Lliugusamui
around the corner
Hey y'all. I'm picking up the old collective fanfic Miyu and I worked on some time ago (focused on Joachim, Luca and Rickert, so to say).
With quite a chronological gap.
And changes.
Right on.
When is it ?
Just right now.
Fantasia Arc.
Chapter of the Dreaming Chaos.
Here's the introduction.
Episode 01 : Our Family Tree
So it seemed nothing ever really changed...
Once, he was blamed for something like this.
He payed the price of a mortal life...
And so did the blaming prince.
And such price had already been payed by the Enlighted one...
the one who was standing in the middle of this mess.
Chaos was spreading all over the city of Wyndham...
He had dreamed about it a long time ago, and did nothing.
So it was happening again. And he wouldn't do anything. Again.
So the corrupted King of Bones had asked for his help, and had to fight alone - to his inevitable doom.
So the gracious King of Gods didn't have to ask for anything, blessed by all - to their inevitable doom.
So the old king was fighting alone to save a dirtied land. Again - to his inevitable doom.
Instead of angels, a huge demonic tree was devastating the whole region...
Perhaps he had stayed too much time in the forest, eventually.
He had called for it, in a way.
He wasn't going to choose any side.
It was time for a new dream to be dreamed...
For a new world to begin.
For an old world that had been...
Once, more than a dream.
From his distance place, he saw the huge light engulfing the High King and all his minions...
At a huge pace, it would cover everything that was under the control of Human emotions.
It would blend reality...
And so, he had to take his chance to put a seed of frailty.
Lifting his four-fingered right hand before his globulous dark yellowish eyes,
Oro witnessed the melting of the world they were all living in,
Satisfied by his loneliness of the moment, still as a tree he almost was,
He thought about saying hi to the one who had lights instead of eyes,
But it wasn't really time, the flash was coming nigh,
So he went on dreaming,
Without any goodbyes...
Episode 02 : That Hill of Fallen Fellow Swords
You only get what you deserve. That is what grandma always said, as he recalled. And he was so damn frightened she could have hit the bag with that once-stupid-sounding assumption. Everything went so wrong, so many times. He could not even remember all the shit that he'd gone through, along the years. And yet, granny, he was still alive to wank his mind off.
Up at that hill of fallen fellow swords, Marcus was in for a so-called nostalgic emotional phase, or something like that. Some time ago, he reached this unique place, full of free swords, as he'd just heard about the return of the White Hawk. Griffith being back, gosh ! Like at that time when they kicked the asses of the huge Boscogne and all his troops. He remembered in every detail that fight Guts had had with that huge bastard, ending with him being sliced in two, his horse undergoing the same treatment. That was the time preceding their anoblishment... it wasn't so long ago. But it seemed so far, already.
The last time he was here, Marcus met that small girl who was protecting these swords. He put her life into danger. Actually, if it were not for the intervention of that freaking dwarf, the small one would have had a few ribs broken - at least. And he met Rickert, who recognized him immediately, after the three or so years without seeing each other, since he left the Band of the Hawks - right, at that bad time when Griffith got arrested. It appeared Corcas, under whose command he was at the end, wasn't as coward he himself was. Rickert told him how great a man Corcas had become in the last days - when they were working their asses off to free Griffith from the royal jails. Rickert told him they were the only survivors, Griffith, Guts, Casca and them. Griffith was back, yes, to rule the kingdom as he had always wished. Guts, as for him, was on a dark quest, trying to get at Griffith to chop off his head. Casca became nuts, not even knowing who she was. Well, as one can guess, shit had happened.
Marcus sighed.
He walked towards the old mine that used to be near its position.
A few months ago, he could have gone this way - if there hadn't been the objection of the girl.
He could not get a better idea of what the heck was that dwarf all about.
You get what you deserve, heh.
Apparently, Rickert had seen elves before, too, that lucky bastard.
Marcus wished he would have met some incredible creature who could save his ass when the occasion needed it.
But instead, he thought looking for Griffith himself would be the best idea ever to get a full understanding of the whole situation.
Thing is, the new army of the Band of the Hawks was constantly moving from one town to one another, saving people from the Kushans, and so on. Traveling alone was a bitch, especially with crooks and Kushans all over the place.
Fortunately, he was quite a crook himself.
Marcus sighed again.
So...
Was the story true ?
Did they all get killed by huge toothed monsters ?
"You don't believe Guts' story ? I've been attaqued by monsters back then, too ! And just a few days ago, Griffith came to see me, accompanied by none other than Zodd the immortal. You remember him, don't you ?"
Marcus remembered. He was too afraid to go in the cave, at that time, when both Griffith and Guts went out wounded after not-killing the war legend. His fear had saved him. Those who went had their bodies, well, multiplicating...
So, when he was traveling to get to Griffith and he saw the shape of the flying demon above his head, Marcus just decided to change his mind. Going get killed wasn't his thing, after all.
So... what was he good for ?
Marcus crouched on the snow between swords, one hand gripping one weapon.
Sure, Gaston would have gone without any hesitation after Griffith, if he'd heard the same story.
Marcus' head went down.
The snow was white.
Really white.
Too much white to be just snow, no ?
He rose his chin and saw a overwhelming flash of light.
What was tha...?
When the sand-tainted-hair man came back to his own feelings, everything seemed different. In an eerie way. He couldn't have said what, or how, or why, or any of the other small words belonging to his questioning repertoire.
Marcus overheard the wind blowing through the mill back at that smith house. It was too vivid.
"Dead man..."
Whispers, now ? What in the name...?
"Dead man... you should have been..."
"Sword man... you should have gone..."
Were his mind and ears playing tricks on him ? Was that a way for his guilt to get back at him ?
"The mighty Falcon doesn't know you betrayed him...?"
"Do you think he would be glad if he ever knew...?"
Marcus cleared his throat.
Holy shit, was he going insane ?
Now, new sounds.
Bones cracking.
Marcus looked all around.
Down there, was it...skeletons...walking this way ? Trying to block him with that cliff just nearby ?
Skeletons... right ? Right...
Marcus looked back : it was a frigging high cliff. There was no way out. Like "confront your own sins and your own guilt" and all that similar stuff that he wouldn't like to deal with, right now.
