Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss.
Chapter 29
Undineday, Gnome-Decan 48, ND2019 – 7:45pm local time (East Sylvana)
Jade sat at the table in the Albiore's galley, sipping tea from the standard-issue metal camp mug that was part of his military kit. In another hour or so, the group would reach Keterburg.
His five companions were napping in the crew cabin, taking the opportunity to rest prior to their after-dark arrival in the snowy city, but Jade had been unable to fall asleep. He had too much on his mind. The sentiences, the passage rings, the Sephiroth, the natural disasters plaguing Auldrant – they were all connected, but too many pieces were missing from the puzzle. He hoped that Undine would be more forthcoming, and more receptive to questions, than Ifrit or Sylph had been. But first, the group would have to climb Mount Roneal in the worst weather the Sylvanian continent had ever recorded.
He was reasonably certain that Nephry could provide the information they needed about the conditions on Mount Roneal. Temperature, wind speed, and snow depth observations would be useful, but the most important thing to know was whether the monsters on the mountain were still active. It was possible, though unlikely, that even the hardiest creatures had been forced to seek shelter and avoid exposure to the bitter cold. He wasn't looking forward to battling monsters in the open wilderness or on the mountain's treacherous slopes, with deep snow hindering his allies' movement on the battlefield, but if the weather was too harsh for even monsters to withstand, the most convenient shelter for mountain's denizens would be inside the caverns where the passage ring had been built...
The Albiore shuddered unexpectedly, and Jade almost spilled tea on the front of his uniform. He frowned as the Albiore shuddered again. Suddenly he felt a falling sensation as the aircraft lost several meters of altitude.
This isn't good, he thought. Abandoning his nearly-empty mug on the table, he hurried to the base of the stairs leading up to the flight deck. He had to grab both handrails and hold on tight as the Albiore shook violently, fell a few more meters, then abruptly rose again.
"Noelle! What's wrong?" he called out.
"This blizzard is too fierce!" Noelle shouted in reply. The Albiore shuddered and dropped again. "Even with a refined flightstone, the hover drive isn't powerful enough! We have to turn back! I'm sorry!"
Jade grimaced. He climbed carefully up the stairs, pausing twice to steady himself against the turbulence that buffeted the aircraft, and made his way forward. The clear, curved canopy window above the cockpit provided only a dim, gray light. Dark clouds obscured the sunset, and thick snow flew past the window in streaks of white.
Noelle fought the controls in an effort to keep the Albiore on course. She gave Jade a brief, frightened glance before returning her concentration to piloting the uncooperative vehicle.
"How close are we to Keterburg?" Jade asked urgently. He seated himself across the aisle from Noelle and examined the navigation screen.
"We crossed the southeastern coastline about ten minutes ago," Noelle answered. Her voice was tense and anxious. "Almost immediately after that, we entered the edge of the storm. I was able to make a little progress, but we've stalled. If we don't turn back, we'll keep losing altitude until we crash!"
"Can we land at the port, instead of the city?"
Noelle shook her head. "I don't think so. It looks like the worst of the storm is to our north and east. We can turn back south, or go west and try to circle the continent."
"What's going on?" Guy's voice called from the stairwell.
"Fly west, then," Jade told Noelle. "I'll inform the others." He waited a moment for the aircraft to turn away from the blizzard and level out before rising from his seat.
Guy's head rose up out of the stairwell just as Jade returned to the rear of the flight deck. His blond hair was tousled and uncombed, but his blue eyes were alert and alarmed. "Jade, what's happening?" he asked sharply. "Is something wrong with the Albiore?"
"No," Jade replied, "the problem is with the weather. We've hit a blizzard that's preventing our approach to Keterburg. We're turning west instead."
"Damn!" Guy swore. He climbed the rest of the stairs and went to look at the map on the rear wall. "Looks like we'll have to enter the mountain from the south, then," he said, pointing to an area of snowfield to the immediate southwest of Mount Roneal.
"Without gathering information in Keterburg first?" Jade objected. "I disagree with that notion. We should not rush into a dangerous location unprepared."
"There's no help for it, Jade." Guy crossed his arms and glowered at the map, then turned to Jade. "Look, I don't like it either. But we've been on Mount Roneal before. We know the area, and we know what kind of monsters live there. We'll just have to do our best with the knowledge and experience we've got."
"I'm extremely concerned."
"So am I. But what else can we do?"
"We can fly around the edge of the continent and try to approach Keterburg from the north," Jade suggested. "Alternately, we could search for a clear route to the port and wait out the storm there."
"And if the storm doesn't stop? What do we do then?" Guy argued. "If this blizzard is being caused by the Sephiroth on Mount Roneal, then it won't end until we stabilize that Sephiroth. Right?"
Jade sighed. "...I suppose you have a point." He adjusted his glasses, then called over his shoulder, "Noelle, find a place to land southwest of the mountain. I'll show you on the navigation screen in just a moment." He took one last look at the map before turning back to Guy and saying, "Well then, Guy—"
"Let me guess," Guy interrupted. "You're going say, 'Guy, explain our change of plan to the others.'"
"My, my. It seems I've become too predictable. Or perhaps, despite all your complaints, you enjoy explaining things," Jade said, smirking.
"Hell no, I don't," Guy muttered, as he headed for the stairs.
"Oh? You seem to enjoy teaching Florian how to use a sword," Jade remarked.
"That's different," Guy retorted.
"How so?" Jade inquired. It wasn't a rhetorical question; he was genuinely curious. If there was one thing Jade hated above all else, it was explaining things... especially to people who didn't have the intellect to understand complex subjects. Commanding soldiers didn't involve explanations; he simply gave orders, and the soldiers obeyed. Teaching, on the other hand, was all about explanations, and that was why he hated it.
Guy paused thoughtfully. "I guess it's because I like showing better than telling," he said after a moment. "Teaching Florian is mostly showing. Explaining stuff is just telling." He disappeared down the stairway.
Showing, rather than telling, Jade mused. Is that the secret to teaching? For a moment, his mind flashed back to Professor Nebilim, and a memory of the Professor teaching one student how to use the Seventh Fonon to cast First Aid. She had demonstrated the arte before guiding the student in trying it out. Guy had used the same method to teach Florian Demon Fang...
Peony had been right, of course, that more experts on fomicry were needed. Is it possible to show, rather than explain in words, the concepts involved? Jade wondered. But no, that would mean creating more replicas. Unacceptable...
He glanced out the window and paused to watch the snowflakes swirl in the Albiore's slipstream. The constant, comforting hum of the twin engines wasn't enough to drown out the sound of the shrieking blizzard winds. Surely it was only in his overwrought imagination that they sounded like a woman screaming, the way the replica of Professor Nebilim had screamed when he had blasted her to fonons using the Planetary Fonic Arte. He would never forget that scream; it would haunt him for the rest of his life, just like all the sins he had committed in the past. So many sins. So many replicas...
"Colonel?" Noelle called hesitantly. "You were going to show me where to land?"
"Ah. Yes, I'm coming," Jade replied. He tore his gaze away from the window and went to consult with Noelle.