Skies of Fyir Box Set

by Gabriela Voelske

  “Are you from Linlake?” he enquired, coming down to rest at the edge of the shore. Sakura froze as he spoke. After the events of earlier, she wondered if she was truly going mad, being talked to by a ghost was hardly sane.

  “I, uh, yes?” she stuttered. Why did the ghost want to know where she came from?

  “Is Ciel and Drake there?” Solomon continued despite her hesitation, bringing up their names might calm the demon in front of him. She paused for a second, name dropping those two had its intended effect on her, but she was still dubious.

  “What’s it to you?”

  If anyone wanted to strike a blow against Sebastian, the best time would be now to do so, while Ciel was separated from him. Solomon was taken aback by her change of tone. It could be taken positively or negatively, though it came over more protective than threatening to him.

  “I’ve come from Shadekeep to talk with them. My name is Solomon if that helps.”

  Sakura knew that name, she had heard about this mage many times before. He did indeed reside within Shadekeep as he stated. As a Necromancer, he also possessed the powers to potentially utilise a spell such as she was witnessing, which added to his claims.

  “Come,” she stated and began to turn around when she unexpectedly felt herself being hoisted off the ground. Startled by the restrictive hold, Sakura began to squirm in an attempt to break free.

  “It took me damn well long enough to find you,” the demon growled, causing her to stop flailing. Her assailant was Crono, who was less than pleased that he had to come out after her.

  “I was just returning actually…” She trailed off, noting his increasingly growing anger. It did come over as an excuse, although it was the truth.

  “It’s true, I asked her to show me to Ciel,” Solomon added, diverting Crono’s gaze away from her. Crono stood staring at the figure before him, unsure what to make of Solomon.

  “I’m not going to ask,” he replied with a hint of resignation, turning back the way he came and walking off. Solomon followed behind him, noticing Crono throw strange looks towards him.

  They arrived back at the house not long after. Crono still had Sakura firmly gripped in one hand while he awkwardly held the door open for Solomon, who waved him on to say it wasn’t needed. “That one’s for you, I’m going to go talk some sense into this one,” Crono commented to Ciel, who was sat at the stone fireplace. He strode off into a spare room and shut the door behind him, leaving Solomon alone with Ciel and Ferdan, who was tending to Amnur further away.

  “What are you doing here Solomon?” Ciel queried, the talk by now had alerted Ferdan who had turned around to see what was going on. He was shocked by the ghostly figure in the room, but he knew it not to be the spirit of one who was dead.

  “How did you get here is the better question,” Ferdan said. The barrier should have prevented any travel across the two isles, more so journeys of a magical nature.

  “That barrier doesn’t extend through every plane connected to the overworld,” Solomon replied, sparking Ferdan’s interest. It was useful to know although he had no way of utilising such a fact. “We’ve been doing our own investigations and after probing the Magi Council and we’ve come up with a bit of plan to end this swiftly,” he continued. Ferdan was uncertain while Ciel thought of the fact.

  “That cleansing a few years ago,” Ferdan responded, “so he definitely didn’t die then.” Solomon nodded to him, and he sighed. It had been as Amnur said to him.

  “You need me to rally the West,” Ciel spoke after some deliberation, would they even listen to him? After all, they were not fond of his bloodline, asking them so bluntly would likely come over crass.

  “It could succeed without their help, but attacking from both sides would provide a huge advantage.” A resigned sigh emerged from Ciel, he did not wish to condemn the lives of those in the East either.

  “Would they have much ground to disagree on?” Ferdan interjected, “after all, this affects them too.”

  “If I could somehow assure them they wouldn’t just serve as fodder. I can’t guarantee no one will die, though.” The three remained in silence for a moment while Ciel thought how best to possibly approach the subject. He would need all the details first.

  “Tell me more Solomon,” he requested. Solomon nodded and began recounting the events of everything that had happened, followed by the decisions made.

  * * *

  Crono placed Sakura down on a chair in the corner of the room, his expression had changed from anger to worry as he watched her behaviour. Considering how drastically she had left the house, her current demeanour was starkly different. She was constantly trying to avoid eye contact with him.

  “What happened to you out there?” he asked her, noticing her flinch as he went near her. “I’m sorry about earlier, but I’m not going to hurt you,” Crono spoke softly but she still reacted nervously and did not wish to look at him. She hadn’t been acting like this when he found her.

  “Just the ghost, or whatever you wish to refer him as,” Sakura replied after a period of quiet, digging her fingers into the arms of the chair. She tried to look up at him but pulled away again. The demon stood in front of her kept appearing distorted and grotesque, regardless of her efforts to drive the image from her mind. Any attempts at rational thought were being scraped from her mind, replaced by only terrifying images and thoughts. Desperately she tried to call out to Crono for help, but only anger and denial came out. He appeared to know something was wrong but not the extent of what.

  “Sakura, I know you’re hiding something.”

  Her response came out only as a growl which worried Crono, even when she was putting herself down over failure she was never aggressive to anyone else. Taking a deep breath, he began to pace the small room, trying to think of a method to relieve her anger. He wrapped his arms around her in an embrace, trying to calm the girl down.