The once-mercenary tried some respiration exercise he used to practice a lot, during battles with the Hawks.
Then he grabbed a sword next to him.
Then he figured out a plan : the cliff could help him throw the bones for the dogs downside.
Marcus managed a weird smile to intimidate his enemies...
...A few minutes later, Marcus was screaming and sinking down, along with a skeleton who grabbed him.
Was it how it was supposed to end ?
So, was it true ? You get what you deserve ?
Was he so lame, so coward, so sinful, so bad, to merit this and end like that...?
Episode 03 : The Art of Illusions
My name is Kyletx, and if you have to remember something about all this story, remember my name. For I am no one but the true hero of the era of the merging of all the potential and dreamed of plans of reality... or should I say "dreamality"... or even better... uh, wait for it, I don't have anything better in my bag of potent and great and awesome constructs. For I am a constructor. Building concepts all over the place. Making plans all over the paper. Creating fireworks in the sky to recieve waves of "wow" - woves, as I call them.
So, why am I saying all this stuff ? Because I see through the constructs. I see through illusions. I see the hidden no-truth behind the apparent no-lies. I get the picture. People only get the words. They don't see what I see. I am an illusion, made real, but untrue. I serve the blind. I am the eyes. I see through. So, what I can tell for sure since that flabbergasting flash of no-light is that the real picture is not good to see for real. I'd prefer, say, watch a good ol' movie on my fire-sight-catcher device.
For I am Kyletx the witty gnome and in front of my big nose, I get to see the desert oasis of what they're now baptising Falconia.
The capital of a new age. The capital of a new head. The White Hawk. Let me call him the White Hoax.
How come I am the only one to see through this guy ?
I mean, I may have been helped. Yes, some dream within the illusion of my dreamality. Telling me to look at the King of Falconia and to look for the King of Skellig, this sanctuary place which used to be hidden - thanks to the skills of my windy cousins, constructed as elves most of the times, or if you want my opinion, who should be illusionary recrafted as "nerves", I know what I mean, don't bother seeing any picture, you're limited to the subtitles, I told you before.
Falconia...ew...what does it look like ?
Simple, as its foundator. A White Hoax. Don't bother about it.
For I won't. I've seen enough. The tree's enough. The tree's the proof. Let's all get together ! Anarchists, I tell you.
I was forgotten by the time.
I am going to fire up your world, blind folks !
But first, I am going to need some physical and psychical back-up.
More on that later.
Oh, and don't stay too close to the words.
I am a master of illusions. I could get you lost in no-magic box.
Episode 04 : Tunnels of Darkness
"Wait a second, it doesn't look familiar too me."
Rickert turned his head. He couldn't see his new friend, but he felt his shoulder under his palm.
"What's wrong, Guaru ?"
The dwarf seemed confused.
"Well, do you know why you guys met me up hill, that time ?"
Rickert stood silent.
"I am an anticipating dwarf, or so they all say. What I was expecting just happened a few hours ago, as you know it..."
"Do you mean this incredible light that went even into the depths of the dwarven galleries of yours, by any chance ?"
"That's right, young one..."
The tone Guaru was taking wasn't comforting the blacksmith, as of now.
"Tell me what is wrong, please."
Guaru shrugged.
"The path out of the earth realms to the wind sancturay seems to have changed. The way out has evolved."
Rickert frowned.
"Is this a way to tell me you are lost in your own tunnels, friend ?"
Guaru turned to meet Rickerts' eyes. He, dwarven one, could see in the dark.
"This is a way to tell you the world is not the same as it used to be. We might be lost in not-my-own-tunnels-anymore."
Rickert took a deep breath in.
"What about the others, downstairs ? What about Erica ?"
Guaru made a strange noise in his throat.
"Here we are ! I wanted to tell you... I've tried to lead our way back to familiar galleries, but they don't seem to exist anymore as before."
Rickert would have loved to get some light to confront the face of his dwarf friend.
"So, there is no way to get back at the Forge ? No way to get back at Erica ?"
"Not one that I think of. It doesn't imply anything else. They must be very fine, all of them. We're talking about the Forge, young one ! You also agreed on letting Erica behind, as it is one of the safest place on - or under - the earth !"
Rickert remembered the decision he took just a few hours ago, when they still were in the galleries of the Forge. They had stayed a few months there, nicely hosted by Guaru and his peers. And just when the flash of light occured, Guaru had this dream, this revelation, about Skellig - which happened to be the exact same thing as Puck's home. The idea was to get there to put Casca in a safe place. So would be the Forge for Erica, right ? It made sense. It was the best solution he could have chosen.
"So, we have to keep going and find some way out. We have to get to the King of Skellig, you said so yourself."
Guaru smiled at the teenager.
"It just won't be as easy as we planned to get to your elves' friend in Elfhelm."
Rickert sighed. He already made up his mind. They were going, Guaru and him, just like Guts was traveling with Puck the elf.
"It doesn't matter anymore. We have dwarven artefacts to help us along the way."
Guaru laughed.
"You know, we dwarves are some kind of experts in this field, but you shouldn't praise too much the fruits of the Forge. They sometimes can get... how to say... troublesome."
Rickert's ears rang.
"What about telling me all I have to know about the dwarven magic your people lent me ? As a blacksmith myself, you should be able to share some of your innate knowledge... Our safety depends on it, friend."
Guaru shrugged again.
"I guess nobody will hear me unveiling the stuff to a human kid, in these dark tunnels."
Episode 05 : Call me a Wyverner, whatever...
In the village of Waldaym, everything went back to normal after the huge celebration for the liberation of the Kingdom of Midland. Some of the men were still coping with their hang-overs. Others were cleaning the streets of all the dirt. Children were playing - this morning was a good time because of adults going to bed at a late hour. They were eventually saved from the Kushans. They had been saved from the Tudor invasions, now the White Falcon had put to an end the era of terror imposed by the Emperor Ganishka.
Life could carry on...
or could it ?
Some children were out renacting glorious battles a few hundreds feet away from the village. Between the trees, they were fencing, jumping, counter-attacking. They were laughing. And a few times, they got hurt in the process...
