Episode One: Eye of the Storm

    Manifest: A Shattered Future

               Episode One: Eye of the Storm

 

               “This city is an insult to the true brutality of our world. Aegea stands at the edge of the sea as if it has the strength to hold this position, but its people are fragile. They do not deserve the illusion of peace.”

               The cloaked man grimaced as he stood upon the quiet road which led to the city. Electrical lights scattered the buildings and pierced the night, illuminating banks of low clouds as they drifted overhead. The breeze carried in moisture from the nearby ocean, and the moonlight forced tiny droplets to shimmer. No walls or structures protected the city. Vulnerable people wandered the quiet streets. Houses stood at the city’s edge, practically taunting the darkness to rear its ugly head.

               “This fragile peace is no more stable than a house of cards. The balance only appears real, but the slightest push will return it to its natural state. They’re clinging to memories of a world long lost to time,” said the man as he reached into his bag.

               After fumbling through a deck of scattered spells, he extracted a black monolith and a blue monolith from his bag. He tapped them together and then set the black stone onto the quiet road; a gentle hum sounded from its resonating structure. In just milliseconds, a black light emanated from the monolith, and its wielder stepped back as the glow expanded. Obsidian energy spiraled together from the night as a powerful entity ascended from the monolith. Rumbles of thunder sounded from the transformation, and gale-force winds descended upon the dusty street. Sand and droplets of moisture lifted into the spiraling air. The sudden storm rapidly intensified, and in seconds, the man saw the silhouette of a sorcerer standing in the center of the storm.

               “I knew I could count on you. Ride the wind and strike this city from the shore! I’ll attack from the land; you attack from the sea. Break free from my hold! Rampage! Exert your rage upon this city!” shouted the man as he unleashed his monster.

***

               “Hey, Altair! What the hell is going on? We don’t normally get storms this time of night! Are we being attacked?” asked Romulo as he rushed through the streets.

               While frightened citizens ran desperately for shelter, Altair veered out of an alley and dashed over to his ally. As the two soldiers ran together through the pouring rain, Altair answered, “It’s worse than you think! There’s a Rampager on the shore; I took off to alert the monks. But I ran into Terrance on the way, and he said there’s a conjuror attacking from the south! From Adriatica, of course. I’m headed that way now!”

               “Two attacks at once? Holy hell, man! Who’s gonna stop the Rampager on shore?” Romulo asked as thunder shook the storming sky.

               “I don’t know; I can’t be in two places at once! Whoever fights the Rampager has their work cut out for them. It looked pretty monstrous to me,” Altair answered.

               As the two friends raced southward, a flash of lightning illuminated the night to reveal the silhouettes of people running about. Even when the lightning faded, Romulo saw the fiery light of a fierce battle in the south. The city rumbled with a series of loud crashes, drowning out the constant thunder.

               With a resolute grunt, Romulo stopped in his tracks and swerved. As he sprinted away from his friend, he shouted over the pouring rain, “Someone needs to stop the monster on shore! Good luck in your fight!”

               Even as he raced past frightened people and ran through alleyways, Romulo could practically feel his old friend’s desire to retort. He could practically hear Altair’s frustration from a distance, but he cleared this thought from his mind when he saw the scarlet glow of distant fire. He accelerated his run, jumped over a bench, and dashed down a brick road that led straight to the sea. Even from a distance, he saw fiery light dancing on the crashing waves. The powerful storm had angered the ocean, but even the downpour could not extinguish the flames. Romulo smelled both the petrichor of rain and the stench of distant fire, but he narrowed his eyes to fight through his exhaustion.

               After minutes of running, Romulo emerged onto the beach with a look of shock. Flames fought against the pouring rain as they crept across seaside shops, and blinding wind tore the sand from the beach. A towering figure stood in the heart of the chaos, surrounded by a vortex of gusting sand and spiraling rain. A mother and her child screamed as they pushed their way out of a burning building. Powerful waves slammed ashore and devoured the beach.

               “Rampager! Can you speak? I know this is a longshot, but why are you doing this?!” Romulo shouted at the sorcerer in the heart of the vortex.

