The dimension of the Spirit

Dear Diary,
After we passed the interdimensional gate, we spent the first night somewhere on a field near the road under an improvised shelter. Tired, hurt and still shocked, we all had to gather our forces to tell the crew what happened. We talked about undying elves, about them coming in this dimension, about the buildings and how we escaped. And while we were talking, it seemed that the information slowly started to sink in for us as well.
 
An army of undying elves, hidden somewhere in this world… an army for which we were to blame. We set them free. Funny how You’re always free to choose, but never to stop the consequences of your choice. And this time, the consequences of our choice, will come at a cost of the lives of thousands. But we’ve made our choice, and now we have to take responsibility for it. And we will do it by fighting. If we really brought the end of our world, then we must be the ones who stop it.
 
We had to plan what’s going to happen next. But none of us dared to say much. There was a heavy feeling around. I suggested we rest here for now, but the others wanted to keep moving. If they were following us, the undying elves will find us no matter where we go. In the end, Glaive Boy started talking, after Nixie very unsubtly suggested she doesn’t trust him. First, he told us what they did in the past months. They rebuild a part of Legondol and then cleared the SAI from the interdimensional gate. Thank the Almighty Kelly wasn’t there anymore, otherwise the world would have really lost a great person. But while they were doing this, the interdimensionals saw our message. Then they realized for the first time that what they did was wrong. In an attempt to fix their mistake, The three interdimensionals came in Xy to help us. And thank The Almighty that they did. Glaive Boy did not ask for forgiveness for what had happened back in Legondol.
 
Instead, he kneeled down in front of us and apologized. He apologized in the name of all his friends and promised from now on he will do all that’s necessary to protect us.
 
The first time we got there, it was raining in the dimension of the Spirit.
 
Tallion, did kneel too in front of him, thanking Glaive Boy for everything he’s done so far. It is not oftentimes that Tallion really shows such respect for someone. I was moved by his gesture. And I for one wanted to lend a helping hand. I may not have been able to do much but forgiving him was a first step. Helping their friend was the only way to repay Reynar and Andirs for sacrificing for us. Plus, It did not seem like Glaive Boy would be ever able to forgive himself for what he’d done, especially to his own friends. And yes, it won’t bring anyone back and most of us would probably not forget what happened. But living with your friend’s blood on your own hands is a punishment one will never get rid of, even in a lifetime. And if anyone should understand, it’s us.
 
Then, I asked him to join us. I am no captain to do that, so I needed Nixie’s permission for it. More or less obliged by Tallion and me, she coldly nodded, not saying anything about it. Well, there was no point to have a whole fight when none of us felt well. So, I waited for everyone to go to sleep and I went to have a private talk with Nixie. I knew I was not going to convince her of anything good about the interdimensionals but it’s my persistence that always makes me at least try. But she acted colder than ever before. No matter what I’d say, she’d slash my words immediately. “I let him stay. That’s a second chance already! Nixie said and she sounded like she hated that idea. For a moment I was at loss of words. “No, you didn’t give him a second chance. You were forced to.” I thought for myself. I got sad. You know, to me, Glaive Boy didn’t do all of this for himself. He was the voice of all the interdimensionals. A lifetime- a lifetime they spent preparing for something. And what they prepared for was to die for us. Although they didn’t know it, Sikorki passed his legacy on them, when he stopped them from fighting the Five. All of them: Bajid, Jevyan, Reynar and Andirs used their powers to try to save this world and died fighting on the same side with us. And now, Glaive Boy was their voice just like we are now the voice of our world. To be shut down like this was cruel even for Nixie.
 
