Aha! I finally found the energy to update! **huggles a giant bag of
cinnamon hearts** ^-^; I swear, nothing breaks apart a writers block like
a few sugar highs. Too bad that exams erase all possibility of original
thought for the next week or so after you've written them. Oh well.
Just a few quick notes here: Yes, I thought that it was getting a little one sided too. Don't worry, there will be some new characters coming up soon, but only a few at first. Sorry, but the first part of this fic is largely focused around Dart. It should start getting a little more evened out sooner or later though. About all I can do for now is give Ark some more POV's. The rest of the dragoons from the game itself have died. By now it's been about 128 years from the time when the game itself took place. Sorry about that, I should have mentioned that earlier. It's my bad. Gomen nasi! ^^
Ragnarok's POV:
Leaving Meru to tend to Guraha, we headed for the upper apartments of the burning wingly village, dodging pieces of burning rubble as they fell from the patios and walkways above us. An unnerving silence had settled over the scene; aside from the crackle of flames and the occasional piece of falling rubble, the village was alarmingly quiet. Dart commented on this fact as he jumped across a break in the stone path. /Something's wrong/ he muttered, slowing to a stop.
//You don't have to repeat the obvious// I told him. //And keep moving. You make too good a target just standing around like this// Only half-concentrating on Dart's actions; I turned my mind to the matter of Blano. Guraha had said that he'd taken him somewhere safe, but Dart hadn't hung around long enough to hear where that safe place was. But we couldn't do anything about it now.
Dart slipped into the lake that surrounded the main structure of the wingly village, unable to get any closer to the structure because of the heat that emanated from the flames that had engulfed the it. /He won't be in there/ Rummaging in one of the deep inside pockets of his coat, he found a spirit potion, uncorked it, and drank the contents of the glass vial in a few swallows. Tucking the empty bottle back into his pocket, he continued to swim around to the back of the burning tree structure, his movement hampered slightly by the sword hanging from his belt at his side.
The water, heated by the flames from the burning village, was pleasantly warm, but was coated with a thin layer of dark ash that stuck to anything it touched. Struggling to keep his head above the water so as not to get any of the ash into his eyes, Dart swam slowly towards the far shore. Reaching the bank, he pulled himself out with water dripping from his jacket and paused to listen again, wiping the wet soot away from his mouth with the palm of his hand. Aside from the crackling flames and the occasional sound of falling debris, all was more or less quiet. Hand on his sword hilt, Dart started out warily towards the back of the forest where Blano's quarters were located. There was no cover to be provided by the burning buildings or trees, so the walk was a rather nervous one. /Any idea where Guraha may have taken him?/
//Not really. Keep your eyes open. Those cultists are bound to turn up sooner or later, and I'd rather that we were not taken by surprise// I was starting to get concerned about Blano: there were only so many places that Guraha could have hidden him that weren't already destroyed by the fire, and with four dragoons looking for him as opposed to us, the odds didn't look to be in our favor. We could only hope that we would stumble across him by chance before Demara and the other cultists found him.
Reaching the back of the forest, Dart stopped abruptly. "Great," he muttered to himself, "I hadn't thought of this." The twisted tree building that housed Blano's quarters lay ahead, untouched by the fire that ravaged the village and the forest around it. Unfortunately, the adjoining buildings were either all in ruin or consumed by fire. Walking to the base of the structure, Dart looked up at the platform overhead. /How're we going to get up there? I'll attract too much attention if I transform and it would just be a waste of energy/
//Better get climbing then// I told him.
/Can't you think of any other way?/ He asked rather plaintively.
//Quit complaining and start climbing, Dart. The trunk is rough enough that you shouldn't have too much trouble//
/So says you. You don't have to climb this thing/
//Can you think of any better way?//
/Why don't you do it if you like the idea so much?/
//Get climbing Dart. We're running out of time//
Grumbling something about slave driving dragons, Dart found hand holds and began to pull himself up the trunk. /I hate climbing/ He grumbled, jamming his foot into a crack and using it to push himself up higher.
//You don't have to like it, just so long as you do it//
/You're in a bad mood today/
//It's called stress. I'm surprised you haven't been feeling it too//
/I am. I'm just saving it all up so that I can drown it in an ale keg once we get back to Ulara/ His foot slipped, but he caught himself and continued his ascent.