               The sorcerer stared back but said nothing, leaving Romulo to contemplate his next move. But as he saw the state of the burning buildings, he decided that he could not waste any time figuring out his enemy. He instead reached into his jacket pocket and extracted a blue monolith. After taking a deep breath, he tapped his knuckles upon it with enough force to make it ring. The stone vibrated in his hand until he set it down upon the wet sand.

               “I’ve heard that most Rampagers escape their conjuror’s control, but I don’t think that’s the case here. I think they released you just to cause this chaos. Not that it matters; you don’t understand a word I say. I’ll have to stop you in the only way I know how. With my Ice Crystal Barricade,” Romulo announced as a blue glow ascended from his monolith.

               In that moment, an enormous structure of ice materialized in the heart of the swirling energy. Romulo felt the temperature plummet as the sorcerer he conjured took a forward step. As it advanced, it froze the wet sand beside it. Even the enemy sorcerer watched with intrigue as the icy behemoth approached. Though he shivered, Romulo quickly sifted through the spell cards in his bag until he found two he could use. He passed them to his living wall of ice just before it moved too far away.

               But to Romulo’s surprise, the Typhoon Paladin patiently awaited this approach. As soon as the icy barricade entered its proximity, the opposing sorcerer cast a powerful spell. A web of lightning shot across the sky, and heavy waves crashed ashore in the background. Raindrops and saltwater splashed upon Romulo as the enemy’s magic pulled in his creature. A vortex of water and wind dragged the barricade against its will.

               As the Typhoon Paladin steadied its arm and made it glow with luminous electricity, Romulo desperately shouted at his sorcerer, practically begging it to defend itself. But because the Ice Crystal Barricade was still bound by the deafening vortex of wind and water, it had no way to fight back. The enemy struck with enough force to partially shatter the wall of ice. Romulo winced as he saw the energetic glow in his monolith falter, but the connection did not break. And now that he saw an opening, he enthusiastically shouted for his creature to fight back. The temperature fell quickly as the Ice Crystal Barricade slammed stalagmites into the enemy, sending a scattershot of ice splinters into the air.

               “Yes! Nice work! Alright, cast your magic: Berserk Heart!” shouted Romulo as his creature enchanted itself with a powerful spell.

               After enchanting itself with a visible fury, the sentient ice structure struck its enemy with another wave-like arm of stalagmites. Shards of broken ice scattered across the beach, and the Typhoon Paladin grimaced as the impact nearly knocked it to the ground. Romulo grinned with excitement as he prepared to end the fight, but then a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. The storm intensified so suddenly that the nearby flames nearly extinguished; their vigorous embers illuminated the falling rain with a touch of fire. Almost as if the storm symbolized the sorcerer’s vitality, the rampaging enemy steadied its electrified fist and prepared to counterattack.

               But as the Typhoon Paladin went to attack, Romulo smiled widely and yelled, “Now’s your chance! Barricade, use your Curse of Frozen Chains!”

               As Romulo’s sorcerer unleashed its curse, the rain which surrounded Typhoon Paladin turned to ice. Chains of ice then enwrapped its torso, binding its arms and preventing attack. Romulo grinned when he saw the success of his strategy, but even this could not stop the Rampager. Instead of retreating or surrendering, the Typhoon Paladin raced forward with startling speed. It bypassed its enemy, racing toward Romulo and the blue monolith which had manifested his sorcerer.

               By exerting his will directly upon the blue monolith, Romulo urged his Ice Crystal Barricade to retreat as quickly as it could. However, the sorcerer’s size restricted its movement; it failed to come within striking distance of the enemy. Raindrops fell upon the living structure of ice, glistening in the light of nearby embers. The howling wind stripped flakes from its surface and carried them away. Just inches from the blue monolith, Typhoon Paladin cast a spell despite the chains which had bound its arms.

               Romulo watched with distaste as Typhoon Paladin became unshackled from his icy chains in that moment. But instead of merely tossing the chain aside, he holstered the weapon and then forced his arm to electrically illuminate. He then threw his glowing fist forward and struck the blue monolith, shattering the connection between it and the Ice Crystal Barricade. With no energy to uphold it, Romulo’s sorcerer collapsed under its own weight and fell upon the wet sand. Broken ice scattered across the beach as the entity faded away, leaving behind icy shards which shimmered in the glow of lightning.

