The Ultimate Goal

"ELWIN! Elwin, are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?"

Anna embraced her son tightly.

"Don't go running off into the night all alone like that! That was very foolhardy of you!" she admonished.

"I'm sorry, mom," Elwin apologized, looking at the floor.

Elwin understood what difficult situation he placed his mother in. If his mother ran after him to make sure he was safe, then Andre would have been all alone, and FOUNDERS forbid what could have happened to Andre and the Marlin in their absence...

But Anna hugged her son again, the sternness on her face melting away. "Never mind what's happened. You're safe, and that's all that matters to me." Through it all, Elwin had returned unscratched; in her worry, the package that had dropped from the hole in the wall, which Elwin returned, was utterly unimportant to her.

The hour was very late, and the family would have all returned to bed had it not been for the adrenaline that had seized them. What a strange night indeed, they all wondered, first the two distinguished clientele, then the thief, the story of the Astral Knight, the name that Elwin gave to his savior, and of course, the hole in the wall in what used to be Carl's study. Unable to sleep, they voted to investigate the latter.

"What in the name of the great MAHANIR could this be?" Elwin thought to himself, as he craned his neck to peer into the cavity of the wall with the help of an antaric light. He caught eye of strange pieces of brilliantly black metal near the rear, and reached inside to pick them up.

But just as he pulled them out and was about to examine them in his hand, a chill went up his spine and he felt all sense of touch and feeling for the Elements drain from his fingers in an instant; he recoiled at the otherworldly sensation, dropped the metal pieces, and kicked them away. They were heavy, and only came to a stop with a thud by the corner of the room.

Never before had he seen such kinds of metal, and their reality disturbed him. But a more pressing issue was, if the thief was indeed speaking the truth that he did not make the hole – his Maht was Air and not Earth or Fire, after all – what in the FOUNDERS' names had happened here? Ghosts? Spirits?

He knelt down properly to examine the wall in closer detail. The cavity, despite its size, was not as empty as he'd thought: within it, he saw two sturdy hammers of brass connected to some extraordinarily potent-looking spring mechanism. What's more was that it was lined in the strange black metal he saw on the floor earlier, and the entire contraption resembled a vault of some kind. There was nothing else inside, save for one more item.

"Mom, come here and take a look, too. Looks like the package came from there. I think the spring mechanism went off on its own and blasted the brick cover through the bookshelf." He almost couldn't believe what he was witnessing. "And what's this?"

He pulled out what seemed to be a complex analog timekeeping device – more than a watch even, since it had symbols of the Sun and ringed Moon on them – dated 10,883.FA.MNY.31.

They exclaimed "It's a time capsule!" in unison. "If there's nothing more inside, then the gist of the capsule is..."

Their eyes came to rest upon the package that Elwin and the Astral Knight saved that fateful night.

"Wait, what's this?" whispered Elwin, as closer inspection revealed tiny letters of gold inscribed on the package, spelling out the words:

"To Elwin, my eldest son."

"To me?"

Anna clapped her hands together. "After all this time... Carl... you remembered us," she trailed off, her eyes becoming red. "Well, it looks like he had something to tell you in particular."

"What do you reckon I should do with it?" asked Elwin. 

Anna rested her hand upon his shoulder. "It is addressed to you. You should be the one to open it. That's what he would've wished."

Elwin drew a small blade of ice from the moisture of the damp air with his thoughts and carefully sliced the crumpled package open, taking care not to accidentally cut the contents inside. Out came several pieces of paper – one letter, and numerous pages of complex diagrams, symbols, and writing, as well as four medallions in the shape of a large gold coin. The letter, earmarked with a thin leaflet of gold, received Elwin's first attention. He flicked on the old antaric reading lamp on the table, and began to read aloud, with his mother and little brother standing next to him.

"To my eldest son, Elwin,

If you're reading this letter, it means my mission and expedition have failed. I've set a chronometer in the wall here to trigger once you are old enough to understand what follows.

