A pair of luminous white wings now spread from his shoulders, stretching in a protective arch over NaDo's head.

Date: 31 Passes Ago

Okay… so things aren’t exactly going as planned.

ZenToYa ran, dodging through the long streaming vines and deep forest vegetation. Running away wasn’t usually his favorite call to action. But at the moment, any other choice was as good as suicide.

I forgot how good the Spiral warriors were.

Somewhere, not too far behind, the sound of fleet footfalls followed. Every now and then, a flash of gold gave away the position of one of the perusing warriors. And though Zento was ahead of them, it was obvious that their knowledge of the land was giving them an edge.

‘Dako! Blast it… where are you when I need you?

There was no one to blame but himself for overextending into unknown territory. The warriors of the Spiral were sharp and observant. There was little doubt that they had known of the incoming group from the other side of the Cleft far sooner than Zento would have liked.

KoGuRai… I hope you’ve mobilized. There is no way we can hold our ground against these numbers.

Zento’s mind raced back to the small group of men that he knew lay somewhere on the other side of the thick bramble. All were Nefolians who had joined him on this mission. A mission to find and bring back someone that had been lost to them — Zento’s good friend and brother in arms, JinRai.

It had been a little over a year ago when Zemi had sent Jin out on a similar expedition into the depths of the Spiral… only, Jin had not returned. The loss of a good friend had been tough on Zento. But had been even tougher on Jin’s son, KoGuRai. It was because of the boy’s pain and bitterness that Zento had allowed KoGuRai to join them on this mission with the goal of completing a full investigation of JinRai’s whereabouts.

Everything is always easier said than done, isn’t it?

Zento quickly banked to one side as the tree next to him took the brunt of numerous arrow shafts. As he dodged, a shadow dropped down on top of him, driving Zento to his knees.

One glance upwards gave him a good look at his assailant – a large built man of long golden hair and fierce slate-blue eyes. Eyes that were dead of emotion. Red spiral patterns were scrawled in war paint across his face. His clothes were threadbare and his weapon dented with much use. The metal glittered coldly in the dappled sunlight that filtered through the trees above.

“Sorry. No time for this!” Rocking forward, Zento planted his feet hard into the hollow of his attacker’s stomach, knocking him back. With the momentum, the white haired man sprang to his feet, gathering up his own weapon to meet the Spiral warrior’s swing.

I have to get back to the camp!

Zento gave a curse under his breath as he shoved his assailant back in yet another attempt to break away. The Spiral warrior lunged. Zento hissed sharply as he felt the sting of the blade slash through the back of his sword arm. But he didn’t stop running.

Not a good time to lose us of an arm!

He could feel the shadow of his attacker looming closer behind him. Catching up. The glint of the blade flashed out of the corner of his eye. Zento braced himself for the strike.

But it didn’t come.

Instead, he heard the sound of a heavy thud of a body hitting the ground. From somewhere above came a familiar quipping laugh. A laugh lined with uncertainty and strain. But one that Zento was more than glad to hear.

The white haired man stopped, panting for breath as he peered behind him at the sprawled and unconscious shape of his once attacker. A heavy rock laid not too far, the obvious tool of his defeat.

Then Zento peered up into the tree, “NaDo. What are you doing here?”

“Saving your posterior. What does it look like?” the scientist gave a wary smile down from the crook of the tree.

“It looks like you’re hiding, to be honest,” Zento answered, squinting back into the forest for a moment. Gauging how much time they had left.

“Hiding?” the quipping laugh came again as the man began to make his way down the tree, hand over hand. “Would the great and fearless NaDo of Nefol do something like that?”

Zento’s face soured. “Yes. Because he’s smarter than us sword-wavers that walk straight into the thick of battle.”

Hopping down the last foot to the ground, NaDo also gave a serious frown back at the shuffling of the forest. “Are there a lot of them?”

“Too many. We need to fall back,” the warrior replied. Then he asked, “Where is KoGuRai?”

“Gone,” the scientist answered with a frown.

“Then he’s already taken them back towards the Cleft? Good,” Zento gave a sigh of relief.

“No.”

“No?” the warrior answered. “Then where did he go?”

“Insane is probably the best word that comes to mind,” NaDo scowled even deeper.

Zento just cursed and renewed his rush back towards the camp. “What happened?”

The scientist scrambled to keep up with the other man’s longer strides. “He just flew into some sort of vengeance blood rage or something – claiming it was the Spiral people that killed his father. Nothing I could say would stay his hand. He rallied the rest of them straight into the enemy. I’ve never seen the likes of it in KoGuRai before!”

I had my suspicions.

The warrior gave a frown of his own. And yet again he found himself making excuses for the son of JinRai. “Losing someone close to you does funny things.”

“I didn’t find this especially funny, Zento,” NaDo intoned.

“I know what you mean.”

“I told you it was a bad idea to let KoGuRai come,” the scientist huffed, trying to keep the pace.

“The boy has a right to find out what happened to his father,” Zento answered shortly.

“Is it that…?” NaDo’s eyes slid over with a sly glance, “Or are you just tired of being blamed for the disappearance of Jin?”

“Maybe both,” the warrior made a final leap through the brush into the clearing where their camp had been only hours ago. The place looked as if it had been hit by a storm. Supplies, blankets, pots and pans were strewn everywhere. Not far in the distance, Zento could hear the sounds of battle.

KoGuRai… what are you doing? You’re going to lead them to their deaths!

NaDo must have read the look of horror on his friend’s face. One hand fell lightly on Zento’s shoulder, his voice concerned yet comforting, “Come on. Your men need you. We can turn this around Zento.”

Zento shook his head out slowly, “Maybe… with a miracle.”

“We’ve seen worse,” NaDo quipped, trudging towards the sound of battle.

“That’s debatable,” Zento followed, cautiously scouting ahead. “We’re going to get pressed by two groups before this is through. If things fall through, I want you to go and find Kudako and get yourself to the Cleft.”

“You’re talking crazy!” came the protest.

“Someone has to return to Nefol!” the warrior protested back.

“I came out here to find what happened to one friend… not to lose another!” NaDo answered sharply, fighting to lift his voice above the battle din that now filled the glade.

With no more time to speak, Zento drove forward, pulling his blade free with one hand. He could see flashes of white through the thick forest growth, indications of his men struggling in a battle that would be hard pressed to win. Despite all the training he knew they had, nothing could have prepared them for facing the soulless Spiral warriors.

Zemi… if you can hear me… your Champion needs a little back up here.

In the middle of the battle he could make out the furious form of KoGuRai. His maimed face was twisted in a fierce battle rage as he spun and slashed relentlessly. KoGuRai’s eyes held an intensity that Zento had seen before — in Jin’s eyes, during dangerous moments of unwavering determination.

“KoGuRai!!! We need to fall back!” Zento lifted his voice, trying to rise above the shouts of rage and dismay. Instead, he found himself the target of nearby Spiral warriors who had heard his call.

The slice on the back of his arm burned. His breath came in pained gasps as he lashed out, fending off the attacks that came from every side. The smell of blood and sweat filled his senses as he jostled against bodies of friend and foe in close-quarter battle. On every side he could hear the shouts and screams of his men — voices that were momentarily familiar before pain or death overtook them.

Is this it? Is this where it all ends?

Zento struggled to find his voice. To call the orders for retreat. To get his men to safety. But even if he had given the call, he knew they would be hard pressed to hear his command with the doom of battle pounding from all sides.

No… no, I refuse to go down here!

There was no other choice. It was either hold on to his secret and watch his people die… or face the consequences.

I have to…

He began to concentrate, drawing on strength from within. Tapping into the flow of the power he had kept locked away for so long. The power that was shunned and feared by those who could not understand the truth behind it — mind magery.

-WE CANNOT FIGHT THIS! WE MUST FALL BACK TO THE CLEFT!-

Zento’s command released over the glade, resounding within their minds. Even KoGuRai stopped in mid-swing, both hands still gripping the haft of his weapon. Zento didn’t have time to study their reactions – his full concentration was on dulling the wits of their attackers… just long enough to give them a moment to escape.

-GO! NOW!-

The Nefolians needed no more encouragement. With the command still ringing sharply, they fled into the forest. Sweat dripped from Zento’s brow as he stumbled behind, losing his speed to concentration. There were so many enemies to subdue. Though his will was strong, the Spiral warriors struggled viciously against his hold, quickly exhausting him.

Then a warm grip took Zento’s good shoulder, helping to carry him forward. Glancing to the side, the white haired warrior could see light reflecting from NaDo’s looking glasses as the scientist struggle to rush them out of the fray.

“ZenToYa… what did you just do?” his voice was quiet and shaken. No doubt, NaDo knew what he had just witnessed. But the expression on his face said that he didn’t want to believe it.

No one wanted to accuse their friend of being a mind mage.

Zento couldn’t answer. His mouth was dry. His limbs were heavy and sluggish. It felt like every inch of his body was burning with a cold fire. If it hadn’t been for NaDo, he didn’t know if he would have even been able to keep moving forward at all.

What’s happening to me…?

He had used mind magic before… but it had never had an after-effect like this.

Zento could feel the Spiral warriors rousing behind them as the last of his strength slipped away. Distantly, he heard their battle cries. Felt the earth shifting as they began their chase. Heard the air slice as they drew their weapons.

“Oh no! Oh no!” NaDo’s voice rose a fearful octave. The scientist gave a shout to one of the Nefolians, running not too far ahead, “KoGuRai! Help me! Zento’s weakening!”

The young warrior paused to glance over his shoulder. It took him but a moment to assess the situation – Zento half draped over NaDo’s shoulder. The smaller man struggling to carry their leader away from the raging danger that swarmed behind. The vicious faces of the Spiral warriors who charged headlong, thirsting for their death.

“Help us!” NaDo’s voice creaked, eyes wide.

Without a word. Without any other motion. The son of JinRai turned away from them and vanished into the forest.

“KOGURAI!”

Just as NaDo’s shout broke the air, Zento felt his knees buckle. His body convulsed, jerking upright even as he fell. He heard a scream that might have been his own as a wave of freezing pain wracked his limbs.

Then just as suddenly as it came, there was numbness.

A brilliant light.

The feeling of suspension and weightlessness.

-My Champion… it is time…-

Zento’s eyes opened as the familiar voice echoed through his mind. His lips parted, whispering a single word. “Zemi…”

As the world faded back into view, NaDo’s terrified face was the first thing he saw. The scientist was sprawled upon the ground, on his hands and knees, staring up with a mangled expression of shock and fear.

The Spiral warriors, too, had recoiled, staring dazed and unsure as light streamed across the glade. Light that slowly took the form of feathers.

Zento heaved a choking breath, gasping like someone who had just returned from the brink of death. Light tingled over his form. His senses had grown sharp, picking out each small motion… the crunch of grass under foot… the panicked heartbeat of NaDo… and the ragged breathing of the Nefolians who had stopped to watch from the shelter of the forest.

What’s happened to me?

As Zento stretched out his hands, he realized the light was coming from his form. And the feathers were his own, too.

Zemi?!

A pair of luminous white wings now spread from his shoulders, stretching in a protective arch over NaDo’s shaken form. Any wounds or weariness of the previous battles had been washed away. His mind and senses focused in a way he had never felt before.

-ZenToYa… you have become as you were meant to be. You have Awakened.-

Zento slowly turned to face the Spiral warriors. His blade glittered with reflected light from his white wings as they stretched wide. His eyes sharpened, brows drawing downward as he focused on the enemy. One hand reached up, surrounded by a brilliant blue flame.

-Now take my power… and protect our people.-

Even before he released the spell, the Spiral warriors were breaking formation. They scattered as the blast rocked the glade, sending trees groaning and rocks splintering in every direction. A warcry rose in Zento’s throat, a sound that rumbled through their minds like the roar of the Dreigiau.

-Well done, Zento!-

The Dreigiau’s voice faded, but the presence and power did not. The power that was gifted to the Arweinydd’s chosen Champion.

Awakened…

Voices around him drew him out of his thoughts. Voices of the others… of the Nefolians that he had fought to protect. And one voice in particular he could hear above all others.

“He’s becoming a monster!” KoGuRai exclaimed, green eyes wide, focusing on the wings that stretched from Zento’s shoulders.

“W-What?!” Coming back to earth was a painful jolt. His wings buckled back, depositing him with an unceremonious plop before them. It was all Zento could do to land on his feet.

But no one seemed to notice. They were all staring at him with open fear and mistrust. Their mutters echoed KoGuRai’s accusing words. The very people he had fought to protect… the very people that he led, taught and nurtured… now turned on him with cold eyes.

“Hold on! Do these wings really look that monstrous to you?” Zento found himself protesting, hands wide as he tried to approach them.

His answer came in the unsheathing of weapons. Some drawn in caution. Some leveled at him in warning.

“Stay back! We all felt what you did!” KoGuRai snarled, eyes reflecting as his naginata lowered into a battle position.

Zento took a stunned step back. His tone grew pleading as his gaze cast about for anyone that might hear him out… anyone who might look beyond the transformation. “NaDo!? NaDo, please! Tell them! It’s still me!”

The scientist stared up at him with cloudy eyes, confusion and doubt playing over his face. His mouth opened and closed as if trying to find a voice that would not come. But before NaDo could speak, the others began to move forward, weapons drawn.

