It was hot, sand whipping about, a river of it, of water, of sand again, a sea of sand, of grass, the sun boiling the air itself, the sky was blue, and black, and lightning and thunder tore it into golden shards, hundreds, thousands, millions, and each one fell, down, down, black, deep, dark, down, crash. The trees, huge things, toppled, and so did the mountains, like children’s toys in the middle of a tantrum, and these too contained shards of gold in their innumerable masses, falling and flowing. Golden shards, each and every last one feeling like the prick of a knife, glass and steel, flowing bronze, more sand, blood. Blood in the sea, the sea of sand and of grass, covering the shards of gold, more of them now, faster. Stabbing, fiercer.
Clearer images, of dripping red swallowed by black, of golden doors and lines, unknowably ancient and so malicious, of mockeries of humanity and eyes filled with fire, broken glass, rivers of sand, of water, of gold. Rivers of blood. Golden shards, hundreds, thousands, millions, falling, falling, down, cutting, slashing, covered in red.
Rivers of gold and red, the heat, the sun shining off golden strands, grass on fire, sand flowing down, tall buildings, collapsing buildings, towers of steel and glass. Gold flowing up, doors, up, towers.
A golden cage, within which pulsed a being of pure magic, the sky itself pulling in. One, in the heart, two, in the mind, three, in the stomach, four, in the hands, five, six, a body replaced by golden cages, some empty, many filled and pulsing. Flickering faces in the empty cages; black skinned, silver haired, golden eyed blurring into pale skinned, yellow haired, golden eyes blurring into yet paler skin, green hair, purple eyes. Empty cages pulling on the sky, slowly covered in red.
Terror and endings.
------
At Daisy’s Ranch in Dyste, Ramat Ganedo was doing his usual seeings in Gugalanna’s name when he jumped from his feet, the bovinian’s hat going askew on his head, “Wh-what the…”
“Ramat?” The farmhand in front of him, a local named Della, looked up, “I thought y’were just checkin’ out the local weather t’see if we were gettin’ rain. Don’t tell Bonny I was doin’ this, she still thinks this sorta thing is a buncha hogwash…”
“O-oh…” Ramat said in a cold sweat, “I-it’s nothing, Della. Look, I’m feelin’ mighty sick, so maybe I’ll look inta it later. Jus’ be careful not t’water things too heavily.” As his fellow bovinian left, he was still uncertain of what he saw; he went to the local shrine of their goddess, run by the de facto leader of the ranch, the daughter of their founder.
Richalle was in the middle of dusting off the various items and the painted and golden statue of the cow goddess Gugalanna herself when Ramat approached the entrance way. Richalle, confused, turned around to see the man. “Ramat? Is there any trouble? One of the bulls went on a stampede?””
“N-no,” Ramat shook his head, his hat nearly falling off, “I was doin’ a little weather report an’ I suddenly got a vision I ain’t seen before; I saw a desert an’ plains, somewhere hot, and it was gonna be attacked by… I dunno what they were, like golden shards or somethin’? It was destroyin’ everythin’ in sight…”
“A vision of where the desert and plains meet, and golden shards wreak destruction? This is quite a dark omen Ramat.” Richalle then paused and thought for a moment. “Had our great mother of the fields shown you anything else?”
“Um… a golden cage?” Ramat thought. “I saw three faces. One was a blonde with golden eyes, another with green hair and purple eyes, then a darker-skinned one with gold eyes and silvery hair. I dunno what it all means, Richalle…”
“The meaning is quite strange… Yet it is quite symbolic. A golden cage that held three prisoners. I imagine from the mere description, it could be two people I can recall. The blonde and golden eyes might be my fellow high priestess Mythra, and the darker-skinned one with gold eyes could be Marron… Yet the third… That is quite mysterious.” Richalle answered.
“R-really…” Ramat looked worried. “Um, should we warn anyone ‘bout this? Ain’t you and your sisters friends with th’queen?”
Richalle gave a firm nod. “It will be the best course of action. An enigmatic danger approaches and we must prepare for it. I doubt the queen will dismiss it.”
