The Descended Shadow

by BC-Butch Cassidy-BC

24 years have passed since Hitomi returned to earth but Gaea is not the same place she left behind. War, oppression and death are all commonplace, and in this shadow a new visitor comes from the Mystic Moon... A new story is Dawning, the Descended Shadow!

15. Severed Dreams

A VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE
The Descended Shadow
Chapter XV
Severed Dreams

Disclaimer – Escaflowne is not mine; the characters and story are the property of Bandai entertainment. The story and characters of 'The Descend Shadow' or 'Shadows of the Past' are the property of Butchs Fan Fiction Forum Before use of these characters or elements of the story please get permission from Butch Cassidy at was silent. Totally silent. She was sitting in the dark, wide awake. She had tried to sleep but had long since surrendered to her thoughts. She now sat by the window looking out over the moonlit city. The large round moon in the sky watched over them, it was full, a bad omen in the eyes of many. Considering what had transpired earlier she was tempted to agree with them.

Earlier she didn't have the time to consider what was happening but now that she had gone over that nights events in her head, time and time again she was no longer sure of where she, or anyone stood in relation to Von. She had only seen him act in such a way twice before, once when they were children and fleeing Zaibach and again when he had attacked her. She didn't relish the memory of either but they just kept on resurfacing

Why had he acted like that? She knew that that was not the Von she knew, but as much as she would love to just forgive and forget she knew that things were not that simple. He seemed mad, as if someone was controlling him and the thing that made her the least comfortable was the name. As he was dragged out of the room by Onoír he yelled her name, time and time again,

"Hitomi" She commented and turned to the bed. Von lay in it, asleep. It was his room she was in. She returned her eyes to the city. Far off in the distance she could just make out the forest that marked the edge of the cities walls. The place Onoír had just gone.

She sighed calmly, she was scared. Genuinely scared. She was alone, and even if when Von woke up he was himself again how could she be sure that he would not change again? It was with great sadness that Onoír left her, he didn't feel comfortable leaving her on her own but she insisted. If anything with Von 'out of it' it was more important that Onoír secure them the allies they needed and soon. She had said it would be Ok as long as Alexander was with her, but she was still far from sure she could trust him. She knew Milerna trusted him, but they couldn't take any chances, not in these dark times.

She leaned back; in the morning she would head out to Babel and continue the preparations for the battle like nothing had happened. Even so she had no idea if she would even get any sleep that night.

………

Nimura sat with Sadako to his side. All of the alliance prisoners had been packed into the one wing, each paired up in their own cell. Nimura was not sure when he had done so, but his arm was around Sadako holding her close to him. There had been various conversations from the prisoners since they took up residence but nothing concrete or about their imprisonment. Basram was conspicuous by his silence; he had been given a cell of his own.

"Where do you recon we're going?" The Asturian asked, nobody bothered to answer instead opting to ignore him. He was just lying there on his back, his eyes watching the wooden ceiling and ground,
"Well if you don't want to answer just say so. I mean there are such things as manners" To his great surprise Basram began chuckling; it became ever louder till it was a deep belly laugh.

All eyes were on him,
"What's so funny?" Asturia asked, but he continued to snigger,
"Everything!" He commented in a bemused voice, "It's been weeks and here we sit like the good lap dogs we are. Good little puppies for their amusement and the best you can talk about are manners?"
"We do what we have to to survive" Asturia commented,
"Do what we have to?" He repeated sarcastically, "Do you really believe that? There is no way we're coming out of this alive!"
"I'm sure your friend would have liked to have lived a bit longer, even if it was…" Asturia was cut off as Basram smashed his fists off the bars behind his head,
"Don't you dare bring him into this!" Nimura wanted to put an end to the argument but he knew too well that he didn't understand the balance of power in this place. He wanted to avoid another scene like they had had that morning. Unfortunately fate forced his hand,
"Hey, newbie!" It was Basram, "What, you not got something to say?" Nimura only raised his eyes to meet his for a second,
"My words are my own" He had hoped to avoid a confrontation but his answer seemed to put any chances of that to rest,

"What? You think your better than us is that it?" Basram' voice which was already filled with distaste just became harsher, "Think you know everything do you?"

Nimura gently pushed Sadako from him and got to his feet,
"Maybe so?" Nimura told him, motioning to the old Fraid soldier he had talked to earlier "Me and him seem to be the only ones keeping a cool head here" He smiled snidely,
"And what would you suggest then?" He asked, "Start another fight?" Nimura's eyes flashed,
"It wasn't us who started that" Nimura reminded him, "But when you raise a hand to her…" He could see the change in the mans composure. He actually smiled,
"Alright" He slinked back down, Nimura not entirely sure of what he had said to warrant the retreat. He counted himself luck and returned to Sadako.

Nimura never liked to admit weakness on his part but when it came to these men he was at a loss. Other than Fanelian troops and those he fought he had had no experience in dealing with other alliance soldiers. The one thing he was sure of was that they were far from 'chummy'.
"Bloody beast people" It was one of Basram's lackeys. Looking over them he recognised the uniforms they wore, even if they were encrusted with dirt. Two more wore the uniform of Basram but it was clear that their uniforms were not military; he guessed that they were members of one of the countries other casts. Along side them were two soldiers in the uniform he had only seen in a couple of Letús' old books, that of Deadalus.

"To think we have animals like her within our own borders!" He continued angrily. Nimura didn't want to get involved but his blood was boiling. How could he be blaming all beast people for the actions of one Cat Lady? As his final words came Nimura found himself getting to his feet again unable to hold back,
"We should have put the damned beasts down when we had the chance"

Even before he was on his feet his friend, from Deadalus had punched him over the jaw,
"You usually talk crap but this is a joke!" He yelled, "Can't you put all that energy into something useful" The man got back to his feet, his hand on his face,
"And what would you suggest?" He asked angrily, "Read? Darn I forgot to bring A BOOK! Maybe I should talk to the wall?" He turned to the wall,
"HELLO WALL!" He mocked, "Would you like to have a conversation?" Another punch was about to add to his bruise's when something stopped everything, the sound of footsteps. There was dead silence, and then every head turned at once towards the source. Nimura could even hear Sadako' breathing as he clung to her tighter.

It was not long until they appeared out of the mouth of the stairwell, half a dozen guards. The silence was still tangible when the clanging of key in lock filled the cells. They were opening theirs, and Basram's cells.
"Come with us" The guard whom entered Basram's cell asked coldly but he didn't move.
"Do I look like a dog to you?" He asked, "Come, sit, wait, BEG" Basram got off the floor but Nimura was sure it wasn't to co-operate. He offered out his hands to the man,
"If you want me to come you had better tie them" He warned, "You wouldn't want me to struggle, would you?" He man narrowed his eyes angrily and motioned to a couple of the other guards to join him. He approached, rope in his hands and Basram didn't struggle as his hands were noosed tightly. Once done the man motioned to Nimura,
"Get him as well"

The guard had his back turned for only a moment but it was a mistake. Basram, quick as the eye had thrown his arms around the man's neck. He struggled in panic as he was suffocated by the very rope he had tied to Basram's mans hands. It was only a moment before his panicked friends came to the guard's aid and batted Basram's arms in an attempt to free him. Other prisoners, who were much muted at first, were now cheering. Eventually Basram' grip slipped and the guard fell to the ground panting for dear life.
"What do you do when a doggy misbehaves?" One of the guards asked, their answer came between grasps for air,
"You punish it" Nimura didn't get to watch the guards betting him, he had his own trouble,
"I suppose you'll want to make us trouble too?" A guard asked him, he was not alone as another guard was with him,
"And what if I don't want to come?" After what he had just seen there was no way he was going to go without even a word,
"Hey, life's not fair" The guard reminded him before he grabbed Sadako by the arm and tossed her from him before she could react, leaving her face down on the floor. He bared his knuckles,
"How dare yo…" He was cut short as the guard's comrade had drawn his sword and placed it in the same executionery point as they had for their other late prisoner, right behind the chest.
"You would kill an unarmed women?" Nimura knew rightly that Sadako was far from helpless but he had to be sure of how far these 'men' would be willing to go.
"Why not?" The guard asked, "One less degenerate to deal with. I would be doing her a favour really" Nimura' eyes showed the hasty thoughts that were flying round his head, but eventually he dropped his hands to his side and surrendered,
"Alright. I won't resist" The guard smiled, no fuss no muss.
"Bag him," He ordered, "Both of them"

The last thing he saw before the bag was thrown over his head was Sadako looking up at him. Her expression was clear as day, she was scared. He was dragged from the room and everything became a blur from then on. The passage of time became increasingly unreadable to him as the bag blocked his sight and its rustling as they moved proved deafening. The end result of this was that he had no idea where or even how far he had travelled when the guard pushed him into a chair. He felt him clamp something around his arms and legs before he finally removed the bag. He gasped for breath, his lungs tasting the fresh air. Even so he was far more helpless than he had ever been. He and Basram to his side had been bolted to chairs made of metal. Now that he knew them to be made of metal he felt the cold penetrate him uncomfortably. The guards had retreated from the room as he turned to Basram, an inquisitive look in his eye,
"You been here before?" Nimura asked but he just shook his head,
"No" He answered, "Which is not a good thing"

Nimura' eyes darted around the room like he was afraid it would suddenly vanish. It was a plain room with wooden walls. There was sunlight streaming in from the roof but it didn't touch them, nor come near them. There was little else to the room, just a short bookcase to the far left, it's shelves empty and a second door next to it.. He took in the details before returning to Basram,
"Wouldn't they normally use torture?" Nimura's words were matter of factly. He didn't fear torture; it was part of his training in the rebellion. If they were caught they needed to know how 'not' to give information away that could put their friends or families in danger.
"Normally they would" Basram answered, "But this is no torture chamber"
"Then what are we…?" Nimura answer came before he had even finished asking the question. Through the same door they had entered another man entered. Nimura noted that he looked 'clean' unlike the other men he had come across on the ship. Only Mya shared that trait.

