Tales of Xalthia

Chapter 36: Trouble in the Clouds

The trek to the northeast wasn't an easy one compared to normal. After leaving the almost barren and rugged landscape around Chesberry, Tsuki and the others found themselves going through a dense forest. As usual, they encountered new varieties of monsters as they pushed into unknown territory. Despite having a path marked out on their map, the path itself in the forest appeared to be old and disused. It was tough to stay on it. As they made their way through the forest, they could make out part of the upper portion of Sky Tower which was still a ways away. From what they could make out, the tower stretched high up into the sky. According to the map, they still had a ravine to cross.

As they walked through the brush, Lynette looked at Ramza. "So, about that Luka guy. You two seemed awfully familiar with each other. What's the story behind it?" she asked.

Ramza scratched his head a bit. "He used to be my superior. We go way back" he said.

Ruko tilted his head a bit as he thought about what he said. "Wait, you're superior? You used to be a knight?" he asked.

Ramza shrugged. "Have I not mentioned it before?" he asked.

Tsuki shook his head, using his sword to cut some of the branches and brush that were in front of him. "No but things make sense now. Your behavior in front of royalty. Your knowledge and experience. Your ties with people within Ersheath's military. No ordinary mercenary would have connections like that at their disposal unless you used had some sort of military background or at least some sort of involvement with the military" he said.

Ramza chuckled a bit. "Well, you're not wrong. It's true; I used to be a knight of Ersheath. I was stationed in Ustrisu Fortress for about two years and was Luka's subordinate until I achieved the rank of Lieutenant" he said.

Nagi held a finger to her chin, tilting her head. "If you had such a high standing in the military, what made you give all that up to become a mercenary?" she asked. Going from a high ranking military official to a hired mercenary is a big career change.

Ramza fell silent for a moment. He had a hard time trying to figure out how to answer her question. "Something happened a couple years ago. My own inaction cost the lives of good, innocent people. You can say I left the military to go on a journey of self-reflection which eventually led to me becoming a mercenary" he said. It was a subject he didn't really like talking about. What had happened had a significant impact on him and he does his best to bury it and move on.

Luan fell into thought for a moment. Since she had known Ramza longer than the rest, she knew some of his past. "If I recall correctly, you said Luka was rather strict. There aren't a lot of people in Ersheath that don't know the reputation behind the Black General. He's one of Ersheath's finest soldiers" she said.

Ramza nodded, folding his arms as he stared up into the sky as he walked along the forest trail. "He was pretty strict, yeah. He had a very low tolerance level for disobedience. There were two subordinates other than myself that served under him. As we all grew with experience, he became more lenient but still being the same old strict squad leader" he said. He then scratched the back of his head and sighed a bit. "But, I don't dislike him for it. None of us do actually. It did us a whole lot of good and we all ended up going to high places after we left his squad" he said.

Luan tilted her head a bit. She grew more curious about the other two that served alongside him the more he talked about them. "What happened with the other two after you guys went off on your own? After that...accident, you ended up as a mercenary with royal and military connections" she said.

Ramza fell into thought for a moment as he remembered his old comrades. "Let's see...one became a highly decorated commander and the other became one of Esseand's best scouts" he said. He then folded his arms and fell into thought. "The commander is stationed in Ustrisu and is in control of the logistics division while the scout is currently deployed out to Sirione" he said.

Lynette shrugged as he listened to his story. His old comrades seemed to have excelled to great heights while he was lagging behind. "And yet, you ended up giving up your position and became a mercenary" she said.

Ramza shrugged, tilting his head a bit to the side. "Eh, it has it's advantages at least. I still have a number of contacts within the Esseand military and I use my connections to the fullest ability" he said.

Nagi tilted her head, putting a finger up to her chin in thought for a moment. The various mentions of Esseand spies both in Sirione and Nargelond raised her curiosity. "Do you have spies elsewhere?" she asked.

Luan nodded. "Yes. We have spies in practically every continent, including Cayhill" she asked.

Cheria couldn't help but be alarmed at the mention that there were spies in Cayhill. "If you had spies in Cayhill, why hadn't they informed Esseand about the fall of Eresseas?" she asked.

