TALES OF QUETZALIA

Chapter 4: An Improper Evolution

The Plitzerback Wetlands, just south of the flourishing Zaphgott Moor, was a sunken rainforest dotted with countless lily pads that were gigantic enough for people to walk across. Large flowers grew their roots through the rising water for meters on end and blossomed at the surface, popularly symbolizing determination in Rolance floriography. Frogs, ducks and crickets sang, and many fish bobbed about for air before slipping back into the depths.

Upon a high-rise rock, the stillness was disturbed when several white strands of magic materialized, followed by three people popping into existence. Some ducks that were swimming nearby flew away, startled by these strangers coming in from nowhere. The trio were clearly exhausted, but glad to have escaped from Oriel and his band of mercenaries.

"There you go. Those gold-pinching chumps won't be able to catch up to us now," Symonne muttered dismissively.

"Thanks…" Rhett panted and leaned forward, clenching her knees to catch her breath.

"Whew!" Kappa exhaled and collapsed on his back in relief. "I don't know what just happened, but I'm glad to be out of that hothouse!"

"So then," the seraph crudely leaned over him and glared sharply. "Mind telling us what's going on now?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb, you annoying brat. I heard you say it – 'I have to keep it safe, no matter what'."

"Eh, did I say that? You must be imagining things."

"I may have a wild imagination, but it's not for pretending to hear stupid things. It's obvious you're not telling us the whole story."

"Don't be silly! Have I not been honest all this time!?"

Symonne smacked her wand against her hand in a threatening manner. "Oh ho, gonna have to do this the hard way, huh? Then I don't mind teleporting you to Northgand's greedy regent and earning that nice little reward for myself."

"W-Wait, wait, wait! Anything but that!"

"Then start talking."

"Geez, what's your problem, Creepy Girl? I didn't do anything to make you this mad, did I?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," the dark-garbed girl stood up and arched back in her signature bored-like pose. "We weren't strong enough to clean up those losers, so they're probably scurrying back home and telling everyone about us being your accomplices. That means we'll be wanted fugitives with plentiful bounties on our heads for those gald-obsessed savages to chase after."

"Gah… Bully to you, I guess."

"See? This is your fault, shrimp. The least you can do is provide us with a good explanation for getting us in this mess."

"Oh, fine," the merchant boy relented and got to his feet. "I guess I owe it to Rhetty for being such a trusty bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" Rhett sighed. "I don't remember agreeing to do such a thing…"

"Anyway! While we go through the wetlands, I'll spill all the beans I've got! And don't think for a second that fighting will just be a one-sided deal! I'm gonna pitch in and show you what a real man can do in the most hellish of kitchens! You scratch my shell and I'll scratch yours, deal?"

"All right. If we're going to be in for tough times ahead, we should keep each other safe. But honesty is the most important policy, understand? No more keeping information from us," she replied and shook his gloved hand.

Symonne threw her hands up in irritation and grumbled, "Whatever."

It was approaching the early evening hours, so the only source of daylight remaining was the bright orange glow of the fading sun. The rest of the sky gradually turned dark, allowing the first stars to shine like glitter in the deep indigo night. A long time ago, the water level in these wetlands was at a proper ground level, but over the years it rose until it submerged everything except for the highest rock faces. It was just enough for them to traverse back to Zaphgott Moor in the north if they wanted to, but they were also exhausted from fleeing for their lives out of the hostile Northgand.

"Let's sleep here for tonight," Rhett suggested, and they sat down to rest their weary feet. Kappa took out some simple snacks for the two of them to eat.

"Good time as any for our excess baggage to start dumping his story on us," Symonne glared at him.

"Fine, fine," Kappa shrugged, then announced, "Better listen up good, ladies, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. The reason Northgand is so hell-bent on capturing me is due to a little something-something I've got in my possession."

He opened his bag and went through it fervently for a minute until he pulled out a golden trinket that looked like a tube with a hatch on the top. A faint glowing blue 'bubble' surrounded the object, and indecipherable runes swirled around it for brief moments, fading in and out constantly.

"What in the world is this thing?" Rhett gazed at it with unadulterated awe. "It's like nothing I've ever seen in history books or museums."

"Of course you wouldn't know about it. Things like these aren't supposed to exist."

"'Aren't supposed to exist', you say?"

"There are more of these objects out there, and Northgand's regent is chomping at the bit to get his paws on them. In fact, he already has several of them in his possession, and he's trying to take this one from me to add to his pretty little collection."

"So the reason all of these strange things are happening is because he's researching the knowledge contained in these mysterious objects?"

"Nailed it on the proverbial head!"

"So what are they exactly?"