At first he didn't even look to them instead busying himself with whatever it was he was doing. He approached the bookcase and placed his bag down on the lowest shelf. Then one by one he removed small bottles and placed them neatly in a line. Each appeared to be labelled but even if they were in any language he could understand there was no way he could read them from this distance.

Nimura and Basram exchanged glances before the man brought his attention to bear. He folded his arms and looked them over.
"So this is what I get to work with?" He asked, of course the question was not for them, so without a reply he approached them and continued to talk to himself,
"Months to convince her and this is all I get?" He asked snidely, "They hardly seem that important"

The man came right up to Nimura and leaned in close feasting his eyes. It occurred to Nimura to head butt him but he fought the suggestion, what good would it do? After a moment he took Nimura' face in his hand and turned it left and then to the right. Nimura growled,
"What do you think your doing?" He asked and the man looked him in the eyes for the first time,
"So? You can talk" He asked sarcastically, "What other tricks can you do?" Nimura was reconsidering that head butt when he let go of his face and took a couple of steps back,
"Nimura Kosime and Brutus Rythal" He stated clearly. Nimura guessed by the cold look Basram offered that the other name was his,
"I guess it would be rude for me not to tell you what you are doing here" He commented and smiled, "Well you…" He nodded to Brutus, "…are here because you have proven 'trying' for some of our best informers. They tell me that they doubt they could get you to talk without killing you, or leaving you in a dark room for several months. Either way we don't have the time or the inclination"

"And you…" he nodded to Nimura, "…well it saves a little time and all that mess doesn't it?" He turned his back on them and Brutus's eyes seemed to catch fire. He firmed the muscles in his arms as he tried to break the restraints around his arm. He exhaled as he did so, catching the mans attention,
"Oh, I wouldn't bother trying to break those, not unless you have some kind of demon hidden under that feeble exterior" His words only seemed to make Brutus more determined but eventually it was his strength that surrendered. He took a step forward and shook his head,
"I told you," He mocked before flicking Brutus in the forehead, "A brute, but a demon you most certainly are not"

Returning to his bag he explained,
"A truly unique thing the human body. There is no amount of pain that it cant endure if the mind is strong enough, it can suffer incredible illnesses and come back" He laughed, "…but even though it is still weak. Flesh and Blood"
He was now pouring the contents from several of the bottles into a cup. Some were liquids but mostly they were powders. Finally he took some water and added it to the mixture.
"Get the right combinations and you can make it do anything you want. I could take all your strength or give you more, make you sick or cure most aliments, lustful or angry. I can even make you tell me whatever I want to know" He stirred the contents of the cup with a metal spoon and then turned back to them, cup in hand.

"It won't matter how much you resist, how much you can endure" he smiled as he approached, "One mouthful of this and you will tell me everything". Nimura watched him unsure what to do, unsure what to make of his ramblings. He didn't know if it was even possible but he didn't really want to find out. His eyes crossed the room again in the hope of finding something he could use, but he came up empty. To his great distaste it appeared that he would be the genie-pig.
"Lets try the new one first" He violently grabbed Nimura' chin and held his head vertical, and then closed his nostrils. He held his breath as long as he could before he involuntarily opened his month to gasp for air. Of course this was the man's plan and the liquid was thrown down his throat in this same moment.

He backed away and smiled,
"Now we wait" The man headed back to the bookcase and started to make up a second batch of the liquid. Nimura was not surprised to find his body going numb, and his eyes becoming heavier. He knew exactly why it was happening but he had no control over himself. He was falling, and then he was unconscious.

When Nimura opened his eyes he found himself sitting in an old leather chair, which seemed ten times too big for him. He was reliving a memory. In his hands was a book, a large volume of something or other. It was just then that the door to the room opened and his father walked in, his mother to his side. He looked up over the book for a moment as if he were engrossed in its pages. A smile spread across Dawn' face.
"That's my son. Physical strength is nothing without the mental kind" His wife, and Nimura's mother was less convinced and stepped over to Nimura. She lifted the book from him,
"And that's why it's upside down?" She had a beaming smile across her face, obviously finding the humour, and Dawn smiled too,
"You little so in so!" He called shaking his head,
"I was reading it" Nimura protested, "Honest"

Dawn went over to him and lifted him right off the chair. Nimura could be no older than six.
"Son, even the most learned of men can't read booked upside down" Despite his words Nimura held his head high and boasted,
"But I have!" He demanded, "I'm special" Dawn mussed his hair and carried him into the next room,
"Sure you are, son. I know your special… just maybe not in that way"
He placed Nimura down in a chair in the kitchen and looked up to his wife,
"What have you got for us today Nuri?" She grinned,
"It's a surprised" She joked, "You'll just have to wait and see" Dawn looked sadly to the table and waited patently. Nimura' eyes walked along the wall until they came to a painting. He was actually surprised that he had never noticed it before. His father and mother were in it, but so were a collection of other people he didn't know.

He pointed to it,
"What's that daddy?" Dawn looked to see what his son was pointing at and laughed,
"That?" he commented, "That's a lot of Daddy and Mummy's old friends" He then took the painting from the wall and sat it upon the table in front of his son. He then pointed to each person in succession and gave their name,

That's Alan, and me, Uncle Von, Hitomi, auntie Merle, mummy, and Uncle Gaddes and with Aunt Sarah"
Nimura continued to look over the picture, and then pointed to a figure his father failed to mention, a girl being held by Alan,
"Who's this?" He asked and Dawn frowned,
"That's Celina son" He told him but stopped the question before it came, "Lets leave it at that" Dawns voice was a little harsh so Nimura did as his father asked and instead turned to Hitomi and Von,
"What happened to this lady?" Nimura asked and Dawn nodded,
"She went home" Dawn answered, "Far away"
"Was Uncle sad?" Nimura asked referring to Von,
"Yes he was very sad when she left" Dawn continued, "But he's better now"
"Did they love each other like mummy and daddy?" He asked and Dawn nodded again,
"Yes they did very much" Nimura' face lit up,
"Then is there another friend for me in the castle?" He asked and Dawn wondered what he meant,
"What?"
"If they loved each other like mummy and daddy then they have to have a little boy!" Dawn froze a moment before answering,
"Who knows son, but if they did she isn't here anymore"

When the image went black Nimura found that he was really waking up this time, but why did he remember that now? Also he never noticed it before but what did his father mean by 'she'. He pushed it from his mind as he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was Brutus's face. He felt like he wanted to close them again. He wasn't too sure but we thought he saw Brutus grin,
"Finally awake are we little man?"

Nimura dismissed the comment and pulled his back off the ground. He looked around him. They were back in the cells, the other prisoners around them. The others seemed to be fascinated; Nimura guessed that Brutus had something to do with it.
"So what's so interesting behind me?" He asked angrily and they returned to what they were doing. Only Brutus remained with him. He hadn't even noticed till now that Brutus was in the wrong cell and…
"Where is Sadako?" He asked. His voice was slightly higher than normal as his eyes hoped to find her hiding in the shadows somewhere. Brutus shook his head,
"Gone. She was gone when we got back here" Brutus had just confirmed his greatest fear. It was bad enough that they were stuck here but now being separated? He wanted to punch the deck, just to get out some of the pent up emotion but what good would blooding his hand do her? He took a deep breath and tried to act normally.
"How long have I been out?" He asked. The others were watching what he would do as Brutus answered,
"About five hours. The stuff they gave you, that was no run-of-the-mill mix"

Nimura froze, he had completely forgotten about that. If what that man had said were true there is no telling what he had said, no end to the secrets he could have given away. His next move was to find out anything Brutus knew when Mya's head appeared from the staircase. She approached their cell with a couple of guards. Nimura was put right on guard. If anyone knew where Sadako was, she would.

She motioned to their cell and one of the guards unlocked its door. Nimura was not sure if it was his imagination or not but he could have sworn that she was staring at him. She entered the cell nonchalantly and nodded to her guards to sheath their swords and stay outside. She stood, quiet for a moment before Nimura broke the silence.
"Where is Sadako?" His words were tipped with venom, "What have you done with her?" She looked clueless for a moment before answering like she had been given a revelation,
"The girl?" She asked, "Oh she's fine. We were just having a chat before I came down to see you" She bobbed back and forth with complete disregard for where she was.
"So, Nimura… can I call you Nimura? Well I guess it's too late for formalities now" She asked, "What exactly are you doing here?" Nimura laughed,
"Oh, you mean your quack didn't come up with all the answers you wanted, is that it?"

She ignored his reply,
"I want to know why someone like you would be hanging about just waiting to be captured in a cave. A man of your position should be used to something more than the old fashioned un-masoned rock look" Nimura's heat seemed to stop a moment. He let his eye see the faces of the other prisoners before replying.
"So what?" He asked, "What does my so called position have to do with this?"

