The Prophecy of Rao - Season 1: New Verses
Disclaimer: Based on DC comics' characters and the mythology created in Smallville (i.e. property of the CW network), and created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster but the words are my own.
AU/SML: At the aftermath of Dark Thursday, Cor of the House of El, presumed dead, leaves the Phantom Zone. He arrives on Earth and hopes to begin a better life but mystery surrounds him quickly. He sets to unveil this mystery and find the answers he craves for, guided by the spirit crystal of his mother.
Note:
Rao - the Red Sun God of Krypton and creator of the universe
Krypton - home world of the Kryptonians
Kandor - capital of Krypton
The Phantom Zone - prison dimension created by Jor-El
Collaris - the Blue Giant of Eerie and co-creator of the universe
Eerie - home world of the Yllyan Empire
Lux Eternis - capital of Eerie
Ventu Collaris - Highguard of the Yllyan Royal Court
Chapter 10
The bond promise – Part IV
Previously:
Jordana reached the crash site and proceeded with caution. There was some damage on the main corps of the craft but given the landing that was not much of a surprise. Actually it was more surprising that the wings were intact. She moved from the tail to the nose. Her pace was slow and calculated.
She neared the cockpit and took a deep breath then she leapt and pointed her gun at the cockpit only to find a new surprise. There was no one in the cockpit. She took a quick look and noticed that the autopilot had been activated.
She quickly ducked around the nearest wing and examined her immediate surroundings. She did not see a chute. Could the renegade have jumped prior to setting the autopilot? Nah, it was not possible she still would have seen the chute. So where was the occupant? How did he disembark the craft without being seen? And how did he know someone waited for him here?
Was he telepathic? If that was the case he already knows every move she could make. Nah, but then how did he know?
Or did he jump just before the craft crashed down? This seemed more plausible given the little to no damage on it. If so she faced a clever opponent, dangerously clever. She was now on her toes. This possibility was very frightening and fear keeps one on alert.
She lay still now. There was no sound however to indicate someone else's presence. If he was around he laid low as well. She wondered how long to stay as still as she did. It was also possible he had already legged it and she was on her toes for no reason but better sorry than wrong.
She remained still but time passed and nothing happened. There was no sound other than the sound of nature around her. She decide to lay low for another ten twenty minutes and then retrieve the information she came for and then go home. The Germans could take it from there and wonder who Captain Gilbert was. She was certain that the base commander will receive quite the scolding from his superiors for letting not one but two intruders sneak into his base and steal two planes right under his nose, one of which being the super plane.
The twenty minutes were up. Jordana stood up slowly still examining her surroundings carefully and then relaxed. She holstered her gun and just as she did it she sensed a movement behind her. But before she could do anything to defend herself stars crossed her eyes and she fell unconscious…
And finally
The figure of the renegade stood above her. It was no other than Cor. He lay low for all that time. Jordana was not wrong in her assumptions. He did jump just before crash landing so the craft would not be as damaged as it could have been had he jumped with a parachute. But had he jumped with the parachute she would have noticed it and Cor wanted to avoid that part. It was a very risky move as it could have gone very wrong but he had succeeded.
Now to answer how he knew someone had beaten him to the runaway. Cor was near his goal and the landing zone he had chosen given all the weather parameters he saw while looking at the forecast. It was in the last ten minutes away from the runaway when he noticed Jordana's diving plane.
Cor at the time flew low so he could have better visibility and it was with that in mind that he noticed the Stern Falke's descent. It seemed though the other craft has not detected him yet so he maintained his observation with help of his binoculars. He noticed the plane slowing down and then vertically landing. This prompted him to alter his heading and make a rather large circle.
He needed to come up with a plan. He still needed to land the plane at the chosen runaway but without the other pilot noticing him and that was a difficult task at best. He did not count on the other pilot's resourcefulness in anticipating his moves. So now he needed a new plan that had to be bold and daring, and very sneaky.
His options were limited though. He could engage the craft's autopilot and direct it to land but he would have to jump with the parachute and that was something that the other pilot would notice. And then all he had to do is take off and land near him. It was not an option.
'Oh,' Cor suddenly had a brilliant but very dangerous thought. He could slow down the speed of the craft while keeping it still fast for landing or at least appear so and then jump without the parachute. But if he had to do so it has to be very close to the surface. His timing also had to be perfect otherwise he would die on impact. Though if he had his Kryptonian powers that would not be an issue. But he didn't though he did have his Yllyan powers. He could use them to cushion his landing. It was still very dangerous but not impossible.
