Remnant Pages Spearhead

by J. B. Kleynhans

  Olexion in the meanwhile had grown worried about Lidayel, as the mage had taken to an increasingly brooding mood since healing Cid, not speaking more than a few words at a time. Olexion had his suspicions, mainly wondering whether fighting the corruption in Cid’s mind had influenced Lidayel somehow.

  Cid woke…

  …and twitched as he struggled to sit upright. He wanted to reach out and kill unseen enemies, phantoms who had no face or origin. But something has changed, his clearing consciousness confused at the urge of impulses.

  ‘Easy now,’ he heard a female voice, as delicate hands pressed down on his chest. Thereafter came a host of other sensations, convincing him he was lying on a soft bed. Cid thought himself delusional, figuring his mind was trying to protect him by dreaming of a place he would like to be more than anywhere else in the world.

  ‘Cid…?’ queried Elmira.

  It can’t be…

  ‘Cid, are you awake?’

  He pried his eyes open, the fog lifting. Hovering above him was Elmira, her face a mask of concern. They seemed to be in a stone house, which made no sense and made Cid wonder again if he was dreaming.

  ‘You’re here…’ breathed Cid, reaching up to touch her face.

  ‘I am,’ said Elmira her countenance lightening up as the man she loved woke up from a fate worse than death.

  ‘Help me sit upright,’ he urged.

  Elmira did so, but Cid soon felt himself go limp, his body cramping, and took to laying down again. Elmira ran her fingers down his chest where his muscles used to be strong.

  ‘You got so thin,’ said Elmira worryingly, ‘the moment I get you home I’m going to prepare meals for you non-stop for a week.’

  Cid struggled to laugh, chuckling hoarsely. ‘I would like that very much, we’ve been on the run for days on end and I haven’t had a proper sit down meal since Taverka.’

  Despite the pain and discomfort Cid found a feverish happiness at Elmira’s presence. He did not know how she got here, or even where they were, but as always his moments with her transcended the worries of war.

  ‘Then I’m dragging you to a barber, you look ridiculous with this,’ said Elmira pointing to his beard.

  ‘And I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as dirty as you are now,’ retorted Cid with a smile.

  It was a truth not worth debating about, but even so Elmira was taken aback.

  ‘I came here for you, and save you, and you tell me I’m… I’m filthy,’ scorned Elmira.

  ‘You’re still very pretty,’ said Cid, smoothing over.

  Elmira narrowed her eyes.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked.

  ‘Smile for me,’ interjected Cid.

  ‘Cid I-’

  ‘Just smile.’

  She couldn’t help it, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile, but there was a weariness to her face otherwise.

  ‘There, now I’m much better,’ said Cid

  Elmira wasn’t all that interested in Cid’s antics; she couldn’t pretend that nothing happened and that they were just supposed to forget about it all. She laid her head down on his chest.

  ‘I was so afraid I’d lost you,’ she said softly, pinching back a well of emotion that had haunted her.

  ‘Do you want to cry a little?’ asked Cid softly, almost feeling her distress.

  Elmira nodded, soon sobbing. Weakly Cid raised his arm, cradling the woman. ‘I am sorry… so sorry you had to go through this. I’m sorry that me being a soldier is dragging you into this mess.’

  ‘Fool, I dragged myself into this,’ said Elmira

  Cid watched her face, lazy tears coming from her closed eyes.

  ‘Are you still determined to marry me?’ he asked.

  Elmira sat bolt upright again, ‘look,’ she said, showing Cid the ring on her finger. Elmira knew she had to tell Cid about her arrangement with Fredrere at some stage or another, right now however she could not find the courage.

  Cid formed a lingering smile, taking her hand. ‘If you have any doubt on the matter then I’m saying this; I’m in this war for you, I’m out here to win your hand, nothing else,’ he said.

  Elmira laughed weakly.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Cid.

  ‘I just thought, well… seems you and Brunick are slipping, you know, me having to come and save you and all.’

  Cid chuckled, his body reacting with a fit of weakness and pain again.

  Elmira noticed. ‘Rest now soldier, I’ll be here when you wake up again.’

