blackened soil, and the skies remained clear of clouds. No wind, no birds, not even the pat of feet. Silence. The jagged peaks towered over all and stretched east to west with their rigid slopes, free of life to disturb their slumber. Boulders to rested atop them, ready to move with the slightest shake. But none came.

A worn gravel path wove around the tallest peak and crossed under a natural arch. The sun's final rays shined through a crystal within the arch, creating a narrow beam of light. The beam landed in a depression on the wall of the mountain and revealed a narrow, snakelike passageway that crawled into the cavern at its heart.

Shards hung from the ceiling of the passage and granted a dim view of the scrawling, minuscule script that littered the passage's walls. Crude images of birds, beasts, deities and darkness broke the monotony of text at random. Father down, the writing grew increasingly illegible, to where it was nothing but scribbles. Crumpled paper and discarded feathers littered the floor, and a musty, stale scent lingered in the air.

A rusted lantern hung from the ceiling of the cavern and light the room with a dimming candle. At the far side of the cavern stood an elongated stone block completely covered with runes. To the right of the passage's end was a smaller wooden table; a plate and a rusted set of silverware sat on top of it, along with scant crumbs and a bowl of rancid water. To the left, a decrepit Xatu faced away from a desk scattered with rolled-up papers, spent quills and empty inkwells.

The Xatu's held it chipped and scarred beak with his eyes closed. He swayed left and right and shook loose several matted, pale-green feathers with some gray and white. He balanced on bruised, swollen feet and held his wings over his chest.

He opened his eyes and revealed perfect, black irises, alert and alive. The Xatu slowly turned to the paper-covered desk. A quill lifted from the scattered papers and dipped into a near-empty well of ink. It whisked over the paper and penned thin, spidery words on the scroll. The Xatu's eyes flitted back and forth with the quill as it filled the page entirely.

The pen dropped to the ground, and the paper floated on top of the hundreds of others on the desk. The Xatu turned toward the cavern's exit. "It is time," he said in a deep, rasping voice. A narrow stone knife emerged from the scrolls and hovered to him. Light reflected off the smooth, polished surface of the blade, and coarse dust coated the grip. Strange engravings crawled across the blade, all in an unknown script.

The Xatu bowed his head. The scrolls on the desk flew off from it and formed an amorphous, beige mass in the center of the room .A thick wooden chest slid out from underneath the desk and opened. The scrolls bundled together and lowered into the chest. The pages disappeared from the air into the chest, and the chest closed slid behind the Xatu.

The clattering of stone echoed into the chamber. Indistinct voices shouted and grew louder with the clatter. The blade lowered onto the stone block perpendicular to the Xatu. He rested his head against the blade, and a scarlet mist emanated around it. Its runes glowed a deep crimson; it hummed with newborn energy.

The glow and hum died low, and the Xatu lifted his gaunt, weathered face. He beheld the brilliant black blade as his breaths slowed.

Whirring and stomping filled the hallway and grew louder and louder. The chest behind the Xatu suddenly flashed white, then disappeared. A Golett wearing golden epaulets stormed into the room and jabbed a finger at him. "Target sighted!" Six more Golett gathered around it and held up their fists. They were decorated with various paints and medals, accolades from previous battles.

The Xatu turned around held his wings in front of him. The onyx knife hovered up from the table and against his back.

The epauletted Golett lowered his arms and blinked his eyes. "Matriarch Magearna requests an audience with you—Gregorius Xatu." The Golett said the name in a mechanical, muted voice.

Gregorius narrowed his eyes, and the blade began to spin. "A request, or a summons?"

The decorated Golett's eyes glowed brighter. "Sensing malicious intent. Warning: The Matriarch will not tolerate a negative reply." It lifted its fists and made them flare up with fire. "Come forward peacefully and we will escort you to the capital."

Gregorius fanned out his wings and made his eyes glow blue. "I listen to no god!" The blade shot away from his back and spun around him dangerously. The Golett's eyes fixated on the blade. The blade stopped in front of Gregorius.