At one moment, one of them screamed as hell. The other children came to see what was wrong with him. He wasn't actually the type of a whiny boy, usually. And then, in front of their eyes, the most incredible and awesome view showed up...
A giant was getting beaten up by a hord of trolls.
There were plenty of them. Maybe three dozens, all hairy, and toothy, and most importantly... nasty.
It appeared the giant was taking a nap in these woods when they decided to get to him.
"Come on, giant, beat the hell out of'em !" the children yelled out.
The giant turned his head to them and gave them a unique "grinace" - one couldn't decide between grin or grimace.
They couldn't talk any more. They had to watch the fight in absolute awe...
A few minutes and bruises later, the giant stood still, blood all over his shirt.
Troll corpses all over the place, dismantled, ripped off, crashed to become troll forest rugs.
And the giant decided to lay down on a few of them to finish his nap...
"Awesome ! Mister Giant, be our friend !" the children had their voices back, now that they knew they were safe.
The giant raised as an oak and gave them that look.
The angry look. Or was it the hungry one...?
"I don't like sleep-disturbers..."
The children shared the same expression of fear...
They were screaming again when one of them was lifted above the ground.
"Do you prefer to be crashed, to be swallowed or to pathetically fall, little one ?"
The boy's conscience collapsed...
When he woke up, he was on the ground, his friends around him.
What was happening ? he thought while his whole body shook to death.
"Look, George... look..."
The little boy raised his gaze and came on an unexpected view...
There was a new man, quite tall - but definitely not a giant. He had pale eyes, pointy ears, redish hair. His clothes were colorful yet on the pale scale, also. He kinda looked like a noble man.
He was sitting on a strange flying creature - children were betting on a wyvern - and held his hand towards the giant.
This one had stopped to move and had already one arm cut.
He was in some trouble...
"Who are you and why do you interfere with my meal ?"
The new-comer came closer on his flying no-horse.
"I didn't do anything for the trolls. They're just good to be sliced, it's well-known. But I won't let big guys like you annoy small ones, be they astral or not."
The flying man cleared his throat.
"That being said, I don't see any reason for a stupid giant like to continue living."
The giant frowned. He suddenly felt he was not facing the regular combatant.
"Please, mighty lord, I owe you an apologize, let me live."
That man landed his wyvern on the ground and calmed the frightened boys with a look.
"How weird... I didn't think a giant like you could guess my origins. Indeed, I was born among the family of Arunites."
The giant seemed surprised.
"But I am not anymore. People have known me as the hydras tamer, the wyvern rough-rider, or even the dragon educator. In fact, I am..."
The giant finished his sentence : "a Wyverner ...!"
The noble Arunite, as he presented himself, nodded slightly before adding something else.
"I am Thamrig, sorcerer of the High Peaks of Astralia."
And then, the ground collapsed under the giant's feet.
And then, lightnings hit the spot repeatedly.
And then, there was no more giant to see...
Kyletx was pretty sure he could make an ally of this wind sorcerer, for the upcoming adventures.
He would just have to work on the trust issue, being himself an elaborated form of a fire elemental.
It wasn't easy to be born a gnome, some times...
Episode 06 : It's getting better and better...
She was running again in the woods. You can not trust anyone anymore, she thought while blaming herself about staying in that place for more than a night. And no one should trust you either again, she ended her thinking process while wondering if some of those dirty guys would recover from the wounds she inflicted them. They deserved it, though. Like she didn't have problems already. Who the hell did they think they were ? Her way of surviving was okay in Albion, but it had become more and more dangerous, with all the chaos spreading with the war. So, she had thought it might be time for her to find a new approach to her survival. She had decided to directly confront the Kushans to make them pay the price of all the lives they had taken. Enough people had died around her recently. She did know she would have to just focus on the best way to keep on living, at that time. She seemed to have found the killing was easier than the running, sometimes. This time, she just had to do both of them, and it wasn't so easy, really. Let them capture you, let them be seduced, let them die in their sleep with a sliced throat, that was her new way.
She was running in the woods, again, indeed.
Alone, again.
Flashes of memories came to her mind.
The last time she was running like hell like this was a couple of months ago...
...Kushans were attacking them by surprise.
Them being Jerome and her.
They just had an argument about the girls who disappeared a few days earlier.
They had found their bodies in a terrible shape.
The girls were hiding in a shelter they had infiltrated before, while she was out collecting fire wood. Jerome, thinking the girls were safe and she did not, came out of their shelter to look after her.
After discovering the shocking deaths, she had refused to talk to him for several days, but she still accepted the presence of that stupid knight.
The first and last time she broke the silence was that loud argument.
The argument that dragged a whole bunch of Kushans on them...
...They had started to hear some noise before the attack.
Jerome looked more anxious than usually. He had unsheathed his sword, and after an heart-beat reflexion, he just pushed her away.
"Run, Luca, run for your life!"
At first, she didn't react.
Then, Jerome grabbed her wrist and ran with her along.
A few arrows were shot and were getting closer and closer to them.
Then, Jerome had them stop and looked at her in the eyes.
"Now, you will run this way as fast as you can, or I kill you, no kidding here."
She had been pushed away again and Jerome ran in another direction, calling for the Kushans to try to get to him.
And that was the last time she ever saw him.
She had just heard him screaming at one point.
And that was the last time she ever heard him...
...Now Luca was running away from a few Kushans who had survived her trap during the night. But she was alone and couldn't get them run elsewhere. She reminded herself of the sweet and coward Nina. How did she go with the illness, the war, and Joachim ? It couldn't be any worse than her own situation, could it ?
And then, she discovered a cave in the corner of her eye.
The cold was biting, she was exhausted, so it would be the best solution for now.
Rest there a moment and check if she was still followed by the Kushans.
That is what she did...
...A few hours went by.
Nothing from the Kushans.
Luca was beginning to relax.
And also, she was starting to freeze.
So what, she should move again, to thieves, to assassins ?
How could it get worse than this ?
Luca stood up and gave a better look at her new-found shelter.
It seemed rather large and deep.
She decided to move inwards.
Get away from the cold wind.
Warmth did come from there.
And lights, and drums ?
Oh no ...!
...Luca was standing straight, her eyes wide-open.
