So,an AU and a slight Fix Fic to account for video game mechanics/logic. Like I said, I only go for ambitious projects. 
Reviews, concrit welcome.
Crossposted from here on FF.Net, by yours truly.
Chapter 1
The cave was dark, tendrils of white slipping past the two travelers as they made their way along the tunnels. They held their weapons with wary preparation, ready for any variety of monsters to attack, in which they were not disappointed, assaulted by bats and goblins, dark blade and spear soon slick with black ichor as they dispatched one foe after another. Each fight taxed them a bit more, ramping up their nerves as they headed further into the cave, bracing themselves for the encounter with the Mist Dragon they knew guarded their destination. It was responsible for the poor vision inside the cave, the white that sought to blind and confuse them outside of the reach of their torches. But still they pressed on, doing their duty for their king, and for their country.
Cecil Harvey led the way, dark blade in hand as he strode confidently forward, wrapped in the black steel of a Dark Knight. It was a position he had chosen at the behest of the King, who was his adoptive father. Since then, he had served faithfully and well, rising through the ranks to become Captain of the Red Wings, the primary military force of Baron since it's transition to Empire. But recently, as Baron had shifted it's policy to a more militaristic stance, he had begun to have doubts. When he had returned from Mysidia, those had been acutely visible to any saw him. His confidence was diminished, he seemed absentminded, and even the King had seen enough to call his loyalty into question.
Kain Highwind followed behind, lance at his side, wearing the blue armor of the Royal Dragoons. Though they had fallen in favor with the rise of the Red Wings, and the increasingly feral nature of dragons which made it impossible for them to be tamed, they were still highly respected amongst the citizens of Baron,. Kain had followed in the footsteps of his father, and was a close friend of Cecil and Rosa. And that was why he was here, because he had dared to step up and defend his friend in front of the King, who stripped him of his title and may have even had him banished. They should count themselves lucky that he had been willing to let them redeem themselves with this mission.
Kain glanced to the large Ring that the King had given Cecil, currently looped by a strap to the satchel on his back. Something was off about it, the deep red coloration and twisted appearance imprinting itself on his mind, and he found himself wondering what they were supposed to do with it when they reached Mist. He could only assume that another representative of the Empire would meet them there, and that he (or she) would take the Ring for whatever reason it was needed, presumably as a gift to some local dignitary or something like that. But surely that was a mission that could be handled by the Red Wings. There was no need to send two of the strongest fighters in the kingdom on an exhausting trek through the mountains to bring it there. And even though he could understand the reasoning why, since it was a way for them to prove themselves, he found himself disturbed by what the motivation might be. And he could tell Cecil was just as disturbed.
….Turn back... The words sounded like a whisper, twisting around the Dragoon and Dark Knight, as elusive as the mist that surrounded them, yet still able to be understood. The grips tightened on their weapons as they both looked around, keen eyes seeking to pierce the veil that had been laid over their surroundings.
"What? Who's there," Cecil yelled in response, his tone more curious than defiant or bold. He wanted to know who was here, not to issue a challenge and invite combat. But his question went with nary an answer, and the two warriors exchanged frowns before continuing onwards, weapons still at the ready.
A little while later, having handily taken down a group of goblins which had attacked them, and having progressed further towards the exit, the voice spoke again. It was as before, twisting and turning, not coming from one particular direction and still ethereal, though it seemed more solid now that they were closer to Mist. But it was also more insistent, more forceful, like a pressure pushing on their minds, a presence that said that they should go away, should turn and head back to Baron now, before it was too late. Leave at once, it urged, causing Cecil and Kain to prepare for a fight yet again.
"Is that the Guardian of Mist," Kain wondered out loud, though that seemed the case since he didn't know what else it might be. But neither would be dissuaded from their mission, and they pressed onwards.
At last, they had finally reached the entrance, and were considering the notion that they had escaped the wrath of the Guardian, or that it was busy elsewhere, when mist starting to gather, obscuring the exit they knew where nearby as it became thicker than it had ever been in the cave. The hair on the back of Kain's neck stood up, and he knew now, if there had been any doubt, that this mist was not natural in the least.
The voice spoke out again, more solid now, and definitely coming from the largest concentration of mist. Knights of Baron, I see. The voice was more contemplative, but still as firm in it's resolve that they should not risk whatever fate may come upon them soon.
"Who are you," Kain called, lance at the ready.
The voice ignored his question, louder and more authoritative as it reiterated it's demands. Leave now, or suffer the consequences.
"Show yourself," Kain demanded, not about to turn back now, and tired of answering to the Mist. If someone was going to force him to do something, he wanted to see them.
You choose to ignore my warnings, the voice asked, as if sad about what it would have to do if they refused to take heed of it and leave.
Cecil stepped forward to confront the Guardian, his dark blade thrumming with energy as he did so. "We have to get to Mist! We're not turning back," he replied defiantly, if lacking a bit of the fire he had had before.
Kain could swear he almost heard a sigh rush around them as the mist began to change shape, gaining visible outlines as it blocked the cave exit. "So be it," it growled with a sad resolve. The two both took a step back as the mist resolved into that of a white dragon, wispy wings and gleaming cerulean blue eyes looking at them, fading away into a misty lower half. The two warriors fell into ready stances as it came at them. Seemed it was time for a fight.
They nodded to each other before springing into action, like a well rehearsed dance routine that both had become familiar with through years of combat together. Kain went high; Cecil went low. The Dark Knight lashed out with purple steel dark energy flowing through it as it struck the dragon's misty form. There was no way to know if it was actually doing any damage to the creature, so they would just have to hope, or else this would be a short fight.
Kain maneuvered swiftly through the air, landing slash after slash with his lance, to rapidly jump off again while dodging solid tendrils of mist. He had to be careful with the cave ceiling and falling rocks from impacts, but it was nothing he hadn't been trained for. But maybe that made him overly cocky, as a tendril wrapped around his leg and arrested his flight and slamming him into the ground with the crunch of shattering rock. That attracted Cecil's attention, as he saw his friend getting pummeled into the ground by the Mist Dragon.
"Kain," Cecil called as he rushed to his defense, silently taking the exertion as a black wave thrummed from his sword to slice through the misty tentacles, leaving them to dissipate into the background mist of the cave. Enemies gone from the immediate area, Cecil reached down to help a battered Kain to his feet, but was waved off by the Dragoon, who took to a knee before rising back up with a crack of his neck and an in place jog to loosen him up before they went back into the fight.
