FRAGMENTS -to the edge of the world-
Book.1 - The Great War of Another Era
Prologue ~ Her Circumstances
The end of the century brought with it a great war.
It wasn't a war waged for the sake of necessity, neither was it the kind started in the name of ideals and justice. No, at the core of that conflict that tore the entire world asunder, was the basic emotion known as greed. Cruel and merciless, it drove one country to sink its teeth into its neighbors, sneer at those who were once considered allies and do careless, inhumane things for the sake of resources and territory.
For that girl, who found happiness in simple things such as blooming flowers, falling snow and summer rain in the morning, there was no way to understand reasons like that. Still, even though she couldn't understand them at all, her life has already become a part of that selfish war. Every morning, as she made her way to work by balancing on top of fences, she would hear and see giant machines in the sky above. Every day, as she read through numerous documents, she would across mentions of armaments and military budget. And then, every evening, she would often hear the woman she would come to call her mother sobbing in one of the rooms.
You don't need to concern yourself with such things, the girl was told again and again. As a machine born a mere seven years ago, there's no way you can understand such things yet.
It was true that the girl couldn't understand the reasons behind that selfish war. Yet, as a living being who already learned what it was like to have a heart, she couldn't help but understand the pain caused by it.
"Problems again, mother dear?" She murmured one evening as she opened the door into the reading room. The woman she addressed looked up from the phone in her thin, old hands and frowned. Exhaustion and a faint streak of despair emerged from her dark-blue eyes, and the girl found herself stopping after making no more than a single step.
"Oh, Melusine..." The woman frowned and looked away, an action the girl took as a permission to come closer. "You know how it is. Budget problems, pauses in research and development, scientists suddenly vanishing from their homes... the same old thing. You shouldn't concern yourself with it."
"Maybe I shouldn't," Melusine answered peacefully as she made another step forward. "I want to, though. You haven't smiled at all this week, you know? Or this month, or..." Slender hands curled into fists as she tried to squeeze out her next words. "Well, the previous one."
"Has it been that long?" The woman laughed, her voice tired and hollow. "I'm sorry. If we could only fight a war with smiles..."
"Didn't you once?" The girl rocked on her heels lightly as she asked. "A century ago?"
"Hm?" A blink, and her mother seemed to come to life. She raised her head and gave her daughter a cautious look, only to have another laugh escape her throat--awkward this time, dismissive and so much lighter than before. Her hand rose and tried to wave her off. "Oh, that was different. There were still heroes then, we were all younger and thankfully much stupider. There was only one with a shred of common sense among us then, and who knows where he is now."
She tried to lower her hand, but quickly failed. The girl's slender fingers wrapped around hers and came to cradle her hand like it was the most precious thing in the whole world. She was sitting on the floor now, less than a step away from her mother. A spark of excitement emerged amidst the kindness of aqua-green eyes, all the more supported by the girl's smile.
"Tell me about him again, mother," the girl asked in a soft, yet serious voice that wasn't interested in rejection. "That one who wouldn't smile."
"Melusine..." The old woman started in protest, only to interrupt herself with a tired sigh. Her head shook softly. "You always ask me for that story. Do you like it that much?"
"I don't like it as much as you do."
Melusine smiled, and her mother quickly realized that she had no response to that. She sighed again and pulled her hand back, only to end up with the girl's head in her lap. Thin, shaking fingers buried themselves in soft aqua-green hair as they searched for warmth and comfort. Finally, the woman breathed in deeply and began to speak...
"The end of the previous century brought with it a great war... few people remember it anymore, maybe because it was even more embarrassing than this one. Capitol was smaller then, much less powerful and just as ambitious. They started the war just as they did now, and soon the sounds of marching mercenaries and war machines could be heard across the whole world...
"I was still young back then. A girl who didn't have the strength or the skills, but did have a lot of hope and good friends who were willing to go down fighting. We hid in the shadows of our own hometowns, opened fire rarely and made sure that every hit counted... we were weak in comparison to now, but we refused to go down and treated every tiny victory as a celebration. And then...
"Then, there was Aether."
"The one who never smiled," The girl chimed in. "You were close, right?"
"Aether? The only things Aether hated more than war were the ones who started it and the ones who got in his way. In his case, that meant everyone but him." The old woman huffed in frustration. "He was nothing like the rest of us. He was born during that war, you see, but somewhere along the lines, someone described to him what peace was like... he decided he would destroy everything that kept him from living through that. At some point, I even wondered if he hated everything about the world he was born into. The war. The people. Us."
