CHAPTER SEVEN: TIME PAST

Through the dark depths of the Maze of Skakhrami lay the high crimson cliffs of Attohwa Chasm. The sun shone down painting the gravel bright amber while wind, caught in a vacuum, swept through the towering walls of the inner passages joined only by dangerously thin rock paths across the middle.

The centre of the area was home to a series of tunnels that connected the east and west sides of Attohwa. Dirt ridden rock eaters (giant worms) had made the tunnels their home, happily gaining sustenance from chewing on the loose debris. Creatures formed from arcane substances brought together to form a fiend made of a jelly like substance and littered with a dozen eyes also passed through the caverns preying on the worms and anyone foolish enough to stumble upon a nest of them.

Out in the open away from the wind swept openings were large rock formations, the largest of which being a mound named Pattadamo Tor in the centre of the east pit that stood higher in the sky than any other bluff in the area. These harsher areas were home to large flies and smaller lizards as well as the somewhat timid antlions. The pale, cream scaled, animals buried themselves in shallow holes ready to spring out and grab passing prey.

At the top of Pattadamo Tor was a huge opening, a rift in the rock that nearly split the mound in two. Inside the darkness of the hole was a glowing haze the colour of gold that seemed to fill the air with a refreshing, soothing aura.

Gerdinus looked on, nearly hypnotized, at the strange gold light deep inside the rift. The glow was from strange rocks, or crystals, it was hard to tell with the light shining so bright. They seemed to resonate every few seconds as if reacting to his presence causing his heart to miss a beat. He knelt at the edge of the rift and thrust his hands into the ground, gripping tightly so that he could look closer without falling.

Far behind him his blade, still wet with the blood of creatures he had to kill to find his way to the peak, stuck into the ground with a large blue and white shield equally as stained with fiend coloured markings nearby.

"It isn't your time," a voice said from behind him.

The Galka Paladin still clad in his white plate armour turned swiftly and stood to his feet to find who had discovered him. Standing by his sword and shield was another Galka wearing much darker chain armour. A black mask covered his face, but his size made it obvious of his race. A red hilt of a Great Sword stuck out over his left shoulder and the bottom of the twisted black blade was visible from behind his right leg.

Gerdinus uttered the reply, "…Zeid?"

Dark Knight Zeid was a legend, a rumour, an infamous figure of mystery in the Republic of Bastok. A former musketeer that chose to abandon his career, choosing instead to travel alone and, if the rumours were to be believed, from time-to-time taking those under his wing that would chose the same path as him in the hopes of becoming a Dark Knight. Gerdinus knew him by reputation and story alone, they had never met.

The only thing they had in common between them was that they both knew the Hume Alain, who he believed had actually trained with Zeid on at least one occasion before the war.

Turning back to the glowing rift as if it was calling something to him, he heard Zeid repeat his words; "It isn't your time."

"What do you mean?"

"Though your body may think that it is time to visit the Cradle of Rebirth your mind should know that you cannot yet be reborn, there is too much left to do. Step away from the rift."

He did not reply at first and instead tried to work out what the Dark Knight was talking about. Another pulse from the rift behind him made his heart skip again. He found himself being pulled towards it more and more. What was this feeling inside him that had drawn him to that place?

It had started months ago, after the end of the war. At first it was just a distant feeling that had been a welcomed change from the headaches he had been plagued with when trying to remember what had happened in the final battle. Over time the feeling seemed to grow stronger. It was a feeling of loss, like something was missing, like there was something he had to find. He had been drawn through the maze to the chasm and eventually up Parradamo Tor to whatever lay in the bottom of the rift by the feeling that the thing he had lost was hidden there.

Was this the process of rebirth? The process all Galka went through at a time undesignated by them? The memories of the journey of rebirth were stripped from them in their new form so for all he knew it was not the first time he had felt such a strange pulling to the place he now found himself in. The journey was rarely spoken of, save by the Taleskeeper, so he was shocked Zeid should say such things to him. The journey was a sole endeavour; it was something the Galka did alone.

"If it is my time then I cannot fight it," he told the Dark Knight.