“Right…” Ramat sighed. “I guess we gotta bring it up with ‘em. I just hope it ain’t too late…”
------
Within the icy palace in the distant reality of cold, Princess Snow secluded herself to mediate and focus on the vision at hand. Her hooves trampled as she woke up from the sight of terror. She stood motionless, as given in her ice body form she couldn’t breathe wildly. Yet there was an ominous site that even she didn’t know what it was.
“Snow?” Talva’s voice could be heard, as she entered, the large goatwoman rubbing her eyes as she seemed to be napping prior. “Is something the matter, dear?”
“Another terrible vision, Talva. One far more severe than the last one I witnessed.” Snow answered.
Talva kneeled down, taking her wife’s hooves in her hand, “Oh no… what is it? Did Lady Avala give you an omen?”
“Yes. One that was apocalyptic as a typhoon of golden shards rained down upon the land of grass and desert. The entire land crumbled apart and I believe… both beast and men’s blood flooded the rivers. As if one ancient entity unleash its revenge upon the world itself for its destruction.” Snow said.
“Oh…” Talva gulped. “That sounds… terrible… but where could that be? Certainly not Silverdale based on the description, and it doesn’t sound like Dyste, either… Corneria, maybe?”
“It might be the region where even my body aches from the heat. Rohane Alista.” Snow assumed. “That said.. I saw another part of the vision that is less destructive but… troublesome.”
“Oh, what is that?” Talva shuddered a bit.
“A golden cage. Magical in nature and appears to hold the souls of many beings. I could see their eyes, and three were familiar. One appeared to be like Brasa or Marron. Another like Mythra. The last Nieve.” Snow said. “All cages, empty or not, will become red.”
“Oh dear…” Talva gasped, “Wh-what can we do?”
“I am not certain. This threat… I haven’t seen anything like this with such malice. I can try to alert our friends, but it might be rather… useless.” Snow said.
“Just… let’s work on this together, Snow,” Talva gave her a soft smile, “I will be with you every step of the way, as always.”
“Why of course. I hope our time isn’t short.” Snow said.
------
Within the towering spires of Arnhem's government district, Kiara had completed her many duties as foreign minister for the day. She slithered to the balcony abutting her office, observing the frenetic activities of the city's inhabitants below. Normally, she would seek a more serene place for her daily meditation but today such noise would serve as a focusing point for her. She lit a few sticks of incense as she sat down, quickly slipping into a trance as the seas of time unraveled before her. Almost immediately, she was bombarded by the horrors of the vision of what was to come. Her mind raced as she desperately tried to keep up with the ever shifting visions, only to fail to. A great sense of foreboding engulfed her, her voice echoing through the office as she called out, "Mirik! Come quickly!"
A purple-haired woman rushed to the lamia’s side, “Kiara? What’s the matter?”
"I had a vision, Mirik… One foretelling of great destruction and suffering that is soon to arrive. I cannot be sure of all the details, but I do know it is set to occur in a land of desert and cities. I saw endless seas and rivers of blood drenching the land, all the while the perpetrators held three unique individuals captive. One with silver hair and gold eyes, another with blonde hair and auric eyes…while the last…" Kiara exclaimed, losing her normal calm as the vision lingered in her mind, "It appeared to be young Niviea."
“Niviea?” Mirik gasped, “Our former queen’s granddaughter? … we must inform someone of all of this. Perhaps His Majesty might be able to figure something out?”
"Yes, she …and Lady Marron and Mythra are in grave danger, likely held captive by the perpetrators of this catastrophe. I don't know what their goal is, but something must be done to stop them." Kiara said, nodding in agreement with the havoc dragon, "I will inform Rolven on the matter in short order, but that being said….Do you know the current status of Marron or Mythra?"
“I believe they are both in Rohane Alista with the former Emperor, Jacobi Turak,” Mirik said. “They have mostly been at his side since his return.”
"And Niviea is there too isn't she? Damn it, this isn't good if that visions events are set to occur as soon as we fear…." Kiara cursed as she summoned a tome to her hands, making a few notes, "I do not get it though, why would these interlopers seek to capture Niviea, Marron, Mythra? Let alone hold them in golden cages that turn crimson after a time .."
“I cannot say for certain,” Mirik frowned, “But if all three are in Rohane Alista, I would presume that is the location of the attack. We must warn them if we are able to.”
