"So, here we are..." I let out quietly to Thurge as we stood at the edge of the massive gathering. Children of many different sizes, all with their own postures and ways of being bored. Some stood out, like Bolunch who made a point of stretching beforehand.
"When the High Priest finishes his sermon, we start." he seemingly repeats to himself as he erratically looks about. And as he did that, I looked behind us cautiously. Those soldiers were fighting but the villagers seemed to think it was lightning. Despite what I knew, though, I kept it to myself.
Nervous as it made me be...
"And most of all, good luck to you all. We eagerly await whoever brings back the sacred ore." Torque finishes with as he and most of the other adults bow before us.
"Now?" I ask, seeking that last bit of clarification.
"Do not follow me." Thurge comments as he suddenly marches off. And, too late did I realise that nearly all the other children had gone as well.
"Maelta! Go! Go!" Torque urged as he began to gesture me to move.
But, before I did so, I moved as close as I could to him, "She'll come back for you."
"And I will be very proud to see her smile." he tells me as the distant cheering dies down. However, the gunfire and the storm above did not. Were it not for his slowness as well, I might've lost him!
"I thought you would've been moving faster, to be honest." I comment as I catch up with him. Shivering as some kind of hair-raising breeze goes past me.
"Oh, he's always lacking motivation!" Bolunch answers as he springs from nowhere.
"Didn't you...?"
"I was with everyone else, but I decided to take a shortcut." he answers with a grin and bemused huff.
"You shouldn't be so relaxed about all of this..." I tell him, thinking more so of the battle raging down in the deep forest. Yet, I guess, I was also on about this festival itself. This was very important for them all, no?
"Oh, I've got a good feeling about Thurge here!" he laughs as he smacks his friend's shoulder. However, he was in turn baffled by the stiffness of his body.
"Not even a stumble..." I mutter after having seen the firm smack Bolunch had handed out.
"He's quite serious, then." he comments as he flexes his hand. The sting of the slap seemingly bothered him more.
"But none of us know which way to go." I say as I grow annoyed at the fact that I could not have found it beforehand. All I had a rough idea of was that it was seemingly close to the top of the mountain.
"Instincts. Instincts will lead us the way and it will all become clear."
"Being honest here, I'm not really feeling these instincts."
"That's because you don't know what they are."
"What? Of course, I do!" I tell him as I raise my hands with exasperated fervour.
"Tell me, then."
"It's the actions yo-"
"Wrong!" Bolunch interrupted early.
"You stay right there!" I threaten as I move to grab a stick to poke him with.
"The instincts I am on about here is familiarity. We don't walk this path often but you can discern something. There is nothing familiar yet, you feel like there is." he explains with awe in his voice.
"No, not feeling any of that." I tell him. A problem that might be a result of the fact I am not Maelta. Those would've been her feelings and sensations. It all means nothing to me.
What I could feel, however, was a sink in my gut as the bangs behind us became more frequent...
"Maelta, down here!" Bolunch then calls out after he flicks a small twig at me.
"Caves..." I let out as I quickly follow them into the hollow parts of the mountain. And to my surprise, there was ample, natural light within this place. The reflection of water on the walls, though, did not fill me with any kind of joy. The last time I saw something like this I nearly drowned...
The ship journey I took here did not end well as we were raided by strange creatures. And, being as inexperienced as I was, I could defend no one nor myself. So I ran and ran until I found a tunnel with light. It was not an experience I was interested in reliving.
Yet, to my surprise, as we turned a corner, we came upon something that was simply amazing. A cavern full of reflective crystals and natural treasure. Gentle drops of dew bristled about us and a clean-cut path was before us. There were even small flowers of all things blooming in here!
"Is any of this thunder-gold?" I decided to ask as maybe their knowledge could fill me in.
"No, He tells me that this is just a..." Thurge begins to explain before a strong tremor suddenly washes in from the way we came. A high-pitched whistle and strange bursts followed suite.
"We should get moving." I tell the pair as I suspect that it was probably what I spent all night worrying about.
"Hey, there is no way out..." Bolunch comments as he glances about the end of the cavern he had suddenly run off to.
"There has to be, right?" I question as I stare at Thurge who was undeterred by the news.
"Thurge, where're you going?"
"He's probably found what you couldn't." I comment as I walk up to him. Slowing down as Bolunch suddenly launches himself over a collection of crystals.
"Here?" Thurge asks as he starts to apply pressure on a rock.
"I think I can see some light coming through!" Bolunch exclaims as he joins his friend in pushing at the loose stone.
"I don't think..." I start to protest before I decided to keep quiet. I could either help them move a boulder or we could go back the way we came and get shot... For the sake of more than just my own life, I had to avoid something like that.
"Just... A little... MORE!" Bolunch lets out as the rock suddenly rolls aside and tumbles down.
"Oh..." I gulp as we suddenly found ourselves on a narrow walkway at the very edge of the mountain. Not even within it anymore. We were actually on the outside...
"What are those...?" Bolunch asks as he points his arm up at a distant sight. Three flying objects that emanated magical power. And below them, a sea of crimson shimmers filled the air with the force of their march.
"Trouble, now move." I urge them desperately as I start to move them as much as I could. But Thurge lingered and stared out at the army. One that was clearly funnelling into something. And that something was most likely the tunnels the soldiers came through...
However, Thurge would not move. And he seemingly adopted an eternal vigil of what was out there. Constantly watching them and doing nothing else. But we did not have time for this.
So I tried and tried again. Failing each time to get him to move and only endangering myself. Possibly getting myself killed were it not for Bolunch's quick reflexes. Something I made a point of thanking him for before I stood before Thurge's still body.
