by S. J. Wist
“What is going on?” Dyaus asked as he pulled his claws back to himself.
“That isn’t Nafury who you are following. He is the Awl, Damek,” Cirrus said.
Dyaus knew the Texts as the High Guard were required to. He looked back to where Nafury stood on his own chosen building in the center of Atrum City. “What are you talking about? That is our resurrected Prince.”
“That isn’t Nafury!” Cirrus shouted back at the General. “It is the demon who has taken him from us! Sybl never brought him back from the dead!”
Dyaus let out a yelp of pain when Damek caught his life Threads and pulled on them. Cirrus somned and went straight for the rooftop that Damek stood on. He had once called him his Prince, but now there was no one but an enemy before him.
“Why are you fighting me, Cirrus?” Damek asked him by psi. “Join me and let’s stop this senselessness.”
You are not Nafury, and I will not answer to you!
“You are giving me no chance to reason with you outside of war,” Damek threatened as his green eyes glowed brighter. He somned as Cirrus landed on him, and the two dragons tumbled off of the rooftop, crushing everything they touched underneath them. Damek caught one of Cirrus’ life Threads to his lungs, and the black dragon collapsed for a moment, before just as quickly springing back to his feet and charging at Damek. After the demonic dragon had met his charge, the two exchanged a fury of claws and teeth, before Damek had Cirrus’ neck in his hand. “Call the Caelestis here, or I will have my High Guard retrieve her. Even if it means overturning this entire city.”
He expanded out of Damek’s grip and spun around, whipping the dark brown dragon across the street, and it scraped against several buildings and brought others down entirely.
One of the High Guard flew at Cirrus, and he caught Wyr and whipped the red dragon through the street in the opposite direction. He knew he couldn’t fight all of them, even as two phelan caught Wyr’s wings and kept the fire dragon grounded. But he wouldn’t be the one to dispel Damek’s appearance of Nafury when the Awl’s illusion weave suddenly faded away. Everything seemed to stop, as no one had ever seen an Awl in its true form before. The black creature spread its webbed wings on its back, as its form seemed more of a dark human-shaped spirit than entirely in the physical.
“You wear my coat with so much shame,” a familiar voice said from the top of another building.
Cirrus looked to see that it was Delare. Somehow the Awl had cut the illusion Threads around Damek, revealing the demon’s true form. Before he could figure out how or why, Damek sent his rage flying for the somnus. Delare quickly somned into his pluma form and caught Damek by his side with a rake of claws, before the vengeful Sentry veered backwards and flew higher into the air.
Cirrus looked to the Atrum where Sybl was standing in the window of the shattered throne room. The Sylvan energy contained within her glowed dangerously brighter. He took to the air to put himself between Damek and his Bond. “You are nothing but a vengeful puppet! Now leave!” It felt like he was threatening Nafury, even as Damek gave no indication that anything of his friend was left within him. There was only this monster. The part of this demon that had once been Nafury was long snuffed out. Now he just had to believe it entirely.
“How dare you!” Damek stopped at a hover before him. “So is this where our friendship ends, Cirrus?”
“My friend was Nafury. But now I’m certain there is nothing of him left in you.”
“I am what I always was. Soon our Caelestis will be much the same, a reborn Goddess of War. Then you will see that you are very much on the wrong side. Then you will see that without me, she will never truly be yours.”
“Sybl will never be like you!” Cirrus flew at him, but the dark Sentry dodged out of the way.
“Time is all that stands in my way now, and very soon Aragmoth’s strength will give out entirely. I will see you again where all the ends to the Animus Threads lay scattered. Then I will pick them up and carry them with my revenge to Earth.”
Cirrus chased after Damek, but the demon opened a Rift in the center of the city from where his blood had dripped to and dove in, vanishing into the Keol. He flew back to Delare, who sat in his pluma form and acted oblivious to the dragons who surrounded him. “Just what the hell are you things?”
Delare didn’t answer him. The unexpected move by the Awl had trapped Damek in his own attack, as the High Guard believed what they had watched with their own eyes.
Cirrus sent his psi to check on Sybl. She was alright and with Kas, but when he looked to where Dyaus was, something else was seriously wrong.
4: MISSING WEAPON
Sybl walked through the Atrum’s dark halls, as the ayame and soldiers stepped aside to let her pass. Most of the Atrum was focused on healing the injured or fleeing the city, as the High Guard remained like wardens over it. They had driven off Damek, but he would find another way to return. He always found another way to return.
The estus Aur seemed to become stronger with the death that surrounded it. Hain, Dyaus and the countless lost at the Harbor were just a small fraction of so many more who would follow if the world kept freezing over and starving the masses.