But by then the situation had changed, to their mutual confusion. The dragon was gone, having dissipated back into mist. But now the mist that surrounded them was seemingly more solid, more resistant, as if it was actually slowing their movements. And considering that the dragon they had been fighting was made of mist, it didn't take the two soldiers long to realize that the dragon was actually around them in mist form. That thought chilling them, and no apparent way to hurt the dragon, the two resumed their slow walk, pushing against the resistance of the mist as they moved towards the exit. This had the intended affect, as the mist vanished and the dragon reformed to stop them.
And so the deadly dance began again, Kain and Cecil working in tandem to strike at the dragon while dodging it's attacks, though they couldn't dodge everything. But it began to be evident that they were wearing it down, shrinking as Mist dissipated to retain it's form from blade strikes. Waves of energy rolled from Cecil's sword as Kain leapt and dove at the dragon, the fight going on.
With an unearthly wail that sounded like the cry of a dragon, but with some more potent, emotional, human element to it, the dragon collapsed from the multitude of hits it had taken, form slowly vanishing with the mist and leaving Cecil and Kain alone in the now clear cave. They looked from where the dragon had been to each other, letting all that tension go as they took comfort in their continued survival. From the exit to the cave they could see the town of mist in the distance, and they didn't waste any time in setting off for there, to complete their task.
As they entered the town limits, something began to change. Cecil had removed the ring from where he had stored it in preparation for the anticipated hand off, and thus he was the first one to notice what was happening.
"That's odd, the Ring is glowing," he said with a puzzled expression, a sense of dread growing inside of him as it brightened from a dull glow to a bright red. A hissing sound began to emanate from it as it brightened, the carvings in it twisting and morphing. "Ah," he gasped, dropping the ring and shaking his armoured hand. "It burned me."
Kain wasn't paying attention though, eyes fixed on the ring as it's transformation continued. It was growing now, expanding and becoming larger as it began to float in the air. The hissing sound increased, and both watched as cracks began to appear in the ring, iron and enchanted steel falling away to reveal, to their horror, a swarm of Bombs. They readied their weapons, but it seemed that whatever magic had put them in the ring also identified the two as friends. For instead of attacking the Dark Knight and Dragoon, they flew off into the town, cackling and spewing flames.
"What..." Kain was speechless as the town descended into chaotic anarchy, houses going up in flames while cackling Bombs chased down defenseless citizens. It was wanton destruction as the town burned down in front of them.
"This is it? This is why he sent us here?" Kain shuddered to hear Cecil, the Dark Knight's voice cold as the mountains, a far more deadly version of hot rage. He knew that this wouldn't end well. But still, he couldn't argue with the shock of it.
"We've destroyed the entire village," Kain replied as he continued to watch the tragedy unfold.
Cecil didn't look back as he strode into the village, smiting down Bombs left and right with his sword, trying to save who he could. But it was a losing battle, the Bombs just too numerous, though the fact that they paid him no mind worked to his advantage. Kain followed as well, spurred to action by the example of his friend, though he had no idea how many the few who were saved by their actions were, and who had been killed by monsters or perished in the fire. As they walked, Kain thought he overheard Cecil muttering to himself, but it was unintelligible over the screech of bombs and the crackling of flames.
The streets were deserted now, everyone have either fled, been killed, or was trapped. It was for that third group that Kain and Cecil were looking for, cooperating to move debris out from entrance ways and check for survivors. It was, for the most part, a fruitless task.
It was as Cecil moved through yet another house, having slammed the door aside with a plated shoulder, that he found her. A little girl, who couldn't have been more than ten years old, with bright green hair, was crouched beside a bed in the back room, rocking back and forth while letting out sniffling whimpers. Her clothes were covered in ash, dust and dirt, though the suspenders helped with that, the blue contrasting with a yellow t shirt. Somehow the house hadn't been touched by the fire or the Bombs for the most part. But as Kain came over, both of their gazes were drawn to something a bit more heart wrenching. Lying on the bed, arms folded, eyes closed, was an older woman. She laid on top of the sheets, with relatively little dust or ash on her, and their trained eyes immediately came up with an answer. She was dead.
Cecil stepped forward to place his hand on the girl's shoulder. But she leapt up and back, back to the bed as she stared in fear at the two men, who shared nervous glances. "You have to get out of here," Cecil urged. "It's not safe."
"No, I'm not leaving mommy," she replied. "Somebody killed my mommies dragon. And mommy went with it to the happy place in the sky." Her blue, watery eyes widened as something occurred to her, looking at the armoured figures standing before her, both of whom had had the concurrent thought about the connection between the woman and the dragon they had fought in the cave.
"I've heard of people with the power to summon monsters," Kain said, doing his best to hide his shock. "Summoners, to be precise."
Cecil bowed his head. "Then we are the ones responsible for killing her mother by killing the dragon."
Kain nodded in return, but was interrupted by a strangled gasp before he could respond. The girl had taken shaky steps back, away from the men who had appeared in front of her, her lip quivering as what she had suspected but hadn't wanted to be true was confirmed. "You killed mommy's dragon," she asked, a lot more accusation in that than actual question.
"I'm sorry. We..we didn't know that that would happen," Cecil replied, stepping up to the bed to look upon the woman, so serene in death.
Meanwhile, Kain came to a realization as well. "So that was the Kings wish. For us to get rid of every summoner in the village."
Cecil stepped back, confusion exuding from behind his face mask. "That can't be."
Kain nodded sadly as he stepped forward, readying his lance. "I'm afraid it's true. And if it is, then that means we have to get rid of the girl as well." Upon hearing that, the girl further tried to hide in the corner in fear. Cecil on the other hand, could barely believe that he had heard his friend speak so callously of killing a small child, who had done nothing wrong besides living in the wrong place. She wasn't an enemy that needed to be killed for the protection of the realm. She was a little girl who had just lost her mother and seen her home town destroyed by the very people standing in front of her. And as he beheld Kain ready to strike down the girl, something snapped into place.
"What," he asked incredulously, a dangerous undertone present that hadn't been there before.
"Wee have to obey the King's orders"
"But she's just a child," Cecil objected.
Kain took a step back as Cecil shifted to stand between him and the girl, blade drawn and ready to back up his words with steel. "So, you intend to defy the king," asked Kain.