"We need to go." I remind him before he snaps out of the sudden stupor.
"Thunder-gold!" he suddenly exclaims as he recklessly began a sprint across the narrow path.
"SLOW DOWN YOU FOOL!" Bolunch cries out as his friend starts to run. However, neither of us was fast enough to stop him. Nor were we willing enough to copy his actions.
"It's alright, we can still catch up." I tell Bolunch as I urged him forward. And although we did not run, we managed to keep him partially in our sights. At least, until we had to go around a brief bend that went in towards the mountain.
"I am quite surprised that there is a stable path out here..." Bolunch nervously chuckles as we make it past one of the narrower parts of the path.
"Maybe someone carved it out of the rock..." I say, thinking of the stairs and the cave I once climbed and spent time in. Before I met Lightning in person and was sent back to this time. Yet, Thunder does not exist yet for the moment. So he couldn't have done it...
Then who did? There was no way that this was a natural piece of erosion. Even back when the village within was burned to the ground... The winds were still calm and uneventful.
Were it not for the army and the airships they likely came from. It would be so serene this sight, so beautiful. Whereas before I only saw this mountain with awe. I was somewhat jealous of the landscape this land once had.
"There you are!" Bolunch lets out as he smacks Thurge behind the head for his actions. Something that I did not carry on, much to his amusement.
"Which way, Thurge?" I ask him as I watch Maelta's friend slowly wander once again. That did leave me distinctly confused, though. He just ran off and now he was wandering aimlessly? Was that a sign that He had been fought off?
That Thurge was in charge of his body once more? But that would entail something quite dramatic indeed. If such a thing were true, we would be dealing with more of this. Sudden bursts of energy that I have learned are much unlike Thurge.
"This way..." he starts to say before a new sight catches our attention. Smoke, and lots of it.
"We need to go." I tell the duo before they start tremble with fear and concern. The sudden wave of screams certainly did not help either.
"Let's go!" Bolunch suddenly tells Thurge as the pair spring into action and leave me behind.
"No... No... I need Thurge to..." I start to mutter worriedly as I chase after them. Watching from behind as Bolunch skillfully tears a branch off and hoists it by his side. Thurge, however, was suddenly surrounded by something else. That flicker was back...
"Dammit... DAMMIT!" Bolunch started to let out angrily as we came to discover that we were trapped. With two large walls of solid, god-blessed mountain stone on either side. A valley-esque view that was damning for these two. Yet, rather than stop, they just kept on going until an opening seemed to finally appear.
"There's nothing we can do, let's go!" I snap as the pair stop at the exit. Only for us three to discover that it was a sudden drop that lead back down below. My words, however, did not mean much when down below... Adults and children alike were arming themselves.
The soldiers, or what remained of them had clearly pulled back to the village. Which was now a warzone as green bolts of magic tore through tree and house alike. But that did not stop Bolunch in the slightest and he leapt down. Grinding his sandals and his soon bloody feet along the stone until he crashed down below.
Without even a glance back, he charged out to join the defence of his home. However, before Thurge could join his friend. I smashed him over the head with a thick stick that was lying about. Angrily staring down at him as that flicker disappeared.
Then, with confused tears in his eyes, he looked up at me, "Why're you trying to stop me? Why aren't you trying to defend your...!"
Despite what this meant for me, though, I couldn't maintain a stern gaze, "I cannot allow you to die..."
"You knew this was going to happen!?"
"I did..." I nod as images of skeletons and burnt-down buildings flashed before my eyes.
"H-How...? If you knew what was going to happen then you know how to...?"
"I do... I think..." I sigh out as my normal personality began to burn through. I just couldn't bring it to myself to tell him 'we have to let them die.'
"What? You think what!?" he demands to know as he suddenly scrambles to his feet. Then, a curled-up fist suddenly yanks me forward while fear fills me. To be staring down someone angered like this... I knew what it was like.
"The thunder-gold! We need to get you to the thunder-gold!" I blurt out to him despite knowing what it would mean for my goals. And although I kept the frustrations to myself. The counter-planning as well. I kept on encouraging him to find it.
"Right... The holy power of Thurnmourer!" he let out in understanding as that flicker came back. Its ghostly visage leads him as if he were a pack animal with a carrot before him.
"Slow down!" I beg as I start to realise what this haste of his would mean. He would beat me to the thunder-gold and I would fail in my task! I couldn't let this happen! There was no way I could!
Not now, not when I was so close to getting the power I needed to save Mother! To prove to the world that I was not some ill-formed bastard! To free us both of the torment my deplorable characteristic brought us. This was not something that would just slip me by!
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" I angrily screamed as I tried to keep up with him while holding some kind of weapon.
"I will save you, Dad." Thurge muttered as he suddenly came to a stop. And, as I heard those words. I stopped as well. In some ways, he was like me.
He just wanted to make his parent proud... To save them... But mine mattered more...? Right?
His father is long dead. They all were. But not Mother. Not my mother...
"Wai... No... No!" I let out desperately as a golden light started to shine from a crack in the forest to our left. A powerful force that I was intimately familiar with lay just beyond those trees... And if the light wasn't enough, the storm above seemed to mark out what was there.
That was the thunder-gold... And Thunder was about to be born!
"NO!" I screamed as I suddenly rushed at him. Striking down a confused Thurge. But my clumsy strikes gave him plenty of space to move. And he quickly got back up and hid behind a tree.
"I d-don't understand, Maelta... Why're you doing this!?" he demanded to know between bouts of his gaze suddenly snapping towards the fallen ore.
"I can't let you take that!" I spit venomously as anger and frustration began to seethe from my body. Mother's life was almost saved! I just needed to get past him and beat him back!
