A promise
The primordial civilization of Gallus. Millennia have passed since its fail. Those who remain now wander in ebbing twilight. The atmosphere dwindled, creating lethal bubbles where no life could be born. Gravity lost its grasp upon solid ground, creating huge rifts that spat the earth into outer space.
All who dwell here live ill at ease, for desolation and decay creep inexorably onward in every corner of the shattered land.
The planet's demise is nigh.
Has the Maker forsaken its creations, wherever it may slumber? Two former royal captains and a young healer set out to answer these questions in hopes of salvation.
The borderland, however, was the most dangerous place to traverse. If the tempestuous winds didn't blow hard enough or the earth setting off into space didn't cut all their routes, there were lurking creatures with glowing eyes set on them.
Predators. Creatures that lived only to feed on others. They attack, kill and devour whatever was near. Their gluttony had no bounds and knew no reason. Survival of the fittest is what drove their evolution. Tooth, venom, claw and savagery rule their kind.
"Harold, you take the left!"
"Roger!"
The lancer pierced the Orbling's roundy body with his detachable spear. In turn, the orange creature spread its purple wings and stretched its claws in an attempt to retaliate in a brutish manner. Before it could, however, a flurry of arrows stabbed its back, draining the remaining life from its already dead carcass.
"Guys! The one you took out earlier is moving again!" Amimari warned, retreating slowly from the reanimated orbling.
The monster lunged at her, claws headfirst, but the medic shielded herself with the magic staff. The winged beast, however, saw this as an opportunity to exploit and fluttered its wings. By grabbing the girl's magic stick with its claws and raising in altitude, it would present her with a lethal fall with which its brethren would be able to easily feast on.
"Help! I'm going to fall!"
It was too late, as her words abandoned her mouth, the winged creature released her with malevolent intent. An arrow pierced its wing, karmic justice forcing it to fall all the same. The spearman of the party caught Amimari in his arms. Releasing her quickly, Olber spun on his talon and stretched his lance with the hidden chain inside. The flung tip impaled the greenish humanoid Gorf that sneakily healed that last threat. The toad-like humanoid creature fell on its knees before bleeding out.
The fight was over.
"Are you two okay?!" Harold worried as he rushed to their side. Olber disregarded his question and continued to scan the area for more of the hidden threats that ambushed them.
"As okay as can be! You saved my hide!"
"I'm glad. Can you help me retrieve my arrows from the corpses? Those are valuable."
"S-Sure…"
Although Amimari wished to prove herself useful to the war veterans, they were so talented fighting that she had almost no chances to shine with her restorative magic. Bearing that in mind, she swallowed her disgust and sorrow for the fallen hungry creatures and removed the metallic arrows that Harold utilized to steal their lives. She made the mistake to discover the nest of one of the orblings they felled. Her heart ached at the thought of those tiny little orbs hungering to death.
Crunch! Slash! Stab!
Amimari tripped and fell on her butt. The blond man mercilessly put the monster's spawn out of their misery. The medic got up and rushed to gather the rest of Harold's arrows, trying to erase what she just witnessed from her memory.
The adventurers continued their journey back to a nearby town, where they intended to research the legends that spoke of the Maker. However, the girl couldn't stop thinking about the massacre, so she kept causing small accidents that slowed their advance.
"Olber was not wrong to do what he did." She reasoned. "Those little creatures would have grown to become full-fledged man-eaters. By taking their lives, he probably saved a lot of people. As expected of a royal captain…"
Amimari excused herself, feigning needs she didn't really have yet, in order to give it some closure. In their quest, they could end up fighting a lot of creatures, so mercy was a luxury she wasn't allowed to have.
"Still… His face showed no emotion… none at all…"
"You done, missy?"
Harold gave her a heart attack, but she didn't get mad at him: she was too busy trying to gauge how much he had overheard. The archer let out a breath and looked back to the solitary figure of Olber, the guardian. He cleaned the blood of his spear with a forlorn gaze.
