"Dreams"
"It's him again. What does he want from me?"
In the horizon he stands, beckoning me towards him. I can't see his face clearly but he seems to be calling me by his side always. He holds this menacing scythe...
"Ouch!"
"Tiny Heart! You are daydreaming again!"
I was startled awake by the shock of the electric current running all over me.
"Can you try and concentrate when you are inside class? You have been coming back to my class for the past few months and still you cannot seem to learn the simple magic spells I'm trying to teach you. Most of your classmates from the previous batch has already graduate to higher levels of magics."
"Magic isn't what I want. I want to be a warrior."
"Sigh... You cannot teach a Galka new tricks... Maybe you Galkans are just born dumb and be slaves to those Humes. All you know is to use your brute strength and not your brains.'
"It is not that Elder Panta. It's just that whenever I go out of the city and try to use my magic against the invading monsters outside I have this urge to bash them with my great axe."
"Brute strength isn't the answer. Wouldn't it be better to stop your enemies at their tracks before they can go near you?"
"I... I..." I started to say something but it seems useless as always to argue with my Mentor.
"What I... I... It's so frustrating to put something thru your head. Class dismissed before I blow up the entire classroom!"
Hurriedly my fellow students, little Tarutarus stood up and ran outside. I slowly followed them. This is one of the typical days of my life in Windhurst. A Galka in Windhurst.
I don't know how I came to live in Windhurst. All the Tarutarus would tell me was that they found me abandoned near the entrance of Giddeus some 18 years ago. They took me back to their city and named me Tiny Heart. Tiny Heart, such a funny name for a Galka. My heart is almost half of their entire body mass in size. All these years I have been ridiculed and made fun because of my name. These past few years have been very frustrating for me. After trying to evade their efforts to teach me magic all these years, I had no choice but to attend magic classes for the Elders decreed I should learn magic.
It is not that I can't understand or learn the magic spells being taught of me. I surely can cure myself or even cast spell of stone on creatures. But whenever I venture outside the city my natural instincts take over me. I see a Yagudo or a crawler I yearn to crush them by physical force not by magic spells. Maybe it's because I'm a Galka and we Galkans are born this way? Every chance I get I try to hone my fighting skills whether it is practicing the great axe or trying to be better in archery. Even without anyone tutoring me my fighting skills seems 100 percent better than my magic skills.
As I head back to my moogle house. I admire the city that is Windhurst. Tall ancient trees and beautiful ponds cover the entire city. I could sit all day fishing by one of the wooden bridges connecting this entire city. I have been living here for the past 18 years. I still feel lost and out of place. I long to go back to Bastok. Place where Galkans live now. I want to find out how I came to be abandoned here in Windhurst or who are my family. I have lots of questions in my mind that needs to be answered.
"Kupo! welcome home!" my moogle greeted me as I entered my moghouse."
Moogles, such magnificent creatures. About the height of Tarutarus, white in complexion with small wings behind their back. Said to possess strong magic but their only mission in life nowadays is to serve others. Like slaves in bondage. What a waste.
"Hi there my little moogle buddy."
"Hmmm Kupo I sense some residual magical energy on you, let me guess bad day at school again?"
"Yes I was daydreaming again and got my usual burst of lightning wake up call. Which reminds me, I wonder who I can talk to about this weird dream I'm having."
"Hmm Kupo you mean about the Galka?"
"Yes I saw him again today. It's really weird as if he is calling me and wants to say something to me. But every dream is the same over and over, He just stands there waiting for me to go near him."
'Kupo maybe you should talk to one of the Elders. They should be able to help you."
"Maybe I will later. Right now I need rest. My head is still spinning from the shock I got."
"Tiny Heart..."
I opened my eyes to see who was calling out my name... "You again? Who are you? What you want from me?"
"Do not be afraid I mean no harm."
"Who are you?" I could see him very clearly now. He was wearing a menacing jet black armor. His helmet looked like Demon horns. He had a black scythe strapped on his back. You could feel something about him... something so powerful.
"What do you want from me? Why do you keep haunting me in my dreams?"
He didn't answer and just kept staring at me.
"Dammit answer me!"
He finally spoke and said "It's been 18 years... 18 years ... It's time."
