Lands of Lament

The motion of the train is surprisingly smooth as it sails through the wilderness at its impressive speed. Trees and green, swaying plains blur by while I rest myself in the calm before the storm.

My tour through the facilities of the mission control was brief. Urania had done all that she could to keep our meeting brief so I could set out quickly. During that time I’d received finer explanations to my duties about the mission.

Before my departure, I’d been given all of the equipment that I’d be making use of.

An earpiece for communication, an explanation of the mapping software that would help guide me through Pride, replacements for the tools I’d lost in the incident and for final; a set of vials for collecting samples of Loveless blood.

At the boarding area of the train, she had approached me for final words and confirmations. But our final parting had come to a close on a personal note.

“And one last word before you depart.” She’d looked up to me with her sharp, analytical eyes. “Something I’d like to say… as a friend.

“If anything peculiar happens during your expedition, please don’t hesitate to report it to me. In regards to your health, that is. As your handler, I have a duty to see to it that you are in fine health. Though that’s the plain fact of the matter, I’ve found that I have more reason to request this of you than mere obligation.”

“I’m grateful that you’re so concerned about my health. It went unspoken until now, but I consider you a friend as well. For a friend, the least I could do is take care of myself so I’ll make sure you’ll have nothing more to add to your stress.”

“Yes… we’re friends.” Her words had met a small hitch but as she’d caught herself, she’d nodded resolutely.

I’d taken a step onto the platform of the train but looked back for one last word.

“I’ve been thinking of what you’d said to me. It’s been hard on my mind, but the thing is…” at that moment I could only send her a tenuous smile, “I’m completely clueless. The only thing I can do is keep searching for the answer myself.”

Even now as I sit in the train, quickly approaching the battlegrounds, I continue to wonder how I’m still breathing. The dreams of glass and endless library shelves I’d seen flash before my eyes but now I’ve stopped believing they were mere dreams.

This sword resting against my leg begs me to reconsider.

✩ ✩ ✩

“Thank God you’re here, Sir Celestial Knight.”

At the very moment the train had reached its destination, a man dressed in the white and red of a devout priest came sprinting to meet me. He and his comrades are all visibly shaken. Suddenly worried about his manners, he dips into an awkward, hurried bow.

“I came as quickly as I could. Please don’t mind formalities; they’ll just get in the way when we have something much more important to give our attention.”

Motioning him to lead me, we move and begin our discussion. The desert heat beams down on my black clothes. Rather than be discomforting, it manages to lighten my mood as it reminds me of mine and Juna’s work as knights during the high point summer.

“We will be accompanying you to the Dark Seed and will open it for your entry. Its seal is strong enough but it could use strengthening once you’ve left it behind. I just hope that master will be able to lend us his assistance.”

“Your master, he’s a strong man, isn’t he? It was brave of him to do what he had.”

“Our master has been our leader for more than two decades. He has always been a guiding light for all of us. It’s by his nature that he’d put his own life on the line for the good of all.”

✩ ✩ ✩

Even from the distance during our long walk Pride was clear on the horizon. Apart from the dunes, the golden body of its tall and imposing tower glinted in the sunlight. Despite that it is the very nest of villainy, there is an unexpected majesty to its appearance.

Standing before it, it extends so high in the heavens that looking up to view it would easily result in a smarting cramp for the neck. The grand doors fronting it are so akin to those of a cathedral’s architecture.

Wreathing its body like vines is a glowing white light. It’s the light of its binding that has kept it sealed away.

I can feel the darkness of the tower sweeping across my body. The grotesque feeling of its breath billowing against me carries a keen similarity to that which I’d experienced on the Day of Eclipse.

Staring it down, feeling its goading, my own resolve is forged even stronger.

“I’m ready to go.” I announce to those with me.

The men and women who had been before the tower waiting for us gather form themselves into groups. While the priest I had been speaking with chants his prayer spoken in an archaic tongue, those men and women begin to dance. Their swift movements flow as naturally as fluttering blossoms upon the breeze.

First a sparkling and then a drifting away like falling snow, there at the doorway the holy light begins to relinquish its bond. Chain by chain of light, releasing until the mighty doors are uncovered.

With no time to lose, I rise to the top of the stairs and turn to face the priests and priestesses that had helped me.

“You have my thanks. Please move out to safety and wait for my sign. Until then, I’ll be searching for your master.”

Their lot sends a bow for my parting and then begins their travel together towards their shelter from the desert heat.

When they’ve made progress out into the distance, I face the presence I’d long felt beyond those doors. A knowing darkness that smiles at me.

And I smile in return.

“Pride, I’m coming for you. We’re going to have some fun, you and I.”