As they gawked at it, Gregorius slowly turned it in the air "She wishes for this: my Edge of Despair. This would be the key to her eternal kingdom—and something only I could create." He turned the Edge toward a standard Golett point-first. "But it is meant for only one purpose. One you shall witness." The Edge spun and shot into the glowing center of a Golett. The blade hissed as the Golett's light faltered. Red mist flowed rapidly from its chest into the blade. Within moments, the Golett's eyes went dark, the mist stopped, and it fell backward, depleted. The other Golett stared.

Gregorius flicked his head to the left. The blade rushed forward and impaled another Golett and drained it instantly. The remaining four backed into the tunnel, but the Xatu caught three with rapid strikes of the blade and formed. a barricade for the last, epauletted Golett.

The Golett's eyes flashed rapidly. "Sending distress—" The Edge of Despair rocketed forward and stabbed the final Golett. Its eyes darkened as it fell back with its fallen comrades.

The Edge returned to Gregorius and hovered near his chest. He shuffled in front of the Golett and bowed his head. "Like you, the Automa Kingdom is only a semblance of life—and like you, it shall fall." His breaths slowed. "You called me…a Dark Prophet…despite my truths." He staggered to the stone block and looked up at the Edge of Despair. "This…this is the key." He rolled on top of the block and lowered the Edge onto his chest. He folded his wings over the blade. "The future is set…for Arceus to fall…for his misdeeds…" His eyes closed. A wave of violet energy radiated from the table and shook the cavern. The lantern fell from its hook and shattered on the floor. The crystals in the passage shattered. Thunder boomed with the boulders that tumbled down the peak and in front of the entrance. The cavern fell dark and became the tomb of Gregorius Xatu and his Edge of Despair.

[~~~]

3975 AC

The Lawless Era

Minute Plains

Black clouds clustered in the sky above the plains in central Serenita. Strong winds blew back the trees to the east and west. Bunnelby scurried back into their burrows and Noctowl hid inside their trees to protect their Hoothoot. Few dared to walk amongst the elements when it seemed the mighty Zapdos flew amongst them and made the sky thunder and flash.

A leaf broke from its branch and whirled toward a dismal town in the center of the plains. Numerous worn, overgrown paths joined with the crumbling walls and creaking hovels. The few merchants that remained boarded up their shacks and locked their doors. Most Pokemon took shelter under limp cloths they dared to call tents, shivering not by the wind, but out of fear.

The leaf fluttered through the tattered flags that flapped in the air above the castle in the center of the town. The wind surged and forced the leaf into the sole open window at the top just as a Scrafty slammed the shutters closed. The wind whistled through the gaps and pushed the leaf through dimly-lit, grimy hallways. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes lounged on the floor, slept, played cards, or watched the storm grow. Crude images of a hooded, bird-like face emblazoned on the walls.

Several Pokemon walked swiftly through the hallways and pushed the leaf along. A Munchlax scurried down the stairs with a bag and fled from a raging Combusken. A Shiftry fanned the flames of a fireplace and sat down on the floor with his Nuzleaf brothers. The leaf traveled on and crossed by the ragged Pokemon that abided in the ruined tower.

Down and down the leaf traveled, even into the basement of the tower. Rattata scurried around the legs of Pawniard that stood at attention in the long hallway. Cages lined the walls, each filled with pitiful, wasted Pokemon. A battered Bisharp stalked the hallways and lit torches

A Mr. Mime strode down the steps with the leaf stuck to the bottom of his foot. He held up a covered platter in a dignified manner as he passed the longing looks of the prisoners inside the cells. He stepped carefully around the puddles of rancid water and grease stains that plagued the floors.

He came to the end of the hallway and faced a Machamp that stared forward with his arms crossed. The Mr. Mime cleared his throat, and the Machamp stepped to the side and knocked on the door. It swung outward with a loud squeak. A rickety table and two chairs stood in the center of the. Torches in wall sconces revealed discarded food and splintered wood on the floor. Numerous maps, posters, and other drawings decorated the dilapidated walls, all the way to the ceiling that hung stories above the table. A single open window broke the monotony of stone at the top. Wind rushed from the window onto the creaking wooden platform adjacent to it. A shadowed figure faced the window and covered the flickering candles at the far end of the platform.