“Mindsucking monster!” KoGuRai goaded them forward, two steps ahead of the other Nefolians.

“No… I can explain!” Zento stumbled back further. His breath came in hoarse gasps, his mind reeling to grasp the incredulous turn of events.

But there was little sway of sympathy to his pleas. Not even the hint of remorse on their faces as they advanced. Either their fear was just that great… or KoGuRai’s command of them was far stronger than Zento could have ever suspected.

Only one friendly voice rose above the advance — NaDo’s shout, “Zento, run!”

His white wings unfolded before he could think twice. With one great downward sweep, Zento found himself in the air. As the winds carried him higher, KoGuRai’s words faded into nothing more than furious demands from below. Those who had once been his people shrank to specks soon hidden by the branches of the overhanging trees.

With watery eyes, ZenToYa forced himself to fly. Fly and not turn back. And he knew that nothing in his life would ever be the same again.

He trusted in pathetic, weak Earthians. It was his stupid mistake to believe in any of you.

“What are they?” AsaHi’s question came out as a breathy whisper.

Her green eyes fixed on the dancing lights that floated throughout the small bedchamber where Zemi was resting. Now and then, they alighted upon the hand-painted murals that scrawled across the rough golden stone walls. Sometimes they sparkled as they fell upon the reed-wood chairs that sat in the far corner of the room. When they passed through the sunlight that streamed through the rounded windows, they reminded her of tiny glowing snowflakes — the kind that one would see in the depth of Nefolian winter.

A winter I’ll probably never see again.

“I’m not sure,” SoYa answered, brows furrowed to match the uncertainty of his statement. Carefully, he reached one hand out, capturing a glowing speck within his palm to inspect it. “It feels warm… almost like it’s alive. Like it’s coming from…”

AsaHi looked down with realization, “Zemi!”

On a whim, the girl reached down and pulled back the covers that had been obscuring the resting form of the Dreigiau. Instantly, a cloud of tiny sparkles burst into the air, scattering thickly throughout the room. The Arweinydd, however, was pale and translucent — as if fighting to hold on to physical form.

Oh no!

“SoYa! Look at him!” she recoiled with a shaken face. “What’s happening?”

His voice was low with concern, “When Ceiswyr fell… something awful must have happened to him.”

“I think so, too.”

The two stood at the Patron’s bedside, green eyes filled with worry and strain. Zemi Dreigiau had been the one immovable force in their lives. The one, great protective power that could not be destroyed. They had been raised to believe nothing could overcome the Arweinydd that founded all the things that had once made up their world.

Nefol.

Ceiswyr.

After the fall of the Island nations, all they could do was escape to the Dragon’s Cleft. There, the people of the Dreigiau had passed out of their homelands in a wild flight, into the vast waiting unknown of the world beyond. It was only the Cleft that protected them now, keeping the shadows far on the other side.

He fought so hard… he’s lost so much just to protect us.

They had carried their weakened Patron into the Spiral lands – the lands of their former enemies. And there they had been greeted by allies who were torn apart by more terrible woes. The news that KoGuRai had been defeated… but TsuYa had risen to take his place as Zerom’s new Marked Champion. With this final blow, any strength that Zemi had possessed during the long exodus to the Spiral seemed to slip away, replaced with a heavy sorrow. And now, he lay motionless, his form weak and flaking away into rising shimmers carried off upon the warm Spiral winds.

-Stupid Earthians.- A deep growl filled their minds.

The hair on the back of AsaHi’s neck rose on end, her wings twitching with the unease. When she turned, she saw the head of the great white wolf, Zazo, at one of the open windows. As the She-Wolf watched them, there was something more harsh and cold in the light of her eyes. Bitter and unforgiving — as if she was blaming them for their good fortune… a fortune that TsuYa could not share.

“Lady Zazo,” SoYa’s voice wavered in respectful uncertainty. He attempted a bow, only to get caught up in his own jitters and nearly find himself sprawled out before the Arweinydd instead.

Undaunted, AsaHi caught his shoulder. Her lips pursed as she faced the gleaming white fangs and canine eyes. She began by stating the obvious, “Lady Zazo… something is wrong with Zemi.”

-What makes you say that?- the She-Wolf snapped at a nearby speck of light, sending it scampering across to the other side of the room.

“You can see for yourself,” the girl replied, a bit perturbed at Zazo’s indifferent reply.

-Yes. I see. He’s falling apart. And whose fault is that?-

“What?” AsaHi’s head jerked up, wings ruffled. Her fists balled at either side, bracing for the confrontation that appeared to be brewing. “What are you trying to say?”

-Zemi trusted you. You were supposedly his heaven-sent guide and protector. The one who would protect him against Chaos… or some drivel,- the She-Wolf snarled, jabbing her nose into AsaHi’s chest and giving the girl a backwards shove.

AsaHi caught herself on the side of the bed, a deep scowl spread over her face. Pushing herself back on her feet, she rearranged the stray locks of hair that fell out of place. Her gaze lifted, meeting the Arweinydd’s glare. Not backing down. “I did everything I could.”

-He trusted in pathetic, weak Earthians. It was his stupid mistake to believe in any of you. And now he’s paying the price for your failure.-

“Right now he’s sick and he needs our help!” AsaHi lifted her voice in retort. “If we don’t do something, he could die!”

-Stupid!- Zazo half barked. -Arweinydd do not die. They simply return to what they were before. Which is probably the best thing for Zemi to do right now. It’s the best thing for us all to do right now. Earthians are worthless creatures!-

“How could you say that!” the girl snapped back. “After all that time you spent with TsuYa. You had to have cared about him or why else would you have–”

-DO NOT MENTION THAT NAME IN MY PRESCENCE!- came the near-roar.

“Wait! Wait!” SoYa stepped forward with wide eyes, staring back and forth between the two. His palms were up, a look of mediation on his face. “This was no one’s fault! No one could have foreseen what was going to happen. But we have to pull together and do the best we can to help Zemi… and maybe even save TsuYa. It looks dark right now… but can’t give up hope for either of them!”

-There is no hope left in this world anymore.- Zazo’s tone was dark as she turned her head.

Before SoYa could reply, the She-Wolf was gone. Nothing but a sad scattering of shimmering light around the windowsill showed that she had been there at all.

For a long moment, the two of them stood in a stunned silence. Then before AsaHi realized what she was doing, her hands had wrapped around SoYa’s upper arm. Seeking his support and assurance.

SoYa’s voice was quiet when he finally spoke, “She feels like…”

AsaHi peered up, waiting for him to find the words to finish his thoughts.

“She feels like the embodiment of all the disappointment… bitterness… and hurt…”

The girl laid her cheek against his shoulder. There was very little that she could say, “I know.”

“Zazo must have really cared about Tsu,” SoYa swallowed. It was hard for him to talk about his brother now. To hear or say the name. But somehow, he managed to do it.

“I think she does. A lot of us still do,” AsaHi told him. “I think it’s just harder for the Arweinydd to accept that things haven’t gone well.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, one arm slowly moving to wrap around her shoulders. He had been having trouble with the wings at first… but he was learning how to adapt. “They’re not use to this. To fighting and losing. To struggling. They’ve never had to face defeat before. It’s easy for them to lose hope.”

“And you haven’t?” she asked.

“It’s not over yet,” SoYa answered. He reached out with one hand, capturing a drifting sparkle. It seemed somehow comforted, remaining cupped in his palm. “It’s not over for us… for Zemi… It’s not over for Tsu. We’re still alive. As long as I’m alive, I’m going to fight.”

“That sounds very….” AsaHi stopped herself before she said it.

“Tsu-ish?” he finished instead, squinting out the sunlit window. “If it were the other way around, he wouldn’t stop fighting until he brought me back.”

“I know,” she stroked her fingers through his curly hair. It was getting long now.

Just like Zento… and Tsu… More and more like them.

If he heard her thoughts, he didn’t show it. Instead, SoYa turned to look at her with a steady gaze, “We’re going to figure out how to help Zemi. He fought for us… it’s our turn to fight for him.”

A soft smile curved her lips. She didn’t know if it was the mind mage powers. Or just the sight of his confidence. But somehow, she felt like things weren’t so impossible. Not with SoYa there at her side.

“So where do we start?” she gave his pony tail a teasing tug.

SoYa opened his mouth, then closed it again. “I’m still working on that.”

AsaHi laughed softly.

On the other hand… same old SoYa.

He sat with her quietly for a moment, a time she presumed he was lost in thought. When he lifted his head, he spoke again, slowly, “We need to talk to someone who knows something about Arwienydd.”

“In what way?” she asked with a furrowed brow.

“Well, we don’t even know what it means that Zemi is sparkling away like this. Besides that it appears that he is not well,” SoYa looked at her. “You don’t go and heal someone before you know what’s making them sick, right? Why would we try to do that with Zemi?”

“No, I suppose not…”

“Is Zemi really all that different from us?” SoYa’s words hung in the air for a moment, as if they were the most important words he had ever spoken.

It was unthinkable. Unfathomable. So completely beyond comprehension.

How could it be possible that an Arweinydd — a creature of the starry heavens, a being of light and power, with abilities and knowledge so far beyond them all — be anything like they were? Creatures of the earth, bound to life and death. Bound to the world that they lived on. Struggling with comprehension and survival.

But as AsaHi peered over at the shimmering form of the Dreigiau… and saw the quiet, now familiar face lined with unusual pain… she realized that SoYa was right. That the Patron was now suffering, too. Was learning things unknown to his own kind. And in the midst of the hurt and emotion…

Zemi is becoming more like us.

The girl’s hands wrapped more tightly around SoYa’s arm. She wasn’t sure why the thought made her uneasy. AsaHi was always the one to challenge the status quo. She was never content to take things for face value… she wanted to find the truth behind everything, even as frightening and painful as the truth might be.

So why is this one truth so hard to accept?

“It’s going to be harder for him to accept, I promise,” SoYa’s voice brought her out the depths of thought.

“SoYa,” she chided, searching for anything to shift the conversation, “Stop listening in.”

The Athrylith gave a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry. You were being loud.”

AsaHi sighed in return.

After a moment, SoYa approached conversation again, “I was thinking…”

“Hm?”

“We’re not getting much help from Zazo on this,” he informed her as if she didn’t already know. But then he continued, “So why don’t we go and talk to Zeni instead?”

“Zeni?” AsaHi echoed.

“Yes. I’ve talked with her before,” he answered. “She seems to be fairly friendly and concerned. She might be willing to help us if she realizes something is wrong with Zemi.”

“What do you think she can do?” the girl tapped her bottom lip with a frown.

“I don’t know yet. But it’s a place to start,” SoYa spread his hands.

“Do you know how to find her?”

“I’ve heard that Zeni’s befriended Suzume, actually, during the time Suzume was in Wyndor,” he nodded. “So that’s probably the first place to check.”

“Suzume…” AsaHi tilted her head.

It had been a while since she had seen the girl. Or Lucci. Though she had heard a lot of things about what had happened to the boy during his travels in the Outter Realms, it had been hard for AsaHi to believe any of them. It was hard for her to think of Lucci as anything more than the little boy that she remembered.

I suppose I should go and see for myself.

“Sound good to you?” SoYa asked.

AsaHi nodded, giving his hand a squeeze, “You’re so smart.”

He laughed shyly and an attempt at imitating one of his father’s comebacks, “That’s why you love me?”

The girl covered her mouth with a teasing giggle, “Keep working on it, SoYa.”

The Athrylith just looked all the more abashed.

Then taking a sobering deep breath, AsaHi turned back to peer at the unmoving Dreigiau. Tenderly, she pulled the blankets up around his shoulders and smoothed out his hair. The shimmering light seemed to react to her touch, if only a little.

“Hang in there, Zemi. We’re going to find help,” she told him. Then giving his face one last soft stroke, she turned, leaving the room with SoYa at her side.

"You have so much sorrow to battle inside of you, ZenToYa... and all I can give you... is a hug."

The Spiral lands stretched out before Zento in every direction, reminding him how far he was from home. Soft rolling hills of yellow-tinged grass ran up to greet the edge of the lilac-leaf forests. Groups of stone huts huddled together in their tell-tale circular patterns. Banners emblazoned with a glittering gold lion snapped in the late summer breeze. Soon, autumn would be upon the land and the distant harvest fields lay heavy with anticipation.

ZenToYa had visited the Spiral on a number of occasions in his life. Sometimes as an enemy. Sometimes on a mission for his people’s survival. It had only been lately that he had come as a friend, despite the general unrest that the Spiral people still held for their white-haired neighbors.

But never had he come with such a heavy heart and shattered spirit.

They said it was here that Tsu was turned…

While the battle had raged hot in the sky Islands, a different battle had taken place here. A battle where his youngest son, TsuYa, had fought to protect the children of Nefol. It was here that the great warrior’s spirit had Awakened within him. But upon the Awakening, the wards that had protected him from Zerom’s shadows were destroyed.

He had so little time to know his Awakening…

All Zento had left of his youngest son were stories. Stories and the fleeting mind images from those who had been there. Terrible images and feelings he couldn’t bear to see. And so the winged man had fled, searching for a place far away from anyone who held the dark memories of his son’s fall.