//That's a productive habit. The hangover will give you a wonderful headache, you know that?//
/Hey, you deal with stress in your way, I'll deal with it in mine/ Dart clung to the lumpy trunk of the tree for a minute, glaring at a large branch that protruded out in front of him. Leaning out and reaching with one hand, he managed to get a firm hold on the top of the branch. We were about thirty or so feet above the ground now, almost to the platform. Tensing himself, Dart prepared to swing his body up onto the limb. This may have worked too, had not a cultist chose this exact moment to intervene.
The gust of wind came suddenly, howling through the burning trees and hitting us in a blast of hot air that knocked Dart from the trunk, leaving him to dangle precariously by one hand from the limb. Groping wildly with his free hand, he managed to get a second handhold on the rough branch. As the wind died, he dragged himself onto the branch, gasping for breath. /Where the hell did that come from?/ He demanded, even though we both knew the answer already. The Jade Dragoon flew at an almost leisurely pace over the treetops, but heading straight towards us nonetheless.
Cursing, Dart gathered himself and leapt up to grab the rail of the platform above with both hands. Hauling himself over the edge, he hit the stone floor of the platform with a grunt and rolled to his feet, drawing his sword as he did so. Starting across the platform towards the wooden archway that led to Blano's quarters, he made it about halfway before the Jade barred his way, standing before the arch with his halberd held before him. There was a faint rustle of wings, then a young raven-haired woman of about fifteen or so wearing the White-Silver armor landed to our left.
"Took you long enough to find him, Seth." She said fingering the bowstring of her silver plated longbow. "I've been watching him for the last ten minutes."
"And yet you didn't do anything about it Allison? You show a remarkable reserve of courage for one so young." Seth said sarcastically. He was a tall man with salt and pepper hair and deep purplish scar running along his high cheekbone. He held his weapon loosely in one hand, but his stance, even wearing the dragoon armor, dictated that he knew how to use it.
Allison spat bitterly on the ground, then pulled back her bowstring. "Can we kill him?" She asked, her voice suddenly eager. For some reason I found her habit of talking about us as though we weren't even standing there rather irritating.
Seth thought about it, then shook his head. "Ferric wanted to have some fun with him first. He was saying something about 'needing a worthy opponent'."
"Ferric is an ass." Allison grumbled, but she did lower her bow. Seeming bored, she turned to stare at me openly. "So you're the Black Monster, huh? You don't look all that dangerous."
Dart said nothing, but turned to meet her stare with a glare of his own. After a minute or so of this Allison dropped her eyes to watch an ant scurrying along over the stones, unable to meet his eyes. /She seems a little nervous. All she's doing is blustering/ Dart remarked. Outwardly he appeared calm, even cold, but I could feel his nervous irritation boiling beneath the surface. As powerful as the Divine Dragoon armor is, and as much combat experience as Dart had behind him, the odds were two to one against him, probably greater if this Ferric that the two cultist dragoons kept talking about still happened to be around.
Finally, Dart spoke. "Where's Demara?" He asked, addressing Seth in a flat tone. "I've been meaning to have a nice, long conversation with her lately. She's managed to piss us off quite well."
Seth looked rather confused at Dart's use of 'us', but let it go. Scratching at his close cropped hair with one gauntleted hand, he grinned rather maliciously at him. "She had something to deal with back at the entrance of the forest. It concerned two of her old friends, I understand. She said something about needing to repay an old grudge."
Dart gave no outward reaction to what he'd just heard, but inside I felt his mind literally stop functioning for a moment or two. /H-he's lying/ He said finally, his tone flat. /He's lying, isn't he, Ragnarok?/
Wordlessly I pushed my mind out, searching for the familiar touch of Guraha's mind. When I found nothing, I pushed my mind out farther, looking for Meru. Still nothing. Almost desperately, I sent my mind out again one final time to look for Demara. Again no response. Regretfully, I drew my mind back in to where it belonged. //I don't know// I told Dart finally. //He's probably just trying to shake you up. Don't get distracted//
Dart seemed as though he was going to respond, but at that moment Ferric arrived, landing a few feet to our right. "Don't go trying to mess with the man's head, Seth. He's probably had a bad enough day as it is." Ferric's voice had a slightly cultured accent to it, belying his rather savage appearance. With a flash of light his golden armor disappeared, although the change in no way made him seem any less imposing. Standing well over six feet tall with a long black scalp lock flowing down the back of his neck, his knotted arm muscles flexed threateningly as he rested both hands on the cross hilt of his broadsword. "So you're the one that's killed our Moon Child, huh?"
Shaking himself out of his daze, Dart managed a smirk, although his head was bowed so that his eyes remained hidden to this new aggressor. "It was the least I could do for this world. The last thing we need is another insane wannabe god trying to destroy it again."