"I refuse to continue any more slaughter in the King's name. No more. Never again," Cecil replied, taking a matching step forward.
Kain contemplated that for a moment before smirking, lowering his lance. "I knew you'd say that. But don't worry, I'm on your side."
"You are," Cecil asked, taken aback since Kain had been proposing that they kill her merely a few moments ago, and he wanted to know what had prompted this change.
Kain nodded. "I owe the King much, but I can't disgrace the Dragoons. Not by doing something like this."
Beneath the dark armor, Cecil broke into a tiny smile. "So, you'll join me then?"
"Yes. But you know, we're going to need allies if we plan on opposing the mightiest kingdom in the land. And we need some way to get Rosa out of Baron as well, for her sake."
Cecil lowered his sword. "Thank you Kain."
Kain shook his head with a slight smirk. "Save it. This isn't for your sake." Cecil fell silent at the thought that Kain might hold the honor of the dragoons above even their own friendship, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a Bomb exploding nearby.
Kain glanced out the window towards where the blast had come from. "This place is gone, there's no point in sticking around any more. We'd better get going." He looked towards the green haired girl, who was crouched near the bed, as if protecting her mother from the two of them. "What are we going to do about her?"
Cecil turned his gaze to her as well. "We can't leave her here, with the place burning to the ground and Bombs still around. We'll have to take her with us."
Cecil turned and approached her, walking slowly as she shied away, before dropping to a knee. "Hey, it's alright," he said, as comfortingly as he could. "We won't hurt you. You're going to have to come with us, okay?"
"No," she said, shrinking back even more, if that were possible.
There was another explosion, and at that Kain started to get nervous, advancing to stand beside the bed. "Come on, we have to go now," he urged, reaching for the girl with the intent of just grabbing her and carrying her away, kicking and screaming if he had to.
"No! Go away," she shrieked, pushing him back and trying to get around them to escape.
"Wait," Cecil said, blocking her escape as he moved in front of the door.
"No! I hate you! You killed my mommy," the girl yelled as she stopped trying to run.
Something began to change, a mysterious thrumming in the atmosphere where they were. It made both of them nervous, and Cecil felt that it was familiar, a sensation he knew he has felt before. Suddenly, it hit him, his face paling as he recalled having felt this during the assault on Mysidia, though there were significant differences. This felt wilder, more powerful, and untamed. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't good for them. "Brace yourself," he said to Kain as he took his own advice.
"Go away," she screamed, as a rumbling shook the house, growing in intensity and strength all around them. Kain and Cecil shared panicked looks.
"Get out," they both said at the same time, running out of the house to see a wave of destruction headed towards them, the earth buckling and shaking, adding to the chaos and destruction as the town was ripped apart. Bricks, stone, earth, went flying through the air as the ground buckled, rising and failing, jagged chasms ripping open and closing, houses shaking themselves apart and flames everywhere. It was like the largest battle they had been in, and it was all brought on by that little girl.
Kain and Cecil found they couldn't stay together, debris flying towards them as buildings crumbled. Kain leapt into the air to escape the motion of the ground as Cecil made for the edge of town. Explosions rippled through the shattered town as Bombs were caught up in the conflagration and detonated, making the ground even more treacherous.
He wasn't sure when, but Kain had lost Cecil amidst the chaos, the dark knight's armor unable to be picked out from the air as rocks, dirt, and pieces of house were tossed through the air. He couldn't dwell on that though, as he was having his own problems, cinders and ash filling the air and getting in his eyes, making timing jumps difficult.
Kain's eyes widened as the ground rose towards him, coming much faster than he expected. "Come on," he growled as he shifted in midair, to try and spring off at the last second, but he knew it was no use. It was coming to fast, and the tangle of rubble made it too unstable to launch from. He could only brace for the inevitable as stone came down around him.
Impact. Blackness.
"Ugh," Kain groaned as he woke up. He could feel a pounding headache to complement the pressure on his back from rubble. But on the positive side, he wasn't dead, which was something to be glad for. Slowly, he moved, shifting and pushing, testing the amount of weight on top of him and starting to move it without crushing himself. Fortunately, it seemed to be a small layer, and he was soon able to climb out, blue armor covered in dust and practically brown at this point, with dents and scratches that had not been there before.
He stood up to get a bearing of his surroundings. And as he did, he beheld what was left of Mist, the ground twisted and cracked, fires burning slowly as ash hung in the sky. Any recognizable landmarks had been obliterated, and any signs of human habitation now laid in waste.
The thought that anyone could have survived here was a powerful one for Kain, but he refused to despair. After all, he had survived. Picking up his lance from where it had fallen,. He glanced about and leapt to the highest point he could see, landing a bit harshly on a crumbled rooftop, sharp eyes scanning the land nearby for signs of movement.
"Cecil, are you there? Cecil, answer me! Cecil," he yelled, at the top of his lungs, hoping the call would spur some movement, a reply, anything that would help him locate his friend. But there was nothing, only the clatter of shifting rubble.
But his eyes did pick out something, a bright green, hidden by dust, covered in rock and stone, but there nonetheless. He jumped down and carefully made his way over to where he had seen that flash of color, and that was where he found her. She was half buried beneath a collapsed wall, but he knew it was her. And she was still alive at that, weakly breathing in a manner that was more like a wheeze than anything, but she was alive.
He frowned, standing above her with his lance in his hand. She was defenseless. He could kill her now, and nobody could stop him, no one would know, and if anyone actually cared, they would assume it was the Bombs. All it would take would be a sharp jab, and his trouble would be over. He could go back to Baron and the good graces of the King. No one would ever have to know. If Cecil was still alive somewhere out here, they could triumphantly return to their positions of authority. And if he wasn't, well then, Kain would be there to comfort Rosa.
He hefted the spear for the killing blow. Base of the neck ,severing the spinal cord, she wouldn't feel a thing. It'd be over quick and easy. And Kain could do it. He'd killed hundreds of people who the Kingdom of Baron considered enemies. He'd put down dogs and rabid animals. How would this be any different? One quick strike, and he could return to the right hand of the King, where he belonged.