We had so little time together, Tsu. That’s all you really wanted, in the end. For us all to be together.

His burdened mind wandered back to a time long ago, to the first time Zento felt such a crushing pain. The loss of his wife. It had been sudden. Unexpected. Unexplained.

YuKai…

Zento had been out in a hunting party — it had been nothing out of the ordinary. But when he returned home at the end of that week, everything in his life had changed. No one could explain what had happened to his wife. There was no body left behind to tell the tale. Nothing was left but a gaping hole in his heart that had once been filled with her laughter and light.

When you left us, the boys were never the same.

SoYa had grieved for the loss of his mother, as was expected. But TsuYa had been so young, so deeply affected. He had grown more distant, more serious… become so different from the happy little boy he had been while his mother was still alive. Left a widower father of two children, Zento had felt helpless to stop the changes he saw in his youngest son then. Just as he felt helpless to protect his son from the dark transformation that had changed him now.

I was his hero. But time and again, I have let him down.

It was too late, now. Zento’s world had shifted and spun out of control, once more leaving a gaping hole in his soul. For as hard as he had fought and struggled to find a way to save his child, TsuYa was still swallowed by the darkness.

Just as Nefol was.

Just as Ceiswyr was.

Just as we all will be…

He bowed his head, shoulders sagging with the burden of sorrow. The burden of a leadership that he didn’t know if he could rightly bear any longer. Telltale grey strands of hair fell into his eyes, sticking to his face where it was hot with shameless tears.

“That’s not true,” a soft voice carried to his ears from somewhere just behind.

Zento’s head jerked up in momentary surprise. He had not expected anyone to be able to find him, let alone reach the spot where he had chosen to mourn. And he certainly had not expected that anyone could sense his thoughts.

A soft hand touched his shoulder. A tingling sensation spread from the touch, a warm and comforting feeling spreading through his chest.

“Times feel dark right now, ZenToYa. But you must never give up the fight to save your son,” the voice sounded again, this time just beside his ear.

Zento stiffened slightly, head turning. A woman leaned over him, her slender hand soft upon his shoulder. At first, he thought she may have been one of the Spiral people, for she had a similar coloration. But her features were small and delicate, unlike the inhabitants of the Outter Realms. She seemed to glow faintly with a wavering golden light that accented her deep golden skin and pale blond hair. Her eyes shown with quiet violet wisdom and intense concern.

As Zento stared into her face, he felt at once that he should know her. But when he shook his head out, the nagging familiarity scattered away, blamed on a trick of the sunlight’s reflection.

“Zento,” she spoke his name again, a soft accent between slender lips. Her hand lifted from his shoulder, brushing his cheek ever so slightly.

A shiver rushed through his body, his mind reeling back instantly, reaching to hold fast to his internal dedication to his late wife. It was only then that he realized he could hardly remember what she looked like.

“E-Excuse me!” he gave a gasping exclamation. His wings flailed as he jerked away from the woman’s hand, eyes staring at her in shock. “Do I know you!?”

She pulled her hand away, face mirroring his surprise. Then calmness draped back over her features and an easy smile curved her lips. “ZenToYa… relax. You’d think I was a Dragon come for her prey.”

That’s when the voice clicked in his mind. And though he had never seen her person form before, he recognized her. The name whooshed out of his lungs in an embarrassed stammer, “K-KaiShi?”

The woman rewarded him with a silvery laugh.

“KaiShi!” Zento choked, caught somewhere between staring awkwardly and an immense sense of relief. “Why…”

“Silly Zento,” she answered, gently chiding. “I knew that you’d run off and find a secretly secret place to cry your sorrows out. What else would you do if I wasn’t there?”

He couldn’t help but swallow down the last of his discomfort, staring into the light of her eyes. KaiShi was someone whom he had always trusted with the deepest burdens of his soul. And when he came for her council, she always had known exactly what he needed to hear.

She turned her head, a subtle shyness showing, “I just didn’t think the Dragon would cut it this time.”

“What do you mean?” he arched one eyebrow curiously.

“You have so much sorrow to battle inside of you, ZenToYa… and all I can give you… is a hug.” Before he could protest, KaiShi wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. Her touch was vibrant and warm, once again spreading the soothing sensation through his grief-tightened chest.

Zento didn’t pull away this time. His strength had been stolen by the sorrow… a sorrow that, for the moment, was put to rest by the unexpected care of another. They sat there together, her arms comforting him, watching as the sunlight began slipping downward, setting the violet treeline aflame.

After time had passed, KaiShi was the first one to speak, “I know that is it difficult for you to show your pain to others. I know what it is like to try to remain the strong leader for your people.”

He leaned back on his palms, sucking on his bottom lip for a moment. Allowing her to finish.

“But no one expects you to be an unemotional, unmoving mountain. Especially not right now,” she told him.

“We’ve lost so much,” Zento picked his words slowly. “I have no right to show my grief for the loss of one life… when so many others have died. When I was unable to protect our homelands… unable to–”

“Shhh…” KaiShi reached up and tapped him on the lips, deftly interrupting. “What is it with you guys… always thinking the weight of the world must be born upon your shoulders alone?”

“But I’m–”

“You’re a man, ZenToYa,” she intercepted quickly. “You’re a great man. A man with so much power… but at the same time, so much love. You’re more than just some bedtime story legend told to children in Nefol.”

He found no words to answer.

“You’re a man… and you have a right to be a grieving parent if you need to be. There is no shame in that.”

Zento turned his head slightly. She reached up and gently turned it back with the touch of one finger.

“You have earned the love of your people. Don’t shut us out in your time of grief,” she pleaded softly. “Let us help you… let us help TsuYa.”

He furrowed his brow with a questioning frown, “You don’t think it’s too late for that?”

“I’ve come to believe almost anything is possible,” she lifted her chin slowly. “TsuYa has the same strong spirit as his father. I don’t think he has given up the fight to return to us. That’s why he needs us to keep fighting as well.”

Tsu… would keep fighting…

The thought had not come to him before now. Not with his mind clouded with so much grief. But he knew that she was right… if there was anything left of his son’s spirit, TsuYa would never stop fighting.

Then, I must keep fighting, too…

“That’s right,” she whispered quietly, the twilight glow reflecting from her eyes. “We must all keep fighting. You’re not alone in this battle.”

Not knowing what else to say, Zento lowered his head, “Thank you.”

KaiShi nodded and slowly pulled away, getting to her feet. He could feel a puzzling tinge of reluctance as she did, as if it was so difficult to let him go.  But her face didn’t let it show.

Instead, she straightened, peering off into the sky, “Please come back to us when you’re ready. We still need you.”

Zento nodded, trying to reassure her despite his lack of words.

She said nothing more… she simply took a few steps away. Then her form was encased in a brilliant shaft of golden light. The stone outcropping shook under Zento’s palms momentarily, his breath stolen from his lungs as he stared up. Great Dragon wings unfurled above him, reflecting the sun’s dying glow in unspeakable grace and beauty.

Then KaiShi was gone, a golden Dragon winging off over the crest of the Spiral lands.

The Marked Champion of Zerom stood over the young Sygnus—the shadowed wings extended, black-bladed scythe held between clawed hands.

What is this place?

Lucci peered around the strange chamber, taking a cautious step forward. His limbs felt suspended and his motions were sluggish. Light flickered from above through draping veils of various colors, casting twisted and eerie shadows over the walls. The floor was caked with grime and decay, somewhat squishy as he walked over it.

Why is this place familiar?

Long, deflated figures lay crumpled against the far wall. Dark stains molded with age charted rivers across the floor. Faceless, the figures were covered in long rotted squares of cloth that writhed with the squiggling infection of death vermin and bugs. The stench was overwhelming, turning his stomach inside out.

“Ugh!” Lucci covered his nose and mouth, fighting the bile that rose in his throat. As he did, he stumbled, slipping backwards against something cold and metal.

Peering over one shoulder, he could make out some sort of machine, unlike anything he had ever seen before. There was one long, slender capsule, standing upright within its fixtures. Except for the small glass area near the top, it was completely enclosed in a featureless black case. Numerous clear tubes and snaking wires ran into the shell from a small boxlike device.

His eyes traced the spiderwebbing wires, peering away from the first capsule to observe the second. It looked to have once been some clear, glass globe. But now it stood shattered, pieces scattered over the molding floor. Looking at it left a cold chill in the pit of his stomach.

I’ve got to figure out where I am… and how to get out of here.

Just as the thought brushed through his mind, Lucci heard the sound of a low, guttural growl. Prickles spread across his skin as he stiffened. There were not many things that the young Sygnus feared… but something about this sound left his breath cold in his chest.

Silver eyes turned, peering across the room. A shadow stood there. The outline of a man.

No… it can’t be…

The shape began to approach, the growl growing louder, reverberating within Lucci’s mind. The young Sygnus pressed back against the cold metal of the machine, his hands scrabbling over the slimy surface as if to find something to fend away the darkness.

As it came nearer, Lucci began to make out the features. Intense, dark eyes. The shock of side-swept hair. Mouth curled back in a disgruntled scowl, showing the hint of fangs. A strange scrawled Mark ran along one cheek.

“Master TsuYa!” he gasped, relaxing somewhat at the sight. It was Master TsuYa… as he was before that terrible day. Before the transformation had taken him. Lucci reached his hand forward. “Please… come back with me! Whatever has happened to you, we can fix it. You just have to give us time!”

Master TsuYa reeled back, shattering the air with a piercing, inhuman shriek. The sound ripped through Lucci’s mind with a terrible, searing pain. Though the young Sygnus clamped his hands over his ears, nothing could shut it out. He found his own voice rising in a tortured scream.

Through squinty eyes he could see it happening all over again. The darkness creeping over Master TsuYa’s form, bleeding through his skin, into his hair. Wings bursting from his shoulders with a sickly sound. Skin erupting as black spikes tore through flesh and cloth. Thick black blood splashing across the wall and the floor.

Hollowed black eyes burning with a terrible, haunted light.

“No! Nooo!” Lucci felt panic taking him as he backed away. He slipped through the grime, gagging as he breathed mouthfuls of the putrid decay with every gasp. “Please!”

The Marked Champion of Zerom stood over the young Sygnus—the shadowed wings extended, black-bladed scythe held between clawed hands. A low rumbling growl shook the room as the creature advanced, a trickle of black streaming from the reflectionless depths of his eyes.

Then, the growl began to form words, “You shouldn’t be here, kid! Get out!”

Lucci didn’t know what was more shocking: the fact that he wasn’t getting mauled… the fact that the Marked could speak… or the fact that Master TsuYa seemed aware enough to recognize him.

So there really IS something of Master TsuYa left…

Lucci heard his retort, foolish and idealistic even to his ears, “No! I’m not leaving without bringing you back!”

The growl shifted into a nasty snarl, “It’s too late for me, boy. But if he gets his hands on you, it’s too late for everyone!”

“That’s not going to happen!” Lucci protested, taking a slow step forward.

“Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t possibly–” Master TsuYa’s argument fell silent as the dark eyes shot one quick glance over his shoulder. When he rounded his attention back on the young Sygnus, the bladed scythe lifted. “No time — he’s come! Get out of here! And don’t come back!”

“Master TsuYa! Wait!” he stumbled back, hands lifting in feeble defense.

The Marked Champion’s face twisted in a snarling roar, the scythe lashing out at lightning speed. Lucci was knocked back by the raw strength of the blow, a searing pain jolting through his body. His frightened cry echoed from the cold walls, falling muffled before rising up strong again.

“Lucci!” Suzume’s shout suddenly rang in his ears. He could feel someone shaking him, fighting to bring him back to reality. “Lucci, wake up!”

Reality… where he found himself sprawled on the floor next to his bed, face drenched with fearful sweat. He struggled to sit up, his shaking arms having a mind of their own. His silver eyes focused on the frightened face of the dark haired girl who stood over him, little fingers still holding fast to his shirt front.

She looked like she might start crying at any moment.

“Suzume… I’m… alright,” he tried for his best comforting tone. But he couldn’t hide the fear that seeped into his voice.

The girl was already checking him over, pulling up his sleeves and yanking up his shirt.

“AH! Suzume!” Lucci protested with a rising flush of embarrassment. “What are you doing!?”

“You had a nightmare, didn’t you?” the dark haired girl sniffled. “Master TsuYa had them, too. All the time! And he got that terrible Mark… and his skin turned colors…”

“Whoa… whoa! Suzume,” he captured her little hands in his. Though he was shaken by the instant connection she had made between his nightmare and Master TsuYa, he continued to do his best to calm her down. “Look at me.”

Suzume gave a little hiccup and looked up at him.

“I’m alright,” Lucci told her, silver eyes searching her dark ones. “Okay?”

The girl didn’t respond. She simply gave a choked sound and threw her arms around his neck.

It was difficult for her not to be afraid, he knew. She had been there to see Master TsuYa’s transformation… sometimes she even seemed to blame herself for it. And though Lucci had done the best he could to keep the girl company, she knew more than anyone else what he really wanted to be doing.

She knew how he wanted to take the dark blade he found at the peak of the Obelisk and embark on a personal crusade across the Cleft. How he wanted to challenge the darkness of Zerom… how he wanted to destroy the Chaotic Arweinydd that now devoured their homelands.