A flicker of annoyance crossed Ferric's face, but he covered his irritation with a bland smile. "Do you really think that's what would happen? Why would he destroy all of this if all he wished to create was a utopia?"
"Oh, he'd create a utopia alright. Right after he destroyed this one. I'm not sure, but I think this world's a little corrupted for his tastes."
Ferric shrugged. "If that's what you believe. In any case, I won't be alive to see it happen now that you've killed our Child." Lifting his sword with one hand, he took up a fighting stance, the point of his blade held low to the ground. "C'mon, pick up your sword. I don't have all day you know." Shooting a look over at Allison and Seth, he added, "And I want you two to stay out of this."
"Whatever." Allison's tone was bored, but her eyes were afire with sudden interest.
"What do you want?" Dart was slightly confused. /I thought they'd just try and kill me on the spot/
"I've been looking for a worthy opponent of late," Ferric said expansively, gesturing slightly with his free hand, "And up until now the results have been rather disappointing. I'm widely recognized as the greatest swordsman in the world, so competition has grown rather scarce. I thought that I'd never find someone worth my while." He sighed dramatically. "Life can be so tedious when one has nothing to occupy themselves with. At any rate, I heard about you shortly after I joined this cult. After all, who better to test my skills against than the legendary Black Monster himself?"
So that was what this little delay was about. //Accept his challenge, Dart. We're going to have to fight him anyway, and it's probably better to face off against him before you fight the others//
Nodding, Dart also took up a fighting stance, the blue steel of his weapon glinting in the firelight. Without waiting for an invitation he lunged forward, the keen edge of his blade singing through the air as he swung it in an upward arc towards Ferric's belly. The blade song, however, was cut short as it met edge to edge with the larger man's counterstrike, sending up a shower of sparks as it did so. Weapons locked, the two aggressors glared at one another for a long moment before spinning away, only to clash again.
And so went the fight. I've often heard of battle being described as an intricate dance, with a rhythm and pulse all of its own, and this engagement was no exception. Despite his vast size, or perhaps because of it, Ferric wielded his massive blade with speed and skill, using his strength to make even the smallest of strokes an effort to block. He fought in a way that was meant to wear down his opponent simply though the sheer weight of his blows. Dart, realizing this, fabricated a rather simple counter-strategy: he avoided blocking anything at all, instead dodging to the side or backwards whenever a strike came. Dart's speed offset Ferric's strength, but the taller man forced him more and more often to have to take up a defensive stance as he rained down blows aimed at his shorter opponent's head.
Retreating under a sudden flurry of attacks, Dart winced as Ferric's blade sliced into his left arm. /I can't stand up to a whole lot more of this/ He grunted, knocking aside Ferric's sword with a sideways sweep of his blade.
//He's tired too// I thought for a moment as Dart rolled to one side, avoiding a stroke that shattered a piece of the stone railing surrounding the platform. //His technique is different than yours// I noted. //Maybe if you try an older combo that he wouldn't have seen before, he won't be able to respond in time to block all of it//
With another grunt, Dart jumped back, putting some distance between himself and his heaving opponent. As Ferric lifted his heavy sword once more in preparation to attack, Dart sprung forward, swinging his blade in a wild series of rapid strokes that he'd preformed so many times in the past that by now the came second nature to him. Taken by surprise by his opponent's sudden show of aggression, Ferric stumbled backwards trying to guard himself, his movements suddenly slow and clumsy as fatigue finally set in. Unable to protect himself, the cultist dragoon stiffened suddenly, then dropped to the ground with a gurgling sigh as Dart's blade drove in on an angle into his stomach to emerge dripping between his shoulder blades. As the cultist's lifeless body hit the flagstone, something rolled out of his loose shirt, clattering across the stones to come to a stop against Dart's boot.
Stooping quickly, Dart reached down and plucked the golden spirit from where it lay cold and unresponsive on the flagstones. Straightening, he glared at the other two dragoons, holding his sword loosely in one hand while tucking the spirit of the Golden Dragon into its place on his belt next to the Violet Spirit. Down below, the flames had reached the base of the tree trunk and were slowly but steadily working their way up. /I think they're starting to have thoughts about their mortality/ Dart noted, eyes fixed firmly on Seth and Allison. /I think we could probably just scare them off. I don't really have all that much energy left to fight. Besides, they must be almost drained of their spiritual power by now anyhow/
//Just transform. We don't have time to fight them if we're going to find Blano, although I'm starting to have some suspicions about where he might have sent him//
/You don't think that he sent him to Ulara, do you?/
//Probably. That would explain why the cultists haven't found him yet// Shortly after the Cygnet War there had been a portal link established between Ulara and the Forest. Out of necessity it had not been widely publicized, even among the winglies, because of Charle's request that Ulara remain more or less a secret. If Guraha had indeed sent Blano to Ulara by way of the portal, then the chances were that he was safe. But if this was true, why hadn't Guraha also gone to Ulara?
