I have decided to do all the chapters at once and post them all at the same time after this so I can finish this story faster. Song is "I'd Come for You" by Nickelback.
A charging quartet of horses clattered over the wooden drawbridge into the central square of the bustling town, drawing the attentions of its citizens. Most of them bowed deeply on seeing the Master of their province and those of the other provinces upon the horses which startled them so. But this anomaly of the three Masters gathered in the town, along with a stranger they did not recognize, drew a crowd behind them which led towards a large stone shrine with the resemblance of a castle.
The four of them dismounted upon reaching the wooden doors that protected the outer gardens of the shrine and the crowd stayed back a fair distance, just past the horses so as to get a clear view of the stranger among the Masters. There were many whispers, which were ignored by those they were about, and Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru each raised a hand to the door. Their bodies glowed but the golden light seemed to rush through their frames to their raised hands which the door seemingly responded to by gaining a series of looping and swirling golden patterns across its surface which then shone a blinding white and shattered like glass, sending particles of flickering light dancing through the air over the town.
"Patefacio ianua ut shrine of sanctus dea. Nos deprecor articulus of vestri presentia!(1)" Their voices rang out as one and the doors creaked open solemnly in admittance. Ordona stood back away from the other three and when they went to enter the shrine, he didn't move to follow. Eldin turned and saw he had not moved and returned to his side to pull him along with him through the doors in into the sacred gardens.
Ordona looked around in awe at the gardens which glimmered with the very soul of the lands. There was at least a part from every province within the stone walls, one of every plant, of every living creature, of every form of life. They had no need for a larger space to roam for what they had seemed almost the equivalent of a province itself. Faron and Lanayru were waiting by the doors to enter the true shrine. Eldin mounted the stairs, dragging Ordona along who was slightly trembling in trepidation. The other two men entered the red wood doors of the shrine and shut them immediately upon entering whilst Eldin stood outside to give Ordona a final talk before his induction.
"I know you are nervous lad." Ordona tried to summon the courage to look affronted.
"I am not nervous Eldin." His voice shook a little to give away his lie. Eldin chuckled gently.
"I was nervous myself when it was my turn so many years ago Ordona. There is no need to lie. The Goddesses will know regardless. To go in there despite your fear of the unknown will show your true courage." Here he paused for a moment in thought before nodding to himself and continuing.
"There is but one piece of the ceremony I am allowed to tell you about as it is my duty as the one who took you in to share this with you. To be proven as a true Province Master, you must have a song of the heart." He said nothing more but opened the shrine door and stepped inside the frame.
"Wait! What do you mean by 'song of the heart'?!" Ordona asked fearfully. Eldin smiled.
"You will find out soon enough. Wait here. The Goddesses will admit you when they are ready for you." He shut the door and left Ordona to sit on the stoop, twisting his hands frantically as he tried to figure out Eldin's words.
Within the shrine, Faron and Lanayru had been busy preparing it as it had been during their induction. There was an altar where three intricately carved forms regally stood, the forms of three women of great beauty. The first woman who stood in the center held palms of fire and stood with the grace of nobility and strength. The second woman, standing to the left of the first, had her head bowed in prayer and was surrounded by a ribbon stream of water. The third and final woman, on the right side of the first, was of childlike beauty but from her feet sprouted vines that were wound around each of her legs and along her crossed arms, stone flowers bloomed. These were the human forms of the great Goddesses whom they worshipped.
Before the altar, on a bench of pure white stone, were four indentations, only three of which were empty. Each held the shape of a weapon, the first of a bow and arrow, the second of a boomerang, the third of a pair of clawshots, and the forth was an untouched sword that seemed almost like it had been carved right into the bench. In the space between the boomerang and clawshot indentations was a round, wide and shallow brass pan filled with clear water. Lanayru turned as Eldin entered and shut the door behind him and plunged the room into semi darkness once more. Eldin made a sweeping motion with his arm and the torches in their brackets around the room lit instantly, sending flickering, ever changing shadows dancing across the walls.
Each of them knelt before one of the indentations where a different coloured candle burned, one red, one green, one blue respectively and leaving a white one untouched. A chill wind stirred the air and they shivered as it swirled around them before it was sucked into the statue and each of the Goddesses forms glowed white until the stepped down off the stone pedestal they had stood, each of them now living and breathing.
The Masters remained on their knees and bowed humbly before the three women who had given them the powers they now had and waited for them to allow them to stand. The fire woman extinguished the three coloured candles. That was the sign that they were allowed to speak.
"Great Goddesses of our lands, we come to you in hopes of gaining acceptance for our protégé to become a Province Master and bring order to the Unknown Province." Eldin spoke slowly and solemnly, never looking up at the beings.
"We know of the troubles you speak of Master Eldin." The fire woman said; her voice strong and commanding like the power which she governed. "And we know what it is you seek."
"But you must remember…" Here the water woman spoke. "That simply asking for our acceptance of this protégé does not guarantee it."
"He must prove that he has the song of heart that will give him the power he needs to protect his province." The earth woman finished. Faron nodded.
"We know that and that is why we are here. We wish for you to judge him and decide as you see fit."
"He has been well trained." Lanayru put in. "We have endeavored to instruct him in the teachings as we had been taught and he has proved to be able to put these to good use."
