Veracity Under The Auroras

Strike didn’t fall asleep. He had a lot of planning and memories going through his head at the moment. A couple of minutes after Ragion and Strike came back to the cave, Knightin Gale woke up from a dream. (not all people wake up with nightmares). She saw that Strike was looking at the horizon, for no specific reason she knew. “Strike you wake?” Knightin Gale asked while standing up. “Yeah! Want to ask or need to know something” Strike asked. “Well, actually…yes. Strike…would you mind telling me why Kydie tried to kill you when he first met you? And why did he questions you about how you got the sword?” Knightin Gale asked while sitting next to Strike. “Guess this is the time I should share the truth…” Strike smirked, then sighed. “Wake Mike too, I’ll tell you two ‘the STORY’.” Strike said. “Okay, but you went weird a bit when saying that.” She said and left to wake Mike. “HA! And you thought I was asleep. Today was my day to watch remember? Fooled ya ALL!” Mike shouted. “Yeah, yeah can you please be a bit quieter?” she asked, not to wake the others. Mike and Knightin Gale came back towards Strike.

( Part one: Strike’s story )

“Here goes…” Strike got going with the story. “The reason is because of this!” Strike pulled out his left glove and showed. It was the same symbol (Ӝ). “Oh yeah, you ditched my question by the chance of Nick coming and showing the smoke from Venviiya village.” Knightin Gale recalled. “Actually I didn’t want to remember my own past and reasons at the moment. BUT, I didn’t mean to hide anything from any of you. That could be really uncooperative.” Strike apologized and explained. “I know the reason so you can speak solely to NG about it.” Mike backed off from the conversation. Strike exhaled big and put back the glove. “When I was training with my teacher, we met in Masolo village, I heard he and my brother talking about the inverteds. About their fighting skills. I was determined to become the greatest and noblest swordsman in the archipelago, so thought, ‘why don’t I learn something new for a change' and jumped to the conversation.” Strike said a slice of the story. “What’s that got to do with the scar? Cut to the conclusion” Knightin Gale rushed. “It is just the beginning.” Strike replied and continued; “you see…what we called inverteds are actually a group of mass murder assassination group. Not a terrorist group. Their attack patterns and techniques are at another level and completely different. At the moment I’m jumping in between my brother and teacher; they were talking about a strategy to defeat them easily without losing any more lives. I begged both of them to let me join them…” Strike was interrupted “ARE YOU SERIOUS!? Arghm…keep talking.” Knightin Gale shouted and she cleared her throat after realizing she could wake up the others. Mike smirked at her for what she said earlier to him. Coughed to regain the attention. “My brother tried to deny it but he agreed later after my teacher told him that they could learn from me. And I also begged as I said before. Then I finally got the permission. I went to their base and told them that I need to take revenge on my brother and told piles and piles of lies. And finally became their elite assassin. Then, they figured out I was an imposter when they gave a mission, solely to me to kill the alpha, which is my brother, though they didn’t know that part.” Strike took a deep breath and exhaled after he thought he made the point. He went inside the cave and drank a few gulps of water and returned to where he was. “So…how did you get the scar?” Knightin Gale asked. Strike almost threw off the water in his mouth. If it was thrown, it’ll be thrown at Knightin Gale. “I thought I did. Oh I forgot an important point. After they knew who I was, they gave me a chance to leave, but after I defeated my opponent. They didn’t tell me who he or she was…I realized that when I got into the ring. It was a giant griffin. The fight was…well…awful. The griffin’s claws did what you had to see happen to my left arm. I didn’t want to kill it, so smashed its beak with a right-hand blow, somehow it got paranoid and hit the wall hard. Then accidentally a stone pillar killed it by crushing it to the ground. Though they declared me in victory, it wasn’t over. I was tormented from the inside out. They warned me never to be seen again by them and kept a heated rod of iron with their logo in my hand, as it cooled down a deranged inverted injured me with a knife. It was so brutal.” Strike said in an agony of remembering that wickedness of inverteds. “Well, all that aside, I’m alive, I have a good sword and best of friends.” Strike, twisted the emotions and finally finished the story. “You really have been through a lot but why the beast pissed you?” Mike asked, joining back to the conversation though he quit from the start. “Lots of people in the villagers’ families were attacked by them…I even saw a carriage of young children caged to be sold. Then I beat the crap out of them and saved the children. One even called me a hero,” Strike grinned. “So, in short, you’re saying that they thought you were an inverted too, but how do the inverteds recognize you as an imposter now?” Knightin Gale questioned again. “It was a neat trick of them. On the right hand, the symbol was hand-drawn to represent an ally. Left-arm is used to scar or damage to resemble something to avoid or to warn or banishment or etcetera. I found out those just before Kydie attack me” Strike concluded the information he knew.