But still something stayed his hand. This wasn't right, this wasn't just. He'd said that he wouldn't sully the honor of the Dragoons by this senseless killing, and what he said, he meant. She had been condemned to die, simply because of her birthright, not because of what she had done. They had come in, killed her mother, destroyed her town, her home, and now here he was, standing above her battered form with a spear, ready to end her life because she was a summoner. And just before, Cecil had been ready to throw his life away in defiance of Baron for this girl. Should he do this? Could he do this?
With a sigh, he planted his lance on the ground. No, he couldn't. If this was just or right, he wouldn't have a part of it. She could count herself lucky when she woke up. He got to work, shifting cracked fragments of stone and working up a sweat as he removed piece after piece of building that was pinning her to the ground. And as he went, the sun rose into the sky until he was sure enough was clear so that he was able to carefully remove her from where she laid.
He carried her delicate form over to a relatively flat section of ground, gently placing her back down before he began looking her over for wounds. Of the gashes and nicks he found, he cleaned them before bandaging them up with his travel supplies, as well as the medical supplies he had been able to scavenge from nearby. But he knew that for her to escape any serious injury inside a building, that would be miraculous. But there was no real way he could tell if she wasn't awake, since most of his training only precluded battlefield first aid, not the kind of things a trained doctor or white mage knew. If only Rosa were here...
Keeping her where she was in her apparent catatonic state, Kain looked around and picked up some decently undamaged supplies for travel, before returning to where his stuff was gathered. Now to decide where to go and what to do. Keeping the girl alive, as well as how the mountain had collapsed, made going back to Baron a difficult and futile proposition, though the kernel of an idea had formed in his mind and had promptly been dismissed. And that only left one option. He would have to go across the desert to Damcyan. Maybe there he could find some help.
His mind resolved, he slung his pack over his shoulder, picked up the girl to carry her limp form across his other shoulder while his lance was clutched in his opposite hand, and he began the long trek down the mountain, and across the desert to Damcyan, to whatever fate would await.
The whirring of propeller blades filled the air, shadows falling across the ground as mighty airships plowed through the sky, a squadron of them making their way over the mountain to land beyond the destroyed village. As the boarding ramps went down, groups of soldiers tramped out and began heading towards the town, alert and ready as they began to clear away debris and look for survivors under stern direction.
It was the man in dark armor who attracted the most attention as he descended from the ship, walking with an imperious manner as he took heavy strides down the ramp, cape billowing behind him. His visage was hidden by the helmet he wore, the armor making his figure even more imposing as he radiated authority and utter contempt for those around him.
As he reached the bottom of the ramp, he looked around at the activity as someone else descended the ramp behind him. She was extremely out of place here, but had come regardless, even in defiance of the wishes of the dark man, the new commander of the Red Wings, Golbez. She had come out of concern for the one she loved, the one she cared for, and Rosa wouldn't leave until he was found.
"You may stay on the ship Mage," Golbez rumbled without looking at her, his gaze on the destroyed town. "If Cecil is found alive, you will be the first to know."
"After you, you mean," Rosa replied tartly, not liking how firm Golbez had been on her not coming along. "When they find him, I want to be there. Besides, what about the other survivors. What about Kain? If they're in serious condition then we can't waste a second in helping them. Better for me to be there than to need to have someone run back to the ship to get me." She folded his arms and shot him a look that said that she wasn't going anywhere she didn't want to.
"You are stubborn, aren't you," he replied after a short silence. "I don't know what he sees in you." He stepped away before she could have a chance to respond, leaving Rosa to head into Mist and comb the wreckage for Cecil, Kain, and any other survivors.
Time passed, the sun crested and headed towards the horizon. But as a figure in blue trudged towards the desert, a cry came up from a nearby. "Hey, we found a live one here!" It was a cry that brought Rosa running, uncaring of any damaged clothing as she made her way over. She found the team of soldiers carefully shifting sections of collapsed wall, revealing Cecil, battered, bruised, trapped, but alive.
"Move," she said, and the soldiers backed up as she crouched by Cecil, hands flaring white light as she ran them over his unconscious form, occasionally frowning at what she was seeing. "What did you do," she asked rhetorically before returning her outstretched hands to his head, chanting as the white light flared, wounds engulfed in a bright glow as they vanished.
Rosa let out a sigh as the light faded entirely, and she stood back up to let the soldiers finish unburying her beloved. At that point, Golbez had arrived, and the imposing commander stood back watching the work as it happened. Looking over at him, Rosa wondered what thoughts were running inside those black pits that served as eyes.
She stepped over to regard him curiously. "So, have they found Kain yet?"
"No," was the simple response, not a nod, gesture, or acknowledgment of her presence besides that answer.
"Any other survivors?"
"No." Golbez had been quite clear to his men when Rosa was gone that there were to be no survivors. The legacy of Mist would be destroyed, completely and utterly, and their powers removed from this world.
"Oh," Rosa was subdued at the news. The thought that only Cecil had survived, that Kain, the brave Dragoon who touched the sky and had been as near a constant presence as Cecil had when they were younger, was hard to believe. She supposed the full impact hadn't hit her yet, and she wasn't about to break down in front of Golbez. "Do you know what could have caused such devastation? Surely it couldn't have been Cecil and Kain. They may be skilled warriors but even they couldn't have cracked the earth like this."
"I do not know. And at the moment, that is none of mine, or your, concern." That wasn't to say that Golbez couldn't hazard a guess. It looked like a summoner or two had survived the Scouring of the Bombs, and had engaged the two Baronian men, with devastating results. Not much of a loss, but their survival did offer him an opportunity. And he was fairly certain that if Cecil had survived, the gnat of a Dragoon had as well. But where was he?
Rosa huffed, going off to Cecil as they finally removed him from the rubble and began carrying him back to the airship, Rosa following after. She paused on the way though, looking over the destroyed city as she whispered "Kain, where are you?" But Cecil needed her, and she turned to return to the ship.
Golbez glanced over at one of his subordinates. "Organize a squad and send them to Kaipo. If anyone survived they would most likely have made their way across the desert, or we would have seen them. Make sure the survivors are unable to tell anyone what happened. Oh, and make sure the White Mage doesn't know. We wouldn't want to upset her delicate sensibilities."
"Yes sir,' the man replied with a salute before going off to gather the team. Golbez smirked beneath his helmet as he turned from the ruin of Mist, not sparing it a backwards glance, heading back to the airship. Master Zemus would be interested to head about Cecil's survival.
Reviews, concrit welcome. Crossposted from here on FF.Net, by yours truly.
