The Rostical Guild - Sceldrant's Comet

by Michael Rogers

  Nathan: "No."

  Trevour: "Then I see a contradiction in your insights-"

  Nathan: "You treat them differently, not because of what they are.. You treat them differently because you have respect."

  Trevour: "I don't quite follow, sir. Sounds like a cheap way to ignore the hole in your moral."

  Nathan: "I see them as equals, no matter how mentally or physical impaired they are. It's just me treating them differently due to respect. I don't treat them differently because I see them any less."

  Trevour: "Then you could say the same about women."

  Nathan: "But there is nothing wrong with women."

  Trevour: "And there's nothing wrong with disabled or elderly people?"

  Nathan: *He sighed, slowly closing his eyes.* (You don't seem to understand what I mean..)

  Trevour: "Nathan?"

  Nathan: "..." *He started to breathe heavily, as he slowly fell into slumber.*

  Trevour: "Sir?"

  Nathan: "Zzzz."

  Trevour: "Good night, sir." *He closed his eyes and smiled.* (Thank you for giving me a perspective sight of your life..)

  ----------

  *Luna and the champion walked into their room, gently closing the door behind them.*

  Champion: "Here we go-" *She hobbled towards the closest bed and leant over it, guiding Luna onto it.*

  Luna: *She felt the sheets on both sides, looking down in an awkward-like manner.* "Thanks, aye."

  Champion: "May I please ask you a question?" *She smiled and hobbled towards the other vacant bed, keeping an eye on Luna.*

  Luna: "Shoot."

  Champion: "Your choice of speech. Is that the same way everyone speaks from your home world?"

  Luna: "Aha, nah."

  Champion: "Then why do you speak like that?"

  Luna: "Where we grew up.. There was a lot of slang."

  Champion: "Oh my, slang?"

  Luna: "I don't know how to explain it."

  Champion: "You don't really have a reason?"

  Luna: "We talk like this 'cause we no longer cared."

  Champion: "Your appearance."

  Luna: "I can't really tell what you guys wear, but these clothes are normal."

  Champion: "It's all black. Were you part of something?"

  Luna: "Ahh..?" *She grunted in recollection, triggering flashbacks of cutting herself with Kylie and Kerry-Anne.* "Somethin'."

  Champion: "Why did you come here? Are you here to invade somebody?"

  Luna: "Huh? No. I didn't ask to come here." *She yawned, catching the champion's attention.*

  Champion: (When she realised she wasn't from this world, she started to have panic attacks.. I've never seen someone naturally fear the beauty of Rostical in my entire life..)

  Luna: "Is that all the questions?"

  Champion: "Oh my, yes."

  Luna: "..." *She stared at the ceiling in thought.*

  Champion: *She looked uncomfortable, glancing at her enormous hunchback.* (It hurts a little more than usual today-)

  Luna: "Well, what does it feel like to use Rostickal?"

  Champion: "It's..." *She sighed, lowering her head.*

  Luna: "Aye? Wat's with the sigh?"

  Champion: "I don't appreciate Rostical because I excel in it. I appreciate the wonders it can do."

  Luna: "That doesn't seem to warrant that sigh?" *She spoke with a question, implying the champion to answer it.*

  Champion: "You're good at reading people's vocals."

  Luna: *She smirked in recollection.* "Like I said before, I grew up in a shit place.. You had to act tough, learn how to read people's thoughts and body language.. My bro had to do the exact same thing."

  Champion: "Why?"

  Luna: *She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.* "I'm still pretty young, but each new generation gets worse and worse.."

  Champion: "How old are you?"

  Luna: "Seventeen.. You?"

  Champion: "I.. Seem to have forgotten."

  Luna: "Pssht.. Wateva-"

  Champion: "No, no. I'm serious."

  Luna: "How can you forget your age?"

  Champion: "With Astragons.."

  Luna: "Astragongs.. That's the Rostickal shit involvin' space, right?"

