by Dusks, Rydre
"Oh, Siivash... I'm sorry, boy." I stroked its metallic head as the dragon retracted its wing again.
"What's wrong? Blank wondered, still standing a safe distance away.
"Siivash's wing is jammed. There's no way to fix it now, which means we can't fly." I looked up at the steep cliffs. "Either we go on foot, or we see if he can at least climb to the top with us riding him."
In response, Siivash lifted its head and sent out a blast of flame. I ducked to avoid most of the range of the heat. Blank was quick to point her gun at the machine again.
I straightened and checked over Siivash's saddle. "Blank, seriously. He's completely safe. He would never hurt one of us on purpose."
Blank dropped her weapon down to her side again in a sheepish manner. "Right... sorry. A long time with the Strejca does that."
I smiled wanly before placing one foot in a stirrup and climbing onto the dragon's back. "Don't I know it." I beckoned with one hand. "C'mon, let's see if he can scale the mountain range for us."
Blank approached hesitantly, but eventually gave in and climbed up behind me after putting away her weapon. She closed her arms tighter around my sides.
"I've never ridden an animal before," she uttered.
The machine at first took a slow pace up the hills, then gained momentum and speed once it'd grown accustomed to the landscape. Blank gasped as Siivash sank into a steady rhythm, galloping upward with immense force. I kept one hand on the reins and hooked my other arm around the dragon's neck, feeling smoke spout from open cracks between sheets of metal. At moments it was hot and pricked my fingers with the high temperature, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
Despite my thinking it would take twice as long crossing the mountain range on foot as it would up in the air, we were over most of the hills and passing through a dense valley in no time. Blank and I had to duck most of the time to avoid most branches and vines hanging in the way, but Siivash managed to find the most accessible path to navigate though. The closer we came to reaching the end of the valley, the less life was present in the vegetation. Growth began to turn from deep green to brown, and from brown to an ugly charcoal grey. Soon it vanished altogether.
Blank straightened when the heavy vegetation ceased, and immediately fell mesmerized by the same scene I had when first coming through AbujruJenza. The air was potent with the scent of rot and desolation, just as it had been a couple days ago.
"What is all this?" she asked, indicating the vastness of the waste swamps on the horizon.
"This is Hell on Kairenz, to use Rook's phrasing," I answered. "AbujruJenza."
Siivash didn't seem quite clear on where to go from here, so I directed him with the reins as he slowed. I steered clear of most patches of waste, knowing that both Blank and I were in danger if we even got within a few feet of the psychedelic substance. Not only would the toxins hurt us, but my fears rested mostly in encountering more walking dead. I wasn't so sure I wanted to tell Blank about those.
"So... where are the sun snakes?" Blank wondered after straightening some more.
I looked around at the decimated land, then pointed to some of the green weeds poking out from the pools. "Those. Those seem to grow off the sun snakes a lot. That's how we'll be able to find them."
"Okay... so how do we get their attention?" was her next question.
I'd wondered this too, but it didn't take me long to think. I slid off Siivash and dropped my feet to the spongy earth, leaning and using the edge of my sleeve to pick up a hefty mud clod. Looking back at the swamp, I hurled the clod at the long string of weeds that looked out of place amongst the others. The mud hit the waste and sloshed feebly.
Blank and I waited for ten seconds or so before I bent to pick up another clod. Blank touched my arm. "Wait." I looked up and straightened some, turning my gaze back out over the swamp. The weeds shivered as something underneath moved, sending a few slow ripples toward the bank.
"The last time I woke one up, I'd fallen directly into the swamp. It was livid--or at least acted like it. Maybe we can chuck more things at it," I suggested.
Blank looked at me and raised a cerulean eyebrow.
I gestured to the psychedelic waste with one hand out, palm up. "Nothing comes out this way. Nothing drops in there from the outside. My guess is the more we disturb the surface, the more likely we'll get things to wake up."
"...'Things?' You mean the sun snakes aren't the only monsters out here?"