Maybe even kill Thurge if it meant stopping Thunder... But, no! I can't save Lightning's friend if I killed him! What was I supposed to do!?
Neither of us was willing to budge here!
But I had gone too far to back out now. So I kept my weapon close at hand. Switching my gaze from the glowing metal and him. Slowly and steadily moving towards the ore while he cowered.
"I'm sorry, b-but I need this..." I told him as thoughts of Mother filled my mind completely.
"NO!" he roared as he charged me. Only to be beaten back by a haphazard swing from my stick. Yet, when I tried to do it again, he absorbed the blow. Catching my stick under his arm before he then yanked it away.
At this point, he then shoved me to the ground. A good few metres I flew at first before I got back up. Charging him down and slapping at him wildly. Unrelenting I was, but still, it was not enough.
"Get off... Get off!" he snapped as he grabbed my wrists, clenching them tightly into a single hand. And then, he tossed me off and got back up. Yet, that is all he did at that point. He did not go for the ore...
"If only I had my magic!" I cursed loudly as I got back up. My anger at my changed body was apparent. Obviously, though, it only confused him.
"Maelta... Stop this... Our friends and family are under attack! I need to save them!"
"THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD! ALL OF THEM ARE DEAD! TORQUE!? HE DIES BY THAT STUPID ANVIL AND THE REST ARE GUNNED DOWN BY MACHINES! MY MOTHER, HOWEVER, IS STILL ALIVE! AND I CAN SAVE HER!" I screamed at him with maddened fury as I picked up a rock.
"They're still alive...?" he let out as he shook his head about. Until he was seemingly hit by a sudden realisation.
"Go, Thurge, go!" that image suddenly ordered him with a booming voice that rumbled about my ears.
"NO! NO! NO! NO!" I screamed as I intercepted him. Smashing him over the face with that same rock before he seemingly hit me with one as well.
"I'm s-sorry!" he tearfully let out as he suddenly began to punch me over and over again. With the kind of rough skill only boys could really know. The wind was knocked out of me as well as blood and I quickly stumbled back.
And terror, I felt terror.
This body had no magic in it. I could not fight how I might've normally fought. I was physically inferior by every account. And worst of all, it was myself that had to endure this pain.
I couldn't push it back down and how scared I was became clear. The desperation I had elicited from Thurge made him unceasing. He kept up his punches and shoves no matter how many screams or cries he got from me. His sudden realisation, however, made me aware of more than just the pain.
And I felt the rush of air on my back.
.
.
.
"M-MAELTA!?" I screamed as I realised what I had done. I had beaten my friend all the way back to the edge that Bolunch once slid down. And I couldn't find the strength to peer over the edge. I did not want to see it.
No... I had... Killed her. My friend. My dear friend was now dead. And it was my fault.
"I-I-I'm..." I couldn't even get out as tears began to flow from my eyes. But He would not let me weep or mourn. He just guided my head back towards the thunder-gold. The holy ore.
"Save them all." he told me with his usual, buzzing tone.
"Save them..." I repeated as my strength returned. And with hasty, erratic actions. I slid about before I made a clean sprint for the opening. Just barely coming to a stop before the electrifying ore. However, I did not know what to do.
So I tried to find Him, but he was nowhere to be found...
"Just take it." I told myself as I reached out for the ore. Keeping my hand on a forward path even as small branches of lightning began to worm about my arm. Cutting searing, charred lines across my skin until I grabbed it firmly. At this point, more than just lightning began to come to me.
My vision went white and I screamed into the air as I felt my hand stick to the metal. Despite how it may have looked though, I felt no pain. Instead, I felt an exhilarating rush that overwhelmed my senses. And I quickly collapsed to the ground with a shiver despite how hot my body now was.
The grass below me burned and fire began to form...
"Now I can..." I slowly let out as I stood up. Not even taking a moment to glance about at the parts of my body that I could see. Instead, I just ran as strange new strength pumped through me so clearly! It was as if I was trying to sleep, kept awake by the beating of my heart!
There wasn't even a sliver of doubt in me as I leapt from the high position. No fear as lighting shot out from me and dug deep into the earth around me. And rather than the shock of the fall crippling my legs. The mountain beneath me fractured and broke!
Like an old bed did it bend!
As I was not for focusing on this right now, I suddenly charged the 'machines' as Maelta called them. Tearing one apart so very easily. My hands just touched it and they heated to their melting point! From then, they just came apart like the sand Dad puts in his furnace.
And it wasn't just that first one I grabbed either! They all came apart like nothing had ever done before! I didn't even need to keep my hands there. Even a passing punch or swing melted right through it!
Whatever they attacked back with as well did nothing. It just burst on the lightning that branched out of me. As if it had a mind of its own. As if it was protecting me while I protected everyone else!
"I will save them all!" I let out excitedly as I started to think of Dad. Of how proud he would be when he saw me! How jealous the usually superior Bolunch might be when he saw how I won! The Festival of the Fallen Star was my victory!
For once, I had accomplished something meaningful... This crude amulet I had could finally change! It could finally grow! And all of them would know, they'd all see it!
"GET OUT OF MY HOME!" I roared in defiance to the things that attacked it. And with a tremendous leap that I didn't entirely mean to do. I flung myself out of the mountain and into the sky. With the world seemingly trembling and booming as I landed on the surprisingly frail rock.
As I stood there, I then caught sight of the flying objects from before. Those strange things that had Maelta worried for everyone. Her mother especially if her words from before meant anything... So I looked back.
