Skies of Fyir Box Set

by Gabriela Voelske

* * *

  Sakura woke and blearily staggered to a nearby wall, propping her arm up against it and leaning her weight in. From the silence in the next door room, she guessed they had already gone to sleep. She cursed herself for not waking up earlier, missing out on a meal was not an appreciated thing and her stomach was already feeling hungry. For some time she leant against the wall for her senses to restore, but her mind was still buzzing, and she felt disorientated.

  Pushing off the wall, she let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair, pausing midway through and pulling her hand out. Her hand had felt wet, so she put it in front of her face to examine it, wondering what it was.

  Recoiling in shock, she staggered back and fell back onto the bed. Her hands were covered in blood, thickly covering every finger up to the wrist, dripping off as she sat there. Thinking it was her mind toying with her she desperately shook her head, trying to force the images from her view. It wasn’t working so she closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against her face, vainly hoping they would be dry. Cold liquid greeted her as she continued to rub them. The blood was running off her fingers onto her cheeks, driving her desperation further. In a last ditch attempt, she searched her body in search of a wound but found none.

  “What…” She murmured to herself, her voice was breaking as she spoke. She squinted at the door and staggered over. With shaky hands, she gripped the door handle and slowly dragged it open.

  The scene that unveiled before her broke her. Blood lay splattered across the room, settling in thick pools near the lifeless bodies around the room. Sakura grabbed her blades ready to face any intruder, only to see the metal covered in fresh blood. No creature had hurt them; she had attacked them and viciously by the amount of blood.

  Panic overwhelmed her, and she shoved the blades back into their covers and stood there panting, looking around her. The scene was too much for her. She ran forward and let herself out into the cold outside, quietly shutting the door behind her. Her mind told her to run away in a certain direction, so she followed it, unwilling to even try and consider anything else.

  A shape appeared from behind the house and followed after her, trailing behind on her shadow.

  Chapter 11: Sleepless Nights

  Ciel felt a strong shove hit his shoulder in bursts, trying to wake him up. He groaned and looked up, falling back when he saw the angry expression of the one crouched over him.

  “Where the hell is she?” Amnur growled. Why he had decided to pick on him, Ciel didn’t know, but he was evidently aggravated.

  “She was in that room…” He trailed off, gesturing towards the door at the far end of the house.

  “I’ve checked every room, and she’s nowhere to be seen,” Amnur replied, stepping away from Ciel and letting out a long sigh.

  “Wait, what?” Ciel stuttered, grabbing onto Amnur’s arm and heaving himself up, a move which elicited a cold stare from the mage as he did so.

  “The bed’s cold, so she’s been gone a while, with no evidence as to why she left.”

  “She was worried about you, she spent a while yesterday trying to find the creature that attacked you.” Ciel obtained a confused look from Amnur. He must not remember much of what happened to him, or be aware just how long he’s been out for. “You’ve been laid there dying for days, Amnur,” he clarified. Amnur just blankly stared, unsure of how to react to what he was just told.

  “She’s been watching me the whole time, hasn’t she?” the mage groaned. Such a state of powerlessness would cause Sakura to act rashly. Ciel beckoned to the others still sleeping in the room, unaware of what was happening.

  “We all have. Ferdan worked tirelessly to work out what was ailing you.”

  Amnur was surprised to hear the human mage had aided him, considering his initial reaction.

  “Did you find a cure then?” he enquired, obviously curious as to the sudden turnaround in his health.

  “No,” Ciel admitted, “Solomon sealed the toxin away for now.”

  That was a name Amnur knew well. It was Solomon who took over his position as Court Mage after his departure, although that was not until several years later.

  “I take it who I was didn’t end up being discussed, then” he chuckled, watching as Ciel shook his head.

  “Back to the original topic, do you have a quick way of waking the others up?” he asked. Amnur raised an eyebrow at the question.

  “I assume you mean without setting them on fire,” he sarcastically replied. Ciel jerked back at the remark.