"Indeed. I will send word to a few associates of mine in Rohane about the vision. Perhaps between them and his Majesty, something may be able to be done." Kiara remarked as she looked towards the dragon, "If possible, I would like for you to find Eyvel and see about retrieving Niviea before it's too late."
“Consider it done,” Mirik bowed, “I will leave informing His Majesty to you then. Brasa’s blessing be upon you,” she said as she left.
------
Adrian Jankowski sighed in frustration as he ended his meditation session, the art of divination or ancestral guidance as it was known in Malgrave was relatively new to the country having become mainstream within the past two decades but even then Adrian knew that some sessions provided more useful information compared to others.
"Rough session?" Mirella Parri asked, the half-elf already starting the process to start her meditation session, a few tricks from the ASG in Omsk coming in handy as she started burning a few different incense candles
"Just a little bit of information on some kids that have a little too much nostalgia for the SRM," Adrian replied frustrated with the information that he had received, "I don't know why these people have nostalgia for a regime they weren't even alive for but I'll pass on the information up the chain to see if we can prevent them hurting themselves doing something incredibly stupid,"
Mirella chuckled at Adrian's admission, "I imagine it will get passed on to the police or even the local social solidarity council then,"
"I'll be recommending that the social solidarity council deal with the issue," Adrian replied with a shrug, "In these situations, a little mediation and social pressure will work better than what the police can bring to the table,"
Mirella simply nodded in agreement, the half-elf busy setting up her equipment, "If it is anything like the social solidarity council I grew up with? I think we'll see a resolution to your little situation within a few hours, especially, if they drag the ASG into the matter,"
Adrian laughed at Mirela's comments, the Pakosc-born agent remembering his memories of conflict resolutions negotiated by the ASG, "I'll be off to write up my report anyway," he said nodding towards his colleague, "Just try and have a more interesting shift, okay?"
Mirella shook her head as Adrian left, the half-elf getting into her stride as she began to relax, a few moments unfolding in peace and quiet before chaos erupted in her mind, the agent nearly tripping over her own feet as she rushed into the next room not caring if her erratic entrance caused some analysts in the room to look up in shock
"I take it that you saw something other than youths with a little too much love for the past?" Park Min-Seo said, the intelligence analyst subtly guiding Mirella to a chair for a proper debrief of her vision, a small glass of water waiting for the agent
"You could say that," Mirella said, thankful for the assistance and the drink, "It was more akin to a nightmare then a vision and quite a dramatic one at that,"
"In that case feel free to take a moment before relaying the details of the mission," Min-Seo said in a soothing tone
Mirella nodded, the analyst waiting for a few moments to calm herself before she could feel comfortable speaking, "I first knew something was different when I started to feel heat, a hot sensation quite unlike anything I have experienced in Malgrave before, a positive cacophony of sand and grass? Like a point where a desert meets the plains and all of it was ruined with chaos and violence,"
"It is possible that this vision doesn't pertain to an event within Malgrave then? Corneria and Rohane Alista are the only nations that spring to mind with such a description, although, I didn’t do particularly well in geography so I could be missing quite a few nations," Min-Seo said noting down the information provided for review in the future, "Can you describe this violence for me further?"
