“Think our opponent’s starting to get scared?” Crono chuckled as he drove a solid metal glaive through the head of a Banshee; the weapon was considerably huge, but its owner was not a small demon. The Banshee ripped its head free, breaking the front half of its face off as it jumped back, tail raised as it began to cast. Its life was cut short, however, when its tail was crushed in Drake’s powerful grip, crumbling between his fingers.
“Just a little,” Drake laughed, picking up a surprised Acromantis and breaking it into two. Blades dug deep into the tail of another Banshee that was trying to sneak around the two giants clearing the field, collapsing it where it stood.
“Best not to get too cocky,” Ciel shouted as he readjusted his position, dodging an incoming ram of a flaming Acromantis. He leapt into the air and extended the range of his blades by solidifying the film of magic that flowed over them, driving them into the crystal pockets of its back, safely out of the range of the fires that lined its body.
A distraught shout caught Ciel’s attention. A human was desperately trying to reach his position, scrambling through the thick snow. Ciel ran over to him, as he was about to ask what the problem was the man pointed towards the distance. From the shroud, pitch black shape was emerging, and it was massive. Ciel’s eyes went wide. It looked notably taller than Drake and highly dangerous, no obvious crystal veins were present on its hulking body either.
“Drake we have a problem!” he bellowed, gathering the attention of the demon who was snapping the smaller Nightmares like twigs.
Drake saw the oncoming monster and cursed, charging forward to meet it before it reached the village. Before it had time to react to his sudden presence, he wrapped his arms around the creature, flattening its arms against its body and driving his fingers deep into the creature’s back. The arms were not completely incapacitated, however. Their blue hue was quickly lined with flame before they scratched at Drake’s chest. He winced with pain but kept his grip firm, throwing a pleading glance down to the others to deal with the creature.
Crono swatted the minor Nightmares away and closed in behind the massive creature, examining its features. Two elongated protrusions rose out from its back, almost like bony wings. Small crystals lined them in bands, which provided him with a suitable target. He drove the glaive into the base of the protrusion and ran it along; the body was solid and took a fair amount of effort to crack it, but Crono managed. The creature howled in pain, turning its head towards Crono and spitting globs of flame. He dodged out the way, watching the snow behind him turned to steam before dashing around its tail.
Crono soon became aware it was a poor decision when the creature’s tail slammed into him. His side ached, but he swiftly moved away from the tail’s reach, clutching his side. Now the creature was distracted, Ciel flew up to its face, violently fighting the wind as he went. He dug one blade into the top of its crystalline eye to keep himself balanced while using the other blade to slash at the rest. It reacted by slamming its head down, trying to throw Ciel off as it went. The move was, however, met by Drake’s upwards pointing horns, which pierced straight through its head, narrowly missing where Ciel was hanging off. Crono picked himself up and moved around to the other side, ripping his glaive through the remaining protrusion. The creature went limp, before shattering under the pressure of Drake’s arms.
Ciel grabbed his blades and moved away from the falling shards. He stared up at Drake. His chest was burnt and bleeding, and the wounds extended a fair way down.
“Are you alright Drake?” Ciel asked him, noticing the fact he was staggering.
“I’ll live,” he sighed, the pain was severe from his wounds, but he was managing to concentrate past it, even if his body was a little wobbly.
“I’d feel a wuss to make a comment after seeing that,” Crono laughed, examining Drake while still clutching his side. Ciel noted Crono’s pain and considered the situation. The monstrous creature appeared to be the last of them on that side, or at least none were actively attacking anymore.
“It’s over, let’s head back and get you two some help,” he spoke. His authority and voice was noticeable, Crono was impressed by it.
As they returned, they noticed a gathering on the porch of Crono’s house, huddled over something that was not obvious from where they stood. Amnur heard their approach and turned around, regarding them.
“What happened to you two?” he enquired, his voice was tinged with concern, despite his rather plain expression. The question received the attention of the others, who were shocked at Drake’s wounds.
“You mean you weren’t attacked by a massive creature?” Crono remarked with a pained expression, the confused look from Abel and Na-ri confirmed the answer to that question was no.
“We were not,” Abel replied, glancing down at the thing on the floor.
“We did, however, find this one,” Na-ri continued, moving aside to reveal a collapsed Acromantis. It was still alive, but barely, it whined and tried to move but failed to shuffle itself.
“One that’s dying naturally, in a sense,” Ferdan piped up from the back, clarifying the situation. He stood up and went over to Drake, who lifted him up to check his wounds. On closer inspection the cuts were shallow, they did not appear to completely pierce through the layers of his skin. They were, however, burnt and could possibly scar.
“It’s mainly surface damage,” he said, to the relief of Ciel. “Let’s go inside, I’ll tend to both of you there.” Drake held Ferdan in his hand as he began to walk towards the entrance, with Crono and Ciel behind. They walked past the group at the entrance, throwing a glimpse down at the dying creature, before entering the house. Ciel stayed behind, crouching down next to Amnur, who shot him a look but said nothing.