  Champion: "Yes.. Once you've obtained a certain level of mastery, you're able to use Astragons to slow down the aging process."

  Luna: "By slowin' it down, you mean immortality?"

  Champion: "Not fully, but essentially."

  Luna: "Whoa.." *She gasped and rubbed her cheeks.* "Could I use these Astragongs to help fix my eyes?"

  Champion: "No..."

  Luna: "Wat? You can almost become immortal, but you can't fix eyes?"

  Champion: "It's possible to restore your eyes if they were healed with Radiatons almost immediately."

  Luna: "Oh.."

  Champion: *She glanced at Luna's eyes, observing the area around them.* (Once she gets to Silver Wind Island, she needs to clean out her wounds.. Those burns seems to have festered with bacteria-)

  Luna: "Ahh-" *She suddenly hissed in pain, rubbing her cheeks.*

  Champion: "What's the matter?"

  Luna: "N-Nothin'-"

  Champion: "Oh?"

  Luna: "It's just.. I've been getting a lot of pain in my cheeks and forehead lately.."

  Champion: (Just as I started to worry.. It seems bacteria has already started to spread..)

  Luna: "I'm too tired, but I can't fall asleep with this much pain."

  Champion: "If only I knew Radiaton filled healing Rostical..."

  Luna: "Aye? Radiaytons?"

  Champion: *She shook her head as if it didn't matter.* "Just learn the basics. Neurons and Astragons. You don't need to worry about Radiatons."

  Luna: "Why?"

  Champion: "Unlike Neurons and Astragons, Radiatons are only passed down through the divine blood or love."

  Luna: "Yea?"

  Champion: ".. It's not something you have to worry about."

  Luna: "Umm, OK?" *She paused.* "So, could I find someone with Radiayton Rostickal to heal my eyes?"

  Champion: "The restoration of the eyes, heart and brain once the body has started to naturally heal the wounds is almost impossible-"

  Luna: "OK, you can stop there, aye."

  Champion: "Okay." *She spoke in respect and pulled on a piece of fabric around her waist, causing her entire upper robes to slide off.* "Ahh, that's better."

  Luna: *She listened to the falling fabric, causing her to tilt her head.* "Do you sleep naked or somethin'?"

  Champion: "No, just making myself a little more comfortable."

  Luna: "Umm, I don't swing like that-"

  Champion: *She giggled and walked towards Luna.* "Nor do I."

  Luna: "So-"

  Champion: "We need our rest." *She stood in front of Luna and stepped to the side.*

  Luna: "But I can't-"

  Champion: "I know a Rostical which can temporarily disable the senses. It will last long enough for you to fall asleep?"

  Luna: "Awesome. Do it." *She spoke with a smile as if she was excited.*

  Champion: *She nodded her head and raised her arm.* "Way of bonds disrupt, temper its own dividends, almighty Radiatons disable the foe's awareness-"

  Luna: "Foe's awareness? Huh-?"

  Champion: "SILENCING FORCE" *She waved her arm across Luna, opening and closing her hand.*

  Luna: "You-?" *She motioned her mouth as if she was speaking, causing her to touch her throat.* (My voice-?)

  Champion: "I know you can't hear me, but you should be able to have a good night's rest."

  Luna: (I-...) *She mumbled and slowly fell into slumber, causing the champion to smile.*

  Champion: *She hobbled over to her bed and gently crawled under the sheets, closing her eyes.* (What a fascinating party to travel with.. Tomorrow will be a long day.)

  ----------

  *Lezard, Twortz and Rachael walked down a thin cavern-like path, lit up by glowing crystals on the wal
ls.*

  Twortz: "We have been walking for a considerable amount of time-"

  Lezard: "Ooo." *He giggled to himself and hobbled up ahead, noticing a glyphic platform.*

  Rachael: *She walked with Twortz, staring at Lezard's back.* "What did you find?"

