060 those Who Watch the Sky - 60
60 – The Day that Could not be Forgotten or Remembered
Though it was obvious that Elliot intended to seek the
Guardian alone, no one had expected him to throw himself from the deck of the
airship. His action proved a deft distraction and Hazel escaped below deck
slipping through the crew who worked within the vessel. His goal was a row of
personal airships that that were at best an aerodynamic horse body placed on a
platform that served as a set of wings. As he seated himself upon it and
started up the launch arm controls the spirit on his shoulder squeaked angrily
at him.
“Sorry, I’m not getting involved. There isn’t anything I
can do right now anyway, and Elliot seems to have it in control. Maybe.”
As the launch arm swung wide and brought the aircraft with
it, Hazel grabbed a crank wheel on it and spun it for all he was worth. As
commanded by the crank a hanger door in the side of the airship opened wide and
allowed the launch arm to exit the airship. Before Hazel could launch however a
familiar harsh voice called out to him.
“Running away Hazel? What happened to the man who swore he
would ‘defend Mote to the end’? And what of this doubt you cast upon the boy.”
“Melrin, you idiot.”
With a heavy sigh Hazel looked back into the airship at the
Sa·B·er clad in mechanized red armor. He did not look like he had any intention
of stopping Hazel and so Hazel took the opportunity to spell things out for the
other icaran man.
“I don’t know what that light is Elliot has, but it isn’t
Mote’s and it’s putting a horrible strain on him. If he pushes himself too far
I have no idea what will happen except that we’ll all die. It’s not like Mote
can save us either…”
“What do you know Hazel?”
“That you weren’t wrong Melrin. I have seen Mote since the
Survivors of Lucir abducted her… and the thing is Melrin, since you and the
others last saw her, she had a kid and was so proud of that. The smile she wore
talking about being free from that terrible power contrasted against the sadness
in her eyes for passing it on to her own child… It was something else Melrin.”
“Tell me Hazel, this child, do you know where they are
now?”
For his part Bellson kept himself under control quite well.
His inquiry of Hazel was delivered coolly, even as the obvious anger rose up in
his voice. Hazel offered his former companion a sympathetic smile and answered
his query as indirectly as he could.
“What I can tell you Melrin is that they aren’t with Mote.
She spoke of that power that awoke that day with such fear and would never want
another soul to know the pain that comes with possessing it. If you want to
find the child you’re on your own. See you around Melrin.”
Pulling a lever on the side of the launch arm the mechanism
dropped his airship and Hazel plummeted into the depths of the central shaft of
the Foreigner city. Stepping to the edge of the open hanger Bellson watched him
disappear below even as the temple that held the Poltergeist came up to meet
them. He had no words for his old companion and turned to return to the deck of
the airship. Below him as Hazel started the combustion engine of the personal
aircraft, bringing the propeller in each wing to life. Taking full control of
the vehicle Hazel turned his head towards the temple as he descended and
whispered out a silent order to Elliot within.
“Save my little girl Elliot. I’m leaving her in your hands
now and in the future. Keep your promise and be the sword that supports her
dreams.”
Falling to his knees as he tried to keep the blood in that
burst from his mouth with his left hand, Elliot trembled both with the strain
of maintaining Equalizer as well as the convulsions for the damage it inflicted
upon him. From above him Feast’s voice floated down with a mocking tone barely
hiding his concern.
“I warned you about the strain Elliot. That was your fourth
strike and speaks nothing of the toll you put on yourself by granting me the
means to conquer this monster with so little blood.”
“But you did conquer it, did you not Feast?”
“Of course.”
An arrogant smile bared Feast’s teeth as he gloated
confidently about his victory. Smiling softly himself, Elliot propped himself
up on his sword before fully rising to his feet unsteadily. Placing his left
hand back upon the head of his scabbard he turned about with a sway and looked
up at the ancient Guardian that had become his new Dolmen.
Where once there had been a silver carapace that had
resembled if an insect had grown into the form of a sinewy icaran it was now
the crimson hue of human blood. The once golden eyes that stared out from under
a protruding forehead which looked as though it was the base of a once far too
massive horn were empty sockets waiting to be brought back to life. That task
fell to Elliot but he would have to give the order to begin the process to
Feast who waited on its shoulder with a hand against its neck.
“Then let’s put it to work saving Link.”
