The Fog of Squall's Calm

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

(Closed to Elthas. This thread is a mentor / mentee thread, and from Shinsou's perspective continues the story from the Gnarled Roots of Osiris. Characters and names of Canen Darkflight and Gideon Xerxes are used with permission from myself (Canen) and the pre-Althanas user formerly known as Fallen Angel (Gideon))

-Foreword-

The beauty of the coast of the island of Corone seemed to be wasted on Shinsou. The heat of the sun beating down upon his face and the shimmering azure sea should have been a nice memory for him to take away before a perilous voyage across the sea, yet somehow the Telgradian couldn’t absorb it at all. His mind instead wandered like a lost child back and forth between the memory of events that unfolded at the Cartographer three days ago, and the sickly anticipation of what he would end up doing now that Keats was dead and he had severed his ties with Telgradia.

This new found freedom was a strange bedfellow. His returning memories told him that, for as long as he could remember, Shinsou had always had some sort of agenda driving his actions up to this point in his life. He had always known what to do, and known, rightly or wrongly, who it was he was doing it for. It didn’t matter whether it was fighting the Jal Shey, or fighting under their control; he had never had to think about himself, about what he wanted.

Not really.

But now, putting an end to Temperance had become both his mission and his undying obsession. He remembered how everything had gone just right until it went terribly wrong, forever changing the course of his life. Murderer, emperor, villian - Telgradia's easy reference tags for him would always remain the same. But he knew himself well. There was the Shinsou Vaan Osiris who had had attacked Telgradia during the age of Temperance, and Shinsou Vaan Osiris of today. The two were very different men.

So, as he remained behind in the Cartographer to study the riches of Telgradian and Althanian texts that had lay there for years, he found for the first time ever he was lacking answers. What would he do from here? Where could he go? He was no longer an Emperor. He no longer cared about Telgradia at all, in fact, and as far as he was concerned Temperance was welcome to rend that world asunder. Both the Telgradians and the Jal Shey were a blight on the planet of Telgradia and the worlds around it, and they all deserved each other. But Shinsou knew, deep down, what letting Temperance destroy Telgradia on a whim would lead to. What Temperance was and what its survival entailed for other inhabited worlds within reach of their portals was too frightening a contemplation for Shinsou. Compared to Althanas, what happened on Telgradia simply didn’t matter, but Shinsou couldn’t allow Temperance to destroy this world, which was a guarantee unless he did something before the three years left on Temperance’s seal were up.

All of a sudden, as he paced up and down the Cartographer's marble floors pouring over years of knowledge contained in those red books, he realised that stopping Temperance was the only thing that mattered to him now and everything else failed miserably in comparison.

So, when he came across the township of Squall’s Calm in the Cartographer’s library, he knew what he had to do.

Squall’s Calm, an isolated township on the very fringes of the xenophobic lands of Fallien, had already been visited by the Jal Shey some years prior. There, the text said, a citadel was built to house an interplanetary gateway linking Telgradia and Althanas. Shinsou had suspected from the content of the book that the gateway was a precursor to an invasion lead by Temperance, given its supposed size, and he had decided that he would start by destroying it.

All that was left to do was to reach Squall's Calm and destroy that gate.

So, with his purpose set, Shinsou set sail from Corone and made haste to Fallien.

[Elthas_Belthasar]

(Note: Continued from: Old and New 2 I'm proceeding forward with Elthas' ghost like state. Thank you for your understanding, I intend to get that approved soon as my Solo Quest is done. Thanks.)

Time flowed endlessly forward and affected all things.

Elthas considered his next move, he'd made the choice to go after the brigand, Yosef Terrentius in the previous journey and now he was at an impasse. He could not go back to the way things were, and Seth Terrentius, his guide and mentor...left him with more questions. Elthas, at that point, regretted that he'd not spent sufficient time studying the old ways of his people. The old arts, the arcane secrets that raised famous wizards and magi. He would not be in the predicament he currently found himself in.

Dead.

Elthas was a fast learner and quickly was learning that defying the rules of life and death had a very specific price.

As he stood there in the Antifirmanent, he considered the lessons that the jester from his previous adventure attempted to teach him. The world is give and take...remember that. Elthas nodded to himself as he paced back and forth. It was not like him to be so agitated and worked up over things beyond his control. Elthas was a man of action, even life he'd always operated that way. This time however, he'd lost all sense of direction for one simple truth. He was dead.

For the dead there were different rules of operating all together.

Things in place that worked against the ghosts and phantoms of the antifirmanent.

It was at that point that Elthas realized that he lacked a purpose. Yosef Terrentius was only a quick solution to a much greater problem. Elthas narrowed his eyes as he looked towards the horizon ahead. There was no use in standing still waiting for something to happen...that went against his nature. I have to make my own destiny dead or not. As soon as Elthas realized that he felt a familiar surge of power. The jester had blinked back into reality nearby from where ever it was he went to.

"You again." Elthas said calmly. "What do you need this time?" Elthas was not one to turn down help however twisted and insincere it might be. He knew he was in a desperate spot and he did not want to go blindly into the unknown. This is a thinking man's game... Elthas recalled the words of his mentor, Seth Terrentius.

Knowledge was power.

"You did sooo splendidly in the last job, that I simply had to come back to see how you were holding out!" The jester explained, for the first time...there was sincerity in the creature's words.

"We're on social calls now, I take it?" Elthas shook his head. "Regardless you upheld your end of the bargain. I know you can be trusted. What do you need this time?" Elthas asked of the mysterious jester.

"Ladies and gents, he fuckin' gets it!" The jester clapped very loudly so things within a range of a few miles away would be able to hear him. "I had a feeling you'd be a fast learner. Look, kid, I'm not gonna lie. Your previous actions are getting you unwarranted attention." The jester continued. "Forces are moving against the both of us now. Gotta get you in a safer location. This place will likely consume you if you let it as you currently are!"

Elthas frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "So let me get this straight. Somebody is after you...or should I say us?" Elthas sighed.

