by Dusks, Rydre
"Rook, let's just make something clear here. I don't believe in gods. I don't believe in much of anything 'holy' or otherworldly except maybe spirits, and that's stretching it. It's all just hopeful wishing and nothing more. I do think that it's nearly unbelievable considering the number of things you've gone through in life, but I don't think that it's god-given."
Rook was silent for a minute, but then he chuckled nervously. "Yeah... anybody could be that lucky, blackie. Maybe I just won the universal lottery of fate or something. What about you? You did a lot of miraculous things yourself in Roavo. Not just anyone could scare the living shit out of Stone like you did, or command a whole gang of prisoners to do what you say, or turn all the guards on our side."
"That isn't--" I paused. Was that really something that anybody could have done with a little planning, or was it actually miraculous?
"Crow, I've met a lot of people in my life, but I have never met someone quite like you. When I first saw you I wasn't staring coz you're black. I was staring coz you have a different feel about you from other people."
"I sensed the same thing," I commented.
"And after I'd known you for a while I knew you were probably someone who functioned on a higher plane than other people."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"You believe in things no one else does. You may say you're an atheist, but you believe in chance being on your side. I do too. Doesn't it feel like a hand is leading you sometimes?"
I thought of Sylvain and Velzae. "Well, yeah. Quite often, actually." I paused. "Rook, you know I won't judge you if you believe in the gods."
"I don't just believe in the gods, Crow. I am one."
This time I turned my head fully to look back at him for a moment. Before he could speak to defend himself, I did. "I do believe you're different. At least... I believe you have powers because you have an additional brain function. I've been shown that I possess the same thing."
Rook tilted his head a little. "Really? So my suspicions were correct? I'm the incarnation of LasNuk--God of Good Fortune."
"So Sylvain told me. He also said that I'm supposedly IkioElle, God of Justice."
"So Sylvain really is KahRatese," Rook uttered.
"Sylvain is like KahRatese in lore. There's no concrete proof that gods do exist, you know. So far I've been able to explain almost everything with science."
"Believe what you want, blackie, but I've known for a long time now. Only reason I never mentioned it in Roavo was because I woulda been swarmed by prisoners wanting help, whether they believed I was a god or not."
That terrible camp was in the distance. I was about to tilt the hovercycle to give it a wide berth, but hesitated. Blank was still there.
"Rook, I'm going to get Blank really quick."
"...What? Blackie, we just got out of there. I don't think so."
"I promised her," I urged, turning the bike toward the camp. I saw the destruction of a couple of the dogs I'd shot still out in the sands.
"You're not going back in there while I'm with you!" Rook exclaimed. "Listen, what do you have to go up against so many guards? You have a gun. I've got nothing. We'll be risking our lives yet again, and we're not any better off right now than when we got out of there. In fact we're worse because you're missing a limb."
"Was missing one. I'm taken care of, and the bike might be able to support Blank if I place her on the front and take her to Agastay."
"No," Rook argued firmly. "You'll be riding us to our death, so stop acting like a loony!"
After a few seconds I pulled the handlebars back, turning slightly away from the camp. "You're right," I sighed. We were in no state to go storming back into Roavo, and I honestly couldn't risk getting trapped in there again.
"It's alright. We'll get Blank out soon enough," he reassured.
Roavo began to disappear behind us after I took my eyes away from the giant fences surrounding the camp.
"Okay, answer me this," I started. "If you've got powers like the God of Good Fortune, why are you so scared to get back in there? And how did you manage to land yourself in prison in the first place?”
Rook hesitated awkwardly after my question. "My luck doesn't always save me from miserable circumstances," he answered. "Mostly it just saves me from death, probably to serve a greater purpose."
"Or to meet up with me?" I wondered aloud. "How long have you known about your abilities?"
Rook snorted. "Pretty much since I was little, blackie. I started having divinatory dreams, like had visions of SolTansra holding me. He told me over and over that my real name was LasNuk. This was before I even learned who the gods were. My parents were shocked when I asked them about who the Crei were, since they'd never told me the stories. Oh, and my brother used to hate me for having naturally purple hair. IkioElle's defined color is black, so I can see why people would confuse you with a human."
