Moments of Silence

It was the end of the week, the tavern was packed, as usual, Avion sat in a small, dusty, filthy waiting room. The floor was stained with spilled booze and dried blood. The walls were painted filthy brown. The door creaked and a voice came, “AVION Ya ready?”

Avion stood up and nodded, “Aye chief, let’s get it on.”

Avion followed the man out, his hands wrapped in simple bandages, no gloves, he couldn’t afford any. He followed the scrawny bar keeper out the room and through the narrow hallway before the man stopped and shook his head, “ey Avion… be careful, the other bastard today, he’s a beast I hear.”

Avion stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath, contemplating his decision.

E.H.: He could bring a hidden weapon

S.A.: Avion doesn’t seem to be one in doubt, his hands should suffice

S.L.: Only with fists!

Avion smirks confidently and walks past the scrawny barkeep, “don’t ya worry old man, these elezen fists know no defeat no matter the kind of beast I will be facing. He confidently walks to the ring and then leaps in, jumping no less than 2 meters high, he lands with grace and cracks his neck, and the audience starts cheering. Just below the ring, on a small stage, a bard stands, she admires Avion with awe and then shyly turns to face the drunks who are now cheering and howling.

“AVION! AVION!”

The crowd begins banging their mugs on the tables and shouting even louder as Avion walks around the ring waving at them, but the next moment made his heart sink, and then fire up with anger… Just as he was rejoicing in the crowd’s cheers the 2nd fighter stepped out of the shadows and the crowd went silent, only whispers filled the tavern now as the 2nd fighter quietly walked to the ring. He was massive… Easily a head taller than Avion, Avion was not used to looking up at his opponents.

As his opponent stepped into the ring, the whispers were replaced with crowds stomping their feet on the floor, the synchronized stomping shook the ring and pissed Avion off – ‘I’m the champ… how dare he steal my spotlight’ he thought to himself as he watched the giant crawl into the ring. When his opponent stood before him, Avion suddenly understood what the barkeep meant… This guy was no mere human.

Easily 2 and a half meters tall, twice wider than Avion, our champion gulped as the giant stretched and growled, he paid Avion no attention, only admired the audience who were stomping in sync until he raised his fist and the stomping stopped. Deafening silence filled the air, as the beautiful female bard, on the stage before the ring hit a few strings on her handheld harp, and before Avion noticed it, a beautiful calming melody filled the silence. His heart burned with hatred still. The announcer shouted, “AND TODAY!! GLORIOUS AVION! CHAMPION OF THE FORGOTTEN ALLEY PUB SHALL FACE AGAINST AN INTRUDERRRR!!!! WHO GOES BY THE NAME OVERLORD!!!!”

Avion chuckled to himself- ‘overlord huh? a fitting name for a monster like that..’ Before the announcer could announce the fight start though, Avion jumped on the ropes and using them he sprung himself at the foe, bashing the back of the overlord’s head he landed and the crowd cheered!!

“AVION!!!”

Shouted a woman in the front row.

The bard’s music picked up the tempo! it was now intense. To Avion’s surprise, Overlord did not even respond, he stood, motionless, as his head slowly and firmly turned to look at the hotheaded idiot who is no match to him…

E.H.: Overlord would likely attempt to grab our hero and finish the fight there and then

S.A.: he would crack its neck and give Avion a good old head bump

Overlord turned slowly towards Avion, standing a head taller he walked right over, Avion, froze in his place as suddenly a massive hand landed softly on his head, Overlord smiled as he gave Avion a thumbs up with his other hand, followed by a squeeze, Avion found himself hanging, held up by his head he squirmed and screamed, “AAAAAA” the cheering stopped as people gasped, overlord then threw our champion against the floor. Audible crack and a loud smash, and the audience gasped as Avion coughed. The bard stopped playing and turned, staring at the cruel scene with terror in her eyes. Avion’s eyes rolled back as he passed out, Overlord simply walked to the edge of the ring, pulled the ropes apart, and crawled out, walking off in silence, knowing he was victorious, knowing it was not even worth his time. Glorious Overlord remained unmatched, undefeated.