"Bingo! You got a good noggin on your head kid." More of that damned riddle speak. "Look kid, I hate this. I really do, you're a good kid. But now I got put in a dilemma." The jester kept an uncharacteristic distance from Elthas as he spoke. "The favour I asked you to do...pissed off trouble." The jestier kept talking. "Seems that Yosef Terrentius had a connection we were not aware of." The jester continued to bring the burden of bad news. "Understand, kid, this was not any of our faults. But if it's a consolation...I really do like ya."

"That doesn't make me feel any better. What precisely is the...holy shit!" Elthas began and stopped talking as several presences simply appeared within the clearing that were not there before. Elthas took a step back and he looked at the jester who was shaking his head. "You...!?" Elthas asked and yelled at the same time.

There was a small group of robed figures floating above the broken earth.

"I'm sorry kid. I wish I could have avoided all of this. They got to me first." The jester said with an almost palpable accent of sadness.

Elthas took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes and saw the image of the one person who mattered to him...Hylda Terrentius.

Run, Elthas...run. He heard her say.

"Elthas Belthasar you have been found guilty." The closest of the robed figures began.

But Elthas was already on the move.

He ran, he ran and never looked back....

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Four days ago, the morning’s landing at port had promised ideal Fallien conditions: calm winds, moderate temperatures rising throughout the day and a spread of clear blue sky that ran off to the eastern rim of the towering wind-carved dunes, the direction that Shinsou would have to take to reach Squall’s Calm. The journey across the tranquil sea had finally settled him somewhat, allowing him time to absorb his surroundings, and Shinsou would never forget that beautiful sky as he peered through the small log window of his cabin on the transport ship Stormbreaker.

It was the sort of scene that he would have frequently wished for and rarely got on his homeworld. Unknown to him, it would also be the only particularly pleasant part of his journey.

It was just before midday in Fallien’s northern desert. This was the time when the sun was most harsh and Shinsou Vaan Osiris, who had wrapped his face and body up to prevent being scorched by the oppressive conditions, was feeling it. The relentless heat bore down upon his thick, swept back brown hair. Sweat dripped down his face in small, salty trickles and despite fulfilling its bodily purpose it did little to relieve the heat. Every breath he took in the horrendous humidity felt hot and heavy, as if he were inhaling lava and re-gurgitating it through his burning nostrils.

Of the five days of his journey towards the fringes of Fallien, where the isolated town of Squall’s Calm was located, Shinsou had found today, the last day, to be the worst. Those famous summer desert conditions had almost stripped him of his emotions, with only his adrenaline keeping him walking in the same direction.

Exhausted, Shinsou stopped for a moment and raised the veil from his face, peering over the landscape ahead intently. The Telgradian winced as jolts of sunlight bounced off of the golden desert that stretched out for miles around, an endless ocean of beige, yellow and white that rippled in towering waves across the horizon. He told himself he had to ignore the intense heat and focus on his destination, as there was no point wasting energy worrying about it.

He moved slowly but smoothly along the wind carved banks of the dunes, proceeding with careful steps. Shinsou was used to travel in desert conditions thanks to the time he spent in the company of the Jal Shey back on Telgradia, and his legs and chassis were strong enough to cope with the searing heat rising from the sands and the scorching sunlight bearing down on him from above. Even if he felt ravaged at that moment, Shinsou knew the dunes wouldn’t claim him before he reached Squall’s Calm.

But, as he looked out once more at the blanched landscape, it didn't seem at all similar to the deserts of the previous days. It wasn't like the Fallien of the south where he had started, all sand and dust clouds, shimmering mirages and graceful twisters. It seemed to be an endless stretch of dunes marked with hundreds of tells - mounds of ruins that marked the sites of ancient settlements.

Shinsou could now just begin to see Squall’s Calm in the distance, past the mounds, a little grey smudge creeping over the horizon. Suddenly he felt a little of his vitality come back to him as his mind continued to drag his flagging body over the sand.

Hopefully, once he reached the town, he could find some respite from all of this.

-

Eventually, after what seemed like an age, Shinsou took his first step from sand to stone and felt relief at the having the solid surface of the road leading to Squall’s Calm firmly beneath his heels.

It was at that moment that the immediate worries of the perilous desert journey were put to the back of his mind. However, others shot right back to the front. For one, Fallien was known for being a xenophobic nation, and Shinsou would now have to focus on how he would be able to enter the town. Surely, being the way they were with foreigners, the Fallien guards wouldn’t just let him stroll in. He would have to, at the very least, give them an extremely good reason as to why he was there. After all, this was a township many, many miles to the north of what might be considered Fallien proper and the likelihood was that Shinsou’s arrival, being an outsider, would raise suspicion. At best, he would probably be treated with a mild neglect, like that of a stray dog or a drunken vagrant.

At worst? He didn’t really want to think about it.

As he paced towards the black, wrought iron gates of the town he fully expected the inevitable to happen and be pulled up by the guards, so he prepared his routine and went through the various excuses he could use for being there. Shinsou, however, saw to his astonishment that no guards were posted anywhere on or around the gate. A quick, puzzled look around him as he passed underneath the dark metal archway confirmed this.

Even though he should have waited for someone to attend to him, Shinsou managed to walk into Squall’s Calm without meeting anyone. Not a single person. This was a very bizarre occurrence indeed so deep inside Fallien territory. Almost immediately, Shinsou felt unbalanced by the atmosphere of the town that stretched it before him. He had envisioned, at the very least, Fallien children playing in the streets and a few adults going about their daily routine as they wondered, in the back of their minds, what a foreigner wanted with their little town. Instead, he was shocked to see that there was no-one. Not so much as a single human being to give him an uncaring glance, or a disapproving shake of the head.

Shinsou started to worry that the situation with the gateway was infinitely worse than he had imagined, and ran through the scenarios in his head. Had the Jal Shey already invaded through the portal? No, he didn’t think so. Extermination of most of the local populace of a town was the modus operandi of the Black Fist, the name for the Jal Shey death squads, but they always kept a number of the strongest citizens alive for slave labour. Survivors would be put to work in internment camps, and at the very least the town would have been occupied by Jal Shey warriors, of which there were usually many.