As Dart activated the dragoon spirit lodged deep in his chest with a burst of silver-blue light, Allison and Seth exchanged nervous glances. The recovery of the divine dragoon spirit had never been documented or recorded, so the cultists that had never actually seen the divine armor probably thought that Dart was just using one of the dragoon stones that he had recovered at an earlier date. So you can imagine the surprise of the two when the light surrounding Dart consolidated into the rather inhumanly proportioned armor of the divine dragoon. They stared for a moment or two, and then as Dart raised the cannon took off uttering a series of startled oaths.
Watching them go, Dart lowered his cannon. /They're good at running/ he commented as he stepped towards the wooden archway. There was moment's delay when we realized that Dart could not fit through the door in his present form, but the rising heat had made the wood brittle, so it was no great chore to simply enlarge the opening with his sword. Inside the room was dark and smelled of smoke, but not even the gloom could hide the scorch marks on the walls and ceiling. In the corner, there was a blackened pile of rubble and a hole in the wall where the lift to the upper platform had been. Walking over to it with his wings brushing the ceiling, Dart leaned over as best he could to inspect it. /Someone blasted this really well. The whole chute leading upwards has caved in/
//That was probably Guraha's work// I mused. //It wouldn't stop them from reaching the portals, but it would definitely slow them down. Go back outside and up to the platform above here. With any luck, whatever's up there should answer all our questions//
Above the tree line the night sky was stained a dusky red from the light of the fire and the air was thick with heavy, rolling palls of blackened smoke from the trees and burning homes below. Ash and sparks drifted about, carried on the vents of hot air formed by the flames. Landing on the rubble-strewn platform, one glance told me all I needed to know. The portals, both the one to Ulara and the one to Vellweb, lay in ruins, the sandstone blocks that had been used in their construction shattered into thousands of pieces over the stones. If I'd had a body of my own, I'd have let out a sigh of relief. //Blano is safe. Now let's get out of here//
/But Meru and Guraha are still back there/
I almost told him that the chances of them still being alive, even if Demara hadn't found them, were slim to nil, but I held myself back at the last moment. This was something that would be better for him if he saw it with his own eyes. And so we flew back over the flaming village to the other end near the portal where we'd left Meru to tend to her husband. Despite the flames, it didn't take long to find the building where we had left them. Or rather, the ruins of it. Dart stood silently for a moment or so, staring at the pair of bodies half-buried amidst the rubble. /She didn't dislike you as much as she pretended you know/ he said finally.
I didn't really know how to respond to that. After all the years I'd known him, I would have expected an oath of vengeance or something of the sort. Dart had changed rather subtlety since that night in Seles a hundred or more years ago, but I couldn't quite put my claw on how. //I know// I responded, struggling slightly with the words. By nature, I was never really have been intended to have to come to face with much complex emotion, so I found translating how I felt into actual thought more than a little difficult. //I think that, well, let's say that if she did feel that way then the feeling was mutual// I said, a little gruffly. It didn't sound like much, but Dart seemed to get my meaning.
/There's nothing we can do for them?/
//We'd be best to leave them, Dart. This was their home, after all//
/Right/ Dart took one last sad look, then turned away. As he did so, a slight glint of color caught his eye, standing out sharply against the gray stones. A mangled, bloody hand protruded from beneath a large pile of rubble, loosely clutching a clear blue stone. Crouching, he lifted the seemingly proffered item from the hand. /So they did get her after all/ He said, a hint of satisfaction in his tone. Holding the Blue Sea Dragoon spirit tightly in his free hand, he propelled himself back into the air with his wings, not looking back.
It wasn't until we were blasting over the mountains at the edge of the Death Frontier that I realized why Dart was acting the way he was. When I was created, I was never really intended to die. For this reason I had overlooked the simple fact that humans weren't supposed to live forever. They form attachments with people, places, and for the most part, those things are around for as long or longer than they are. But in Dart's case it would be him outliving everything. People, places, all would change and die while he continued on. And now with the death of Meru and Guraha, all ties to the life he had once left were completely severed. He was truly alone, and nothing could ever change that fact.