"Time for what?" I asked.
He disappeared from my sight again and I woke up from my slumber trembling.
"Kupo! Why are you sweating?"
"I saw him again in my dream. He finally spoke to me."
"What did he say to you Kupo?"
"He said it's been 18 years... that it is time."
'Time for what Kupo?"
"That is what I aim to find out."
I left my moghouse and headed to Windhurst Walls where the Elders reside when I bumped into Icon.
"Hey Tiny Heart. How's it going?"
Icon was this Hume from Bastok who came to Windhurst to study magic. Normally the Elders wouldn't allow outsiders to study magic in Windhurst but Icon was an exception. He had this thing for magic. He could learn spells faster than any Tarutaru or Mithra in his class. We were classmates before when I was just starting to learn magic and He has already progress several levels above me. He and I had become good friends during the course of his stay in Windhurst. He would tell me stories about Bastok and his travels around the world.
"Fine Icon and nice to see you. Tired from practicing magic?"
"No... Actually the Elders wouldn't teach me anything more. They said I was progressing too fast and it would be dangerous to rush things."
"Hmmmm so what are you going to do?"
"I think I am going back to Bastok tomorrow."
"Going back to Bastok? Can I go with you?"
"Why you want to go to Bastok?"
"I need some answers."
"Answers for?"
"This weird dream I keep having." I then told him about the dream I keep having including what happened to me just now.
"Tiny Heart, with what you told me I think that Galka you see in you dreams is a Dark Knight."
"Dark Knight?"
"Yes a Dark Knight. They are warriors who incorporate physical prowess with dark magic in battle. When a Dark Knight masters his craft he is a one man wrecking machine. Coupled with the armor they wear, anyone who sees them will tremble with fear even before the battle starts giving them a psychological advantage over their enemies."
"Do you know who that Dark Knight might be?"
"With how you describe him, the only Galkan I know of powerful and menacing enough from your description is Zeid. But it can't be him, he has been missing for quite sometime. But I've heard people who have practiced to become Dark Knights have been said to have visited by Zeid in their dreams."
"Zeid visits them in their dreams?"
"Yes he does. It is a sign they say that one has become or is accepted to be a Dark Knight."
"How does one become a Dark Knight?"
"There are Galkans in Bastok who are entrusted by Zeid to show those worthy the path to being a Dark Knight. Only a select few can become Dark Knight. It is said if you cannot control the dark magic you practice you will sell you soul to the devil. I've always been curious about the ways of the Dark Knight but I never tired to see if I was worthy enough to become one."
"Icon wait for me I need to go and see the Elders to ask permission to go to Bastok."
"I will go with you Tiny Heart. I love seeing Windhurst Walls. It is so beautiful."
As we approached the Heavenly Tower where the elders reside I saw a Tarutaru sitting down by the wooden bridge leading to the entrance. He was fishing but as I passed by he spoke to me.
"It is useless to ask permission from the Elders. They will not let you go to Bastok."
Icon and I looked at each other with puzzled looks on our faces. How did this Tarutaru know what we were doing here?
"Don't be puzzled. It's been 18 years. I knew this day would come. He has been visiting you in you dreams lately. I can feel his presence whenever he comes."
"May I ask who are you and who is he if you know so much about it?" I asked the Tarutaru.
"Who am I isn't important. Those Elders in there are hopeless. For 18 years they wouldn't do anything. 18 long years if they only did something it wouldn't come to this."
"Come to what little Tarutaru? the more you speak the more questions I have."
"Go to Bastok. All will reveal itself in time. Your journey there will be full of peril and danger. Be very careful. There are forces who conspire to stop you from reaching your destination."
The Tarutaru stopped fishing then stood up and said "Remember when all seems lost do not give up. There is always light beyond the darkness." He then warped and disappeared from our sights.
"Hmmm Icon am I awake or having a dream again?"
"You are awake Tiny Heart. This dream of yours has become more mysterious each passing moment. Are you still up to going to Bastok?"
"Yes it seems from the look of things, my destiny lies in Bastok. Whatever fate has in store for me I cannot run and hide from it. I might as well face it head on."
To be continued in Road to Mhaura part 1