  She barely finished her sentence when Cid fell into slumber, the man still not sure whether he had just been dreaming or not.

  Later that day.

  Olexion and the men scouted the skies and came to land at Oldeloft’s hold again. They were grave to say the least. The water in the Basin did not hold long under an unperturbed sun, its heat already burning away the vain attempt of the moss to flourish in the wet. They were not alone in noticing this, as both of the armies were on the move again, drawing ever closer to each other.

  ‘Sir, should we not make contact with Lanston’s command? To try and stop them?’ asked Parvel.

  ‘I would like to, but Stelinger is fully aware of what he is doing. I don’t know how he will respond to us.’

  ‘Certainly he wouldn’t attack us Rangers?’ stated Troas.

  ‘I’m not sure on that, he’s already sealed his fate within the Kingdom, and remember; he wants Lanston to be crushed. If we try and interfere he’ll have his way with us.’

  ‘So do we leave Lanston to their fate?’ asked Valan.

  ‘No, we will not abandon these soldiers to Stelinger’s treachery. Tomorrow when the armies make contact, we will assist - by then Stelinger would have left the army proximity. And…’ Olexion’s voice trailed, looking over to Oldeloft.

  ‘What is it sir?’

  ‘I pray that Cid makes a full recovery by then. If he can take command and we can attack from the skies… and with the help of Vanapha… and the Summoner. We’ll have a chance then.’

  There was silence for a moment as each of the Rangers pondered, until one of them mumbled, his gaze fixed to something down in the Basin.

  ‘Sir, what do you suppose the Summoner is doing?’ asked Troas.

  Olexion took his eyes from the north and looked into the Basin again. This time a figure was slowly walking through the water, unhurried and in tune with the valley’s temporary peace, yet the act itself was greatly worrying. He was already halfway to what could be called the centre.

  ‘That’s Lidayel,’ said Olexion, as though he had to convince himself.

  Olexion could have come off as paranoid, but he’d spent enough time with Summoners to know that being made to forget could result in dire consequences. And now, from what he’d suspected before, he had no doubt that Lidayel had slipped.

  Yet the First Ranger stood, staring at the Summoner, as though he was sure that this couldn’t be happening. Not something like this. Not now.

  Down below Lidayel raised his arms, spreading them. Olexion’s fear came to life.

  Cid and Elmira were talking in Oldeloft, sitting on the bed. Elmira had taken time to explain her situation with Fredrere. She came to realize that Cid was holding back, his face a taut mask hiding rage and shock.

  Elmira thought quickly and rather dived into another important topic; the entirety of that which she and Olexion had discussed in Lanston. Somehow Elmira was the last person Cid ever expected to share Bennam’s conspiracy with. It bothered him, and after some thought he realized that he wanted Elmira far away from these matters, completely separated from the life Cid would sometimes be occupied with. He nonetheless listened intently, unsurprised to find no flaw in her logic or understanding. He had always appreciated her of his world.

  The story itself was one surprise after the other, Cid somewhat in disbelieve that Bennam could have gone to such lengths. Afterwards Cid was turning the Alder stone over in his hands.

  ‘We’re supposed to give t
his to Lidayel?’

  Elmira nodded. ‘Olexion seems to think so.’

  ‘All his memories, in this jewel? Unbelievable. His entire life held in a stone…Bennam, what on earth were you up to?’ said Cid to the air. ‘Why did you keep me in the dark?’

  ‘He knows you like I do,’ suggested Elmira, ‘if he warned you prematurely you would not have been able to keep face in front of Stelinger. Besides, he was being watched by Piatil, I never trusted that little man.’

  Cid grunted.

  ‘Whatever it was, I would think Bennam had our best interests-’

  ‘How can you say that!?’ said Cid angrily, frustration finally surfacing.

  Elmira blinked in surprise.

  ‘He made Stelinger Commander! He sanctioned a war we are now likely to lose! He manipulated you, me, Vanapha and Lidayel!’ said Cid.

  ‘Don’t shout at me Cid!’ said Elmira.

