We traveled through the night across the cold, dark Dezolisian terrain. The snow crackled underneath the treads of the mighty Ice-Digger. Rune and I slept hand in hand, seated in our places. The whole party slept, except for Wren, who was at the helm of the mighty machine. I knew we were headed for the Paramanian settlement of Tyler, where the Spaceport was located. There we would board the Landale, and make our way to the Air Castle. As I fell to sleep, my mind wandered, and I dreamt of the last time I set foot off of the Ice-planet…
"…Kayne, you must hurry! Grab your bow and come quick! You must be brave, and stay strong! The fate of Algo rests on your shoulders. Here, take this pack, it is filled with clothes and a few Trimates. Be sure to cast the proper techniques or the bow will not work! Come now, your transport is waiting. Don't forget to keep your eyes open, your mind sharp and trust no one. Hurry! You have no time to spare! There is little time, please don't let us down! We need you, he needs you. Remember, you will meet him, you will know him almost instantly. Form a friendship, it will work towards your advantage. He loves you, although he does not realize it yet. Be sure to stay with him, the future depends on it. You must convince him to return to the Esper Mansion with you. He is the next Lutz, the final Lutz. He must come to us, force him if it is necessary. Go now, and cover your head!" "Yes Bindo…"
I awoke in a cold sweat. It was still dark outside, only an hour had passed, and we were clipping along at a fast pace. It had been a long time since I thought of that day. It brought chills up and down my spine just thinking about that time. I looked at my sleeping husband, and realized how much I loved him, and just how lucky I was to have him. I gripped his hand and fell back to sleep.
"…Rune Walsh, let me introduce you to Kayne Malachite." I could feel my hands quiver as I held out my one out to shake his. He was tall, and was absolutely gorgeous. His brilliant sky-blue hair glistened in the radiant Motavian sunlight. He had on a purple tunic and was holding what appeared to be a Dezolisian Phanta-Robe in his hands, obviously it was too hot to have it on. I watched him look me over, and realized that he had an almost arrogant aura about him.
Our hands made contact, and I felt a powerful energy shoot up my arm and straight to my heart. "Is this him?" I thought to myself. "Pleased to meet you, Kayne," he said as he fidgeted with his Circlet. "Damn thing never stays on my head." With that, he took it off all together and placed it over two extended fingers, and began to twirl it around. "So, from Dezolis, huh?" he said, as the Circlet began to spin faster and faster around his extended digits. "I was there once, a long time ago. That's where I picked up this robe." As soon as he finished his sentence, the Circled whizzed off his fingers and into the dusty streets of the town of Aiedo. From across the street, in the door of the Hunter's Guild, a short man appeared and yelled, "Hey Walshie! Come on, Taynor has finished the modifications on your Force Cane! If you don't come and claim it someone else will!" Rune gave the stout little man a scowl and hollered back, "In a minute, you little rat! If Taynor wants the Meseta, he'll wait." He turned back to face me and said, "Well, see ya around. I'm staying at the Inn, come by later, if you want." As he walked away, the little man from the Guild ran out to meet him halfway in the street and started shouting on about how "no one calls me a rat" and that Rune had "better be nicer this time." I watched him as he disappeared into the dimly lit Guild. "Come on, Malachite," Lachlan said as he tugged on my arm, pulling me away. "Don't bother with him. He's a great guy, don't get me wrong, but I just don't think you two would complement each other." He smiled and added, "Besides, he's too much of an arrogant S.O.B…."
I was awakened once again from my sleep, not by a dream, but by a sudden jolt from beneath the Digger. Through the intercom, Wren piped up, "My apologies. I guess I didn't see that huge hole. I will try to avoid them better next time." The snow outside glistened brilliantly, like the light of a moon was lighting it up. This, however, was impossible, considering Dezo had no moon. I scanned the inside of the Digger, looking at my new companions. Chaz had too been awakened by the sudden jolt, and was now starting to doze again. Rika and Kyra had been unaffected by the sudden jerk, and were still sleeping peacefully. I then turned my head to face Rune. He was fast asleep, a wisp of hair laying on his cheek. I brushed it aside with my hand and kissed him softly on the forehead. He stirred gently, but did not awaken. I then closed my eyes and fell back to sleep.
