Breath Of Fire II
Prologue:
Somewhere, deep in the very fabric of the world,
something stirred. It was, at the same time, terribly massive, and yet, was
not. It shifted, roiled, slid, and flew. Through a world of darkness, never
ending. Somewhere in that darkness, IT existed. Over the millennia, it had
talked to itself, the only company for itself, alone in that dark place. Yet
now, as it spoke, someone other than itself listened.
“The
time. . . . is not here yet. . . .The energy. . . . I. . . . do not have . . .
enough strength. . . yet. . . . Praise God! Let your . . . . Strength become
His strength. . . . Worship Him! . . ." In that eternal darkness, an eye opened. An alien eye, vertical, with a
vertical pupil surrounded by a fiery red and a sickly green iris. Purplish
flesh showed at the corners of the eye, where gray eyelids had been pulled
back. It flared for a few seconds, eyelids pulsating with life, and then
closed, cutting off the only source of light ever to grace that horrid place,
as unholy as that light was.
“Become.
. . . God’s Strength . . . ."
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"Yua! Nap time!" The little
blue-pigtailed sprite raced out the bedroom door and into the church itself.
There was no mass going on, so no one noticed. She stopped and looked back to
see where her father was, before racing out the front door.
Father Gayner ran out the bedroom door,
intent on catching his daughter, only to see her vanish into the street
outside. Leaning against the door frame of the entrance to church, huffing and
puffing, he checked his watch. Three-thirty. If Yua didn’t get her nap before
dinner, she would get very cranky by the time dinner was ready. He couldn’t
chase her; he just wasn’t that young anymore. He walked to the back of the
church, to the stairs leading up stairs. On the way there, he asked himself,
"Why doesn’t Yua like to take naps?"
"Ryu! Come down here please! I have a
job for you!"
***
Upstairs, Ryu was playing on his bed, flying
a toy wooden dragon with his hand. Just like little Yua, Ryu too, had the blue
tinge to his hair, just like his mother, but had his father’s handsome looks.
Unlike Yua’s hair, which was a glassy-blue colour, Ryu had a darker, more
afternoon sky-blue, almost sapphire in colour, or perhaps turquoise. The beginnings
of a ponytail was sprouting from his head, as yet just a small, vertical tuft
tied with cloth, towards the back of his head. He had his mother’s eyes; a
strange, piercingly unusual shade of emerald green.
Playing on his bed, he soared the dragon
over landscapes made out of the folds in his bedlinen, and wondered what it
would be like to fly like a dragon or bird. He’d bought the dragon with the
money he’d earned baby-sitting Yua, and had nearly no money left now.
"Ryu! Come downstairs! I need
you!"
Ryu hopped to his feet. The only reason Dad
was calling him was to do some kind of chore, so maybe, just maybe, Ryu could
weasel a little money out of it. The thought of a few gold coins in his pocket
made Ryu smile. He grabbed his short walking stick and dashed out of his room
and downstairs. He came barreling down the stairs so fast he smacked into his
waiting father’s legs.
"Whoa!" Gayner caught the boy
before he smashed into him. "Slow down."
"Yes, Dad?" Ryu looked up brightly
at him.
"Yua ran off again. I want you to find
her and bring her home."
"Will you give me some money?"
Gayner sighed and looked down at his
blue-haired boy. Where did he pick up this hustler attitude? There town wasn’t
large enough for a hustler to set up business, so where had he gotten it? Maybe
it was just something he developed by himself. . .
"Yes, I’ll give you three gold coins
when you get back." He shook a finger at Ryu very gently, not demeaning,
but only to point out something. "But no more. Now go, Yua needs her
nap."
Ryu grinned and dashed out the door,
dragging his tiny walking stick behind him.
"What a son I have. . ." Gayner
commented to himself. Still, in the back of his mind, something bothered him.
Something he couldn’t put his finger on.
***
Ryu raced out of the rectory and around the
corner, right between two ladies standing at the corner. He barely made it,
having to dive between them and come to a rolling stop. One of them cried out
at first, then planted her hands on her hips.
"Ryu, watch where you’re going! You
nearly knocked me over!" She frowned at him. The other lady hid a chuckle
behind her hand.
"Sorry." He apologized, giving a
sheepish shrug. "I’m just looking for my little sister. I’ll be in trouble
if I don’t find her."