"You are scared of him." The roughrider wasn't asking it. It was a statement. "You know? He used to be the biggest jerk in the army. Worst, even: an arrogant bastard with a loud voice. Now… look at him. Not even once has he boasted our triumph over the predators or found any joy in battle. What in the world happened to him?"
"Was he always so stoic during battle?"
"Pfff! I assure you he wasn't. He just HAD to make sure to let everyone know whenever he scored a kill."
"That bad?"
"Aye. His attitude was so bad the only reason he wasn't forbidden to continue his antics was because they managed to encourage the troops to fight harder."
"I-I would have never guessed…"
"I know… As he is right now… he feels like tempered steel. I can't know what he thinks or feels during battle now, but… his fighting figure emanates sorrow."
"Sorrow…" The girl murmured.
Thinking back to the nightmarish scene, Olber's expressionless face did scare her a lot, but his green eyes… Those eyes suffered the same pain he inflicted with each strike of his lance.
There were many questions bubbling inside Amimari's head, but, for the time being, she would focus on healing her companions' wounds. Those on their body… and those in their souls. Smiles are great healers, which is why she loved smiling. If that didn't work, her beautifully arranged box lunches would cheer a dead man up.
Olber shook his head and finally managed to break a smile to accept her offering.
"Incoming!"
Ploof!
The gravitational anomalies had the tendency to make weird things rain. Pumpkins, boulders, carriages, dynamite, mechanical monsters… and, apparently, girls.
"Uuh… I'm sowwy..."
The dizzy girl apologized to the man who unwillingly cushioned her fall. Olber shook his head along with its stunned mind. Suddenly, more voices.
"Incoming!"
That time, the party took the caution to step aside and dodge the falling people. Unlike the light-weight from before, those brawny individuals would have caused more harm if they landed on them. The girl hid behind her sturdy cushion and her legs trembled in fear.
"Howdy, friends. Do you mind handing that girl over to us?" A beastfolk of steely armor requested. "We'll share with you our profits! You may even have a go at her yerselves before we turn her into money, hehehe…"
Brigands. The captains formed a wall before their refugee to portray their intentions. Not wanting to be left out, Ami jumped next to their side wearing her scariest glare.
"Hah! And I was wasting diplomacy with yer sorry asses. Oh, well. Kill those two. Secure the goods."
Olber swung his lance before the thugs could make the first move at the burliest beastfolk. Just as the weapon's tip returned to its owner, an arrow flew straight towards the man's chest. The impact was so powerful that it sent him flying.
"You're fucking dead!" The others roared rushing to battle.
"Ami, take the girl and retreat somewhere safe! We'll take care of them!" Olber ordered as he rose his shield to parry an attack, swipe outward and thrust his spear once more.
"But-"
"We cannot risk the girl getting captured! Now go!" Harold added, dodging a giant hammer's swing by rolling to the side as he picked a new arrow to load on his bow.
Frustrated by her powerlessness, the beastwoman obeyed their command and guided the mysterious girl away from the fray. The soldiers contained the ferocious flurry of attacks from the brigands and stepped back until they were cornered into a gravitational rift. Boulders and chunks of earth levitated upwards, forming a huge labyrinth of rocks and dirt. The captains exchanged a look before diving inside the weightless area.
"After them! Don't let them escape!" The boss ordered.
"What about the girls?"
"They can't run away too far in this terrain. Ma'curi! Bring me their heads!"
The only lizardfolk of their group rushed towards the girls' trail.
"Not THEIR heads, idiot! The soldiers'!"
The lizard turned tail and jumped into the gravitational vortex to chase after his new targets. The lizard had many scars along his brown scaled body: a testament to his strength. His spear tore through a boulder that was in his way, warning his opponents of their imminent doom.
