Children of Ruin: Preparation

Loktar half-stood, half-kneeled over the outcropping of rubble, the smooth, worn grips of his rifle in his rough hands. The muzzle of the rifle was propped up by the edge of the outcropping, and Loktar had done what he could to conceal it; he hoped that the dawn light wouldn't reflect the lenses of the weapon's scope, giving his position away.

He had no particular target, nothing in particular to watch for; he had only been here for two hours, but none of the various people milling about the building three blocks away and four stories down had given any indication that they were more important than their peers, and Loktar had no interest in breaking cover to take down a simple grunt. They needed disorientation among the Cult guards, and a random member struck dead suddenly would not be enough - it had to be someone in their leadership.

"Come on, you dirty bastards." He muttered in thick, gravelly Ronkan. "Give me something to shoot."

-----

"You are improving." Ian said softly. Li's arms entrapped his own, her tail wrapped around one of his legs. He quickly shifted his foot, and with newfound leverage, managed to somehow flip the small woman over his head and onto the ground before him, his open palm at her throat before the dust had risen. "But still not good enough."

He smiled, and helped her to her feet, as Dalaris watched nearby, perched on an outcropping of rubble. "That is some absurd stuff." The bard said, his mouth a smile of disbelief.

Ian shook his head. "These are basic maneuvers. My master would make short work of me."

"Still, though, that's some... good work, I guess." Dalaris insisted.

"The arts martial may be inborn to the lunari," Li said, dusting herself off, "but you have surpassed what we are intuitively capable of."

Ian only shrugged.

"Enough praise. We all have our own gifts: Dalaris, I can no more conjure up magic than walk on air; Li, you have forgotten more of the machines of our world than I have ever bothered to learn." He nodded, as though that was the end of the matter. "Our morning exercise is complete. Let us go to the others, and see if they are ready for what awaits us."

The other two nodded their agreement, Dalaris hopping to his feet. The three headed for their camp, in the bowels of the ruined building.

-----

"So you sailed with the Blackjack?"

The moogle and clavat were seated across a fire from each other, which had been kept low to keep the smoke to a minimum. They were nestled in the corner of one of the basement levels of an abandoned building, several blocks away from what seemed to be the center of the Cult's activities in the city. While the others were out training or watching, Memphis and Tethysia had stayed behind - Tethysia to calm her mind and attune herself to the timeline of the world, and Memphis to keep her company.

The clavat nodded. "Oh yeah, totally. I hadn't tol' y'all 'bout it b'fore? I coulda swore I did."

Tethysia shook her head. "No, you haven't mentioned it, that I can remember."

"Well, I did. There ain't much more ta say'n that, aither. We did all the kinds a thangs y'all think of when y'all think a th' 'jack. She was a good ship, an' I was sad ta hafta say goo'bye to 'er, bu' I had some more pressin' thangs goin' on elsewhere."

"Like what?"

"Family thangs." Memphis said shortly, and shook her head. "I don' wan'a talk 'bout it. Bad times, an' such. 'fore all this," She motioned idly with a hand, "but bad things, sure 'nough." She nodded.

Tethysia pondered this, then nodded slowly. "I suppose, if you want it to be left alone, then I'll leave it be."

"Thank ye."

There was a long pause, the only sound the crackling of the fire.

"So... got yer min' all figgered out, an' such?"

Tethysia nodded, smiling. "Oh yes, I'm good. I've allocated as much quintessence from the world timeline as I can, which... unfortunately isn't much, but it'll hopefully be enough to help us get through the rift."

There was a thumping sound coming from above them, and the sound of a loose door creaking open.

"That'll be the others." The moogle said, and hurriedly began gathering up her things. "Come on, Memphis, let's get our things together, so we're ready."

-----

"The plan." Ian said, once the three had seated themselves and Memphis and Tethysia finished packing their meager gear. While they had worked, Ian and Li had sketched a rough diagram of the surrounding city in a dusted-over part of the floor.

The other four nodded.

"Memphis is to head up to Loktar's position. The rest of us accompany Li to the Takuro and Milan, and ride up to this point," He pushed his finger into the dust on the map, "where I will give a signal to Memphis." He looked at the clavat.