The Mr. Mime set the tray on the table and promptly left the room. The leaf fell from his foot and blew with the breeze created by the closing door. It bounced against the leg of the table and stopped in the middle of the floor.

An arrow shot from the platform and impaled the leaf. Thick, sharp feathers made up the head.

The air shimmered above one of the chairs. The air darkened and formed a Zoroark with a grizzled mane and stained bandages around his hands. He frowned and searched through the satchel that hung from his shoulder. Paper and small bags of berries lay scattered amongst other baubles.

He closed the bag and looked up at the figure on the wooden platform, who continued to look out the window with his cloak-like wings wrapped around him.

The Zoroark hunched forward in his chair and looked side to side uncomfortably. "…Sir? I've been here for at least an hour. Is there something you wanted me for?"

The figure's head rotated halfway around his body to face the Zoroark. His round, orange eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. "You know exactly why you're here, Sion."

The Zoroark cringed at the sight of the eyes. He fiddled with a bandage around one hand and said, "You've never summoned me before, Damon."

Damon's clawed feet pried themselves from the wood of the platform and stalked toward the edge of the platform. The hood over his head shrouded his face. "Have you found anything?"

Sion's claws dug into the wood underneath the table. "Well…"

Damon's wings spread, then he dove to the ground and expertly landed on the floor. A feather-like arrow fell from his wing and clinked against the floor. Gaps of missing feathers peppered his chest, while stiff, sage feathers formed the cowl around his head.

The Decidueye stepped forward; his talons clinked against the stone floor with every step. He jumped on top of the table the table with his leg and pulled off the cover of the tray with his leg in the center. A loaf of stale bread sat with shriveled berries on the platter.

He swept it away with his wing and crouched in front of Sion. "Even one hint is better than none." Lightning flashed outside the window and illuminated the crude drawing of a blade on the wall behind Damon.

The Zoroark cautiously got up from his seat and stepped away. "I've only had legends and to go off of, legends. I can't find anything with just that."

The Decidueye stepped off the table brought his face close to the Zoroark's; his beak nearly touched Sion's nose. Damon's large, orange eyes bore down on Sion's cyan, until he languidly looked away. "I see I haven't provided enough." He snatched the arrow on the ground with his talons and drew it back against the vine against his shoulder with his wing. He released the arrow-feather and shot it into the wall behind Sion, right into an 'X'-covered map. "When I clearly have determined where it isn't."

Sion forced a smile and stepped back toward the door. "Yes, but there's so many more places you haven't been too. There's all sorts of nooks and crannies in the desert alone, and—"

Damon leapt on top of Sion and held a talon across his throat. He drew an arrow from under his wing and aimed it at the Zoroark's skull. "You know something. No one goes seven years of searching for a relic like the Lifeless Blade and comes up with nothing." Sion wheezed and struggled for breath. His eyelids fluttered.

Damon released his hold, but kept the arrow drawn. Sion staggered upright and leaned against the table, taking in deep gulps of air. He finally composed himself and smoothed down his mane. He turned to face Damon, and his eyes trained on the Decidueye's. The arrow started to slip from Damon's grip.

Sion held his hands out defensively and exclaimed, "Alright, alright! I know something!" Damon lowered the arrow, but kept it drawn.

The Zoroark pulled out a bundle of papers from his bag and flicked through them. "I've gone all across Serenita and even down to Cretea to find the blade; I even hired some ghosts to search the swamps. All I've found is—" He stopped and stared at the papers.

Damon slunk around Sion and craned his neck to read the papers. "All you've found is what? A message? A clue?" He studied them closely and found that they were covered in gibberish.

Sion furrowed his brow and turned to face Damon. "All I've found is that a Pokemon like you should never have it." He clouted Damon over the head with the bag and sent him to the floor with a squawk. Sion sprinted forward and burst through the door, then tossed away the surprised Machamp on the other side. He ran down the hallway and faded into invisibility.

