Ch 4: New Beginnings

Cooking up the game he caught while lost in a forest on Gaia, Grey hears a cry for help nearby. Saving her from Altera Veritas' anomalies, he gets to know a shy, cat eared girl named Saria.

            Sitting by a fire he had made in front of the small cave he had stayed the last night in, Grey stared up at the otherworldly sky of Gaia, watching the large twin moons through the leaves of the trees. Despite the fact that the sun was out, the celestial bodies were quite visible. Taking the small lizard-like animal he had caught off the fire, his hunger driving him to forgo the fact that it did not look all that appetizing, Grey dug in as he thought, “Geez, it would have been nice if that old man had dropped me off near a town, or maybe at least stuck around to give me directions before just up and disappearing…” The lizard creature tasted better than it looked, and as he took another bite, he thought about finding someplace high up where he could search the horizon for any signs of civilization. Considering the fact he had at least found shelter and a clean source of water, the river he had been dropped off at, he decided he shouldn’t complain too much. Still, knowing his friends were in some kind of trouble, Grey felt the constant need to hurry. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like someone crying out. Getting to his feet and looking around, the cooked lizard creature still in his mouth, Grey listened for it again. Hearing it again, it sounded like a girl, and it sounded quite distressed. Pulling the lizard from his mouth, Grey set off through the woods in the direction of the cries. Moving quickly through the foliage, Grey could sense a faint presence ahead of him, as well as several presences that seemed strangely familiar. Coming upon a clearing, Grey cautiously looked around a tree to see the scene taking place within it. Cornered by a group of Altera Veritas’ humanoid anomalies was a girl who looked about his age that he could only assume was a halman, given the fact she had cat ears upon her head of short, bright pink hair. The girl wore a white shirt with brown leather straps around her chest, a brown skirt and brown boots, and a short green cloak. She had what appeared to be a compact bow holstered on her back, folded up for easy carrying. She appeared to have injuries both on one of her arms and one of her legs. One of the anomalies started to move closer, its bladed arm morphing into a humanoid arm. A look of hopelessness was in the girl’s red eyes as it reached out to grab her.

            Rushing into the clearing, his swords formed, Grey shouted, “Pick on someone your own size!” Slashing apart the reaching anomaly as it turned to him, Grey put himself between the other anomalies and the girl. As the anomalies backed away cautiously, the girl stammered, “W-who are you…?” Glancing back with a big grin, Grey said, “A friend!” Two anomalies charged at Grey, one leaping into the air and the other heading straight for Grey. Quickly Grey blocked the strike of the latter and shoved it back as he exclaimed, “Accelerate!” Disappearing in a blur of speed as the other anomaly came down at him, Grey slashed it in half from behind. As two more anomalies rushed him from both sides, he pointed a blade at each and fired a shining sphere of light energy at each in close range, blowing them apart. The other anomalies gathered around the cloud of dust from the explosions, but leaping out of the cloud and into the air, Grey swung a sword and fired a wave of light energy down at them, destroying two more. Landing he blocked another’s strike and stabbed the other sword into its chest and chanted, “Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Lux!” The anomaly was ripped apart as arrows of light shot out of its body at its companions, downing several more. The remaining anomalies began to retreat as the girl slumped against a tree and stared at Grey in disbelief. Just as Grey was about to go talk to her though, the ground shook and Grey looked back in the direction of the fleeing anomalies. Bursting out of the ground came one of the black serpent anomalies he had encountered at the Ruins of Nosus and Silens. With a frazzled look, Grey sighed and said, “We couldn’t do this AFTER lunch?!” As it quickly slithered towards him, Grey chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Ignis Acies!” His blades became white hot and flames danced upon them, and quickly he leaped away as the serpent dove at him with a menacing bite. While the beast started to pull its head back, Grey leaped up onto it, but it quickly began to shake him off. Unable to stand firm, Grey was thrown into the branches of a tree. Lunging at him there in the tree’s branches, as the serpent’s jaws came at him, Grey jumped off a branch and into its open mouth. Plunging his searing swords into the top of its mouth, the white hot blade penetrated straight into the beast’s brain, and with a high pitched shriek the serpent anomaly fell to the ground, lifeless. Forcing open the dead serpent’s mouth and extracting himself, Grey muttered, “Gross…” Watching from the branch of a tree, a dark hooded figure grinned and quietly whispered, “Not bad hotshot…”

