Note: Going to split Gova fight up, as this sort of more fits as an introduction for him, and it'll reference something that happens in the far future. So sorta hints at spoilers, yet not really, as they haven't happened yet. I guess what I'm trying to say is that going back and reading over this section of the story, then going into future sections, you'll see some callbacks.
I took some notes and paraphrased some of TV Trope's 'Dark is not Evil' and 'The Sacred Darkness' articles to better explain why Shade is even included with the other Elementals, as when people hear 'darkness', it doesn't invoke many positive images.
With that said, special thanks to Falchion1984 for pointing out my mistakes, and all of you for reviewing! Here's hoping that I can turn this into something good!
The Ghost Host
"Ugh...sick." Duran groaned, trying to wipe the sticky substance off his body with the sheets he pulled off the bed, yet no matter how much he rubbed, the sensation of being in that hot, wet mouth still clung to him, chills coming as the whole thing just made him feel, for lack of a better word, icky.
"Now you know how I felt," Faerie said, pointing to the mucus dripping off of her. "But still, are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Duran answered, still trying to feel at least somewhat dry, yet it seemed that the sticky feeling refused to leave.
Angela looked at the spot the polter-box once sat. "Now what?"
And as if to answer her question, a loud, echoing creak resounded throughout the entirety of the ship. Wood sounded as if it were being twisted and turned, forced to reshape itself until finally, the noises stopped. Faerie retreated back into her host (at least there the sticky sensation would disappear) and he and Angela exited the room, looking around to see if anything had changed. From the looks of it, nothing had changed, the hallway looked the same. Just what was all that they had just heard?
"Uh, hewwo?" suddenly, they heard a young, familiar voice. "Hewwo? Anybody?"
Duran and Angela ran around the corner to see two faces that they were quite glad to encounter. "Charlotte! Hawkeye!"
The half-elf and thief saw the soldier and princess, immediately rushing over to them. "Oh, there you are!" Hawkeye put his hand on Duran's shoulder, yet quickly snatched it back when he felt a wetness.
"Ew! What happened to you?" Charlotte questioned, scrunching up her face.
"I just nearly got eaten and sucked into Goddess knows where, so sorry if I'm not exactly pleasing to look at right now." Duran explained, trying to still get the substance off him.
"How'd you get up here?" Angela asked.
"It's weiwd." Charlotte said. "Wast we checked, thewe wewen't any staiws, but then thewe wewe. Wike we beat the 'chawwenge' somehow."
"Well, I suppose that there's nothing we can do about that. This ship is a beast in itself. Unpredictable and dangerous." Faerie said, popping out. Thank goodness, she was completely clean! Duran's look of jealousy was evident on his face though. Yet she directed her attention to Hawkeye and Charlotte. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, sure." Hawkeye said. "Granted, I wouldn't care to have another encounter with a horde of zombies, but hey, maybe I'll look back on this one day and laugh."
"IF there will be another day…" Faerie muttered to herself, her eyes on the hourglasses that floated by all but one of the humans' chests.
While none of them spoke of it, they couldn't help but share the winged woman's sentiment. Indeed, though it was only for a few seconds at a time, the sand in the spectral timekeeper poured more and more down the thin midsection, the seconds dwindling away that would then turn into minutes. And then...well, no one was exactly wishing to see what would happen in a few hours, if they even had that long.
"Well...we've got no business wasting time standing around," Duran spoke up. True, he wasn't affected like the others, yet he couldn't stand the despondency that crept into everyone's faces, even Hawkeye's. "We solved this bastard's games, so let's go and kick his ass!"
"Wait." Hawkeye said. "We've got to find Riesz and Kevin first."
"No need." a female voice suddenly spoke up, the blonde amazon and beastman coming around the corner from behind them, though no one was quite prepared for what condition they were in.
"GAH!" Everyone yelped, Riesz and Kevin covered from head to toe in red.
"What happened to you?!" Angela shouted, shrinking back near Duran. Globs of spit were better than blood.
"I know how it looks, but it's not as bad as it appearss." Riesz assured. "If anything, our endeavor was more...messy than anything."