And even though it really was my fault, I actually found that I felt sorry for the guy.
Just a few quick notes here: Yes, I thought that it was getting a little one sided too. Don't worry, there will be some new characters coming up soon, but only a few at first. Sorry, but the first part of this fic is largely focused around Dart. It should start getting a little more evened out sooner or later though. About all I can do for now is give Ark some more POV's. The rest of the dragoons from the game itself have died. By now it's been about 128 years from the time when the game itself took place. Sorry about that, I should have mentioned that earlier. It's my bad. Gomen nasi! ^^
Ragnarok's POV:
Leaving Meru to tend to Guraha, we headed for the upper apartments of the burning wingly village, dodging pieces of burning rubble as they fell from the patios and walkways above us. An unnerving silence had settled over the scene; aside from the crackle of flames and the occasional piece of falling rubble, the village was alarmingly quiet. Dart commented on this fact as he jumped across a break in the stone path. /Something's wrong/ he muttered, slowing to a stop.
//You don't have to repeat the obvious// I told him. //And keep moving. You make too good a target just standing around like this// Only half-concentrating on Dart's actions; I turned my mind to the matter of Blano. Guraha had said that he'd taken him somewhere safe, but Dart hadn't hung around long enough to hear where that safe place was. But we couldn't do anything about it now.
Dart slipped into the lake that surrounded the main structure of the wingly village, unable to get any closer to the structure because of the heat that emanated from the flames that had engulfed the it. /He won't be in there/ Rummaging in one of the deep inside pockets of his coat, he found a spirit potion, uncorked it, and drank the contents of the glass vial in a few swallows. Tucking the empty bottle back into his pocket, he continued to swim around to the back of the burning tree structure, his movement hampered slightly by the sword hanging from his belt at his side.
The water, heated by the flames from the burning village, was pleasantly warm, but was coated with a thin layer of dark ash that stuck to anything it touched. Struggling to keep his head above the water so as not to get any of the ash into his eyes, Dart swam slowly towards the far shore. Reaching the bank, he pulled himself out with water dripping from his jacket and paused to listen again, wiping the wet soot away from his mouth with the palm of his hand. Aside from the crackling flames and the occasional sound of falling debris, all was more or less quiet. Hand on his sword hilt, Dart started out warily towards the back of the forest where Blano's quarters were located. There was no cover to be provided by the burning buildings or trees, so the walk was a rather nervous one. /Any idea where Guraha may have taken him?/
//Not really. Keep your eyes open. Those cultists are bound to turn up sooner or later, and I'd rather that we were not taken by surprise// I was starting to get concerned about Blano: there were only so many places that Guraha could have hidden him that weren't already destroyed by the fire, and with four dragoons looking for him as opposed to us, the odds didn't look to be in our favor. We could only hope that we would stumble across him by chance before Demara and the other cultists found him.
Reaching the back of the forest, Dart stopped abruptly. "Great," he muttered to himself, "I hadn't thought of this." The twisted tree building that housed Blano's quarters lay ahead, untouched by the fire that ravaged the village and the forest around it. Unfortunately, the adjoining buildings were either all in ruin or consumed by fire. Walking to the base of the structure, Dart looked up at the platform overhead. /How're we going to get up there? I'll attract too much attention if I transform and it would just be a waste of energy/
//Better get climbing then// I told him.
/Can't you think of any other way?/ He asked rather plaintively.
//Quit complaining and start climbing, Dart. The trunk is rough enough that you shouldn't have too much trouble//
/So says you. You don't have to climb this thing/
//Can you think of any better way?//
/Why don't you do it if you like the idea so much?/
//Get climbing Dart. We're running out of time//
Grumbling something about slave driving dragons, Dart found hand holds and began to pull himself up the trunk. /I hate climbing/ He grumbled, jamming his foot into a crack and using it to push himself up higher.
//You don't have to like it, just so long as you do it//
/You're in a bad mood today/
//It's called stress. I'm surprised you haven't been feeling it too//
/I am. I'm just saving it all up so that I can drown it in an ale keg once we get back to Ulara/ His foot slipped, but he caught himself and continued his ascent.
//That's a productive habit. The hangover will give you a wonderful headache, you know that?//
/Hey, you deal with stress in your way, I'll deal with it in mine/ Dart clung to the lumpy trunk of the tree for a minute, glaring at a large branch that protruded out in front of him. Leaning out and reaching with one hand, he managed to get a firm hold on the top of the branch. We were about thirty or so feet above the ground now, almost to the platform. Tensing himself, Dart prepared to swing his body up onto the limb. This may have worked too, had not a cultist chose this exact moment to intervene.
