What in the-?! Something that ISN'T The Fierce God Given Life?! YEAH! This right here is a gift for a close friend of mine. A huge fan on Dragon Quest, so it's a great birthday present! I hope everyone enjoys, a lot of research went into getting this right!
-Jooostan
Dire Need of Help – A Dragon Quest One-Shot
Chapter 1: Shields of Pain
"Haa... Haa... And stay down."
King Irwin panted heavily and sheathed his weapon. The ghostly specter of Eleven did the same. He still didn't know what to think of his father, but he kept his inner thoughts to himself for now.
"Right, time to get after Eleanor."
The King looked towards the door in front of him, squinting his eyes. He ears were picking up something.
"Jade! Jade! Are you down here?! Jade!" A voice called in the distance, echoes bouncing off the walls. Irwin knew that voice.
"King Carnelian?" Irwin was astonished he would be all the way down here. He had to alert him. "Over here, Your Majesty!"
King Irwin took off into a sprint, but Eleven just watched as he left. The teen took a moment to think about how much of a man his father was. All he'd seen so far proved that he was a righteous warrior. Deciding to follow the king, Eleven looked at his map just to make sure he knew where he was going. Running down the wet, muggy halls, the sense of danger loomed in the air.
The Luminary caught up with the king, but Irwin's face was uneasy.
"King Carnelian...? What in the...?!" The King stuttered, unable to process what was happening before him.
Mordegon was in the process of corrupting the man. A dark whip of magic was lassoed around him, and Carnelian groaned. King Irwin drew his weapon.
"Who are you!? What do you think you're doing!?" Irwin demanded.
Mordegon didn't utter a word. He simply turned to face Irwin and grew a sinister smirk. Bearing his discolored teeth, a low chuckle emanated from the gaps and a purple smog surrounded him and King Carnelian. The madman slow disappeared, and slowly the cloud dissipated.
King Carnelian continued to grunt in pain as his mind was consumed. The whip of magic hadn't vanished and he fell to his knees.
"Your Majesty!" Irwin exclaimed. He rushed to the King, unsure what had even happened.
Carnelian slow raised his head, looking around before addressing King Irwin.
"Irwin...? Is that you...? W-What happened...? Is everyone safe?" Carnelian asked, struggling to breathe. The Hero remained an onlooker, not taking a step forward. He didn't want to intervene. Although he wasn't the only one, not by a long shot.
"You're alright! Thank goodness!" King Irwin said, relieved. "Jade's with Eleanor and the wee one, Your Majesty. They made it safely out of the castle."
Carnelian put his hand on Irwin's shoulder. "I see... Good. Very good..."
"I shall send my forces after them right away." The shaky king finished, but the tone of his voice was oddly foreign.
"Your Majesty, what are you-!?" Irwin asked, confused.
King Carnelian then drove his concealed weapon into Irwin's torso, and the father of the Luminary sputtered.
Eleven's eyes widened, and he was put into a state of shock.
Irwin was at the mercy of Carnelian, and the corrupted king made a deep laugh. He twisted the blade around, and Irwin yelled out in agony. Then, he pulled out the sword and let King Irwin a chance to think.
All Irwin could muster was a low sputter, and he collapsed onto the floor, his armor rattling. A strange purple light that lacked a source illuminated King Carnelian.
"The bloodline of the Luminary ends here. Today." Carnelian snarled, looking down on the dying body of King Irwin. He reeled back and spat on the dull armor. Eleven started to back away, hands shaking.
A voice came from the distance. "King Carnelian! Your Majesty!"
Both Carnelian and the startled Luminary looked to the entrance across from them. Hendrik appeared, out of breath.
"Sire!" Hendrik stated obediently, rushing to Carnelian's side. He knelt down and didn't even notice the dying body below him. "Forgive me. I was unable to find you. I thank the heavens you are unhurt."
Finally, he looked to the ground and saw the other.
"K-King Irwin! Wh-What has happened here!?"
