Episode Ember: Chapter 3: Lost Kingdom

Chapter 3 of Ember's adventure.

The Next Morning

The Launch Bay of Shade Academy

 

 

 

            Ember finished securing her pack to the crawler for transport.  After listening in on the church the night before, they learned of their plans.  The beginning of their exodus out of the city and into the wild towards the Great Graveyard.  The church left in the dead of night, but the team only let Raven follow behind initially as to avoid drawing suspicion.  Now that the cult was far enough removed from the city, Ember along with Summer and Traci were to follow the trail of the cult via Sand Crawler.

            “Are we sure this is a good idea?” Summer asked as she packed her scythe in its sheath.  “The Church of Eternity won’t reach the graveyard for a few days if they’re travelling by foot.  Vacuo Crawlers aren’t the stealthiest of vehicles.  Wont’ they hear us approaching?”

            “We aren’t going to bear down on them right away” Traci said packing a pair of martial arts gloves.  “If what Raven said is true than we’re going to find a few stragglers passed out in the desert.  Headmaster Theodore will be sending airships out during certain intervals along our journey to shuttle the injured back to the Kingdom.”

            “Will we have enough fuel to accommodate staying that far behind a caravan moving by foot?” Ember asked as she loaded her nunchucks with Dust.

            “The plan is to receive constant fuel support from the airships as we keep going.  And knowing most cults, they won’t stop at night or during storms.  They’ll keep going no matter what.  They’ll likely reach the ruins of the Great Oasis by the end of tomorrow and reach the graveyard by the following midday.”

            “That’s a pretty generous allotment of time” Ember said as she twirled her drumsticks.  “Most nomads who pilgrimage that way take at least a week to reach the Graveyard.”

            “How would you know?” Summer asked as she sat down next to Ember.

            “Our travels take us to some very interesting places and we meet many interesting people.  Last time I was here a nomadic group from the furthest reaches north of the continent passed through and were talking about all they had seen of the Graveyard as they passed by.”

            “They went through it?”

            “No, of course not.  Their main caravan traveled almost ten miles east of the Graveyard itself.  But the more religious of them walked along the ridge near it.  They talked about how the Grimm seemed almost still, like they had no purpose or direction.”

            “Their hearts must have been really strong to not get any kind of negative or fearful emotions to attract the monsters.”

            “I heard there are groups that hire a ranger who can mask emotions for a massive group” Traci said as she zipped up her bag.  “A nobleman from Mistral trying to start a village out in the wilderness”.

            “Semblances are truly powerful things” Summer said with a smile.  “I hope my daughters get ones that help them grow as people.”

            “I’m sure they will” Ember said patting her on the back.

            “Crawler’s ready” Traci said closing her Scroll.  “Let’s move.”

 

 

 

 

            As they made their way through the desert, Ember watched out the window as the swathes of sand rumbled past.  She was not new to this sight; the troupe had travelled these lands towards the more populated southern reaches of the continent.  But as the crawler moved along, it felt almost hypnotic this time.  The swaying sands felt soothing waves.  Familiar.  As she continued to stare out the window, she was snapped back to reality when one of the crawlers of the legs raised up to climb over a dune and moved right in front of the window.  The crawlers themselves were mostly obsolete given the advent of airships by Atlas, but for a mission requiring more of a stealth and prolonged chase, they were ideal.  They had been modeled after Centinel type Grimm that were first discovered in the mines of Atlas.  Monsters that resembled centipedes that these machines now mimicked.  They had armor canvases that could be changed out depending on the type of camouflage that would be called for in a situation.  However, they did not provide much protection from Grimm if too many negative emotions stuck out like a sore thumb from the machine.  As such, their main purpose in the current era was to help transport members of the Vacuo and Shade personnel to regional towns and nomadic tribes if regional sandstorms meant that airship travel was impossible.  And since it was travelling by land, it made it far easier to stop quickly if need be.  Which helped as the pilot up front saw another group of passed out cult members in the sand drifts ahead.  He flashed a light in the back of the cabin to warn the passengers and then came to an abrupt halt.  As soon as the sand settled around them, the doors opened and Summer and Ember ran out to help get those who had been left behind into the crawler.  Two men and a small child.