Yes, if they listened to us maybe the journey through Xy would have been easier. And maybe Eve would have not lost her eyes, or even risk to die. We did feel the consequences of their actions, but so did the others, when we opened the XY. And we got a second chance, so why not use it to put my trust in them again? Now, you may ask: “what if Zarkuz or Gilders would come back. Would you do the same?”. I don’t know. But a deep genuine sincerity is an openness of heart which you find in very few people. And Glaive Boy was definitely one of them. I for one, could not let it pass unseen. So yes, dear diary I am a fool for trusting what tried to kill us. But every wise man knows you cannot touch the moon, so only a fool will still try.
Later that night, I asked Eve to come and help me with a little game with Lullaby. To our surprise, Lullaby reacted to this game even better than before, making Eve very happy. But there was more. The moment Lullaby saw Eve so happy, she responded with what seemed to be an attempt to…SMILE!? I wish Eve would have seen it with her own eyes. It was beautiful. And it was all thanks to Eve.
 
I thought I’d let the girls enjoy a bit of time alone and went to talk with Bart. It was time I’d tell someone what is happening every time Eve visits me. And Bart made a very good point. This was not happening with anyone else but me. Nobody complained about feeling anything like this. So why me? Bart suggested that maybe Eve and me had some kind of unsolved problem. But what could it be? From all I know, Eve and me never had a fight. Unfortunately, Bart didn’t have an answer. So, I did the most logical thing one would do. I woke up Eve in the middle of the night and started to ask her if she had a problem with me. Poor Eve probably got worried, but I still couldn’t tell her the truth. I didn’t want to upset her. “Is it because you have realized that I was the problem not Lullaby? And you fear that I might hurt her so you’re trying to keep me away from her” she asked very directly. And as always, I was very bad at lying so I ended up telling her the truth. I didn’t try in anyway to keep her away from Lullaby, for I know how important it is for her, nor I was afraid for Lullaby. Maybe Eve was right, maybe I didn’t know her like I once was. She did change, but there are a few things that will never change about her: she’ll always protect us, and she’ll believe in good. So, when she told me that she can feel all our fears and could use them against us anytime, I couldn’t help but hug her. There was no one I would have trusted with this more than her. But, that did not mean I should leave it like that. Feeling fear all the time is painful and I promised to take care of Eve. But how? Is staying with her just enough?
But she was right. I was afraid. And as much as do not like to admit, this fear is slowly getting to me even more. I am afraid that what I do does not help the others, on contrary, it hurts them even more. I keep doing it, because I somehow hope that I am not right, that this fear of mine is based on nothing as they said before. I know the demons are going to use this with the first chance they get. So I cannot let them. I am no longer so decided on what I want, nor do I know who I wanna be. It will be this fear that will hurt the others, so I have to keep fighting it. And I do. It’s just recently, before I say any words, my heart shrinks a bit and I get this instinct that I’d better shut up.
 
The next morning, we decided to go to the capital city of Redochia to find out more information about what’s happening. We still didn’t know if the people at Lullaby’s castle were enemies or allies, and we had to make sure it’s not a trap. After a few attempts to steal a phone, we managed to finally find out some information. It seems that Redochia, in the absence of their queen and king, managed to avoid a war against the Union. Their prime-minister, Lemenis Donatavol, all this time took charge of the country and he encouraged everyone to not lose heart, for in the message they had all received, they saw their queen alive. In the end, we decided to take our shot and head for the palace. But how exactly should we get inside without being noticed?
 
Dear Diary, for the first time in our life, we decided to enter through the main entrance. Tallion, who is a true celebrity here just simply went to a guard and talked with him. Then the guard, ordered by someone else led the way to a hidden entrance. WHAT? THAT SIMPLE? NO WAY. I became a bit suspicious. There, they verified us of not having guns or other dangerous equipment. The guards were a bit surprised to see Kelly with us, but did not say anything. Then, we were taken to some kind of council room, where we were left to wait.
 
Not long after, this wise looking person came talking to us. We recognized him as being the prime minister. After a small introduction, he simply stated: “So you are Damaschini and Tallion. As the queen ordered before she left, a whole army of soldiers trained in medieval combat is ready.”
 