  “You can tell me anything, I won’t judge you,” Crono said, his voice was calm and gentle. Sakura managed to repress the effects enough to stop her body fighting him, but any attempts at speaking were still blocked. Leaning her body into his, she hoped it would tell him enough, but her body was still tense despite her best efforts. It told him some but not enough. Perhaps she just needed some rest and some positive news on her father. The new mage seemed capable, he might be able to help him out.

  “I’ll have a word with that strange one, you get some rest,” he stated, placing her down on a bed that lay against the far wall. She was unsure. Her body craved sleep, but she did not wish to give in to the strange urges that kept being thrown at her. Crono bid her farewell and exited the room. Sakura tried to move but only found herself falling back onto the pillow, drifting into uncontrollable sleep.

  * * *

  Ciel thought on what Solomon had just told him, everything was moving so quickly now. The East wanted to launch an attack within a week before they got too worn down from the constant raids.

  “Is attacking this soon even advised?” Ferdan spoke up, grabbing Solomon’s attention.

  “It does sound a bit rushed I’ll admit, but the reasoning for it is solid,” Solomon replied to the human, who was evidently tentative about the idea. They hardly had any information on the opponent that could be used.

  “Give me some time to think it over,” Ciel interrupted, “I’ll try my best to get them to agree, though.” Solomon nodded, he had done all he had been asked to do by Sebastian. He would be able to return to his body now before the spell took too much of a toll on him.

  “Before you go, Solomon,” Ferdan spoke up, noticing him starting what he assumed to be a releasing spell, “could you examine someone for me?”

  Solomon paused and broke off the spell, gazing over to the demon laid out behind the human.

  “Do you know what’s wrong with him?”

  Ferdan made a brief noise to signal the answer was yes and grabbed a glass phial that was laid beside the makeshift bed.

  “His mana is crysta
llising,” he responded, holding up the phial, “but I’m at a loss on how to stop it.”

  The condition was worrying to Solomon. It was not something he had encountered either, but with any form of toxin, he could at least reduce its effects greatly and possibly remove it later when he could return with his full strength.

  “I can try to stall its effects for now, but I’m going to need blood to perform the spell.”

  Ferdan gritted his teeth. Blood magic was not one profession he was fond of, but in the current situation, he could not argue with the ethics of the element.

  “You can use mine,” Ciel commented, seeing Ferdan’s doubt.

  “No, I’ll take responsibility for the whole thing,” Crono announced from behind them to their surprise, as he had not made his presence known beforehand. “It’ll be better for you, Ciel. Besides, I have more blood to give anyway.” Solomon gave Ciel a questioning look, but the demon offered up no explanation. Crono had a point, though, his father would only react worse if Ciel had actively helped Amnur. It would also create trouble for Solomon, not that he knew he was getting himself into anything.

  “Alright, come over here. You’ll need to make a cut, so your blood is flowing, though.”

  Ciel offered up one of his blades to Crono as he walked past. The hilt was wide enough to allow his large hands to grip onto the metal firmly.

  “Normally I’d be able to do it without the need for the wound, but I’m unable to do it when not directly using my physical body.”

  The talk made little sense to Crono but he did not mind, he could always probe Amnur over it later when he was finally conscious again.

  He dug the tip of the blade into his wrist. It took some effort to draw blood from his tough skin, and the pain caused him to cringe as he proceeded. The sensation was an unusual one for him.

  “That’ll be fine, I can sense enough blood flowing.”

  Crono stopped and passed the blade back to Ciel, who sheathed it. He lowered himself to the floor and offered the weeping wrist to Solomon, who placed his hand slightly into the skin around the wound. The cold sting almost made Crono jerk his arm back, but he kept himself steady, taking a deep breath.

  “This may feel strange, but it may not necessarily hurt,” he assured him, but regardless of the pain involved, Crono was not going to back out. Solomon placed his free hand above Amnur’s heart, closing his eyes to keep himself concentrated.

  He began the process, feeling for the toxin that had been causing the fatal condition and driving it towards a suitable location, his first thought was the heart. It could survive despite having a small, magically induced growth attached to the inside. Once it was there, he could seal it tightly within the heart with a strong enough seal to prevent it from leaking until he could remove it at a later date. Solomon had to be precise, though, if the toxin was bundled too tightly it could limit blood flow. He had to spread it around the heart in a thin layer, without making it too thin it became difficult to seal down. Crono remained strong despite the draining feeling that was exhausting him the longer it went on, as Solomon had said the process was not painful, however, which was a relief.

  “It is done,” Solomon commented after a while of silence, pulling his hands away from the two of them.

  “Thank you, though I never got your name,” Crono bowed, holding his now-healed wound. The young mage had at least sealed it back up at the end of the spell.

  “It is Solomon. However, I must go now, I can already feel the weakness in my body.”

  Ciel bid him farewell as the ghostly shape disappeared, leaving him alone. It would be an ideal time for Drake to return from gathering, he was unsure if he wished to ask Crono alone.

  “You have powerful friends, ones with equally strong hearts,” the tall demon mentioned. Ciel smiled at the comment, Crono really was warming up to him after all that had happened to start.