            “A family maybe?” Ember asked as she lay the person she was carrying down and ran towards the back of the crawler to get water and emergency restraints.  A few of the previous members they had saved did lash out at them so there was reason for restraint.

            “Hard to say” Summer said as she grabbed a cold towel and put it on the young boy’s head.  “We’ve picked up quite a few different people on this journey.  They may be a family; or they could very well just be people who couldn’t go on and just so happened to fall our way.”

            “Poor souls” Traci said as she poured cold water over the forehead of one of the older members.  The oldest of them started to come to first.  He looked around, and immediately tried to jump up.  But the restraints held him in place as he struggled.

            “Take a breath” Ember said getting down on one knee and holding a hand up calmly.  “You passed out.  We’re here to help.”

            “You’re Huntresses?” the man growled, glaring directly at Ember.

            “We’re friends” Summer said placing her own hand on the man’s shoulder.  “You don’t have to be afraid.”

            “I’m angry, not afraid.”

            “Why is that?”

            “I could not make the pilgrimage.  I won’t join the Honored Lost.”

            “Honored Lost?” Ember asked.

            “What do you know of the Kingdom of Perdita?” he growled, glaring directly at Ember.  “What poison has the world dripped down your throat?”

            “Kingdom of Perdita?” Ember said in surprise.  “What are you talking about?  I thought you were going to the Great Graveyard?”  The man laughed at this remark.

            “A graveyard, yes, but not in the way you think.”

            “I don’t think there’s more than one definition of a graveyard listed anywhere in any library” Traci said as she glared back at him.

            “You think we are going to a simple battlefield” the man said with a sick smile, his laugh growing more and more maniacal.  “You have been lied to by Ozpin for so long.  The Prophet showed one of his followers the truth, and it drove her away from his world.  Just like the world drove us away from it.  But Eternity stands ready for us.  Eternity offers us hope in a world that denies us.”

            “You’ve been reading too many conspiracy books” Summer said with a scowl.  “There is nothing there except for broken blades, Grimm, and…..”

            “The city….” The child uttered a single word as he woke up.  Everyone turned to him as the child slowly sat up.  “The city…. where our birthright…. awaits…..”

            “You even make children recite your doctrine?” Summer yelled at the older man grabbing him by his collar.

            “They have no future without Eternity” the man said, his laugh reducing to a choked chuckle.  “In this part of the world, if you survive, you belong.  There is no room for the weak. For those cast aside.  Eternity offers an alternative.  A place for everyone.”

            “Most people just move to Vale or one of the villages of another continent” Traci muttered under her breath.

            “Many of us here in Vacuo stay despite these challenges because we feel a calling.  A desire to return to our true home.  To our birthright.”

            “And what kind of home is a place filled with broken blades and Grimm?” Ember asked as she motioned for Summer to let him go.  “You talk about this Kingdom, but the Graveyard is nowhere near any of the four.”

            “Why don’t you….” The man suddenly stopped as he stared into the eyes of Ember.  “Violet….” He muttered to himself.  He then silenced himself, staring at Ember as if he had seen a ghost.

            “What are you….” The man ignored Ember and simply curled up quietly as the sands continued to roll by.