“GET THE MEDIC!” shouted the announcer as someone in a white coat rushed to the ring casting a healing spell on Avion before climbing inside.

The bard stood there, still terrified, as the silence filled with chatter once more, the audience went back to drinking and minding their business, the fight was now over. What shall our bard do? Will she remain in the pub awaiting to speak with Avion? Will she just leave when her job is done?

S.A.: Zodiark: She is way too worried about Avion to leave now

Lila, realizing the medic would be unable to carry Avion off the ring by himself, followed him up to the ring and offered to help. Together they carried Avion back to the waiting room where he was at the beginning, she then spent the next few hours at the bar, occasionally checking the room where he rested. When Avion awoke, grunting and breathing heavily he sat up in the bed just as the door swung open, in the door, the beautiful bard he saw by the ring stood. She smiled at him and rushed in.

“Oh by the gods are you alright?”

She looked over his body, Avion, clearly still in pain, smirked-.

“Nice, first-time female fan is looking after me, feels nice I must admit.”

As Lila rolls her eyes she replies in a smug voice, “Bold words coming from a loser, I see you are alright, guess I’ll be on my way then.”

She turned around and headed for the door to leave the room. Avion, taken aback by the harsh reply, quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed her arm-.

“Ahh…wait… i…” he let go of her arm in fear of getting slapped, “I was just joking, but you needn’t rub the salt of my loss onto my still fresh wounds, that hurts!”

Lila, without turning to face him, spoke again-.

“My, somebody is touchy after a loss huh? Fine, I’ll accept your apology for the small cost of a single drink.”

Avion sighed, “ugh… I mean, yeah… give me a second. She turned to face him, dried blood covering his lips, beard and under the nose, “yeah, take your time to wash up,” she said as she left the room, “I’ll be at the bar!”

Not much time passed when Avion joined her at the bar and sat beside her, “so, did ya stay here waiting for me to awake? or.. just enjoy the atmosphere?”

Lila smirked, “hmph! well… your eagerness and bravery were quite…admirable I must admit, not many would be foolish enough to strike first at someone like that.”

Avion smirked, “Yeah! well… I never lost a fight before…that guy was just out of this world ya know?”

The scrawny barkeep placed a mug with ale in front of Avion and said with a smirk, “Funny you say that… That’s what I heard, that he is from a different world… how strange indeed, never seen someone so huge before!”

Time flew and the 2 did not notice how it got quite late. Barkeep informed them of the closing but Avion was quite enjoying Lila’s company, and she too was enjoying his stories of the insane fights he has been in, the bar rumbles, and the drunk stories he has heard. So what shall our champion do? Take her home? offer her to go for a walk? Part ways? Or something else?

His offer did not come as a surprise to Lila, but she did warn him.

“Fine… but don’t try anything funny.”

Avion just laughed and shook his head. Shortly after, the 2 found themselves walking through the quiet night. Just as they were about to turn onto her street, the island shook vigorously and they could feel it tilt and begin descending. Avion, being a fighter, maintained his balance and kept Lila in his embrace so she would not fall over.

The 2 looked at each other before Lila spoke with surprising composure, “is it just me… or is the island tilted and descending?”

Avion nodded, “yea… I can feel it too… something isn’t right.”

The 2 stood in silence before speaking at the same time.

“Town Center,” exclaimed Lila.

“The island’s edge,” suggested Avion. Lila looked at him, “Town’s center will have a representative of the government explain what’s happening!”

Avion shook his head, “the edge’s walls are manned by guards and magi-techs.

“The magi-technicians at the wall will surely know what’s going on! Whereas the representative will likely lie to calm the populace,” he explained to Lila who looked at him, eyes wide, breathing heavier than normal, clearly nervous, “i…I guess you’re right…. let’s go .”

He took her hand and they ran to the eastern wall’s edge. Avion knew some guards and magi-techs who worked in that sector, they frequented the pub so he got to know them quite well. As they arrived at the wall all they could see.

