She felt… so cold.
It was an empty feeling. Like her chest was caving in and all of the air, muscle, bone and matter inside of her body was being crushed underneath what felt like gravity. Like a black invisible hand crushing her heart to try to stop it from beating. That’s what it felt like. Her ears were ringing, and her vision became immensely blurry as she lost all sense of awareness of what was going on around her. Everything except for Jada’s face.
She was breathing incredibly fast. In, out. In, out. “Hu-hh-h-h-hu-h-h-rr—r-e-e-“ She tried to speak, but words left her. She hiccuped, and vomited out a sloppy puddle of thick, warm internal blood from her throat, the moist liquid dripping from her lips. She was trying to think, but she couldn’t. What was she hearing? The sound of more gunfire... a woman shouting... and Jada was talking to her. “Ja….da..†She croaked out, her eyes scrunching up as a well of tears poured from her eyes and salted her cheeks, turning them red with irritation. Her voice sounded like a plea. A beg. Her breathing sped up even further. She was in shock.
“NO!†Ryanti shouted out, adding two of his hands to Jada’s one, and pushing it down hard, trying as hard as he could to keep more blood from leaking. It already looked bad. Her skin was pale as ever. She was trying as hard as she could to just keep looking at Jada’s eyes. To not close them. “You said to live, remember! You said it was as easy as that! To not let people believe that you are just going to leave this world in an instant! You told me that!â€
Ryanti yelled out in protest as he felt a violent arm try to tug him away. He didn’t care at that point if that was a Garlean. He was willing to gamble. So what if it was a Garlean? He was so tired of playing this game; he wanted it to end now that the tables had turned. But such was the game of war. Ryanti hated the rules. But then the shoulder tugged at him a second time, and Ryanti finally turned around, his broken expression further saddening at the sight he saw.
Fruhsuun was screaming at him. Trying to speak to him. When Ryanti saw that his tongue had been cut out of his mouth, he finally understood why the man couldn't. That understanding snapped him out of his panic, and he rapidly looked back towards Jada, and then back towards Fruhsuun. "Fruhsuun... I understand."
Leura felt herself being pulled. For a moment, she thought it was her body ascending to the lifestream. It was an almost welcoming possibility, for she was in unimaginable pain and the idea of forever being lifted up into the lifestream and flowing into her dreams to become part of Hydealyn again was… a lovely one. But… it was at too much of a cost for the young woman. It wasn’t her style. Death was something she feared horribly. Especially a young death. “I-I – I – I dun-udu-duunt—“ She swallowed a mouthful of blood as she tried to force her words and will to be heard by Jada. “Wan-a-an nen-nen- anna die, I du-u-d-nt wanna die!!†She was full on crying by that point, her tears like twin waterfall that joined her blood trails on the way down.
“She needs help!†Ryanti screamed at Fruhsuun, pointing at her desperately before being shoved aside and towards the familiar vessel he had spent eight days traveling on. “SHE NEEDS HELP! MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY!†Ryanti shouted out as he stumbled back from the frontline, crying out in panic as he heard the sound of Fruhsuun collapsing. “We need help! She’s dying! He’s hurt!†Ryanti called out, trying as hard as he damn well could to let anyone that didn’t know already grasp the entire situation. He kept gesturing rapidly towards the stairs as he found his way aboard the Roehmerl again. “INFIRMERY INFIRMERY!â€
It was the Sharlayan’s duty to value their mission over their lives and the lives of whoever they worked with. Nothing mattered but the objective. But these people, people like Ryanti, were sentient beings. With feelings. People who broke that code.
Leura tried as hard as she could to walk, but her strength was rapidly fading, and she became nothing better than dead weight. Her feet pathetically kept trying to balance themselves only to bend forward and stumble over and over again. She kept repeating her statement from earlier in a horse and almost insane manner. Her heart rate was beating ever quicker because of her shock, and she looked as pale at the moonlight. “I d-ud-udn wannadieIdunwannadie I du—d†She continued to ramble and cry mercilessly, coughing and vomiting up blood and mucus upon the floor of the ship.