But they won’t let me…

Despite the fact that Lucci had the weapon that could bring Zeromus down – perhaps the only thing that could truly threaten him – they wouldn’t let him return to Nefol to fight the final battle. No matter how he argued. No matter how he pleaded, pouted, fumed and implored. They wouldn’t listen to a word he said.

They still treat me like I’m nothing more than a child.

Lucci looked at his hand where it lay gently on Suzume’s head. It was broad and strong now… large enough to wield the length of his sword. Powerful enough to challenge the one that claimed to be his father.

But no one believed in his strength.

No one trusts a Sygnus.

Just then, a hesitant knock came at the far door. Both turned to look at it, stopped in mid-though and mid-sniffle.

Suzume’s eyes widened, “That’s right..! I came to find you because Master SoYa and Lady AsaHi wanted to speak with you!”

“What?” Lucci sat up with a jolt.

It had been so long since he had seen either of them… not since before he left the Islands on his journey. His gaze fell on his tousled reflection in the mirror as he scrambled to his feet.

They can’t see me like this!

“Lucci?” Suzume gave him a funny look as he began to dig out a fresh pair of trousers from his laundry stack.

“Tell them I’ll be out in just a moment!” both hands on her shoulders, he gave the girl a gentle nudge out the door.

“But–”

“I’m changing!” he exclaimed, quickly shutting the door behind her.

He could hear Suzume’s fluster huff from the other side as she went to relay his message. But he was too busy scrambling to find an unwrinkled shirt that he could still fit into. Fixing his long silver hair, Lucci scowled at his face in the mirror and scrubbed at the strange silver markings along his cheek.

What are they going to think of me?

Both Lady AsaHi and Master SoYa had always been so kind to him, ever since he could first remember. They had both believed in him even when so few had. It was difficult to think that he would have to face them… now that he had so obviously become more like the Sygnus, the Bane of their legends.

I suppose it’s a good sign that they came here to talk to me. Maybe there’s something I can do to help them… and then they’ll like me.

With one long breath, Lucci straightened the front of his tunic. Checked his boots. Rolled up the uneven end of his sleeves. Studied the hem of his now-too-short-cloak.

Then promptly lost all courage to reach for the doorknob.

“Lucci-boy…” Kaz’s soft voice intoned from somewhere on the far side of the room.

The young Sygnus glanced over.

“Don’t be afraid,” the words spoke without form. Kaz seemed to be able to manifest whenever he felt the need to… but even then, he didn’t always show up.

“I’m trying.”

“I get the funny feeling something important is happening,” Kaz continued. “I think they need you.”

“Really?” Lucci’s face spoke uncertainty.

“Why don’t you go and find out.”

Just that quickly, he knew that Kaz had vanished.

“Find out…” Lucci echoed. Then working up the last of his courage, he reached out and turned the door knob.

]]> http://www.dreigiau.com/ch20-3/feed 1 http://www.dreigiau.com/ch20-4 http://www.dreigiau.com/ch20-4#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:05:44 +0000 Aywren http://www.dreigiau.com/?p=1014

“And I know a thing or two about Arweinydd!”

It was good for AsaHi to see Suzume again.

It was only a matter of moments before the dark haired girl was inviting them inside, pulling them both over to the wicker chairs in the center of the room. Just as quickly, AsaHi started up conversation – asking the girl all about where she had been and the things she had seen. Talking about wings. Feathers and flying.

AsaHi was so worried about Suzume. She was always sending her letters and trying to encourage her.

Now that the two were together again, he could sense a spark of cheer that had been so far and in between after all the dark things that had happened. SoYa didn’t interrupt. He simply sat in his own chair, waiting and watching. Noticing things.

Suzume talks so grown up now… I guess we’re not the only ones that have been through a lot lately.

A little time passed before their conversation was cut off by the click of the opening bedchamber door. SoYa turned with a cautious eye, hands gripping the arms of his chair. Waiting.

They say Lucci’s become the Sygnus…

He knew it was wrong to base his thoughts off of the word of others, especially others who had treated the boy with contempt back in Ceiswyr. But even SoYa couldn’t help being a bit nervous at the thought of harboring a Sygnus among them. Especially a Sygnus who carried a weapon that was forged through Arweinydd wars during the Time Before.

AsaHi had fallen silent, her head turned towards the slowly opening door. SoYa sucked in a sharp breath through his nose as the young Sygnus stepped into the room.

It was undoubtedly Lucci. But the silver hair was much longer. Silver eyes were deeper and somewhat haunted. His lanky teenage form was now taller and stronger. Strange runes marked along his jawline, the same cold silver color as the shifting mists that followed at his heels.

SoYa found his hands gripping the arms of his chair more tightly. Until he took a closer look.

One side of Lucci’s shirt had come untucked as he had mis-buttoned it from the collar down. The tunic vest was clearly two sizes too small while his trousers didn’t quite tuck into the tops of his boots the way they should have. His cloak also looked too small for him, bearing the familiar stains that came from days of long travel. And under the shadow of the grown-up brow, there was the uncertainty of the boy that SoYa remembered.

Lucci stood for a moment before awkwardly attempting to bow. His voice was strained with apprehension, “Master SoYa. Lady AsaHi…”

Maybe AsaHi could see the same things that SoYa could. Maybe it was the clumsy attempt to bow. Or maybe the fear in the young man’s voice. Whatever it was, SoYa could tell that she had been won over even before she got to her feet.

“Lucci..!” AsaHi half exclaimed, crossing the room to him. She took his arm with a soft sound. “Look at you! When did you get to be so handsome?”

The young Sygnus just gave a shy smile, unable to even stammer a reply.

Taking her cue, SoYa also got to his feet, “It’s been a while. It’s good to see you, Lucci.”

The young man nodded in return, finally managing a few words, “It’s good to see you, too. I’m glad… you didn’t get hurt… in the battles…”

“We were worried when you disappeared like you did,” AsaHi told him.

“I’m sorry,” Lucci offered an apologetic look.

“It’s alright,” SoYa pursed his lips. “We all have to do what needs to be done, sometimes.”

The young Sygnus was silent for a moment. Then he said again, “It’s hard. And I’m sorry.”

SoYa glanced up with a puzzled face.

“About Master TsuYa,” Lucci added, wincing a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” the Athrylith drew in a long breath before he sat down again. “I know you did everything you could. We all did.”

“Come on,” AsaHi took the young man’s arm, leading him towards the chairs. “Let’s try not to talk about too much sadness. We have to figure out what we’re going to do here and now… not point the blame for things that have already happened.”

Lucci gave them a long frown as he sat down. When he spoke next, it was the exact words that SoYa had been hoping to hear, “There’s some trouble, isn’t there? Is there something I can do to help?”

“As a matter of fact, I think there might be,” the Athrylith answered, relaxing slowly in his chair.

“Not for us, though,” AsaHi corrected. “It’s Zemi.”

“Lord Zemi?” Suzume echoed, leaning over the arm of Lucci’s chair.

“We think he may be… sick,” AsaHi seemed to be searching for the best words to use.

“Is that possible?” Lucci’s voice was thick with incredulity.

“I know how it sounds,” SoYa replied. “But I saw it for myself. Something happened to Zemi when Ceiswyr fell.”

“He was fighting Zeromus,” AsaHi’s voice was quiet. “It could have something to do with Chaos, too.”

Suzume and Lucci exchanged worried frowns.

Then the young Sygnus spoke, “You know that I’ll do whatever I can to help Lord Zemi. Only, I’m not sure exactly how.”

“We’re not all that certain either, Lucci,” SoYa spread his hands. “We were hoping that if we can find out a little more about what can make an Arweinydd sick, we can figure out how to reverse it.”

“Suzume,” AsaHi began, “We know that you’ve been spending a lot of time talking to Zeni. Do you think that you would be able to persuade her to talk to us… if it would help her brother?”

The girl blinked. “I don’t see why not. She cares a lot about Lord Zemi.”

AsaHi smiled and pressed her hands together, “Good! Then maybe we can–”

“The child-Arweinydd won’t have the answers,” an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted.

“What?” AsaHi stopped with a puzzled frown.

“I said, Zeni won’t have the answers any more than you do,” the voice repeated. “None of the young Arweinydd understand what they are or where they come from… much less how to deal with the first wave of Becoming.”

“Who said that?” SoYa stared around the room, eyes wide.

“I did.”

A flickering glow appeared within the doorway to the bedchamber. At first, it was nothing more than a hazy light that rippled in mid-air. But ever so slowly, it began to take the form of a man… a tall, somewhat disheveled man with strangely deep eyes and pale hair. He offered them a wide smile as he stepped into the room, his image growing more and more firm until it became completely solid.

His smile faded the moment that AsaHi gave a small, frightened scream.

“Hold on!” Lucci was on his feet, hands spread in a calming motion. “This is Kaz! He’s a friend!”

“He’s a ghost!” AsaHi’s fists were jammed up to her mouth, eyes wide.

“We prefer the term Spirit. Or Departed, if you must,” Kaz sighed, half to himself.

“But you’re still a ghost!” the girl waved her hands forward.

“AsaHi… wait,” SoYa’s voice was smooth as he squinted at the Spirit. “I don’t think he’s dangerous.”

“Of course not!” the wide smile had returned. “I’m very friendly!”

AsaHi eyed Kaz with an uncertain look, but didn’t argue.

“He’s helped me,” Lucci explained. “He’s my friend. And he’s from the Time Before.”

SoYa perked up, turning a questioning gaze at the Spirit, “The Time Before? Really?”

“That’s right!” Kaz half pranced back and forth before them. “And I know a thing or two about Arweinydd!”

“Do you think you can tell us what is making Zemi sick?” AsaHi frowned a little.

“It’s possible,” he shrugged. “I’d have to talk to him first.”

SoYa leaned back with a thoughtful look. Then he turned towards AsaHi, “I don’t think that could hurt anything. Do you?”

“Zemi’s not talking to anyone right now. He’s hardly moved at all since we got him here,” the girl answered.

“Let me guess… he’s particling,” Kaz held up a finger.

“What?” SoYa furrowed his brows.

“Breaking off into a bunch of tiny floating light particles,” the Spirit defined.

“That’s right… how did you know?” the Athrylith blinked.

“I told you. I know a few things about Arweinydd,” the Spirit began to prance again with a self-important expression.

AsaHi leaned over to SoYa, whispering, “I think he’s a little strange… are you sure it’s a good idea?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered back. “But we may not have the time to be picky about the help we get. I think we should at least let him try and talk to Zemi. He seems to know things that we don’t.”

AsaHi took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “Okay. But maybe we should keep Lucci around… just in case.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” SoYa pursed his lips, glancing across the room.

Kaz beamed a wide, friendly smile in return.

The Athrylith cleared his throat before asking, “Lucci, Suzume and… uh… Kaz. Would you mind coming back with us to Zemi’s chambers? Maybe we can figure something out between all of us.”

“Of course, Master SoYa,” the young Sygnus nodded without a second’s worth of thought. “Anything for Lord Zemi.”

Without further discussion, they rose to their feet — two winged girls, an Athrylith, a Sygnus and a Spirit from the Time Before – and made their way towards the resting chamber of the Arweinydd.

]]> http://www.dreigiau.com/ch20-4/feed 9 http://www.dreigiau.com/ch20-5 http://www.dreigiau.com/ch20-5#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:02:43 +0000 Aywren http://www.dreigiau.com/?p=1020

"I... failed them..." Zemi heard himself say.

Why… is everything so fuzzy?

Something appeared to be wrong with his vision portals, though Zemi didn’t know exactly what the issue was. In fact, he didn’t even know where he was. Why he was there. And why the world was so white and floaty.

The sensation wasn’t painful or really that undesirable. His physical weight seemed nonexistent – something that he would need to tweak again later. His vision wasn’t projecting correctly. His audio was muted and dim. And his train of thought – when did he get one of those?! – was functioning far slower than it had a right to.

That’s the problem with these physical forms. Always requiring so much maintenance.

A nagging in the back of his mind told him that something had happened to cause this failure in his so finely-researched and well-crafted Earthian form. Only, he couldn’t remember exactly what the experience had been. So he decided that it must not have been that important.

Failure? Impossible. Zemi Dreigiau does not fail!

But every time he told himself that, the nagging returned. Oh, yes. Zemi Dreigiau had failed. And he had failed in the worst way possible.

You’re going to have to work a little harder if you want me to believe that.

And so the thought would recede, fading off into the distant haze. Until Zemi began to wonder once again why everything was so fuzzy.

He might have spent a small eternity pondering these questions if the voice had not come to him. At first, Zemi thought it had to be a trick of his malfunctioning audio receptors. For whatever strange sort of state he was in, it was not possible for any other willful presence to push its way into his awareness. Arweinydd were not the same as Earthians, after all. They didn’t have the same visual and aural mind activity… dreams… open consciousness… All the things that it took to tap in and create the sensation of mind speak and physical illus-

“Zemi!” the voice sounded again, this time more insistent.

“Augh!” the Dreigiau responded. “You aren’t real! Be gone!”

