"Viceroy Aneaur on deck!" the Commodore declared as my heavy, metal-decorated toe-claws signified my arrival further.
"How goes the pursuit, Commodore?" I asked him after briefly looking at all the equipment on the bridge. I may have had knowledge of naval affairs. But I had to defer to men like him to elaborate for the sake of my understanding.
"The humans have shown signs of exhaustion, and are holding up at the base of that mountain." he explained as photographs of the humans and their vehicles were displayed. Dented from battle and starved of fuel by their chaotic withdrawal.
"Peculiar shape, but you can confirm that they are trapped?" I comment about the mountain's peak first. Before I then asked as I carefully eyed the wide-open fields the photographs seemed to describe.
"If they were to split off, they would be annihilated by the Royal Scepter and the Sovereign's Orb. Currently at our port and starboard respectively." he explained as one of his aides came up and presented a work-in-progress sketch.
"Would a flanking manoeuvre really be necessary given how small their remaining forces are?" I questioned as I returned my eyes to the photographs.
"As a precaution to ensure none can break off." he clarifies with a slight nod.
"Are our own guns not sufficient to just devastate them?"
"We are a golem carrier, Viceroy. Our role would be to press them against the mountain's stone hide and to squeeze." he explains as he curls in his gloved hand into a strained fist.
"Very well, approved." I told him as I turned to head towards the commander's chair. Only to stop before I could even curl my tail around and place it on the rest.
"Is there something wrong, Viceroy?"
"That mountain, Commodore, is there anything off about it to you?" I ask him as my thoughts began to stir. I couldn't help but worry about it having seen it.
"I am unsure," he began with as he turned around, "well?"
"Immediate records tell of its relation to the Great Poisoner." someone from beyond my view answered.
"Of course... Anvil-Peak..." I recall in terror as I realised where we were. Despite the calm nature of the fields below and the clear skies we flew in. The ground below was littered with precious but tainted gold.
One of the staple minerals of our diets was laced for hundreds upon hundreds of leagues... And further beyond these vast fields, we knew full well that the humans had a major city. Could it be that their hatred of us, given to them by their vile god had led them to do this? To saturate the earth with vile thunder so that our people would starve and suffer?
The decimation of this mountain would serve as a powerful symbol... Even if it required the stretching of our resources to accomplish it. I suppose we could call upon the army besieging the humans enclosed up in that odd, pocket-like mountain range further west. Either way, on the honour of the people I worked to defend and our divine saviour beyond our world...
I would see this mountain destroyed! I would see it reduced to a pile of loose pebbles! A victory for the Lord over the vile Poisoner! And I am sure the crew of this ship could see my growing fanaticism.
"Have the Quartermaster prepare my armour, I shall lead the golems." I then declared all of a sudden, surprising the whole bridge. And to the delight of this eagerness-fevered mind of mine, they would not be able to counteract my choice. I may have not been a man of our people's navy, but I had been given the supreme authority of one.
"Of course, Viceroy..." the Commodore answered with a distinct lack of professionalism as he turned to go about my orders. And as I left the bridge, my lifeguards returned to my side and accompanied on my walk. With all the lesser soldiers that we passed forcing themselves up against the walls to make way.
"Viceroy passing by!" many of the more attuned able airmen declared as I did so. A phrase that was repeated often in order to make sure discipline was still present amongst the crew. It was a little tiring, I had to admit, but it had its purpose.
But soon, the only noise I heard was the sounds of machines whirring to life and the hiss of leaking pressure. A vast chamber that was seemingly never-ending yet packed for every inch it could offer. Each possible place one could step held a masterwork of engineering. A life-saving soldier that could be spent with little cost to our threatened people.
Vast hordes of pawns that would march forward at no risk of turning back. Then there were the more elaborate designs. Pillars of strength that filled in for the common weakness. Strength, presence and firepower.
Thick-armed juggernauts could break down any wall, no matter how thick! Sudden and light fliers that offered the speed of an airship without the obnoxious size of it! And heavily-armed gunners that set themselves down to blast holes that needed precise destruction. And at the centre of this vast chamber, was the commander of it all.
Unlike the others, it was only a suit of armour. My armour. Crimson-scaled as the Lord himself and with so much blessing worked into it. It could be as divine as the Lord himself!
A true son wrought from steel and made for war.
"After I am anointed in your holy flesh, I shall be your instrument." I breathed as the Quatermaster's men worked diligently to prepare the amour.
"Hold your clothes, Viceroy?" one of my lifeguards asked as I began to take off some of the clutter I had on at present.
"Have them sent back to my quarters so that they stay clean." I explain after having seen the state some of the crew down here with in.
"Of course." he answered as he turned to leave and head on out. And, with a determined smile, I stepped forward so that I may be properly dressed. It didn't take long, thankfully, so I was quickly able to step out once again in a full suit of armour.
Rich with the same colour as the Lord and decorated with a delicacy that I often enjoyed. With these golden horns, spikes and claws as well were bright green gemstones. Centres of the divine power we called upon to defend our homes and lives. And when you had armour this fine, it required many of the gemstones.
Far more than anything else in this golem carrier bar the airship itself.
"Someone get me a line to the Commodore, I shall be hearing updates from him!" my voice boomed unintentionally as a result of the armour. Not that I minded it, it offered me so much authority after all with my voice.
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"So the festival has us start at the bottom of the mountain, from which we then ascend its great height before we somehow find a shrine containing a chunk of thunder-gold?" I repeated to Torque as I looked up from the diagram he had been drawing to supplement what he had been explaining as well.
"Basically, yes, you shall be guided on instinct and your knowledge of the land."
"One of which I lack." I point out, something which bothered him a lot.