Damon scrambled to his feet and followed Sion. He screeched and widened his eyes. A ray of orange light emanated from them and pulsed across the length of the hallway. A Zoroark shimmered back into existence as he ascended the stairs.

Damon followed Sion up and shouted, "Capture him, you fools!" The Bisharp stalking the cages clapped his gauntlets together and pointed up the stairs. All the Pawniard among the cells nodded and scrambled up to follow Damon, their cries reverberating through the halls.

Sion leapt over the Pokemon stirring to follow Damon's command. He snatched the food sack of the scurrying Munchlax and tossed it into the Decidueye. He ducked underneath it and flapped his wings to gain speed. The bag bowled into the thronging Pawniard and bunched them into a pile in the hallway.

Damon notched an arrow into his wing and aimed at Sion. The Zoroark threw a hand back and emitted a black haze, enveloping the Decidueye in a smog. Damon coughed and slowed as he swept the gas away. Sion turned the corner and flit past a snarling Granbull.

Damon drove away the last of the gas and turned the corner, only to find no Zoroark. He grabbed the Granbull's neck with his talons. "Where did he go?"

"I-I-I don't know! He was too fast!" the Granbull stammered.

Damon screeched and threw the Granbull to the ground. "Send out the Mightyena then!" The Granbull made a shivering salute and scurried down the hallway. Damon narrowed his eyes and ran back to his quarters.

Now invisible, Sion wove through the alert guards of Damon's horde and burst through the exit into the dark alleyways beyond. He ran through puddles and mud into the alleys of Saunte.

He shot past Trubbish gobbling piles of trash. A pair of Buizel scooted closer to the wall as he passed. Sopping wet Murkrow squawked miserably from the rooftops as he disappeared into the rain. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder followed in the growing storm.

Back at the castle, Damon stood at the edge of the window, scanning the city from above. Below him, three black shapes padded out of the entrance and circled the perimeter. They all faced a single direction and howled, then ran through the streets in the same direction. Damon stepped off the edge of the window and glided over the hovels in search of Sion.

Minutes later, deep within the bowels of the city, the end of an alley shimmered. A door creaked open and closed, revealing a dark room lit only by candles that lay scattered on the table in the corner to the far left. Berries and other foods lay piled on the table. A desk set with a heavily marked map and books stood on the right. A Zoroark sat on a bag of straw in the remaining corner as she read a book, holding a small, sleeping Zorua under the blanket.

Sion reappeared from the door and wheezed, "I've done it." The other Zoroark looked up, closed her book, stood up from the straw bed, then hurried to the pile of food on the table. She pulled a satchel from the top of the pile and gathered food into it. "We should've run away after we got that summons. Now we have Damon hunting for us."

Sion studied the map, his eyes flitting across each location. "I agree, but I had to see if he was close to finding the blade."

Vaira finished and closed the bag. "Is he?"

Sion took the map and carefully folded it and tied it closed with a string, then set it into his bag. "No. He'll never find it without us." He turned to the bundle under the covers. "Is he asleep?"

Vaira hefted the bag over her shoulder and pulled the bedding off the sleeping Zorua. She gingerly picked him up and set her on her other shoulder. "I made sure to slip some sleep powder in his dinner." He moaned and shifted uncomfortably. Vaira rubbed his back and said, "We really shouldn't be going with him like this."

Sion took a bound, beaten book from the desk and slipped it into his bag. "We've waited as long as we can afford. With luck, we'll be in Quantus before—"

Aaarrruuuu!

Both Sion and Vaira's faces fell. "Damon." Vaira opened the door and waited for Sion to follow. He took a book from their research and tossed it away. "He won't find anything here; I made sure to cross out what's important." They held hands, then fell invisible and closed the door for the final time.

They crept through the city, straining their illusionary powers to make the rain appear undisturbed. Howls erupted throughout and drew closer to the Zoroark. They came to an intersection; the growls of Mightyena came from all directions, and above, Damon's shadow could be seen.