"As far as I'm concerned, I am human," I replied shortly. "Both you and Sylvain have believed since birth that you're gods. Velzae believes he's a god. Why haven't I known about myself? Am I the only sane one?"
Rook fell silent, and I felt a little guilty for my comment.
"Sorry... I didn't mean that to come off offensive."
"Nah, you're okay. I just wish I had some answers for you, you know?"
"I'm sure things will get answered in time. Sylvain mentioned that Dentrin's creating a being resembling GaenVrellec, and said he'd reveal more to me in the future."
Rook suddenly went rigid. His instant bristling from my words caused even my own spine to tingle. "Well, that's not good."
"Let's just hope that he doesn't turn out to be anything like the GaenVrellec in lore."
"Right."
Several miles out from Roavo Rook and I spotted something about another mile away. Out on the horizon a wave of sand exploded into the sky. At first I thought perhaps it was another air-based vehicle, but the waves were much too high to be anything reasonably small enough to travel in.
"What...?" Rook started.
I narrowed my eyes a little, trying to see through the cloud of beige dust in the air, wondering if it was a good idea to keep heading southwest with this thing in the way. A glint of sunlight bounced off a silver structure, and just then a grating sound of metal struck my ears.
"Dammit," I began, veering the hovercycle to the right.
"What? What is it?" Rook demanded.
"That's a MetalArt," I answered, watching the structure carefully.
The massive object thrashed and sent more sand into the sky before sinking downward. I saw a couple long tentacles for a moment before the monolith disappeared and the dust settled. I straightened back out into a direct line.
"What... What do MetalArts do?" Rook wondered. "I've never seen one before."
"They aren't common in Souloroh, but they do a variety of different things. I wasn't able to see it that well, but it looked like an Ifearian design. They use MetalArts mainly for mining. That's probably what it's doing. And if that's the case, we're safe."
I felt Rook relax a little. "Oh, good."
Not even thirty seconds after I'd concluded this, a heavy rumble shook the ground. We would have been knocked off the bike if it weren't hovering several inches above the sands.
"Uh... You sure about that, blackie?"
A massive explosion of earth washed over us, and Rook and I gave shouts of alarm. Sand hit me in the face, and it blinded me for a moment. The hovercycle swerved, but I balanced it out.
"R-Rook, I can't see!" I called over the roar of twisting metal gears.
Rook's voice was hard to hear. "Let me steer!"
I didn't have time to move. Rook lifted himself up and swung around the side of the bike, pushing me to the back of the seat and standing in front of me. He nearly stepped on my leg as I tried to give him room. The hovercycle veered dangerously, and I flailed my arms to keep balanced. Once I managed to rub the sand out of my eyes I turned to look behind me.
The eight-story-high MetalArt h
ad less of a head and more of a drill. Its arms consisted of jointless, flailing grapnels, and the entire structure had the body of a scorpion. It was definitely a mining MetalArt, but it was not mining for anything under the sands. This thing was coming after us.
"What the heck did we do to piss it off?" Rook cried, squeezing the accelerator. The bike whined a little as it jerked into faster movement.
I aimed with my Jux at the machine and took one shot, but the bullet was lost in the flying sand and flailing tendrils. Not wanting to waste any more precious rounds, there was no other way to slow it down. And at this point I figured bullets would probably only aggravate something this large. Rook had the best tactic of just speeding up as fast as he possibly could.
"It might just think we're an obstacle," I said, trying to think of some type of reason this thing would be targeting us. "Not many people travel down this way."
The MetalArt cranked one of its grapnels down, slamming it into the sand just behind the bike and sending up another massive wave. This time I shielded my eyes.
"Oi, blackie, I got an idea!" Rook exclaimed. "You're the God of Justice. Isn't this thing corrupt? Just do something to it!"
I looked back at him like he was crazy. "I'm not a god, Rook! This really isn't the time to start pretending things! I don't even know what being the God of Justice entails!"