"For you to speak so highly of someone so young must mean you have great hope in his talents and character." The fire woman said.
"Send him in."
The door creaked open as these words were spoken and Ordona sprung to his feet. He brushed himself off and holding his head high, he strode into the shrine. He reached the middle of the room when the door closed once more and he found he could not move.
"Do not fear." The water woman said gently. "For you are safe here."
"Because you are not accepted as a Province Master and the door has closed, you do not have the power to allow you to roam free within this room." The earth woman said.
"To test that you are worthy of being given a gift of great power to aid and defend a Province, you will have to offer us the song of heart." The fire woman demanded. Ordona gulped and found his mouth dry, his mind blank. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. The three Goddesses waited patiently, staring at him. Eldin bit his lip and watched Ordona worriedly along with Faron and Lanayru. The fire woman frowned.
"You have no song to offer. Therefore you have no acceptance here." She turned away with her two sisters when a voice suddenly rang out, echoing in the vast stone chamber. The three women turned back to Ordona to see his eyes opened wide but blank of all light as his song burst forth.
Just
one more moment By now you know that
That's all that's needed
Like wounded
soldiers
In need of healing
Time to be honest
This time I'm
pleading
Please don't dwell on it
Cause I didn't mean it
I
can't believe I said
I'd lay my love on the ground
But it
doesn't matter
Cause I made it up
Forgive me now
Everyday I
spent away
My soul's inside out
Gotta be someway
That I can
make it up
To you now… some how
I'd
come for you
No one but you
Yes I'd come for you
But only if
you told me to
I'd fight for you
I'd lie it's true
Give my
life for you
You know I'd always come for you
The three men stared in shock. They had no idea that he could even sing let alone sing so strongly. The women were in awe, the fire woman's eyes wide, the water woman's hands held up to her mouth, the earth woman's body swaying.
The
musketeers listened in shock as the voice seemed a blend of two
separate voices, one young and one older but both so familiar to all
of them. I was
blindfolded By
now you know that
But now I'm seeing
My mind was closing
Now I'm
believing
I finally know just
What it means
To let someone
in
To see the side of me
That no one does
Or ever will
So
if you're ever lost and
Find yourself all alone
I'd search
forever
Just to bring you home
Here and now … This I vow
I'd come for you
No one but you
Yes I'd
come for you
But only if you told me to
I'd fight for you
I'd
lie it's true
Give my life for you
You know I'd always come for
you
You know I'd always come for you
No
matter what get in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No
matter what... remember
You know I'll always come for you
The men started, hearing the vow behind his words.
The
older men found it a little difficult to keep even a small smile from
their faces and Athos gripped D'Artagnan's shoulder fondly to
which the younger man responded with a smile. Yes
I'd come for you
No one but you
Yes I'd come for you
But
only if you told me to
I'd fight for you
I'd lie it's true
Give
my life for you
You know I'll always come for you
No matter
what gets in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No
matter what....remember
You know I'll always come for you
I'd
crawl across this world for you
Do anything you want me to
No
matter what... remember
You know I'll always come for you
You
know I'll always come for you
The final notes of the song echoed for a few seconds around the room before dying off and Ordona blinked, the light returning to his eyes along with a look of utter confusion. The fire woman sighed and wiped at an eye.
"It seems I was wrong and you truly are worthy of the final power we have to give. Approach the altar." The man's feet became unfrozen and he took tentative steps towards the altar. He kneeled before the brass pan and the water woman pushed his head so it was over the pan and he was staring into the water. She cupped the water into the hands and poured it over his head which made him sit up and shake it off like a puppy would rain. She smiled warmly and then the earth woman came forward. She made him stand up once more and she circled him a couple times before nodding to herself and clapping her hands together, holding them like that for several seconds.
When she pulled them apart, a green orb floated there and expanded the farther her hands moved away from each other. Ordona stared at it then gave a yell as it hit him. When the green light had dissipated, he now wore a long blue coat and circlet around the crown of his head that seemed to be made of some sort of horn. The fire woman then stepped forward, her palm concealed by a blue white flame.
"Reach into the fire to accept your power." She said solemnly. Ordona looked at the fire with deep suspicion but stretched out his fingers, flitting them around the edge of the fire, before plunging them in and pulling out a necklace with a glowing silver tooth pendant. He slipped it over his head and felt the warm of the tooth against his breast that seemed to spread to his entire body. Although there was no openings in the chamber, a sudden wind picked and swirled around Ordona and was sucked in by the light of the pendant around his neck.
"You have the power of wind. Use it wisely for there are things it can be used for beyond your reckoning." The three Goddesses mounted their pedestal once more, their task complete.
"You have our blessing and we acknowledge you as a Province Master." The torches were snuffed out and the room plunged into complete darkness for a few moments until the doors burst open, light streaming in. And the Goddesses were statues once more. .
"That is a very strange ceremony." Aramis muttered. D'Artagnan gave him a dismal look.
"Must you pick apart everything?" Aramis gave him a blank look and said nothing more. Raoul simply sighed.
"This will not last too much longer I hope. Then you will be able to return to your lives as if I had never shown you any of this."
"Why are we seeing all of this anyway?" Porthos asked.
"I simply thought you would like to know your histories." Raoul answered.
Translation of strange chant: Open door to the shrine of the sacred goddesses. We beg for a moment of your presence