She needed a serious intervention right now. It was unsure still whether or not the bullet had severed one of her arteries, or other less important veins. She was still bleeding. Not spurting blood, but bleeding badly. She needed something surgical. She needed to be clamped. Or else she was going to die.
Ryanti saw Bereseam and Pamido, along with Jada, drag Leura and Fruhsuun’s bodies below deck. He looked like an absolute mess. The blood from his nose had dried up against his now chapped lips, bloodied as well from a very nervous bite he had given to it during a stressful moment on the battlefield. The shot he took in his stomach has formed a nastly blue bruise on his skin that made every movement of his torso painful. He turned his gaze weakly towards the battlefield, watching Terminus approach.
What was he going to do now?
He turned his head a little more… and saw the Captain. He witnessed the sight of her actions, kneeled down. Straddled over what remained of the woman named Cynthia. He saw what had become of her. Another jolt hit his stomach. A jolt that attempt to send his morning’s breakfast right back up out of his mouth. He placed a hand over his lips and tried to swallow his dry mouth.
But the look in his eyes didn’t die down like they probably would if he had seen something horrific. it instead felt strangely… rectifying. It was rectifying to see who had won that fight. It was rectifying to see Sounsyy do something like that after he had worried so much about her being in Cynthia’s place. There was a warped fascination in his eyes. His gut that had jolted him a moment ago now felt like it was burning. But it was a different burn than one which caused pain. It was a good burn. He let that heat escape with a breath through a slightly gaping smirk.
But then the sea stopped.
-----
Jonathan scooted a few ilms away from Terminus, clenching his teeth in anger. His left leg was useless now, and his femur was broken. His left leg hung limp in such an odd unnatural shape that he could immediately tell it was messed up. Though he could feel no pain. He grabbed one side of his wound that was bleeding the most: a fair amount but nothing too serious. Yet he couldn’t walk, and he was stranded where he was. Yet he didn’t fear what was going to happen. He had heard the rumble, felt the pressure. When Terminus knew something was off, and glanced the way of Jonathan, the leader of the squad flipped him the twin birds and buried his head to the floor.
Terminus narrowed his eyes, and took a glance to the right of him. Something was wrong, but what occurred happened so fast that there was no way even a man like him could react to it. The Sagahin had signaled him out, and he was the first victim.
An elbst, one of the largest in the dozen that came over the ship like a rocket out of the water, slammed its jaws shut upon the face of the Garlean commander, shrieking in pain as blood and electricity shattered its teeth while at the same time, crushing the life support of the breathalyzer as well as giving him nasty wounds to his scalp. The half-man, half-machine shouted in a muffled pain, firing a round through the beast that split its stomach open and left it dead on the deck, the man stumbling and suffocating as he could no longer breath, dropping his gunblade and bringing his hands up to his throat as he choked.
Another elbst leapt from the ocean’s depths and scored their teeth right into his abdomen, knocking both itself and Terminus overboard to the sound of him screaming in pain. They splashed into the water, and moments later an underwater bang was heard as his Cereleum deposited exploded. He was gone. Just like that.
Both leaders were gone, the ranks were scattered, and the entry of a third faction begged for chaos. From then on, the remaining Garleans fought for the sake of their own lives. As the cries and howls of the beastmen decimated what Garlean forced remained, it was noticeable to see that the Garleans were their top priority. Ryanti stumbled to the railing of the Roehmerl, his legs giving out at the last moment. He saved himself from falling by grabbing onto the rail, powering his head over it to witness the carnage as everyone on the crew ducked and covered before the onslaught.
He solemnly lowered his head as the audio as the massacring, the death, and the suffering filled his ears. He pressed his back against the support of the railing and sat there with eyes closed, breathing heavily, covered in perspiration. He saw Sounsyy, down next to Cynthia’s fractured remains. So this was it, was it? This was how they were going to die. Not by Garleans, but by beast men. Ryanti found it ironic… he was the one that supported Ul’Dah exiling the beast men when he was younger. When he thought of them as lesser races compared to civilized man.
