CHAPTER SIX: RAOGRIMM'S DREAM

Why do I know that name? Francmage… I've heard it before, somewhere. I'm sure I heard it, and long before the war. Was he someone important? Raogrimm… who is Raogrimm?

Through the darkness an open street melted through the black as if it was something struggling in mud, until Alain was enveloped by it and found that he lay in the middle of a cobbled path somewhere. By his sides were his companions, all of them also on their backs gazing upwards as if entranced. One-by-one they seemed to wake up and sat up equally as confused as he was.

"How did we get out of the tunnel?" Rost was able to ask.

Alain held his head and rubbed it as pain spread down the back of his neck. He tried to speak, but could not find the words. He heard Nokum-Akkum grumble something entirely incoherent before crawling up onto his knees and then to his feet using Catherine's leg for balance. He crawled over to Catherine as his legs refused to find the strength to let him stand up like his short friend and helped her sit up.

"Where are we?" she asked.

As Alain was about to answer Rost interrupted, "Southern San d'Oria… but this does not make sense. Something is amiss here. The air is stagnant and there is an evil feeling in every direction. Is this some kind of illusion?"

They all looked around. It did seem like they were in the middle of a street somewhere in San d'Oria, but there were no people to be seen. The paths were bare and looked as though barely anyone had trodden on them. The air smelt old for some reason, a sort of musky oldness you might smell in an attic. What most shocked Alain was when he tilted his head back and looked upon the sky, which was pitch black as if it were the middle of the night. The moon hung over them and it was tainted a dark purple. Something was not right.

"Did any of you hear a voice?" Catherine asked.

They all said that they had.

"If we have fallen prey to magic of some kind then it is far stronger than anything I have ever even read about. We should move, try to get our bearings, we cannot assume it is safe to stay here."

"Wait," Rost said. "The voice spoke a name that I remember hearing about. Was it not a member of the original Northlands investigation team in which lives were lost? That was many years ago, but I am sure that Francmage was the San d'Orian envoy of that group."

Suddenly, beside a tree at the side of the path they sat on, a shining white circle appeared in the floor. From it appeared the visage of an Elvaan male with long ginger hair that was tied in a ponytail hanging over his shoulder. He wore grey leather armour and had no visible weapon. His figure seemed to flicker in and out of existence and turned invisible every few seconds. Alain was not sure what it was that they all looked upon, and held his Great Sword as best he could in case they were about to be attacked.

"Do not fear me. I am not your enemy," said the ghostly visage of Francmage.

"What is this place?" Alain demanded.

"You might call it a 'Prison of Souls' as death does not exist here. Even those lost in battle will rise again after a time as if nothing happened, like a flame returning to a candle whose light has been extinguished. How many times has that cycle repeated itself in this damn abode? I truly do not know. It was given a specific name by its creator, though I do not know its relevance; Dynamis."

Dynamis?

Rost walked towards the visage, "You were in the Northland investigation group acting as a representative for our nation were you not?"

"What happened in the Northland has damned all those who took part. The worst fate befell that of Raogrimm, whose punishment after losing his physical form was to exist in this prison where death is not known to its inhabitants. While trapped, the darkness he sold his soul to took prominence and consumed us one-by-one. We are punished as well for what we did and we will endure it."

Catherine and he exchanged glances and then looked around their location once more. They still were not sure what the Elvaan visage spoke of.

"You do not understand? Those who seek to destroy this prison have deceived your mind; they have stolen the thoughts that would spur you on. Do you not remember what transpired in the throne room of Castle Zvahl?"

Glances were exchanged again, but no one spoke.

"You must rediscover what you learned after you defeated the Shadowlord. Seek out those who were there with you, at least one still remembers the truth. After what transpired there Raogrimm was brought to this prison, this Dynamis. His spirit was split across the parts of world that held significance to us. It is a dream world beyond his control, yet it keeps in check the last protection of the crystals as it preserves his consciousness. We hoped you would save Raogrimm from this prison, but we see now that it must remain in existence to preserve the crystals."

"Tell us! Explain what happened back then and we'll do what we can to help, I promise!" he exclaimed.

