I do not own any of these characters blah blah blah… The Colossi in this will do things that they do not do in the game, though this is mainly for making seem more like living things with human levels of intelligence. With that out of the way, I present to you,
Shadows Into Light
A Shadow of the Colossus Fanfiction.
Chapter 1 (The Four)
It was a full moon, or it would be if the sun actually set in this sealed land, forbidden by people to ever set foot on. It was under the large bridge in the center of the land that a group of special colossi met. These colossi were not land-locked into a specific area like their brethren, so they were free to travel across the land as they pleased. These colossi were known to other members of their race as the Key Colossi. These colossi were tasked to deliver information to the other colossi, so that they could share the same knowledge so they couldn't be blindsided. However most of the information was just things like a rockslide or food shortage, basic things like that.
They came together one by one. The first was a very close match to the smallest of them all, coming close next to her brother. She bounded over the flat lands, her speed nearing the top, but not the fastest. The second to come was a plated creature, crawling over the south mountains and onto the flat lands. He slithered along the ground, leaving burn marks imprinted in the soil from the energy coursing through his body. The third to arrive flew over the lands gracefully, beating the air underneath her wings for daring to ground her. The last one to arrive also soared through the air, but in a different way. He was held aloft by a series of gas pouches, which were filled by a series of underground gasses he had collected, his massive form trailing through the sky like a road. Then after they had, they started their annual meeting.
Celosia was bored. She was the second smallest colossus, the title belonging to her brother Cenobia. At least he had an actual title, unlike Celosia who was just stuck in the middle. She shot her brother a death glare from the shade; he snorted and turned away. He was smiling, she knew he was smiling. She tapped her claws on the ground rhythmically to avoid dying of boredom. Her fast-paced life wasn't used to this, and she desperately needed to move.
Phalanx on the other hand was quite content with himself right now. He enjoyed long drifts through the desert, along with wind. His lifestyle was the complete opposite of Celosia's, liking to take it slow and steady. He was listening contentedly from above to Avion, who was talking about the recent outburst of doves. "...and along with destabilizing the ecosystem, they eat all the food, they nearly blind me everytime one passes by my eye." Her voice sounded nice, and she took quite a lot of pride in having a voice like the most beautiful songbird. She felt free, like nothing could hold her down (nothing ever tried really). She discussed the hawk's food shortage, meanwhile Kuromori was just taking this all in. He just wanted to go actually do things, instead of just listening to his "Brethren" talk. He wasn't bored, he just wanted to actually do things instead of talking about them. "In my defense rats are fun to kill, plus the hawks have been terrorizing the lizards." Kuromori replied, an amber mist seeping from his mouth, his voice a scratchy mess resembling static. He was defending himself after hearing that the rat population was dropping significantly.
"Can't you just...not kill things...Kuromori?" Phalanx's voice was like a desert sandstorm, yet slow and peaceful. "But killing things is so much fun. Watching them suffocate is an…" Kuromori paused, savoring the words. "...intoxicating experience." "No one deserves...to be killed...Kuromori. What did they...do to you?" Phalanx countered. "Right. I'm off." Celosia cut in, moving towards the canyon she called her home. She was bored out of her brain, and the last thing she wanted was to wait for the two of them to stop bickering. "Do not leave Celosia. You haven't talked about the matters plaguing you." said Avion. "Ugh...fine. The oasis in my area have started to run dry, as the rain hasn't come in a long time." It had been a few months since the last rainstorm, though a dry territory like Celosia's didn't get rain most of the time anyways. Areas in the south-west seemed to get the most rain, as they were the closest to the sea that cut off this land from the south.
"What troubles do you have Phalanx?" Phalanx let out a long sigh, a small sandstorm escaping the mouth below his head. "The Desert of Peace...has no life...the territory surrounding it home only to...insects, arachnids...and the occasional lizard." Avion breathed in, air filling her rocky bosom. "If that is all, then that concludes this meeting. Goodbye everyone, and may the air guide you." Celosia spoke up next, a derogatory tone in her voice. "May the earth tremble before you." Then Kuromori. "May your inner energy help you kill your adversaries." and finally Phalanx. "May the wind...forever blow in your sails." Then the four Key Colossi split up, moving back to the respective territories, which meant Celosia and Phalanx stayed together.
Celosia had grown tired of her brethren. All they ever talked about were boring things like territory, the worthless lives of puny animals, and other meaningless things. She went back to her canyon in the north, when Phalanx decided to share his opinion. "You need to understand...you need to mature." Great, now I'm getting berated by Phalanx thought Celosia. "You need to care about...the things we talk about...are very important." "You're one to talk. You have no responsibilities, all you do is float around all day!" Celosia scoffed. "This is exactly...what I'm talking about...you neglect your responsibilities as a Key Colossi…you skip meetings...you don't take stock of your surroundings...but most importantly you have no care for the life of animals." Shut up already! "We were created from...the shards of a cursed god. Our very life would not have been...brought about if not for the loss...of another." "I know how we were created! Tiny things such as those have not importance in our lives, so why should we care?!" Celosia yelled as she broke off from Phalanx. "A pox upon you, and all of your desert!" she screamed as she ran down the slopes of her canyon. Who does he think he is? Telling me how to live my life.
She got half way down, then lept to the ground below. She ran up the ramp and into the temple she called home. One of the fires had started to die out. Great. She picked up one of the sticks next to the brazier, noting she had only three left. She threw it into the fire pit, and the flames plumed into the air in joy, startling Celosia and making her jump back. The flames had always scared her, and she guess that someone had a sick sense of humor, as she was the one assigned to protecting them. She then leapt up into an alcove above the fire pits, and laid down. As she drifted into sleep she felt an air current across her back. Windy...today… Little did she know that the air current meant something much bigger, something that would threaten her very existence. This being rode across the mountains far, far to the north, riding a majestic stallion. As he rode he looked into the sky, and wondered what the future held for him. Then a gust of air blew his cloak up at his face, blinding him and causing him to fall off his horse and onto the ground below. "STUPID PONCHO!"