Now he had to decide how exactly to do that. He had to make another circle so to come up with the new parameters. He needed to exit and close the cockpit while in flight and stick to the left side of the craft so to be invisible to the other pilot's line of sight.
Cor decided he would do that at the lowest altitude possible and then direct the plane's controls with his powers, and lastly engage the auto-pilot for a brief period. Of course many things could go wrong and he could die but the difficulty of the challenge did not deter him no it only fueled even more his desire to do it. He just needed to tilt a bit the craft upon descent so he could exit and close the cockpit. From the other pilot's perspective it would appear that he is trying to level the craft.
It might also be prudent to land the craft on the grassy side of the runaway so the plane doesn't break into a thousand smaller pieces. He wanted to return the craft to the Germans more or less intact.
Cor left a thank you note explaining as best as he could why he did what he did and then readied for the last part of his daring plan. He reduced the speed. He thought of the landing gears but decided it would be best for the craft to touch ground with its belly rather than with its landing gears. They would most certainly brake upon impact and create more damage to the plane than he would want.
The craft reached the necessary altitude and Cor tilted the plane to the right and then to the left. He quickly opened the cockpit's window and exited the plane as quickly as possible. He then used his belt to steady himself while he closed the window. The window though was not closed entirely. That was so part of the belt was held between the window and the hull.
Now that Cor had succeeded holding himself more or less steady he used his powers to lower the plane closer to the ground while reducing its speed even more. When the desired crash velocity and altitude was achieved Cor unbuckled the belt and using his powers cushioned his landing.
He rolled a bit before coming to a full stop. He lifted his head only to see his daring plan take fruition. The plane crashed at a reduced velocity and survived the impact. Using his binoculars he sought the other plane and soon located it. The other pilot was still inside probably wondering his next move.
Cor had no doubt that the other pilot would go to the crashed plane to apprehend him. He just wondered whether he would use the super plane to go there or not. But he surmised that would be a waste of time for the other pilot. So he would go on foot. Cor looked around and found the perfect cover so he can reach his plane before him.
He noticed the other pilot getting on the way so he increased his pace. He had to lower himself so the other would not notice him while approaching the plane. He reached it just some minutes before the other one but remained close by in the grass. It would not have been prudent to be near the plane as the other one might inspect all sides. Normally that would not be an issue but Cor had noticed the gun in the pilot's hand and did not want to risk the gun firing as the sound could attract unwanted attention.
Fortunately the other pilot stuck to the right side of the plane. Cor saw him pop up at the cockpit and then jump back down. It was fair to assume he has noticed his absence in the cockpit and logically assumed he was exposed and he did the only logical thing and it was to duck. Cor could also assume that the pilot would use the cover of the wings with his back to the plane to provide maximum defense.
Cor used that time to approach slowly the plane moving as silently as a snake in the grass. He took many pauses before reaching it. For some inexplicable reason the other pilot did not bother to cover the left side, which was by far more logical to hide the missing pilot unless of course, the pilot had considered him already gone.
Cor remained still for a long time before deciding to make a move. He circled around the nose of the plane and noticed the other pilot. He retreated very quietly behind the nose and began waiting again. Alleviating the suspicions of a potential target takes a lot of patience.
Time passed and Cor decided it was time he made his move. He can't wait forever as the Germans might come barging in soon and then his escape would be far more difficult but he had to knock down the other pilot otherwise he would follow him and he would have to run and that was not an option either.
He moved again slowly around the nose of the plane. Fortunately the other pilot apparently had the same thought as he just stood up. Cor accelerated his plan even with the risk of being heard but he reached the pilot just in time to knock him down.
Of course leaving to lie down as he lay was not an option either. He wanted to ensure that the pilot will not pursue him once he regains consciousness. He had to tie him up. Cor lifted him with ease.
'Damn this one is skinny. I did not get that impression for the Germans.' Cor thought until he noticed the two bumps on the front of the pilot's suit. 'A woman? Wow!' He put her up and sought the belt so he can tie her up. When he grabbed her wrists to tie her up he sensed something on one of them and opened her sleeve to take a better look and as soon as he did it he promptly let her go and she flopped on the ground.
What he saw was not possible. How was this possible? He took an even better look at the woman's bracelet and gasped. He looked at the helmet and removed it and then gasped again. 'Oh boy, how did you end up on Earth?'
Cor considered what to do now. He could leave her so the Germans could come and pick her up. But caution suggested he looked inside her pockets first to determine if she really worked for the Germans. He rummaged through her pockets and found several interesting things neither of which suggested she worked for the German Air Force.
