December 31, 2014

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Dust II: Elysian Kingdom

Chapter 7 The Last Resort


It was late at night, in a dark room only illuminated by the moon's glow shining through three stained-glass windows, two on either side and one in the middle of the back wall. Underneath the middle window was an immensely-large pipe organ, its funnels extending up the wall and some even bending at angles that reached outwards. A few of the pipes had gashes and scratches, and a select amount had even been converted into subtle candle holders, each containing a lit candle that dimly encased the room in addition to the lunar light. A somber melody quietly escaped from the open pipes, filling the area with its presence.

The music's creator was a bat-like creature, sitting on a long bench and hunched over a series of piano keys at the base of the organ. He was tall and of slightly middle age, with light purple body fur, a white fur patch over the front of his face, and a black marking under each of his eyes. His hair was pure white with a black-dyed streak on his right side. He wore a fancy-looking, black suit with a white, collared undershirt, and white gloves. The suit also had a diamond-shaped tail which hung over the back of the piano bench. Long black pants with white cuffs at the ends covered his legs down to his ankles, wearing no shoes on his feet, which were pressing on the pedals at the base of the piano. Every piece of clothing had a few select yellow-colored elements, a color which his piercing eyes also shared. The wings protruding from his back were large, but were torn at the bottom and had a number of small slits in between their finger bones, wounds likely preventing him from flight.

As he continued playing his song, he passionately moved his upper body to the movement of his hands hitting the keys, engrossed in his creation. The melody momentarily picked up from its somber tone to become more of an erratic explosion of noise, before returning to its original state. Shortly after, a warrior-looking creature entered the room through two large church doors at the back wall, the wood creaking as they opened. He wore armor that twisted and bent in strange ways, with a few ornate protrusions and odd designs.

"My lord," the soldier began, "I have received word from one of our field spies that Dust has been seen making preparations for his journey towards Aura Village.. Should we intercept him?"

The organ player suddenly slammed his hands on the piano keys as soon as the soldier finished speaking, blaring a maddening sound that echoed throughout the entire room.

Without turning around, he questioned, "Pardon me, did I not tell you to address me as 'master' and nothing less?"

"..Of course, master."

He continued as if he was unfazed, the music also resuming. "Leave him be. Even if this so-called 'Sen-Mithrarin' succeeds in whatever futile mission he's set on, he's far too many years too late. There's no way he'll be able to stop what's already been set in motion."

He paused for a moment to play a few quick, sharp notes on the organ, then grinned widely, whispering to himself, "..and I can't wait to wipe his disgraceful existence off the face of the earth."


The sun was on its way to make contact with the horizon in Aurora Village, as the sky turned to a bluish-orange color, foreshadowing the transition from late afternoon to early night. A small group exited the doors of Aurora Palace and gathered outside, which included Dust, Ginger, and Elder Gray Eyes. Dust held Ahrah in his hand while Fidget rested on his shoulder. It was just about time for Dust to make his way towards Aura Village to investigate the strange, contrasting behaviors of the citizens there, as observed by Corbin.

As the group was walking out, Dust thought of something. "Oh, Elder, I just remembered.."

"What is it, Mithrarin?" the Elder wondered as he and the rest of the group turned to him.

"After I regenerated," Dust began, "I found shelter in a cabin in the Blackmoor Mountains, the home of a woman named Erin, who explained a few things to me and Ahrah. What I'm wondering is.. when you declared yourself as ruler of Falana, were there truly no objections from anyone?"

Elder Gray Eyes responded, "A very interesting question, Dust. You see, some years ago, there was a king by the name Longinus, who created a rule that Warmbloods could not associate with us Moonbloods. He once oversaw Falana, but stepped down from the throne and disappeared shortly after you defeated Gaius. With no prince to assume the role of king, the castle became abandoned, and the rule became forgotten, as it is to this day. So naturally, a new leader was much needed. The only other higher authority was my good friend Dangodo, current leader of the Kojose clan of ninja, but he and I came to an agreement that I'd be more fit as a ruler of an entire country while he stayed close to his people."