He was very tired. Tired of the fighting. He knew that eventually the beast men would turn on them, and he was running out of ideas. Soon people would be dropping left and right: P’welro, Susuroon, Marjanie… all of them. Think Ryanti… think.
Wait a minute. They were targeting the Garleans, and came from the ocean. They did not make a move until now… when all of the commotion began. The Sagahin were known to viciously protect certain parts of the oceans around here… that means they weren’t attacking. They were defending.
That was it! That had to be it!
With all of his remaining strength, Ryanti got himself back up and broke into a sloppy jog, covering his head just in case he was attacked by one of the Sagahin. He was the only one up from the crew, trying to make his way below deck. Sounsyy heard the sound of his boots sprint past her as he made his way down.
He could hear the sounds of his breathing as he made his way down the halls. He could make out the shouting voices from the infirmary… the sounds of panic from the soldiers outside. Suddenly, the dark and abandoned section of the ship he was making his way to suddenly went quiet. As if the sounds from outside were being blocked. All Ryanti could hear was a very tiny, very distinct whistling sound that was consistent without end and changed tone every so often as if shining light was being transcribed into sound. Ryanti didn’t have to think. He already knew.
He opened the wooden plank and heard no noise. The artifact was there. In its perfect T-shaped form. The key to a civilization very long gone. He promised himself that he wouldn’t have to use it. He remembered that promise to himself as his hands grabbed a hold of the object.
He immediately felt the familiar warmth of the foreign residual aether scream through his bloodstream. His facial features became soft, and he lifted his head upwards a bit with a sigh, feeling something connect. Feeling the bands tie together in his mind. His irises formed soft blue lines across them as if their shape and form was akin to computer ships.
He shut his eyes and felt the immense potency and millenniums of raw willpower enshroud him. It would be a moment longer that memories, dialogue and moods would invade his mind. Personalities that were hyper ancient, and not his own. “No.†Ryanti calmly told the object in a harsh whisper. “All I need from you is to allow them to know.â€
He took in a strong breath through his nose, and the patterns on his irises left him, along with the mild blue glow in the veins of his neck. “Take your power back. I only need your light.â€
The young man’s white hair blew back and forth on his scalp and danced to the artificial wind that the artifact was creating. The blue LED stripes and the sensationally bright circular light at the crossroads of the artifact’s shape glowed in a very bright and encompassing aura. The artificial wind twirled about him and around him as he made his way back up to the main deck of the Roehmerl. His pace was a slow, casual walk, with strong steps. He had a look in his eye, a look that told him that he was safe within the borders of this artificial wind; a barrier of aether that appeared to be visible gusts of air swirled around his form. His facial expression was calm and easy, a look of strength about him as a motivational boost from the residual aether inside of the Allagan Empire’s lost key.
As he manuveared closer to where the Roehmerl met the Ganesha, he placed the sides of his fists against the railing, and pulled himself on top of the railing where he could observe everything that was going on. But no beast man could touch him. He was safe.
The light from the artifact began to glow brighter and brighter, shining with an immensely powerful blue light that bright and magnificently gorgeous, almost holy in essence that lit up the tired battlefield with blistering rays. “Stand firm! Allow these beast kin to witness our righteous purpose!†Ryanti yelled out in a voice that sounded… louder than any natural voice a man could shout. It also came from Ryanti’s lips and had Ryanti’s pattern, vocal range, even his normal accent but… a part of that statement, his demeanor… felt a little different.
Upon saying that, he raised the artifact up into the air, gripping it with both hands. With a short, but loud and furious buzzing noise, the artifact shot a beam of Allagan light up into the sky, the blue stripes on the artifact straining with energy. “As you vanquish these pretenders, know that we walk alongside you!†Ryanti shouted out once more. But this booming voice was all Ryanti this time.