He then took a look at her bag and found even more interesting things. The items that attracted his attention were the blueprints of the base and a detailed plan written in her penmanship he could recognize anywhere. It described the F104 and its hard drive. There was apparently information she wanted to retrieve (before anyone could suggest how foolish it is to write all this down be aware that it was written in Yllyan so no other than another Yllyan could read it).
Cor pondered what to do. He could leave her here but then the Germans could find her and she will be in a lot of trouble. Or he could leave her somewhere else with the information she apparently went to great lengths to retrieve and walk up on her own. But he dismissed that possibility as she would soon realize that another Yllyan was here because no one else could read Yllyan other than an Yllyan.
Cor sighed deeply. Time was of the essence. He climbed back into the cockpit and took a thumb drive and downloaded the information. He then picked up her bag and her on his back and made his way away from this air strip and deep into the forest.
Jordana's eyes flickered and she opened them. She did not expect the sight they saw. It looked like she was under a roof, a wooden roof. The aroma in the air however was unknown to her and she wondered where she was. Her senses kicked in and she realized she laid on a bed that was not that uncomfortable that she would have expected being in an unknown hut somewhere.
She tried to stand up. It is then she knew she had a terrible headache. Whoever hit her knew his job. Nevertheless she pushed herself along the back wall into a sitting position. Now she had a better view of her hut. It was an ordinary hut with wooden roof and floor. There was a chair where she noticed her pilot's suit and helmet. She quickly examined her body and discovered she was not in the clothes she was with under the pilot's suit.
Pushing aside the pulsating head pain she attempted to get up but felt dizzy and fell back on the bed. She needed rest before being able to do anything else but of course by that time her captor may return and she may not get that opportunity again. Then again why not tie her up in bed? It was a curious dilemma. Nevertheless she pushed herself up using the wall as support. She made a few steps before collapsing again. She tried again to stand up and she succeeded but it was too quick and she lost consciousness again.
She woke up some time later. She noticed she was back on the bed and she was still not tied up. On her left she saw a table on which there was a pitcher, a laver, and a towel. That was definitely strange behavior for her captor. Or maybe it was captors. She used her senses to get her bearings. And she heard sounds coming from the outside. It sounded like a village.
She made an effort to stand up and did so without any difficulty. She used the pitcher to pour some water in the laver. She used the water to clean her hands and water her head. She then used the towel to dry them.
She took the time to examine her new clothes. They appeared rather simple but made of a material she could not identify, which she found weird. 'Where am I?' She wondered. She approached cautiously the door and took a peak outside.
There was a young woman sitting in front. She appeared to be doing some needlework. She sought the source of the voices she kept hearing but didn't see anyone, which she found even weirder. Jordana kept looking in both directions but there was no one. She did notice however that her hut was above ground. That was not good. This meant that going down would prove rather difficult.
The young woman suddenly got up and moved inside. Jordana barely had the time to move out of the way and behind the door. The door opened and she grabbed the young woman from behind.
"Do not make a sound or move or I will break your neck."Jordana whispered in her ears.
Sadly she had miscalculated and underestimated the young woman who broke free of her grip with elegant ease and tossed her over into the bed.
"Valiant attempt, Yllya, but unnecessary," The young woman calmly said with a melodic voice.
Jordana was ready to fight back but this sentence caught her off guard. What did she just call her – Yllya? Yllya was the old form of Yllyan. How was this possible? How did this woman know who she is? The confusion on her face must have been so obvious that the young woman smiled even more.
"If you feel up to it, I will take you to the Elders."
"Elders?" Jordana finally broke out of her initial stupor.
"Yes, Elders,"
Jordana did not know what first to ask. She was still quite stunned. "Who are you? Where am I? And who brought me here wherever here is? And …"
"You are in the village of Sylvania. Seyt brought here apparently after knocking you out rather strongly."
"What?" Jordana distinctively heard Sylvania – whatever that was. And then Seyt – who the hell was that? "Who the hell is Seyt?"
"He is the ardent furry of the Red Sun God."
"He is the…" Jordana paused in mid sentence. The Red Sun God – the name resonated in her head. The red sun god, she repeated, the RED SUN GOD.
"And the blazed cold shield of the Eerie Blue Sun God…"
"Collaris," Jordana exclaimed involuntarily. She looked at the young woman before her incredulously. What was going on here? How did that woman know? How does she know of the Kryptonian Red Sun God Rao and of the Yllyan Blue God Collaris? Seyt, the name resonated again in her mind. Nah, that was not possible.