"I don't really know the details, so this is just word of mouth going 'round the grapevine. I heard the top brass callin' them Out Of Place Artifacts, or OOParts. The trinkets themselves don't do anything, but notice the writing around the orb surrounding this one?"

"Yes, I keep seeing old runic text here and there. I can't make out what it says though."

"That text is the real juice behind these babies. Figure out what they're saying and you can learn all sorts of neat things that you're not supposed to! Things like long lost secrets, the truth behind mysteries of the world, ancient artes forgotten to time, and even how to make technology many, many years ahead of our time!" Kappa threw his arms up for extra emphasis.

Symonne sighed in consternation and moaned, "Well that's just great. So the stupid humans are scouring the world for these little things and translating the text so they can make forbidden weapons to help them win their silly territory wars. Typical, typical, typical."

"OOParts, hm?" Rhett wondered curiously. "It almost makes me think of those multicolored gems I sometimes see in temples and other places of worship."

"You mean Iris Gems? Kinda, sorta, but not quite," Kappa said. "Iris gems are just records from the Earthen Historia of past events. These things are just as mysterious, but are totally different in function. You could say they represent the future rather than the past, but no one knows where they come from."

"Interesting. So the OOParts have the power to change humanity's future with their knowledge, and we're only beginning to see the effects with Northgand's sudden rise in power?"

"Yep, yep. That'd be the long and short of it."

"I wonder if Rolance and Hyland know about them."

"Uh… Er, about that-"

"Good god, I'm getting the chills just thinking about it," Symonne interrupted Kappa without realizing it. "Humans are already stupid enough to raise their swords against each other. If we start adding weapons that they have no idea how to control, we might as well call it QED for human history."

"But not all technology is meant to be used for war," Rhett retorted. "I'm sure there are things out there that could benefit society."

"Doesn't matter what it is. If it exists, humans will turn it into a tool of destruction. Hell, even a pine cone can become lethal in the wrong hands."

"Now you're just exaggerating."

"Am I now?"

"But it's a problem if only Northgand has access to these OOParts. With the powers that we've witnessed, Rolance and Hyland don't stand a chance even if they banded together."

"To arms race or not to arms race, that is the question, huh?"

Kappa twiddled his fingers as he uttered, "I, uh… I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news during such a hearty debate, but…"

"What, you got more to say?" Symonne demanded. "I get the feeling you're just gonna piss me off more if you don't tell us, so you might as well talk."

"That's enough. You're being rude," Rhett chastised her, then said to Kappa, "Whatever it is you want to say, go ahead. I promise not to get angry."

"Well, the thing is," Kappa nervously uttered, "I was hired to sneak into Northgand and steal an OOPart from them…"

"Who hired you?"

"Some representative from either Rolance or Hyland. I've been contracting my services as a super-secret mercenary between them for the last few centuries or so, so I figured this would just be another run-of-the-mill job for me."

"You mean you don't know which nation hired you?"

"Hey, my biggest selling point is that I owe loyalty to neither of them, and I don't ask for the names of my clients lest I get captured and tortured into revealing who they are. Past experience, y'see. If they want something done, all they need to do is gimme the coin and I'll do it, no questions asked. Easiest way to do business, don't you think? I've got a bunch of ties to both countries, and even to some outside groups and guilds."

"I see. So that's how you wound up in this situation."

"So you're spying on Northgand for your mystery client, is that it?" Symonne asked. "What're you gonna do with that OOPart once you meet up with them? Sell it for some fantastic price? What a pathetic lump of worldly desires you are."

"I'm not a seraph like you are. I need food and shelter to sustain my lifestyle," Kappa objected with a flat glare.

Rhett sighed deeply and murmured, "I understand how you feel, but I don't think it's a good idea to sell these OOParts to either nation. Personally, I'd find a way to destroy them."

"Eh!? But I went through so much trouble just to smuggle one out of Northgand! You're out of your gourd if you think I'll just easily agree to destroying it!"

"Of course I know that. I certainly wouldn't want your effort to go to waste. But at the same time, if all three nations competed for the knowledge contained in these artifacts, I think human civilization as a whole would advance at such a rapid pace that it'd fall to ruin before anyone realized it. With these OOParts playing a brand new role in human history, they could very well wipe out humans from the face of the world if handled carelessly. It's happened in ancient times before – humans develop and gain so much power that they wind up being destroyed by that very same power itself."

Symonne tilted her head curiously and murmured, "You're talking about malevolence, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Malevolence…" Kappa widened his eyes as he realized the gravity behind Rhett's argument. "Man, oh man, this conversation just got real deep all of a sudden…"

"See? You need to think about perspectives other than your own," Rhett said. "The jobs you took in the past may have caused trouble for some people, but this is a whole new league we're dealing with here. We can't tread carelessly when we have forbidden knowledge on the line."