  ‘I-’

  ‘Remember, whatever Bennam was doing, whatever he was planning, it haunted him so much, and was so important that he willingly died to set up all of this. Who knows Cid, maybe he knew something, for all we know he might’ve been trying to save the Kingdom. And do you know what? I visited Rebecca when the news came to Lanston that he was dead. Do you know what she said?’

  Cid gaped, Elmira not giving him chance.

  ‘She admitted to me that Bennam considered you as a son, that you were an idea of what he was trying to achieve with the army. As it is Rebecca told me that they were preoccupied with our happiness Cid, that she was dealing with Bennam’s death by hoping for the best for us!’ she said, turning her head away.

  ‘Elmira, I’m… I’m sor-’

  Cid never got to his apology. The room door burst open, Alex and Brunick crossing the threshold like conjoined twins.

  ‘Cid! If you can get up I’d suggest you come quick,’ Brunick managed to say first. Cid and Elmira found their feet, Cid doing so tentatively. A telltale on Brunick’s face worried Cid, motioning that it either got to do with heights or…

  ‘What is it!?’

  ‘It’s Lidayel, he‘s down in the Basin. I dunno what the hell he thinks he’s doing but it sure isn’t looking good!’

  Cid gave the stone back to Elmira, while she pleaded with him to consider his condition. He escaped her warning and without a further word Cid ran from the building, knowing he would have to see for himself. He was barely outside when the shockwave hit the mountain, fine dirt dancing as it made obscene waves across the landscape.

  They stopped in their tracks, Cid shooting a questioning look at Brunick.

  ‘That’s Lidayel all right.’

  ‘See if you can get hold of Vanapha, we might need her. I’ll go down and ask him what’s going on. He might’ve lost control of his power like he feared.’

  ‘Be careful Cid,’ grumbled Brunick, turning and charging uphill after Alex to find Vanapha.

  Vanapha bounded gracefully to the next rock, a satchel tied across her shoulder and rested on her hip, her bow left at Oldeloft. Even above Oldeloft Mount Hashur kept its rounded nature, creating natural scaffoldings and walkways of rock. Up here they were actually a bit narrow for human use, but Vanapha was no stranger to treacherous elevations, the golden wastes of Rade’Remar having similar projections.

  The grey lizard scrambled at the impact of Vanapha’s boots, vanishing into the many cavities of the rock constellations. She had seen a few of the creatures by now, but only one of them was mature enough to have the fire scales. Without it they looked quite normal, their scales uniformly flat and grey.

  The ones that did catch the sun were bright and bloated, their scales appearing as yellow studs randomly placed among the grey ones.

  Frustrated at the chase Vanapha realized they were smaller here than on Rade’Remar. A difference in diet maybe?

  To the point it would have been easier to shot one of them and poach the scales. Vanapha knew though that they were already hunted all over the world for their alchemical uses and thinning their numbers unnecessarily wasn’t something she was going to take up for convenience sake.

  She would have her way though, for the creatures had an odd way of being reckless, which is maybe why they stayed up here where the eagles could catch them in the first place. Even after Vanapha had frightened them, some of the lizards came back to the surface, planting themselves on a flat table of rock to catch the sun.

  Vanapha made a full revolution around the base of the peak, seeing her friends of only a moment ago reappearing. One of them, seemingly somewhat larger than the others, was already studded with bright yellow. It would not stay long until it was satisfied it had enough sun for days to come.

  Watching them crawling tentatively to get a better spot, Vanapha hunkered down in silence, allowing them a false sense of safety.

  Finding the moment had come she approached quietly for the next few steps and then burst into a run, leaping again and clearing the gap. Her thudding boots stirred a panic once more, but this time they did not find their way fast enough.

  Ignoring the pale ones underfoot Vanapha grabbed her prey by the tail. Hissing and twitching she brought it up, holding it far out so that she could avoid that bite. Taking her knife from the pouch she waited for the creature to surrender and stop its spasms. The flailing exhausted it eventually and Vanapha, as gently as she could, slid the knife in underneath the bloated scales, prying them loose.

  The creature slowed down to a periodical hiss, almost as though to remind Vanapha that it was being defiant. She knew it hardly felt the knife, probably more pissed off than anything for losing its efforts of spending a day in the sun.