A whole people of little torch-carrying and drum-playing goblins were coming out of their hole, intrigued by the natural offering she represented to them.
They were all excited about it, about her.
They were dancing all over the place.
Luca decided not to run, this time.
In a weird way, they reminded her of the strange sad little egg-creature and then, also, the wise knight made of bones she first thought was Death itself...
A few moments later, Luca realised she was made prisoner of the goblins.
Now, something would happen, for sure.
She just would have to wait, right ?
It was getting better and better...
Episode 07 : Riverside
It all started to change when she was in for a fun swim. Somehow, troubled as she was for some time, she decided to take a look outside what was going on. Animals all around the place were looking at her in a strange way. Here she was, the oceanid, having secretly fun in a river...! Yes, that is right. And it was so good...
Or was it really when everything started to change ? Before that, there was this light so bright it came even into the deepest depths of the ocean abysses, making fishes able to see her and interact with her. With all of them, the oceanids, in their protected and magical realm, the Jewels of Corals.
Just about that time, Lleya had had this visionary dream sliding into her soul. It was about the need to see the King of Falconia, this new human - or was it human - city. It was about the need to seek the King of Skellig island - which she already had heard about and which was very far away. And then, it all became very complicated for all of them. They were used to some nasty creatures, yes, nevertheless the Shield of Shells was keeping them away from any harm. Now, a lot of nagas, makaras, and all other sort of serpent-like creatures were popping up in the same plan of reality as they were.
They did break the Shield.
So it was time for the oceanids to go.
Dispersion was the call their Queen had given all of them.
So Lleya went into a direction none of the others took.
She went landwards, to go take a look at Falconia - even she didn't have a clue how she would do to get there.
As fast she could to escape all the dangerous ones, she enter a river and swimmed against the current.
Salmons seemed surprised she could do it too.
But she wasn't going to visit her birthplace.
Well, her life really started to change when she was in for a fun swim, down the river. As she didn't know when to stop, where to go, what to do, how to get a glimpse of Falconia, she had decided to take a look outside. Something was going on, also. She could feel it. There she was, animals looking at her. Plenty of land animals, eventually, in front of a very high cliff. At first, she didn't realise it was a lot of them, because she wasn't well acquainted with the land realms. Then, she saw him...
He was human, laying down just at the riverside.
Was he asleep ?
Lleya sank into the river again to get some good air and swimmed towards him.
She moved her head out of the flow to take a better look at the man. He was a bit taller than she was, and he had hair all over his body - or almost. Disgusting.
But there was more. He seemed in a bad shape : blood all over his clothes, more than a few bones broken, unconscious... even a few bones next to him... he seemingly was trying to get to the water when his mind collapsed.
Was he even alive ?
It was going to take some special effort to examine him.
So Lleya decided to summon the Breathing Shell upon her head.
She climbed out of the river and crouched aside the poor man, closing her face to his.
Was he crying ?
Lleya discovered a few drops of salty water that had come out of his eyes' glands.
How did they call them, already ? Oh yes, tears... well, tears of what ?
She couldn't tell.
But he was slightly alive.
He wouldn't be for long if she didn't act now.
She had to play the melody of rejuveneration for him.
It would last long, considering his actual health.
And first, she would have to build a source shelter down the river for him to recovery.
"Okay, human, let's do this. But then, you owe me one. You'll guide me to this land of yours they call Falconia."
Lleya sighed and disappeared into the river once again.
Episode 08 : Old story
Rickert was still following his friend Guaru into the changing galleries. It was beginning to become annoying, especially with the lack of food, or beer, or light, or anything...! Plus, the young blacksmith couldn't help himself remember the speech Guaru gave him about the dwarven artefacts, earlier. It was just rolling up and down in his mind, like it would never stop. What should he use, if they needed to ? How should he use the artefacts properly, not to sink into alienation, fast-aging, self-decomposition or any of the bad stuff revealed ?
"Wake up, young one !"
Rickert came back to real life dark tunnels.
"What up ?"
Guaru made an indescriptible throat noise.
"Wake up smoothly, silently, please..."
Rickert frowned. Guaru had just stopped walking.
"Do you remember what Gömtsig told you about the artefacts, by any chance ?"
Rickert didn't like the way this conversation was heading to.
"What do you mean ?"
Guaru laughed.
"Maybe it's nothing..."
"Come on, Guaru, tell me everything !"
"Yes-yes, just talk slowly and not loudy... walls...ears... you know."
"Be more specific, friend."
Guaru made another strange dwarven noise.
"These tunnels and walls remind me of an old story... down-earth, a long time ago, dwarves were not the only people to live and prosper, as they say. There were also a few other peoples, not as cool as we are, but... darker and ill-willed. Not that it is more than an old stupid story, heh."
Rickert wanted to know more about it.
"Who are you talking about ?"
"You know, all the other cave-dwellers : cave ogres, goblins, stone trolls, orcs..."
"Doesn't seem nice to me, all of them. What tells your folk story ?"
Guaru cleared his throat.
"Dwarves are beings derived from the earth elementals. All the ones I just listed are not, or not really... I mean I don't know for sure. But there was another people related to us, back then, as they say."
Rickert showed his surprise.
"Who were they ?"
"The worst dwarven nightmares... the kobolds. Little as we are, uglier than we are, nastier than we are, driven by a passion for war, inovation and destruction. We call them the dark dwarves, sometimes, the ones hidden in the darkest tunnels from where nobody comes back."
"Oh..." Rickert noticed. "You mean, like the tunnels we are stuck in ?"
Guaru grumbled.
"I don't mean to mean anything, but..."
Rickert grabbed Guaru's arm.
"But what ?"
"But, do you remember what Gömtsig told you about the artefacts, by any chance ?"
A frozen wind from behind suddenly made a whistling noise.
Followed by some kind of machinery put into motion.
And the sound of electrical saws slicing through steel.
And then shrieking voices, each one half-laughing, half-terrified.
It all seemed to come from below.
Rickert was feeling Guaru's arm shaking under his palm.
"Come on, friend," he murmured, "we have to get far from here. Guide us to higher galleries..."
The dwarf couldn't stop shaking, couldn't move an inch away, either.
