VG Rumble

Sorry! Will post now =)

Raven

Supported by an almost equally unsteady Luke, I stumbled up the stairs to meet Karana and Ilum. Kneeling beside them, I placed a cautious hand across Ilum's feverish forehead and closed my eyes, concentrating entirely on healing him.

Something was wrong.

I opened my eyes and stared down at my companion, then closed them again, gripping him firmly by the shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Karana demanded. Without a reply, I threw thick tendrils of power into Ilum and wrapped them around his fleeing life force. I could feel the bruising fading and the wounds healing. I could hear Karana let out a sigh of relief but at the same time, I could sense Ilum fading. I was losing him. I threw myself further into his body, struggling to catch hold of him, struggling to pull him back.

"Talk to him!" I gasped. "Don't let him leave."

Karana cupped Ilum's head with her hands as she told him to wake up over and over again. She turned to Raven with tear soaked eyes. "Why isn't it working?" she demanded.

"I'm trying as hard as I can, Karana! The battle was too much, I don't think I have enough strength left."

Luke placed a hand on Raven's. His hand began to glow with the same glow of magic as Raven's. She turned to him in surprise. "Luke, how...?"

"Let's bring him back, together."

Raven nodded and turned back to Ilum. With her new-found determination she delved more magic into Ilum's body to bring him back from the brink. After a few moments Ilum's eyes shot open and he started gasping for air.

Raven

"That's it, you're going to be okay," I soothed as Ilum's eyes shot open and he began to gulp in deep breaths of air.

"Ilum!" Karana exclaimed, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. "How do you feel?" He didn't answer for a moment as his heavy breathing subsided and then he managed a weak smile.

"I feel like my body's forgotten how to breathe," he gasped.

"That's okay, take it easy," Luke advised. I turned to face him and rubbed my thumb along the back of his hand when I realised it was still secured in my own.

"Thank you, Luke," I said. He smiled.

"Couldn't let you do all the work, could I?" he asked.

"Are we getting out of here or what?" Warren demanded, staring up at a faint aura of light.

"Please?" Izuki added. "I miss the light."

<Izuki>

The faster we got out of that wretched place the better. I looked up at the dim shaft of light from the world above. It would be risky, but not too hard to get to the top. I kicked off the nearest wall and pounced to hang from some broken rocks.

'Can I? Can I? Please let me go up.'

'No,' Luke answered bluntly. 'If you make a wrong step the whole thing might cave in.'

'I won't, I-' He gave a strict stare and I hug backwards from the rock pouting.

Even if it was true, I wasn't going to pretend to be happy about it.

(I'm a genius when it comes to pulling plot devices out of a hat!)

"So, how are we going to get out of here?" Ilum asked, steadying himself as he got to his feet, Karana helping him up.

"I don't know," Raven said. "We can't retrace our steps because the ground is solid stone, we didn't leave any footprints."

Everyone sighed all at once, except Luke who was on his knees patting the rock floor.

"...Luke, what are you doing?" Raven asked.

Luke smiled when he found whatever it was he was looking for. It first glance he appeared to be holding nothing, but when he stood up a very thin line of light shot down from his hand toward the large door they had entered.

"I thought we might get lost, so I left a trail of thread throughout the mines so we could find our way out once we're finished. All we have to do is follow it until we get out of here."

"Why didn't you tell us about this before?" Izuki demanded.

"After all the fights I guess it slipped my mind. I'm actually surprised it didn't get cut during our fight with the troll. Then again, it is metal thread." He turned to the others. "But I'm getting off topic, right now we should focus on getting out of here." Everyone nodded. Together they followed the thread through the mines.


Once they made it back to the bridge where they had first been separated they stopped. They had overlooked the fact that part of the bridge was destroyed when Ifrit has attacked them.

"Great, now what are we gonna do?" Warren said.

Luke turned and said, "Ilum, Karana, can you two create a bridge of ice over the broken part of the bridge?"

"We can try," Ilum said. They both walked up to the broken part of the bridge and held out their arms. Their hands expelled a white mist that slowly materialized into ice, creating a makeshift bridge of the frozen element. Together they had been able to pull it off without using up too much energy. Ilum turned to the others and said, "Be careful, this is ice after all."

They carefully made their way across the bridge to the other side of the chasm. All they had to do now was follow the tracks until they found the entrance, and freedom.

Raven

We stepped out across the ice, cautiously testing the ground before us, taking the journey a step at a time until we had all reached the solid ground beyond.

"This way," Luke instructed, leading them further along the thread until at last a rosy light was in sight and they reached the entrance to find that the sun was slipping below the horizon and the sky was splashed with red and orange and yellow, all spilled across the blue canvas.

"We made it!" Izuki squealed, racing out to throw herself against the grass and roll around, soft laughter issuing from her mouth.

"It's so beautiful..." I murmured, staring out at the land.