            Grey let his swords evaporate, and walking up to the girl as she simply continued to stare at him, he said, “Hey, you ok?” Snapping out of her stupor, the girl gasped, “Ah!” Then she quickly began bowing her head in gratitude. Flashing a grin, understanding she was trying to thank him, Grey said, “Don’t mention it. I’m not the type to leave someone in trouble.” Looking up at him, with a look of awe, she said, “Umm… uh…” Raising an eyebrow, Grey said, “What?” Looking hesitant, the girl said, “Hero, could you tell me your name?” Taken aback, Grey felt his face turning red as he said, “Hero’s a bit much… I’m Grey.” The girl just repeated, “Grey…” Starting to get unnerved at how she stared at him, Grey said, “So, what’s your name? For that matter, what are all those anomalies doing chasing you?” Once more, the girl came to her senses and exclaimed, “The village!” She quickly bowed her head again and said, “I’m Saria! Please hero, th-they attacked my village!” For some reason Grey felt as though he had heard her name somewhere before, but could not remember. Seeing the urgency of her request, Grey decided now was not the time to worry about it, and he replied, “Alright, let’s hurry! Which way?” Saria struggled to get up, but winced in pain from the injury to her leg. Realizing she might need medical treatment, wishing Alexander was there with him, Grey said, “Hey, take it easy! That looks like it hurts…” Trying again despite the pain, Saria said, “But the village, I have to… They’re the only ones who… someone like me…” Grey knelt down with his back to her, saying, “I’ll carry you, you can’t push yourself like that. I’m sure they care just as much about your safety, you know?”

            Moving through the forest with Saria on his back, Grey said, “We close?” Nodding, Saria pointed straight ahead. At last they rushed out of the tree line and came out on a hill overlooking the village. As they laid eyes on it however, it was apparent they were too late. More than half of the small village was in ruins, many buildings still aflame. Rushing through the streets, Grey looked around at the destroyed buildings, watched the returning survivors struggling to put out the flames, thinking, “Why?” A tear suddenly landed on his face, and Grey realized Saria was crying. Trying to calm her, he said, “Hey, it’s not your fault…” Her ears drooping sadly, Saria shook her head. Stopping by a wooden bench, Grey let her down and she sat down on it to rest. Looking around as he wondered where he might find medical supplies, Grey said, “We need to patch that leg up, and your arm too. I’ll go ask someone for a first aid kit or something…” He wandered down the street, and spotting a group of halmans dousing a home with buckets of water, Grey chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Aqua Acies.” Aiming at the raging flames, Grey’s sword spouted a pressurized stream of water that he used to quickly extinguish the fire. The halmans quickly looked at him in surprise, and Grey grinned cheerily as he said, “Anyone got some medical supplies? A friend of mine is hurt.” His heroics earned him a first aid kit, and he returned to Saria. Bandaging her leg, Grey said, “Well, a friend taught me a bit about this. Hopefully I’m doing this right…” Saria just remained silent, and finally Grey asked, “Why would you think this is your fault anyway?” With a sad look in her eyes, Saria replied, “The monsters came here for me. It’s happened before… I can’t remember much, but when I was three years old, I was separated from my family when they attacked our home. I was saved by someone and placed in an orphanage that went out of business years later…” Able to sympathize with such a painful loss, Grey said, “I’m sorry…”

