"I take it you like it, then?" Brewbrt asked me with a smirk as I sat quietly. Intently staring at the little piece of lightning trapped in a glass jar. And, as I didn't know how to put it into words. I just nodded as I read the name written on it.
Einervaene...
I know it was hard to see if it would actually work. But I just felt safe holding this jar. Mother spoke so much of the power of these jars. And maybe that is why I felt safe with it, despite Mother not being involved, I felt like she was able to look after me for once.
"You can safely leave it here, if you so desire. The climb will be perilous."
"Are there not stairs?"
"They're very dangerous." Thunder clarified for Brewbrt as I started to ponder what I would do with this sacred treasure. It was truly a one-of-a-kind relic that I could not risk being destroyed. But, would it still protect me if I left it behind? I earnestly wanted to believe it would, yet I could also feel the storm out there...
I would feel much more comfortable having it on hand. And, as such, I found myself paralyzed by indecision. This would protect me but, in turn, I would have to keep fragile glass of all things safe... I could potentially damn myself if I let this charm fail.
"I... I'll ta- Leave it here. Yes." I say with uncertainty before I just forced something out of my mouth. And I regretted my choice the moment my mind caught up with my mouth. But, the choice was made and I had to keep it for Mother's sake. Then, once again, I couldn't help but let in a sense of futility.
I kept worrying about wasting time on the small things. Yet, Mother might've been convicted years ago, so it might've not mattered. It might have even been on the night she sent me away from our home, in fact! Though, to believe that would be something I could not live with.
"So, are we going now?" I asked with a poorly-timed smile as I quickly made a point of occupying my mind.
"How long would you say the journey is, Thunder?" Brewbrt asked our guide as he forced me back so I could eat,
"It can be made within the day, but I cannot predict if complications will arise as we are two more than the usual." he explains from the exit of the cave.
"Are..." I start to say before I ate some more of my breakfast, "Are you not going to eat?"
"No, thank you, I am fine." he answers with a slight nod as he stepped out into the open some more.
"Don't eat so hastily!" Brewbrt complains as he gently smacks my bowl.
"S-Sorry..." I squeak as I suddenly tighten my grip. As the fear of potentially dropping it had shot through my mind.
"Stop rushing things in general." he then remarked.
"With all due respect... It's right there! Right up there!" I tell him while making wild gestures at the same time.
"All the more reason for you to show patience. It is all too easy to fail right when you have made it to the end, Einervaene."
"Right... Yeah..." I say quietly as I started to think of such moments. Years ago when I was sailing the All-Coast to this continent, it wasn't long after I got excited about the sight of land that the ship was attacked. Then there was a few years ago. I thought we had managed to talk Nin out of his pursuit of that madman, but it only delayed it. It wasn't enough to convince me that I had an impatience problem...
But I knew what he meant.
"Look, I know you're probably getting a little tired of hearing this, but it's alright to make these kinds of mistakes. You're young and stupid-"
"Hey!" I snap as he started to snigger.
"Alright, alright!" he laughed out as I continued to hit him.
"Besides, I'm forty-three..." I comment with a pout.
"Einervaene, you are still very much young." Brewbrt told me as he looked down at me with a knowing stare.
"Yeah, yeah..." I bitterly let out.
"To get back on track, it's alright Einervaene. When you are young you just lack experience in these kinds of things. And I can't say I can blame you for any of it. You were suddenly thrust into this kind of life without being nurtured for it."
"I wouldn't say that..." I correct as I fondly reminisced about the times I spent with the others. That time with Nin, Vadei, Larishazza, Tiyanat, Liadanann, Rose'lhia and everyone else meant a lot to me. It was that time together that had given me at least some ground to work with. A tolerance for violence to some extent and the hardships that generally led to it.
It was just a shame some of these memories were ones I wish I did not have to remember so vividly...
"But, yeah, just calm down for a moment. I know it might seem a little-" he started to say before a particularly loud boom of thunder flooded the cave.
"Go on." I tell him with a giggle once he got over the interruption.
"I know it might seem difficult, what with that helpful reminder reminding us of what is out there. I am, however, confident that you can do it. Just stay focused on why you are doing this and think of her." he tells me before I get a quick pat on the back.
"I don't think I could ever not think of her." I point out as I slowly put my bowl down and stand up. Giving him an affirming nod after I put my hat on and started clutching my staff.
"You are ready?" Thunder asked as he looked back at us while leaning on one of his curled-up arms.
"Take me to the top of this mountain." I ordered with a shaky tone as I felt like I was both overstepping my authority and I was also just scared. Thunder's char covered skin did little to help the tone as whenever lightning flashed behind him it seemed all the more intimidating.
"Of course, let us make haste." he confirmed with a nod as we started to file out of the cave. Towards a flight of rudimentary stairs that had been clearly carved out of the mountain. Yet, as those two went ahead, I took one final look at my jar. At first, I reached out for it, but all I could grab was the confidence it might give me.
"Lightning won't try and attack us, right?" I asked as I caught up with them. Running a hand along whatever I could to balance myself.
"I do not know." Thunder answered as lightning soared overhead on a downward track. A tremendous explosion then erupted from the sea below.
"I'll take that as a maybe." Brewbrt remarked as he held out a hand for me to hold on the last few steps before we got onto some kind of outcrop.
"You two head on up, I'll keep his attention." Thunder told us as his head leaned towards the continuation of the stairs.
"W-Will you be alright?" I asked as I took the first step.
"Despite what I have done, Lightning would never hurt me." he explains with a soft smile before he walks out towards the end of the outcrop. And as if to prove him wrong, a golden bolt shot straight at him.
"Thunder!" I called out as I watched him back up with the powerful bolt building up in his palms.
"GO!" he roars as small break-off pieces cook his flesh even blacker.