But, here, there was literally no-one.

Shinsou started to walk through the heart of the apparent ghost town, ambling alone down a single road that seemed to carve it into two districts of equal size. A few minutes passed before the bewildered Telgradian stopped at a large building to his right, just off the main road, with a crumbling front porch that ran along the front. He could imagine people sitting there weaving baskets or carpets in the sun, but of course there was no-one to be seen. Shinsou was momentarily re-assured when a couple of stray horses cantered into view from a side street and trampled over a large, broken sign that lay splintered across the stone, but no people followed and it was only a matter of seconds before the stallions trotted off again and Shinsou was left alone in an eerie silence.

It was then that he caught something in the corner of his eye, and his head snapped right to meet it. Upon the debris strewn steps of the house was the hunkered, spectral form of a young man, sobbing into his hands. There was no sound at all, not a single howl of sorrow from the apparition. Shinsou instinctively backed off. He wasn’t sure what harm, if any, this being would bring upon him but after a while he realised that this spirit didn’t seem aggressive.

“Can you tell me your name? What’s going on?” Shinsou asked, almost hopelessly. Quite why he was asking questions of a ghost he wasn’t sure, but he did so anyway, if anything just to comfort himself in this strange place.

The spirit seemed uninterested at first. Shinsou approached him tentatively, and as his shadow fell over the glistening mist that comprised his body, the ghost looked up without any attempt to hide his sobs. It was un-nerving, to say the least. The man’s slender fingers evaporated slightly as they passed through a stray ray of light from the Fallien sun overhead, before reforming at his sides, clenched in a ball. The ghost suddenly swiped at Shinsou. The Telgradian could have been quicker than him, but his fatigue took its toll and before he knew what was happening, Shinsou was on his back looking up at the sky. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his left side, and as he put his right hand over the area of the pain he could feel blood oozing from the wound.

As he lay prostrate in the middle of the pavement, Shinsou looked to his left, back to the steps, but the ghost was gone. The wound in his side didn’t seem severe, but suddenly for some reason he couldn’t feel anything, not his arms or legs, not the beating of his own heart, and not the warmth of the sun on his face. There was literally nothing he could do.

It was all too confusing for Shinsou to rationalise at that moment. All he could do was stare at the cloudless sky, blinded by the sun, unable to move. Then, without warning, a shrill, cold shriek erupted inside his ears, overwhelming and attacking his senses.

Helpless, paralysed and alone, Shinsou just about managed a grimace as everything faded slowly to black.

[Elthas_Belthasar]

He saw the gate before he even considered any other possibility.

His rage was driving him at that point, and he knew he needed to get the fuck out of there. He didn't look back, he could feel his pursuers behind him. He didn't want to consider the possibility of getting caught. So he ran through the broken lands of the antifirmanent leaving behind the jester; presumed ally, and the mysterious robed figures.

Elthas dove forward and saw the lone Phantaria gate up ahead. The gate had colour because it was a physical manifestation of an aspect of Phantaria. Elthas grabbed for the door and it reacted to his confused and panicked state. Giving off a brilliant light, the gate opened up and absorbed Elthas into it as before. Every time that Elthas utilized a Phantaria gate, he felt disorientation and confusion. He also felt pain and agony.

Elthas moved at best speed, which in that state was quite considerable. He simply wanted to escape his pursuers because he did not want to even consider what being jailed by a ghost or whatever they were...would be like. Elthas could feel a spectral breath on the back of his neck and he didn't like the sensation at all. The gate remained opened for a few more moments even as he was sucked through the portal. He had no idea where it would take him...he just wanted to be far away from where he currently was.

Escape.

That was all that mattered.

Reality shifted for a moment and Elthas could no longer see or sense anything. The moment of panic was quick, but he held on to what semblance of sanity he had left. Welcome to the joy-ride. Elthas barely remembered himself thinking that and was sucked through the aether of Phantaria's power. He moved across time and space,and was pulled through to another tetra-plane; a place he had no familiarity with. Stone buildings, cut in an unfamiliar architecture style, surrounded the elf. His eyes readjusted and his senses returned to normal. Up ahead, he saw another spectral resident, a ghost like he was, that attacked someone.

Immediately, Elthas felt a flash in his mind of ancient memories.

The memory was like a pool of liquid that surfaced forward from the sea of his soul. Elthas observed the memory and he saw the face of Seth Terrentius...back when Elthas was still a young lad. Back when his life was much simpler and he'd saved and old member of The Syndicate operation. Back when Seth Terrentius had recruited him to that very same organization...back when his life had meaning. Elthas immediately knew someone was in trouble...the old alliances meant he would act. Elthas saw the spectral figure attempt to move away from the scene of a crime. Elthas reacted faster and attacked the confused soul. He drew both of his enchanted daggers; they glowed in ethereal light. Elthas proceeded to intercept the lone spectral figure.

Confusion swelled through Elthas' heart, but his reaction time and instinct pushed him to impulsively act.

He knew someone was in trouble and that was enough.

The confused ghost observed Elthas for a long moment.

"Thought I was alone here." The ghost called out to Elthas. "Didn't know there were others like me here."

Elthas shook his head. He saw the bloodied weapon that the ghost held, and anger swelled up in Elthas' mind. Elthas was slowly becoming consumed by his anger. "I don't know what's going on." Elthas called out in the way that the phantoms speak, through their mental powers. Elthas spotted the fallen body of Shinsou up ahead, but in his confused state; could only picture Seth Terrentius. The night that Seth was attacked by nameless ruffians. Elthas looked at the bloodied weapon that the other ghost held. "But I can see your bloodied weapon; and a body up ahead." Elthas said his anger audible.

"You don't understand, I was defending myself..." The ghost said.

Elthas shook his head in the negative. "You have no idea what you've done!" Elthas yelled. "I will not allow you to get away with harming Seth Terrentius!" Elthas suddenly yelled, the image of his mentor and long time friend in his mind. Driving him to act beyond any and all sense of rational reason.

"Who is Seth...fuck...!" The ghost began but it was already too late.