My jaw dropped. WH…WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? AN ARMY OF WHAT? At first, my guard was up, and I though he was lying about the whole thing. “So the queen told you she was leaving?” I asked suspiciously. He disapproved. “But then, how did you know you have to wait for Damaschini or Tallion” I kept asking. Then he explained how, before she disappeared, the queen sent a secret order to him in which she ordered a preparation of an army that could fight in our dimension without being noticed. Then, he learned about the royal couple’s disappearance and just tried his best to keep the country from any danger.
Now, back to that army of fighters. I was beyond amazed by it. If we managed to find a gate, this could be the saving of the Continent. Lullaby gave us a chance for something that maybe we lost some hope for. Once again, I could have gone home and fight. This time on the right side. I was a bit happy but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Even with an army, we had no news about the Continent, nor we knew when’ll get there. And, it was our dimension to fight for. As much as I could have liked to have this army, asking 300.00 people to help us, felt a bit much. After all, their home might need help as well.
 
“Do you know what happened to the Queen and King”? the prime minister asked with a saddened expression on his face. I looked at Nixie and then at Tallion who both nodded. “Your queen is right here” we told him. For some time, Donatavol stood there speechless, looking at Lullaby. I don’t know what went through his mind, but we explained him that she needs rest, and although she is not sentient, we want to help her. The prime minister seemed willing to help us with anything we needed and he seemed relieved that the queen is finally home.
 
But…his relief soon faded when he heard about Bajid. “I’m sorry but I am a deeply saddened, he wasn’t born one of us, but everyone loved the King”. His words took me back to Legondol. “Who didn’t love Bajid? And now his people, will never get to see their king again. Not even one last time…” I thought a bit nostalgically. We’re in the King’s country now, so we should honor the King at last. With this in mind, I decided to talk with the others. It was time to hold a proper memorial for Bajid, the beloved king of Redochia and we couldn’t do it without the queen. So it was also time to wake up Lullaby. Eve figured that she could send her some kind of call to wake up through their connection, just like she did before. But the problem with Balan was still there. Once Lullaby would wake up, she’d wake up back in the last moment she remembers: Bajid’s death. For her, the past months did not happen, Xy was merely probably a dream. And when she’ll wake up, all the feelings she had that day in Legondol would come back at once. So, we had to find a way to make her feel more at peace during that time. We asked the prime minister if there was anyone close to Lullaby who could help her, but she had almost no one. Ghighi was not here, and Glaive Boy did not seem the closest with her. We could try to help her, but we’ve weren’t so close to her and we weren’t many. Just as I thought of it, the words of the prime minister passed my mind. That’s it! The people of Redochia. They have been there all along and they love their Queen and King AND they’ve seen the message. Now, Nixie came with the brilliant idea to gather everyone for the memorial and to wake Lullaby up, right at the time when everyone would show their love for Bajid. That way, she’ll realize who he was, and the love everyone carried for him. And then, she’ll be able to be there for Bajid, for one last time. For some reasons, Nixie was against the idea to do the memorial in the cemetery where Lullaby’s parents were buried. She thought that it would hurt her even more. But I did not agree. You see, the pain of losing someone you love will hurt her anyways, but in a weird way, I’ve come to think that burials bring you a slight feeling of peace. Plus, Bajid was part of her family, so he deserved to be remembered as one.
 
For this plan to work, we needed to let the people know about the return of the Queen and King. So, together with the prim minister, we decided to have a declaration in front of their weird council called Parliament which will be all over the TV. With this plan in mind, all we needed to do is wait a day until the prime minister would arrange everything. Finally, we could get some rest. GREATEST JOKE EVER!
 