"There are no rules against just following the others. Even with what has happened recently, you... Maelta is not hated by the village."
"Right..." I let out as I try to differentiate my life from that which this girl had experienced.
"Perhaps it would be best for you to go and play with my granddaughter's friends? Thurge and Bolunch."
"Thurge did give me an odd look when I came to be here." I recall as the boy in the tree briefly crossed my mind.
"I suppose it works out as well if my presumptions about who this 'Thunder' is are true." he let out with a clap. Something I found myself smiling at.
"So... Any idea where I might find either of them?"
"Thurge has a reputation of apathy. He's a rather passive child that does little but gaze aimlessly at his surroundings. Bolunch, on the other hand, could not be more different. Out going and adventurous. A dangerous combination to be mixed with my granddaughter. But, I made myself uninvolved when it became clear to me why Bolunch wailed the way he did."
"Can you explain, at least a little?" I asked him, confused as to what it was he was getting at.
"Bolunch is a natural leader. His voice wailed because it was to be heard by all. And while I do not think he'll take my position, I know he'll become a core part of our community. In a way, he already is, amongst the young anyway."
"N-Now... I know this might sound odd, but... Your granddaughter didn't have any...?" I nervously started to ask before Torque smiled. His joy was genuine as he looked at me.
"They were good friends is all I know, but I am sure she'll be confused either way when you leave us, Einervaene."
"Play it safe, okay." I mutter, not sure if I should breathe in relief or shiver with uncertainty.
"You best get going, though. If I know Bolunch as well as I do, he'd be heading out on a hunting trip about this time of day."
"Someone as young as him hunts?" I question as I tried to guess what sort of age Maelstra, Thurge and he must've been. If they were all in the same birthing ceremony or whatever it was, then it must've been that they were all equally young.
"He's old enough to handle a spear and hunt delicious game." Torque answered with a shrug before he began to gesture for me to go on ahead.
"Should I call out for him?" I asked myself as I walked on my lonesome down the path Torque had taught me to use. However, I decided against just shouting for the boy as I didn't like the idea of that. So I was hoping I could find him at that same place Thurge lived.
If not, it shouldn't be too hard to find a contradictory pairing in the forest, no? Though in quickly thought up retrospect, I shouldn't have thought about that. My life has expanded far beyond the scope I previously thought of. But that kind of worrying was not made for this moment.
A different kind was for right now and it was the dreadful sensation of awkwardness that overcame me as I stepped into this blacksmith's shop. And the woman who I gave quite the clawing was the one who stepped out to see who it was. The feeling between us seemed to be mutual as well. But, it was clear she was mature enough to let it slide.
"Thurge went out that way, if you're looking for him." she tells me as she moves her head out towards the backdoor I once ran out of.
"Thank you." I say as I head for it slowly before I pick up the pace to get it over with.
"Are you feeling better?" she then asked as she hid the marks on her arm.
"I'm not sure..." I answered honestly as I headed out. Though, I was not answering what she was probably asking about. I was just using it as an excuse to get other things off of my chest. All of this craziness has gotten to me, I had to admit.
To say nothing of my worries for Brewbrt who I last saw charging to intercept some kind of attack... I wanted to hope that he was okay. Though, I suppose right now he was, as he had yet to even be born. But that didn't stop me from being aware of the time I spent talking to Lightning...
He would've either taken that attack or stopped it or something! I would never know for the moment. It was an unfortunate situation. So all I could really do was pray and somehow hoped that sort of stuff applied across time.
I had to admit as well, I was in complete awe whenever I even slightly thought about it. Lightning's power was so great he could send me back to the distant, ancient past to save someone! And although he did it by supplanting me in someone else's body. It was still something!
Quite something!
"Oh, if only Vadei would ever believe me about something like this..." I complain as I try to find some happiness within the confines of my mind. Fictional, imagined scenarios that offered little comfort other than a mood-raising chuckle.
However, when something suddenly snapped its jaws behind me and snorted aggressively. That good mood was quickly wiped out. And, frightened by it, I turned to face it. However, aware of my lost abilities, I was frozen by the fear that had awakened inside me.
"STAY STILL!" someone's voice suddenly boomed before a sharp whistling noise shot past me. Loud, violent screeching then filled the air as the animal suddenly backed away in pain. A long, firm shaft of wood stuck out of it as it violently bled from the javelin it had just received.
"Maelta, over here." Thurge called as he held out his hand while giving me a mostly blank stare. However, when I delayed, he just suddenly grabbed it and pulled me aside before that creature could attack him.
"S-Sorry!" I let out as I stared down at him. The suddenness of it all having thrown me vastly off balance.
"It is fine." he tells me as he looks past my arms as a fit young man suddenly rushes the dazed beast with what was probably another javelin. And with a hearty roar, he lodged it into the beast and knocked it on its side. Immobilizing it completely as he made a point of putting both sticks into its body more.
"Th-Thank you..." I say before the stronger of the pair looks up at me with an annoyed glance. And, if I was to guess, this was Bolunch.
"Maelta! We've been over this! Stop walking carelessly through the forest!" he complains as he pulls the weapon out of the beast. A red mess subsequently squirted out of it. Not that he really cared. I, however, found myself filled with grim curiosity.
"So that is what it looks like before it goes to a butcher." I quietly remarked as I started to think of raw meat of all things.
"Mountain boars are oddly quiet." Thurge then comments, seemingly in defence of me, or Maelta, rather. It was hard to tell with that blank expression of his.
"Squealed quite nicely just now." Bolunch shrugged as he swung his weapon around his shoulder so his arms could rest on it.