“Only after you agree to retrieve a weapon to use until you
can get in your fifth strike. I don’t want you dying on me Elliot.”
“Of course.”
Smiling Elliot accepted Feast’s terms and turned his gaze
upward and beyond the hall he stood in.
“The only weapon I can trust to do what I need right now is
the revolver from the Dolmen I arrived here in. Hopefully I won’t need it and
I’ll be able to reach out and awaken Her Eminence, Lady Cardinal’s Light within
Link and banish the darkness and slay the Poltergeist. Do you think you can get
us there, Feast, where I left it behind after getting shot by the defenses of
the city that is?”
“You just leave that to me Elliot. The Artificial Gate
Generator in this thing’s chest between its heart and lungs seems to be
absolutely astounding.”
“In its chest? Then does it not have a cockpit?”
“It’s a living thing Elliot. We’ve simply replaced its soul
with ours. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a cockpit though. Dolmen’s may be
complicated machines from ages long lost, but they don’t need a big brain to
function.”
“A brain? Wait, this is a head cockpit design?”
“Right above the mouth and a little cramped. The perfect
place to make you claustrophobic and violent in the future. For now, it’ll be
where you rest and prepare to see if you can save the girl, or kill her.”
Elliot intended to protest but from the back of the
Dolmen’s three-meter-tall had a metal cylinder of significant size suddenly
spun out with a hiss of hydraulic gasses. Kneeling down the Dolmen grabbed the
cylinder with its left hand and lowered it down in front of Elliot. The two
ends were threaded and seemed to spin independently of the rest of the cylinder
with a large head protecting the exterior end. The thick outer shell suddenly
retracted revealing a cockpit within that truly was claustrophobic compared to
the spacious chest cavity of the potbellied Dolmen that the Cardinal Church
used. Elliot did not concern himself with it and climbed into the ancient and
unused compartment, the padding of the seat disintegrating under his touch.
Sighing he smiled irritably.
“I guess I’ll have to find a way to afford to have this
replaced.”
The only response to Elliot’s voiced concerns was the
cockpit sealing shut leaving him in total darkness save the light of his sword.
The darkness would persist even after the Dolmen returned the cockpit cylinder
to its place within its skull. Remembering how he first engaged his prior
Dolmen, Elliot stabbed his sword into the floor of the cockpit between his legs
and made sure to grab one control stick before he removed his other hand from
his sword. As he grabbed the other control stick the cockpit came alive with
light and holographic screens which included a panoramic view of his
surroundings leaving Elliot feeling like he was floating in the air. Words from
a language well lost to history flashed before Elliot’s eyes distracting him
from his surrounding before they took the form of more familiar script. He
could feel the Nectar spilling in from Ambrosia from below him and piloting
knowledge poured into his head overwhelming him. The sensation only lasted a
moment however and Elliot knew the first thing that he had to do.
“~ I stand equal to the task
before me
Bathed in the Light of Her Eminence, Lady Cardinal
I rise to face all challenges
Equalizer‼ ~”
Bathed in the Light of Her Eminence, Lady Cardinal
I rise to face all challenges
Equalizer‼ ~”
The incantation echoing as song all throughout the hall the
Dolmen stood in, its sword suddenly cracked and splintered before being blown
apart and replaced with an equivalent sized version of Elliot’s own sword of
light. The sword was not all that ignited for the Dolmen’s eyes flared to a
matching blue glowing light as it once more came to full life. From behind
those eyes Elliot gave Feast the final go ahead.
“It’s all yours now Feast. Take me to Link.”
“Do you intend to spare me then
Child of Her Light? A decision most unwise with the Guardian slain.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure that you perish this day as
well, your hatred lost to time.”
Before further words could be exchanged between Elliot and
the Poltergeist, six shadow apparitions like black feathered wings emerged from
the back of the Dolmen and it exploded in flight from the temple.
The wind had relented in its battle and now again answered
to the commands of the wordless song that Melody sung. For all of the control
the red-haired harpy had however she was unable to keep pace with the Foreigner
city that the wind had carried far away from. Still, she desperately followed
it believing that she could not abandon Link and Elliot within.
“Huh?”
From the bottom of the airship Melody’s superb eyes spotted
an airship descend and could barely make out the person aboard the tiny craft.