"You heard him!" Brewbrt adds on as he starts to hastily slap his palms against me over and over. And although it probably did more harm than good, I was able to keep my footing. Eventually, as well we found out that the stairs went into a tunnel of some kind. And to my delight, there were no strange whispers or nefariously beautiful songs.
"I do not recall of any story ever saying anything about a place like this..." I soon found myself saying as we came upon a dead forest.
"I can certainly agree there." Brewbrt let out with some disturbed awe before he stared at one of the long-since-dead trees. Shrivelled bark and fallen, starved leaves were all over the place.
"If this place wasn't so dead, I think I would be showing a little more amazement right now..." I comment nervously as I moved closer to Brewbrt as his gold-covered foot thudded against the dry earth.
"Odd." he then commented as he looked back at the way we came.
"Where'd the tunnel go!?"
"I was more so on about how my cast-covered foot was reviving the plantlife and earth near where I have walked..."
"And what about the tunnel!?" I pointed out again, shooting a bolt of lightning from my staff to emphasise the point.
"Our intention is to go up anyway? And that tunnel only leads down." he answers as he starts to test what his golden foot could do.
"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked him a little while after watching him uncomfortably.
"It does, but it is manageable." he tells me before he hisses when he clearly takes it too far.
"Well, stop it." I say as I shake my head. Only briefly looking at the life his foot had breathed back into the tree before realising something.
"You are familiar with what is going on?"
"These plants... They're from Eusorochii! But how!?"
"Lightning storm surrounded mountain?" Brewbrt deadpans somewhat before I give him the stink eye.
"These are conductive pines..." I let out as I let some of my magic dance between the pines that had managed to stay on this formerly dead tree.
"Is it possible that rather, the plants from Eusorochii came from here?" he theorizes before we reach a clearing where this worrisome mist just starts to part.
"I can't read this..." I comment after walking around the object in the centre of the clearing. However, I was quick to back up with a worried expression when I saw how the earth was disturbed.
"A gravestone?" Brewbrt queries as he looks intently at the writing and the objects placed on the gravestone.
"Maybe it is from someone else that Thunder has brought up this route?"
"Or someone he might've led to their death..." Brewbrt lets out cautiously as he starts to charge up a spell. At first, I felt like telling him that there was nothing out there. But the sudden snapping of sticks and crunching of leaves changed my mind very fast.
"I can't see a way for us to head..." I tell him as a piercing emerald light suddenly shines through the mist. And with it came two things. Emerald blasts and a distorted, aggressive language.
"What the..." Brewbrt let out as the seemingly weak blasts went for the gold on his foot.
"Heyaughyaghyaugh! Ligh-yeaugh-tning!" the thing seemed to roar and it stumbled into the clearing firing something built into its wrist.
"That's enough out of you." Brewbrt calmly told it as a spell suddenly dropped on its head. Destroying or killing whatever this thing was.
"A machine?" I asked no one as I looked at the green sparks leaving its red-metal body.
"Has to be, it's completely mechanical." Brewbrt confirmed after he fiddled around with the corpse for a moment.
"Whatever it was, could it be responsible for all of this death...? Your foot brought the forest back to life but it made a point of trying to shoot you!" I explain to Brewbrt before he began to cautiously look about. And, to prove him right came an ominous chant along with the grinding of metal.
"LIGHTNING!" they all roared with that same throbbing-like sound in their throats.
"Einervaene... Run!" Brewbrt barks as emerald lights start to pierce through the mists. Some were clearly eyes, but many more were those blasts. Neither, however, were good news. One was deadly, the other just told you where the danger was from...
"We can fight this... Right?" I nervously ask him as I take his hand to help with the hasty hobbling.
"GAH! GET OFF ME!" Brewbrt suddenly roared as a mostly broken machine suddenly grabbed at his leg.
"HEYAUGHYAGHYAUGH LIGHTNING!" it screeched before wind magic tore it apart and sent it flying off.
"Go on ahead, I'll lead them elsewhere!"
"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!"
"YES, YOU ARE!" Brewbrt corrected as he sent a blast of magic at the ground near me. And, once I got back up and reoriented my mind, I cursed under my breath.
"Stupid old man..." I let out nervously as I started to run through the mist. Soon, thankfully, the lights were harder to see. But I could still hear it all. At least until it all stopped when thunder suddenly boomed through the forest.
Disturbed wind from explosions then hit me and I tightly grasped my hat. A gentle, golden light then began to shine from behind me. Yet, before I could head before it, something was heading towards me fast. And it came with emerald light...
"STAY BACK!" I screamed all of a sudden before I launched a continuous lance of lightning at it. Keeping it up as the shadow in the mist moved increasingly close no matter how erratic my attack got. Its metal body thudded and clanked before...
"Do you mind!?" Brewbrt asked of me as he suddenly shot out at me and took a hold of my wrist to interrupt the spell. Yet, all I had in response was a loud, screeching scream before I caught onto who it was.
"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" I screamed in his face before another mechanical sound filled our ears.
"Into the light, I don't care." Brewbrt demanded of me before he made a wise, slamming gesture at the ground. Then, just after his palm struck and disturbed the earth. The landscape lit up with green magic and powerful gales.
"Are you alright?" Thunder asked as he leaned down towards us from where the light was coming from.
"What the... No, don't even." Brewbrt growled as he slapped away his hand and hauled me out of that forest.
"Thunder... What was that?" I asked as I somehow found myself glad to be out here under this storm. At least I had an idea of what it was!
"Hey! Don't you walk away!" Brewbrt snapped angrily when Thunder suddenly turned away without a word.
"Thunder, please! We'd like an answer!" I begged as I cautiously looked back at where we had escaped. Whatever it was that we experience, it was very much real and it was making noise. Yet, Thunder was stubborn with how quiet he was. So I just sighed and carried on following him.
