Tapestry of the Ages Nasazura's Rest: Respite

[Tiko]

a continuation...

At first glance Aeldric, Taro, and Rolando's surroundings appeared the same. The light faded to reveal the rough hewn stone beneath their feet and the now still waters of the Well of Souls. All was calm. No distant sounds of battle could be heard, no quaking of the earth could be felt.

"The battle seems to have ceased," Rolando noted.

There was no enthusiasm in his words though, only guarded caution.

"... where these here before?" he added abruptly as he reached a hand out to the wall. Thick roots had grown down through the stone, compromising its integrity in spots. A glance overhead would reveal that the growth only grew thicker higher up, and what appeared to be a thin beams of sunlight broke through in spots.

Taima had spoken of other worlds, but he hadn't anticipated finding themselves in the very same place they had left but the more he noted the differences in their surroundings the more it became clear that they stood in a very different place than they had moments ago.

"Shall we?" he asked of his companions.

There was no telling what they would find at the top of those winding stairs.

 

[Script]

Still reeling from the magnitude of what they'd witnessed, and the sudden shift in something that had followed, Taro surveyed the room with a dazed, glassy-eyed expression for a few moments before he snapped back to awareness. Confusion was apparent in his expression, and in his voice when he spoke. "What... happened? Where did she send us?"

The room was the same, but there were enough differences to make it clear that it wasn't their well of souls. The chaotic, dark spiritual energy that had been a constant background scream mere moments before, spawned of the conflict and destruction going on around them, was no more. In its place was the quiet, serene calm of a place that had seen little in the way of living traffic for a long time.

There are other worlds than this one.

"We're in another world? Another reality?" his voice carried an edge of disbelief as he processed Taima's words to them, and their significance. "But- why?"

Go forth, and fight.

He looked between the other two men, then down at himself and the cursed sword in his grip. "Why me?" he added more quietly, under his breath. Hadn't there been hundreds of people more deserving of another chance than him? What kind of twisted cosmic coincidence had put him here, instead of any of them?

There could have been any number of people stronger, purer, or kinder than him standing in his place now, spared the fate of a dying world. So why was it him?

"I don't understand..."

 

[Dashmiel]

Aeldric finally felt himself, at the same time as the sensation of reality turning like the gear in a massive clock faded. He stood stock still for a moment, and took a deep breath.

He felt...alright. Despite the horrors of the day and having all of his inadequacies laid bare, he felt better than he had in decades. Physically, emotionally, and mentally; by any rubric, he couldn't recall the last time he felt so at ease. He immediately resolved to do his utmost best to not get carried away. He knew the price of this new lease on life, and he knew his duty.

World's hung in the balance. But first, his companions. He was still their Elder.

"Peace, Taro," he said as he took the young man's countenance in.

He grasped the man lightly by the shoulder, and turned him to face him. "We'll find out more about where we are soon enough. But make no mistake, the shade of Taima wasn't the one who sent us anywhere. She was just the bearer of the message," he explained in a powerful, confident voice.

"It was Light's direct will that set us here. Not to merely save us, but because we still have a duty to perform in It's name. Harken my words, young warrior. However you might feel, whether you see it as penance or a second chance...you're here on Light's commission."

He released the man's shoulder, and threw a glance accompanied by a nod at Rolando. He stood prepared in case Taro required more words, but wanted to let Rolando know he wasn't dismissive of his presence too.

 

[Tiko]

As they ascended the winding stairs towards the world above they would soon leave behind all sense of familiarity with their surroundings. Bits of stone crumbled free from the weight of their steps, and the structural integrity of the structure was of great uncertainty. A fact further made clear as they reached the top of the stairs.

Where the inner sanctum should have stood was only crumbled wall and broken foundation that had been overgrown with moss, vines, and tree roots that had long burrowed their way into the cracks and crevices of the stonework. Bright beams of sunlight shown through cascades of ivy that hung low from crumbled openings in the temple walls and ceiling overhead.

Despite its state of ruin the remains of the temple proved a serene atmosphere without any ominous traces of the corruption that had overtaken their world. All was calm. The sound of songbirds and insects buzzing could be heard throughout the foliage and the air held a fresh earthy scent to it tinged with floral notes. Whatever had transpired here it would seem had been long past.

As they made their way through the halls of the temple they would find pillars and statues toppled into piles of broken stone that littered the floor, and the main entrance had crumbled in its entirety leaving only a gaping opening to the world outside. What lay beyond was nothing that they had ever lain eyes upon in their world.

They stood upon the precipice of a mountain overlooking a forested landscape that spread far and wide. Winding rivers, sparking lakes, scattered mountains, and large swaths of trees lay sprawled across the lush landscape that was not relegated to only the land below. Great distant masses of floating land seemingly hovered of their own accord in all directions - each as lush and full of life as the one they stood.

It was only now that Rolando sheathed his sword as the landscape around them offered no sign of threat to the trio. He rubbed thoughtfully at his jaw.

"What do you suppose happened here?" he inquired of his companions.

It was an unanswerable question, but the idle conversation would perhaps serve to help ground them into this world and to momentarily spare their thoughts from dwelling upon the fate they had scarcely escaped. Thoughts of everything that had been lost.

 

[Script]

Aeldric's words felt distant to Taro's ears. It was hard to comprehend that of all the kind faces of the Vanguard, of all its awe-inspiring champions, he was the one fate saw fit to pass whatever duty was left onto. Could not someone better have been spared for that purpose? Would it not have been better if it were any number of the people who had saved him once already?

But a glance up at the determined set to the Elder's features was enough for him to remember himself. Despair was something he'd had to conquer before, after the disaster in which Kuroakuma had first come to him. The sword fed on it, and if he wasn't careful, he was sure it wouldn't hesitate to seize any opportunity have gave it even now.

He pushed his thoughts away from the fallen. Away from the memory of the golden light in a fearful eye being swallowed by darkness.

If he was to live, then he would not let himself fail at the first hurdle.

After a long pause, he nodded his acknowledgement to Aeldric, and followed his two companions up the stairs. The sunlight warmed his face where it spilled through the gaps in the walls of the upper temple, and he gawped around at the clearly long-abandoned ruins.

His eyes wandered the place as they walked, spying at times sections of the ruined temple that were familiar in their layout, though there were others that bore no resemblance. In many places where portions of their world's temple had stood, there was nothing but open ground, with no sign of anything ever having been built there.

"Looks old," he noted in response to Rolando, gazing out across the landscape. "Real old. Like nobody's been here in forever."