Using his newly acquired spectral powers, Elthas was all over the other ghost. Driven by an nearly insane state triggered by the images of Seth Terrentius, Elthas acted. The ghost poorly attempted to defend himself against the superior warrior. He barely managed to raise his bloodied weapon, but Elthas intercepted, his face distorted by the emotions he currently felt. Elthas blocked with his own dagger, and sliced carefully, knocking the ghost's spectral blade out of his hands. The weapon danced away into some corner of the structure they were currently in.

The old wooden sign in front of the decaying building seemed to move in protest as a sad wind came in from the west.

In a few short moments, it was over. Elthas slew the ghost that threatened Seth Terrentius, and the body slowly fell to his knees, fading off into spectral matter. Elthas moved over towards Shinsou and knelt down before him. Elthas really regretted the fact that he knew nothing of the healing arts. However, he could keep the young lad on the ground safe, In Elthas' mind; he merely saw the face of Seth Terrentius. Granted, it was a much younger Seth than their initial encounter...simply as Elthas wanted to remember his friend and mentor. Elthas knelt down, and managed to pick up the body of Shinsou, moving him inside of the safety of the house. Elthas looked at Shinsou for a long moment, and then placed him gently on the ground inside of the house. He closed the door and waited for Shinsou to rise from him slumber. He looked around for basic supplies that the fellow would likely need. Strangely enough, many of the town's resources were intact. Elthas found some water for Shinsou, food would have to wait later. In the meantime, Elthas would protect the man who reminded him so much of Seth Terrentius. He would protect him with his very phantom existence until he could no longer do so. Until then; there were questions that needed answers and Elthas would wait to ask them.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

The night was as black as an inkwell. Heavy, cumbersome rain clouds that visited only once a year in north Fallien had rolled over the sands and hung there for longer than expected, even in the winter season. As a result, flash flooding affected the less than perfectly maintained roads in Squall’s Calm with sudden downpours and drowned out what crops could actually grow in barren conditions of the desert town. Indeed, the current weather was hampering everybody’s day to day lives, but the thick mist that had enveloped the town for three years was another thing entirely.

"This rain, it will be the death of us, ya?…" The shaymin Theos Thelwall muttered in a heavy, exadurated Fallien accent, shaking his black dreadlocks as he emerged from the doorway of the church. He grinned. His skin was dark and thickly tanned, but his smile illuminated everything in its wake.

The white haired man next to him, who had stopped under the awning at the front of the ramshackle building on the outskirts of Squall’s Calm, shook his head silently, a single pale hand rested on the hilt of the sheathed no-dachi sword, as always, in habit alone. His black and silver crossbelt flashed for a moment under his black greatcoat, rushed by the constant breeze that swept through the settlement in the dark and cold winter months.

Hugging a huge book to his chest, the young Theos staggered up to the tiny porch of the adjacent mortar, timber and clay building and pushed up against the wall, breathing heavily through the heavy mist that had been smothering Squall’s Calm’s streets for so long.

"We should hurry before the fiends come. It isn’t safe here." The white haired swordsman said with a sense of urgency, turning to the much smaller figure of Theos. The shaymin, peering up through the glassy sheets of rain, frowned.

“Ya, it’s dark, and I feel a swell of fiends will come from the Citadel. The Tetraplane is thick tonight. Right as always, ya.”

"When am I ever wrong?" The white haired man piped up, a sly grin adorning his face, but then the grin faded into a distant look.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed to Theos that his friend had been keeping his cards close to his chest recently. His shadowy movements back and forth to the Citadel gates, spending more and more time away from the town and out in the desert, hunting, was a very sudden behavioural change. Was there something he had missed?

"Ahh, only when ya try to predict the rains, Gideon." Theos tacked on to the swordsman’s statement. “Then again, you yourself are a hard man to read, ya?”

Even though he tried to make light of it, it seemed Theos had been out of touch with Gideon and his ways for a while, now. Although it probably wasn’t as bad as he thought, there was some truth in that.

Theos had long since gotten used to Gideon being there with him, since the day he had found the swordsman half dead at the gate of Squall’s Calm. After he had healed, Theos had heard the swordsman’s tales of the demise of his race, the Khaians, at the hands of the Jal Shey and the time he had spent with his brother Canen Darkflight before they were separated.

Witnessing the constant changes Gideon had gone through, feeling the suppressed hatred flowing through his veins for the Black Fist death squads and realising that some things just could never be the same again since Canen had been lost to him was enough to feel a little pushed out. Theos had also indirectly been a victim of the brutality of the Jal Shey, but had never seen fit to mention it. Even though he had been there for Gideon for many years now, he felt like he could never really be a replacement for Canen, and bringing up his own past wouldn’t serve to heal any wounds or create any new bonds.

He would, however, just try to be a friend to Gideon, which was all he could really do.

"It’s a bitter night tonight Theos" Gideon muttered, avoiding bringing clarity to the subject. “We should go inside. I fear we will catch our death out here, either from the cold or the fiends.”

“Wait a sec, ya? What’s that?”

Something had caught Theos’s attention through the dense fog. It looked like someone picking up a body, and, if his eyes didn't decieve him, taking it into a nearby house.

He had seen this before.

Theos had spent the last years studying the strange fog of Squall's Calm meticulously. The Tetraplane, as it was known, seemed to contain and manifest the spirits of the dead, as well as various other phantasms and revenants that could not exist in the world of the living. The fog itself was a physical extension of the dead world into that of the living world. Through the Tetraplane he had found it possible to commune with those who had died, and in doing so Theos had been given a vision. He had kept it quiet from Gideon up until now, but he couldn't keep it to himself any longer.

He knew its significance.

"Gideon, come with me, ya. I'll explain on the way."

-

The interior of the destitute Fallien home was eerily silent; the only sound being a feint breeze brushing past the cracks in the wood of the window panes. Now out of the cold mist, Shinsou lay motionless on the dusty wooden floor being attended to by the ethereal form of Elthas.

