Intermission 4: Lost to the Light
Date: 23 human years before present time.
Location: Baron.
“Benjamin, you must look after Cecil!”
Those had been his mother’s final words as she had pushed him into the light of the Serpent Road. Ben had not wanted to leave her there alone. He could sense the nature of the creatures that were pursuing them.
And I don’t know if she understands…
But he didn’t have a choice. His mother’s wishes were to protect Cecil… even as she remained behind in Mysidia to set warding spells over the portal to Baron.
Mom will be okay… she’ll be okay… she’s a powerful White Mage… and Father won’t let anything happen to her!
The boy’s heart drummed frantically in his chest as he stumbled from between the white pillars of Serpent Road into the early morning fog. Though the rift between the two cities didn’t sap his strength nearly as much as it would other people, it still left his limbs feeling weak and watery.
But if that’s true, then why did she tell me…
Baron reflected around him in a dim, morning light. It was still too early for the city to be stirring. The silence sat like a veil across the tops of the tall stone buildings.
Why did she say…
Ben struggled to hold on to his strength as he clutched the blanketed form of his younger brother to his chest. Though the boy was large for his age, Cecil was two years old and heavy for him to carry for too long.
-You must look after Cecil!-
The words echoed in his mind, thrumming with the frightened beats of his heart. Despite the fear… despite the overwhelming feeling of loss… despite his own feeling of smallness within the world…
…Ben ran.
Clutching Cecil to his chest, he ran with every last ounce of courage he had. The sound of his sandaled feet slapping on the cobble-stone streets echoed sharply from the faces of the houses as he darted between them. Shadows shifted and twisted in every corner, tendrils of darkness spinning long webs across the uncharted side streets and alleys.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ben could feel it.
The darkness…
The darkness that he had seen on the Mysidian horizon as he had sat with his father… the darkness that had chased them through the city all the way to the Serpent Road… That darkness was now there in Baron.
It’s following… it’s coming closer! It knows where we are?
Ben’s breath came in sharp gasps between his bared teeth. Fear bubbled frantically within his throat, his chest tightening and burning with the effort it had taken to run so far with Cecil in his arms.
“Don’t worry…” he said, voice rasping with fatigue. “I won’t let them take you.”
Ben didn’t know how he knew… it was like a simple, undeniable fact. The darkness wanted to take them – both himself and Cecil. Where it wanted to take them to, he did not know.
I won’t let them…
Determination flushed his cheeks as he skidded around the nearest corner, pausing to pant over one shoulder. His back pressing against the stone wall, Ben fought to catch his breath as he peered down at his little brother in concern.
I’ll… I’ll figure something out. I promise, Cecil.
Cecil had remained silent the whole time, as he always tended to be. A tiny pair of green eyes blinked sleepily up at Ben from behind the shelter of the blanket. An expression of peaceful trust was written on the toddler’s face.
Ben’s gaze swung around the silent streets. Had there been any adults awake at that time, he might have felt a bit safer. But there was no crowd to be lost in. There were no adults to run to for help. There was nothing but the two of them… and the deepening silence.
That’s when the idea sprang to his mind.
I can hide Cecil somewhere!
Ben began up the street with tired, staggering steps.
After I hide him, I’ll run the other way… Then maybe the darkness will think that he’s still with me. And it will follow me instead of looking for Cecil!
His feet led him down the lesser-worn streets of the western edge of the city… further away from the Serpent Road. There, the roads were no longer cobble. Only a small trod-down dirt path marked the way.
Then I can find somewhere to hide till the danger goes away… And I’ll come back to get him. Then we can go home.
Ben worked through the plan in his head with a thought of triumph. Once more, he paused.
Only… where’s a good place to hide Cecil?
His eyes fell upon the little bronzed sign that sat outside the stone gate of one of the houses nearby. Written in rough script was a single name: “Pollendina”.
Oh… Master Cid!
The boy’s face brightened up. He began to trot towards the little stone building.
I’m sure he wouldn’t mind watching Cecil for a little while…
Ben knew the young Engineer mostly from the long days that he had spent in Baron. His father had helped Cid build a number of the first airships there.
He’s always been really, really nice to me.
Cid was probably one of the most cheerful and kind-hearted adults that Ben knew. The Engineer never forgot to bring a special treat of some sort when he knew that the boy was coming to spend the day in the shop – be it a little toy or just something sweet to eat. Plus Cid always had some funny or light-hearted story to tell…
“Be good for Master Cid,” Ben stooped to sit Cecil down on the doorstep. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”
Cecil just tilted his head with a hazy-eyed yawn.
Ben smiled and patted his brother’s head. Then one hand lifted, knocking loudly at the front door.
It was a moment before he could make out the sound of movement inside the house. But as soon as he was sure someone was on their way to answer the door, Ben darted off around the corner, through the bushes.
I have to lead the danger away from Cecil…
Ben was still tired from his run through Baron. His legs felt leaden as he jogged.
I have to protect him… just like Mom said.
Pushing all thoughts of exhaustion from his mind, he focused ahead of him, towards the edge of the city.
I have to fight the darkness… just like Father does… I have to–
Ben pulled up short as a long sliver of shadow stretched low across his path in the foggy light. Where the darkness touched his skin, his hair stood on end. A shiver wracked his body as he took a step backwards, green eyes widening.
The darkness!
The shadow stood before him in the shape of a man. But it was impossible to see anything except the slitted glow of blood-red eyes from the core of the darkness.
It’s already here!?
The boy would have screamed… except his voice would not come. And had he shouted, there would have been no one to hear him there upon the fringe of the town. His limbs felt weighed down with a force too impossible to move. His eyes suddenly grew heavy as if with a bout of numbing sleep.
“Golllbezzzzz….”
The twisted form of a hand rose up at the side of the shrouded shadow. It reached for him, slicing through the chilling silence in a slow, deliberate manner. The eyes seem to grow brighter as the fingers trailed closer to his face.
“Golbez… come to me.”
The sound of his name jolted the boy from the strange, trancelike state that swept through his mind. His eyes narrowed in fury, suddenly focusing sharply upon the dark form. Teeth bared, he shrugged free of the steel-trap feeling that had wrapped around his body.
“N-noooo!” Ben instantly lashed out.
Thoughts of protecting Cecil… of his mother’s words… of his father’s sorrow… all built into a tremendous flame, born of wrath.
I have to protect them!
The tempest of green and white flame leapt from his hands. It was a power that he did not know he possessed… a power that had never before been tempered in anger or fear… a power that had never been turned on another living creature before that very moment…
A sudden, terrible pang of guilt rose in Ben’s heart as the flame devoured the shadowy form…
I… I… hurt someone?
…only to be washed away at the terrifying realization…
That the shadow-man remained standing before him, unharmed.
The boy’s jaw dropped open in shock.
“So… you already know how to tap into the power of your rage,” there was a trickle of laughter mixed into the coldness of the statement.
Ben stumbled back, falling upon his knees the grass.
“Good…. very, very good…” the voice purred next to his ear.
Terror shook through every inch of Ben’s body, breaking any hold that the suggestive words might have had over him. The boy’s breath drew in frightened, ragged gasps as the dark hands reached slowly closer. Still too weak to struggle, the boy was helpless as the shadow expanded to darken his vision.
“Daddy!” The only words that rose to his lips came in a frightened whimper, “Daddy, please help me!”