"Oh, Forge, I got a bad feeling..."
With quite a chronological gap.
And changes.
Right on.
When is it ?
Just right now.
Fantasia Arc.
Chapter of the Dreaming Chaos.
Here's the introduction.
Episode 01 : Our Family Tree
So it seemed nothing ever really changed...
Once, he was blamed for something like this.
He payed the price of a mortal life...
And so did the blaming prince.
And such price had already been payed by the Enlighted one...
the one who was standing in the middle of this mess.
Chaos was spreading all over the city of Wyndham...
He had dreamed about it a long time ago, and did nothing.
So it was happening again. And he wouldn't do anything. Again.
So the corrupted King of Bones had asked for his help, and had to fight alone - to his inevitable doom.
So the gracious King of Gods didn't have to ask for anything, blessed by all - to their inevitable doom.
So the old king was fighting alone to save a dirtied land. Again - to his inevitable doom.
Instead of angels, a huge demonic tree was devastating the whole region...
Perhaps he had stayed too much time in the forest, eventually.
He had called for it, in a way.
He wasn't going to choose any side.
It was time for a new dream to be dreamed...
For a new world to begin.
For an old world that had been...
Once, more than a dream.
From his distance place, he saw the huge light engulfing the High King and all his minions...
At a huge pace, it would cover everything that was under the control of Human emotions.
It would blend reality...
And so, he had to take his chance to put a seed of frailty.
Lifting his four-fingered right hand before his globulous dark yellowish eyes,
Oro witnessed the melting of the world they were all living in,
Satisfied by his loneliness of the moment, still as a tree he almost was,
He thought about saying hi to the one who had lights instead of eyes,
But it wasn't really time, the flash was coming nigh,
So he went on dreaming,
Without any goodbyes...
Episode 02 : That Hill of Fallen Fellow Swords
You only get what you deserve. That is what grandma always said, as he recalled. And he was so damn frightened she could have hit the bag with that once-stupid-sounding assumption. Everything went so wrong, so many times. He could not even remember all the shit that he'd gone through, along the years. And yet, granny, he was still alive to wank his mind off.
Up at that hill of fallen fellow swords, Marcus was in for a so-called nostalgic emotional phase, or something like that. Some time ago, he reached this unique place, full of free swords, as he'd just heard about the return of the White Hawk. Griffith being back, gosh ! Like at that time when they kicked the asses of the huge Boscogne and all his troops. He remembered in every detail that fight Guts had had with that huge bastard, ending with him being sliced in two, his horse undergoing the same treatment. That was the time preceding their anoblishment... it wasn't so long ago. But it seemed so far, already.
The last time he was here, Marcus met that small girl who was protecting these swords. He put her life into danger. Actually, if it were not for the intervention of that freaking dwarf, the small one would have had a few ribs broken - at least. And he met Rickert, who recognized him immediately, after the three or so years without seeing each other, since he left the Band of the Hawks - right, at that bad time when Griffith got arrested. It appeared Corcas, under whose command he was at the end, wasn't as coward he himself was. Rickert told him how great a man Corcas had become in the last days - when they were working their asses off to free Griffith from the royal jails. Rickert told him they were the only survivors, Griffith, Guts, Casca and them. Griffith was back, yes, to rule the kingdom as he had always wished. Guts, as for him, was on a dark quest, trying to get at Griffith to chop off his head. Casca became nuts, not even knowing who she was. Well, as one can guess, shit had happened.
Marcus sighed.
He walked towards the old mine that used to be near its position.
A few months ago, he could have gone this way - if there hadn't been the objection of the girl.
He could not get a better idea of what the heck was that dwarf all about.
You get what you deserve, heh.
Apparently, Rickert had seen elves before, too, that lucky bastard.
Marcus wished he would have met some incredible creature who could save his ass when the occasion needed it.
But instead, he thought looking for Griffith himself would be the best idea ever to get a full understanding of the whole situation.
Thing is, the new army of the Band of the Hawks was constantly moving from one town to one another, saving people from the Kushans, and so on. Traveling alone was a bitch, especially with crooks and Kushans all over the place.
Fortunately, he was quite a crook himself.
Marcus sighed again.
So...
Was the story true ?
Did they all get killed by huge toothed monsters ?
"You don't believe Guts' story ? I've been attaqued by monsters back then, too ! And just a few days ago, Griffith came to see me, accompanied by none other than Zodd the immortal. You remember him, don't you ?"
Marcus remembered. He was too afraid to go in the cave, at that time, when both Griffith and Guts went out wounded after not-killing the war legend. His fear had saved him. Those who went had their bodies, well, multiplicating...
So, when he was traveling to get to Griffith and he saw the shape of the flying demon above his head, Marcus just decided to change his mind. Going get killed wasn't his thing, after all.
So... what was he good for ?
Marcus crouched on the snow between swords, one hand gripping one weapon.
Sure, Gaston would have gone without any hesitation after Griffith, if he'd heard the same story.
Marcus' head went down.
The snow was white.
Really white.
Too much white to be just snow, no ?
He rose his chin and saw a overwhelming flash of light.
What was tha...?
When the sand-tainted-hair man came back to his own feelings, everything seemed different. In an eerie way. He couldn't have said what, or how, or why, or any of the other small words belonging to his questioning repertoire.
Marcus overheard the wind blowing through the mill back at that smith house. It was too vivid.
"Dead man..."
Whispers, now ? What in the name...?
"Dead man... you should have been..."
"Sword man... you should have gone..."
Were his mind and ears playing tricks on him ? Was that a way for his guilt to get back at him ?
"The mighty Falcon doesn't know you betrayed him...?"
"Do you think he would be glad if he ever knew...?"
Marcus cleared his throat.
Holy shit, was he going insane ?
Now, new sounds.
Bones cracking.
Marcus looked all around.
Down there, was it...skeletons...walking this way ? Trying to block him with that cliff just nearby ?
Skeletons... right ? Right...
Marcus looked back : it was a frigging high cliff. There was no way out. Like "confront your own sins and your own guilt" and all that similar stuff that he wouldn't like to deal with, right now.
The once-mercenary tried some respiration exercise he used to practice a lot, during battles with the Hawks.
