| Latest revision |
Your text |
| Line 358: |
Line 358: |
|
| |
|
| ==Diary== | | ==Diary== |
| | {{Stub|section=yes}} |
| {{verbatim}} | | {{verbatim}} |
| ===Tiger Awakened=== | | ===Tiger Awakened=== |
| Line 494: |
Line 495: |
|
| |
|
| ===Hollow=== | | ===Hollow=== |
|
| |
| The battle came to an end. Kāmihā was lying burnt on the ground, looking more like charcoal than flesh. Nobody would ever assume this was once the strongest Warlord in Central Asia.
| |
|
| |
| I'd imagined this very scene countless times over the last two years, yet now that it had arrived, I felt...hollow.
| |
|
| |
| I'd been protecting Kāmihā'a territory over since my resurrection. I am a soldier. All I know is fight. I obey orders, and I performed my duties well. For thirty-six years, not even once did I let Timur set foot in Samarkand. Thirty-six years... All that defending, all the casualties and injuries... And for what?
| |
|
| |
| So that I could lead the Tiger's Claws into Scree Valley?
| |
|
| |
| That Ghost—Knack always called her "the gnat"—was held in Timur's hand. Her shell was trembling. Timur said their creed does not allow them to kill Ghosts. But I am no Iron Lord.
| |
|
| |
| He extended his hand, and the little thing he was holding looked up at me and started speaking in a shrill, anxious voice. "General, p-please, spare me! I swear! I won't ever revive him again!"
| |
|
| |
| For a moment, I wanted to crush her. She was his accomplice!
| |
|
| |
| But...what would that change? Would it let Agias go for another ride on his Sparrow? Would it let Ishta's fishing rod bend toward the waters once more? Would it let Calera see the blooming Kapok she'd planted one more time?
| |
|
| |
| Would it let Agni see her father again?
| |
|
| |
| Kāmihā Was the one who gave the orders, and he has got what he deserved.
| |
|
| |
| But what of the one who carried out those orders...?
| |
|
| |
| No. She is not the one who should be punished.
| |
|
| |
| I let Timur handle things their way. There had already been too many meaningless deaths; no need to add another.
| |
|
| |
| Timur called me merciful. He said this proved we share the same ideals, and he hoped I would join their ranks. You would have more than just Samarkand, he promised. All that belonged to Kāmihā Would be mine. I would make a fine Iron Lord, he said.
| |
|
| |
| Territory, honor... Was fighting simply for this and nothing more?
| |
|
| |
| Should I have been happy?
| |
|
| |
| But what of the soldiers who ought to share this joy with me? Where are they?
| |
|
| |
| I'm tired. Let me rest.
| |
|
| |
|
| ===Through Combat, Friendship=== | | ===Through Combat, Friendship=== |
| Line 584: |
Line 549: |
|
| |
|
| ===Warrior=== | | ===Warrior=== |
|
| |
| The incident with Veridia has seen me further involved with the Red Sea Rift. My recent experiences have all been related to the Sentinel. I'd seen that steel man the size of a mountain during battle, but I'd never got a close look. Knack says it was an autonomous warrior forged during the Golden Age, propelled by the Light and equipped with powerful weapons. When needed, it could even use traditional weapons like swords and spears to cut down what would otherwise be unstoppable foes.
| |
|
| |
| "A warrior of the Light. Kind of like you guys," Knack said, half joking.
| |
|
| |
| The Golden Age was a time of peace, was it not? Why, then, did they need to build such machines?
| |
|
| |
| With the mountain blocking it, I can only see the top half of the Sentinel from town. I walked around outside and saw there was no path to get a closer look. Fortunately, a miner told me there is a road in the cave next to the town, passing through the mountain, that could take me there. A plateau on the mountainside gave me a clear view of the Sentinel. It was half kneeling, with a sharp spike piercing its chest from bottom to top. One of its hands held a long spear. It was thrust into the ground, as if pinning something down.
| |
|
| |
| If I wanted to see its feet, I would need to climb higher. Knack flew up to scope it out, but it was still too far. All he could vaguely make out was a skull.
| |
|
| |
| Knack said the townspeople believe the Sentinel came to fight a giant beast and ultimately "died" here, pointing to the large skeleton in the valley as evidence. Judging by what we saw today, the claim seems credible.