"Hmm.. so, what did that king have against Moonbloods in the first place?"

"We do not know. None of us were able to question him or any of his followers about it, for if we were seen anywhere near his castle or land, he would've had us taken prisoner for sure."

"Thank you for the answers, Elder. I'm sure I'll have many more questions as time goes on, haha," Dust responded, before pondering for a minute. "Well then, I suppose it's time we make our way toward Aura Village.."

Elder Gray Eyes nodded. "Yes, of course. Just investigate the surrounding area and inside Hotel Clarity, and report back here at the palace once you discover what's wrong."

"Don't worry Elder," Fidget chimed in, "With me and Dust together, we can do ANYTHING!"

Both of them smiled at her. Elder Gray Eyes responded, "Haha, of course, Fidget. But still, good luck!"

"Thanks again, Elder. We'll be back as soon as possible," Dust reassured as he began walking down the path away from the castle, traveling southeast towards Aura Village, with Ahrah clenched in his hand and Fidget flying right next to him. She was probably more ecstatic than she'd ever been in the past five years now that she was with Dust once more.

"Ohmigosh this is so exciting, out on another adventure with my two best friends, eeeee!" Fidget let out as her face lit up.

Dust chuckled and smiled at her. "Yes, it's great to be back with you too, Fidget. Though I don't think I can say the same for being back with another threat to fight.. I was actually hoping to have some kind of rest."

At that moment, Ahrah joined the conversation. "Dust, you were regenerating for five long years. Was that not enough of a respite?"

He thought for a minute as they pressed on, and even though he couldn't feel anything while he was regenerating so the time between being consumed by the lava and awakening in that cavern felt like a split second to him, he realized that for everyone else, it had been quite a long time; they had their break, but now this new threat is interrupting it. And no one else could do anything to stop it but him. He was their Sen-Mithrarin; their savior.

"You're right, Ahrah," Dust finally responded. "I can't be acting selfish at a time like this, not when the Moonbloods and everyone else need me again."

Fidget landed on Dust's shoulder. "Aaaand you have us! We believe in you, Dust!"

"I feel like I've said this so much already, but thank you guys.. C'mon, let's get to Aura Village right away."


After crossing the splitting river that divided the two regions as night began to overtake the area, Dust and company arrived underneath an arch at the entrance of Aura Village. Dust didn't remember anyone mentioning that this village even existed, so it was probably established after his death, evidenced by the more modern-looking building styles that somewhat resembled those of Aurora Palace. It was a slightly smaller settlement than Aurora, and was arranged much differently. The whole village was built into a dug-out hill, where a few shops that also doubled as housing lined the inside of the hill in a semicircle shape. There were a couple steps that led up to the buildings in the same shape, almost like half of a coliseum, while in the center of the entire area was a large ornate water fountain. Behind the fountain right in the middle was a building that was much larger than every other one in the village, which had a very small sign that read Hotel Clarity. That's where Corbin said that everyone was acting differently than the rest of the people in the village, which only a few of them were outside of their homes.

"Okay, better start investigating," Dust said as he sheathed Ahrah in a strap on his back. He then walked over to one of the buildings where someone was sweeping outside in a sluggish manner. "Excuse me, are you alright?"

The villager slowly looked up. "Yeah I'm fine I guess, just finishing this up before going to sleep early.."

Dust was concerned, but he had to get some info. "Sorry, but could you possibly tell me anything about Hotel Clarity?"

"There's not much to it.. just a place to stay where everyone is happy ALL THE TIME," the villager responded, both raising his voice and giving Dust a blank stare right at the end of his statement. Fidget was shocked and immediately hid behind Dust, who also stepped back on his foot a bit. The villager then picked up his broom and stomped into his house, shutting the door behind him.

Fidget popped back out from hiding. "Geez WHAT was that guy's deal?!"

"Alright, we need to get into that hotel right away, something's up," Dust decided as he turned to the large building in the middle of the village. He ran towards Hotel Clarity as fast as he could, put his hands on the double doors of the entrance, and threw them open.