"Make sure to keep and eye on him as much as you can." Brewbrt warned me before I nodded slowly at what he said. Why was Thunder being so quiet about what we had just experienced? Better yet, how did he get to this side of the mountain when we last saw him fighting off Lightning?
"Wait... Those things... I couldn't understand what it was they mostly said but they always clearly mention lightning... Maybe even Lightning..." I whispered to myself before I realised Brewbrt had heard. At which point, I whispered it to him slightly louder.
"They were focusing on my cast, bare that in mind." Brewbrt clarified as he looked at Thunder with growing suspicion.
"Have you ever heard of such machines before?"
"I have not, no. This is a new thing to me, just like there being a forest inside this mountain." he growled angrily before a curled-up fist struck the stone next to him.
"What should we do if there are more? If Thunder is friends with Lightning, and these things clearly want Lightning dead-"
"Enough!" Thunder suddenly snapped.
"Enough? Your lack of clarity nearly got us killed! Dammit, explain what those things were!" Brewbrt demanded to know as a trembling gauntlet was raised upwards at the distant stranger.
"I warned you that I could not predict what would happen as we climbed the mountain!" Thunder snapped to the backdrop of his namesake as he descended the stairs.
"I can predict what will happen if you continue to be aloof..." Brewbrt threatened as his magic started to build up.
"Brewbrt, that's enough-" I tried to warn him before my concerns were validated. For Lightning lashed down at us and gouged out a chunk of the mountain!
"Move! Inside!" Thunder barked as Brewbrt suddenly took ahold of me to get us up the stairs.
"I-I-I can move myself!" I snap down at him while also not making any point of letting go.
"DON'T GO ANY FURTHER!" Thunder suddenly roared before another bolt shot into the mountain. Knocking Brewbrt and I down with a harsh, noisy tumble.
"In there!" Brewbrt pointed out as he quickly got to his feet. Yet, before I had a chance to do the same, I was shoved into a small crevice and crushed by his armour.
"I CAN'T GO ANY FURTHER!" I scream back at him before I watched in horror as an angered Thunder drew back his foot. A thick, muscular leg then shot at Brewbrt and, in turn, I was forced through something.
"Are you alright?" Thunder asked after he slid through the small hole he had made. But, I did not answer as I was too busy trying to get Brewbrt's armoured body off of me.
"Some warning next time, maybe?" he growled as he got up partially to look down at me.
"I'm fine..." I tell him as I continued to squirm away until he heaved me up. Yet, the forest I discovered us to be in had me worried once again.
"Not again..." Brewbrt let out as he too realised our situation. Yet, Thunder gestured for us to lower our guards and equipment.
"No, answers, now!" I tell him as I keep my staff levelled at the dead forest. If I so much as saw an emerald light in there I would melt it down or slice it apart!
"Turn around and you'll have them." Thunder cryptically let out. But, with that being all we had to go off of. We turned around to have a brief look.
"A village?" I then say as I start to observe the quiet, ruined settlement.
"Just more places for those machines to hide." Brewbrt comments as Thunder slowly walked into the village before he sighed as his hand touched one of the buildings.
"Is this your home?" I ask as I move into the village anyway as the mist didn't exist over here for whatever reason. I could at least flatten this place if we were starting to get surrounded. Or even hide in one of the buildings. The mist offered none of that.
"It's not my home... But, I do know who used to live here. A dear friend of mine." Thunder quietly answered before he looked up at the sky that should not have been there.
"What the..." I couldn't help but say as I glanced up at the cloudy but calm weather overhead.
"Then what happened to this place? What part did those machines play!?" Brewbrt demanded to know.
"I cannot answer that... For I..." Thunder started to say before his head slightly twitched.
"Thunder?" I called out, concerned for him as he seemed to take on a different personality.
"Crimson beast... It destroyed..." he blurted out before he stared at us blankly.
"What's the meaning of this!?" Brewbrt snapped as some of his magic started to build up.
"Armoured, green light... You are with them..." Thunder muttered as thunder rumbled in the sky.
"With those machines? Did you knock your head or something out there before you kicked me!?" Brewbrt angrily rambled as he got up in his face.
"You two, stop it!" I snap as I get in between them. Glaring at both whilst still trying to convey my confusion when it came to Thunder.
"You strangers best leave, it's not safe here." Thunder suddenly said as he turned around and started to run off somewhere.
"Thunder! Wait, where are you going!?" I called out after him before I looked back at Brewbrt.
"I am at a loss here, I am sorry." he told me as he shrugged.
"Maybe there's a clue or something that we can find within this village?" I propose before I used the end of my staff to prod about.
"I would love to say that this place was picked clean by looters, but it just doesn't look like these people had much of anything regardless." Brewbrt explained as he left a half-collapsed building. The signs of a vicious fire were still somehow fresh as well...
"Do any of these buildings at least look important?" I asked, hoping we could at least find a hint with that.
"Not that I can see, it all just looks like the same old plain blocks to me." he answered before he knocked on a wall.
"Wait... I sense something..." I then say as I started to pick up traces of lightning magic. Had Thunder started to fight or was he digging for something?
"Is it by any chance that anvil-looking thing?" Brewbrt asked as we started to climb some steps.
"Yes... The magic is coming from here... It's very weak, but there is something here..." I say quietly as I ran my gloved hand across the smooth, dustless stone. Eyeing the pieces of gold that had become embedded in it here and there.
"That guy might know something." Brewbrt shrugged as he walked around the anvil.
"That's a skeleton!" I hiss at him as he starts to rummage through it.
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"Undwote has long since passed by here." he dismissively comments before he returns with his haul of likely ancient artefacts.
