"You startled me…I come here in the early morning to play my harp and sing. You were humming along, weren't you? You're one of those people who appeared…my Grandfather's guests."
"Yes I am. That song you were singing just now…do you know its meaning?"
"It is an ancient song taught to me when I was young called Lay of the Immortals. It is a short and simple melody but seems to inspire warmth in people. How can it be that you know it?"
"Ha, it is so much more. That song is not Lay of the Immortals, it is called Memoria de la Stona, and has more verses than you seem to know. The next verse tells of a sickness that devours worlds while the Gods sit by and do nothing. Hardly…inspiring, did you put it?"
"You…you know the complete song? Please, please tell me the rest!"
"The next verse is for the Gods alone."
-
Alain awoke with a groan. Sleeping on the floor had not done him any favours as he seemed to crack a bone with each movement. Nevertheless, he had slept well which, in a way, was more unsettling than being granted another vision. Rost was alive yet the connection that seemed to form between them was now severed, he no longer saw what he was doing. Was it because they were so far apart? Rost felt distant; somehow he knew that to be true, but was there more? Everything had been restarted with the appearance of the silent boy; perhaps that was the cause.
"Do I have a bump on my head?!" Nokum-Akkum exclaimed, appearing at his side.
"…No. Why?"
"She hitaru me! In the middle of the nightaru, I'm sure of itaru!"
Shaking his head, he tried to explain to his friend that he was imagining things. A quick glance over to Renene, who grinned and waved her hand at them, confirmed once more that there was no ill feeling (at least from that end). Taking Nokum-Akkum to one side he whispered to him that he was not seeing the real reason he was being picked on a little, which just seemed to confuse the Tarutaru more.
"Look…" he paused to try and phrase it correctly, "Renene…likes you. You need to understand that. I think she does anyway. You just can't see it."
"Oh, a walking irony," Hanaa remarked as she walked past.
What's that supposed to...?
Nokum-Akkum frowned, "…She doesn'taru like me! She is trying to kill me!"
Giving up yet again at trying explaining something to the stubborn Warrior, he saw to his things. When it came to putting on the damaged horrible chest plate he had been given in Jeuno he just could not manage it. The rest of the armour would have to do as he had nothing else, but he would rather wear only the blue rags he had been found in over his chest than such poor quality plate. With reluctance he also attached the short sword to the side of his belt. Just as everyone else was finishing up getting ready they all heard what sounded like a heated argument between two people passing by outside the storage room they had slept in.
"Prishe, listen to reason!" a voice that had to be Justinius pleaded. "You cannot keep venturing out into dangerous areas alone, but if I were to send a full escort it might entice the Beastmen to attack! You know as well as I do that if the Orcs were ever spiteful enough and rallied with the Gigas, we wouldn't be able to defend the Safehold from an attack."
"Cool down, Justinius. You make it sound like I'm heading out there to randomly punch a Beastman in the face - I haven't done that in years," he heard Prishe say. "Look, I'm just heading over to Riverne to see what happened. Besides, you're forgetting that Brute is with me and you know I can handle myself."
"But…"
"If what I saw really was Bahamut then you know as well as I do what it means," the girl said, sterner than before. "If the gates were opened…I'm going to get answers from the Wyrm's mouth. Once Ulmia gets here, I'm leaving."
Bahamut?
Alain and the others exited the storage area and were instantly noticed by both of them. Prishe gave a half hearted wave before walking further up the passage towards where they had originally entered the day before. The silent Galka followed close behind without even acknowledging them. Justinius bid them good morning and asked if he might speak with them alone for a moment. They followed him to one side, further away from where Prishe was clearly waiting for whoever Ulmia was.
"Did you hear any of the…discussion I had with Prishe just now?"
"We did," Catherine stated on behalf of them all. "We're sorry."