She smiled,
"I just wish you had said who you where earlier, I mean Kosime is a well know name, even in the states of Entóntria" She laughed and raised her arms in proclamation, "We are in the presence of a legend in the making" She sighed,
"Why not back at home?" She asked, "I would have thought they would need you, with the coup and all" It wasn't just Nimura whose attention was taken,
"What?" Was his only reply,
"Oh of course you have been here with us. No way of getting news from home" She smiled, "It's not like you can communicate like we can" Nimura was fuming more with every word that passed her lips,
"What do you mean coup!"

She retuned her eyes to his,
"It would appear that young master Duke Fraid has finally moved on his designs" A cruel smile curled around her lips, "Our informants tell us that there is fighting across the alliance… Chid's men have taken control of most of the capitol cities. He's obviously not contented with war with us, but needed to open up the rest of the alliance to anarchy as well"

There was a painful silence in the cells, before Nimura took the lead,
"Tell me, were you born such an arrogant little bitch or did you grow into it?" Finally she dropped her cool composure just in time for Brutus,
"Why you little…!" Before she could react Brutus had sandwiched her neck between his bent arms. The guards removed their swords but what could they do?
"Drop them!" He ordered, before adding, "Or I'll snap her neck like a twig"

There was a little hesitation before they did as her asked. He nodded,
"Good, now open the rest of the cells" They looked to their leader, who nodded before challenging him,
"What do you plan on achieving with this?" She asked, her words were horse, "You have to know there is no way you can escape" It was his chance to snigger,
"Of course there is. Do you think I've been blind for the past few months? There are only a couple of dozen guards on this ship!" His laugh became haunting,
"And even if we don't escape we will at least get the satisfaction of taking you with us"
"You won't get off this ship ali…" She started but with a little extra pressure he knocked her out. Then with little difficulty he threw her over his shoulder, and turned to Nimura.
"Go find your girlfriend" He encouraged him with a nod, "There is a small craft they use to take to the ground at the starboard and stern of the ship, we'll wait as long as we can" Nimura nodded and grabbed one of the guards swords he was about to run off when Brutus stopped to a moment. He leaned in close,
"Your secret is safe with me" Were his only words, Nimura nodded and ran up the stairs sword in hand. He had to save her.

………

The glowing red of a freshly lit fire greeted Onoír's eyes as he turned. He placed a couple of unburned logs to the side of the fire and set about warming his hands. He had been travelling since the previous night, since he had seen Von in the cells. It had been the best part of twenty hours; he had just walked until his legs would go no further. Eventually he set this fire and had since eaten. His camp was set by a shallow river. He let envies eyes fall upon the water before he decided to cleanse himself.

It was literally a stones throw from the camp, and placing a towel on a local branch he set about removing his clothing. They were pulled from him unceremoniously and thrown onto a pile just below the towel. The only care he did take was when he removed a ring from his right hand and placed it carefully onto his other clothing. The moons light already bathed him as he stepped into the water, the cold chill that entered his feet spreading throughout his whole body.

He shivered a moment but continued none the less. The river was shallow, even at its deepest only coming to his chest; it actually allowed him to sit without drowning his head. The rivers current and flow were slow, leaving the impression of a lake. The moonlight glittered on the barely disturbed surface as he turned his back to camp.

He sighed openly and let his eyes fall out of focus, and for the first time he let his mind fall back to Von. What was that he saw? In hindsight he wondered if it would have been prudent to wait and get his side of the story but then again nobody was really that sure of how much time they had before Fraid arrived. There was also the bonus that he avoided having to take Lilly with him. It wasn't that he didn't like the girl; it's just that he preferred to do things alone, and his own way. Or that's what he told himself anyway.

Cupping his hands he lifted some water from the river and dropped it into his hair, what was Merle going to do? It had been a very long time since he had first laid eyes on Von, when the king was a boy no less but he didn't really become acquainted until after the war with Zaibach. When the majority of the alliance was off fighting he was one of those whom were left to look after the refugee camp the Fanelian people had become. He still remembered begging, pleading with his commander to allow him to join the attack but of course he was left behind while his brother marched out.

He shook his head as Cóir came to mind, his older brother who made him the man he was today. It had been thirteen years, thirteen years since he, Dawn and so many others went missing on their way to Norte. It all seemed like yesterday to him, their argument, his departure and everything that was to follow. When he heard that Cóir was to go he was furious, it had been months since he had last been in Fanel and then after a day he was off again. They had gotten into a fight before he stormed from the house. That was the last time he had seen his brother.

When he dunked his head into the water he was aware that his eyes were already wet as much as he tried to deny the fact to himself. When he pulled his head from the river his mind was back on the task at hand. It had been a long time since he had visited this particular bandit camp, he wasn't even a hundred percent sure it would even be in the same place. Even so he didn't have the luxury of failure… not that he ever did in his position.

A branch cracked behind him and he slowly turned. He already knew who it was. As he came to face her, he found that he was correct in his assumption. It was Lilly, standing on the embankment. He couldn't see her clearly in the shadows of the trees but her tone of voice spoke volumes.
"What do you think you were doing trying to go without me?" She asked angrily. In the cold night air her angered words echoed quite a distance.
"Is there any reason I should have let you come with me?" Onoír asked snidely and her eyes darkened.
"Because you were meant to! Because the king ordered you to. Because not to is paramount to suicide. Take your pick"
"I don't care what Von told you! I don't need anyone to baby-sit on this trip. Go back to the castle!"
"Where did you get the idea that you could talk to me like that?" She asked angrily, "I am a commander in the Fanelian army, captain of the Urthian guard. I am not some lackey you can order around at will"

"I am your superior officer" Onoír reminded her,
"But the King outranks you, and it is under his orders that I'm here. What is your problem?" She asked, continuing her angry streak, "Ever since I came to Fanel I have gone out of they way to show you respect, clear in the knowledge we would have to work together but what do I get for it? I am not a little girl, nor a child"

Onoír's reply was muted. He walked forward through the water, its surface growing ever lower until he stood not two meters from her, his figure self-evident. She did not flinch, instead keeping her eyes fixed on his,
"Towel" He ordered and turning her back on him she handed it to him, her cheeks turning scarlet,
"What is this meant to prove?" She asked and he smiled,
"I like you" He laughed,
"What?" She asked, the surprise edged onto her voice,
"I like you like this, forget the false niceties. If we're to work together I don't want to have to worry about you being insincere"
"What did I…" She asked but he dodged it,
"Go back to camp" He ordered her, "I'll catch-up"
"Why should I?" She asked, turning back to him before realising herself,
"A mans got to have some secrets" He joked and she about turned the hint of red in her cheeks growing darker.
"Of course"

It was really only a couple of minutes before Onoír too was back at camp. He wanted to catch some shuteye but he was sure he was going to be robbed of it when he caught Lilly with the pot.
"Haven't eaten?" He asked and she shook her head,
"It took all that time to catch up with you," She told him, "You didn't make it easy for me to track you" Onoír smiled,
"You must have been trained well, most people would not have been able to catch up at all, late or not" Lilly ignored the thinly veiled insult,
"I was. Your brother was an excellent teacher" Her voice came to an abrupt end as she realised she had mis-steped, "Sorry I didn't"

Onoír shook his head,
"Don't worry, it's alright," He said, it had been a while since he has spoken openly about his brother. Perhaps it was time he did again, "He took you as his student when?" She raised her hand to her chin and thought a moment,
"It has to have been nineteen, maybe twenty years now" She answered, "Soon after the war with Erráre" Onoír nodded,
"There were a lot of new recruits around then…" He commented, "You must have been good to get as far as you have since" She nodded couscously,
"I can't be sure if it was skill or luck but here I am"

Lilly was busying herself with the pot that Onoír had cooked in only a couple of hours beforehand. She stirred the content he had let grow cold while he was in the river.
"It was actually the battle for Erráre that inspired me to join up" She added without warning. Onoír sniggered,
"Was it now"
"Sure it was. An amazing victory" She returned but he continued to laugh,
"You must be familiar with the epic struggle for the safety of the alliance, the great battle against the evil empire of the east" He replied and she nodded,
"Yeah"
"Bullocks" He replied, "The reality and the legend are as far from each other as they can be" She looked to him,
"Then what did happen?" He thought for a moment before recanting the story. It was actually a story that shaped his, and his brothers futures. For that was the day they met the famous Von Fanel.

