Rams/Stories
Alk and co. discover that the source of some unending thunder is a sleep-talking dragon. Light recognizes her as Rams, one of the great Ancients from his world. She awakens at his coming and pledges to bring the champion back to their homeland.
Alk: Whoa! That one was so close, I could smell it.
Stella: It might be dangerous to continue the investigation.
Alk: So do we just go back and say, "Sorry. Couldn't figure out why the thunder's not stopping. Better invest in some good earplugs"?
Alk: They sure won't pay us for THAT information... What do you think, Light?
Alk: Light?
Light: This lightning is unnatural...
Light: It is the work of a dragon.
Light: And I believe it's already sensed us.
Alk: S-so what do we do?
Light: If it meant us harm, it would've already attacked. We must try and speak with it.
Light: Stay behind us, Stella. If anything happens, run.
Alk: Wow... That's a dragon? It's beautiful...
Light: That form... It may be one of the Ancients.
Light: Dragon! We have come to parley with you!
Thunder Dragon: ...
Light: What sparked your fury? Let us help you find peace!
Light: So you would rather fight than speak. Very well...
Light: Stella! I said to stay behind us!
Stella: I believe this dragon is asleep.
Light: What?
Alk: She's right. Its eyes are closed.
Light: So they are... Then—
Thunder Dragon: The seasons have changed yet again. Perhaps I have slumbered for too long—even for a dragon.
Thunder Dragon: I apologize. It seems my sleep-talk has stirred no small amount of trouble.
Alk: Wait, that's what was causing the lightning? Your SLEEP-TALK?
Thunder Dragon: I used a great deal of power, tracking down the champion. You saw me in a weakened state, I'm afraid.
Light: Tracking the champion, you say... Then you must be the thunder dragon—Rams Euphoria!
Rams: So I am. I feared I would not be able to find you in a different world, but it seems fate has brought us together, Champion.
Rams: And I have not forgotten you two. Alk, Stella. It is a pleasure.
Stella: Have we met before?
Rams: Yes... In my dreams. I have long awaited this day.
Alk: So... you can see the future?
Light: How did you come here? And how will you return?
Rams: The day you disappeared, the sky wailed and the stars took on strange forms. The Ancients leapt into them and were transported to distant worlds.
Rams: The journey extracted a heavy toll on the flesh. I cannot go by that road again.
Stella: Light, the World Flipper will send you home.
Rams: Will you not let me accompany you? I daresay the services of a dragon will prove useful.
Rams: Stella. I request leave to enter your world.
Stella: Of course. You are welcome, Rams.
Rams: Thank you. I had hoped to hear those very words.
Light: I had not expected to count a dragon from legend among my allies.
Rams: I am as surprised as you. For I had sworn to never again come to the aid of a champion.
Rams: But as you are now... I can make an exception. Together, we shall write the ending to that dream.
Light: As I am now?
Rams: I will travel by wing. Let us meet again in Starview Village.
Alk: ...And she's gone. Well, don't think we need to worry about her getting lost.
Alk: Oh, and I guess we can tell the Guild we cleared up the thunder problem. You guys ready to go?
Stella: Yes. I am right behind you.
Light: Oh... yes. As am I.
Light: ...Perhaps dragons truly are agents of providence...
Alk learns that Rams, like all Ancients, lives not off food, but the elements. The dragon, however, expresses an interest in his cooking and, with her thunder, zaps up great buckets of fish. Recognizing Rams's potential as a fishing trawl, Alk declares that Starview will never go hungry again.
Alk: *sigh*
Alk: What, oh what am I to do?
Nimbus: Stop with the drama. I'm not asking you what's wrong.
Alk: It's our supply of food.
Nimbus: I said I'm not asking.
Alk: I mean, I thought we were doing pretty good. We've been getting a steady stream of jobs from the Guild, and I found some cheap shops in Palpebra.
Nimbus: Okay, let's just get two things straight. You're TELLING me, and I DIDN'T ASK.
Alk: But then Rams joined!
Nimbus: I... don't see the problem.
Alk: Then you haven't seen HER. She's HUGE! How much do you think she eats?!
Alk: Actually, what even does she eat? What am I supposed to do if she lives off of fairy dust potage? I don't know how to make that...
Nimbus: *sigh* Just ask her.
