Within the Wind

At the brink of the world, thunderbolts lit up the horizon as they struck the dark waves. An eternal maelstrom racked the sea, churning currents into a monstrous tide. The star riddled sky watched the waters dash themselves upon islands of black stone. Jagged edges turned to polished smoothness as the water spilled further onto solid ground. It pooled at the base of a marble tower as a moat of raindrops. The tower stood in defiance of the chaos. A simple beacon of light amidst the vengeance of the sea. White light shone like a star from the top of the tower searching for lives to save. Yet life stirred inside it.

A man stared through a rain stained window at the edge of the world. He scratched at the birthing hairs of a beard with worry in his eyes. Stark white hair remained in a frozen state of an unkempt unwashed mess. His gaze was fixed on the outside, begging for something to distract his mind. A candle flickered in its dregs of wax, unattended on a well maintained desk. A wardrobe sat with its door cracked open to reveal a long coat inside bearing a golden dragon on its back. Bed linens bore not a single wrinkle, and yet the man stared out the window into the darkness.

With an arm propped against the wall, the man’s knees ached in remaining so still. But what was he to do? He had not but marble walls to speak to. To his ears, he could hear a humming song below him. Through thunderclaps and rainfall, he listened to a muffled melody. Each note felt like a heartbeat, forcing a pulse of emotion to rise inside him. Gin was not a man accustomed to caring, at least… not to this degree. His arms shook, and his legs flexed with anticipation. All of him readied to do whatever task he needed to do. And yet, what was he to do? The matter was out of his hands. 

And so Gin stared through the window. He watched the mother of all storms finding no solace in the kinship of it and his heart. Waves stretched to form mountains on the horizon; Thundering, crumbling mountains of water. The sea lurched and battered the lighthouse and its island. The tide ebbed away from the window to reveal another wave. Gin watched the force rend itself apart upon the walls and window before him. He sighed. If only the water could wash him away. That would be better than waiting. 

And then the song stopped. Adrenaline tore through his veins and his attention at last left the window. Thump-thump. He couldn’t stop the crescendo of anticipation rising in him. Thump-thump. Footsteps approached as someone came at last up the stairs. Thump-thump. His heart expanded as if to burst and his hands dripped sweat. Thump-thump. A shadow shrouded the light beneath his door and then came the knock. 

The door opened and Gin saw the figure in the entrance. Lady Lumi clasped her hands before her and gave a nod of greeting. The muse had an aura of warm light surrounding her. She appeared as something akin to a woman, like a reflection of a feminine figure through yellow glass. The dress Lumi wore had stains of crimson on it.

“I require your assistance,” Lumi said. Her voice flowed silky sweet. Her expression gave no hint of emotion as is common among healers. Gin nodded his assent and they descended the stairs. Lumi opened the door to the room where she tended to Tali. Gin entered in timidity in his steps. Steeling his nerves, he froze when he saw Tali lying on a table. Blood stained the furniture in a dangerous liberty. His young apprentice had numerous wounds sewn shut. The more grievous ones bore glassy scars where magic replaced flesh. Yet veins of black slithered up Tali’s neck and spread across her face. 

“Gin,” Lumi said. “There is dissonance in these wounds.”

He nodded, focus remaining on those black lines.

“It is untouchable for me,” Lumi explained. Gin raised an eyebrow. “If I touch it, it will twist my nature away from the Eversong.”

“And it won’t do the same for me?” Gin asked. 

“Uncertain.”

“You don’t know?” Gin snapped. “Are you not Lady Lumi?”

She met his eyes with sternness. “I am what I am. Will you assist me?”

Gin shrugged. “What’s the other choice, let her die?”

Lumi nodded. “I have attended to every other wound both vital and not.”

“And you left this for last?” Gin demanded. “It’s killing her!”

“She would have died from blood loss first,” Lumi said. “And I could not remove this without aid.”

Gin clenched his hands into fists. Anger clouded his mind and killed any words he wished to say. Emotions swirled inside him, and he hated it all. Trembling, he knew he couldn’t do the task with such potent feelings. Setting aside his worry, something within him snapped. Emotions drained from his heart in a whirlpool. If he failed, Tali would die. That realization sent no fear through him. Fear, anger, worry, doubt, love, they all slid off his heart as they met the coating of apathy. 