The gust of wind came suddenly, howling through the burning trees and hitting us in a blast of hot air that knocked Dart from the trunk, leaving him to dangle precariously by one hand from the limb. Groping wildly with his free hand, he managed to get a second handhold on the rough branch. As the wind died, he dragged himself onto the branch, gasping for breath. /Where the hell did that come from?/ He demanded, even though we both knew the answer already. The Jade Dragoon flew at an almost leisurely pace over the treetops, but heading straight towards us nonetheless.
Cursing, Dart gathered himself and leapt up to grab the rail of the platform above with both hands. Hauling himself over the edge, he hit the stone floor of the platform with a grunt and rolled to his feet, drawing his sword as he did so. Starting across the platform towards the wooden archway that led to Blano's quarters, he made it about halfway before the Jade barred his way, standing before the arch with his halberd held before him. There was a faint rustle of wings, then a young raven-haired woman of about fifteen or so wearing the White-Silver armor landed to our left.
"Took you long enough to find him, Seth." She said fingering the bowstring of her silver plated longbow. "I've been watching him for the last ten minutes."
"And yet you didn't do anything about it Allison? You show a remarkable reserve of courage for one so young." Seth said sarcastically. He was a tall man with salt and pepper hair and deep purplish scar running along his high cheekbone. He held his weapon loosely in one hand, but his stance, even wearing the dragoon armor, dictated that he knew how to use it.
Allison spat bitterly on the ground, then pulled back her bowstring. "Can we kill him?" She asked, her voice suddenly eager. For some reason I found her habit of talking about us as though we weren't even standing there rather irritating.
Seth thought about it, then shook his head. "Ferric wanted to have some fun with him first. He was saying something about 'needing a worthy opponent'."
"Ferric is an ass." Allison grumbled, but she did lower her bow. Seeming bored, she turned to stare at me openly. "So you're the Black Monster, huh? You don't look all that dangerous."
Dart said nothing, but turned to meet her stare with a glare of his own. After a minute or so of this Allison dropped her eyes to watch an ant scurrying along over the stones, unable to meet his eyes. /She seems a little nervous. All she's doing is blustering/ Dart remarked. Outwardly he appeared calm, even cold, but I could feel his nervous irritation boiling beneath the surface. As powerful as the Divine Dragoon armor is, and as much combat experience as Dart had behind him, the odds were two to one against him, probably greater if this Ferric that the two cultist dragoons kept talking about still happened to be around.
Finally, Dart spoke. "Where's Demara?" He asked, addressing Seth in a flat tone. "I've been meaning to have a nice, long conversation with her lately. She's managed to piss us off quite well."
Seth looked rather confused at Dart's use of 'us', but let it go. Scratching at his close cropped hair with one gauntleted hand, he grinned rather maliciously at him. "She had something to deal with back at the entrance of the forest. It concerned two of her old friends, I understand. She said something about needing to repay an old grudge."
Dart gave no outward reaction to what he'd just heard, but inside I felt his mind literally stop functioning for a moment or two. /H-he's lying/ He said finally, his tone flat. /He's lying, isn't he, Ragnarok?/
Wordlessly I pushed my mind out, searching for the familiar touch of Guraha's mind. When I found nothing, I pushed my mind out farther, looking for Meru. Still nothing. Almost desperately, I sent my mind out again one final time to look for Demara. Again no response. Regretfully, I drew my mind back in to where it belonged. //I don't know// I told Dart finally. //He's probably just trying to shake you up. Don't get distracted//
Dart seemed as though he was going to respond, but at that moment Ferric arrived, landing a few feet to our right. "Don't go trying to mess with the man's head, Seth. He's probably had a bad enough day as it is." Ferric's voice had a slightly cultured accent to it, belying his rather savage appearance. With a flash of light his golden armor disappeared, although the change in no way made him seem any less imposing. Standing well over six feet tall with a long black scalp lock flowing down the back of his neck, his knotted arm muscles flexed threateningly as he rested both hands on the cross hilt of his broadsword. "So you're the one that's killed our Moon Child, huh?"
Shaking himself out of his daze, Dart managed a smirk, although his head was bowed so that his eyes remained hidden to this new aggressor. "It was the least I could do for this world. The last thing we need is another insane wannabe god trying to destroy it again."