"We were dispatched from Fanel with little warning" Onoír said, "It was like some mad dash to get into the ships and go. No time for goodbyes, no time for anything. Even when we were on the ships we weren't told what was going on, just that we would soon be in combat"
"It was only a couple of hours before we reached Erráre that we were told what was happening. It appeared that we lost contact with the capitol city of Erráre, a nation the alliance had been forced into fighting a war against a couple of years before. The alliance troops that occupied the capitol were no longer in contact with command in Fraid. And so we were to go in and find out why" He continued.
"When we disembarked the ship everything seemed quiet, almost like a ghost town" His eyes glazed over as he relived his own words, "We landed on a Levi-port to the north of the city, right next to the city centre. There was no sign of life, none at all. Several men were dispatched to see what they could learn but they failed to return"

Onoír took a deep breath and then returned,
"It was without warning their attack. It seemed that they had stashed a Gymelef below our very feet, and when it was activated it tore the port to pieces. Those of us who successfully avoided falling into the remains of the structure fled in all directions. Of course looking back on it, it was not the best decision but fear can do strange things to men"
"Myself and Cóir found ourselves alone with one other" He continued, "At first we did not recognise him but then we realised. It was Von Fanel. We couldn't believe that he of all people would be with us, and not safely out of the actual battlefield. It was when we were stuck in that city with him that we learned what sort of a man our king really was, not a legend but a man"

"We were stuck in that city, alone, without backup or help for three days before the rest of our forces from Fraid could arrive and stormed the city. I can still remember the cheers as the gates came down, the charge lead by Dawn Kosime, the kings personal bodyguard. As it turned out the city had been taken by a small uprising of commoners. Not soldiers or wealthy but those people the governor was meant to protect. We were later told that the governor had exploited the people of the city to breaking point, and then had several people killed when they were unable to pay their 'tax'"

He shook his head,
"Not some great battle against evil or imperialists. Just people, people who could no longer take the exploitation forced upon them, and we killed them. By God we killed them for it" His voice weakened before bringing his story to a clear conclusion. Erráre was not something he relished the memory of. Never did he want to repeat that mistake… he smiled inwardly and ironically. He may not have wanted to repeat that mistake but he did, by God he did.
"Zaibach" He commented below his breath,
"What?" She asked but she shook his head,
"Nothing important"

Later that night they slept on opposite sides of the fire until woken by the dawning of a new day. The fire had long since burned itself out, and as he arose Onoír spread the ashes around with his foot. He made no allowances for Lilly, still asleep by its side,
"Hey!" She complained,
"If you can complain you can get up" He reminded her before removing some surface soil and placing it into the small crater their fire had occupied. As soon as they were both up they were off again. Over the first few hours of their march, and yes it seemed that way to Lilly there was barely a word traded between them. She had tried to open up a dialogue but he silenced her each and every time.
"I know we have to be quiet but why silent?" She asked angrily. She was not one to remain quiet for long, unless entirely necessary.

He shushed her again, but this time backed it up with an explanation.
"Have you forgotten where we are?" He asked, "Bandits could be anywhere" She looked over his shoulder,
"I don't see anyone…" She replied to which he sighed,
"You aren't meant to, they are bandits! They specialise in ambushes or at least they did in my day," She offered a surprised expression,
"What do you mean by…?" She was cut short as he continued on as if she hadn't said a thing. He stopped only a couple of meters from her and seemed to freeze. She was about to call after him when he dropped to the ground motioning to her to do the same. She did so.

They were actually on the edge of a hill that fell down steeply to the road below through trees. Even so the road was in clear sight from their vantage point. Most people would have no idea to their location but he knew exactly where they where. They were overlooking the main road into Fanel from the south. Lilly slid up to him on her belly before whispering her question,
"What is it?" She may have asked but she had a fair idea.
"Look" Onoír pointed down the road to the south, in the distance, just visible to the naked eye the glints of armour approached.
"Fraid" He said, stating what was now obvious to them both, "They have already reached the edge of the forest" Lilly looked over to him,
"What?" She asked, "How far are we from Fanel?" Onoír looked northwards and then back to the approaching mass of metal,
"Ten, maybe fifteen miles" Lilly swallowed,
"Damn" Was her only response before she added, "That close, and now we're stuck" Onoír nodded,
"Until they pass at least"

It took a total of 4 hours for the soldiers to pass by their position. Soldiers marched by eights across, thousands passing by the hour. Not only that but Melef's, siege weapons, horses, and everything else that you would expect from a fully equipped army. Towards the tail end of the force it's 'higher ups' finally made their way passed them. Several typical Fraid generals where among them, however there was one man that all but stopped Onoír's heart in his chest.

Ahead of them all was a single man in armour of a majestic aqua blue. His back was covered, like his face with a pure white hood and open jacket. He was clearly the man in charge, as even his horse appeared to be royally dressed. Onoír was not sure why but there was something about the man that seemed to unnerve him. When they were passed Onoír was still careful not to act too quickly. The last thing they needed was to be captured, or detected by the enemy.

He eventually did get to his feet, Lilly in a close second,
"Let's go," He ordered and Lilly looked around her,
"It's not going to be quick going around this," She reminded him but it was immaterial,
"Who said we were going round it?" He asked before leaping over the side of the ledge. It was only a couple of meters down that he landed on the steep slope and then surfed his way to the bottom a river of dust and debris following him. He fought to keep his balance, but he knew damned rightly that their time was limited. They needed to find the camp, and soon. He barely heard Lilly calling after him,
"Are you crazy!" As he hit the flat and broke into a run across the road and back into the forest on the opposite side. Once on the other side he came to a complete stop and waited for Lilly to catch up,
"What the hell happened to your quiet stealthy attitude?" She asked angrily but he shook his head,
"Time is limited. Now we have to hurry" He told her but just as he finished his sentence Onoír was knocked off his feet as a branch smashed him in the face. At first Lilly though it to be an accident but soon she too was knocked to the ground, unconscious.

Several men came into Onoír's field of vision as he lay there on the verge of losing consciousness himself. Bandits.
"This is what happens to people who come looking for us" He said before turning to one of his partners,
"Are they Fraid?" Another man shook his head,
"Fanelian, defiantly"
"OK. Take them away. We can find out what they want later" This was the last of the conversation that Onoír remembered, but even as he lost consciousness he smiled a little. Perhaps it wasn't ideal but at least they did make contact.

………

As Nimura ran across the dry wooden floorboards he tried to lower the noise his feet made. Even so he kept himself as alert as he could, ready encase he made contact with one of his captors. He braced himself as he turned another corner, his hand squarely on his blade, ready for a speedy draw. He breathed a sigh of relief as he didn't need it. The next corridor was long, but before he took a couple of steps he could hear the words of a conversation. At first he couldn't make them out, but as he cautiously approached they became clear.
"So what are you going to do when we finally get back?" One voice asked, another answered as Nimura approached the end of the corridor, the voices clear as day.
"Haven't decided, maybe I'll go down to my folks for a while" The first man laughed as Nimura stopped. It forked to the left, allowing him to creek his head and steal a look.
"Well that depends on the miss's of course!" He joked with a hearty laugh. His friend joined him before smiling,
"Yeah I suppose. But she really is a saint, putting up with all this travelling. What's it been? Six months

There were indeed two men, whom appeared to be guarding a doorway about half way down the corridor. He knew that Sadako was waiting for him behind it. It was not been long when he ran into a 'helpful' guard who pointed him in the right direction to where they were holding her. His heart was pounding. He tried not to let the fear in, but sometimes he couldn't help it. When be thought of what they might be doing to her, what she could be going through he found it harder to breath but every time he forced it to the back of his mind. He needed to focus.

He pulled his head back took a deep breath, preparing himself. He clutched onto his sword and was about to charge round the corner when something stopped him. Someone else entered the picture. He had failed to catch their approach but he most certainly caught his words.
"ATTENTION!" He ordered, silencing the guards, "What do you think you are doing chatting like slave children in desperate need of a lashing!" Nimura fought a laugh, but guessed for the guards that it wasn't the words but the person that scared them into shape.
"We have a collection of barbarians loose on ship. Seal off the deck!"
Nimura heard him turn on his heels as the other two guards stepped to it. He smiled; the others must still be free. Following their orders the guards were now approaching him. He clenched his fist. This would make things simpler.

He stood as close to the wall as he could and waited for them to come to him. When the first guard crossed the corner he meet with Nimura's fist, with such force that he was thrown into the wall behind him. His comrade watched his friend hit the floor but by the time he turned his attention to his attacker Nimura' sword was to his throat.
"How do you get to the deck?" He asked angrily. He looked from the sword and back to him and took a stoic stance refusing to answer. As Nimura lifted his sword he closed his eyes and waited for the blow. It was the base of his blade that Nimura used to knock the man out. As he stepped over the guard Nimura muttered,
"Worth a try"

He wasted no time rushing through the doorway and into the room. He had been there before. He could hardly have forgotten the few metal chairs, the case of drugs. It was dark so he couldn't see much more than the outlines but it was defiantly the same room. He surveyed the room but he didn't see her.
"Sadako?" He asked, but no response came. His heart began to pound. He took a step towards the chair, and repeated himself,
"Sadako?"

There was a shimmer of movement and his heart leapt. He approached the chair and came to a stop. He immediately took her arm and checked her pulse. He relaxed, she was alright.
"Sadako?" He said hoping to arouse her. To his relief she awake and looked to him,
"Nimura?" She asked, echoing him. He nodded and took her face in his hands,
"Thank God. Thank God you're alright" The emotions he felt made it almost impossible to get the words out. She smiled,
"You're late" Pulling at the metal braces sealing her hands, one by one Nimura freed her. She got to her feet and took him in her arms. He placed his hands around her and held her close to him. Time seemed to stand still as he held her. All the fear and anxiety he had felt seemed to melt away.

He loosened his grip and brought her lips to his before embracing her. It was but a moment before they broke from each other but it spoke a thousand words. Once he had fully dropped his grip Nimura turned from her like nothing had happened,
"We haven't got much time if we are to get out of here" He proclaimed and started towards the room's back door, "They are waiting for us"

They exited the room and found themselves somewhere unexpected. They were standing looking out over the huge hall they had fought in just the day before. The tables where up against the wall as if ready for a big occasion and markings had been placed on the sand. He wasn't too sure what their significance was but nor did he care. Then without warning he pulled himself to the ground with Sadako landing quite painfully atop of him
"What is it?" She asked, quite indignant about being pulled to the ground. She rolled off him and lay down beside him. Nimura lay flat on his stomach and motioned towards a lone guard. It was very lucky that he didn't catch them on the way in. He considered there options for a moment before a broad grin spread across his face.
"Perfect" There were a few small pebbles next to them. Why they were there he could only guess but they gave him an idea.