"D-Doesn't that spoil the meat...?" I then ask as I awkwardly try to think of something that at least might've sounded like Maelta. That was correct, wasn't it...? I remember men back home in my homeland talking about certain animals being too jittery most of the time. Something about making the meat taste different.
"I like it like that..." Bolunch explained with a slight frown as he narrowed his eyes at me.
"Of course!"
"You hit your head or something?" he then asked as he suddenly flicked a bit of blood at me.
"E-Excuse me!?" I let out as I made a point of wiping it off.
"She was acting odd you say?" he asked Thurge as he made a point of moving near the animal.
"I have been told so, yeah." Thurge answered as he looked off into the distance. And I tried to see if I could see what it was he was looking at. But his gaze just shifted around to nothing...?
"So... What are you two up to?" I awkwardly asked as I took note of how they had more on them than was needed for this single boar as they called it.
"We were going to head down and see what the path back up might be like." Bolunch explained as he hauled the boar over his shoulder.
"Isn't that a little risky?" I questioned as he headed on out without either me or Thurge.
"Need some food, don't we?" he said back to me with a confident smirk as he rolled the side carrying that ballish animal.
"You didn't bring anything with you?" I questioned Thurge quietly as I was not used to such an independent way of things. Even when we left Vadei's home, we made sure to stock up! Though, when I travelled with Nin to Suhurlodst for the first time... He and Baltanthan both made a point of gathering our food like this.
Our circumstances were a little different, then, though. These two had a home village right behind them and their plan was to just hunt something on the way? It seemed so stupid! Why would you risk your lives needlessly like that?
Better yet, why was Bolunch so keen on showing off how easy it was for him to carry it? Did Maelta, in fact, have a thing going on for him...? Would I need to fill in for her!? In order to not be caught out by Thunder, should he appear?
I honestly could not figure it out... Lightning hadn't warned me of anything. He just wanted me to win the festival. So wherever Thunder was, he was at the end of all of this.
"You're going to fall." Thurge commented before Bolunch suddenly stabbed his weapon into a nearby tree.
"Ouch..." I let out as I recoiled from the sudden pole to my gut. Though, I did not complain when I saw the sudden drop that had appeared out of nowhere.
"You two head ahead, this boar's blood still needs to dry out." my saviour remarked as he gestured towards a downward slope.
"Down lower..." I found myself saying as the details of that misty forest returned to me. When we found the ruined village, we had to climb for a brief moment. And now I was descending down into what might've been that same forest. I was pretty sure I could even see an open clearing.
Just like where that grave was found...
"Stay close, it is easy to get lost down here." Thurge explained before his point was made evident by how he suddenly had to turn another way.
"Has no one had a mind to just... Chop a path?" I asked in a rather blunt manner as we entered the plant-walled maze. With barbs of bark and wire made of sticks.
"We can get lumber from the trees that are closer." Thurge tells me as he points back the way we came.
"But if this way is the way towards this important festival, why has it not been cleared!?"
"Because what is at the end must be won with effort." Thurge explains before he briefly shows a display of uncertainness. He then glanced up at Bolunch as he came strutting down the path.
"You don't think you could do it?" I thought I would ask given the premonitions Torque spoke of.
"N-No... I don't even want to be here. But I want to make Dad proud." he quietly admitted. And unfortunately, I couldn't help but want to reject this information. It felt wrong hearing this knowing he was opening up to Maelta instead. However, the crude amulet he was now holding did catch my interest.
"A lot of people have those..." I remarked, not really knowing their significance.
"Yeah, you too." he seemingly pointed out as a joke before he longingly looked at Bolunch's. His in comparison might as well have been an authentic treasure! It shined bright and was finely crafted and decorated so well. Its beauty was a kind that felt homely as well for me!
What, with all the references it had to lightning and thunder and storms and so on.
"This way, head that way!" Bolunch suddenly called out to us as the emotion seemed to be struck from Thurge's face.
"He always knows the way." Thurge in turn commented.
"You know the path well?" I asked our animal-hauling lead.
"Not at all!" he laughed as the thrill of adventure shivered about him.
"Someone to blame, wonderful!" I sarcastically exclaim as I cautiously kept an eye out for anything red and green. However, there was no such thing, only small, skittish animals not liking the smell of our hauled-about bloody...
"Claws." Thurge suddenly pointed out as he tapped his foot on some narrow grooves in the mud below.
"A big cat." Bolunch answered with a nod as he began to methodically look about.
"Your idiocy better not cause us problems..." I warned him as I was once again faced with a dangerous situation where my trained reflexes meant nothing. Everything I had learned needed magic to work!
"Here bolt-kitty... Here now!" Bolunch started to coo as he carelessly waved the dead boar about. As if it were a piece of clothing at an undisciplined party... Then, his brash actions were met with a reaction.
"We need to go!" I hiss having heard that roar and the now rapid sounds of undergrowth moving.
"This way." Thurge let out, however, he was not guiding us out of here. He was just pointing out where it was coming from...
"You two!?" I let out louder this time.
"Syeow." a peculiar creature let out as its head suddenly stepped out.
"Oh, it was after something else." Bolunch let out disappointedly as he lowered the boar corpse back down over his bloodied shoulder.
"Hello there!" I found myself cooing as I kneeled down and reached for the creature. It was so small and adorable!
"Careful now, predator behind it."
"Then spear it like you did that!" I snap as I let the red-feathered creature hop into my arms. And while I personally couldn't keep it safe. I enjoyed how it seemed to feel safe in my arms.
"Bolt-cat." Thurge let out as he suddenly snapped off a large branch. And with a mighty snap of its jaws, this creature suddenly dove out of the wall-like forestry and stood before us. Its thin, jagged legs sprang with energy while its jaw slobbered and snapped.
