Reminiscent of memories

"And in 16th place, Snow arrow, who will be the last ship to advance to the
next round." To say that we were happy would be an understatement. It took a few
moments for us to realize just what that meant, but then... well. I would not be
surprised if even ms Winterfur senior found the vitality to literally leap from
joy. Ester and Ista, the two Windmuses, or perhaps I shall call them Startails,
which is the name their kin carry in the common tongue, danced of joy with one
another, and I found that not even I could hide my elation at our success. But
by now, you are probably wondering who I am, so it would be prudent of me to
introduce myself. My name is difficult to pronounce in the common tongue, so the
name I allow Lady Winterfur and her mother to address me as is "Trickle", a
reference to my aquatic nature no doubt. Do not for an instance believe that it
in any way resembles my real name, but I am not here to discuss the naming
conventions of my kind. You want me to tell you what happened with us after we
advanced to the second round.

Once the initial elation of our performance had faded away, a sense of buzzing
excitement spread through the aethercraft. The six of us, that filthy rat
Thunkin included, all left the ship at the same time, and we were greeted by a
small crowd. While our performance was far from the best, we had already
gathered a small amount of fans. Before they could descend upon us like birds of
prey however, a gnome from the facility brought us to the winners loge, where we
could mingle with the fifteen other crews that passed the initial selection. I
chose to abstain from this “socializing” however, and it pleased me to see
the Winterfurs making the same apt decision. Ester and Ista was another matter
entirely. From my location at the edge of the room, I could spy their movements
as they weaved through the crowd for reasons unknown. Still, it is to be
expected from children like them. When it came to Thunkin, as I did expect, he
immediately sought out another team to speak with them. Treacherous fool, to
think that in the end we'll attain any rank but the first. Still, Lady Winterfur
has grown fond of the filthy creature, so I am accepting him for now. Ah, please
forgive me. I tend to ramble on so do stop me if I become irrelevant.

After a time, a speaker appeared on a stage in front of the various crews.
Allow me to reiterate what she told us. "Congratulations to all of you who
completed the first race in this tournament. And an extra congratulations to the
Five-pointed Star and her crew from the Celestine guild who placed first. Now, I
am sure that you are all excited for the next race. This second race will begin
tomorrow at noon. It starts here at the facility, and you will all have to fly
to Xion, though there will be certain... surprises along the way. As with today,
the first half advances to the third and final qualification round. And I guess
that's it for important info. Refreshments will be served shortly. If you have
any questions, ask the tournament staff. Good night."

While the evening was under no circumstances silent, it was uneventful. In
fact, little interesting did happen until just before the race, when we found
out that I could not participate in that specific race. That is why I am here,
now. After all. Pouring my heart out to a stranger. Well, excuse me that
emotional outburst. I shall not burden you with that any further. Well, I can't
tell you any exciting stories about flying through aetherspace, guns blazing
wildly and ships being knocked helter-skelter. But... I will tell you about me,
and why I am here to serve Lady Winterfur.

You may not know this, but Lady Winterfur is nothing less than a true hero. A
year ago, I was nothing. Almost literally. Trapped as a mirage, a memory of a
time in the past. Long ago, long before Lady Winterfur was born, long before her
great grandmother's great grandmother was born, that was my first time to live.
I say first time, because in the prime of my life, something terrible would
happen. Originally, my kind would roam across the Prime Material Plane. We were
the manifestations of Water given form, shape and spirit. If I truly am an
elemental or not, I am not certain as I feel no tie to the Tidal Lords and
Ladies. Still, I was born of water, and it is to water I shall return when my
time is over. Anyway, my kind was among those types of beasts who were saved
when the soulless invaded. Along with the starshaped shards, the windmuses, and
other elemental beasts, we fled through the portal to a new world. This new
world was something found for us by four powerful star-shards, but something
happened.