"…Light it's hot," I thought to myself as I walked through the streets of Aiedo. I could see in the distance the Inn that Rune Walsh was staying at. I had orders from Lachlan to go and get him, and tell him that we were leaving. We were headed for Zema, for what reason I did not know. The street was alive with the bustle of the afternoon. Merchants lined the streets peddling their wares, children begged their mothers for a small treat from the bakery, and hunters were steadily flowing in and out of the Guild. As I arrived on the steps of the Inn, my heart pounded in my chest. I remembered Bindo's words; "You will know him almost instantly. He must come back to the Esper Mansion with you. He is Lutz." It was true that I had a very strange feeling the first time I met him. "But could this arrogant guy really be the one?" I thought to myself as I entered the dim little building. I approached the desk and asked for Rune. "Room nine," the little old woman said from behind her counter. I took off my robe, it was way too hot to wear it here, and made my way down the hall to meet Rune…
…The sun was blazing overhead as the three of us made our way towards Zema. We were all on our best guard, as there had been warnings posted about the recent increase of bio-monsters activity in the area. As usual, Rune was spinning the Circlet that was supposed to be on his forehead around his fingers. We stopped in Krup for a quick lunch, and to get Rune's Circlet sized, then set out to the field once again. This time, I sensed something was not right. There was something in the air that made me realize that something was going to happen very soon…
…From behind a large grove of trees, a giant Grasshound, the largest I had ever seen, leapt out and hissed at us. We stopped stone cold in our tracks. The legend was that if you don't move, the Grasshound, with its terrible eyesight, wouldn't see you and would go away. However, with the recent outbreak of mutant bio-monsters, you could never tell what you were dealing with. We decided to take our chances and stay perfectly still. As luck would have it, the Grasshound had other ideas. It howled and heaved a giant claw at us. It took us over way too fast, and before he could do anything to stop it, Lachlan had been sliced in half. "Lachlan!" I screamed. I started to run towards his remains and then realized that it was the worst mistake I had ever made. The Grasshound immediately reacted to my sudden movement and whipped another giant talon at me. As I saw the giant projectile coming at me, my world slowed down to half-speed. Out of the corner of my eye, Rune appeared and threw himself in front of me. Thank the Light it was not a very good throw on the part of the Hound. The giant claw slashed him in the chest, and he fell to the ground with a hard thump.
"He saved my life," I thought to myself. Without thinking, I grabbed the Techne-bow out of its leather catch and in a matter of seconds had felled the huge beast with a deadly shot of Savol. The ground shook as the fiend toppled to the ground. I stood there for a second, not knowing what to do. My friend lay next to me, literally in pieces. Then, from my left side, I heard it. The faint wheezing of a dying man. Rune had moved over in order for me to get my shot off, and collapsed to the ground at my side. I turned to see him, covered in blood, desperately gasping for each breath. I flew over to his side and delivered a quick shot of Nares. His breathing calmed almost instantly, and I started working on a field bandage for the gash on his chest. I decided that he needed to be moved and gave him one more dose of Nares before I dragged him to his feet. "Come on, Rune. You have to walk. We need to make it to Zema. You have to survive." A faint whisper escaped his lips, 'Why should I live? Lachlan is dead and I am dying. Just leave me here and save yourself. There will be more Hounds soon." His words echoed through my brain…why should I live, why should I survive. "Why should I," he said again. "Because you are Lutz," I answered. "Because you are Lutz…"
I honestly don't remember getting to Zema, just how doggoned heavy Rune was. We were greeted with horrified looks as we entered the city gates. Dozens of people rushed out of their houses to see what the growing commotion was. I finally got him to the Inn, and got him into a bed. I dressed his wounds again and gave him another dose of Nares. I spent the night at his bedside, making sure he lived from one hour to the next. Bindo's words reverberated through my head over and over again, "He is the final Lutz…the future of Algo depends on him…He must return to the Mansion…" As these thoughts raced though my mind, I dozed next to the helpless Lutz, clinging to his hand tightly.