"You must. You will be needed if the Archduke is to be stopped."

The Archduke… Why is he speaking of Kam'lanaut?

Zeid's expression grew troubled, "So you too have forgotten what we witnessed after Raogrimm's death… I had hoped due to our complex make up you would not be as stricken with the amnesia the rest of your friends mostly likely have. I soon realized that your silent departure was most likely to seek this place out and so I perused you. You cannot be reborn yet, you must remember what we all saw and help us."

The headaches that had become synonymous with attempting to remember those specific events in his past returned. Zeid laid a hand on the hilt of the bronze coloured short sword sticking out of the ground.

"This sword is not yet ready to be put to rest, nor is the shield done protecting people. Come with me and I will help you remember. After that we must find the others… there is no time left."

Reluctantly, Gerdinus stepped away from the Cradle of Rebirth, ignoring the calling inside him as best he could. As he reached Zeid he took up his sword and shield and then only took one last passing look behind him before following after the Dark Knight back down the mound.

"Oh, oh! Ohhhhhhhh! He's awake! He's awake! Hey!"

Very groggy, Alain was barely able to complain about the noise. A door clicked open, was slammed closed, then swiftly opened again not long after. He heard the patter of tiny feet first and knew it was Nokum-Akkum. His short friend jumped up onto where he lay and landed on his chest. He gritted his teeth and nearly cried out with the pain it caused and sat up grasping his side.

He was confused at first why he felt no armour, only a bandage placed directly over his skin. He was lying in a bed in a room he did not recognise. Looking down, he saw Nokum-Akkum's tiny feet sticking up over the side of the bed, where he had fallen when Alain leapt up.

Catherine entered the room and shortly after Rost also appeared (though in no great hurry). None of them seemed to show any injuries, or at least none as serious as the one he had received from the blade.

It was then that he remembered everything that had happened to them, everything about the ghost of Francmage, his memories of Raogrimm, and the dream world of Dynamis.

"What happened to Francmage!" he exclaimed.

Catherine sat on the edge of his bed where Nokum-Akkum had been and asked him to lay back while she redressed his wound.

"Francmage is dead… if that is even possible for one who was a spectre to begin with," Rost muttered from the corner of the room. "None of us have any recollection of leaving Dynamis, but we found ourselves in a side street of Southern San d'Oria. There was no trace of any bodies belong to Orc or society member."

He listened as they explained that they were now inside the rooms above the Lion Spring's Tavern in the same district. It was the closest and safest place for them to bring him in his wounded condition and not only did Rost know the owner, but Catherine knew it was the place that had been suggested to her by Rahal.

"How long was I unconscious for?" he asked.

"A day or so, but…" Catherine began, "…It seems that since the moment we were drawn into that strange Dynamis three days has actually past outside of it. I don't know how that is possible, but it seems we existed in an area where time past differently to the real world."

He could not believe so long had past. Had time really been bent and twisted while they were inside the dream world? It was a place where death did not seem to exist so it was more than possible the rules governing the passage of time were also different in some way, almost like a second inside it was static for far longer than the outside. Those revelations lead to the next most obvious question; were Pop and Samuel still waiting for them with the airship beyond the plateau.

"We spoke to them as soony-woon as we could!" Nokum-Akkum piped up. "They were a little upsetaru, I-

Footsteps approached the door and all were silent. Catherine placed a hand on his chest and eased him slowly back down onto the bed with a finger at her mouth silently instructing him not to speak. Rost had reached for the Great Katana on his side while Nokum-Akkum drew his axes. Alain had no idea what was going on, but did not utter a word.

Seconds past and no one breathed. The footsteps stopped right outside the room. There was a moment of no sound whatsoever and then a hand rapped onto the wooden frame. Rost nodded at Catherine and then at the door signalling for her to open it from her side, before sneaking up next to it with his sword drawn. Catherine swung open the door and was relieved to see Rahal still clad in his royal knight's armour with a large sack over his shoulder.

The captain of the knights entered and looked to the left. He complimented Rost on his surprise attack setup, but then looked down at Nokum-Akkum (who still held an axe in each hand) and stated he would have had less chance of seeing the Tarutaru as he would not be watching the floor.

