Destiny of Honor: Heir to the Legacy
The Storm Hawks world concept is copyright to Nerd Corps and Asaph Fipke.
Aerrow, Stork, Piper, Starling, Junko, Finn, Radarr and other Sky Knights are the intellectual property of Asaph Fipke and copyright to Nerd Corps.
Master Cyclonis, Dark Ace, Ravess, Snipe and the Talons are the intellectual property of Asaph Fipke and copyright to Nerd Corps.
Repton and the Raptors are the intellectual property of Asaph Fipke and copyright to Nerd Corps.
Ageless Specter, Lord Xivor and The Ancients are the intellectual property of AgelessSpecter and used with permission.
Genisis/ Light Oracle, Marrshal, Psychos and Lord Astrel are my intellectual property; please credit them as such if for some reason you use them.
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Chapter 2
After three days of travel the Storm Hawks finally arrived at the borders of the massive storm system known as the Rift, only to find several Ancients waiting for them as they arrived. Piper figured that they probably had some form of radar deployed out here to spot anyone who might intrude on their realm, it only made sense really considering their history. Especially when one considered that the Sky Knight Assembly that had replaced the now defunct Sky Knight Council had required the Ancients to construct a communications hub on Terra Anki, meaning that Cyclonian interceptors could figure out where the hidden terra was by tracing back the strength of their radio signals. Truthfully, the reasoning had been that a communications hub would help relations between the Ancients and the other Sky Knights by promoting good communications; not some plot by Cyclonia to find Anki. Well, probably… Stork was certain that Marrshal had a hand in the so called "Connecting with the Past' project, which was the name the Assembly had given to the process of reintegrating the Ancients back into common society. Piper got the feeling that such a project would likely never reach its final conclusion as the Ancients would steadfastly maintain some of their isolation. Their legacy required them to remain secrecy, she understood that much.
Since the Ancients had spotted them, Stork brought the Condor to a halt, not wanting to take it any closer to the Rift than was absolutely necessary. None of them expected the Ancients to mind, besides, the Rift was far too dangerous to approach under normal circumstances. Even more so recently as the storms had begun to intensify, a result of the energies of the Crystal of Infinite Skies according to the Ancients. Piper would love to test that hypothesis, but no one had been allowed on the Ancients' terra since the resistance left it behind when they no longer needed to hide from the might of Cyclonia. Perhaps she would have a chance to study the crystal now that Aerrow was returning to train as an Ancient.
"Greetings Storm Hawks," One of the Ancients said as she strode onto the bridge of the Condor, "Vespos sends his apologies that he could not be here to greet you, but he has pressing business to attend to in preparation for Aerrow's arrival. We are to escort Aerrow to Terra Anki to meet with Vespos and discuss your possible training as a Sky Knight."
"What about the rest of us?" Piper asked in a neutral flat tone.
"This journey is for Aerrow alone, an Ancient must be self-sufficient, the rest of you would only serve as a hindrance." The female Ancient said in a dreary tone, obviously not caring about how the other Storm Hawks might react.
"No." Aerrow said with finality immediately after the Ancient had finished speaking, "I'm not going anywhere without my team and if you think an individual is stronger than a united team then I don't want to be an Ancient."
"Very well then… Congratulations Aerrow, you pass and may train as an Ancient if that is your wish." The Ancient said in a melodic voice as she removed her helmet and shook out her long silver hair, smiling at the redhead as she did so. "My name is Sonata; I will serve as your guide while you remain on Terra Anki. Fear not, all of you are welcome to join Aerrow during his training although you cannot join him personally as the training he will undergo requires the utmost focus and concentration. When he is not training though you are welcome to talk with him. Also, we bear a message for you Starling that may be of great interest to you, we asked that it be routed here after our radar detected the Timepulse signal of the Condor."
"You guys can do that?" Piper blurted out suddenly, surprised that the Ancients could do such a thing. "Oh, sorry Starling, go ahead."
"No problem Piper." Starling said in a genial tone. She would have been surprised if Piper had not said anything, and so had expected a response like this. "What is the message?"
"Evidently a new squadron is forming that has requested you to join them. I am not exactly certain why, but the message originally came from Terra Mesa, from a squadron calling themselves…"
"The Interceptors," Starling finished for the Ancient, "My original squadron… Well, these Interceptors are not really my original squadron, but they are carrying on their legacy."
"And here we thought that you had always been a Storm Hawk." Sonata said as she handed Starling the message, which the Ancient radio operators had written out for convenience.
"No, I was originally the Sky Knight of the Interceptors, but after they were destroyed I eventually joined up with the Storm Hawks. Now that they are reforming however…" Starling said, her voice growing distant as she considered what she should do.
"Don't worry Starling, we understand if you want to help reform the Interceptors," Aerrow said as he put a hand on Starling's shoulder.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but we must go now to Terra Anki. We are too exposed out here, too easy to spot should one of Marrshal's agents be nearby." Sonata broke in quietly, reminding them all that they were not entirely safe out here.
