Three years before the awakening of James Island

Tallas stood motionless, surrounded by the dense jungle. He’d slowed his breathing so he wouldn’t make any sounds, which emphasised the quiet buzz of insects in the air, but couldn’t help his heart thudding in his chest as he surveyed the darkening foliage and dim shadows all around him. He was sure he could sense the footfalls of what could be several people, somewhere out there. The dwindling embers of their cooking fire smouldered, leaving a wispy smoke that could give away his position.

After a long silence, he told himself he was just being paranoid. There hadn’t been another person on this island in the entire time he’d been there. Lirri had said it wasn’t large enough to be marked on the maps of the planet, and no shipping routes went nearby.

Perhaps a large predator—or several of them—had been passing through. Tallas had certainly come across some large and feral beasts, although he wouldn’t consider the island a dangerous place. Not for him or Lirri, anyway.

Just as he began to turn, thinking of going to find the monk and check on her anyway, explosive bursts of gunfire tore through the jungle and thudded into the trees and mud. He leaped up instinctively, disappearing into the thick canopy. Gunfire continued to rip into their bags of supplies and shatter the logs and trunks that had once been a campsite. Tallas recognised them as the explosive shells that some military organisations used, which were less common and more destructive than the energy expending rifles.

The blasts aimed upwards to try and follow him, but he leaped from branch to branch and soon cleared a good distance from where he thought the guns were coming from. He came to a stop and listened out for movement, but only the buzz of indifferent jungle life surrounded him once again, accompanied by his pounding heart.

Lirri must have heard the gunshots. Maybe she was looking for Tallas, if she wasn’t engaged in battle with whoever the riflemen were. Tallas had to find her.

The sounds of crunching leaves and clinking armour carried in the air. Farther away, Tallas saw two men slowly stepping through the jungle with rifles raised. Their silver and blue chrome armour and dark visored helms were instantly recognisable. He had seen Sacre soldiers many times in his dealings with the organisation. What they were doing here, trying to kill him, he couldn’t say.

An electronic voice came through a radio within their helmets, but Tallas was too far away to hear. He swiftly leaped to a branch which brought him almost directly above them, allowing him to hear the radio voice forty feet below.

“Keep eyes above and below. He’s here somewhere.”

One of the soldiers looked up, his rifle moving with him, and happened to immediately spot Tallas. Gunfire shot up and zipped by Tallas, shattering nearby branches and sending a flurry of broken leaves in the air. With a jolt, he tensed and jumped up while throwing his arms down. His surge of adrenaline and instinct released a brilliant blast of Spirit Magic which thundered towards the riflemen as he rocketed upwards. The discharge decimated both soldiers, collapsing several trees and leaving trails of white flames on the shaking foliage.

Tallas cleared the trees and came out into the evening sky. The horizon was smeared with reds and purples, with several stars showing in the gaps of bulging dark clouds overhead. He summoned a disc of light and stopped in the air, standing and considering his next move. The air was cold against his sweaty, bare torso which had bubbled with sweat.

He guessed that Sacre had been looking for him since the failed experiment. Maybe they’d discovered there had been survivors. Across the beach behind him, an explosion of Spirit Magic highlighted against the trees and rumbled across the island. Lirri. The soldiers must have found her.

Tallas bent to jump off the disc of light, but instead flailed in the air as he began to fall, remembering he hadn’t learned how to Spirit Jump. He had no choice but to land on the nearest treetop. His next jump sent him soaring over the treetops before he landed and jumped again. The wind was bitter and fierce against him now, causing him to shudder. Tallas knew he should’ve been able to reach the beach in one jump, but his nerves and fears were causing him to tremble, seeping into his muscles. He just hoped he would reach Lirri before it was too late. She was already injured from their training earlier.

He thought of the last time he’d seen her and that lingering look she’d given him. He wanted to know what it meant.

Gunfire rang in the air as Tallas landed on a branch that shattered under him. Suddenly he was falling; tumbling through branches which cracked his back and head as he fell. He hit the muddy ground hard, head spinning with pain and dizziness.