"I never want to enter another cave!" Karana declared, "come on, let's find somewhere else to rest."

"So now that we're out of the mines, what are we supposed to do now?" Warren asked. "We're still no closer to knowing where the Dark Knight's base is than when we went in."

"It seems as though we have hit yet another roadblock," Luke sighed.

"Not quite." Everyone looked at Ilum. "When the Dark Knight captured me he told me his plan, probably because he didn't expect us to get away this time."

"Evil villains sure like to monologue, don't they?" Izuki asked.

Ilum continued, "He wants to cleanse the world of all the 'unworthy humans that inhabit it,' arguing that they take too much for granted. The world our ancestors lived in was a perfect example of how human ambitions can get the better of us."

"So, how does he intend to cleanse the world?" Luke asked.

"The Soul Forge," he answered. Luke's face immediately went slack when Ilum said it.

"What's the Soul Forge?" Karana asked.

"It is the thing that created all life on Earth," Luke answered. "It is an instrument that holds the power of creation."

Raven looked worried. "But, surely it's just a legend, right? Nothing that powerful really exists."

"I wouldn't count on it," Ilum said. "The Dark Knight himself told me he found it, in a place called Dimerge Tower."

"Where's that?" Izuki asked.

Ilum shook his head. "I wish I knew, or I'd have said so already."

"So he plans to use the Soul Forge to destroy all life on the planet?" Raven asked with horror. Ilum nodded. "We have to stop him!"

"It may already be too late," Luke said. "If the Dark Knight has indeed found the Soul Forge he would surely have used its power already."

Izuki pointed to the sky. "Everyone, look! Something's happening to the sun!"

Everyone looked up at the sun. A ring of dark clouds began to form around the sun, getting closer and closer until they completely shadowed the ball of light. The blue sky they had been longing to see during their time in the mines turned a sickly red-purple. The shadowed sun let out a flash of dark light as waves of energy poured out onto the planet below. The sun was completely eclipsed with black energy, shrouding the planet in an everlasting twilight.

Karana struggled to form words. "...The sun... It's... black!"

Izuki let out a small yelp and said, "The grass!"

Everyone looked at their feet. The grass that was once a rich shade of forest green was drying up and turning light brown right before their eyes.

"Is this the power of the Soul Forge?" Raven asked.

"Whatever it is, it's only the beginning," Luke said. "I don't know where this Dimerge Tower is or how to get to it, but I think I may know where we can find that information."

"Where's our heading?" Ilum asked.

"The Mages' Guild."

(I actually got the whole Soul Forge idea from a game called Legaia Duel Saga 2. It's a good RPG game, I suggest you try it. Anyway, this is about the half-way point of our story. Our next quest will be to find three stones that each hold the essence of Water, Fire and Air. We need those stones in order to restore the Soul Forge and save the world. Just thought you should all know where the story is going.)

Sweet! Sorry I haven't been posting...I've had no access to a computer is three days and I am completely exhausted after my weekend! I'll try and post something later.

Sounds like a good plot!

Warren

"The Mage's Guild," Luke announced.

"And I suppose you don't know where that is either?" I grumbled sourly, hoping that he would prove me wrong. Luke hesitated. "Oh come on, you said you knew where we could find the information!" This really wasn't looking promising. Luke nodded.

"I do. It's just... hard to get there." He walked down to where our horses had been left and took a map from one of the saddlebags, spreading it against the horse's rump. All of the animals were frisking nervously, lifting their hooves up and down to drum against the withered grass.

"Here's the Guild..." Luke indicated an unmarked building. I leaned closer, scrutinising the map.

"Where are we?" Raven asked.

"Here!" Izuki exclaimed enthusiastically, "I found it, we're here." She jabbed at the map and I let out a reluctant sigh.

"That looks like a long journey."

"Could be," Karana agreed.

(I'm switching to third, since I'm controlling two charies that are more or less dating now.)

As she looked over the map, she couldn't help but let her thoughts wonder towards Ilum.

He had been close to dying...he had stopped breathing...she had almost lost him...And now he stood beside her, completely fine and alert, yet wary.

Karana took hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, as he had done so many times before. Somehow wishing her thoughts could travel to him, through the connection they had made - in both emotional and magical aspects - and let him hear words only for him.

I'm glad you're alive. I'm glad you're here with me. I was so afraid that I would lose you, that you would be gone for good. But I must find a way to thank Raven, for it was her power that kept you alive.

While I did nothing but cry... She would not let that happen again. Never again will I let you go off on your own. Never.

She turned her attention back to the conversation, catching the end of a sentence at the same time that Ilum lost interest.

He was glad she was alive, as well...he would protect her as he should from then on. He was grateful to everyone for keeping her and each other safe; it was his time to take over from there.

He lightly kissed her cheek as the conversation broke the moment and brought them back to the matters at hand.

