Chapter 2: The Librarian
Chun-Nan is known for its ancient culture and beautiful scenery. The country was but a small village when it first started, and now, it is known as the largest in the world. But deep in the mountainous regions, the culture hadn't spread much there. Instead, another civilization settled in the peaks long the first nation. In the Gigan Rocks, the ancient Babylonians lived in solitude here after they crashed onto Earth. They made temples, inspired by the first Chun-Nan people, thousands of caverns connected under the ground, and the first… only Babylonian library.
For the past few years, only one person lived in the Gigan Rocks. Well, two, counting the Babylon Rogues' strongman, Storm The Albatross. Storm spends most of his time reading up on his ancestors' history while Hirose, the current librarian, watches over him. Hirose is a large barn owl, standing over ten feet tall, and he takes care of not only the books, but the big grey albatross himself. Kind of like a father.
Storm, who has been sitting down in the library for almost the whole day, pulled another archaic book from the shelf, blowing of the years off dust from it. Structures of Babylon Garden, in Babylonian language, was engraved in cobalt on the cover. He opened it and began to flip through the pages. Just then, Hirose flew down from the opened center of the library, onto the floor that Storm was on.
"Ah, I see you've decided to read about the history behind certain Babylon structures…?" he asked, tilting his big head slightly. Storm, after quickly flipping through the pages, looked up at the giant owl and sighed.
"Hiro'…? All of these books… they're only about the Babylon history after it's fall! I want to learn about the vast technology and our ancestors; the aliens that build the ships and lived on Babylon Garden…" Storm closed the book and rested it in the towering pile of other texts beside him. He stood up and stretched, then yawned. Unfortunately for his unlucky, clumsy self, his large fists accidentally knocked down the pillar of ancient and fragile books. The sound startled him, and he slowly looked towards Hirose, who didn't budge at all.
"S-Sorry, Hiro'…" he mumbled. The owl let out a sigh that sounded like he was not amused at all. Before he could even say anything, Jet entered the library on his Type-J, with his backpack. He braked as he came close to the two other avians, but almost felt his soul leave his body when he saw Hirose's intimidating physique. Luckily, Wave came in just in time to save the hawk from his fall. The two got off of their gear and approached Storm.
"Storm! You know how to read Babylonian, right? We need you to decode something from Stolen's journal!" Jet handed the paper to Storm, who examined the ancient words on it. He shook his head and gave it back to Jet with a shrug.
"This type of Babylonian writing is called aevion… The really ancient Babylonians used that. I only know bevaion, the writing that came after the ship crashed! This is way more complex, boss…" he said in a disappointed tone. Both Jet and Wave frowned, but it seemed Jet felt the most saddened. Just then, Hirose took a step forward and extended his long neck down, crouching so that he could be face to face with the hawk. Yet again, Jet was frozen.
"I know the aevion language. I know how to speak and read it. I might be able to decode the text for you." he said, his knowledgeable-sounding yet mysteriously deep voice sending chills down the hawk's spine. He gave the paper to Hirose, and the owl read it clearly. Then he began.
. . . .
«Whoever finds this journal, you shall be the first one to know the truth about Babylon's demise. My name is Stolen, the thirteenth leader of the Babylon Rogues. Before me, the Babylon Rogues did not have that name. They served as the civil law group on Babylon. The Cevals. But when the rebellion happened, we became the enemies of the Council of Guardians. Aside from leading the civil war, I helped create the Magic Carpet with my comrade, Professor Monsoon. I was the first to own and ride it. Right now, at this very moment, the Babylonian culture… world… is going to end. My journal will tell you all that is happening … And hopefully, prevent this from repeating again.»
. . . .
Hirose lowered the paper. Jet, Wave and Storm exchanged looks of shock from hearing this. Could this be…?, Jet thought. Everything that I've read… it was all a lie…? The hawk pulled out the journal from his backpack and looked hard at the cover. He snapped out of his deep thoughts when Hirose spoke.
"We have a bad reputation of covering up our past… Perhaps reading this journal can very much give you the truth about the Babylonians. I can guarantee that I do not have a single book about a rebellion on Babylon." He said, giving the piece of paper to Storm. He swiftly turned around and began to walk away. "I cannot sit here and read the whole journal to you. In fact, I am sure that you most probably do not have to necessarily read it."
Jet had a confused expression on his face before running after the owl. "Wait! What do you mean, I won't have to read it?" he yelled, his voice echoing through the library. Hirose turned his head slightly, one eye on Jet.
"The key... It has more to it than just opening doors." And with that, he flew up and away back to the top of the library. Jet was still slightly confused until Wave gasped.
"Jet! He was talking about Key of Babylon! You left it back on the ship!" she said, hopping onto her Type-W. Jet grinned and boarded his gear too, Storm following suit. The three dashed out of the library as they made their way back to the zeppelin.
—
Hirose was simply organizing his workspace when he felt a strange shift in temperature in the room. He looked around, but hadn't noticed the silhouette leaned against the wall by the large open window. The owl already knew who it was.
"Did I not tell you to leave, Falkner…?" he said, barely budging. The silhouette came out from the shadows; a lammergeyer with a mixture of inky black and velvet red feathers. A scar rested on his right eye, causing it to always squint, while his other eye was opened normally, blood-red irises glaring at the owl. He gave a chuckle, a chuckle that could very well turn the marrow in one's bone into freezing ice. He ruffled his feathers a bit, giving an untrustworthy grin.
"Lovely seeing you too, Hirose," Falkner walked slowly and quietly across the room, hands behind his back. "You have an absolutely wonderful story-telling voice, did you know that? Hmm, I thank you for letting me hear a bit about my ancestors…"
Hirose tensed up as the vulture reached a shelf with a couple of small, ancient Babylonian artifacts. Falkner reached for what seemed to be a miniature sculpture of the Guardian of Anger, Hariken. He picked it up and held it in his hand; Hirose stayed silent.
"Do you know the story about Hariken, Hirose? He created the Digital Dimension and Angelus… A true hero, he was. He banished all of the rebels… including Stolen. He is the reason for why we are still alive," He kept his eye in the sculpture, twirling it slowly, examining every detail. Hirose watched carefully. "But he was also disliked by the other Guardians… He was… dangerous. Fanatical. And the others…? They were afraid of him."
There was a sudden silence in the room that was almost unsettling. Suddenly, the sculpture in Falkner's hand began to heat up, soon revealing burn marks, and in just a couple of seconds, it started to melt. The clay that was used for the sculpture was now turned into a scorching ball of lava. Falkner enjoyed turning anything into hot magma. It gives him joy… and makes him feel more in control. He then dropped the ball, letting it fall onto the rock floor. It sizzled and burned through the ground on contact. Falkner then walked away, back to the window.
"Hariken is my hero. Maybe I should take a visit to my motherland and learn some more about him… Farewell, Hirose." he cooed menacingly as he climbed out of the window and jumped down. The vulture disappeared after that. Hirose just stood there, taking this moment to realize what he has done.
End