Chapter 1
The cave was dark, tendrils of white slipping past the two travelers as they made their way along the tunnels. They held their weapons with wary preparation, ready for any variety of monsters to attack, in which they were not disappointed, assaulted by bats and goblins, dark blade and spear soon slick with black ichor as they dispatched one foe after another. Each fight taxed them a bit more, ramping up their nerves as they headed further into the cave, bracing themselves for the encounter with the Mist Dragon they knew guarded their destination. It was responsible for the poor vision inside the cave, the white that sought to blind and confuse them outside of the reach of their torches. But still they pressed on, doing their duty for their king, and for their country.
Cecil Harvey led the way, dark blade in hand as he strode confidently forward, wrapped in the black steel of a Dark Knight. It was a position he had chosen at the behest of the King, who was his adoptive father. Since then, he had served faithfully and well, rising through the ranks to become Captain of the Red Wings, the primary military force of Baron since it's transition to Empire. But recently, as Baron had shifted it's policy to a more militaristic stance, he had begun to have doubts. When he had returned from Mysidia, those had been acutely visible to any saw him. His confidence was diminished, he seemed absentminded, and even the King had seen enough to call his loyalty into question.
Kain Highwind followed behind, lance at his side, wearing the blue armor of the Royal Dragoons. Though they had fallen in favor with the rise of the Red Wings, and the increasingly feral nature of dragons which made it impossible for them to be tamed, they were still highly respected amongst the citizens of Baron,. Kain had followed in the footsteps of his father, and was a close friend of Cecil and Rosa. And that was why he was here, because he had dared to step up and defend his friend in front of the King, who stripped him of his title and may have even had him banished. They should count themselves lucky that he had been willing to let them redeem themselves with this mission.
Kain glanced to the large Ring that the King had given Cecil, currently looped by a strap to the satchel on his back. Something was off about it, the deep red coloration and twisted appearance imprinting itself on his mind, and he found himself wondering what they were supposed to do with it when they reached Mist. He could only assume that another representative of the Empire would meet them there, and that he (or she) would take the Ring for whatever reason it was needed, presumably as a gift to some local dignitary or something like that. But surely that was a mission that could be handled by the Red Wings. There was no need to send two of the strongest fighters in the kingdom on an exhausting trek through the mountains to bring it there. And even though he could understand the reasoning why, since it was a way for them to prove themselves, he found himself disturbed by what the motivation might be. And he could tell Cecil was just as disturbed.
….Turn back... The words sounded like a whisper, twisting around the Dragoon and Dark Knight, as elusive as the mist that surrounded them, yet still able to be understood. The grips tightened on their weapons as they both looked around, keen eyes seeking to pierce the veil that had been laid over their surroundings.
"What? Who's there," Cecil yelled in response, his tone more curious than defiant or bold. He wanted to know who was here, not to issue a challenge and invite combat. But his question went with nary an answer, and the two warriors exchanged frowns before continuing onwards, weapons still at the ready.
A little while later, having handily taken down a group of goblins which had attacked them, and having progressed further towards the exit, the voice spoke again. It was as before, twisting and turning, not coming from one particular direction and still ethereal, though it seemed more solid now that they were closer to Mist. But it was also more insistent, more forceful, like a pressure pushing on their minds, a presence that said that they should go away, should turn and head back to Baron now, before it was too late. Leave at once, it urged, causing Cecil and Kain to prepare for a fight yet again.
"Is that the Guardian of Mist," Kain wondered out loud, though that seemed the case since he didn't know what else it might be. But neither would be dissuaded from their mission, and they pressed onwards.
At last, they had finally reached the entrance, and were considering the notion that they had escaped the wrath of the Guardian, or that it was busy elsewhere, when mist starting to gather, obscuring the exit they knew where nearby as it became thicker than it had ever been in the cave. The hair on the back of Kain's neck stood up, and he knew now, if there had been any doubt, that this mist was not natural in the least.
The voice spoke out again, more solid now, and definitely coming from the largest concentration of mist. Knights of Baron, I see. The voice was more contemplative, but still as firm in it's resolve that they should not risk whatever fate may come upon them soon.
"Who are you," Kain called, lance at the ready.
The voice ignored his question, louder and more authoritative as it reiterated it's demands. Leave now, or suffer the consequences.
"Show yourself," Kain demanded, not about to turn back now, and tired of answering to the Mist. If someone was going to force him to do something, he wanted to see them.
You choose to ignore my warnings, the voice asked, as if sad about what it would have to do if they refused to take heed of it and leave.
Cecil stepped forward to confront the Guardian, his dark blade thrumming with energy as he did so. "We have to get to Mist! We're not turning back," he replied defiantly, if lacking a bit of the fire he had had before.
Kain could swear he almost heard a sigh rush around them as the mist began to change shape, gaining visible outlines as it blocked the cave exit. "So be it," it growled with a sad resolve. The two both took a step back as the mist resolved into that of a white dragon, wispy wings and gleaming cerulean blue eyes looking at them, fading away into a misty lower half. The two warriors fell into ready stances as it came at them. Seemed it was time for a fight.
They nodded to each other before springing into action, like a well rehearsed dance routine that both had become familiar with through years of combat together. Kain went high; Cecil went low. The Dark Knight lashed out with purple steel dark energy flowing through it as it struck the dragon's misty form. There was no way to know if it was actually doing any damage to the creature, so they would just have to hope, or else this would be a short fight.
Kain maneuvered swiftly through the air, landing slash after slash with his lance, to rapidly jump off again while dodging solid tendrils of mist. He had to be careful with the cave ceiling and falling rocks from impacts, but it was nothing he hadn't been trained for. But maybe that made him overly cocky, as a tendril wrapped around his leg and arrested his flight and slamming him into the ground with the crunch of shattering rock. That attracted Cecil's attention, as he saw his friend getting pummeled into the ground by the Mist Dragon.
"Kain," Cecil called as he rushed to his defense, silently taking the exertion as a black wave thrummed from his sword to slice through the misty tentacles, leaving them to dissipate into the background mist of the cave. Enemies gone from the immediate area, Cecil reached down to help a battered Kain to his feet, but was waved off by the Dragoon, who took to a knee before rising back up with a crack of his neck and an in place jog to loosen him up before they went back into the fight.
