The Obsidian Tale
Episode 18
[Opening 2 music]
~ Terrain Valley – Southern Portion - Exit ~
Felix and Rina made their way down
the Terrain Valley in peace. The Terraineous fell into the abyss below a cliff,
but so did Hazel… The two teenagers were quiet throughout their long walk,
reflecting on what just happened. Several times, Felix checked to see if Rina
was feeling any better.
“Hey…” Felix said quietly.
There was no answer. Rina kept
walking without turning around.
“Rina? Can we talk?”
Rina finally stopped after an hour
of walking.
“I know, maybe this time it really
was my fault for not being able to protect Hazel. I don’t know where my mom is.
I couldn’t protect Lydia, Forrest, nor Leo. I lost Clyde, and now we lost Hazel
forever. It was because I wasn’t smart or strong enough, I understand that. I
just hope… to change that, you know?”
Rina didn’t move.
“Sometimes when I see how
charismatic you are in getting those shards for Lydia, and then successfully
getting them, it made me have hope. I felt that maybe… maybe I can change. Maybe I can become stronger
and stop the Gammel army from chasing Lydia for good.”
Felix could hear a sigh up front.
“I really hope we can still travel
together and find those shards.” He watched her. “Heh… You even called me by my
real name for the first time back there. That surprised me too.”
“Suspenders,” Rina turned around
with her eyes still red and watery. “I’m sorry.” [Music 18.1]
Felix took a step back. “H-Huh?!”
“Maybe, just maybe if we argued a
little less… maybe we would have been able to protect Hazel. That beast
appeared because…”
“Rina…”
“This is why I’m afraid of dragging
people along. This already happened once before, and I was afraid to see it
happen again.”
Felix looked away in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
Rina looked up, taking in the
sunlight from above. “Before Lydia and I began running away, we lived in a nice
meadow not too far from your village. It was caved in by so many trees and
mountains that it was just us – and our adopted parents.”
Rina sat on a rock, continuing her
story.
“We lived with them for seven years
in isolation, but new technology boomed. That stupid Floir lady appeared by the
meadow with a weird tracker. They must have been able to track Obsidian energy
coming from our direction. When our mother saw her coming through the window
with Gammel armor, our father ordered our mom to hide in the basement until the
coast was clear. I refused to run away. I was tired of doing that. I told him I
would stay with him and protect him if anything happened. Then…”
Rina clenched onto a clump of sand.
“Lydia and I stood behind a wall and we would come out to stop the woman if she
did anything to our dad. But, she was quick. She had a gun behind her hand this
whole time, and she pulled the trigger on him. She hesitated and must have shot
him through self-defense, but I don’t care. She shot him; what’s done is done. I
was going to come out and blast her in the face with my fireball, but Lydia
knew it would take time for me to cast it. So, she forced me to run away with
her. We ended up by the riverbed where we had no escape. The woman caught up to
us and the only thing to do was to jump into the river where we were pushed
closer to the Village of Saradeli.”
“I… can’t believe this,” Felix said
slowly.
“Looking at that Floir lady just
makes me so angry, you know? I guess that’s what also fueled my anger in
general. Every time something happens, I just keep running and running away.”
“What about your real family? Why
did you live with adoptive parents?”
Rina looked away. “I don’t know
where my real parents are.”
“What?”
“I was ten. I didn’t know much. I
just ran away and never questioned it until I found Lydia and my adoptive parents.”
“I can help find them wit-“
“Stop. I’m not out to look for them.
I’m searching for the shards - for Lydia.”
“Then I’ll help you until we get
them all. We’ll keep going until the very end of the world if that’s what it
takes!”
“Suspenders, I don’t know. This
journey has been very dangerous and-“
“I don’t care! We’ve been through a
lot and we’re still alive. That’s all that matters. We need to get to the Yucan
Tempa and we can figure something out from there, okay?”
Rina chuckled. “Fine, fine. Follow
along if you want. You’re still an idiot.”