Grabbing a couple of the stones he crawled, as quietly as he could to the opposite side of the balcony. There was a ladder rising out a hole here, leading down to the lower level. He took a quick glace down as his grin grew ever larger. Climbing onto the ladder he held on and then threw the stones down the hole and a little to the side. As Nimura had hoped the guard approached to investigate the source of the sound. Just as the guard stood below the ladder he let go of his grip. Nimura hit him with a thud and made sure to keep him on the ground by holding his arms down.
"Morning" He commented with a smile, "How do we get out of the bowels of the ship?" It was a simple enough question but it was the tone of voice behind it that offered the intimidation. The guard gulped before answering,
"Up there" was all he offered but with the nod of his head it was more than enough. He indicated to opposite balcony just as Sadako joined him.
"Thank you" He thanked the man before knocking him out with the butt of his sword. He turned to Sadako,

"Time to go I think"
"Remind me never to get on your bad side" She added before leading the way herself across the hall. They rushed across the sand, and although it was only a couple of short minutes being exposed made it feel like so much longer. They both offered a sigh of relief when they finally reached the other side and began their assent. As they reached the top Nimura surveyed the door ahead of them suspiciously. He approached it and then pushed the handle-less door open to reveal a small room.

Sadako came up behind him,
"Another ladder?" She asked sadly and he nodded,
"Guess it can't be helped" Taking the ladder in hand he began another assent away from the bowels of the ship. He was very relieved when he finally made it to the top. The summit of the ladder was blocked with a wooden opening in the roof. He stopped a moment before pushing the doorway open peering his eyes over the horizon.

His eyes spied a storeroom, large boxes staked up along the sides of the walls. To the centre of the room there appeared to be a hand rail in the form of a square surrounding a hole in the floor. His eyes cleared the room before throwing the doorway open and pulling himself out of the hole. Even so he was sure to do it as quietly as he could and motioned to Sadako to do the same.

Once he steadied his feet he pulled the sword from his belt. He didn't see any guards but it was better to be safe than sorry. He knew he shouldn't have but even so curiosity pulled him towards the railing. Looking down into the huge opening he could see, through glass, the training arena. Turning his head up he saw another skylight above them allowing light to stream into the arena below.
"What is it?" Sadako asked approaching him, he pointed down,
"Down there" He smiled, "Quite a fall" It was at that moment that half a dozen guards ran across the arena below them, in the direction of the ladder they had just climbed. Nimura grabbed her arm,
"Time to go"
"Yeah"

Sword in hand Nimura approached the door to the storeroom and exited it slowly. There was a lot of shouting in the air, and the clash of steel. There attention was pulled towards the disturbance to the other side of the deck, a good few hundred meters away. There were a couple of dozen guards there, fighting with Brutus and the others. They had been forced back into the landing craft he had mentioned. Nimura tightened his grip,
"I don't like the look of this"

And just as the words had passed Nimuras lips what he had feared happened. With a kick Brutus pushed the last soldier off the craft and yelled inside. Then with a click the ship break away from the side of the Levi-ship and began its descent.
"Now what" Sadako asked, only to be interrupted by the guards they had watched in the arena break out of the storeroom,
"Stop!" One yelled,
"One thing at a time" Nimura pulled her up a set of stairs on the deck that appeared to lead onto the roof of the storehouse. He cursed under his breath as they suddenly because exposed to the eyes of the whole ship. Minding the skylight in the centre they cross the deck and came down another set of stairs. They could only notice it in passing but it appeared that the deck of the ship was alive with machinery. Hundreds of cogs and wheels turned onto each other rotating continually. They where made of steel and iron, black to the eye, cold to the touch and everywhere. Nimura had never seen a ship like this, though he had seen similar machines in Zaibach.
"Halt!" Another guard yelled from behind as they lead the pursuit. Nimura laughed,
"Do they really expect us to stop?" Sadako didn't laugh,
"Is this really the time for jokes?"
"Perhaps not"

It was not long before the guards were all but on them, however it was in that moment that Nimura saw it.
"There!" He pointed, "There it is!" Ahead of them was another craft like that which had taken the others. Nimura jumped over the frontier and into the control box. A dozen a half levers covered the box, and the control wheel. He started to pull levers at random. Only Sadako was stood between them and the guards,
"Sword!" She yelled and he threw her his. Sword in hand she waited the few moments she had before a veritable wall of guards attacked. She deflected the first guard but the second's sword came into hers with all the force he could muster. She was pushed back by it just as another made a swept at her feet. She hit the deck of the ship with a crunch, and immediately grabbed the back of her head which was torn with pain. Several of the guard grabbed her legs and pulled her back onto the Levi-Ship,
"Sadako!" Nimura yelled, abandoning the crafts controls as he went to her aid.

With a yelp Sadako kicked one of the guards in the face, sending him recoiling into the craft. He just missed Nimura and ploughed into the controls. There was a familiar clicking sound and the craft began to sink.

Nimura ran at the gangway and jumped grabbing at the side of the Levi-ship however he only managed to grab a hold of the side of the ship. He tried and couldn't pull himself up onto the craft. He cursed under his breath, he was helpless.
"What have we got here" One of the guards asked as he pushed his way through the rest of the men. It was clear enough from his uniform that he was no ordinary man onboard, "One of our prisoners helpless. I guess I should offer mine" He approached Nimura but instead of pulling him up he placed the ball of his foot down on one of Nimura's hands.
"You know, I ought to thank you really" He said looking down at Nimura over the edge, "Because of you I have control of the ship. No more Mya to order me around" He laughed and the other guards instinctively joined in. Nimura glared at him,
"Of course I should be helping you but really what's the difference. Die here, die in the capitol… more fun here"

Using his foot he added pressure onto Nimura's fingers until he couldn't hold on any longer and let that hand go. He tried to grab a hold again but couldn't catch the side.
"Stop it!" Sadako called out as she continued to struggle. He leaned down next to Nimura,
"This little piggy went to market," The man pulled Nimura's first finger from the deck followed by the next two, "This little piggy stayed at home. This little piggy had roast beef"
"Stop it!" She called again but she fell on deaf ears,
"This little piggy had none" At this point Nimura was barely holding on with a single finger.
"And this little piggy went…" He continued as Sadako finally broke free. She knocked the guards holding her back and turned just as the rhyme was finished,
"wee, wee, wee all the way…" He pulled Nimura's last finger, "…Home"

With his grip to the ship removed Nimura fell. As he fell his mind seemed to freeze, weather it was from the cold of the air rushing past or its refusal to accept what was happening he wasn't sure. The ship seemed to be shrinking so fast that he was sure he could hit the ground any second but then he saw something.

Far above him, diving straight down was Sadako. She had positioned herself completely vertically so she would fall faster and was catching up to him. There was a sudden tight pulling in his chest. If he was to die, he was fine with that but her? No matter what he did there was nothing he really could do, they were both going to die, together. Like Triston and Isolde.

As Sadako came only a couple of feet from him he called out to her, but the words could not be heard over the roar of the winds. It was in this moment that Sadako grabbed Nimura, wrapping her arms fully around him, and then he saw the white of wings. Feathers spread throughout the air along with the red material of her clothing as her wings took form. In that moment Nimura understood. She really and truly was an angel.

………

Onoír sighed quite angrily as he sat, waiting. When he woke up he and Lilly were in a small room, not a cell but not much better. There were a couple of chairs, which they currently occupied and a small window offering some light but other than that, it was all stone. Cold, dark, damp stone. He was sure they were in the bandit's village, somewhere in the middle of the forest. There was also a guard beyond their door, guarding, however he was far from talkative. All in all they had been there for two, maybe three hours now and he was starting to get more than a little agitated.

Lilly was seated over from him, her eyes wide open so he knew she was awake but she might as well have been unconscious for the use she was. Since they had arrived she had just sat there, staring into space. He was hardly talkative himself but at least he moved once in a while. Getting out of his chair he started to pace, back and forward he would go along the cell time and time again. With every lap his patience was nearing breaking point and finally he snapped.

He threw himself at the door and banged it again and again with his fists,
"Let us out of here right now!" He demanded, "You here me? Let us out!" The guard ignored him entirely.
"Save your energy. It won't do any good anyway" Onoír turned on her,
"What would you suggest? Wait here indefinably?" She shook her head,
"No of course not. We just wait until they come and get us"

She looked away,
"There's really nothing more we can do" Onoír wanted to argue the point but he knew well enough that she was right. Even if he banged and roared it wouldn't make any difference. They where stuck there till someone decided to let them out. When he looked back to Lilly she was staring into space again,
"Oh no you don't, I'm not being left to talk to myself again" He said bringing her attention back to him,
"What?" She asked, slightly dazed,
"What have you been thinking about?"

