Fantasy: Chapter 17: Auguish

                       Anguish:

 

 

 

                My eyes shot open to a bright light. I felt like I was floating, I looked around, I was surround by a field of golden flowers. I sat up, the sky was clear and was a beautiful blue. The sun glowed its majestic gold and made the flowers shine. I smiled as I felt the warmth of this place. I stood up and began walking forward.

“I’m sorry…”

I turned around and I saw Lloyd, I tilted my head in confusion, “You..died…”

He nodded and frowned, “That is true…I am sorry that I didn’t warn you in time…”

I looked down, my eyes widen as I remembered everything that had happened. I looked at him, “Where am I?! Where’s Allen!?!”

He looked around and smiled, “This is…my Paradise, my endless purgatory. In Elmemna this is the Field of Life.  When I did I learned everything between your world and our world. I am so sorry you got dragged into this.”

I looked around, “Then why am I here?”

“You died in Nevatrail, and since your soul and mind where warped into my world, your now, how can I say, transferring to Elmemna.”

I looked down and stared at my hands, “How did this all start?”

“I’m not exactly sure…but Elmena, our goddess was the first from your world to come here. She brought forth so many wonders to our people. She made our people want to learn more. Which is where my studies came into play, and in those studies I accidentally pulled a soul from your world to ours, Alex. He was, unstable and crazy, he became obsessed with our world and wanted to gain control of it. He wanted access to powers he was not permitted. So I stopped him by sealing this side of him away and destroying his memory, but in the process he used the white orb on me and put the spell onto me aswell. Though he modified it to his own accord. Having it slowly kill me to when he could come back when I die, sadly I didn’t know.”

I looked at him as he explained it all, it all made some sense. Allen always felt alone and lost. He hated his life and how things were.

“So, can Allen…I mean Alex use the same art as you, is he a mage too?”

He nodded, “Yes…sadly it was I who kinda taught him. Turns out that he is extremely gifted and very skilled, so beware. He even began to study and tried to use a mixed form of Dark Arts along side with Runics.”  As he went on his voice went dark.

“Runics…?”

He nodded, “It was an combination of Advanced Alchemical studies and Advanced Dark Arts. With that force, he’s very deadly, and very…..insane.”

The area began to blur, “ahh…”

“Its time fro you to leave my friend…go and kill Alex before his thirst destroys Elmemna…Goodbye Leon…”

 

 

My eyes shot open and I quickly sit up, I grabbed my head as an immense pain feels it to the core, “Gahhhh!”

I heard movement, I quickly look around as everything began to focus. I saw Seria, Craven and Lucia sitting in beds, Seria was standing close to me. I looked at her. She had a look of worry and concern, it looks like she just got to sleep to. I looked down as I heard Craven walk up to me.

“Lad….you ok?”

I sat there and didn’t respond, I looked at him and then Seria. “Allen…I mean Alex is back in this world. I need to find him and kill him. Where are we?”

Seria looked at Craven then back to me, “We’re back in Crieo. Leon, why do you need to kill Alex? I thought he was a hero…”

“No! He’s nothing near a hero! He used Lloyd to gain power to try and use this world to his liking and…and…” I looked down as I began to choke on my words.

Craven looked over to Lucia and nodded.

“I’ll go and see what I can find out…” she said as she left the room.

I looked at Craven, my face covered in sadness and agony. I could tell that he had an idea of what had happened.  He looked down, “I’ll get everything ready. If we’re going to be fighting Alex, we’re going to need some helpful stuff and some good tactics.” He turned and walked out of the room. I looked at Seria, her face, her eyes, showed more sadness than before. I looked down.

“What happened?” she asked as her voice skipped as a sign of nervousness.

I continued to look down and said nothing.

She sat there, in silence waiting for me to say something, “Le…”

“We’re going to need some sort of protection against Mage Attacks…”

She looked down, “Well, I don’t know of any such items…but we can get our gear enchanted…I’m sure…”

I looked at her and stood up, “I doubt that’ll help…when we find him. I want you to aim straight for his forehead. I’ll charge him and if I can’t take him down, nor Craven or Lucia, you take that shot and kill him.”

She nodded and hugged me.

I stood there as she embraced me. She quickly let go and stepped back, “Well uh I guess we should go and get ready and see if Lucia found anything.”

I nodded and began walking towards the door. She followed beside me.

 

We walked out of the tavern we were in. The town was already beginning to clean up. I looked around for Lucia or Craven. I looked at Seria and she looked at me.

“Lets go check the Temple where Uncle is…maybe Craven went there?”