               Stumbling with a startled stare, Romulo shook his head and then unholstered a green monolith from his pocket. Without wasting a moment, Romulo jolted aside and slammed his knee into the monolith as he ran. The green stone vibrated with a reverberating hum, and Romulo set it onto the beach as luminous energy brought life to the pouring rain. He watched in desperation as a second sorceress ascended from the green monolith.

               Romulo shouted aloud, “Dancing Wind Priestess, get ready to strike!”

               But when his sorceress prepared to attack with wind which spiraled behind her, the enemy showed a sinister smile and reactivated the same curse which had bound it in the past. By unleashing the Curse of Frozen Chains, the enemy sorcerer enchained his priestess before she could attack. As he realized the precariousness of his fighter’s position, Romulo passed her a spell card and compelled her to cast it immediately.

               “Launch him away; this is your chance! Invoke the Whirlwind!” yelled Romulo.

               By invoking the magic of the spell in her hand, the Dancing Wind Priestess summoned a whirlwind from the fearsome sky. It descended at an inescapable speed, stripping sand from the beach and raindrops from the air. When the whirlwind devoured Typhoon Paladin, it lifted the enemy into the air and then threw him to a distance, but the enemy seemed unconcerned with this movement. After Romulo passed another spell to his sorceress, he compelled her to advance—away from both him and the enemy.

               However, the Typhoon Paladin did not let her escape. Before she could get far, he quickly advanced toward her and away from the city, electrifying his fist as he ran. The electric glow illuminated the falling rain as he closed in on his target, and then he hurled his fist with all his strength.

               “There we go! Now’s your chance!” shouted Romulo.

               The enemy sorcerer looked bewildered as Dancing Wind Priestess’ magic encircled him with a spiritual pull. The magic depowered his attack as it assailed his vitality, but even when he ran away, the Typhoon Paladin could not escape this curse. Without any way to fight back, he instead ran away from his enemy—turning his attention toward Romulo instead. But as the forceful rain poured around them, the rampaging sorcerer took this opportunity to cast a spell of his own. White magic ignited his armor as the healing magic took hold. Romulo watched with concern as the healing breeze engulfed the orchestrator of this attack.

               Even though he had confounded his enemy to reduce their mobility, Romulo knew that he had to act quickly. Now that the Typhoon Paladin had restored its health with a healing spell, it could freely strike his green monolith and shatter its connection. Despite his sorceress’ speed, he knew that she could not withstand the strike, and therefore he had to use her to go on the offensive. Without wasting another moment, Romulo compelled his Dancing Wind Priestess to sprint back toward him. When she came close enough, he managed to pass her a spell card despite the forceful winds between them. Water splashed around her feet even as she cast her spell of Temporal Stasis.

               After enchanting herself with this timeless magic, Dancing Wind Priestess rewound time and undid the Curse of Frozen Chains. As the icy shackles fell to the sand and shattered, she sprinted forward and forced wind to spiral across her limbs. She struck the Typhoon Paladin with all her strength, and though he stumbled, he seemed undisturbed by her assault.

               “Can’t breathe!” a loud voice shouted through the pouring rain.

               While the Typhoon Paladin maintained the same intense gaze it had throughout this battle, Romulo swerved to search the storm for the source of the shout. He narrowed his eyes to peer through the pouring rain, but a flicker of lightning revealed a silhouette stuck in the slamming waves. As soon as he realized that someone was fighting for their life in the surging sea, he took off running at his fastest speed. He grimaced, knowing that he could not protect his Priestess if his attention were elsewhere, but then he heard forceful coughing in the waves. When he closed in on the ocean, he saw the swimmer’s curly hair flail before she fell underwater. He gasped when he saw a bloody tincture in the water around her.