"It was explosive, an energy so powerful it boiled the air itself seemingly transforming the sky blue and black? Lightning struck and millions of golden shards reigned from the sky destroying everything from trees to the mountains themselves cutting through them like a hot knife through butter," Mirella said quite distressed by the image,
"Just breathe for a moment, Mirella," Min-Seo said sensing her colleagues distress, "It sounds like a horror story that someone would recite about some of the terror weapons created by the Ancestors," the Malgravean added remembering some of the tales about the weapons theorised by the ASG over the years alongside the drone platform
"It was unsettling as the shards felt like the prick of a knife and all of a sudden the land was covered in blood," Mirella said, the analyst pausing as she took a drink of water, "An image of golden doors and a feeling of an ancient power, unfortunately, unlike the warm feeling of the ancients this felt malicious and mocking, a river of blood and hundreds of millions of shards covered in red,"
"An ancient threat? Gold? I'll have to cross check this with reports garnered from interviews with citizens that went on archeological missions and adventuring expeditions," Min-Seo said inwardly preparing to make the request
"I felt a sensation of pure ancestral energy as well, the sky pulling itself in and a golden cage replacing parts of the body? Some empty but many filled and pulsing and with flickering faces in them," Mirella said describing the people that she had seen in her vision,
"If the pulses of pure ancestral energy are within the cage perhaps they can be coming from the people trapped within? By your description, a being with powerful ancestral energy with golden hair and golden could be Mythra?" Min-Seo said an eyebrow instinctively rising as she typed a few things into her computer, "...it is strange though since current records state that she is likely within Rohane Alista which would certainly negate the ancestral energy aspect,"
"Whatever I sensed was extremely powerful which is quite logical as it would take something to capture individuals as powerful as Mythra," Mirella said feeling herself becoming much calmer, "All I know is that these individuals are in danger and we need to act to help them or something terrible will happen,"
Min-Seo sighed despite her agreement with Mirella's assessment of the situation, "I'll pass on the information, although, I suspect you'll be called in to speak to the Director-General to confirm these reports,"
Mirella nodded, "Hopefully they'll act on the information quickly enough,"
"Speaking from experience?" Min-Seo said, "I'll predict that they'll send a diplomatic cable to Rohane Alista and even Silverdale and warning and sharing our intelligence about potential threats and then they'll move the armed forces into a higher state of readiness and ponder what the Ancestors would do before once again relying us to save the day,"
Mirella chuckled at Min-Seo's remarks despite the rather dark vision she had seen, "You forgot about the academic conference which starts when the crisis emerges,"
At that Min-Seo chuckled drly to herself, "I guess we'll have to pray to the ancestors that our warning will help matters and prevent the nerds getting involved."
------
As quickly as the nightmare came, it ended with its dreamer leaping from his sleep with a start and a flop sweat. The dreamer looked around at the room he was in, if only to get his bearings. Sure enough, the man was inside of his relatively comfortable, yet modest quarters in the base the Dornalians had come to call “Fort Apache”. His diplomas and plaques were on one wall, as well as his picture with the Pope. His modest walk-in closet with spare uniforms was there. And, the small nook where he kept what he called his “Jesus Kit”--a small wooden box with all the accouterments needed to administer Mass to the faithful--was still there, as was the Multicam priestly stole and his lightsaber--all of which indicated that he belonged to three worlds. One with the Church, one with the Order, and one with the Colonial Republic’s armed forces--the Navy in particular.
“Well, then!” The man sat up and rubbed his temples, and looked at the clock. It was early morning---0500 Zulu Time if he had to estimate--and stood up and went, “Well, I guess I’m not sleeping now.” And with that, the dreamer went through his motions, trying to shake off the vision. Shower. Shave. Eat a light breakfast consisting of spicy instant ramen--a meal of choice, not out of any vow of poverty. And then, get into his BDUs for a light morning jog, bedecked with rank badges, Orderman’s badges, and the appropriate insignia to show that the man running was the Chief Chaplain of the Colonial Republic’s Mystria Command--complete with a nametag and ID badge which disclosed the man’s name as “Hijuelos”.
And so the man went. Jogging, he ran outside in the relatively brisk air--the location of Fort Apache offered one many delightful, brisk mornings--and soon was greeted with the usual panoply.
“Mornin’, Padre!” said one GI walking to his duty station.
“Buenos dias, Padre!” said a MP patrolling the grounds.
And, to top it all off, another jogger that soon joined him, as she always did. A Marine, relatively short, with cat’s ears and a tail, dressed in her BDUs. Whereas Hijuelos had a lightsaber on his belt, the Marine had the usual M3A1 Blaster shouldered. By the sounds of her panting, she was out of breath. By the look on her face, she was annoyed, as usual.
In an Oklahoman accent, the neko went, “Jesus, Padre! Didn’t I tell you to call me when you did this stuff?”
“I know, I know, don’t forget your battle buddy. I’ve been through boot camp myself, Corporal, I know the routine,” Hijuelos said with a nod and a gentle, if reproachful smile. “This time, I’ve a good reason for not meeting with you first.”
“Oh?”