"Oh, hell, Crow! Will you shut up your stupid brain for two seconds and listen? I'm out of ideas, you're probably out of ideas--just roll with it! You can control the fates of any beings or creatures that go against the rights of nature. You did it to Stone on your execution day. Just focus on it or something! Make it go away!"
As dumb as the idea sounded, I figured there was nothing wrong with trying at least. I switched positions, facing the monstrosity moving closer to the bike. I pulled my feet up onto the seat, straightening enough so that I could see the MetalArt's head clearly. It had directed its pointed drill toward the hovercycle. With one hand, I held onto the back bars of the bike and used my loudest voice.
"You're in the wrong to attack us! You need to direct your attention to your duties! We are not worth your time!"
The MetalArt paid no heed to my words.
"Leave us alone!" I tried again.
Instead, the MetalArt dove forward and slammed into the desert, cascading not only sand but massive chunks of earth our way. Several pieces slammed into the hovercycle. The bike twisted and flipped, and Rook shouted in panic. I tried to hold on, but it was no use. The speed we were at was too much force for me to best. I was flung yards from the bike and hit the sand hard.
The wind knocked out of me completely as I skidded a long distance, finally landing roughly in a low dune. As the sand cascaded around my body, I heard Rook's shout from a distance off. I attempted to crawl out of the dune, but I couldn't find the strength. The MetalArt still sounded close, but I wasn't able to see it. My breath was short and hitched. I couldn't feel much of my body. I heard Rook's call one more time, but then everything slowed and sounded far away. It was finally then that my body gave up and let me fall unconscious.
Just my luck. I get out of an accident only to end up in a new one.
You aren't injured. Open your eyes.
The voice didn't belong to Sylvain or Velzae. It was distinctly female. Confused but heeding it, I awoke.
I lay on a sidewalk. A street lamp was over me, and my face was wet with rainwater. The street was loud with the drops of rain. For a moment I thought I was back in GreyCross. I wore my hunting coat... but then again I'd worn it leaving Agastay as well. It was torn heavily across the left shoulder where I'd slammed into the sand. As I sat up I noticed I still wore Atta's borrowed clothes. I looked around for Rook and the hovercycle but saw nothing. In fact... I didn't see anyone.
I stood up, using the pole of the street lamp to support myself as dizziness faded. Now that I could see clearly, brushing my bangs out of my eyes, I noticed something entirely bizarre about this street. It was... unfinished. I took a few steps, listening to my boots slap against the wet ground, and came closer to the other end of the sidewalk. The darkness was thick. It grew even thicker the closer I approached; then I was at a wall of shadow. I looked to the other side of the street, perhaps only a handful of yards away, and discovered the same wall of shadow was there. I raised my hand and passed it through the darkness, feeling an uncanny weight bring it down. It was so heavy that I was forced to pull my hand back to avoid being dragged downward.
Was I in a dream? Everything felt so real--everything smelled so vibrant. I took a few steps into the middle of the road, stopping on the yellow line and looking down to the other side again. A sudden light turned on just beyond the wall of darkness--two lights to be exact. They were round and eyeball-like. Along with the lights came a mechanical roar. I watched in shock as a robotic beast came forward through the shadows. One step at a time, it planted its messy legs of wire and rusty cog-work down deep into the cement. Slowly its face came into view.
A round plate of bronze rust, cloudy lights for eyes, and a grinning, fang-shaped mouth painted to the front was what made up its head. It only had four limbs, and it was covered in moss. Vines trailed from its gears, coiling and snapping to allow the robotics to move. It was such an old creation that it didn't look to be a part of the Kairenz I lived in. This thing had to be centuries old. The bronze cogwork and hiss of steam it emitted proved to me that the machine didn't run on nuclear cores, electronic computers, or even a furnace.
Before my confusion could set into fear, I reached into my pockets and pulled out my Jux. I pointed it at the robot, praying that this really was just a dream, and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the bot in one eye-light. The glass exploded, and I heard the pieces of the ammunition ricochet around on the inside of its workings. It jarred slightly, a massive spout of steam emitting from its sides, and roared again--sounding like an angry and ancient whistle. The grinning paint on its front panel projected outward via cogs and bars, and flipped around on a rotating peg to create a terrible frown. It charged forward.