Kevin was about to take a step forward, yet winced, kneeling over to hold his sore foot. Sensing something was up, Charlotte ran over to him. "What's wwong?" she asked, then saw that his skin was riddled with burns. "Oh no youw'e not fine, you DID get hurt!" Hawkeye studied Riesz and indeed saw she had reddish speckles and developing blisters as well.
"Yes, well, we should keep going." the amazon insisted, looking down at her hourglass. "We don't have all the time in the world…"
The blonde girl pulled the larger beastman down to her level, looking him dead in the eye. "No way! Youw'e sitting WIGHT hewe until you'we aww heawed up!" Charlotte declared, immediately going to work in tending to Kevin's wounds, though her statement was meant for Riesz as well.
The amazon sighed. "I'm afraid we don't have time. We can-"
"Nope. Not happening." Hawkeye pointed her towards the blonde girl who was currently patching up Kevin with Healing Light. "I've got to agree with the little lady here."
"I'm fine," Riesz assured. "Kevin needs more tending to than I."
"Oh really?" the thief gestured to a particularly nasty mark on her right shoulder, her pauldrons just barely hiding it from view. "And those?" he pointed to her legs, which were also covered in similar-looking injuries. Riesz bit her lip, clearly anxious to press on, yet still, she couldn't deny that taking the sting off of these burns sounded rather nice, if not necessary to improve her concentration, the continuous sting her tender flesh provided somewhat distracting. "Face it. We all need a little patching up." he gestured to everyone else, though it was clear what his end goal was regarding the amazon.
"I can handwe it." Charlotte said. "These wiww be fixed in no time."
Riesz looked towards the several eyes upon her, immediately feeling pressure being put on. Finally, though, she relented, sighing. "Very well." she then looked at Hawkeye. "Your powers of persuasion are uncanny." she then narrowed her eyes. "I hate it."
The thief smiled. "That's a lie, and you know it."
Riesz was about to protest when Charlotte suddenly spoke up. "It's youw tuwn now!"
Shooting him one last look, the princess approached the smaller girl and allowed her to get to work, soft, white light soothing and covering her burns in a pleasing cool, as if a breeze was lightly brushing against her skin.
After she and the others had been taken care of, they all decided that the best course of action was to take Duran's suggestion and find their tormentor. They made their way up to the middle deck, yet found that area with nothing to note, so they ascended further up to the upper deck.
Yet as they traveled, something nagged in the back of Angela's mind. "Say, you...elemental guys," she began, Lumina, Gnome, and Sylphid manifesting themselves. "You said that someone was here? Someone like you?"
"Hm? Oh, yes!" Sylphid answered. "Dear Shade is aboard this ship!"
"Shade?" Duran was the next to speak.
"The Element of Darkness." Faerie then answered. "One of the Eight Governing Elements."
"Darkness?" Kevin asked. "Why would you have an element like that?"
"It's not what you think, y'know." Gnome said. "There's a big misconception about darkness, at least as you humans see it. True, there is the darkness that you've all encountered. That which is used to cause harm and pain. Yet true darkness, the darkness that Her Worship created, was never meant to be used and corrupted in such a way."
"That...still makes no sense." Duran said.
"Think of it like this, hun." Lumina inserted himself into the conversation. "There's two types of darkness. True, pure darkness, and corrupted darkness." None of the humans were clear as to what the Light Elemental meant, yet they still listened to what he had to say, curious. "The kind that you've encountered is what's called corrupted darkness. Dark powers have been manipulated and twisted from their original intention and used against those in a detestable fashion. Those powers were never meant to be, they are an abomination." he appeared quite angry at the very thought of such things as if their very existence had offended him. And in a way, they had.
"So, what's the difference?" Angela questioned. True, Jose had stressed that dark magic was dangerous and not to be trifled with, let alone delved into lest someone get in too deep. One could lose their very soul to it, as he told her. Whether this was part of the lesson or some warning for her to not seek out means to where she could use magic was unknown to her, yet nonetheless, he told her all the same.
"True darkness, the darkness that came into being when Her Worship created all of us, so it is not evil, nor was it ever." Sylphid finished.