Two fully armored ayame guarded the wooden door to the Room of Darkness that seethed of estus energy. “My Lady, Tenu has been waiting for you.” The guards opened the door, and Sybl went in. She felt and hated the estus Aur immediately, as it was not a light as much as it was a void that absorbed all of it, including from herself.
“Still afraid of the dark, are we?”
Sybl looked to the side of the Aur where Tenu had been standing, draped in her black hair and a black dress that had served to make her nearly invisible.
“I suppose I should be grateful that you are. What is the definite proof of humanity if not fear?”
“Are you not scared of anything?” Sybl asked.
“I used to be scared of many things,” Tenu said as she continued to watch the dark light that rose up from the center of the room. “But much has changed over the years. Perhaps, if we live long enough, I will have to try your approach of rekindling feelings and emotions for the living world.”
“You would make an interesting mortal,” Sybl replied, meaning every word, but not mentioning that Tenu would likely remain as cynical as she was now. She looked to where the mermaid turned her gaze, and could see Moon lying down quietly near the wall of the room.
“There was a time when he would tell me all that he saw. Now he says nothing as if he has come back to the living as a mindless creature, or perhaps with only one person in his mind?”
“Are you still trying to see the future spelled out before you?” Sybl asked.
“I see another Ice Era. I see a cycle of Fate that is a never ending circle. If you defeat Damek, on this world or on Earth, he will come back. Even if you shatter his essence into a million pieces, he will come back. For you forget that he has had his essence shattered by the Dragon Moon before. As long as evil and death exists, Daath is as eternal as death itself.”
“But there is still hope that he won’t. And as long as there is, I refuse to give up.”
“Hope. Ah yes, the wishes of the foolish and those incapable of changing the course of Fate and Time on their own. Is your hope truly strong enough? Can the fragmented pieces of a Caelestis so much as hold enough of herself together to have a chance of holding onto hope, let alone inspire it?”
Sybl looked away from Tenu’s black eyes that were like bottomless, dark voids.
“The Caelestis,” Moon began to speak, “inspires much hope. I can feel it in the eminor. I can see it in the Ancients. But she needs the faith and prayers of those around her, not doubts that would hold her back.”
“Where is the festra, Tenu?” Sybl asked, seeing that the discussion needed a change of topic.
“Why do you think I know?”
“Because it was here last with Hain.”
“And I gave it to Hain to return to its rightful owner. If
it was not with his body and Damek does not possess it, perhaps the mercenary lost it.”
Sybl felt the anger build up in her, which was made all the worse by the estus Aur. It was becoming obvious that Tenu was helping Damek.
“I am not helping him,” Tenu replied to her thoughts that were as open as a book to the mermaid. “I just don’t believe you are certain of which side you have taken up the fighting cause for. During the Last War you fought alongside Damek, whereas now you are not.”
“Damek is slowly taking everything from me and killing Aster. I have made my choice.”
The doors opened, and Delare walked in. “Your festra was with my Tribe, but there has been a small issue since then.”
“Issue? What kind of issue?” Sybl asked the Awl.
“Its sheath made off with it. I followed it back here, so I can only assume it is trying to reach you on its own.”
Sybl tried to make sense of what Delare was saying, before its only explanation was Sial. “Are you saying a unicorn robbed your Tribe of Awls?”
“Well if killing it were an option, it would have never succeeded,” Delare replied.
Sybl sighed and tried to think. “I saw Sial die in the Keol, when Kas and I went up against Daath.”
“Then the kyrie is back, and alive. It was consumed by the Aeger when I saw it last,” he said.
Sybl glared at Tenu as the mermaid began to laugh. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking on how we can complete our upcoming celebration with a Hunt.” Tenu lifted her head a bit higher and with one last look at Sybl, she left the room as the doors were opened for her by the guards.
Sybl looked back at Delare. “Why are you trying to help?”
“Because if you hadn’t sent Hain to rescue me and Gloria, we would both be dead.”
“But I couldn’t save Quinn.”
“I know,” Delare said, looking back at her with his green eyes that were so much like Damek’s it made her shiver. “But I also know that you tried. That and I think now is a good time to reinstate the peace between Awls and the new Order.”
“You mean through me, right? You likely already know that Kas doesn’t like Awls very much,” Sybl said.
“Yes, preferably through you,” Delare replied.
“I will talk with him then.”
Delare gave a short nod and thanked her, then left the room.
Sybl looked at the estus Aur, before leaving the room in the hope that a better mood would come back to her.
5: QUILLS
Kenshe ran his fingers over the desk in the room of the Atrum that Urio had taken for himself. The room had been Commander Mersael’s during his stay. Urio had assumed that no one else would want a room that smelled of the griffin, as lavish as it was, and the old phelan was right. Under Kenshe’s fingers were the remains of where his father’s black feathers had fallen from their cup holder. They had gone from being quills to the ashes they were now. Now the ashes were all that remained of his father, along with the few memories he hadn’t purged from his mind. Memories of a mercenary that didn’t care about anyone but himself, or so he had made everyone believe up until his last moment alive.
