Storm Call

Shock Lesson

Arthur found himself in a darkened room. Feeling around, he managed to find a door handle and immediately turned it. It was here that he felt himself lose control as he saw the battlefield that lay before him. Smells of rust and copper stung his nose, and he noticed smoke rising in a few areas. What the hell happened here?

A minute of feeling himself stand in shock later, two people came up to him, looking worried and afraid. "Iban!" the first, a woman, called. "Thank Kara you're still alive! We thought the humans got to you!" She hugged him tightly before beginning to quietly cry into his chest.

Iban? Why does that name sound... familiar? What's even going on right now?

The second, a older looking man, impatiently told him, "Us Kloudsmiths are strong and all, but to put the rest of the family at risk along with the Klouden and Rizea families trying to keep the humans at bay sounds like a really terrible and stupid idea, brother. You should get everyone ready to retreat as soon as possible so we can keep our numbers." A moment later, shrapnel shot into the wall, nearly taking out their eyes. They quickly began to run for cover.

Wait. I know that voice! It... it can't be him! That's my damn dad! What the hell is happening right now?!

His host body spoke, softly at first. "Retreat now, and the humans will find us. They've already captured Klarin and Tenosha, and while the latter won't say a word, she won't hesitate to try to weasel her way out of death, even if it means betraying her own kind." As they continued to run, another bomb exploded, this one much closer. Bits of metal struck his father's leg, tripping him. The dirt it kicked up, however, gave the others enough time to drag him behind a nearby rock. Now, he shouted, "Damn them and this cursed copper! If I dig this out, neither of us may make it out alive, Mavki! Get up and keep moving, find Kura and the others before it's too late!" Arthur felt a small magical shockwave throughout Iban's body, noticing that his view quickly began to lower in height. Seeing that his brother and Kenari were still there, he screamed, "What are you two doing?! Get the hell out of here now!" As they ran, a loud hiss escaped from Iban shortly before he pounced on something. 

This feels... too real to just be a random dream. Uncle Iban... mom and dad... this had to have happened a while back!

A large quake shook the field, causing sharp drops and a ravine to form between them and some of the humans. Before long, Arthur began to see the residual magic left behind by the fallen clumping itself together, and, hearing his uncle's groan of annoyance, he knew he wasn't alone in seeing it. Forces from both sides stopped and stared at the now massive orb of pure magical energies before noticing how much it had grown from just seconds prior. 

"Iban, get back!" Mavki yelled, lost in the sea of screams coming from the orb, the surface of which had now begun to crack. A second later, the explosion destroyed everything, but nothing at the same time. Arthur watched as time seemed to split, then split once more, history repeating and changing all throughout each segment of time, until he felt himself pulled towards one. Iban looked around, unsure of what to make of the situation, noticing his family and the others drifting towards the first created segment while he sank within the fourth. The battle had continued without him, only now, instead of the humans being kept at bay by a crevice, the spirits had been overrun and outnumbered.

... No. No! Iban, no! Get back up there and come home! Please. Stay alive, get out of here!

The last thing his uncle told himself took him by surprise.

"Thank you, Tenoka, mother, for giving me and my unborn your Klouden abilities. May the Kinze and Hosini clans forgive our past transgressions, and form new partnerships in time."