Alundra: Shadow in the Dreamscape

Prologue

Written by Estrelita Farr

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There once rose a kingdom of faraway lands,
There once ruled a legendary king revered by all,
There once stood a lake shrine, now beneath the sands,
There once befell a calamity that struck like a squall.

From the skies, a star fell onto the earth,
From the star, a great being emerged,
From the castle, the great king thought,
From its power, oh, what legend to be wrought.

With a contract between them, there was much to gain,
With a grin on his face, the being neared,
With a raise of his hands, a great light appeared,
With a burst of light, transcendent the king became.

On the lake, the new shrine staid,
On the pedestal, the being stood high,
On the king's persuasion, the people prayed,
On the people, dreams were granted with a sigh.

Then,
Filled with power, the being deemed the people worthless,
Filled with ambition, he declared himself a ruler ruthless,
Filled with terror, the people unable to stand and fight,
Filled with darkness, nightmares plagued them day and night.

By the end of the great war the shrine of the lake sunken,
By the power of the seven crests the lake was sealed,
By the deeds of the heroes the seven guardians chosen,
By the command of the king the being's images broken.

There once rose a kingdom of faraway lands,
There once ruled a legendary king revered by all,
There once stood a lake shrine, now beneath the sands,
There once befell a calamity that struck like a squall.

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King Snow sat gazing upon the white ceiling, his cerulean blue eyes dull. His young face and royal garb covered in dirt and blood, his flowing long hair as white as snow.

The throne room was silent. Desolated. His subjects had all gone, either dead, fled or spending the moment with their loved ones.

They had only just won the battle, yet he did not feel elated. They had just subdued the evil demon god, yet there was this heavy weight upon his chest.

He knew. The battle might have been won, but the war would continue. As long as they could not kill the god, the war would continue. History would repeat itself. There would be more casualties. More fear. More desolation. An era of peace would end… and an era of darkness would come.

But no. He was a legendary king. Legendary everything. He would do aught and all to keep the demon subdued, if not dead. He owed the people that much, for what his father had done.

Then, his long pointed ears twitched at a soft sound. He gazed forward expectantly.

A circle of light appeared in the hall before him, shining brightly as an old man materialised within. As the light faded, so did the magical wind around him. He knelt down in respect, his cloak draped on the floor.

Snow stood up immediately and stepped forward, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder. "Please, Lars, there's no one here but us. There's no need for formalities."

"As you wish, my lord." Lars slowly rose, his crimson eyes focusing on his king.

"How fare the people?"

"There are but a few survivors, my lord, perhaps a hundred of them or so. Vul is gathering them and performing a head count as we speak. But with the city entirely in ruin… they are in terribly low spirits."

He heaved a sigh. "I thought so; 'twas an emotionally exhausting battle. But we must do what we can to survive, and to preserve the peace for our descendants. What say the other heroes?"

"Six of them have agreed, my lord, all except Stenia. She is eager, but Wilda disallowed it. He mentioned that her task of observing the world through the waters is far more important than being a Guardian."

He chuckled lightly. "They try to hide it, but it's clear they care very much for each other. Very well; Wilda will become one of the Guardians, and Stenia will remain an observer of the world." Then his eyes grew serious. "And tell me, Lars, of the thing I asked you before…"

"There is no denying it. 'tis certainly possible to bend the force of nature to our will." He slowly drew a scroll from his cloak. "The steps are all outlined in this scroll."

The king took the scroll and unrolled it. His eyes scanned the document quickly, widened in surprise, then narrowed in understanding. He looked up. "When can we perform this complicated spell?"

"I have already prepared the necessary in the lake shrine, my lord."

"Good. Let us go."

Lars nodded and raised his hands. A dazzling white light engulfed both of them, and when it faded away, they were no longer in the throne room of the castle, but the throne room of the lake shrine. The walls a stunning white, the floor a shining gold, the crimson carpet led the way forward to the gigantic marble throne fit for a giant. The demon had once sat upon the throne, granting dreams to the people of the kingdom. Now he was a mere statue, his spirit weakened.

Six giant marble braziers arranged in a circle in the centre of the hall, devoid of flames.

Snow gave a nod. "Let us begin, Lars. Time grows short."

"Yes, my lord."

Lars stepped forward into the centre of the circle of braziers, his crimson eyes narrowed. His hands shining, he spread his arms to the side. The power tingling on his skin, the light extended to the braziers. The light grew brighter and brighter. Then, a large circle of light, a magic circle, appeared above the braziers, gyrating slowly like the gears of a gigantic clock.

The very air seemed to shake.