  Lezard: "The little glowy path thing Lucky showed us-" *He stared at the glowing line on the ground.* "Has led us to another teleportation glyph."

  Twortz: "A way out?"

  Lezard: "Indeedly do." *He stepped on the platform and shook his bottom, waiting for the girls to step on.*

  Twortz: *She stepped onto the platform and looked down, staring at the glyphic markings in confusion.* "Last time I vividly remember it glowing. Now it is doing nothing."

  Rachael: *She stepped on the platform, tapping her foot on it in a curious-like manner.* "Twortz is right."

  Twortz: "Hmm." *She nodded her head in a professional-like manner.*

  Lezard: "That's probably because Lucky poured some of his Neurons into the glyph."

  Rachael: "Go on then." *She spoke with a smile as if she was happy to leave."

  Lezard: "Oh, I've got bad news."

  Twortz: *She sighed.* "What?"

  Lezard: "You see, it takes a lot of my own Neurons to use my healing Remenistal."

  Twortz: "What exactly is it you're saying?" *She spoke in a professional, stern-like manner.*

  Rachael: "You don't have enough Neurons to activate the glyph?"

  Lezard: "Bingo!"

  Twortz: "Then-?!" *She frowned and faced Lezard, losing her professional composure.* "How are we getting out of here!?"

  Lezard: "Back into your cage!" *He squealed in fright and formed a cross with his fingers, stepping back.* "You both have Neurons! You could easily do it!"

  Twortz: "In my cage?"

  Rachael: "How could we do that? I don't think we possess enough of these Neurons."

  Lezard: "Wrong, my child. You can use Rostical and our heavy friend can use Azure Bursts. Neurons is a vital requirement to use both."

  Twortz: (I have these Neurons too?)

  Rachael: "Great. How can we use them?"

  Lezard: "Well, lucky for us. This glyph has already been prepared. We just need to add Neurons into it to activate it."

  Rachael: "What does that mean, already been prepared?"

  Lezard: "Such willingness to learn, you inspire me-"

  Twortz: "That is not a correct answer to her question."

  Lezard: *He sighed.* "In order to create a glyph, you must draw its symbols with Astragons and power it up with Neurons. Since this glyph has already been made, the hard part of making a glyph is done."

  Rachael: (That makes sense. If I were to draw a picture and asked someone to colour it in, that would be easier than having someone draw and colour the picture.)

  Twortz: "This cave is cold. Tell me how to activate it now."

  Rachael: "Twortz.. We're not at work, you don't need to keep talking so sternly."

  Twortz: "..." *She paused, avoiding eye contact with Rachael in a snobby-like manner.* (You are not the real Rachael... I should not have to listen to you-)

  Lezard: "Merely use your Neurons?"

  Twortz: *She frowned with a twitching eye.* "What can't you understand about this scenario? We don't know how to use our Neurons."

  Lezard: "Okay, okay. Just simply use either your Remenistal or Azure Burst."

  Rachael: "Is that it?"

  Lezard: "Yuppers."

  Twortz: (Tedious-) *She quickly swayed the frying pan and blew a strong, loud gust, causing the glyph underneath the party to suddenly glow purple.*

  Lezard: "Ooo, almost!"

  Rachael: "Rock Pillar." *She punched her fists and swayed her arm across, blasting a small boulder into the air.*

  Lezard: *He watched the glyph shine, queuing him to squeal in accomplishment.* "You did it, children!"

  Rachael: "We did-?"

  *The glyph pulsed and suddenly flashed, blinding the party with purple light.*

  Twortz: "Tsst-" *She stepped forward with squinted eyes and noticed she stood on sand.*

  Rachael: "The waves are much louder-" *She blinked several times, noticing she stood on the beach.*

  Lezard: "Wow, wasn't that exciting?"

  Twortz: "It's night-?"