I held in a breath for a moment, searching her face, then only shrugged one shoulder. "There may be other things."
Blank gazed at me with concern for just a couple seconds, but then nodded. "Well, alright then. Hand me some mud. I'm standing on dead weeds."
I stooped to grab another lump of earth but caught something out of the corner of my eye and straightened, sucking in a breath and grabbing Blank's arm. I pulled her and myself back a few steps from the bank.
"What--?" Blank started.
Intertwined around feeble weeds were black tendrils I found too familiar. They didn't move, as I was sure they couldn't sense anything that wasn't in the waste. I pointed to them.
"Those tentacles wrapped around those weeds... They belong to a sun snake."
Blank gazed at me for a second, then walked directly over to the tentacles and grabbed one with her bare hand.
"Blank! What are you doing?"
The tendrils came to life in a shuddering dance, but before they could touch her, she positioned her gun and shot one point blank. The tentacle recoiled and buried itself into the muck underneath the liquid. The other tendrils squirmed in confusion as Blank let go of it and backed up.
"You were being too cautious," she uttered.
The marsh rippled, then burst to life. Not just one, but two beasts emerged from the waste. The one closer to us towered like an unholy edifice in the sky, eyes aglow with radiation and mouth full of writhing tentacles. It was more intact than the other sun snake, which was completely without a head, sporting only a bevy of jointless appendages wriggling and flailing in fury. From the ferocity of the headless one, I figured that was the one that Blank had shot.
She stepped back a little more as Siivash pranced from the frenzy in the atmosphere. "These are sun snakes?" she whispered.
"Well, nothing sunny about them yet," I uttered. "We don't want to injure them too much. We need to rescue them."
A new presence was behind us. "But Kro, you will only kill them again if they are returned to their original states in that much toxicity."
Looking back with Blank, we rested our eyes on Velzae. He stood with one hand on Siivash's neck. His chest heaved like he'd run a distance, and I wondered just how much he'd traveled on foot in the shadow realm. Despite his winded look, his blue eyes were like lamps, almost rivaling the sun snake's irradiated pair behind us.
"So that's where you come in, I assume," I stated.
He straightened from Siivash, dropping his hand down to his side. "Yes, but I will need help. With my gift of life, IkioElle's vengeful flame, and your desired outcome, TorRhea, we will bring southern Iason back to its true state."
"What about the other gods? What happened to Rook and Tienny?" I asked, finding it difficult to keep myself from looking back at the angry sun snakes.
Velzae nodded his head toward them. "The serpents first; then we'll talk."
He stepped around us, then threw his right arm out in a horizontal cut. The multicolored waste sloshed back, away from us, then rolled into a swift-moving wave. As the wave built up, it picked up the radiation from the dead earth, leaving a dry bed of loosely rooted weeds behind. The waste splashed over the snakes as it traveled, eventually winding up into a gargantuan, glowing sphere that picked up from the ground to float in the sky. Velzae pulled his white brows together as he compacted the waste into the perfect orb. I saw perspiration running from his temple.
"Blank, please assist me in willing this corruption away," Velzae requested.
"...How?" she questioned.
"Just..." Velzae took a breath. "Wish for it to leave Iason. Focus and wish."
Blank stood beside Velzae and closed her eyes. I stood in unrelenting awe, and it took me a few seconds to realize there was another presence behind me. As Velzae and Blank worked on vanquishing Iason's mess, I turned to catch sight of another visitor. A strong, tan figure swung his leg off another machine animal, this one looking like a bull, and approached us. I looked up, stunned by the sheer height of him.
He had short brown hair and a thick but closely cut beard. His eyes resembled amber, flecked and sparkling. He stood a whole head and a half taller than me and was built like an ox. A leather vest was over his shoulders, durable pants strapped with belts at his hips, and boots hiding feet too big to be common.
As the Crei were color coordinated, there was no mistaking that this was BaevZofold of bronze. His mere stature spoke of godly proportions.
