Malefactor Redux

[Gildarts]

Gildarts, noble and mighty prime, left Ambrosia yet again. He had waved farewell and again traveled down the path less taken. It spiraled into the many trails of the forest, and the rich scents of the earth enlivened his senses.

He wondered if the plague that had once taken the edge of the forest had been cured. Much time seemed to have passed since his last venture here, but it was always refreshing to walk through the forest and be reminded of his many travels, and that of home.

In Ambrosia, they had informed him of a creature that was wreaking havoc and chaos among the rest of the Tangled Green. Gildarts decided he was the best option to go out and stop it. Molly had been reluctant to see him go, but Gildarts was not the type to stay where he did not feel needed. Out there, he had thought, beyond the safety of smiles and family, there is glory when one faces fear, and death when one battles to their last drop of blood.

Out there, was where Gildarts belonged.

Though he had mentioned to the young girl, that he would stop by again on his return, if it was formidable to him. He had also promised to stay in touch, but there was a nagging in the back of his mind on this promise, for he had felt Molly’s definition of this was quite different than his own. Still, he let the tickling of worry pass through his mind smoothly, as he continued on.

Dusk settled into the cracks and crevices of the many branches of the green leaves above, meanwhile darkness grew out of the sudden shadow of night and leapt to overcome the very path in which he stepped. Luckily he did not have to be a cat like Piqui to see in the dark, for the little pebbles lining the path began to glow bright blue as the first star emerged in the night sky.

Piqui slept dormant in his rucksack as Gildarts traversed the land, hoping to find someone who could point him in the general direction of where he was going, because, well, iconically and ironically, the oblivious prime didn’t have a clue. A soft hum came out of the exceed’s nose as she snored. He remembered Molly’s reaction to the kitten that was from his home realm too, and a sentimental grin broke out on his scruffy cheeks.

Not much rattled on in Gildarts’ head as he had traveled across his world at home, and not much had changed. Now that the moon had risen, beaming its beautiful rays on the supple leaves as a sheen of light bounced beautifully off of them. The Fairytail wizard’s eyes softened at this, as he drank in the crisping air. The crickets had started to sing and play in their mini symphonies all while enchanting the other nocturnal creatures of the forest into the tenderness of their lulling hum.

Gildarts remembered the many exotic creatures he had encountered on his last journey through this verse, and kept a watchful eye out for anything haunting within the shadow of his very footsteps. His posture was straight, and well aligned, and he noted the slight chaffing he felt in his shoulder, probably due to the new weights he had applied to his inorganic appendage. Behind, carrying in a gentle flow by his swift pace was his cape, black and flowing as the very night he was submerged in.

Wind carried the whispers of many rumors and lingered close to his ear. Stories washed over the land, carried by word of mouth and texts in the Dataverse. Stories of the orgosynth. Great monster that dwelled in both ghastly form and grew on the mind like a creature straight out of nightmares. To Gildarts, no one deserved to be hunted by such a beast, creature, or whatever form it chose to take. Innocent people like those he had left in Ambrosia did not deserve the heartache that he had endured again and again for reasons he had long since forgotten.

But the fact remained, he had been given a task, and it was up to him to stop this before it got out of hand. Gildarts rarely gathered irrelevant information when he went off on a mission, but it was not to his knowledge that the orgosynth had been closer to him than he knew. During Dante’s Abyss, when he was fighting on that island, the monster was inhabiting someone there too. It had given its host power in exchange for a gamble that would some day shake out in the creature’s favor.

A lantern beamed towards him, a few feet in front of his path. Gildarts suddenly halted, the motion that was sure to stir the resting cat, and the prime responded to the voice that called out, “Who goes there?”

“Gildarts,” his gruff voice sounded powerfully through the night air, “Of Ambrosia, and Fairytail.” he listed his guilds, in hopes that one of the names be recognized by the man who held the lantern high, as though to ward off evil spirits.

“Oh!” the voice seemed to recognize one of them, and the lantern was brought down to below the level of each of their faces, “Ambrosia you say? Oh, I apologize for the lantern in yer face, these are dark times, dark times indeed.”

Gildarts nodded his acknowledgement to the old man, whose skin had been revealed in wrinkles which were cast in longer lines due to the way the flickering light happened to fall. The prime remained stoic for a moment, casting an air of charisma throughout the little cove they stood in. The man struck him as a little odd, if times were so dark, then why would he risk going out at night? It was a question worth asking, and so he did, “It’s not safe out here alone at night, where are you from? Do you need an escort home?”

“Ah thank you for your kindness,” he turned his head, revealing a sharpened ear, “But I am a night elf, this is when we thrive. As for this,” the elf shook the lamp, “My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, he-he! However, I would like to mention you strike me as a bit of peculiar. For you, yourself are alone out here, and I do not believe I have seen you around these parts before. I would hate for you to get lost.”