I was dreaming of meat and snakes when Glaive Boy suddenly woke us up. “Do not panic…” he said. That was not a good start at all looking at Nixie who was already panicking. “There is something in the walls” continued Glaive Boy. He could feel a strong manipulation of planes so we knew what was going to come. But we didn’t get to do anything about the walls because we heard people at the door, saying that the prime minister sent them. Yeah, sure. Like any of us would be so stupid to believe that the soldiers of Redochia are good at manipulating the planes. We sent them away, but not even minutes after, they came back. This time, they didn’t even bother to knock, they just opened the door and talked with Nixie. “Nernixis blah blah blah…. You have a choice: Come with us, and you may live to continue your fight or die here and all that you do becomes irrelevant…blah blah blah…We’ll kill you….blah blah blah”. I told you before, didn’t i? These great speeches of how we’ll die are getting old. If they really wanted us dead, we wouldn’t even know they’re coming. Or that’s at least what I bet on, when I told Nixie to not listen to them. Of course, I was thinking of a plan to escape, after all they were just two of them. Until Glaive Boy, probably guessing what we thought said there’s more elves into the walls. Fantastic. But to our surprise, the elves did not attack us, they just left. “You’ll find out the price you need to pay for your actions soon enough” was the last thing they said before leaving.
I didn’t even get to put my thoughts in order when we heard someone collapsing. Glaive Boy dropped dead behind us. He was not hurt in any way, but his face was covered in drops of sweat, as if he had been fighting something. We tried to see if his spirit was around, or if by any chance the undying elves just fooled us. Glaive Boy was indeed dead.
 
I wonder if it was raining that first night we spent in the Redochian castle.
 
We were all shocked. We didn’t even notice for one second what was happening, and it was right there near us. How could we be so careless and arrogant! Maybe I should have listened to their speech more. We thought that despite being trapped and overpowered, we would still get out of there alive because… Because what? Yes. Because we are never alone. But I forgot, dear diary, that help most of the times comes with a consequence. We should have known that Glaive Boi was doing something, we should have known that the undying elves are coming after us. We did manage to escape. But no thanks to our powers but thanks to Glaive’s Boy fight and Undying Elves interest in our existence. It was a clear reminder that nothing is unbeatable, a reminder that WE are not unbeatable.
 
We stayed there, talking to each other, figuring out what we should do next. Do we still hold the memorial? Do we call people? I do not like it. I feel like I am being used. The undying elves are waiting for us to do a mistake, or not do a mistake? Just why exactly do they want us alive? Or better said, what are they going to force us do this time? We wanted to strike back, but then once again we needed to deal with whatever consequences will come, which in this case could be very dangerous. But I didn’t want the message to be in vain. I don’t want that all the sacrifices to be in vain. Maybe we are not unbeatable but while we stand, we had to try something.
 
In the end, we had decided to keep going with our plan. It was Donatavol who managed to give us an idea of what to do, when he suggested that maybe during the parliament meeting, we should talk more about ourselves. “People will follow a person rather than an idea” he said. I never thought of it like that to be fair. But, when he said it, it reminded me of the elves in Enneth. They did not believe in the end of the world but they chose to follow us, because of who we were. But these people were not elves, nor magic men nor did they know anything about our dimension. So we really needed to convince them. We all have learnt how bad we are at pretending to be something we’re not. So, each one of us put on the outfits we use in our dimension and tried to look as normal as possible for the situation. I mean, I am sure I looked pretty good in my armor with the helmet from Xebec.
 
Later, we all gathered and the Prime-Minister took us to this huge room where a few hundred people, dressed in these very black and white suits, were waiting for us. The Prime-Minister started by introducing ourselves, and talking about the message. I was getting a bit worried. I love talking with the crew, but when it comes to politics people, I really am not the smartest. Luckily, all I needed to do is stay there while Nixie gave one of her speeches. Remembered when I told you that she’s getting better at them? I think this might have been the greatest one so far. And although we’ve been fighting this war together, it was like I heard the stories for the first time. Like she was finally talking from her heart. I looked at Nixie and I felt proud of her. From time to time, she would stop and try to find the right words, just like the first time she had the Captain speech. But now, she would quickly find them. None of us really understand how hard it is to be a captain, yet somehow Nixie made it. Hmmm…maybe I should start calling her General from now on! Seems that someone agreed with me. On the wall behind, there was this huge sign in the shape of a star with nine corners. While Nixie was talking, for only a second, the sign glowed a light, leaving everyone in the room with an amazed face. I will take that it was a good sign.
 
