Hey, guys! I just got a Facebook! Joy!
Anyways, you know the rest. Here's the chapter, and enjoy!
Fiordiligi's rage knew no bounds, and as she slew Alfonso a major part of the cult's resistance outside of Tardal died with it.
With the goddess Sharotal walking the earth of Greljedo once again, Ike and the group set out for the very same Burial Mountains that they had taken the warp gate to earlier. However, this time they do not have the luxury of being able to go to the mountains immediately, so Ike orders a march at full speed to Galdor in the hopes of getting the weapons before Ilemyr can wake up.
Kuranga, however, senses something evil waiting for them at the burial mounds, and as they approach the Burial Mountains this feeling only gets worse…
Chapter 14: The Sacred Weapons
As Ike walked up the side of the mountain, he looked around, searching for any sign of where the entrance to the mountains was.
"It is not here," said Sharotal, the goddess walking just behind Ike and looking around as well. "We must press forward."
Ike nodded, and he kept on walking.
Maria and Kuranga walked just behind Ike, and the rest of the group walked somewhat behind them as they slowly ascended the mountain. Their army lagged behind just a little, but they were sure they would catch up eventually.
The mountains themselves stood rigid, Ike finding the view from the mountain they were scaling familiar. The clouds hovered overhead, casting down a somewhat gloomy shadow down onto the mountains below as they scaled the mountains.
Ike kept on walking, Willie's complaints being hushed by Fiordiligi as soon as they had been voiced. Finally, however, there was an opening in the mountains, and as Sharotal walked onto the small horizontal platform that lay before the opening, her eyes glowed happily.
"Here we are," said the goddess. "This is the entrance."
"Okay, then," said Ike as the others slowly clambered up onto that platform. "I guess we know what to do here."
Just as Ike was about to step in, however, Kuranga grabbed his shoulder.
"The evil is especially strong now," he said. "It must be this cult, I am certain."
"So we just watch our step then," said Ike.
"The passageway is narrow, however," said Sharotal. "And we need more than one person to carry all of the weapons back."
Ike nodded, closing his eyes and considering Sharotal's information in his mind. After a few seconds of thought, he motioned to his friends.
"Maria, Fiordiligi, Kuranga, Byron," he said simply. "I want you four to come with me. Torzukel and Willie will stay outside. Got it?"
"All right," said Maria.
"Now, let's go in, shall we?" asked Byron.
"Of course," said Sharotal. "Just know that when you decide to 'hit on' the women, as you so chose to call it, then you will be hearing from me about it."
"Ha!" shouted Fiordiligi, bending over with the most mischievous grin in her face and pointing her finger in Byron's face. "I knew you would get that one of these days!"
"Uh, can we focus?" asked Ike. "We should get going here."
"That is true," said Kuranga.
The mercenary walked towards the hole, giving it a good look before motioning to everybody else.
"All right," he said. "Move out!"
Ike entered the cave, followed by Sharotal and everybody else that was going with him, and within a few minutes, they had disappeared altogether.
The passageway was very dark, water droplets falling from some of the stalactites that hovered precariously overhead. They should have had a torch, but the light emanating from Sharotal's being alone was enough to light the passageway enough for Ike and the company to see.
And they saw a fairly dismal cavern, illuminated only by a faint light at the end of the passageway that begged to be fed more. As they maneuvered past the small stalagmites that had risen, the group looked forward, Kuranga's eyes hardening to a level where he could only see what was in the dark room ahead of them.
Finally, Kuranga stopped, the rest of the group stopping as well as they looked at him.
"Is the evil in the room ahead?" asked Fiordiligi.
"Yes," said Kuranga. "Be cautious. There is a huge pit that we can fall down through."
"You don't think it's serious, do you?" asked Byron.
"Probably not," said Maria. "We have to go through a large platform to get to where the weapons are, right?"
"We should, yes," replied Kuranga. "Sharotal?"
"We should," she asserted. "However, you must take heed; the platform is suspended by chains above a pit that goes into the center of the earth."
"Hoo…" said Maria. "Where have we seen that before?"
"Yeah," said Ike. "Anyways, let us see who the enemy is, yes?"
"Of course," said Sharotal.
The six of them walked forward, and they stopped as the entrance to the room presented itself, taking time to look at what lay ahead of them.
Three dogs were seen circling the platform, two pairs of hawks and two dragons all flying above the platform. The platform itself was dimly lit by the lava that surged some thousands of feet below the platform. The platform merely served as a link to another end, which was where the weapons surely laid. Maria sniffed the air once, and amidst the putrid scent of brimstone she was able to detect something different about them.
"Feral Ones," said Maria.