"No matter. Prishe claims that last night she saw a huge winged beast flying towards Riverne, an area of this island. She said that it was Bahamut, the Wyrm King. I am not sure how familiar you might be with ancient legacies and lore…but should this be true then it spells danger for all of Vana'diel. Now she is off to find this Wyrm with barely a warning and I cannot spare anyone to help. Any slip in the Safehold's defences could entice an attack, not to mention the arrival of the airships from Jeuno that will need attending to."
"Arrre you asking us to baby-sit your leader?" Hanaa asked, cutting to the chase.
A humble nod was the reply. They did owe the people of a Safehold a debt of gratitude for so readily providing them with accommodation and food despite being total strangers, plus Alain was interested in the claims about what the appearance of some ancient Wyrm would mean for the world. It could not be a coincidence that something like that was happening in time with everything else they had seen so far. Speaking for them all, he pledged their assistance. Happy with that, Justinius bid them farewell, claiming to have much to do before anyone from Jeuno reached Tavnazia.
"So, you've invited yourselves along have you?" someone asked from behind them.
Prishe stood proud with her hands on her hips peering at each of them. Catherine reiterated what had been asked of them and that they felt they had a debt to repay. Although unimpressed by this reason, Prishe huffed and then accepted their company. She introduced her apparent Galkan bodyguard as Brutal Fist, though she then hastened to add that just calling him Brute was enough and that he would not complain about it.
Renene stood in front of the towering Galka, "You're reaaaalllllyyyy tall and grumpy-wumpy looking, Mr Brute."
The Galka stared at her, "Yes. I am."
"Renene is going to have fun with someone like that," Hanaa muttered.
After introductions there was an uncomfortable silence between them until the last member of their party arrived. Ulmia was a bright eyed young Elvaan Bard wearing a brown dress with matching leggings and had a small brown harp in hand. Her hair was quite short for an Elvaan and was ginger in colour. She curtsied and bid them hello in a polite well taught manner. Despite the age difference (Ulmia looked to be at least in her mid twenties) the Bard and Prishe got on well and seemed close friends. Announcing that it was time to leave, Prishe confidently led the way out of the Safehold.
Something felt wrong as they travelled across the fields towards the western part of the stranded island. Even for Alain and the others, who were foreign to this place, knew that it did not feel right. Across the jagged cliff ranges between them and their destination they could see a violent localized storm touching the sky and sending ripples of lightning in all directions. Not only was there the strange storm but the open land seemed empty of creature and Beastman alike. Sheep were cowering together in old ruins along the rock walls and even the occasional Bugard they caught site of was moving from cover to cover in fear of being out in the open.
Eventually they reached a dilapidated old wooden gate in a narrow passage that would allow them access into Riverne. Inside, Prishe halted them and gasped. The centralized storm had formed a cylinder of wind and inside seemed to be huge chunks of land held still somehow. There was powerful magic at work before their very eyes that had torn Riverne apart. Someone, or something, had up turned that part of land and trapped it inside a storm. Catherine asked if Riverne had been populated, but Ulmia confirmed that only Beastmen and animals had made homes there.
"The air…it's heavy with magic," Catherine whispered.
Up ahead there was movement; Alain spotted three tiny figures moving shiftily at the edge of the thin passage. Pointing the shadowy figures out to the group spurred them into running off towards the storm. Giving chase as fast as they could, the group exited the thin passage into a wide area of land that had once connected to Riverne, only to find a sheer drop off a cliff edge, yet there was no sign of the people who had been watching them.
"It was those Tarutaru again, "Ulmia said angrily. "They probably just warped away."
Hanaa spotted something on the floor and called them over. Sitting in a clump of grass was the pendant that had been given to Alain by the mysterious boy back in Jeuno. One of the three Tarutaru had dropped it in their haste to escape. This was the only assumption that could be made, yet the pedant was so heavy that Renene had struggled to lift it, so how could a Tarutaru child manage it so easily? As he bent down to pick it up, he heard Ulmia exclaim that the Tarutaru siblings had stolen Prishe's amulet again.