“Well, it involved a dream. A really messed up one, if I may say so.”
“Do tell, Padre.”
“Well, it was like a Dali painting. Like, there was sand and grass and a desert…and then a storm which turned it all into shards, and blood, and bloody shards. Various shades dying and being cut to pieces by the whole mess. And then, a body in a gilded cage, which like a crazed matroshka doll, became littler cages. There was also lots of gold.” He then went, “It’s hard to describe really.”
“No kidding, Padre,” said the Marine as she jogged. “You sure you didn’t have any acid? Or expired food the night before?”
A laugh, and then Hijuelos added, “No, you know me.” He then went, puzzled, “Still, I wonder what it was all about.”
“Well, whaddya mean?” asked the Marine.
“Well, Corporal, in many cultures, dreams signify things. Subconscious desires. Prophecies good and bad. So on. And frankly, something about this dream seemed a bit more than just my subconscious sorting itself out during REM sleep.” Hijuelos frowned in a pensive expression, going, “I mean, you know me, I always did have the ability to receive visions…and I did excel at precognitive and prognosticatory exercises when I was training back at the Grand National Temple on Mars. Now, why the good Lord gave me the ability to see visions, I don’t know, but all I know is that it’s saved me a lot of grief in the past.” He then added, “And it’s because of that gift that I got a feeling this is something more.”
“Well, okay, Padre. Here’s the question now. Where do you go from here?” the Marine asked.
“I don’t know. I have no clue, but whatever it is, I have to dig deeper.” The Padre said, “I’ll be at Office Hours, but send out an e-mail blast, tell them I’ll be in the MWR Library if anyone needs me after this, trying to decipher these symbols.” He then paused and added, “And also, Corporal, see if you can’t get the local clergy on the horn.”
“Why them, Padre?”
“Well, in between surprisingly productive interfaith relations, as well as their breadth of knowledge, my dealings with them have always tended to be insightful. And if I can’t find anything on my end, they may have a clue I missed.”
------
Mythra rose up from her slumber and let out a loud scream! Her limbs thrash out as she thought the whole world was about to crumble apart. “Oh goddess!” She tried to conjure up a spell, but only an ache from her arms came out of it. “A-ah… Ah shit.” She sighed. It was only the royal bedchamber she found herself in. Alongside Jacobi and Marron who rested.
“Mythra?” Jacobi asked, groggily rubbing his eyes. “What happened? Nightmare? It’s alright, I’m here,” he yawned, reaching out for her.
Marron yawned and tried to cuddle up, but rubbed her eyes open when she realized the other two were up, “Hey, what’s up. I had the most messed up dream…”
“Did both of you have bad dreams?” Jacobi asked, looking out the window to see the full moon still high in the sky. “It’s still pretty late… are you both alright? I might go back to sleep.”
“A nightmare on my end. I…” Mythra breathed heavy. “Golden shards. Rivers turned red. Golden Ages. I swear I…. What kind of disgusting bastard would lock me, you and… was that one of Glacia’s daughters? The green haired one or that is Green Heart?”
“I dunno,” Marron shrugged, “Looked a bit like Niviea to me. Though I guess we saw Rohane Alista being attacked or something like that? Weird that we had the same dream…”
Jacobi shifted to sitting up. “Same dream? I didn’t have it,” he told them. “You were all in it? I’m going to assume I wasn’t?”
“Thankfully you’re excluded from the nightmare.” Mythra then raised an eyebrow at Marron. “You saw it too? Everything right?” Mythra shook her head.
“Um, I think? I mean, it was all so fast so I dunno if I caught everything in there,” Marron shook her head, “But it seems about the same.”
“Ok, alright,” Jacobi nodded. “Step by step, what do you two remember?”
“First of… The scenery of the savanna and desert that a river flows through. The sky was both blue and dark until something altered reality to create golden shards. A whole storm of them that rained down the land, and toppled down everything it touched. They’re like needles that brought death and filled the river with blood.” Mythra explained. “You saw that Marron?”
“Yup,” Marron considered it, “There was this golden door, and a really bad feeling from it, eyes of fire, broken glass, rivers of sand, water and gold… and blood.”