How are you, my beloved son? I am truly sorry I could not be there with you to watch you grow into a young man. There is no day that goes by without me thinking about the arduous nature of my mission, and not a single day goes by on the expedition ships without looking at the photograms of all of us – of your face, Anna's, and Andre's. I trust you've been there for all of them through thick and thin. Though it is strange for me to write this in the present in my study and hearing your laughter of joy from the corridor, and in many ways I wish I can return unharmed so for you to never see this letter, you must pierce hardship and listen to the truth behind this world if you do.

This world that you have been taught at school, or rather, will be taught in school, is not as you or others perceive it. Through my expeditions and time living among the many different peoples of our world, I have found that there are far greater truths out there, buried deep in the cultural memory of civilization. These we now call myths, relegated to legends and keepsakes of an antiquated time. But they are certainly no lies.

Many of these truths are opaque even to the people in the highest echelons of our Republics, let alone the people going about their daily lives in the streets. Though it would have been wonderful if those truths I and my allies have uncovered were comfortable for the average man, it is with sadness that I cannot pronounce such untruth.

There are monstrous beings beyond mankind's ordinary comprehension, and threats greater still to our tenuous peace and existence on this earth we call home. And what is more is that these forces will have begun to move by the time you are reading this letter, and time shall run out for our forces of right to take action to protect everyone you hold dear. Your mother and I remember with vivid and painful memory of a time some twenty-five years ago when the Republics was nearly overthrown by internal strife borne of greed, madness, and hatred. Though it was righted by the heroes of my generation, the same forces behind those difficult times now seek to complete their ultimate goal, and this time with a finality that will put all the past disasters to shame. 

But there is a way to prevent this future. For a long time now, from before you were born, I have uncovered a means to prevent this future from arriving, a way to vanquish those threats to our humanity for good. Consider very carefully what follows.

When the great FOUNDERS first arose eleven thousand years ago, they created representative 'Forms' – or styles – for each Elemental Art they established. These Forms contained within them the total sum of each FOUNDER's techniques and feats, and were passed down to their descendants and disciples. FOUNDER SUNNA created the Dance of the Sun to reign over fire, FOUNDER MANASURA weaved the Rhythm of the Moon to reign over water, FOUNDERS TERA and SERA forged the Melody of the Two Earths to reign over earth, and FOUNDER ARTAIA composed the Song of the Heavens to reign over air. We in our modern tongue call them the Epitomic Forms, because they represent the pinnacle of all pinnacles for each Elemental Art. They were the original first, and all the other ways in which we use the Elements derive from them.

But what I said above is far from forbidden knowledge. Experimental philosophers and historians are well aware that such forms once existed, because they are referenced numerous times in clay tablets of old, and exist in cultural legend. But what I have come to suspect, and evidence shows for in experimental philosophy, is that each of these Epitomic Forms possesses the power to alter a piece of reality. It's believed that they were used to perform mythical feats which we currently cannot, after all.

This leads me to suspect thus: if the Epitomic Forms are performed together, then they may be capable of altering the weave that makes up our world, even re-write its very rules. If so, they will be one of our last bastions of hope against the forces of restless evil we struggle against, our key to victory in this harrowing war without end.

Unfortunately for the world, none of these Epitomic Forms except ONE survives to our present day. That ONE Epitomic Form, which has weathered the ravages of time and persisted through all odds, is the Song of the Heavens. The spellsongs you have once heard dad sing are in fact excerpts from verses in the Song of the Heavens, adapted to the present tongue. But it has been demonstrated by those in the Republic of Utopia that, when the verses are sung in the original language that FOUNDER ARTAIA had made, no other Elemental Art of the present day can hold a candle to the effects it creates, let alone defeat its performer. Recall the moment when you saw me move the ship, or punch the Marlin King; the Song of the Heavens allows performers, with mastery over its enunciation, to impress the very will of their minds upon the world with their power of language, allowing them an unlimited repertoire of techniques with air. With complete mastery of the Song of the Heavens, wielders should theoretically be capable of cleaving mountains like knife through butter, generating sounds so loud that hurricanes can form from them, and imploding the lungs of an entire invading army.