            Suddenly an angry voice said, “So it was your fault?!” Both looking down the street, Grey and Saria saw an agitated looking male halman walking up to them. Crossing his arms as he reached them, the man said, “What have you got to say for yourself?!” Hanging her head, Saria showed a look of shame. Rising with a look of rage, Grey shouted, “Where do you get off?!” Startled, the Chief said, “H-how dare you speak to me like that?! I’m the Chief of the village I’ll have you know, and I’m dealing with a massive problem because of that half breed! Thankfully no one died, but just look at all this damage! Just what are you anyways, another half-halman like her? It’s rare to see your kind at all anymore in these parts, not that that’s a problem…” Clenching his fists, Grey said, “I don’t care who or what you are… If you say another word, I’ll knock your teeth out! Do you hear me?! Get lost!” Wary of him, he Chief said, “Y-you…! This is what I get for tolerating your kind?! I ought to report this to the Church of Light and have you both dragged off in chains, but I have enough to deal wth right now! I don’t care what you do or where you go, but I want both of you out of my village by tomorrow!” With that he turned and walked away, ignoring Grey as he started shouting after him, “Just a minute you b*****d! You can’t-” In a quiet voice, Saria said, “Stop… It’s fine… I expected this…” Turning to look at her in disbelief, Grey said, “How can you say that?! You begged me to come help these people! We rushed here to save them! Now they’re throwing you out, and you just say ‘It’s fine’?!” Faking a smile, Saria said, “I’m used to it. Isn’t that what it’s like for all us half-breeds?” For a moment, Grey simply stared, wondering to himself, “Why?! Even in a completely different world, it’s the exact same thing! Whether they’re energists or half breeds, the world just spits on those born different!” Saria, who had simply been staring at the ground, looked up at Grey as he suddenly said, “Listen up!” Raising a hand before him and clenching it into a fist for emphasis, Grey said, “Being different doesn’t make you any less of a person than anyone else! Someday, somehow, I’m gonna make people understand that! Until then, don’t you dare let people like that kick you around! Be proud of who you are! Never give up!” Saria could only look at him in awe as she whispered, “Hero…”

            Standing outside the remains of Saria’s home, Grey thought to himself, “Hmm, well it’s not how I hoped it would turn out, but I found some trace of civilization. So now what I’d like to know is, where do I even start looking for a way back to Teramis? I don’t think I should go running around telling random people that I’m looking for a way to another world…” Calling out from the wreckage, where she was looking for any remaining belongings, Saria said, “Umm, c-can I ask where you’re from?” Caught off guard, Grey said, “Uh…” Popping her head out the doorframe he was leaning on, Saria looked at him expectantly. Finally, Grey said, “Sorry it’s nothing personal, but that’s kinda a secret…” Seeing her disappointment, he decided to see how she would react to the topic and asked, “Saria, have you ever heard of the existence of another world called Teramis?” With a confused expression, she said, “Y-yes. The world where humans were banished to a thousand years ago, created by Angelorum Lux to seal away the God of Darkness.” Prepping himself for the big question, Grey said, “What would you think if I said I was trying to go there?” Blinking in surprise, Saria said, “Why? Humans hated other races, especially energists and half breeds like us.” Scratching his head nervously, Grey said, “Well…” Then as her words registered in his head, he said, “Wait, do you mean you’re an energist too?!” Looking as though she hadn’t meant to let this slip, Saria took out her bow and nodded as she said, “All I can really do is shoot arrows of wind from this bow. It’s an elven artifact that functions as an EDE weapon. It seems like it belonged to my mother, though I’m not sure where she got it…” Looking at it with interest, Grey said, “Huh, cool.” Hesitant but unable to quell her curiosity, Saria said again, “Why… would you want to go to Teramis?” With a serious face, Grey said, “Saria, do you trust me?” Taken aback, Saria turned a bit red, nodding slowly as she replied, “You saved me hero…” Ignoring the hero comment again, Grey said, “Saria, I’m from Teramis, and I have to get back there fast…”