"Green flag means y'all are good ta go." She said. "Yellow flag means y'all want me ta tell Loktar ta wait, an' red flag means y'all ran inta trouble."

Ian nodded. "Correct. If we give a yellow flag, we will send another signal within two minutes. If we give no signal, act as if we had given a red.

"If all is well, then Loktar will choose a target. Memphis will send us a signal when he has selected one." He looked to Dalaris.

"Blue flag means... he's found a leader, because nobles are blue-blooded. Brown flag means he's going to shoot a normal guy, because brown is like the ground. Gray flag means he's shooting a vehicle to try to blow it up, because the Takuro is gray."

Ian nodded. "Correct. Once Memphis has given us a signal, we return a signal to indicate our readiness - same colors as the first signal we send.

"Loktar is to count to three once the message is relayed. On three, he shoots his target. If he loses it, Memphis sends a..." He looked to Memphis once more.

"Yellow flag."

"Correct, yellow flag. Yellow flag to the Takuro means..." He looked to Dalaris.

The bard thought for a moment.

"No good, we are already moving." Li said with a sigh.

"Yellow flag from Memphis means Loktar lost his target." He said. "I know it, I just..." He shook his head.

Ian placed a hand on the bard's shoulder. "There is going to be little room for error here, my spellcasting friend. If we move before Loktar has brought attention to himself, we will be cut down rather quickly."

Dalaris nodded. "I know, I know. Yellow means lost target. I've got it."

Ian cocked his head at him, then removed his grip. "I do not mean to be harsh, Dalaris. But one false step will be the end of us. No matter how formidable our skills, we are no match for power armor.

"Once Loktar has taken his shot, we move in. Li leads the way on Milan, while I will drive the Takuro."

Li leaned her head back, and looked askance at him. "Are you sure?"

Ian nodded. "It is not a moogle design, and so Tethysia is too short. Dalaris wields the power of Magic, and we cannot risk his abilities interfering with the vehicle. There is no other choice."

"I know that," Li said, "but can you drive?"

He shrugged, and smiled slightly. "It has been many years since I last put foot to pedal, but I am confident that my meager skill will be sufficient.

"The Cultists know that they will be unable to retaliate against a sniper from their position, and so will send a patrol to take him out. Loktar's position has but one reliable entry-point," He pointed it out on the map, "and so the Cultists will take this route." He drew a line in the dust.

"Meanwhile, Milan and the Takuro will take this route to this point," He indicated a different part of the map, "at which point Li will leave us to draw attention from Loktar and Memphis. Those in the Takuro will drive the vehicle as far as we can into the building, then exit and begin searching the premises.

"As we enter the building, Memphis will send us one last signal..." He looked to Dalaris.

"Green means they are on their way with no trouble. Yellow means they're in trouble, but it's nothing they can't handle. Red means we need to help." Dalaris ended this with a triumphant nod.

Memphis smiled slightly. "Glad ya got et all worked ou', hun."

"Once we are inside, we have split into two groups: Team A, consisting of myself, Dalaris, and Tethysia, and Team B, consisting of Li, Memphis, and Loktar.

"Team A's goal is to seek out the temporal rift hidden somewhere within the complex. Of this group, I will take point, Dalaris will take rear."

"So long as I have some quintessence left," Tethysia spoke softly, "I should be able to sense the rift, once we get close."

Ian nodded. "Team B's goal is to come in after Team A, seal the entrance, and provide rear guard to Team A, ensuring that no Cultists can sneak up on us.

"Once we have found the rift, Dalaris will use his abilities to make a sound at a specific frequency, to which Li has already tuned Milan's audio sensors."

"If you make the noise, and we're within five miles or so, we should be able to pick it up." Li said, nodding.

"And we are certain that there is no chance of resistance to this?" Ian asked, looking to Tethysia.

The moogle nodded. "The effect Dalaris will produce is magically-created, yes, but the sound itself is not magical. Milan will be able to pick it up without difficulty."

"Provided we are in range." Li said. "But that should not be a problem... the range on the band is rather large, right?"

