Could Zeratul have defeated Neha ? Not sure. Most Eldar Farseers have been alive for countless millennia …
Neha: ( *'mind-pwns' the author* )
Star: YEOW ! haha … I forget, it's rude to remind a woman of her age ;P
Before I forget:
I do not own any character or plot device I write about.
Starcraft was created by Blizzard Entertainment,
Warhammer 40000 by Games Workshop,
And Dawn of War series by THQ and Relic Entertainment
Which Aspect are you ?
The room reminded Zeratul of his short but memorable stay in the Jedi Temple, except that everything here was built of a shiny clean, bone white, organic material which seemed vaguely familiar to him.
It took an hour of self-refreshing meditation in various poses for him to realize just how familiar he was with this style of construction. A style similar to the fine architecture of Shaquras, the new homeworld of his own species. Of course, the proportions were different, the inhabitants here being of a smaller stature than the Protoss, and that, he realized, was why that portal in the forest had seemed alien to him.
As he inspected the circuitry embedded into the walls, he realized that they pulsed with psychic energy, so much so that he could actually draw that energy into himself ( just enough to dispel his own fatigue, for fear of causing a black out in the psionic grid ). The only other species who powered their appliances through psionic means was … the Protoss. Certainly a Dark Templar would feel at home in this installation ( if he or she didn't mind the bright lights ). Zeratul peered into and behind the simple vase shaped furniture, half expecting to see a piece of Khaydarin crystal suspended in them. He found none, yet.
His own crystal lay glowing on a round low table in the middle of the room, along with his garments and his equipment. Some time ago, he had his own ship, which he had generously left in the hands of the Yautja clan he befriended. Why bother maintain a transport, when you hold the key to a network of hyperspace gateways ? Problem was, Zeratul had only a foggy idea how this marvelous technology left by the Ancient Ones actually worked. And now he ended up in someone else's network of hyperspace gateways.
Or was it ?
What was the connection between the Ancient Ones and Neha's people aside from this seemingly accidental linkage in the immaterial dimension ? Were there Xel'Naga relics left hidden on this world as well ?
Deciding that uninformed guesses were pointless, Zeratul quickly put on his Dark Templar cloak and utility belt, as well as his trusty weapon gauntlets, and walked over to the wall opposite the large window that afforded a view of the expansive moonlit forest outside. A rectangular section of the wall roughly his height and width receded to one side, and Zeratul stepped through the resulting doorway into the corridor beyond.
"Where are you going ?"
Zeratul looked towards the source of the voice. A tall gaunt figure in a green cloak stood to his left and was pointing a long white rifle at his face. The figure's own face was hidden in the shadow of its hood and a white scarf covering its lower half.
It was the same figure who had been stealthily ( Zeratul sensed him anyway ) pointing his rifle at Zeratul in the forest.
"To have a talk with Neha. We have some information to exchange."
"The Farseer is busy." It seemed that elves had a smooth, deliberate quality to their voice. This one was slightly deeper than that of Neha or Liya. Likely male. "You can talk to me." He motioned towards the door. "Go back inside."
"Those walls cannot hold me for long." Zeratul raised his hands. "Why not give me a tour of the place ?"
The elf seemed to hesitate for a moment, then lowered his rifle. "Fine, but no more disappearing tricks."
"Do you not have orders to follow ?"
"I take orders from noone." The elf put a particular stress on the last word.
"Indeed." Zeratul made subtle psionic adjustments to his voice to make it sound as trustworthy as possible. "How shall I address you then ?"
"Raam." A grey-gloved hand reached out and pointed past Zeratul. "I will take you to the Farseer. We can do our touring on the way."
"I am Zeratul …" The Grey Templar turned to follow as Raam proceeded to walk in the direction the latter pointed. As they did so Zeratul ruminated on the words that Raam had used. "Are you familiar with this place ?"
"Depends."
"Ah …"
There was little to see within the same building. The last doorway they came across brought them out into the open again. It seemed that Neha's headquarters, which Raam called the assembly, served mainly as a link between her base of operations on this planet, and her Craftworld, which Zeratul took to mean the planet that Neha came from.
As such, it was shaped like a giant bone-white triangular gateway, two large identical sections leaning towards and pressed against each other to curl and point upwards in the middle. The resulting portal shimmered in a manner similar to an activated Warp Gate.
As Zeratul was to find out, most of the Eldar ( which, according to Raam, was what his species was called )structures had a minimalist design, as if they could be transported in one piece over long distances. Yet he could see no visible propulsion or compaction systems on them.
