************* Timestamp – One Month Previous************
The sun slowly rose over the horizon, Cosmo slowly awoke to the brightness hitting his eyes. Light flooding through the cracks of the abandoned house that he found himself in after fleeing his village in the Yachas. The house was situated outside of Paddra, the home of the Nsu clan and it's Seeress Yeul. He slowly pushed himself up off the pelt and looked around the room, his blue eyes gaining a slight tint from the dawn light that was spreading slowly through the room. Barely anything remained in this house to show someone had lived in it. Yawning and stretching slightly, Cosmo stood and began his morning routine. Stretching his whole body out first to loosen up, then flowing through the Sun's Rise. A short technique in order to get blood flowing all around and to wake the body up and get it ready faster than it would normally take. Rise involved Cosmo having his right leg out in front, then as the sun itself rises, so too does this foot. In the space of a few seconds, Cosmo executed a standing back flip, using his hands to maintain the balance of the move. This very quick motion gets the heart working and blood pumping. After repeating the move Cosmo felt as if he had been awake for hours.
Shaking his arms slightly, Cosmo proceeded to roll up the pelt he slept on and attach it to the travel sack he was using as a pillow. The sack did not contain much, just a few spare pieces of cloth for repairing his clothes with, a small amount of medical supplies and some seasonings for the meat he got from hunting. Once the pelt was secured, Cosmo fixed his clothing slightly. He didn't wear anything fancy, just a simple black shirt made from dyed sheep's wool and some shorts with a belt made from a beasts hide. Which beast, Cosmo doesn't know as it was something his father gave him before he set out on this journey. The belt contained a few loops for holding a small knife and a small pouch on the right side which was only really big enough to hold a replacement piece for the other item which his father passed onto him. A gauntlet made from Pulsian steel and infused with a small nugget of Adamantite, the Adamantite was something the village held dear and only his father spoke to the chief and the elder's discussed the matter for three long days, did they allow him to use it in the creation of the gauntlet. The gauntlet extends from Cosmo's fingertips up to his elbow and has carvings all along it. Some are simple Puslian markings, others are the wishes of the few remaining villagers. Cosmo looked at the gauntlet and closed his eyes as he remembered the final words his father gave him.
"You do know what you are about to do boy..." My father said to me, forcing me to reinforce the idea and to make my will as strong as it should be for the journey.
"If I don't do this, then all is lost. I know the weight of the cause and the burden that comes with it. But, if not me, then who else would do this." I shook my head slightly "No, I have to do this. Not just for the sake of our village, but for all the others who call Gran Pulse home."
My father simply smiled at me, I had no idea what was going through his head. He nodded slightly before holding out a small wooden box.
"This is our last gift to you my boy." My father said, I could detect a hint of sadness in his voice. "The Chief, Elders and I had a long discussion about it...If you are going to go, then you will take this along with you." He placed the box on the floor in front of me before taking a step back and crossing his arms. "For nineteen years you have lived in this village, nineteen years you have spent learning, training and understanding. We decided that you take this, the strongest piece of equipment any of us have ever forged. Take this with you, do not forget what you are standing for and above all else..." Father took a breath here "Never forget...Who. You. Are." His eyes reinforced the meaning behind this.
I met my father's eyes and nodded, showing him my determination on this matter. Bending down onto one knee, I opened up the box to reveal a gauntlet. I was a little confused at this since, with Hand to Hand, I was probably one of the weakest in the village. "A gauntlet, father?" I asked him.
"Yes, it took a few days to make it to be a perfect fit for your arm and yours only. It is a three stage weapon. As for what the other stages manifest themselves as is down to you. The gauntlet is the first stage, in this it will transfer your speed and flexibility into the punch, making them more powerful than anyone else could muster." Father explained to me.
'So that's why.' I thought to myself, speed and flexibility were my speciality. Coming a close second was endurance in those fields and taking hits. I nodded at my father before picking the gauntlet up out the box. It was incredibly lightweight and yet, it felt as if it would never break. Looking closer, the blacksmithing lessons I was taught were paying off. I could see something interlaced with the metal. Looking closer it could only be one thing. "Adamantite" I gasped. "How did you get the Chief to part with it?" I asked with amazement in my eyes.
My father laughed before explaining "I argued with him. Simple as. I told him of what you wanted to do. Explaining the news from other villages and even the towns. After the first day he agreed to relent on it. However, he brought the Elder's in to decide what it would be mixed with. At first both me and the Chief thought a sword would be the most effective. However, the Elder's thought of reviving our oldest blacksmithing technique. They thought to create a weapon that is alive. Three tiers, all linked to you. They decided on the gauntlet for the first tier. As for what the second and third tier's are?" Father shrugged at this point "It is all down to you."
