Memories Of Ice

Atlas woke up in the living room of the man's house, it was still snowing outside. He stood up and stretched then walked over to the window to see the snow covered ground outside.

"What the..." Atlas mumbled, he turned around to look at the others, Syl was asleep on the other couch, and Seb by the fire. Benyrd was sat in his rocking chair with his eyes closed, he looked motionless. Atlas slowly approached Benyrd and as he neared him, he noticed his skin looked greyish blue.

"Oh no..." Atlas sighed, there were no signs of any injuries, he must have died overnight. Atlas sighed and looked to a shelf above the fire, on the shelf was a picture of a younger looking Benyrd with a woman with red hair, they looked happy, Atlas frowned.

As the others awoke, and Amanda came downstairs from the bedroom, they paid their respects to Benyrd and built a small bonfire platform out in the village, with a space for Benyrd on the top. They placed him inside a wooden box and put it atop the bonfire, Syl shot a fireball from his hand at the base of the bonfire and it burst into flames, the group watched and bowed their heads.

After the makeshift funeral, they boarded the boat in the docks, and departed the island. The snow carried on falling down as the island drifted out of sight.

As the boat bounced over the dark cold ocean, everyone sat in silence, until a TV in the back of the boat crackled to life.

"In this ever evolving weather story, the cold front is continuing to sweep across Crystalla, with snow reaching even the ruins of Raryst. Crystech experts in Disceath have been trying to get to the root of the problem, earlier today we spoke with the new CEO of Crystech to find out what progress is being made in finding out what exactly is causing this weather" The news reporter on the television said. The camera switched to a view of the head office in Disceath. Bryan Fyre was sat behind the desk.

"Here at our state-of-the-art facility in Disceath, we have been researching the reasoning behind this cold snap that we have been experiencing, and we think we have found the source" Bryan began, as he stood up from his desk. "A couple of months ago, we saw the fall of Pyre Academy, and the loss of the Fire Crystal, we all believed it was the work of this 'Lumina' character we have been told about..." Bryan shook his head.

"In truth it is the work of former Wynd student, turned extremist, Roisin Luna..." Bryan said sternly as he stared at the camera, a picture of Roisin leaving Pyre Academy during the collapse flashed up on screen. "This young rebel stole the power of the Crystal and caused the death of thousands and the fall of my home city..." He continued.

"Bullshit!" Atlas roared.

"What..." Syl growled.

"I urge the authorities to arrest her and any who may accompany her immediately" He finished.

"We gotta go get her!" Syl yelled.

"We have no idea where she is by now..." Atlas sighed.

"Then we'll head to Disceath and take the fight to this wanna be Emperor" Amanda shrugged, and looked at both Atlas and Syl.

"You up for that?" Syl asked, as he looked at Atlas.

"I suppose it'd help Roisin out, distracting him" Atlas nodded.

"I'm in too, I'm in too deep now with all of this to back out now" Seb smirked.

"Then we're off to Disceath" Atlas nodded as he turned back to the console of the boat, and programmed in a route to Disceath.

The television continued playing in the background as Bryan demonstrated his Droids for a reporter.

"These Droids will help defend our cities and prevent any more incidents like Terrana and Mystallia, we also believe we may be able to even secure Ishtall" Bryan explained.

"Hmm, so you're saying we may soon see Ishtall reopen to the world?" The reporter asked.

"Indeed, perhaps before the year is out" Bryan nodded and smiled.

"That's quite the claim, we'll keep you all informed on the progress of the news from Crystech" The reporter said to the camera.

"Yeah, handing all our freedoms over to robots sounds like a great idea" Seb sighed and shook his head.

"I've known some snakes from my time in the Empire, but this guy is a full-grown cobra" Amanda frowned.

Syl looked out at the window and watched the snow.

"If he isn't telling the truth, then what is causing the cold snap?" Syl asked. Atlas pondered Syl's question.

"Well, Disceath is the city of Ice, which is where this Fyre guy is, right? More than likely he has something to do with it, I imagine" Atlas theorized.

"Maybe... but what does he gain from it all? And why frame Roisin?" Syl grunted.

"Well, we can ask him before we kick his ass" Seb nodded.

"I'm gonna kick more than just his ass..." Syl frowned.

The boat continued on as the snow carried on falling from the endless sea of grey clouds above the ocean.