“Sounds like a jumbled mess,” Jacobi sighed, pulling the two close. “Anything else? Were the rivers going anywhere? Was the blood coming from people, or just… there? Did the door open?”
“Well there were whole cities crumbing apart and then… gold flowing up alongside towers I think?” Mythra said.
“The blood… I didn’t see a source,” Marron shook her head, “It was just… in the river, I think.”
“This is starting to sound like some kind of apocalypse,” Jacobi frowned. “If we weren’t in Rohane Alista, I would say it would be worth contacting a proper diviner.”
“Well it is an apocalypse. From what I can tell, it is far more magical than the mundane. I can see a whole being of pure magic in the sky and it attracted entire golden cages. Empty ones, filled ones. Us… And then it turned red.” Mythra explained.
“I mean, we could still contact some diviners outside of Rohane Alista,” Marron pointed out. “But… yeah, that part at the end… yeah, I can’t deny it, our own faces were there in those cages.”
Jacobi pulled both of them in to his chest. “I am not letting some… thing… lock either of you away. No matter what else happens, I swear that.”
Mythra smiled at first, but then looked at Jacobi’s body. “Thanks… I noticed you’ve improved your arm strength to draw bows as of late. Made any progress?”
“Some,” he confirmed. “I’m not where I was, but I can manage my old trick with three arrows at once again. Getting them to go exactly where I want, though, that’s still a bit beyond me,” he sighed.
“Well, you better make sure to practice,” Marron said, “You don’t want Tynah to show you up at your own specialty, do you?” She chuckled.
“No, I do not,” Jacobi rolled his eyes, but then yawned. “Alright… in the morning, I’ll talk to Genevieve about setting up a trip to Silverdale soon. You said sand, right? In the dream?”
“Yes. Sand and grassland.” Mythra said. “I imagine this might happen more in our nation than anywhere else.”
“Yeah, I was at first thinking that maybe the magic that seems to be at play might’ve disqualified it,” Marron said, “But that’s actually kind of a fallacy when you think about it, assuming just because it might be magical that it cannot be here, right?”
“True enough.” Mythra thought for a second. “Magic was once stronger during our time as queens. It faded away and became dead in the present. Some believed it to be a curse by the gods. But what if the cycle marks another change. Garyx is no longer the lady of hate, and if this being is quite godly, perhaps it could undo the magical zone. If doing so, it could prove quite destructive.”
Jacobi looked back out at the moon as a cloud drifted across it. “I don’t think I’m going back to sleep, now. Tomorrow, we’ll move the family to Silverdale. Plenty of diviners there… and then we can look into some things. Remember the tunnel people? They had legends from long before any Rohirrim landed here, maybe we have something from them.”
“The Morasti? They might have encountered something strange in the tunnels and recorded it within their library.” Mythra then frowned. “But haven’t they all disappeared?
“Hmm,” Marron folded her arms, “Actually… I had a thought on this. My sister was keeping tabs on an investigation of the tunnels that happened about… oh, two years ago? Maybe we can also look into that?”
“There’s investigations of the tunnels every day, what made that one special?” Jacobi asked, but shrugged. “Still, it’s better than what we have now. My family might be my priority, but I still want my people to be safe too.”
“I refuse to let the people of Rohane down,” Marron replied. “They accepted me, a foreigner, as their queen, and even long after I have ruled, I am still treated as a legendary figure by them. I… I know I haven’t been the best about it, but I’ll make it when it counts!”
“If the people of Alista want me back, which I highly doubt it, I’ll do my best to save them.” Mythra sighed. “I’ll be the heroine that they need.”
"I'm sure they do, Mythra, and I don't think they have any distaste at you either, Marron. I've seen photos of your statues in Berabil and Alistara, you know. They leave gifts there during holidays," Jacobi smiled. "I know my people can be a bit prickly, but they've admired you two for this long; they'll look to you to save them, if our fears are correct. I know you can. And I'll be there to help."
“You better!” Marron smirked, patting Jacobi on the back. “We didn’t bring you back just to make our bed warmer!”
“A-Are you sure?” Mythra shook her head in disbelief. “It’s been centuries and whole entire generations passed from the subjects I once ruled. Only legends passed down and the media press just fed them the information. Hell, there is a conspiracy theory that we did some cloning or a flesh doll to make you out there.”