"We are beyond help. My memories are only of San d'Oria and the events that led me to be trapped in this part of Raogrimm's dream. I cannot give you the answers you want or the identity of those seeking to destroy this place as I simply do not know. A group of interlopers has forced their way into this place using Black Magic and ancient items of fiendish origins. They will seek out an effigy, a physical presence within this prison that holds within it my memories of Raogrimm. If it is destroyed the cycle will be broken and I will cease to exist along with the creatures of this Dynamis, but with me a part of Raogrimm will also die. If each of us die then so will he and with his spirits death the crystals will be unprotected by the noise his consciousness creates amongst them now."

None of them understood fully what was being told to them by Francmage, but he had told them all he could within the confines of the memories given to him. Alain recognised the name Raogrimm from his own dreams, but still did not understand the significance of it. He tried to get more information from the ghost.

"Who was Raogrimm? And who was Cornelia?"

The Elvaan smiled, "So your memories are returning? Then perhaps there is hope. Raogrimm was a Galka and Cornelia was the Hume that loved him. They were lost on that trip, my memories cannot shed light on what truly happened, but Ulrich – an Iron Musketeer of Bastok's military – told me and the Windurstrian researches that both of them had fallen from a cliff in a freak accident. After that each of us died…"

"You…you died!" Nokum-Akkum cried out.

"No one returned from that trip, we were all lost. Our spirits are linked to Raogrimm and we exist with him inside Dynamis, his dream world. I hoped you would come to save us from this endless nightmare, but I see now that our true punishment and ultimate redemption is to endure it for the sake of Vana'diel. Time grows short, seek those interlopers somewhere in this place and stop them from destroying the effigy holding my memories. I beg of you that, come what may from this, you seek out those who can replace your lost memories and you will know far more than I!"

This time, the ghostly visage did not return after flicking and turning invisible. The white circle of light in the floor vanished. The group did not speak for a short time, each lost in their own thoughts on what they had just heard. An unnatural calmness still seemed present, but this was soon squashed by the foreboding evil dominance coming from elsewhere.

Streets away they heard a roar. It was not the roar of a beast, it sounded somewhat metallic, like a machine was being torn apart. They were all instantly alert and all save for Rost drew their weapons.

"We can't stay here, we need to go find out what's going on," Alain said.

"And what am I to do? I am not armed," Rost replied, holding up his shattered hilt.

"Make do with your firsts."

The Elvaan put his hands on his hips and muttered something about him being no different to six months ago, but he chose to ignore it.

They left the tree at the side of the path and made their way down a short stair case that opened into a square. On the right was an inn, but it was just an empty shell inside the twisted world of Dynamis they now found themselves trapped in. To the left a long baron street with lifeless houses was all that could be seen. They carried on past the square and down the main street where the tanner's guild would have been in the real Southern San d'Oria.

Round the next corner, just as the distant mechanical roars seemed to be getting louder, they were shocked to find the path ahead littered with bodies of both Beastman and Hume. The Hume's all wore identical clothing – black cloaks and hoods that covered all their appendages with silver lining spreading down them. The Beastmen were Orcs. Pools of blood had collected around the fallen and cuts still seeped liquid onto the cold stone floor. Catherine knelt by the closest Hume and examined the body while the rest of them looked around.

On the ground was a number of weapons that they guessed were either used by the Beastmen or the Humes. There were also coins that Alain did not recognise spread around corpses that had fallen from split pouches on the Orc's belts.

"This is not a Hume," Catherine reported, startling them all. "It's hard to explain, but this is most definitely not a Hume. It's almost like a mannequin, but it has blood and skin. I don't know how to explain it…but if this is the kind of thing the society has researched then this does not bode well for us."

"This cannot be…" Rost muttered as he collected up a handful of coins. "These are Ordelle Bronzepieces and Montifont Silverpieces…this currency has not been legal tender in San d'Oria for centuries. There are barely a few still in existence and reside in our museums. This does not make sense."

In the distance there was another roar.

"We can't spend our time worrying about this now; we have to go save that effigy that Francmage spoke about!" Alain cried, taking charge.