Stopping my breath short for a moment as I saw the smile-bot's progression, I turned and ran toward an alleyway. Apparently my Jux had little effect on a durable steam-powered monstrosity. There was no circuitry to rip to pieces on the inside--nothing to make the beast stop. I paused when I noticed that the alley cut off with another blanket of shadow, and found myself trapped as the mechanical monster blocked the exit, glaring into the thin pathway with one eye and a furious, rusted scowl.
With as much courage as I could muster I backed up, listening for the silence of darkness behind me. I was trapped every which way, so what else was I to do? My foot slipped as the cement disappeared like a crumbling ledge, and I fell backwards into nothing.
There was no wind around me as I dropped, and the only detail proving to me that I fell was the sense of weight sinking me further downward. The angry bellows of the machinery faded from above as I dropped. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, letting the shadows take me away. Just when I thought I was going to fall forever I hit a flat surface. It didn't hurt, but it was certainly sudden and left me breathless. I felt what I was laying on for a moment trying to decipher what it was, but it was too smooth to tell, and too dark for me to see.
I don't understand, I found myself thinking as I slowly stood. The weight that followed my descent had since released its grip. Is this a dream? Am I still passed out somewhere in the Rove Desert?
You will awaken. The voice was the same as before. A female one. It was calming, motherly. Open your eyes.
With my eyes already open I closed them tightly, then tried again. This time I was no longer in darkness but lying in a bed of something I hadn't seen in two years. Grass. The call of a bird was somewhere above me and I lifted my head, blinking away the fog in my vision. I found myself among massive trees. For a moment I wondered if I'd somehow ended up back in the Gasaidiatt, but then knew that wasn't the case. The Gasaidiatt's trees were thinner, and I did
n't recognize the sound of the bird. The area I was in was almost marsh like. I stood slowly, dizzy yet again, and looked around. The sky, seen only as fragments through the tree's leaves, was an inky blue. It was twilight. This time I knew I was awake.
I'd carried the weight of the rainwater from the street, which confused me, as I’d thought the incident with the smiling robot had been a dream. Figuring standing around wasn't going to get me any answers, I walked. I was glad to know I was not surrounded by darkness this time. And if I was, I wasn't anywhere close to the border. I tried to check the cardinal directions but felt so turned around in the marsh that I just couldn't do it. I decided to pick a direction I felt most confident about and headed that way.
You have a lot of questions, IkioElle.
There was the voice again. I turned my attention a little to the left and walked that way instead--the way I felt it come from.
Not sure of whom to trust, unaware of your child's state.
I walked faster, gritting my teeth.
What became of LasNuk. What time it is. Where you are at. Do you have any guesses, IkioElle?
I didn't answer her. Instead I continued. Each time she spoke to my mind her presence seemed more physical. I ran into a tangle of ugly trees, woven together in such a messy manner that I wasn't sure how I would get through.
You are a god, Ikio, and this is your talent. Order them to behave.
I pressed my hand to the trunk of one tree, wishing I could find a way to pass. The gnarled trees groaned and snapped. I took my hand back in alarm and watched. Trunk by trunk, the wood splintered as it separated from other trees. Despite permanently becoming damaged, within seconds, the entire bevy had separated and gone straight, enabling me to see a clearing through them.
With all things tainted come consequences. Those that are inflicted with impurity will suffer their judgment days as IkioElle sees it. For he is a punisher, a teacher, and a purifier. It is IkioElle's job to put an end to the corruption of Kairenz.
Through the broken trees was a cottage. There was a pond to the right, its top covered in green plant life. Every moment or so a soft ripple hit the surface and made the plants dance. It smelled mossy and damp, with a serene and gentle presence lingering about. All was quiet in the clearing, but a soft light came from a small window in the cottage. I had never seen a house like this. My history was full of images of leather huts in the Gasaidiatt and city buildings from GreyCross. Cottages were things from children's stories.