With a heavy grunt through gritted teeth, Tallas forced himself up, trying to ignore the pain lancing through him. Several soldiers were jogging between the trees, approaching him with rifles drawn. As they opened fire, Tallas dove to the side and threw out a wave of light which tore through the trees and struck the guards with a burst of white fire. Trees fell and rained down leaves and twigs. He still hadn’t learned to fully control his power levels when expelling Spirit Magic, and now certainly wasn’t the time for restraint.

Not sparing a look back, Tallas began racing towards the beach where the rumbles of gunfire could be heard. Bullets thudded into trees and exploded at his feet as he passed; one shot zipped by his head, almost grazing his ear. His mind was a mess of chaotic thoughts, fearing the worst for Lirri.

The dark shore could be seen through the trees ahead now, but something above caught his attention. A large object shook the trees, thundering across the darkening sky. A large ship. Its fiery exhausts highlighted the trees above and sent shafts of light angling through the jungle. The ship was heading to the beach.

Tallas’s heart pounded even harder as he ran. Who knew how many soldiers Sacre had sent for them? There was only so much he and Lirri could do. Sparse patters of rain began to rhythmically tap all around the jungle, which soon increased to a heavy downpour that soaked the muddy earth and sent streams of water falling from above.

He came out onto the wind-swept and rain-sodden beach to see dozens of armed soldiers, their wet armour glinting in the dim evening light. More soldiers were disembarking from an airship docked farther down the beach. The second ship came down to land closer, throwing up clouds of sand and grit. Tallas couldn’t help but freeze with the firm grip of terror at the sight of so many armed soldiers.

Lirri was there, blocking gunshots with discs of light as she jumped between the soldiers, kicking and throwing punches before diving away to block more shots. The monk was a blur of motion and light, her robes wavering in her wake; but there were so many soldiers that Tallas knew she wouldn’t last long against them.

Several soldiers rushing out of the nearest ship began firing at Tallas, but they were the least of his concern. He flung himself into the air, cutting through the heavy rain, and landed amidst Lirri and her enemies.

Tallas spun as he landed and kicked one soldier away, before pushing off the sand with his hands and spiralling away from gunshots to kick two soldiers in succession, knocking them to the ground. He allowed the Spirit energy coursing through him to fuel his actions and guide his reactions. Attacking these group of armed soldiers was nothing like his gruelling physical training with Lirri had been, but Tallas couldn’t afford to doubt himself under such circumstances. If only he could use their rifles against them; but he knew the weapons were locked to the soldier’s armour. He just needed to get Lirri and himself away to safety. But… they were on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. Perhaps Tallas could commandeer one of the ships.

Flashes of Spirit Magic lit up the night sky as Tallas and Lirri fought the soldiers back, blocking shots and flipping through the air. Several of their opponents had drawn swords and staffs for the close-proximity combat. Two large groups of soldiers were charging towards them from the farthest ship, along with many more coming out from the jungle. Electric bolts cut through the air from several high-powered energy rifles, exploding on the beach in showers of sand and grit. Each shockwave jarred Tallas, causing him to stumble and take a few staff hits. The magical blasts and flashes of gunfire highlighted the sheets of rain thundering over the dark beach.

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Tallas fumbled on the wet, muggy sand and almost caught a sword across the chest, before he backflipped and threw out a sphere of Spirit Magic that pummelled a soldier, enveloping his slick armour in white flames. A staff slammed into the back of Tallas’s head and dropped him to the ground. He rolled away from more attacks and collected himself enough to keep attacking, despite the sharp, stinging sensation on his head.

Lirri was now somehow across the beach from Tallas, blocking shots from her own group of soldiers. The monk seemed to have twice as many soldiers targeting her; at least thirty from what Tallas could see. Lirri was a spinning blur of white discs that blocked shots, but it was only a matter of time before one got through her defences. Tallas knew they needed to stay close together, but had let the fight get away from him. They’d knocked down many soldiers but there were still a great deal more on the beach, and their attacks had mostly become defensive blocks and dodges against the onslaught.

