Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gio nodded in feigned agreement, his eyes to the rough, flat ground. He really didn't feel like that was true. Sure, Rigo was always around for him, and always protected him, but Gio felt like he himself was utterly useless. In a fight, in sparring matches, or even just in being there for his brother as a support, he failed on all levels of helping and being of use to his brother. The bite in his sword was gone, his fear dissolving away what meager lessons he had had before his personality change.

It wasn't more than two hours before they reached the village, a quaint one, even by Tylem standards, on one of the outer limbs of the entire canyon system, nestled into a little cove in the cliff-face. From the flat lands above, they reached a set of stairs that would take them in a tight spiral down into the village.

Gio stopped at the entrance and looked to Rigo, "You first, brother." He looked exhausted when the wind blew his hair out of his eyes, the many miles of walking in ungodly winds, over rough, bramble-ridden grasslands, and then over the rocky, stone-flinging flat-lands, it was more than a weak human like him was used to, even with two years of traveling under his belt now.

He waited for his brother to go ahead of him, and was about to go down to the village after him, but suddenly felt as though he couldn't move. For a few long seconds he felt completely paralyzed, and he inexplicably felt his gaze drawn off to the far distance of the flat-lands.

Suddenly an ear splitting shriek filled his ears, but it wasn't coming from anywhere around him, it was filling his head and clouding his brain. Whatever it was, it was in his mind. A split second later pain exploded in his chest, and he collapsed forward on his hands and knees, the screech in his ears dimming away as though it were transforming into pure agony. He had never felt anything like this before. What was this torture being inflicted upon him? It felt as though his soul was being shredded to bits from within, the pain went so deep.

Finally, it was too much, and he lost consciousness, his eyes still open, his body still shaking with the pain, until finally it disappeared back into the depths of him from which it had come.

The moment it ended his mind returned, but his whole being seemed to throb in undulations of pain from the occurrence. He stood to his feet, his legs shaking uneasily. It felt as though a war had been waged inside his body.

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Far away, in the country of Lamina, far away from the current events, a man swathed in majestic robes, with old, graying hair, looked to a tiny sliver of translucent stone in his hand. The sliver pulsated and shook with a life of its own. This man was Jolyre's superior, the one who helped her to find the path to her father's killers. "Be careful, Jolyre, depending on what comes to pass, even the Shard of Fate I gave you to amplify your power may not be able to protect you.

Gio's eyes glazed over, and it felt as though he were being pulled, body and soul, to something far off in the distant barrens, far away from the village. His head throbbed a few times, making his thoughts cloud even more, making him act without rational thought or reason. He stood and turned about to face the direction of the pull.

"Two..... close......." he whispered to himself, then began running off without a word to his brother. With the wind at his back, instead of in his face, he moved faster than he would have otherwise.

As he ran, he began to gain his senses back, but still did not stop. Panic was setting in, and he had no idea what was going on. All he felt was that there was danger where he was headed, and that was he last thing he wanted. What was happening to him? First the overwhelming pain, and then this? What was wrong with him?

"B-Brother.... help," he whispered to himself, unable to yell from the running making his breathing ragged. "Help."

Just walk.
How hard is it, Jolyre?
Forget the wind.
Go.
Jolyre berated herself for her weakness.
It took all she had in her tall, slight, Angeal body to keep her wings from exploding into sight and kicking hard off the ground; her usual means of escape from reality. But to kick off and fly here would mean imminent death by the face of a cliff. and if Jolyre was to die here, in this forsaken nation, it would be fighting her fathers murderer. Not blunt trauma from a ravine.
How did the people of Tylem even exist in these conditions? It was silent but for the angry wind. Everything was bleak and there wasn't so much as hut or stray animal. The emptiness of the place was overwhelming.
"I'm not leaving." she stated simply, to no one but the gusts.
"I'm not leaving until I got what I came for." she said, through a clenched jaw.
She often did this, reminding herself of the reasons behind whatever unusual circumstance she underwent. It helped maintain her self-assurance. But even Jolyre's ocean of confidence was shaken by this lifeless plain.
Up ahead, one cliff side rose higher than another. She could make out the silhouetted mass against the failing sun. Once she got there, this horrendous wind would let up.
Maybe.
It was a worth a try. She started a strong sprint against the wind, looking a safe place with some trace that life had inhabited it, even if long ago.