"Whataru did you justaru say!"

"I meant no offence, forgive me," Rahal said as he closed the door behind him.

An Elvaan sized wooden chair was brought over from the corner of the room for Rahal to sit in. He dropped the large sack by his side and the clunk of armour rung out. Rost walked over and examined the content, recognising the sack as his. From what Alain could see there were armour, sheets, and other supplies inside it, which were all possibly what was pulled from the wreckage of his home.

"That was all I was able to collect from the ruins, Rostairmar. I see your friend is awake, so I hope you are ready to leave the city as Jeuno's presence here is becoming larger… despite our best efforts to stop them openly abusing their power. They are pushing the boundaries of our patience to the extreme and the princes will not tolerate it for much longer. I do not like where this may lead."

"How can Jeuno be as open as you say?" Alain replied. "It was an Armathrwn Society member that attacked Rost!"

"The allegations were denied, shrugged off as rumours and fabricated lies, discredited almost instantly. Naturally, I know that you are not lying, but considering Jeuno holds sway over what stance we as a nation can officially take we had no choice but to back down. If you have only just woken then I assume you are not aware of what your friends already know has transpired? You, the infamous fighters known as the Six Champions, have been labelled enemies of Jeuno, criminals to be apprehended on sight, and are being blamed for the attempted kidnap of a San d'Orian diplomat and the attempted murder of a knight."

Alain's head hurt as the things he heard swirled around inside it. Jeuno had made them out to be the ones responsible for crimes? The society had used their animosity as being the Six Champions to their advantage blaming them for Rost's attack despite him being one of the very accused people. Had the events that transpired in Oldton all been staged as well simply to incriminate them somehow?

The other nations were bound by a pact that gave sway to what could be released to the public firmly in Jeuno's hands. President Karst had to know they were not responsible for endangering the diplomat's life and had in fact saved him, but the public would not be allowed to hear those specifics. It was as Cid had warned; though they might be supported in mind, openly no nation could possibly accuse Jeuno of anything without proof and they had none.

"Needless to say, my knights are well aware that something is not right, but for now I am bound by the nation's agreements. Your identities are still somewhat secret; my guess is Jeuno is simply covering the movement of its society members behind a plausible story of hunting for you. It has given them sufficient grounds to post members of the society within each nation. Still, you should not reveal anything about your past to anyone, even knights under my command, as you cannot trust anyone to keep the secret from this point on."

"…But…whataru are we supposed to do now then?" Nokum-Akkum muttered questionably, with one hand on his chin.

"We should discuss such things only once we are safely out of the city and on board your airship," Rost interjected.

Catherine turned to Alain, "Do you agree with that plan?"

Why are you asking me? He thought inwardly. I'm no leader…Where's Gerdinus when you need him?

He could do nothing but nod, the proper words escaped him. With their course of action agreed (for the time being at least) they would try and get back to the Highwind. That did not solve the greater problem facing them though and they would soon need to try to work out how to avoid Jeuno's warrant for their arrests while at the same time trying to stop whatever it was that the society seemed to be doing in the dream world of Dynamis.

Catherine took out the communication pearl she had been given and spoke into it. There was a pause before some noise rippled through, soon after their came the cranky sounding voice of an old man.

"Took 'yer time, didn't you? The kid finally wake up, then? Get 'yer ends back here so we can get moving!"

Captain Rahal seemed taken aback, "Who is that speaking in such an ill-mannered way?"

"It's just some ancient old guy with no sense of humour!" Nokum-Akkum said with a giggle.

They were all quite shocked by the loud profanity quickly filtered through the pearl. Catherine held her hands around the pale pearl and coughed out of politeness until Pop's anger subsided. She apologised on their behalf and asked if the teleportation crystal onboard the airship was working yet, but the answer was still no.

Pop told them to go from the crag in the plateau via teleportation magic already in place, but Rahal was quick to insist that that was not possible, as it was already being watched by both his men and society members.

"Figure it out 'fer yerselves then!" was the reply. "Just give me or my boy the word when ye do actually get out of there and we'll pick ye up wherever!"