  Rachael: "Kah!-" *She suddenly looked ill, collapsing to her knees.*

  Twortz: "..." *She watched Rachael gasp for air which triggered images of her dying by PKMY's hand.*

  Lezard: "What's wrong, little one?"

  Rachael: "I just feel sick."

  Lezard: "You were sick when you first entered the catacombs too."

  Twortz: "I don't recall the true Rachael getting motion sickness."

  Rachael: (True?)

  Lezard: "Maybe you're just not good with teleportation glyphs? I remember a few friends back in my days had trouble stomaching food when teleported. They had to even skip dinner-"

  Twortz: *She shivered, causing her to glance down the empty shore.* "Are we going to find a place to rest?"

  Lezard: *He leant down and helped Rachael onto her feet, supporting her on his shoulder.* "It's getting spine tingling chilly out here."

  Rachael: *She started to sweat.* "Yeah."

  Lezard: *He noticed the calm water, causing him to smirk with an idea.* "Right here."

  Twortz: "Right here? Don't be absurd!"

  Lezard: "Why not?"

  Twortz: "We are not animals!"

  Lezard: "Well, technically we are-"

  Twortz: "I am not sleeping on a beach!"

  Rachael: "I don't-, tired-" *She sighed and suddenly fell unconscious, causing Lezard to awkwardly and slowly lower himself onto the sand.*

  Lezard: *He placed Rachael on her side and adjusted her arms and legs, ensuring she was lying comfortably.* "Looks like Razzypoo shares my mind frame-"

  Twortz: "She passed out. She doesn't share your mind frame."

  Lezard: "If you're always serious, you'll never get to enjoy life."

  Twortz: "And if you're always slack and lazy, you'll never get anywhere in life."

  Lezard: "Interesting." *He lay on the sand next to Rachael and pressed his back against hers, closing his eyes.*

  Twortz: "I don't believe-" *She quickly turned around and started to rub her temples.* "Are you for serious?"

  Lezard: "Most definitely-"

  Twortz: "Be quiet."

  Lezard: "..." *He silently smiled, knowing he annoyed Twortz.*

  Twortz: "You just said it's spine chilling cold!"

  Lezard: "Actually, I said spine tingling-"

  Twortz: "Tsskt!" *She hissed in growing anger and started to walk away, causing her to notice the lively sounds of the nocturnal creatures.*

  Lezard: "See you in the morning." *He smiled as if he knew she wouldn't leave by herself.*

  Twortz: *She sat on the sand and sighed in defeat, placing the frying pan on the ground.* (I can't-)

  *Twortz's stomach rumbled, causing her to frown with sadness.*

  Twortz: (I can't fall asleep on an empty stomach..)

  ----------

  *Tara suddenly appeared outside of Sorrowprax's walls, glaring at the hills in the distance.*

  Tara: (I was a little late to prepare, but, those prisoners will pay for breaking out-)

  *Tara smirked and started to run forward at incredible speeds, swaying her arms behind her.*

  Tara: "Fufufu." (I'll try not to kill them when I confront them..)

  *Tara thought to herself with a widening smirk and leant forward, suddenly flashstepping out of the area.*

  Chapter 5: Travelling Endeavours

  *Sunlight shined on the shore, slowly waking Lezard up.*

  Lezard: "And the sun's warmth effectively woke Lezard and his allies up-" *He mumbled with his eyes shut and stretched.*

  *Lezard leant up and rubbed his eyes, noticing Rachael staring out into the ocean.*

  Lezard: "Razzypoo?"

  Rachael: "Ashton and I used to watch the sunrise toge
ther. Either before our morning shift or after our rare overnight shifts."

  Lezard: "Ashton?"

  Rachael: *She snapped out of her train of thought and discreetly wiped a tear before facing Lezard.* "I'm ready to see your father soon."

  Lezard: "Ooo, ready to leave I take it?" *He grumbled to himself and stood up, brushing sand off his clothes.*