"But then, what should I do with this OOPart?" Kappa whimpered as he stared forlornly at his treasure.

The adventurer pondered for a moment, then said, "Well in hindsight, maybe it was too rash of me to say that we should destroy it. We should hang on to it for now and see what happens."

"Maybe the knowledge this thing contains is really no big deal," Symonne shrugged. "After all, it looks like some tube of toothpaste with a covered hole in the top. What good could that do anyone?"

"On the surface it might look silly to you, but maybe it has some practical use that we could've never imagined. I wonder if there's a way to translate the text that the object is emitting to make absolutely sure it won't be a huge detriment to society."

"Those Northgand fools have been able to translate the runes for other OOParts, so it shouldn't be impossible for us. You're always sticking your nose in history books, and I know a thing or two about old texts like that."

"Rhett, you like reading about history?" Kappa widened his eyes exuberantly.

She nodded. "Ever since I was honorably discharged from the military, I've taken a keen interest in learning about the past. I'm especially fascinated with discovering the origin of malevolence."

"Eh? That's just silly. Malevolence is generated by the impurity in human hearts, and it's toxic to all life forms. Even then, humans don't know that they're creating it. How're you supposed to go about researching malevolence when there aren't any human records of it? I think that's just a waste of time."

"There may not be human records of it, but with Symonne's help, I've come across other sources of valuable information. I've learned quite a lot about its effects, but I'm still unsure of why humans create malevolence in the first place. Seraphs and animals don't generate it, so why only humans? That's what I want to find out."

"Why only humans?" Kappa raised an eyebrow. "Well, um… That's… actually a good question."

"There you go. That's why I'm traveling. If I can figure that out, I could at least write a record about it and pass that knowledge to future generations so they can discern a way to relieve this world of malevolence. Then we wouldn't have to rely on the Empyrean Maotelus and the Shepherds to purify it all the time, especially since the Celestial Record II tells us that even the Five Lords can potentially turn into hellions. I find it frightening that nothing in this world, even those who are supposed to save us, is immune to malevolence."

"I still think it's futile," Symonne interjected.

"Well I'm not going to decide that until I see it for myself."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm! So we all understand why we're on this journey! Very well!" Kappa declared. "As a real man, I can't stand by and ignore your cause! We have to avoid the bad guys, figure out what to do with my OOPart, and simultaneously help you with your research! Piece of cake!"

The seraph looked away and groaned, "That already sounds impossible…"

"Let's just be cautiously optimistic about this, okay?" Rhett chuckled hesitantly. "Our priority should be to figure out what our next step is. With the unusual nature of these OOParts, I honestly don't know where to go looking."

"You got me there. Any ideas, shrimp?"

Kappa confidently put his hands on his hips. "Nope!"

"Way to kill the momentum."

Rhett chuckled, then said, "Well at the very least, I should go back to Pendrago and report to General Strelka about my findings."

"You know the Rolance General!?" he exclaimed in genuine surprise.

"Only because I served the Platinum Knights a few years ago, under one of his captains of course. I don't actually know the general from personal experience. He just hired me on behalf of the kingdom to survey northwestern Rolance after Lohgrin was occupied by Northgand."

"Ohhh, I get it! Then let's use this little side trip to figure out what to do next."

"Don't talk about the OOPart to anyone, okay?"

"Roger!"

"Then let's get some sleep. We have a long trek ahead of us tomorrow."

Another dream.

Rhett knew where she was. Even when she didn't feel like she was in full control of her faculties, her mind was aware enough to tell her that she was not in the real world. She immediately recognized the place where her dream took her; a familiar place surrounded by grass and well-known flowers of varying styles and colors, such as the bright pink Princessia, the deep lavender Sopheria, the fiery red Edna, and the pure white Selenia that only grew in dark places. In the middle of this quiet landscape was a grave marker with a name written in ancient cipher; Amswoks Lubb.†

Rhett wanted to approach the grave and lie in repose with the one who was buried beneath the verdant ground. However, two figures were already standing there waiting for her arrival. One was easily taller than the other and wore the traditional robes associated with Shepherds. The shorter person had long clothes that reached his knees, and sported a distinct halo-like strand of hair over his head. She could see their bright eyes against the deepness of their silhouettes – both of them had lively green irises that emanated warmth and friendliness to all those they gazed upon.

She often saw these two together, consistently greeting her when she went to the darkest corner of her mind to grieve for the deceased person. The strangest thing to her was that they only started appearing five years ago; precisely when she fought in that bloody war as a Rolance soldier. They always acted close and tried to talk to her, but her mind hadn't reached the point where she could actually hold a lucid conversation in her dreams and expect to remember it once she woke up. Once again, Rhett approached the unknown pair, and they likewise said something like hello, followed by a bunch of words that she couldn't comprehend. They sounded like distant mumblings that made no sense even if she were to completely concentrate on their words.