"I had no choice. He came at me in a frenzy..." Carnelian lied. Eleven's fist scrunched up as he saw truth dying before his very eyes. More lies followed. "Queen Eleanor has absconded with the Luminary. And my daughter!"
"Surely not!? Whatever would posses them to commit such acts!?" Hendrik asked, almost not believing it. His use of 'posses' made Carnelian flinch.
"The birth of the child has put them both under great pressure... It has also caused the coming of the monsters." Carnelian said, eyes never wandering from the body on the dirty floor. "The loss of... countless lives..."
The plan was almost too easy to set up. All the chaos and death was the perfect way to brand the hero as a villain. Carnelian inwardly chuckled at the prospect, and he didn't hesitate to cement it in stone.
"Perhaps the coming of the Luminary does bring darkness in its wake... After all, without him, this tragedy would never have come to pass..." It was sickeningly simple.
"Yes... I see now..." Carnelian stood and started to bellow. "He is not our savior. He is the harbinger of the night to come!"
He looked towards Hendrik, hiding his own smirk. "The child of evil... The Darkspawn!"
The Hero started to panic. All what was happening before him just piled onto his already damaged soul. The destruction of his former home, the murder of his father, and the sentence put on his own existence. The author of all his pain had orchestrated it without problem, letting justice wash away without a chance to fight back. It nearly made him nauseous. He wanted to step in. To stop it. He couldn't.
"He must be found and dealt with! The peace of Erdrea must not be permitted to collapse! Find him! Leave no stone unturned!" King Carnelian extended his hand towards Hendrik, his statement acting as orders.
"Sire!" Hendrik said, bowing. He had no clue he was going down the wrong path.
Carnelian turned and left, Hendrik close behind. However, King Irwin still clung onto life, fighting to stay alive. His reason was unknown, but he still did. The man grunted, trying to speak.
"No... He is no harbinger of... darkness..." Irwin whispered, his words labored and weak. Raising his head, he tried in vain to tell them. "He is... the Luminary... The savior..."
King Irwin reached for his sword. He wanted to fight for the things he loved and ensure the world wouldn't be brought down. It was pointless, his words only landing on ears of someone who was far too distraught by grief to even act.
"S-Someone, please..." Irwin begged. "King Carnelian must be stopped... Or the world will be plunged... into... darkness..."
Irwin wanted to cry. He wanted to curl up and sob at the thought of his loved ones. Still trying to grab his weapon, he asked of something.
"Eleanor... Please... forgive me... I was... too weak...!"
Then Irwin's hand stopped. He dropped to the floor and so did his head. He exhaled one last time and then passed on, the light behind his eyes was extinguished. His corpse lay there, unmoving, and everything slowed down.
A small branch in what was meant to happen formed, and time stood still. The only person who could still move was sitting on the floor, tears silently rolling down his cheeks.
For what seemed like an eternity, Eleven sat and cried. He wasn't whisked away to another plane of reality. He was just stuck on the edge of this one. He didn't know Irwin for long, but all he had seen made him yearn for a figure like him in his life. His resolve to prove his son was worth a while instilled it into his own heart. After a while, he stood and walked forward. Moisture still rolled down his face and he wanted to tend to his father. He tried to turn him over, but nothing he could do would make anything move. With all his might, he tried to do anything, but it was fruitless. Time was at a standstill.
Leaving the room, almost every other door allowed him passage, all opened previously to allow people to escape, search for others, or die trying. Getting outside, he sat down and continued to drown in sorrow. No one was there to help him.
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"This isn't right..." An onlooker thought, tearing her eyes away from the window to another world.
Ruffling her feathers, the guardian of this set of realities pondered on what could be done. The Luminary had to set on track, or else things could go out of sync, causing unimaginable danger. Loss was something she had little knowledge of, and she herself couldn't directly help one of the many heroes she watched over.
The image of sadness and depression was a concept she had seen countless time. Every hero has this kind of routine, but all handle it differently. But each had some kind of comfort or solace to run to. This one didn't.