"It is a natural, opposing force, but never evil." Lumina continued. "I am the Light, and Shade was the shadow cast when I had first shone down on the world. He dwells and rules where the light cannot reach, in the depths of the Earth and even lower. Yet with my light, shadow will exist. It is inevitable. But Shade is the keeper and maintainer of this balance. For there to be life, there must be death. The day must have night, and so on. Yet the night allows for the stars and moon to show themselves to the world, the lesser lights guiding when the sun hides their face." The six youths pondered these words, yet ultimately, it made little sense to them. "Look, it's complicated." the Elemental answered. "But the important thing is, despite how it sounds, Shade is in no way a bad guy."
"Um, I hate to break this up," Faerie interjected. "But we are sort of pressed for time." she then looked to the others aside from Duran. "Well...some of us are."
"Right, yes! Sorry, dears." Lumina apologized. "I just didn't want you to get the wrong impression about Shade is all."
Given some new insight on the matter regarding the Spirit that was apparently here, the group continued to travel, finding the stairway that led to the upper deck of the ship. Again, everything seemed quiet, yet then, the six passed one particular room, and were about to ignore it altogether,
CREAK…
Had they not just heard the door open up by itself.
Everyone immediately got ready for battle, Duran and Riesz taking point and approaching the door before anyone else. They peered into the room and saw a desk with what appeared to be an open book atop of it. The soldier and amazon entered the room, looking around and finding nothing of interest. At least, not at first. Approaching the desk, everyone else following after the two, the young man and woman looked upon the open book and saw that it was some sort of diary of sorts. A captain's log perhaps? Everyone gathered around and peered at its contents.
"What is this?" Angela questioned. "There's nothing written here!"
"...nor will there be." a disembodied voice echoed throughout the room, everyone looking all around for the source. "Haha!" the voice laughed. While it sounded similar to their host's ethereal tone, yet it was not the same voice. "I've almost forgotten what it's like to still have the fear of mortals!"
"Show yourself, coward!" Duran shouted, his father's sword ready.
"Oh relax. I've almost forgotten how temperamental mortals can be as well."
The way the voice was referring to them put in everyone's mind some sort of spirit or perhaps a hidden challenge their host had prepared for them. Yet instead, what materialized before them was the figure of a young man, his body engulfed in a blue hue with several small, iridescent orbs floating around him.
"What the…" Duran, as well as everyone else, were confused.
"Hey!" Charlotte then pointed out. "You don't wook ANYTHING wike those other ghosts!"
"Is he even a ghost though?" Kevin then questioned, Charlotte seeming confused. "Well, I mean, we've all seen a bunch of stuff tonight. He COULD be something else."
"I am of the Spirit World, you mangy fleabag." the ghost huffed, crossing his arms.
"Hey! Don't make fun of Kevin!" Charlotte scolded. "He doesn't have fweas!" she then looked the beastman up and down. "Though he doesn't have a wot of hair eithew." she pondered. Maybe he did have mange? Could beastmen even GET mange?
"Who are you?" Riesz questioned, though it came out more like a command. "State your business, sir."
The spirit smirked. "Indeed, you lot ARE to the point," he said. "Very well. Before you stands...floats the Ultimate Source of Knowledge of ALL Things Supernatural, Matelo!"
Everyone was silent for a short time. "So…" Angela shifted her green eyes. "You're NOT the guy that's been screwing with us?"
Matelo scowled. "How DARE you! Do you know who I am?!"
"You're the Ultimate Source of I Don't Care. Answer my question." Angela quirked a brow.
"I should smite you where you stand for that remark," Matelo growled, fuming. "But no. My Master has been the one who has welcomed you aboard this magnificent vessel. He provided you with food and drink and rest," he noticed everyone looking rather sick when he mentioned that, especially that violet-haired magician that had just insulted him. "So now, it is only fitting that my Master collects what he is due."
"What he is due? And what would that be? Our lives?" Hawkeye questioned, looking quizzical at the specter.
"That would be a fair trade, wouldn't you say?" Matelo mockingly asked. "Of course, your fear is understandable, but once you taste it, you will come to savor death. I know I did."
"What do you mean by that?" Riesz narrowed her eyes. "You were once...human?"