Ian nodded. "Yes. Loktar said that it was an older shortwave band, used by the Coldlands military for local operation."

"You remember that I can't actually make a real noise, right, on it?" Dalaris asked, leaning forward. "It's just going to come across as static..."

Li nodded. "Yes, but it will be weird static. Milan is already configured. Ursus isn't too bright, but he can figure that much out."

Dalaris raised an eyebrow. "Ursus? Who is that?"

Li smiled slightly, but the smile was tinged with sadness. "Long story." She said slowly. "An old friend, who..."

Ian shook his head. "Some things are best left unsaid. We all lost something when the world moved on. Let it be."

Dalaris tilted his head, then held up his hands, leaning back once more. "Alright, fine. One day, though, you folks need to explain to me what's going on."

"Once Team B gets the signal, they are to join Team A, who will be holding position at the rift. Once all members are present and accounted for, we go through it.

"Leave no one behind. Even if one of us falls, do not leave the fallen to the Cult. We may be able to find a priest in the other time."

Ian looked at each of the others in turn. "That is the plan. Do we all have an understanding?"

Four heads nodded in relative unison.

Ian stood, and the others followed suit. "Then let us begin."

Darkened Star

O star of stars, so distant and far,
Yet my love for you remains unmar'd

A cloud passes 'tween us, hiding your light
My world, once happy, now plunged into night

Once filled with cheer and hope for days ahead,
Now bereft, alone, hands filled with tears shed

Your face, your touch, your kiss are all gone;
My thoughts only for you against the dawn

Hands raised, eyes closed, I beckon above:
Why will you not return my love?

Children of Ruin: Light in the Darkness

The sky was cloudless and full of stars, the first such night that had been witnessed by the ruins of Neo Mechanicus in many moons, moons which now shone overhead, full in concert, their pale blue light cast over the rusting hulks of the buildings that had once, not too long ago, shone brightly under such a sky.

A lone orc sat, cross-legged, on a precipice overhanging the hollowed-out remains of one such building, hunching forward slightly, a sign of his advanced age, a mane of once black hair - now going grey - tied tightly back into a ponytail. He had walked the world and seen many such nights, but only a few had been spent in a world where the technological mecca that had once been his home city lay smote down against the earth, reduced to so much rust and rubble. A rifle was slung over his shoulder, an artifact of the time before the destruction, and its cold steel reflected the light mockingly, a reminder of times now dead; the symbol of St. Tracy stamped on its stock seemed the most eager for the light, yet it, too, seemed to taunt him.

"Loktar." A soft voice whispered from behind him. "Something troubles you."

The orc turned, and saw the familiar wide eyes of one of his companions: Li, a lunari, a race of people who were similar physiologically to halflings, but adapted to the night - naturally and utterly nocturnal. Li's tail - long, slender, and covered in black fur - swished gently against her leg, making almost no sound.

Almost.

"Yes, Li." Loktar rumbled, then turned his gaze back over the ruined city. "Something troubles me." He gestured with a hand out over the ruins.

She sat nimbly beside him, with movements that he almost could not catch. She looked out over the city for a few moments, then tilted her head to look up at him.

"There is nothing that can be done for it now." She spoke softly. "We have all lost something, Loktar. The world is moving on. You know that."

Loktar nodded. "Yes."

"Then why do you insist on looking at it?" She asked, more forceful now. "It does us no good to hold onto the past. We have to think about the present."

Even before she had finished, Loktar was shaking his head. "Past, present... you have listened to Tethysia too much, or perhaps not enough." His gaze hardened as he turned to face the small woman. "If she is right... perhaps it can change."

She started to speak, but he held up a calloused hand.

"If, I said. But that should comfort me, shouldn't it?" His gaze returned to the city.

Li tried several times to say something, but could not find the words. The few times she thought she had found what to say, she saw the orc's eyes focused, moving almost imperceptibly: tracking far-away movements in the distant dark. Whatever it was, he needed all his concentration to see it, and attempting to answer him would cause him to falter.

Two hours later, they rose, and headed back to their camp.

-----

"Explain it to me again."