Eleven had no one to go to, not a soul to talk to. He remained alone, on a thin line.
Then, a terrible, dangerous idea found its way into the guardian's head. Something that hadn't been done before, let alone to a part of existence that was not meant to be treaded on. However, it was worth it to her.
The powerful bird turned towards a set of realities that were still ongoing. The defenders of those worlds could provide some assistance to the one in need. Those four had interacted before, albeit in far different circumstances, and none remembered the experience.
The first world she ventured to was one she had been in before. The land of a cursed king, and the guard who lost something far too personal to himself.
The next would be of a man who lost a dear friend to the people after him.
The final was the one who had lost a similar figure to Eleven. Hopefully all three could bring to light back into the heart of the Luminary.
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Eleven still sat alone, washed up in unnatural emotions. For so long he stayed silent, bearing any burden he had alone. Now, that he was truly alone, his armor was swept away. He let everything out, not caring if it made him feel like a fool.
Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew overhead, and the silhouette of a great flying creature could be seen. Eleven stood defensively, no idea what to do.
The shadow swooped around the area several times, getting lower and lower with each lap. Finally, it landed, flapping it's majestic wings hard to keep steady.
Eleven and the great Godbird eyed each other down. The Luminary couldn't have his fists in a ball, all his strength having left him a while ago. They kept their eyes locked, and the bird could see right into the soul of the hero. It appeared as an ocean of tears, all unshed before now. Lowering her wings, she bowed down. Eleven was confused at her action. Then, three riders hopped off the bird's back.
A teenager in an orange bandana, one clad in a seafoam green, and another in a fine purple cape.
Eleven backed away from the trio, extending his arms and exhaling sharply. The three across knew that was the way of telling them to stay back. All three rose their hands and kept them up, showing they were not enemies.
"You..." The one in the orange started, a little uneasy in his voice. "You might be wondering... how?"
Eleven nodded slowly and still kept his distance.
"This is Empyrea... she's a... friend." The teen said, gesturing towards the mighty eagle.
"Also known as Ramia..." The caped one added, recollecting on his first ever encounter with the holy being. She was merely an egg when they first met, and he was one of the many who helped her hatch.
"We know about what happened. About Irwin..." The green lad finished. All three boys kept their voices calm. Empyrea nodded behind them, and Eleven lowered his stance.
"Alright..." Eleven whispered. He rarely spoke, but seeing only the three teens before him, he gained an odd sense of familiarity from them. A fragment of his social shield became eroded, and he was almost comfortable with talking.
"Yeah..." The caped one attempted to provide some comfort, slowly taking some steps forward. "I've got some understanding on what you're-"
"No... Not this." Eleven pleaded. "Please don't say that."
"Please don't say that you know what I'm going through. You don't." Eleven's words were laden with uninterest. His adoptive mother would start sentences like the teen before him had, and he heard them far too many times.
The man just nodded and stepped back to where he initially stood, his face getting obscured by the shadow on the castle. The moonlight seemed to only want to shine down on certain things.
"Whatever this is..." Eleven said, looking around. "I don't know if... it's going to help."
"I think it could be helpful..." The green one piped up, looking between the two by his sides and then to the one across from him. "We... aren't exactly meant to be talking..."
"Well, then you all need to go home." The Luminary barked, a startling amount of emotion behind his statement. Staring at Empyrea, he just wanted to be alone. "If this isn't supposed to happen, then don't let it."
"I'm sorry that I dragged you all into this..." Eleven's tears returned. "...but you need to go home."
A long moment of silence descended on the group, and the Luminary sat back down. He kept his head lowered and his thoughts were filled with cowardly things. All he wanted was to be alone.
"My best friend was killed." The green one said.
Eleven quickly rose his gaze to meet the green, as did the others. The man was a little deterred from continuing, not a fan of all the eyes upon him.
"It was my fault." He went on, knowing they all needed to hear this.