“I most certainly am real, boy,” the voice retorted hotly. Then it even forced a visual appearance to take shape right there. Though the form was wavery, like a reflection in a rippling pool, Zemi could make out the image of a man. Appearing there. Impossibly in his non-existent Earthian-like mental imagery.

“How did you do that?” Zemi grit his teeth, taking a step back.

“The same way you just did,” the form lifted one hand to point.

That’s when Zemi realized that somehow, he too, had imposed a physical representation of himself as a mental image within his own-

“Will you please stop trying to make sense of this? The how is not important, Zemi. You need to be focusing on the why,” the voice told him, becoming a bit more gentle.

“The why?” the Dreigiau asked, busy waving his hand in front of his face. It looked and felt solid enough for a visual representation of– He forced himself to refocus on the voice’s words, “They why what?”

“Not what. Just why,” came the answer.

“What?” Zemi was now thoroughly lost.

The voice sighed, holding up both hands. “Okay. Let’s try this again. From the start.”

“Alright…” Zemi answered, half attentive. He toed at the ground with one boot, curious about the manifestation of clothing and how he could possibly have physical contact with a floor-like structure that did not appear to have any visual-

“Zemi!”

“Huh?”

“You’re particling!” the voice informed him in a deeply worried tone.

“I’m what?”

“Particling,” he repeated. “Losing your physical form… returning to your origins of light.”

“I am?” Zemi looked down at his hands. They seemed just fine to him.

“Not here,” the voice sighed, motioning with one hand. “Out there. In the world of Awareness.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” the Dreigiau admitted slowly. His tone had grown more grim… there was something in the way that this strange being spoke that seemed very serious.

“Zemi… things have happened. Bad things,” came the quiet, concerned reply. “And somehow, in the mix of it all, you’re getting all separated.”

“Separated?”

“Your essence. Your awareness. They’re breaking apart from each other. You’re losing your connection to the physical world,” the voice explained. “If you don’t do something to stop it, you will return to what you were before — the Light without Knowing. And all that you have made… everyone who is counting on you… all of that will fade away.”

A sharp jolt cracked through the foggy white of his mind. As the words rang in his mind, memories suddenly bubbled up, carrying with them flickers of images. Dark images.

Himself. A Dragon. Flying into Zerom’s Chaos. With the tiny form of AsaHi on his back.

AsaHi… she…

Awakening. Her wings spread wide. Her struggle to save them as they fell.

As Ceiswyr fell. Raining like tears around them.

No! That couldn’t… it didn’t…

The pain of his people crying out to him. Feeling their spirits flicker and fade within his mind.

So many lost. So little I could do.

TsuYa’s Marked transformation. How they had lost the one that had meant so much to Zento.

Zerom’s triumph.

Zemi Dreigiau‘s defeat.

“It’s not over yet,” the voice broke in, fighting to overpower the sorrowful memories. Fighting to be heard above the Arweinydd’s grief.

“I… failed them…” Zemi heard himself say. His own voice sounded unreal to his ears. The words were even more unreal.

Zemi Dreigiau… does not… fail…

“No. You haven’t,” a soft wavering hand was on his shoulder. “Zemi, listen to me. I need you to hear me out.”

It was hard to hear anything. Everything was becoming more and more blurry. Shifting around him like a vast ocean of regret and defeat. Pounding within his mind. Tearing him down from inside out.

“ZEMI!” came the frantic shout. “Don’t leave them! They need you!”

No… they don’t…

“Yes! They do!” the voice argued. “Ceiswyr may be gone. There may have been people lost. But there are still a lot of people left alive! And those people need their Patron! Zerom and his Marked are sitting on the other side of that Cleft just sniffing for a way to get across. If you leave them now, then Zerom will win! He will take everything. And there will not be a single light left in this world that can stand up to that kind of Chaos!”

Zemi focused on the words… they had become clearer once more.

“But… I can’t fight it either…” the Dreigiau spoke slowly. “I can’t strike at him for fear of falling to the Chaos myself. All I have been able to do is struggle to defend… and fall back as his power grows. How can I… an Arweinydd… fight another of my own kind?”

“Zemi,” the voice was soft again. A reassuring touch on his shoulder. “There is more to you than you may realize.”

The Arweinydd glanced up with a quizzical look.

“You have so much power… so much strength,” it continued. “But that has all been tempered in your art. In learning about your people. In finding compassion and love for the Earthians. Not in battle… struggles… and war.”

“Then what should I do?” Zemi frowned.

“Realize that you haven’t reached your full potential. That, like the Earthians, you can still change and grow. That there is so much about your kind… and yourself… that you have yet to learn,” came the gentle answer.

“Are you saying… there might be a way that I can stand up to Zerom and his Chaos?”

“It’s possible. But you have to unify yourself and your energies first — all parts of yourself.”

“Parts?” Zemi frowned. “What does–”

“Now Zemi… if I gave you all the answers, that would take away the point of the journey,” the voice gave a quiet laugh. “There are just some things that you have to discover for yourself.”

“But–”

“Isn’t that what you say about your Earthians?” the image began to ripple and fade.

“Yes, but–”

“They’re waiting for you, Zem. Why don’t you see what your Watcher has to say about all this?” the voice became more and more distant. “Just remember… you haven’t failed them… until you’ve given up.”

“Wait!” the Dreigiau protested. “Where are you going? I wasn’t done talking to yo–”

“Zemi!” another voice rang through his mind. A voice that he recognized instantly.

AsaHi?

“Zemi?” the girl’s voice pleaded. It sounded so worried. So heartbroken. “Please, wake up!”

Wake up..? But Arweinydd don’t slee-

The room around him suddenly came into focus. Tiny dancing particles of light floated before his eyes, capering across the sunlight that streamed through the windows. They alighted gently on the bed sheets… the curtains… and in AsaHi’s hair.

The girl stood over him, face etched in lines of deep worry – worry all for him. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. The way the light reflected from her bright green eyes. The way her mouth curved… so small and delicate. The way her slender hand rested so lightly against his forehead.

If this is what I get for particling… I should try it more often.

A faint laugh rumbled in his chest.

“Zemi? Can you hear me?” Another face popped into view – SoYa.

All love-sick day dreams of AsaHi poofed out of his thoughts instantly. He tried to keep the grudging out of his tone, “Yeah… I hear you.”

“Oh… thank goodness!” AsaHi sighed deeply, hugging him around the neck.

That made the situation decidedly better again.

“Hey… I’m all good. Why the long faces?” the Dreigiau attempted a casual approach. Afterall, if he didn’t let them sense trouble, there would be no reason for them to think there was any.

“Because you haven’t been doing well,” SoYa told him with a grim look. He reached his hand out, capturing one of the floating specks of light. “Look, AsaHi. They… seem to be fading.”

The girl sat up, loosening her hold on the Dreigiau’s neck. He silently mourned the loss.

“Then they must really have been a part of Zemi, afterall,” she said slowly, giving him a quizzical frown.

“Particling” he said. I guess this is what he meant.

“Are you feeling any better, Lord Zemi?” came a smooth, calm voice from the far side of the room.

The Dreigiau pushed himself into a sitting position, teal-flecked eyes squinting through the light. It took him a long moment to figure out who he was seeing. Long silver hair… deep silver eyes… open and boyish concern… young Suzume hanging around one broad shoulder.

“Lucci..?” his voice creaked out despite all attempts to school it.

Now that… was unexpected.

The young Sygnus rose to his feet, crossed the room and stooped next to the bedside. He hesitated just a moment before reaching out to the Arweinydd.

Zemi took his hands, “You came back safely.”

“You sent people to help me,” Lucci replied frankly. “You believed I could find it… didn’t you?”

“Yes,” the Dreigiau nodded quietly. “I believe if anyone can turn this battle… it will be you.”

The young man’s eyes widened with surprise, as if he wasn’t used to people putting so much hope in him. He simply nodded dumbly, over and over and over again. “I want to help. I want to stop Zeromus.”

“I know. So do I,” Zemi told him, patting one hand fondly. “And we’re going to. If you can just be patient for a little bit longer.”

“What do you mean, Zemi?” SoYa inquired with a tilt of his head.

“I’m not completely sure. There are some things I need to check into first,” the Arweinydd admitted.  Then his eyes glinted with a new light, focusing on the faces around him, “But this fight isn’t over with. Not just yet.”

It was as if a warming wave of hope had just washed through the room — their faces had lit up with their own new-found strength. Their minds opened to the possibilities… to the power of a Patron inspiring his people.

Even Lucci broke out into an honest-to-goodness grin, “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Tell me a little bit more about what’s wrong… maybe I can help you.”

“Sooooooooooo what are you? The King of the Spiral?” Oren beamed his trademark grin as he hooked a friendly arm around Aur’s shoulders.

JouKa winced a little. It was not the sort of thing that one randomly did to the Watcher from the Time Before. Luckily, Aur didn’t appear to be annoyed by it — or maybe he was and he just wasn’t showing it. It was so hard to tell with Aur most of the time.

“What makes you ask that?” Aur glanced over at the red haired man with quiet, hooded eyes.

“Well, you know? Lion? King?” Oren waved his free hand around. “And just the fact that your face is practically plastered all over the banners around here. So what’s the deal?”

“Oren…” JouKa sighed softly.

“What? It’s just a question,” he arched his eyebrows in response. It was that sort of hey-don’t-look-at-me innocent expression that had started to drive her nuts the better she got to know him.

By definition, Oren was the embodiment of blamelessness. Or so he seemed to believe.

“I am simply the diplomatic overseer of the Spiral, acting on Zemi’s behalf. That is all,” Aur answered.

“Suuure,” the red haired man laughed, flopping down in the big cushy chair nearby. “That’s why they’ve got you decked out in a place like this.”

“I cannot help it if the people of the Spiral wish to make more of me than I am,” the Watcher intoned quietly.

“Someone should give this guy an award for modesty,” Oren just grinned. Then he leaned with one elbow on the previously spotless table top. “What do you think, Jou?”

“I think… that I’ve told ya not to call me that,” she huffed, turning her head with a flutter of wings.

“Come on! I know you like it,” he responded, leaning even closer.

JouKa gave him a slight shove back. “Just who do ya think ya are?”

Oren just laughed all the more. His grin had turned teasing in what JouKa called “his uncultured and brutish way.”  But no matter what names she called him, it didn’t faze him one bit.

A slight smile touched Aur’s lips as he began to pace slowly in front of the large windows. A subtle interest shown in the way his golden eyes kept straying to watch their interactions.

Whether it was an act on Oren’s part was hard to tell. JouKa knew that he could be just as gentlemanly as he could be uncouth — it all really depended on what he deemed appropriate, she had learned. Maybe it was because he reminded her of the people she had grown up with in the Gathering, but something about his company was comforting in the midst of all the turmoil and breakdown. Though JouKa would never admit it out loud, she didn’t know what she would have done without Oren’s good natured bantering and optimistic outlook to keep her moving forward.

I just don’t know ‘ow ‘e does it.

As was the way of the people of the land, Oren appeared to have a lot of confidence, even at a time when darkness was closing in on every side. When JouKa’s own spirits were crushed, he wasn’t content to let her sink in her sorrow. Though it had been very difficult as of late.

I didn’t know ‘ow much it would hurt…

KoGuRai’s death at TsuYa’s hands. It was something that played in her mind over and over and over again. Her thoughts were haunted with the idea that maybe there was something she could have done to stop it. If she had intercepted, somehow, maybe the fight would have never happened. And if the fight would have never happened, maybe KoGuRai would still be alive. And TsuYa wouldn’t have become the next Marked Champion.

But instead, her worst nightmares had come true, right before her eyes. They were both gone, both far out of her reach. And nothing she could do would save either of them now.

I don’t understand why… terrible things ‘ad to ‘appen. They were both good guys once you got to know them. Neither of them deserved this.

“Hey. You’re thinking again,” Oren’s large hand cupped around hers. She realized she had been wringing her hands again, an all too obvious sign to him that she was worried.

“Yeah… well… you don’t think enough,” JouKa attempted a weak retort.

“No one’s ever accused me of having half a brain,” he smiled, trying to keep things light.

JouKa didn’t feel like smiling. But she did anyways. For him.

They’ve taken good care of me. Oren… and Aur…

The golden haired Watcher glanced her way as if sensing her thoughts.

I know I’m very lucky to ‘ave them.

That’s when Aur’s deep voice rumbled, “We are going to have visitors soon.”

“How do you know?” Oren asked, leaning back in the big chair, one eye squinting.

The Watcher just gave him a long, silent look.

“Alright, alright,” the red haired warrior waved his hands. Then he turned to JouKa and teasingly informed her, “We’re going to have visitors soon.”

JouKa almost snorted through her nose at his randomness. Instead, she just pushed Oren away again.

It didn’t take very long before there was a knock at the door, just as Aur had predicted. The Watcher rose to answer it, a polite exchange of words made through the doorway. When Aur stepped back into the room, Lord Zemi Dreigiau and his Dragon warrior, Kudako, followed.

JouKa rose to her feet at, giving a quick curtsey, “Lord Zemi!”

“Oooooh,” came Oren’s long, thoughtful sound. “THE Lord Zemi?”

The Arweinydd arched his eyebrow, hands folded behind his back. The Dragon warrior behind him appeared to be bored.