"Here you go, now, shoo." Bolunch dismissively told the creature after he chucked the boar at it. However, that beast completely ignored the corpse and instead seemed to lick its lips at us.
"Here, back here." Thurge urged as he slow brought me back while Bolunch seemed to cackle with excitement. Both of his spears at the ready as the creature snarled on the approach.
"Bolunch!" I called out, concerned that this bravado would get me killed as well! And for the sake of someone that I did care about, I could not let this happen. But what could I do...!?
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Maybe this branch Thurge snapped off had a purpose!
"Try and keep near mouth if it lunges at you." Thurge answered as he caught sight of my glances.
"That would mean letting i-" I began to say before the creature suddenly lashed out towards me. And like before, it found itself skewered by Bolunch on the approach. However, I couldn't help but stare at the creature's suddenly still jaw as it was brought away from me.
"Drop that bird, Maelta, you nearly got yourself killed." Bolunch shrugged casually.
"I nearly got myself killed?" I questioned as I got up, still holding the bird.
"Yeah." he said with a nod before a loud snap filled the air.
"Taking it on the chin ain't quite like that..." Bolunch replied as he rubbed his mouth while my hand stung from the impact. He had quite a firm jawline...
"Be more careful in future, you reckless fool!" I snap as I started to use the soft feathers of this peculiar bird to calm myself.
"Bolt-cats don't belong up here." Thurge then commented as he went past the dead animal.
"Who am I to complain about some more bone marrow?" Bolunch asked back with a huff as he picked up the other dead animal. However, not long after he did that. The animal I was holding suddenly scrambled out of my grip and disappeared.
"You did your job." Thurge told me as he patted my back once as I stared at the disappearing animal.
"Now I just feel used." I say, shrugging in disappointment as we moved on ahead again. And thankfully, there were no more disturbances. Even if the scent of blood made it clear as to why.
"That smell..." Bolunch lets out as he suddenly stops after a surprise wind suddenly finds us.
"Burning oil?" I question as I remember the foul odor Nin once told me about. During our travels back from his home following the wyvern incident... I just idly asked him about the strong smell those vehicles had in his homeland. But why could we smell it now?
Was what happened at Anvil-Peak rather recent? Like, within the time that Nin's home was still around recent? I know I could not really say but I've only ever smelt this scent once. I only had that trip to call upon...
"So how is it that you know what that smell is, exactly?" Bolunch questioned as he began to follow the smell. Something he found to be particularly foul yet it did not stop him from breathing in all he could.
"I have experienced it before." I answered honestly.
"Yeah, as if the High Priest's granddaughter goes out anywhere." he scoffed before he began to hack and cough at the smell.
"You can handle the smell of two corpses but can't handle this?" I ask him, slightly annoyed by his jab even if it wasn't meant for me. Yet, I had to agree with his reactions, it was a horrible stench.
"Machines..." Thurge then suddenly said as he began to cover our mouths. And while I had no problem knowing that, Bolunch seemed to be confused by it.
"Since when did a mill or a forge's air-pump smell like that?" he asked, clearly having a limited scope of technology. Not that I could blame them, this place was so isolated and out of touch with the rest of the world. Which, I suppose, only made it a more curious affair as to what was going on out there.
Then, we heard shouting further down...
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"Viceroy, again I must protest this." the Commodore repeated as I walked amongst the long, strong-postured grass.
"And again, I tell you to keep it down in that regard." I tell him as I stare up at the imposing mountain. An army at my back as the expeditionary officers down here with me spoke their professional chatter.
"Yes, Viceroy. Shall we commence firing on those who retreat or shall we soften them up for you?"
"Hold fire for now. I want to see their eyes as we wrestle this mountain from them!" I answer as I start to march forward. A pair of brilliant wings then sprouted from the back of my armour as I started to ascend into the air. And with a commanding but silent gesture, I had my army move forward.
A uniform mass of crimson that clanged and banged with heavy thumps into the earth below. What once was mighty was brought low and their path was a trampled scar upon the land. Yet, unlike my army, I could not contain the urge to fire. So I did.
I called upon the vast power of my armour and brought forth a fusion of crimson and emerald light. My pride-driven smirk hidden by the mask of my helmet as it built up. And, when it was but the size of a child's ball, I crushed it. Sending the power back into my right arm which I then cocked back and punched forth.
And as if one of our ships had fired, the sky suddenly changed to match the colour of the Lord's given power. A tremendous explosion was then not far off. With the power of its disturbed winds reaching as far back as here! Yet, I could only guffaw as the light quickly dimmed...
"Impossible..." I let out as I saw how unaffected the mountain was. Still there it stood defiant. Undisturbed and unharmed by this masterfully made holy icon that I wore. Had I grown too confident? Not pull in enough...?
But, no, I had... Its sensors were even warning me of how strained the system now was. My body wasn't just quaking from excitement! This mountain truly was the bastion of the Great Poisoner!
"ALL GOLEMS! DRIVE EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU!" I roared in fury from the sky as I suddenly shot down into the ground below. Making nothing but raw mud for so many feet about me. And with the power of my armour, I brought down the earth that curved sharply ahead of me. Creating a smooth albeit slippery ramp.
Yet, that was no problem when my claws easily cut deep into the earth below. However, when I reached the same level as my army again. I was met with more than just the wind. And I scoffed at it as it harmlessly bounced off of me.
"It really is tragic that the humans have discovered our greatest weakness." I comment as I casually stroll up towards the impromptu line the humans had established. Vehicles had become walls and all did their part. Even those that suffered had been propped up so that every gun could be fired.