A flicker of annoyance crossed Ferric's face, but he covered his irritation with a bland smile. "Do you really think that's what would happen? Why would he destroy all of this if all he wished to create was a utopia?"
"Oh, he'd create a utopia alright. Right after he destroyed this one. I'm not sure, but I think this world's a little corrupted for his tastes."
Ferric shrugged. "If that's what you believe. In any case, I won't be alive to see it happen now that you've killed our Child." Lifting his sword with one hand, he took up a fighting stance, the point of his blade held low to the ground. "C'mon, pick up your sword. I don't have all day you know." Shooting a look over at Allison and Seth, he added, "And I want you two to stay out of this."
"Whatever." Allison's tone was bored, but her eyes were afire with sudden interest.
"What do you want?" Dart was slightly confused. /I thought they'd just try and kill me on the spot/
"I've been looking for a worthy opponent of late," Ferric said expansively, gesturing slightly with his free hand, "And up until now the results have been rather disappointing. I'm widely recognized as the greatest swordsman in the world, so competition has grown rather scarce. I thought that I'd never find someone worth my while." He sighed dramatically. "Life can be so tedious when one has nothing to occupy themselves with. At any rate, I heard about you shortly after I joined this cult. After all, who better to test my skills against than the legendary Black Monster himself?"
So that was what this little delay was about. //Accept his challenge, Dart. We're going to have to fight him anyway, and it's probably better to face off against him before you fight the others//
Nodding, Dart also took up a fighting stance, the blue steel of his weapon glinting in the firelight. Without waiting for an invitation he lunged forward, the keen edge of his blade singing through the air as he swung it in an upward arc towards Ferric's belly. The blade song, however, was cut short as it met edge to edge with the larger man's counterstrike, sending up a shower of sparks as it did so. Weapons locked, the two aggressors glared at one another for a long moment before spinning away, only to clash again.
And so went the fight. I've often heard of battle being described as an intricate dance, with a rhythm and pulse all of its own, and this engagement was no exception. Despite his vast size, or perhaps because of it, Ferric wielded his massive blade with speed and skill, using his strength to make even the smallest of strokes an effort to block. He fought in a way that was meant to wear down his opponent simply though the sheer weight of his blows. Dart, realizing this, fabricated a rather simple counter-strategy: he avoided blocking anything at all, instead dodging to the side or backwards whenever a strike came. Dart's speed offset Ferric's strength, but the taller man forced him more and more often to have to take up a defensive stance as he rained down blows aimed at his shorter opponent's head.
Retreating under a sudden flurry of attacks, Dart winced as Ferric's blade sliced into his left arm. /I can't stand up to a whole lot more of this/ He grunted, knocking aside Ferric's sword with a sideways sweep of his blade.
//He's tired too// I thought for a moment as Dart rolled to one side, avoiding a stroke that shattered a piece of the stone railing surrounding the platform. //His technique is different than yours// I noted. //Maybe if you try an older combo that he wouldn't have seen before, he won't be able to respond in time to block all of it//
With another grunt, Dart jumped back, putting some distance between himself and his heaving opponent. As Ferric lifted his heavy sword once more in preparation to attack, Dart sprung forward, swinging his blade in a wild series of rapid strokes that he'd preformed so many times in the past that by now the came second nature to him. Taken by surprise by his opponent's sudden show of aggression, Ferric stumbled backwards trying to guard himself, his movements suddenly slow and clumsy as fatigue finally set in. Unable to protect himself, the cultist dragoon stiffened suddenly, then dropped to the ground with a gurgling sigh as Dart's blade drove in on an angle into his stomach to emerge dripping between his shoulder blades. As the cultist's lifeless body hit the flagstone, something rolled out of his loose shirt, clattering across the stones to come to a stop against Dart's boot.
Stooping quickly, Dart reached down and plucked the golden spirit from where it lay cold and unresponsive on the flagstones. Straightening, he glared at the other two dragoons, holding his sword loosely in one hand while tucking the spirit of the Golden Dragon into its place on his belt next to the Violet Spirit. Down below, the flames had reached the base of the tree trunk and were slowly but steadily working their way up. /I think they're starting to have thoughts about their mortality/ Dart noted, eyes fixed firmly on Seth and Allison. /I think we could probably just scare them off. I don't really have all that much energy left to fight. Besides, they must be almost drained of their spiritual power by now anyhow/
//Just transform. We don't have time to fight them if we're going to find Blano, although I'm starting to have some suspicions about where he might have sent him//
/You don't think that he sent him to Ulara, do you?/
//Probably. That would explain why the cultists haven't found him yet// Shortly after the Cygnet War there had been a portal link established between Ulara and the Forest. Out of necessity it had not been widely publicized, even among the winglies, because of Charle's request that Ulara remain more or less a secret. If Guraha had indeed sent Blano to Ulara by way of the portal, then the chances were that he was safe. But if this was true, why hadn't Guraha also gone to Ulara?