  Seven scales she pried loose, letting them drop at her feet. Satisfied, Vanapha swung the lizard slightly, wary of its bite, and let it go, allowing it to fall harmlessly onto the dust trails circumventing the rocks. On its own feet again the lizard scurried for its tiny cave, hissing furiously.

  Smiling, Vanapha picked up the scales, putting them into the satchel. They were hot to the touch, but not enough to inflict any harm. The scales isolated from the lizard’s body looked fragile as they appeared as nothing but a thin membrane enclosed on a swirling globule of fire trying to escape, like a translucent peach seed glowing from the inside. Using her Insight she focused on the encapsulated flame, its slow churning hypnotizing as she blocked out every other sense.

  A tremor hit the mountain, the sudden disturbance enough to scare all the lizards into hiding. Vanapha almost lost her footing, her Sights instinctively peering into all directions. She frowned as she saw a man down in the Basin, the water up to his waist. A moment later she saw Alex and Brunick waving at her some way down. Alerted, she started to make her way down, sure that she would have to get her bow from Oldeloft.

  Chapter 46

  Calamity

  Whatever restraint or limitation Lidayel might’ve had before it was all gone now. He was standing with his arms spread over his head, his fingers and hands the epicentre of a great aura of light. He was bathed in a sphere of steam and a halo of fire revolved above him, circling itself like a giant serpent. At his command the earth rocked, sending tremors far beyond both Jacanta to the north and the narrows to the south. This was why Summoners were feared, why they were hated enough to inspire hunts, persecution and murder.

  Cid was wading toward him, the growing heat of the water putting a scare into the Colonel. As the distance closed an angry wind became known to Cid, strong enough to halt him.

  ‘Lidayel! What are you doing!?’ shouted Cid over the howl of the wind.

  Cid was sure the Summoner could not hear him, but to his surprise Lidayel removed his stare from the heavens and locked it onto Cid’s.

  There was madness about him, it was clear enough to see. He didn’t respond to Cid, his face tight, his eyes raging.

  ‘Lidayel have you lost your mind!?’ Cid yelled at top of the lungs.

  Still no response other than a murderous stare.

  ‘Damn it!’ shouted Cid, retrea
ting a hundred yards back to the trail as the knee deep water started to burn at his legs.

  Cid converged with the party, all of them huffing from the quick descent.

  ‘He isn’t in his right mind!’ lamented Cid.

  ‘If he keeps this up he’ll create a landslide, we have no trouble where we stand, but the entire Lanston army is still in the narrows and will be buried underneath a mountain of rocks!’ said Olexion.

  Cid tried to weigh the costs carefully, but he found the choice eerily easy to make, nodding at Vanapha.

  For the second time in days Vanapha readied to shoot at a friend. The arrow flew, destined to hit his midriff, piercing the veil of steam. It was about to struck Lidayel when the halo of fire surrounding him lashed out like a guardian and incinerated the shaft instantly, only to continue its spiralling path.

  In response, Lidayel’s magic intensified, sending stronger tremors still, and the peaks and cliff faces of the land around crumbled as the weakest of the rocks started tumbling. The Summoner didn’t leave it at that, as soon the entire expanse of water in the Basin became a giant cauldron of steam, so thick that they could barely see Lidayel and his halo.

  ‘This is a pointless vantage. We’ll have to attack him from the air,’ said Olexion. ‘Valkyrie, come with me!’

  They ran up the trail, disappearing to Oldeloft where the Volje were kept.

  Cid turned to Alex, ‘go back to Oldeloft with them, I am too weak still to run the distance uphill, bring me Mindevhier and make sure you keep Elmira locked inside, she must not leave the house!’

  Alex nodded and was on his way without question.

  ‘What do you think we should do?’ asked Brunick apprehensively.

  ‘Hope Lidayel comes to his senses before we have to kill him,’ answered Cid soberly.

  Olexion assembled the Rangers at Oldeloft, the Volje soon taking to the air, Vanapha mounted right behind the Ranger. Vanapha had never before experienced anything quite like this, revelling in the sensation of flight despite their situation.