"I put this off for far too long" - Bilbo Baggins
With the new job, new projects, and all around new things I'm trying out, I appear to have caught the lack of motivation bug. My ideas are still many though, so I'm not out of the game just yet, just gotta find the motivation is all. As a result, Updates will be pretty random at best, so for that I apologize in advance.
At any rate, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Nighttime was at hand just off the shore of Roland. The sunset was just as beautiful as the sunrise, with warming hues of yellow, orange, pink, and purple blending together to create a stunning sight. The tranquil sound of small waves could be heard as they made contact with the hard exterior of the Van Eltia, which remained stationed at the docks. On a normal day, this would be a day for one to kick their feet on the table and not have a single care in the world, maybe even take a wink at the white noise before them.
However, this was not such a day. The whole day was infested with dread; not only was the crew dangerously low on rations, but to add to it this whole ordeal with Phi's dream about this mysterious daemon, apparently named Armageddon in Eizen's tale, brought about unease and apprehension to the poor boy, and by proxy to Velvet. And who can blame them? After all, in this dream, Velvet supposedly died.
Despite her earlier claims that she wanted to lay about all day, Magilou ultimately found herself unable to do so. The whole day, this so-called "Armageddon" had been buzzing in her head: was this dream a horrible premonition for the end of days to come? If so, then why did Phi of all people have such a suspicion? Is this some ability that was dormant until now? And for that matter, did Innominat possess this too?
Ugh, so many questions and not enough answers! Of course, she wasn't about to tell the others that a little boy's dream was getting the better of her, especially not after raising a stink about it earlier. Otherwise, they'd never let her live it down.
Earlier, while everyone was still hard at work, performing their tasks, the enigmatic witch went poking around town, seeing what she could find. She even hit the local library and almost nothing.
Though there was mention of a "Lord of Calamity," much to her surprise. Unfortunately, the info was sketchy at best; there was this big bad daemon that was scary beyond reason and so forth. Otherwise, it was a dead end.
Near the end of the day, there was only one person she could turn to, and that was the elder normin, Grimoirh. It only made sense; she's been around for over five thousand years. If there was such a beast, perhaps she had heard of it. Now that Velvet and her merry band of misfits had left on an excursion, the timing couldn't be more perfect.
There she was, reading an old tome as per usual. No doubt deciphering the ancient tongue. She would have very well succeeded if not for a rather unwelcome interruption.
"Ohhhh Grimmiiiiiiieeee!" Magilou sang in a theatrical tone.
Grimoirh calmly sighed. "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing." She said mischievously. "Just looking for some info on any powerful daemons."
Grim sighed once more. "Any daemon in particular?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, a very specific daemon. Was there ever a Daemon named "Armageddon"?"
Suddenly, Grim's expression seemed uncharacteristically frightened, foregoing her usual "oh." That was a first; not many things could daunt Grimoirh. Even the threat of being eaten by Velvet herself didn't scare her at all, calling her bluff almost right away.
Magilou let a smirk creep on her face, for, at last, she had a lead.
"What do you know of Armageddon?" Grim inquired, finally allowing herself to compose.
"Oh, just that it's a big bad daemon that's scary beyond reason, destroys everything in its path, yadda yadda yadda." The mischievous witch said.
"I see..."
From there, any shred of doubt that Magilou ever had about this foreboding premonition had ceased.
"About ten centuries ago, there was indeed such a daemon that laid waste upon the horrid world we call Desolation. As his name suggests, he was a being of pure, undeniable evil, with destruction being his only goal. To this day, no one knows who this daemon was nor how he came to be. If one thing was clear, it's that he emanated copious amounts of malevolence.
"Hmmmmmm." Magilou thought inquisitively, her finger to her chin. "I don't suppose this terrible beasty is still at large?"
"Not entirely sure." Grim said, tapping her chin, "during Claudin's time, Claudin himself used a special arte that he would only use against the most dangerous foes: the chains of Innominat. You see, it was with Innominat's will that the beast was still sealed away. More than that, I couldn't say."
Magilou then started to put the pieces together. The shortages, the nightmare, the lack of life in the wild, in some form, were all connected directly to this Armageddon creature. What's more, if it was all connected and it all happened recently, then the creature must surely be on this island, and it was still on this island...
Omar was a quiet little village within several hours from Roland. It was not much different from Aball, Velvet's home village once upon a time. All the villagers knew each other to some extent and were usually friendly with one another. The land always had rich soil and plenty of wild game, making it a suitable place to farm and obtain meat.
The weary traveler was always welcomed to stay for as long as they needed, though strangers had to be searched and inspected. After all, one can never be too careful, especially with the threat of "Daemon Blight" potentially knocking at their doorstep. On a good day, their walls could keep intruders out, daemons included.
With such prosper, surely this village would be rich in food, which the crew desperately needs. The walk was long, but the reward would surely be worth it.
Eleanor took point, having thoroughly memorized the directions given to her to a tea. Just behind her, Rokurou and Eizen were having yet another debate over who knows what. Honestly, she tuned them out long ago, focused on the task at hand.
Further behind, Velvet walked slowly but steadily, with Phi by her side.
"Come on, it much further now!" Eleanor insisted, ever dedicated to her task.
"You said that a mile ago." Velvet said irritably. "If I hear that one more time, I'll devour you."
Eleanor rolled her eyes at the veiled threat. "It should just be over the hill up ahead. Let's make haste."
"All I'm saying is a lion would beat a tiger! They're fiercer fighters, end of story." Rokurou exclaimed, his hand behind his head.
"Don't make me laugh." Eizen retorted. "Of all cats, the tiger has the greatest strength; a lion pales in comparison."
All Velvet could do was groan. The day these two don't debate about something so trivial will be the day she turns human again, and lord knows there was no chance of that happening.
Phi couldn't but yawn. He knew this village was far, yet it felt even further. The lack of sleep didn't help much either, as his eyes looking rather baggy and almost red. Velvet took note of that as she looked to her side. She could tell the poor boy needed some rest, Malak or not. She then crouched down a bit and held her arms out as if to indicate something.
"Come on; I'll carry you." She said.
"N-no, Velvet, I'm fine." Phi then yawned once more, clearly exhausted.
"You have two choices, either let me carry you, or I drag you back to the ship." Velvet said sternly.
Seeing that she wouldn't take no for an answer and realizing how tired he was, Phi conceded. With that, Velvet gently cradled him in her arms and proceeded to walk. Just like that, Phi passed out, falling fast asleep. Expressing a bit of endearment at sight, Velvet walked on, making slow but steady steps.
Up ahead, Eleanor was showing a bit of exhaustion herself, being that it's almost midnight.
"Alright." She said, "According to the map, Omar should be just up ahead, just over-." Suddenly, something caught her eye. It appeared to be a bright red light on the horizon.
"What?" Her curiosity piqued, Eleanor rushed up ahead to get a better look, much to the surprise of the others. Wondering what the fuss was about, they followed suit.
Eleanor reached the top of the hill, finally seeing the source of the peculiar light. What she saw instilled horror in her eyes. The source of the light was flames... blood red flames.