Because the Song of the Heavens is our sole window and link to the ancient past, it has been the considerable subject of scholarly pursuits. It's also how we've come to infer that the Epitomic Forms for the other Elemental Arts may be able to produce different effects of similar magnitude, but in their own medium of influence, such as solids for the Melody of the Two Earths, liquids for the Rhythm of the Moon, and pure energy for the Dance of the Sun. The philosophical revolution of our world nearly two centuries ago informed us that the Elemental Arts are in fact a reflection of a more fundamental order to the cosmos, and if the Epitomic Forms can influence these fundamental pillars, it is our best, last hope against the insurmountable evil we must battle. My final expedition, to allay your grief, was an archaeological one with the purpose of rediscovering the lost ultracontinent of Yanasura; as the birthplace and graveyard of empires from past to present, it surely would have led us to the rediscovery of the lost Epitomic Forms. Sadly, I was not able to achieve it.

Elwin, I am ashamed to burden you with a task that would be too great for anyone. But for the sake of the people you love and trust, I must ask you this, from my generation to you, who can become the salvator of your generation and for all those who live after you:

Reforge these lost Epitomic Forms. Rescue from the graves of time, the Dance of the Sun, the Rhythm of the Moon, and the Melody of the Two Earths.

Bring together the best minds of the world to remake them, journey to places you have never been, glean their shards from the memories of the earth; master them before it is too late, and vanquish the great evil once and for all. 

In this envelope I have compiled all my relevant findings pertaining to these three lost Forms, including all my insights, essays, notes, diagrams, sketches, cyphers, and calculations, including an itinerary on when and where I arrived at them. Despite my efforts, I was unable to finish a reconstruction during my time. It is my sincere hope that my efforts will be of some use to you.

I am sorry you must inherit this broken world. 

But it is your world nonetheless, and if you wish to save it, it is your time now, Elwin.

Dad is imperfect, you know that? For all my life I had worked hard to explore and push the horizons of knowledge and to better the world. But in your eyes I saw an insatiable curiosity and a potential for conviction far greater than what I could conceivably dream. Let your curiosity and your love towards all life carry you far, beyond the seas and into that limitless ocean of eternal stars.

Your quest and journey should begin in the place where the four seasons become one, your destiny is yours to steer, and where the stars shine brilliantly. There the brightest minds and people from many walks of life come together as one. Surely you will find clues to reforging the three Epitomic Forms there. Getting there will not be easy. But, dad believes in your heart – dad always has.

Show this information to no one other than the people who you trust – the people you trust so much that you would readily give your life for them. Only in your care will this secret not fall into the hands of those who want our extinction.

To aid you in your journey, I've taken special care to organize these pieces of tenebris metal you see here and in the wall's time capsule. It is called Tenebriton, a material from deep below earth which can temporarily put a stop to all forms of elemental control, and make the very Elements invisible to ordinary senses. If you were wondering – which I know you have – that's why you and your mother hadn't been able to detect the presence of this chronometer capsule in the wall until now.

Carry the pieces of Tenebriton with you in an inconspicuous bag. In a situation most dire, use them precisely.

Salvus, Elwin Eramir.

Your father from the Elysian Shores,

Carl Eramir"

Elwin was shaken. He clutched his forehead, numb with mental shock at the revelations of the letter.

I knew it, he thought to himself. As Dr. Hana Reiss had suggested, his father wouldn't have died in vain for a sliver of glory on an irresponsible venture. He was safeguarding an enormous secret of the world, and wanted to accomplish his task so that Elwin, Andre, his mother Anna, and everyone here and in the future, could live and choose their own futures. If only Elwin could see his father once again to tell him that he loved him!

Elwin laid the letter down on the table and turned off the antaric lamp.

"We need to talk about this."

His mother and brother agreed.