Felix laughed with her. “I’ll take
that as a ‘yes’!” [End music]
~ Vaticul Canyon – Rocky Roads ~
Several hours later, Felix and Rina
made their way to a path with rocks all over the place. Felix took a step
forward, almost tripping on the most flimsy rock nearby. [Music 15.1]
“I know we shouldn’t bring Hazel up
to the topic, but uh, do you remember what she said about how to get to the
Yucan Tempa?”
Rina grabbed a piece of smooth rock
from the ground. “I think she said it’s west on the world map, which means east
from where we’re coming from. Something is strange about these rocks though.”
“What’s wrong with them?”
“They seem to be too perfect. Look
at the rest of them. All of these rocks are more like marbles than anything
else. How are these rocks being formed this way?”
“Magic,” Felix joked.
“Wait, that’s it!”
“What? I was just kidding.”
“Suspenders, remember what that Remy
kid was telling us? He saw a spirit in his dreams talking about how she wanted
someone strong to help her protect Lydia since the spirit couldn’t do it
herself. I think she’s actually existent, no matter how dead she is. She’s just
using magic to spiritually connect with unconscious people like Remy.”
Felix became frightened. “Wha? That
sounds really creepy!”
“And I know it does sound weird and impossible.
But, we’ve already seen a bunch of that. Remember that creepy woman that you
kept bowing down to back at the Silver Forest?”
“Lady Pria!”
“Yeah, that weirdo. She said she
would teach me more magic if I could find her. Maybe, just maybe she’s hidden
somewhere up ahead?”
Felix tried to climb on the biggest
boulder which was also perfectly circled. “Do you think side-tracking to this
canyon would help us?”
“Of course, dummy.”
“Then I trust you. We should go and
find Lady Pria.”
Rina shook her head. “Alright. This
will be really quick. I’m only doing this to gain more magic to help stop that
damn bastard Gammel army from doing further damage.”
~ Vaticul Canyon – Central Depths ~
Walking along the road, the two
teenagers saw nothing but more perfect rocks. The sun shined on them and they
were getting quite dehydrated, but now was not the time for exhaustion. They
needed to keep going until they reach the green, Gammel lands.
Felix placed his hand over his
forehead to see from afar. “There is the sea just ahead. Nothing seems to be
around here.”
“I don’t understand. These rocks
can’t just form this way.”
Felix continued walking closer to
the edge before the sea. “Yep, nothing seems to be-“ He suddenly fell into a
giant pit. “HEREEEEE!!!!” He screamed. His voice disappeared in the distance.
Rina raised an eyebrow without
showing any worry. “Guess he found an entrance.” She began taking the staircase
that was opened up from Felix’s fall. [End music]
At the bottom, Felix tried to push
his head out of the dirt ground. Rina ignored him as she went closer to a
flashy, brown aura in front of them.
“A shrine under the rocks?” Rina
asked. Felix finally got his head out of the ground as Rina continued, “Hazel
mentioned the Vaticul Canyon. Is this it though? It’s the opposite of a
canyon.”
“I recently did that.” Lady Pria
appeared within the aura! [Music 8.1]
“I knew it!” Rina pointed at her.
“You hag. Finally appearing a second time, huh!”
Felix bowed down to her. “L-Lady
Pria, it is you! I thank you for your appearance.”
Lady Pria came into tears again. “Oh
no… This world…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I bet you can
sense that this world is falling apart with the lack of Obsidian energy, but
we’ll spare you the time and tell you that the Gammel army is using the energy
for something worse.”
“No… This world is just so
beautiful, and it needs more trees. I will work on that immediately.”
Rina turned to Felix, “She cries
about the most stupid things, I swear.”
“R-Rina, be respectful!”
Rina finger-pointed at Lady Pria
again, “So, you! Are you gonna teach me some magic or what?”
“Earth magic.”
“Earth? What is Earth?”
“How should I know? They should just
call it Rhadessian magic. I don’t know who thought of the idea of ground powers
having to do with this term ‘Earth’. My point is, that is the kind of magic I
used for this area.”
Rina examined the whole cavern. “Why
would you do that here? And why do you use magic on certain places like this
and the forest?”
