Chapter 9: Thieves of the Ancients
"Hun…ters…" Sakura rolled the word around in her mouth. Hunters… after the cards… after her?
And they've already killed Eriol…
Spinel spat in disgust.
"Hunters… that's what they call themselves… but thieves would be more appropriate!"
Sakura looked up. "What do you mean?"
Kero was dead silent now. He sat on the edge of the table. His look was quite distant.
Spinel continued.
"I don't suppose you've been keeping up to date with worldly news lately, have you?"
Sakura shook her head. She's been too wrapped up with her own affairs lately… she actually didn't know what was happening anywhere…
"Well, if you had… you'd be aware that there have been a number of museum thefts around the world. Thefts that always involved the stealing of ancient artifacts that have left law enforcement agencies baffled around the world. Bangladesh, Istanbul, Cairo, and London… just to name a few. Many upon many of places… always items from ages of the ancients, up through the newer relics of Antiquity… up to a few items crafted in the not too distant past.
"No one can guess the motivation… or why such unique pieces were stolen, because of the networks within the black markets, not even one has surfaced. However… if your abilities lie in magics and the trade… then you would see an obvious connection. For each and every item stolen were great relics/items of magical power… power that when together rivals anything a lone mage can withstand… or even hope to create.
"Eriol saw this early. We were actually developing a plan to combat this threat were it to surface near us, because we knew that they would target the cards for certain. Using a powerful technique, he had successfully masked your location here, and created a draw to his own. Based on something that happened in Clow's past, he knew that they'd be after the cards... and that without a warning, you'd never be able to combat them were they to find you by chance.
"Unfortunately… they found him sooner than we'd expected…"
Spinel lowered his head.
Sakura caught the realization. "And so… you weren't prepared for them…" She fell to her knees. "Oh Spinel… I'm so sorry…"
Spinel flew over to her, and landed on the floor in front of her. "Don't be. Eriol wanted more than anything to protect both you and the cards. He… would have preferred it to be this way… even knowing his fate."
It was too much for Sakura. She had known of Eriol's care for her, but would never have imagined that her friend would have died for her. She felt unworthy of the sacrifice.
With a silent sob, she sat back and buried her head against her knees. It was too much.
With that, the tears began to fall.
Sakura had cried for up to five minutes when she felt a small paw against her hand. She looked up.
It was Spinel. He looked as sympathetic as he could.
"I know it's tough to accept Sakura… and I don't mean to sound cold, but we need every minute we can get." He looked away. "Or else his sacrifice will be in vain."
Sakura wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Her voice shook when she continued.
"I-I know… b-but, it's hard to hear… let alone come to terms with." She looked into his eyes. "How do we-? I mean, where do we start?"
Spinel looked momentarily lost, before recovering his bearings.
"I'm not sure entirely. But I suggest that we should first determine who they really are before attempting to resist them."
He seemed to think for a moment. "Eriol told me you had a substantial collection of the older texts… perhaps in one of those, we can-"
"That's not necessary."
Sakura looked up at Kero. No matter how Spinel treated him in the past, now isn't the time for petty rivalries… and to cut him off while speaking an important matter…
She opened her mouth to speak.
"Though I would rather be wrong…" Said Kero, quickly cutting her off. He lowered his voice to a level layered with hatred.
"I can already guess."
Sakura looked at her friend with new eyes.
Her happy go-lucky friend was seemingly gone for the moment, replaced by someone she didn't recognize.
He turned to Spinel.
"You said earlier that there were things that Eriol remembers from his life as Clow that he doesn't share… things that he has kept from you?" Spinel nodded. "Well… there was one event in Clow's life that we didn't learn of until his last hour…"
Kero's voice thickened with something unrecognizable. "So let me tell you… about the Zeneiya."
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"As both of you are well aware, Clow Reed was the most powerful sorcerer in the entire world… but this was only after an era died. The era of the mage clans.
"It wasn't well known in history because it was never recorded in the modern ages. But to those of us born from magic energies, we were well aware of it. Clow told us of these times himself… even though he was born much later.
"There was a time in the past when the various clans grew and prospered by working together. Magic is an energy after all, and thrived best in a community setting. Just like a farmer cultivating a crop, a large clan could build upon each other's skills and levels of powers by offering their own. Add another clan and their varying experiences, and magical wealth blossomed like cherry flowers in the spring… but these days were set to end.
"It was in a world of harmony that the enemy drew closer. From the lands of the south came a clan that did not give to the energies… as those before them. Instead, they thirsted for power… they tapped into the magical energies like leeches would a vein. It was with this action, clan Zeneiya made its début… and it was from this action the old ties were broken… and survival set in.