I took all this information in while still staring in awe at the weapon. Looking over the weapon again, I notice that there are some messages inscribed onto the steel. The messages were from various villagers. All of them putting their faith into me and all of them playing a part in the making of the weapon. "Did...did everyone really have a role in making this, father?" I asked
"The remaining villagers did not want you to leave without a weapon that help you throughout this journey. All of them played a part in making this, whether it was in the crafting of it, or in the chanting to will the steel and adamantite to fuse into a strong alloy. Simply put, it is all our hopes and wishes to carry you through this journey."
I simply could not hold back the emotions I was feeling, happiness, excitement and sadness among others. Tears formed and fell from my face, the smile and amazement never left. To me, there was no better gift. This truely was the Sun's Ray of Hope. "It...is our Ray of Hope. The Sun's Ray of Hope. And thus it shall be named, to show that even in darkness. The smallest light can banish the unknown and bring peace and comfort." The words just formed and came out of my mouth while my brain was telling my body to put the glove on. Lining it up with my right arm, I unhooked a latch on the side and placed it in. The end reaching just short of my elbow. It was a perfect fit, not tight and not loose, the latch on the side closed itself and simply faded into the steel. It was as if Ray of Hope and I fused.
My father simply smiled at this point and walked out of the room, he went to the front room of our small house and picked up a pelt and a pack, hauling them over his shoulder with ease and placing them by the main door. "Son, when you are ready, your provisions are by the front. Know that you go with our clan's spirit, and will at your back, there to provide light on your travels."
Shaking his head slightly, Cosmo brought himself back from his memory. He smiled after grabbing his pack and exiting the building. Taking in a deep breath of the new morning air, he set out again. He was determined to make some decent progress, Oerba was a distance away and the Vestige was not going to get closer anytime soon. Securing the pack over his shoulder and using some rope to secure it around his back, Cosmo then did a few small stretches before sinking down slightly onto his right knee and shooting off into the distance. Cosmo ran at a fairly fast pace and was using the landscape to keep his momentum going with little effort. Using rocks and sometimes parts of a cliff face to keep a decent speed going.
By the time the sun was reaching its zenith in the sky, Cosmo found himself in the valley below the Tower of Taejin. It's height is unfathomable whether at distance or up close. Some say from the very top, you could reach Cocoon. However, this was not the time for Cosmo to get sidetracked. He was faced with two options here.
"Now what to do here, I could either scale the cliff face, be under threat from wyverns and skirt the tower. Or I could proceed through it to the Seventh floor and take a machination back down to the outskirts of Oerba." Cosmo said out aloud. Probably too loud as his voice echoed in the valley slightly and was met with a low growl. Cosmo instinctively got into a low crouch and put his guard up. Whatever was coming didn't sound big or menacing. But out here, better to be prepared than overconfident. Keeping the right arm out to the side and ready to either attack or defend, he faced the direction the growl was coming from.
Seconds passed, slowly fading into minutes, the growl still being heard as it now started to bounce more and more around the valley, giving the illusion there was more than one attacking Cosmo. Responding by calming his nerves and focusing on one point, he was able to pinpoint the rough location of the beast. Too bad for Cosmo when the beast finally showed up, it was completely the opposite of its growl. A Mánagarmr slowly made its way along the valley towards Cosmo. The silver pelt of the fierce beast combined with the sheer amount of exterior bone structure, that gives the beast a rather unique but still utterly terrifying look, was painted slightly red, as if it had been in a battle just prior to thinking of Cosmo as an easy meal.
Upon seeing the beast Cosmo froze up, just for a second, the beast had been smart enough to change its growl, use the cliff faces and valley to create echoes. It was not going to be easy to defeat, even if it is supporting wounds. On Gran Pulse, wounded beasts mean one of two things. One, it escaped or two, it killed whatever laid those wounds on it. Neither option is good, as a wounded beast fights recklessly and ferociously. Cosmo kept his body in the Sun's natural stance, left leg forward, left arm raised across the chest and right arm pulled back and out to the side slightly. Giving the best flexibility between defence and offense while presenting a smaller target. He hoped that the small amount of time he practiced with the gauntlet would be useful, as up until now luck was blessing him with safe travels. "Seems Lady Luck has left me for now, ah well. Time to do this the hard way." Cosmo said before launching towards the beast, his left leg propelling him enough distance it was if he could fly. He was within hitting distance when he swung his body around and aimed for the beasts wounded side with his gauntlet. The beast was not going to be that easy, almost as fast as Cosmo closed the distance, it evaded back and went for a lunge, hoping to sink its many sharp teeth in tasteful human flesh.