The pearl's glow subsided as messages stopped travelling through it.

"If you all listen closely, I have already planned ahead and believe I can safely get you out of the city," Rahal said.

They all listened as he explained.

The plan was quite simple; he would smuggle them out in the evening under cover of darkness. He would make sure one gate would be lightly guarded and left open for them to slip out. Once outside the city the darkness would hopefully stop them being seen by sentries or any night patrols. He could not remove all the guards from the gates though as the risk was too high with the threat of the creatures breathing down on them from the northlands, but he would make sure there would be as few as possible. Captain Rahal begged their discretion and understanding that his men would have no choice in the actions they take if they are discovered and asked for their word that none would be killed.

They all agreed to that condition and so he continued. At the stroke of midnight that very night a guard change would start, but half the new watch would be held up in a meeting with him, meaning there would only be a handful of guards split around the whole of the courtyard leading out into East Ronfaure. Being as silent as possible they were to slip out within the space of no longer than ten minutes before the rest of the guard would get there. It was a small window and the alarm could not be raised lest they would have the entire San d'Orian military and Jeuno's agents chasing them to the plateau. He suggested they try and take off as far from the crag in the La Theine Plateau as well to avoid them being seen.

"A sound plan as always, Captain," Rost said with a sly smile. "We will be ready to leave here on the stroke of midnight, thank you for doing this for us."

"You were my best knight; it is the least that I could do for you. I hope that once this is resolved you will serve again as a knight of the kingdom, Rostairmar d'Lecanti." Rahal paused and then addressed them all, "And I pray that this does not lead to civil war between the nations and the duchy. If any of you should speak to President Karst on this matter again, off the record, let him know that, although there is some friction between our nations, we would stand with them against a corrupt Jeuno. That is the word of the royal family that I was asked to pass on."

"Thank you for doing this, Rahal," Catherine said as the Elvaan captain stood up to leave.

They shook hands, which seemed strangely formal to Alain considering he was sure he remembered her once saying that they had known each other since they were children. Perhaps it was just their way.

With that, the royal knight captain left them and closed the door gently behind. A silence hung in the air between them as each counted the clinks of the knight's armour passing across the landing outside and then down to the first floor.

Hours past, though if Alain was honest to himself they seemed more like years. A quiet trepidation surrounded them all and no one really knew what to say. What they did know was what dangers they faced now and that there was no possible turning back. They had to find a way to not only prove their innocence, but expose whatever plot Jeuno was attempting to carry out. It seemed all too coincidental that the duchy's strange behaviour started as the kindred once began populating the northlands.

What Alain could not understand was why they had been targeted. Sure, they were on a mission that could technically expose the duchy, but they were asked to undertake it after the events with the diplomat in Oldton. That meant they had already been targeted to be framed before that. Was it because they were the Six Champions? That title was just an empty word to him. They were pretty strong, but not the strongest in the world. With them being split up around Vana'diel they could have never even found out anything at all and went on in blissful ignorance, so there had to be some other reason.

The strange amnesia they all suffered from played on his mind. Was that part of the reason? Had they forgotten something that incriminated or explained what Jeuno was up to? From what they had heard from inside Dynamis, that seemed the most likely thing so far.

"It's time," Rost said from the lonely dark corner of the room.

As quietly as possible, they prepared their things for departure. He had changed back into his torn armour some time before and his bandage was visible along the side of his chest where the blade had managed to penetrate. All Nokum-Akkum and Catherine had to carry were their weapons and so were ready swiftly.

Rost had changed out of his knight's armour and left it in another room. The Elvaan had changed into a white and black kote with tanned kenpachi gloves, trousers, and boots. Over his shoulder was the sack containing the smaller items which Rahal had retrieved for him. On his side was two scabbards; one from his own weapon that had been broken in his attack and the other for the strange blade he had found inside Dynamis.

During the wait, Alain had been shocked to learn that the weapon had somehow been drawn out from the dream world into a physical form, but it was comforting at the same time to know that it was proof they had all hallucinated it all. The coins, which Rost had kept to himself, had probably also became real.