"Unfortunately, greed was the adversary here. Had the father clans simply united to drive the Zeneiya away, much would have been averted. However… they decided to hoard the energies they could… and in their personal quest for power, anything less than their expectations was pinned on their neighbor."
Kero sighed. He seemed to pause to think a moment.
"Anyways… to make a long story short, war broke out among the varying clans and each suffered their losses. In the years much later, many of the clans had been annihilated. The survivors became nomads and wandered with only their family groupings. It was in this way, down the line, that Clow's parents met."
Kero paused to allow himself a small smile. Then continued darkly.
"It was also well known that the Zeneiya survived… though they too were close to death. They disappeared back into the lands of the south to escape those who had dedicated their lives to pursuing them. It was clear that those hunters failed. But that's only hindsight.
"As it was, later on, Clow was born. In time, he created Yue and I, as well as the cards. He also taught us of the history of the wars… but he neglected to mention the Zeneiya… I still do not know why.
"What he did tell us was the nature of the world after the wars. He warned us of the magical energies that still conflicted with itself as it covered the globe. He told us of the magic maelstroms that existed in thanks to the events of the centuries past.
"Though you were not aware before, Sakura, you should know that it was one of these violent energy swirls that nearly drove you to your death before."
Sakura blinked in shock. To think that she had nearly been killed by an after effect of a war long before even Clow's time was difficult to believe… let alone accept. She decided that now was not the time… but it might be helpful to inquire about it later.
Kero continued.
"The nature of magic is always difficult to understand… let alone predict. But there were a few things that helped to know.
"One," Kero gave a small laugh, "…stepping stones."
"Two… being aware of the magic around us."
"And three… knowing how to use the stones with the magic."
Kero laughed. He shook his head as he ignored the curious looks both Sakura and Spinel were giving him.
"Clow was always talking about stepping stones… it annoyed the hell out of me until I discovered what he meant.
"Magical energy doesn't like to drift freely… that's why after the war; only the large masses of energy were still a problem. Everything else was absorbed elsewhere."
Sakura leaned forward.
"Absorbed how?" She looked confused. "Where would it go after it's released?"
Kero smiled. "Magic likes magic. Anything created with the aid of magical energies has the potential to become a conductor for those energies. Anything. Ancient artifacts for example, would siphon the energies from the air and store them until full. There are lots of areas that this happened in… the Bermuda triangle for one… but I'm getting sidetracked.
"Ask me again later about the stones."
He stopped smiling. He turned to Sakura.
"Do you remember the day Clow died?"
Sakura doubted that she could ever forget. She used the Return card to go back to meet with him to get answers… and she saw everything up until his death. She nodded meekly.
"Yes…"
Kero nodded encouragingly.
"And do you remember his exact words? Rather… our conversation?"
Sakura nodded again. This was painful to relive. She swallowed and gathered the words.
"He said; 'Today I will leave this world.' And you said it was a joke you couldn't laugh at… and when you both couldn't accept it still, he said; 'My lifespan is over.'"
Kero nodded. He then spoke in a solemn voice.
"Did you ever wonder about that? The reasons why it was over… and he knew it? He was still young… and there was no visible sickness or any other sign. But that's because it was something that only he would know. Something we found out later…
"Here... let me tell you everything."
The past:
"…That is my last wish."
Yue and Kerberos look at him with sadness. A last wish was just the harbinger of a farewell.
Clow Reed looked fondly upon them both. Though he was planning on taking his secret to the grave, they had the right to know.
"Do you remember the early months of the seasons with the falling flowers of spring? It reminds us all of the youthful days dying. An end that bears with it the continuation of life. Though it pains us to bring about an end, sometimes that is the only way."
"Now you're speaking in riddles." Kerberos stated.
Clow Reed stood and his smile did not fade. He started to cross the room. "No. The words just will not rise, for all the time since when they first settled… it has been too long."
He pulled a book from a shelf. "Do either of you remember the warring era?" He handed the book to Yue.
Yue looked at the book and scowled. "Of course… we've read it through. What does this have to do with anything?"
Clow's expression did not change. "Could you open to the center of the book then?"
It was Kerberos' turn to scowl.
"The center? We've read that book through and through; we all know that those pages are blank. There's nothing there!"
Yue had the book open to the center, which was of course, blank.
Clow placed his hand on the pages. "Not entirely blank… just a forgotten history. An... end of life… at my own hands."
As words appeared on the pages, both Yue and Kerberos looked upon him with shock written into their faces.
"Wait...""What did you say?"
A/N - I got a little history crazy here... but that's about par for me...