There was a commotion of guards and magi-techs running around trying to organize. The wall was broken, a bright light could be seen on the other side, a unit of guards stood in a semi-circle around the hole in the wall, spears pointing at the hole as archers aligned themselves on the wall.

Avion and Lila froze in place, ‘what’s going on? Are we under attack?’ thought Avion, who stood motionless like a statue. Moments passed, nothing was happening, 1 of the guards approached them.

“MOVE CIVILIANS!”

Avion snapped out of his frozen state, “What’s going on guard? bring me to Lieutenant Rozel, I’m an acquaintance!”

Guard hesitated for a moment before saying, “alright, follow me!”

He jogged to the right side of the wall, away from the hole. Avion and Lila followed him. They arrived at a detachment of guards standing in formation with lieutenant Rozel giving a briefing, “ASSIST THE MAGI-TECHS! PROVIDE THEM WITH EQUIPMENT! WE NEED TO DELIVER MORE HARNESSES TO THE WESTERN WALL! GET TO WORK!”

Rozel noticed Avion and motioned him to follow as he walked fast to the supply depot, “Avion my friend! It’s a shitshow here! We got hit by multiple strange objects, large…glowing white spears of sorts. But they’re not attached to anything.One of them knocked out the thrusters on the western side, east side magi-technicians are being dispatched there while our guys are shutting down our thrusters to level out the island but the controls are out so it has to be done manually!”

They entered the deport and Rozel pointed at a stack of 5 crates labeled ‘Harnesses’.

“Take those to the western wall, Avion! We don’t have time to waste.”

Leaving Avion no time to ask questions or even respond, Avion simply followed the order, grabbing the crates he told Lila, “wait for me here, Rozel take care of her.”

But she shook her head, “I’ll carry a couple as well, we got no time to waste.”

Avion felt it’d be pointless to object so he just nodded, and then sprinted out the door with Lila.

As they reached the western wall they noticed it was getting hotter with each step they took. Smoke rising from under the ground, the ground felt hot, everything was covered in smoke, it was hard to breathe and see but that did not stop them. At the western gates after handing the harness crates over to the officers there, they could see many guards sitting against the wall, some were in tears, and all were desperate… Avion swallowed hard as he rushed to the nearest officer offering his aid.

She took her harp off the hook with which she attached it to the back of her harness and struck at the strings as she ran to the guards who sat bunched up in despair. Her song, soothing yet energizing. A perfect combination of calm and energetic. She played tirelessly, she hummed along as she began to sing.

“Oh glory be, oh glory be the wonderful Cloudon, young and beautiful like a fawn. Oh, glory be the guards who defend, defend as we begin our descent!”

She poured her mana into the harp.

And as she continued to play, the sound blasted the smoke away and created a small bubble around where she was playing. The guards couldn’t help but admire her song.

“The sun may yet set on our land, but we shall welcome it the next day with a smile and expand .”

Moments later the guards were getting back up and cheering. They put their helmets back on and rushed off, back into the smoke, into the unknown future.

Lila watched them dash off, a single tear rolling down her cheek, proud, happy and afraid. She prayed for their safety in her mind, she prayed for the safety of Cloudon.

When the guards all rushed off she hung the harp back and dashed off as well to assist with what she could. In the meantime, Avion found himself diving off the island on a harness bringing tools to the Magi-techs who were hanging off the harnesses and working on the engine under the island. The heat was immense, the engine was overheating, the coolant was leaking and the controls were busted. Ropes were catching fire and snapping.

An hour passed, and then another. Exhausted, burned, and barely breathing, Avion found himself hanging by a pickaxe holding 1 of the magi-techs who was currently focused on the seal of repair, his role critical in stopping the coolant leak while other techs repaired the pipe. Shouting, and screams of the falling techs and guards, land can be seen, and the island is falling, fast and towards the ocean. Avion held with all his might when a shout could be heard.

“COOLANT DIVERTED RELEASE THE SEALS!”

Avion barely hanging on, the tech on his other hand passed out instantly after releasing the seal, and the pickaxe wobbled. Avion had to decide to let go of the tech, or try to hold on and hope someone will save them before he loses his grip and they both fall. What will our brave fighter do?