"Mael-" I started to say before something far more powerful than the green lights from before struck me. For a moment, I was surrounded by smoke and possibly rubble. Yet, when it cleared. I became aware of how unmoved I was. And I glared at these things.
Letting this strange power build up in my legs as I slowly took a step off of the edge. Pushing down on the mountain and shooting forth towards the mass of red below. And with the fury of a storm in my fist. I struck the grassy field and listened out for the tremendous thunderclap!
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
When I stood up, however. There was no more red, no more grass. The machines were all gone. Only fire remained.
More green light then began to descend upon me. More harmless strikes tore up the earth further. The land had become unrecognisable. But I grasped it more so than this strange tingle that precisely travelled about me.
Something I couldn't help but focus on until my hand was seemingly taken control of. The clouds above seemed to be calling for me and the sky darkened as a dark grey, almost black mass rolled in. Fearsome thunder lagged behind the golden lances that now arced across the sky. It all called to me.
As if I could understand it as well as anyone from the village!
So I reached my hand out and stretched my hand out wide, as far as my fingers could part! And I kept it there as the storm above seemed to cheer me on. A single, golden bolt then struck out towards me. But it was so slow.
Almost as if I could just take it into my hands... So I did. Yet it struggled against me despite this inviting sensation it was also giving off. I didn't know what to do so I just smashed it into the ground as if it could tame it.
It only fought back more though, yet, this felt natural somehow. So I did it again, making sure to more firmly lodge it into the ground. But still, it resisted. So once again I slammed it down with all my might. And I stepped back as I clean snap suddenly let out.
"Solid gold?" I questioned, confused by the sight as the things above started to attack with increased ferocity. Some kind of green and red light then shot up high into the sky. But it never came back down. And I reached for the jagged, golden rod.
Growling as I was suddenly presented with an effort I did not expect. Everything had felt so easy up until this point but this rod was heavy! Heavier than anything I could've expected, but, eventually, as my feet dug in. I started to pull it out with a roar.
Somehow, though, a large, two-handed hammer was now in my grip. A solid gold handle shaft that looked as if it had no good spots to grab, yet, felt natural to hold anyway. Rather than a block of wood or bronze as well, the top was just a boulder that I had pulled from below. With veins of pulsating gold throughout.
"I can use a weapon." I remark as my chest swelled with confidence before I brought it back. Lightning crackled off of me and the land shuddered and trembled. I could feel the power swelling up within it. But it quickly overflowed and surged down at me, burning my hand with such heat that I hurriedly reacted.
A quick spin to knock the power out of the hammer. Yet, to my surprise, the earth rose with it as the spin ended. A sudden mountain surged out of the earth and it just kept on rising. Even as it clashed with the thing above it.
Which then went up in a magnificent fireball as I decided to charge. Power then flowed down to my legs as I ran once again. Although the weighty hammerhead trailed behind me, I did not feel slowed down. The mountain felt like nothing more than a brief hill.
And once I arrived at the top, I leapt for the nearest thing and landed on it. But I must've come down on it too hard. Because it was suddenly shuddering and the metal below me was creaking and bending. As if I was some impossibly heavy object.
"Machines!" I let out as flying versions of those red machines that were attacking the village suddenly came upon me. Their speed was almost incomprehensible and their strikes were sudden. But each one felt dulled and forceless. My counterattacks, however, were slow.
And they often escaped my attempts to swat them. Until I seemingly got lucky with an overhead drop that just tore through one of them and carried on into the big thing below. My blunt hammer had carved this thing apart like Bolunch would a boar! Now, however, was not a time to be amazed.
So I pulled the hammer back out and chucked it out towards what appeared to be the centre. And it suddenly vanished as it went straight through this thing on the way down. A powerful explosion then flew upwards into the air. So I knew at the very least that I had not lost the hammer.
Something then suddenly struck me, though. It was like one of the machines from before. Yet, there was something different about it. It did not creak or thud, but rather, it roared at me and it screamed.
It was alive...? This was armour?
"I BANISH YOU BACK TO THE FOUL PLACE YOU CAME FROM!" it roared in some distorted language as it bombarded me with sharp grabs. Knocking the orientation right out of me before he smashed a red light against me.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as great pain suddenly surged from my bare chest where it had struck. And before I could even recover from the great distance it sent me. That thing was back again to strike me with another such blast. Which it then followed up by grabbing my leg.
It treated me like a hammer before the storm above saved me. Giving me that brief, helpful moment to rise to my feet so I could face it. However, that saving grace had caused quite a bit of damage to it. And I saw the signs of something red beneath the cracked armour.
"So you can be hurt..." It let out with a half-normal, half-distorted voice. But I understood not one word that it spoke as it took up a fighting posture.
But maybe it could understand me?
"Why're you attacking my village? We've not caused any harm to any creature beyond the confines of our mountain home!" I explained to it as the strange creature continued to growl and snap.
Whatever it might've understood probably didn't matter. As it was quick once again to attack. And I recoiled from every blow its armoured fists delivered. The hard ridge it had for knuckles buried the force far deeper than expected each time.
Contrary to the skill it attacked me with, my blows were sluggish and unprofessional. There was no talent or know-how behind my swings. And doubt crept into me. How could I protect my home if this power was not enough!?
This thing was weaved past me each time and retaliated with blinding speed. Sometimes even, it would create more of those red lights to strike me down with. All the way until my back was to the mountain. Yet, even as my hands dug into the stone, his power did seemingly nothing to it.
Even the powder I was now holding in my hands was undisturbed. It just flowed out of my hands as I brought my arms up to protect my face and torso. Yet, my gut became easy pickings as a result. And my attempt to guard it left my chin exposed in turn.
"DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" it roared as I felt its right arm suddenly swell with power. And when it hit me, we went flying into the sky as it continued to roar. But the sky roared with greater fury. And as I fell, the lightning chased it off until I crashed into some trees.
A wave of fire accompanied me as I lay motionless on the ground. Exhausted pants escaped my lungs and then my mouth. The power I had been blessed with seemingly vanished as well. Eventually, though, I found the strength to move to my feet and I looked about.
All while the strongest rainstorm I had ever seen in my life poured down. Extinguishing the fires that had worried me so much. But the mist that followed did not help me and I tried to wave it away as something else rumbled about me. And as the power left me, worry came to replace it.
There was just so much smoke. It looked as if it was even able to push back against the rain, which was already potent! Then, as something cracked beneath my foot. I looked down at it.
Frowning at the charred animal that I had trodden on before I started to move. With one hand fanning out the area before me, I tried to find my way back. Stumbling occasionally as my legs found the debris hidden by all the smoke and rain. But this rain was also making a lot of mud.
And I often slipped up into it. Staining my skin black with the burnt soil as I struggled to get up. Even the trees I could grab onto passed on their dark scars. It wasn't long before I was just a walking mess.
"Anyone?" I called out once I finally found some solid, rocky ground. From which I then picked up the pace as the rain seemed to calm down and part. In fact, it lightened up so much that the few drops that did come were enslaved to the breeze. Their erratic paths sometimes went against my face, even.
But there was no one out here, so I kept on walking until I finally saw an outline. There was no way that I couldn't recognise the sight! Bolunch, Maelta and I have gone this way so many times! So I ran with haste before I...
"Where are you all...?" I asked when no one came out running to greet me. To ask for help or to just ask if I was alright. There was no one. Those strange men were gone too.
So I walked towards my home, hoping that I could find my family huddled up somewhere. Yet, I started to worry when I found a partially melted machine stuck against the front door. So with desperate strength, I tore it down. Stepping aside before it sounded out with a wet slap.
"Dad!" I called out, wanting only one thing as I slowly moved behind the counter. The charred wood and burnt walls made it all the clearer. I almost couldn't believe it when I saw only a hand buried amongst the rubble. So I dove down and cleared out the mess.
And I went quiet as I stared down at a pair of hugging bodies. Both were burnt black by fire. All accept for Dad's amulet, which still had a slight shine. Yet my filthy hands threatened to end that.
Silently, I then stood up and walked away. A cold, blank sensation filled me as I looked around some more. But still, there was no one. No crying, no anger or fury...
Just silence.
"Maelta!" I let out as I suddenly ran away from the village. A clear standard has been set for the place. I would find no one alive but I might just be able to find Maelta. Bolunch managed to survive that drop...
So maybe she did too...
I just needed to find that drop, but there was no light anywhere for me to retrace my steps with. Had I taken the light from the thunder-gold? Was that what all that power was? Also, what had happened to Him?
He was gone now too...
"H-Help..." someone then weakly cried.
"MAELTA!?" I shouted in shock as I suddenly ran towards the noise. It strangely sounded so clear to me despite the pain her words clearly carried. How she struggled to say them as well. It baffled but I did not lose myself in it.
"Th-Thurge!?" they let out before they started to cough blood from their spot on the ground.
"I'm sorry..." I told her with a tone that did not match my feelings for the situation. But, in a way, I was thankful for it. How could I really be sorry when I did that to her...? Everyone else had been killed by those machines and I...
"T... Thurge... L-Listen to me... Do not become... Do... Thunder... D-Don't become him. Please!" she begged as she suddenly clutched my tattered top. With more blood bubbling out of her mouth as she did so. And as I tried to pick her up to give it somewhere to flow. I felt the open wound her fall must've caused.
"I don't understand." I tell her, unsure of what she meant by that. Was that power related to it? Did He have any idea?
"P-Please... Don't..." she spat out as she suddenly became interested in the trees around her. It was just a small clearing, though. Was she just scared? I could see quite clearly that she was shivering.
"I'll... I'll try." I tell her anyway, although I did not understand. A sudden lightning bolt punctuated my promise. She did not care, though. She just kept staring at the forest around us.
"To think... To think t-that the grave... That I found... Was mine..." she laughed of all things.
"Maelta..."
"Th-Thurge...?" she let out with a different tone all of a sudden. And I moved her head closer so she did not have to strain her dying voice.
"A-Are my parents okay?" she asked as she looked down in confusion at her wounds. Her smashed up bones and bruised body.
"Y-Yeah..." I lied with a straight, unemotive face as she started to smile.
"G-Good..." she quietly whispered as she suddenly went still. And I did not move at all. I just stared blankly at her. I kept her body up and her face near me before it rained again. Oddly, though, I could only see it hit her face.
.
.
.
"VICEROY! COME IN VICEROY!" the Commodore roared through my armour's comms system as I slowly got up. Having recovered enough to realise where I was. To acknowledge what had just happened...
"Get me... A transport, Commodore." I ordered him with a pain-filled voice as pieces of armour fell off of me. Broken shards of something that should've been nigh-indestructible. But, I suppose that was the issue. It was not indestructible!
There was a greater issue for us all, however. That mountain, it held a threat far greater than any silver bomb the humans had. All this poisoned gold was so insignificant in comparison... A vile and evil champion of the Great Poisoner was there!
Lightning that scoured and seared the world shut of all life. Imposing booms that crushed warships as if they were sticks! Damnation for all of my people should it decide to fight... Should my failure prove grand.
But I had a chance to make things right. I just needed to beseech the Holy of Holies. To request the greatest miracle that they could call upon! Though I was no great warrior, I had to admit, this armour doing most of the work for me...