 

 

Ember kept trying to question him throughout the day, but the man refused to speak.  The other man was still unconscious, and the child was too delirious to be of any help.  Any other stragglers they picked up either remained unconscious or if they did wake up, the first man would simply say the words ‘violet eyes’ and they would fall silent, each of them looking at Ember with fear in their eyes.  Normally, Ember was used to humans being afraid of Faunus.  They did stand out after all and at a first glance it could seem strange to see someone with animal ears.  But this was different.  They looked at her as if she was death itself, preparing to bring judgement down upon them.  Traci noticed this and decided that since they were not likely to talk regardless, she put in the brig away from everyone else, which Ember greatly appreciated.  Thanks to this, she was now able to put that behind her and keep herself ready for whatever came ahead as the sun began to set.  The crawler came to a stop as a small fleet of airships from Vacuo landed next to the crawler.  Everyone stepped out.  Vacuo soldiers went inside the crawler to escort the cult members onto the airships where medical professionals and equipment were waiting for them.  Professor Theodore stepped out of one of the airships and walked over to the group.  As he approached, Raven in bird form dove down from the sky and transformed back into a human with a powerful landing.

“What did that one movie call it?” Ember said mockingly, “a superhero landing?”

            “They’ll reach the Graveyard by morning” Raven said straight to Summer and Traci ignoring Ember’s remark.  “The remains of the Oasis will pass them by midnight, so we might get a few more stragglers falling behind before they reach their goal.”

            “I always forget the Oasis was this far north” Summer said with a sigh.  “Really wish it wasn’t dried up, we really could use some more water to help the remaining folks we find.”

            “Hopefully the next group of airships won’t be too long this time” Traci said as she transferred the information they had recorded about those they recovered to the Scrolls of the Vacuo guard.

            “Unfortunately,” Theodore said with a bit of distress in his voice, “a sandstorm is making its way northwards from south of the Kingdom.  We’ll be lucky if this current fleet makes it back to the Kingdom itself before it hits us, much less one of our outposts.”

            “So you’re saying this is it?” Traci said growing a bit concerned.  “No support from you after you leave?”

            “We’ve topped off your crawler, so it should get you to the graveyard and back a bit as well if need be.  And if the storm does reach you in record time, the crawler has enough internal power and rations to take care of a small battalion for at least a week.  Of course, that depends on how many are still alive after that cult reaches the graveyard.  And even if they do make it there alive….”

            “We’re probably going to have a horde on our hands once we do reach them” Summer said with a worried sigh.

            “We’ll try to see if we can get reinforcements to you sooner rather than later, but given this coming storm, there’s no guarantee.”

            “We appreciate the help you’ve given us to this point Theodore” Traci said patting his shoulder.  “We’ll do what we can here and try to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”

            “Sounds good.  I’ve got a small garrison that is able to join your current group as some extra help for now.  The rest is up to you.”

            “Understood” Ember said as she shook the professor’s hand.

            “Stay alive” Theodore said with a smile.  “I still expect to see you leading the drums at the end of this week.”

            “I wouldn’t miss it for the world” Ember said with a smile.

 

 

 

            The sands ebbed and flowed around Ember.  They swirled like they always swirled.  Nothing changing.  The endless grains of stone flowing with the wind.  She stood there, alone.  Nothing but what is known.  But then, the sands swirled around her like a storm.  Took form.  The fell around her, took the shapes of blades.  Paths cut through the blades.  The graveyard as is known.  But then, the sands continued to turn back.  The blades rose into the sky and vanished.  The paths fell through the earth.  Like water in dirt.  The sands then rose up, like geysers erupting.  Rising from the earth, towers.  Buildings.  People.  Their forms were made of sand, but their actions and designs were more. A city.  Lost to time.  Ember looked around, not sure what to make of it.  She looked back, and saw two figures off in the distance standing side by side.  With that visage before her, the sands swelled around her, her emotions rising.  She started to run.  Run towards this visage that called to her.  She reached out, trying to reach them.  But the sands gave way.  Everything began to fall.  She fell into the abyss.  The sands fell like a waterfall around her.  She saw the figures fade from view.  Her screams are silenced by the sands.  The abyss below, now give way……

 

 

            Ember fell to the floor of the crawler with a thud.  Her seatbelt not stopping her fall remaining loose.  She rubbed her head and looked out the window to see the sun rising in the east.  The day was upon them.  She checked her Scroll to see that Traci had messaged her that they would reach the graveyard in 40 minutes.  Ember checked and saw that the message had been sent 39 minutes ago.  She made her way past the other sleeping soldiers and into the cockpit to see Summer and Traci both staring out the window at what lay before them.  The sands were beginning to rise higher than some of the mightiest dunes in all of Vacuo.  The crawler was struggling to climb up one of these dunes that lay before them.  The crawler kept trying to dig into the sand, but it kept sliding as if it were trying to climb a wall of ice.