The first facility they came across was a large clearing in the forest, bordered by a ring of decorated colonnades and altars, which emitted a blue-green glow from crystals and translucent globes embedded in them to illuminate the clearing now that night was falling. One particular altar, at the far end of the clearing, was particularly wide with a flat top. Atop this stood a larger than life-size statue of what seemed to be a warrior dressed in exaggerated but still elegant armour with flags and streamers and various weapons signifying its revered status.
Normal Eldar armour, it seemed, was unusually form-fitting, and covered the entire body, from the flexibly segmented foot armour all the way up to a helmet with an elongated cap and a mask similar to the one that Raam carried with him. Even this armour was made of that ubiquitous bone-white material that the Eldar used, and which Raam called Wraithbone.
This Zeratul could clearly see, for within the clearing now were roughly a dozen of these armoured warriors, all of them female, engaged in ferocious mock battle with various weapons. Sabres, rifles, lances, swords …. Now and then there were faint warcries, which Zeratul imagined must have sounded very impressive in real battle, but were now muffled, perhaps to prevent the Eldars' enemies, if there were, from noticing the existence of this place.
"An Aspect Shrine." Raam explained. "Those who have chosen the path of the warrior train at a shrine founded by one of the Aspects. Every Aspect is unique in some manner. These ones are Banshees, judging from the red plumes at the back of their helmets."
"Interesting" Zeratul saw that some of the Banshees who were not training appeared to be paying their respect to the great statue. "Which Aspect are you from ?"
"I don't follow any particular path." Raam replied. "Rangers like me were originally exiles from Eldar society."
"Ah, then we have a lot in common." Zeratul smiled then narrowed his eyes as he noticed a slim figure leaning against the statue and talking to the worshipping Banshees. It was Liya. She met Zeratul's gaze, smiled faintly, then appeared to announce something to the others in the shrine, and pointed in Zeratul's direction. Her smile turned to a mischievous grin as her audience stopped their training and turned to look at the tall grey-skinned stranger who had been watching them from outside the shrine.
"What is happening ?"
"From the shape of the Harlequin's lips as she spoke," Raam's own eyes were narrowed. "I believe she told them that a special guest has come to join the training."
"Ah…" The lime green glow in Zeratul's eyes intensified with excitement. "Then I should not keep them waiting, should I ?" He stepped towards the two widely spaced colonnades that appeared to mark the recognized entrance to the shrine. As he approached it, he noticed that the air between the columns shimmered then thinned out, like the surface of water evaporating away, as if an unseen barrier had just been dissolved to allow him entry. "It's been a long, long time since I have sparred with a dedicated warrior class."
"I will not be responsible for any injury you sustain." Raam stated as the both of them stopped near the middle of the clearing and Zeratul made his greeting gesture towards the Banshees who now sat in a circle along the edge of the clearing facing inward.
From the statue's side, Liya watched Zeratul's mannerisms in amusement. "You are brave."
"Among my people, I am considered a seasoned warrior." Zeratul took off his weapon gauntlets and placed them at his feet. "I won't be needing these. They are too dangerous to be used against material armour."
Liya tilted her head and held a finger to her lips, then her eyes brightened and she announced something to the Banshees again. This time, Zeratul, heard her words loud and clear, though he did not understand them, and he realized that the energy barrier generated by the colonnades absorbed the sounds from within the shrine, thus accounting for the apparent lack of noise to an observer outside the training grounds.
"What did she say now ?"
"I told them to try and take your gauntlets, and keep them." Liya answered in Terran, her tone hinting at a more than normal eagerness to see Zeratul getting cut up by Eldar blades ( Harlequins consider fighting a fine art. And fine art is there to be enjoyed and appreciated ... ). Raam, on the other hand, was now sitting up against a column and watching the entire scene with nonchalance.
"Then I shall guard them." Zeratul dropped to his empty handed battle stance, one foot far in front of the other and hands drifting before him in a deceptively gentle pose, yet ready to grip and twist a limb off its joints in a split-second.
A few of the Banshees now stood up and drew their swords. Their masks concealed their expressions, but Zeratul could feel a growing concentration of psionic energy within them. He had already seen them display a remarkable level of agility and stamina during their mock battles. Now he realized the energy barrier had screened out more than just sound waves.
I have fought through an entire Zerg swarm and crossed blades with the mightiest of the High Templar, Zeratul thought, whatever these Banshees can throw at me, physical or psychic, I am prepared.
What he was not prepared for, was the dreadful ( and to Warhammer 40k fans, legendary ) Banshee HOWL …
What does the Banshee Warshout sound like ? Go to Youtube and search for "Dawn of War 2" or just get Dawn of War: Dark Crusade and play. Trust me it's a fantastic game.
Sorry no action in this chapter. I'm thinking while I type .
Next chapter will be exciting … hopefully XD
Till then,
Have a nice day/night, and happy Valentines :)
-Star