“I see, but I am in no way lost, you see, I’m searching for the truth and location of a certain creature that has been causing problems in this verse,” Gildarts deemed the elf worthy, and hoped that his new friend could shed some light on the situation, “But you see, it isn’t the kind of thing you’d usually see in-”

The elf hushed him, “Shhh! Do you know that the darkness does not like to it when you speak of its enemies? Come, come with me, inside, we shall talk where it is safer.”

Gildarts and Piqui, who had now arisen from her nap as they were led indoors. The night-elf seemed to live on the edge of his village, he preferred to be nearest to the trees and savored the night air, while his people lived in and among the trees, some even swinging from hammocks and crossing bridges of branches high above. The old elf was not as nimble as he used to be, he explained, and lead them inside an old, hollowed out and withering tree.

He left the lamp aglow and set it in the corner of the room, and closed the door behind his guests. “Oh and who is this little ball of sunshine!”

Piqui sneezed softly and rubbed her eyes with a paw, trying to wash the blurry shapes away. “I’m.. Piqui...” her voice muffled, and the night elf became both startled and delighted.

“Oh she speaks! How interesting, for she is not native to our tongue...” The elf looked up to Gildarts, as though for an explanation, but was given none, “I still get amazed when I meet creatures in the Omniverse who are from all over the galaxy and many different worlds. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Eldren. I’m an elder here, but, like I said, my eyesight is failing me so much I only really keep the scrolls now. Y’see, night elves can see in the dark.”

The elf offered a smile that crawled up his rosy cheeks, while Gildarts nodded in noble acknowledgement, “It is nice to meet you Eldren,” the depth to Gildarts voice came off as genuine sincerity to the elf, “I’ve come across the forest in search of the creature that is said to be terrorizing the towns.”

The elf’s expression suddenly grew grim, while the flicker of the freshly lit candles of the room animated the lines on his face, his eyes danced as he spoke, “Yes, and it was here. Within our very village. It possessed our very best! The son of our village’s chief. He was...”

The old man had choked up, Gildarts felt his brow compress with compassion as his eyes grew concerned, it sounded as though... “The creature killed him. From within, that’s the way it works. He started to go mad, said he was hearing whisperings. Then, he’d have violent fits, as though outraged, in his eyes there was nothing but fire, and our doctor said she could not find the herbs to cure him, for they did not exist within these realms. Even a prime may have had trouble saving him. We are still mourning his death, dear Gildarts, I hope you will excuse my hushed voice. Not to mention... There is another thing.. On the day of his death, the creature sprung forth, as though shedding the skin of our beloved brother, tossed away as though his use to the creature had expired! Oh it was dreadful, truly and simply dreadful. Gildarts, you’re a prime, right? You’ll do something about it, won’t you?”

The elf’s eyes pleaded with the same desperation of his voice, and Gildarts bowed his head, “I will do what I can. I’m doing this for Ambrosia’s protection, but from the sound of it, Ambrosia is not alone. The entire Tangled Green is at this being’s mercy.”

“Aye, Gildarts, it is pivotal that you fulfill that vow, I will never forget your face. If you do not, then I will always remember the lie that comes with your name.” Eldren of the Elves took their promises very seriously. For them, it was an act of betrayal to go back on their word. They would rather die than dishonor the code they lived for. “It is now that I finish telling you what happened to the boy, you see in his final moments, he could not control himself. The madness in his eyes grew explosive with power, power he himself could not manage. Nor could his body take it. You see, some monsters seek prey, and other monsters, villains, if you will, seek vengeance, power, and unending war. So they do not hesitate to wage it, to it, the casualties mean nothing.”

The elf spoke around the event with a riddle. One that Gildarts quickly solved. “There are seven candles lit. They’ve been burning for a few days now. That is the number of the people he killed before your people were forced to put an end to the killing.”

“Yes,” the withered voice said slowly, as his eyes caught with tears and his voice broke with sorrow, “His own mother leapt out in front of the arrows to save his life, her last words claimed that we should not kill him, he couldn’t control his actions, and that he was not himself.”

Silence hung heavier than the humidity in the air. The old man slouched in his chair as his eyes made their way over to the candles of vigil. All seven were lit, but Gildarts had a feeling he was thinking about the last woman who had been slain. She had died nobly, and for her son. Depriving the leader of the village of not just his son, but his wife, on that day.

Gildarts extended his organic hand and placed it on Eldren’s shoulder, “You are a friend. Death is not something that will be forgotten, but is a memory with hold in our hearts forever. What we do with this memory, gives them an opportunity to live on within us. I am no stranger to death, but it has always been my choice, to walk on the side of life.”