“What do I do,” Gin asked. Concern showed on Lumi’s stoic face, but she walked over to Tali and exposed the wound. A pit of blackness leaked just below her collarbone. It was as if it bore into her heart and peeled her life away from the inside. Gin glanced at Tali’s face, hoping to see breathing. There was none, only sweat and blood traced her face. 

Lumi guided Gin as he pressed two knuckles onto the wound. He felt a melody swell around him. Not just any melody, Gin recognized this as the Eversong. An eternal tune, a source of magic keeping the world in order. He knew this, and yet he was not overcome with wonder, awe, or reverence. Gin simply clung to the magic, knowing that with it he had a chance to save Tali.  As harmony met dissonance, Gin lost consciousness. Or rather, his consciousness was not with his body. 

Gin passed into a dream. Darkness surrounded him. There swirled a storm shrieking and thundering. Waves slammed against him and the shore he stood on. Rain pelted him with heavy drops. The sea raged, the sky mourned, and the wind screamed. Yet in the chaos, he heard a cry. It was a muffled mutter of fear, yet it came from a voice he knew. Tali. Gin called her name into the madness, but the wind slaughtered his voice. Gasping for air, Gin stumbled back. A dark cascade of water slammed Gin off his feet. He spun in cold numbness until the water bashed him onto land. 

Darkness surrounded him. Gin cried out again, and again the wind stole his words from him. The barrage of rain welted his skin as he strained to regain his footing. A mountain of shadow swelled and rushed upon him. Chaos swarmed him, daring to drown him in its embrace. Gin dug in his heels and braced himself against the onslaught. Wave after wave, it came for him. He slid back, slowly inching back. Step by step, the darkness forced him to the edge of his island. He heels met air, and Gin’s concentration lapsed. Determination faltered as he realized how close to failure he was. And then came the shadow. Darkness swept Gin off his feet and he fell into nothingness. 

In the nothingness, there came a melody. The Eversong, faint but clear, sounded in Gin’s mind. He reached out to the magic, ashamedly finding it so easily. Clinging to the song, his fingers found the edge of his island. Like the stone at the end of the world, his island had jagged edges. His hand was shredded apart and he held to it with a white knuckled grip. Swelling with the Song, Gin forced himself from the shadowy depths and crawled back on land. 

Holding to the Eversong, Gin found the darkness recoiling away from him. With a sigh, Gin let the Song flood over him. He burst alight with color and music. Like a star shining in the void, Gin shone with power and the chaos fled from him. In the light, he could see beneath the waves. There in the depths, hung Tali in a tangle of dark tendrils. 

“TALI!” Gin called and his voice echoed. He watched as her eyes blinked lazily open. She took in where she was and a soundless scream bubbled in the water. Gin wanted to reach her, but he felt the Song hold him back. Frustrated, Gin called out to her again. He motioned for her to swim to him. Tali strained against the tendrils, but they dragged her further down. 

Stuffing away his anger, Gin did the only thing he could think of. He sang. A vibrant enchanting harmony filled the space and flowed around Tali. He watched realization dawn on her and she joined the song as well. The tendrils unfurled and unraveled around her. The darkness thrashed about, but Tali swam from them. She swam and swam until at last she climbed the shore that Gin had climbed. Tali coughed up water and gasped air. Gin nodded and the vision faded. 

Gin removed his hand from the wound and stumbled back. Lumi immediately began singing and stitching up the wound before more blood could be lost. Gin searched for the dark lines, but they had faded from Tali. In their place were scars, and Gin longed for his heart to ache. Yet he felt nothing. Tali would live. And Gin felt nothing at all. His apprentice gasped and breathed again. Gin nodded and glanced at his hand to see if the evil had tainted him. His knuckles only had a stain of blood and nothing more. 

Gin searched his heart for an ounce of feeling. Yet no scrap remained, he was empty inside. Emotions remained in jars and crates, stuffed away. He couldn’t bring them back, no matter how hard he tried. Slumping into a chair, Gin found himself staring at a window. He watched the storm rage outside the lighthouse, wishing the chaos would distract him from thoughts. His hand began scratching at the beginning of a beard and his mind wandered away.