She looked to her feet a moment and then offered her answer,
"Coir" It was the one answer he did not expect or want.
"Oh" Was his simple reply and she shook her head,
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"
"No. You must have been close to him to still think of him now" She offered a slight nod,
"He was my commander back at the academy" She replied, "He wasn't that much older than me, but he was still an excellent instructor" Onoír nodded,
"He was that, he even has something to show the old guys…" Onoír laughed, "… all except Dawn, he never managed to best him. Never"
"Dawn Koisime" He repeated soulfully,
"… now that takes me back"
"Back when we first entered Fanel, just after the Zaibach war we joined the army. It wasn't too long till we were quite high up in the ranks, even so when Dawn first approached the king it was us who had to make sure he was up to the job" Onoír laughed,

"He creamed us, both at the same time. I still remember the look on Coir's face. Priceless"
"So you let him through?" She asked and Onoír shook his head,
"Not a chance. We decided that anyone who was able to beat us so easily had to be up to something but Von being as he is took him on anyway" He laughed again,
"It was years before either of us trusted him… we even learned a few tricks from the man"
"And that's when I came into the picture" Lilly commented, "When I entered the academy"
"I guess. Before then we didn't have any way of 'mass' training, each of us soldiers just took an apprentice and trained them ourselves. You must have left the academy before I took over" Lilly nodded,
"You took over after I had taken my post back in Urthas. He left the academy to become General of Fanelia armies. The post you now hold?" Onoír agreed,
"Yeah. Dawn held the post for a while when he was bodyguard for Von but he had to give it up for obvious reasons" Lilly nodded.

"Even so he and Dawn worked quiet closely together and thats when…" Onoír stopped dead in his tracks as the same memories that had haunted him for so long resurfaced.
"We should stop there" She said but he shook his head,
"It's been 14 years… I think its time someone, anyone hears this story"
"It was back when I was leading the academy when Coir and Dawn vanished. They were close, and so when Dawn appeared and asked him to come he jumped at the opportunity, what he didn't know was how long he would be away" Onoír started,
"He had a wife you know, and a couple of kids. A boy, Alex and a girl, Jennifer. Aya, that was Cóir's wife found it very hard as the weeks became months. As it was it was nearly a six months before they eventually returned in the dead of winter" Onoír sighed,

"That next morning when I came to see Aya I found him there, in his room. He told me that he was leaving that evening again and refused to say why so I lost my temper, through some books off his table and acted like a child. If I had known, perhaps I would have acted differently but perhaps not. Since then I have discovered they were in Zaibach, gathering information on an oppression lead by Chid's men"
"That evening he said his goodbyes, and was gone again in Dawn's shadow. It was early into this trip that he died" Onoír froze for a moment then continued, "No one was sure what happened, we found the ship several weeks later most of its crew killed by Pirates it appeared. In the light of current events it's safe to assume that Chid had something to do with it" His words were becoming strained.

"Aya took the news hard. I came to tell her personally as soon as we had gotten word. She cried for so long. I visited her many times over the weeks that followed, but her grief was always the same. I decided it was best that I move in, that way I could look after the kids for her" Onoír wanted to stop, he didn't want to relive what was to come next but more so he was afraid that if he stopped now he would never finish the story.
"I came back from the academy later than usual one day; there was some rookie recruit who needed some extra work which held me back. When I came into the house everything seemed fine, but then I heard her. Jennifer called out and I ran to were I heard her scream. Even now I have nightmares about what I saw in that bathroom"
"Oh my God..." Lilly started but he cut her off,

"Alex was already dead in the water of the bathtub, and Aya was drowning Jennifer. I couldn't believe what I was seeing but I grabbed her and pulled her back. It seemed like I got to her just in time…" Onoír's words were becoming horse,
"Aya screamed at me, screamed that she wanted to die, that they should be a family again. I held her a short while until she calmed herself, before turning my attention towards Jennifer. She was breathing, and I remember the relief I felt, and curse it. It must have been when my back was turned that she did it, sliced her wrists. I realised what she had done too late, but still I took her in my arms and ran from the house as quickly as I could"

Onoír looked down to his hands as a tear escaped his eyes,
"It is as if her blood is still on my hands, still on my clothes. She was already dead when I got to the castle. It was too late… she had loved my brother so much she could not live without him, so she wanted to take the children to see him" Further tears escaped his eyes,
"My God…" Was all she could say, all her mind would let her say? What was she meant to say to that? She knew of her old teacher's death but not of his family. It might have been inconsiderate of her but she couldn't stop herself asking,
"What happened to the girl?" Onoír looked at her as if she already knew the answer and it hit her,
"That girl? The one you…" Onoír nodded,
"After that Sarah and Gaddes took her in, raised her as their own. Today she has no memory of her life before hand and perhaps it is better that way. I can still teach her and be with her, but even so… she is on longer my niece, she's Gadess's daughter now, my God daughter.

By this point Onoír's eyes hadn't risen from the floor, his tears gathering in the dry dirt. This man hadn't shown any real emotion since she had meet him and here he was crying. She didn't know what to say, what to do until she just did what felt right. She took him in her arms and held him close to her. He didn't fight her, just sat there, the tears reaching a climax then slowly stopped. He turned to face her, his eyes reddened by the water that streamed from there lids and they kissed. At first it was slow, almost platonic but then became more physical as they became comfortable with each other.

Their embraces became more passionate as he too took her in his arms and held her tightly, soaking up everything he could from her very being. There embrace continued to become more passionate before the door to their cell was thrown open. A man stood there and watched as they broke from each other. He smiled,
"The boss will see you now" He told them before turning to lead the way. Onoír got to his feet and straightened himself, Lilly following suit before heading from the cell. It was time to do what they had to.

They weren't lead very far. Their cell appeared to be a building of its own, built into the ground to give the impression of an underground prison but upon leaving it they found themselves in the middle of a small village. Trees from the forest where still spread between the houses and even on the roads, entirely unlike a normal village. It appeared to be built in the middle of the forest, a few dozen houses dotted about the place and even some women and children walking, talking and laughing. None looked in their direction, but they could feel the distaste from them. To Lilly it almost seemed that Onoír knew where he was going, that he was walking with the man, not following.

Only a couple of buildings along from the prison they entered a square, the only place they saw that the trees had been completely cleared from. In the centre of the square there was a large muscular man in a large chair. He wore a robe which she guessed meant he was the boss. He seemed disinterested as they approached but then paid them more heed when he saw their faces,
"Well, well, well" He started, "What brings the mighty leader of Fanelia's armies to our little village?"

There was a muttering around the crowd that was gathering around them,
"Dark times" Was Onoír's reply, "You appear to have me at a disadvantage sir. What is your name?" The boss let out a mighty roar of laughter,
"Oh aren't we polite!" He mocked, "I didn't think us savages would be worthy of such words"
"Manners are a sign of the speaker, not the recipient" Onoír replied, and the boss frowned,
"Now that's the Fanelian attitude I'm used to. Let's keep it the way it should be shall we?" He said, "We don't want to cause a misunderstanding with unflattering flattery"
"As you wish…" Onoír started but then waited for the boss to offer his name,

"Dietmar, Dietmar Elrick. This is my village, as it was my fathers before me and his before that. Why do you come here Fanelian?" These were the words Onoír was waiting and dreading. He waited a moment and then kneeled before the man, his head bowed,
"I have come to request you and you peoples assistance" Onoír's words were sincere, his selfless position clear,
"Get off your knees" Dietmar told him, "It would do you no good anyway. We are well aware of your situation and we have already decided to stay neutral"
"Neutral?" Onoír asked, "How can you be neutral? You need us to live, our city is your life blood" Dietmar nodded,

"Sure it is, and once Fraid is in control it will get the likes of you off our backs" Onoír shook his head,
"You do not understand Fraid is not planning on taking the city, they plan of levelling it. Have you not seen what they have already done to the gates to the forest?" He asked and the man shook his head,
"We have, but that was a military post, Fanel is civilian"
"Then what about Urthas, it wasn't a military post it was a…"
"ENOUGH" The man's voice called out silencing Onoír in mid sentence. He had failed to convince him, "You cannot chance what has already been done. Our decision has been made" Dietmar removed himself from his hair and pointed,
"Go!"

Onoír looked up and got to his feet. Then approaching the man he punched him across the face.
"What are you? A coward! Your father would never have let this happen; you haven't changed a bit from that cowardly little child!"

Several of the other raised their swords and prepared to attack but Dietmar raised his hand,
"Stop. What do you mean?" Onoír stepped back as if he just put his foot in it,
"I know because your father was an honourable man and I know he sent men to fight on the side of Fanelia during the Great War" Dietmar narrowed his eyes,
"And how do you know that then?" He asked,
"Because I was one of them"

There was a cold silence in the air,
"What is your name" He said and then quickly added, "Your real name, not this Fanelian name" Onoír straightened his back,
"Luca. I was born and raised in this village beside you all. You and the Fanelian's are not that different, and they do not deserve this fate. If any of the honour this village had as I was raised is still here then you would come with me and fight for your brothers" Onoír told them all, not just Dietmar. There was a murmur in the crowd and Dietmar approached him,
"You hit me and expect me to help you?" He asked and Onoír nodded,
"Think of it as a wake up call" Onoír offered a snide smile and Dietmar returned it placing his arms around his shoulder,
"I like you. Any man with the balls to do what you just did deserves respect and what he came for" He cleared his throat, "Ok then, we will aid Fanel but be warned there will be a price at the end of this and it wont be cheap" He laughed,
"There always is isn't there?"