"I like her, she's paranoid." Stork whispered quietly to Piper as the Ancients who had remained outside flew into the Rift, prompting Stork to follow them. As they entered the whirling storm front, the Timepulse immediately died and Starling began to wonder why they simply did not use the Obelisk Gate as they had before. Her question was answered twenty minutes later however as a floating platform containing the Obelisk Gate appeared before them, drifting serenely in spite of the vicious winds that howled through the storm clouds of the Rift. Evidently the Ancients had moved the gate to a safer location, since most craft that entered the Rift were destroyed, without the Timepulse there was simply no way to get one's bearings long enough to find a way out should you venture beyond the first wall cloud that marked your entry into the Rift proper. After that, it was simply a matter of time until the icy rain and lightning tore your vessel apart. Somehow though, the Ancients had circumvented that as they had seemed to know exactly where they were going, even without the gate as a visual landmark. She would have to ask the Ancients how they did it, provided they were willing to share that information with her.
While Starling was considering all this, the Condor cruised through the Obelisk Gate, instantly appearing in the stormy skies above Terra Anki. A powerful energy shield now shimmered over the crater that contained the buildings of the terra, probably to protect those inside from the renewed power of the tempest outside. Based on the number of lightning strikes per minute, it was a wise precaution.
"Hold position here for a moment while we prepare the shield system to allow you entry." Sonata said as Stork slowly brought the Condor to a halt, his eye twitching involuntarily as he did so. A second later however, a shield coalesced behind the Condor, protecting them from the storm outside. After a couple more seconds a portal opened in the interior shield, allowing the Condor entry to the terra below and Stork wasted no time in taking advantage of the opening. As soon as the Condor was through, the door through the shield closed and, a few seconds later, the outer shield dropped and allowed the inner barrier to absorb the brunt of the storm outside. If she had to venture a guess, Piper would hypothesize that the reason for so much overlap time was to ensure that the shields were fully concentrated and able to fend off the lightning strikes.
"Welcome back to Terra Anki, Storm Hawks. After you land I will need to escort Aerrow to meet with Vespos, if you need anything simply radio our communications hub and we will assist you as soon as possible." Sonata sang in a quiet voice. "As before, feel free to explore the terra, just remember we cannot guarantee your safety should you venture into the catacombs, although we will not stop you."
"Of course." The other Storm Hawks responded by way of rote, knowing the restrictions on travel that existed here. For once though, Piper was determined to do some additional exploration of the terra while she was here. The catacombs might be dangerous, but surely it was nothing that she could not handle, after all, the Ancients lived here without fear of injury. Besides, she would be careful, there was nothing to be concerned about.
After the Condor had landed, Sonata had led Aerrow into the heart of the main tower on Terra Anki. This journey did not lead to the sleeping chambers as his previous visit had though, instead Sonata took another route by opening a hidden wall panel and revealing a winding ramp that led down into the depths of the terra. After a couple minutes of walking, they cleared the foundation of the main tower and entered into a large domed cavern where the ramp descended along the outer wall of the grotto. The slope of ramp here was not constant, but instead wove its way around massive spines of crystal that extruded into the cavern from veins that extended deep into the bedrock of the terra. Unlike many other crystals, these crystals did not seem bound by gravity, pieces of the crystal mass that had broken off continued to float close to their original locations on the main crystal. As he examined the cavern around him to look at the other crystal structures Aerrow began to grasp just how much empty space was spread out before him and could understand why the central tower was surrounded by such a large patio and connected to so many flying buttresses. A cavern like this would make it impossible for the buildings normal foundation to support its weight.
As they neared the bottom of the cave, Aerrow noticed a structure of some kind in the center of the grotto, a circle of eighteen blue-green crystal obelisks stood like silent guardians around a small dais with four curved tines reaching up to meet at a small ring of golden crystal. From his vantage point, it looked as if that small ring held a miniature star inside it and Aerrow concluded that it must be the Crystal of Infinite Skies. The space within the circle of obelisks was filled with a faint grey-blue fog that was densely concentrated at the edges but rapidly thinned to wisps of vapor that swirled around several dozen small spines of rock that pierced the fog. An odd pale greenish light pervaded the entire zone contained within the obelisks except the area around the Crystal of Infinite Skies, where the light of the crystal overwhelmed the other light source. As he gazed at the odd edifice, an odd feeling of déjà vu came over Aerrow, as though he had been to a place like this before. No answers presented themselves however, and Aerrow pondered the peculiar feeling for several more seconds before he resolved to ask Sonata about the structure.
"Excuse me Sonata," Aerrow said as the pair walked across the floor of the cavern, "What is this?"
"That is the Great Expanse." Sonata said in a bland voice, the first time Aerrow had heard her speak in a normal manner rather than intone her words. "This is what causes it, the main seal that powers and protects the crystal towers that create the Expanse and permeate it with the strange energies so often reported."
"That is what the Crystal of Infinite Skies is used for? To create that blight on the face of the Atmos?" Aerrow asked, astonished that the Ancients would do something like that.