Luan shook her head. "Unfortunately, we lost contact with our spies not long before Eresseas fell so we were left in the dark until you guys showed up and informed us of what had happened on Cayhill. It didn't take long for us to connect the dots on what had happened to our spies" she said. She was a bit saddened to talk about this as she knew a couple people who they had deployed out in Cayhill that had lost

Rama held out his hands, pointing a finger upwards. "You'd actually be surprised how expansive Esseand's scouting network is. We have more scouts around the our small corner of the world than you'd think" he said. Esseand's scouting network is one of the most diverse, capable and organized in the entire world.

As they talked among themselves, Elle took out the map that they were given and looked to find where they were currently at. The map was slightly outdated so it took her a couple of minutes to figure out where they were at. "Looks like we'll have to cross a wide chasm in order to reach the tower. Once we reach the chasm, we have to follow it to the east until we reach a bridge. After it, we head back to the west a little bit and we should reach an opening not too far from there that will lead us directly to the tower" she said.

After about thirty minutes had passed, they walked out of the forest and approached the wide chasm that Elle had mentioned. There was an incredibly steep drop and at the bottom of the chasm was a raging river with jagged rocks and wild currents. They followed the chasm to the west and after about another fifteen minutes, they reached a bridge. It was a well-kept concrete bridge with a road leading back to where they had came from. There were no signs of anyone else around so it seems this place didn't get a whole lot of travelers. They made their way towards and over the bridge where they could feel the winds pick up a bit. Once they made it across, they headed back towards the west and walked for about ten minutes when they came up to an opening that had a path that led towards the northeast. They then started to make their way along the path.

After another ten minutes of walking along the path, they soon reached a small circular clearing with what appeared to be a fountain in the center of it. Unfortunately, the fountain was destroyed and signs of intense fighting was clearly evident. Several bodies of Esseand soldiers were lying on the ground. Some had their weapons drawn and some still had them sheathed. Whatever came through here took some of them by surprise. The smell of blood was noticeable. Not only that but some of the surrounding trees and ground were charred and burned. Large footprints that resembled a dragon could be seen in the burned ground.

Tsuki looked around the area as he processed the scene in his head. "Damn. The soldiers around here didn't stand a chance at all. Some of them were killed before they could even take out their weapons" he said.

Ramza shook his head after seeing the aftermath of a brutal, one-sided battle. "This place doesn't have the equipment suitable for aerial combat let alone combat with dragons. It's unfortunate but this kind of result is what happens when we go up against dragons" he said.

Phi shrugged a bit, looking around the area. Something felt off to her about this whole thing. "I don't know why but something doesn't feel right to me. Let's see what we can find out from this. We might be able to find something out" she said.

They nodded and split off around the clearing, examining the traces left behind from the fighting. Everything appeared to be pretty standard in a fight with dragons. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Cesela walked off towards the treeline, sniffing the air with her tail wagging back and forth as if she was onto something. However, there was something preventing her from figuring out where the smell was coming from. "I...smell something" she said.

Ramza noticed that Cesela had wandered off and appeared to be reacting to something. He then walked up next to her, placing his hand on her head. "What are you onto, squirt?" he asked.

Cesela looked up at Ramza when he placed his hand on top of her head. "There's something around here. I smell it but the smell of charred remains and blood is preventing me from figuring out where it's coming from" she said.

Ramza looked up towards the treeline, tilting his head in thought. "Something around here?" he asked. He then stepped into the treeline and walked around the brush as he tried to find whatever it was that Cesela was smelling. It didn't t take him long to find the source and when he did, he was shocked at what he had seen. He then turned and faced the direction he came from. "Guys, I found something over here! You better get over here!" he shouted.

The others quickly regrouped with Ramza and the sight they saw shocked them all. It was the body of a dragon and its rider that had been crushed under the weight of the dragon's corpse. The dragon had pretty severe wounds. Deep gashes in its skin that had ripped through like its skin was made of paper. There were no conventional weapons that would be able to inflict serious injuries on this scale.

Lynette examined the remains of the dragon and the injuries that had been inflicted on it. "No sword, spear or axe would of been able to cut through a dragon's scales this easily. Whatever made these came from something else" she said.

Cheria looked at the deep cuts that the dragon had. A dragon's skin is incredibly tough. It was almost like natural armor. It would take a pretty powerful force to be able to cut through a dragon's skin as if it were paper. She could only come to one conclusion and it puzzles her. "I think...there was a battle between the Dragon Riders themselves. I can't think of any other explanation for these wounds" she said.