  “Uh yes, that would be best…”

  He was unsure quite how seriously he had meant it, Amnur’s personality came over rather varied at best. Amnur stood up and strolled over to Crono’s bed, with the fireplace flaring into life as he passed by it. He looked around and saw a small bucket near the side of the bed, filled with water. Kneeling down, he cupped his hands and collected some water before standing back up and throwing it in Crono’s face.

  “Well, that’s one way,” Ciel murmured from a distance, watching as Crono groggily opened his eyes.

  “Who?” Crono groaned, staring up at the figure, snapping to attention when he noticed who it was.

  “Morning,” Amnur replied, seeing the shocked expression on Crono’s face. “We have a problem,” he continued, resting a knee on the bed. For all his bravado, Amnur was starting to feel rather light-headed. Ciel had said his condition was serious after all. Crono threw the cover back and heaved himself up level to Amnur. He could take a guess at where he was going with it.

  “Sakura’s missing again, isn’t she?” Crono sighed. Amnur was not too amused to hear this was not the first time.

  “You aren’t as surprised as I would expect.”

  “She did it yesterday, but she came back after a few hours.” It was not the entire truth, but he wondered if it was best to tell him, though.

  “So you’re saying that I should just wait,” Amnur responded, tilting his head back toward Ciel who was still watching him, half expecting a reply from his onlooker.

  “You need to rest, she can handle herself,” Crono pleaded with him, though the comment did not go down well. Amnur’s cold glare now bore into him.

  “He has a point, with the first half at least,” Ciel spoke up, being careful not to anger him any further. Amnur spun around again, his expression was less cold this time but still sharp. “I can go have a look for her.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Crono stated, “you’d be useless out there by yourself.”

  The comment was harsh, but it was true. Ciel would have difficulty navigating the place in bright daylight without thick snow and howling blizzards. Amnur was not pleased with being sidelined, but at least they were going to go look for Sakura, he would just have to hope for success. He slipped off the bed and walked back over to where Ciel was now preparing himself, allowing Crono to get himself out of bed without the risk of being singed for trying. Ciel looked at him. It appeared as if he wished to say something but was struggling with what.

  “Thank you,” Amnur whispered, followed by a sigh. Ciel just smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

  “She’ll only worry more if you push yourself,” he assured Amnur. He was not a difficult person to work with if you knew what to say, perhaps there was more to him and his past that his father had told him. The mage gave in and settled next to Drake, avoiding eye contact with Crono the entire time. Crono glimpsed down at him as he walked past and the two departed, leaving Amnur by the now magically stoked fire.

  * * *

  Drake awoke to find Amnur dozing next to him with Ciel and Crono nowhere in sight. Everything else appeared fairly usual, however. He stretched out an arm and began nudging Amnur, who responded quickly to the intrusion. Amnur looked around but saw that they had not returned and sighed once more, turning to Drake who still had his arm resting by his side.

  “How are you feeling?” he whispered, as they were still the only two awake.

  “Not my best admittedly,” Amnur whisp
ered in reply. His voice was much calmer than Drake had expected, potentially because Ciel and Crono weren’t around. He felt he had no need to remain hostile.

  “It’s good to see you awake, though,” Drake said, causing Amnur to flash him a smile.

  “Thanks. I never did ask your name,” he admitted, everything had moved so fast that it moved out of his mind.

  “It’s Drake.”

  “A dragon hm? It fits you if you take the positive side of it anyway.”

  Dragons were rarely seen in the present era aside from in the North. It was still unknown if they were truly a separate species from the original ancestors of the angels and demons.

  Drake was about to shuffle himself into a sitting position when he noticed something caught in Amnur’s coat. From its position, it didn’t appear to be something that had just randomly got stuck in the lining.

  “What’s that?” he commented, pointing at the small object. Amnur followed his line of sight down and found it, teasing it free from where it had been placed.