"Oh, they have Feral Ones here too?" asked Ike, shaking his head.
"Don't tell me they had Feral Ones on Tellius!" said Byron.
"Yes," said Ike. "Somebody invented a drug that could make laguz go mad and lose all sense of self."
"So it was a drug, then," asked Fiordiligi. "And it was only recently developed?"
"Pretty much," said Ike.
"Oh, then you guys were better off than we are," said Kuranga. "Here on Greljedo, the Feral Ones are induced by a demonic spell that enchants them to lose all sense of self."
"Oh," said Ike. "That is true, I guess."
"We must not idle," said Sharotal. "We must get past these laguz."
"But isn't there supposed to be no way to reverse the curse?" asked Ike.
"There is one way," said Sharotal. "If you can divert their attention long enough, I can produce a countercharm that will lift the curse of the Feral Ones off of their souls. However, you must give me time to cast it, and I cannot have my concentration broken."
"So hold these guys off is what you're saying?" asked Byron. "Sure."
"Thank you," said Sharotal.
"Okay, guys, you know what to do," said Ike tersely, Ragnell once again being lifted on his shoulders.
"Move out!"
Ike ran out of the passage and onto the platform, everybody else following in his footsteps. Sharotal stopped running as soon as she stood at the center of the platform, and then a turquoise magic circle appeared underneath her feet as she began running a spell through her mind.
Byron was the first to attack, sword swiping at one of the dogs that was there. Not to be deterred, the dog struck back at its opponent, nearly missing with its massive claws as Byron jumped back. He looked behind him and almost panicked when he found that he was on the edge of the platform, so he carefully jumped around the dog and managed to lure it away from the edge of the platform.
Maria quickly transformed before running at one of the dogs, tossing it to the side so that it was out of her way. However, she realized what a mistake she made when she saw the dog hit the wall of the pit, and as soon as it bounced off of the wall it was sent falling down into the lava below. She mentally slapped herself for being careless, but then both of the hawks got her attention when they swooped down on her, so she swiped her claws at them as she stood at the edge of the platform.
Kuranga also transformed into a massive black dragon, and by himself he was able to fend off both dragons at the same time. Being mindful of Sharotal's advice, he made sure that they were flying above the platform, unsure of whether they would revert to human form or not but making sure that they landed on the platform if Sharotal finished the charm early.
Ike went after the other dog that was prowling around on the platform, dodging its swipes with simple sword blocks as he countered with many sword swipes, most of them missing on purpose. Occasionally, he touched backs with Byron, and the two of them would turn around and switch enemies, a smirk coming on both of their faces as they lunged at the dogs.
For a very long time, there was a huge stalemate between the Feral Ones and Ike's group. However, Fiordiligi, who occasionally healed Maria and Kuranga when they were both in need of healing, was happy with this arrangement, as this was exactly what Sharotal needed to cast her spell successfully.
However, Byron got too full of himself, and when he leapt back to dodge a lunge from one of the dogs, he suddenly found himself jumping straight off of the edge. Fright shot up his spine, and he instinctively dropped his sword and grabbed the ledge, the sword clanging against the walls of the pit and into the lava that waited for it several thousand feet below. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of the general's face as one of the dogs went straight to Byron and barked at him as he hung on the ledge.
"Byron!" yelled Ike, breaking his concentration to send a wave of energy at the dog in the hopes that it would be distracted so it could dodge.
However, he did not count on the other dog that he was fighting to tackle him to the ground. Ike was caught on his back, and his first instinct was to raise his arm above his neck, which proved to be a bad idea as he found the creature's fangs biting down there. Ike ignored the searing pain that flew up his arm at that moment, rolling on to the other side and pinning the dog down.
However, before he could even think clearly, the other dog pounced on Ike, and this time the mercenary laid face up, his throat exposed clearly to the dog. Its mouth lunged for that spot quickly, but Ike, not to be deterred, kneed the dog in the gut, taking that time to run out of the grasp of the two Feral Ones and to Byron. Ike took a hold of Byron's wrists and quickly hoisted him up, the general quick to grab Ike's wrists in return in his fear. When the Feral Ones had pulled Ike back onto the platform, Byron was pulled with them, and all four of them ending up in one giant heap in the center of the platform.
"Ike! Byron!" Fiordiligi shouted, but there was nothing she could do as then the dogs went at the two sword-users despite her best efforts to keep them away. After a few seconds of both of them lunging at the two men, Fiordiligi sank down on her knees, the tears that overcame her cheeks clearly showing her feelings and her head coming to rest on Ragnell's hilt as Maria just then noticed what was happening.