Faltering with fatigue, Tallas dropped to the sand as a staff cracked against his back. He pushed himself away but was too slow to avoid a sword slicing into his arm. Crying out, he grit his teeth and willed the Spirit energy to flow through him, giving everything he had left in him. With a powerful jump away, he unleashed a wave of white light that blew out in a ring beneath him and threw several guards back. It wasn’t a strong enough energy to harm them, but gave Tallas a moment to focus on the soldiers with Lirri.

As he soared through the rain-soaked air, he focused his descent on Lirri and ignored the gunshots zipping by him.

The monk had her hood drawn back, which showed her exhausted and pained features. In the air, Tallas could only watch as a bolt of green energy shot across the beach and struck Lirri. Spirals of crippling energy stunned her instantly, dropping her to the sand like a rigid statue.

Tallas wrapped his legs around the head of one soldier as he fell, flipped in the air, and threw him into another soldier. A quick dive to the side avoided a bombardment of explosive shots, which were now mixed with the fizzing energy of electric bolts that burned the sand. Tallas somersaulted over a soldier and kicked off his back, throwing himself into the air towards Lirri’s downed form.

Something whizzed through the air towards Tallas, and it wasn’t until the blinding, powerful explosion sent him spiralling away that he realised he’d been struck with an explosive shot. The dark world spun as his vision blurred. He hit the shoreline and rolled into the crashing waves, barely with a sense of his surroundings. His entire body burned and ached with a crippling force that took his breath.

He expected a bombardment of shots now that he was downed, but no attacks came. He pushed himself up on weakened arms and stood with the water washing over his ankles. The rain felt like piercing stabs on his scorched chest, which was charred and heavily leaking blood.

The soldiers were retreating; rushing back to the transport ships. Lirri was being held by two soldiers who were carrying her onto the farthest ship. The whirring of engines coming to life carried in the air. It was then that Tallas noticed a third ship powering on, closer on his right side. They all looked to be passenger ships, rather than fighter craft; a squared and bulky design with engines on the underside of long wings. The nearest ship looked to be taking off first.

Trying his best to ignore the pain and exhausting coursing through him, Tallas sprinted to the nearest ship, balling his fists and channelling his Spirit Magic. He leapt into the air and landed on top of the ship as it ascended into the air. As he’d anticipated from its orientation, the ship was heading back the way the others had come from. That would bring it over the ship Lirri was on, which was beginning to rise amidst a cloud of swirling sand.

Why hadn’t the soldiers finished Tallas off? They must’ve been after the Red Monk this entire time.

As if realising Tallas’s intentions, the ship under him began to veer to the side, away from Lirri’s ship. The third ship was already in the air, farthest at the end of the beach. Tallas channelled his Spirit down through his body into his feet, causing the ship’s hull to vibrate. A cry of exasperation left him as he launched himself into the air, expelling a detonation of Spirit Magic that cracked the ship beneath him and engulfed it in white flames.

Tallas soared high up into the dark sky but the ship holding Lirri was ascending too fast for him to reach it. As he reached the apex of his jump, he cursed and howled his frustration into the torrential rain, helpless to cover the distance to the ship. Lirri would be taken from him, and all because Tallas couldn’t stop them.

The other ship was circling around to aim towards to Tallas. Summoning white discs at his feet, he paused in the air. His limbs ached and chest throbbed with a burning agony, but he had to do something. He wanted to hurt as many of these soldiers as he could, to send a message to Sacre that they shouldn’t have come to the island. Lirri’s ship was getting farther away, but the other ship was on a course directly towards Tallas. He wondered if they meant to ram him in the air, or if they were all now indifferent to his efforts.

Tallas gathered his hands together and built up a sphere of Spirit Magic, like he had done several hours earlier during his sparring with Lirri. But now, everything was different. He was charging an attack to do as much harm as he could. The blood pouring from his charred chest was washing away with the rain and seeping into his trousers. The back of his head stung; his skull was possibly cracked and every part of him burned with exhaustion. But he would be sure to take down one more ship if it was the last thing he did.