“The creatures are being held here beyond their will,” Abel mused, running his hand along the creatures pointed head, feeling the small protrusions that erupted from its crown.
“Its mind is being tormented by constant pain, as well as some chaos magic,” Na-ri stated. Her hand was placed upon one of the crystals that lined its back.
“He’s basically driving them insane and then directing them at us,” Amnur replied to their comments. His mind raced back to Sakura, he certainly was going to make sure the bastard behind all of this suffered a painful end. His pain must have been obvious, as Ciel put a consoling hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll get her back, don’t worry,” Ciel said. He noticed that Abel’s piercing white eyes had locked onto him, but the demon said nothing.
“So this is what one of these things look like when they’re not trying to cut you,” a female voice spoke up from behind them, startling those gathered around the creature. Amnur looked up at the newcomer, surprised by who he saw in front of him.
“You’re that woman who came with the expedition.”
Ciel looked up at her; the information the East had received was that everyone had been considered dead.
“Lauri,” she corrected, “how do you know?” In response, Amnur pulled out a familiar obsidian pendant and offered it to her. She accepted, giving him a strange look.
“Your friend is inside,” he offered, gesturing to the doors near them. Lauri gave him another questioning gaze, before walking over to the doors and entering the house. Ferdan was busy examining Crono, so he didn’t look up to investigate who had entered; Crono, however, checked and was stunned by who he saw.
“How are you alive?”
Ferdan had now stopped and looked up, his jaw dropped when he saw her stood in the entranceway.
“Lauri!” Ferdan shouted, he stood up and ran over, sweeping her off her feet with a warm embrace. She laughed and returned the hug, burying her head deep into his shoulder. “I thought you were dead,” he whispered, stroking her head softly.
“That seems to be the general opinion,” Lauri chuckled, noticing the glances as they continued. Crono smiled. He felt bad to break up the reunion, but they were rather in the middle of something that he would prefer not t
o have left. The demon cleared his throat to get their attention. Ferdan turned around, apologising to Lauri before walking back to tend to their wounds.
“I remember you,” she directed at Crono, who was rather embarrassed. He had been rather curt to her after all.
“I half hoped you wouldn’t,” Crono sighed, “I apologise for how aggressive I was towards you, it was undeserved.” The apology pleased Lauri enough, though in hindsight it would have been nice to have some more support during that ambush, perhaps then more would have survived than just her.
“Why did you react that way?” Lauri enquired. Crono squinted at Ferdan. If he did not tell her himself than Ferdan certainly would.
“The West has its secrets that we prefer to keep hidden,” he admitted. The statement even attracted a dubious look from Drake, who was sat down on the ground near him.
“Like Amnur,” Ferdan replied. He was investigating Crono’s wound; from opening it up and inspecting it, it appeared only to be a broken rib and some bruising. Lauri stared at Crono. Of course, she knew his name. Nearly everyone did.
“Don’t be blinded by his past, he’s actually quite amiable once you know him,” Crono pleaded. Lauri was not so convinced by it, though.
“Well, he’s not wrong. It’s still hard to overlook such a massive thing, however.”
Lauri stared at Ferdan in disbelief. tThe man she knew would not admit to such a thing, not with his position within the Council.
“Have you forgotten your title?” she retorted, watching as he looked at her with a pained smile.
“No, but I do not wish to condemn him or his family to death. After all, it was that process that created the problem we’re facing now.”
She was dubious. The exact details of what they were facing had yet to be passed around to her, but from what she heard it appeared to be the fault of the Council themselves.
The door behind them opened, and Amnur stepped in. Crono’s slight warning peek towards him informed Lauri exactly who he was. She marched up to him and glared. She was a fair way shorter than he was and the effect of the display was lost.
“Can I help you?” he enquired, crouching down so that he was closer to her height. Lauri slapped him, immediately regretting it after. Amnur’s face was solid and unflinching, and it had hurt her more than it hurt him. Amnur raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused at her pitiful attempt.
“Why the hell can you walk around here like some glorified saint?” she spat at him. His expression changed to one of contempt, causing her to flinch. She was far too close if he suddenly decided to attack her.
“Because I allow him to,” Crono spoke up, to the surprise of both of them. Lauri shot him a dirty look, but the demon was unfazed. “He has helped neutralise many threats. Your race enjoys overlooking the fact we still have an enemy.”
She couldn’t deny the truth of the statement, while the Ranger’s Guild did try to keep peace in the East, the West was often overlooked and ignored. If anything the West were more likely to be targeted she thought, as their distance from Shadekeep made them vulnerable.
“So you actively seek the help from one such as him, as opposed to asking Shadekeep?” Her question infuriated Crono, Ferdan pulled back in response to that fact.
“They abandoned us!” Crono bellowed. The door cracked open, and the others peered through the gap, curious as to what angered him.
“Besides, I was the one who turned up and started living here, opposed to any invite,” Amnur spoke up, hoping to turn the conversation towards something else before Crono snapped completely. “He found me one day after I had ventured into the West, dehydrated and starving,” he continued, twisting back towards those that were peeping from behind the door.