Luan examined the wounds carefully as she fell into deep thought. It was a strange conclusion but Cheria appeared to be right. "Yeah...I'd have to agree with you on that. Notice how jagged and rough these wounds are? Even if there was a conventional weapon that could inflict injuries like this, there is no way that they'd leave behind aggressive injuries like this" she said.

Cheria walked up to the remains of the dragon and its rider and examined their injuries. She knew a lot about dragons and she knows that a dragon's skin is incredibly tough to pierce. Conventional weapons such as normal swords, spears and arrows aren't very effective. Only weapons forged from certain materials and ores were capable of injuring a dragon. However, even then, they couldn't inflict serious injuries such as the ones the dragon sustained. "Call me crazy but I think there was a battle between the dragons themselves" she said.

Luan examined the injuries more closely. It wasn't hard for her to figure out what could of made these as she's seen similar injuries like this before. "You're right. Only sharp, jagged claws with a lot of force could cause injuries like this and there are no known beasts or monsters around here that could do this to a dragon. That begs the question though, why did the dragons get into a fight with each other?" she asked.

Elle turned around and faced in the direction of where they came from. "Standing around here isn't going to solve anything. Let's just continue on to the tower" she said.

Everyone then headed back towards the open area that they came from and continued to make their way towards Sky Tower. After about ten minutes had passed, they reached another clearing alongside a cliff with the ocean directly behind it with the far northern lands of Ersheath in the distance on the other side of the cove. At the very edge of the cliff was Sky Tower. Standing at the base of the tower and staring straight up into the sky gave the illusion that the tower stretched up into the sky without end. The sound of the waves crashing against the cliffside made the area feel tranquil. By the time they had reached the tower, it was already late in the afternoon.

The sound of peace and quiet, however, was instantly shattered not long after they had arrived. An explosion somewhere high up in the tower disturbed the silence. The group looked up and saw a blast of fire shoot out from the tower. Debris from the tower walls and furnishings and objects from within the tower came crashing down which forced the group to back away from the tower to avoid being hit by them. Moments later, a blast of energy soon followed from the other side of the tower. It would appear that Cheria and Luan were onto something after all.

Ramza didn't know what to make of what was happening. There was definitely a battle taking place but he didn't know who it was that was fighting. "This doesn't make sense. What's going on around here? There should only be grunts and average soldiers stationed here. Judging from where they fighting seems to be taking place, it's in a place normal soldiers aren't allowed in" he said. No one else should be around here besides the Dragon Riders.

Tsuki ran forward a bit, looking back at them. "We can figure that out later. Whoever is up there fighting might need help. Let's go!" he said.

They nodded and ran up to the entrance to the tower when the debris stopped falling. Tsuki took out the Tower Key and held it up to the door. Moments later, the key and the door resonated. The glyphs on both the key and door lit up and pulsed briefly, causing the door to open up soon after.

Tsuki looked back at the group once the door was completely opened. "We'll have to hustle to the top. I'd like to explore the tower while we have access but we have find out what's going on around here" he said. He then walked up to Cesela and got down so he was eye level with her. "Climb onto my back and hang on tight. We'll be in a hurry so I don't want you to fall behind" he said.

Cesela stared at him, tilting her head in silence. She soon gave him a soft smile with a nod before she walked around him and climbed onto his back without protest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly. She then sniffed his scent quietly without him knowing. "It's the same..." she mumbled softly to herself, making it almost like a faint whisper

Tsuki didn't seem to hear her faint comment as he made no comment or reaction about it. When she climbed onto his back and tightened her grip, he stood back up, supporting her legs with his arms. "Alright, let's start climbing" he said.

With haste, everyone started to make their ascent through the tower's long, spiral stairwell that circled around the walls of the tower. Thankfully, there didn't appear to be any threat of monsters which was to be expected but the passages within the tower were very aged. A lot of old pillars, columns, walls and stairs had to be rebuilt or had added support to them due to how old and decayed they were. In comparison to Prophet Castle back in Cayhill, the Sky Tower was properly maintained. As they ascended, they had to make their way across the various different floors to find the next set of stairs that led up. The tower was filled with old books and relics. There even appeared to be old suits of armor and a collection of old weapons.