A distance away from where the orc and lunari were gazing wordlessly over the remains of the city, a small group huddled around a campfire. A more disheveled group had never been assembled, they were convinced, yet here they were: two humans, one from the farthest reaches of what had once been the Greater Ronkan Empire, another from the Boomerang Isles; a clavat who had once been a hand on one of the most notorious pirate ships of the day; and a moogle, from who knew where - even she had forgotten, her memory distorted and ruined by the destruction of the city.

One of the humans was dressed in rugged traveling clothes, a sword scabbard hung on his belt and a loop for his guitar - how in his restless hands - on his back. His hair was cropped short, bright and blonde, and his grey eyes shone brightly in the night.

The other human was dressed simply, a simple shirt and simple pants made of black silk, which glinted in the moonlight - steelcloth, and all but the other human amongst them knew it. His hair was black and longer than the other human's, ragged and unkempt from a long period of travel and misuse. His closed eyes would have glinted a pale blue color under the night's skies.

The moogle was young, exuberant, full of life, a light blue pompom dancing above her white and tan mottled fur. Her eyes shone a deep, dark blue, showing a depth of understanding that seemed beyond the others - she seemed to always be seeing more than they. Her garb was rough-and-tumble, the familiar denim style of this part of the Greater Ronkan Empire, and her attire looked as though it had seen a long journey.

The clavat was dressed in loose-fitting clothing, thickly made of wool - to protect her from the frigid winters of the cursed north, or so she said. Her dark green eyes danced in the flame, the eyes of a trickster, curtained by flowing brown locks that reached the middle of her back.

"Dalaris, it's late. We should call 'er a night." The clavat spoke, her accent a strange drawl that the group still found foreign, coming from the mouth of a clavat.

"No, I need to understand this, Memphis." He said, strumming lightly on his guitar, more of a nervous twitch than a conscious motion. "What are you trying to accomplish here, in this ruin? We should be heading for safe ground. We don't know if it'll come back..." His voice trailed off, and he shifted his gaze around the campfire nervously.

The moogle laughed, a light-hearted sound that seemed utterly bizarre and alien in this desolate place. "Dalaris, trust me, your anxiety is misplaced. If it were to come back, we would all know it, and there would be plenty of warning. Talking about it isn't going to summon it." She smiled.

Dalaris smiled grimly, and nodded slightly, rocking ever so slightly back and forth. "Alright, Tethysia. But could you explain it, anyway?"

The moogle called Tethysia smiled and nodded, her blue pompom bouncing jovially as she did so. "Yes, I will explain. I know we've had to keep quiet since we found you, what with sneaking about and trying to avoid the Cult, but now that we're out of their earshot, we can try to explain."

"There has been... a disruption. In time." She said, the smile fading quickly from her face and her eyes. "It's... a door. A door to the past. But door isn't really the right term, either... it's more like a... a rip, a fracture. This isn't an opening like a templar would make, a concrete doorway to another time. It's like the fabric of time itself is being torn apart by something."

"Did the... entity cause it?" He asked.

At this point, the other human looked up, breaking his meditation. "No."

Tethysia nodded. "Ian is correct. The entity didn't cause it. Though it wasn't there for very long prior to that... it's possible that they're related, but I'm not sure."

"How can you be unsure?" Dalaris asked. "Aren't you a templar, or whatever? Aren't you supposed to know?"

"Dalaris, hon," Memphis cut in, "Tethysia lost 'er mem'ry. She fergot a lotta thangs she used ta know."

"How'd that happen?" He asked.

"The Cult." Ian, eyes closed once more, responded softly.

Tethysia nodded slightly. "The Cult used some kind of... either psionic or akashic effect to wipe my memory. The process wasn't perfect, but it was enough to disrupt whatever it was that I was supposed to do here. But I know that it has to do with the rift that is here, somewhere."

"And changing this." A gruff voice from beyond the range of the campfire said.

"Loktar the Keen." Ian's eyes opened once more, and this time he rose from his lotus position, and moved towards the orc. "Is the city quiet?"

Loktar came forward, into the light, and nodded once, slowly. "Too quiet."

Mempis looked up at him - a full four feet separated the two, when she was sitting - and raised an eyebrow at him. "That 'cause it's dead, or 'cause th' Cult's up ta somethin'?"