“We allowed him to stay, if he pledged his allegiance to the West,” Na-ri remarked from the doorway, “he agreed, and that’s how it went.” Lauri sighed, there was not much she could say to argue the point. At least it comforted her to think they didn’t immediately accept him because of his past. The situation remained tense, the others disappeared from the door to remove themselves, leaving Lauri stood awkwardly in the room while Amnur stared at her and Ferdan quietly tended to the others.
“Ferdan mentioned you had a family?” she said. Her voice wasn’t much more than a whisper to Amnur, the last thing she wanted was to anger Crono further.
“Trying to change the topic?” Amnur remarked, “why the sudden interest?”
Lauri puffed and looked away, unwilling to take the bait. “I get the idea that I’m going to be stuck with you, regardless of my personal opinion,” she sternly replied, folding her arms as she stood in front of him. Amnur chuckled and shook his head. The woman was too resentful for her own good. Her negative undertones were never backed up with physical motion.
“I have a daughter,” he replied, turning his gaze away from her, something which Lauri picked up on.
“I haven’t seen her, or anything who I would have taken to be her.”
He exhaled. By now Crono had picked up on their conversation, he gestured to Amnur to see if he was alright, which Amnur waved off.
“Neither have I.”
He stood up and walked away; Lauri knew she had hit a sore spot, so she dropped the subject.
“She disappeared a few days ago,” Drake spoke up from the corner. Lauri regretted bringing the topic up now, the demon must be distraught.
“I’ll just leave now,” she stated and strolled towards the door. Given the situation, Ferdan thought it best not to try and stop her.
Once she had left, Crono turned to Amnur. He wasn’t holding up well after her aggressive barrage, even if he was managing to repel her fine at the time.
“Is this what I have to look forward to my entire life?” Amnur questioned. He did not direct it at anyone, but they all regarded him.
“Some people require proof that you’ve changed,” Ferdan replied; he was holding onto a broken rib bone from Crono, inspecting the area it had broken off from. “Tell me something; do you regret what you did?” It was a bold question, the answer to which would make a massive difference.
“There isn’t a day that I don’t, but most are unable to accept that my actions were done under duress,” Amnur let out a deep breath, the fact was even starting to sound like an excuse to him after twenty-five years. Whenever he pulled on that claim he was always asked why he didn’t fight back, the truth about it was that it was impossible. He still couldn’t fathom who managed to eventually kill the King, he had enough enemies but certainly none that could have defeated him, or so he thought. His body was never found either, or at least that was the last he had heard regarding the whole thing.
“I don’t doubt you,” Ferdan said. Amnur was stunned by what he heard, considering all that Ferdan had said to him and about him in the past.
“You… don’t?” he replied. He was sceptical but relieved.
“Let’s face it, you could have easily killed Ciel by now,” Ferdan remarked. Drake appeared less than amused by the man’s talk. “But you haven’t. If anything you’ve been nothing but friendly towards him.” Minus a few incidents, Amnur thought to himself, but he had not threatened to kill him during any of them, admittedly. He was unsure how to respond to Ferdan’s remark. It was certainly an odd reason to pull up for his innocence, or thereabouts anyway.
“Someone’s praising you for once,” Crono chuckled, breaking up the conversation. Amnur stared at him in response. “He’ll keep us safe in the upcoming days, don’t worry,” he grinned. He had a lot of trust in Amnur, he knew that he would not let them down.
Chapter 14: The Fated Day
It was a bitter day across the Central Isles. The wind blew harshly, sending chills down the spines of those who had woken up to prepare for the march north. No one had slept well that night. Tensions ran high over the worry of a last minute siege. Nothing had come to light, however, much to their relief. Sebastian was shuffling his armour while waiting on the final report from Iomor. It had been a long ti
me since he had last worn the full set of royal armour; it displayed his rank firmly to everyone, a banner of strength to those of his own race. He was not the fondest of the armour, but it certainly had its uses. The armour was crafted from rare metals, so it should be able to repel the hits of most attackers.
The King was wary, however. Uriel had still not talked to him since the attack a few days ago. If the angel did not turn up on the battlefield the effect on morale would be terrible. Thardosean would be the first one to know if Uriel was present; the plan had been for them to approach from two different angles, to divert and divide any ambushing forces. He would be meeting up with Uriel before marching north over the top of the Skyrend mountains, while Sebastian would be leading his army north via the southern tip of the mountains. Those who were less battle-able had already been moved to Aelburn in the early hours of the morning. A large group of those who were not as capable in combat would stand a better chance at defending themselves than small groups of the same. All that remained at Shadekeep now were those who planned to march with Sebastian, to victory or death.
“The preparations are ready, Sire,” Iomor spoke up, startling him. He hadn’t been paying attention.
“You don’t need to call me that, you know,” he replied. He really hoped that nothing went wrong. The fewer people he would have to say a final farewell to the better.
“I know. It felt right, considering the situation,” Iomor smiled; he knew Sebastian was no fan of formalities, always insisting that people talk to him casually.
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