Yet nothing they had would ever shatter such divine plate! Not even the lengthy barrels of their metal boxes could do much! Even as their fireballs raged around me with each precise shot they landed at my head. Even under this kind of pressure, they kept their aim.
"Go on, fire." I reminded the golems behind me as their arms unlocked un synch. And as if lightning had struck. Emerald power began to burst out in a distorted and inaccurate wave that blanketed the land ahead of us. Sharp whistles and bursting pops filled the air.
The quantity of firepower was so great that it was even becoming common to see our shot explode prematurely. The bullets of the humans hit with just enough force to set them off. Unlike with me, however. The golems faced problems relating to their durability.
While the smaller guns the humans had mostly pinged and got deflected. Those heavy machines of their mowed rows down without issue. Thick calibre ammunition that just tore mechanical limbs apart until the force of their heat lodged them in a later golem's armour. So, seeing this, I felt that it would be prudent to call in something heavier.
And, with a commanding roar tuned to their frequency. The engorged arms of the heavy golems struck the ground like the cannons we faced. A tremendous boom of power and accompanying shake. This power was also used to defend them and they quickly closed the gaps.
With frightening speed, the human position then crumbled in its entirety. Men who once stood side-by-side abandoned each other for a chance of escape. However, many of them seemed to be forcing themselves towards the mountain. And they were just disappearing...
"There are tunnels?" I curiously let out before I decided to interrupt a flying vehicle by blowing it up myself. Then, as the golems spread themselves out to hunt down those who had not fled into the stone giant. I approached the mountain to see the tunnels for myself. Yet, I restrained myself from taking one step more.
This place had withstood the full might of this armour... Not even a single pebble was shaken loose. It was unheard of for something to be this densely divine. Or rather, accursed in the case of this mountain. And now that I was no longer distracted by that brief, mostly pointless battle.
I could feel it on the armour. Strange distortions rippled from tiny flakes of gold that had been unearthed onto me. It made me fearful even from within the safety of this armour. I felt unclean and in far greater danger than I would've ever been otherwise.
"No..." I breathed as I saw that small pieces of lightning had started to spark across the gold on my armour.
"Viceroy?" the Commodore called through my comms as he likely saw my strange behaviour.
"DECONTAMINATION TEAM NOW!" I roared in fear-driven rage as I tried to reassert the presence of the Lord on this armour. The Great Poisoner would not corrupt this piece of his! This holy icon would remain holy!
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"We should head back and warn the village!" I urged the other two who had become overrun with curiosity. That sudden, powerful shake had done nothing but intrigue them. Thurge in particular seemed to have been overcome by some form of possession. However, even without any in this body, I knew magic when I felt it...
Whatever was outside this mountain was terrifyingly powerful. And it was not alone. So many spells had gone off beyond the mountain! We needed to warn them!
Yet, I was suddenly uncertain if I should encourage them like this. If the Festival of the Fallen Star did not go ahead. How would I save Lightning's friend? How would I prevent Thunder from...
"That's the sound of screaming. Grown men as well." Bolunch deduced as he suddenly dropped his animals to sprint to a nearby log.
"Then they must be..." I start to say as I realize that they were likely retreating from a fight.
"Something has ambushed some of our hunters!?" Bolunch exclaimed.
"W-Wait! NO!" I called out after him as he ran off to help the strangers. How could he be so reckless!?
"We should help." Thurge encouraged before I sighed in defeat. It was clear the boys had already made up their minds. So all I could do really was chase after them and help as well. Maybe this was meant to happen?
Were these the red machines, perhaps...?
Evidently not, though, when I finally caught up to Bolunch and we came across the men in question. For they were distinctly not crimson or armoured much if at all. Some had metal, bowl-like helmets but others did not. For the most part, they only had pale, green uniforms of some kind, broken apart by the brown of their belts and straps.
And the state of their wounds and muddied faces proved further what they had just gotten out of...
"Redskin?" one of them let out with a gawk in some language I could not understand.
"There are people here?"
"I thought we all pulled back to Bridge City? How're these kids here?"
"Pipe it down, you're not much older than them." a gruff one commented as he approached us with his gun hovering down by his side. Whoever they were, it was clear they lacked arcane equipment of any kind.
"None of them are pursuing, Captain!" one of them called back as a loud ping suddenly filled the air. That man then put something into his gun. Likely to replace what he intentionally took out.
"We make the best of it, then. Form up and move up that ridge!" the lead one clearly barked as the men began to march on ahead without us. Although, one or two of them seemed to look at us fearfully. Others just seemed to be glad that they were alive.
"That's... A first." Bolunch commented as he watched the green-clothed men disappear.
"Should we guide them back to the village?"
"I think so, they would be safe there and we could tend to their wounds." Thurge argued as he cautiously moved near the tunnels they came up in. Whatever was out there, it sounded distinctly metallic...
"The machines..." I quietly uttered as I realised what those men were clearly running from.
"Maelta, come! We can show them the way and save our food!" Bolunch urged me as he made a mad dash up the nearest slope. An action that seemed to surprise these men enough to make them raise their weapons at him. However, when it became clear he was passing them, they seemed to calm down.
Many of them, however, seemed to urge the others to follow him. If I went by how their bodies twitched as if they were awaiting the go ahead. Yet, rather than excitement, it was panic that drove these men to do so. As they were all cautiously glancing back at those tunnels.
"Alright! Gather up all your explosives. We're going to mine that tunnel!" their lead snapped as they all started to make a pile of pale green balls and brown paper bricks...? Whatever they were, it was clear they wanted to do something down there...
"Captain, that Cardinal couldn't so much as blast a hole in this place! What's a pile of handies and some stickies going to do!?"
