Astral Flow

Chapter 13

Metal, clanking, scraping, whispering.

Those noises invaded Ryder's senses as he began to wake up.

His body screamed at him for more rest, to let the darkness keep him longer.

It was an odd feeling, sleeping without dreaming, while not uncommon for Ryder it felt closer to a final rest than before.

The darkness wrapped itself around him and was so comforting that he couldn't budge an inch, it felt... safe.

The voices got louder and louder as he began to awaken, causing Ryder to slowly force himself fully awake.

A mixture of colors and lights fill his tired eyes, slowly forming into shapes and people before seeing what was happening.

Crackling fire, people whispering as to not wake those resting, many looking over their tools.

It seems like they're still in the room where they fought Shade, but the ceiling is broken further apart to allow smoke to escape.

Eleanor and Yuria are patching up troops with some help from other clerics and others guarding the entrance.

"Ah, you're awake now, it's good to see you're recovering." Aranea's soft and kind voice spoke from his right, causing him to look over at her. "I was afraid you or the others wouldn't wake up."

"What... what happened?" Ryder asks, still processing what was going on, his throat was dry and voice horse.

"Easy there... don't push yourself." she slides a cup of what looks to be tea to him. "We cleared the fort and took it, but everyone was severely injured in the process... we've turned this into a med bay until everyone gets better."

Ryder slowly takes the tea and drinks it, feeling oddly refreshed. "So we actually won... that's good." he sighs a bit and looks around. "Any losses?"

"Surprisingly none... I think your speech really helped keep them focused on fighting and surviving." she lets out a soft giggle at this. "You really were the champion they needed."

"Sure, some champion I am..." Ryder groans and looks back down. "Couldn't even protect my friends or beat one enemy on my own."

"You may not have beaten him but whatever you did saved dozens of lives including your own." she leans back against the wall and lets out a sigh of relief. "And personally I think that's better than winning any battle."

"I guess so... just stings, being beaten so easily like that." Ryder closes his eyes again, replaying the fight in his mind over and over, hoping to find some different outcome but to no avail.

"Hey stop being so harsh on yourself, it's clear that whoever they were, they had several advantages." She looks at Feros and Oto who are still passed out. "They'd need to in order to beat them both at the same time."

"That's a Lord Hunter for you." Yuria's voice chimes in as she walks over and sits next to Ryder. "Annoying bastards only care about their own goals and use any dirty tricks in the book."

"You know about them?" Aranea leans forward, curious and a little concerned.

"Yes I unfortunately do... they're not a lot you want to run into." She pulls out a pitch black coin and flips it to Aranea. "That's their mark, shadows of a time long forgotten only seeking to restore this land to its former glory."

Aranea looks over the coin, finding two symbols engraved on it.

The front has a bird of unknown species spreading its wings wide, something about it seems rather imposing amidst the darkness.