Chapter 24: Fade to Black
I stood on the bridge, monitoring the ships progress towards Oeilvert, beside me stood Ilvian, he had left one of the genomes in command of the fleet and had come across to the Hildagarde to visit me again. Lawrence and Fury were nowhere to be seen and apart from a couple of genomes at the helm, and engine controls it was just me and Ilvian in the bridge.
“So…Fury’s made his move.” Said Ilvian as he stared out of the bridge windows at the clouds passing by us.
“It looks that way…” I said, unsure of what he was aiming at.
“What do you think he will do with us now?”
I shrugged
“I don’t know…I don’t think this is the end of his plans, after all he won’t stop until all of this planet is under his control.”
Ilvian nodded and turned towards me, a couple of lights flickered on and off on the mechanical side of his face.
“Rhiana…do you trust him?” he asked
It was a difficult question to answer, for although I had had initial misconceptions of Fury, or Thunderchild, or whatever his name was…now I seemed to trust him more.
“A little…why, don’t you?”
Ilvian turned away from me again and looked out of the window.
“I dunno…he’s kept his word and so far he’s done well.”
“You see no reason to leave a ship that isn’t sinking.” I concluded
He nodded, his back still turned to me, his tail swaying uncertainly
“But something is wrong Rhiana…and I don’t know whether it’s him or Lawrence that bothers me the most.”
“Well…I can understand that, I don’t trust Lawrence at all…despite him being our ‘father’.”
Ilvian nodded again and put a hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight which broke through the clouds briefly.
“There’s Oeilvert.” He said
I sensed a presence on the bridge behind me and turned around, Fury walked onto the bridge holding the hand of the Discworld woman he had requested we take to his cabin.
“Fury…?” I asked, indicating her.
“Calm down Rhiana…Kitiara here has seen the wisdom of being on the winning side…haven’t you dear?”
Kitiara nodded and smiled but said nothing.
I shrugged and hoped he knew what he was doing, turning back to the windows again I announced our arrival at Oeilvert. Fury walked up alongside me, Kitiara in tow.
“Behold…the strength of numbers and the power of knowledge.”
I was still unsure I had made the right decision by joining him, he seemed powerful enough, in fact just by standing next to him I could feel the power radiating from him and it had touched something inside of me, something that lusted to be as powerful as that…and he had promised…promised to awaken such power.
I was a slave to my own desires, the lust for power, the drive for supremacy which drew me to him and when I looked out over this ‘Oeilvert’ I saw that I had made the right decision.
There, on the plains before the ancient castle was a vast army, I could see monsters, genomes, even some forms of machinery in its midst, many of them cheered as we passed overhead and I could see Fury smiling down on them.
“Impressive.”
Fury turned to me, a gleeful smile on his face
“Isn’t it just? Within two days this army will transport across to the Mist Continent and crush the empires of Lindblum and Alexandria. Nothing they have…not even their precious eidolons can save them.”
I watched our approach to the castle, it looked as though we were to dock at the top of it.
“You sound very confident…over-confident almost.” I cautioned him
His smile faded and was replaced by a slight sneer.
“I have every reason to be Kitiara…everything is going according to plan…and you would do well to not use that tone of voice to me child.”
I bristled at being called ‘child’ and talked to in such a manner, but realised the futility of standing up to him…yet.
Yes, I would bide my time, whisper sweet nothings into his ear if that is what I needed to do…for I could see weakness within this strong character and it was perhaps a weakness I could exploit.
I had collapsed into a fitful sleep after my breakdown of emotions, the gentle rocking of the airship lulling me into slumber. I don’t know how long I slept but there was a bright flash of light and suddenly I was awake, my hand reaching for my dagger which, of course, wasn’t there. When I opened my eyes I found myself in a room similar to my cell but absent of Zidane…sitting up from the table I was now lying on I looked around and started as I saw Lawrence standing behind me.
“You!!” I yelled and jumped at him, determined to kill him with my bare hands if needs be.
“Ah…so you woke up…pity, but it is of no consequence.” He said as I suddenly slammed into a force field inches from his body.
“What do you want?” I hissed as I stood up again slowly, backing away from him until I felt the table behind me.
“You Mithril Yugami…my best creation, my strongest creation. It is a shame you denied yourself a life of unlimited power…a life where you could have done anything… And what for? A life of betrayal and sadness…such a shame.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared at him.
“I’ll say this one more time Lawrence you bastard…what do you want?”
“Such violence…such temper…that was one of your weaknesses. Still, such problems can be overcome.”
He tapped a button on his sleeve and another force field shimmered into place, this time around me, I tried to break through it with my hands but only landed up hurting my fists.
“Now this won’t hurt…much…” said Lawrence as he advanced towards me, a loaded syringe gun in one hand.