The higher they climbed, the more intense they could feel the fighting. The air around them became heavier due to the conflicting powers and high altitude. The altitude aside, it was almost like their encounter with Zieg in the forest outside Dagbor. However, it was different. After about twenty minutes of climbing, they reached a floor that appeared to be completely destroyed. There was a big opening in the wall that exposed the outside. The shelves of books and stash of various items were littered around the floor from the result of a fight. Not only that, but the corpses of two dragons and one person who appeared to be a Rider were also there. The two dragons had similar injuries to the one that was found earlier. The rider, however, appeared to have a different injury. He appeared to have been struck down with a sword rather than a dragon's claw or incinerated by a dragon's fire.

Ramza walked back and forth between the two dragon corpses as he observed their injuries. "I think Luan's theory is right after all. It's not just a coincidence that there's not one but three dragons that all have similar injuries" he said. He then walked over to the corpse of the lone Rider. "However, what's more interesting is the injury inflicted on the Rider. He was struck down by a blade. Which means, there's something definitely going on" he said.

Phi looked around as she soon came to a realization. "Um didn't we see four dragons fly by in Chesberry? There's still one dragon and two Riders unaccounted for" she said.

Ruko walked over to the opening in the wall and looked out of it, making sure to stay away from the edge. "You're right. However, I don't see or hear any sign of another dragon around" he said.

Just then, they felt a violent shake accompanied by an explosion from the next floor above them. Ruko had to quickly jump back away from the edge as the ground under his feet gave way and more debris came falling down from above.

Elle walked over to the nearby stairwell, looking back at the others. "It seems we're closing in on the fighting. Let's get going before the suffers any more damage" she said.

They continued up the stairwell that led up to the next floor. The stairs were in bad shape due to the fighting so they had to be careful of where they step. The fire also started to become more intense. After several minutes, they reached a floor that was more technologically advanced than all the others. There was a room fully incased in steel which was almost completely exposed due to the destroyed walls. Inside the room were various sets of monitors and other things that appeared to be revived artifacts of the Ancients. In the center of the room was a crystal of relatively small proportions. It was about the size of a baseball but according to Luka, it packs enough Mana to power an entire city alone and in front of the podium where the crystal was, there were two people. One of them was on one knee, appearing to be wounded while the other hovered over him with a sword pointing down at him. They appeared to be talking to each other so they decided to eavesdrop a bit to learn what they could.

The wounded man who was down on one knee was armed with a katana. He had spikey black hair with a scar over his left eye. He wore armor that signifies his allegiance to Dolothlond as the kingdom's crest was inscribed into the chest plate of his armor. He was about twenty-four years old. He kept his gaze up at the man hovering over him. "Bastard...don't you realize that there's something wrong with this!?" he asked.

The other man had sleak, brown hair. He was about thirty-five years old and was rather muscular. He appeared to be someone who's seen a lot of fighting during his time. He looked down at the wounded man, shaking his head. "I was given an order to retrieve this crystal. I'm obligated to fulfill my mission. By taking up arms against me, you're taking up arms against Dolothlond. You and your little dragon squad were branded as traitors" he said.

The wounded man glared at him as he tried to stand up. "You know His Majesty more than any of us and you're telling me you see nothing wrong with this? This isn't something His Majesty would order and you know it! Can't you see that the Court is controlling him!? This whole conflict with Esseand, it's nothing but lies and deceit. This was all fabricated by the Court's influence!" he said.

The man reached down, grabbing onto his collar and lifted him up with relative ease. "And where's your proof? It's going to take more than your reputation to convince the masses, let alone the royal officials" he said, throwing him aside, slamming him against the various machinery which caused some alarms to go off with sparks flying out. He then walked up to him once more and slammed his foot against his stomach and pressed him down against the machinery. "Tell me. Where does your loyalty truly lie? You serve the Dolothlond Dragon Riders yet you've been awfully sympathetic towards Esseand as of late" he said.

The wounded man groaned in pain as he was slammed against the machinery and had the other man's foot dig into his stomach. "You know damn well I'm loyal to His Majesty. I proudly serve him as a Dragon Rider. However, I know when something doesn't feel right. This whole affair stinks of Court corruption. It's even spread to some of the royal knights!Dolothlond's immediate threat isn't Esseand, it's the government that's suppose to be for the people!"
he said. He then grabbed onto his foot and pushed him away and struggled to get up onto his feet. "You're one of the highest ranking Generals and the most trusted retainer to His Majesty. How can you be so blinded by all of this!?" he shouted.