Alk: What?
Nimbus: And if YOU can't rustle up the food for her, just get her to help.
Alk: Whaaat? But I'd feel bad...
Nimbus: Stop being such a baby, and TALK TO HER.
Rams: Hahaha. You were making much ado about nothing.
Alk: I was?
Rams: The Ancients do not need to eat.
Alk: They don't?
Rams: We draw energy from the elements that fill the world.
Rams: And even if we were deprived of these, we would not perish, but fall into a deep slumber.
Alk: Oh... So, literally, sleep mode.
Nimbus: Well, that settles it. Dragon food will NOT be an issue.
Rams: Yes... But though I NEED not eat, that does not mean I CAN not. And I would very much like to try some of your famous cooking, Alk.
Alk: Happy to oblige, but uh... What should I make?
Rams: Anything. I can eat all that you do.
Rams: But perhaps, as Nimbus said, it would be best if I supplied my own food.
Alk: Whoa...
Nimbus: This is good... REALLY good.
Light: I taste herbs and mushrooms from the World of Evergreen... An excellent combination.
Stella: What do you think, Rams?
Rams: It is delicious, Stella.
Rams: Because we Ancients did not eat, we also did not cook. I consider the culinary arts to be one of mortality's finest inventions.
Nimbus: What's with the scowl, Alk? We LIKE the food.
Alk: Oh, no... I was just thinking...
Alk: What if we brought Rams to Oceanus? Can you imagine all the fish we'd catch?
Alk: I'd never have to worry about keeping Starview fed again!
Light: Alk, a dragon is no fishing trawl.
Rams: It's all right, Light. I enjoy such peaceful pursuits.
Alk: Wait. So you'll go to Oceanus with me?
Rams: Haha. Of course. It's a promise.
Shroombo: Icenay... owntay?
Rams: Truly. What a wonderful place to live in...
When Alk and Stella lead Rams to hatching dragon's egg, they learn that Ancients do not die nor give birth as mortals do. However, Rams reveals that she once cared for a young human child. Even now, she hopes that the time will come when dragons, humans, and fiends can coexist in peace.
Stella: Rams! Come quick!
Rams: What is the matter, Stella?
Stella: There... There is no time!
Rams: Calm down, and tell me what happened.
Stella: It is hatching!
Alk: Rams! Over here!
Rams: Alk, what is all the fuss about? What is hatching?
Alk: That is.
Rams: A... dragon's egg?
Alk: Stella found it. The little guy's been going at it for a while, but... its movements are getting weaker...
Stella: We searched for its parents, but we cannot find them. We fear they may be... gone.
Alk: We didn't know if it'd be okay to touch the egg, which is why Stella went and got you.
Rams: I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do.
Alk: Huh? Why not? Will we hurt the egg if we touch it?
Rams: I do not know. Like you, I have not the faintest idea what to do.
Rams: The Ancients do not lay eggs.
Rams: To us, death is just another beginning.
Rams: We sleep, and we forget... But always, in time, another dragon with the same form and name will appear...
Rams: Thus, there are no babes among us.
Rams: We are different from the dragons of this world.
Rams: Ah... But it seems there was no cause for worry after all.
Alk: I-it hatched! No way! That's so cool!
Stella: Thank goodness...
Rams: So this is how new lives come into being...
Rams: Heh. Perhaps there IS something I can do for you, my distant brethren...
Rams: I shall see that nothing clouds the day of your birth.
Alk: Thanks, Rams... And sorry.
Stella: We should not have jumped to conclusions.
Rams: There is no need for apologies. You showed me something wondrous.
Rams: And it reminded me of something from my past.
Alk: It did?
Rams: I have never cared for an egg... But I once cared for a human child.
Rams: Even though he had come to kill me.
Rams: His eyes were full of hatred... loathing towards dragons. I had every right to take his life.
Rams: But... I could not bring myself to do it. I tended his wounds—hurts that I had inflicted in self-defense.
Stella: Where is he now?
Rams: I wonder...
Rams: I hope he has found somewhere he may live in contentment.
Alk: Don't you want to see him again?
Rams: Haha. I do not wish for what I cannot have, Alk.
Rams: But IF we were to meet again, I believe he would understand... My vision for a world where mortal, dragon, and fiend may dwell together in peace.