Riku kept an iron grip on the griffin's feathers as soon as it took off without warning. The four of them fit perfectly on its back, and right now, he had not time to feel any embarrassment from Sora clinging onto him. He kept biting the inside of his cheek to stave off any nausea, trying to focus his eyes on the horizon or something, anything else besides the ground way below.
"Gods, I hate flying. Medor korol." He muttered the last part under his breath. The griffin showed that it definitely heard that, going into a steep dive and swooping up again. "Alright, alright! I'm sorry!"
On the other hand, the other three were having the time of their lives. Sora watched in amazement as they passed right over the mountains. The ever present fog shrouded them still even during the day. Only phantom shadows of rocky forms could be seen. As they continued, the land varied from forests to grasslands with small lakes interrupting the sea of trees. There was a spot where the trees thinned and green faded out into blackened areas of ash. What looked to once be a rather large city was now a scar upon the land. All that remained was a skeleton of some grand building. Even the water running through it seemed dull and devoid of color.
"Hey, Riku. What was that place?" Sora leaned forward by his ear, so he could hear him through the wind whooshing past them. Riku glanced down with a heavy heart able to perfectly imagine what it used to look like.
"That was Radiant Garden. The old Elven kingdom. It fell to ruin, and we retreated to where we are now," he said in a voice lacking emotion, turning his head slightly so Sora could hear him.
"Oh..I'm sorry. I didn't know that was Radiant Garden. Your home, right?"
"Well, I mostly lived somewhere else. It was where my mom was, so I stayed there. I only saw what happened here when I returned after all the shit started going down." He felt the old fear and worry like a stone weighing down on his heart. To this day, he still wondered if things would've been slightly different if he had just gotten there faster.
"I see..is it that city you mentioned? The one for the elf-human alliance?"
"Yes, Scala ad Caelum. It fell to ruin too."
Sora could tell Riku was tensing up, feeling his muscles flex tightly. It was probably best to drop this for now. He wasn't sure what to say exactly, simply resting his head against his shoulder.
Riku could remember the inferno perfectly: the fumes and ashes burning his lungs as he called out weakly for his mother..Master Eraqus..anyone. His body jolted as the griffin began to descend rapidly when the forest began again. The four of them watched in horror as the descent wasn't stopping even as the ground was getting closer and closer.
"Hey, shos shal, are you trying to kill us?" Riku pulled on the feathers much like he would on the reins on a horse in hopes it would make the thing pull up. The griffin squawked in response, still diving. Riku was about to just bail, but with Sora clinging tightly to him along with the force of the drop, he was stuck in place. As the ground was right before them, he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. There was a whooshing sound, and the wind disappeared along with it. The air around them was completely still and quiet as if they had dove into a deep lake. It took Riku's eyes a few moments to adjust to the dim room. It appeared to be a chamber of some sort but..underground? Or were they in a new realm entirely? Candles of blue flame lined the walls. Magical items and crystals shone on the walls brilliantly against the blue light. In the middle, a huge book sat opened to a random page. As Riku looked over it, it was written in an ancient language that he didn't recognize.
"I'll excuse the rude language you used with me on the way here, Prince Riku." A booming voice made them all jump and whip their heads around to see a bearded man in dark tattered clothes sitting at a desk. Glowing liquids in vials of various shapes and sizes bubbled and fizzled. Riku wrinkled his nose at the sulfur like scent coming from them.
"And, uh, what was your name? You seem familiar, but you know, lots of wizards," Riku said, seemingly unphased given the strange setting they were in.
"Ever so eloquent and polite, aren't you. Hard to believe you're royalty. I've known you since you were still in your mother's womb, and this is the gratitude you show?" The wizard chuckled to himself, getting up from the chair with a groan. "It's Yen Sid if that'll jog your memory."
Sora and Kairi stayed behind Riku and Xion who seemed unafraid of the wizard in front of them. "Prince Sora and Princess Kairi, it's good to see you awake and safe."
"Do you..know us?" Sora asked, though his voice shook slightly. "And where are we exactly?"
"This is my home. Simply a pocket dimension of its own beneath the forest where I won't be disturbed by the dark creatures that now roam the land. I know all of the slumbering kingdoms, and their people, specifically the rulers of them as well as the past lives that connect them all. I have a story if you're willing to hear it." With a snap of his fingers, chairs for all of them appeared as well as one for himself. The large book that sat on a table now appeared in his hands. He gestured for them to take a seat as he did so. "Riku, this story may sound familiar to you. I believe your mother read it to you countless times as a child."
"The Beginning, right? How this land started and where it is now, and how the weapons known as keyblades came about." He remembered her soft voice speaking the words to him with such grace and theatrics. He had heard it a million times, but with her, it was like hearing it for the first time no matter what.
"Yes, it's important that they know, but I'll leave the more recent events up to you to tell since they are quite personal."
Sora and Kairi leaned in slightly, eager to hear what he had to say. With the memory loss, it was like they were learning bits and pieces along the way.