Then he grabbed a sword next to him.
Then he figured out a plan : the cliff could help him throw the bones for the dogs downside.
Marcus managed a weird smile to intimidate his enemies...
...A few minutes later, Marcus was screaming and sinking down, along with a skeleton who grabbed him.
Was it how it was supposed to end ?
So, was it true ? You get what you deserve ?
Was he so lame, so coward, so sinful, so bad, to merit this and end like that...?
Episode 03 : The Art of Illusions
My name is Kyletx, and if you have to remember something about all this story, remember my name. For I am no one but the true hero of the era of the merging of all the potential and dreamed of plans of reality... or should I say "dreamality"... or even better... uh, wait for it, I don't have anything better in my bag of potent and great and awesome constructs. For I am a constructor. Building concepts all over the place. Making plans all over the paper. Creating fireworks in the sky to recieve waves of "wow" - woves, as I call them.
So, why am I saying all this stuff ? Because I see through the constructs. I see through illusions. I see the hidden no-truth behind the apparent no-lies. I get the picture. People only get the words. They don't see what I see. I am an illusion, made real, but untrue. I serve the blind. I am the eyes. I see through. So, what I can tell for sure since that flabbergasting flash of no-light is that the real picture is not good to see for real. I'd prefer, say, watch a good ol' movie on my fire-sight-catcher device.
For I am Kyletx the witty gnome and in front of my big nose, I get to see the desert oasis of what they're now baptising Falconia.
The capital of a new age. The capital of a new head. The White Hawk. Let me call him the White Hoax.
How come I am the only one to see through this guy ?
I mean, I may have been helped. Yes, some dream within the illusion of my dreamality. Telling me to look at the King of Falconia and to look for the King of Skellig, this sanctuary place which used to be hidden - thanks to the skills of my windy cousins, constructed as elves most of the times, or if you want my opinion, who should be illusionary recrafted as "nerves", I know what I mean, don't bother seeing any picture, you're limited to the subtitles, I told you before.
Falconia...ew...what does it look like ?
Simple, as its foundator. A White Hoax. Don't bother about it.
For I won't. I've seen enough. The tree's enough. The tree's the proof. Let's all get together ! Anarchists, I tell you.
I was forgotten by the time.
I am going to fire up your world, blind folks !
But first, I am going to need some physical and psychical back-up.
More on that later.
Oh, and don't stay too close to the words.
I am a master of illusions. I could get you lost in no-magic box.
Episode 04 : Tunnels of Darkness
"Wait a second, it doesn't look familiar too me."
Rickert turned his head. He couldn't see his new friend, but he felt his shoulder under his palm.
"What's wrong, Guaru ?"
The dwarf seemed confused.
"Well, do you know why you guys met me up hill, that time ?"
Rickert stood silent.
"I am an anticipating dwarf, or so they all say. What I was expecting just happened a few hours ago, as you know it..."
"Do you mean this incredible light that went even into the depths of the dwarven galleries of yours, by any chance ?"
"That's right, young one..."
The tone Guaru was taking wasn't comforting the blacksmith, as of now.
"Tell me what is wrong, please."
Guaru shrugged.
"The path out of the earth realms to the wind sancturay seems to have changed. The way out has evolved."
Rickert frowned.
"Is this a way to tell me you are lost in your own tunnels, friend ?"
Guaru turned to meet Rickerts' eyes. He, dwarven one, could see in the dark.
"This is a way to tell you the world is not the same as it used to be. We might be lost in not-my-own-tunnels-anymore."
Rickert took a deep breath in.
"What about the others, downstairs ? What about Erica ?"
Guaru made a strange noise in his throat.
"Here we are ! I wanted to tell you... I've tried to lead our way back to familiar galleries, but they don't seem to exist anymore as before."
Rickert would have loved to get some light to confront the face of his dwarf friend.
"So, there is no way to get back at the Forge ? No way to get back at Erica ?"
"Not one that I think of. It doesn't imply anything else. They must be very fine, all of them. We're talking about the Forge, young one ! You also agreed on letting Erica behind, as it is one of the safest place on - or under - the earth !"
Rickert remembered the decision he took just a few hours ago, when they still were in the galleries of the Forge. They had stayed a few months there, nicely hosted by Guaru and his peers. And just when the flash of light occured, Guaru had this dream, this revelation, about Skellig - which happened to be the exact same thing as Puck's home. The idea was to get there to put Casca in a safe place. So would be the Forge for Erica, right ? It made sense. It was the best solution he could have chosen.
"So, we have to keep going and find some way out. We have to get to the King of Skellig, you said so yourself."
Guaru smiled at the teenager.
"It just won't be as easy as we planned to get to your elves' friend in Elfhelm."
Rickert sighed. He already made up his mind. They were going, Guaru and him, just like Guts was traveling with Puck the elf.
"It doesn't matter anymore. We have dwarven artefacts to help us along the way."
Guaru laughed.
"You know, we dwarves are some kind of experts in this field, but you shouldn't praise too much the fruits of the Forge. They sometimes can get... how to say... troublesome."
Rickert's ears rang.
"What about telling me all I have to know about the dwarven magic your people lent me ? As a blacksmith myself, you should be able to share some of your innate knowledge... Our safety depends on it, friend."
Guaru shrugged again.
"I guess nobody will hear me unveiling the stuff to a human kid, in these dark tunnels."
Episode 05 : Call me a Wyverner, whatever...
In the village of Waldaym, everything went back to normal after the huge celebration for the liberation of the Kingdom of Midland. Some of the men were still coping with their hang-overs. Others were cleaning the streets of all the dirt. Children were playing - this morning was a good time because of adults going to bed at a late hour. They were eventually saved from the Kushans. They had been saved from the Tudor invasions, now the White Falcon had put to an end the era of terror imposed by the Emperor Ganishka.
Life could carry on...
or could it ?
Some children were out renacting glorious battles a few hundreds feet away from the village. Between the trees, they were fencing, jumping, counter-attacking. They were laughing. And a few times, they got hurt in the process...
At one moment, one of them screamed as hell. The other children came to see what was wrong with him. He wasn't actually the type of a whiny boy, usually. And then, in front of their eyes, the most incredible and awesome view showed up...