Now, that the interview was done, we thought we could go get some rest. But, dear diary before we could do that, Donatavol came to us with other news. Some “reporters” wanted to have a small talk with us. To explain you a bit better, these reporters are like your old neighbors that like to spy your every move and discuss about it. Except, they do that on TV so that everyone can see. Great! Luckily, we managed to postpone the meeting until after Bajid’s funeral so we have some time to prepare. Then, we gathered in a room and Kelly gave us some tips about how to deal with these reporters. Now, I am not usually embarrassed about what I say but this time we really needed to convince the others and I was very worried that I’ll not know what to say. I asked the others some questions so they can answer some of them in advance for me, but there was one that I just kept it for myself. “What if they ask me what I wanna be?” I thought for myself. It was a question the others couldn’t answer it for me. And I was scared that if I were to stumble on this one, it will affect everyone. No one trusts someone who doesn’t know where to go. The day before I had this small talk with Tallion. I have decided to try and overcome my fear, just as I promised Eve, but I had no clue how. Tallion told me this story on how he beat his fear of heights by jumping from a swing while playing. Well, that was not hard to do. Maybe if I could talk with Tallion and tell him the truth, then it would help me understand more about myself. I don’t usually talk about these things, but I do not mind sharing some thoughts with Tallion from time to time. He is a very good friend for listening. But, the conversation got confusing from here on. He asked me: “What is the first thing you think about before you take a decision?”. Nixie joined in the conversation as well, not long after. Then, they both explained to me what each one of them is thinking before deciding. Dear diary, nobody asked me that before, and to be fair I didn’t know what to answer. I do not usually spend time thinking of something specific when I take a decision. I just take it. Was I supposed to think anything before? Is it weird that I don’t? I am no brainless fighter so I do not just blindly pick an option, but I do not really have anything specific I think of. I just listen to everyone, maybe come up with some extra ideas, and then I just vote on one of the options. It was then that I realized that maybe the others can’t help me with this. They can’t tell me who I am. I just need to do it myself. Thank The Almighty we are going home! Maybe I’ll find some clues there.
 
That night each one of us prepared for a very long day. After more than 4 months we finally could bury Bajid as he deserved. It was true that we also had a mission to help Lullaby but this once, we could allow ourselves to be sad.I for one had many feelings that night. It was the sadness for Bajid, the hope for Lullaby and a bit of concern for what may happen. In the morning, we left the Redochian Castle and began Bajid’s ceremonial walk to the grave. Thousands of thousands of people gathered outside watching the parade pass through the streets. Many of them even joined us. Soon, we got in front of this cemetery and Bart started playing this lament that he wrote.
 
I looked up to the sky. It was raining very hard in the dimension of Spirit that day.
 
Then, everyone gathered on a field behind the cemetery, where one by one, people close to Bajid said a few words about him. Nixie, once again held an emotional speech, and Tallion followed suit. I did not stay with Bajid for a long time, nor had talked with him too much. But above all, Bajid was kind. That’s how I’ll always probably remember him. To me, he was that person who’d manage to touch your soul with only one small gesture. One smile, one lending hand, or anything would make you understand why he was so loved. We saw Bajid and Lullaby just a few times together, but every time you could see how gentle and caring he was with her. And even with us, who back then were some strangers to him, he never turned his back, not in even darkest times. Instead, he smiled. And despite meeting him for only a few days, it felt like we were friends already. No wonder his people loved him so!
 
“The King is dead! Long live the King!”
 
