The Fall and The Rise

Arian's mount thrashed in the air and screeched loud enough to deafen. He pulled at its chains, and it spat its thunder at the princes below. The first bolt aimed at Aurelio, who used his Azura to form a circle of water. It was a shield for him, but even still, the blast's power almost blew him away. He wouldn't have reached cover if he had not been so close to the exit, surely being hit by a second bolt and burnt to cinders.

Robin was at Aurelio's mercy even before the thunder spitter made its appearance. The outcroppings kept him safe from Azura's power; the same couldn't be said for the Wyvern. Its second bolt landed behind him, and the explosion brought heat and pain. He was lucky; the electricity hadn't hit him directly, but the wave of pure energy burned his skin from cheek to fingers. Once it died down he clutched his arm, which had been the most painful, and winced in silence as he kept his back against the rocky cover.

Coryn had not been hit head-on like Aurelio, nor had he felt the burn kiss his skin; he wasn't as fortunate. The bolt exploded beneath his feet and blasted him back. He crashed through rock and slammed into the far column with so much force that he almost went through it. Had he gone through, there would be no ground at his feet; he would have plummeted to the sea and to his death. The instant his body collided with the stone, his consciousness was gone. Blood trickled from the back of his head and his arm.

Once more, the Wyvern launched a volley at the two still moving. The first crackled off the rock face and ricocheted to the heavens above. Robin retreated to Coryn, screaming out his name. The sound of him colliding with the wall was blood-curdling, but he wanted to believe that was all it was. When he stood by his side, the blood pooled at his feet.

His arm ached. Each time his heart pumped, he would feel the pain pulse. He hadn't gotten a good chance to look at it until then; the skin was blistered and red as the blood at his feet. Blisters were fixable; it was blackened skin he feared most. One of Vulcan's Silver Swords had a flare thrown at him from the masses once, and his leg caught fire instantly. He could still hear his screams. Once the fire had been put out, his fellow Silver Sword saw blackened skin... he put the limb to the sword. Once the rot set in, it would quickly spread, and the entire body would falter. Luckily, the burn on Robin's arm had not been as severe. Losing an arm would not have been pleasant.

It was as the beast swept past him, talons raised and only just about deflected by Azura, that he realised that sound was vacant for him. He would pat Coryn's shoulder, shake him and call his name, yet it was as if the words died at his lips.

His ear bled. It was burnt for sure, but how badly? He would have to put that in the back of his mind. Aurelio was Arian's target for now. His eye wandered to Stormcaller, enchanting him almost. The only true way to end this was pulling steel from stone, and if Arian and Aurelio kept each other busy, then it was his to end.

*-*-*

Tara had done well to keep ignorant to the action. She took refuge upon the Sparrow in a dark corner, picking her nails until they bled. She would hear the odd sound here and there, rocks falling, thunder crashing, and a strange shrill shriek. She rocked with the feel of the waves, silently holding her fear at bay, away from everything. Kamau found her as the flashes in the sky erupted. She couldn't look his way; only the darkness and the waves calmed her now; anything else reminded her it was all real.

"He'll make it out. Of this, and it all." Kamau reassured her as he sat beside her.

"How can you be so sure?" She asked without lifting her head from her knees.

"I just know. Don't you trust him?"

"More than anyone." She replied quietly.

Kamau spun his blade, the tip and pommel balanced on his fingertips.

"I trusted someone before, the same as I do for Robin." Tara blurted out.

"Your brother?" He asked.

She nodded and dug her nails into her thighs as she spoke. "He didn't come back." Kamau's spinning blade stopped instantly.

It was strangely reminiscent, this feeling. Her brother made her feel this way once. He too dreamed of adventure and glory. Sailing the seas and dropping anchor at a faraway island hidden to the maps. Smell the salt in the air and live free... He really thought that was the life for him, and she thought the same herself. The year he talked himself aboard a ship was the year Frostheart took ahold of the Reaver's. They would sail to Regalia and Phaxi, hoping to purchase a cure. Well, on the day he was set to return to the Reaver's, a storm fell upon his ship. Three nights she waited for his return. Three nights more and she would see him again.

They pulled him from the waves and brought him back to her, cold and lifeless.

Her father was an abusive drunk. She felt nothing when he died. Her mother watched what he did to Tara and just sat back and said nothing. She felt nothing when she died. After they were both gone, she started to wonder if she was broken. Rea and Rickard lost people close to them, and they wept, fell to the floor and sobbed. Yet she did none of that.

When she saw his corpse, every moment of light, every stupid joke, every little moment played. She realised what love was that day.

It was love she bore for another brother, one fighting for his life atop the Cloud Splitter, that made her heart ache.

Kamau reached out and tapped her arm. "He'll come back." His voice was calm but stern; she looked up and saw the swordsman's gaze fixated on the mountaintop. She too looked to it, whispering a silent prayer.

*-*-*

Water whipped through the winds wildly as the Wyvern weaved between the waves. Each one was dodged effortlessly. Arian and his beast were completely untouched, but the loss of mana was taking its toll on Aurelio. He gasped for air, barely able to stand. Arian hadn't fired another black bolt since the last volley while Aurelio was throwing everything he had at him... it was child's play.