"But you liked him, didn't you?"
Her answer was a long moment of heavy, tired silence.
"What happened to him, mother dear? Did he end that war?"
"Oh, he ended our war..." A bitter smile crossed the woman's face. "But you know? He was one of those who got that century named the Age of Heroes. To an average hero, what we call 'war' is a but a single battle. As soon as Capitol fell, he disappeared. Less than a month passed before there were rumors of him fighting elsewhere."
"I see." The girl sighed sadly, and buried her face in her mother's knees. "He never found out what peace was like, then."
At first, the answer given to her was another minute of silence. Then, the old woman tensed with her entire body. Her expression turned perfectly still and, by the time she spoke again, so did her voice.
"I met her once," she said. "Thin and graceful, long white hair and eyes like molten silver. Made me feel like I ought to go turn into a pumpkin before I forget my place... a perfect fit for someone like him. Whenever she was nearby, his eyes lit up. It was the brightest smile I'd ever seen, on him or anyone."
"So then..!" Melusine looked up and gave her mother the most hopeful of looks.
"Last I heard, she's buried somewhere in Ireland. As for Aether... who knows where he is. Once she disappeared along with his chance for a happy ending, he disappeared. For good this time."
"Oh." The girl averted her gaze in embarrassment. Her fingers dug into the older woman's dress, kneading it in an almost catlike fashion. "But at least he learned... right?"
"That he did..." The woman sighed softly. Her gaze lingered on her daughter for another moment, only to rise and focus on the moonlit sky outside the window. When she spoke again, her voice carried a wistful air. "It's unfortunate. If he was here, he'd deal with this issue in a matter of days."
"By pelting the Capitol forces with his dentures, no doubt." Melusine giggled to herself. "No offense, mother dear, but the boy you remember is about your age. You are far past the days when you could..."
"Oh, did I never tell you?" The wistful presence gave way to surprise. The girl blinked as her mother looked down and gave her a confused look. "Aether wasn't human. He's a machine, like you. The old war's lasted less than a decade and was finished by someone only nine years old. Capitol never lived down the shame."
"Oh! I see!" The amusement from a few moments earlier was replaced by surprised excitement. Melusine smiled, her mouth wide open in joy, gasped as she tried and failed to say something, and finally barely managed to squeeze out the words. "Then maybe I could..."
"Young lady!" The answer resounded in a commanding tone that refused to accept any kind of argument. "The only way you'll be going anywhere near the battlefield is for a victory parade. Now then..." Wrinkled hands reached up and pushed into the girl's shoulder. "It's well past your bedtime. Tomorrow's work won't be done by itself, now will it?"
"Yes, mother dear," came an obedient response. Although visibly disappointed, the girl managed to squeeze out a small smile before she rose to her feet. "I'll go first, then. Goodnight."
As far as her mother was concerned, this was the end of that discussion, and Melusine shuffled out of the room in small, hesitant steps. The old woman's voice reached her with a gentle "goodnight" right as she leaned back onto the heavy wooden door and let out a deep, nervous exhale. She never managed to finish the sentence, did she? As was usual during such conversations, her mother had completely misunderstood her.
The end of the century brought with it a great war... a war waged neither for the sake of necessity, nor in the name of ideals and justice. No, the conflict that tore the world asunder was born from a basic emotion known as greed. As someone who found happiness in simple things like blooming flowers, falling snow and summer rain in the morning, Melusine couldn't possibly understand a thing like that. Thus, the last thing she ever thought of was becoming a hero.
But if there was a machine like that who was like her and unlike her, the kind who hated this kind of world so much that he would try to burn it down, the kind who desired everything and erased himself after losing one truly precious thing... if that machine already became a hero, would it be able to solve everything? Would it bring an earnest, happy smile to her mother's face again?
Melusine didn't know. But, being a girl who found happiness in the smallest and strangest of things, she was also the kind who see merit in the strangest of ideas.
The next morning was marked with her favorite summer rain. However, Melusine didn't meet it by walking on top of the old fence in the direction of her workplace. Her large eyes focused on the rushing scenery outside her window, the girl tensed and attempted to purge the last droplets of her doubts with a sharp exhale.
Those were her circumstances.