 “Well, Strike, the story ended quite happily. Why don’t you follow him?” Mike gestured with his eyebrows and hinted Knightin Gale. She blushed deep red and put her kerises to Mike’s neck. Strike was confused by their actions. “I didn’t mean that follow NG! please lower your weapon, though it is beautiful in a snake-y way. I meant to tell your dark story” Mike said. “Dark story?” Strike asked. “Well, your story is creepy and suits you. We have to hear from a tough girl like NG. Sure her story is scarier and more interesting than yours” Mike smirked in a spooky way while saying.

( Part two: Knightin Gale’s story )

Knightin Gale brought her legs close together and sighed looking down. “My story huh? Well… have you seen your birth parents?” she probed. “I guess I can still remember their faces” Mike said looking at the auroras in the sky. “I never seen my mother and only has a blurred memory of my father before he was killed by a inverted's attack,” Strike said. Knightin Gale’s eyes went watery. “At least you have memories.” Her voice went broken. “I don’t even know who I really was. The past that I can remember; far as I can look back, was myself in a place where five streets meet, in Dragon isle. I was begging for any…bread, rice, fruit, silver. Was skinny and weakened by time. But one day, a musical instrument of strings fell off a carriage. I chased it down and gave it to its owner, who was the crown prince. He was so kind. He thanked me and gave me some bread and also told me to keep the instrument if I want, said it was broken. I went back in the rain while eating a soggy wet bread, which I was glad to be able to obtain without begging. There was a carpenter shop right in front of my ‘begging’ place. I secretly went there and hid inside and learned few skills by watching…” “Whoa, you are awesome to learn by just watching” Mike interrupted her. “Mike, would you mind…” Strike hinted. “Oh, right! Continue NG…” Mike said. Knightin Gale continued. “…One night, when the whole town went silent, I repaired the instrument. Oh, by the way, it was called a ukulele. I add a few designs to the big wooden part of it and stole a few ukulele strings from a music shop. No one in the town noticed what I did. …” “YOU ARE a THIEF! Sorry. Really sorry, please continue” Mike interrupted and apologized. “…I learnt music by playing it full time, cutting my fingers at first but it went fine. And I began street performing. And started earning silver. But not much, just enough to buy something cheap to eat, twice a day. So, days later, I remembered I stole stuff to come this far. From some silver I earned, I paid the carpenter and music shop owner after confessing what I’ve done. They didn’t take it seriously. Although the carpenter was surprised with my ability to learn and taught me more and more and appointed me as his apprentice. But I didn’t quite practise it.” Knightin Gale stopped for a break. “Is that it?” Mike probed. “Let her breathe for a bit, Mike” Strike said, shaking his head.

“Luckily one day the prince drove by me. And stopped his carriage to listen to my music. He said. ‘Father, she’s the person I spoke to you about…’ the king nodded and one of his knights came and asked me to sit next to the driver. There were six white stallions roped to the black and gold carriage…” “Hold the story!” Strike forced her to stop. “You didn’t mention your age by then…” Strike pointed. “Oh! I was… seven or eight years old I guess. Plus, I wasn’t even named to be honest. Shall I continue?” she asked back. And Strike nodded by giving permission. Mike and Strike were moved by that statement. “…after coming to the castle the prince pulled me out of the driver’s seat and played with me ‘yay! I met you again! Play me a few songs please’. I was surprised and left wondering what was happening. King came and ordered one of his maidens to take care of me. And made me dress up, much better and cleaner. King was a father to me and the prince was like a brother. We were like a family. I was even titled as a princess when I and the prince reached the age of twelve”. “Wow, so lucky…” Mike was jealous. “What was the prince’s name?” Strike asked. “Prince Vaecith the third” Knightin Gale said.