He noticed Rost put a few of the coins in a satchel on the side of his belt then scan the row of corpses for a weapon amongst them that he could use. To his obvious astonishment he found a Great Katana sticking out from the side of a large green skinned corpse. He stuck the broken section of his hilt back into his scabbard attached to his side that also already contained the broken section of the blade that they had found while searching for him and then picked up the weapon from the floor.

Continuing down the body filled street they turned a sharp right into the street that ran along side where three arches led to the West Ronfaure gates. The streets and inside the arches were also filled with both corpses of the Armathrwn Society and Orcish Beastmen. A purple haze seemed to surround the gate, easily visible through the gaps as they ran past. It seemed to shimmer and send out pulses of energy to ward off anyone close to it. As they neared Victory Square they knew they had reached their destination.

The square was directly opposite the auction house building, which also seemed devoid of life and detail remaining just an empty shell. A short distance from them a body was flung across the open courtyard that came to an abrupt halt as it collided with the side of the auction house, twisting it double. The body of the society member flopped to the floor and did not more. A few seconds later another body skidded along the floor pouring blood out along the cobbled street like water as it went and then another two were thrown against the auction house.

A war had broken out in Victory Square with Armathrwn Society members fighting fiercely with the strange Orcs. At the top of the steps beyond the fighting was a mammoth statue with a purple haze behind it blocking the way to Northern San d'Oria. A group of cloaked figures were fighting it, leaping in all directions as it spun after them firing beams of energy from its eyes and sending out shockwaves of energy.

There were far too many Beastmen and society members between them and the gigantic effigy for them to push through safely. Parts of the statue had already been cut away by slashes from scimitars, thrusts from spears, and blasts from Black Magic spells.

The effigy caught a society member in a ball of black light that seemed to compress his entire body, crushing it to a pulp as his blood was pulled into a ring of purple above the black ball. His form was destroyed by the powerful spell and the effigy then trained its eyes on another target, firing two beams through an advancing opponent splitting their body in twain.

On the grass in the court closest to them four Orcs battered there way through the cloaked figures sending them flying in all directions with their powerful fists. Those that had been knocked back stood back up as if unfazed by the damage completely and held their arms in a cup shape before them. Blue and red energy entwined their body as their form seemed to flicker like a dimming light.

"That technique…" Rost uttered.

An Orc punched its fist straight into one of the society members that stood still and became suddenly frozen. Its fist sunk straight into the figures body as if he were made of liquid. With ease, the society member grabbed the Orc's forearm, heaved its large fist out of his own stomach and then with immeasurable strength spun the Orc three hundred and sixty degrees before slamming it into the ground and bashing a fist straight through its face. The others that had been knocked back disposed of the Orcs using the same strange technique that seemed to liquefy their forms and absorb any physical attack. They then charged at the effigy to assist in its destruction, paying no heed to Alain and the others.

"Whataru are we going to do now!" Nokum-Akkum exclaimed angrily. "Are the Orcs the goody-woody guys! Are we to help them outaru?"

"I doubt they would see us as allies, but right now our enemies are the society members. We can't let them destroy that statue!"

"Alain!" Catherine cried.

He turned and pulled back in shock as an Orc with white furs draped over its shoulders lunged at him with a single large gold axe. He raised his weapon in time to parry the attack but the weight of the Beastman still pushed down on him, causing him to lose footing. An axe stuck into the side of the Beastman's head with a clunk. Its beady eyes rolled back into its head as it collapsed.

"I saved you!" his Tarutaru friend shouted so everyone could hear. "You owe me again now!"

Two more Orcs charged from the direction they had come with weapons drawn. Rost readied the Great Katana he had found as Nokum-Akkum retrieved his axe from the skull of the Orc they had just killed.

The streets we just came through were empty! Where did these ones come from? He thought to himself.

It was then he noticed the Orcs advancing on them had red blood stains all over them as if they had already received injuries. They all realized at once that the fallen fiends they had past in the street before were slowly getting back up just as Francmage had said.

"Try and get to the statue to stop them! I will fight off the Orcs coming from behind! The fallen may have risen, but they shall soon fall again. Meditate."

