Tantalus

Chapter 5: The Dragon's Gate

Hi! Sorry for the late update. I thought the Christmas long weekend would make me update a lot but it just went too busy for the family gatherings and other matters with other people I care for.

Anyway, here's chapter 5. A pretty short chapter but we have to go deeper inside Lindblum's and the continent's history and anatomy. Enjoy!

P.S. (When I write, I usually listen to the FFIX soundtrack that suits the current setting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njplG-0ljnM)

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"Where to?" Baku asked as he's huffing from walking through the carpeted halls of the main palace. "Can you guys slow down please? Don't make an old man chase you."

"You're sixteen." Cid replied as he continued to the lift.

"Up?" Elric asked.

"No. We're going down to the gates." Cid said. "We can't go up to the throne room. Father is not fond of magic. If he finds out we're going to a magus, he might stop our current operation."

"Why hate magic? All the nations we're built with it before, right?" Hilda asked.

"Well not Lindblum." Elric replied. "According to the lore of the land, all nations, Burmecia, Alexandria, and the rest bound to the alliance we're raised by magi. However, the lineage of the magi was stopped by something—". Cid stopped Elric.

"Something that caused chaos. It killed all the magi that ever 'made' magic." Cid continued.

"But how did my mage friends survive that?" Hilda asked, puzzled.

Cid explained. "There were few apprentices left. They chose not to fight that 'thing', so they were spared in hiding. Soon they're teaching old magic, but they cannot make new arts."

"Oh." Hilda answered. "You're quite a scholar, Fabool."

"Ha! Can I call you Fabool too?" Baku teased. "Just to cure my nausea... This lift ride down the mountain is taking too long."

 

"We just went down a high altitude." Cid smiled. "Pressure might be getting into you."

"We're here." Elric stopped them.

"Wow! Rail trolleys!" Baku was amazed. "I haven't seen one of these in real life before."

"They use these before to travel long distances underground." Cid explained. "After the alliance was formed, the rulers talked about funding Lindblum and Alexandria in creating underground railways to make travels safer and faster."

They loaded up their metallic trolleys as Cid continued.

"Alexandria, invented using tamed Gargants to carry carts with people and supplies. But the first Cid was a greater innovator. He was the one who built the small Lindblum city together with his hunters. They protected the city from various magical monster attacks. Soon, the city grew to be a trading capital and everything went great. They built a wall to cover the towns and house the settlers and businessmen in, cutting off those pesky magical beasts outside."

As they rode the trolley, Baku asked. "So that's why the reagent hates magic. Monsters with magic probably killed a lot of your people before."

"Exactly", Cid replied. "And it still haunts us today outside the city walls."

Hilda seems to listen in amusement.

Cid caught her stare and asked, "Brilliant, is it not?"

Hilda snapped out of it. "Uh, yeah. I guess." She sighed with a red face behind Cid's back.

Hilda asked just to get off being caught by Cid. "Anyway how about Burmecia? It seems like they didn't make one of those railway-thingy?"

"Oh." Elric replied. "We Burmecians stick to the way of the old. Travel by foot. It makes your body tough and strong."

Cid continued. "Basically they need to keep their legs strong so they've decided to use mechanical transports less since the ancient times."

"What about the gates?" Baku asked. "I've heard about merchants who travel by walking and hearing about some north and south gates?"

"Oh. About the territory gates?" Cid replied. "We have the north gate connecting Burmecia and Alexandria and the south gate propagating trade from Alexandria to Lindblum. We also have the serpent's pass. It connects the Lindblum territory to Burmecia."

"So like a triangle?" Baku asked as he checked a continental map.

"Well, you're not wrong." Cid replied.

Elric explained. "The Mist Continent is divided into three prime lands due to the mountain formations. The Lindblum flat lands at the south, Alexandrian mountain ranges at the north east and the Burmecian desert lands at the north west."

"Great. Geography time." Baku reacted. "So Hilda, where's the marsh you're talking about."

Baku holds up his map to Hilda's face.

"Not too close!--" Hilda exclaimed as she took it from Baku.

"There." Hilda points to a dark spot of blur in the west part of the map.

"So..." Baku sighed. "Thank goodness it's still in Lindblum territory."

 

"Why?" Cid smiled. "Don't tell me you're scared of being far from home?"

"N-n-no I'm not!" Baku retaliated. "I'm not a baby. I'm a MAN!"

"I know. I know." Cid chuckled. "Just checking."

"There it is." Elric announced. "Dragon's gate." Outside the gates, we will be in the mist. It stirs darkness and fright to men of no courage, so be vigilant."

 

"Hilda," Baku asked. "Why won't you ask you friends to live in Lindblum? No mist monsters there."

"Because their tribe only eats a certain food—it only exists down the marshes."

"Wait a sec." Cid stopped. "What tribe are we heading to?"

"The Qu Tribe, Cid." Hilda answered. "The blue mages."

"Blue?" Baku remembered his dream about a boy and a blue light. "Do they make light magic?"

"That depends on them." Hilda said. "They adapt spells from their surroundings. They copy magic from what they gobble up. Most of their magic, um, well, involves frogs."