"You just grabbed whatever shined..." I remark, unamused at his ill-gained loot.
"Lose the moral blindness and feel it." he barks as he suddenly places a magnificent amulet with a still clear purpose in my hand.
"There's something more here... It's divine..." I let out in amazement as prior experiences with such power rushed through me. Even the dream-like future I was shown all that time ago had such a distinct feel.
"So we've established that that man was a priest of some kind. Now, any idea?"
"I... I'm sorry, but, I do not know what any of this stuff might be for." I tell him with a frown as I play around with a knife made of still-shining gold. Its jagged, harsh edges remind me a lot of the simplistic lightning bolts I often saw in background art about my home.
"Still quite sharp." Brewbrt commented after he gently slipped the blade out of my grip before he ran it along the stone. An amused guffaw then left him as a notable trail of sparks leapt out of the blade's point of contact.
"You're such a child." I tell him before brushing some old cloth off of the ritual stone.
"Try not to get to involved with whatever it is you've found, there's something coming this way." Brewbrt warned me as he marched out to the top of the stairs we recently climbed.
"More of those machines...?" I ask wearily and while I hoped to hear a 'no,' I knew it was not to be.
"Emerald light." he answered with a grim tone as magic started to swirl around him. And whatever was out there met his challenge with the powerful crashing of metal.
"That sounds bigger... Does it sound bigger?" I started to nervously let loose.
"Focus on finding a way to this Lightning, I'll get rid of it." Brewbrt says back to me before he hops down to the dusty dirt road as the machine comes out of the mist beyond the village.
It was huge! I was right, it was bigger! Incomparably bigger! It was a giant in comparison!
And to top it all off, this one was in vastly better condition than the ones from before. Where as they were creaking and clearly rusty or something. This one was well-polished and only groaned under the burden of its own power. Power that was clearly built to be used by those massive, battering-ram-like limbs it bashed and drummed on its chest.
Yet, whenever it met its knuckles in the middle, it always lit up with emerald light and burst of magic just erupted from its elbows!
"Be careful!" I call out down to Brewbrt before I got to work trying to find anything. Somehow, though, I had missed the clearly written and untainted writing on the flat top of the anvil. Or rather, I had missed it coming into existence... Because it was certainly not there before.
.
.
.
"Alright Big 'n' Red, let's make one thing clear..." I began to say as I flexed my arms about. Only to interrupt myself so I could shoot up straight into its face. A fistful of potent wind magic ready to go off in its face.
"Unknown Danger!" it blurted as jets seemingly appeared from its upper chest to push it back. Causing me to go overboard with the punch before I saw what it had for me. It had moved just far back enough to avoid my attack! Yet, I was just in range for its own!
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I let out as something heavy and strong suddenly struck my chest. Both a clear sense of pain and numbness filled me. I even found hard to breathe for a moment as I recovered from the sudden blow. Though, as I got up, I couldn't help but smirk.
Yeah, this was it, this was the feeling I used to love when we went adventuring. The uncertainty of if I would make it back alive. And although I have long since tempered this sensation with sympathy for other's strength of heart. I could not prevent it from at least filling me up somewhat.
"Do you know how long this will take to hammer out?" I asked the crimson armoured machine as it stiffly arranged itself into some kind of posture. Yet, it was with a smile that I asked that question as those jets of its began to light up. In a way as well. It reminded me of a Valkinvar.
"You will fall. Lightning shall die." the machine hissed with a harsh breath of steam.
And, with that said, I looked back at Einervaene as she tried her hardest, "I think the opposite."
Then, suddenly, vibration shook through my armour and down to my bone! For our fists had just met in a sudden clash! And they did it again and again and drum-like bangs and sharp screeches! It pushed me back as much as I did it.
Yet, one of us had to give way and because of my prior wounds, it had to be me. So I fought a fighting retreat against this machine as I sent magic up into the air above us. I would keep it focused on me entirely before I struck it from behind on a hopefully thinner back!
"GOTCHA!" I let out excitedly as I suddenly knocked aside its arms as it was cranking them back. And as I forced apart a wider target, blast after blast of wind magic blew up against it! My cockiness was quick to disappear, however, when its arms began to consistently and steadily bring my arms down. No matter how much I struggled or how much the earth below started to compact!
One of its gemstone-like eyes then flashed brightly. And a mighty blow suddenly struck my side and sent me demolishing through the village. But all I gave it was a wipe of my lips. A disgusted glint in my eye as I spat out whatever blood that blow forced to spill inside of me.
Then after bending down, I launched straight at it. Shooting past it and then leaping over it with a lance of magic which I then forced down on the hand it rose up against me. However, I would not roar with triumph. And, instead, I was shocked to find myself suddenly slammed into the ground.
A tight grip on my hand that easily punched into the metal of my armour. It was my armour's turn to respond now, though. And it did so with hyper-heated blades of raw magic that suddenly vented out at the machine's fingers. It didn't do much other than make it let go, though.
"Cmon... Lightning right here." I reminded it as I tried to see if this thing was in fact after the gold stuck on my foot.
"Calling for assistance." it suddenly let out as its fingers curled up once again.
"What's that racket!?" I asked myself as I moved on to making a point of avoiding its armour-crunching blows. It was caving in the thickest parts of my armour and were it not for my magic providing additional protection... These gauntlets would have broken long ago...
But a sudden blast from behind me knocked me to my feet. And with panicked movements, I rolled over to avoid a downward strike. Only briefly catching a glimpse of the fight happening above our heads. Whatever it was, though, it was marked by the roar of thunder each time some kind of pressure blast came out!
I could not afford to be distracted by this, though! Just one moment of lapsed judgement nearly saw a giant fist go through me! And while I couldn't help but occasionally look up at whatever it was that was up there. I needed to focus and I needed to remember the experience that was taking its time in coming back to me.