Vaira held the Zorua tighter to her chest and whispered, "What now?" Sion twisted his head around, searching for some escape. He eyed the uneven wall to their right, then up to the roof.

He pulled Vaira closer to it. "This way." He held onto the wall and ambled up to the top. Vaira handed the Zorua up to him and followed him up and managed to close it despite its tautness. She reclaimed the Zorua and joined hands with Sion as they hopped across the rows, avoiding the pitfalls in the wood and tile, all while the rain made it slicker and slicker.

Above, Damon searched for any sign of the Zoroark. He shook off the rain dripping from the thick feathers that made his hood. 'Where in Saunte could they be?' he thought.He saw the Mightyena run eastward, parallel to a row of houses in the center of Saunte. Damon considered it briefly, then shifted away and tilted north.

Crack!

His head snapped to the rows of houses; a hole appeared in a roof where none was before. Damon dove toward it. 'Found you.' Orange beams emanated from his eyes over the area. Two Zoroark shimmered into existence; one had their foot stuck in the hole. Damon screeched and made purple mist coat his wings.

Vaira took glances upward as she struggled to pull her leg free. Sion crouched next to her and tried to help her, but to no avail. "Cursed Foresight," he muttered. The Decidueye surged closer as Sion looked around desperately. He saw a Poliwrath stumble out from a door underneath him. He held Vaira's hand and said, "Get ready."

Before she could reply, he slammed the roof and collapsed it on the few Pokemon inside the tavern. Damon soared over where they previously stood and screeched, then swerved around and perched on top. He jumped inside and searched amongst the tables and Pokemon within for the Zoroark.

He swiveled his head and stalked around the still Pokemon within. The Smeargle barkeeper to his right rubbed the inside of his his glass nervously with a rag, while a Raichu held his tongue mid-sentence. A Buizel held a stack of coins midair as he handed them to a Vileplume, and a Spinda halted its tottering over a pint.

Damon focused on the Smeargle. "You." The ragged Smeargle eeped and dropped his glass, which shattered on the floor. Damon stepped across the shards and loomed over the barkeep. "Where did the Zoroark go?"

The Smeargle twisted his brown paint-covered tail and stammered, "I-I-I have no idea—"

Damon hopped on top of the counter and snatched the Smeargle's throat. He held him up to eye level and hissed, "Don't play games with me." The Smeargle painstakingly pointed at the open door.

Damon narrowed his eyes and ground his beak. He dropped the Smeargle and swept outside to search for a trail. Amidst the muddy streets, rickety homes and disheveled beggars, none appeared.

He flapped his wings powerfully into the air and swiveled his head across Saunte. The Mightyena now converged on the eastern entrance of Saunte. He dove toward it and saw a large Zebstrika—and two Zoroark hopping onto its back.

Damon screeched and drew an arrow from his wing. He fell and aimed carefully at the Zebstrika. He fired just as the second Zoroark climbed on top, sending the arrow spiraling toward the Zebstrika's flank. The Zebstrika whinnied and shot forward in the blink of an eye, making Damon's arrow embed itself into the ground.

Damon fanned out his wings and swooped back into the air. The Zebstrika clopped swiftly across the stormy plains toward the East Kaena Woods. It glided left and right across the plains to adjust itself in the pelting rain and winds.

Sion sat in front of Vaira on the Zebstrika and held tight to its mane as she wrapped her arms around him, keeping the bag and their Zorua on her lap. Damon shrunk as the woods grew closer and closer.

Vaira looked back at Damon and shouted, "Doesn't it take over a day to get to Quantus?"

Sion looked back as well, smiling. "Not on a Zebstrika it won't. We'll be there in a matter of hours, and Damon will be none…the…" He trailed off as clouds funneled down from the sky and gathered behind Damon and formed a tight sphere. It surged forward and thrust Damon along a slipstream of wind. The Decidueye whistled in the wind as the gap between him and the Zebstrika closed.

Sion grit his teeth and kicked against the Zebstrika's side. "Faster! " The Zebstrika snorted and tramped faster. Electricity sparked around its hooves and leapt from the ground—but Damon drew closer still.