Straining for all she was worth Melody’s eyes widened in realization.
“Oh~! That’s Link’s father! But… He’s by himself… did
something happen?”
A concerned look crossed Melody’s face but she promptly
shook it off and replaced it with a determined one.
“Instead of asking no one my questions, I should just go
ask him.”
Following through with her intentions, Melody attempted to
pursue the tiny airship. It was a vain effort though as she was much too far
away from the Foreigner city and Hazel was not on a course she could intercept.
Attempting to chase after him was as fruitful as chasing after the Foreigner city
and she was doing little more than tiring herself out. At such an altitude exhausting
herself would be dangerous and would serve her worse than her already vain
efforts. Her continued efforts were not unrewarded though as she soon bore
witness to the Junk Bird airship that Bird had conscripted also emerge from the
bottom of the Foreigner city.
“Ah! It’s a second one, and a lot bigger too.”
Watching it and not recognizing anyone she could see Melody
wasn’t sure what she should do. Then she spotted Bird patrolling the deck with
a spyglass in hand.
“Uh oh. Looks like he’s probably looking for Link’s father
too. Hmm~… What should I do? I guess I should report in. I am kind of a member
of Choir too, aren’t I?”
Though her musings were tinged with doubt it seemed a
reasonable idea. At the very least the airship would provide her a place to
rest if she could catch up to it. That of course would depend on the course it
would take leaving the Foreigner city.
Knowing she didn’t have the time to think as it was
unlikely that the airship would stay relatively stationary for long, Melody
ascended with the idea of gaining altitude to increase her speed in a
subsequent dive. Focusing on her ascent, she had to pull her attention away from
her planned destination and to the sky above her. Completely undistracted it became
possible for her to take in the sight atop the Foreigner city.
“Huh⁈ What is that⁈”
Emerging from the top of the Foreigner city was an object
of Darkness well over two hundred meters in length. As it spiraled up ward it
suddenly spun about and a pair of enormous batwings that dwarfed the Darkness
unfurled and grabbed the sky. Held aloft by those enormous wings was a creature
of darkness that possessed the body of a great cat with talon like feet and a
serpent that seemed to have replaced its spine. At the head end of the serpent
a sinister head of horns and fangs looked about its surrounding. But it was not
the head of the darkness that caught Melody’s attention, for in the light of
the setting sun the Darkness was revealed to be incomplete and transparent,
revealing what it shadowed within its chest.
“LI~NK‼”
The sight of Link within the creature of Darkness called
forth a scream from Melody and the harpy beat her wings fiercely. But again,
the wind was afraid, far more so than it had been when it saved Melody from the
collapsing Foreigner city around the colossus of blood. Just as then, Melody
attempted to fight it but to all of no avail.
“No! Stop it! Link needs my help! LI~NK‼”
Above the Foreigner city, enveloped in Darkness, Link could
never hear Melody and the wind would not carry her voice anywhere near the
Darkness. Lacking Melody’s vision, Link would never see her even if her voice
did reach her. Within the darkness itself though the world was distorted and
could not be made out clearly save for the setting sun which hypnotized Link
with its warm and inviting light.
“So warm…”
As Link watched the sun the Darkness around her grew deeper,
further closing her off from the world beyond it. The light of the sun was
dimming as it set and the darkness deepened but another, more brilliant light
was rising from directly beneath her. A white-hot star that threatened to
consume her.
“Not again! And its even brighter this time! Urgh!”
Turning her attention straight up Link attempted to outrun
the rising light and the Darkness flapped its tremendous wings elevating it
further above the Foreigner city. Tightening his grip on the control sticks of
the Dolmen, Elliot glared at the Darkness with gritted teeth.
“Do you still think you can reach her Elliot. She just
keeps fleeing further and further and further away.”
“I’ll save her Feast. I have to. I just need to be able to touch
the Light that Her Eminence, Lady Cardinal left with her. I just have to
reach!”
Reaching forward towards Link with the Dolmen’s left hand,
Elliot reached for her with every ounce of his being as the Dolmen burst into
the sky above the Foreigner city in pursuit.
“LI~NK‼”
“Eh⁈ Elliot⁈”
Coming to a stop as she heard Elliot’s voice echo in her
mind, Link looked around desperately. There was no sign of him however, only
the rapidly approaching and growing light below her.