Left, right, under and over! Blast it while it is facing the other way and allow it to shamble about! Let its clumsiness become apparent however I could and there it was! The perfect chance to strike back!
"HAAAAA!" I roared as I made a sudden swing for its lower left side. And as my fist firmly planted itself on it. I smirked a little and repeated the process. With every opening the machine had given me more than enough time to let out a few more blows.
Loud bangs signified and distinguished each blow. Yet, behind the soft glint of its eye I could see it learning. So I made a point of covering my attacks with various spells. Bombs I made a short distance away would suddenly blow up in its face alongside its back and top!
And when it was particularly distracted, I flung myself overhead. Spinning above it with a dangerous spell in my hands. A loud scream then roared out of me as I plunged downwards. Forcing all that magic against its shiny dome of a head...
"Tough, aren't you?" I asked it as I stumbled away from it. The weight around my trapped foot became all the more apparent as the machine's elbows lit up. Two, separate blasts of similarly coloured magic then sent it forwards. Those tusks that it had built in then easily punctured my armour as I was suddenly thrown upwards.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Thunder cried angrily after he had suddenly collided with me out of nowhere.
"Not now..." was all I had to say to him as another machine suddenly popped into existence. A pair of grand, emerald wings distinguishing it from the bulkier one on the ground.
"You can't handle that Fortress, get out of here..." Thunder spat as his body crackled with golden sparks.
"And you can't handle that oversized bird!" I snap back to him as I pushed the pain out of my mind. Yet, it was only now that I noticed a third machine off in the distance. One that marked itself with a pair of lengthy crimson barreled cannons...
And they were...
"EINERVAENE!" I cried as I used all the power I could to barge past this 'Fortress' so I could intercept the gunner. But I wasn't going to make it! I wasn't! Those guns were loaded and their barrels were glowing!
I had only one option!
.
.
.
"Huh? BREWBRT!" I let out, confused at first before I cried in terror as a dark mass, propelled by wind magic shot itself before a pair of glowing barrels. The crack of thunder and lightning, however, reached me first. And I spasmed to my feet as I took in the suddenly changed scenery.
Where was I? Was Brewbrt alright!? If he had to put himself in that position then that surely meant... No, I shouldn't be thinking like this!
"What the..." I let out as a grand sight seemingly wipes my worries from my mind. I was back outside, but now I was all the way at the top of the mountain? I figured it was the top of the mountain anyway. There were only thundering clouds up above and the ground was perfectly flat.
However, none of that is what caught my attention. What stood out to me was the shrine far ahead of me. A strange blue aura surrounded it and it blurred easily as I tried to look away. But, I just couldn't find it in me to do so.
"Lightning?" I asked for some reason as I slowly started to move towards the seemingly controlled mass of lightning. As I did so as well, I couldn't help but shiver and tremble. Was this really it? Had I finally found what I set out to find...?
"You are vague..." a voice echoed all about me. Causing me to freeze with uncertainty.
"Are... Are you Thunder's friend, Lightning?" I asked it nervously. However, the way the mass of electricity reacted only made me more worried.
"Friend...? I only have one... And I lost them to Thunder..." it explained just before it shot over and around me. And in a fruitless effort to keep up with it, I stumbled around before I found myself staring in the same direction I started.
"Lost them? I don't understand, he is your f-friend, no?"
"HE WAS NEVER!" Lightning roared as it suddenly shot into my face. Somehow showing off a distorted, jagged face full of buzzing, shockfull teeth.
"O-Okay... Okay..." I let out quietly as I flinched in the face of such power. Carefully, I gestured gently as I backed up slightly.
"I have seen you make the journey with him, why do you come?" Lightning then asked me once I had finished moving closer. And I was breathless for more reasons than just the terror its strength filled me with. To be so close to what was the purest piece of lightning in existence was...
"Oh! I'm sorry... I was just..."
"Enamored by my power?" it asked with an almost threatening tone.
"N-N-N-NO! I WAS JUS-" I screamed before I stopped as it seemed to cackle with laughter.
"I'm sorry... It's just been so long since anyone has come before me..." Lightning meekly apologised as it seemed to nervously shirk away from me.
And, with a nervous laugh, I tried to compose myself, "I guess it makes sense... Not many people can cross a sea of molten gold."
"It is for the safety of the world that I keep all thunder-gold here. A treaty between two brothers binds me so."
Then, having heard that, I couldn't help but twitch a little, "You are bound here?"
"No, I speak of my duty to protect the sacred ore. That which Thunder created to defend the world." Lightning spoke with pride despite its prior behaviour in regard to Thunder.
"So you are far above what must be petty squabbles from us humans?" I asked as tears began to fill my eyes. How could I possibly convince Lightning to help me if he was tasked with something so great!?
"I am and always will be." it answered as it seemed to snake back into a relaxed posture.
"I see..." I let out in despair as I looked down at my palms. And like the storm about me, my heart thundered and slammed about as anger began to fill me. All this effort and pain and it was hopeless. This curse I was born with could not be overcome!
"Why do you cry as you see your heritage?" Lightning asked just as I fell to my knees. My palms were full of my tainted, blue lightning as I tried to burn it all out of my system.
"My heritage...? This heritage has caused me nothing but pain... I'M GOING TO LOSE MY MOTHER BECAUSE OF IT! AND I TRAVELLED ALL THIS WAY HOPING TO GET THE POWER TO SAVE HER! I LOST ALL MY FRIENDS AND EVERYONE I CARED ABOUT FOR THIS STUPID DREAM FOR MINE AND IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING!" I screamed as my magic exploded out of me in all the directions it would go.
"You want me to save a life?" Lightning asked.