But by then the situation had changed, to their mutual confusion. The dragon was gone, having dissipated back into mist. But now the mist that surrounded them was seemingly more solid, more resistant, as if it was actually slowing their movements. And considering that the dragon they had been fighting was made of mist, it didn't take the two soldiers long to realize that the dragon was actually around them in mist form. That thought chilling them, and no apparent way to hurt the dragon, the two resumed their slow walk, pushing against the resistance of the mist as they moved towards the exit. This had the intended affect, as the mist vanished and the dragon reformed to stop them.
And so the deadly dance began again, Kain and Cecil working in tandem to strike at the dragon while dodging it's attacks, though they couldn't dodge everything. But it began to be evident that they were wearing it down, shrinking as Mist dissipated to retain it's form from blade strikes. Waves of energy rolled from Cecil's sword as Kain leapt and dove at the dragon, the fight going on.
With an unearthly wail that sounded like the cry of a dragon, but with some more potent, emotional, human element to it, the dragon collapsed from the multitude of hits it had taken, form slowly vanishing with the mist and leaving Cecil and Kain alone in the now clear cave. They looked from where the dragon had been to each other, letting all that tension go as they took comfort in their continued survival. From the exit to the cave they could see the town of mist in the distance, and they didn't waste any time in setting off for there, to complete their task.
As they entered the town limits, something began to change. Cecil had removed the ring from where he had stored it in preparation for the anticipated hand off, and thus he was the first one to notice what was happening.
"That's odd, the Ring is glowing," he said with a puzzled expression, a sense of dread growing inside of him as it brightened from a dull glow to a bright red. A hissing sound began to emanate from it as it brightened, the carvings in it twisting and morphing. "Ah," he gasped, dropping the ring and shaking his armoured hand. "It burned me."
Kain wasn't paying attention though, eyes fixed on the ring as it's transformation continued. It was growing now, expanding and becoming larger as it began to float in the air. The hissing sound increased, and both watched as cracks began to appear in the ring, iron and enchanted steel falling away to reveal, to their horror, a swarm of Bombs. They readied their weapons, but it seemed that whatever magic had put them in the ring also identified the two as friends. For instead of attacking the Dark Knight and Dragoon, they flew off into the town, cackling and spewing flames.
"What..." Kain was speechless as the town descended into chaotic anarchy, houses going up in flames while cackling Bombs chased down defenseless citizens. It was wanton destruction as the town burned down in front of them.
"This is it? This is why he sent us here?" Kain shuddered to hear Cecil, the Dark Knight's voice cold as the mountains, a far more deadly version of hot rage. He knew that this wouldn't end well. But still, he couldn't argue with the shock of it.
"We've destroyed the entire village," Kain replied as he continued to watch the tragedy unfold.
Cecil didn't look back as he strode into the village, smiting down Bombs left and right with his sword, trying to save who he could. But it was a losing battle, the Bombs just too numerous, though the fact that they paid him no mind worked to his advantage. Kain followed as well, spurred to action by the example of his friend, though he had no idea how many the few who were saved by their actions were, and who had been killed by monsters or perished in the fire. As they walked, Kain thought he overheard Cecil muttering to himself, but it was unintelligible over the screech of bombs and the crackling of flames.
The streets were deserted now, everyone have either fled, been killed, or was trapped. It was for that third group that Kain and Cecil were looking for, cooperating to move debris out from entrance ways and check for survivors. It was, for the most part, a fruitless task.
It was as Cecil moved through yet another house, having slammed the door aside with a plated shoulder, that he found her. A little girl, who couldn't have been more than ten years old, with bright green hair, was crouched beside a bed in the back room, rocking back and forth while letting out sniffling whimpers. Her clothes were covered in ash, dust and dirt, though the suspenders helped with that, the blue contrasting with a yellow t shirt. Somehow the house hadn't been touched by the fire or the Bombs for the most part. But as Kain came over, both of their gazes were drawn to something a bit more heart wrenching. Lying on the bed, arms folded, eyes closed, was an older woman. She laid on top of the sheets, with relatively little dust or ash on her, and their trained eyes immediately came up with an answer. She was dead.
Cecil stepped forward to place his hand on the girl's shoulder. But she leapt up and back, back to the bed as she stared in fear at the two men, who shared nervous glances. "You have to get out of here," Cecil urged. "It's not safe."
"No, I'm not leaving mommy," she replied. "Somebody killed my mommies dragon. And mommy went with it to the happy place in the sky." Her blue, watery eyes widened as something occurred to her, looking at the armoured figures standing before her, both of whom had had the concurrent thought about the connection between the woman and the dragon they had fought in the cave.
"I've heard of people with the power to summon monsters," Kain said, doing his best to hide his shock. "Summoners, to be precise."
Cecil bowed his head. "Then we are the ones responsible for killing her mother by killing the dragon."
Kain nodded in return, but was interrupted by a strangled gasp before he could respond. The girl had taken shaky steps back, away from the men who had appeared in front of her, her lip quivering as what she had suspected but hadn't wanted to be true was confirmed. "You killed mommy's dragon," she asked, a lot more accusation in that than actual question.
"I'm sorry. We..we didn't know that that would happen," Cecil replied, stepping up to the bed to look upon the woman, so serene in death.
Meanwhile, Kain came to a realization as well. "So that was the Kings wish. For us to get rid of every summoner in the village."
Cecil stepped back, confusion exuding from behind his face mask. "That can't be."
Kain nodded sadly as he stepped forward, readying his lance. "I'm afraid it's true. And if it is, then that means we have to get rid of the girl as well." Upon hearing that, the girl further tried to hide in the corner in fear. Cecil on the other hand, could barely believe that he had heard his friend speak so callously of killing a small child, who had done nothing wrong besides living in the wrong place. She wasn't an enemy that needed to be killed for the protection of the realm. She was a little girl who had just lost her mother and seen her home town destroyed by the very people standing in front of her. And as he beheld Kain ready to strike down the girl, something snapped into place.
"What," he asked incredulously, a dangerous undertone present that hadn't been there before.
"Wee have to obey the King's orders"
"But she's just a child," Cecil objected.
Kain took a step back as Cecil shifted to stand between him and the girl, blade drawn and ready to back up his words with steel. "So, you intend to defy the king," asked Kain.
"I refuse to continue any more slaughter in the King's name. No more. Never again," Cecil replied, taking a matching step forward.
Kain contemplated that for a moment before smirking, lowering his lance. "I knew you'd say that. But don't worry, I'm on your side."