The battle slowly turned into one of attrition, man and beast both equally matched, for Cosmo was inexperienced with the weapon and the beast was wounded. It was only when the bone protruding from the beasts head caught Cosmo on his left leg that things slowly went downhill. The bone did not cut deep, but it was long and shallow. Blood slowly started to cover his entire lower leg. Cosmo shook his head before slowly starting to fight defensively, keeping distance and waiting to make a counter attack. 'Should've practiced more' Cosmo mentally berated himself. Scanning his eyes around quickly, he noticed the beast was pushing him closer and closer to a crevice in the valley rock face, one where Cosmo could not dodge to the left or right. 'Thank the maker for having the only crevice in the valley right near me when I am being mauled by a thrice damned silver beast' Cosmo's mind slowly started making the insults more colourful and innovative while trying to position him and the beast away from the crevice.
It was only when the beast misjudged a leap and ended up hitting a rock and falling to the ground that Cosmo saw an opportunity. Lunging forward and then Jumping as high as he could, Cosmo flung himself around in the air and aimed the gauntlet for the beasts head. The Mánagarmr tried to get back up before the attack hit but to no avail. The gauntlet covered fist buried itself in its head, completely smashing through the bone and leaving a small impact crater just underneath.
Cosmo let out a small sigh before wiping his forehead with his left arm and moving over to a slightly bigger rock to examine the wound. Resting his leg on the rock, the cut was just below his knee and went slightly downwards across his shin. He kept his leg raised on the rock while undoing the rope on his pack so he could grab some healing salve to put over the wound. He noticed a faint whistling noise reverberating around the valley. It was only when it started to get closer that Cosmo thought the best idea right now, would be to duck. So he pushed his right leg back and did a sort of splits with one leg on the rock just in time. The point, blade and shaft of a halberd shot by, missing the top of his head by a very tiny distance. Feeling as though he was about to crap himself, Cosmo quickly got his pack off and grabbed the salve when the sound of running was getting closer. Applying a small amount of salve across the entirety of the cut before sealing the jar back up and placing it in his pack. With the salve applied the blood slowly started to stop seeping from the wound and he would have to wash the dried blood from the lower part of his leg later. 'Wash leg later, for now, be prepared to fight or run' ran through Cosmo's mind a few times. But it occurred to him, whoever was the owner of the weapon, and a fine looking weapon it was, would not use it like such. A halberd was not meant for throwing, sure it had a spike on the end, but that was more to jab enemies with, not launch at Etro knows how fast at someone's head.
Cosmo went over to the halberd which was slightly stuck in the softer part of the rock face, easing it out carefully he examined the point and blade for any damage. It was a very well crafted weapon to not break after that, so he held onto it once the owner of the heavy footsteps got closer. Once they got around the corner where Cosmo got attacked by the Mánagarmr, both of them were in for a shock.
Cosmo was surprised with what he saw. A female, no doubts taller than him, wearing a green sari and completely out of breath. She looked as though she was fleeing something big. Judging by her height and the length of the weapon, Cosmo put two and two together and held out the halberd by the middle of the shaft before shouting "Hey there, this belong to you?"
The woman jumped in surprise, she did not expect anyone else out here. Hell, the only thing she thought passed through this section of the valley were large beasts or people with a death wish. She looked over the person holding her halberd. He looked to be shorter than herself and looked to pack a lot less power and strength as, while there was some muscle definition, it was not that much. Although, judging by his lower half, he looked to be a speedy little bastard. Strong thighs and powerful calves, gave the impression that all the guy was good for was running. That was when her eyes looked back up, noticing the blue eyes and rough brownish hair, then past them to the beast on the ground. A beast, with its head completely caved in and a crater to boot. 'Heh, looks like he has a few surprises up his sleeve' She thought to herself while finally catching her breath back.
Walking over to the woman, Cosmo rested the halberd up against the rocks with the point and blade on the ground. "Guessing it is yours then huh?" He asked once more, although, he didn't need confirmation to know. The weapon and the user always have a way of speaking without even needing to speak. One person, one weapon. Everyone unique with how they use them.
"Yes it is, thanks" The woman finally breathed out. Her voice tinged with a deeper Pulsian accent than his own. "Thought I lost it when fighting an Amam" She pointed over the shoulder to the dead beast "An Amam is a grownup version of that."