Another voice, quieter and more feminine than Loktar's, replied: "Both."

-----

The small band had reassembled itself around the campfire to better accommodate the six of them: Ian next to Tethysia, next to Memphis, next to Dalaris, next to Li, next to Loktar, next to Ian. What tiredness what been present before Loktar and Li's return had vanished from their faces - their lives depended on avoiding the Cult.

"We know they've been moving crates of supplies from the rest of the city to a central location." Li said, her voice short and atonal. "We can't be certain what is in them, but..."

"They are ammo crates." Loktar finished.

"But we also know that they're not all usin' tech." Memphis said, rubbing her chin slightly. "Since some of 'em're psi er akash, enyway, righ'? So they couldn' be usin' tech?"

Tethysia nodded. "A large majority of the Cult forces seem to be anarchic or tech, but recently - and I can't say how recently, or how I know this - there has been an influx of psi among their numbers. I get the feeling they had a... change of leadership, maybe, to encourage that? It's only a feeling."

"And with psi, the tech's gotta go." Dalaris said, nodding. "So the question is - what are they doin' with all that ammo?"

"Removing future problems." Loktar said slowly. "Heavy on psi, so remove your enemy's ability to wield technology."

"But no efforts were made to remove magical presence?" Dalaris asked.

Loktar shrugged. "Neo Mechanicus. What magic?"

Ian smiled at this. "Our good sniper makes a point. Neo Mechanicus has no inherent magical bias, and the environment is satured with technology. There would be no point in removing magical threats, as they would be rare, and few who would stay here would know how to use them."

"Ammo crates are not the only thing they are collecting." Li said. "They are collecting weapons, as well. Even experimental plasma prototypes, from the CWI facility outside of the city."

"They have collected far more weapons than their numbers would require." Loktar continued. "Even if we take the worst guess - five-hundred? - they have collected far more than that. Thousands."

Tethysia's brow furrowed. "What could they possibly need with all those weapons?"

"Well, it certainly is quite the conundrum, ain't it."

"They're outfitting an army. That's the only thing they could want with it all." Dalaris said, shaking his head.

"What army?" The orc asked gruffly, shaking his head in return and crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back.

"Maybe they're..." Dalaris looked around, his face contorting somewhat, searching for an answer. "I don't know, teleporting them in, somehow?"

Tethysia shook her head. "The fallout from the entity is acting as a dimensional anchor, no one can teleport in or out."

"I know, I know." Dalaris said, throwing his hands up. "But really, I mean, thousands of weapons, and even some experimental ones? From way outside their main point of operation? What's the point? Even if someone were to come here with the intent to get rid of them, how many could they really bring? I mean, the Cult has Saints-damned power armor! A few experimental photon-thing proto-whatevers isn't going to do anything useful against them, so why bother collecting them unless you're trying to outfit an army!"

The group was quiet for a short while.

"Loktar," Ian said quietly, "have you noticed an increase in their numbers?"

The orc shook his head. "Not on that scale. Perhaps a few, but not that many."

"Wait." Memphis said, holding up a small hand. "Hol' yer horses fer a minute. Tethysia, you said that there's some kinda thang, like a hole, 'at ya can use ta go through time er somethin', righ'?"

The moogle nodded.

"An' we got a bunch a weapons an' all that kinda thing, jus' kinda disappearin'?" She looked to Loktar and Li, who nodded.

"What if they-"

Tethysia's eyes opened wide, and she stood suddenly. "Oh, Uriah's Road, why didn't we realize that before!"

"They're equipping an army, alright. But it's not here, and it's not now. It's then!"

"...wait, what?" Dalaris asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"It's on the other side of the rift!" The moogle exclaimed. "They've found the rift, and they're using it to forward their own agenda! The equipment seems to disappear because it isn't here anymore; it's wherever the rift goes!"

Ian nodded. "So it is decided, then."

"We must find the rift. Not just because of Tethysia's purpose here, but also to stop whatever plans it is the Cult has for whatever time is on the other side."

The other four nodded their agreement.

"Time to make our move."