"You are," Cecil asked, taken aback since Kain had been proposing that they kill her merely a few moments ago, and he wanted to know what had prompted this change.
Kain nodded. "I owe the King much, but I can't disgrace the Dragoons. Not by doing something like this."
Beneath the dark armor, Cecil broke into a tiny smile. "So, you'll join me then?"
"Yes. But you know, we're going to need allies if we plan on opposing the mightiest kingdom in the land. And we need some way to get Rosa out of Baron as well, for her sake."
Cecil lowered his sword. "Thank you Kain."
Kain shook his head with a slight smirk. "Save it. This isn't for your sake." Cecil fell silent at the thought that Kain might hold the honor of the dragoons above even their own friendship, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a Bomb exploding nearby.
Kain glanced out the window towards where the blast had come from. "This place is gone, there's no point in sticking around any more. We'd better get going." He looked towards the green haired girl, who was crouched near the bed, as if protecting her mother from the two of them. "What are we going to do about her?"
Cecil turned his gaze to her as well. "We can't leave her here, with the place burning to the ground and Bombs still around. We'll have to take her with us."
Cecil turned and approached her, walking slowly as she shied away, before dropping to a knee. "Hey, it's alright," he said, as comfortingly as he could. "We won't hurt you. You're going to have to come with us, okay?"
"No," she said, shrinking back even more, if that were possible.
There was another explosion, and at that Kain started to get nervous, advancing to stand beside the bed. "Come on, we have to go now," he urged, reaching for the girl with the intent of just grabbing her and carrying her away, kicking and screaming if he had to.
"No! Go away," she shrieked, pushing him back and trying to get around them to escape.
"Wait," Cecil said, blocking her escape as he moved in front of the door.
"No! I hate you! You killed my mommy," the girl yelled as she stopped trying to run.
Something began to change, a mysterious thrumming in the atmosphere where they were. It made both of them nervous, and Cecil felt that it was familiar, a sensation he knew he has felt before. Suddenly, it hit him, his face paling as he recalled having felt this during the assault on Mysidia, though there were significant differences. This felt wilder, more powerful, and untamed. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't good for them. "Brace yourself," he said to Kain as he took his own advice.
"Go away," she screamed, as a rumbling shook the house, growing in intensity and strength all around them. Kain and Cecil shared panicked looks.
"Get out," they both said at the same time, running out of the house to see a wave of destruction headed towards them, the earth buckling and shaking, adding to the chaos and destruction as the town was ripped apart. Bricks, stone, earth, went flying through the air as the ground buckled, rising and failing, jagged chasms ripping open and closing, houses shaking themselves apart and flames everywhere. It was like the largest battle they had been in, and it was all brought on by that little girl.
Kain and Cecil found they couldn't stay together, debris flying towards them as buildings crumbled. Kain leapt into the air to escape the motion of the ground as Cecil made for the edge of town. Explosions rippled through the shattered town as Bombs were caught up in the conflagration and detonated, making the ground even more treacherous.
He wasn't sure when, but Kain had lost Cecil amidst the chaos, the dark knight's armor unable to be picked out from the air as rocks, dirt, and pieces of house were tossed through the air. He couldn't dwell on that though, as he was having his own problems, cinders and ash filling the air and getting in his eyes, making timing jumps difficult.
Kain's eyes widened as the ground rose towards him, coming much faster than he expected. "Come on," he growled as he shifted in midair, to try and spring off at the last second, but he knew it was no use. It was coming to fast, and the tangle of rubble made it too unstable to launch from. He could only brace for the inevitable as stone came down around him.
Impact. Blackness.
"Ugh," Kain groaned as he woke up. He could feel a pounding headache to complement the pressure on his back from rubble. But on the positive side, he wasn't dead, which was something to be glad for. Slowly, he moved, shifting and pushing, testing the amount of weight on top of him and starting to move it without crushing himself. Fortunately, it seemed to be a small layer, and he was soon able to climb out, blue armor covered in dust and practically brown at this point, with dents and scratches that had not been there before.
He stood up to get a bearing of his surroundings. And as he did, he beheld what was left of Mist, the ground twisted and cracked, fires burning slowly as ash hung in the sky. Any recognizable landmarks had been obliterated, and any signs of human habitation now laid in waste.
The thought that anyone could have survived here was a powerful one for Kain, but he refused to despair. After all, he had survived. Picking up his lance from where it had fallen,. He glanced about and leapt to the highest point he could see, landing a bit harshly on a crumbled rooftop, sharp eyes scanning the land nearby for signs of movement.
"Cecil, are you there? Cecil, answer me! Cecil," he yelled, at the top of his lungs, hoping the call would spur some movement, a reply, anything that would help him locate his friend. But there was nothing, only the clatter of shifting rubble.
But his eyes did pick out something, a bright green, hidden by dust, covered in rock and stone, but there nonetheless. He jumped down and carefully made his way over to where he had seen that flash of color, and that was where he found her. She was half buried beneath a collapsed wall, but he knew it was her. And she was still alive at that, weakly breathing in a manner that was more like a wheeze than anything, but she was alive.
He frowned, standing above her with his lance in his hand. She was defenseless. He could kill her now, and nobody could stop him, no one would know, and if anyone actually cared, they would assume it was the Bombs. All it would take would be a sharp jab, and his trouble would be over. He could go back to Baron and the good graces of the King. No one would ever have to know. If Cecil was still alive somewhere out here, they could triumphantly return to their positions of authority. And if he wasn't, well then, Kain would be there to comfort Rosa.
He hefted the spear for the killing blow. Base of the neck ,severing the spinal cord, she wouldn't feel a thing. It'd be over quick and easy. And Kain could do it. He'd killed hundreds of people who the Kingdom of Baron considered enemies. He'd put down dogs and rabid animals. How would this be any different? One quick strike, and he could return to the right hand of the King, where he belonged.
But still something stayed his hand. This wasn't right, this wasn't just. He'd said that he wouldn't sully the honor of the Dragoons by this senseless killing, and what he said, he meant. She had been condemned to die, simply because of her birthright, not because of what she had done. They had come in, killed her mother, destroyed her town, her home, and now here he was, standing above her battered form with a spear, ready to end her life because she was a summoner. And just before, Cecil had been ready to throw his life away in defiance of Baron for this girl. Should he do this? Could he do this?