"Exactly." Matelo confirmed. "Just as you did, I boarded this ship. I had come across a true master of spells and magic dressed in a red cloak, yet before I could try and convince him to stay, he had departed in the night." Man in red...Duran and Angela looked at each other in shock. That must've been Koren! "The captain of the ship told me that I could find him if I boarded the ship, and like you, I partook of the Master's hospitality. Yet when I had discovered where I actually was, I attempted to escape. I ran to the top deck and flung myself over the railing, plunging into the depths below so I would not join the legion of corpses aboard." Hawkeye grimaced at that thought, as well as how he intended to fulfill his promise to them. Somehow.
"So why AREN'T you?" Angela once again asked. "I mean, if this 'Master' of yours controls the ship, then surely he could've just fished you out somehow."
This time, Matelo seemed bemused by the princess' inquiry. "Because he saw potential in me," he explained. "Master explained that he knew well that such a fate would not befit one such as I, one who sought out realms past the barrier of life. Thus, he plucked me from the ocean and told me of my options: either I receive the gifts that I've been seeking, or I shall join the undead aboard in one form or another. Either way, I would receive what I wanted."
"And it's pretty obvious which one you picked." Angela scoffed, crossing her arms.
Matelo continued, not even acknowledging what she had just said. "I have transcended past mere mortals of this realm, I am now ethereal and eternal!" he then gestured to the glowing hourglasses over nearly everyone's chests. "Unlike you."
Duran then stepped up. "So, if your 'Master' is the one that did all this, then go and tell him that we already won his stupid games. So, he can just go and get rid of these things."
Matelo looked at the young man, drawing closer and studying him. "Hmm...yes. I think I remember." the ghostly figure looked up and down, taking note of all of the soldier's features. "You all...I saw you once. In the corner of my eye at the Night Market." he then began to chuckle. "I...I can't believe it." he chortled, then beginning to laugh harder.
'This bastard has the gall to mock us?!' Duran thought, yet Faerie disagreed.
'I think there's more to it than that. And it isn't good.'
Why did Duran just get the feeling he had just done something stupid? "It's you. It IS you!" Matelo said after his laughing bout. "I didn't believe it at first, yet it's true!" he then grew eerily calm. "You ARE the one who is bonded to the Faerie." he then looked around at everyone, his cold, manic gaze sweeping over each of the other five in turn. "And the only one unaffected. It'd only make sense for you to speak for them."
Duran stiffened. "And if I am? What difference does that make?"
Matelo shrugged. "It wouldn't to you." he plainly said. "Unfortunately, you made a small, but a rather dire mistake."
Both Duran and Faerie felt ice cold. "Which would be?"
The ghost smiled. "Just because my Master can't touch you doesn't mean he can't touch the others." he then extended his hand outward. "Just as I can touch them as well!"
Bright surges of what resembled electricity shot forth from his fingers, one for each of the five cursed youths. While it looked like lightning, it felt like ice, their bodies feeling as if they were being paralyzed by the cold. Duran attempted to reach out to them, yet the electricity stung his hand and sent him flying back against the wall. He and everyone watched as the hourglasses began to change, or rather, the sand inside. Matelo then drew his hand back, the five falling to the floor.
"Guys!" Duran shouted, rushing over to the others, shaking them all when they didn't respond to his voice. "Guys! Answer me!" Suddenly, they began to stir and rise up off the floor, albeit at a slower pace than usual. The soldier then turned to face Matelo. "What did you do?!"
The ghost was looking quite pleased with himself. "See for yourself."
Duran turned and looked at everyone else's hourglasses, eyes collectively widening in horror. Angela's sand began to reverse itself, going back up to the upper portion of her timer, while Hawkeye's had a tad bit more sand in his, the bottom still had a decent amount in it. Riesz's was equally divided, and Kevin had just a bit more in the bottom than top, more leaning on half-empty than full. Yet Charlotte's sand was down to what appeared to be a fourth, the majority of her sand at the bottom.
"You...you bastard!" Angela shouted. "You complete and utter bastard!"
Suddenly, a loud, familiar voice laughed, filling the whole ship with its voice. "Sticks and stones. Or would that be considered flattery?" he then giggled. "Well, whatever it is, I'll take both, because it isn't going to matter in a few moments!" the disembodied voice laughed again. "Or would that be a few minutes? Two? Three? Or maybe half an hour? Each of your schedules is different now."
