Songs Of War - What if everyone was related?

An Old Friend

' Ky' Galleous, you okay? You look like you're going to cry...'

I immediately run forward and put my arms around him.

' I thought you were dead! I found your Songs, your sword... What happened?'

Senn looks surprised, but answers my question anyway. ' Ingressus threw me through a portal he opened. It didn't really do much, all it did was change the weather, and probably took away my Songs if you found it...'

I release him and take a step back.

' You sure you are okay, Ky' Galleous? You look like you haven't seen me in years...'

' What?' I was confused.

' I was only gone for a few weeks...'

' You were gone for years, Senn!'

His eyes widen.' What? That's impossible! It was just a few weeks ago when I last saw you at Mount Velgrin...'

' That was 154 years ago!'

' 154 years?!' he seems shocked.

' Yeah, it's been a long time.'

' But-but...'

He suddenly stops.

' Ingressus said he would return when the battle was over, when he was forgotten...'

' No one has forgotten about Ingressus, he is really...' I tell him, but he continues saying whatever he was saying.

' When Ardonia has grown weak and his enemies are gone...'

' Well, the six kingdoms are in chaos right now, the Enderknights have vanished, and the Tidesinger is dead....'

' That portal... He must have made a portal that took us into the future!'

' Umm... What?'

' He knows he has lost the war, so he travelled through time for a second chance to strike!'

' What do you...'

' Where are the Prime Songs?'

' Thalleous hid them so the Voltaris wouldn't get them...'

' That's good, at least he doesn't have the Prime Songs. Where are the Enderknights?'

' I told you just now, they have vanished for years...'

' Didn't hear that part. And the kingdoms?'

' Cydonia and K'arthen are locked in their conflict, and Felden is under attack by the Necromancers...'

' So things aren't looking good on our side either?'

' Not really... We did send an army of Ardoni to Mount Velgrin...'

' That was probably the group I ran into...'

' Wait, you ran into them?' I ask eagerly. There hasn't been any news about them, even I, a professional at collecting information, have not heard what happened to them.

' They were all killed.'

' What? How?'

' Who do you think the Deathsinger is? Of course, he killed them all! Well, actually the other Voltaris killed them all, he only killed the Kaltaris with the staff, which may I add is a total idiot for challenging Ingressus?'

' You mean Zulius?'

' Whatever! He died before I could even ask his name.'

' So, you're the only survivor?'

' I got lucky. I didn't die when Ingressus forced me off the edge. He probably left me there because he thought I was dead.'

' Wait a minute... I need to confirm something... Is the Deathsinger alive?'

' Yes, he is...' he looks at me.' Why do you ask? Did you think he was dead like me?'

' Yes, everyone did! The three Prime Songs were left behind together with your brother’s and father's. By the way, if you and the Deathsinger are alive, could the Tidesinger...'

He shifts and looks down as he sighs.
' He didn't make it. He was pushed off the edge before Ingressus even went through the portal.'

' Oh... I'm sorry...'

' It's been a few weeks, I've gotten over it.' he turns around and crosses his arms.

There's a moment of silence.

I decide to break the silence. ' I'm glad you're alive. I'm sure Thalleous would be happy to hear this as well.'

' How is he?'

' Not that good...'

' Still effected by the Prime Songs?'

' Yeah, he attacked me a couple of times...'

' Were there major injuries?' he turns around and looks at me.

' Not much on the outside...' I never really gotten injured. The real pain was seeing what my brother had become.

' I understand how it feels.' he puts his hand on my shoulder. ' I felt it twice before.'

I nod without saying anything.

' So, how's your training going? Any new talented students?' he asks.

' I stopped teaching years ago. '

He looks up at me, surprised. ' Why?'

' Because… I believe Songs are responsible for many of the tragedies that plague Ardoni history.'

He looks down.

' I know this sounds silly to you, since you wield Songs so much...'

' No, I... ' he sighs,' I agree with you. Thalleous is a great example, and...' he stops.

' And?'

He doesn't continue.

' You can tell me anything, Senn.'

' So, what can I do to help during this war?' he changes the subject.

I sigh. Whatever secrets he's keeping, it's not like I can force him to say them.

' I heard Thalleous has started a resistance group against the Voltaris. I will tell you if I get any more information. For now, you can stay in Ataraxia.'

' Thanks, Ky' Galleous.' he turns to leave.

' Wait!'

He stops and turns around.

I head downstairs and he follows me.
I search through my chest, and finally find them.

I hold out the Tidesinger's Songs to him. ' Maybe you would want to have them.'

He thinks for a moment. ' I think I'll have my own Songs back, if you still have them. I don't want to... be reminded...'

I shrug, totally understanding. It must be hard for him, watching his father die.

I continue digging into the chest, and soon pull out his three Songs. I hand them to him.

' Did you happen to pick up my sword as well?'

' Yeah, they should be somewhere in that room...' I walk outside and towards another island.

I open a trapdoor, and crawl down. Senn follows closely behind.

We drop down into a room full of weapons I had forged.

' That's a lot of weapons...' he looks around in awe.

' Thalleous has warned us about the Voltaris for years. Even though I avoided the battles and ignored my brother's warnings, part of me believed in him. So I decided to prepare for the Voltaris in my own way.'

I walk over to a corner of the room.
' It should be somewhere here... Ah! Found it!' I hand him his sword.

Senn strokes the blade and swings it around.