With a sigh, he planted his lance on the ground. No, he couldn't. If this was just or right, he wouldn't have a part of it. She could count herself lucky when she woke up. He got to work, shifting cracked fragments of stone and working up a sweat as he removed piece after piece of building that was pinning her to the ground. And as he went, the sun rose into the sky until he was sure enough was clear so that he was able to carefully remove her from where she laid.
He carried her delicate form over to a relatively flat section of ground, gently placing her back down before he began looking her over for wounds. Of the gashes and nicks he found, he cleaned them before bandaging them up with his travel supplies, as well as the medical supplies he had been able to scavenge from nearby. But he knew that for her to escape any serious injury inside a building, that would be miraculous. But there was no real way he could tell if she wasn't awake, since most of his training only precluded battlefield first aid, not the kind of things a trained doctor or white mage knew. If only Rosa were here...
Keeping her where she was in her apparent catatonic state, Kain looked around and picked up some decently undamaged supplies for travel, before returning to where his stuff was gathered. Now to decide where to go and what to do. Keeping the girl alive, as well as how the mountain had collapsed, made going back to Baron a difficult and futile proposition, though the kernel of an idea had formed in his mind and had promptly been dismissed. And that only left one option. He would have to go across the desert to Damcyan. Maybe there he could find some help.
His mind resolved, he slung his pack over his shoulder, picked up the girl to carry her limp form across his other shoulder while his lance was clutched in his opposite hand, and he began the long trek down the mountain, and across the desert to Damcyan, to whatever fate would await.
The whirring of propeller blades filled the air, shadows falling across the ground as mighty airships plowed through the sky, a squadron of them making their way over the mountain to land beyond the destroyed village. As the boarding ramps went down, groups of soldiers tramped out and began heading towards the town, alert and ready as they began to clear away debris and look for survivors under stern direction.
It was the man in dark armor who attracted the most attention as he descended from the ship, walking with an imperious manner as he took heavy strides down the ramp, cape billowing behind him. His visage was hidden by the helmet he wore, the armor making his figure even more imposing as he radiated authority and utter contempt for those around him.
As he reached the bottom of the ramp, he looked around at the activity as someone else descended the ramp behind him. She was extremely out of place here, but had come regardless, even in defiance of the wishes of the dark man, the new commander of the Red Wings, Golbez. She had come out of concern for the one she loved, the one she cared for, and Rosa wouldn't leave until he was found.
"You may stay on the ship Mage," Golbez rumbled without looking at her, his gaze on the destroyed town. "If Cecil is found alive, you will be the first to know."
"After you, you mean," Rosa replied tartly, not liking how firm Golbez had been on her not coming along. "When they find him, I want to be there. Besides, what about the other survivors. What about Kain? If they're in serious condition then we can't waste a second in helping them. Better for me to be there than to need to have someone run back to the ship to get me." She folded his arms and shot him a look that said that she wasn't going anywhere she didn't want to.
"You are stubborn, aren't you," he replied after a short silence. "I don't know what he sees in you." He stepped away before she could have a chance to respond, leaving Rosa to head into Mist and comb the wreckage for Cecil, Kain, and any other survivors.
Time passed, the sun crested and headed towards the horizon. But as a figure in blue trudged towards the desert, a cry came up from a nearby. "Hey, we found a live one here!" It was a cry that brought Rosa running, uncaring of any damaged clothing as she made her way over. She found the team of soldiers carefully shifting sections of collapsed wall, revealing Cecil, battered, bruised, trapped, but alive.
"Move," she said, and the soldiers backed up as she crouched by Cecil, hands flaring white light as she ran them over his unconscious form, occasionally frowning at what she was seeing. "What did you do," she asked rhetorically before returning her outstretched hands to his head, chanting as the white light flared, wounds engulfed in a bright glow as they vanished.
Rosa let out a sigh as the light faded entirely, and she stood back up to let the soldiers finish unburying her beloved. At that point, Golbez had arrived, and the imposing commander stood back watching the work as it happened. Looking over at him, Rosa wondered what thoughts were running inside those black pits that served as eyes.
She stepped over to regard him curiously. "So, have they found Kain yet?"
"No," was the simple response, not a nod, gesture, or acknowledgment of her presence besides that answer.
"Any other survivors?"
"No." Golbez had been quite clear to his men when Rosa was gone that there were to be no survivors. The legacy of Mist would be destroyed, completely and utterly, and their powers removed from this world.
"Oh," Rosa was subdued at the news. The thought that only Cecil had survived, that Kain, the brave Dragoon who touched the sky and had been as near a constant presence as Cecil had when they were younger, was hard to believe. She supposed the full impact hadn't hit her yet, and she wasn't about to break down in front of Golbez. "Do you know what could have caused such devastation? Surely it couldn't have been Cecil and Kain. They may be skilled warriors but even they couldn't have cracked the earth like this."
"I do not know. And at the moment, that is none of mine, or your, concern." That wasn't to say that Golbez couldn't hazard a guess. It looked like a summoner or two had survived the Scouring of the Bombs, and had engaged the two Baronian men, with devastating results. Not much of a loss, but their survival did offer him an opportunity. And he was fairly certain that if Cecil had survived, the gnat of a Dragoon had as well. But where was he?
Rosa huffed, going off to Cecil as they finally removed him from the rubble and began carrying him back to the airship, Rosa following after. She paused on the way though, looking over the destroyed city as she whispered "Kain, where are you?" But Cecil needed her, and she turned to return to the ship.
Golbez glanced over at one of his subordinates. "Organize a squad and send them to Kaipo. If anyone survived they would most likely have made their way across the desert, or we would have seen them. Make sure the survivors are unable to tell anyone what happened. Oh, and make sure the White Mage doesn't know. We wouldn't want to upset her delicate sensibilities."
"Yes sir,' the man replied with a salute before going off to gather the team. Golbez smirked beneath his helmet as he turned from the ruin of Mist, not sparing it a backwards glance, heading back to the airship. Master Zemus would be interested to head about Cecil's survival.
One born of a dragon
Bearing darkness and light,
Shall rise to the heavens
Over the still land.
The moon's light eternal
Brings a promise to Earth
With bounty and grace.
Bearing darkness and light,
Shall rise to the heavens
Over the still land.
The moon's light eternal
Brings a promise to Earth
With bounty and grace.
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