Wind and Water Chapter VIII: When You Chase the Clouds

Disclaimer: Mabinogi belongs to Nexon and whoever else developed it... enough said.

A/N: I'll leave it up to the readers to find out where the chapter titles come from from now on. No sharing.

The question was answered relatively quickly this time, but then I think I made it a bit easy. Next time I'll be sure to pick something hard. Congratulations to xHeliX.

Ne?- Right?

"Speaking" "Reading Aloud"

Narration- Describing off-screen events (When it appears in story)
Exposition- Restating the most recent events of the prior chapter.

'Thinking' '-Telepathy-'

Underlined text is written on paper/wood/etc.

Flashback, Memory, and Similar.

"While in flashback, this is speaking."

'While in flashback, this is thinking.'

I found myself on a broad, frozen waste. The sky above me was black, but there was no moon, and the world was lit as if in broad day-light. And I could not feel the chill about me, either. Nearby, a cliff's edge overlooked a vast, desolate city. It's not as if the city was ruined... It was just empty. Of life, of love, of dreams. This was a dead place, fit for none but the dead. And I lay as if dead against a large, circular grave-marker, my sword planted in the ground beside me, crossing with me spear. I lay there for a long time, staring at bizarre, red clouds drifting by above, though they left no shadows. I don't know how long I sat there, watching the clouds and dwelling on things long since come to pass, but eventually, a light appeared... a star, in the darkness above. Gradually, it grew larger, and I stared at it, curiously, as it became more prominent. And then, it seemed to come to rest above me. "What's this?" A voice asked, resonating throughout the waste, "Such a precious gem, laying here in the ash by the river..."

Without thinking, I stood and reached for the light, and it grew infinitely larger, filling my vision and blinding me...

I awoke, thoroughly confused by my dream. My expression was bewildered as I dressed, and Eiry hovered at my side, "Are you alright, Master?"

'-Fine-' I responded as I dressed, '-Last night's dream was just... Confusing.-'

"Hm... Well, I'm sure Master will figure it out!" The little spirit said, her face and voice filled with the utmost confidence in my ability.

I nodded, it was impossible to become disheartened when looking at such an optimistic face (1). As I dressed, I recalled last night's dream.

I blinked, clearing my mind, and without further ado, I set out downstairs, pausing beside Sert's door long enough for Eiry to shout, "Fomor invasion!" causing the red-headed swordsman to jump out of bed in a panic before concluding it was another of Eiry's pranks. I continued down the stairs to see Syra had already finished breakfast, "You slept in a bit today, Aeria."

I gave a small nod, '-I had another dream.-'

"Really?" She asked, "About what?"

'-Sitting in an empty field of snow, and bright light.-'

"Hm..."

'-There was also a cliff overlooking a large, desolate city.-'

Syra scratched her head, "Ah.. I have no idea what it could be about."

I gave her a small, minute nod as I sat down and looked out the window, lost in my own thoughts. For some reason, Syra and Sert had passed off my dream of my death as an ordinary nightmare... as I obviously wasn't a ghost. I, however, knew I was dreaming of my past life, not my past, which led to my conclusion that I had just dreamed of limbo. And, apparently, someone had pulled me from it, before Nao had pulled me from it.

I shifted my attention from my dream as I finished writing it in my note-book, and instead focused on eating my food as Sert came down the stairs. Eiry spoke up from my sad, "Wow, master! That's the fastest I've ever seen you write!"

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I shrugged. Our meal passed in companionable silence, and that silence remained unbroken until I set my fork down and stood up, heading for the door and beckoning Eiry from her place, floating around Sert and teasing him by becoming insubstantial whenever he swatted at her. Together, we set off to the school, first to spar with Aranwen for an hour or so, and then to attend one of Stewart's lectures when Aranwen's students started filtering in. Unfortunately, Stewart's lecture was centered around a book that I didn't have, so I didn't learn much.

"You shouldn't worry about not having the book." Stewart said, addressing me just after the last of his students left the room. "It's the Book of Fireball, and no store sells it. You can only obtain it by collecting the pages from monsters... That aside, you excel at lightning and ice magic, do you not? You should focus on finding the Books of Ice Spear and Thunder."

I nodded to him, '-Alright... I will. I'll watch for the pages the next time I find myself in a dungeon.-' I didn't tell him I planned to leave Dunbarton soon. I was still thinking on where I would go next, but it didn't seem like there was much left to learn here. At best, I could learn three more spells from Stewart, but that would involve collecting the pages to the advanced spell books... which required me to leave Dunbarton anyway.

Stewart nodded to me and spoke, reminding me that I was still in his classroom, "Alright... is anything the matter? You seem a bit distracted..."

