The Fallen City

|Chapter XXI: Song of The Heart

Gale's mouth dropped wide as they saw the Tree in bloom. Its crystal flowers scattered light of a thousand colours across the clear ocean. It radiated back up from its crystal bottom, reflected like an eternal mirror. Each flower told its own story, another believing in the wondrous land humanity had crafted from its beginning. The tree waved to them as they passed. The flowers shimmered and glistened, some falling from it in a snow of sparkling light, igniting the roots in all colours.

The ShardShip rushed towards the City's main district. The water gave way for the coastline interwoven with stone and crystal. It's surface's cracks withdrew slowly. People walked its causeways, flew between the buildings, and as Gale watched towers began healing themselves even further. Their shards soared upwards to their peaks, whilst those cast afloat drifted down to merge to the greater whole with titanous rumbles unheard by all else.

Humanity, at least some of it, had returned to the World of Dreams, the City Inbetween. Yet it wouldn't be enough.

Despite the healing, despite the glory they had witnessed since flying its skies once more, albeit totally anew... It's death rattle was ever present.

A spire ahead of him began to lean, its base letting lose a shroud of debris as it collapsed onto its neighbour. The impact showered the second spire with broken crystals, rocks, metals and dreams. Covering its surface in a web of cracks and pits and splinters as its neighbour broke apart, crashing to the causeway far below. The assailant crashed to the ground, whilst the defender stood barely upright.

It wasn't enough...

"Hurry it Gale. Let's not fail now..." Carola ordered, and sure enough the City whipped by faster and faster. She saw some people fly alongside them, only to peel off into the depths of the City's skyscape. The bridge appeared ahead of them. They made for ground, swooping the vessel down the causeway to its end.

Someone was awaiting them.

The vessel had slowed but it still rushed over their head as they raised their hand in greeting. Curving around gently it set lay between the arches, slowly descending down the bridge. Coming to a peaceful rest at their side, the canopy opened before it had made touchdown.

"Whose that?" Carola mumbled as they disembarked. their form was muted in the haze that filled the City. Like the twists and turns of dreams hid their being. Gale watched the apparent stranger carefully.

"Dad?" The voice asked the man staring him down. He looked little different from when he left. In that world it was unnerving.

"Alban." Gale held his hand out to him. "Welcome to the City."

His flightsuit clad son seemed hesitant. Not just because of the affection but the gauntlet like mit that covered his hand. "You can't hurt me Son."

On touch the mit began to rust and rot under Gales bare skin. The decay was thick, yet it remained whole. Gale looked down, and yet sure enough. There, under boot, even on the Bridge itself their footprints were of cracks and dust. They didn't belong there...

Gale smiled. His plan might just work.

For the moment though, something else mattered more.

"You have something to say." Gale was stern. Carola watched as Alban gave a halfhearted shrug. Gale's body stiffened briefly in a mix of rage and pain.

"You were right, I was wrong. The way you've been is also wrong. I have nothing to say." Alban's eyes panned across the world around him. He took it all in, there was so much to learn, and so much to unlearn now. "Cory wants to get you sectioned."

"There you are Carola, after a lifetime of telling people the truth, they still think you're mad." Gale waved off the comment, even if his companion looked on with hate in her eyes.