               As the Typhoon Paladin destroyed his sorceress behind him, Romulo raced through the shallows and slammed his way through crashing waves. He then dove a short distance underwater and grabbed the struggling swimmer by her ribs. He kicked underwater with all his strength until he pulled her to the surface. She took a desperate breath in the moment before a breaking wave slammed upon them both, pushing them underwater. Forced to open his eyes in the salty sea, Romulo saw a glimpse of the swimmer’s body underwater. Her hair was dark, her arms were strong, and bruises scattered her scarred skin. He pushed off the ground and pulled her into the shallows, and together they stumbled their way to shore as the storm intensified. The air became colder, the wind grew fiercer, and the rain became so strong that Romulo could barely see her. It wasn’t until she fell onto the wet sand that he realized the reason for her struggle.

               “Oh my god! What happened to your leg?” Romulo asked.

               As she fought to catch her breath, the young woman answered, “Don’t worry about me; I wanted to stay out of your way! I’m pretty sure my leg’s been gone for a while. It doesn’t hurt. It isn’t bleeding!”

               “You’re… pretty sure…? How did you get here in the first place?” asked Romulo.

               “I don’t remember! In fact, I don’t think I remember anything. But you can’t get distracted! You have to stop that thing!” she pleaded.

               Knowing she was right, Romulo sprinted back over to the battlefield where he saw the silhouette of his enemy. The powerful storm cloaked the Rampager, and a small shack near shore disassembled in the howling winds. Broken shambles flew across the nearby streets, compelling Romulo to finish the fight. He unsheathed a red monolith from his bag, tapped it with a miniature hammer, and then set it onto the sand as it reverberated. Soundwaves scattered the sand as a new sorcerer manifested in a flash of crimson light.

               When the Rogue of Broken Justice ascended in the heart of crimson light, it took a forward step into the swirling storm. As it advanced, it approached the Typhoon Paladin and illuminated them both with a crimson light. The glow distracted the enemy just long enough for his Rogue to steal a magical scroll. Romulo then encouraged his sorcerer to defend itself, but the enemy prepared to strike. The girl with curly hair crouched in the pouring rain, watching Romulo sprint toward the battlefield. She could see his exhaustion even from a distance, but he pushed onward as if obligated to do so. Just by the way he ran, she could tell that this was not the first time he had pushed himself past the brink of exhaustion. This was not the first time he fought with all he had to protect someone else.

               When the Typhoon Paladin threw its glowing right hand forward in an electrifying punch, Romulo shouted to his sorcerer, “Dodge it! Evasive Lunge!”

               But even when the Rogue of Broken Justice attempted to cast its spell, the rampaging sorcerer stopped it with a spell of ice. Romulo watched as the ice locked his Rogue in place, and then Typhoon Paladin struck it with a devastating force.

               The impact of this strike nearly shattered the Rogue of Broken Justice; the shockwave almost knocked Romulo to the ground. He could see his glowing monolith grow dim, and even its reverberating hum seemed to diminish. His sorcerer barely clung to life.

Romulo realized that the spell cards in his bag had become disorganized during his swim, so he only had time to extract a single card. But when he saw the card he drew, he sighed and set his last monolith on the ground. But unlike the others, he did not set it into vibrational motion; Romulo let it sit motionlessly on the wet sand as he passed his card to his sorcerer.

               “We don’t have a moment to waste. This storm keeps getting stronger. We gotta do it now. Trade Power for Strength,” said Romulo.

               When the Rogue of Broken Justice cast this final spell, it enchanted itself with an unstoppable force. Even the enemy seemed to wince in surprise, and then Romulo compelled his sorcerer to unleash one final strike. In the moment of attack, the Typhoon Paladin fell to the ground and shattered. Romulo sighed with relief as the body of the Rampager faded, and the energy it left behind now poured into the motionless black monolith. The dark energy spiraled like a converging vortex. Romulo set his hands on his red monolith, rendering it motionless as he called back his sorcerer. He looked at the sky and watched the downpour finally lighten. The gusting winds lost their fury, and even the waves relaxed their earthshaking slams.

               “That was amazing; you’re amazing! I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but I think I might have seen something like that before… like a whisper from a dream! I think that’s called déjà vu. It’ll probably be like that for a while,” remarked the one-legged girl as she crawled across the beach.