She remembered that name – SEYT. Seyt was the name she learned about so many years ago back on Eerie when her mother read to her from the scrolls of Collaris. Seyt was the herald of Rao, the bringer of darkness and doom. 'Seyt would carry the ardent furry of the Red Sun God Rao in one hand and the cold shield of Blue Sun God Collaris in the other and he will herald an era of darkness while dispensing the Gods justice throughout the universe.'
Jordana thrust head. Nah, that was not possible. Seyt was legend, a myth, he could not be real.
"You are mistaken. That is not possible. Seyt is not real. He is a myth, a legend, a story to frighten little children."
The young woman was no other than Alicia Greywood. She smiled at this statement. "There is more to the prophecy of Rao, Yllya, than the story of the bringer of doom."
Jordana stood flabbergasted. How did she know of the prophecy of Rao? What is going on here? "Who are you people? How do you know of the prophecy?"
"We know more than you imagine, daughter of Eerie. We know also of the dragon scrolls of Collaris."
"How do you know that?" Jordana asked. "No human can possibly know that."
"Well for starters, cousin, she is not human." Another voice answered.
Jordana turned her head in the direction of voice and froze. She then frowned as she wanted to ensure her eyes were not deceiving her. She looked at a young man with ice blue eyes, blonde almost silver hair, stalwart and very, very familiar, impossibly so. But how was that possible? Last she recalled that man in front of her was dead. Well, he was not a man at the time but merely a boy. But she had recognized his features. But it was still impossible. He died in an accident on Krypton all these years ago. And at the strain of this discovery she fainted.
"Why didn't you catch her Seyt?"Alicia asked.
"How was I supposed to know when she would decide to faint, Alicia?" Cor asked innocently.
"I believe that was quite obvious."Alicia retorted and moved to help her out but Cor stopped her.
He lifted his hand and the water from the laver rose up and fell on her face.
"That was not polite, Seyt,"
"Neither is fainting without warning," Cor said. He then turned to Jordana who had promptly waked up. "Are you alright there, cousin?"
Jordana stood up with the help of Alicia and still looked incredulously at the smiling man before her. It was him but how was it possible she did not know. How did he survive? She had so many questions. Not to mention, how her aunt rejoiced will be when she learns he is alive. Her mother will feel that way too. And then she returned to reality and remembered Alicia saying Seyt hit her rather strongly on the head. Her demeanor changed quickly and before Alicia could react she threw herself at him with the clear intent of kicking his butt.
Cor had anticipated that move and simply stepped aside leaving poor Jordana to trip and fall. He then raised his hands defensively and said. "Calm down. I'm sorry about your head and the plane."
"You're sorry!"Jordana exclaimed belligerently.
"Well, how was I supposed to know that you infiltrated that base to retrieve some hacked information from the very same plane I stole, borrowed?"
Jordana stopped herself. How did he know about the information? Of course, Jordana reasoned he read her notes after knocking her down.
"And more to the point how I was to know that we will run into each other in the same day on the same base for mostly the same reasons?"
"Wait!" Jordana said. "What were you doing in that base in the first place?"
"Well," Cor began. "If you do remember the date then you may have the answer you seek." He added almost inaudibly.
Jordana stopped to think and then gasped as illumination hit her. It was the day of his parents' death. She remembered the year after their death when he did something incredibly dangerous but stupid mostly that got him in a lot of trouble. When he did explain why she understood. Jor-El on the other hand was not that understanding.
"Oh, Cor, I'm so sorry." Jordana said and went to hug him.
Alicia stood by witnessing this moment of tenderness but without understanding the reason.
Jordana pulled away from him. "You know I have a few thousand questions right now but first I got to know how you are still alive."
Cor sighed. "That is a long story. Although, I thought you were going to ask something else?"
"Like what?"
"Did I get your information for which you chased me around half of Germany?"
"I was going to after you answered the more pressing questions."Jordana hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Did you get it now that you mention it?"
"Yes, it is on a thumb drive." \
"Give to me, please."
"I would eventually."
"Eventually, no, no, if I have to I will kick your butt and get it."
"And even if you did, you'd still have to decrypt it and without the decryption key – good luck."
"Cor, do not be such a child. I need that."
"You will have it when I learn for what."
"How dare you? You know nothing about it."
"I'm a quick study if you cared to remember."
"May I suggest that you two table that discussion for later? The Elders are waiting." Alicia interjected.
"Sure, Alicia, lead the way."Cor said. "Brat,"
"Look who's talking."
The meeting with the Elders was brief but rather educational for Jordana. She learnt they are indeed the Sylvans, as she suspected when Alicia told her she was in the village of Sylvania. At the time she did not give it any thoughts and just wondered what that is. But after meeting Cor and Alicia quoting the sacred scrolls she put it together rather quickly. She still found it disturbing that they called Cor Seyt. And as she noticed he felt the same way but he kept it to himself.