“Elliot! Where are you⁈ Elliot!”
Elliot could not hear Link’s cries, but he could see what
it was he sought at last. Deep within the Darkness beyond the sight of man or
any instruments was Cardinal’s Light. It was so small and so dim, but so
powerful resolute that its very existence threatened to consume the Darkness
that held it.
“Your Eminence, Lady Cardinal, please forgive me for
touching this Light you gave to another. I only desire to save her as your
Light already has once. So please just this once forgive me.
“Now, Link, please, feel Her Eminence Lady Cardinal’s Light
and banish the Darkness that consumes you!”
As Elliot cried out to Link a warmth filled her and she
looked down and clutched at her chest.
“What is this? What is it⁈”
Curling against it, Link was not sure what it was that she
was experiencing. Was it warm or was it hot? Was it comforting or hurtful? Was
it hope or was it poison? The sensation filled her with confusion and she
opened her eyes, not releasing she had closed them, to look at the light
swelling up from within her bosom. Seeing the light consuming her, her eyes
widened and she panicked.
“No. No! No! No! No! NO~‼ I don’t want to be consumed! I
don’t want to be eaten! Get off of me! GET OFF OF ME‼”
The Beast of Darkness writhed in anguish in time to Link within
its breast and thrashed about in desperation. Link’s panic washed back over
Elliot and nearly pushed him and his Dolmen both back. Bracing himself against
the force rushing out of Link he again tried calling out to her.
“Link, calm down! Please!”
“Elliot⁈ Elliot! What’s happening⁈ I don’t want to be eaten! I don’t want to!”
Again, Link heard Elliot’s voice and again called out to
him. This time though Elliot heard her and as their consciousnesses seemed to
meet in a place between light and darkness, a place filled with light and hope,
he reached out for her.
“Link. The Light won’t eat you. It is the Light of Her
Eminence, Lady Cardinal. It has saved you once and we need its power to save
you again.”
“Elliot, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.
I’m in a dark place and every light I’ve seen has only tried to hurt me.”
“That’s probably my fault Link. I’m sorry. You’ve been
consumed by a Darkness that terrifies even the Poltergeists, and I tried to
fight it with the Light that Her Eminence, Lady Cardinal bestowed upon me. Had
I known I was hurting you in the process I would have never turned my blade on
it and had tried to reach out sooner.”
“You’re not making any sense Elliot. Or maybe it’s me. I
should know what you’re saying but it’s like knowing what your saying is
somewhere else. My head has been so messed up ever since they started hurting
me. Why did they have to hurt me Elliot⁈ I didn’t want to hurt them! I
just wanted to be an adventurer. I never had to be a Sa·B·er. I never wanted to
fight the Foreigners! I just wanted to follow their cities drifting across the
sky to whatever adventures I’d find beneath them. Was that so wrong Elliot⁈ Was it Elliot⁈ Tell me, please!”
Link’s pain was almost unbearable, but Elliot understood it
all too well. To be something other than what you were or what the world
demanded of you. For the two of them it seemed a fate that tormented them from
birth. It was a pain he could never not understand and so he smiled softly,
sadly yet comfortingly.
“Link. Your dreams were never wrong. Do remember that we
promised that we would become adventurers known across the face of Icarus? That
that brought us joy and filled us with the hope we needed to make it through
the constant reminders by the world around us of we should be. Do you remember
when you presented me with my sword and that I swore it would also be in
service to your dreams? That hasn’t changed. I haven’t forgotten my promise to
you. You are my world and now Her Eminence, Lady Cardinal’s Light is my sword.
That same Light is within you Link. You need simply reach past the Darkness and
take hold of it. Listen to the song that rises from it and let my sword free
you from your prison.”
“Reach past the Darkness…?”
Lifting her left hand, Link looked down at it and knew the
darkness she called upon when she opened an Ambrosial Gate with it. Snapping
the fingers of her left hand she called up that darkness and opened the
Ambrosial Gate it possessed. The gate glowed in her hand like a soft light and
she could feel the darkness that swirled within that she had to force to the
side to draw in Nectar. But it was not Nectar that she was looking for, but
light buried deep within the darkness. The Light that Elliot spoke of. The
Light that would save her.
“A light within the darkness behind the Gate that needs to
be reached…”
Bringing up her right hand, Link held the Ambrosial Gate
between them. Bringing the middle finger and thumb of her right hand together
she prepared to snap her fingers.