A few months later, they would lead to the beginning of her journey.
Prologue ~ Her Circumstances
The end of the century brought with it a great war.
It wasn't a war waged for the sake of necessity, neither was it the kind started in the name of ideals and justice. No, at the core of that conflict that tore the entire world asunder, was the basic emotion known as greed. Cruel and merciless, it drove one country to sink its teeth into its neighbors, sneer at those who were once considered allies and do careless, inhumane things for the sake of resources and territory.
For that girl, who found happiness in simple things such as blooming flowers, falling snow and summer rain in the morning, there was no way to understand reasons like that. Still, even though she couldn't understand them at all, her life has already become a part of that selfish war. Every morning, as she made her way to work by balancing on top of fences, she would hear and see giant machines in the sky above. Every day, as she read through numerous documents, she would across mentions of armaments and military budget. And then, every evening, she would often hear the woman she would come to call her mother sobbing in one of the rooms.
You don't need to concern yourself with such things, the girl was told again and again. As a machine born a mere seven years ago, there's no way you can understand such things yet.
It was true that the girl couldn't understand the reasons behind that selfish war. Yet, as a living being who already learned what it was like to have a heart, she couldn't help but understand the pain caused by it.
"Problems again, mother dear?" She murmured one evening as she opened the door into the reading room. The woman she addressed looked up from the phone in her thin, old hands and frowned. Exhaustion and a faint streak of despair emerged from her dark-blue eyes, and the girl found herself stopping after making no more than a single step.
"Oh, Melusine..." The woman frowned and looked away, an action the girl took as a permission to come closer. "You know how it is. Budget problems, pauses in research and development, scientists suddenly vanishing from their homes... the same old thing. You shouldn't concern yourself with it."
"Maybe I shouldn't," Melusine answered peacefully as she made another step forward. "I want to, though. You haven't smiled at all this week, you know? Or this month, or..." Slender hands curled into fists as she tried to squeeze out her next words. "Well, the previous one."
"Has it been that long?" The woman laughed, her voice tired and hollow. "I'm sorry. If we could only fight a war with smiles..."
"Didn't you once?" The girl rocked on her heels lightly as she asked. "A century ago?"
"Hm?" A blink, and her mother seemed to come to life. She raised her head and gave her daughter a cautious look, only to have another laugh escape her throat--awkward this time, dismissive and so much lighter than before. Her hand rose and tried to wave her off. "Oh, that was different. There were still heroes then, we were all younger and thankfully much stupider. There was only one with a shred of common sense among us then, and who knows where he is now."
She tried to lower her hand, but quickly failed. The girl's slender fingers wrapped around hers and came to cradle her hand like it was the most precious thing in the whole world. She was sitting on the floor now, less than a step away from her mother. A spark of excitement emerged amidst the kindness of aqua-green eyes, all the more supported by the girl's smile.
"Tell me about him again, mother," the girl asked in a soft, yet serious voice that wasn't interested in rejection. "That one who wouldn't smile."
"Melusine..." The old woman started in protest, only to interrupt herself with a tired sigh. Her head shook softly. "You always ask me for that story. Do you like it that much?"
"I don't like it as much as you do."
Melusine smiled, and her mother quickly realized that she had no response to that. She sighed again and pulled her hand back, only to end up with the girl's head in her lap. Thin, shaking fingers buried themselves in soft aqua-green hair as they searched for warmth and comfort. Finally, the woman breathed in deeply and began to speak...
"The end of the previous century brought with it a great war... few people remember it anymore, maybe because it was even more embarrassing than this one. Capitol was smaller then, much less powerful and just as ambitious. They started the war just as they did now, and soon the sounds of marching mercenaries and war machines could be heard across the whole world...
"I was still young back then. A girl who didn't have the strength or the skills, but did have a lot of hope and good friends who were willing to go down fighting. We hid in the shadows of our own hometowns, opened fire rarely and made sure that every hit counted... we were weak in comparison to now, but we refused to go down and treated every tiny victory as a celebration. And then...
"Then, there was Aether."
"The one who never smiled," The girl chimed in. "You were close, right?"
"Aether? The only things Aether hated more than war were the ones who started it and the ones who got in his way. In his case, that meant everyone but him." The old woman huffed in frustration. "He was nothing like the rest of us. He was born during that war, you see, but somewhere along the lines, someone described to him what peace was like... he decided he would destroy everything that kept him from living through that. At some point, I even wondered if he hated everything about the world he was born into. The war. The people. Us."
