The Cycles of Change (Plot Thread 5.1)

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

I laughed. "Don't worry, friend, I'm sure you've got some kind of innate ability." I smiled, looking up there.

"It's a place of wonder, up there," I answered. "I don't know if they're using one of the two escaped colonies, or if there's a third one that none of us knew about... either way, I'm sad that they're using the last remnants of Ketuluna to destroy the world which we put so much effort into saving...."

It was too late to spare me the memories, but honestly, I was used to them by now. "Shiira... she would be so disappointed..."

[Xïza Tyrmond]

Xiza walked into the room, his armor still white and slightly glowing with lunar light. He got in and not saying a word to the other people, he stood in the corner, as Armor came near him and healed his wounds. Xiza thought it was ironic, that a little more than year ago, these people were his enemies, and now they are fighting for the same cause.

[Kurai Horo]

Kurai shrugged slightly at the prospect of having hidden powers "Who knows? Maybe I'll end up turning into a gust of wind, Seth a puddle of water and Eli into a beautiful Twilit night!" He looked across at Eli with a grin before nudging Vash "Although, don't hold me to that, he has a long way to go!" he closed his right eye in what would have been a wink where it not for the fact that he had his other eye covered up. When Xiza entered the room, Kurai looked across at him before once more at Vash.

"Okay then, the big blue haired guy, what's his story?"

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

"Xiza Tyrmond is the King of Ketulunanox. He took the name Tyrant when Lunatopia was destroyed," I replied. "Up until their downfall, he was one of the Sumata XIII."

I looked up at him unobtrusively.

"I admit, I don't like him very much; Lunatopia was my home, the only one I had left. However... it seems that Mothers have decided to give him a second chance, and I've found that when one argues with goddesses, one usually loses."

[Kurai Horo]

Kurai raised an eyebrow at the mention of a Ketulunian King, the destruction of Lunatopia, the Sumata XIII and goddesses all within less than a minute of each other "Okay, okay, okay" he said rubbing his temples "Let's backtrack, I always just thought that 'The Mothers' were just a sort of folk tale, you know, sort of like how in Ariadelvento we have what we call the 'Divine Wind' the sort of thing you say to young troops to inspire them! 'May the Divine Wind blow behind your back' and all that sort of stuff?"

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

I flushed. "Ah.... sorry. Sometimes, it's... I forget how overwhelming it can be for normal people."

I sighed.

"Ketu and Luna, the goddesses of the moon, are who I call 'Mothers', because all of us are sacred to them. According to prophecy, we are the 'children of Ketuluna'. Just like many of Allorum's gods, they do exist in some form, though they rarely descend to the world, especially after the destruction of Ketuluna." I looked down at the floor. "It's occasionally hard to remember that their existence has been... forgotten."

[Kurai Horo]

"Hey, don't sweat it... I've got to say I never really have to ask questions when I'm in Ariadelvento, I've read all of the libraries from the cover of the first book to the cover of the last, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel alien about asking questions on the matter..." he shrugged "But hey, you're telling me some interesting stuff here, a few moments ago I believed that the gods were more of a force than sentient beings, or at least that they were sentient beings, some ancient race that has since been wiped out... And now here I am learning that they're very much out there somewhere..."

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

I nodded. "To be fair, though, Mothers interact much more with the world than most gods," I admitted. "Most of them seem content to live and let live. In the past thousand years or so, the only divine beings to interact with Allorum at all have been the Archangels, lesser 'gods' that serve as the servants for the true gods and goddesses. You've seen their work; the heroes are here because of Profeta, the Archangel of Prophecy... and I'm sure you know who Trucido is, and what he did, although he fell from grace a long, long time ago."

[Kurai Horo]

Kurai couldn't help but chuckle slightly "When I was a boy, I always hoped that I'd do something of note to be risen to the status of an Archangel or something, I always wanted some sort of power or authority... I guess I found that in being a Lunar Knight, or maybe, that's what Zephyr found in me... Who knows? All I can tell is that I've been pushed into an order of prestige and honor, and I've been given a title which I shall make sure to hold with all of my might and wisdom" he nodded slowly before looking up to the sky once again "Maybe, when all of this is done... Maybe we can restore the order to what it once was..." he tilted his head back and closed his eye in thought "Have a temple in every nation, dedicated to it's moon and the warrior who serves it, and then in the most neutral place we can find, a grand temple... A place for all Lunar Knights to meet and discuss" he chuckled at his own thoughts with a shake of his head "That is of course, if the world doesn't end!"

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

My grin widened. Suddenly, I knew exactly what my brother had seen in this man.

Imagine... imagine that something such as that could truly happen. That the order could one day enter the open without fear for open war, that my siblings and I would no longer have to hide our existences. When the Order was created, simply being Ketulunan would have gotten any of us lynched in the streets; now, I was talking with an Alloran about creating temples in the Moons' honor.

"You know, Kurai... someday... maybe we will. Maybe we can do that, someday. And that's why... that's why we must put an end to this...."

[Kurai Horo]

He nodded in return "I'm pretty sure that the world is finally ready for the power that it's moon's hold..." he smiled with a shake of his head, remembering his child hood, how he had been hidden away from the world by his father simply because of one small birth mark that he had on the back of his neck. But, they were doing something of merit right now. Something that would hopefully be sung by the people of Allorum for generations to come, they were saving this entire planet from it's possible destruction and were it not for the Lunar Knights, the chances are, such a plot would never have been discovered let alone halted... "I think we've done and are doing enough to be accepted by the common man..."

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

"It's not always what you do, Kurai," I said, thinking back on several events that I'd witnessed. "Sometimes, no matter what you do, people aren't ready to see. BUt... I think the world may be ready now. Maybe I'll stay like this for a while... see how it goes."

It felt good, to have friends again. I had to remember this feeling - for too long, I'd kept myself at arm's length from the world.

"Let's do this. Let's fight to the end.... it's time to end this once, and for all."

[Kurai Horo]

Kurai nodded, standing up he held his out for a handshake "Let's shake on it, no matter what happens up there, we fight together, we defeat the people trying to destroy this planet and we make sure that this order is rebuilt into the glory that he deserves!" he was grinning behind his mask, his free eye glinting with an objective, a goal, something to live for.

[Aya Dauzi Invargas]

Slowly however, behind the Kishu, there appeared a figure with yellow eyes, one that was familiar as he spoke softly, "And the earth, grounding the group." He walked on by, watching the problems surface, staring ahead at Xisa, Vash, and Kurai. Aya felt the need to stay by his old comrades, even though he had been gone so long, not even mentioning the fact that he had no reason to be here. However...

"...I have to say. I'm sorry I haven't been around...it'll be quite the story when you guys finish.." Aya seemed too hardened to want to talk at the moment much more beyond this, having tracked his way through and following the beast to this point.

"...Good luck." Aya waited back against a wall, feeling undeserving of coming back, and suddenly, Vash became a familiar face. One that spilled a drink on his chest about years ago, as he closed his eyes and smirked, and did nothing else. It became everyone else's move.

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

I shook hands with Kurai, then turned to meet a gaze that I could feel. It was steady and level; I vaguely recognized the man, but I didn't remember exactly from where. Likely from the time when the Heroes defeated the Sumata. I flashed him one of my customary smiles, one that I truly felt, this time - things were beginning to change for the better, and suddenly four thousand years of life seemed worth living.