Olber stretched his lance towards another obstacle and pushed it towards his rival. Ma'curi merely disposed of it like the last one. Through the dirt mist, however, a couple of arrows flew straight past it. One grazed his armor of black ropes and the other bounced on his heavy shoulder shield.
"Tch! I had to hit the only piece of armor he wears! Damn it!" Harold cursed as he maneuvered from one rock to the other, gaining altitude to evade his new pursuers. The best he could do at that point was entertain them until Olber took care of that dangerous fellow.
Ma'curi spun around and unleashed a mighty tail attack that caught his opponent by surprise. The human managed to stop the scarred tail with the spear, but the lizard took advantage of that to thrust his own lance towards his head. Quickly realizing his intentions, Olber stretched his own weapon to parry the new attack with the chain hidden inside, following with a fast kick that propelled them apart from each other.
The scaly thug spun again and launched from a rock to pursue his rival. Now that he knew about his chain, he wouldn't waver again in his assault. Olber did his best to parry and counter whenever it was possible, but no matter how many times his edge caused his assailant to bleed, his push never ceased.
Ma'curi threw his lance towards Olber, who resisted the projectile thanks to his hardy shield. As he prepared to counter, the lizard caught the lance with his tail and slammed it against his unsuspecting head. One spin later, the pointy tip was buried on his abdomen.
"Got you." The wound-covered lizard gleamed.
Olber grit his teeth and pushed the lizard away with all of his might. He gasped for air. They had risen so high during their encounter that oxygen run low, which, added to his fatal injury, threatened to steal his consciousness away.
"Megaheal! Haaa!"
A healing aura surrounded the captain, closing the wound on his abdomen and cleansing his head from the dizziness. Ma'curi quickly prodded the area and discovered the little intruder to their duel. He readied his spear and lunged it towards Amimari, who flailed defenselessly amidst the weightless area. The feisty lizard grinned at her terrified wail.
The spear missed her torso, scratching her shoulder instead.
"What?!" Ma'curi howled.
He maneuvered his tail to gain momentum towards the defenseless beastwoman, but a sudden dizziness overtook his thoughts. The blood loss had accumulated too much it was difficult not to make mistakes or miss his targets.
A chain flew around him, tightening on his neck. The man he had defeated tackled him from behind and suffocated him with his chain. The lizard shook his tail violently, beating his attacker repeatedly to earn his freedom. The grip started weakening when, out of nowhere, their weightless trajectory smashed them into another boulder.
"It… won't end here… I promise…"
After muttering those words, Ma'curi fainted from the head trauma and floated aimlessly. After a few seconds, his body reentered the gravity field and plummeted to a painful fall. Olber lost sight of him as the distance grew greater and the dirt blurred the vision. Without losing a moment longer, the soldier turned around a scanned the area in search of his companion.
Many arrows were spread around the bizarre battlefield. Some corpses joined the purposeless rocks as they slowly drifted into oblivion. A somewhat bloodied roughrider traversed the area collecting his precious military-grade arrows. The nurse who valiantly came to their rescue was already on her way to treat his injuries as well.
Olber let out a sigh of relief.
Gravity pulled their feet back to the ground as they exited the vortex. The young human girl of the red coat bowed to them, her pigtails quickly joining her thankful reverence.
"Um! Thank you very much for rescuing me! I'm very sorry for dragging you into that mess!"
"No worries, missy. We just did what anyone would have done." Harold assured, reminiscing the times where many subjects praised him for his achievements. "Those brigands REALLY wanted to capture you, though. They also fell from the sky, so they must have followed you into a gravity rift."
"Haha, those brutes must have realized who I was after all…" The girl admitted with a grimace. Amimari tilted her fluffy head.
"And… you are…?"
Harold squinted his eyes, trying to find out why she looked so familiar. He could swear he had seen her somewhere before! Her blue eyes shone with a distinctive brightness. Her gloved hand grabbed the metallic brooch from which long and slim red laces fluttered along the wind.