"But you liked him, didn't you?"
Her answer was a long moment of heavy, tired silence.
"What happened to him, mother dear? Did he end that war?"
"Oh, he ended our war..." A bitter smile crossed the woman's face. "But you know? He was one of those who got that century named the Age of Heroes. To an average hero, what we call 'war' is a but a single battle. As soon as Capitol fell, he disappeared. Less than a month passed before there were rumors of him fighting elsewhere."
"I see." The girl sighed sadly, and buried her face in her mother's knees. "He never found out what peace was like, then."
At first, the answer given to her was another minute of silence. Then, the old woman tensed with her entire body. Her expression turned perfectly still and, by the time she spoke again, so did her voice.
"I met her once," she said. "Thin and graceful, long white hair and eyes like molten silver. Made me feel like I ought to go turn into a pumpkin before I forget my place... a perfect fit for someone like him. Whenever she was nearby, his eyes lit up. It was the brightest smile I'd ever seen, on him or anyone."
"So then..!" Melusine looked up and gave her mother the most hopeful of looks.
"Last I heard, she's buried somewhere in Ireland. As for Aether... who knows where he is. Once she disappeared along with his chance for a happy ending, he disappeared. For good this time."
"Oh." The girl averted her gaze in embarrassment. Her fingers dug into the older woman's dress, kneading it in an almost catlike fashion. "But at least he learned... right?"
"That he did..." The woman sighed softly. Her gaze lingered on her daughter for another moment, only to rise and focus on the moonlit sky outside the window. When she spoke again, her voice carried a wistful air. "It's unfortunate. If he was here, he'd deal with this issue in a matter of days."
"By pelting the Capitol forces with his dentures, no doubt." Melusine giggled to herself. "No offense, mother dear, but the boy you remember is about your age. You are far past the days when you could..."
"Oh, did I never tell you?" The wistful presence gave way to surprise. The girl blinked as her mother looked down and gave her a confused look. "Aether wasn't human. He's a machine, like you. The old war's lasted less than a decade and was finished by someone only nine years old. Capitol never lived down the shame."
"Oh! I see!" The amusement from a few moments earlier was replaced by surprised excitement. Melusine smiled, her mouth wide open in joy, gasped as she tried and failed to say something, and finally barely managed to squeeze out the words. "Then maybe I could..."
"Young lady!" The answer resounded in a commanding tone that refused to accept any kind of argument. "The only way you'll be going anywhere near the battlefield is for a victory parade. Now then..." Wrinkled hands reached up and pushed into the girl's shoulder. "It's well past your bedtime. Tomorrow's work won't be done by itself, now will it?"
"Yes, mother dear," came an obedient response. Although visibly disappointed, the girl managed to squeeze out a small smile before she rose to her feet. "I'll go first, then. Goodnight."
As far as her mother was concerned, this was the end of that discussion, and Melusine shuffled out of the room in small, hesitant steps. The old woman's voice reached her with a gentle "goodnight" right as she leaned back onto the heavy wooden door and let out a deep, nervous exhale. She never managed to finish the sentence, did she? As was usual during such conversations, her mother had completely misunderstood her.
The end of the century brought with it a great war... a war waged neither for the sake of necessity, nor in the name of ideals and justice. No, the conflict that tore the world asunder was born from a basic emotion known as greed. As someone who found happiness in simple things like blooming flowers, falling snow and summer rain in the morning, Melusine couldn't possibly understand a thing like that. Thus, the last thing she ever thought of was becoming a hero.
But if there was a machine like that who was like her and unlike her, the kind who hated this kind of world so much that he would try to burn it down, the kind who desired everything and erased himself after losing one truly precious thing... if that machine already became a hero, would it be able to solve everything? Would it bring an earnest, happy smile to her mother's face again?
Melusine didn't know. But, being a girl who found happiness in the smallest and strangest of things, she was also the kind who see merit in the strangest of ideas.
The next morning was marked with her favorite summer rain. However, Melusine didn't meet it by walking on top of the old fence in the direction of her workplace. Her large eyes focused on the rushing scenery outside her window, the girl tensed and attempted to purge the last droplets of her doubts with a sharp exhale.
Those were her circumstances.
A few months later, they would lead to the beginning of her journey.