"Master!" Matelo called out, bowing as if he were before a high-ranking official or royalty. "Your orders have been carried out!"
"Excellent, little one. I knew I could count on you." the voice congratulated.
"Hey!" Faerie then shouted, emerging from Duran. "You said that if we won your challenges, we would be released!"
"Why yes, I DID say that!" the voice chortled. "And your release awaits just above your heads!" Suddenly, everyone heard something, some entrance somewhere, open. "Go on. Climb on up." the voice urged. "I simply can't wait to meet you all face to face. As I truly am." it sounded as if it were bristling with anticipation, yet there was a clearly sinister tone in the voice. "Come, chosen ones of the Goddess. Come and receive your freedom." then, everything went quiet again. Matelo had gone, the only souls (living at least) in the room being the six youths.
"Well…" Angela began, not as cocky as before. "Now what?"
Charlotte looked at her hourglass and immediately grew nervous. Kevin placed a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her, yet it seemed to do little good.
"Nothing else to do but ascend, I think." Riesz answered, placing her hand over her chest, clenching into a fist. She was trying to even her breathing, trying to not focus on how, much like Charlotte, she didn't have much time left.
"Easy there." she heard Hawkeye tell her. Though it seemed that she wasn't the only one in need of a pep talk. "Look, we've gotten this far, so why not go and give our host a little greeting of our own?"
That seemed to get everyone more up in spirits. "Yeah." Duran then held his sword aloft. "You hear that!? We're coming for you!"
With a boost of determination coupled with a thirst for revenge, the six made their way out of the room and soon, found the stairway that led upwards. All of the young men and women (even those no more than the size of a child) looked at the pale light of the moon that shone down from the opening created for them, the steps mere feet away, inviting them to climb higher. Everyone looked at each other, then back at the stairway. Steeling themselves, they all ascended the stairs, making their way to the top deck.
What awaited them above was the sight of an empty, desolate ship that sailed the seas in a thick cloud of dense fog surrounding it on all sides. TThe sails were in tatters, hanging from the spars like limp, gray rags that fluttered like still more ghosts in the relentless, cold breeze. The wood of the deck, warped from neglect and buckling in places, looked like it would snap to splinters at one careless step. The masts looked no better. Aside from the spars, which themselves sagged under the weight of the tattered sails, the masts swayed and groaned ominously, looking every bit as rotten and decayed as the planks beneath their feet.
"Uh...ok." Duran started. "Here we are! Now show yourself!"
"Indeed, here you are." the voice said. "I suppose it's only fair that I present myself to you now, seeing as we are all about to become VERY well acquainted."
The fog encompassing the area around them began to collect together, swirling and twisting into a whirling tornado, threatening to take everyone off their feet. On and on the whirlwind spun, yet from within, two sources of red light were able to be seen. They stared down at the six youths, and steadily, the cyclone began to become more solid in a sense, yet still maintained its ethereal state. More and more it began to materialize before them all, a form steadily coming to be seen, though, given the nature of all that had been seen up until now, no one was sure if what this creature would present itself as would have a corporeal form.
Finally, something tangible floated before them.
The being was large, larger than all of them, and bore no discernable facial features save for an angular mouth and narrowed glowing red eyes. It bore only a pair of thin, lanky arms with sizable shoulders, fingers long and gnarled looking. Its bottom half was little more than a ghostly tail, floating a good few feet above the ground. The red eyes surveyed and analyzed each and every one of the six as if seeing which of them it wanted to address first. Ultimately though, it decided to address them all equally.
"I bid you welcome aboard, dear travelers. Especially you, brave warrior. And your dear guide as well." the specter curled a finger. "Oh, come now, dear. You can come out of hiding now. I know you're there."
Faerie emerged from her host, though she fluttered nearby, not exactly confident in the being's presence. "Yes. Here we are." she said.
"So start explaining yourself." Duran commanded, holding his sword out towards the being.