I had the most experience here. Experience that I would not just be able to discuss with them. I was the one who had thought that creature. That inferno-loved beast!
"We got the Viceroy!" one of the soldiers called back as a transport blasted the ground before it flat. A firm, armoured hand then reached out for me as soldiers disembarked to help me up.
"Go! Go! Go!" one of them barked as I collapsed against a chair. More pieces of armour coming to a clattering stop as the drop shook them loose.
"He's stable." a doctor they had brought with them commented before one of the pilots made sure to notify the Commodore.
"Back off." I demanded from the doctor as I struggled to breathe. And, to my sadness, I tore off the damaged mask that I wore. Only to soon get a respirator shoved against my mouth. And while I could, I kept on looking back at that mountain with worry.
Worry that these men clearly shared as many were unnerved by the wreck we left behind. If they had anything to say, they professionally kept it to themselves. Something else was also made clear by the brief parting sight with that mountain. We were pulling back.
The Commodore was ready to abandon the other two airships... One having been destroyed by a sudden eruption of the earth. While the other suddenly exploded after something had pierced straight through it. And we could all still see that object out there.
A focal point for the foreboding storm that now lingered in this land. Strike after strike of lightning marked out where it was. Even if someone had survived either loss, they would not live in such horrid conditions. Regretful as it might've been, I could see why the choice was made.
But a new kind of fear was now filling me. If that thing ever left that mountain then our race was doomed. The humans had already launched a genocidal campaign against us that we returned with equal measure! But there was nothing that we had that could stand against that thing...
Warships had crumbled and our greatest relics proved to be nothing. Main batteries cut neither flesh nor stone. And although that thing screamed as I unleashed the Lord's power on it. It stayed intact and beat me back with no effort...
The sky had turned on me and beaten me back both times!
"The overland is not safe anymore... Commodore, get me a direct line to my family back in the capital!" I ordered as I suddenly lurched forward. The doctor tried to fight back but some power in the armour remained.
"Viceroy, you need to head to the medical bay!"
"DO AS YOU ARE ORDERED! THIS WAR JUST BECAME FAR MORE THAN WHAT IT ONCE WAS!" I roared with terrible fury. Scaring the troops near me with the last vestiges of my power while the Commodore shirked back slightly.
"Of course, Viceroy." he nodded after a brief moment of quiet.
"And you two, land us in the hanger closest to the bridge! I don't care if you have to ram another transport aside!" I angrily demanded as I forced myself to my feet. Stumbling out of the transport before it had even landed.
"S-Sir!?" one of my Life Guards let out as I stumbled into his arms. But I forced him back and stood on my own two feet. And I stomped the rest of the way despite my injuries. Struggling through the final door before I collapsed into the large chair at the centre of the room.
"W-Where's my line!?" I demanded to know with an angry slam of my fist. Spooking one of the officers as activity began to fill the place.
"Coming up now!" one declared as a screen came out from the ceiling. A hiss signified its stop and I took a moment to catch my breath.
"Big Brother!" my little sister let out happily as she played about with the communicator on her end.
"Liadanann, can you get Mother and Father, please?" I asked of my little sister who had no way of telling what was going on.
"You look tired..." she commented as one of her fingers went near her mouth. She then pulled out one of her play pretend toys and seemingly tried to apply it to me. So, for a moment, I briefly smiled, wishing I could hold her before I had to tell my family this.
"Liadanann, please, can you get them?" I reminded her. Knowing that her age made it easy for her to lose focus in moments like this.
"Okay." she told me before she hopped down from whatever chair she was on. Her little bowl of snacks came with her before she ran right into Father.
"Aneaur, what's wrong?" he asked just as Mother came by to help Liadanann clean up her mess.
"By the... By the power invested in me as the Viceroy of the Glenxe, I authorise all members of your household to partake in the Pit Slumber project. And with the greatest urgency do I order you to head there now!" I snap at him as my body trembled with fear.
"A-Aneaur... What is the meaning of this?" Father demanded to know. The severity of my words drew much attention to my wounds. And vice versa.
"Do as this viceroy commands!" I snap again as I force myself up despite the injuries covering my body.
"But that means we will never see you again!" Mother protested as Liadanann caught on somewhat.
"Where is Big Brother going?" she wanted to know as she became visibly upset.
"Nowhere, my little red beauty, he's going nowhere, right?" Mother told her before her stern gaze looked me directly in the eye.
"Goodbye, I will ensure that troops are dispatched to our household so that you do as you are ordered."
"W-WAI-" Father began to protest before the transmission was forcibly ended by my signal.
"I'll be in my quarters..." I breathed out lowly to the men about me as I slowly stripped myself of what was left of the armour. Awkwardly fumbling about as pain build up in my chest. My wounds hurt very much so, but my spirit ached more now. There was just so much I needed to...
"Viceroy, where to?" the Commodore asked me as he stopped running after me.
"Rarfaeron." I stated, my goals clear as they had ever been since seeing that abomination. One that would surely dominate my nightmares for years to come. A mass of lightning that spelt doom for my people... Apocalypse lay within that mountain.
Only briefly beaten back by me... But possibly awakened by me or by those humans as they ran. They, within their unholy mountain, beseeched their unholy god. And he answered with his terrible wrath.
His roars sounded about us and his venom dripped from the sky with scorching fury...
But none of that existed here within my quarters. And I just collapsed on my bed. A tremble filled my body as blood stained my bedsheets. I was scared, just like everyone else on this airship. But the duty fell on me alone to save our people.
Presumptuous and arrogant, maybe... But it had to be me. If it really was me that created this evil, or provoked it... Then it had to have be me that resolved it.