Alain watched Rost's form be surrounded by multicoloured light that collect around his hands that gripped the hilt of the Great Katana tightly, feeding energy into the dull blade.

He turned and ran into Victory Square with Catherine and Nokum-Akkum close behind.

Leaping over a downed Orc, he slashed sideways at the head of a society member looking the other way. His blade cut through fabric and then bone as he beheaded the figure. Blood spilled from the body as it toppled a few seconds after the head touched the grass. This drew the attention of society members and Orcs fighting nearby.

One cloaked figure jumped at Alain from the side. He was able to turn and hold his sword up in defence just in time. As the foot of his attacker struck his blade he was catapulted across the ground and only came to a halt after ramming into a dead Orc. The force of the blow had left him stunned, but he saw that the figure who struck him had been interrupted by Nokum-Akkum, who was swiping at him ferociously with both small axes.

The force of that strike was unbelievable for someone of their size…I've seen Galka Monk's hit softer than that when fighting seriously…how can they have such incredible strength yet not even be a real Hume?

An Orc with no weapon charged at Catherine, who raised her hand towards it, "Be gone foul beast! Banish!"

A ball of white light that shined brilliantly grew from her hand and fired at the Orc, catching it in an explosion of blinding energy that combusting its body, leaving nothing but charred marks on the broken ground left. She ran over to Alain as he re-entered the fray after getting back up.

Nokum-Akkum continued to twist and leap around the society member that had struck him, but could not land a blow. Another cloaked figure joined the fight, this one using a scimitar. They forced Nokum-Akkum into the defensive as he tried to fight them both at once. Alain thrust forwards with his Great Sword narrowly missing the enemy wielding a scimitar, who was just able to roll sideways to avoid. Pulling the weapon horizontally to his side Alain collecting energy into the tip of the blade and with far more speed than before struck at the unarmed one that still battled with his short friend.

"Power Slash!" he yelled.

Ripples in the shape of multiple red circles of energy spread out from his Great Sword as it pierced the centre of the society member's chest, blowing a large hole in their stomach as they was sent cascading across Victory Square.

He turned in time to watch a scimitar blade fall on him, but become stuck inches before his face by blue light. A hexagonal shape appeared before him and began to crack as more and more pressure was applied on it. He glanced over to Catherine and realized she had used her White Magic to provide him with a protective shield while he had struck down the other attacker.

His own sword's blade broke the blue protect shield in front of him as he slashed upwards through it, knocking back the cloaked figure. He heard a high pitched warcry from behind him and instinctively pushed his legs deep into the ground and leant forwards slightly. Nokum-Akkum summer salted onto his shoulders then shot forwards straight into the scimitar wielding figure, slicing through him with both axes in a circular motion.

Yet another enemy came at them both, but this time they knew instantly something was not right. The form of the attacker flicked and shimmered, meaning they had preformed whatever strange technique Rost had already witnessed. This one also wielded a scimitar and charged straight at them without a care that they prepared to attack.

The axe of Nokum-Akkum sliced straight into the leg of the attacker and seemed to be absorbed into him. Alain's huge blade dropped down on one shoulder and although the attacker did bend forwards as if he had received the full strength of the attack, he felt his blade slowly began to be sucked down as it was pulled into the length of the figures shoulder and held there like it had been stuck in deep mud.

Alain gritted his teeth as he felt the blade of his enemies scimitar slice into his side horizontally, ripping straight through the side of his leather armour and causing his skin to rupture. He almost dropped to one knee as blood spilled down his side, but managed to stay upright.

"Raogrimm…Raogrimm…"

Everything seemed to slow down in that instant. He could not move any part of his body and he seemed stuck where he stood. There was no longer the sound of battle; everything had come to a halt. He could no longer hear his friends or even feel the wound in his side. Everything was frozen.

What happened? He tried to say, but found he could only think it.

Beyond the tall figure standing before him he could only stare in disbelief as the last crumbling section of the huge effigy statue fell to the floor and all signs of life disappeared from its glowing eyes. A shockwave spread along the ground coming towards him in slow motion. Amongst the rubble he was sure that he saw Francmage, still a ghost, collapse with it just as the shockwave struck him.