Cosmo looked her over and her body language and eyes gave nothing away. Yet, he found himself more staring than examining. The woman had a solid frame to her, with defined muscles and a very well toned abdomen. Her eyes were green along with her Sari and her black hair was cut short and kept back in a ponytail with a few bangs falling over her face slightly. Cosmo knew it was not good manners to just gawk so he lowered himself onto the ground and sat against the rock face. "So, first things first, what is your name and what are you doing all the way out here?" he asked politely.
"Name's Yun Sollette." Instantly the clan name got a reaction from Cosmo, his eyes slightly widening in amazement. "Seems you know of the Yun's quite well. Anyways, I am out in this hell hole to hunt aforementioned Amam to be allowed to be the one from my town to make the journey." Cosmo understood the meaning of that very well. Most clan's refer to what he embarked out on as a Journey. The last journey most ever make, but for some, it is a gateway to a long sleep and peace.
"Seems I am not the only one being sent then, nice to run into you at least. I am Sun Cosmo, also taking the journey." He replied, Sollette nodding slightly at hearing the clan name.
"I thought the Sun clan was all wiped out during the previous battle? You and the Sol were targeted as you were closest to the battle frontier..." Sollette started before Cosmo cut in.
"Some of us made it out alive, while we may not be wiped out, if my journey is not completed, we may as well be." Anger laced the entirety of his words.
Sollette had good instincts to know not to push him further, instead she sat down next to him and placed her supply pack behind her to rest on. She decided instead to ask about how he could have defeated the Mánagarmr like that. She thought it must be something to do with the metal on his right arm. "What is that and how did you manage that?" Sollette inquired, pointing first to Cosmo's right arm and then to the beast.
"Long story short, the Sun clan used an ancient blacksmithing technique and crafted me this weapon, to which I had little practice with before that attacked and pretty much ended up getting lucky after it hit a rock and fell on its already wounded side. Jumping up, I slammed the gauntlet into its head and well, you can see the outcome." Cosmo explained, while Sollette just resorted to stifling laughter. To the Yun, a lucky kill is not even worth note. If you got lucky, you got singled out as a weaker member, having to rely on luck. Cosmo picked up on the laughter and a smirk started to take form while he bluntly asked "So, how did your halberd come to be flying past my head and you running like you have hell at your feet?"
Sollette furrowed her eyebrows and frowned at Cosmo, obviously he knew enough about the Yun's to know that if they lost their weapon in a fight or on the field, they best come back with it or not at all, as the weapon is a Yun's life. They are to live, fight and die with them. "Decided to lop its head off after killing it, put in way too much force and it slipped from all the blood and sweat on my hands halfway through the swing. Happy now?" She replied while glaring at Cosmo's smirking face, she was half tempted to punch him right then and there, but though better of it. While she was trying to be accepted for the Journey, he was already on his for his clan. As if he was reading her mind, Cosmo stood up and offered her his hand "Well you killed what you came for right? Might as well start your Journey with me since you are already halfway there."
Sollette was shocked slightly at that, sure she could turn him down, return to her town and report the kill. Then start her journey, but odds are, she probably would not run into Cosmo again, and that was something she didn't like. Even though she only just met him and already wanted to hit him upside the head, something in the back of her mind was nagging at her that this guy was not normal, from the weapon to his appearance, something was strange about him and she wants to know more. Nodding to herself before accepting his hand and being pulled up, Yollete said "Alright then, you make a good point. Cuts out time and saves me running into more weaklings to kill" Smirking as she said that last point, she probably could beat Cosmo in a heartbeat, but for now holding it over him will have to do. As far as she knew, she was probably the second or third strongest Yun. The first having gone on her journey already after losing her parents and being sent to an orphanage. Grabbing her pack and halberd she composed herself before pointing towards the tower with the halberd, using it as if it was as light as a feather.
"We still have some ways to go, we will probably reach the doors by nightfall at best or we will have to set up camp in a cave further in if we do not get there in time. This place is hell once the darkness kicks in. Come on then Sunny Boy, let's get going" Sollette laughed as she took off while Cosmo processed what she just called him.
"Sunny Boy huh? Well, Sun here is going to show you why nothing is faster than its' light" Cosmo said before launching himself after Sollette, grabbing his pack off the ground as he runs after her.
/
Author's Note:
Hi CosmoKitsune here, just want to say thanks for reading this and please leave a review or send me a PM if you find any errors :D
You will make me a happy bunny by doing so :3
Anyways, hope you enjoyed and I shall see you in the next chapter ^.^