The Decidueye narrowed his eyes and veered upward. He soared directly over the Zebstrika and closed his wings. He fell through the air and drew an arrow once more. The Zebstrika flashed past him toward the trees mere yards away. The arrow's head glowed violet, and Damon fired. Lightning flashed, creating distinct shadows on the ground for all outside. The arrow sunk into the Zebstrika's shadow. It screamed as it snapped forward and threw Sion and Vaira off its back. Its neck snapped into an unnatural angle against the ground. Wet soil flew into the air and covered their bodies.

Sion groaned and stood back up, then stared at the Zebstrika's body. He grimaced and thought, "Rorick's going to kill me."

"Sion!"

He spun around and saw Vaira with the still-sleeping Zorua up to her chest; the remains of her supplies lay scattered behind her. She held her swollen ankle with her free hand.

Sion paled and tapped a claw against Vaira's ankle. She winced and seethed, "I…I landed wrong. I think it's sprained."

Sin looked up and saw Damon flap closer, but the wind pushed against him and slowed his glide. Sion took Vaira's arm and helped her upright. "Can you walk?"

She stepped forward, but immediately grunted and staggered. She fell on her side and nearly rolled down the hillside but stopped herself. She looked up at Sion and shook her head. "It's too much."

Sion's throat tightened as he tried to help her to her feet once more. "You can make it, we just need to—"

Vaira pulled away from his grip. "Sion." He stopped, looking down at her and the Zorua. The child shivered and hugged against Vaira, the rain and mud soaking him to his skin.

She gingerly held him out to Sion. "Go. Leave me. I can't outrun him."

Sion looked back up to the Decidueye. Damon screeched and fought against a swirling funnel of wind, forcing him to stop.

Sion crouched next to Vaira and struggled still. "I won't leave you! We can still make it!"

Vaira pushed the Zorua up to Sion's chest, and he could feel his cold, clammy shivering. Sion's eyes widened as he turned to face her. She smiled halfheartedly. "Do it for me…for him."

Sion paused, then hugged Vaira close, choking up. "I…I should have listened to you. This wouldn't—"

Vaira pecked him on the cheek and pushed him away. "What's done is done—but I never loved you more." Damon broke free of the swirling winds and dove toward them with his talons extended.

Sion hastily stood up and hugged the Zorua tight. After moments of hesitation, he ran into the woods and turned invisible in the pouring rain.

Damon landed right next to Vaira and clamped his talons across her throat. He leaned downward and seethed, "Where's the blade? I know that Sion told you!"

Vaira struggled to breathe but remained calm still. "Even if he did," she wheezed, "I'd never tell." She slashed the side of Damon's head and ripped out several crown feathers.

He screeched and threw Vaira aside, then covered the wound with his wing. She fell on her back and struggled to get away, her ankle throbbing with every move.

Damon removed his wing and saw blood smeared over it. He studied the woods, then glared at her. He plucked a feather from under his wing. "Sion will be more useful." He drew it back against the vine, and Vaira closed her eyes and breathed slowly. He fired.

Sion stopped and stared into space. Trees surrounded him in all directions, all coated in rain. The path he stood on was soaked to mud, and no light save the flashes of lightning lit his way. He held his satchel over his son to protect him from the elements as best he could.

Tears brimmed Sion's eyes. He held the Zorua up to his neck and heaved. "S—Sorry…" Damon's call echoed, and Sion snapped up. He ran away, invisible to all.

Hours passed. The rain never stopped. Sion's sprint fell into a jog, then into a slow shamble as time went on. He breathed haggardly as he took glances behind him to ensure no Decidueye hunted him. Nothing but rain and thunder came into his hearing, nothing but the smell of wet earth, nothing but the biting wind. Yet in his heart, he sensed the hunter.

Sion slipped on the mud and fell into it, coating him and the Zorua in mud once more. Sion groaned and held his Zorua up as he wiped away most of the mud. The Zorua shivered, struggling to remain in sleep.

