As The Sun Sets On The Old World

Gentle, pained chimes sounded out in angelic hums. Red’s omnipresent glare faded from the air as the sky returned to blue and dust began to settle. Once more, the battlefield was littered with the whimpers and groans of the dying. Vraxlyn the Broken’s fury had erased every ounce of victorious joy from Sayane’s heart as she looked out at the blood soaked ground.

Beside her, the engineer named Lorna was murmuring to itself as it rubbed its leathery paw over its chest.

“Thank you, friend. Your barriers held and kept us safe,” Attis said to the new acquaintance.

Lorna merely nodded in acknowledgement.

Azag and Saxum slowly lowered the colossal shield plate down until it settled onto the ground with a dense thud. When he turned back, Azag saw Sayane’s eyes were unblinking with exhausted terror dulling their whiteness into a muted gray.

He didn’t speak. Instead, he lurched and limped to her. Saxum was there immediately to offer him aid as his bent legs struggled for balance. Sayane's attention returned and she crawled to him with a gasp.

His movement increased.

She stumbled and fell onto her chest but continued forward.

He dropped to his knees and held out his enormous arms until she was there in his grasp. When he felt her press into him, he let out a cry of relief as though it had taken that feedback to confirm that they were both still alive.

Hands pressed against skin, pulling the other against them until their bodies threatened to bleed into one. Soft human lips found rough, scarred hide, covering it with traumatized, grateful kisses. Nostrils breathed in familiar scents with a newfound appreciation.

Sayane’s hand rose and once again each friend was there with them, enveloping her in comfort as they all clung to one another as though afraid they might all vanish if their touch severed. Fur and stone pressed on her sides. Tentacles surrounded them all. Tiny wings fluttered against her ribs in soft flicks. They were there together.

A humming moan drifted out from the dust. Haunting pulses of pink and white flickered as enormous spires began to cut through the obscurity. The wounded Great Harmony Shard was there. Looking upon it confirmed to Sayane that it was indeed wounded- an entire chunk of its side had been fractured and broken away from Vraxlyn’s attack. Sparking embers drifted out as surreal, liquidy fire danced along the wound.

“Ancient sister, you are hurt…” Saxum said to the Shard.

Sayane moved to stand and the others slowly lifted her to her feet. As she moved forward, the towering geode floated to her as more strange flames flickered with biting snaps of pain.

“You saved us. But your spike…” Sayane muttered as she reached out to comfort their savior.

When her hand neared the dripping flame, it was not hot, but it did send an unpleasant stabbing feeling into her palm and fingertips, causing Sayane to stop.

“Your ether light…” Saxum whispered.

Sayane looked to him but he simply shook his head. Anahita rose behind them with a concerned look on her small face.

“Saxum, I didn't know any of the Great Shards could be broken,” she said.

The Shard pulsed, and another whimpering chime sounded out. Drops of fire oozed and fell to the ground. When they splattered on the soil, it immediately mutated into small bits of stone and light. Sayane watched the transformation with wonder and concern.

“I do not recall any ever being hurt like this. I would have to review our most ancient tomes. But even The Silence didn’t dare to break the Great Harmony Shards. The Dissonance tools were their oppression, but they still kept my sisters in their full form. This… this is new to me.”

His tone only unsettled Sayane even more. As she watched the Shard bob and chime, she felt like she was watching a wounded sibling. Azag pulled himself to be beside them.

“Do you want to stay beside us? Beside Sayane?” he asked in an attempt at calming the ancient being.

Several flickers of light and celestial hums told Sayane the Shard did want that.

“...Thank you, by the way,” Azag added.

The Shard paused, then gently floated to Azag. He tensed as it neared, but it simply levitated beside him.

“I think she wants you to touch her,” Sayane said.

“Oh, okaaaay,” Azag said as his head tilted slightly to the side.

Dirty fingers rose and met the edges of glowing crystal, causing another pulse of cyan light to shine out.