Stop talking so fast… I can't understand you… What do you want from me…?

They saw how vapid she looked and stopped moving their lips. The taller figure walked up to her and took her hand between his palms, and said nothing further. Likewise, the shorter person took her other hand between his, and also ceased talking. Both of them simply smiled at her.

Who are you…?

For once, Rhett actually felt like she was asking the question with her own mouth. Whether or not they heard it was up for debate. Regardless, the Shepherd-like man was very patient as she heard him mumble, "It's ... kay…"

"Ju… ittle… ore time…" the short-statured boy added. "It wo… be long… until you… can hel… us…"

Rhett certainly could hear them better this time, but it still felt like they were babbling nonsense to her. A glowing light on her right hand caught her attention, and she looked at it to discover an unusual symbol resembling the letter V inside a crescent. She stared at them again, unsure of what was going on. Their smiles consoled her though, telling her that it wasn't dangerous. For some reason, she felt a lot more relaxed than before. She sat before the grave in complete silence, trusting that the two figures would not get in the way of her mourning. The mysterious pair remained by her side, not wanting to disturb her private time but also not wanting her to be left alone.

As Rhett and Kappa slept through the night, Symonne remained awake. Seraphs like her didn't require sleep, so the late hours always gave her a chance to contemplate. She was a loner by nature and wasn't used to traveling with companions, especially rambunctious people like Kappa, so this was her time to mentally recharge and get her thoughts in order. Tonight though, she had her attention on Rhett. She sat next to her partner and simply stared at her.

You're going to see them again, aren't you?

She took Rhett's hand and removed the black glove, revealing the same sigil faintly shining on the back.

I can only wonder how long it will be until she realizes what's truly happening.

Symonne turned her focus to the bright moon hanging over the pitch black sky. She stared at it with unenthusiastic amethyst eyes, but her thoughts refused to remain still. An incredibly faint smile crept on her lips.

How interesting. I see her as an ideal Lord of Calamity, yet the Shepherd wants her to become one of his Squires. The human heart really is a strange thing, isn't it? Always in a struggle against itself…

She gingerly stroked Rhett's short white bangs.

But I won't let you win, Shepherd. You took what was important to me, so it is now my turn to do the same. Rhett will become the final Lord of Calamity and bring upon the Era of Silence, just as I have dreamed. This putrid, ugly world where Angels of Death like me are born shall be rendered asunder by her hand, and I will be there to watch as she takes away everything you worked so hard for 1000 years ago.

Symonne stood up and reached her hand out for the moon, pretending to clench it in her fist.

Rhett and I have been at this world's mercy for too long. It is time I ended this… both for myself, and for her.

The next morning, Rhett and Kappa woke up with sore legs and heavy eyes. It was difficult for them to get any sleep on the partially submerged boulder they found refuge upon, and Rhett's vivid dream didn't help her at all. She stretched her torso and arms for several minutes to work out the kinks, but there wasn't much she could do about the fogginess in her head.

I had that same dream again… Honestly, is it asking too much for me to get a good night's sleep anymore?

"You don't look so good," Symonne said. "You need some more rest?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll feel better once we get moving."

"So how are we gonna go about this?" Kappa asked. "It'd be easiest for us to go back to Zaphgott and slip through the Camelot Bridge Ruins."

"But what if anyone from Northgand follows us through Trizolde? That Oriel fellow was quite determined to capture us," Rhett said. "If we went north, our paths would practically converge at Camelot."

"There really isn't any other way, is there?"

"Why not go through Westronbolt Heights instead? It's closer to us than Zaphgott."

"No way! It's practically in the same state as Plitzerback! You'd be hopelessly lost trying to find a way around that place!"

"You're saying there's still a way though, right?"

"Sort of… If you put your mind to it, you could hop over the rocky platforms and find an old trail back to the pasture. I still don't recommend it though. No one lives around there, so you wouldn't be rescued if you got in an accident."

"You're a Turtlez, aren't you? You were boasting about how you were such a great swimmer back when we first met."

"T-That's true, but I'm a Kappa, not a Turtlez!"

Symonne shrugged, "Who cares? I'd rather take that way than bump into those worthless cretins again."

"You're just gonna teleport all around the place while laughing at us, aren't you, Creepy Girl!?"

"Keep up that attitude and I just might."

Rhett said, "It might be dangerous, but we're going through Westronbolt. I don't know how long it'll take, but as long as we go nice and slow, we should be able to cross. Let's get moving."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

† - loosely translated as 'Altruist Megg'