Dietmar headed off to his people and Lilly joined Onoír,
"You were born here?" She asked and he nodded,
"Sure, but that's another story for another time. We have to go"
Onoír offered a sign of relief, and they were off. God willing they would arrive in time for otherwise it could all have been for nothing.

……..

There was a small roads that ran threw the dense trees. It was small, almost nonexistent as the trees continued to in-crotch on its pathway. It was always dark there, the canopy of the trees blocking the light, leaving nothing to grow on or by the road. There was a thin layer of leaves across the path, moistened by the damp of the air. IT was always cold, and always quiet on the forest floor.

There was an almighty crashing, following by an opening in the canopy. Nimura, followed by Sadako slammed into the treetops and were descending. There was a flurry of feathers, which spreading into the trees. They brought branches with them as they fell until eventually Nimura managed to grab a hold of one branch and stop his fall only a few meters from the ground. He offered a sigh of relief. Sadako, falling broke the branch in question and they landed on the forest floor with an unpleasant thud.

For a moment neither of them moved, the only sound other than the rustling leaves was their slow deep breaths. Sadako felt numb all over. Slowly, limb by limb she moved each slightly to make sure nothing was broken. When she was sure, and only then she painfully pulled herself off the pathway. She pulled herself up before looking around for Nimura. When her eyes found him he too was getting to his feet.
"Now that, I would not like to do again" Was his first comment. Sadako frowned as she made it into a sitting position.
"Are you all right Sadako? Are you ok" She commented absolutely sure that Nimura would hear her. He laughed,
"Well its good to see you haven't lost your charming sense of humour" Nimura said and she smiled. It was a moment before the mood became awkward, as they remembered what had just befallen them. Nimura took a deep breath before asking,

"Does this mean what I think it does?" He asked. It had been a long time since he first play with the idea of Sadako being Von's father in his head but this had reawakened it. There was really no other explanation. Sadako nodded slowly,
"Yes"
"So your Von's daughter?" He asked to confirm,
"Yeah" He sighed and turned back to her,
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked but she didn't offer much of an answer,
"I just… I don't know really. I guess I was scared of how you would react"

Nimura's face was a little down when he stood up,
"So what are we gonna do?" He said while looking around. Sadako got to her feet,
"What is that it?" She asked, "No angry words, nothing"
"Well you just saved my life so I can't really complain can I?" He replied, "I can't say I am happy that you didn't feel you could tell me but I trust you. If you didn't tell me I'm sure you had a good reason not to"
"Yeah" Was her low reply.
"I think our best bet is to head that way" Nimura said pointing west, "I'm sure that crashed landing craft will attract the others"
"The others?" She asked, "Why are we meeting up with them again?" She asked. She didn't like them, well not Brutus anyway.
"We're gonna need them if we're to complete our mission" Nimura reminded her,
"How?" Nimura tipped his nose,
"Ah, you'll see" He offered a sly smile before starting off down the road, Sadako made to follow but quickly lost her footing and fell to one knee. Nimura turned and offered his hand,

"Are you Ok?" She looked up and nodded,
"Yeah, it's just my back isn't used to… well you know" He took her under the arm and helped her up before wrapping her in his jacket and then his arms.
"Here, rest on me" He encouraged her and she placed her arm of his shoulder. Together they made their way,
"So you're a princess are you?" Nimura asked, "Well, I guess it does make things more interesting" She laughed,
"Maybe it will"

Even though they were slowed it was not long before they the came across the crashed the craft. For a dozen meters behind trees where ripped from their roots, crushed into the forest floor as the craft impacted with the ground. The ship itself hadn't faired much better, the metal frame was crushed inwards were it hit the ground. It even appeared like the craft had flipped before it came to its final resting place. The sight of utter devastation was frightening. They were brought to stop by the sight, before Nimura heading into the recently created clearing.

He looked over to the craft,
"My god" He commented before rushing over to it. It had been beaten all over it actually landing upside-down instead of its normal upright position. Even so Nimura couldn't reach the doorway into the craft which was still several meters above his head. He was glad that he had jumped from the craft, for now he couldn't be sure if he could have controlled it.
"Are they here yet?" Sadako asked as she walked into the clearing herself.
"Not yet, but they should be along" Was his reply but it seemed cooler than usual. There was nothing in his words, all in his tone. Nimura turned back to her and stretched his arms,
"How long?" He asked, taking a seat on one of the broken tree. She offered a perplexed look,
"How long what?"

"How long have you known?" She sighed as she too took a seat upon one of the broken trunks. She thought back in her head, back to when she first saw Von's wings, when she first unfurled her own.
"A couple of months" Was her reply,
"When?"
"On the way back from Asturia, when the ship crashed" She looked around, how funny she should relive the story here,
"So when you fell" He asked, "Your wings were born?" She nodded slowly,
"It was the first time for me. Von saw them as I fell and it was only then that he was sure that I was his daughter. My mother, Hitomi, had never mentioned anything to him about me before she left the second time so he never knew that she was pregnant" Nimura took in the information and she laughed,

"She never told me who my father was either. When I brought it up she would just deflect the conversation and I just gave up trying. I guessed she would tell me when I was ready"
"It must have been weird, to find out that this complete stranger was your father" Nimura asked and she shook her head,
"Not at all. Von was never really a stranger to me" She told him, "My mother would tell me of Gaea when I was a child. I only thought of them as fairytales at the time, but now I know better. The valiant knight Alan Shazar. The powerful bodyguard Dawn Kosime. The ever devious, in a good way, Merle. And everyone else. I knew them all before I even set foot in this world" Nimura smiled,
"That's why you wanted to go to Fanel"
"What?"
"When you first came to our camp you wanted to go to Fanel, this is why" He said, "You wanted to go somewhere you knew, even in this alien world"

Sadako nodded but before she could continue their attention was taken,
"I FOUND IT!" Came a loud shout, "HERE QUICK!" Sadako recognised the voice, it was Asturia's voice. There was a flurry of feet and more bodies appeared out of the woods,
"Took your time" Nimura commented getting to his feet and approaching them, "What you decide to take a detour?" Brutus smiled, his voice thunderous as always,
"You have a knack for landing. Are you sure you haven't missed your calling?" Nimura offer a grin and added,
"Not exactly according to plan but we're here none the less" Sadako approached Nimura from behind and eyed Brutus suspiciously. Nimura may have worked with him, but she still only remembered the fight and the angry man in the cells. She didn't like him, but she wasn't about to say it either.
"Oh isn't this touching" Came Mya's usual cocky voice, "A reunion between friends… Oh where is my handkerchief"

Nimura approached her and stood a moment in which they offered each other distasteful glances. Then Nimura hit her across the cheek. The punch was of such a force that it knocked her to the ground. Sadako took his arm to hold him back but he had no intention of hitting her again. She was utterly helpless, there was no more to be gained through hurting her.
"What do you want to do with her?" Brutus asked but it was Asturia answered,
"Kill her and have it done with" Nimura's eyes where still on her as he answered,
"No. Nobody is killing anyone" Brutus nodded,
"Too many of us have already died today" Were his words, "Anyway she would make a fine prize when we get back to the alliance" Nimura shook his head,
"We can't head back to the alliance either" Each pair of eyes fell upon him,
"What do you mean 'cant?'" Fraid demanded, "Watch me!"
"Stop!" Nimura demanded, "We cannot go back. You heard what she said, the alliance is in turmoil"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" He blurted out, "You believe a word she says?"
"Yes I do" Nimura replied, "It all fits together"
"What do you mean 'Fits together?'" Brutus asked, Nimura offered a solemn look,
"You were all captured a couple of months back, right?" His answer came in the from of a series of nods.
"Well a lot has happened since you where captured" He started, "None of it good" He paused a moment before continuing,
"The alliance has all but broken into a civil war" Nimura told him,
"That's what she says, why you believing her!" Brutus said angrily,
"No, before that. Fraid and Asturia launched a two pronged attack on Fanelia just over a month and a half ago" Fraid and Asturia looked at each other,
"You've gotta be kidding" One exclaimed,
"I wish I was. We left Fanelia to try and raise a few other voices in the alliance against the actions but it appears that the other alliance leaders were afraid that they would be their next target if they spoke out for Fanel" Nimura continued, "Their forces should be nearing Fanel, and now we get this news?" Brutus was going to protest again before he was cut off,

"Why do I believe her?" Nimura repeated, "Because why lie when the truth is more damaging. It was clear that Chid had his eyes on the rest of the alliance, that's why he focused on keeping his military the strongest in the alliance, why he forced the people of Zaibach into the dirt. It was all leading to this. A final push to take control of the alliance from within"
"What do you mean 'force Zaibach into the dirt?'?" He asked, "And anyway this couldn't really happen, not with the council in Norte"
"Excuse me?" Brutus turned, this was the first time the young man from Zaibach spoke up, "It is true, and there have been a lot of people in Zaibach hurt over the past years. Fraid has been fuelling the revolution there with his actions and attacks"

"Ok, but even so what about the council. There is no way they would go along with this!" He demanded.
"If I may interject?" Mya asked, "The council of Norte is no longer an obstacle. The city was burned to the ground a couple of weeks ago… along with the council"
"Good God" Sadako exclaimed,
"The whole city?" Asturia asked, "Destroyed" She nodded her head,
"It's a pity too, they seemed to know what was going on in the alliance, they were even in talk with us to try and bring an end to the war" She continued, "Oh well, I guess we'll just have to continue the bloodshed"
"I've changed my mind. Let's kill her" Were Brutus's words,
"No. We need her alive. If we're found it's important to have a bargaining chip"
"Found?" He asked, "Where are you thinking of going where we might be found?" Nimura smiled,
"That way" He pointed in the direction he and Sadako had come from, "To the capitol of Entóntria"

………

It was early morning and the newly born sun was showering Fanel with its light. Nestled just inside the third wall of the cities defences was a vast and spectacular Chapel. To one side of the building there was a huge and spectacular tower, which rose far above the walls of the city. Its spire had since been removed, replaced by a flat area, where in the coming battle a soldier would lie, and send signals with the command of the tower Babel. The tower Babel would be a clear target, so this was considered the best place to offer orders from.