It was an empty feeling. Like her chest was caving in and all of the air, muscle, bone and matter inside of her body was being crushed underneath what felt like gravity. Like a black invisible hand crushing her heart to try to stop it from beating. That’s what it felt like. Her ears were ringing, and her vision became immensely blurry as she lost all sense of awareness of what was going on around her. Everything except for Jada’s face.
She was breathing incredibly fast. In, out. In, out. “Hu-hh-h-h-hu-h-h-rr—r-e-e-“ She tried to speak, but words left her. She hiccuped, and vomited out a sloppy puddle of thick, warm internal blood from her throat, the moist liquid dripping from her lips. She was trying to think, but she couldn’t. What was she hearing? The sound of more gunfire... a woman shouting... and Jada was talking to her. “Ja….da..†She croaked out, her eyes scrunching up as a well of tears poured from her eyes and salted her cheeks, turning them red with irritation. Her voice sounded like a plea. A beg. Her breathing sped up even further. She was in shock.
“NO!†Ryanti shouted out, adding two of his hands to Jada’s one, and pushing it down hard, trying as hard as he could to keep more blood from leaking. It already looked bad. Her skin was pale as ever. She was trying as hard as she could to just keep looking at Jada’s eyes. To not close them. “You said to live, remember! You said it was as easy as that! To not let people believe that you are just going to leave this world in an instant! You told me that!â€
Ryanti yelled out in protest as he felt a violent arm try to tug him away. He didn’t care at that point if that was a Garlean. He was willing to gamble. So what if it was a Garlean? He was so tired of playing this game; he wanted it to end now that the tables had turned. But such was the game of war. Ryanti hated the rules. But then the shoulder tugged at him a second time, and Ryanti finally turned around, his broken expression further saddening at the sight he saw.
Fruhsuun was screaming at him. Trying to speak to him. When Ryanti saw that his tongue had been cut out of his mouth, he finally understood why the man couldn't. That understanding snapped him out of his panic, and he rapidly looked back towards Jada, and then back towards Fruhsuun. "Fruhsuun... I understand."
Leura felt herself being pulled. For a moment, she thought it was her body ascending to the lifestream. It was an almost welcoming possibility, for she was in unimaginable pain and the idea of forever being lifted up into the lifestream and flowing into her dreams to become part of Hydealyn again was… a lovely one. But… it was at too much of a cost for the young woman. It wasn’t her style. Death was something she feared horribly. Especially a young death. “I-I – I – I dun-udu-duunt—“ She swallowed a mouthful of blood as she tried to force her words and will to be heard by Jada. “Wan-a-an nen-nen- anna die, I du-u-d-nt wanna die!!†She was full on crying by that point, her tears like twin waterfall that joined her blood trails on the way down.
“She needs help!†Ryanti screamed at Fruhsuun, pointing at her desperately before being shoved aside and towards the familiar vessel he had spent eight days traveling on. “SHE NEEDS HELP! MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY!†Ryanti shouted out as he stumbled back from the frontline, crying out in panic as he heard the sound of Fruhsuun collapsing. “We need help! She’s dying! He’s hurt!†Ryanti called out, trying as hard as he damn well could to let anyone that didn’t know already grasp the entire situation. He kept gesturing rapidly towards the stairs as he found his way aboard the Roehmerl again. “INFIRMERY INFIRMERY!â€
It was the Sharlayan’s duty to value their mission over their lives and the lives of whoever they worked with. Nothing mattered but the objective. But these people, people like Ryanti, were sentient beings. With feelings. People who broke that code.
Leura tried as hard as she could to walk, but her strength was rapidly fading, and she became nothing better than dead weight. Her feet pathetically kept trying to balance themselves only to bend forward and stumble over and over again. She kept repeating her statement from earlier in a horse and almost insane manner. Her heart rate was beating ever quicker because of her shock, and she looked as pale at the moonlight. “I d-ud-udn wannadieIdunwannadie I du—d†She continued to ramble and cry mercilessly, coughing and vomiting up blood and mucus upon the floor of the ship.