“I use the corresponding magic in
the most natural habitats that coincide with the proper nature. The Silver
Forest was just the starting point. There are four main elements with two new
elements that branch out of it. In time, you will find them. Well, that’s if
you do find them.”
“Oh shut up. I will, just watch me.
For now, teach me! I need to use all kinds of magic to make me stronger and
stop the Gammel army!”
“First off, we have to fix that tiny
little baby fire of yours, but that can be way later.”
“Wh-What did you say?! Ergh, I’ll
show you! Let’s start with the training already!”
What Women Want
~~~
After several minutes of training, Lady Pria dispersed her aura. Her
sleeves stopped flapping slowly through the wind and she stood onto the ground
like a normal human being. Rina took a few steps back, readying her arms. Lady
Pria then told her that her stance is a bit too stiff.
Felix, already being bored, sat
against a rock on the side of the room. Rina fixed her pose, but this time her
motions before getting into a certain pose were too rocky.
“Not like that, woman! If you want
to show true magic, you must do the pose properly.”
“Damn it! It looks the freaking same
each time I try it!”
“Patience is also importance.”
Rina blushed. “Tch. I have
patience.”
“Focus on your legs. Feel the
vibration of the Rhadessian ground. Do you sense it?”
“Ohhhh I’m sensing a lot of vibes if
you know what I mean,” She said angrily.
Lady Pria shrugged. “That’s fine as
well. Be angry with the ground and let it know you mean business. Show the
ground that you are in control.”
Rina stomped her foot. “I tried but
it just sounds so stupid!” As she stomped, she made the ground crackle.
Felix could feel a slight shaking
which vibrated from Rina’s stomp. He began to hug the boulder next to him.
“I-I could use a friend to hug right
now!” He mentioned, remembering Lydia, Forrest, Leo, and Hazel. He frowned when
he thought of Hazel.
Rina smiled. “Hehe, I did it!”
“No, that was not right,” Pria
disagreed with her. “The way the ground crackled was not smooth at all. You
have to control your energy.”
Rina sighed. “Alright already. Let’s
take things a little slower then, sheesh.” [End music]
~~~
It took them almost an hour and
Felix was already sleeping next to the boulder. By then, Rina was slightly able
to control her Earth powers, but only the controlled energy could get
transferred into small results. If she wanted a large result, she would have
less control which would be a huge opportunity cost for her. [Music 5.1]
Rina made fire appear from her
hands, “Fire, and now Earth! Hey lady, do you think you can teach me how to
catalyze Earth powers into my weapon?”
“I do not specialize in catalyzing
weapons with elemental powers. It is new technology and you must figure it out
on your own. Knowing that Earth itself cannot be catalyzed within your knives
compared to fire, you must be creative. You can manipulate the ground easier if
you stabbed the knife onto the floor and focused on the ground at the same
time. Maybe something magical can happen. Literally.”
Rina grinned. “Hrm… It sounds kind
of confusing, but I’ll get used to it. Also, I have one more question for you.”
“And what may that be?”
“Were you the one who channeled a
spiritual connection with Remy, a little boy in South Ouli Brye?”
“Yes. It was me.”
“I was hoping you would deny it at
first. I was so ready to fish out the answer from you.”
“Would you rather have me deny it
and cause you turmoil?”
“Good point.”
“Why do you ask?”
Rina took a step forward. “You
needed someone to help you protect Lydia. I have some follow-up questions on
this.” Lady Pria began to pay attention to her. “Who are you waiting for when
it comes to someone helping you, and why do you care so much about Lydia when
you don’t even know her?”
“I am a spirit. I cannot physically
tweak the world to my commands. I only guide it.”
“Lame. You’re no spirit. I can
totally see you.”
“Believe what you may, and it will
be the end of your imaginational horizon. You seem to be interested in Lydia,
yes?”
“She’s like a sister to me. Of
course I want to help her, and I was wondering if I’m able to be the one you
can teach.”