The docking on the upper reaches of Oeilvert was smooth and uneventful, the genome crew reacting exactly as I had trained it. I smiled as I walked off the airship and into the castle, feeling the reassuring sensation of stonework beneath my feet. Kitiara followed me like a lost sheep but that was the way I liked it. I left Rhiana and Ilvian to unload the prisoners and escort them to their respective cells within the castle.
“What will you do with the prisoners?” asked Kitiara
I chewed on the inside of my lip
“Nagy, Xola and Zidane will work in the mines south of here, Lawrence wanted Domino but I shall keep her for now as a torturing toy…there’s a lot I want to do to that genome…we have unfinished business.”
Kitiara seemed satisfied with my answer, although quite frankly I wasn’t bothered if she was or wasn’t, I needed someone to help with the invasion of the Mist Continent and I had seen the craving for power in her when I first met her on the Discworld. Simply by dangling that carrot in front of her face she had become mine. It was almost pathetic the things people would do to gain just a small amount of power.
“So…what are you going to do now?” she asked
“Now I am going to forge myself a new sword…one to replace Draconus…one to be its successor.”
“Can I help?”
I turned and looked at her, admiring her body and her face, for a moment something stirred within me but I quickly clamped down on that feeling before it got out of control. Turning back and walking on I shook my head.
“No…feel free to explore the castle, Rhiana or Ilvian will get a room for you.”
“Pity…” she said, causing me to turn around again
“What?”
“I had hoped to share a room with you.” She said, and again I felt that emotion stirring within me.
“Don’t be stupid.” I replied before walking on and leaving her, and that emotion behind me.
As he walked off I smiled to myself, I had seen the reaction in his eyes to my suggestions. I knew men, I knew how to manipulate them and despite his power Fury was as weak as the rest of them. It would take time but eventually I would wear him down and it would be I in the position of power.
I could wait, I was patient…
Running a hand through my hair I picked a corridor at random and set off down it.
Nagy and I had been transferred from the airship into a stone prison cell, we had been blindfolded while we were marched there but I could tell from listening to the sounds around me on the way there that we were inside a castle of some sort.
“This must be the Oeilvert that that Reiganna spoke of.” I said after a while spent in silence.
“Indeed.” Replied Nagy as he studied the hinges of the steel door.
I took that moment to take a closer look at our surroundings, the cell we were in was bigger than that of the cell in the airship but not by much. Two uncomfortable beds lay one each side of the room. A small amount of light, just enough to see each other, was provided me a glowing stone in the corner of the room.
“Any luck?” I asked Nagy
He shook his head
“As secure as a thief’s wallet.”
“So we’re stuck then?”
He nodded and sat down on the other bed.
“It looks that way for now.”
I sat back on the bed and leaned against the wall, twirling my long crimson hair with a finger I thought about all that had happened leading up to now.
“I wonder what’s happened to Kitiara?”
Nagy shrugged
“Last I saw of her she was unconscious on the bridge of the Hildagarde III, she could be in a separate cell or…”
Nagy left the end of the sentence un-finished but I knew what he meant.
“I don’t think she’s dead Nagy…I don’t think she’d let herself be killed that easily.”
“Do you think he left her behind?”
I bowed my head slightly and sighed
“Perhaps…perhaps not, We cannot be sure of anything trapped here.”
“And we’re not going anywhere fast.” Concluded Nagy indicating the door with his foot.
I nodded and curled up into a small ball on the bed which felt like stone.
“What are you doing?” asked Nagy
“Trying to get some sleep…I should think we’ve got a long haul in front of us and it would be wise to get as much rest beforehand.”
Nagy seemed to reluctantly agree as he tried to lie down in a comfortable position.
“Domino…please wake up!” I tired to shake her but to no avail.
She had gone missing just before the Hildagarde V had docked at presumably Oeilvert, and when she had reappeared in a teleportation beam she had been unconscious and hadn’t woken up since. I was particularly troubled by a wound in her left shoulder which a small trickle of blood had escaped from.
“What has he done to you?” I muttered, testing her pulse with my fingers. It was slow but there, like her breathing which was shallow but constant.
I sighed and sat back on my bed adjacent to hers. I felt so helpless, I had tried breaking down the door but there was nothing I could do to even move it, and even if I had succeeded, where would I go? We were blindfolded on the journey in and judging by the length of the journey taken, Fury had uncovered parts of Oeilvert that I never knew existed.
We landed Silveria on the outskirts of Treno, to where Alex had told me once where the Thieves Guild was to be found, it was getting dark now and the stars were beginning to come out in the sky. I didn’t know how my friends were but earlier, on our way here we had been overtaken by a Lindblum airship which was burning badly. I feared the worst and wanted to turn back then but Mizrah had persuaded me not to.
“It’s in their capable hands,” she had said “We can’t fail our mission now, we owe it to this planet to succeed.”
Snikity had agreed with her and reluctantly I stayed on course.
“I hope you’re alright Yugami.” I had whispered to myself.
We landed carefully but heavily on the ground next to a small network of caves, dismounting Silveria I pointed them out to Mizrah and Snikity.