            Looking very disbelieving, Saria said, “You’re… not serious, right?” Laughing nervously for a moment, Grey said, “I’m afraid I am.” Walking out of the ruined building with her sack of belongings, Saria stared at him for a moment, and then she said, “B-but how…? You’re a bit different, but you aren’t really h-human are you?” A little irritated, Grey replied, “No, I’m not a human, I’m a half human who wound up there. What if I was? Would that make me less than a person to you? Would you treat me like your Chief treats you?” Saria was startled for a moment, and then her face fell as she realized her mistake. She looked quite ashamed as she said, “Sorry…” Satisfied that she’d learned her lesson, Grey flashed a reluctant smile and said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard some bad things about what humanity did in the past, but they’re really not all like that. Some of my best friends are human.” Once Saria had double checked for anything else she could salvage, they turned to go. As they walked through the streets, which had settled down a bit more now that the fires were out, Grey said, “Since I went off on that jerk and you don’t have anywhere to stay anymore, I’ll take you to another town if you want.” Turning her head to look at him, Saria hesitated a moment, then said, “Hero, I mean, Grey… Please, can’t I come with you?” Looking over at her in surprise, Grey stopped walking and said, “No way, it’s too dangerous. Altera Veritas is here, and it’s not gonna be long before they’re on my tail.” Stopping as well and turning to look back at him, Saria said, “Altera... Veritas?” 

Surprised by the fact that she knew about the Nameless One and Teramis but not Altera Veritas, Grey was confused for a moment before rembering that Altera Veritas was not the same name Alexander and Alastor had used during their days as servants of the Nameless One. They had been known on Gaia as the Dark Crusade, and only after being freed from the Dark God’s will had Alastor adopted the name which embodied his goal. Altera Veritas, The Second Truth. Bracing himself for her reaction, Grey said, “You haven’t heard of them yet here on Gaia I guess, but that’s the new name of the Dark Crusade, the organization that tried to destroy the world a thousand years ago.” Saria dropped her belongings and exclaimed with a look of terror, “T-The Dark Crusade?!” Looking around them nervously, worried her outburst would cause a panic, Grey motioned for her to tone it down as he quickly explained, “Yeah, you see they call themselves Altera Veritas now. It’s a long story, but those anomalies that were after you belong to them. I don’t know what they want with you, but you’re probably in enough danger as it is. Isn’t there anywhere you can go and lay low for a while?” Still looking rather shaken, Saria shook her head and said, “N-no…” Then, trying to pull herself together somewhat, Saria pleaded with him again, saying, “Can’t I go with you? I owe you so much, maybe I can help you find your way home!” Standing firm on his decision, Grey said, “Thank you Saria, but you don’t owe me anything. We need to find you somewhere safe.” Turning to stare at the ground, Saria said, “There isn’t anywhere safe for someone like me…” Grey saw her eyes becoming teary as she said, “They’ll come back to take me away, and even if they don’t…” Wiping her eyes, Saria said, “No matter where I go, I’ll be all alone again…”

            Walking down the road out of town with Saria walking beside him, Grey thought to himself, “Oh well. What else could I have done?” Taking out the map Saria had brought, as Grey unfolded it and looked it over for a moment, he said, “Well, I guess we’ll head to the nearest town and start digging for information as to where I’d find a way to get home.” Suddenly hearing someone’s amused laughter, Grey turned his attention from the map to a robed figure sitting by the side of the road. From under his black hood, the figure said, “Looking for a way home? You only just got here you know!” He sounded young, around the same age as Grey or maybe a bit older. Even so, Grey was on his guard as he said, “And just who are you supposed to be?” Laughing, the hooded man said, “Maybe a friend… Maybe an enemy…” As he rose to his feet, Grey thought of forming his swords. His face concealed by shadows, the man said, “I just thought I’d come say hi to the man who killed my brother…” Grey’s eyes went wide and he said, “What?!” Raising a hand, the man opened a dark vortex, and stepping inside it he said, “If you’re looking for a way back, seek the Seeker… Oh, and make sure you don’t get caught by the others before we face each other! M’kay?” With that he disappeared, and Grey thought to himself, “Brother? Does this have something to do with Luminosa too?” Thoroughly confused, Saria said, “Who was he…?” Grey started walking again, simply muttering, “No idea…”