“I feel like she’s rubbing it in that she saved us…” Azag smirked as he peered over the harsh edges towards Sayane.

“IIIII think so, too,” Sayane smirked.

“She is,” Saxum clarified.

“Well, thank you,” Azag chuckled.

With that, the Shard dipped downward then floated back to be close to Sayane once more.

Out on the field, the six warriors returned. As soon as they were near Sayane, the former Silencers held out their loaned weapons.

Azag tapped Sayane and nodded towards the waiting fighters. When Sayane turned to them, the three Silencers swiftly swung the blades in a circle so that the edge of the blade was facing into their throats and the handle was facing the ground. Their legs bent, and the three of them fell to their knees, sending the handles of the weapons to the dirt as the blade tips neared their flesh.

“No!!” Sayane shouted.

But then they intentionally stopped just before the blades stabbed into their flesh. Neither knees nor haunches never touched the soil. Instead, the three Silencers held their pose, just on the sharp edge of death. Sayane watched in shock as the three all closed their eyes and began to mutter to themselves.

“The simplest steel. The greatest gift. The simplest steel. The greatest gift. The simplest steel. The greatest gift,” they repeated.

“What are they doing?” Sayane asked.

“Weapon worship. I thought it was a myth,” Azag muttered.

Behind the three warriors, Xentros appeared, cupping a stained cloth over the open wound where his arm had been torn away.

“My children were taught to worship every weapon for the vast power it holds. That is their true light. Not me. Not the empire. But the power of weapons. Till now, we thought we had the most powerful weapons of all. It seems we were wrong,” he growled as he stood behind them.

“Is… is that why they were so willing to defend us?” Sayane asked.

In her mind, she recalled how Xentros and so many of them had seemed in true awe at her only moments ago.

The warrior named Ixhari lowered its blade and bowed to Sayane.

“The songstress is the greatest weapon of all. We hear her and fear her, and tremble at her power. I offer you my light to extinguish and inflame as you see fit,” she snarled through chipped teeth.

The other two both lowered their weapons and bowed as well.

Their words unsettled Sayane, even if they were declarations of loyalty. Ste had no desire to be viewed as a weapon. More importantly, she didn’t want song and the Shards to be considered as such, even if it was from the former Silencers.

“I… I do not consider myself that. I am simply a girl who sings,” she said as she forced herself to stand.

Still, the three warriors bowed and returned their blades to her feet. The three Revolutionary fighters were standing in waiting as well. Azag understood what Sayane wanted, and he forced himself up so that the two of them could limp to the six guards.

Sayane grimaced as she stepped down from her ledge. Azag struggled to shift his weight until Can-Mo and Saxum offered assistance. Once the two of them were together, Sayane faced them, Xentros, and the others.

“Thank you for fighting to defend us,” she said as she held out her hands to the Revolutionary fighters, who all three quietly gasped in surprise.

After a second of pause, the three Revolutionaries allowed Sayane to embrace them. Quiet wonder floated between them as they hesitated to touch the girl before them.

“Thank you…All of you,” Azag added as he bowed slightly to Xentros and the Silencers.

“Certainly not how I expected today to go,” Erosc choked from afar.

“Erosc! Blessings upon you, you’re alive!” Attis called out as their comrade limped into view, holding his fractured chest plate with a pained sigh .

“Armor held well enough,” he snarled.

Xentros let out a roaring laugh then lumbered towards his former foe.

“I knew The Emptiness would not claim you today! There may yet be a chance for us to slay one another in glory another day!” he laughed as he wrapped his arm around Erosc’s waist and helped him walk.

Erosc could merely shake his head in abject confusion.

When they returned, the reality of the wounded rose in Sayane’s mind once more. As the breeze drifted along the stony environment, echoes of groans sounded out once again. Her focus settled on Xentros’s bleeding stump of an arm. Heavy exhaustion pulled at her insides as she imagined another round of healing, but she knew she had to help.