“Oren!” JouKa hissed over her shoulder. “Of course it’s THE Lord Zemi!”

“Of course! Forgive me, M’lord,” Oren echoed with a nervous laugh as he got to his feet and attempted a respectful bow.

The Dreigiau simply waved one dismissing hand as he took a seat, “No worries. Just relax.”

Kudako, however, looked less than relaxed. The Dragon shadowed the Arweinydd, standing sternly behind his seat with glittering, unblinking eyes.

“I’m glad to see you up and about, Lord Zemi,” Aur offered, sitting calmly across from the Dreigiau. “I had heard there were some… difficulties…”

“A few. But I’m working on it,” Lord Zemi answered.

“I knew you would,” the Watcher nodded. Then with a lift of his chin, he inquired, “What is it that you need from me, M’lord?”

“A little less formality, for one,” the Arweinydd grinned, the hint of fangs showing.

Aur sighed quietly.

Oren gave a little laugh, murmuring under his breath, “I think I like this guy.”

Before JouKa could chide, Lord Zemi flicked a bit of a grin at the red haired man. “An Outlander?”

“Yes Sir,” the warrior grinned back. “The name’s Oren. 100% Outlander. At your service, Lord Dragon.”

“It’s good to meet you, Oren,” the Arweinydd nodded. “It’s been a while since I’ve had contact with your people. But they always know how to show good hospitality.”

“That we do, M’lord,” Oren pumped one fist with a proud look.

Kudako cleared his throat in a not-so-subtle hint that there were more important things to be addressing at the moment. As if somewhat reluctant, Lord Zemi nodded and leaned forward, templing his fingers together.

“I don’t exactly know how to start this,” the Dreigiau said, eyes resting on his Watcher. “Other than to say that a spirit’s voice told me to seek you out for guidance.”

“Spirit’s voice?” Aur pursed his lips with a heavy brow.

“One of the spirits that have taken up residence around Lucci,” Lord Zemi explained. “Apparently, this one has befriended the boy… Lucci’s even given him the name of Kaz.”

Suddenly, the Watcher visibly stiffened. For one so emotionless, it was a serious over reaction.

Lord Zemi must have noticed as well because he asked, “Is that… someone you know? The spirit claims to be from the Time Before.”

Aur’s golden eyes took a long, hard look at the Arweinydd before he answered evasively, “I knew a lot of beings from the Time Before.”

Oren exchanged a curious look with JouKa, but had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

“I see,” It was obvious that Lord Zemi wanted more information, but when the Watcher didn’t offer further words, the Dreigiau didn’t push the issue.

“Why did this spirit voice tell you to come to me?” Aur asked instead.

“Because, I…” the Arweinydd stopped dead, glancing at Oren and JouKa. Something akin to embarrassment hung over his face.

“Because you…?” the Watcher prodded gently.

“Because something’s wrong,” Lord Zemi blurted quickly.

“With?”

The teal eyes flickered towards them again, then focused on something outside the window, “Me.”

Aur’s voice was level and calm, “Now, was that so hard to admit?”

Lord Zemi ground his teeth for a moment. Then he answered, “Yeeaaaah…”

“Alright,” the Watcher leaned back in his chair. “Tell me a little bit more about what’s wrong… maybe I can help you.”

“It might have something to do with Chaos,” the Dreigiau began. At the word ‘Chaos,’ he stopped and quickly backtracked, “Not that I’m going Chaotic or anything like that. I just think that maybe…”

Aur’s golden eyes were focused on the struggling Arweinydd. He nodded gently over and over and over again, with an encouraging arch to his eyebrow.

“I think that maybe something happened to me when I faced Zerom. Something happened when Ceiswyr fell,” Lord Zemi finally said, biting the words off as if each one was something foul tasting in his mouth. “And I haven’t been able to… take…”

“Take…?”

“…Take… my Dragon form… ever since the Islands fell,” the Arweinydd’s gaze lowered.

JouKa’s mouth opened slightly. She didn’t mean for Lord Zemi to hear her sound of surprise and concern. But he must have, for he shot glance in her direction, teal eyes glimmering with shame.

“I’m sorry,” the Dreigiau intoned quietly. “I know the last thing anyone needs to hear is how you all have a gimped Patron now.”

Something stirred in her chest at his disheartened half-droop. Never had she seen the Lord Zemi Dreigiau so open and honest… almost Earthian. And though she was bad at the sympathy thing, the winged girl felt like she needed to say something. Anything.

“No, Lord Zemi. It’s not… like that at all,” JouKa told him.

“No?” he asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “When I was an outcast of my own peoples, ya brought me to your Islands and gave me a place to be. Maybe at first, I didn’t really think that I fit in there. It was kinda ‘ard. But now that it’s gone, I realize what a special place ya made for everyone. And I know ya fought as ‘ard as ya could to keep it safe. I don’t think there’s anything ya could do to make me think lesser of ya, Lord Zemi.”

The Arweinydd stared at her for a moment, too surprised to reply.

Kudako, however, found words for him, “Thank you.”

“Huh?” JouKa frowned.

“I’ve been trying to tell him that. But he will not listen to my reasoning. Maybe he will listen to yours,” the Dragon warrior grunted.

Lord Zemi just sighed, appealing to the Watcher once again, “So… that’s what I mean when I say something is wrong. Do you have any ideas?”

Aur tapped his chin with one finger before nodding slowly. “It sounds like you’ve lost your unification.”

The Arweinydd’s head jerked up, “That’s a lot like what the spirit voice said, too.”

“I’m sure he did, Lord Zemi,” the golden haired man simply agreed.

“And so… how do I get this unification thing back?”

“Usually imbalances like this are restored in their own time,” Aur answered. “But in the case of Chaos having some effect, you may need to find outside assistance. Something to help you balance out your energies of Creation.”

Oren gave a soft whistle, “This is waaaay over my head.”

“Don’t worry… me, too,” JouKa whispered.

“Me three,” Lord Zemi added, much to her surprise. He leaned forward with a slight grin. “Aur, this all sounds great. Don’t get me wrong. But I don’t know the first place to go looking for something to help balance out Creation. Is that like… a little walk-in hair salon or a downtown pub on the corner? Let’s call it Clyde’s Creation and More!”

The Watcher didn’t look amused. “I’m being serious, Lord Zemi.”

“So am I,” the Arweinydd spread his hands. “Throw me a line here. I’m sinking.”

“I would suggest that you start by finding sources of power that date back to the Time Before,” Aur answered gravely. “You know as well as I do that there are still many of them here upon this world.”

“That’s true…” the Dreigiau poked his finger in the air repeatedly. “That’s very, very true. In fact, if I remember correctly, the Spiral is one of the areas known for housing strange phenomenon. Like giant golden lions that came from the Time Before.”

The Watcher frowned all the more, “Yes. However, the pocket of energy that once sustained me was drying up. By now, it is probably nonexistent.”

“Where there is one pocket, maybe there are more nearby,” Lord Zemi debated.

“Perhaps, but do we have time to entertain notions without facts to back them up?” Aur asked.

Before the Arweinydd could answer, Kudako interjected, “It is not just a notion.”

“Hrm?”

The Dragon warrior pursed his lips stoically. Then he continued, “There were old stories when I was young… about the energies deep within the earth that powered the Spiral. Stories about why our home was founded here, of all places. Why the trees have taken such an unusual coloration. So many other stories that point to unnatural causes within these lands. But these are things that only the Clan Leaders of old really knew about and could confirm.”

“Which means?” Lord Zemi asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

“That I do not believe anyone here and now knows these old secrets anymore. The Clan Leaders were killed off when the Arms Master took control of the Spiral,” Kudako’s voice was low and grave.

“Perhaps… not… all of them,” Aur answered unexpectedly.

All eyes turned questioningly towards the golden eyed Watcher.

Tiny runes and spiral patterns traced the hem of the silken cloth that wrapped around his shoulders and neck, obscuring the lower half of his face.

“Remember what I said,” Kudako’s quiet voice echoed back to them as he strode towards the light of the Exile Encampment. “These were Clans of old. Let me do the talking.”

SoYa shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Letting Kudako do the talking was not a problem for him. Not at all. Exactly how he had come to get mixed up in this procession to begin with, the Athrylith couldn’t really figure out. Something about him being one of the few Nefolian representatives who didn’t have wings.

I suppose I don’t blame them… it would probably be a bit creepy for the old Spiral Clans to see a bunch of white haired invaders from the north flying down.

It helped a bit that Zemi was there, walking just to SoYa’s right. And Aur was there as well, walking to his left. It was Aur who had known of the existence of this old Clan, claiming that these people had been in exile on the fringe of the Spiral for many, many centuries.

I hope that the Clan Leader has the information that Zemi is looking for. Or else, we could be sticking our neck out here for nothing.

It was especially true, SoYa knew, for the Spiral Clans of the older times. He was never quite certain why the Spiral and the Clans of the North, his ancestors, had started fighting to begin with. History was murky in the nomadic cultures, often passed down through oral traditions. So little of it had been written down. So little had been fully documented. All that they were left with today was the common knowledge that the people of the Inner Realms were stark enemies of the Spiral Clans. And that the Spiral Clans had often trained and sent in Annihilators to kill and destroy.

And now, here we are. The people of the Inner Realm taking refuge within the Spiral… where we have just fought to liberate them from the iron rule of their Armsmaster.

For the good of all that lived, the two peoples needed to come together. If they did not, then there would be no chance to stand against the spread of Zeromus’ Chaotic darkness.

I just hope that is enough for us to convince them.

Kudako strode forward, leading their group into the thick forested land. This was where Aur had told them that the exiles now lived… though SoYa couldn’t help but ponder how the Watcher knew of it when it seemed that the rest of the Spiral did not.

It was almost sundown now as it had taken them much of the afternoon to travel – both on Dragon back and by foot. It was suggested that they did not bring the Dragons too close to the establishment, which meant they had spent the last part of their trip weaving through the thick violet forests. With the safety of good company on either side, SoYa had spent a bit of the journey admiring the natural beauty of the lands.

The Spiral had a magical quality to it, no matter which direction that you turned — be it the heavy draping lilac trees, the soft buzz of blue glow bugs, the way the sky lit in a rainbow hue as it passed beyond the edge of the world. The people that lived there, despite their warlike nature, were people that knew how to live in harmony with the land. Everywhere, the natural life flourished easily, plants and animals alike. All of it was so different than the Inner Realms… a land that struggled under the burden of difficult winters and rugged mountain terrain.

Craning his head back, SoYa could make out the flickering lights that crowned the tall trees high above them. There was no path that pointed the way towards the Exile Encampment — the land was pure and untouched under their feet. It was only when the two shrouded figures dropped from out of nowhere that there was an indication that they had arrived.

Though the stretching shadows made it difficult for SoYa to make out many details, he could tell these men had the common features of the Spiral peoples – tall, blond hair, warrior physique. But they lacked the war paint and tattoo spiral patterns that the others had. And unlike the people that SoYa had met before, there was a clear show of emotion on their faces.

Kudako approached the two men, his steps showing careful confidence. He didn’t speak a word to them. Instead, he raised his left hand, his fingers flicking in an ambiguous motion. Though SoYa didn’t know what it meant, it appeared to have some effect on the two men. Their eyes widened momentarily before they, too approached the Dragon warrior.

There was a short exchange of words. SoYa couldn’t make out what was being said, but he could hear Kudako’s stern and unmoving voice. Eventually, they arrived at some sort of consensus, for the Dragon gave a brief nod over his shoulder to Zemi.

“Alright. Looks like we’re in the clear,” the Dreigiau murmured under his breath. “Let’s keep this short and to the point once we get in to speak to the Clan Leader.”

Aur simply nodded, following without a sound.

The two Clans Men led them through glades and thickets, wandering deeper into the brush. Miraculously, there always seemed to be a passage in the forest wherever their feet led them. As SoYa peered up, he realized that they were under the limbs of many immense, ancient trees. The smooth trunks were dappled with green and gold, some as thick as the watchtowers had been back in Nefol.

This is amazing…

Everything there felt so vibrant and alive. As if nothing else in the world, not even the darkness of Zerom, could mar it.

As SoYa squinted, he could make out the subtle shapes of structures and ramps between the branches above. That’s when he came to realize that they had arrived in the Exile Encampment… the city itself was in the trees above them. The building was so organic that if it hadn’t been for the brazen flicker of firelight, he would have probably overlooked it.

The Clans Men paused for only a moment as something shifted along the side of the nearby tree trunk. SoYa watched as an opening came into view, revealing a narrow wooden ramp that traced a comfortable slope up along the inside of the tree itself. A few more Clans Men stood at the base, shining their weapons as they kept watch. They glanced up curiously as the group approached, but gave no resistance as they passed through.

Before SoYa knew it, the ramp had led them up into the over arching branches, which sloped and twisted like broad roads far above the forest floor. It was a bit unnerving to feel so much empty space under his feet. The branches were smooth with centuries of passage, leading them past houselike structures as they walked.

Golden haired people — women, children and men – stopped their daily tasks to watch them pass. The Dragon, the Dreigiau, the Watcher and the Nefolian. A buzz of curiosity followed the group wherever they went. A curiosity that didn’t appear to hold malice, not even against the Spiral’s once-enemy of the north lands.