"No…I'm still wearing my amulet," Prishe stated.
Picking up the amulet he had been given, Alain placed it over his neck and under his shirt. Prishe did not seem that interested in the fact she appeared to have an identical piece around her neck hidden by her red bow, but Ulmia was shocked. Asking why this was resulted in her becoming very quiet before dodging the subject completely.
"Wait a minute… Where is Renene?" Catherine asked.
They all glanced around. The Tarutaru Summoner appeared to have vanished just like the others. Nokum-Akkum exclaimed that they should run before she came back, resulting in a slap round the back of his head from Hanaa. Alain walked closer to the cliff edge and peered over, fearing the worst. On the rocks below there was nothing, she had not fallen. Looking back up, he briefly saw a flickering light in front of his face. He turned expecting someone else to point it out, yet they all seemed to have missed it. Holding out his hand towards where it had been, the light reappeared and seemed to grow as his finger touched it. It began to spread over his hand.
"Alain?!" he heard Catherine call to him.
"I think-
That was all he managed to say before all feeling left him as a blinding light obscured his vision. Seconds later his body was returned to him, as was his vision, and he found himself kneeling in some grass as if nothing had happened. Behind him he heard a powerful wind yet the breeze was calm. Standing up fully he pulled back in shock as he realized he had teleported again, but this time only he had moved. Looking behind, he saw that he was inside the cylinder of wind, on what had been Riverne.
"Bigger Bro!" he heard Renene shout.
The happy Summoner skipped over to him and exclaimed that she had found a hidden teleport at the edge of the cliff. Rubbing the back of his head, he stated that he had found the hidden teleport as well. Behind him there was a whooshing sound before he was brought to the floor by a body falling on top of him. Just as he was pulling himself up off the floor yet another body fell on him. With a groan as they moved off him he rolled to the side just in time as a much larger body appeared with someone in their arms. Brute lowered Prishe to the ground and then moved as the rest of the group appeared. No one seemed to want to help him to his feet, so with a grumble Alain slowly got up by himself.
"We are inside the storm, how is that possible?"
Renene declared, "Evil Bro mustaru have made it so he can hopscotch from one broken bit to the nextaru! I was going to try and jump to the nextaru one but then Bigger Bro arrived."
Alain, Catherine, and Hanaa exchanged glances.
"Sweetie," Hanaa smiled. "Are you telling us that you saw Nag'molada open a teleporrrt just like this one to get to another island just now and then vanish?"
The Summoner nodded and added that the three Tarutaru children were with him. For whatever reason, Nag'molada had found his way to Riverne and recruited the assistance of the Chebukki siblings, possibly to guide him. If the Envoy of Jeuno had gotten wind of the possible appearance of Bahamut that had to be the reason he had come. Despite Jeuno's armada's imminent arrival he had acted on this for some reason.
"Prepare yourself; enemies approach," Brute stated.
With an outstretched hand, the Galka pointed upwards and towards part of the cylinder surrounding the floating piece of rock they were now stranded on. Through the whistling wind and bolts of lightning some dark shadows were visible, a group or swarm or something was heading towards them. They broke through overhead, passing into the storm and out the other side as if it were not there. It was a group of Firedrakes, a smaller species of dragon with tough brown scaled skin, sharp teeth, and breath that could melt a steel Great Axe. They were comparable in size to the Bugard they had dealt with the day before, but were far more dangerous. On the main land they were quite rare, but it seemed there were many around the isle. There had to be at least twenty of them flying in perfect unity towards the centre of the floating rocks. All species of dragon big or small were gifted hunters, so they no doubt were instantly aware of the group and that they were trespassing inside an area that something wanted protected.
Five of the Firedrakes broke off from the pack, circling over head and preparing to attack while the others vanished further inside the remnants of Riverne. All at once, the five dragons flapped back both wings strongly, giving them a sudden boost in elevation and giving them time to attack. Pulling back their heads, smoke spewed from their nostrils and the sides of their long mouths.