And thus, the place fell silent. Every soul there prayed for their beloved King and Queen. We were all in tears, for Bajid and everyone else we had lost. It was not easy so far, but at last we could be a bit at peace, for we felt people’s prayers reaching us and Lullaby. It felt heartwarming seeing that in this mess, so many souls could unite, and do more than we could have ever done alone. It was time to wake Lullaby up.
 
Damaschini and Eve did their special combo, and soon Lullaby fell to her knees. Eve slowly felt a grip on her hand as she tried to catch Lullaby. Then, we helped walk to Bajid’s grave for it is tradition that the most loved one to throw the first gravel on the coffin. Eve was preparing to help Lullaby but suddenly, she stood up by herself, and slowly took the shovel and threw the gravel. For others, this was normal. But we were stunned. After so much time Lullaby was finally awake. Finally, the Queen was back and both her and Rafil were safe. But Lullaby was very weak so we took her to a more private space and she sat down somewhere in a chair. We slowly got closer to her, and then we could heard a very fade “Thank you” from Lullaby. It was nice, just to hear her talk and see that she is finally back. There was no need to thank us for we only did our part as she did hers, despite not knowing it. It was all of us who sent the message, it was all of us who passed xy and who now are fighting for this world. But then, before we could say anything else, Lullaby fainted so we had to let her rest for now.
 
During the ceremony, I looked for Gilders. I somehow hoped that maybe, he would come at least to say goodbye to his brother. If not to take responsibility for what’s he’s done, then simply because, Bajid was his brother. I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, what he told us there in Metherol was not a lie and in the end, he did see the message and tried to make up for it. But, he didn’t show up. He cowardly hid again behind someone’s back and waited for the rain to pass. We told the world about his crime, and one day he’ll see the rain just as we did today.
 
Before we could leave, we had to meet with the reporters, just as promised the other day. And so the show started. The questions were absolutely horrible and made no sense. “DiD yoU WaKe tHe DraGoN up?”, “Do UndEaD pEoPLe have RiGhtS?” and so on. Absolutley everything about them was stupid. How can someone become something like this and not feel sorry for themselves? And the worst part was that my face and voice was all over the internet that day. They even made a song of my weird stuttering!! Just why would you even do that? We barely said three words and they already pretend that they know everything. LET’S GIVE THE UNDYING ELVES SOME RIGHTS AS WELL, shall we? Anyways, I got very annoyed so I grabbed the others and left.
 
That day, we paid another visit. In a small corner of the graveyard laid a small memorial stone for the interdimensionals. I thought that Tallion might want to pray for them a bit. Out of everyone, I felt that he did indeed care for them. We’ve always seen those three together, so that’s how they should also rest. On the memorial stone laid their names. Since Glaive Boi was not the real name, we struggled to decide if they should add it or not. The name itself did not mean anything, but if you ask me, it was Glaive Boy who managed to give it a meaning. And so glaive boy was named Glaive Boi.
 
And on the stone was written only a small quote: “We are glad we have trained for this”.

I have noticed something interesting, dear diary. These rainy days in Redochia seem a lot like our life. We bring the clouds, and then we must deal with the rain they bring. Just like we make our choices and we then feel the consequences. But I do wonder, will there also be thunder and lightning in our path? For it is always after the storm when the calmest weather comes.
 
 
May the Almighty have us in his care.
P.S.1: Thank you, Glaive Boy for having our backs. We will take care of these dimensions for you.
P.S.2: Now that our business is done in the dimension of the Spirit, we will soon return to the Continent. Finally, after so many years we will find out what is happening there. I am excited. But I do also fear a bit. After all, the last time I was there, we were at war with Ghebaro, who almost won. And I stole a prisoner and left. I do not think that anybody cared about that. But now, they’ve seen the message, they’ve seen I believe in the Almighty now, and that I am gone from the Continent. What will they think of me?
P.S.3: I am worried about Lullaby. She just woke up for a day and already started working and helping us. The army is just enough for us. I wish she would just rest a bit. It’s been enough what she’s been through.