She needed a serious intervention right now. It was unsure still whether or not the bullet had severed one of her arteries, or other less important veins. She was still bleeding. Not spurting blood, but bleeding badly. She needed something surgical. She needed to be clamped. Or else she was going to die.
Ryanti saw Bereseam and Pamido, along with Jada, drag Leura and Fruhsuun’s bodies below deck. He looked like an absolute mess. The blood from his nose had dried up against his now chapped lips, bloodied as well from a very nervous bite he had given to it during a stressful moment on the battlefield. The shot he took in his stomach has formed a nastly blue bruise on his skin that made every movement of his torso painful. He turned his gaze weakly towards the battlefield, watching Terminus approach.
What was he going to do now?
He turned his head a little more… and saw the Captain. He witnessed the sight of her actions, kneeled down. Straddled over what remained of the woman named Cynthia. He saw what had become of her. Another jolt hit his stomach. A jolt that attempt to send his morning’s breakfast right back up out of his mouth. He placed a hand over his lips and tried to swallow his dry mouth.
But the look in his eyes didn’t die down like they probably would if he had seen something horrific. it instead felt strangely… rectifying. It was rectifying to see who had won that fight. It was rectifying to see Sounsyy do something like that after he had worried so much about her being in Cynthia’s place. There was a warped fascination in his eyes. His gut that had jolted him a moment ago now felt like it was burning. But it was a different burn than one which caused pain. It was a good burn. He let that heat escape with a breath through a slightly gaping smirk.
But then the sea stopped.
-----
Jonathan scooted a few ilms away from Terminus, clenching his teeth in anger. His left leg was useless now, and his femur was broken. His left leg hung limp in such an odd unnatural shape that he could immediately tell it was messed up. Though he could feel no pain. He grabbed one side of his wound that was bleeding the most: a fair amount but nothing too serious. Yet he couldn’t walk, and he was stranded where he was. Yet he didn’t fear what was going to happen. He had heard the rumble, felt the pressure. When Terminus knew something was off, and glanced the way of Jonathan, the leader of the squad flipped him the twin birds and buried his head to the floor.
Terminus narrowed his eyes, and took a glance to the right of him. Something was wrong, but what occurred happened so fast that there was no way even a man like him could react to it. The Sagahin had signaled him out, and he was the first victim.
An elbst, one of the largest in the dozen that came over the ship like a rocket out of the water, slammed its jaws shut upon the face of the Garlean commander, shrieking in pain as blood and electricity shattered its teeth while at the same time, crushing the life support of the breathalyzer as well as giving him nasty wounds to his scalp. The half-man, half-machine shouted in a muffled pain, firing a round through the beast that split its stomach open and left it dead on the deck, the man stumbling and suffocating as he could no longer breath, dropping his gunblade and bringing his hands up to his throat as he choked.
Another elbst leapt from the ocean’s depths and scored their teeth right into his abdomen, knocking both itself and Terminus overboard to the sound of him screaming in pain. They splashed into the water, and moments later an underwater bang was heard as his Cereleum deposited exploded. He was gone. Just like that.
Both leaders were gone, the ranks were scattered, and the entry of a third faction begged for chaos. From then on, the remaining Garleans fought for the sake of their own lives. As the cries and howls of the beastmen decimated what Garlean forced remained, it was noticeable to see that the Garleans were their top priority. Ryanti stumbled to the railing of the Roehmerl, his legs giving out at the last moment. He saved himself from falling by grabbing onto the rail, powering his head over it to witness the carnage as everyone on the crew ducked and covered before the onslaught.
He solemnly lowered his head as the audio as the massacring, the death, and the suffering filled his ears. He pressed his back against the support of the railing and sat there with eyes closed, breathing heavily, covered in perspiration. He saw Sounsyy, down next to Cynthia’s fractured remains. So this was it, was it? This was how they were going to die. Not by Garleans, but by beast men. Ryanti found it ironic… he was the one that supported Ul’Dah exiling the beast men when he was younger. When he thought of them as lesser races compared to civilized man.