Avion clung to the pickaxe and reminded himself he is the champion that never gives up! More than his own life was at stake! Giving up was not an option.’ The pickaxe wobbled again, “DON’T GIVE UP ON ME, YOU STUPID TOOL!”

He shouted angrily as he noticed another tech waving at him, Avion swung on the pickaxe and tossed the passed out tech to the other 1 who waved at him, he watched the body fly through the air and the other tech catch his comrade, and the moment he saw that he smiled, and as he smiled, the panels gave way and Avion found himself falling… He did not scream, he only rejoiced that he saved the tech and was of assistance. But suddenly, a violent jerk made him snap out of his ego-trip of feeling like a hero, he hung in the arms of Lila who was grunting at how heavy he was, “YOU FOOL! ABSOLUTE FOOL! How dare you fall when I had just found you??? Idiot! I swear to gods I’m going to kill you when we get back to the surface!”

Avion clung onto her harness and laughed.

About 10 minutes of hanging later, the heat was soothing and cheerful shouting from the techs could be heard. They were not being pulled out by the guards at the top, the shouting continued.

“SECTOR ONE CLEAR FOR REIGNITION.”

“SECTOR 3 READY.”

“SECTOR 2 GREEN LIGHT.”

“SECTOR 4 STILL HOT! HOLD!! HOLD!!!”

The land was getting closer. The guards all prayed, the civilians behind them prayed… The entire populace of Cloudon fell silent as they all prayed. Avion watched the ground getting closer as he embraced Lila, standing on the edge, he whispered to her, “No matter what happens, I want you to know that I…. I fell for you at first sight.”

To which Lila responded, “I’ll be expecting a proposal when this is all over then.”

And so he smiled and continued to embrace her.

A shout was heard, “SECTOR 4 IS A GO! IGNITION!!!” followed by a joyful cheer coming from underneath the island, and all around them. Linkshells went off as cheering was heard from every part of town.

“19…18….” an officer beside them counted when suddenly a violent jerk sent all those who were standing to the ground, like an elevator suddenly stopping, they all fell and tumbled.

“IGNITION SUCCESSFUL! MAXIMUM POWER!” the tech lead shouted into the linkshell as the officer, who was laying on the ground now, continued counting, “14….13…..12….”

Avion tightened his embrace on Lila and clenched his teeth. With another violent jerk, the island shook and rumbled, and some buildings shattered from the immense impact, it felt like a sudden earthquake that ended in a split second. Steam, smoke and heat obscured their vision. Lila closed her eyes, every passing second felt like an eternity! Every time the officer spoke it felt like days passed between each number as he counted.

“6…5…4…” the officer’s voice, muffled by the loud hissing and rumbling, could barely be heard. Another jerk, the island spun a little and then a yet another sudden shake.

Buildings collapsing, people screaming, the hiss of steam and the rumbling are deafening, and splashes of water like heavy rain fell upon all of the lands as the thrusters hit the ocean water.

“2….1….” followed by a loud splash! The impact sent them flying and tumbling.

Some time passed, Avion awoke, his vision obscured by steam and dust, he could hear grunting and mumbling, distant shouting, and quiet prayers. In his arms Lila laid still, unharmed by the looks of it.

He laid her down and checked her breath, she was breathing, she was alive. He hugged her and cried out, “WE LIVED!!!!” as all other sounds were replaced by a unanimous cheer.

With time the dust settled, and the island sat atop the ocean. Countless were injured, and some were missing… Some were buried under rubble. The guards who could walk rushed to assist the injured and to search for survivors trapped under the rubble.

Days passed, and the island remained seated while the people were treated and recovered. Casualties were minimal, and although they were mourned, they were hailed as heroes. A month passed, and the rubble was cleared up. Some buildings were rebuilt and the engine operations were restored fully. The island took flight once more.

Avion and Lila found themselves living by the western gate near the great catastrophe memorial. To this day the people of Cloudon have no clue what those foreign objects that almost caused a wipe of their civilization were, but the island and people live on.