The house around them looked like it had been abandoned for so long. Its once-quaint rooms with their small vaults and low wooden arches now seemed somehow filled with an empty sorrow. Fallien's homes, to an outsider, were never the safest and most welcoming of abodes, such was the Xenophobic nature of their people, but there was a feeling that the fond memories of what would have been a once happy household had been torn apart by something. Never again would the hearty laughter of a rural family fill the living area with cheer and mirth, or the narrative tale-telling from a father capture the imaginations of the children at his feet.

It was a sad reflection of this strange town. And, as they would soon find out, a horribly realistic one.

As he stirred from unconsciousness, the Telgradian realised he had no idea where he was. Looking up at a nearby window, the bright desert sun he had suffered earlier had been replaced with murky, rolling grey fog.

Wherever he was, it wasn't Fallien. Or, at least that's what he thought.

Elthas, with a cup of water in his hand, hurried up to him and knelt. As he took the cup, Shinsou paused, looking up at the man with a quizzical looked etched on his face.

"Who are you, and where are we?" Shinsou enquired suspiciously. Before he even took a drop of water from the cup, he needed to be convinced this wasn't some sort of trap or faux pas.

[Elthas_Belthasar]

Elthas saw that his companion stirred, his own memories were still a haze of confusion.

Elthas sat down against the floor of the old building and listened as the man asked a question. He saw flashes in his mind of the time he rescued Seth Terrentius from ruffians. Perhaps it was just his mind messing with him; but he could not help but notice the similarity in circumstance between his present situation and the past one. Once again, an issue of honour had called Elthas into action to prevent another needless tragedy in an already broken world. Time had passed since Elthas was once again upon the mortal coil. In that time, Elthas had acted and already inflicted great change on his environs. His eyes narrowed as he sat down after handing the youthful fellow his drink. It was at that point that Elthas realized he didn't even feel tired at all.

He wondered if that was a side effect of his phantom state.

I will never know...I can only go by the teachings of Seth Terrentius. Elthas thought simply to himself. His eyes had a distant appearance to them, and he adjusted his trademarked fedora hat. It was always worn tilted at a slight angle and cast a shadow before his face. Elthas had long, platinum coloured hair reflected, perhaps an aged individual. However, his facial features were youthful and quite handsome. He appeared in his late thirties despite his current phantom state. Elthas, as a phantom, was in a constant state of movement and flux. Partially, he was see-through to an extent. However, he could still affect many objects in the physical world by sheer force of will alone. Elthas sat down on the ground and looked at the lad before him. The question lingered in the air for a moment or three.

Then Elthas spoke, he spoke with the way that the people from beyond life spoke. It was a deep and echoing sort of voice, but strangely enough, there was no malice in it. Only a distinct sadness and a regret of past mistakes.

Elthas' deep blue eyes told all.

There was a fierce intellect that lurked there, but also a sadness.

Elthas had a hunger for knowledge, that was true especially when he was alive and would be true regardless of his state of death.

As Elthas spoke, the air seemed to vibrate and get considerably colder. "Be not afraid, young one." Elthas began. "In life, I was called Elthas. I wish for you to refer to me as such." Elthas frowned fro a moment as he heard himself talk. Fuck that damned jester has me sounding like a businessman too... Elthas continued to talk. "You were assaulted by this." He held up the dagger the other phantom used to cut Shinsou. It was a blackened blade that radiated a distinct energy. And had mysterious symbols upon it's surface. "I dispatched the fellow who did this to you and brought you here, to safety." Elthas said calmly. "You should rest and recover your strength, as I know not the properties of this weapon or how it affects your kind." Elthas continued. "In the time you were sleeping I treated the wound to the best of my knowledge." Elthas would admit he was no healer, but he had some knowledge of field dressing, basic survival tactics. I hope it will be enough. He thought to himself as he looked at the fellow before him. "In that goblet is some water I found nearby. It should help you get your strength back. I can help you hunt some decent food a bit later on. For now though we should talk..." Elthas said quietly.

He waited for the man's response.

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

On reflection, it was fair to say that events hadn’t been particularly kind towards Shinsou lately. The two colliding pasts of Atlas Revaan and Shinsou Vaan Osiris that had fought for domination in his head over past few months had done nothing but cause problems for him. The events surrounding his “rebirth” had led to him committing himself to what would ultimately be a long and painful journey to destroy the evil Jal Shey lord Temperance, and in the process he would undoubtedly put himself in harm’s way innumerable times.

During the previous day’s travel through Fallien, Shinsou had kept his mind firmly on the reason for this one-man crusade. Temperance had to be stopped before he and his army came to Althanas and burned everything on its surface indiscriminately. But now, with this fog-smothered place replacing what was the abandoned township of Squall’s Calm but an hour ago, he wondered if he was even capable of such a task.

After all, if he couldn’t even find a Jal Shey portal in a ramshackle town in Fallien, how was he ever going to defeat Temperance?

Shinsou decided he was going to stop trying to make sense of how he got to wherever he was, because solving that problem was, at that moment, impossible. Now, he would focus on the present, which consisted of a mounting pile of issues including the most important of which being he was either now dead, or in another dimension.

The Telgradian absorbed the words of his apparent rescuer. The eerie house had turned spitefully cold as Elthas spoke, seemingly draining what energy and heat remained in this strange place and leaving nothing but an icy chill in the atmosphere, the hallmark of the manifestation of a ghost. Indeed the very words of the spirit in front of him did little to dissuade Shinsou from thinking that he was currently occupying the underworld, or a version thereof in another dimension.

“Firstly, thank you for your assistance, but why did you rescue me?” Shinsou queried as he quenched his thirst with the glass of water, which might as well have been sweet nectar to him. “…secondly, where are we? I meant to find the Citadel in Squall’s Calm, but now it appears we are no longer in the town, and possibly even Fallien.”

“And thirdly,” Shinsou peered at the phantom dagger that had caused him to pass out in the street, indicated to him by his ghostly carer. “…do you know why was I attacked?”

[Elthas_Belthasar]

Elthas knew from the teachings of Seth Terrentius that his kind oft affected the living in adverse ways.