“You’re all hurt again,” she sighed as she tried to steel her nerves.

“Agh, simply give me a heated edge and I shall burn my wound shut,” Xentros shrugged.

Azag realized what Sayane was thinking.

“Sayane, you cannot do this. Doctors will be here soon. They will handle this. You cannot expend yourself anymore. Please,” he asked softly.

Anahita and Attis nodded.

“But they’re hurt, they’re hurt because of me,” she exhaled as her legs locked with deadened strain.

“No, noooo, they are hurt because of battle. They are free because of you,” Anahita challenged.

Attis nodded and looked at Azag.

“That goes for you, too, lad. Sayane may have freed the Shard, but you slaughtered the Silence’s leaders and held her there for her final song. You led us to victory. You both need rest. I implore you both to leave this place and return to the travel vessels. The rest of us will join you by nightfall.”

In his heart, Azag knew Attis was right. Sayane knew it as well. Both of them seemed half-dead and on the verge of collapsing at any moment. Deep in her spirit, Sayane feared that straining herself any further might lead her to finally fade away, simply due to exhaustion. Azag wanted to speak, but he knew it was for the best.

“Trust in us, dear ones. You two have done more than enough,” Anahita added with a maternal plea.

Both of them inhaled and looked to one another. Sayane felt his large hand take hers. His usually steady grip was still trembling. Though his face was no longer covered by the metal secrecy of his mask, his breathing was still labored and uneven. Her skin was ablaze was pained awareness. Every breath still felt like pulling daggers into her lungs through a straw. They needed to rest. So she lowered her head and nodded.

Every standing member of the crowd faced them once more. Quiet waiting hung in the air, and Azag knew they needed to speak before departing. He hoped someone else besides him or Sayane would do, but a heavy realization set in when he saw that all eyes were still on them. Sayane felt weak in his hand, and he didn’t want to expect anything else from her. Humiliation for his face almost caused him to look away, but he knew it had to come from him.

So he stepped forward.

“Attis, can you carry my words to those in the distance?” he asked.

“Of course,” Attis smiled.

Azag inhaled and looked up.

“…L-Long have many of us waited for this day!” he spoke as Attis boomed out an echo of his words.

“I implore all of you to breathe in deep and feel the air in your lungs. You are alive to see a new world! Do not look to those beside you with fear or memory of dark deeds from moments before today!”

Sayane smiled as she watched his confidence shift into steadiness. His words were sincere, and carried a weight few could deny. If he was willing to make allies with those before him, then anyone could.

“Sayane the Songstress neatly gave her life to beg us all to stop the hurting. And I now do the same. Please, do not be moved to malice tonight. Help one another. I beg you. Find those injured and bring them to the doctors. Lay those departed to the flames of rest. Then join us at the camp and dare to see a new world! All of you!”

“Honor to Azag the Guardian, and honor to Sayane the Songstress!!" Saxum roared.

“HONOR TO AZAG THE GUARDIAN! HONOR TO SAYANE THE SONGSTRESS!!” the crowd returned.

Attis smiled a tired, aged smile as he looked to them.

“I am so very proud of you both,” he smiled.

“Now please. Go rest. We will be back to join you soon. And… if you don’t mind… I’d like for all of us to watch the sunrise together,” he smiled.

“Aye!” Can-Mo agreed with a cheer.

The Violated Shard hummed out a pleasant burst of agreeing chimes. Flickers of joyful optimism sparked in Sayane’s chest. No matter what, today was the last day of the old world. The Silence had fallen. Tomorrow, that sunrise would appear over the jagged crystalline edges of the distant range, and the new world would truly begin. Thinking on that truth caused a soft smile to spread across her lips, and she felt Azag’s thumb run along her wrist.

“I’d like that,” Sayane weakly said as she closed her eyes and felt the warmth of her skin.