He was very tired. Tired of the fighting. He knew that eventually the beast men would turn on them, and he was running out of ideas. Soon people would be dropping left and right: P’welro, Susuroon, Marjanie… all of them. Think Ryanti… think.
Wait a minute. They were targeting the Garleans, and came from the ocean. They did not make a move until now… when all of the commotion began. The Sagahin were known to viciously protect certain parts of the oceans around here… that means they weren’t attacking. They were defending.
That was it! That had to be it!
With all of his remaining strength, Ryanti got himself back up and broke into a sloppy jog, covering his head just in case he was attacked by one of the Sagahin. He was the only one up from the crew, trying to make his way below deck. Sounsyy heard the sound of his boots sprint past her as he made his way down.
He could hear the sounds of his breathing as he made his way down the halls. He could make out the shouting voices from the infirmary… the sounds of panic from the soldiers outside. Suddenly, the dark and abandoned section of the ship he was making his way to suddenly went quiet. As if the sounds from outside were being blocked. All Ryanti could hear was a very tiny, very distinct whistling sound that was consistent without end and changed tone every so often as if shining light was being transcribed into sound. Ryanti didn’t have to think. He already knew.
He opened the wooden plank and heard no noise. The artifact was there. In its perfect T-shaped form. The key to a civilization very long gone. He promised himself that he wouldn’t have to use it. He remembered that promise to himself as his hands grabbed a hold of the object.
He immediately felt the familiar warmth of the foreign residual aether scream through his bloodstream. His facial features became soft, and he lifted his head upwards a bit with a sigh, feeling something connect. Feeling the bands tie together in his mind. His irises formed soft blue lines across them as if their shape and form was akin to computer ships.
He shut his eyes and felt the immense potency and millenniums of raw willpower enshroud him. It would be a moment longer that memories, dialogue and moods would invade his mind. Personalities that were hyper ancient, and not his own. “No.†Ryanti calmly told the object in a harsh whisper. “All I need from you is to allow them to know.â€
He took in a strong breath through his nose, and the patterns on his irises left him, along with the mild blue glow in the veins of his neck. “Take your power back. I only need your light.â€
The young man’s white hair blew back and forth on his scalp and danced to the artificial wind that the artifact was creating. The blue LED stripes and the sensationally bright circular light at the crossroads of the artifact’s shape glowed in a very bright and encompassing aura. The artificial wind twirled about him and around him as he made his way back up to the main deck of the Roehmerl. His pace was a slow, casual walk, with strong steps. He had a look in his eye, a look that told him that he was safe within the borders of this artificial wind; a barrier of aether that appeared to be visible gusts of air swirled around his form. His facial expression was calm and easy, a look of strength about him as a motivational boost from the residual aether inside of the Allagan Empire’s lost key.
As he manuveared closer to where the Roehmerl met the Ganesha, he placed the sides of his fists against the railing, and pulled himself on top of the railing where he could observe everything that was going on. But no beast man could touch him. He was safe.
The light from the artifact began to glow brighter and brighter, shining with an immensely powerful blue light that bright and magnificently gorgeous, almost holy in essence that lit up the tired battlefield with blistering rays. “Stand firm! Allow these beast kin to witness our righteous purpose!†Ryanti yelled out in a voice that sounded… louder than any natural voice a man could shout. It also came from Ryanti’s lips and had Ryanti’s pattern, vocal range, even his normal accent but… a part of that statement, his demeanor… felt a little different.
Upon saying that, he raised the artifact up into the air, gripping it with both hands. With a short, but loud and furious buzzing noise, the artifact shot a beam of Allagan light up into the sky, the blue stripes on the artifact straining with energy. “As you vanquish these pretenders, know that we walk alongside you!†Ryanti shouted out once more. But this booming voice was all Ryanti this time.