"Oh, you’re looking for little
Yua?" The other lady asked. "I thought I saw her headed for the Back
Mountain. I think she likes it there."
"Back Mountain?" He asked. The
woman nodded.
"The one behind our village. You know,
where the Silver Dragon sleeps? . . ." From the blank expression on his
face, she figured he hadn’t. "When the demons attacked, your father,
Father Gayner protected this village. That was the day your mother vanished,
too."
"Yeah, I know." Ryu nodded,
solemn. "They all think my mom was killed by a demon, and eaten. I hope
they were wrong."
"Anyway, the Silver Dragon appeared,
right when the demons were about to take over, and fell asleep on the mountain.
The way it’s laying, it blocks those strange, ancient gates. The ones no one
alive knows their purpose."
"Thanks for the history lesson,
lady," Ryu said as he began to run. "But I gotta go find Sis!"
"Take care, little one!" They
called after him.
Farther down the street, Ryu ran by a wheat
cart being tended to by an old man. The man saw Ryu and called out.
"Ryu! I have a warning for your father!
Tell him to beware of young ones pretending to be homeless. Many of them are
thieves! Tell him to be wary!"
"I will!" Ryu hollered back,
rushing around the corner and dashing off into the bushes, headed towards the
Back Mountain.
***
"Now which path do I take?" Ryu
wondered, weighing his options. He knew only one lead to the Dragon itself. The
others lead to either its paws, or to the blank side of the mountain. Pondering
his decision, inspiration hit Ryu. He pulled out his walking stick, tossed it
in the air with a slight spin and watched where it landed. What ever way the
thicker end pointed, he’d go.
The stick spun on the way up and down, and
when it landed, it ended up pointing toward the left path. So, naturally, he
went that way. A few minutes later he was standing in a clearing near the base
of the mountain, a clearing filled with blooming flowers and beautiful
butterflies floating among them. It was such a peaceful and serene place that,
as Ryu walked through it, he hardly noticed the massive head of the Silver
Dragon imposing on it. And Yua, sitting next to it as if in a trance.
"Yua!" He called to her, and began
to walk over to the dragon’s head. He was almost there when the bushes to his
left erupted and a blue ball-like form landed in front of him. It was a Beak, a
strange, spiky blue ball with a bird-like face on it.
The Beak shrieked and lunged at him with its
yellow beak snapping, nearly taking his head off. He screamed and tried to beat
it away with his walking stick, the wood impacting harmlessly against the
leathery, pitted skin of the bird-monster. It head-butted him and flipped him
over, towards where his sister was, and moved in for the fatal strike.
"No. . ." Ryu rasped, struggling
to his feet to stand defiantly against the beast. He swung the stick up over
his head like a club. "I. . .won’t let you. . . hurt Yua . . ."
He charged it with a feral yell, but, before
he could swing his club, he heard a yell. "Ryu! Watch out!"
A bolt of lightning arced through the air,
striking the Beak squarely in its back, and the explosion blew Ryu off his
feet. He blacked out for a second, and when he came to, his dad was standing
over him, looking worried. The Beak was gone, only a smoking crater remained. “Ryu!
Are you all right?!"
"Yeah, I’ll be alright." He shook
the cobwebs from his mind. "Is Yua okay?"
Gayner sighed and nodded. Both of them
looked of at Yua, who hadn’t even moved, even with all the scuffle and the
explosion just meters away. She was just staring at the dragon.
"Yua? Are you all right?" Gayner
asked, worried. He gave his daughter a gentle shake and tried to make eye
contact. No response. "Ryu, I think something’s wrong with Yua?!"
Ryu stepped up next to his sister and placed
a hand on her shoulder. "Yua?"
When he touched her, it was as if he’d
connected to a mild electric current went through them. Yua gave a shudder and
her eyes cleared. Ryu’s pulled his hand back immediately. That was a little
strange, that shock. . .
"Dad? . . . Big Bro? . . ." Yua
looked at them in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"We were about to ask you that, young
lady." Gayner replied, standing up and crossing his arms. "What were
you doing here?"
"I came to see Mama."
"Your mother?" Gayner looked
shocked. ". . . If I had been stronger when the demons attacked, your
mother would still be around. . ."
"That’s not true, Dad!" Ryu
protested. "You’re the strongest magic-type-guy in the whole world!"