"Hanaa!" Catherine called as she raised her hands.
"Got it!"
Balls of fire elemental energy shot from the dragon's mouths like rounds fired from a gun straight down at them. There was no room to scatter; the area of rock they had been teleported onto was barely large enough to move around at all. A green hexagon shaped shell appeared in midair between them and the balls of fire and then slightly below a second, but smaller, green shape appeared. As contact was made with the first shape two fireballs were absorbed into it, dispersing the magical energies used to create the empowered flames and turning them to harmless smoke. The other three fireballs smashed through as the first two were absorbed, shattering the hexagon. At the point of contact of the second shell shaped shield another two fireballs were dispersed. The final fireballs exploded less than two meters over their heads as a hastily cast third shell by Hanaa got rid of it. Undeterred, the dragon's prepared another barrage.
"We can't hold these shells forever!" Hanaa shouted as she and Catherine prepared.
Pulling out to one side, Alain raised a flat palm towards one of them, "Thunder!"
A purple shot of lightning fired from his hand and struck the wing of one of the Firedrakes, causing it to spin and slam into the next nearest as it was preparing to fire downwards. The fireballs exploded from contact with the out of control dragon, consuming them both in the blast. It would only anger them as the hard skin that completely covered them was near enough entirely fire resistant, but if they were angry they would move in. Sure enough, after stabilizing in the air, the two now furious dragons plunged towards the piece of land on which they all stood, forcing the others to cease fire or else they might blow their kin off the side.
Rolling away just in time, the angriest of the dragons smashed into the ground where Alain had stood. Drawing his short sword to prepare to attack, Alain did not have time to avoid a swinging tail of the second. It slapped across the back of his hand, cutting across it with a sharp scale that dug deep enough through the gauntlet to draw blood and force him to drop the cheap weapon with a cry of pain. He fell backwards as the dragon prepared to rush him with its fangs glistening.
Nokum-Akkum threw himself into the side of the dragon just as its head was pushing forwards to strike like a serpent with both axes swinging. The Warrior chopped into the tough skin as best he could and even managed to swing at the dragon's head as it flopped about from the pain. Twisting round, Nokum-Akkum pushed his axe upwards towards the belly of the beast and unleashed Smash Axe, using up his stored up power in a weak but stunning attack. A pulse of power spread from the tip of the axe that made contact first, rattling through the dragon's body and forcing it back slightly from the impact. As the effects of the technique disappeared Brute strode by Alain and Nokum-Akkum and launched his fist into the side of the dragon, knocking it off the side of the island and out of sight. He turned and kicked forwards, bringing the second Firedrake to the ground like it were winded.
"Hey! You stole my kill!" the angry Tarutaru shouted at Brute.
Uninterested in Nokum-Akkum's annoyance, Brute picked the second dragon up as if it were a toy and tossed it over the side. In their wounded and stunned states, it was unlikely either would be able to use their wings to survive the fall. Before the argument over kill shots could continue, the island shook violently as the three remaining Firedrakes cascaded downwards ready for vengeance.
Alain helped stun one of the dragons, since he was unable to fight without a weapon, as Hanaa launched magically created chunks of rock and ice into its face with her magic, eventually bringing it down. Able to blind the fourth with Flash, Catherine moved back to allow Brute to batter it off the side. Quickly looking around for the fifth, Alain cried out in shock as he saw it approaching Prishe and Ulmia from behind, ready to bite.
With a lazy glance to her side, Prishe's hand sprung out as if acting on its own as a ball of white light spread around her fist. The dragon's head was engulfed in the energy of the White Magic spell Banish. It roared in agony as its burnt face pulled back with remnant white smoke smouldering out of its orifices. Before Alain, Nokum-Akkum or anyone else could move in to finish off the monster, Prishe punched into its chest, knocking back at least two meters and over the side with almost as much strength as Brute showed. Those that did not know her were startled by her apparent mastery of both White Magic and the martial arts common amongst Monks.