            “They weren’t built for this kind of steep terrain” the pilot said as he flipped several switches.  “It’s strange, these sands are far more shifting than even the strongest quicksand.  It’s not trying to pull us in, but something this heavy can’t really get a solid grip.”

            “How close are we to the edge of the Graveyard?” Traci asked as she tried her best to keep her balance despite the crawler struggling to stay balanced itself.

            “There’s Raven in the sky” Summer said pointing towards the small bit of blue sky that was visible beyond the ridge where a small black bird was flapping its wings.

            “The crawler can’t make it,” Ember said grabbing onto a nearby support rail as the crawler shifted again.  “We might be able to make the final push ourselves.  If this thing is too heavy, it’s not going to help us to keep burning fuel when people need our help.”

            “Makes sense” the pilot said slowing the acceleration.  “I can do a slow crawl up and around to reach one of the ridges further away and be nearby if we need to get injured to shelter.  Radar says the sandstorm is maybe an hour or so behind us.  So we should probably hurry and find and save who we can.”

            “Works for me” Traci said preparing her weapons for battle.  “I’ll go wake everybody else up.  Ember, Summer, do what you need to do and get ready to head towards the top of the ridge.”

            “Will do” Ember said as she made sure the dust cartridges were loaded into her nunchucks.  With that, Traci left to round up the troops.  Summer opened one of the side doors and leapt out while Ember followed suit and followed Summer up the remainder of the ridge while the crawler began to slow down.  Ember wasn’t certain, but as they ran past the legs of the crawler, it almost appeared as if something within the sand was reaching out, not allowing it to pass.

 

 

 

As the two of them ran up the side of the ridge, they finally reached the summit.  Looking down into the crater that the graveyard was, they were surprised at what they saw.  Not just the field of blades as told to them, but also the buildings.  Covered in sand, decaying.  Lost to time.  And not buildings simply left behind and in ruins, but still mostly intact.  A few broken windows, but it was easy to see that these were once mighty skyscrapers that rivaled even the most powerful towers in Atlas.  Ember stared in awe at the destruction, not sure what to make of it.  Everything seemed to bend away from the center like a ripple in water.  Nothing seemed to have simply been left behind because of time.  Everything felt deliberate.  Destruction was the only winner in this graveyard.  Ember looked over to see Summer was having a similar reaction.  Raven landed next to them and did not have a look of surprise, but rather of vindication.

            “This is why I left Summer” Raven said with a growl in her voice.

            “You left your family because of something unrelated to them?” Summer asked, snapping out of her surprise and glaring right at Raven.

            “I left because this is the world that Ozpin left us.  We fight his wars, and this is our reward for serving him.”

            “How could you possibly know that?” Ember asked, not moving her gaze from the ruins.  “This is beyond anything that any one human could do.”

            “You assume Ozpin is human” Raven said back.  “His actions lead to the death of millions.  And now today I am asked to sacrifice myself and my children for his war?  No, I will not drag them into this, and instead fight my battles far away from those I care about.”

            “So you made yourself a martyr?” Summer said grabbing Raven’s shirt in anger.  “You left a wonderful little girl who would love to have a relationship with her real mother and a husband who loved you that you just abandoned?  I promise you; I don’t care if I die.  So long as I take care of the people I love, I will do whatever it takes.  I won’t run away like you did.”

            “I didn’t run away” Raven growled knocking Summer’s hand away.  I simply moved the target away from them and…..”