The man stepped back a bit and watched him as he stood up. He then glared at him and pointed his sword at him once more. "If you had the evidence that supports your claims on how the Court has somehow manipulated everyone, even His Majesty, then you should of gone through the official channels. Instead, you decided to withhold whatever evidence you have and interfere with official orders" he said. He then swung his sword in a horizonal motion at him.

The wounded man quickly brought up his katana and blocked his attack but due to his injuries, he staggered back a bit against the machinery behind him. Before the wounded man could react, the other man struck the tip down against the ground and swung upwards, releasing a wave of blue energy at him. The man was unable to defend so the wave of energy collided against him, knocking him through the monitor behind him and skidded against the ground behind it,

The man approached him once more, only this time, taking an attack stance to finish him off once and for all. "It's a shame that Dolothlond will lose someone with your vast talent but traitors must be dealt with swiftly and appropriately" he said

Nearing the end of the fight and conversation, Tsuki's group wasn't sure on how to act. Despite what they've said, they were still soldiers of Dolothlond. Not only that but for some reason, they could sense no genuine malice coming from the man who was overpowering the other. There was definitely something going on behind the scenes.

Luan looked over at the others as the man appeared to be getting ready to deal the finishing blow. "Guys, what do we do? He'll kill him if we don't act" she said.

Tsuki kneeled down and set Cesela down onto the ground. Once he did, he stood back up. Suddenly, the air around them grew more heavier as a surge of power started to build up inside of him. His eye color changed from blue to red as sparks of red energy started to appear around his hand. Everyone besides Cesela and Phi knew what this meant.

Elle observed the sudden change with Tsuki. Being up close to him as it happened, she felt a different and familiar presence that wasn't Tsuki. It was the same presence that had appeared during their encounter with Zieg. "This presence..." she mumbled to herself.

Phi was completely lost as to the sudden personality change with Tsuki. She hasn't really received a full explanation of Tsuki's unique power with the Sigil. She only got a brief explanation. This would be the first time she's seen the Sigil's power. "Tsuki? What's happening to you?" she asked.

Lynette was both amazed and speechless. Witnessing the power of the Sigil being invoked firsthand. "The Mark of the Sigil. This intense power, this feeling. It's both terrifying and fascinating at the same time" she said.

Tsuki glanced over at the others and nodded. "We're going to help him. Whoever they are, there's something off about this whole setup" he said in a familiar deep tone of voice. He then looked over at Cesela. "Stay behind us" he said.

Cesela looked up at Tsuki. Her fox ears twitched as she sniffed the air. He gave off a presence and power that makes him look like an entirely different person but his scent remained the same. This answered a few questions she had in the back of her mind, causing her to smile a bit. "Okay" she said.

Meanwhile, the man standing over the wounded man grew tired of their conversation. He then pulled his sword back and stood in a thrusting stance with the tip of his sword pointing at him. "I grow tired of this. Be thankful that I ended your life here rather than rotting in a prison cell for the rest of your life" he said. He then lunged forward, thrusting his sword forward to pierce the man with a swift thrust.

It was at this moment that Tsuki shot forward with blinding speed. Moments later, the sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the room. In a flash, Tsuki was now between the two men. The man's blade had clashed against a wall of energy in the form of a greatsword. A greatsword of pure Mana had formed in Tsuki's hands with the unique power of Materialization.

The man attacking was thrown off-guard by Tsuki's sudden appearance. He had no idea where Tsuki came from but he was more surprised at the weapon he was using as it didn't appear to be an actual, physical weapon. "What the hell?" he said.

Tsuki glared at the man and broke the clash with ease, swinging the sword in an upwards arc. The man just barely dodged the attack as the edge of the greatsword swung past his face. Instead of having some of his hair cut off, some of his hair sizzled as it touched the weapon of pure Mana as he jumped back, putting some distance between them.

The man examined Tsuki and the weapon he was using. There was something familiar about the type of weapon he was using but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Reinforcements? No...who are you?" he asked.

Tsuki stared down the man as he flipped his greatsword down and struck the blade into the ground and held onto the handle. "We aren't reinforcements. We're here to put a stop to this fighting" he said.

Tsuki and the man were in a deadlock stare as they both stood their ground as alarms blared and sparks shot out from the broken machinery. Silence soon took over the room as they examined each other, trying to anticipate their next move. No one knows what to expect from this point on as the air between them grew heavy from the conflicting powers.

To be continued...