EPHEMERAL REVERIE
The Silence Between
Lara P. Ambrose
To Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone,
whose open-ended world has ignited the flames
of inspiration within me.
To FlashShifter,
whose dedication and expansive reimagination
of Eric Barone's world has reimagined the inspiration
within me.
To Chris Harms,
whose music has lit a fire in my soul
and helped breathe life into my characters.
To Yoshinori Kitase and Hidemaro Fujibayashi,
whose contributions to both the Final Fantasy
and Legend of Zelda series respectively have
always kept a sense of wonder and longing to
dream within me.
PART ONE
On That Day, Nine Years Ago
I
July 26, 2010
Moonfall Hollow could best be described as a wild, almost foreboding place. No one lived here save for animals and ancient creatures from the old tales. It was ironic that, until almost two thousand years ago, this place had been the centerpiece of civilization for the entire world, with gleaming cities, advanced technology, and an incredibly powerful military might that had colonized over half the known world.
Now, there were no signs in those deep, dark forests that human life had existed there, nearly all of it being wiped away by a disaster known as The Fall. Overnight the cities had collapsed and the people had been annihilated. Only lingering ghosts, broken ruins, and trees so thick no light penetrates through their boughs fill that part of the world.
It seemed as if a specter of the past had returned to Moonfall that day as a mighty, sleek black ATV glided effortlessly over the rocky, rough terrain and through the dark thickets of trees. A pair of vehicles the same make and color darted on both sides just behind it, acting as rear guard.
Desperado, one of the soldiers in the lead vehicle, leaned forward to follow the driver's gaze.
"Hey, Ghost, think we'll find it soon?"
The driver remained focused, staring straight and following the course laid out within his mind. They broke from the thick forest and began to curve up along the road that wound up the northern side of Windmark Mountain.
"We have no choice," Ghost replied, his regal tone belying his anxiety. "This is our only chance. And I don't think the Astrals would approve of us disrupting the flow of time to try again."
They were all clad in combat gear, consisting of a black uniform with steel armor over their chest, shoulders, forearms, and shins, black boots and gloves. Each soldier wore a headpiece made of a blacksteel crystal face covering complete with a hood. The covering had no eye or mouth holes, instead featuring an advanced system of sensors that gave them full night, thermal, and electro-magnetic vision, as well as normal vision. Around their waists they wore loaded utility belts. Their shoulder armor proudly displayed a white floral insignia. Aside from Desperado and Ghost, the soldiers all carried steel swords with saber-like handguards, as well as a rifle slung over their shoulders.
"The records didn't give us much information aside from date and location," Desperado replied.
Ghost laughed to himself. "Come, now. I'm sure this is a day you remember well. It is your thirteenth birthday, after all."
"Hey, hey, I'm just a kid right now, wanting to stuff strawberry pie into my face and open presents. I never thought anything like this would happen, okay?"
"Me neither," Ghost grunted in response.
They fell silent as they reached the top of the unmarked road, parking in a small clearing just big enough for the three vehicles.
"The tunnel should be on the other side of this hill," Ghost said.
He glanced at the map, showing the once-solid continent now shattered into many pieces around a massive crater large enough to count as an ocean all its own. Desperado sighed, glancing at the other soldiers standing nearby.
Ghost suddenly ordered them all silent, raising his rifle and scanning the area. This part of the forest was heavy, thick, with dim sunlight filtering through the leafy canopy overhead. Distant rumbles of thunder and growls and hungry bleats could be heard. Shadows were raging in the distance in anticipation of the day's coming storm.
"We go forward," he ordered. "And we go quickly."
Desperado moved, propelled by a mix of determination and fear. His gloved hands were wrapped tightly around the handle and muzzle of a heavy machine gun. He keenly felt the weight of metal armor, ammunition, and grenades. Sweat, from the heat and from his own sore muscles, poured down his brow. He wasn't cut out to be a soldier, but this was their chance—their only chance—and he was the only one who remembered the day's events with absolute clarity.
The group came to a halt as they crested the final hill. Desperado looked at the large field below. He paused, face scrunched in confusion. This wasn't right, was it? That structure down there in the field…it shouldn't have been there. Hell, the field shouldn't have been there. The last time he stood on the summit, he'd seen a continuous stretch of forest right up to the base of the mountain, not this gouge in the planet exposing some sort of white-blue crystal. He took the map from Ghost and looked between the two.
"Is there a problem?"
"I don't know. I don't remember this at all," he said slowly.
"I never came up here as a child, so don't look to me for answers." With a small laugh he pointed up. "Heights."
The group continued into the field, crossing it quickly. Only Desperado slowed as they approached the gouge, looking down at the exposed crystalline structure.
At the mountain's base, nestled behind a large outcropping of rocks, was the entrance to a tunnel that dug all the way through the mountain. It, too, was made of the same white-blue crystal.
"Uh, Eminence?"
Ghost spun to the soldier—a small, wiry man clad in the same black uniform. "Copper, for the final time, it is 'Ghost'."