She continued despite Mike’s reply. “One day, when I was with the prince at the royal garden, a few of his cousins came and bullied me in front of him. He got mad and broke one’s nose. I was okay listening to those rude words. Then another cousin tried to hit the prince with a long thin wood plank. I blocked it from my hand and used the plank against him. King was impressed by that when the prince started bragging about me. So his highness asked me to join in learning weapon art with the prince. Then I was better as the ‘that time's alpha of Drangle isle”. “Well…that’s quite a story.” Mike acknowledge. But Strike realized that she was about to cry and at the same instance Strike remembered. “NG, why did you try to kill, thinking I killed the phoenix?” Strike probed. Which is a big question to all the strikers including Knightin Gale’s own team. “Oh, I’m really sorry for that, Strike. I got too emotional. See that, Drangle isle was once attacked by a scary fire-breathing beast. Not to worry, worry it isn’t a dragon but, something else. It still haunts me. Sometimes I see that day in my nightmares. The day began as a beautiful and peaceful morning. the incident happened at twilight. From the west, the creature walked toward the castle. It only said a few ‘Meat! Blood! Throne!’. Crushing and burning everything in sight; it finally reached the castle. King, prince and I were gravely injured. Not a muscle moveable and the palace was burning and the place was washed from blood…” Knightin Gale couldn’t describe anymore and she cried closing her face. Kaecy woke up and ran toward Knightin Gale and hugged her. “It’s okay girl, it’s all in the past. You’re okay…” Kaecy settled her. “Don’t talk anymore about it to me, until you solely own your past” Strike said and tried to walk out of the cave, but Knightin Gale grabbed Strike’s shirt and pulled. “You have to listen” Knightin Gale spoke while whipping off her tears. “It was Xillia who saved the island. Xillia burned the whole island in flames. Some flames extinguished the beast’s flames and some burned the beast to crisp. Xillia saw us about to die inside the palace. She came to us and cried. Xillia’s tears healed prince and my wounds. But it didn’t work with His Highness. Prince went hard on Xillia. He cried onto Xillia begging to save the king. Then Xillia said, ‘young prince, my tears only heal wounds, and it’s not able to bring life’ and he understood. Buried the king and made a statue in remembrance. In age, by month and date, I was the oldest. So the royal council thought to give me the throne. Then I refused to say ‘YOU KNOW I’VE NO TRUE ROYALTY. Please give the throne to my brother. I’m stepping down as princess and becoming this kingdom’s alpha!’. That’s it.” Knightin Gale finished her story and hit Mike hard; hinting him to start his. She turned to Kaecy and cried silently for some time.

After her story ended the aurora’s colours got changed to red, orange and yellow.

( Part three: Mike’s story )