With everything collected they formed a line and quietly walked out onto the landing and headed for the stairs. Every crack and creek from the floorboards made them wince as they became every more aware that other people were in the rooms they sneaked by.

The pub area downstairs was strangely empty of patrons and bar staff (they assumed this was also Rahal's doing). The fires were still lit and half empty mugs of ale rested at many of the tables. The front door was unlocked and off the latch. They ventured outside.

Cold air greeted them, it was a frosty evening. Dim lamps lit the streets that parted ways at the fountain across from the tavern. People walked the streets, but paid no heed to them beyond a casual 'Good evening'. Not even Rost had been recognised in his new clothes, yet.

The distance to Victory Square and the gate they were to escape from seemed like malms, but in actual fact it was quite close. Alain could not help but remember the mirror image of the places he was walking by inside Dynamis, lifeless versions of every single building.

A short distance from the Auction House they stopped on the far side of a sheet hooked over a display stand with a rain cover. The wares for sale had been removed already, taken back by the owner of the stall to their home. From there they could observe the arches to the courtyard of the gate without being spotted.

"Two guards up ahead," Rost reported as he looked around the side of the stall. "…Wait… three, a third is just inside the courtyard. They seem anxious, most likely wondering where the rest of the shift change is. They do not appear to be moving far from their stations, we will need to deal with them. Remember; no deaths."

"Maybe one of us should go ask Captain Rahal what's going on?" one knight asked his colleague across the way. "Where do you think the rest of the squad are?"

"Shift changes? More cut backs? I heard four of Sixth Company was sacked, but who knows, everything is messed up right now after what happened to Rostairmar d'Lecanti's home. Doesn't seem like the captain to leave a gate so unguarded…maybe I should go see him."

The Elvaan Royal Knight looked up and the dark sky and held a hand under his chin supported by the other arm resting against his stomach. There was hardly a cloud in sight and many sparkling stars twinkled brightly. To his right, across the way, he was startled by the sound of metal clanging together. Turning, he saw his colleague collapsed against the wall he had been resting on, seemingly unconscious.

As he reached for his sword he turned just in time to see the bottom of a mace meet with the centre of his forehead. Staggering backwards, he dropped onto the ground and suddenly felt a calmness come over him as his eyes became weighted and he fell into an unnatural sleep.

The third and final knight rushed out with sword already drawn, crying for help after realizing that something was not right. No sooner had he ran out from under the portcullis did bands of amber light form around him and bind his arms to his sides. Frantically searching for his attacker while trying to free himself, the guard was shocked as he became aware of two figures lurking in the shadows within the courtyard walls behind him; they had been invisible and sneaked past until choosing to attack. Next to the one that had stunned him stood and Elvaan that walked towards him.

"Forgive me," he said.

"Rostairmar?"

The last guard collapsed onto the ground as the hilt of Rost's broken katana met with the side of his head. The Elvaan had struck with enough force to render the knight unconscious, but not to seriously injure them. Catherine walked in under the stone arc to join them explaining as she went that her sleep spells would not last long and that they should move as soon as possible. Alain became aware that Nokum-Akkum was no where to be seen.

"Where's…" he began, and then stopped as he saw the fabric by Catherine's leg move unnaturally. "Nokum-Akkum stop playing around, we have to get out of here!"

Catherine kicked her leg out, removing the invisible spell placed on the Tarutaru, who fell on his backside, but that did not remove the grin from his face. He hopped onto his tiny feet and followed behind her as they all made their way through the large gates out into East Ronfaure without meeting any other resistance.

Across from the portcullis, directly in view of the fallen guards, a figure watched from within a dark tent just off the edge of the grass in Victory Square. They stood in perfect silence during the whole escape, simply observing as ordered, with their hands unnaturally motionless at their sides. Now that the targets had left the city, the figure carried out its next instructions and let a short bladed scimitar slip out from a large sleeve hiding his arm.

With no hesitation the figure left the confines of the inconspicuous tent with weapon in hand. Reaching the first unconscious knight which had been caught by a simple sleep spell, he bent over the Elvaan still not uttering a word. The knight woke from the induced magical slumber to feel the blade pass along the length of his throat.