Finally, they reached a structure that sat folded deeply within the branches of many of the intertwining trees, a place that felt like the center of the Encampment. One of the Clans Men paused, turning to address them quietly.

“Please wait here for a moment. We will announce your arrival and determine if the Leader will take your company at so late an hour,” he said. “We hope that it is not inconvenient if we must ask you to waylay your visit until the morning?”

“It will do,” Kudako responded. “We are at the whims of the Clans Leader and appreciate your consideration.”

The blond haired man gave a low bow and slipped through the doorway into the structure.

“Everyone is so formal around here it makes my teeth hurt,” Zemi muttered to himself.

SoYa couldn’t help but smile a little. He had been thinking the same thing.

“Formality is one with self-control, Lord Zemi,” Kudako answered. “Self-control is greatly prized among those that hold the old ways.”

“And you believe that these are a people that hold on to the old ways?” a quiet, raspy voice interjected.

Kudako paused, turning to address the man who was now standing in the doorway above them. He was dressed in deep hues of dark blue, purple and black. His clothes were both simple in style and cut and ornate in detail and design. Tiny runes and spiral patterns traced the hem of the silken cloth that wrapped around his shoulders and neck, obscuring the lower half of his face. His hair was shorter, closer cropped than the rest of the clans men, streaked with the silvery white of age. His blue eyes were both wise and sharp with the intensity of a bird of prey.

Kudako gave a low, respectful bow, answering quietly, “It is what we have heard of your people. That you were a Clan Leader of old.”

“Perhaps,” the man walked forward, studying the Dragon with a long gaze. His eyes were fixed on the strange fin ears.

I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t come in with wings wide and Dragons blazing, afterall.

“Perhaps?” Kudako echoed. “Was I misinformed?”

Finally, the Leader turned and began to walk slowly back in the other direction. Despite his age, his motions were still fluid with a warrior’s grace. “There are no Clans here.”

This seemed to take the Dragon by surprise. He answered quickly, “There are always Clans.”

“Not here,” the man paused, pivoting on his heel. “Those who live here came from many different Clans to escape the Razing. The fires and blades that took our kinsmen and companions. We have no desire to relive the days of the Clans in our new society.”

“The Razing… When the Armsmaster first came to power,” Kudako added grimly.

“Yes. It happened many, many centuries ago,” the Leader told him.

“I know,” the Dragon warrior answered quietly. “I was just a boy when I lost my Clan to the Razing.”

The man paused, looking over Kudako with a quizzical eye, “You? But you hardly seem more than a warrior just touching his prime.”

The fin ears flicked once in response, “Appearances are sometimes deceiving. I have been in this world far longer than my form might show.”

“I see…” the Leader folded his hands behind his back, lifting his chin. “So, explain to me how it is that one that claims to be from the Old Spiral Clans returns now in such a guise? You look nothing like our people, though your manner communicates differently.”

“I have served for many hundreds of years under the guidance and knowledge of the Patron Arweinydd, Zemi Dreigiau,” Kudako obliged without hesitation. He motioned once with both hands towards Zemi. “It is who I have brought here today, in search of assistance and information.”

“Zemi Dreigiau,” the stern eyes had grown more whimsical. He gave a short bow in Zemi’s direction, “I have heard so much about the Lord Dragon of the North. You have honored us with your presence.”

The Arweinydd bowed in return, imitating the manner of the Leader, “Thank you. We are honored with such a welcome.”

“Please, will you come in?” the man motioned towards the doorway with a more relaxed demeanor. “You should not have waited so long to introduce yourself, Lord Dragon.”

Zemi followed with a light laugh and a glance at his Dragon servant, “Well, you know how it is. When in the Spiral… do as they do. Kudako was a tad overzealous about us being on our best behavior.”

The Leader stopped in mid-step, the hand that reached for the door remained frozen in the air. He turned slowly, blue eyes sharp once again. SoYa felt a chill rush over his body at the intensity.

“Repeat that name.”

“KudakoRe,” the Dragon intoned without so much as a flinch. “Warrior and Dragon Servant to Lord Zemi Dreigiau.”

The man took a few slow, deliberate steps forward. His eyes were fixed and unblinking. Unreadable. Then much to SoYa’s puzzlement, the Leader lifted his hand and unwrapped the cloth from across his face. The reason for the covering and the raspy voice became at once apparent – a large, jagged scar ran from one side of the Leader’s mouth, down across his neck, finally vanishing into the folds of his over tunic. Whatever blow the man had once took, it was obvious that he was not supposed to have lived through it.

Kudako stood for a long moment in silence, his golden eyes studying the revelation. The shift of expression came slowly. Painfully. A struggle to express a reaction of absolute shock. SoYa had never seen the stoic warrior look so completely beside himself.

His mouth worked, struggling to find sound. When it did, Kudako uttered a solitary word, “Brother…”

Hanging out with the locals might just be a bit of fun after all.

“ShinRe,” Kudako shook his head slowly. “I thought you were dead… killed in the Raze!”

“I could say the same about you, Kudako,” a welcoming smile spread across the Leader’s face. He wasted no time in embracing his brother and ushering him through the doorway. “I looked for you, but I never found you. I could only assume you had been lost to the flame.”

Well, that’s a good sign.

Zemi arched his eyebrows and followed, making a subtle motion at the two behind him. There was no need to waste a perfectly good invitation and opportunity.

In fact, this is working out better than I could have hoped for.

The Dreigiau cast a quiet glace at Aur as they walked through the door. He couldn’t tell if the Watcher had known of the relation between Kudako and the Clan Leader before now. And none of Aur’s reactions offered a hint to what he was thinking. But it was very hard to believe that it could be coincidence.

We’ll discuss it later. There are more important things to attend do.

Like everything else in the spiral, ShinRe’s home was circular in build. And much like his younger brother, he appeared to have no lack in cleanliness and organization. A round woven rug fit snugly within the circumference of main room, looking to have once been speckled with many colors that had dulled with age. A heavy round table stood in the center of it all, lit with the flickering light from a few slender candles. There were books there, many books that lined a narrow shelf on one wall. Another wall was dedicated to a myriad of unusual looking musical instruments, all crafted from warmly painted wood.

The guards who had escorted them there were already rearranging the circular stools that ringed around the table. A few baskets of nuts and fruits had been placed out for them as a sign of welcome.

“Please,” ShinRe motioned forward. “My home is your home.”

Zemi picked a seat opposite of the Leader’s chair, hoping to get a chance to observe the man that Kudako called brother. They had hardly sat down before the clans men appeared again, placing broad, wooden dishes in front of each of them. One at a time, they began to fill the dishes with a soft blue colored liquid.

When the servant came to Zemi’s chair to pour, the Dreigiau quickly put his hand over the top of the dish.

“Please, Lord Dreigiau. Allow me,” the clans man asked politely, looking a bit concerned at the denied hospitality. Maybe even worried that he had done something wrong.

“No, no… don’t waste it,” Zemi told him in an assuring tone. When the man looked all the more puzzled, the Arweinydd added, “It’s alright. I don’t eat.”

“Uh…” clearly, the Dreigiau’s explanation only confused the man all the more. He glanced over at the head of the table for instructions.

ShinRe was also giving Zemi a rather strange look. The Arweinydd simply offered a smooth smile and shrug in return. The Leader then nodded and the clans man moved around to the next unfilled dish.

Hanging out with the locals might just be a bit of fun after all.

Once they were settled, ShinRe spoke again, blue eyes studying his brother momentarily, “How did you manage to find us here? We have done much to remain secure and separate from the rest of the Spiral.”

When Kudako opened his mouth to reply, Zemi quickly interjected, “Lord Zemi Dreigiau knows many mysterious things.”

The Dragon warrior turned towards the Arweinydd with a droll frown. One ear twitched, but he held his tongue.

ShinRe responded with interest, seeming to be impressed, “Then Lord Dragon of the North Clans is just as wise and cunning as the stories have said.”

“Or more,” Zemi’s fangy grin grew wide.

“Modesty is not one of his stronger virtues,” Aur murmured under his breath.

SoYa sniffed to cover his chuckle, flicking an amused glance across the table.

“And you said you are a warrior of the Nefolian Patron?” ShinRe asked quietly.

“Yes,” Kudako finally found a word in the conversation. Only one.

“I have heard that Lord Dreigiau bestows upon his servants great gifts of power,” the Leader’s statement held a hint of underlying question.

“It depends,” the Dragon answered, picking a fruit from the basket and biting into it.

“That would explain the… ah… changes…”

Not one to beat around the bush, Kudako stated quickly, “I’m a Dragon.”

“Dragon?” ShinRe echoed, eyebrows lifting.

“Dragon,” Kudako confirmed, taking another bite out of the fruit. Then he added shortly, “It was the agreement.”

“You agreed to become a Dragon?” he asked.

“It was better than the alternative,” came the answer. Then a short pause before, “I will have to discuss it with you at a later time. There is business to attend to.”

ShinRe leaned back in his chair, a quiet half smile playing over his broken lips. “Always business, Kudako. Some things never change.”

“We’ve been working on him,” Zemi offered waving a finger in the air. “Just taking him time. But we’ll get him there.”

“I should like to be there the day that you do,” the Leader laughed, a quiet near soundless laugh. But there was a tiny speck of mirth in the depths of his eyes. An openness that wasn’t seen often in the people of the Spiral.

This one isn’t so bad, really. I think we can get along.

“Before I forget my manners,” the Dreigiau said, as if he had manners to forget, “Let me introduce you to a few fine fellows.”

ShinRe sat watching with the appropriate amount of polite interest.

Zemi waved his hand around, “This is SoYa, the son of ZenToYa who is my Champion and founder of Nefol. And this is Aur, who is acting as the ambassador between the North Clans and the current Spiral establishment.”

“I welcome you both to my home,” ShinRe said before he pursed his lips. Then he continued, “Am I right in hearing you say that some sort of negotiations have begun between Nefol and the Spiral?”

“Yes,” Kudako answered. “The Armsmaster has been slain. Nefol has been working with the people to reverse the effects of the Implants. Aur has done a satisfactory job in working to make connections between the cultures, as difficult as that can be.”

“This is… a very interesting turn…” the Leader leaned forward again.

“The Spiral is finally free, brother,” the Dragon told him quietly. “It is as you would have wished, is it not?”

“It is good to see your optimism, Kudako,” he said. “But do you think the deep old magics that bound the minds of our people can be undone so easily?”

There was a moment of silence that was only interrupted by Aur’s subtle clearing of throat. At first, Zemi didn’t pay it much mind. Until Aur did it again. The Dreigiau shifted his attention to his Watcher with a thoughtful frown. The golden eyes flicked towards ShinRe, then back to Zemi again.

Did I miss something?

The Arweinydd paused, mulling over the Leader’s last few words, looking for the secrets that the Watcher seemed to indicate he should see. It took a few minutes. But then it came to him.

“Did you say magic?” Zemi found the words on his lips before he pondered the consequences of asking.

Magic was not something widely known or used by the Earthians. In fact, it was Nefol that claimed the first real magic users in the known history of their lands… something that Zemi had to help nourish from the start.

If there was something that could be considered magical within the Spiral that dated back that long ago… it must be something pretty significant.

“I don’t know if it was technically magic in the same sense the Nefolians use, but it was certainly something supernatural in nature,” ShinRe replied.

“You seem to know a lot about the Nefolians… for having lived in the Spiral all this time,” SoYa ventured, completely missing the important topic at hand.

Can’t blame the boy for trying.

“Well… that’s because I learned as much about the Nefolian providence as I could. Most of it was hearsay, of course, as I could never really see the city,” the Leader answered with a whimsical smile. “How I would have loved to… But. As it is, I used what I heard about your government and education as a foundation, if you will, for our own Encampment. I hope you don’t mind?”

“No, sir. Not at all,” SoYa shook his head. He, too, seemed curious about ShinRe and his methods of adaptation.

But that would all have to wait for another day.

“Can you tell me more about this… supernatural phenomenon that you say existed in the old Spiral?” Zemi folded his fingers into one another and balanced his chin on top.

“I will tell you as much as I can, Lord Dreigiau,” ShinRe’s expression grew more somber. “Our father was taken from us far earlier than I would have liked. Being the eldest son of the Clan’s Leader, I moved up to take his position. I didn’t have much time as the Leader before the Razing took everything from us. But during that time, I was brought into the circle of Elders and taught some of the Mystic Ways, as they liked to call it. I will repeat… I didn’t have a lot of time to learn of the secrets that the Clan Leaders passed through generations. But what I do know, I find no fault in sharing with you.”

“Thank you,” the Dreigiau tilted his head. “I know that I’m asking a lot… I don’t mean to poke my nose in things that are considered clan secrets.”

“Those days are over,” he spoke slowly. “The secrets that were held… were dark ones. Ones that were dictated by the intimidation of the Armsmaster over the family leaders. Perhaps it is time that the Spiral comes to know the truth of our history… so that such self enslavement never be repeated in future days.”

Pretty heavy stuff.

Zemi pursed his lips and nodded. There wasn’t much he could add to that. So he just let the Leader keep talking.