“You do show charisma, but lack the
patience. However, I have the
patience to teach you, if you are willing to search for me throughout the
world. As for the second question, Lydia is important in preserving Rhadessian
energy. If she dies, there will no longer be energy supplied to the Frolix
Volcano. Without the energy, there will be a lack of fire energy, thus creating
an imbalance between the four main elements.”
Rina squinted her eyes in
uncertainty. “Now hold on! You want to preserve her energy too?!”
“My wish is not like the Gammel
army, however. I want the preservation of Obsidian energy, and it only takes
Lydia to stay alive. They want to take the energy and use it to its full
potential while taking advantage of the world itself. However, it is quite
strange that I am not sensing lethal murder intentions coming from the
lieutenants.”
Rina paused. “Are you telling me
people like Floir don’t want to kill Lydia?”
“Perhaps somebody else in the
government intends to, or at least use her energy – causing her lifetime pain
and turmoil.”
Rina pouted. “You have a point. So,
all you want me to do is keep her alive, right?”
“Unless you want her to pass the
energy down to the next generation, if you know what I mean, then you have no
other choice.”
“Yeah, I’d rather not have Lydia go
through such matters at this time. I’d rather protect her, thank you. And I
promise you that!”
Lady Pria prayed to her. “Then you
have my blessings, even if you are a scrawny girl who…” She began to cry. “is
not strong for this world just yet.”
“Hey, don’t be crying about that,
damn it!!”
Lady Pria began to vanish with a
sudden chuckle. Rina softly stomped her foot and the ground created a
stalagmite towards Felix.
“Yeowch!! What was that?!”
“Me, idiot. We’re leaving.”
Felix turned his head left and right
several times. “Wait, what? Where did Lady Pria go? What happened? How long was
I out?!”
“I don’t know, years?” Rina joked as
she headed for the staircase. “I made a promise that I will protect Lydia no
matter what. Regardless if she has those shards, she needs to stay alive. I
just know she’s alive this time, and that’s for sure.”
“What makes you a hundred percent
sure this time?”
“Let’s say she really is a spirit.
Then, she would have sensed Lydia’s death. She mentioned nothing of the sort,
so that means Lydia is still out there somewhere! She’s still breathing and she
needs my help!”
Felix stood up. “We should find her
along with those shards then!”
Rina agreed while making her way
back up out of the canyon. It’s no wonder there was no canyon at all. With the
name kept intact, the place went underground with the Earth magic that Lady
Pria used. [End music]
What Does 'Earth' Mean?
~ Road to Yucan Tempa ~
Felix fell off of the smooth rocks.
Rina walked through it much simpler than she had before entering the canyon. On
the way down, they decided to head west towards the Yucan Tempa this time.
Along the way, they could see a bunch of people in the same Ouli Brye outfits.
Some had long, beige coats on while some others only wore a two-piece Arabic
uniform.
“Whoa, where did these people come
from?” Felix asked.
“A pilgrimage to the Yucan Tempa.
From what I read in the books, the Yucan Tempa is not a place, but a large
mobile camp set that moves from place to place. This year, they’re camping at
the edge of the Gammel army.”
“Is there a reason?”
“I don’t know that part, but it’s
interesting that they’re crashing there this year. Why stop there at a crucial
time like now?”
Felix also remembered what Garnett
said. She was heading to the Yucan Tempa.
“Are all these people a part of some
kind of rebellious union against the Gammel army?”
Rina scratched her head. “Um… That
could make sense. If you think about it, Garnett left without Ace’s permission.
Ace is only focusing on restoring North Ouli Brye, so Garnett is probably
pursuing the enemy territory on her own.”
Felix began to follow the
pilgrimage. “Alright, then we should go along with them. I think that would be
a good idea.”
“You are so simple-minded. I’d rather
head to the Yucan Tempa,” She walked the same path as Felix.
“…Isn’t that where these people are
going…?” Felix questioned her. Rina ignored him and kept going. “Hey Rina, wait
up!”
The Master Trickster
~ Yucan Tempa – Entrance ~
Rina and Felix hid behind a giant
boulder right before the entrance to the camp set. If they were seen right
outside the camp, they would be considered outsiders, especially if Garnett
were to spot them. The Yucan Tempa was small, but also divided into two parts.