He ignored my dumbfounded expression and moved to Velzae, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. The spherical waste immediately shot toward the sky and disappeared through the clouds.
Velzae dropped his arms, and Blank opened her eyes.
"Rovan," Velzae started. Even he sounded slightly surprised.
"Thought I'd help," the incarnate of BaevZofold replied, his voice deep but soft.
Blank shifted closer to me as Velzae turned from the snakes and waste for just a moment to introduce us. "Ah, right. Kro, Blank, this is BaevZofold of truth. Rovan is his Kairenzi name."
Rovan bowed just a little to us, his eyes modest and serene. Even without him showing it I could feel the sheer power Rovan possessed. It was like a hill of stampeding horses; loud, dangerous, and growing with intensity.
Blank stared up at his massive muscles with wide eyes. “Your poor mother.”
He blinked.
"Kro," Velzae started, causing me to glance back at him. "It's now your turn. Rovan came right at the perfect time. With his ability to remove the infection from the snakes, I will need you to change them back to their original states. After you are finished, I will bring them back to life. We will only be restoring these two. Even with all of Sol's children banded together, we would not be able to restore AbujruJenza entirely without his help."
"I need to be closer," announced Rovan.
Velzae looked back out at the writhing snakes, which seemed utterly mystified now that they were no longer concealed in the waste. Their thick tails nearly twined around each other's, the parasitic tentacles knotting and flailing angrily.
"Do what you must," Velzae replied only after a moment. "But please be careful."
Rovan started out without another word from anyone. He walked straight through the weeds and splayed his fingers to the tentacles surrounding them. They shriveled and curled back from his presence. After taking a few steps out on the newly dry earth, Rovan darted into a run, aiming directly at the closest snake.
"Is he afraid of anything?" I wondered in shock.
"Rovan has had plenty of alone time to prepare for an event like this," Velzae said. "His home is in the eastern Souloran mountain range, and he is a mechsmith. Your dragon mount was forged in his shop."
I glanced at Siivash and the mechanical bull for a moment in surprise.
Rovan sprinted for the snake, slowing only when it dipped its head to extend its black tendrils toward him. He twisted left, then slammed his bare hand against the mutated, discolored scales and skin of the beast. In a blur, the tentacles broke from the snake's insides and collapsed into shrinking, pathetic bundles in the dirt. The entire snake wobbled, then fell. A great vibration coasted through the ground after the creature collapsed, and still Rovan was not fazed. He leapt over coiling bundles of tentacles and ran for the snake's headless relative.
Velzae pushed against my shoulder in an urge for me to do my part. With only one glance at him I stepped across the waste bed and raised my arm toward the lifeless snake. Focusing on my intent, I imagined the sun snake returning to wholeness.
I managed to restore the massive creature, watching as its ethereal glow returned to its sacred markings. The feeling of success rose inside my chest as I collected myself to perform the same ability on the other snake, but something stalled my power.
A viciously strong force hit me out of the blue and flung me into the air. For a moment I was suspended in a bout of sailing shock. I landed on my side several feet from my standing spot, and the wave of energy had even caused the others to stumble and fall. The only one who remained standing was Rovan, but he'd staggered severely. Out of the corner of my eye was a blond boy in green, and he flickered away when I scrambled back up to regain my bearings and look.
"You all are miserably stupid."
I whirled back around, my back to the dead sun snake, to a green-clad boy in front of Velzae and Blank.
"What will Sol's pets do to stop me?"
I didn't hesitate. I charged for him, adrenaline from the powerful energy force coursing through my body. Crane would not stop us this time.
He turned around to face me before I could reach him and simply smiled. "Your son, Crow Hightower--I wouldn't do that."
The amused look on his face made me halt. Crane tipped his head to the right, and I followed the direction he gave me with my own eyes.