"It was all for nothing... Nothing!" I struggled to let out as a warm sensation began to wrap around me.
"Perhaps, we can strike a bargain?" Lightning offered as a small strand of it suddenly appeared before me.
"B-Bargain!?" I had a hard time repeating as one of my hands tightly clutched my chest.
"In exchange for your mother's life, I shall have you save the life of my friend in return."
"You want me to battle Thunder...?" I ask for clarification. Only to curl in on myself as I realised that I truly had burnt most of the magic out of me... I barely had any left...
"No, I want you to compete with the man he is made out of."
"Compete w-with him at what?" I begged him to explain. Hiccuping as I did so as I started to follow his erratic, sudden movements. Slowly rising up after him as he started to spin like water in a sink. Only, reversed.
"The sacred festival of Fallen Star!" Lightning answered as a vortex began to appear ahead of it. A twisting display of might that narrowed as it went off into the distance. It almost reminded me of a horizontally placed tornado!
"And if I do this... You will become mine so I can save Mother!?" I asked it as I stood before the vortex as it sucked and pulled at me.
"I shall." it answered, and with that, I let my body go limp so I could be sucked into what must've been a portal. However, I couldn't have predicted how violent the insides of this vortex was. And with each fling and tussle, I found myself screaming in terror as it knocked all orientation out of me.
.
.
.
"Maelta? Maelta!" someone forcibly said as they shook me viciously. And, with adrenaline pumping through my blood, I scrambled to my feet after clawing at whoever that was. Harsh, heavy panting left me as I stumbled to my feet. But realising where I was only made me more confused.
"Who- Who's Mael..." I started to ask before I began to look around. Where had I seen this all before...? Of course! It was the village I was in not that long ago...
But...
"What's going on out here!?" someone older snapped as the loud clanging from behind me stopped.
"I don't know, Maelta seemed to be sleeping but she then... Ah..." a woman explained before she gently touched the thin streaks of blood that I must've drew.
"She's been spending too much time around that layabout we call a son." the man said as he came into view. The reddish-brown tone of his skin had struck me as particularly peculiar. Whatsmore, the way his face was shaped in general reminded me of an Eusorochiian... Even if his skin didn't.
"I-I'm sorry... I need to..." I began to stutter out before I made a desperate run for the outdoors. Something I kept up even as the man from that place shouted after. Shortly after as well, several other men started to get involved. And I ran as fast as I could as their voices continued to maintain their distance.
Their bodies likely as well.
"W-Where am I!? Why is that village full of people all of a sudden!?" I panted out as I suddenly flung myself behind a tree once I felt like I had gotten away from them. Yet, as I patted away at the bark in an attempt to find a place of purchase for my sweaty hands. I realised that this was the same forest that those machines were in!
But why was there no mist...?
"Keep quiet down there..." someone idly complained with a yawn. Their tone, though, was enough to convince me that they were not likely chasing me. So I looked up at the branch above me and walked away slightly.
"W-Who're you?" I asked them as I closely inspected the plain rags and leather sandals that they had. Whoever they were, they were simply dressed and red-skinned like everyone else. Including me as well...!?
"Oh? I'm not letting this one down, Priestess of Nagging Rememberance." this boy declared as he suddenly lost his tired, laid-back nature on the hop down.
"No! Stay there!" I demand of him as I held up my hand at him. I may have spent most of my magic in that emotional display, but I had just enough to...
"What're you doing, Maelta?" the boy asked as I violently shook and thrust my arm about. Why was nothing happening!? I didn't use up all my magic, did I...? No! I clearly felt my own power within me before I...
"N-Nothing!" I chirped all of a sudden as I brought my arm and nervously smiled. I had no armour, weapons or magic... So, I figured that my only way of surviving this was by acting. Just go along with whatever it was that was happening...
The boy then scratched his head before he turned around to look at the rustling of the bushes. Then, several adults burst out to meet us before that muscle-bound one I first saw appeared. He frowned and looked about before another shot towards me. Their large, calloused hands took a hold of my arms as they looked up at me in concern.
"C'mon, Maelly, talk to me." they coaxed gently as they tried to reassure me with small movements and gestures.
"I..."
"Thurge! Did you put her up to something!?" the first man I met demanded to know as he stomped towards the young boy.
"You know full well I wouldn't." the boy answered with an uncaring, impassive tone.
"Alright, back into the village, both of you." the man ordered as he firmly patted this Thurge back the way they came.
"We should go back too, Maelly. Or would you prefer a moment of quiet?" this man asked as all the others disappeared. Their complaints and mutters being all that I heard for a short while as I stared at the man before me in confusion.
"Yes, let's..." I tell them with a nervous smile. But such behaviour only made this man's behaviour switch from caring to angry.
"You best have a good explanation then, come on." he told me with a reserved voice as he let go of me and walked off. He was not, however, ready to leave without me. So I slowly followed him until we made it back to the simple village. Vast as it seemed to be...
"What happened? What was that all about!?" a worried woman asked as she rushed out of what must've been her home as we got back to the village. Whoever she was as well, she treated me just like this man did before I made that mistake.
"I don't know, and I'd like to know." the partner of this woman said as he opened the door with a firm hand.
"Maelta! What did you do?" the woman demanded to know as they began to corral me into the house. And with a firm, aggressive shove, I was put down onto a wooden stall.
"Well?" the man asked as he crossed his arms. But, as I truly had no idea of where to even start. I couldn't help but nervously shrink as I started to panic. How was I going to act out of this!?
There were too many details that I was unaware of! I didn't even know who these people were for Thurnmourer's sake! What was I going to do... What was I supposed to do!?
"Cyclind, hold on for a moment." the woman said gently as she brushed her lengthy robe and kneeled before me. And as her face moved closer so her eyes could look into mine. I moved my head back, unfamiliar with this person and not appreciating the gesture.