"Our village was under attack... And they were looking for me." The memory of the invasion was eternally burned into his mind. He thought about it often. "She wouldn't let them get to me... So she used her magic to take my form and let me get away..."
Eleven's eyes were wide with wonder. He said he didn't want to hear it, but deep down, he needed to.
"She said she wanted to stay with me forever..." The teen in green started to choke up. "And I said the same thing..."
"But I lied."
"For the longest time, I saw her only as a friend. But when she said that... I had other things on my mind..." He looked down at his own hands. "Only just recently did I realized I did feel the same... Just after she was gone..."
A single tear rolled down his cheek. "I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for that..."
After a second of reflection, the one in the orange bandana decided to tell his story.
"For me... I lost my memory." He began, thinking about how much of his life used to be a mystery to him.
"It was all because of how I was born... The union between my mother and father was seen as impossible." The hero took of his bandana and gazed at it. "I was the child of a Dragovian woman and a human prince. For years... I stayed with my mother's people, and they looked down on me because of my late father and mother."
The Trodian's voice was steady, but inwardly he was already breaking down. Digging up the memory of how much he was hated always made him feel small.
"I was considered a mistake. An unwanted anomaly of a beloved, deceased woman. My memories of my mother's people were locked away when I was banished." He stopped looking at the item in his hands and wrapped it back around his head. "For a while I felt... lost..."
"I never knew who I was... and when I finally did... I only felt worse." He made eye contact with the Luminary, and his expression conveyed the hours of torment the boy had endured, so confused about who he was.
"It took me a long time... to learn to get through that darkness." The Trodian hero finished.
"I lost..." The caped teen took it upon himself to tell his story. "I lost my father too..."
Eleven physically reacted to the other's statement. He stood, his face was riddled with shock, and he couldn't help but walk closer to the teen. A morbid sense of curiosity urged him to hear the boy out.
"People thought he was already gone... but I found him in the depths of a world below..." The last hero wore a neutral expression. "I held him in my arms when he died... but he couldn't even see me..."
"His eyes were burned, and I can always hear his last words..." Some sadness was dripping through the cracks of the hero's tale, and he averted his eyes from the others. "He said he would never be able to see his child grow up..."
By now, the Luminary was only a few paces away from the trio of other-worldly teenagers. His breathing was a stark contrast to what it was before. It was calmer, heavier, and it was clear he wanted to savor every inhale he took. He was tired of the hyperventilating.
"We have a lot of shared experiences, all of us." The green lad said, getting closer to the group.
"Wh-What are your names?" Eleven asked. He wanted to at least know a little more about the three before him.
"Eight." The bandana-wearing teen said.
"Solo." The green one replied.
"Erdrick." The caped one finished.
For a second Eleven just swapped his gaze from the three multiversal heroes. Erdrick, Solo, and Eight just gave him warm smiles, knowing what he was likely going to do next.
Eleven brought all three in for a hug. The embrace was something that violated reality, so Empyrea wanted to keep it short.
"Thank you..." Eleven said, voice muffled a bit. "Thank you..."
Eight, Solo, and Erdrick wore wide grins, glad they could help someone in need. They tightened the hug, feeling the most at time in the arms of people who could understand. It was a nice change of pace from what they usually knew. Perhaps they would bump into each other again in the future.
Empyrea strode towards the group, tilting her head towards the sky. Eleven looked the saddest at the idea of them needing to leave.
"I-I guess you guys need to go..." Eleven mumbled as they all separated from each other.
Solo and Erdrick nodded, and Eight gave a small smile.
"Maybe our paths will cross again..." Eight said, looking towards the heavens.
"Yeah, hopefully." Solo added.
With that, the three hopped back onto Empyrea and she took off. Circling around Eleven a few times, the Luminary waved them off as a portal to another reality opened just in front of the Godbird. They sailed through, and shortly after, everything faded to white. Eleven was finally on the right path, soon finding himself surrounded by darkness, ready to battle a large, menacing creature.
New faith was instilled in him now. He pressed on.