  “It feels like paper. It’s been folded up too,” Amnur commented as he held it in his hands, carefully propping open the folds. Fully unveiling it, it appeared to be a letter, but the contents were randomly placed and hastily scribbled, with no obvious pattern to them. He tilted it to show Drake before directing it back towards him so he could attempt to decipher it. Drake watched as he intently focused on the paper, trying to make sense of the mess of the writing.

  “Do you have any idea who wrote it?” Drake spoke up after a while of silence. Amnur had his free hand clenched in a fist while the other held tightly to the letter. His body was tense, and his expression was distraught. He didn’t reply, instead opting to walk over to Ferdan and shake him awake.

  “Was she suffering from anything?” he growled at Ferdan, who was startled by his upfront approach.

  “What do you mean?” Ferdan replied blearily, trying to wrestle Amnur’s arms free from his robes.

  “Don’t lie to me!” Amnur bellowed, causing Ferdan to try and move away but he failed. He was starting to catch on to just what the demon was demanding. Evidently, something had happened.

  “She dragged you back. Both of you were injured. You had a toxin within your blood where she had chaos magic residue affecting her.”

  Amnur dropped Ferdan back on his bed and collapsed backwards. Such a thing would explain her crazed ramblings in the letter, what appeared to be an attempt to explain what was happening to her. Despite the aggressive approach Ferdan had received, he was truly sorry. Evidently, the seal he had enacted on her had proven inefficient, she must have just suffered the whole time silently.

  “What did she write?” Drake queried from behind, bringing himself around to support Amnur where he sat.

  “She wrote that she’s sorry for everything she did, her mind and body were not her own,” Amnur spoke, his voice was shaking. What she had written was a farewell. She had no intention of being found.

  “She did nothing to us, though,” Ferdan said, grabbing Amnur’s attention towards him, “whatever she thinks she did never occurred.”

  “Sakura fled sometime in the night. Ciel and Crono have been looking for her, but I doubt they’ll have success now.”

  The news shocked the other two. Ferdan began to wonder if the seal did not fail naturally yesterday and that there was something outside acting on it, allowing the magic to once again infect her mind.

  “I’m sure everything will end fine if we can cut the source of the chaos,” Drake said with overly thick enthusiasm, attempting to cheer the demon up. It worked in some regard, Amnur snapped from despair too deep thought. Magic did not persist once the user had perished, killing the one who had infected the creatures with the magic would work. “Ciel has received the pledge of the West to help with a push, to join up with a planned attack from the East.”

  “How long until the attack happens?” Amnur demanded, his voice was now steadier, but his body still showed his sorrow.

  “A week from yesterday.” It meant that Sakura would have to last alone that long in the bitter wilds. Such a thing was feasible for one such as her normally, but the weather added a level of doubt.

  “We better get started on preparations then. I should make sure Ciel is efficient with channelling magic with those blades.”

  Drake was surprised by the comment. It wasn’t uncommon knowledge that his family could use such an ability as that, but it was rare for one to know how it was done. Amnur noticed his shock and chuckled, removing an ornate but deadly blade from inside his coat.

  “I taught his grandfather the skill, as well as his father,” he commented, lining the blade’s cool metal with bright flames. He glided the blade through a couple of thrusts and parries, showing off the flame that embodied the blade.

  “That looks familiar, yes,” Drake noted, “though Ciel doesn’t use fire.”

  “I just happen to aligned to fire, nothing more.”

  Drake sat there looking lost, so Ferdan decided to step in and explain how elemental affinity worked and the reasons why some can only use one certain element efficiently, while others can use all but to a lesser extent. Amnur added in bits as Ferdan went, using it as an excuse to show off. It was rare these days for someone to admire his strength, as opposed to fear it. The whole thing began to make more sense for Drake, education on the fundamentals of magic was not commonly taught to those who could not manipulate aether.

  A loud bang interrupted them, and they turned their attention to the door, which swung open as Crono shoved through, carrying Ciel under his arm.