| |
|
| |
| How long has it stood in this forgotten valley? One hundred years? Two hundred? The remnants of sandstorms have burrowed their way into the crevices of its armor, and robotic life forms have nested beneath its feet. Its eyes have lost their glow, the paint has peeled form its shell, and cracks are spreading all over its body. Beneath its damaged arm are snapped cables reminiscent of sliced blood vessels. What manner of battle did it experience back then? What kind of enemy forced it fight to the point of mutual demise?
| |
|
| |
| All we know is this: even today, it still maintains its fighting stance. Even in death, its body still stands.
| |
|
| |
| As we descended the mountain, I recalled what Knack had said. "A warrior of the Light. Kind of like you guys."
| |
|
| |
| Indeed, we are quite similar.
| |
|
| |
| But we will rise again and again.
| |
|
| |
| We will shoulder this responsibility even longer.
| |
|
| |
|
| ===Homecoming=== | | ===Homecoming=== |
|
| |
| As we emerged from Kachani Canyon, a mine exploded.
| |
|
| |
| For a brief moment, I thought it was one of the explosives I'd placed back then, but it turned out to be an electromagnetic pulse, which stalled my Sparrow's engine and threw me quite some distance away.
| |
|
| |
| When I was restarting my Sparrow, a young soldier came running over.
| |
|
| |
| "Hey!" he shouted as he waved at me. "Sorry about that, Lightbearer. Didn't mean to blow you up."
| |
|
| |
| His face was devoid of facial hair, and the goggles he wore were a bit too big. But the emblem on his arm was something I was all too familiar with.
| |
|
| |
| I was somewhat vexed at that moment.
| |
|
| |
| When I handed leadership over to Agni, it wasn't so she could send children into battle.
| |
|
| |
| "The Tiger's Claws?" I asked him.
| |
|
| |
| "Yeah. Part of the Youth Scouts." He had a proud look on his face. "Huh? I've never seen your face, but you seem to know quite a bit about us."
| |
|
| |
| He had let his guard completely down around an unfamiliar Lightbearer. It made sense, though. This was Iron Lord territory, and thus the mortals always assumed Lightbearers were good.
| |
|
| |
| "What are you doing here?" I asked.
| |
|
| |
| "This." He took out a black box that looked to be some sort of controller and fiddled with it. A small Sparrow model, roughly one square foot, shuttled over. It was colorful and decorated with cartoonish patterns.
| |
|
| |
| "Playing with remote control toys?" I asked.
| |
|
| |
| "What? No! Check this out." He flipped the toy over, revealing the signal transmitter attached to the bottom. "It simulates a real Sparrow's signal, and I can control about a dozen at a time."
| |
|
| |
| "For what, exactly?" I asked.
| |
|
| |
| "You must've been revived not too long ago, huh?" He looked to be showing off somewhat. "If the aliens attack Samarkand, I can activate these mini-Sparrows from here. Once they detect ten Sparrows speeding over, they'll think, "It's a trap! Better cancel the attack."
| |
|
| |
| "Of course," he added, "sometimes there really ARE Lightbearers riding Sparrows. A real truth-meets-fiction kinda moment!"
| |
|
| |
| Knack let out a laugh. "Who taught you this tactic?" he asked.
| |
|
| |
| "Our new general!" the young scout said, voice filled with admiration. "She's amazing! I hear she visited the Iron Lords and earned the previous general's approval. And when she came back, she came up with a whole bunch of tricks—really fooled the Fallen."
| |
|
| |
| "Fooled the Fallen, hmm?" He had me interested now. "Tell me, what other 'tricks' does she have?"
| |
|
| |
| "We're here to visit her," Knack added.
| |
|
| |
| "Then let me show you the way," he replied. "As an apology for blowing up your Sparrow!"
| |
|
| |
| As we walked, the young scout told me about what Agni had been up to since she returned. She's rebuilt the Tiger's Claws and established a new support squad. Younger scouts such as them do not fight on the front lines; instead, they help with reconnaissance. Tactically, the Tiger's Claws do not stay solely on the defensive. They take the initiative to strike and keep the enemy on their toes, but they do not revel in combat. She obtained something that could translate the Fallen language from the Iron Lords out west, and has since used it to spread false information, letting the Houses fight amongst themselves.
| |
|
| |
| Under the new general's command, Samarkand has been made whole. The line between civilians and soldiers is blurred, yet the number of casualties has dropped.
| |
|
| |
| Soon, the silhouette of the city came into view, and at the gate stood a familiar figure.
| |
|
| |
| The defenses, walls, and people seem to have both changed and remained the same.
| |
|
| |
| Samarkand... I'm home.
| |
|
| |
|
| ==Appearance== | | ==Appearance== |