"I should've just let the Commodore fire!" I angrily let out as fury locked my body up. But there was nothing that I could achieve by thinking on my mistake. I had to go forth to Rarfaeron and beseech his Holiness. I needed to assemble the clergy and create a new weapon.
One that far surpassed even the great potency of my now shattered armour. A relic not exclusive to me, but powerful all the same. It was hard to conceive of it, personally. Something that strong would need so much blessing...
The Lord himself would have to walk among us to grant it!
Yet, it was clear that we would have to fill any price to ensure that the price was met! That damning power in that mountain could not be dealt with by half-measures. It had to be everything we had. Everything we could give.
All of it had to be mounted into our people's greatest work...
A masterwork of the physical crafting arts and faith. But what good would it be if I did not contribute myself? If I was to atone for this great sin that I have committed. It would have to be me that showed the greatest piety.
So I went before my personal shrine and I kneeled, "Dear, Lord-"
.
.
.
"H-HUH!?" I let out with panic as I suddenly spasmed awake. The cold dark ground was under me, however. Not a pool of my blood. Or, someone else's blood...
"You are back." Lightning commented as he snaked around me and looked me deep in the eye.
"B-But I..." I struggled to get out as I realised that I did not win. I had been beaten back and sent over a sudden drop. I had my skull split open and was ready to be found by Undwote...
So why was I here again? Shouldn't I have died...?
"Thank you." Lightning then said, much to my surprise and shock. And I just could not grasp why he bent down as if to bow before me.
"I failed! I failed!" I cried again and again as I realised what this meant for Mother. Lightning's tremendous power would not be mine. The purity of his body would not let me prove my case... Mother was doomed to die one way or another and I would never go home again!
"Failed? No, but first, allow me to help you now." Lightning told me as he suddenly surged into my body.
"EINERVAENE!" roared Brewbrt as he once again shot forward to intercept some kind of spell. But, this time, I didn't disappear. Instead, the world was golden. Everything glowed with what I could only describe as divine light.
"Let loose my power, Master!" Lightning begged as I felt a tug in my arm. One that went away as I raised my hand before me. And, all of a sudden, this great force built up in my arm. With one flick, it all then came out.
The blast that was shot at me became nothing and the crack of thunder travelled further. A tremendous tremor shook the mountain and I felt an aura of heat caress my skin. But the light from the lightning blinded me and I couldn't see anything. So bright, in fact, that I couldn't help but hide my eyes and flinch away until all went quiet.
"Brewbrt...?" I let out with worry, opening my eyes once I no longer felt blinded even with them closed.
"E-Einervaene..." he let out with shock as he awkwardly fell to the ground before me. My newly acquired, awesome power. It had struck him into a state of emotive paralysis.
"Are they gone?" I decided to ask him as my gaze went downwards towards the bright golden glow coming from my hands. For a moment, I could only hear my heavy breathing as relief and joy filled me. Finally!
I had done it!
MY LIGHTNING WAS GOLDEN!
"L-LOOK!" I screamed with delight before I laughed to the heavens as I let loose a barrage of lighting from each finger tip.
"You did it!" he breathed with excitement as he slowly rose to his feet. Only to fall down again as the severity of his injuries made themselves clear.
"Hold on!" I told him as I rushed down to his side. With this new power, there was no way I couldn't heal him! But, to my shock, when I tried to pass on my power to him. I only saw blue sparks.
What? How was this possible?
"My power is yours alone, Master." Lightning reminded me as he suddenly snaked from my body. His long, electric body curled around Brewbrt's floor-bound one as his voice boomed like thunder. A terrifying sound that left my ears in pain.
"He's injured, I need to heal him!" I told him, but Lightning refused and snaked back into my arm.
"Don't worry about me, Einervaene. I'm not as frail as I look!" he jokes as he shudders out some of his pain.
"At least let me take this gold off..." I beg Lightning as I glance at the arm he seemed to be nesting in.
"I'll allow it." he tells me as he suddenly shoots out and latches onto the gold.
"E-Einervaene!?" Brewbrt squeaks as the gold starts to bubble and pop.
"Lightning!" I nearly shout as this looked like it would just exasperate the issue. Yet, it didn't the metal popped and metal and flowed away but not one sign of pain came from Brewbrt.
"Thank you..." Brewbrt added on as he slowly nodded. Not all of the gold was gone, though. A very thin layer remained on the armour he had on. Almost as if it was painted on.
"I-I'm so sorry! I'll fix this!" I tell him as I try to get Lightning to remove the rest of it. But he only raised his hand and patted my shoulder. A smile on his face as he moved his leg about.
"This is a reminder and a memory I won't mind keeping!" he exclaims as I help him to his feet. A relaxed expression then overtakes him before he suddenly takes the sabatons off. His soon barefoot then flexed and stretched in the open air. Exclamations of joy drowning out all other sounds before I found my eyes occupied.
"The village, it's..." I say as I stare out at the seemingly undamaged village. There were no more ruins anymore. Only well-looked-after houses and businesses. But it was all still empty.
No one was here...
"Now, to explain how you succeeded." Lightning spoke from my arm as an urge began to fill me. One that left me wanting to walk in a specific direction. As if I had been given directions.
"Hold on!" Brewbrt complained as he quickly put his clothes and armour back on to chase after me.
"It feels weird to walk these paths." I tell him, even if it did not mean much to him.
"I can only guess you've been on quite the adventure, Einervaene." he said, a smile on his face as he looked out at the mistless forest.
A difference which made me snap in a way, "Nothing strange has happened, right?"