Then, with a gulp, I opened my mouth, "Wh-Who are you...?"
"W-What...?" Cyclind let out as he recognised the fear in my eyes. Who were these people!? Why couldn't I feel my magic!? WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO MY BODY!?
"Maelly? Stop joking around, you're scaring me." the woman let out fearfully as she suddenly brought me down into her bosom. And although it was a comforting gesture, I couldn't help but fight back against it.
"I'm getting the High Priest!" Cyclind let out with clear panic before he rushed out of the door. And, the moment that door slammed. I quickly got up and moved towards one of the rooms nearby. Then, having quickly found a lock of some kind, I slammed it shut.
"Maelly!?" the woman nearly screeched as she began to bang the door about. A futile effort to open it that at least gave me some closure as I took it all in.
"What is this place?" I let out clearly as I began to poke around the various things about this room. Whatever it was, it was a little cramp and that was just from seeing what was in here! It was clear it was designed to hold more than just some cupboards and draws... Then, I found a large piece of polished bronze roughly nailed into the wall.
And, as I put a hand to myself, I found myself perplexed at the foreign face looking back at me. I did not recognise this dark, earth-toned hair or the soft face. This athletic body was not mine either... This amulet I seemed to have was certainly not either!
"It's well-made, I suppose." I comment in an effort to alleviate some of the pressure as I held it before my face. The bronze was well-polished but it wasn't good enough to look at something in detail. So I held up the amulet to my eye to inspect it the old-fashioned way.
Surely this thing was dedicated to Thurnmourer? It had all the trappings of such a thing. What, with its clear depiction of an anvil and lightning... Wait, anvil and lightning... This village...
I was still on or within the Anvil-Peak!?
I mean... Of course, that was the case but...
"Young Maelta, open this door, please." an elderly man said after he knocked on it carefully. And, after hearing that, I registered the sound of sobbing as I moved closer to it.
"Who is it?" I wanted to know as I took advantage of their blindness to try and find a weapon.
"You don't recognise my voice, Drifting Cloud?" the old man asked, clearly hurt by my words. Even if it was clear he seemed to be made more determined by the uttering of them.
"I... I don't recognise any of you." I tell him as I finally find something that might be useable. It was metal at the very least so I could probably...
"Is it alright if I alone come in, then, please?" the old man asked softly as I saw his shadow under the door move.
"Why?" I asked them immediately as my grip on the item tightened.
"I want to talk to my granddaughter." he explained as the door rattled slightly.
"Just you?" I asked as I moved closer to the door.
"Go on you lot, out!" the old man then snapped before the sound of footsteps became distant.
"I'm opening the door, then..." I tell him slowly as I quickly unlock it. Letting them walk in before I locked it back up with a determined glare.
"Please, put that down. I wouldn't want you to break your gift." the old man urged me with a saddened expression as he slowly lowered himself onto a stall.
"No..." I say slowly as I shook my head.
He then sighed, "Do you really not remember a thing?"
"If this gift was as dear to me as your voice made it out to be, why would I be holding it like a common club?" I ask him with a firm snap as I levelled it before him. Taking a brief look at the fancy robes he had on before he started to strength his lengthy beard.
"I see... Well, your name is Mae-"
"My name is Einervaene Bosphama. I was somehow brought here by the lightning of Thurnmourer himself!" I interrupted and corrected. But I ended up looking away when I began to think about why Lightning brought me here.
"And why did he bring you here? Why did he steal my granddaughter away from me?" the perplexed old man asked as he tried to maintain a straight face despite the evident heartbreak.
"To... To beat Thunder in the Festival of the Fallen Star." I explain. Though, I ignored the second question as I could not really answer it.
"There's no one called Thunder here, Maelta."
"Einervaene!" I asserted, annoyed by the confusing nature of being called by another name.
"No, you are my granddaughter. And you always will be." the old man tearfully explained as he suddenly got up and rushed me. Yet, my hesitation in swinging my improv weapon led to his arms enveloping me. But, he just proved that I didn't need a weapon.
"I'm... I'm sorry, but, I'm not this Maelta!" I try to make him understand as he tightened his grip around me.
"It's okay, Maelta, I will try to understand why this has happened. Now, you said something about the festival? The one a few nights away?"
"If it is the Fallen Star one, then yes..." I nod slowly as I try to worm my way out of this uncomfortable situation.
"Then please, trust me for at least this moment. Come with me to the Anvil of Newborn Truth so I may beseech the First-Born Son!" the old man pleaded as he tried to gently take away my weapon.
"I'm not going out there unarmed..." I explained as I resisted his grip as strongly as I could. And, with a sigh, he relinquished his grip on my weapon. Then, he went into his robes and pulled out a jagged dagger. And the moment I saw that I brought my weapon up and put as much distance as I could.
"Then, please, take this. I know you won't hurt me, Maelta." he explained as he relinquished the sharp tool to me. It was clearly ceremonial in nature, but it was also distinctly sharp. There was also an odd familiarity about it...
Wait, Brewbrt produced such a dagger after he desecrated someone's skeleton... Was this old man that skeleton!? Yeah, it must've been, a lot of the fancy treasures I had dumped before me he was wearing! The rings, bracelets and, of course, this dagger...
"Okay." I eventually answered with a firm nod as I took the dagger. However, with a lot of regret filling my mind and growing uncertainty, I placed it against his back.
"It's alright, I'll explain it to everyone as we head there." he told me with a soothing but shaky voice as he went ahead and unlocked the door.
"Dad, is sh- MAELTA!?" this body's mother began to say before she screamed in horror at what I was doing.
"It's alright everyone, she's just scared. Stay back, please. For her sake." the old man explained as he began to gesture for everyone to stay away.