After the meeting she spent time with Cor and learnt of his life story. Jordana was amazed and terrified at the same time. She could have barely imagined a worse fate than ending up in the phantom zone and living with all these horrible creatures for as long as he had. But Cor has always been strong. She liked that about her cousin a lot. When she mentioned though her plans to inform her aunt and mother of his miraculous resurrection Cor's good mood evaporated on the spot.
"Why not?" She asked not understanding his abstinence. "Why haven't you contacted them?"
"Because,"
"That is not an answer, Cor."
"I wanted to build my life on my own terms. The moment I arrived here prophecy followed me. Did you not hear them? Seyt, the herald of Rao, I don't want that life."
"Your aunt and uncle aren't going to impose that. I doubt they even know about that part. They will be glad to have you back. I would."
"Jordana, if I announce I'm alive, my quiet life will be over. Aunt and Uncle of Deville Industries, they will coax me in becoming part of that life. No, I will be my own man. I will make my own life. I want no part of their lives."
"And they will respect that if you give them that chance."
"No. I won't and neither will you."
"I can't make such promise."
"Yes you can and you will."
"No, I won't unless you give me a good enough reason."
"You want a reason alright."Cor said. "How about sixty reasons?"
"I don't follow."
"Kal-El released sixty Phantom prisoners. If even one of them gets a wind that I'm alive it will be the devil to pay."
"You can handle them."
"Jordana, I don't have my Kryptonian powers here."
"You don't need powers to defend yourself."
"Under different circumstances and back on Krypton or Eerie I might have agreed with you but on Earth, I don't. And I cannot endanger you or your mother or aunt Mira for that. I'm sorry Jordana."
"I understand but I still think you should let them know."
"There were those times I wished I could just go and say hello but I can't. It is too much of a risk and they were all that I have left." Cor stood and paced around. "We all make sacrifices, Jordana and this is one of them. I'm not particularly happy about this one but this is for the best."
"Cor,"
"No, Jordana, I need your word that you will not say anything to either of them."
"Cor, I do not agree with you. Stronger together, don't you remember?"
"I'm an El yes I do remember. Thank you!" Cor replied caustically. "But it is my decision not yours."
"You are right it is my decision too."
"I will not have you endanger them."
"I'm not going to win this one, am I?"
"No, you are not."
"There were times when the tables were turned."
"Yes, payback is not pleasant, is it?"
"Alright you win."
"Not so fast, Cousin," Cor said. He had one last ace up his sleeve to ensure her silence.
"What?"
"How do I know you will keep your end?"
"I'm your cousin and your friend."
"Not good enough,"
"You wound me."
"Yes, I do recall a time when I did tell you a little secret which somehow ended up in your mother's knowledge."
"Oh, come on, we were kids back then."
"Yes, well, you did call me today a child so…"
"So?"Jordana asked trying to figure out his next move.
"So, I will have your promise."
"How?"
"The PROMISE, Jordana Tassir, the bond promise,"
"No," Jordana finally got his nefarious idea. "No deal,"
"No information then,"
"Cor, that's despicable. You'd blackmail me?"
"Yes, I would.
The problem was Jordana really needed that information. It was not option for her to leave without it. She might have even considered promising not, Nah, he was right she would have told her mother about him but now he put her in uncomfortable situation.
"Alight, I promise not to tell my mother or your aunt and uncle." She conceded hoping he would not catch her little ruse.
"Your hand," Cor insisted.
"Cor, that's not fair."
"I know. Forgive me but that is the only way you will keep your word. I am really sorry. There is too much at stake. Maybe I'm right maybe I'm wrong but it feels right, right now. Please, Jordana, I beg of you, for old time sake."
Jordana sighed. He was still the same Cor relentless when he wanted something. "You know my mother will kill me if she ever found out I knew about you."
"One crisis at a time, Jordana,"
Jordana stood up and placed her bracelet opposite Cor's.
"I shall keep your word in reverence of light and fire until the ice of Collaris stands between them."
"I witness your word until the time my shadow unleashes the ice to stand between the fire and the light."
Cor's and Jordana's bracelet shone together.
"Thank you!" Cor said and gave her the thumb drive.
"The decryption key,"
"What decryption key," Cor smiled in reply and left her alone.
"Oh, Cor," Jordana exclaimed frustrated. He manipulated her though she had to admit he was better than the last time he tried that on her. She joined him outside where the Sylvans had a celebration for his return, however brief it was going to be as Jordana well knew.
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