"So, what now? We're all exhausted, we need to rest and eat, and personally...I've had enough excitement for one day," Karana spat out.

"The city of Rabanastre is just half a day's ride from here," Luke said as he climbed onto his horse. "If we leave now we can get there before the sun sets. I'd rather not wait to see how this eclipse affects the wilderness after nightfall."

Before they set off, Luke turned to face Izuki, who was riding with Raven again. "Izuki."

"Yeah?"

"You did well today, and you have proven that you can hold your own during battle. I am a man of my word, you may stay with us if you wish." He looked skyward at the ever present eclipse. "But, things may become more terrifying from here on out. If you decide this journey may be too much for you, it's best you do so before we leave Rabanastre."

Izuki was ready to get angry, he was still treating her like a kid! Before she could start ranting he brought his gaze back to her. His eyes looked worried, worried about her. He did think she was still too young, and maybe he always would. The look in his eyes told her he was worried about her well being.

"This changes nothing," Izuki announced. "Black sun or no, you're stuck with me, so you'd better get used to it!"

Luke smiled at her. "I guess we are." He turned his horse eastward and said, "Let's go."

Izuki

I felt... Proud. Like having the approval of a big brother. Yes. Big brother Luke.

I grinned smugly.

At first I enjoyed the ride, high up and rocking on the saddle of a horse, heading across the plains with the wind in my hair and a long, open road ahead, like a scene from the movies.

Eventually the wind grew bitter and even with the passing hours the land all around us was dying.

'I can't wait until we find him,' Chatting to fill the silence was getting increasingly harder. 'We'll show him who's boss, nobody messes with the... The... Creater forge?'

'Soul forge,' Raven mumbled.

'Soul forge, I knew that,' I corrected myself before Luke could frown at me.

I managed to stay awake until we reached Rabanastre. I'd always heard it was a big city, but never did I dream to find a place so enormous or advanced as this one. Then again, maybe I did dream half of it. I took a deep sigh and leant forward against the horse's neck and closed my eyes. Just resting my eyes, relaxing a little.

Of course, just relaxing a little.

Between sleeping and dozing I became aware of my surroundings once or twice, like the hundreds of voices of people passing through the streets, being lifted off the horse, some place warm where I stole a glimpse of a quiet room and shut my eyes tight.

I had no intention of moving any time soon.

Raven

Upon arriving at Rabanastre, we approached several inns and found most of them to have only one spare room or inadequate lodgings. The third we came to though was perfect and they were able to supply us with three twin rooms.

"Yes, this will do, let's go inside," Luke decided, walking back out to us.

"You mean they actually have rooms?" Warren was clearly too tired to manage sarcasm effectively and he slipped from his horse, leading it to one of the stables before hurrying inside. I climbed out of my own saddle and gently lifte Izuki down.

"Luke, could you..." He nodded, taking the reigns of my horse and securing it beside his own."Thanks."

"Let's take the saddle bags to the room," Ilum decided. "Just in case." Karana nodded and they stayed long enough to collect our belongings before following.

"I'll share a room with Warren and Raven can share with Izuki and you two can share if you don't mind?" Luke suggested, turning to Ilum and Karana.

Karana/Ilum

Obviously there would be no problem. It was fine with them, for many reasons.

The others could rest, not uncomfortable with being in the room with one of another sex; Karana and Ilum could talk about the day without disturbing anyone else; and they were more at ease around each other.

They nodded and made their way towards the rooms. Karana let Warren, Luke, and Ilum take their saddlebags, and she carried Raven's. Common courtesy, and she was just beginning to repay her for saving Ilum's life.

"Hey," Karana whispered.

Raven turned towards her.

"Thanks for earlier. I'll pay you back somehow - "

"No, you don't have to - "

"No, Raven...I want to."

With that, she left, returning the way she came to find her own room. Ilum was waiting for her, setting the bags on the beds, when she came in. Tears flooded her eyes as she saw his gaze meet hers, and she was soon wrapped in his embrace, clinging to him as she let her emotions take over, the relief of the fear and tension finally tearing her apart.

They made the decision, then, that they would never separate again.

Nightfall had already come, and just in time since they already found an inn. It took only a few minutes to get everyone settled in.

Once Warren finished making his bed he asked, "So how do you think people are going to react to this black sun?"

Luke was standing by the window, looking out into the streets. "See for yourself," he said.

Warren came over to the window and saw what Luke saw. There was a large group of people surrounding a man. The man was speaking in a loud enough voice that Luke and Warren could hear him. "The end is near! Our crops whither before our eyes, our livestock grow rabid! The Gods our punishing us for our selfish ways! The black sun is proof! There will be no escaping it, all life will parish!"

"It's scary to think people would jump to such conclusions," Warren said.

"But what's even more scary is that what he says may be true," Luke said. "That's why we have to stop the dark knight, and soon."