He had no way of knowing that the room was colder, he always felt alone.

The sense of isolation and purgatory affected the reality around the specter in the form of a persistent cold temperature.

He carefully listened to the words that the boy spoke.

He's rightly nervous. The one that attacked him likely isn't alone and there may be others lurking in hiding all around us. Elthas waited for the boy to finish speaking. There were questions asked, and Elthas only had knowledge of his current circumstance of death. His eyes narrowed as he studied Shinsou. Carefully studying every expression, learning everything that he could from their so far limited transaction. His desire for knowledge and perhaps a hunger for power had remained virtually intact even in his wraith-like state. When the last question was asked, Elthas allowed his own mind to come up with some sort of a suitable answer.

"Why did I rescue you...?" Elthas repeated the man's question for a moment. He already knew the answer, but it would have been difficult to explain just then. So Elthas came up with a shortened version of the answer. "You reminded me of someone I rescued one time...perhaps a little more than that. But that's the main reason. Couldn't just abandon you to let these wretched destroy you in such a way. Plus. I had nothing better to do just then." Elthas said truthfully, he saw a man in trouble and that was that. It was his impulse to help those in need despite his own ever-growing shadow. Elthas fancied himself a good man deep down. As he considered a suitable response for the other sets of question, he considered his own situation very carefully.

He doubted the two of them would get another chance to really get a good handle on whatever it was that was going on around them.

"I don't know the specifics of why you were attacked. Only that my kind...that is...the dead, are oft confused and in a volatile state. Sometimes incidents occur us that would affect us but not the living. You follow so far? It could have been a completely random event and I just happened to have arrived at the same time as you were attacked. Such is the way of things. Someone once told me this reality, at least on my end, is give and take. Maybe he wanted something from you, or saw you as a hostile or something. Different members of my kind will react in often terrifying ways...be mindful of that." Elthas explained very carefully.

When dealing with the dead; there were rules in play.

Rules that oft affected the living even if they were unawares of the rules.

Elthas knew that the dead were oft a spiteful lot, and many harbored ill will towards the living.

Even their former family and loved ones in life would be in tremendous amount of danger in the correct circumstance.

Through it all though, Elthas considered the boy an ally and would protect and guide him from the dangers that were likely waiting to ambush them.

Elthas looked down at the mysterious dagger that the wraith used against the boy. "I'm not entirely certain what is going on here, but I can say I was running from something terrible. I don't know if I escaped them in time, but we'll see as this mystery unfolds itself." He wondered if the mysterious robed figures would continue to come after him. I don't like the idea of placing the boy in anymore danger than likely already exists. He thought to himself. "The blade is marked with mysterious symbols I've never seen before. That might be a clue." He suggested to the boy and considered that it could be a start to getting the jump on a very dangerous enemy that surrounded them.

It was everywhere, and no where at the same time.

Those walls had eyes and ears...

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Shinsou listened intently to what Elthas had to say. He didn’t turn his face towards him, but rather kept his gold eyes firmly locked on to the strange artefact that his assailant had earlier tried to kill him with. Something about the dagger, with its runes, drew his gaze towards it, as if it were calling to the very depths of his scrambled subconscious. The markings seemed strange, but familiar. Eventually, the Telgradian broke from his almost dreamlike state and turned his attention back to Elthas, who was waiting patiently to see what he would say.

“I am grateful for your rescue attempt,” Shinsou started “and it’s obvious from what you’ve said that I am not ‘of your kind’, and therefore not dead. However, this does not explain where we are, or how we got here. You, yourself, seem to have been chased into this strange world.”

Shinsou paused for a moment, straining his expression as he thought.

“Do you taste that?” He began, rubbing his dried lips together and licking them with his tongue. “That strange metallic taste? What is that? Is that from the moisture in the air, from the fog outside? It’s charged with some sort of energy, I’m sure of it.”

Then, for a moment, something began to happen to the room. It started off as a gentle swaying, like the listing of a ship at sea on a choppy sea, before the colours of the oaken floor, of Elthas himself and the greys and whites of the world outside through the window all melted and coagulated into a murky whirlpool.

Suddenly, at the centre of the maelstrom, everything was sucked into a dark void, and Shinsou was left, alone, in silence.

He was in a place where night had swallowed the world in its entirety.

Suddenly, there was a bright, white light, like the beginning of a super-nova. Billions of fragments of silver and white burst and scattered across the darkness, and from the epicentre of the brilliant flash the remnants of a distant memory began to form.

Gaus, Telgradia.

Four years ago.

Unlike the bustling streets of the Telgradian capital, Garah, Gaus was a desolate and devoid place.

It had been pounded until it was nothing more than a ruined town on the fringes of oblivion, with not a single building remaining intact from the relentless assaults by the Jal Shey. The streets, still ablaze and billowing thick, sooty clouds of ash into the already misty morning air, were empty but for a smattering of mixed debris scattered in all directions. A church, its spire crumpled like parchment in a naked flame, had collapsed inwards as if it had given up the will to live.

Everything seemed sullen, smothered by a feeling of despair and hopelessness.

The blazing red flags of the Telgradian Army had once filled their followers with an almost palpable feeling of pride, of hope. Now, their banners torn and bloodstained, their rank and file soldiers battered and wounded, staggering along like injured cattle in double file, the very flag itself became a burden on its bearers. They silently, and secretly, wished they could leave it at the nearest pile of smouldering ash to prevent themselves being spotted by their foe, having to once again endure another volley of their terrible magic.

The Jal Shey had flooded the end of the city limits, forming a stiff and rigid perimeter. Squads of their soldiers flowed around burning trees and farms, coming ever forward towards the stream encircling Gaus’s ruins and the Telgradian’s battered and demoralised soldiers. They darkened the plain, filling it with a tide of black uniforms flecked with steel.

The Telgradian commander, a young, energetic man going by the name of Atlas Revaan, scrambled up the broken city wall with his bloodied hands and stood beside two officers of his division as they looked over the plains. The first of thousands of fires sparkled in the Jal Shey lines. Atlas shook his head, shading his eyes.