"It'll plug the gap long enough for us to make a defensive line or to hide away in the forest!" the lead seemed to correct before he started to shove men about as he took charge once again.
"The village won't be hostile to them, right?" I cautiously questioned Thurge as I kept on glancing at their beat-up weapons. Scratched and dented as they might've been... It was clear they all still worked. And I had a distinct inclination to side with the guns should conflict erupt.
The stories about the Warlord's War are quite a present thing in my mind right now. Political upheaval many, many years ago in my homeland which saw old dynasties swept aside. With the side favouring to trust new technologies such as firearms prevailing... My family just happened to be one of those on the winning side of that bloody conflict.
And although it was from a time long before even my mother. I understood the gravity of it all. If they were to be spooked in any way. I might never see my chance to stop Thunder!
Or maybe, Thunder came along with them...?
"Maelta." Thurge let out as he started to tug on my arm gently.
"Right..." I said as I started to follow him. Cautiously looking back at the soldiers who seemed to shadow our movements. And it wasn't long until we broke into a sprint ourselves in order to catch up with Bolunch. But rather than that, we just found him strolling back to the soldiers with his previously held animals.
"Hey! This way!" he called out to the soldiers with his free arm as he rolled it inwards.
"Bolunch!" I hissed as he didn't quite seem to grasp what he was inviting into his home!
"What? They're injured and clearly tired. It's the least we can do given that this has never happened before!" he exclaimed as he continued to invite them all in with friendly gestures.
"They have guns! You don't!" I remind him, only to realize too late that he probably doesn't know what they are.
"Come again?" he asked, confused by what I had just told him.
"Weapons!" I clarified, putting it into terms he'd understand.
"So do we?" he pointed out as he tapped his spear's tip on some bark before he started to guide the soldiers.
"He's hopeless..." I say as the soldiers start to gather up.
"CAPTAIN! THE CHILDREN ARE GUIDING US!" one of them shouted back to those who had headed back down.
"HOLD UP FOR US!" one of them, likely the leader called back before a couple stopped in their tracks. A human trail for them to find their way with.
"If this goes wrong, your home is doomed, Thurge." I commented as I kept on looking at their guns.
"Your home is there as well?" he questioned, confused by my choice of words. So I silently swore inside my mouth before I shook my head and looked up at him.
"I'm sorry... I just can't keep this up." I tell him with a miserable groan. Sighing what frustration I could as I try to get ahold of the awkwardness of my situation. I still had my mind but the body of someone else. It was hard to keep up with at times.
Even more so now that a completely new group had made itself known. One that had things I knew about but the people of Maelta's village did not. I just could not see how I could play dumb knowing about these things. Knowing the history these things can create when in the right or wrong hands.
And to also know about those aggressive, red machines only made my concerns worse. I knew full well that at worse these men were bringing some kind of war with them. Even if a lot of this was set in stone and that I could do nothing. It did not sit well with me.
It just wasn't in me to turn a blind eye to this kind of stuff... Yet, I was having to struggle with it all internally. Because how could any of these people help me? They would have neither the patience, will or anything...
Yet, that didn't seem to stop Thurge from looking at me with a rare display of emotion. And while he was not my friend, I could smile at how good of a friend he was to this girl. And I hoped she herself was aware of what was going on. At least so she would know that she was in good company and that I was not doing anything foul to her body...
"You are troubled." Thurge commented.
"I have... A lot on my plate." I downplayed jokingly.
"Sometimes, it is best to share a meal if it is too big for one." Thurge explained with a slight smile before it disappeared.
"I don't think you'd like it." I told him, carrying on with the euphemism I had just established.
"A friend's job is to try and eat it anyway." he reassured me with before he waited expectingly. He likely wasn't going to let me walk away from this, was he? I suppose I had no choice, then.
"Something dangerous is coming, please trust me in that regard. It is coming and it is dangerous..." I tell him as I look back at where we had just come from. That presence of magic. The sounds of thumping metal. The weariness of these soldiers.
Whatever happened here in the past was soon to come and it would be bloody. And I needed to escape this place before I got caught up in it. Beyond stopping Thunder, it was not my place to meddle. That's all that mattered...
I had to let all these people die for the sake of someone I knew and loved incomparably.
"I trust you, He seems disturbed as well."
"He? Him?" I questioned as I followed his stare to one of the soldiers.
"No, I don't know how to put it. But you know who I am on about." he tried to explain, but, no, I really did not know what he was on about.
"Yeah." I said anyway as I felt like that might've been what Maelta would've actually said.
"When Bolunch is done taking these men to our home, would you like to go somewhere quiet?" he then asked me as he suddenly took my hand. An action that left me blushing as I just wasn't expecting it at all. It even reignited a prior thought in my head about Maelta's place with these two.
"It's important?" I asked him, just to make sure if it was something I might be able to dive out of.
"Yes, it's about Him." Thurge nervously explained as he glanced up at nothing once again. But, when one of the soldiers caught sight of his stare. He got aggressive all of a sudden.
"Keep it together!" the head soldier snapped back at them as he got in the way of us and that irritated soldier.
"Hey, if that redskinned boy wants to have a look, I'll let him!"
"Do not provoke your fellow human, Private! We're all in this together!" the head one snapped as he shoved them on ahead before he seemingly nodded in apology.
"So, how exactly is Bolunch planning on having them helped when none of us can understand the other?" I decided to ask Thurge in order to pass the time.
"They understood what 'follow me' meant."
"I'm pretty sure most people get what a waving gesture likely means." I pointed out.
"Then it will be through these similarities that we will find our common ground." Thurge answered with a nod as I nodded alongside him briefly.