“MY STORY? Sorry, you want to know my story?” Mike shouted, apologized and whispered. “Mike, say it. I want to know what you are hiding from me. I heard you saying ‘I won’t kill Strike’ blah, blah, blah in dreams. Spill the beans for god sakes!” Strike said. “FINE! I’ll talk. Sheez.” Mike said. “…No, I can’t. Kaecy is here” Mike denied. “So what? Just say it.” Strike said. “Alright…The darkest of my past occurred when I was eight years old. You may see me as a cheerful idiot, but back then I was…an ordinary, serious kid” “I remember that part of yours well. Hey, that’s the same time you joined me in sword art academy right?” Strike added some memories of his to Mike’s story. “Yeah man. Not in time, but in age. I joined the academy after what happened a week before. Our family had a farm as Knightin Gale saw. It was a wonderful, full harvest, twice every year. We grew rice, tomatoes, onions, carrots and even silver-green plants for the medicinal requirements of the Capital. But one day, a few strangers knocked on the door. They were frozen by the weather. A group of seven men as I remember. They asked for our full harvest of silver-green leaves but half the stock was meant for the Capital and the rest is for trade. Dad told them, they can only have a quarter. Then, they had a fight with their father. One man stabbed his father in the back. Mother took me and my elder sister to the barn house. But, the group set the whole place including the farm on fire. The nearby trees were affected in Tranxiken forest so Strike’s brother Wiaeve, sent his men to put off the forest fire. Mom managed to send me and my sister through a short underground passage, to the other side of the forest. But she couldn’t manage to save herself and died.” “Why is that?” Kaecy questioned. Mike started replying and continuing, “A STUPID PLANK fell off the attic blocking the trapdoor of the passage. Her last words were ‘save yourselves. My sister joined inverteds to learn sword art since we have no money to learn in the capital. She informed Wiaeve but it did no good. A fight occurred between the Royal army and inverted and the sister was the squad commander. She had no choice but to lead. Wiaeve tried to withdraw and order his men to halt fire AT my sister. But a soldier in the royal army shot an arrow. Strike, it was the same arrow that scarred your brother’s left shoulder; hit my sister’s heart. She died there. I didn’t cry. I didn’t go to even see her face again. Didn’t blame anyone and started to re-live as a happier person like right now. Well, that’s the end of my little story.” Mike ended his story. Which successfully stunned all four of them, who were listening. “Guess you had problems meant to be hidden as well, right mate?” Strike asked supportively. “Yup!” Mike nodded. “By the way Mike, the gang killed your family…did they have a symbol, consisting of a giant tree and eleven dots?” Strike questioned. “As a matter of fact, yeah! Why asked?” Mike asked. “They were called green drift. Never mind they are all gone. Green drifts were to force to disband and exiled from the island twelve years ago.” Strike said.

“HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!” Mike said in ]k not too loud voice. “Kacey what is…” “I don’t have such stories to share and I don’t want to bring up any of my stories.” Kaecy interrupted Mike before he asked Kaecy to tell her story.

( Part four: Departure )

“My, my…those are some really incredible stories.” A voice came from inside the cave. Strike, Mike and Knightin Gale stood up and looked behind, preparing for anything by almost grabbing their weapons. “Hey, hey calm down it’s just us!” Nick came out of the darkness inside the cave. “To be honest, we were all listening” Zumi exposed all the remaining strikers. “Then why didn’t you guys join?” Mike probed. “We simply don’t have that sort of deep secret or personal problem to share from the beginning…so we planned, pretended to sleep and kept listening” Noah explained while grinning. “Not meaning to interrupt any, but in case all except Strike didn’t notice…I was awake too!” Ragion spoke, although it’s camouflaged to darkness. “I have to say this; you all have to sleep because in a matter of hours the first light will fall. And I don’t want to carry lazy yawning people. Let me hear one yawn and I’ll drop it. Anyone except Strike” Ragion said and winked openly because the wink could be seen only by Strike.

Over time, the aurora kept fading while switching its colours unnaturally and the sun had risen. Ragion roared. “RISE AND SHINE SLEEPY LAWK! Oh, and you guys, hop on! I’ll drop you off the coast where your ship is harboured.” Ragion aided them in travelling. Strike nodded and accepted it. After minutes of travelling, Ragion dropped off the strikers on the ship’s deck. And the strikers thanked Ragion. “Noah, take the rudder. NG, navigate. Rest do the remaining chores. The destination is Phoenix-Eye. We are skipping Grand lagoon and going directly to Auslika island as soon as we’re done with shopping for provisions and possibly for any information as well.” Strike commanded and the ship left. Ragion wished luck while staying on the island. “Uh…Noah…you forgot to untie the ship from the reef” Michael said. “I’ll go…” Sabrina said and went overboard. “Sabrina wait! The WIND IS PICKING UP!” Knightin Gale shouted. Meanwhile, Sabrina untied the rope and the wind pushed the ship away. Luckily Sabrina grabbed the rope and was in the waters. Sabrina boarded back to the ship soaking wet like a wet sponge. “You could’ve told me NG” Sabrina complained. “Matter of fact, she did yell at you to wait” Michael said without looking.

And the strikers began to sail towards Phoenix-Eye; a group of really small islands popular as a vacation spot and for a good luxury shopping experience. The sea running through the islands was also shallow because a giant harbouring reef held all the eight islands.