'-No, nothing really. Just thinking.-' I assured him as I left the room. Where to next? As I wondered about aimlessly, I found myself ascending to the small overlook the church was situated on. I walked to the edge of the stone rise and sat, legs hanging over the edge, watching the city below. "Spring has nearly come to pass. The flowers have begun to wither and die. Where in this world is the last flower? When will it too wither?" I turned to the voice and saw Kristell was standing nearby, hands clasped behind her back. She looked down at me with her pink eyes, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. '-Why aren't you in the chapel?-'

"Contrary to popular belief, there isn't much to do for a priestess in the chapel. Once your daily chores are done, you're left with nothing to do but sit and reflect. I simply prefer to be outside... It's a nice view, isn't it?"

I nodded, '-It is. You don't seem surprised I can 'speak' with you.-'

She smiled a small smile that could have represented any out of a large variety of emotions. "I'm harder to surprise than most people. What are you doing up here by yourself?"

'-What else would I be doing? I'm thinking.-'

"About?" She inquired.

'-Things... Memories, dreams... Decisions.-'

"I see... Whatever you decide to do, burn this moment into your memory. It will never happen again."

I nodded, standing up and taking in the city. Before my eyes the walls grew further apart, the buildings higher, and the streets cleaner. The gardens grew more graceful, and the people more numerous. The sky became a more vibrant shade of orange, mixing with pink as the sun set. It was a magnificent sight, and then I blinked, and it was gone. '-I'll be going then, Kristell.-'

"Don't get lost on your way home." She spoke. Even though I couldn't see the priestess, I could feel her unblinking eyes following me down the stairs.

"Master." Eiry spoke, floating over my shoulder, "Don't worry about getting lost. I'll point you home if you do." I nodded, smiling halfheartedly. The little spirit beside me probably didn't understand half of what transpired in the conversation I had just had with the priestess. I waited until that evening before gathering my things and slipping out in the night. I made it to the gate when a voice halted me. "Are you really leaving them behind?"

I turned to see Nao standing in the moonlight, near to the door of the house I had been staying at. 'I have to start my journey sooner or later, right? I've learned all I can from the people here.'

"Then let me give you one final lesson in this city... You harbor the soul of a hero, but you are still a child. Don't waste your childhood away again." She walked up to me, placing a silver belt buckle adorned with a complex knot into my hands. "The decision is yours to face the fomors. As much as I'm loathe to admit it... the fomors may decide to face you. They're slipping through the cracks appearing in the seal, so be careful. There will be others akin to you – only a few – but you are still unique among them all. Two of them are living in Taillteann. One of them wanders the countryside. If you're going to tackle the fomorian army so quickly, you'll need their help. We'll meet again, alright?" She vanished, almost melting into the moonlight.

"Hey Aeria! Where do you think you're going?" Seconds after Nao disappeared, Sert emerged from the house, Syra in toe.

'-To face the fomors, as I was brought here to do.-' I responded simply.

"And you're just going to leave without a word? I can help, you know."

"You know Aeria, you're not alone anymore." Syra added. Her statement struck a chord in me, as I remembered when someone else said those exact words to me... before dying.

'-I can understand Sert coming but... Syra, you should stay.-'

"But.." Syra started, only for Sert to cut in.

"I agree with her... You're just not cut out for it, Syra. We've been training for this sort of thing day in and day out... you've been living your life like a normal person... I don't think either of us wants to take that away from you."

"But-" Syra started again, only for me to cut her off.

'-Who's going to take care of the house? Who's going to welcome us home when we return?-'

Sert added onto my argument shortly thereafter. "Yeah, I can't imagine Dunbarton without you... If you come with us, I won't have any reason to go back when all's said and done."

I stepped forward and took both twins' hands in my own. "Let's make a promise... When hands crossed over each-other... their owners will always remember the warmth they shared that day."

At this point, Syra was speechless, and I took the opportunity to step back, Sert following me. '-We won't leave you alone, okay? Keep waiting for us to return, and we will.-' Hesitantly, she nodded. With that, Sert and I left Dunbarton, the gates shutting behind us. I glanced back and smiled, one last time, to Syra as the gates swung shut. With a halfhearted wave of farewell, she was obscured from view.

"So where to?" Sert asked as we started walking. Apparently he couldn't take the silence very long.

'-Taillteann.-' I answered, starting off to the northwest.

"Master..." Eiry spoke, "Why aren't you crying?"

I didn't answer for a while, continuing to walk, Sert behind me, as tears were held back in my eyes. I never said it, but at that time I felt that if I did start to cry... it would really be 'good-bye', not 'see you later.'

Under the solemn gaze of the stars, we started our journey... this time, for real.

-Author's Note-

I wanted to make this longer, but felt that it would ruin the chapter.

-Footnotes-

(1): Warning: Double edged-sword. If Eiry actually became disheartened...