Immediately, Dust and Fidget were bombarded with beautiful visuals and an alluring atmosphere. On the inside, the space was quite dark and decorated intensely, with tons of fabric hanging from the ceiling, jewels placed strategically on objects, and large curtains on the windows, opened only slightly so a bit of the moon's light bled in. To the left side of the room, there was a large dining and bar area with many low seats, and on the right side was what seemed to be restrooms. Directly in front of the entrance and going towards the middle of the room were round tables set up in a pyramid shape with cushions on the floor around them, and farther back there was a lowered floor with more tables and cushions. These tables were placed in front of a large performing stage against the back wall, topped by large closed curtains hiding the stage's floor. The entire room was dimly-lit with yellow orb-covered bulbs, which seemed to be powered by the Way of the Flameless Light, indicating that the Moonbloods probably had something to do with this building's construction. There were dozens of people in all locations of the hotel, with very few empty spots, their conversations constantly filling the air. The front doors opening didn't even catch their attention.

"WooOOOW..!" Fidget exclaimed as she stared in awe. Dust didn't even know what to say, but this place didn't look like anything was wrong; quite the opposite actually.

Before they could even start looking around, a teenage girl cheerfully walked up to Dust to greet him. "Hello there! Welcome to Hotel Clarity, where our motto is 'The last resort you'll ever need'! May I have your names?"

"..Yes, my name is Dust, and this is Fi-"

Dust stopped himself when he suddenly realized that neither the villager from before nor this girl recognized who he was. Erin said herself; he became a legend, everyone knew about him. So why was it that these people didn't immediately know his name just by seeing him?

"You alright, Dust?" Fidget wondered, not aware of what Dust had noticed.

Dust shook his head out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine.." He looked at the girl again, who was just as confused as Fidget. "..My friend's name is Fidget, thank you."

"UMMM, okay," the girl awkwardly responded as she tried to regain her cheery composure. "I'll go tell Mirage about you; she's the manager here. She'll introduce herself real soon!" The teenager then turned around and made her way towards a door in the back corner of the room.

Fidget looked back at Dust. "HEY, we're at a hotel, so why don't we relax for a bit?"

"We're on a mission, Fidget. We can't just-"

"Aw c'mon! You even said yourself you wanted a break. Plus I'm curious about what that stage is for," Fidget explained before quickly flying off towards the back where the stage was set up.

Dust sighed and began to follow her. He walked to the right, going between the bar and the restrooms, avoiding as many people as possible, and coming to the lowered floor with the extra tables, which there were three of. The middle one was empty, so he cautiously stepped down and sat down on one of the cushions around it. Fidget was observing the stage decorations and feeling the curtains lovingly, all before peeking underneath them to see what was there, but seeing only darkness. She then flew back to sit with Dust.

"See," Fidget began. "This is comfy, isn't it? Why don't you just laaaaaay back.." She nudged at Dust's shoulder with her paws while she ended her sentence. He went along with it.

"Alright alright, you got me," he admitted playfully as he laid against the rim of the lowered floor section, which was fitted with similar material as the cushion he was sitting on. "Wow, that is nice.."

Fidget smiled. "Sweeet, now we just sit back and rela-"

Suddenly, there was a quick ringing noise that pinged through the whole room, which resembled the sound that comes from a wind chime. The ring was followed by the lights dimming even more than they were. Everyone in the hotel stopped talked immediately and turned their heads towards the stage, as if in preparation for some big event. Dust then felt uncomfortable being at the table right in the middle in front of the stage, but he snapped out of it quickly. Fidget, however, was extremely excited.

The entire hotel was focused on that stage, as the curtains began to open.


[Wow, I did NOT think it would be this long since my last update. Basically, I had to deal with the worst school semester of my life and a lot of stuff has happened, but I'm ready to keep working on this now that I finally have real free time again. I told myself I HAD to get this chapter done before the year was over so here it is :D I hope my fans are still around and excited to see more cuz I'm definitely excited to put more of my ideas into action :3]