"M-my apologies, sir! But, um… Isn't this land protected by Adagium?"
"It is."
"The Adagium that serves the Goddess and brought down the—"
Desperado waved his hand. "What's your point, dude?"
Nervously, Copper looked to the tunnel. "Won't he know we're here? What if he comes after us?"
"We've taken that into consideration and have brought our own version of the talisman used to pass safely through. All will be well."
"Shouldn't have been so gung-ho to join if you weren't prepared to face the magic man himself," Desperado muttered under his breath. "Well, let's do this. Ain't lettin' some shadows stop me now."
"But, sir," Copper commented before the group could enter the tunnel. "I've got a real bad feeling about this." He looked back at the structure. "Something's not right here. Couldn't they know about us already?"
"Doubt it," Desperado replied. "If I know Adagium, he's so caught up he doesn't even have time to check."
"That's what we're counting on," Ghost replied.
‡ † ‡
"I really think you were on to something, man," Desperado commented as the small group reached the midway point in the tunnel. "Something funny is going on here."
"I-I told you!" Copper replied as they approached a three-way split in the path.
The tunnel had circled downward through the mountain, so they were quickly leaving the solid crystalline walls and approaching a metal, and obviously man-made structure. At this point, they could hear the distant sound of ocean waves crashing against the town to the immediate south.
"Looks like the rightmost path is our way forward," Ghost stated quietly as the group advanced.
The tunnel featured rail lines along its length a
nd led to a large doorway in the side of the metal structure. Further along, they heard a sound that logically could only be the wailing of trapped animals. But they knew better.
"They coming for us?" Desperado asked.
"Not sure. Keep your eyes open for any that do."
The other soldiers nodded. They all drew their sabers while Desperado drew his katars and Ghost unsheathed his steel longsword from his back. No shadows charged out to attack them, and neither did any person as the group came closer to the end. They soon spotted the source of the noise: a magical barrier, keeping a swarming black mass of glowing red eyes and glinting fangs at bay.
"Shadows…"
"Forget them," Ghost ordered. "We're not here for them."
"But what if they—"
"We'll take care of them," Desperado cut in.
The shadows growled and moaned, swarming faster as the group of soldiers passed them by with only withering glances. Ghost led them at a steady pace until they reached an intersection—one direction leading down and deeper into the structure, the other leading to the right, and to daylight and the sound of birds and rushing water. Not hesitating, Ghost led the group up.
The tunnel ended ahead, opening to the outside, and the group felt the blowing wind and smelled the fresh country air and the salt of the ocean. They ran forward and exited the mountain, entering the summit train station. The men carried forward, rounding the station platform to the south…only to find their only means of entering the town proper blocked by a landslide.
"Seriously?" Desperado griped.
"No matter."
Ghost knelt by the fallen stones and placed a device upon the largest rock at the middle of the pile. Pulling out a small, holographic panel, he connected a thin wire to the device and tapped on the screen. The screen and connected fuses flashed in unison—first blue, then red as the charge was set.
"So much for stealth," Desperado muttered. Ghost smirked at the comment but didn't turn from his task.
The ground beneath their feet vibrated violently. A piercing frequency rippled through the air as the device and stones both vibrated into a blur. In a matter of seconds, the blockage fell away in a much smaller heap of super fine sand. While the rest of the group appeared unbothered, Desperado could barely contain his confusion and awe.
"No time to admire the scenery," Ghost said, nudging him on.
"The hell'd you do!? I was expecting some sort of blast."
"Psionic vibrations. Safer and more fine-tuned than traditional explosives."
As the rest of the group advanced on Ghost's command, Desperado stalled a second more. He could have sworn he heard a faint, melodic chirping noise. He turned his visor to the towering stones, the steadily darkening skies…then he spied it. A little ball of pink light briefly bobbing up and down in the air before flittering off. If neither Adagium nor anyone else in town knew they were there before, they did now.
"Yo, eyes up. Pink forest sprite just flew south. If Adagium hasn't felt our presence yet, then the Trusted definitely knows."
Ghost nodded and motioned to the group. One by one they all sheathed their sabers, pulled their guns, and pressed a switch on their belts. Their optic camouflage activated, concealing them and rendering them completely invisible save for a faint rippling in the air. They rounded the mountain lake and continued down the path towards the quaint seaside town of Miner's Cove.
Equally as silent, but nowhere near as unseen, quivering masses of blackness seeped from the cave entrance just a little north of the lake. The mass stopped, recoiling in the almost mute sunlight before splitting again and again, their small, primal cries quickly climbing to piercing heights as they set off after the group.
Ghost paused, then held up a hand, letting the others know to be still. Despite their visors featuring enhanced sound detection, they couldn't really hear very well thanks to the rush of a nearby river. But Ghost thought he heard the sound of feet scuffling on dirt. Multiple feet.
"Check," he whispered, raising his rifle. Through his optical sensors he saw the others nod, and their own weapons rose as well.