"What? Just make them rub their bellies if they are hungry?" I awkwardly laughed out. Trying to ease the tension that walking aside so many armed men brought.
"Bolunch never did cook our boar..." Thurge then complained as he rubbed his own stomach.
"Make sure to remind him when you get back into the village, then. Don't let him get away with it!" I urged him as I started to contemplate sneaking in a few bites myself. This body after all still functioned like one even if I just occupied the mind of it.
.
.
.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" I asked Thurge as I finished following him to a hidden cave. Placing the food we had managed to get from Bolunch down before I followed suit. Briefly adjusting my position as I tried to make myself comfortable on a bare piece of rock. With not much under me really to cushion it with.
"He is scared... Concerned, I don't know!" Thurge immediately opened up with as his seemingly usual demeanour of apathy and emotionless calm made way for a clear display of fear. He was greatly upset, that was clear.
"When did He start acting like this?"
"He's been like this for a while, but your fear has him acting up!" he pointed out as his finger suddenly swept up at me.
"So he too knows what is out there?" I asked as Thurge's eyes moved about erratically.
"But you shouldn't!" Thurge suddenly accused as if he had just been revealed something. And, I sighed in response. Because what else could I do?
"Maelta shouldn't know, no. But I do." I answered, most likely confusing him greatly. I was right as well because his bafflement was nearly instantaneous.
"You are Maelta...?"
And I shook my head, "Only physically."
Frowning as he seemed to only become even more lost, "He is warning me about you?"
"No! Of course not!" I let out, fearful of the idea that Thunder might've caught on. If this is who Thurge is referring to was who I thought it was.
"Then why are you acting strange!? Why do you know what you shouldn't!? Why does this all happen when He is suddenly disturbed!?" Thurge demanded to know as he suddenly approached me. Seemingly full of anger caused by the confusion.
"I need you to trust me, Thurge. Can you do that, please?" I begged as I got up and backed away slightly. Waiting a couple of metres away from him as he stops by the rock I was formerly on.
"You're my friend, how could I not...?" he said as he began to shake his head and groan.
"When the festival starts, or if now I suppose... Promise me that you'll help me win." I tell him as I try to urge him to calm down.
"But... What about Dad? I'm not as skilled as anyone else at anything and I don't have their energy... It is the only thing I can do to prove that I can..." he began to let out as trembles overtook him.
"You don't need to prove anything, Thurge." I told him with uncertainty. I had no idea how well he would take this. I barely knew him yet he seemingly knew me. Or, at least, he thought he did.
"You know I can't do that, Maelta... You know I can't... Ever since I was born, there's been bad portents! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS EVER WHIMPERED AT THEIR FIRST VOICE CEREMONY!" he stuttered out before he roared with rage as he placed one step forward. A sudden distortion even appeared around him as well. A ghostly figure that flickered before disappearing.
"So you are Thunder..." I let out as I caught onto what I had to stop. Then, that meant, Thurge was Lightning's friend? So he won the race to the thunder-gold and met Lightning there? Or was that flickering image Lightning!?
"Thunder..." Thurge repeated as he looked up at the cloudy sky. And as if what he spoke became reality. Thunder boomed from the sky as white lightning suddenly struck above.
White...?
"No, that's not right... It should be golden!" I exclaimed. Completely at a loss for words. Was it just my eyes playing tricks on me!? No...
The lightning was truly white!
Did that mean that Lightning did not exist yet...?
"I'm sorry for bringing you out here, maybe we should both head ba-"
"No, you brought me here specifically. Is there anything special here!?" I decided to ask in the hopes that there might be something special up here. Maybe Thurge might win because this is where the thunder-gold was!?
"Because it's quiet..." he mutters as I suddenly go on ahead, only to find out how short this cave really was.
"R-Right..."
"You should know this already, Maelta." he comments as I turn around.
"Is there anything else you want to talk to me about, then?"
"I don't know how. He is just suddenly different and it is all happening as something happens to you!" he shrugs, clearly hurt by the stressful circumstances.
"Maybe he's just excited for the festival, that is tomorrow after all, yeah?"
"Y-Yeah, it's tomorrow. The adults will wake us up early and take us down to where we just were and we'll head all the way back up."
"We should go and get some sleep then, no? If we are going to have our nights interrupted?" I asked him with a forced, awkward laugh.
"I can't sleep with my mind like this." he complained as I started to move closer to him.
"Then let's go talk to Bolunch, or eat our food. You can settle down that way." I offer as I remind him that we did bring food.
"Right." he answered as he snatched it up and went into the cave. And, in a way, I was back to where I had started. On that same rock that I had initially sat down on.
"I know it doesn't mean much, Thurge, but, you'll be alright." I probably lied given what was outside of this mountain.
"Of all the strange things you know, this is the strangest." he commented before he slowly chewed on a piece of cooked but cold meat.
"I have, experience. When it comes to those who have awkward circumstances." I sigh out in explanation. Frowning as I glanced upwards and my mind began to fill with Nin and his troubles. One thing beyond his control with divine involvement had changed his life forever. Though, I suppose, Thurge was always like this so had his life really changed?
I wasn't really in the mood for philosophical thinking, however.
"Mum often talks at night when I am asleep, you know. She often talks about how embarrassed she was when I was presented before the High Priest. She had hoped that I would live up to her pride for me and I let her down."
"No... Thurge, you can't blame yourself for that." I told him, confused as to how he came to that line of thinking.
"It was me who failed to so much as cry, though!"
"You had just been born!" I remind him, frustrated by what he was doing. This was so ridiculous!
