Alaia Skyhawk: A few plot holes to fill here... how in the game they could just leap on and fly those things has always made me wonder. This is gonna make a lot more sense.
I don't own Tales of Symphonia so please don't sue me. I do however own Krishka, Dallinius (Dalli), Aluran, the Alurannai and any OCs, except Sanaro and Annule, who belong to Mr.Who2123, and Mika and Fiuras, who belong to WingedWithFireyMana, so please don't steal them...
Enjoy
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Chapter 53: Time to Fly
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The figure in the bed shifted, frowning a little before relaxing as gentle fingers stroked his hair. Brown eyes opened, bleary for a moment before focusing on the face of the man sat beside him.
"Ata?"
Kratos smiled sadly, before nodding.
"I'm here, Lloyd. It's time for you to get up. I've something I need to teach you and Sheena before I leave."
Sleepiness vanished, as the young alurannai shot upright with an expression of disbelief.
"'Leave'?! Why?!"
He stopped as Kratos sighed.
"Because if I stay I'll be putting you and Alysii in danger. Vayla will be leaving the group as well, though not until you've been to Meltokio and are about to leave for Sybak." Lloyd frowned a little, a silent question on his face. Kratos shook his head. "It will all be explained once Genis and Raine are awake. Brinia sedated them both last night, when it became clear that both of them were too agitated to sleep. They'll remain unconscious for several hours more at the very least, and that time will be more than enough to teach you what I need to."
He got up, a glance at his son telling the boy to grab the azure reta hanging over the back of a nearby chair and follow. Lloyd did as was asked, trailing along behind his father as the man led him through the base and down two levels, making a few final turns before arriving at a door which was considerably wider than all the others they'd passed. Waiting there was Vayla and her daughter, the former of the two speaking.
She smiled at Lloyd.
"So you finally woke up." Her attention turned to her crèche mate. "I'll leave things to you then. I need to go find Botta, I said I'd help him organise some of the strike teams since Yuan is madly working out the logistics of what the Renegades will need to do over the next couple of years. He still has the mana cannon to sort out, since capturing it from Rodyle will need to be done with as little fuss as possible. We can talk later."
And with that she walked off down the hall, leaving her confused daughter standing there. Taking the girl and his son by the arms, Kratos led them through the large doors.
"This is what you're here to learn."
The two youths stopped in their tracks, looking around with awe.
"Whoa..."
"What is that?"
Kratos smiled.
"'That' is a Rhieard, and I'm going to teach the pair of you how to fly a very special one that I keep here. Genis and Raine will be taught to fly the single man versions once they've woken up, but the two of you are going to learn how to handle the two man, cargo version."
They were stood in the hanger of the Triet Base, technicians around the edges of the upper floor manning a series of computer terminals, the majority of which were close to an immense set of doors at the far end, in front of which there was large circular hole in the floor where one of the strange crafts hovered. Kratos led the two youths to a small elevator, and no sooner than it had begun to descend that the pair of them were able to see what lay below the floor above. Dozens of Rhieards were held suspended within a series of racks, crane arms for moving them to the launch column folded back but for one held ready to receive the craft hovering in the centre of the hole in the upper floor. Continuing to follow him, they soon came face to face with four Rhieards set in floor stands, two of which were small, one large with a lidded compartment on the back... and a third red and silver one of similar design; the craft showing many long repaired scars, its rear compartment open to the air.
Looking at it, Lloyd frowned.
"Why is that beat up one there?"
Kratos chuckled as he moved to stand beside the aforementioned vehicle.
"This 'beat up one' is the Red Hawk, the Rhieard used by me during the Kharlan War to carry Noishe, who of course cannot fly. If you're taking him with you when you leave here then the two of you need to know how to fly it. I've modified it to allow a pair of alurannai to generate mana and transfer it directly to the engine. I'm going to take you up in it one at a time to show you the controls, and then you're going to go up together while I fly alongside."
Hesitant, the two youths joined him beside the craft, their lesson ready to begin.
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A faint groan rose from the occupant of the bed, the silver haired woman sitting up stiffly as with a slight shake she cleared the last of the sedative from her head. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, with her other hand she searched for the glass of water she hoped was on the table beside her. She felt someone press just such a glass into her hand, just as a vaguely familiar voice spoke.
"It's been a long time, Raine, almost twelve years. You've changed a lot from the fourteen year old girl I left with her brother at the gates of Iselia."
Raine stiffened, eyes opening blearily to look at the woman sat beside the bed. Those eyes widened with recognition as they focused upon the ebon haired individual, an individual whose face now bore the wrinkles about the eyes which were common for humans of middle age. The healer blinked back a sudden welling up of tears.
"Milleisi? You're a member of the Renegades?"
The Mizuhoan woman smiled.
"All of us who spent those two years getting you and Genis to Iselia, are. When we found you there was no way we were going to leave two kids to fend for themselves, so we got Yuan's permission to carry out a mercy mission. We loved every minute of those two years, and we missed you both like crazy afterwards. I'm happy to have gotten the chance to see you again, and I know the others are chomping at the bit to say hi as well." She chuckled. "Ianir especially... He's been crazy with worry about you ever since he found out you were one of Collette's escorts. Then again it's hardly surprising considering how much he loves you." As Raine sat there, stunned, Milleisi placed a hand on her arm. "He wanted to tell you about the Renegades, but he didn't want Genis to get involved with us while he was so young. That's the only reason Ianir lied to you about his 'job', to protect your brother. He didn't want Genis' childhood ruined if he'd told you and you'd decided to join the Renegades. This base is no place for young children, which is why we took you two to Iselia."