The first part is the camp set itself, filled with all of the members of Ouli
Brye. Still, the important question is to ask why they decided to camp there in
this particular year. [Music 10.4]
The
second part led to an open pass going up onto a short mountain. The mountain
itself contained one large cottage and a coffee restaurant for those who are
traveling. Next to these two wooden buildings was the station which required a
permit to enter the monorails into the grassland, Gammel territories.
“So, what should we do? We’re not
even allowed in both areas,” Felix said.
Rina stood up. “Be a leader for
once, Suspenders! Take initiative.” She began to ready her position for fire
magic.
“W-Wait, you’re not gonna do this
again! That’s terrible initiative. Maybe we can talk to them?”
Rina freely entered the camp set
without anyone’s permission. “Yeah sure, walk in and find someone to talk to.
You make it sound waaaay too easy.”
“Stop right there!” A familiar, male
voice called out.
Felix panicked. “This is what
happens when you just barge into things, Rina!”
It was Ace! He stood next to
Garnett’s father, Moilin.
“It is good to see you two again,
friends of Leonardo.”
Felix felt guilty for the destruction
of Ouli Brye. “Eheh… I’m surprised you’re not mad at us.”
Ace shook Felix’s hand. “You showed
loyalty towards Leonardo and proved to be victims of the Gammel army. You are
one of us. My name is Ace.”
Rina placed her hands on her hips.
“Oh heck no! Why am I wasting my time choosing a side here?”
“But you’re also not against us,
no?”
“Rina, I think we might as well be
siding with the Lennox government. They’re much friendlier anyway…”
As Felix introduced himself along,
he introduced Rina for him as well.
Moilin handed Ace a letter. “Sir,
one of the men sent a letter about Lake City Prima’s recent infiltration.”
Felix and Rina immediately became
interested in this letter. As Ace began to read the letter quietly, he made a
short gasp.
“Ergh…”
“What’s wrong, sir?”
“It seems the Gammel army entered
and took a rare artifact called the ‘Violet Prism’.”
Felix said to Rina, “That’s one of
the colors of the rainbow. Do you think…?”
“It has to be it. What else does the
damn letter say?”
Ace continued to read. As he
finished, his hands were grasping tightly onto the paper. “It just ends with
the fact that the Gammel army left with the artifact, and then the platforms
leading out of the city have been destroyed. What could have happened? Did the
Gammel army attack its own territory such as the beautiful Lake City Prima?!”
Moilin took a map of the Rhadessian
world from his pocket. “Sir, according to the world map, Lake City Prima is far
northeast from here. The Gammel army is swiftly making its way around the
world. Everywhere, they have infiltrated-“
“Wait! There is a marking on the
corner but it’s slightly scraped off. ‘dia tells the truth’?”
Rina pushed him aside while
forcefully grabbing onto the letter. “Give me that, loser!” She examined it
closely. “I can’t believe this…” [End music]
Felix took a peek as well. “What is
it?”
Rina pointed at the word, ‘dia’. “It
actually says… ‘Lydia tells the truth’.”
“Wh-What does this all mean?”
Rina glared at him. “Lake City Prima
is known to broadcast everything especially to the world, as long as any part
of the world has access to technology such as telescreens. It’s likely that
Lydia told everyone about her being an Obsidian, about her being chased by the
Gammel army, and about how the Gammel army must be a conspiracy! This is why
parts of the city have been destroyed. Something really bad must have happened.
The Gammel army couldn’t have done all that by themselves.”
Felix finally added, “And… anything
that can cause this much of destruction has happened before.”
Both Felix and Rina looked at each
other and then they said at the same time, “Forrest.”
[Ending 2 music]
~~~
On the next episode, we will continue with Felix and Rina's storyline. They're trying to pass through the Yucan Tempa, a pilgrimage to help fight against the Gammel army, but the Gammel military themselves have already staged an attack! What will the two young teenagers do in a battle against a leading mass of adults who are experienced in war? Find out on the next episode of The Obsidian Tale!
~~~
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