A giant was getting beaten up by a hord of trolls.
There were plenty of them. Maybe three dozens, all hairy, and toothy, and most importantly... nasty.
It appeared the giant was taking a nap in these woods when they decided to get to him.
"Come on, giant, beat the hell out of'em !" the children yelled out.
The giant turned his head to them and gave them a unique "grinace" - one couldn't decide between grin or grimace.
They couldn't talk any more. They had to watch the fight in absolute awe...
A few minutes and bruises later, the giant stood still, blood all over his shirt.
Troll corpses all over the place, dismantled, ripped off, crashed to become troll forest rugs.
And the giant decided to lay down on a few of them to finish his nap...
"Awesome ! Mister Giant, be our friend !" the children had their voices back, now that they knew they were safe.
The giant raised as an oak and gave them that look.
The angry look. Or was it the hungry one...?
"I don't like sleep-disturbers..."
The children shared the same expression of fear...
They were screaming again when one of them was lifted above the ground.
"Do you prefer to be crashed, to be swallowed or to pathetically fall, little one ?"
The boy's conscience collapsed...
When he woke up, he was on the ground, his friends around him.
What was happening ? he thought while his whole body shook to death.
"Look, George... look..."
The little boy raised his gaze and came on an unexpected view...
There was a new man, quite tall - but definitely not a giant. He had pale eyes, pointy ears, redish hair. His clothes were colorful yet on the pale scale, also. He kinda looked like a noble man.
He was sitting on a strange flying creature - children were betting on a wyvern - and held his hand towards the giant.
This one had stopped to move and had already one arm cut.
He was in some trouble...
"Who are you and why do you interfere with my meal ?"
The new-comer came closer on his flying no-horse.
"I didn't do anything for the trolls. They're just good to be sliced, it's well-known. But I won't let big guys like you annoy small ones, be they astral or not."
The flying man cleared his throat.
"That being said, I don't see any reason for a stupid giant like to continue living."
The giant frowned. He suddenly felt he was not facing the regular combatant.
"Please, mighty lord, I owe you an apologize, let me live."
That man landed his wyvern on the ground and calmed the frightened boys with a look.
"How weird... I didn't think a giant like you could guess my origins. Indeed, I was born among the family of Arunites."
The giant seemed surprised.
"But I am not anymore. People have known me as the hydras tamer, the wyvern rough-rider, or even the dragon educator. In fact, I am..."
The giant finished his sentence : "a Wyverner ...!"
The noble Arunite, as he presented himself, nodded slightly before adding something else.
"I am Thamrig, sorcerer of the High Peaks of Astralia."
And then, the ground collapsed under the giant's feet.
And then, lightnings hit the spot repeatedly.
And then, there was no more giant to see...
Kyletx was pretty sure he could make an ally of this wind sorcerer, for the upcoming adventures.
He would just have to work on the trust issue, being himself an elaborated form of a fire elemental.
It wasn't easy to be born a gnome, some times...
Episode 06 : It's getting better and better...
She was running again in the woods. You can not trust anyone anymore, she thought while blaming herself about staying in that place for more than a night. And no one should trust you either again, she ended her thinking process while wondering if some of those dirty guys would recover from the wounds she inflicted them. They deserved it, though. Like she didn't have problems already. Who the hell did they think they were ? Her way of surviving was okay in Albion, but it had become more and more dangerous, with all the chaos spreading with the war. So, she had thought it might be time for her to find a new approach to her survival. She had decided to directly confront the Kushans to make them pay the price of all the lives they had taken. Enough people had died around her recently. She did know she would have to just focus on the best way to keep on living, at that time. She seemed to have found the killing was easier than the running, sometimes. This time, she just had to do both of them, and it wasn't so easy, really. Let them capture you, let them be seduced, let them die in their sleep with a sliced throat, that was her new way.
She was running in the woods, again, indeed.
Alone, again.
Flashes of memories came to her mind.
The last time she was running like hell like this was a couple of months ago...
...Kushans were attacking them by surprise.
Them being Jerome and her.
They just had an argument about the girls who disappeared a few days earlier.
They had found their bodies in a terrible shape.
The girls were hiding in a shelter they had infiltrated before, while she was out collecting fire wood. Jerome, thinking the girls were safe and she did not, came out of their shelter to look after her.
After discovering the shocking deaths, she had refused to talk to him for several days, but she still accepted the presence of that stupid knight.
The first and last time she broke the silence was that loud argument.
The argument that dragged a whole bunch of Kushans on them...
...They had started to hear some noise before the attack.
Jerome looked more anxious than usually. He had unsheathed his sword, and after an heart-beat reflexion, he just pushed her away.
"Run, Luca, run for your life!"
At first, she didn't react.
Then, Jerome grabbed her wrist and ran with her along.
A few arrows were shot and were getting closer and closer to them.
Then, Jerome had them stop and looked at her in the eyes.
"Now, you will run this way as fast as you can, or I kill you, no kidding here."
She had been pushed away again and Jerome ran in another direction, calling for the Kushans to try to get to him.
And that was the last time she ever saw him.
She had just heard him screaming at one point.
And that was the last time she ever heard him...
...Now Luca was running away from a few Kushans who had survived her trap during the night. But she was alone and couldn't get them run elsewhere. She reminded herself of the sweet and coward Nina. How did she go with the illness, the war, and Joachim ? It couldn't be any worse than her own situation, could it ?
And then, she discovered a cave in the corner of her eye.
The cold was biting, she was exhausted, so it would be the best solution for now.
Rest there a moment and check if she was still followed by the Kushans.
That is what she did...
...A few hours went by.
Nothing from the Kushans.
Luca was beginning to relax.
And also, she was starting to freeze.
So what, she should move again, to thieves, to assassins ?
How could it get worse than this ?
Luca stood up and gave a better look at her new-found shelter.
It seemed rather large and deep.
She decided to move inwards.
Get away from the cold wind.
Warmth did come from there.
And lights, and drums ?
Oh no ...!
...Luca was standing straight, her eyes wide-open.
A whole people of little torch-carrying and drum-playing goblins were coming out of their hole, intrigued by the natural offering she represented to them.