"In the beginning, before humans and elves, this land was dominated by ancient magic and beings imbued in this magic. These beings and the land were connected: grand creatures that ruled the land. You would know these as mythical creatures today: dragons, centaurs, things like that. Though the land was wild and without official kingdoms, there was still order. They had their territories and rules to abide by. When elves and humans appeared, many guarded their lands ferociously. However, there were those that pitied them and offered alliances. Many were drawn to the elves as they were closer to magic and the mystical parts of the world. Humans were connected to the land and were known for their loyalty to each other and strong bonds. The unicorns and dragons sided with the elves. As such, creatures that were more drawn to the land sided with the humans. Now, there was a great calamity coming. A creature steeped in darkness wanted the land and its power for itself. It took the might and power of nearly every magical being to put a stop to it. In the end, most were wiped out except for the elves and humans. Wanting to preserve their legacy and seeing their age was coming to an end, the beings that remained imbued themselves into a chosen few of elves and humans. At the time, there were two main groups of elves, the unicorns chose one and the dragons chose another. There were a few others, but those were the main ones recorded at least. For the humans, there were many: foxes, lions, stags, creatures connected to the land. Their magic and essence was now within those people. Afterwards, the land was at peace again, and the humans and elves thrived. Generation after generation, the magic from the creatures was passed down from individual to individual creating past lives. The ones with these past lives were some of the first to create keyblades: weapons made with the wielder's very spirit with light and darkness. Riku's line comes from the unicorn. I'm sure you've noticed the star shaped birthmark on his forehead. The ancient magic they possessed still lies within him." Yen Sid took a moment to pause, drinking some weird liquid from a glass. "Do you wish to know your past lives, Sora and Kairi? Each ruler of the human kingdoms has one."
Sora and Kairi glanced at each other. They never would've thought they had something like that. They nodded at each other.
"Yes, please tell us. Who knows? It could be the key to finding our lost memories," Kairi said. She picked at the hem of her skirt.
"Very well. Miss Kairi, you are connected with the mystical fox that used to roam the forests. Their magic wasn't as grand as those of the unicorns, but it was powerful. You have a propensity for magic, do you not?"
Kairi gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. "I do. You're saying I was a fox in a past life?"
Yen Sid nodded, raising a hand up. "Allow me to show you a vision. Perhaps you've seen something like this in your dreams."
Kairi's eyes widened as an ancient forest was now in front of her. The trees creaked as a breeze flew by. A brilliant red fox ran about the bushes and trees, waving its two tails around. As it ran straight for a thicket, a burst of fire erupted from it, clearing a path. The eyes of the fox..they looked exactly like her own. She gasped as she was pulled from the short vision back to reality.
"W-wow. I can't believe this. It's really true. I can feel it." She clutched at her chest as she caught her breath.
"Now, Sora." He immediately sat up straight as Yen Sid addressed him. "Yours is a horned lion: a grandiose beast who guarded the mountains. They were filled with bravery as well as intense loyalty. They saw this in humans as well which is why they decided to align with them."
The setting in Sora's vision looked similar to the misty landscapes of the Lucid Mountains. Emerging from the fog was a huge lion with horns the color of obsidian emerging out from its head in a graceful arch.
"Woah!" Sora nearly fell back out of the chair, but Riku caught his arm in time.
"And are you aware of Riku's gift, and what drew him to you?" Yen Sid eyed Riku with suspicion.
"Yeah, he told me about it. A dream eater, right? It explains how I feel like I've known him for much longer than in person." Sora flashed a meaningful look to him.
"Good. I'm glad he's had some sense to tell you the truth."
Riku rolled his eyes but shyly returned the same look to Sora. "Sometimes..you'd appear as a horned lion in the dream world, but I still knew it was you."
"Wow, really? I wish I could remember more of my dreams. I can recall bits and pieces, like a strong light and a few landscapes but nothing else, but I know you were there..just a feeling."
"If there are no further questions, that's about all I have to tell you. I'll leave the events of the present up to Prince Riku to tell." He gave Riku a stern look which was returned with a shrug.
"Don't worry. I will. I just need the right setting to do so."
"Shi mesi sai saer saes eirdyr si thar os Scala ad Caelum."
"Or, mos."
Yen Sid looked to Xion with a sceptical eye as if trying to read her simply by staring her down.
"Eisi o mesi o tal ser sor oli?" He turned back to Riku.
"Kairi ser caes. Col os ber cali sai kai shor air thys byrn."
"You think they're talking about Xion?" Sora leaned over and whispered to Kairi. He pulled out a small book Aqua had given him to learn Elvish, but he definitely couldn't keep up with the conversation.
"If there's a problem, they can answer to me."
They both sat there as Yen Sid and Riku seemed to be having a rather in depth discussion in Elvish.
"I'll leave it to your discretion, then. Moving on, you're going to Twilight Realm next, correct?" He turned back to sit at the desk once again.
"Yeah. Roxas and Ventus should be there, and I can see if the princess there has woken up yet. But, that means I'll most likely run into Vanitas again." Riku hoped they'd be able to avoid him somehow.
"That is an inevitability due to your impulsive choice," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But there's no point in dwelling on the past for too long. What matters is what lies ahead. I will take you all to the walls but no further."
"That should be enough. Thank you." Riku bowed his head with the others doing the same soon after.
"Thank you..for telling us about the past. It's nice to at least know a little bit more about myself," Sora said with another bow since he felt like it was necessary.
"I hope we can count on all of you to right the wrongs of the past."
There was a whooshing sound again. Riku quickly jumped up to cling onto the others as they were thrust out of the room, finding themselves high in the sky outside again. The griffin swooped in and caught them, flying them towards the Twilight Realm.
As they approached, the sky shifted from blue to hues of orange. Before them towered a stone wall, encircling a city. Sora's eyes focused on one building within that towered over all the others: a large, intricate clock tower.