The Sketch: The Voyage of Soal

Dreaming of a Bad End

"Ugh, ah...." Soal grumbled in terrible pain as he awoke to the sound of tireless cheering. A lot of time had passed and the whole army had been waiting for him, nervously anticipating his awakening, if they hoped there would be one. It had been one long, terrible battle. Looking down on him were Porter's front head, Kiwi, Retna, who had fired the fatal shot, and Anter. These were his best and only friends in the whole world. Naturally they were the first to greet him, and tell him something very obvious, yet strangely unlikely- "We've won the battle, General Soal."

Porter had said that, and Kiwi pushed him up to his feet. Looking around him, Soal could see that Flameberg had been completely destroyed, just a pile of smoking rubble on the face of the smooth, ridged hills. There were no traces of Dark Hands or Soldiers, but his own troops were filling the landscape and jumping for joy. The Un-Character had never expected the battle to be this victorious. Then he turned to his closest allies, all standing before him, wearing accomplished smiles on their faces. Anter congratulated him first, walking up to the towering character and patting his legs.

"You were great there! Sorry I stayed to battle when you went to the camp- when the bridge fell, I nearly died!" she said as distressed as any battling soldier. "But I found Retna after you split up, and went with her to save you. That was one hard fall. Many of us were afraid you wouldn't survive." Soal frowned in dismay. What luck! Perhaps it had been his Interloper powers- the same ones that healed Kiwi in Flameberg. Then it was Retna's turn.

"You and your stupid duels," she remarked, "You know there is no winning without a winning smile?" And she smirked at him, very much so. "That was a stupid battle. Lots of luck. Let Porter tell you his quotes all day long, it sums up as this: I'm an obsessive general who doesn't see the good in peace. But war is good, so war all day long! I wouldn't like to agree with that, but who doesn't? You don't. If I had a gold medal... I would give it to you and never take it back." Soal blushed. Then Porter took his opportunity to talk. He smiled at Retna, and spoke to the Un-Character.

"That is not true, but Articulus cannot be negotiated no matter what. His only goal is to travel to the Genesis Stories. We can't let that happen! This may be a long, hard morning, but it's only the tip of the iceberg... or Flameberg... of this war. Shadow Hand failed to die, and now we will have to trek longer. But opportunities multiply as they are seized. Now our destination is to the three Ruins of the Ages, looming in the Void, where the pieces of Articulus's painting prison was. Since they have been united and burnt, he has been released, and something wrong is happening. The keys to seal Articulus once more are inside those temples. And you, Soal, will lead us. We must continue soon, for boulders have fallen in place of Meinhaym Dam, and the city is slowly draining. We must make our leave before the frozen Dark Soldiers there are thawed and come for us. You did a great job, General Soal. Lives were lost this day, but we have to move on. Our army is only of about five hundred right now. We gravely need more soldiers, and trained ones." He shared Soal's concern of the responsibility of a commander. But Kiwi turned to the old Voltale and gave him some advice that would prove important to Soal later on.

"The Untif tribe of the Northern Plains are seasoned warriors. It is child's play for them. But their domain is much too far away from us, and the terrain between is very dangerous and controlled by evil forces independent of Articulus. Oh, the agony! But, Soal, there is much we can do." He turned to the Un-Character. "Tomorrow, we will steer our troops clear of Meinhaym and turn north, towards the first Ruin. Soal, it has been a long time coming, and it will be a longer time by the end of this war. Times are not yet at their peak. I've made many friends and enemies in my heroic career, but none as brave as you," the audience was still cheering, many of their voices hoarse from hollering. "Alright, friend, let's get back to the camp," Soal was on the verge of sobbing in joy, but he was abnormally anxious. Porter considered Kiwi's words, and ended the celebration with a sudden announcement.

"Fellow warriors!" he shouted, his words echoing across the valley and hills, "We have survived a long morning. We must be getting back to the camp to heal. Let's go, discussions later."

There was lots of chattering among the victorious kiwi army as they marched back to the camp in accomplishment. No one from the kiwi squad, or Soal, spoke a word. Tears of joy ran down his cheeks. None of them could believe they had survived.

That night, as Soal fell asleep, he remembered the turbulent times that had ensued on their way to Flameberg. It had been months since they left the Great Sea, and twice as long since he had arrived in the Sketch world. He wondered what was happening back on earth, how the world was going on without him. Probably just the same. Turning to his side, Soal dozed off, and dreamed of a very bad end, as his army did just the same.