"…Kayne?" I opened my eyes to see Rune's face. "Kayne," he spoke. "We've stopped in Zosa for a bit. I know it is the middle of the night, but, are you hungry?" I slowly stirred in my seat and then began to get up. "Yeah," I said. I realized that I had not eaten since very early that morning, and not much at that. We stayed in the small Dezolisian town for about an hour, and then were back in the indestructible Digger, for the rest of our journey to Tyler. As the Digger resumed its steady pace, the rocking movement lulled me back to sleep…
"…So that is why you are the final Lutz," I softly said as Rune sat in his bed in Zema. We had talked for several hours and I believe that he understood. It was his destiny, as it mine to marry him. He admitted that he fell in love with me the first time we met, but did not fully realize it. "…He loves you although he does not realize it yet…" He said those feelings had become even stronger as I cared for him after the Grasshound attack. He agreed to return to the Esper Mansion with me, and we decided to leave three days after…
…the whole way back on the transport that Bindo and the other Espers had secretly sent us, we talked about our impending wedding. I explained Esper marriage customs to him, and how they would differ from regular wedding rituals because, after all, this was the wedding of Lutz. The flight was quick, and in no time at all we were back on Dezo and on our way to Rune's new life as Lutz…Fourth Chosen…the Fifth Generation…
I opened my eyes long enough to see that the commotion had been because of Chaz not stowing his sword properly, which was now clattering to the floor from it's fall from above his seat. He sheepishly got up and stowed it again, but not without a smart-assed comment from Rune, of course…
"…Kayne you look beautiful." I turned to Bindo, who lifted my veil just long enough to give me a kiss on the cheek. We were all gathered in the main worship room, next to the statue of the Heroine. We made our grand procession to the inner sanctuary, to Lutz's room, where the ancient ceremony was to take place. Rune was beside me all the way, dressed wonderfully in the robes of Lutz, his blue hair at his shoulders. As we entered the small room, the guests were seated in a circle in the middle. Rune and I made our way to the middle of the circle, where the High Esper was to perform the ceremony. We faced each other and it started. "Tey lek finasha," the Esper spoke. "Tey lek finasha," the crowd responded. The ancient and mysterious ceremony took an hour, in which Rune and I were anointed with certain perfumes and Dews, sung to, and adorned with jewels and other precious things. "…and with these Circlets," the Esper spoke, "your souls are made one, and your union completed." We placed the ornaments of telemental power on one another's heads and were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Rune Walsh. Now he began his true life as Lutz, and I as Lutz's wife…
"…Your new daughter is doing wonderfully," Bindo said as he handed me the second of my precious children. Rune looked me in the eyes , and motioned for our ten-year-old son Joaquin to come closer to get a closer look at his new sister, Araliya. She had been born with the powers of an Esper elder, and would be quite a formidable match for her older brother later on. "She's kinda cute, I guess," Joaqiun said as he went to touch her tiny hand. She immediately grabbed it and held on to it mercilessly. Rune then took her from my arms and held his new daughter lovingly as I drifted to sleep…
"…I promise to come back. I want you to know that I will always love you. Please tell the children that I love them." "…I love you Rune!" "…Fifth One! Please cover your head!" "…I wish he would cover his head without being told, the cold air will kill him." "…Cold air is the least of his worries. I hope he will be all right…"
"…Kayne, wake up, we're here." Rune gently took his hand and brushed the hair out of my eyes. We exited the Digger into the resplendent Dezo sunlight, there was actually a small break in the storm for it to shine through. As we entered the small settlement of Tyler, Rune turned and said, "You must have been having some wild dreams! You were tossing and turning, and talking up a storm!" I turned to face him and just before kissing him on his forehead, I said, "You have no idea…"