“Kenshe.” Urio’s voice spooked Kenshe back to the present. The older phelan walked over to the desk and looked at his hand that was now black.
“If you came to apologize—”
“No, that’s not it. I was hoping you could tell me what you think of this,” Urio said and handed him a piece of paper.
Kenshe unfolded it and took a moment to adjust to the fact that it was written in English. It was surprising how many things he didn’t appreciate until needed. The usefulness of Jru’s teachings were starting to add up. “So my old man did give a damn about me. He left me to Sybl.”
“I don’t think she would want a piece of paper to decide what you want to do with your life.” Urio sat down in his wooden chair and stretched his legs up onto the matching desk.
Kenshe folded the paper back up, forcing his temper to not crush it. “Now the whole world feels sorry for me. Right at its end, go figure. I’m old enough to take care of myself. That and Sybl’s Bond wouldn’t be up for adopting—”
“Cirrus would likely be obligated by honor to say yes, aside from the fact that Sybl cares about you. You forget that your grandfather was Estar, who was formerly one of their greatest High Guard.”
“And exactly what of me looks like a dragon to you, Urio?”
“You heal faster than other phelan. You have a deeper sense of psi and Threads. Estar was an explorer, a Healer and a soldier, and I think you have a bit of that in you. With some more training—”
“Just where is left to train? With the garbage of the Order that Vanir has left behind? In the rubble that is now the Sanctus? No thanks. I will remain a Custos as long as people still remember what the word means.”
“I think it’s a good idea if you stick it out with Sybl. In two years, when you’re old enough to be considered an adult, every ayame on the Continent will look at you.”
“I don’t care about any of that. Look outside Urio,” Kenshe said, pointing to the window and the iron bars that shielded it, “the entire world is slowly freezing over as the Aurs grow weaker. Soon none of it will matter because we will all be dead.” He shoved the will of his father back into Urio’s hands.
“So you’ve given up on Sybl?”
“She gave up on us. Damek was right there! If she had commanded Cirrus to destroy that demon, this would be over with.”
“Matters with the caels are never entirely over, Kenshe. They always come back. Sybl only wants to permanently destroy Damek. She explained this to you already,” Urio reminded him.
“Well I don’t think he can be destroyed. Not if no one so much as lifts a blade or a claw to him.” Kenshe turned to leave.
“You will never understand your father if you don’t so much as try and accept that much of him will always be a part of you,” Urio said, causing Kenshe to stop.
“In what sense?”
“You both saw the despair the world is in and the hope being drained from the face of Aster. But what made your father different is that he didn’t let that get in his way. He did what was necessary to keep going, right to the end. He saved the Caelestis and likely bought us just enough time to stop all this.”
Kenshe thought on Urio’s words for a moment, before opening the door and leaving down the hall. He needed time to think.
6: SLEEP STALKER
Kas’ meditation was broken when he sensed someone sneak into his room and towards his bed, where they stopped on their knees and stared at him. He didn’t know what Sybl was doing, as she should have known well enough that he didn’t sleep as most somnus didn’t, but decided to play along. He kept his eyes closed as she snuck closer to his face, to the point he could feel her warm breath tickle his ear. It finally won, and he opened his eyes.
“You are sleeping again,” Sybl accused him.
“I was meditating,” he said flatly. “And you are the one who should be sleeping. You are going with Cirrus to Toria once the festra finds me, right?”
“You think Sial will come to you?”
“He has followed me for a long time, and the Aeger leaves habits intact. Now that the dragons are no longer our enemy, it would be best to guard the weapon in Toria as well.”
“Aren’t we in the hurry to get rid of me?”
Kas sat up and set his legs over the side of the bed. “You can stay if you would rather. I had only assumed that you would want to follow your Bond.”
Sybl sat on her heels and breathed in deeply.
“What is bothering you?”
“It’s just something really stupid. Sorry to bug you—”
“Hold on,” Kas said, pouncing on her before she could get to her feet. “You were thinking about the first Aster just now.”
“I…uh…” When he let go of her arm, Sybl regained her balance and sat up straight. “I was just trying to remember it be
tter.”
“Maybe I can help.”
She gulped and looked to be searching for the right words. “Everyone on the first Aster was born as twins, right?”
“Yes.”
“I just wanted to be sure that you’re okay with it all being so different now.”
Kas tried to sort through her thoughts, before finally making some sense of them. “Sybl, we were brother and sister back then, and I consider you my sister, now. Only now everything is different as we are not perfect creatures anymore, so we do things differently. Who filled your head with all this?”
“Crazy, eh? I don’t know. I think I’m just stressed out. I’m sorry, Kas. I’ll cut back on the sugar.”