I was not born then, and can only explain what happened through the memory of
my kin. One of the shards was attacked by the soulless, and her mind was torn
apart by the madness of these foul beasts. This shard, the one they call
“Mind”, had fallen into a deep slumber, induced by the ailen presence inside
her. Without her, they could not reconstructs the Harmony Bells like their old
nexus. The Harmony Bells of today do not hold the same power as a true nexus,
yet they constructed it anyway for the soothing music of the Bells was still
needed. The Harmony Bells is a powerful device, whose tunes can weave and change
the thought patters of anyone who can hear the tune.

I was born to live a normal life. That has been my philosophy through my life.
Unlike Lady Winterfur, I was not made to save the world, or even make a
difference in it. I was born ordinary. My parents were ordinary, and everyone
considered me to be completely ordinary. The stories of old were like fairy
tales. I was born to the Bells, I grew up with the Bells, and when I would go to
sleep, the Bells would lull my eyes shut. That was me then, living in the valley
of the melody.

Those tunes do not work on everyone. The shard who lost her mind to the ravages
of the soulless was one of them. I do still not fully understand it, but the
melodies, though designed to heal Mind, had no effect on her changed self. My
guess... no, that does not matter. I need to focus. I cannot in mere words
explain the cruel reality that we had to suffer through afterwards. The shard
called Mind went on a rampage, hurting everyone around her in what she called a
“pursuit for knowledge”. Many friends of me died in that time, but harder
still it was for the Windmuses. I envy the childlike innocence and happiness of
Ester and Ista who didn't have to watch their brothers, sisters and parents
destroyed without discrimination. The shard had to be stopped, but the melody
composed for mind, the "prayer of peace" could not reach her. All seemed lost.

However, while none of them had the intellect of their former companion, the
three demi-divine shards were the designers of the Harmony Bells. They could
change the melody into one that would forcibly enthrall the broken shard. This
reweave of the tune however would require a sacrifice. A sacrifice me and others
of both my kin and the kin of other elemental beasts would gladly carry out. My
very being would be unwoven by the melody, and woven into the new melody. Do not
ask me how that works. I do not understand it fully. All I can say is that I
could hear Mind approaching... and then I slumbered.

How long I slumbered, I do not know, but the world I woke up to had changed
drastically. No records of my past was there. I was alone when I woke up.
Together with everyone else who had been woven into the melody, but alone still.
No friends. No family. Just a lonely teardrop in an ocean of confusion. I am
sure that they, like me, never expected to live again. Yet even in our confusion
we knew what to do. We would pledge our support to the hero. To Lady Winterfur.
We poured out of the tower, and indeed. Above us we could see two brave souls
struggling against Mind. So we would pray, we would pray for peace.

Now this, this is something I never knew and would never have guessed had I not
been a part of it. The Harmony Bells resonated with our prayers and lent our
hopes as power to Lady Winterfur and her cohort. Through that and her own will,
she was temporarily elevated to an ascendant. Only temporary though. As I said,
the Harmony Bells is not a perfect nexus, and Lady Winterfur lost her divinity
when her mind could no longer hang onto the power. Still, she managed to defeat
Mind. None saw what happened to the shard, but there has been no sign of her
since then.

And again I go way too far. You do not care about this do you? Still, it felt
good to get this of my chest. I am a very careful individual, and I prefer to
have everything explained to me. And now that I have told you of my past, I can
tell you of my present. Why I am here to assist Lady Winterfur.

This is what must be kept secret, but I believe that Lady Winterfur is in
danger. When I caught wind of this contest, it struck me how strange it was that
Lady Winterfur was chosen to participate. I have seen her ability, but when it
comes to aetherpiloting she is not a known name. There is also another thing
that makes me worry, and that is Mind. She was defeated, but I can't shake the
feeling that she wasn't destroyed. And if Mind is out there, she will want to
enact vengeance on Lady Winterfur. I am here so that will not happen.

Oh, I wish I could say that. One thing is true. Human cuisine does not agree
with my stomach. So here I am, opening my heart to you because that fake rat has
to replace me as gunner. But I must admit, you have made me feel a little
better. Perhaps the idea of a diary is not so farfetched after all?

But now I must say goodbye. The race is about to begin, and I can only hope
that the rat doesn't stab us in the back.