Before the cat laguz was able to do anything, however, Sharotal's eyes suddenly shot open, and the place was bathed in a light turquoise light. Sharotal's eyes flashed for a few seconds, and then a burst of energy came from her being that sent wind flying in all directions.
Pretty soon afterwards, the Feral Ones lost that look in their eyes, and shortly afterwards they transformed out of their laguz states whether they wanted to or not, and then the turquoise light faded.
As Kuranga predicted, the two dragon laguz suddenly fell right onto the platform underneath, and the hawks that hovered overhead temporarily fell down before they regained their composure and flew back to the platform, landing on it soundly. The two beast laguz that were there simply blinked at where they were, crouched over two guys they hardly knew that had bite marks all over their arms.
"What happened?" asked one of the dogs. "Where's Bylen?"
Maria, who had just transformed, cringed at this question. Kuranga, who had also transformed, was pretty sure that this was about the laguz that she accidentally tossed into the lava pit below.
"Oh, crap!" she said, instantly jumping down in front of the two dogs. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"You were all turned into Feral Ones," said Fiordiligi as she healed Ike's wounds. "And then, somehow you wound up in the middle of Galdor on a platform that hangs several thousand feet over a pit of lava."
"Galdor?" asked one of the dragons as he stood up. "But we are prisoners from Tardal!"
"Again, you were turned into the feral ones," said Sharotal.
"Yeah, you can thank her for turning you back," said Ike as he sat up. "And as for your friend?"
"He got tossed into the lava, didn't he?" asked the second dog.
"Yes!" shouted Maria. "I'm sorry! My aim was off! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I—!"
"Calm down, lady!" shouted one of the hawks.
"We know you didn't mean to," said one of the dogs. "But man! I can't believe you did that! You killed him, damn you!"
"Enough!" said Sharotal, her voice booming in the pit and effectively silencing everybody else in the area. "We will have no arguments here!"
"And who are you to be telling us that?" asked the other dog.
"I am your Goddess, who you care for so much," said Sharotal. "Your names are Hadfield and Sanford, right?"
"W-what the?" shot back one of the dogs in shock as both of them literally fell on their backs. "How did you…? Holy… What happened…?"
"I am Sharotal," said the goddess assertively. "And I know everything about the laguz and beorc on this continent."
"Yeah, so can you please just do what we say?" asked Byron.
The two dogs looked at each other before they both looked at Ike, the mercenary leader's eyebrows curved in an assertive stance.
"What should we do?" asked the other dragon.
"There should be some people right outside," said Ike. "Get out of this cave, and tell them what happened. We need to get some stuff in here, so we'll see you outside."
"Whatever you say, boss," said one of the hawk laguz. "Come on guys. Let's get out of here."
The six laguz that were there all walked in the direction of the exit, and Ike and his friends looked at each other, Ike and Byron standing up and nodding.
"Well, let's get those weapons!" said Ike.
The group filed in the direction opposite from where the laguz had all exited, finally getting off of the platform and into a somewhat smaller cave lit an eerie shade of blue by a bunch of crystals that rested on the walls.
Willie walked outside restlessly as the sun's orange glow bathed the mountains that it was slowly falling behind, Torzukel simply taking to standing still as Byron looked ahead of him.
"My, they really are taking quite a while to get out of there," said Torzukel.
"Yah, Governor," said Willie, jumping nervously as he spoke. "Oh, I 'ope dem blokes are okay!"
"I am sure they will be," said the king of Galdor. "Gaston?"
"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine too," said the raven, flapping his wings just a little. "If those laguz that came out of there told us anything, it's that the rest of them will be out soon."
"I gess yer roight, Governor," said Willie, shrugging.
They waited in silence for a while longer, Willie gazing intently at the sunset and fidgeting around nervously.
"Well, here we are!"
The silence caused Willie to jump a little, and all three of them turned around as they saw Ike, Sharotal, and the rest of the group that had went into the cave stepped out with a bunch of weapons.
"The legendary weapons of the founders," said Sharotal. "They are in our hands once again."
"Okay, that's great!" said Gaston. "Now, who gets to use what?"
Sharotal held up a very slim sword in front of her, the green blade glowing brightly as she held it.
"This is Stobin's sword, Jeglorde," began Sharotal.
"Wait," said Gaston. "Herons used swords?"
"Apparently," said Ike. "I didn't know it either."
"Yes, they did," replied the goddess. "In fact, he was kind enough to teach me the art of the sword. So Jeglorde is my weapon."
"Oh, yeh kin use dem swords, eh?" asked Willie. "Kewl!"