"Yeah! It’s not your fault!"
"Maybe. . ." Gayner looked up at
the dragon, its vine-entwined horns and the moss clinging to its leathery skin.
"If this dragon hadn’t shown up, I don’t think I would have been able to
stop the demons. We owe all our lives to it."
"When I sleep here, Mama visits me in
my dreams." Yua announced.
"Your mother. . .speaks to you in your
dreams?" Gayner asked. He reached out and touched the skin of the dragon.
"Oh, Valerie, I wish you could be here to see this great beast. Our
protector."
He took a deep breath and smiled.
"Well, Yua. We should be headed home. You are overdue for your nap!"
"Awww, all right." Yua pouted.
They turned to leave, but Ryu held back.
He gazed up at the massive dragon. Never
before had he seen anything so large, so powerful, so close! It was so cool!
Finally he pulled his gaze away, and went to leave. Yua was waiting for him a
little farther down the path, their father only meters further.
"When I sleep here, I see Mama in my
dreams." She told him. "Maybe you should sleep here too? Maybe you
could see her!"
"You think so?"
"Yeah!" Then Gayner called for
Yua. She ran to him, and they both left the clearing. Ryu was left by himself,
near the dragon.
He considered taking a nap by the dragon.
Maybe Mom would show up in his dreams? It sounded like a good idea. He
laid down near the snout of the dragon and quickly fell asleep.
*****
In that dark, dismal place, the Eye shot
open. Its master sent out a command.
“NOW!"
*****
Ryu woke up with a start. His mother hadn’t
been in his dream; instead, he had seen the terrible Eye. What did the Eye
mean? He wondered. Shaking the sleep from his eyes, he returned to town.
*****
When he got back to town, the first person
he saw was the old man by the wheat cart. The old fogey was still tending it,
but instead of smiling when he saw Ryu, the guy looked like he was going to
burst a valve.
"Get away, you little thief!" He
yelled, turning red in the face. He started threateningly towards the boy.
"There's nothing for your kind around here! Go on! Shoo!"
Ryu ran, confused. Hadn’t he talked to that
guy just a little while ago? Why was he acting like he didn’t know Ryu? Once
again, when he rounded the corner, he nearly knocked over the same woman that
he had before. As before, the woman cried out.
"Watch it, kid!"
Again, Ryu apologized. "Sorry. I just
want to get back to the church to meet with my sister and my dad."
"What are you talking about? Father
Hulk has no children! Who do you think your fooling?!"
This time Ryu stopped. "Who’s Father
Hulk? My dad is Father Gayner. My sister is Yua. Don’t you know them?"
The other woman spoke up. "Gayner? Yua?
There’s no one by that name in this town! You’re a lying little thief! St. Eva
will punish you!"
Now Ryu was thoroughly freaked out.
Something was definitely wrong. Why didn’t anyone recognize him? He couldn’t
understand it as he ran into the church hollering for his father and sister.
"What’s wrong child?" A kind,
elderly man’s voice came from behind him. Ryu fought back tears as he turned
around. Standing there was a bald, mustachioed man in priest’s raiments,
smiling kindly. "Is there anything this old priest can do?"
"I. . .can’t find my family. . ."
Ryu choked out, wiping his eyes on his arm. "I don’t know where they are,
and no one knows me. . ."
"Well, St. Eva’s church always welcomes
the family-less and the homeless. We cannot turn away an orphan, no matter what
their past is. Even if you are a thief, consider this sanctuary your
home."
***
That night, Ryu laid awake in bed. A bed
that he knew was his, but at the same time was not anymore.
Everyone in town thought he was one of those
thieving orphans who preyed on sympathy, so no one trusted him. This town was
no longer his home.
He was just closing his eyes when the boy in
the bed next to him got up. He was a Prairie clanner, with floppy ears, big
moist brown eyes, and a cherubic look to him. Now he paced back and forth
through the room, obviously diappointed.
"Hmmph. What a dive." He muttered
to himself. "Not even one piece of gold in here."
The dog-boy sighed and blew out the only
candle in the room, placing the cold candle in a pouch. "Guess I might as
well take the candles."
He was going to leave, when Ryu sat up.
"Hey, where’re you going?"
"Hi, my name’s Bow. You’re like me,
right?" Bow smiled a gap-toothed grin. "Pretend you’re an orphan, and
when they let you in, you loot?"