The half-elven woman remained silence, eyes fixed on the blanket covering her legs, remaining so still for so long that when she finally spoke Milleisi nearly jumped in surprise.
"I don't hate him for lying to me, and I understand his reasons." She lifted her head, looking into Milleisi's eyes. "Could you take me to him?"
The Renegade smiled again, getting to her feet.
"There's no need... He's waiting just outside."
She walked to the door, the sliding panels opening to let her out... and let in the half-elven man stood in the hallway beyond. He stepped in and stood there as the door closed behind him, hopeful green eyes gazing at the silver haired healer.
"Raine..."
The healer gazed back, getting off the bed before flinging herself into the man's arms, her tears soaking into the cloth of his uniform.
"Ianir..."
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Blue eyes gazed distantly at the pages, moving from one to the other of the two books spread out on the table before him. One he had owned for years, the other he had borrowed just a few months ago out of curiosity. One with pages whose edges were softened by oft being turned, the cover darkened by much use. The other's pages crisp edged, preserved by alurannai magic, the cover likewise bright as the day it was bound. The Scriptures of Martel, the Tome of the Forces; one filled with what he now knew were lies, and the other with truths that he now knew were not.
Genis sat there, regarding the two books as he tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. Everything he'd believed in had been stripped from him, exposed as deceit, while everything he'd seen as being 'pagan myth and superstition' had been revealed to be the only truth he'd encountered. All this time he'd thought his beliefs were those that would save Sylvarant, when in truth those beliefs had only helped in its oppression by Cruxis.
He sighed.
All this time they've lied to the people... but once you know it's all lies, what do you have to believe then?
He shut his copy of the Scriptures, hesitating for a moment before tossing it to the metal floor and reducing it to ashes with a spell, wincing with guilt despite knowing that the book wasn't true. He then averted his gaze from the scorch mark on the floor, instead looking at the remaining book before him. When he'd asked to borrow it, Kratos had explained that it was actually little more than a storybook, filled from cover to cover with tales about the Greater Summon Spirits and the various Races living together, helping one another. It was a book that painted a picture of a way of life that had been common not all that long ago in terms of how long life had existed on this world, and as such it left the reader to draw their own conclusions regarding what they thought of that near lost system of respect.
He snorted in self derision. Back when he'd first read this, after that second visit to Thodasa after releasing the Seal of Water, he'd thought that way of life, a life of giving and receiving without money as payment, just simply fulfilling one's role in the community in return for getting what you needed to live in return, he'd thought it an impossible dream. A dream that no Race other than the Alurannai could pull off without conflict. But now... now he knew that the impossible dream was the life and world where one person would defeat the darkness and bring light. One person alone can never bring real peace to the people; if they want peace then they have to work together with others to achieve it and that was all there was to it. The Tome of Forces said as much itself, right there in plain sight amongst the stories written on its pages. If you want something, then you have to work together; no life is life when it is lived alone.
Turning to the first page, he ran a finger over the text. That first story being one about a village called Elswyn, and of how the humans and half-elves living there had survived a severe drought by working together. There was no great hero, no one person who stood out above the rest, just a group of people who had strived as one to succeed. Every story in the book was just like that one, all of them telling of the same thing, the respect those people had for one another, the trust, and the friendship. Nothing was asked for without something being given in return, and never was someone asked to give what they could not afford... Never was someone asked to give up their life to pay for what was received.
He closed the book, getting up from the table. He looked at its bright cover one last time, before stepping over to the middle of the small private room he'd woken up in. He then stood there, hesitating, before turning to face what he could sense was south, clumsily sketching symbols in the air with his right hand as before now he'd only watched being done, turning clockwise with each phrase he uttered barely louder than a whisper in a voice that shook with uncertainty.
"Shadow, keeper of the inner darkness, show us what lies in the heart so that we may overcome it. Efreet, giver of courage, keep us strong through times of hardship. Gnome, servant of the earth, let the land be kind along our passage. Volt, one who teaches faith and trust, let that which you teach hold us together. Luna and Aska, keepers of truth, let our song sing pure the intentions within. Celsius, maiden of frost, let us see clear like the crystal ice that which we need to make it through. The Sylph, wind's daughters, let us face our doubts and hold true to our purpose. Undine, walker in the mist, let us have the determination to follow this path no matter how difficult." He then clasped his hands together as he stared at the floor, the fear of his abandonment of the Scriptures filling him. "Maxwell, guardian of the new born, may the birth of a new time come. Origin, Master of Creation, watch over us as we await the Restored World. Dallinius, let Unity be our greatest strength in the times to come. Verius, let our hearts remain open to all others regardless of what differences there may be between us. Krishka, may the breath of new life flow over the lands, and the Giant Tree live again in our future..."
The silence when he stopped was deafening, as he stood there clinging to the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, hoping for some sign of acceptance and yet fearing rejection. It was then that he felt his uncertainty fade, that ice banished by several fleeting and yet undeniable brushes against his spirit. Tenuous they might have been, but in them he sensed all four of the elements whose Spirits were awake, and also the familiar presences of Dalli, Corrine, and Krishka. In that moment he didn't need any words from them to understand their message.
If you trust in us we will trust in you, if you work with us we will work with you; together we will never be alone.
That message was all he needed to be certain he'd made the right choice, that fact confirmed by the small smile on his face.
It was thus that three days later he looked to the path ahead with determination to succeed, as with his friends and family beside him, four Rhieards soared up from sun-scorched desert sands into a veil of shadow, before fading back to a land of ice...
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Alaia Skyhawk: Well I had initially planned to write Genis and Raine being taught to fly the Rhieards, but Genis' scene at the end made such a perfect conclusion to this chapter that I stopped there. Happy reading :D