"Well, that was a fun warm up," Prishe stated as she brushed down her clothes.
"It is not over yet," Brute said.
A quick glance skywards confirmed this. More and more shadows were appearing outside the cylinder shaped storm heading straight for Riverne. It was as if all species of dragon were being called and further proved the validity of Bahamut truly being somewhere nearby. From the largest clump of shadows heading for the storm some more broke off, most likely heading for them. The ground on which they stood was already torn up badly and they had used up a lot of magic on the first five, a second larger attack would be far more dangerous. Not only that but the waves of dragons appearing meant that there was not an end in sight.
"We should probably find a way out of here… We could escape outside?"
"No," Prishe stated. "I'm going further in. Try and find a different teleport left behind by your friend, we'll follow the same route."
-
While the others were busy trying to find a way to move to a different island to escape the incoming dragons, Renene stood in the centre of the island moving around with her staff, trying to successfully summon an Avatar to help them. The air felt light and fluffy, it was full of magic, which was enhancing all of their latent abilities and spells. She closed her eyes and scrunched her face up tightly, concentrating as hard as possible on summoning Mr Carbuncle. She thought harder and harder, imagining the little blue creature appearing like always.
"Here comes three more of them!"
"I'll getaru them!"
On and on she went, thinking harder and harder. Eventually something changed, she felt like she could once again summon. Dropping her staff onto the grass, she held her hands in front of her chest in a triangle shape as around her glowing green balls with dancing flames inside appeared. She opened her eyes in time with moving her hands around and then pushed them forwards, completing the summoning technique. At the same time it was as if night fell as a huge shadow covered her. A dragon was planning on landing where she stood.
The summoning circle appeared in front of her, from which the Avatar would be called fourth. She was expecting a small white shape to appear, but to her surprise there was a much larger dark purple circle filled with runic shapes she had not seen before. Called fourth from the circle was a glowing purple beast.
Renene blinked with surprise, "You aren'taru Mr Carbuncle!"
A dark wolf padded forwards on all fours, sniffing at the air. Its mane swayed in the slight breeze and seemed to spread glowing sparkles as it went. Looking up and suddenly growling, it became aware of the Firedrake descending upon them. A purple aura appeared around it as it shot into the air, slamming into the dragon in midair. The wolf wrestled with the dragon, fighting its way up its body, before sinking its jaws into its neck. The wolf then used the dying dragon's body as a spring board, and shot towards another Firedrake preparing to land. Everyone stood still looking into the sky in awe as the wolf jumped from target to target, killing them instantly, and letting the bodies cascade down safely passed the edges of the small island.
Another pack of larger dragons swooped in through the edge of the swarm. The wolf hung in midair as if it were walking on ground. Rearing its head back the aura around it exploded in time with an almighty howl and the vision of a full moon appeared in the air above it. Powerful pulses shot in all directions from the moon evaporating each dragon it caught and sending a shockwave towards them all on the island so powerful they were all forced onto their knees. They got up to see that the wolf had moved instantly back onto the island and now stood in front of Renene, sniffing at her. She walked towards it panting slightly, suddenly feeling very exhausted. She rubbed the side of the wolf's mouth and smiled at it.
"Good doggy."
The summoning circle appeared once more as the Avatar vanished inside it. Renene felt faint and could not stand. As she fell over someone near the ground caught her. Though her eyes felt heavy she opened them just long enough to see Nokum-Akkum looking back at her with a frightened expression on his face. He was talking but she could not hear well enough, it was like he was far away.
-
"I've never seen that Avatar before…"
"It was Fenrir, at least, his form. But that is impossible. No common Summoner could have bested the real ancient beast and been granted a pact to summon a lesser Avatar. It is not possible and yet she was able to do it…"
"Well she must have really impressed Brute to make him talk so much, you strangers are getting more interesting by the minute. I think I found another teleport, we should move before we're attacked again. Someone should probably carry her."
"I will! I can do itaru."