They were all excited about it, about her.
They were dancing all over the place.
Luca decided not to run, this time.
In a weird way, they reminded her of the strange sad little egg-creature and then, also, the wise knight made of bones she first thought was Death itself...
A few moments later, Luca realised she was made prisoner of the goblins.
Now, something would happen, for sure.
She just would have to wait, right ?
It was getting better and better...
Episode 07 : Riverside
It all started to change when she was in for a fun swim. Somehow, troubled as she was for some time, she decided to take a look outside what was going on. Animals all around the place were looking at her in a strange way. Here she was, the oceanid, having secretly fun in a river...! Yes, that is right. And it was so good...
Or was it really when everything started to change ? Before that, there was this light so bright it came even into the deepest depths of the ocean abysses, making fishes able to see her and interact with her. With all of them, the oceanids, in their protected and magical realm, the Jewels of Corals.
Just about that time, Lleya had had this visionary dream sliding into her soul. It was about the need to see the King of Falconia, this new human - or was it human - city. It was about the need to seek the King of Skellig island - which she already had heard about and which was very far away. And then, it all became very complicated for all of them. They were used to some nasty creatures, yes, nevertheless the Shield of Shells was keeping them away from any harm. Now, a lot of nagas, makaras, and all other sort of serpent-like creatures were popping up in the same plan of reality as they were.
They did break the Shield.
So it was time for the oceanids to go.
Dispersion was the call their Queen had given all of them.
So Lleya went into a direction none of the others took.
She went landwards, to go take a look at Falconia - even she didn't have a clue how she would do to get there.
As fast she could to escape all the dangerous ones, she enter a river and swimmed against the current.
Salmons seemed surprised she could do it too.
But she wasn't going to visit her birthplace.
Well, her life really started to change when she was in for a fun swim, down the river. As she didn't know when to stop, where to go, what to do, how to get a glimpse of Falconia, she had decided to take a look outside. Something was going on, also. She could feel it. There she was, animals looking at her. Plenty of land animals, eventually, in front of a very high cliff. At first, she didn't realise it was a lot of them, because she wasn't well acquainted with the land realms. Then, she saw him...
He was human, laying down just at the riverside.
Was he asleep ?
Lleya sank into the river again to get some good air and swimmed towards him.
She moved her head out of the flow to take a better look at the man. He was a bit taller than she was, and he had hair all over his body - or almost. Disgusting.
But there was more. He seemed in a bad shape : blood all over his clothes, more than a few bones broken, unconscious... even a few bones next to him... he seemingly was trying to get to the water when his mind collapsed.
Was he even alive ?
It was going to take some special effort to examine him.
So Lleya decided to summon the Breathing Shell upon her head.
She climbed out of the river and crouched aside the poor man, closing her face to his.
Was he crying ?
Lleya discovered a few drops of salty water that had come out of his eyes' glands.
How did they call them, already ? Oh yes, tears... well, tears of what ?
She couldn't tell.
But he was slightly alive.
He wouldn't be for long if she didn't act now.
She had to play the melody of rejuveneration for him.
It would last long, considering his actual health.
And first, she would have to build a source shelter down the river for him to recovery.
"Okay, human, let's do this. But then, you owe me one. You'll guide me to this land of yours they call Falconia."
Lleya sighed and disappeared into the river once again.
Episode 08 : Old story
Rickert was still following his friend Guaru into the changing galleries. It was beginning to become annoying, especially with the lack of food, or beer, or light, or anything...! Plus, the young blacksmith couldn't help himself remember the speech Guaru gave him about the dwarven artefacts, earlier. It was just rolling up and down in his mind, like it would never stop. What should he use, if they needed to ? How should he use the artefacts properly, not to sink into alienation, fast-aging, self-decomposition or any of the bad stuff revealed ?
"Wake up, young one !"
Rickert came back to real life dark tunnels.
"What up ?"
Guaru made an indescriptible throat noise.
"Wake up smoothly, silently, please..."
Rickert frowned. Guaru had just stopped walking.
"Do you remember what Gömtsig told you about the artefacts, by any chance ?"
Rickert didn't like the way this conversation was heading to.
"What do you mean ?"
Guaru laughed.
"Maybe it's nothing..."
"Come on, Guaru, tell me everything !"
"Yes-yes, just talk slowly and not loudy... walls...ears... you know."
"Be more specific, friend."
Guaru made another strange dwarven noise.
"These tunnels and walls remind me of an old story... down-earth, a long time ago, dwarves were not the only people to live and prosper, as they say. There were also a few other peoples, not as cool as we are, but... darker and ill-willed. Not that it is more than an old stupid story, heh."
Rickert wanted to know more about it.
"Who are you talking about ?"
"You know, all the other cave-dwellers : cave ogres, goblins, stone trolls, orcs..."
"Doesn't seem nice to me, all of them. What tells your folk story ?"
Guaru cleared his throat.
"Dwarves are beings derived from the earth elementals. All the ones I just listed are not, or not really... I mean I don't know for sure. But there was another people related to us, back then, as they say."
Rickert showed his surprise.
"Who were they ?"
"The worst dwarven nightmares... the kobolds. Little as we are, uglier than we are, nastier than we are, driven by a passion for war, inovation and destruction. We call them the dark dwarves, sometimes, the ones hidden in the darkest tunnels from where nobody comes back."
"Oh..." Rickert noticed. "You mean, like the tunnels we are stuck in ?"
Guaru grumbled.
"I don't mean to mean anything, but..."
Rickert grabbed Guaru's arm.
"But what ?"
"But, do you remember what Gömtsig told you about the artefacts, by any chance ?"
A frozen wind from behind suddenly made a whistling noise.
Followed by some kind of machinery put into motion.
And the sound of electrical saws slicing through steel.
And then shrieking voices, each one half-laughing, half-terrified.
It all seemed to come from below.
Rickert was feeling Guaru's arm shaking under his palm.
"Come on, friend," he murmured, "we have to get far from here. Guide us to higher galleries..."
The dwarf couldn't stop shaking, couldn't move an inch away, either.
"Oh, Forge, I got a bad feeling..."
But so far I'm enjoying it. 