"I wonder how many more armies like that we'll have to meet before it's done..."

The two officers said nothing. They had been with Atlas the year before when he, working alongside a ragtag band of skirmishers requisitioned from a local militia, defeated the Jal Shey seperatists at Yasri and Ainitria. Yet, this army was ten times bigger than the force at Yasri. It was three times larger than the Jal Shey army at Ainitria, and twice the size of the force they had thrown out of northern Telgradia in the spring.

As they gazed into the fringes of the enemy front line the volume and density of the campfires increased by the second, as if a firefly's nest had been rudely disturbed.

It was frightening to behold.

"Those fires belong to the Black Fist squadrons." Atlas pointed out to his silent officers. "There are about five men for every light in that line." He paused, thinking for a moment before coming to his grim conclusion. ”The size of their force is simply staggering. Help is simply not going to come from the south in time, and we have to do something to prevent them from adding more to their numbers."

Atlas’s boots crunched on the broken plaster of the wall as his officers stood in silence, lost for words and for ideas. The quiet murmuring of his regiment below was the only sound creeping out from Gaus’s broken shell. They prayed for anything. A miracle would have done nicely, but here in this damned place, a miracle was going to be exactly that.

It was then Atlas remembered what was in his pouch, and he reached in for it. It was a Jal Shey ceremonial dagger, a “Keywan”, about seven inches in length and carved from scorched ivory. There was no leather or hide about the handle, just a smooth, polished blade that had been sharpened and inscribed with green runes at one end and a crude grip on the other.

“Do you know what this is?” He asked of his officers, who each responded in the negative. “This is a Keywan dagger. They aren’t weapons. They’re keys…specifically to the Jal Shey portals. They are only held by high ranking officers responsible for logistics and movement of troops…”

Atlas remembered that the poor bastard who he had taken the key from had fought hard for it, fracturing his wrist in the process. He had made a blurry nightmare sprint through the pencil branches of the fir trees and across the plains outside Gaus, where he had been skirmishing alone, towards the location he had been given by his one of his officers. The smooth and polished blade of his sword ‘Enpera’ gleamed in the beautiful silver glow of the moon overhead.

His mind had raced. He tried to calculate the possibilities of how one of the Jal Shey’s officers could have strayed so far into outlandish territories from their portals. It could not have been an easy feat, and certainly was no accident, of that he was sure. But whatever the reason or however the method, it was irrelevant for now. Atlas needed to find him.

He remembered the tree line beginning to recede quickly, and before long the firs reclined and broke into a smooth, leaf blanketed clearing filled with what appeared to be a limestone pedestal jutting from the middle. The Telgradian had slowed to a light jog and dug his heels into the floor, finding shelter behind a cluster of thick trunks. The branches were just high enough so he could see clearly into the centre of the clearing.

Atlas whispered to himself in prayer, kissing the hilt of Enpera for faith. As the cold steel pressed against his lips, his golden eyes caught a flash of a dark shape lumbering through the clearing, a dark blot pressed against the blinding white of the terrain.

The steel of Enpera had scarcely rolled off the curves of Atlas's lips before he leapt forward, swinging under his right arm and looping it into a one handed grip. His legs hammered the floor, kicking up clusters of leaves and followed his body through to the attack as he rushed the Jal Shey officer from the left side, his eyes wincing as the cold air stung his face.

The officer reacted straight away, and despite his heavy armour turned and swung for the black clad Telgradian with the butt of his scythe. The edge of the handle cracked against Atlas’s left wrist, extracting a painful groan from the man as he crashed to the floor in agony. It was then his sword loosened from his grip. The resulting pain was like a thunderbolt tearing through his flesh, searing his hand and scolding the bones.

Atlas gasped for air as his throbbing hand reached out for the hilt of Enpera in desperation, only for it to be kicked away from him by the snarling, armour clad Jal Shey. As the officer came in close for the kill, the Telgradian had pulled a knife with his right hand, rotated it horizontally and slotted it neatly between a gap in the armour overlay, ending the Jal Shey office once and for all.

It was a difficult fight, but it had been worth it.

”We have to destroy that portal, behind the main line.” Atlas pointed a finger towards the tree-line over the wall, and then moved it east of that position to a glowing orb in a clearing. “I’m going to go alone…”

Present day

Then, without warning, the memory shattered into a million tiny fragments of sparkling dust, and the room, with Elthas and the fog, sucked itself back into existence.

Shinsou, at first, looked disorientated. Then, as he regained his composure, he stabbed a finger towards the dagger, whose runes started to glow a luminescent green hue.

“I know these markings!” Shinsou exclaimed. “These are the runes of a Keywan, a Jal Shey portal key. I don’t have time to explain, though. You see the way those markings have started to glow?” He ran his finger along the black ivory of the blade as if to emphasise the point.

Elthas looked momentarily confused, as Shinsou delayed his answer, but then started to understand as a frown slowly crept across the Telgradian’s face.

“…The Jal Shey are near, and judging by the intensity of the glow, there are many of them. We must get out of here, right now. I’ll explain more later.”

[Elthas_Belthasar]

The air around Elthas was always cold.

The phantom stood up casually, and it appeared as though he simply rose to his current position. Elthas studied his companion for a long moment as the command was issued. In his mind, he mostly saw the face of Seth Terrentius, but he knew that Shin was not Seth. The dead longed for and envied the living. Once he stood up, he carefully considered the situation at hand. If it is some sort of a beacon, it will lead them right to us! Elthas waited followed his friend's lead.

Adjusting his fedora hat very carefully, the phantom considered what could possibly be going on.

Shin mentioned the Jal Shey. That was something that deeply interested Elthas. He had no idea who or what they were, only that they were likely powerful enemies. Elthas had many questions for Shin, but he would keep them for now. He didn't want to worry Shin anymore than he already was. If they can locate our position with that thing...

Elthas spoke. "I suggest we get rid of that thing then. Key Portal or not, the device is dangerous." Elthas said carefully. "But you are correct that we should get the fuck out of here." His senses then caught it.

Elthas had always prided himself on the senses of his people.