Stelliot stood on the bank. His clothes had been ripped, and his eyes were hollow. A deep stab struck my chest and raced through my stomach as I stared at my son. I could have imagined Stelliot had just woken up from the sleepy expression on his face, except that he was pallid, and there were marks on his shoulder like someone had bitten and scratched him. Several bruises showed visibly down his arms and neck.
"Stelliot!" I shouted, turning completely away from Crane. My gods, Stelliot, what did he do to you? I launched into a sprint toward my child, frantic desire to protect him lifting every step I took.
Almost ghostly, the boy raised his head from my call and looked at me. His eyes were dead, and it would have stopped me in my tracks if an invisible force didn't already. It made a wave over the waste bed, much like the one previously. This time it hit me hard enough to throw me back several more feet. I dropped in a roll and tumbled a distance before sprawling in complete shock.
"Stelliot has dedicated me as his favorite uncle," Crane was saying. I heard his feet as he stepped toward me from behind.
"V-Velzae!" I called. "Blank! Rovan!"
"Kro!" Velzae shouted back from a distance away. "We will take care of Stelliot. GaenVrellec is solely after you!"
I scrambled up, stunned by my own son's power and too stricken with dread to leave him alone. I charged for Stelliot again.
"Stelliot, I'm here! It's okay now! Please!"
Stelliot lifted his hand delicately, and a vicious weight dragged down over me. My bones and muscles seized and forced me to one knee. It was as if the gravity around me had intensified.
There were more footsteps, then Rovan was in front of me, his arms spread out from his sides to shield me from Stelliot's raw power.
"Ikio," he started. "Crane is right behind you. Please take care of him. We will do our best to keep Stelliot away from him."
I understood. Crane had complete control over Stelliot. Over the two days I'd been immersed in a tank, the crazed god had turned my child into a weapon.
I stood and turned around, my back to Rovan and Stelliot, and faced Crane who was only a few feet away from me, coming closer. In the background Velzae held off the headless sun snake, and Blank ran to help him.
"You're all so stupid," Crane uttered once more. Even in my peripheral I saw his eyes spark with inhuman disgust. "Banding together to stop me... It's sad you have to have this many gods to stop your own brother."
"What about your favorite brother?" I shot back, taking one step toward him. "What about Sylvain? We've caught on to how he's been helping you, and now he's locked up."
Crane stopped walking.
Velzae was close enough to hear. He glanced our way.
I was lying, but I k
new what I was doing. I honestly had no idea where Sylvain was or what had happened to him. But if I could stir up some worry in Crane's mind perhaps it would help direct him away from Stelliot.
"...Where is Sylvain?" he demanded.
"Back in Saydea. I made sure to punish him myself." I scowled Crane's direction, flexing my fingers in a threatening manner. "What's the matter, Crane? I thought you liked it when people suffered."
"Sylvain is..." he paused, glancing toward Velzae.
I started forward during the brief pause and seized Crane's hair, trying to keep his attention on me. He shouted in slight alarm. "I'm going to kill him," I hissed.
Crane's eyes lost their hate for just a moment, shifting to a state of utter fear as he jerked out of my grip. Some of his hair fell out in my fingers. "Ikio, you bastard!"
With a pull, I felt the atmosphere change around us as he flung the two of us into another dimension. The process was much quicker than when I'd teleported with Velzae. Within a second, Crane had thrown me hard against one of the basement level floors of Saydea of the Future.
23
A Banding of Gods
The metallic hum of vents surrounded me as I picked myself up.
"Sylvain!" Crane shouted. I heard him padding toward the exit.
I wheeled around and chased him, knocking him down to the floor and pinning him in place. He squirmed, screaming piercingly and throwing his hands back. His nails raked against my jaw, but I managed to find my Jux and drew it out, pointing it to his head.
"This is for Stelliot!" I snarled.
"Crow, no!"
Sylvain's voice stopped me. I didn't know why I didn't just shoot Crane there... perhaps because doing so would have injured me as well. Or perhaps it was the sheer fright in Sylvain's words.