Sion held the Zorua against his chest, grimacing. 'He's in no state to travel—I have to-'

Branches cracked overhead. Sion held his breath and made himself appear invisible. He crept underneath a tree and watched, careful to not make a sound.

Twigs fell onto the middle of the path. A Decidueye followed and landed softly as he spread his wings. He stood straight and narrowed his eyes. He turned, revealing three gashes scored the side of his head, scabbed over the rest of his feathers.

Orange light glowed around his eyes. Sion shuffled around the trunk of the tree and held his breath as the Foresight swept the area, unable to identify him.

After several minutes of Foresight, Damon scratched his talons across the path and growled. Sion quietly shuffled back to his previous position, trusting the rain to muffle his movements. Damon bowed his head and held his wings close, shaking.

The Zorua's eyes fluttered open, and he wearily looked about. "Papa—"

Sion clamped a hand over his mouth the same time Damon snapped his head toward their position. He stamped closer and studied the wood, growing so close that his beak nearly touched Sion's snout. Sion's heart pounded in his chest, and the Zorua could scarcely whimper.

Finally, Damon stepped back and turned away. He held out his wings and crouched to leap. Sion relaxed.

Damon's eyes flashed, then he abruptly drew an arrow and fired it at the tree. It thudded into it, its sound muffled by what seemed to be the rain. But nothing more.

He screeched and leapt into the air, soaring back to Saunte. Several minutes after, a Zoroark reappeared in front of the tree with an arrow through his left shoulder.

He coughed weakly and fell on his side. The Zorua hopped away from his father and stared at the arrow, horrified. "…Papa?"

Sion grimaced and said, "Son…I'm hurt bad. Real bad."

The Zorua looked around them, ears drooped. "Where are we? Where's Mama?"

Sion gasped and reached into his bag, then threw its contents onto the ground. "Son, you need to go. There's a town along the path. If you keep heading up, you'll reach a gate." He sat upright and seethed, clutching his side, then took the weathered book and map from the ground and set them on his lap. "When you get there, call out for Auren. He should still be there."

The Zorua pushed against his father's leg. He coughed and shivered, looking all around him. "Y-You're coming with me…r-r-right?"

Sion picked up a length of charcoal from his belongings and wrote in the front of the book, shaking. "…I…I can't. I won't make it."

The Zorua stepped back. His lip trembled. "B-But you said—"

"I know what I said." Sion coughed, harder now. He tucked the map under the cover of the book and bound it back again with the string. He tore the leather strap from the satchel and pulled the Zorua closer, then set the book on his back and tied it around his chest. "Auren and his wife will take care of you. I trust them, and they—"

The Zorua turned around and cried out, "You can't stay! You can't!"

"Listen to me!" Sion shouted. He held his son's face up to his. "There are some very bad Pokemon wanting to find me, including that Decidueye! He'll be back, and if they find you, they'll kill you! And I won't have your mother's death be in vain!" He turned away and cough fitfully. The Zorua stood still, shocked.

Sion calmed, and in a much weaker, coarse voice, he said, "Give…give the book to Auren. Quantus is…a safe place for you to grow up…"

Tears streamed down the Zorua's face. "Papa…"

Sion pet his son's head and forced a smile. "Your mother always loved you…and I did too." He weakly pointed a direction down the path. "Go…I don't want you to see me pass."

The Zorua sniffed and hugged Sion a final time. "I'll come back for you." He ran down the path as fast as he could despite his sodden and cold state, carrying with him his father's last work.

Sion waved to him and cried freely. He looked up at the sky, where despite the pouring rains, the sky opened, revealing the full moon. Sion's breaths slowed and shallowed. "Arceus…save my son…please." He let out one final, drawn-out breath.

The Zorua ran as hard as he could on the mud-swamped path, fighting the fierce winds and rains. He thought of his father final exclamation, the hatred of the Decidueye, and his prevailing fear and sadness. He pushed himself beyond his limits, taxing his small frame to the point of collapse.