“That’s where we have to go.” I said, they had nodded and we had set out on our way.
Inside the darkness of the caves I had created a small firefly of light to guide us on our way, its blue glow creating just enough light for us to see the path ahead.
“Halt! Who goes there?” asked a male voice from the shadows
“I am Reiganna and this is Mizrah and Snikity, we are friends of Domino the genome…we have to see Alex on a matter of extreme urgency.”
A tall young man with black hair walked out in front of us, carrying a small sword.
“I’m Sam…leader of the Bandits, any business you have with Alex you also have with me.”
I bowed and beckoned Mizrah and Snikity to do the same.
“We’ve come to warn you…to warn the Mist Continent, we’re going to be invaded…by a man named Thunderchild.”
Sam laughed
“That is ridiculous for two reasons: one, Thunderchild is a good guy, he wouldn’t harm us, and two, he’s dead!”
I shook my head frantically.
“No…he’s not dead…the explosion was…faked somehow I don’t know, but he’s definitely not dead.”
Sam crossed his arms and looked suspiciously at us.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth…I’ve spoken to Alex, she was there at Dali when the airship exploded, she never mentioned a Reiganna, a Snikity or a Mizrah, what she did mention though, was that Domino was now a widow.”
I sighed and let my hand slide down to my sword, Sam must have seen it as he brought his sword up higher.
“Don’t even think about it.” He warned.
I sighed and waved my hand, the small firefly of light suddenly blossomed into a fireball of burning light which temporarily blinded everyone, I took that moment to draw Draconus and hold it up towards Sam. When the light cleared and Sam looked at me again, he blinked at the sword.
“Huh? Draconus? How did you get that?” he said
“When Thunderchild invaded my home and stole the Crystal of Light…the very same crystal he is using now to build up his power to attack us.”
Sam still seemed wary.
“How do I know you didn’t kill him…how do I know you didn’t steal his sword or just take it after his death.”
“Because Thunderchild would never let someone take this sword…at least, not the Thunderchild we all thought we knew.”
Sam lowered his sword
“Ok…you’ve convinced me for now but if I see something wrong with your story then there will be extreme consequences. Anyway…what do you want Alex for?”
“I need runners…messengers, starting with her.” I said
Sam nodded and smiled slightly
“Well, I can help you with that, I’ll seen messengers to each of our members in the major cities, they can warn the relevant people…Alex isn’t here at the moment, she’s in Treno at the auction house. She said something about gullible nobles…you know what she’s like.”
I nodded and thanked Sam, putting Draconus back in its scabbard, I began running back through the caves.
“Come on Mizrah, Snikity. We’re running out of time!”
The fires of the furnace burned brightly as I poured Firaga after Firaga into the flames. Once the metal had liquefied I summoned up several spells of strength and power and sent them into the liquid metal, making sparks dance across the silver.
Then I took the metal out of the fire and poured it into the cast I had made for it, and before the metal could cool I cast the essence of my power into the metal, merging a part of my being with the metal, understanding the sword, becoming the sword. As I did so I watched the metal turn black, not a corroded black but a shiny black which radiated evil.
I then waited a couple of minutes and plunged the cast into a barrel of water, after holding it there for ten minutes and ignoring the steam which it gave off I released the sword from its cast and pulled it out of the water.
I held the blade up to the light and smiled at the blackness, then taking a red crystal from inside my cloak I placed it in the corresponding place in the sword’s hilt.
“There my sweet blade of destruction…all that is left is to give you a name…” I whispered to the sword as I held the blade up to my face.
Surrelus
Forged by darkness, tamed by the fire.
The blade with which all good things die.
The words entered unbidden into my mind, and I smiled, I had given the sword a life of its own and together we were the ultimate fighting force.
With such a power at my side…how could I lose?
The door to the cell opened, waking me suddenly and bringing me to my feet, ready to confront whatever intruder arrived.
I wasn’t expecting him.
“Lawrence!! Get back!” I yelled at him, moving between him and Domino.
“Keep out of this Zidane you worthless reject. You know nothing of the life you chose to leave behind.”
I swore and charged at him only to bounce off a personal force field he had around him and be thrown to the floor, standing up again I put myself between Domino and him once again. She was too valuable to fall into his hands, and at the moment, too vulnerable in her unconscious state.
“Now…come Yugami…we have work to do.” Said Lawrence, holding his hand out to me, but not to me as I suddenly realised Domino had awoken behind me. She stood up and bowed.
“I obey.” She said in a tone of voice which suggested total obedience.
“What?! Domino! Don’t listen to him!!” I grabbed her by her shoulders and tried to stop her but she grabbed me by my neck and lifted me into the air, choking with the lack of oxygen I tried to beat her hands away from around my throat but failed.
“Get out of my way.” She hissed before throwing me across the cell and into the wall, my head hit the stone hard and I fell into unconsciousness, my last sight being that of Domino taking Lawrence’s hand and being led, quite willingly, out of the cell.