"The name's Sayu. I'm gunning for a special doctorate that will allow me to immerse myself in magic research."
"A scholar? Were those thugs after your research, then?" Olber guessed.
Ami's ears dropped. "They were treating her like an object, so my guess is other…"
"AAAAH! You're THAT Sayu! The one who's revolutionizing the fashion world!"
The 21-year-old cabaret dancer struck her trademark pose and winked to their saviors.
The somber soldier crossed his arms. Olber had no idea who that woman was or why Harold suddenly looked so excited and sparkly in the eyes.
"You don't know her, Captain?" Amimari flinched. "Even I know who she is! She's mega-famous in a city renowned for its nightlife!"
"C-Can I get an autograph, ma'am?"
"Sure! Anything for my savior!" The girl complied while rubbing his hair. Any fashion enthusiast would have died to be in Harold's boots at that moment.
"Me too!" Ami joined, scheming how high a price it would reach in the right market.
Olber felt out of the loop, but he wouldn't bother the dancer for something he didn't even desire. A sad thought crossed his mind. A possible use he would have for her autograph. Shaking off those depressive ideas, the captain prodded their surroundings once more. They were quite literally in the middle of nowhere.
"If I may ask, miss Sayu, what are you doing in this place?"
"Great question! You see, a few days ago, while I was dancing in front of the public and their eyes were focused on me, I got a moment of clarity: light-made soap."
"Light-made… soap?" The party repeated.
"By magically liquefying light and then compressing it many times, you could in theory produce a substance that resembles soap that also shares the properties of light! I want to make some! It could be the achievement that earns me the doctorate!"
"And what would this special soap do? Could you shower with it?"
"Does light smell good?"
"If my hypothesis is right, rubbing some soap on your enemies could clean their presence. All with clean energy! If I had that, I would be able to go anywhere without having to fear being captured by brigands, so that's a plus."
"That still doesn't answer my question." Olber coughed, trying to advance the conversation without further deviations.
"Ah, right. The thing is… I needed to determine the right process to produce the soap. By trial and error, I ended up blowing up my apartment, so I concluded that it was too dangerous to continue my research as things stood."
"No shit. You're fabricating magic explosives." Harold commented.
"And a clean source of energy, though. Just imagine the possibilities…" Amimari retorted.
"You bet! It could mean a great energetic revolution for our society! I-" Sayu got interrupted by Olber's cough. "I better go back to the topic, yes. Hehe. One day, a client mentioned a tower were many old artifacts and insightful formulas could be found. I squeezed the details out of him and here I am: on my way to the Tower of Temptation. They say that's where the Maker slumbers, so I hope to find heavenly inspiration!"
The party shared a jolted reaction to her words. A grin grew on their lips.
"What a coincidence. We also have an interest in that place."
"Really? Super! We totes should go together!" Sayu sang with a quick spin of her red heels. Harold let out a suffocated shriek of excitement while Amimari expressed her best regards to their new partner.
On the other hand, Olber stepped aside and searched the crumbling landscape. It always impressed him that the tower continued to stand upright despite the decaying foundations. He always felt drawn towards that place, but now he finally found a reason to explore its depths.
"You haven't told me your name, handsome."
At some point, Sayu was introduced to the others, but the calm captain remained a mystery to her. The soldier sighed.
"It's Olber."
"Cheer up, Olber! You're getting the honor of travelling with a celebrity! It saddens me to see one of my heroes so down in the dumps."
The man shook his head and forced a weak smile.
"Sure. We'll keep you safe during the journey, so feel free to take it easy."
A new pain nested inside the sad man's chest. If only he had shown such a caring attitude earlier, would things be any different?
Sayu had met many clients with troubled pasts during her time as a cabaret dancer. Olber reminded her of a man who lost what was most important to him. No amount of fanservice or cheerful comments would fix that, so she decided to step back with a pout.