Throwing his palms in front of him, Tallas cried out and released a thundering beam of white light which tore right through a portion of the approaching ship. It was a greater power than anything Tallas had summoned before; one that shocked even him. The pulsing energy ripped through the hull and initiated a powerful explosion of fire and light, and continued to stream into the night sky for miles. The force threw Tallas back and sent him spiralling towards the beach. Large chunks of the ship flew into the air in all directions.

As Tallas landed on the beach, he looked up in horror as a fiery chunk of debris collided with Lirri’s ascending ship. Her ship jolted and teetered wildly in the air while the flaming wreck of the other ship plummeted onto the beach.

Several explosions erupted from Lirri’s ship, ending in one final, decisive eruption that tore the ship apart. The sky became alive with flames and metal.

“No!” Tallas screamed, collapsing to his knees.

Watching the fiery wreck of the ship fall through the dark sky and plunge into the water, it dawned on Tallas that he was now alone on the beach. It was just him. with possibly hundreds of dead bodies all around him. As if to show him how truly alone and unwanted he was, the rain began to dissipate and eventually end, which caused his wounded chest to burn even more.

Feeling like he wasn’t fully in control of his actions–unable to think too clearly about anything–Tallas ran towards the wreckage in the water. He had to see Lirri was truly gone for himself. There was no way anyone could have survived such an explosion, but if anyone could, it was Lirri. If there was a chance that she’d survived, and went on to drown because Tallas had not searched for her… the possibility would eat away at Tallas for the rest of his life.

He waded into the water and searched through the floating bodies and flaming debris. He dove under when the depth grew too large, but couldn’t see a thing in the dark water. It was risky, given how exhausted and in pain he was, but he summoned an orb of Spirit in his fist and used the light to see under the water. He needed his strength to keep his breath held, and maintaining the orb would take the last remaining ounce of energy from him. He searched the dark waters for what felt like an eternity, diving under at times and checking indiscernible floating shapes that could have been Lirri.

It wasn’t until a part of Tallas considered giving up that he looked back at the shore and saw the red robes against the crashing waves. The dark form of Lirri was moving back and forth along the undulating shoreline.

Tallas swam and then waded through the water, too fatigued to jump the rest of the way. He scrambled towards Lirri and dropped beside her, rolling her over to face him. The heavy waves washed over them as the monk groaned and struggled to open her eyes. She was alive; but barely.

Lips quivering, Tallas tried to speak, but didn’t know what to say. He could see the life force seeping from Lirri with every passing second. Seeing his mentor so wounded–the woman who had ushered him into his new life–caused Tallas’s face to twist with grief.

When Lirri’s dark, glazed eyes found Tallas, her features hardened with immense strain. She looked to be trying to speak, but instead coughed and sputtered.

Tallas found his voice. “W-what can I do?”

The monk grimaced. Her lips moved and she finally managed to speak, though both her voices was strained and distant. “F-F…. Find…” a coughing spasm stopped her words.

“Find?” Tallas urged, holding Lirri closer.

It took her a moment to focus on Tallas again. “Find… Menas.”

A fierce chill ran through Tallas as he helplessly watched her head sag and her eyes slowly close. A low sigh left Lirri’s lips with her final breath.

Grief twisted Tallas’s insides and heated his face. He burst into heavy sobs, tears streaming his cheeks as he held Lirri’s limp torso against him. This marked the end of the last of the Red Monks; the end of the greatest being Tallas had ever known. And it was all his fault.

A growing anger spiked his adrenaline and caused him to tremble with unrestrained sorrow. It took him a moment to realise the beach had lightened around them. Then he saw, through watery eyes, the source of the light was coming from himself. A soft white glow had surrounded him, thrumming with a quiet force. Tallas could only describe it as Spirit Magic leaking from him, but he’d never experienced anything like it. His first instinct was to ask Lirri for an explanation; then he burst into fresh tears.

There was nothing more Tallas could do. He was truly alone now.

He remained on the shoreline with Lirri’s lifeless body, under the stars of an unfamiliar planet. He vowed to himself that somewhere within those stars–out there in the galaxy–he would find a way to make Sacre pay. He would cripple an empire; if it was the last thing he did.