Gio really was moving faster than Rigo expected, and Rigo found himself wondering what possibly could have triggered Gio to run this quickly, even if he was propelled by the wind. The dark haired brother was dashing as fast as he could to catch up to Gio and fighting the wind at some times.

Gio was in his view now, and he could see what appeared to be a tall cliff projected above the others in the canyon area. Because he wasn't close enough, the Nero Angeal did not hear the creature screech. For the same reason, and also because the cliffs were in the way of Rigo's view, he also did not notice the creature's presence. However, because of the large amount of shadows in the area, Rigo was being extra observant just in case anything was hiding in the shadows. A sword was at Rigo's hip, ready to be unsheathed at any moment. There was always the option of using the Crystal to see if there was anything in the darkness, but at the moment, he was more concerned with Gio and taking in the view. And honestly, Rigo was probably more versatile in the dark anyway.

As he continued approaching Gio, Rigo noticed another figure (Jolyre) in the distance coming from another direction. He didn't know who it was, but gathered that it was probably female because of the way it walked and the hair flowing from it. Long hair didn't always mean "female," but Rigo just made the assumption for now. Friend or foe... One person to account for. Now, there was the matter of whether there was anything else around. Gio, would you stop before you reach the shadows?

Gasping and panting for breath, Gio descended down a ramp of earth into the small outcropping of a valley that was shadowed by the high cliff. The darkness didn't stop his body from pressing forward as the area around him was cast into twilight, not too dark to see, but still plenty dark for things to hide in. He silently prayed that if death were to come to him, then to let it be swift and painless.

It seemed like his lungs were going to shrivel up and burn away from how much they stabbed at his chest, but finally he stopped, and of his own will started stumbling forward. His legs were weak from the exertion, a run like he had never done before, pushing his body more than he ever wanted to. "What's going on?" he asked himself quietly.

He lifted his head and looked out in front of him, shakily wondering why he had run here, not understanding any of it, or what he had said aloud involuntarily.... Two.... Close.... What did it mean? Two of what? And was it here? It just didn't make sense.

Then, in the distance, he saw someone had come to the cliff-side besides him. The person also wore a cloak, and it looked like there was long hair, so maybe a woman? Gio held out a small bit of hope that he wasn't alone here until Rigo arrived. "Is there someone there?!" he shouted. He hoped it was someone friendly, but then again, if it was someone who would try to kill him, it was best to just get it over with.

Jolyre approached the brothers, cautious and narrow-eyed. She had her arms raised, blades running lethally along her pale metal gauntlets. She stopped within about 30 feet of them.
Are they from Tylem?
She was excited about this possibility because maybe they could lead her to some semblance of civilization. It was dampened by the dark feeling the shadows and cliff side were giving off.
Jolyre cast off her angry fighting stance and distance and came closer. They would have to get closer eventually...
"Pray tell, what kind of traveler willingly walks into Tylem's vicious winds and dark ravines?" she asked.
Don't tell them anything...
It was Jolyre's policy to never give her name or the true nature of her wanderings. For all she knew, these strangers could be her father's murderers! They didn't look the type, though. The one looked scared to death and frail, and the other seemed a tired, weary traveler.

As Gio also observed, Rigo noticed the woman's bladed gauntlets and her attitude and words. She was being careful, just as Rigo would have, and Rigo suspected that the gauntlets weren't merely for show. Unfortunately, Gio stepped in front of Rigo and answered her question in a stammering tone broadly and even offered out his katana. Rigo kept his composure and for the moment, did not pull his brother back. Not allowing his brother to stand up for himself would impede his development, if any, back to his former self. However, if this newcomer made any motion to attack Gio, Rigo would interfere.

Rigo noted Gio's answer. The latter part about the explanation disturbed him. Was it a remnant of the entity from two years ago? Gio wasn't lying. It wasn't like him, and the way he was acting about it clearly showed that he was confused.

Gio was making efforts despite his exhausted features. At least, Gio's will still existed to some extent. Rigo watched and nodded in agreement to Gio's answer, although she still felt Gio had said too much.