As Dart activated the dragoon spirit lodged deep in his chest with a burst of silver-blue light, Allison and Seth exchanged nervous glances. The recovery of the divine dragoon spirit had never been documented or recorded, so the cultists that had never actually seen the divine armor probably thought that Dart was just using one of the dragoon stones that he had recovered at an earlier date. So you can imagine the surprise of the two when the light surrounding Dart consolidated into the rather inhumanly proportioned armor of the divine dragoon. They stared for a moment or two, and then as Dart raised the cannon took off uttering a series of startled oaths.
Watching them go, Dart lowered his cannon. /They're good at running/ he commented as he stepped towards the wooden archway. There was moment's delay when we realized that Dart could not fit through the door in his present form, but the rising heat had made the wood brittle, so it was no great chore to simply enlarge the opening with his sword. Inside the room was dark and smelled of smoke, but not even the gloom could hide the scorch marks on the walls and ceiling. In the corner, there was a blackened pile of rubble and a hole in the wall where the lift to the upper platform had been. Walking over to it with his wings brushing the ceiling, Dart leaned over as best he could to inspect it. /Someone blasted this really well. The whole chute leading upwards has caved in/
//That was probably Guraha's work// I mused. //It wouldn't stop them from reaching the portals, but it would definitely slow them down. Go back outside and up to the platform above here. With any luck, whatever's up there should answer all our questions//
Above the tree line the night sky was stained a dusky red from the light of the fire and the air was thick with heavy, rolling palls of blackened smoke from the trees and burning homes below. Ash and sparks drifted about, carried on the vents of hot air formed by the flames. Landing on the rubble-strewn platform, one glance told me all I needed to know. The portals, both the one to Ulara and the one to Vellweb, lay in ruins, the sandstone blocks that had been used in their construction shattered into thousands of pieces over the stones. If I'd had a body of my own, I'd have let out a sigh of relief. //Blano is safe. Now let's get out of here//
/But Meru and Guraha are still back there/
I almost told him that the chances of them still being alive, even if Demara hadn't found them, were slim to nil, but I held myself back at the last moment. This was something that would be better for him if he saw it with his own eyes. And so we flew back over the flaming village to the other end near the portal where we'd left Meru to tend to her husband. Despite the flames, it didn't take long to find the building where we had left them. Or rather, the ruins of it. Dart stood silently for a moment or so, staring at the pair of bodies half-buried amidst the rubble. /She didn't dislike you as much as she pretended you know/ he said finally.
I didn't really know how to respond to that. After all the years I'd known him, I would have expected an oath of vengeance or something of the sort. Dart had changed rather subtlety since that night in Seles a hundred or more years ago, but I couldn't quite put my claw on how. //I know// I responded, struggling slightly with the words. By nature, I was never really have been intended to have to come to face with much complex emotion, so I found translating how I felt into actual thought more than a little difficult. //I think that, well, let's say that if she did feel that way then the feeling was mutual// I said, a little gruffly. It didn't sound like much, but Dart seemed to get my meaning.
/There's nothing we can do for them?/
//We'd be best to leave them, Dart. This was their home, after all//
/Right/ Dart took one last sad look, then turned away. As he did so, a slight glint of color caught his eye, standing out sharply against the gray stones. A mangled, bloody hand protruded from beneath a large pile of rubble, loosely clutching a clear blue stone. Crouching, he lifted the seemingly proffered item from the hand. /So they did get her after all/ He said, a hint of satisfaction in his tone. Holding the Blue Sea Dragoon spirit tightly in his free hand, he propelled himself back into the air with his wings, not looking back.
It wasn't until we were blasting over the mountains at the edge of the Death Frontier that I realized why Dart was acting the way he was. When I was created, I was never really intended to die. For this reason I had overlooked the simple fact that humans weren't supposed to live forever. They form attachments with people, places, and for the most part, those things are around for as long or longer than they are. But in Dart's case it would be him outliving everything. People, places, all would change and die while he continued on. And now with the death of Meru and Guraha, all ties to the life he had once left were completely severed. He was truly alone, and nothing could ever change that fact.
And even though it really was my fault, I actually found that I felt sorry for the guy.