            “Guys hold up” Ember said as she finally snapped out of her trance.  “Where are the members of the church?”  Summer and Raven stopped fighting to notice that Ember was right.  Despite all the destruction and open space they could see before them, there was no sign of the people they were trying to follow and save from death.  And beyond that, there weren’t even any Grimm in the vicinity like it had been reported for years.

            “Do you think it’s a trap?” Ember asked as she tried to see if she could see anybody with a more intense look but to no avail.

            “We might be able to get a better vantage point from the center of the crater” Raven said cracking her knuckles.  “I’ll head down and take a look.”  With that, she jumped off the side of the ridge, morphed into raven form and glided down the side and then through the ruined streets of the city.  Summer watched as she flew down into the crater then looked back to see the soldiers starting to make their way up towards the ridge alongside Traci.

            “I’ll get them caught up to speed with what we know” Summer said looking at Ember.  “You head down there and catch up with Raven in the center.  I’ll have some of the troops begin to fan out and explore the ruins, but Traci and I will be not too far behind you in the center.”

            “Understood” Ember said as she started sliding down the side of the ridge.  After about a solid minute of sliding, she reached the bottom.  Looking up, the sun was starting to peak over the ridge, but most of the crater was still covered in shadows.  She began to make her way through the ruins.  Her mind for whatever reason seemed to fall back to her dream the night before.  The streets were dead, but in her mind they seemed alive.  People bustling about, going about their lives.  She wasn’t sure why she was having these thoughts, but they seemed to be all she could think about at the moment.  But she quickly shook that off as she reached the dividing lines between the destroyed buildings and the remnants of old blades.  Raven was waiting at the base of the graveyard.  Ember ran down to join her, with Summer following behind not too long after.  They looked around, still unable to see anybody.

            “I tried seeing if I could find everybody from up high,” Raven said still trying to see if she could see anybody from the center of the Graveyard, “but this place is devoid of life besides ours.”

            “I thought maybe I could get some better reception down here given how open it is,” Summer said with a sigh, “but that was just wishful thinking.”  Ember looked around at all the sides of the ruins.  Just like the area she just emerged from, in each direction of the compass there was a path leading through a field of blades into destroyed remains of a city.  Traci and the troops had yet to join them in the center, but they were scanning for any signs of life that they could find.

            “Raven,” Ember said looking back at her, “you said you left because this was the world Ozpin left us.  What did you mean by that?”

            “This whole ordeal was his fault” Raven said clenching her fist.  “This entire city was the result of his war with another.  And the innocents…..”

            “How do you know that?” Summer and Raven both stopped and looked at Ember as soon as she asked that question.  “You’ve been spouting off these long speeches about how this is the world Ozpin left or wants for us, but how could you possibly know that?”

            “Allow me to shed some light upon the subject” a new voice cut in.  The three of them looked over and saw a man wearing a black coat standing in the middle of the path to the north.  Then, like dust forming in the wind, the Prophet and The Second appeared out of thin air behind him.  Ember quickly drew her nunchucks, Summer drew her scythe, but Raven simply stood there, staring in shock at the man wearing the black coat.

            “You’re……” she stammered a bit.  “The Lost Master”.

            “I’m honored you remember me” the Lost Master said with a slight chuckle.  “Kind of surprised you came all this way however, especially after I showed you the truth.  No matter, I’ll ensure you have no memory of me by the time we’re finished here.”

            “Making bold predictions before we even fight, that’s brave” Ember said pointing her weapon right at the Lost Master.  The Lost Master looked over at Ember, seemingly confused, trying to piece things together in his head.

            “Wait….?  But you’re supposed to be with…. perhaps another glitch.  I’ll have to figure this out later.  But for now, I’ll just have to make sure what is meant to be goes off without any further hiccups.”

            “Nothing is set in stone” Summer said joining Ember in pointing her weapon at the Lost Master.  “Our lives and destinies are our own!”