He waved both of his hands in a fluid motion, drawing runic characters in the air. As he drew, the runes appeared at the edge of the magic circle, shining brightly, their meanings unknown. The brazier blazed with azure flames that danced like graceful phoenixes.

One by one, the runes appeared.

One by one, the braziers blazed.

As soon as all the braziers were burning, the circle of arcane runes completed, the surroundings outside the magic circle and the circle of braziers grew dark.

That was when Snow stepped forward into the circle. With the determined flash of a blade, he drew blood from his hand. The crimson liquid dripped onto the light of the magic circle, then began to shine on its own and merge together with the runes.

The spell was completed.

His eyes closed, Lars started to speak. His voice was soft. Beseeching.

"Releaser… can you hear me…?"

Silence.

"Can you hear me, Releaser?" he asked once more, raising his hands. "I am the one known as Lars. I am a wizard, and one of the Guardians of the seal. Time grows short…" He slowly raised a wrinkled hand forward… towards an imaginary person.

Suddenly, images of a village flashed across the hall. Of a village among the wilderness, of its people living their lives peacefully… then of a nightmare filled with fear. Of flames. Of beasts.

Of impending doom.

"This is the darkness that is soon to befall Inoa," Lars continued quietly. "It was what befell the kingdom past…" He waved a hand slowly. "North of Inoa is a deep, dark lake. Below its murky surface, a wretched demon slumbered. Yet, the foul beast stirs once more…"

Then, another voice filled the hall.

A deep, mocking laugh. A deep, triumphant laugh.

Suddenly, as though an arrow had pierced through his heart, Lars stumbled and clutched at his chest, gasping for breath.

Snow stepped forward quickly, fearfully, but he stopped himself in time.

No, he could not. He must not interrupt the spell.

"My time in this world has come to an end…" Lars coughed feebly, then raised his head bravely, his voice firm. "Heed my words, Releaser; travel to Inoa and use your strength to stop the demon before Inoa, and eventually the world, falls into his hand!"

The magic circle began to fade.

"I now travel to the next world…" His voice was soft. "It is all in your hands now, Releaser…"

And the magic circle shattered like a mirror into a million pieces.

There was a great flash of light just as his body collapsed towards the ground. The pieces of the magic circle faded away. The darkness disappeared. The braziers continued to burn with azure flames.

And Snow grabbed hold of his magician, holding him gently as he knelt on the ground.

"Lars!" he cried. "You… you didn't tell me you'd sacrifice yourself for this spell!"

The old man smiled weakly. "Aye, I know you'd stop me if I did… this is for the best, my lord. This is but a small sacrifice…"

"But…"

"With this prophecy, he… the Releaser will be born from your blood. He will hear my message when the demon stirs once more, and he will end this war…" His voice grew firm. "I know of it."

"Your wisdom know no bounds, thus the kingdom thrives while you are its advisor, but…" He shook his head. "To sacrifice yourself, and to tell your king to father a child to complete the prophecy… sometimes I know not what goes in your mind."

He chuckled. "Perhaps I know not myself…" He slowly sat up. "I have yet enough strength for another spell… to seal the lake."

There was a short moment of hesitation, then the king nodded. "I understand, Lars… you shall become the seventh Guardian, for your heroic deeds."

He smiled weakly. "It is my honour, my lord…"

Moments later, there was a great flash of light. The sky darkened, a cold wind blew. Birds took to the sky in the panic as lightning flashed violently, as thunder roared ferociously. Beneath the gigantic magic circle of runes, the lake shrine sank slowly under. Away from the eyes of the world.

The seven Crests shone. Their light seemingly sad.

And, unbeknownst to the world… a great magician died.

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End of Prologue.

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Author's Note:

Oh, man… a whole TWO YEARS after the completion of my last story (Breath of Fire III: Of Gods and Dragons) before I started posting this! Alundra is a much harder novelisation to write than I thought, despite its less number of chapters… I ended up starting the story one full year after I decided to write it. Sad, isn't it? x_x

At least I'm almost done! Half a chapter and the epilogue left now!

And so, on to this chapter! I usually have trouble writing the prologue, because I usually don't know how to start a story. This time round, though, I decided to condense the 'legend' into a poem, like a little previous to the real thing (don't mind it, all I did was to make it rhyme! And that was hard T_T). And a sneak preview into the end of the war! It's kind of sad to see Lars die, though. :(

So, I hope you enjoy this new story as much as I've written it, despite the challenges!

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Review Replies for Foreword…?

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To Dat (bleeping) writefag:

Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you like the story and my version of Alundra. :D

Yes, I do plan on novelising more games, but unfortunately, I've never played Terranigma so I don't know what it's like. Though I might play that game in a while!

And sorry for censoring part of your name. xP

Thanks for the review!