  “You didn’t find her,” Amnur stated as Crono shut the door behind him. He was less than pleased at Amnur’s negativity.

  “She never had any intention of being found,” Drake added, Crono tossed him a dubious look. Their voices were flat, barely showing any signs of sorrow. Amnur held up the letter, and Crono went stiff. She had left a final note before running off, possibly to her death. He put Ciel down by the fireplace and walked over to them, noting their offputtingly cheery attitude.

  “If we can put down the cause all of this, she will be freed from her torment,” the fire mage said. Ciel was shivering, but he turned his attention to what was happening.

  “Would she last until then?” Ciel enquired, it was a stretch he had to admit. Silence washed over them, Amnur's expression told him enough. It was the only hope they had, it would provide good motivation point to push on. With everything going on, it was going to be a long week. They had a lot to prepare for and a lot to hope for.

  * * *

  A couple of days passed before the twins of Esterbrook and Valmeadow arrived in Linlake, along with a notable consignment of armoured demons. Some humans trailed behind in groups, sporting waggons that contained tents, weapons, armour and other various odds and ends. They would set up camp within the borders of Linlake for the next few days. Being the northernmost town, it was the closest to the spires, although it was the smallest. Crono watched them arrived with Ciel at his side, less had turned up than he had expected.

  "Here they are," Crono mentioned as two figures drifted up towards them. The first thing that attracted Ciel's attention was their peculiar attire; a mixture of tightly weaved ropes held a multitude of differently coloured feathers and beads that sat above tattered grey and green robes. They truly embraced the shaman title they held, Ciel was starting to imagine why Crono could find them more than slightly annoying. Standing in front of him, it also became apparent just how tall they were for supposed new blood demons. They stood a few feet taller than Ciel, the odd attire highlighted their slender bodies, including the fact one of the two was female. Another curious detail that grabbed his attention was the male’s piercing white eyes, for a demon to have such a pure colour was unheard of. His sister only possessed red eyes, the difference between them was interesting.

  "It's good to finally meet you, Crono has told me much," Ciel spoke up, offering out a hand towards them. The female lightly wrap
ped her hands around his arm, completely skipping past his hand. He was taken aback but kept himself strong, squinting at Crono who appeared unfazed. Such a thing must not be uncommon for them. Some warning would have been nice, however. The other twin watched on, interested in what his sister was doing, or seeing.

  "You have an interesting aura," she mused, "for one whose bloodline abandoned us, you have a deep concern for us." Ciel smiled, amazed that she could sense that from just touching him. "In particular one individual, one who you should perhaps avoid.” He recoiled, the last thing he needed was for them to tell Amnur now. Crono raised an eyebrow, not towards Ciel, however.

  "You should introduce yourselves," Crono interrupted, earning a small bow from the two of them.

  "Forgive us. I am Abel," the male spoke, "this is Na-ri."

  "You are Ciel, son of Sebastian," Na-ri spoke up before Ciel could manage, causing him to silently stutter his words.

  "Who requested our help with the matter of ending that which ails us," Abel continued, once again interrupting Ciel before he could speak. He was starting to see what Crono had warned him about. Not being able to get a word in was starting to get obnoxious.

  "Your numbers are fewer than I anticipated," Crono responded before they could continue their nuisance talking routine. It was constructed as a way to playfully annoy others, separately they could be far more pleasant.

  "Some waited behind to hold down the fort," Na-ri responded, looking out over the still arriving force.

  "Woman, children, the elderly," Abel added. Ciel was surprised by the last one, was there enough elderly demons in the West for them to be left behind? "If our gathering becomes noted by our opponents then we become sitting ducks." It was a sharp reminder of the risks of this plan if their gathering presence began to be noticed they ran the risk of getting themselves killed. They hoped that the much larger force of the East was enough to keep him distracted.

  "We will return to overseeing our people," the twins spoke in tandem, offering another bow before turning and walking away. Ciel breathed a sigh of relief as they did so, causing Crono to snicker.