"Flesh… doll?" Jacobi looked disgusted, but still gave Mythra a kiss on the forehead. "Ugh. They cracked open my empty coffin, Mythra, and they did some kind of test on my blood. Trust me, everyone believes you. Just let them support you, alright?"
“Honestly, nobody believes those stupid tabloids anyways, right?” Marron shrugged. “Did you know they said I was like some mutated draconid with birth defects that made me look more elven, or that I’m like actually the great-great-whatever granddaughter of Marron posing as her. It’s the dumbest things I’ve ever heard, and I’m from a family of space elves who live on a frozen planet whose mom is the reincarnation of a goddess, who also had two kids with a brass dragon and raised them in a ninja village. Seriously, my own life sounds more like an interesting tabloid story than anything those hacks write up.”
“I had a similar article that I was some imposterous descendant of Mythra.” Mythra sighed. “But you made your point. I’ll take your word on it, and see if the public does support me.”
"Suddenly I have a headache to go with my worry about the future," Jacobi grumbled, laying back down. "I am going back to sleep. Feel free to join me."
“Sure…” Mythra sighed as she crashed down the bed. “Come here Jacobi..” She cuddled up to him and offered a hug to Marron.
“Yeah, yeah, more sleep is nice.” Marron yawned, accepting the hug and resting alongside them. Whatever these nightmares meant, that could wait until morning at least…
------
A Week Later, Calihain
The summer sun beat down from its midday height on the glass and tarmac of Calihain International Airport, the ground crew vigorously wiping away sweat with rags as they worked. It was an average day, by most standards, maybe a little hotter, maybe a little drier, maybe a little shakier, thought air traffic controller James Bertrand as he watched the glass wiggle slightly… then he blinked. He knew this was tempered, bulletproof glass, nothing short of an earthquake might even have a chance, and earthquakes didn’t happen in Calihain, but then the glass shook again, and again, harder, and shattered.
James fell back, arms over his face as glass fell around him, scrambling to get out of the shards as he stood and look out at the airfield, where the runway had started to resemble a wave made of asphalt, then suddenly began to collapse directly in the center.
“What in the fuck?” He said, leaning over to get a better look, as a thin golden spire shot out of the newly forming hole. Words soon left him as it was followed by more and more building, and the air traffic control tower suddenly buckled, James falling forward and out the busted window, the ground falling away beneath him as a solid, golden truss rose to meet his head.
------
It was easier to see from the air; the ground suddenly seemed to liquify, shortly followed by a tall but thin spire emerging, then a sudden eruption from the ground of a pure, golden tower, pushing through the earth like a sword through paper, the entire airport, possibly the largest single one in all of Mystria crumbling, buckling, falling and breaking. From up high, the masses below were thankfully not visible, but it was easy to imagine the loss as the damage spread, huge fissures appearing in the ground, creeping through the Calihain river, up and south and west into the plains and the suburbs, each and every one followed by more and more towers and spires, and then a groan, so loud you could hear it even a mile above the planet, sounded.
The shining glass and metal towers of Tech Town, Calihain’s famous technology and entertainment district rose almost as high into the sky as the golden tower now replacing the airport, and then they didn’t. The dust cloud covered the entire sky as a district that held over five million people on its own collapsed and disappeared in its entirety, a golden wall rising in its place, cutting the once great city of Calihain in half, as the tower seemed to stretch higher.
The lifeblood of the capital, the Calihain river itself, tumbled downwards into the newly made abyss, one hundred five thousand meters per second cubed of water falling to nowhere, wasted on the vast emptiness left behind by this Golden Tower, even as it still rose higher, until finally it seemed to pull the very earth up with it, causing the tumultuous waterfall to become a flood around the base of the tower.
Finally, after half an hour of the chaos, it seemed that the immediate quakes, fissures, and collapses were over; nearly half of the capital city of Rohane Alista had practically disappeared, half collapsed buildings, rubble, and a dust cloud the main evidence places like Calihain International Airport had ever existed in the first place. As silence and horrified calm seemed to settle on the land, the skies began to darken, an odd, pulsing light seemed to strobe in slow beats from near the top of the tower.