“If that’s the case, then I just need to open a second
Gate. The Gate that goes to this Light inside of me.”
Embracing her idea, Link envisioned with all of her
scattered mind the Light she sought and snapped the fingers of her right hand.
Within the cockpit of his Dolmen, Elliot watched the Beast of
Darkness above him as it had grown still and silent. He was not smiling however
as he had no way of knowing if Link would succeed before the Darkness became
the threat that Hazel feared it would.
“Please Link, I know you can do it.”
Despite Elliot’s faith in Link, nothing seemed to happen
for a long time. Then he saw it. A soft light, barely perceptible, began to
grow within the heart of the Beast of Darkness.
“Yes… Yes! She did it! She did it! Yes!”
“I wouldn’t be so excited just yet Elliot.”
“What do you mean Feast?’
“Look.”
Feast’s arm rose up next to Elliot’s head and with an
extended finger pointed up towards the Light that Elliot had been celebrating
the sight of. Following with his eyes, Elliot could not be sure what had gone
wrong but the light was not stable. It grew rapidly and trembled violently
before suddenly exploding into a column that pierced the night sky and face of
Icarus both. Elliot would have been caught in the beam had his instincts not
allowed him to pilot the Dolmen out of the way. The Foreigner city was less
fortunate and turning back to look at the column of light it was impossible not
to recognize the destruction it wrought.
“What just happened…⁈”
Staring breathlessly at the last traces of the Darkness and
the explosions that tore through the height of the Foreigner city, Elliot
questioned what it was he was looking at. Those who had the answers were not
present, though they all knew exactly what it was they saw. Balgun, Bellson,
and Hazel, were reminded of that day some twenty years ago when a Poltergeist
that resembled the Beast of Darkness that held Link was annihilated by a
similar beam of light. Watching the light from the deck of the airship, Bellson
could not help but breakout laughing even as Bird and the airship crew feared
for their lives before that light.
“You fool Hazel. Mote hid her child right under your nose
and the boy who wields Cardinal’s Light defends them as you did her. Ah, ha,
ha, ha, ha! Ahahahaha! Finally, I’ve found it. The Light of Hope! Now my
crusade can begin at–⁈”
Bellson stopped short as he noticed that there was
something wrong with the column of light. It seemed to be straining and
splintering and before he could utter a word in question it exploded into the
shape of a great, leafless tree.
Swelling hundreds of fold in size the column of light
became as the trunk of a tree of pure light from which thousands of branches
arced across the sky and were doubled by roots through the face of Icarus. The
light consumed all that it touched. The land itself, the Foreigner city it
completely annihilated along with the Poltergeist within, the airship occupied
by Bird and Bellson, Balgun and his mobile fortress, the Mouser brothers who
watched from the lip of the crater the Foreigner city had rose from, Elliot and
his Dolmen, and Melody who screamed in utter anguish and despair at the
disappearance of her best friend within the light.
~ We were so naïve.
We followed a Foreigner city to adventure and were thrust into the future unprepared.
We were so ignorant that we tried to wield powers we did not understand.
We didn’t understand what it meant to be Sa·B·ers.
We didn’t understand the terror that Cardinal’s Light brought.
We didn’t understand a thing.
No, we understood that we were there the day that Light became a portent of destruction.
We were there the day the Lucifalz appeared.
Where were you the day it spread its branches across the sky and through the face of Icarus?
Where were you the day after?
Was the world still the world you knew?
Can you honestly remember what happened that day?
Do you still dream as I do of the world as it was before Light changed everything?
We followed a Foreigner city to adventure and were thrust into the future unprepared.
We were so ignorant that we tried to wield powers we did not understand.
We didn’t understand what it meant to be Sa·B·ers.
We didn’t understand the terror that Cardinal’s Light brought.
We didn’t understand a thing.
No, we understood that we were there the day that Light became a portent of destruction.
We were there the day the Lucifalz appeared.
Where were you the day it spread its branches across the sky and through the face of Icarus?
Where were you the day after?
Was the world still the world you knew?
Can you honestly remember what happened that day?
Do you still dream as I do of the world as it was before Light changed everything?
Those Who Watch the Sky - End
Copyright © 2019 Joshua D Tarwater
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