"Only to link the seal… In any case, it was necessary, the Great Expanse is simply a side effect of the dimensional rift we used to eliminate the Stormweaver Order, the rift continuously bleeds other-dimensional energies into the Great Expanse. That is why the sky looks so different there and why the weather there is so peculiar." The Ancient said in a solemn tone.
"I suppose that also explains why you can travel in a straight line and end up right back where you started?" Aerrow asked, curious as to where the influence of the Sky Sirens left off and the energies of the rift took over.
"Yes, although many of the other effects you observe are created by the Sky Sirens, beings who were created to serve the Stormweavers and were able to claw their way back into this dimension when the seal weakened. Thankfully they were still bound to remain within the Expanse otherwise they long ago would have exterminated everyone on Atmos."
"Nice…"
"I doubt you truly think that Aerrow." A voice said from off to his left and Aerrow turned to see Vespos striding toward them from a dark archway that stood near the end of the ramp. "Then again, I know what you really meant by that statement and I think you will find that most people would agree with you on that point."
"Vespos, good to see you again." Aerrow said as he walked over to greet the Ancient leader. "You can probably already guess why I'm here, but I'd like to ask some questions first, questions that aren't readily answered in your histories."
"Of course, come right this way, we can talk in the Chamber of Paths."
While Aerrow was off talking to the Ancients, Piper quickly gathered together her caving gear and left the Condor, heading for one of the secondary buildings that surrounded the main complex of towers. From past explorations, she knew that this building had an access way to the tunnels beneath the surface of the terra. Thankfully her destination was near the skyport the Condor was landed at and she did not run into any Ancients during her journey. While they would not have stopped her from entering the tunnels, the Ancients would definitely warn her about going down there and Piper already had a pretty good idea that it was dangerous; she really did not need anymore warnings. Besides, if she was not about to go running blindly through the caverns as others might, she would be carefully taking her time, assessing each section of tunnel before she entered it. Curiosity would not kill this cat, she would make certain of it.
Once inside the building, it only took a few minutes for Piper to open the door leading into the tunnels and climb inside. Although the entry was only large enough to crawl through, it expanded out to the size of a standard hallway after a few feet and Piper found it oddly reminiscent of the tunnels she and the other Storm Hawks had explored in the Forbidden City. It was an uncomfortable comparison considering what traps had laid in wait for them there. Surely though there would not be traps like that here on a still inhabited terra, where an Ancient might wander into them if they needed to enter the tunnel system. Then again, it would be unwise to let down her guard lest these tunnels actually have traps in them. Cautiously, Piper made her way down the passageway, ready to react at a moments notice should she trigger a trap. After about ten minutes of walking, a quiet humming sound began to fill the hall, instantly putting her on alert as she ducked behind one of the rings lining the tube- like passage. For several minutes she listened intently, trying to determine where the sound was coming from as well as how close the source was. After nearly four minutes though, the sound did not seem to be drawing any closer and, although it sounded like it was coming from further down the tunnel, Piper decided that it was safe enough to move forward without worrying about an immediate ambush. It did not take long for her to find the ultimate source of the humming sound: a peculiar violet energy barrier that blocked off one of the routes leading out of a nearby intersection. Unafraid, Piper approached the barrier and gently touched the shield with an extra staff she had brought along. When the pole touched the field, it began to disappear and Piper immediately pulled the rod back and examined the missing end of the staff. A quick inspection revealed no scorch marks on the clean cut end of the pole; it was as if the missing section had been sent to oblivion.
"That's one way to secure an area…" Piper said as she checked the other two routes, finding that there were no similar protective barriers. Still, given that she was clearly entering a trapped area, it would probably be a good idea to check where she was going… or she could turn back and ask the Ancients if it was alright to explore further. At that thought Piper shook her head in frustration, the Ancients had said they were free to explore the terra and given the longevity of their civilization there had to be all kinds of information stored down here. Maybe this was what she was meant to do with her life, uncover the mysteries of the past hidden here on Terra Anki. It was an exciting proposition she had to admit.
With her mind made up, Piper slowly made her way down the right-most hallway, carefully sweeping the passage in front of her with the extra staff she had brought to detect any of those oblivion fields. To her surprise, the hall seemed to be clear without any traps or methods of preventing entry. Then again, there could be other kinds of traps here, goodness knew the Forbidden City had contained all kinds of mechanisms designed to prevent entry… for all she knew this hallway led into some labyrinth of death. It was a sobering thought, but also unlikely given the size of Terra Anki, which was only large enough to house a small town. Why a terra with such limited potential for farmland had been colonized was a mystery to Piper, even Terra Polis had once been self sufficient before trade routes had shifted and prompted a developmental boom. Terra Anki, on the other hand, was about a kilometer across (about two if one included the protective rim around the inhabitable crater), which left little more than room for a town, not the city that had grown upon it. Perhaps she would find out more though, after all, these tunnels seemed to be far older than the buildings on the surface and probably had a wealth of information hidden in them. Provided she could find it…
Author Note: Please check my profile for the latest news on story progress, I have now updated it to include a news section.