He heard something outside with his sharp ears that most would have missed. A ripple, a sense of energy and then a sense of being. Something is out there... Elthas frowned. "We probably should find another way out...that front door is likely a suicide mission. I suggest we head out the back or another exit..." Elthas also noticed that the symbols on the dagger's blade were glowing mysteriously. The light made Elthas feel distant and very afraid for a brief moment.

His sudden strong emotions triggered an effect in the air.

"They are in there!" Someone from outside yelled.

Elthas cursed several times as they had probably just run out of time. He looked at his friend and nodded to him. "Can you fight?" Elthas asked. "We might have to in a moment or two if it's who I think it is." Elthas stole a glance out of where a window once sat. Just as he'd suspected, there were two robed figures outside emanating a powerful energy. They were speaking to several individuals that Elthas had never seen before. Don't like these odds... Elthas knew he would have to stop running sooner or later anyway. The robed figures would chase him to the end of days anyway.

Elthas looked at his friend. "Don't be scared I am by your side and I will never leave you."

On the battlefield, friendships and bonds were often forged through the trials that were faced therein.

Elthas had a feeling his relationship with Shin was becoming much stronger, and would likely define his new purpose in life.

He adjusted his standing position until the tension was mostly gone in his "body".

The phantom then decided he would confront his pursuers. "Shouldn't keep them waiting much longer." Elthas said in a half-growl.

He moved towards the door and prepared to open it.

"We have the place surrounded!" One of the figures yelled. "Do not resist and surrender yourself to our custody!"

Elthas knew that there was no way that the robed figures coming for him would know of Shin. He looked at his friend one more time, memorizing the boy's face. He then smiled calmly. It was a sincere expression. "Shin. Remember me...to the last." Elthas knew he was likely going to be defeated by the robed figures, so he prepared to start the suicide run and buy his friend time. He tipped his hat towards Shin and stepped outside, the door moved open after Elthas opened it.

***

Stepping outside, the harsh afternoon sun created a glare that affected his sensitive eyes.

There was a breeze that carried dirt with it from West. Elthas' eyes were narrowed into a serious expression as he looked at the three robed figures. Only three...I saw more the last time. And there were other figures dressed in a fashion that was likely native to the local region. Elthas could tell the newer figures were alive. They radiated warmth. He stepped towards the group of warriors, almost floating across the sand. Elthas wasn't even afraid. If this is my fate so be it. Elthas Belthasar looked at the robed figures without fear, and with a serious expression.

"All this for just me...I'm flattered." Elthas found himself saying.

The folks standing near to the robed figures had their weapons at the ready but did not approach Elthas.

One of the robed figures stepped forward and looked at Elthas.

The hoods they wore completely covered their faces.

"Elthas. Do you know why we are after you?" The robed figure suddenly asked.

"Not entirely certain, but I can guess at the why of it." Elthas was almost certain that Yosef Terrentius had something to do with the robed figures that were chasing him.

"You're not terribly far off from the truth." The robed figure said. "Peering into your mind, we can see the doubt etched in on, the taint of purpose and insanity." The robed figure continued. "You are only seeing the half truth. But the one on your mind did have something to do with this situation you are now in." The fellow explained. Nobody else spoke, they merely observed Elthas. There were a dozen or so armed warriors on top of the three robed figures. "When he was slain, it sent a ripple across The Tree of Fate." The robed figure said. "You hold the hand that slew Yosef Terrentius. You also hold the weapon in your possession. But that is only part of the reason you were chased."

"Go on." Elthas had to know the truth of it all.

"The clown said you took something else did you not?" The robed figure asked.

Elthas frowned. "I only took the item that was requested...my target was Yosef." Elthas responded.

"Choose your answers very carefully, son of Belthasar." The robed figure continued. "Our kind have sometimes subtle effects on the living world. Now I ask you again. Did you take something else from the battle with Yosef Terrentius?"

Flashes in Elthas' mind. He suddenly found himself thinking back to his battle with Yosef. There were quick images of the last few moments of the battle. Suddenly, his mind's eye cleared. He saw the phantom of Yosef Terrentius in his head.

"You." Elthas said in his mind. "How are you here?"

Yosef walked towards Elthas. "Not quite sure how it happened either. But when you killed me...I somehow became a part of you. You took my soul into yourself and I was not able to face judgment. That's probably why they are after you now. Do you know even who they are?"

"Doesn't really matter to me. But I hope you don't plan on staying in my mind too long." Elthas frowned, he didn't like the idea of having an enemy in his head.

Yosef continued. "They are Archon Judges." Yosef explained. "They oversee those of us before we go to the final places of judgment, sometimes they act as carriers of the dead. Other times...they act as a policing force." Yosef said. "You must have done a lot of shit to piss them off like this."

"How do you know all this?" Elthas asked.

Yosef tapped the side of his head. "Know your enemy, Elthas." He continued to speak. "Even in this sorry state we're both in...you will always be my enemy. And when I have the power to...I will destroy you in this existence as well."

Reality returned to normal.

Elthas looked at the robed figures. "You are after what I supposedly stole?" Elthas asked. "I know who you all are now. Archons." Elthas explained.

There was a momentary pause. "Seth Terrentius has taught you well." The Archon said. "The item in your possession belongs to us."

"First. You will tell me what is this item that you think I have!?" Elthas asked.

"We are after the soul of Yosef Terrentius. Myself and my associates believe that you have somehow absorbed it into yourself...you took something that was not yours to take." The Archon moved a bit closer.

At that point, Elthas drew one of his daggers. It reflected the sunlight despite it's current spectral state. The Archon swiftly moved towards Elthas and now stood directly in front of him. "Now I wonder. Will you give up that item or not?" The Archon asked.

Elthas looked up towards the Archon and in his elevated state, could detect something flowing from the Archon.

Fear...they are afraid of me... Elthas thought to himself. "You have no power over me." Elthas said suddenly. "And I can taste the fear you feel right now. The item you seek belongs to me." Elthas said. "I shall never give it up! To you or anyone!" Elthas yelled.