Above the huge wooden doors, which were four men wide an enchanting stain glass window of all the colours of the rainbow glistened in the light. The scene depicted on the window was that of the meeting of Von's father and mother at the great lake. All around the fantastic icons where hundreds of small fireflies, and Von's father was on his knees taking his mothers hand. It was a fitting image for the chapel in peace, but not in war.

All around the chapel there are hundreds of stone statues, carved into the walls of the chapel itself. There were also other scenes from the recent history of Fanelia depicted across its wall as well as other stain glass windows which left the inside of the chapel with a wondrous rainbow effect.

Inside the chapel there stood a pulpit from which the leader of the congregation would speak, however it was not the focus. All around him was an incredible series of statues rein-acting the battle of Tann, the fortress that became Fanel. The pulpit was placed below the battle, a holy battle in Fanelia. Above everything there were three huge dragons, not like the land dragons that roamed the forests but majestic and beautiful dragons.

There was a thunderous crash and the doors to the chapel were thrown open. Von entered, and made his way to the pulpit. With each step there was the loud thudding of his boots, echoing around the large empty ceiling. He passed row after row before coming to a complete stop ahead of the scene of the battle. His face was hard, his figure adorned with his full Fanelian armour. He was ready for war.

He cleared his throat as if addressing a crowd,
"How has it come to this" Where his words, when no response was offered he continued,
"Fanel stands on the brink of destruction, its people scattered, its men ready to lay down their lives for you, and what is the point!" He yelled.
"Sirona", Von started referring to the dragon to the left, a long dragon with blue scales and thunderous red eyes, "You are the Goddess of healing are you not! Well you people need healing"
"Andraste", where is next words, refer the large bodied central dragon, its scale of fiery red, "You are the Goddess of victory are you not? Where is your victory? Your people thirst for it!"
"Belenus" Von continued, referring to the dragon to the right, another long dragon this time of a greeny colour, "Are you not the God of wisdom? Where is your wisdom? Why are your people left to their own wisdom when yours can offer us which we seek?"

Von stepped further forward and onto the same level as the pulpit. He offered out his hands, pleading to the God's statues,
"Your people are crying out for you. Can you not hear them! Can you not hear their prayers? Their suffering! What God's let their people suffer when they stay true to their course?" He said before a pause, "Unless of course you too are afraid of what the future holds

Taking another step into the recreated battle scene Von stood beside the image of Andreas. With a mighty push he knocked over the statue, down from the stage where it shattered on impact with the ground,
"God's who do nothing are useless. Men who do nothing are cowards, but you won't see one of them tonight. Not tonight". Von turned and jumped from the stage onto the cool marble floor. He looked at it a moment,
"Will you see light again sleeping dragon?"

It was as he rose to his full height that a young soldier ran into the chapel calling out to him,
"Lord you are needed at the gates. Fraid and Asturia's standards have been spotted!" Von sighed,
"Show some respect, this is a house of the God's" Von demanded ironically. As he exited the building he muttered under his breath,
"So, they have come"

Beyond the chapels doors Von found his horse where he left it, a magnificent beast with a coat of white. He took his place upon it and as if the hounds of hell where on his heels he charged through the cities streets towards the first defensive wall. It was not the same place it once was, hundreds of soldiers had gathered, dozens more men where around catapults and Trebuchet on and off the walls. Their faces were gloomy, almost morbid. They had reached the end of the road, and there was nothing left now except honour and death. He heard high from the walls a mans yell,
"A herald approaches!"

As Von approached the gate into the city, a huge three-story passageway through the walls protected by doors and steel his eyes found Merle, Sanjiyan and Alexander waiting for him upon their own horses. His beast slowed to a trot as he spoke to them,
"You all planning on coming?" Von asked,
"Sire, I must request that you stay within the castle. There is no advantage to sending you out into danger" Alexander protested but Von shook his head,
"There is no advantage but plenty of disadvantage to not going. I have to show them I, and no other man of this city is afraid of them, or afraid to die. Besides perhaps there is a way to avoid this senseless battle"
"If there are no other objections shall we go?" Von said with a smile before yelling on the top of his lungs, "OPEN THE GATE!" There was a series of yells of the same nature growing more distant until a loud metallic grinding started. The gates to the city began to rise out of the ground itself leaving only the huge wooden door. As they started toward it the door began to slowly open as several guards pulled it.

With the doorway clear they rode out of the city, and approached the army amassing just before the forest. In the middle of the clearing five horses were waiting for them. As they approached they reduced their speed and approached slowly. Upon the horses there were two normal soldiers, one from Asturia the other from Fraid. Areon, leader of the Asturian forces and the leader of the Fraid forces Onoír had seen approaching the city. Upon the final horse there appeared to be a man tied up, his face was bruised and cut, and although he was in clean clothes they were sure the cuts didn't end their.
"Néigh" Merle spoke under her breath and Von nodded.

She was right, the man was the governor of Fanelia's second city, and Lilly' brother, Néigh. Their horses came to a complete stop not two meters from their enemies. The tension that filled the air was intense, before the leader of Fraid's forces spoke.
"Lord Fanel, I am honoured that you would come to meet us personally. I only wish it was under better circumstances" He man bowed as he spoke and Von nodded,
"I too wish that these were better circumstances. It is a pity that so many of your men are likely to die" Von's response was cold and calculating, the general raised out of his bow,
"Now, now, I do believe that both of our forces stand on the brink of destruction if this battle is to go ahead" Von agreed,
"Indeed but I don't seem to have an army on your doorstep, while you have one of mine" He nodded,
"Very true, and we would be willing to pull them back" Von laughed,
"Oh yes, I'm sure you would"
"We would. Times have changed my Lord. The alliance has more pressing maters to the east"

"You mean Entóntria" Von clarified and he nodded
"We cannot be fighting amongst ourselves if we are to defeat them" He told Von, "You will accept this truce, I know you will"
"What makes you so sure?" Von asked and he smiled. Von couldn't see it through his hood but he knew he smiled,
"Because I know you. I have fought with you. I know how you think, and I know you would do anything to protect the people of this city"
"Who are you?" He asked,
"I am 2nd in command of Fraid's four. General of the Eastern armies of Fraid. My name is unimportant. Will you agree to our truce?"

Von nodded,
"I will agree to the truce. We will meet back here in two hours to finalise the arrangements" He smiled,
"I am pleased that you have seen to follow the correct path, here…" He said, taking Néigh of his horse and passed him to Sanjiyan, "… take your man here as a sign of good faith between us" Von nodded in thanks, however Areon offered some last words to Alexander,
"See you in hell, traitor"
"Only if you leave the door open"

They slowly departed the field. Sanjiyan turned to him and took the gag from Néigh's mouth,
"Are you all right?" He asked as he took in the clean air,
"Been better"
Once he was sure they were a good enough distance from them Von whipped his horse for greater speed,
"Why are we rushing, this is good isn't it?" Merle asked and Von shook his head,
"He was lying, and I was lying and we both know it. All that is left is for the battle to begin"

Unknown to them, as the generals made their way back to their army Fraid's general raised his hand as an unspoken signal and a single archer fired. Its arrow found its target in Merles back. She cried out. The sudden force made her lose hold of her horses reins but Von was able to grab her. Taking her onto his horse she muttered,
"My God, what have they done?"

Von held her as close to him as he could and yelled,
"Is that the game you're playing? I want Dolár brought out. Behead him, and make sure they see it all. Place it on a spike above the gates. Well we can play as well"
"You can't be serous?" Alexander asked,
"I've never been more serous" Von added angrily, "They will regret their actions. I will make sure of it?"

End of Chapter Fifteen
………
Butch Cassidy
13.09.06 (Euro-Date system DD.MM.YY)
………

Author Message:
Wow, now that was a long time. I do apologise for it but… Let's see what's happened since my last release. I ran Irelands largest anime convention, dealt with family bereavement, started working for the government, moved to another city, formed a non-profit organisation, nearly had my house burn down and was dumped all while studying for university exams. I think that's most of it anyway.  Hopefully you can all forgive me for the delay.

Well it's been a long road and we have finally come to it, the Siege of Fanel. I don't know how many of you will remember but you have already seen parts of the siege in pervious chapters through visions and so forth. Have a look back and see how the pieces all fall into place or I hope they do

Five more chapters to go folks, so please don't lose interest the end is in sight. Now three quarters through the series and I'm looking forward to the challenge of these last few chapters and rounding it all out for you.

I personally have no idea when the next chapter will be out because it's going to be big and tough but God willing it will be sooner rather than later as even more importantly hopefully my life will calm down enough for me to work on it. Whenever it is, I'll see you there.

Butch.