            “Who’s super-hero posing now” Raven muttered under her breath as she drew her own blade as well.  The Lost Master started laughing at Summer’s remark.

            “Oooh, nothing is set in stone and the like.  So good!  I love it!  Although if we prolong this confrontation, those glitches come back, and that could prove troublesome. Especially now, this close to completion.  Perhaps a test would be beneficial.  Take them down.  Save the wild card for me.”  As he said this, the Lost Master waved his hand and the Prophet and The Second charged forward.  The Prophet wielding a chain with hooks and The Second wielding a staff.  The Prophet’s chain came down and wrapped around Summer’s scythe.  This caught Summer off guard as The Prophet pulled her towards him and he landed a strong elbow on her face.  Meanwhile, The Second initially tried to use a Fire Dust crystal attack on Raven, but before it could reach her, Ember leaped in front of her and blocked it with her nunchucks.  From there, Ember leapt up at the Second and knocked her back a short way, forcing her to readjust her stance.  Ember looked back at Raven, but was surprised to see that she was still frozen in place, staring at the Lost Master.

            “He’s the one who made you give up on everything wasn’t he?” Ember asked as she kept her eye on the Second.

            “He showed me what happened here” Raven said quietly.  “He said this was his last act, before he vanished from this world.  But he’s here now…. why?”

            “Honestly, you weren’t supposed to be here Raven” the Lost Master said with a chuckle while Ember was forced back into battle with the Second.  “My actions should have set your course to remain isolated from your family up until and through the time that brat of yours goes through school.  But I guess the Wild Card changed the course of events.”

            “Yang……will go to Beacon?  But you said that…..”

            “I say lots of things to try and move people in the right direction.  It just so happened that you being away from your daughter results in not only her evolving into a person who is essential to what is to come, but also in your absence, the existence of another heart comes into the equation that is critical to the second….why am I telling you all this anyways?  Once we win you won’t even remember anything I say.”

            “Worry about yourself first” Ember said as she managed to guide the battle near the Lost Master and also had managed to force the Second to fire another Fire projectile that she could easily dodge and then have it fly straight at the Lost Master.  As soon as the fire made contact with his body, the Lost Master simply stood there, as the energy flowed into his body like water drying on a towel.

            “Such an interesting result of creation, Dust,” the Lost Master said laughingly.  “Not all of the power of the Birthright could be contained in humans and Grimm so the world created storage units.  Perhaps a combination of the two could create unique results.  I’ll have to look into that later.”

            “I swear,” Ember said as she kicked the Second in the gut, “these kinds of folks just love to monologue.”

            “Only because we want to keep you occupied” the Lost Master said with a sick smile.  Ember suddenly felt a chill down her spine as he said this.  “By now my new soldiers are more than likely engaging with your friends in the city.  Maybe they’ll be fine, maybe they won’t.  Even if the glitches do surface during their battle, it doesn’t matter to me.  The critical key has already been born.”  Ember then looked back the way they came to see the servants of the Church of Eternity attacking the soldiers and Traci.  She then looked over and saw that the Second was rushing towards the fight in the city.  She looked over and saw Summer fighting the prophet.  Just as Ember was about to head towards the city, the Lost Master charged towards her with his staff.  But before he could land his attack, Raven leapt in front and blocked the attack with her sword.

            “Go!” Raven yelled to Ember and Summer.  “I can hold them both here.”

            “I’m not letting you fight alone Raven!” Summer yelled back as she blocked another chain attack from the Prophet.

            “It’s mostly grunts up there and the one who just ran off.  Deal with them and I’ll still be alive once you get back with reinforcements!”  Summer looked back at the cult members attacking Traci, then looked back at Raven.

            “I’m holding you to that.”

            “Go!”  With that, Ember and Summer both ran off, leaving Raven alone to face off with the Prophet and the Lost Master.  “I won’t let you win so easily.”

            “You already did” the Lost Master said with a chuckle.

Author's Note

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