"Let's go..." I squeaked nervously as a mixture of anger and horror was directed at me. I just didn't know how to feel about it. Was any of this real? It had to have been, right?
This was a real elder I was threatening with a weapon...
"I'm going to put a hand on this bar, you hear?" the old man warned as he took ahold of the support by the steps.
"Hurry up!" I urged him as I cautiously spotted some people stepping out of their blocky homes with bows and arrows. For a brief moment as well, I was surprised to see that their tips were golden!
"Everyone, please, so room and time. Do not come up here!" the old man called out to everyone. And he gave an especially firm tone to those who were sneaking up after us.
"Alright... Help me understand this." I demanded from the old man as I put some distance between himself and me.
"So you say you were brought here to beat Thunder at the Festival of the Fallen Star?"
"Yes." I reiterated as he began to pour some kind of powder over the anvil. And with a sudden strike of lightning, something appeared out of nowhere on top of it.
"This man?" he asked once again as he held up a cherry hot sheet of metal.
"H-Hey!" I started to let out before I saw that he was unharmed by such a thing. And I was even more surprised to find out that it didn't hurt me either. In fact, it only felt mildly uncomfortable holding such a freshly forged piece of metal...
"He must wander into our village somehow then, before the festival." the old man explained as he took his answer from my gaze alone.
"No, he's definitely here, somewhere!" I assert as I try my best to recall what Lightning told me or had explained unintentionally.
"A grown man with charred skin, his face having been made black by it..." the old man explained before he moved to stand before the gathered village people.
"You recognise the face?"
"No, but, I think I know who might fit your conditions at choice times." the old man explained as he held out his hand to point at someone in the crowd. And his finger's target was clearly taken aback by it as it briefly made his family the focus of all the stares. I was already familiar with those lot, though.
They were the people I first 'met' when I suddenly found myself here.
"You think Thunder is the father?" I asked, just to make sure I was checking this properly.
"No, his son, Thurge. Breehop is too old to partake... If this 'Thunder' is to be a part of it, it would have to be one of the children."
"Right... I have to beat him..." I say as I recall what Lightning said. It made it clear that I had to beat Thunder in order to secure his power. The power to save Mother... To prove to all the world that I was no ill-conceived bastard...
"Now, I know it's not much to go on. It could be really any of the boys, really. But, I think I can say with all my heart for more reasons than him just being the son of a blacksmith that he is this 'Thunder,' he must be..."
"Why do you think Thurge is Thunder?" I decided to ask after having seen the way he looked at that boy.
"When you were born... And I held you above that shrine, before the First-Born Son. I did the same with all other children of your age. Using that sacred dagger you have right now, I sliced open your favoured arm with it so we could hear you cry for the very first time."
"What..." I couldn't help but let out as I looked down at my arms. A queazy sensation then filled me as I saw a long pale line going down my arm.
"Then, when it was young Thurge's turn to cry before the village. To have his future let out before him. All he did was whimper. He did not wail like Bolunch did. Nor did he scream as did you. He just, whimpered, like no one had ever done before."
"Right..." I let out, unsure of how to process that kind of information. It just struck me as so savage...
"And that's that, so, for whatever reason it is that you are here, in my granddaughter's body. I wish you the best of luck."
"Thank you?"
"And I demand the greatest sense of urgency." he added on, his frustration coming ahead of himself.
"For the sake of someone I care about to, I will." I tell him with a reassuring nod before I looked down at the dagger slowly. Though, I was not sure of what to do with it. Would I be in danger if I just let it go...? Or was I worse off still holding it?
"Thank you." the old man said as the dagger clattered to the floor. And his hand soon went onto my shoulder and he looked me deep in the eye.
"I will need you to tell me all about this festival when you can. For the sake of your family and myself."
"I was going to help my granddaughter cheat a little anyway... But, now I just have to do it to save her, right?" he told me before he nervously smiled as he patted my shoulder.
"I am sorry... I didn't mean for this to happen to her..." I started to say before cautious men began to come at me from behind.
"No, it's fine. I'll take her somewhere quiet so she can reflect."
"But, Honoured Elder!"
"It's fine!" he asserted with a booming voice that I did not expect at all.
"So... Who are you, anyway? It would probably be better for me to have a name to call you by."
"Granddad would do." he laughed in dismay as he looked down.
But, I shook my head even as I tried to reassure him with a smile, "I'm sure Maelta will call you that forever once I have succeeded in my task."
"Yeah... I won't ever tolerate her calling me anything else after this disturbing day... Torque."
"Well, it's nice to meet you then, Torque."
"While I can't say the exact same for you, I can say your appearance does excite me somewhat. It is rare we get such peculiar visitors." he greeted, his words clearly showing the trouble he was having accepting me.
"I promise I will be gone as quick as I can be." I tell him as I nod firmly at him as he starts to guide me elsewhere. Far away from the village and its disturbed occupants.
"That's all any of us can ask for. So, while you are here, though, perhaps you can tell me about where you are from? You clearly have travelled a long way." he asked as we started to walk a lonely path going around a small mountain. Or would it be a strange, internal peak given what was outside of this place...? I honestly couldn't figure it out.
"Indeed, I have been unfortunate enough to travel a great distance..." I answer, expressing my sadness as recent words entered my mind. All this effort and it was nearly perceived as for nothing... All the pain just came rushing into me as my magic went out of my body.
"You are safe here, Mae... Einervaene. And, while your welcome will be directed not at you, I want you to know that you are very much welcome here at Anvil-Peak." Torque explained as we came across a vast view.
Green fields as far as the eye could see but no other landmarks in sight. And, if I looked behind myself, I could clearly see the great peak of the mountain. The pointed end of the anvil... Yet, I was still so unsure, seeing so much green instead of gold.