"Outside of those things coming out of nowhere, no, why?" he asked me as I looked out at the machineless forest.
"Does that include when Thunder pulled us out of that forest with all those mangled machines?"
"Who's Thunder?" he asked, confused by what I was talking about.
"Our guid-... No, never mind. Ignore me." I tell him with a sigh as I just accept what has happened. Whatever I did back then has clearly changed a lot about this place. But what did I do...?
I thought it would've all been the same largely if Brewbrt still had a foot trapped in thunder-gold...
"Ah, you two. Did you find what you were looking for?" an old man asked as he slowly came out of a gap in some trees. But, despite the clearly ancient visage of this man, I felt like I recognised him. But from where did I recognise him...?
I couldn't quite put my finger on it...
"Wait, that amulet!" I say as I notice the piece of jewellery hanging from his neck.
"Yes, my Dad made it for me a long time ago."
"Th-Thurge!?" I exclaimed as I started to see some similarities.
"That is the name I was given by Thurnmourer at his anvil." he explains with a smile as Brewbrt moves ahead slightly.
"Yes, well, thank you very much, Thurge. But, we'll have to be on our way now."
"Okay! It's been nice seeing you two, I hope you go back with what you wanted!" he happily tells us as his wrinkled, but muscular hand takes Brewbrt's for a firm shake. And when he turned to me, he smiled even more.
"Thank you?" I told him, not sure how to react to meeting someone who should be dead... No?
"Hello again, old friend." he croaked as he gently held my left arm. From which the lightning that sparked across it then leapt onto him. And he laughed gently before it stopped.
"So, uh, see you around, I suppose?" I tell him as I slowly move away. Stopping once I spot a familiar spot. And once more, a grave stood there. Once again, it was decorated with hundreds of amulets and other things.
"It's nice to finally meet you again, Maelta, if that name means anything to you now." Thurge whispered to me as his hand stopped me from moving.
"I am sorry..." I tell him before he shook his head at me.
"No, there was no way I could've saved her, or any of them," he comments remorsefully, "But thanks to you, I can honour them all. Preserve their memory."
And I smile back at him, awkwardly laughing as a blush came "You're welcome."
But before I left, I made a point of going to the grave. And I slowly looked at each of the amulets. Trying to remember who it might've belonged to by either remembering their face or name. Until I stopped when I saw Torque's one.
He had shown me that in the brief time I was there and explained it all to me...
"Sorry for any trouble I caused you." I told them, somehow hoping they could hear me before I left. But, I looked back when I started to hear laughter and other noises. Nothing was going on, though. So I turned once again, only to repeat it.
It was only when I reached the very far edge of the forest that I finally caught something. Ghostly images were travelling about in the village. Yet Thurge remained at the grave. A smile was still on his face as he waved as we departed.
"I still don't get it... How did I succeed?" I asked Lightning as we walked down the path. My staff tapped against the rocky incline as we got closer to the bottom. Then, we travelled the tunnel I once saw being loaded with what I now know were explosives.
"You made him promise something, and that promise stayed with him for all time." Lightning answered with a satisfied rumble before he went quiet. And when we stepped out into the open. I was amazed by how calm the sky was. There was no perfect storm guarding this mountain.
The skies were clear and calm. It felt safe to travel here, in fact. But the Bubbling Sea remained. Although, that was calmer too.
And it looked like it was, for lack of a better word, freezing over. Waves were slowly coming to a still and bubbles refused to pop. It was calm and tranquil, like an undisturbed lake. But I still had some weariness in regards to travelling it again.
"I think we should be fine flying over it this time." Brewbrt says back to me as he walks down some steps. A heavy thud accompanied each sudden drop he went through.
"Is it?" I relayed to Lightning who gave what seemed to be a purr of approval.
"Well, alright!" I let out as I reached out for a cloud I saw in the distance. Smiling as I slowly watched my body convert into golden lightning before I shot up straight into the sky. And although I did not feel faster or any different right now. I was ecstatic and the golden trails I left behind me.
Me, of all people, leaving behind golden trails of lightning as I flew! Even my laughter sounded out as if I was thunder itself! As if my body had become a storm personified! More so than before, anyway!
I was happy and joyful and nothing would change that! But all this galavanting had to come to an end. So I landed right next to our camp. Which, interestingly enough, was in the same spot.
Only this time, it lacked the signs of that storm from before. Where we had to set up a camp purely because it was too dangerous to travel. But none of the signs were here now... So what was going on?
"Do not worry for the similarities, the world you left is still the same."
"R-Right..." I let out as both relief and disappointment filled me. I was glad that it was all still familiar. But that meant all of the painful experiences I had felt up until now were still out there. I still left behind my friends.
Nin was still chasing that murderer...
"So! Where to now?" Brewbrt asked with a smile as his mess-inducing landing kicked up quite a disturbance. And, with a frown, I wiped some of the dirt off of my face. Simply burning the rest off with my new power that I was quite enjoying. Yet, I felt as if I had to temper this kind of behaviour...
I had it only for one purpose, and that was to save Mother! But what would happen once the trials ended? When the courts disbanded? When the rumours ended?
Would Lightning leave me and with that it would all start over...? No, I would deal with that when it came, not now.
"Home, we head... Home." I answered slowly and ponderously as I took in its meaning. I would finally be going home! I would see all of it again! After so many years!
I just... I just couldn't keep it together! I was so happy right now! Even with all the problems I left behind here!
I was going to go home! I was finally going home!
"Einervaene?" Brewbrt questioned with a smile as he walked past me. Seemingly to avoid the light going into his face.
"I-I'm fine!" I tell him as I smile widely with a brightness that matched the orbital-halo itself!