"Yes, yes, yes, of course." the spirit said. "Still, you all look so downtrodden. You were so full of vigor when you boarded. Especially you...my Queen." those red eyes centered on Riesz, her eyes widening in shock. "Yes, I know EVERYTHING about EVERY ONE of you." it said. "I know why you were in Laurent, what you came for, or rather, who…" it then laid eyes on Duran and Faerie. "And what you truly seek." Duran's eyes fell onto his father's blade. "When I saw you...I knew that you would be the last piece I needed. What I truly required to fulfill my purpose."
"Purpose?" Faerie questioned. "What purpose? Who are you?"
The specter chuckled. "Ah, yes. I AM getting ahead of myself." it then proceeded to stretch its arms out, the wind going crazy and a high pitched howling heard all around. "Before you is the Minister of Mist, Ruler of the Dead, and New Keeper of the Darkness, the Great and Awe-Inspiring Gova!" After he roared the last portion of his introduction, the wind died down and everything went still and quiet. "Now, seeing as that question is answered, I can get onto the other."
"Stop playing around!" Duran shouted. "We completed your stupid games, so let us off!"
The specter's eyes glistened dangerously. "I'd be careful of what you say next. Lest you want your companion's remaining time amongst the living to slip away all the faster."
"
This shut the soldier up, still wracked with guilt over how he had essentially made things worse for some of his allies. Or...were they more than that? True, True, he had only been traveling with them for a short while, yet they had stood by his side through many harrowing trials. Ever since his arrival in Jadd, perhaps even before that, seeing as they all arrived at the same place aboard the same ship. Yet it was a good while later that they would all join together, all with a common goal and destination.
"Ok, pal, I've got a few things to ask!" Lumina then popped out, clearly upset. "What have you done to these poor people?! And also, where's Shade?!"
"You speak as if I murdered them!" Gova said, feigning offense. "I didn't lay a hand on them, nor did I kill them. They are merely reborn in a new form. And I made good use of all parts of them. Blood, bone, all parts. But the body sits and rots away." it then produced a small, glowing ball in its hand, the ball gaining arms and legs, as well as a humanoid shape. "What truly counts is what's inside."
The six youths looked up at the humanoid in Gova's hand, it on its knees and kneeling over. Then, the specter grasped at the smaller form, a shrill shriek coming from it. It spasmed and shook violently as if it were being electrocuted. It howled in agony, clearly being tortured by its captor until finally, it went limp in the ghostly being's hand. Strands of what appeared to be golden energy traveled down its limbs, then to Gova's arms which then centered directly into his chest before it disappeared entirely.
Everyone was speechless at what they had just seen, yet Faerie and Lumina appeared to be quite shaken. The other Elementals emerged as well. "How...how dare you," Lumina growled, very much unlike him. "How...DARE YOU!" he shouted, his wispy body now appearing as if he were a burning ball of white, hot fire. "The souls of the living are NOT yours to use!"
Souls of the living? As if reading their minds, Gova completely ignored Lumina and addressed the six. "Yes. What is before you is just one of many forms a human soul can take." the figure in its hand lay there lifelessly, then was unceremoniously dropped, it fading away before it could hit the ground. "And, as I'm sure your dear little friends know, especially the little candlelight there, the soul is a direct connection to one's entire consciousness and lifeforce. To a human's individualized pocket of raw Mana." Gova then arched its back and released a satisfied moan. "Suffice to say, once I truly discovered how it felt...well, I was hooked." It looked down at its dear guests. "Unfortunately, my dear...Master, didn't seem to think so. He outright called it deplorable and against the laws of not only this realm of existence but against the very fabric of life and death!" the specter then grinned, a dark chuckle emitting from him. "Suffice to say, we had a bit of a...disagreement."
"Then...then where is he?!" Faerie shouted. "Where are you keeping Shade?!"
Gova folded its arms. "He's fine, if that's what you're wondering. But if I were you, I'd be worrying about yourselves." the fog then grew thicker, the spirit's form dissipating and fading away, yet it made its presence very well known. "For some of you aren't going to be joining this little getaway trip forever!"
Note: Somewhat short, yet I didn't want to try and cram what could be an entire chapter's worth of content in a couple of extra pages. And then that's what happens afterward, assuming that there might need to be extra parts to the battle.
Yet we'll burn that bridge when we cross it. That said, I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to see you next time too!