"Well," Ryu shifted uncomfortably.
"I guess I am an orphan now."
"I’m gonna skip town. There’s gotta be
better things than this little hovel." Bow looked him over. "Say, you
wanna come? We’ll have adventures. . ."
Ryu thought about it. Gate was no longer his
home. He had no home, and the only person who treated him like a friend was
this boy. "Why not?"
"Cool! Let’s split!"
It was a simple matter to leave the church;
Father Hulk had dozed off during his evening prayers, and the front door was
unlocked. In a very short time, they left town. They passed through the
surrounding forest in silence, and made it out onto the plains.
They’d been walking for an hour when Bow
just stopped mid-step. Moist black nose twitching, he sniffed the air.
"Uh oh. . ." He said. The sky was
overcast, but he felt that it was coming. "Smells like rain. . ."
No sooner than he’d said it, the rain came
down. In buckets. Lightning flashed through the sky with terrible intent.
"We gotta get to shelter!" Bow
cried, covering his head with his shirt. Ryu looked around for a group of
trees, or a cave or something. Then he recognized the area they were in. There
was an off-limits cavern nearby that they could wait out the storm in.
"This way!" Ryu yelled over the
pounding rain. They found their way to the cavern and made it out of the rain.
"Jeez it’s dark in here." Bow
complained. "I can’t even see my hands in this darkness."
In the dark, Ryu crossed his arms. "Why
don’t you light that candle you ‘borrowed’?"
There was the sound of Bow slapping himself
in the forehead. "The candle! Right!"
Spark. Spark. Then the candle caught the
flame and lit up. Now they could see for a few meters.
"Let’s look around." Ryu said. "We
can’t go out until the storm ends, so let’s see how far this cave goes."
They followed the winding passages deeper
into the cave, when the stumbled upon something strange. It didn’t stay for
long, but they did get a good look at it in the candle light before it
disappeared into the dark. It was a long, segmented, armoured tail, with a
little spiky fin at the tip. A sort of gray-purple in colour, it was edged with
blade-like extensions of carapace.
"Wow." Bow breathed. "What do
you think it is?"
"I dunno." Ryu replied, staring
where it vanished into the darkness. "I don’t think we should follow it,
though."
But Bow disagreed. After a few minutes of
convincing, Ryu finally gave in. They followed the tail deeper.
Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Each time
they found it, it was pulled away into the darkness. Finally, they ended up in
a dead-ended cave, or cul-de-sac. Bow rushed forward with the candle to
illuminate the tail. Now they saw it was attached to something huge and mean
looking.
From a crouch, it rose to its full height of
nearly twenty feet. Massive, lumpy, heavily armoured targone-like forearms
spread to reveal two foot long claws and segmented set of legs. Under-evolved
wings sprouting from its back. The head was five feet wide, wedge-shaped with
massive horns and three eyes, all of them closed. The creature turned towards
them and opened its three eyes. Suddenly, the light from the candle was
insignificant; the creature’s eyes gave off an evil light that lit up the
entire cave.
"Oh! It’s a MONSTER!" Was all Bow
could manage before being swatted aside by the creature’s tail. Ryu cried out
in anger and rushed the beast.
“Who are you?" The monster asked in a distorted voice. It used a
shell-covered forearm to block Ryu’s pitiful attack with his stick.
"I’m Ryu, and you hurt my friend!
You’ll pay for that!" He yelled, swinging uselessly at the monster.
“Ryu? Are you the child for the
mission?" The monster seemed
amused and surprised. It lowered its massive head down to his level. “Face
me Ryu. I must know. Face your nightmare!"
It swatted him aside, flinging him into the
stone wall. He hit it and nearly blacked out. In his daze, he heard the monster
tsked him. “Let’s see you complete the prophecy. Let’s see you open
the gate, Ryu. Prove you are the chosen one. . ."
Ryu passed out to the sound of the beast’s
demonic laughter.
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Interlude
He dreamed of a demon that ripped his
body and heart apart.
But it remains a dream.
His sister and father are gone, and no
one recognizes him.
He hears it calling to him; another
world.
A world of darkness and silence.
He succumbs and it embraces him.
“YOU ARE THE ONE!!" The demon
screeches.
Deep in his heart, he knows it is true.
At that moment, reality fades away, and
the dream begins to take shape.