So...heh, it's been a while. And I mean a WHILE. I wish I wouldn't slack off so much so that I could actually get something done for a change! Well, me ranting here doesn't get the chapter done so tally ho!
The mountains become harder to climb as the group gets closer and closer to the Fire Emblem. They can only hope that this silent land
will hold that which can stop the war...
Lilith couldn't help but notice that the world around them was so quiet as they trudged up the mountain. It was also getting colder. "Brr...It
feels like it'll snow at any minute!" She said aloud. Pella gave her a funny look. "I don't feel cold...but my hide is tougher than that of a
human...at any rate, we won't be going all the way to the top of the mountain. There is a secret entrance nearby that will take us inside of
the mountain. We will only be going down from there." Narina gave a sigh of joy. "What a relief nya! I thought that my tail was going to
freeze off!"
The now semi-large group was standing before a sheer rock face that looked impassible. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Nathen
asked. Eulara and her sister Pella nodded. "I may not look like it, but I'm part of the elite guard with my sister. All members of the guard
are shown the pathway to the emblem. Only the highest ranking officials are shown how to open it, though." Maronis nodded his
approval. "That was well put, young one. Stand back, I will open the seal."
Pulling out his silver blade, Maronis took hold of the hilt and without warning plunged it into the seemingly solid rock. It slid in,
effortlessly. There was a brief flash before the rock slid away to reveal a set of steel doors. Maronis pulled the sword back and took out
the hand-sized ruby that was set in the pommel. It fit perfectly on the indention in the doors. He then put the ruby back in the pommel as
the doors started to shudder and open inward. On the other side were beautiful crystaline walls with a set of crystal stairs leading
downwards. Everyone gasped. "It's like...something from a fairy tale!" Lilith exclaimed. "We don't have time to gawk at it now. We must
go and retrieve the emblem." Pella said to them. She was like a Maronis clone. Everyone tried to snap to attention; but as they
descended, they couldn't help but widen their eyes in awe of the magnificent structure.
Despite the beauty, everyone soon found it tiring to be descending so many stairs. "Wh-when is it over?" Nathen asked. He was holding
onto Natti for support. "Don't worry. The end will soon be here..." Maronis said. "Ah, that's a relief!" Claudane sighed. It was clear that
they were all tired of going down.
True to his words, Maronis lead them down the final steps to another corridor that had another door on the end of it. Like the previous
one, it required the ruby to open. They about fell over when it lead to another flight of stairs. "Do not worry, this is only to confuse
people. It is only one flight." Pella told them. So, relieved that the stairs would soon be over, the group continued to shuffle along the
crystal cavern.
It wasn't long before they reached yet another corridor. "Crystal after crystal...it's like it never ends, nya!" Narina cried. Zaphair nodded.
"It is...hard." She said in her same shy tone. "This is the last door, we promise!" Eulara said with a slight smile. Rex sighed. "The archtects
must have had a lot of stamina..." He commented. Nathen nodded in agreement before they went through the final doorway to where the
emblem should lie...
They had thought that the resting place of the emblem would be grand but they had never imagined that it would look THIS divine.
Everything was bathed in a warm glow that seemed to emenate from the room itself. A gargantuan circular room that was shaped like a
blooming flower. All of the massive crystals that were in it were soft reds and vibrant purples that contrasted in some places and almost
matched in others. A great, if unintentional, representation of the real world.
In the dead center of the floor was a gracefuly curving plate of crystal that was pulsing with a golden energy; almost waiting to be taken.
"Many have waited for the retrieval of the emblem. What an interesting twist of fate that it would be retrieved this way..." Pella said with a
twisted half-smile. Everyone could recognize the cruel irony of her words. "So...what now?" Bolman asked. "Reason would dictate that
we approach the emblem and remove it from it's resting place." Alos said. "Lilith has experienced the most of this. She should be the one
to take it." Lily said. Several others nodded. Lilith gulped and approached the slate.
The golden glow intensified as she approached and when she was standing right in front of the slate, she gave a yelp of surprise as the
lights picked her up and set her right in front of the emblem. "I-I wasn't...expecting that." Lilith murmured as she shuffled closer to the
emblem. Lilith gingerly set a hand on the emblem and she could feel it's life energy coursing through her as she set her other hand on it. It
flickered like a real fire. She slowly lifted it off of the center of the crystal, but it came off almost as effortlessly as a regular rock. Once
again the lights picked her up, but this time set her down next to her friends. "It's so beautiful..." She said. "The fire emblem..." Silently, the
group started to walk away. Not noticing the symbol of the goddess the lights had created where the fire emblem had once stood.
Now aquirring the fire emblem, the group heads back to the king and queen with all speed possible. What they do not realize is that the
tailed warriors are knocking on the doors of fate...
Not my most 'dazzling' part, but I'm a little time pressed. (going to Kansas City tommorrow morning.) Knoll: You mean to tell me that your life isn't just the computer? Wow. Me: Silence you! I've got nothing else to say right now though so ciao.