A moment later, there was more scuffling, as if more feet were joining the first few. Then, suddenly, a swarm of shadows came into sight around the upper bend in the trail. The solid mass ripped itself apart upon coming into sight, the creature at the forefront—what Ghost took to be the leader—wore a wicked shaman's mask. With a pang he realized something—they could see through the optic veil. How quickly they increased their speed seemed to confirm that.
Before Ghost could issue the order for combat, the shaman raised its staff and shook it, rattling the various trinkets tied to the top. It then hissed something. Whatever it said damaged the group's sound sensors—the sides of their visors crackled and hissed, some even emitting a faint smoke before the wearers ripped them off. Ghost brushed his pale blonde hair from his vibrant eyes, snarling as he advanced at the group, blade swinging. The shaman let a piercing shriek as the blade cut cleanly through its form, and a red burst of light suddenly shot from its dissipating core, hitting Panda—one of the other soldiers—in the chest. It was a strong enough blast to knock her off her feet, and she landed a few feet back with a heavy thud.
"Panda!"
Though the knockback and fall itself knocked the wind out of her, Panda scrambled back to her feet, gun cocked and aimed in a matter of seconds. She squeezed on the trigger just as a pair of shadow brutes slammed into her. The chiming ricochet of aetherum bullets tore through the face of the first brute, sending a backsplash of sickly, corrosive black blood over her face. Panda shrieked as she kicked out blindly, free hand wiping at the sludge before the second brute grabbed her head and, with a sickening snap, her body went limp. The brute then opened its jagged tooth-filled maw sickeningly wide and bit down, removing Panda's entire head and part of her shoulder in a single go.
The mountain trail then filled with a cacophony of shouts and chiming gunfire. Desperado yelped when his leg was suddenly grabbed a big, strong hand and he was lifted up until he was practically upside down in the air. The shadow brute glared at him with hollow eyes that seemed to pass right through him, wisps of smoke-like shadows trailing up into a point on its head.
Desperado knew he should feel afraid, that he should break free and help the others, but he found himself instead filled with a burning rage. He extended his arm, palm crackling with vicious energy as he aimed it up to the brute's face.
"Burn, baby!"
The shadow brute didn't have time to react before the magic spell went off, the incandescent ball of flame erupting against its face. The thing dropped Desperado, releasing all manner of hellish shrieks as it tried to extinguish the blaze, but it was hurled back onto its rear by a fierce, well-placed kick to the side of its head.
Desperado uttered a silent curse as he saw more shadows advancing. Motioning to Ghost, the soldiers regrouped and then broke into two teams. Ghost, Desperado, Copper, and two others made a run for it down the hill while the remaining team stayed behind to kill as many of the shadows as they could to buy some time. As they ran, Desperado and Ghost pulled their neck warmers up over the lower halves of their faces.
"If we can't save her," Ghost began, voice trembling—perhaps from the sheer speed at which they ran, but also maybe from fear, "We need to figure out an alternative to bind her."
Desperado was silent at first, the only sound the clanking of his katars against their holders on his belt. With the ocean in sight, he said a single word: "Loire."
"Will that work?"
"If we can't save her, and binding her to Loire fails, then we're all fucked, man. From every scenario I've gone through, Loire seems to be the one thing I haven't seen done."
"I hope you're right," Ghost muttered.
"Me, too." Ghost didn't seem to hear the almost silent reply.
As the rocky terrain gave way to the hushed greens of a town cloaked in the grip of a summer storm, the men fell silent and focused.
II
Griff's thirteenth birthday started out on a less-than-great note. It was a Tuesday, and he slept in way past when Mister Sebastian needed him to be up for lessons. He finally woke only when Charlie and Ignis shouted through his door that he was going to be late.
He dressed in five minutes and ran into the kitchen, dragging his messenger bag behind him.
"You're late," Tal, his father, shouted up the stairs from the conjoined lower shop.
"I know!" Griff shouted, darting down the stairs and running for the door. "I know, I know, I know!"
"Lunch," Tal reminded him, and Griff darted to the counter to grab the food he'd packed last night.
"Thanks!"
He almost made it back to the door before—
"Homework," Tal reminded him.
Griff groaned, and this time had to run all the way back upstairs to grab his history and math homework. If he didn't do this same song-and-dance at least once a week, it would be a wonder how Tal would know to remind him.
He was on the way back down the stairs when Tal called to him for a third time.
"Hey, champ," he said, his voice just that little bit too casual. Even with time ticking away until the start of the day's lessons, it made Griff pause and look at him.
"Catch," Tal said. He pulled a small package out from under a pile of mail and paperwork. Griff juggled his messenger bag onto one shoulder just in time to catch it, then looked back at Tal in surprise.
"What's this?"
"For your birthday," Tal replied with a warm smile. It widened as he added, "It's something I know you've been wanting for a while."
The return address on the shipping label was familiar—Griff recognized the city postal seal and brightened. "It's from Airdeis! Oh, Dad, is it the book about the tournaments?"
"Maaaaybe," Tal grinned. "You can open it at lunch and find out." He gave his son a hug and then shooed him out the door. "Charlie and Ignis are already out there waiting for you."
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