I nodded and began to walk forward, I looked around and looked at her, “Um…”

He giggled alittle bit, “Follow me…” she walked passed me and I began to follow her.

As we walked I stared at the ground. I clenched my hands into fists as I replayed what Allen did in my head over and over again. I began to play thoughts of how I could of stopped him. All those “if I could go back scenarios”. I was so focused in my thoughts that I didn’t’ realize that Seria was talking, I quickly looked at her.

“Leon…?” her voice was full of concern.

“Yea…” I answered, I realized that my voice was full or anger, sadness and pain.

She slightly looked down, then forward, “When I was little…my mother was killed…”

I tilted my head as my eyes widen alittle bit, “Seria..”

“She was a Darkeye aswell, one of the best. That’s why my father hated my Uncle, her brother, because he didn’t want me to go into battles. She started to teach me how to use the bow. And when we were practicing one day, our village, this village fell to a surprise attack. She was killed protecting me.”

I looked at her as we continued walking, I looked down as she went on.

“After that I swore to make her proud. I’ve lost a few friends due to combat, but none of them meant much to me. Unlike, Craven, Lucia and especially you, I don’t know why, but I’d hate it if I lost you…”

I looked down and began to feel her care and sadness envelope me.

“Leon…I don’t know what happened, and you don’t have to tell me, but…I can tell it hurt you so much. And I want you to know, I’m here for you.”

I looked at her, “….in my world, Alex was a boy named Allen. Me, my best friend and my…girlfriend met him out of the blue one day like two or three years ago. He said he had no family, nothing. So our friend Dave took him in and we all become great friends afterwards. He was very quiet and stuck to himself. What happened was….eh…when I woke up again after we freed Lloyd. I saw him there, and I watched him murder my best friend….my girlfriend and he even killed my unborn child…”

I watched her tense up as I told her, she stopped and looked at me, her eyes were glassy and began to water up.

I hid my face and looked down, I felt myself begin to choke up, I felt my sadness flow out of me, “I couldn’t’ do anything….I couldn’t save them…I couldn’t….” I felt my knees give, I began to fall. Seria quickly caught me and embraced me. She rubbed my back gently as I buried my face into her neck, “I couldn’t stop him…I failed them…I failed her…”

She rubbed my back slowly and gently, “Shh…”

I wrapped my arms around her tightly and let my sadness and my tears go.

“Oh Leon….we’ll get him, he’ll pay.”

I looked at her and nodded, “Hell Yea..”

She smiled abit, “Then lets get to the Temple, we’re like, almost there..”

I nodded and stood up with her, my eyes widen as I saw that we were at the stairs outside the Temple.

“Your weren’t kidding…”

 

We walked inside the Temple. At the Altar Mithas was talking to Craven, they turned and looked at us. We walked up to them. Craven nodded to me.

“Well, Lucia has come back just yet. And well, I hate to say it but we’re on our own. Mithas can’t spare anyone to help.”

I nodded, “That’s  fine with me. I’m confident that we can take him.” I looked at Mithas, “You have any idea where he might be? Or go?”

Mithas rubbed his breaded chin, “He might go to Lloyds Estate. That’s where all his research tomes and notes and what not are.”

I rubbed my chin, “And where would that be?”

He looked down then back to me, “I’d say it’s about…a days trip west of here. I believe Lloyd had it built inside the Forest of Lin’Ra.”

Craven looked down, “Yea…that’s a beautiful forest. Its quite peaceful there..”

I looked at Craven then to Mithas. “Good thanks Mithas, well we should go outside and wait for Lucia.”

Mithas nodded as did Craven. Craven began to walk down towards the entrance, Seria was behind him, and I then followed behind her. As we exited the Temple, Lucia ran up to us, “By Elmena’s will I finally found you three…”

Craven gently patted her back, “Sorry love…you found out anything?”

She nodded and handed Seria her bow and arrows and me my weapons in a leather bag, “You two forgot those and yes I got some info…it turns out some scouts that were patrolling the area west of here saw an explosion of some sort. They believe that Alex might be attacking one of the settlements out there…”

I looked at Craven and Seria as I put my weapons on my belt, “Lloyds keep is to the west…we need to move, now and fast…”

Lucia smiled and nodded, “I figured you say that so I got us some horses…”

I looked at her with a look of shock, “Uhh…”

Lucia looked at me with a bewildered look, “What?”

I looked down and hid my face, “I never ridden a horse before…”

All three of them at the same time exclaimed in shock, “Whhhat?!”