  “Crono, I need to ask you something,” he sighed. It was best not to leave it any longer. Crono turned his head to regard him, gesturing for him to continue. “The East is planning to launch an attack on the spires at the end of the week,” Ciel began, pausing for a second to judge his reaction, “I ask that you support me in launching a secondary surprise attack on the spires.”

  Crono was surprised by the request, but the tactic was logical. Distract and draw out the opponent with the main force from the East before launching a secondary force to shock and dispatch the foes. The whole thing would be a benefit for them too, as they would not survive for too much longer in the severe conditions that were battering them.

  “I can speak only for Linlake,” Crono admitted, “but we would be willing.” Ciel perked up at what Crono had said but held his excitement when he saw the demon shake his head.

  “To make it clear, we would support you in this,” he said with a serious tone to his voice, “not your father.” Ciel thought it was a fair comment. He felt warmed by the fact they were willing to help him despite everything that had wronged the West.

  “Do you mind if I ask why?”

  “Although what occurred forced you to say here, you and your friends have repeatedly helped us,” Crono replied, a hint of admiration in his voice, “even after you found out what you did.” Ciel cracked a smile, blushing a little. He had never done anything with the intention of gaining favour, it was purely out of concern for others. “That includes you, Ferdan,” he added, much to the amazement of the mage, he had been the one to cause the most problems initially after all.

  “I…” Ferdan stuttered, “I just refused to see them suffer, regardless of who they were.” Crono grinned and gently pat the human on the back, or entire body, due to the size difference.

  “I will contact the twins of Esterbrook and Valmeadow, but for now, let us prepare a meal.” Ciel agreed, he knew not of the leaders of Esterbrook and Valmeadow. He was interested in meeting with them.

  * * *

  The night progressed, and a while later Drake arrived back with the other demons that were sharing the lodge. They had been gone a long time and were bitterly cold, but they had collected a good haul. Ciel sat by him while he shivered by the fireplace and repeated the events of the day to him. Drake was overwhelmed by it all, as well as disappointed he hadn’t been around when Solomon had arrived.

  “Where’s Sakura?” he enquired, between chattering teeth.

  “Resting,” Ciel responded. Crono had not informed him of the whole story, but he did say to leave her to sleep. Drake sighed, he worried that something had happened to her while she was out. She was an active person, it was strange for her to be resting so early. He examined Amnur, he was still unconscious with Ferdan tending to him, but the human looked far less worried than he did before.

  “How is he?” Drake called over to Ferdan, causing him to look back in his direction.

  “He’s improving rapidly. I’d say he’ll be awake by tomorrow,” Ferdan replied to his question. Whatever Solomon had done evidently started working, to his relief.

  “Things seem to be looking up,” Ciel said. Although he didn’t regret his time here, he was eager to see his father again.

  “Let’s just hope we make it out of this alive.”

  It was a morbid thing to say, but Drake did have a point, there was no guarantee in battle.

  “I won’t let anyone topple you,” Ciel grinned, offering up a hand to Drake.

  “I’ve always promised to protect you,” he responded, taking the hand and giving it a shake, “your father would flay me if I didn’t.” Ciel laughed and shook his head. It was all light-hearted threats, and he wouldn’t ever do such a thing to Drake regardless of what happened.

  Not long after their arrival, the food was served, now that they had warmed up. The night was peaceful despite the events of earlier. Crono was taking an interest in an odd carved object, which Ciel assumed to be some way of contacting the other two leaders as the object was not new to the house. After a while of watching him get annoyed with it, Crono stood up and approached,
looking rather frustrated.

  “They’re fine to help since I was the one to agree to it,” he huffed, evidently still bothered.

  “Is something wrong?” He wondered if Crono had to spend a fair bit of effort getting them to agree.

  “Nothing with you, it’s just they can be rather obnoxious. It’s best with them to let them speak with actions and not words.”

  “Ah.” Crono had mentioned them to be twins. It could be something related to that, he wondered.

  “They’re certainly powerful mages, though, with their particular talents I foresee us performing well,” Crono remarked, attracting Ferdan’s attention. For Crono to expect mages to be useful in this situation, then they must possess more than the standard magic.

  “How so?” he spoke up from a distance.

  “They can summon the elements,” Crono replied. Ciel was dubious, the statement was obvious about any mage; Ferdan, however, was impressed, he knew what the demon had meant.

  “Elemental spirits,” Ferdan clarified, “pure embodiments of the nature of an element.”

  “Something physical that can injure those creatures,” Ciel replied half as a statement and half as a question.

  “Exactly. They’re expendable too. Even if they fall on this plane they do not die,” the human added. It was an interesting idea, although Ciel knew not to overly abuse it. Angering such beings would not be advisable. “A shaman might be a better term than a mage. Usually, they lack the ability to directly manipulate magic.”

  “Either way, they’re good allies for us,” Ciel stated, receiving a nod from his audience. He was excited to meet them, to see their ability first hand. Past Solomon, Ciel had little contact with those that identified themselves as mages. New individuals meant new experiences and depending on how everything turned out new allies.

  The night crept on, and soon they said their goodnights and settled down to sleep; the next morning could prove to be a busy one.