The winged warrior smirked at his brother, whose face was wrought with fury. Another slice fired and avoided easily enough. Even when it doubled back like a boomerang, Arian was able to adjust to it. Aurelio was trying everything, but he felt closer and closer to losing. He could reach out for the blade, ignore Arian momentarily and end the torment. But Arian wouldn't allow that; those black bolts would come, and he would be in a worse state than Coryn.

He glanced over. Coryn was still as listless as before, and Robin was trying to wake him. Neither would reach for that sword again, not while the Wyvern lived. The only way he could win would be to destroy the beast and take the sword before Arian or Robin could reach for it... easier than said, he thought.

Robin had used their stand-off to cover his movements. He was quick and quiet, picking his moments and biding his time when it was too risky. He'd worked his was right next to the target as Arian readied another pass. No lightning would fly, and when it doubled back, it would be blind to him.

Sure enough, it lunged and Aurelio dove away. He was struggling back to his feet; this was the pivotal moment.

He was a shadow, unseen as he slithered to the sword. It bit into the stone deep, but he could pull it loose. His hands wrapped around the guard, focused on ending it all. He pulled with all his might, and... nothing.

It clinked loudly, but it did not give. Unfortunately, both Arian and Aurelio heard the sound. When Robin lifted his head, he saw the Wyvern already gliding to him with black bolts in its gullet.

It was the chance Aurelio had been waiting for.

Every last bit of mana he had left gathered around his palm and into the wave cutter. His eyes glowed like when he summoned the tsunami in the mountain before. The sword sang, soaking in the power. And Arian watched it happen from Wyvern-back, scowling at the gold-clad heir. His blade swung in the air, and he thrust it trice in a triangle formation. When his mana-filled eyes looked forth, the sword returned to his side. Suddenly, he unleashed a violent slash, firing a paper-thin blade of water at the Wyvern. Arian pulled its chain just enough to dodge the jet. Still, it cut into his skin just above the eye, millimetres away from taking his ear. The cut was irregular. It would bleed and sting, but with this, there was no blood, and the sting was replaced by the feel of searing agony.

Robin was an afterthought. Try as he might, the blade did not answer his call; it did not accept him. Arian ignored the peasant and instead focused on his elder brother.

The water swirling around Azura bubbled and boiled. He had infused so much power into it that it took on his rage, his hatred. And though the surface slice was similar to the last, it was so much more than any of the others he had created before. The water bubbled and boiled, violently twisting in the air. This one was a wild torrent, a mile-high wave that stretched across the sky as far as the eye could see.

Arian's beast turned back, against his wishes, and flapped its massive wings as quickly as it could. It screeched in its retreat even with Arian's iron chain digging into its jaw.

Try as it might, the scurrying Wyvern could not outrun fate, and Arian was well aware of this. He kept pulling its chains, digging his heels into its skin and screaming at the top of his lungs. Yet, even with his immense strength, the beast was stronger. It scurried across the sky, slowly being caught by the wave. There was only one chance of survival now, for one cannot outrun fate... only delay it.

He pulled the chains harder, leaning so far back he could reach its belly. The beast faced the wave because of it, and Arian held it there. "Fire!" He called, but all he got was the same screams again. "Fire, damn you! Stupid lizard! Fire!"

The Prince looked forth; the doom was so close he could feel the moisture in the air. Anger filled every pore, and every muscle tensed. His fist hit the Wyvern's throat hard. "Fire!" He bellowed loud enough even those aboard the ships below could hear. This time, the beast complied.

Its black thunder crackled in the air and collided with the oncoming wave. It was stalemate for what felt like a while but was more likely mere seconds. Neither gave way, instead they destroyed each other, filling the air with mist and noise.

Arian didn't do emotion. His fat head wasn't designed for them. But the relief was telling. He rested his grip and dropped his head upon the Wyvern's scaled hide.

The mist split open, connecting the two heirs once again, with a blade of ocean in between.

"Too much for light rain?" Aurelio asked with a smirk hiding the fatigue on his face.

The water hit the beast, but it did not stop. In the moment, the Wyvern was cleaved in twain. Split from neck to tail, only connected together by strands of black blood.

The pieces fell from the sky. Aurelio watched its blood paint the rocks below, its body crash against the mountain and fall apart as it hit the ground. He watched it happen stoically. He had done it, proved to everyone he was stronger. He showed he was the true champion. He alone would restore the Swords and become a god amongst men. No one could stop him now. Coryn lay unmoving, and Robin could not threaten him. Arian was defeated as well; his beast vanquished, and his body...

...his body...

Aurelio felt uneasy and peered over the edge again. But even the Wyvern was nought but a spot from this height. He fell... the young heir assured himself. He dropped with the beast, you saw it with your own eyes, Aurelio. Yet, he couldn't escape the feeling something was off. Had he really seen it? In truth, he wasn't sure...

No. He remembered the fall, every single detail... no Arian.

As the revelation flashed in his mind, steel flashed at his throat. Unknown steel at that. Curved and yellowed. He followed it with his eyes around. It had a similarity to Vardan arms, mimicking a sickle. The edge was razor sharp and unforgiving, pressed against his skin. Finally, he could see just who held it there.

"Arian."