OVERTURE to Nocturn, Second Movement (Part Nine)

By the time the Paxian forces arived, the sun was piercing through the black clouds, making the world down below look like an ancient painting. The scene the artist concieced was this:

In the horizon of the desert, desert in a surreal sky of browns and golds and blacks like an autumn puddle, desert of sand and stone, lay on one end a beautiful wall of cathedrals, while on the other side lay cliffs and craigs in a maze...

In the middle the sands are riddled with all sorts of strange beasts of unspeakable beauty, mangled horribly. One man in a bloodied white and gold Paxian uniform walks parallell to the city and the maze, down the center, away from the scene.

An army approaches from the maze, and a city guard led by a mighty priest approach from the city.

In the center of the painting is a small, disheveled creature, cradling the head of an officer. Their lips move, the tiny humanoid speaking in a panic and the officer in the calm of a dying man. As the officer's eyes close, he utters one word, and the creature appears to understand.

Father Aequitas in his ceremonial robes approaches from the left. Captain Mausser approaches from the right. They congradulate eachother for their sound victories, and pay special heed to the hero who led the fool and battled countless demons on the way.

The fool looks up at the two, Roderick's head in his lap.

"My name is not fool. My name is Friend."