               After Romulo retrieved his monoliths, he walked over to her and extended his hand. Though her curly hair was plastered to her face, she smiled brightly at him and accepted his hand. He helped lift her onto her foot, and then he held her arm so that she could stay upright.

               “You said you lost your memory, right? I wonder if you were a conjuror. I hope I don’t sound like a jerk, but I kinda wonder if you got beaten really badly. It might explain all your bruises and gashes. Maybe these weapons are more familiar than you think,” Romulo remarked.

               “Maybe maybe. I’m pretty adventurous! I think. I think I’m pretty adventurous, so I can’t imagine I wouldn’t try to do that. It’s so weird that I don’t remember! I don’t remember ever being here. I don’t remember being anywhere. I almost feel like I’m in a dream,” she mumbled.

               “Well if you’re dreaming, then we’re both dreaming. You don’t remember anything? Have you heard of the Adriatic Empire? Do you know about the war? Do you know where you are?” asked Romulo.

               She shook her head and answered, “Mm-mm. I don’t remember anything but my name for some reason. I’m Elena. Elena Estrada!”

               “Elena Estrada… that’s a nice name. I wish I could help you, but I’m really not a doctor of any kind. Hell, I’m not even smart. I didn’t know your missing leg was an old injury until you told me! Problem is, I can’t stay. There’s a guy attacking our city; he’s the one who let loose this Rampager. He might not be alone. I’ve gotta help the others fight him off,” Romulo explained.

               Elena nodded slowly and answered, “I get it, I get it! It’s just… I don’t really know where to go or what to do. This probably sounds silly, no, I know this sounds silly, but I kinda want to go with you. Just to see if I remember anything. But I’d only slow you down. It’s not like I can just run behind you! Maybe I could forge something if I found some driftwood and maybe-”

               Romulo shook his head and said, “Relax! I’m not just gonna leave you here, Elena. There’s an infirmary nearby; I know a guy who works there. They might be full with victims from the storm or the attack, but I’m sure they’ll have a bed for you if nothing else. At least until you get back on your… uh, or at least until you figure out what’s going on. They might even know something about your amnesia. I’ll make sure you get there.”

Romulo took her hand gently pulled her toward the city. She stumbled at first with a half-hop on her left foot, but when it came time to take a right step, she put her weight on Romulo’s hand and then quickly hopped forward. She giggled at first because the jump sent a wave through her curly hair, and Romulo easily upheld her weight with his strong left arm. She continuously watched him to see if she had burdened him, but he showed no signs of fatigue.

               “Mm. Thank you, thank you! I appreciate your help, but I really don’t want to slow you down. I feel like you’ve been through a lot already, and that’s kinda my fault. I’m sorry! I didn’t want to cause problems! I’m normally a better swimmer than that, but my whole body hurts and I don’t know why!” Elena confessed.

               “Don’t even worry about it! It’s just kinda my job at this point. I don’t even really like fighting, not really. It just feels nice to help someone when they need it, you know?”

               Elena smiled and nodded, but she said nothing. She winced with every jump on her left leg; the impact aggravated the bruises which scattered her skin. Her curly hair lifted and fell with every bounce, but Romulo figured that she could not keep this up for much longer. As a gentle drizzle fell from the night sky, he lifted her into his arms and carried her through the streets of the city.

               “It’s not fair,” she muttered quietly.

               “I know. I’m sorry. There’s a lot of things about this-”

               “No no no. It’s not fair that you know my name, but I don’t know yours,” Elena pouted.

               “Oh… I suppose that’s true. Well then in that case, I’m Romulo. Romulo Soliatsis! It’s nice to meet you! I’m almost honored to be the only person you know right now.”

               Elena giggled and answered, “You’re right, you’re right! I guess that’s true. Um, Romulo, I hope this isn’t weird to ask, but… could you visit me sometime? I don’t know how long I’ll be at the infirmary. But I feel scared and I don’t normally feel scared, or at least I think I don’t normally feel scared, so… can you come by sometime?”

               Romulo smiled and answered, “Of course I can! It’s a promise.”

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