"I wish I hadn't been... Okay? Of the few things I have done, they have brought my family nothing but trouble. For as much as you have scolded Bolunch today, he is loved by everyone! A man fit to rule our people when the time comes! And what of me!? Nothing..." he rambles before he putters out into a miserable mutter.
"No... Thurge, don't speak like that. You're just getting stressed out right now. Just, eat and keep your mind occupied." I tried to offer as a solution before he put his food down completely.
"I'm going to do it. I am going to do one thing that matters in this life. I will go and get that thunder-gold and bring it back for Dad so he can make himself a new talisman from it!" he suddenly declared.
"No! The festival is tomorrow, you can do that then!"
"So now you want me to succeed?"
"N-No, you know that's not what I meant..." I groan as he seemingly reverts back to his usual expression.
"No, Maelta. I will not let you find that gold. I will not help you, not willingly. This is something I need to do." he told me as he went and left the cave.
"I am sorry, Thurge, but, that's just not something I can do." I say as he makes it to the end of the path we used to get up here. And he didn't even glance back once. So I tutted to myself quietly before I moved to gather up the leftover food. Even as my mind nagged me with the knowledge of this village's imminent demise.
Yet I went along with it anyway and I packed it all back up. Taking a brief moment to eat a little more myself if only to savour the experience. We found no animals before when we travelled the mountain. Maybe the mist hid them, but, I was inclined to believe that they died with the people of this village.
So at the very least, when I got back, I could tell Brewbrt about the food only I would ever eat! It was a thought a clung to so I could improve my mood. But it only lasted so long and I went back into the village with a dour expression. By contrast, most of the village was up and about so they could be involved with the soldiers.
"Torque." I let out quietly once I saw Maelta's grandfather attempting some kind of conversation with the lead soldier. But it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere. Seemingly because Torque was misinterpreting it all. He was clearly thinking about it as if it was a wild animal attack.
"Ah, Maelta, these men are ever so thankful for what you and the other two did for them."
"I am glad," I lied as it was neither my intent to help them nor was it a concern of mine, "Can I talk to you? Privately?"
"Of course, just head on up and I'll let someone else carry on from here." he whispered up to me as he patted my back to encourage my departure. However, rather than going up the path, I lingered at the very edge of it. Waiting for him until he finally relieved himself of whatever it was he was trying to understand.
"We could've probably answered everything you needed to know ourselves." I remark, having seen the trouble both parties were having.
"Hearing them out is wiser." he answers with a slight smirk. He clearly enjoyed irritating me with that small comment.
"So, anyway..."
"Yes, go on, what is it you wanted to talk to me about... Einervaene?" Torque asked after he finished looking behind us.
"It's about Thurge."
"And Thunder, I presume?"
"Yes, I think it is safe to say that your prior words were true. It is him, I presume."
"He has explained the strange things he sees?"
"Yes, he has told me about Him, and I am sure of the fact that I saw something as well."
"What did you see?"
"I couldn't get a good look at it, but, whatever it was, it had a dark core and a yellowish outline." I explain.
"I know they probably don't cross over, but, that might explain the blackened face you told me about."
"It also flickered as if it was lightning... Strikes from above even happened at about that time!"
"No, that was the sign that the festival will go forth. You probably didn't see it or feel it, but a small ball of fire rained down as the lightning struck."
"The thunder-gold..." I breathed as I realised that I probably missed that because of the white colour of those bolts. But, maybe that was why? The magic or something had been infused into that gold...? I didn't know how it worked, but I was trying to understand.
"Yes, and come the early hours of the morning. We shall take all the children down below so we can begin."
"I'm not sure that is wise... Those soldiers are running from something outside of this mountain! The place you will take us is right by whatever machines are chasing them!"
"You are familiar with what will happen, Einervaene? Do you know if this is part of the reason you are here?" Torque questioned as his expression became incredibly serious.
But I shook my head, "No, I was only brought here to prevent Thunder from doing something, somehow."
"Then I'll make some changes, it won't be popular, but it should keep you and the others safe." Torque explained as his hand went onto my shoulder.
"Thank you, but, so long as Thurge and I are further along, we should be fine." I say as I kept to the idea that Thunder was Thurge or associated with him at the very least.
"I won't be able to get away with just setting you two aside, so it will have to be everyone. I can, at the very least, justify it because of these..."
"Soldiers." I repeated
"Yes, these soldiers, stubborn as many might be to keeping to tradition."
"What tradition is that, exactly?"
"How we first came to this mountain. Our ancestors used those same tunnels many aeons ago before the moons were made when the Fourteen-Headed Beast was fought off. They used those same tunnels to escape the divine bloodshed and we hid in this mountain. And, eventually, we came across the first piece of thunder-gold."
"That's quite a journey." I huffed in amusement. Amazed by how far back the history of these people went! As far back as the time the gods walked among us! Or over us, I suppose, as the stories spoke of how they towered like mountains!
So vast in size that Sraacdchammu, the tallest of them, even gained a new domain!
"I might've said it before, Einervaene, but I feel as if yours is far greater than even what our distant forefathers did. Our, as in, my granddaughter."
"I know, it's fine." I say quietly.
"So outside of what you have come to know about young Thurge, what else is there that you wanted to talk about?" he asked so we could get back on track.
"I guess, maybe if you had any advice to give about this festival? Thurge is deadset on trying to find this gold, nebulous as the path to it seems to be."
"Stay near him, I have a feeling deep inside that his first sounds are related to this."
"But they were quiet, why would that link to this?"
"Have you ever been in a storm, Einervaene?" Torque asked as his expression solidified and his eyes stared me down.
"Yes, many." I answer as I really have been. All that time travelling across the All-Coast had seen many a turbulent wave and vicious gale.
"Then you know of the calm before the storm."