“There are, indeed, sources of energy locked under the surface of the Spiral that one might call almost magical in nature. We don’t know where these sources came from. But we do know that there appeared to be some connection to these energies and the great Golden Lion that offered our people council and guidance,” ShinRe explained.

Zemi glanced over at the Watcher. Aur was playing a poker face to die for.

“Did you ever get to see this Golden Lion?” the Arweinydd asked with a teasing grin.

“A few times, actually. Yes. Yes I did,” the Leader replied looking somewhat proud. Then his face grew somber again. “The people of the Spiral were not good listeners. They took the council of the Lion and chose to twist the message into something that they wanted to believe in. I really do not believe that our Guide would have wanted us to wage war against the Clans of the North in the way that we did. And he would not have wanted to see the use of Implants in our warriors in order to achieve this emotionless so-called perfection that the Armsmaster claimed it to be.”

“You are right,” Aur spoke quietly. “The war nature that the Spiral grew into was driven by one man’s bloodthirsty drive for pointless violence.”

“Yes… exactly?” ShinRe furrowed his brow at the Watcher curiously.

Aur said nothing more, hooded eyes watching the Leader in silence.

Seeing that the Watcher had nothing more to add, ShinRe continued, “The Implants… were structured from tiny fragments of a crystal-like stone that held a strange, magical property. Initially, these fragments allowed the Armsmaster to have unnatural suggestive control over the Spiral warriors… somewhat in the manor that mind mages are said to have.”

SoYa blanched and sucked on his bottom lip.

“But the prolonged side effect of the Implants caused people to grow more and more emotionless. Soon, the Armsmaster saw this as a great perk… for warriors without fear or true remorse were nothing more than killing machines at his command,” the Leader paused and gave Kudako a long, sad look. “Just as you have seen with the Annihilators who crossed into the Inner Realms borders.”

“So, it’s fragments of this stone that were implanted into the warriors to cause this?” SoYa’s face had grown more and more pale the more that he heard. “Does that mean that Kudako was…”

The Dragon frowned sharply, “A sliver of stone does not dictate my fate nor control my allegiance.”

“No… no… of course not,” the Athrylith swallowed and fell silent.

By now, Zemi had other interests. He was starting to understand why Aur had directed them there. “So tell me, do you know the origins of this strange stone?”

“Not precisely,” ShinRe answered. “I never had the chance to visit the Stone Lair. But I heard enough about it to have an idea of where it can be found.”

The Arweinydd didn’t speak, mulling over the proper words for the situation. Then he said, “I know it is a lot to ask of you… after you have already shared so much of your history with us. The outsiders as we are. But our situation is difficult and somewhat desperate…”

The Leader frowned at the sudden turn in the conversation.

“There is a darkness brewing on the other side of the Dragon’s Cleft,” Zemi explained. “A darkness that not even the proud and brave of Nefol could stem. Our people and cities have fallen to this foe. And it now stands on the other side, attention bent on finding a way to reach into the Spiral.”

“This is… grave news that you bring, Lord Dreigiau,” for the first time, a hint of concern shown in ShinRe’s eyes.

“I tell you this because we have very little time to mobilize our peoples. We must find a way to work together to stop this darkness…”

The Leader nodded in understanding.

“I also must ask that you help us to find the source of this ancient power you’ve told us about,” Zemi placed his palms on his knees, leaning forward. “I know it has been a source of sorrow and destruction to your people. But I believe that there are secrets that have yet to be unlocked… and under the right hands, may prove to be a power that we can use to protect your people instead.”

ShinRe seemed a little less understanding about this. He glanced over at Kudako, as if seeking his input.

“I cannot tell you what you should do with the Spiral’s secrets,” the Dragon told him quietly. “I stand by Lord Zemi, however. I believe as he believes. I hope that you will consider joining and assisting us. I have seen the destruction that this Chaos can create. I don’t want to see it pass into these lands as well.”

The Leader leaned back with a grim, thoughtful expression. He remained silent for a long time. When he responded, his voice was heavy with uncertainty. “This is… a lot to ask. May I have the night to sleep on it before I decide?”

Gnawing impatience pained the Arweinydd at the answer. But he knew there was nothing he could do to urge the Leader. Not at the risk of losing the already shaky alliance.

“Of course,” Zemi dipped his head slightly.

“Thank you. I will make my considerations tonight,” relief colored ShinRe’s expression. He then lifted a hand to them. “And we will make accommodations for you until the morning.”

Zemi dipped his head in a polite bow again. There was nothing else he could do but wait.

Wow… that’s has to be the most complex way I’ve heard anyone say “Let’s be friends.”

The morning light shown peacefully upon the Exile Encampment leaving dappled patterns across the wooden platform where SoYa stood. There was a delicate wood railing on this overlook, for which he was grateful. It helped to give him the courage to take a moment to look out over the edge.

When he did, the view took his breath away.

It felt as if he was standing upon the roost of the world. Below him the Encampment stretched out along the ancient winding branches in every direction. He could see the small figures of the clans people moving along the ramps and out on the wood balconies of their home. Though they faded off into the distance through the shimmering leaves, there were some that SoYa could make out well enough to identify.

Off to the right, he could see Kudako and his brother ShinRe, taking breakfast out on the Leader’s morning overlook. They sat quietly, each on their own side of a smaller round table. SoYa couldn’t tell if they were talking, eating or just sharing company. But he couldn’t help but feel glad to know that Kudako had been reunited with his older sibling.

The Athrylith sighed softly, fighting to try to keep thoughts of his own brother from surfacing too much.

We’ll get there when we do… one thing at a time.

To another side, he could hear the cheering laughter of children. SoYa took a few steps forward, peering curiously over the edge. Down below, a group of children stood ringed around Zemi, watching him with delighted faces. The Athrylith couldn’t make out what was being said, but he could see the children clapping and cheering at whatever the Dreigiau was entertaining them with.

Somehow… that’s not surprising. Zemi strikes me as the kind to enjoy the company of children.

Much to their elated amazement, the Dreigiau snapped his fingers before them, a spark of light appearing above his hand. The light slowly stretched and took the form of a small glowing dragon – one that SoYa had seen Zemi create before in the past. This one, however, was pale and transparent… lacking much of the vibrancy of the Arweinydd’s usual magic. The children didn’t know this… so they cheered all the more.

SoYa, however, couldn’t help but feel a tinge of worry.

Has Zemi really become that much weaker? And if so, how can some shards of magic stone from the Spiral be of any help to us?

“You of all people should know that there is often more under the surface of things that it first would seem,” a deep, quiet voice told him.

SoYa turned to see Aur approaching, walking towards him from the other side of the platform. He felt a momentary loss of words – besides a short time in Wyndor, SoYa really did not have a lot of contact with the creature from the Time Before. And even less so since the Watcher had become the ambassador between Ceiswyr and the Spiral.

But none of this appeared to concern the big man as he stopped to stand silently next to the Athrylith. The golden eyes remained unblinking, staring out over the Encampment just as SoYa had done only moments earlier.

“It is a pleasant place,” the Watcher remarked.

“Yes… it is, Lord Aur,” SoYa answered, fumbling to figure out what extreme of formality he should use when addressing the man. The Athrylith chose to go with over formal rather than under. Afterall, the way that the Watcher held himself in everything he did spoke of wisdom and knowledge that deserved recognition.

Aur’s reaction seemed to disagree, “Since when has it been mandated that you address me with such a title?”

“Well, I just thought…”

“I hope that we can establish a level of companionship… similar to that which your father and brother have established with me in the past,” the Watcher wasted no time getting straight to the point.

Wow… that’s has to be the most complex way I’ve heard anyone say “Let’s be friends.”

SoYa’s eyebrows arched as he still struggled for a loss of words.

Aur paused, glancing over with hooded eyes. “I apologize. I should not have mentioned TsuYa…”

“No,” the Athrylith shook his head. “No. It’s alright. I have to face the reality sometime. There’s no need to avoid talking about things.”

The Watcher stood silently, gathering his thoughts before he asked, “Then, would it be alright if I talked with you… about this situation.”

“Sure..?” SoYa furrowed his brow. He didn’t know what was more surprising – that the Watcher was seeking out conversation from him, or the tone of voice that hinted at deep and quiet emotion behind the golden eyes.

“It is difficult to find the words,” Aur began. “I hoped that Athrylith could understand.”

He nodded in return, “I’ll do my best. Just say whatever is on your mind.”

“It is awkward to ask for concern… when I feel as if I have wronged you and your family.”

“Wronged us?” SoYa frowned. “How?”

Aur took a long breath through his nose and explained slowly, “Your father came to the Spiral, as you know, to find me and to bring me back to Zemi. He held great hopes that I would be able to protect TsuYa from the shadows through my enchantments. And though I warned your brother near the end to be careful… my strength was not enough to pull him through. And for that… I am deeply regretful.”

The Athrylith’s mouth had fallen ajar in an expression of mute surprise. He struggled to gather up his thoughts before replying. The Watcher was content to give him the time that he needed.

“Aur…” he started, almost wincing at the lack of formality. “I don’t believe this happened because you lacked strength. I don’t believe that you have, in any way, wronged my brother or my father. And I don’t think anyone else believes that, either.”

The Watcher didn’t reply. He simply peered down in contemplation that spurred SoYa to continue on.

“If anything… you gave Tsu a second chance at things. You gave him more time to fight and search for an answer,” the Athrylith looked down sadly. “You gave the three of us a chance to be a family for a little while… but more time than we would have had without your help. You did all you could. If anything, we should be thanking you.”

Aur appeared to reflect on the words for a while longer. Then he responded, “Your words are kind. You are much like your father in that way.”

“No…” SoYa shook his head with a sheepish face. “It was always Tsu that was most like Father.”

“You might be surprised,” the Watcher told him with a serious frown. “There is a reason that you were asked to journey here in his stead.”

The Athrylith leaned forward on the rail, cupping his chin in one palm. “I had a feeling that it was more than just because of the wing issues.”

“That was a consideration, too. But you are correct,” Aur spoke heavily.  “There are many who are concerned for your father’s well being. We felt it would be better to leave him to his thoughts than to request his attendance on this journey.”

“I see,” SoYa pursed his lips. He felt worried knowing that even Aur and Zemi were anxious about how well Father would be able to overcome the loss. But at the same time, he was a bit honored, too, knowing they had chosen him to stand next to them as the representative of his people in Father’s stead.  ”I hope I’m doing this right. If anything can help to ease Father’s burden… I’ll do whatever I can.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that, SoYa,” the Watcher offered him a slight smile. “You are well liked and well spoken of. You honor your people without needing to try… you are a natural leader. Like your father.”

“I am?”

“Of course,” Aur responded to his surprise with gentle encouragement.

“But I’m not the great warrior like he and Tsu are…”

“You are a good leader in a different way… in a way that suits you,” he explained. “Just like in so many things in life… leading your people begins with an understanding of yourself. Both strengths and weaknesses. Don’t underestimate the potential that you have simply because it does not match the potential of those who have come before you.”

“Wow,” SoYa mused with a smile of his own. “Where do you find all these big things to say?”

“I have been around for longer than I probably should have been,” Aur answered, a hint of amusement in his voice. “So, do the ‘big things’ I say help… just a little?”

“Yeah. They do. Especially considering you were the one that wanted to talk to me first,” the Athrylith rubbed the back of his neck.

“There is nothing wrong in exchanging encouragement,” the Watcher said. “We need more of that if we are going to pull through these troubled times.”

“I know…”

Before SoYa could expand on the train of thought, another voice joined them, interrupting the calm, reflective moment, “Hey! There you are! Guess what!”

They both turned to see Zemi making his way towards them with a wide fangy smile on his lips. There was a hint of excitement to his step and a faint twinkle in the depths of his teal-flecked eyes. The moment that the Dreigiau came within arm’s length, he gave them both a vigorous shoulder shake.

“He said yes!” the Arweinydd announced as if it was the answer to all the problems of the universe.

“Who? What?” SoYa just stared up, dumbfounded.

“ShinRe!” Zemi exclaimed. “He’s agreed to come back with us and help us locate the source of energy within the Spiral! Isn’t that great?”

Aur let out a long breath. “I had expected as much.”

The Dreigiau waggled a finger at the Watcher, “I assume that you expected just about everything here. Didn’t you?”

There was no reply. But Zemi didn’t seem the least bit ruffled.

“That’s fantastic news!” SoYa responded, trying to muster up as much enthusiasm as he could for the obviously self-stoked Arweinydd. “So what’s the plan?”

“As of the moment, we’re just waiting on ShinRe to get things together. Once he’s ready, we’re going to head back to the Spiral and see what we can figure out,” Zemi answered.

He makes it sound so easy… but this couldn’t have been simple for ShinRe to choose. Not after having been in exile for as long as he has. I doubt he’s even had any contact with the Spiral until now.

But the Athrylith kept such thoughts to himself, not wanting to dampen the turn of good spirits. It was true what Aur said… in times like this, every bit of encouragement and good will was needed.

Keeping Zemi in good cheer is important, too.

SoYa smiled slightly as he watched the Dreigiau parade around the platform, piecing together impromptu dance steps. The Athrylith could only hope that it was a sign that things were starting to look up.