After what felt like hours of traveling on his own, the Zorua struggled to stand, worn from the fierce storm. He saw a massive wooden wall stretched to the north and south, circling a large section of the forest. At the end of the path was a lantern set in the wall, next to that a large gate.

The Zorua's vision blurred as he stumbled toward it. His paws tripped over themselves at the foot of the gate, and he slammed his head against the wood, immediately falling unconscious. His body temperature fell, and his soaked, mud-covered body did nothing to stop it.

The gate clicked. The small panel in the center swung inward and revealed a blue, canine-face wearing a hood and cloak. He held up a lantern and scrutinized the surroundings. "Who's there?" He looked down and gasped at the sight of the Zorua.

He closed the panel and swung the entire gate open, revealing himself to be a Lucario. "Arceus' name, what happened to you?" He tore off his cloak and wrapped the Zorua in it, then set his paw on his back. "Frozen." He held the Zorua tight to his chest and closed the gate, then ran swiftly down the path. He set his paw close to the Zorua's chest and made it glow with blue light, providing what warmth he could provide.

After half an hour of fighting the torrential rains and the Zorua's deathly cold, houses loomed in the horizon, all dark for the night. The Lucario passed all of these and entered the one close to the center of the cluster with a blue, Lucario head stamped on its door. He slammed the door and grabbed a cushion from the chair in the room—ignoring the puddles of water he made—then threw open the door into another.

The door opposite opened and revealed another leaner Lucario with a large and swollen belly. She wore a shawl over her shoulder and held a candle in front of her.

She hobbled over to the other Lucario. "Auren, is that you?"

Auren crouched at the foot of an open stove in the kitchen and took a piece of flint from the floor, all while he held his other paw over the still Zorua. "Eliza, go back to bed; I don't want anything happening to you."

Eliza entered the kitchen and said, "I'll be fine; the baby isn't supposed to come for another few—" She gasped and held a paw up to her chest, nearly dropping her candle. "What in Equivoshappened to that poor Zorua?"

Auren scraped the flint across the spike in his paw and started a fire with the wood set inside the stove. He closed the door and pulled away the sodden cloak from the Zorua, dragging away most of the mud pasted on his fur, but leaving it very damp.

Eliza set down her candle and hurried back out the kitchen. "I'll go get some towels. Where did you find him?"

Auren sat down with the Zorua and enveloped the child with blue light flow from his paw. "I found him outside the gate. It's a good thing he knocked before he fell unconscious, or I might never have found him." He eyed the book on the Zorua's back curiously. He slid it out from the band and carefully opened the damp pages. As he read, his expression grew darker and darker.

Eliza returned with a bundle of towels in her paws and said, "Here, this should help." She stopped, noticing the book. "What's that?"

Auren closed the book and stood up. He closed his eyes. "It's Sion's journal."

Eliza cocked her head curiously. "What? Why would—" She froze. She focused on the Zorua. "Is…is he his son?"

Auren set down the journal and accepted the towels from Eliza. "Yes." He wrapped one around the Zorua, then himself. "Sion was shot by Damon on the way here. Vaira died before they made it into the woods. He wanted us to raise him."

Eliza gasped and put her paws up to her mouth. She sat down on a chair and leaned her head against her paws. "They…they wanted to be here for so long…"

Auren sighed and held the Zorua on his lap next to the growing fire. "Well…at least one of them made it. And Damon won't be finding that blade any time soon." He pointed at the journal. "Sion's map is in there, and he said that he'd destroyed everything else that could lead to it." He turned back around and stared at the fire. "At least he did what he said he would."

Eliza sniffed, wiping her eyes and snout. "I wish I could've seen them before…well, this." She stood back up and came to Auren and the Zorua. She stroked the child's headfur; warmth started to seep in from the fire.

She smiled. "What's his name?" Unbeknownst to them, a Riolu watched from the entryway, his blanket wrapped around him. He focused on the Zorua, who was slightly obscured by his parents.

Auren set a paw on the Zorua's back, which now felt warmer to the touch. The Zorua breathed easier, but he still slept with a pained expression.

"His name is Arthus."