The Song of Eternity

Canto 1

Parm: The Forsaken Realm

Verse 8

One Last Soul

They fled the desert,

Not knowing the fate of their allies,

Only to find another.

            "Pull harder or we are going to die!"   Jack screamed as he, Amarant, and Cid pulled on the controls of the airship as it sailed towards the desert floor.  They all had their feet braced against the control panel itself as they pulled back on the controls with all their strength.  Finally the ship leveled off, the wind from it's wake creating a cloud of sand.  Jack took the controls as Cid and Amarant leaned on the wall, sweating and bleeding from the battle.  "What's the plan boss?"  Jack questioned Amarant.

            "What happened to the others?"  Amarant asked Cid and Jack while he looked back over the desert at the collapsing tower.

            "I saw Deklin grab Eiko, but then they just disappeared, no idea about Pearl and Deke though," Jack commented as he examined the airship's controls and gauges.

            "They fell, they were trying to get onboard, but fell as the tower collapsed," Cid said quietly.  "We should go back, try to find them, see if they somehow survived."

            "Negative, we need to go ready the troops.  Ashura will attack soon, he would not have destroyed his tower if he was not sure he would survive.  We need to go prepare.  Eiko can take care of herself.  If Pearl is alive, that means Deke is with her.  He can handle himself, whether he knows it or not," Amarant said to Cid.

            "Besides, this hunk of junk isn't going to make it back to that tower, much less to Haven.  Check out the gauges, oil pressure is way off, engine is overheating, and I'm losing control bit by bit.  We won't make it to Haven in this piece of crap.  Go find a map, try to find out where we can land this and get transportation," Jack said annoyedly as he banged on several of the gauges.

            "I saw a map below decks," Amarant commented as he left the bridge.

            Cid and Jack stood there in uneasy silence for a couple seconds before Cid spoke.  "Explain yourself now Raccoumb," Cid ordered the thief. 

            "Short and to the point, that's what I love about you Cid," Jack laughed as he steered the ship.  "Let's just say that all of us have a common enemy here and it was in my best interest to stop him from getting that pendant."

            "But you work for Ashura, you stole things from my castle for him," Cid replied angrily.

            "You can't prove that was me," Jack laughed as Amarant walked back into the room.

            "He has more reason to stop Ashura than most of us combined Cid," Amarant said as he unrolled the map.

            Cid looked at Jack in disbelief.  Jack felt Cid's eyes on him and spoke.  "You know the story of Ashura right?  He just showed up and took over the desert tribes, right?  Wrong.  He showed up and killed all the leaders of the individual tribes.  The tower was ours originally, the leaders gathered there in a council to meet with Ashura.  He killed all the leaders and their families.  Except for me," Jack finished as he wiped a tear from his eye.  "I will stop him, he will not do to others what he did to me," Jack stopped talking and set the controls on autopilot.  "Where are we now?"  He asked as he went over to where Amarant had the map pinned up on the wall.

            "As near as I can guess, we are somewhere in the northwest part of the desert, here," Amarant pointed at the map.

            "Then we are definitely not making it back to Haven," Jack shook his head as he studied the map.  "Closest city with transportation?"

            "New Eden, but they are not on good terms with me.  It may be difficult to get what we need," Cid shook his head.           

            "New Eden, no problem, where do you think I've been working out of all this time?  I know tons of people there.  Just give me a day.  I'll have to sell this hunk of junk, but I know people who will buy it for parts.  With the money from it I can get us a boat back to Haven," Jack finished as he went back to the controls.  "Any objections?"

            "No, but I will be contacting Rhu, warning him of what Ashura may be planning," Cid sighed as he looked to the map.  "How long until we get there?"

            "A couple hours, don't worry about it, I'll take care of everything," Jack assured them as he looked to the horizon.

            It had been two days since they had landed roughly in a junkyard on the outskirts of New Eden.  Following the landing Cid agreed to meet with them somewhere on the docks in two days time.  He had left them to deal with transportation while he entered the city to talk with Jo' Rhu.  He was received politely.  Rhu listened to what he had to say, then had him removed from the castle, he was still angry over the lack of help received from Cid's knights during his war with the ogres.  Cid checked into an inn near the waterfront and stayed out of sight for the two days.

            On the day he was to meet with Jack and Amarant he impatiently paced the area of the waterfront where the passenger ships were moored.  He took a seat on a nearby crate and waited for another hour until he spotted Jack.  Jack spotted him and whistled Amarant who appeared behind him in a minute.  They walked over and greeted Cid.  "Good to see you Cid, heard that Rhu didn't take a liking to you much," Jack laughed.

            "He is an ignorant warmonger, do we have transportation?"  Cid replied.

            "Yes, this way," Jack confirmed as he led them to another part of the waterfront.

            Cid stopped when he noticed the markings on some of the ships.  "These are pirate vessels."

            "They are the only ones who would take us, Jack knows the captain.  He trusts them," Amarant explained as he shifted the weight of the pack he was carrying. 

            "This way," Jack said as he led the way to a small, but fast looking ship.  "This is the Hunter," Jack said proudly.

            Someone landed on the ground behind Amarant suddenly, causing him to whirl around, ready to strike.  "You!"  He exclaimed as he lowered his claw back to his side.

            "That's not a good way to greet the captain Amarant," Jack frowned as they all got on the boat.

            "What the hell did you people do Jack?"  The captain asked as they went to the bridge.  "Ashura's spies are looking for you three, not to mention that Rhu is looking for you and Amarant."

            "We'll explain later, we should get going now, the city guards should be closing on this area soon," Amarant pointed out as he could see several men in suits of armor entering the area.

            As the ship pushed off they looked back to see dozens of men in armor swarming the docks.  "They can't catch us, don't worry about it," the captain laughed.

            "What did you two do?"  Cid asked his two companions.

            "Liberated something that we will need in the coming days," Jack laughed as he produced a ring with a large stone set in it.  Jack dodged the fist of Cid and bolted from the bridge leaving Amarant and the captain alone.

            Amarant stood silently for a minute then spoke.  "Long time no see Lani."

            "You two big guy."