Next, Cecily carried two magic tomes to Willie and Torzukel, motioning to the king to take the tome on top and Willie to take the other tome. The tome Torzukel took was decorated with a white flower that was sewn into the hard leather cover of the tome, and Willie's had a picture of a flame on the cover of the tome that shone of rubies in the sunset.
"And these are…?" asked Torzukel.
"These are the Fleur de Lys and the Rexflame," said Sharotal. "The Fleur de Lys was Galdor's most powerful spell, while the Rexflame was Forgerat's weapon."
"Wet," said Willie, holding a hand out as he looked at the tome. "Yeh dink I kin use dis?"
"You have a great amount of determination," said Cecily, gazing intently at the Cockney boy as she peered into his heart. "That alone will suffice."
"Seffice?" asked Willie.
"That's a good thing," said Ike. "You'll be able to use it."
"Oh," said Willie.
Fiordiligi stepped forwards, and in the place of the healing staff that she had normally used was a staff with several prongs protruding from the area just under the bright emerald orb.
"And this is Gardelia's staff," said Fiordiligi as she stepped forwards.
"Aw, she's a real beauty, she is!" said Willie, stepping forwards in admiration of the staff that the lady held in her hands.
Nobody really said anything for a few seconds afterwards, all of them just a little disturbed by the Cockney boy's actions. After a while, he looked around, shrugging his shoulders wildly.
"Wet did I do?" he asked simply.
"Don't worry about it," said Gaston. "So, what else is in there?"
Byron walked forward, holding a rather ornate lance with a princely jade sitting at its tip.
"And this would be Jargon's lance," said Byron. "This would be called the Chaos Spear, right?"
"Correct," said Sharotal. "It was a gift from Yune before I left Tellius."
"Oh," said Gaston. "Well, that changes quite a bit, yes?"
"Of course," said the goddess. "And now, the only thing left to do is to bless the laguz."
"Sure," said Gaston. "Do I need to transform, or?"
"Yes," said Sharotal. "I have already blessed Maria and Kuranga, so you are the only laguz I need to bless."
"Okay," said Gaston, promptly transforming into his raven form.
Sharotal looked at the raven, and the turquoise magic circle formed under her feet again. After mouthing a chant underneath her breath, the turquoise light emanated from her again, and then Gaston's claws shone a bright green before Gaston returned to his human form, black wings shining green for a moment before the light faded.
"That felt… weird…" said Gaston.
"And now, we must make our way to the Isle of the Ancients," said Sharotal. "Ilemyr awaits our arrival, and we will meet it with force!"
"Oh, I think he waits, but he will certainly be able to resist you this time!"
Before anybody else was able to reply, the familiar red light appeared in front of the group, and Myriel appeared before them, his eyes glowing red and a strange demonic fire surrounding his being.
"Myriel!" said Torzukel immediately. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you betrayed me?"
"You should know the answer to that yourself, murderer!" shouted Myriel, pointing vehemently at his father. "My mother waits in hell for your return!"
"Your mother?" asked Torzukel. "But she died in childbirth!"
"The cult has revealed otherwise!" protested the prince of Galdor. "Your murderous hands are filthy with the blood of the ones you have killed!"
"You are mad…" said Sharotal. "I see no such events, even in the deepest bowels of Torzukel's memory! Those cultists have twisted you!"
"They have not twisted me!" shouted Myriel, turning dangerously at Sharotal. "They have revealed the truth, you ignorant bitch!"
"Hey!" yelled Maria, anger at Myriel evident. "Don't call Sharotal a bitch, you hear? She allowed you to live on here, so don't you dare call her a bitch, got it?"
"I do not care for what you say!" shouted Myriel. "Besides, did you really think the leaders were in control of their own consent?"
"What do you mean?" asked Sharotal. "We defeated that demon, and I made the conditions so that he could never be woken again!"
"Oh, really?" asked Myriel, sitting on the air as he spoke. "Amusing how you think he really did not find a way around that one. Before you even sealed him away, he planted his seeds in the rulers of the nations!"
"What?" asked Sharotal. "But that is impossible!"
"Oh, believe it, my goddess, it is," said Myriel. "Watch."
The branded prince turned his back to his audience, and as soon as he concentrated a small bulb of flame around his fingertip, he motioned in the air, spelling out his name in the air. Then, he turned around and snapped his fingers, after which the letters of Myriel's name suddenly leapt to life, dancing around in the air until they formed the name 'Ilemyr' in the air.
"No…" said Fiordiligi, the pieces of the puzzle coming together in her mind.
"Exactly," said Myriel. "Father, you know the counselor that named me?"
"He was in the cult!" shouted Torzukel angrily.
"Exactly," said the prince. "I am glad that you for once have the intelligence to figure things out. He was the one who would spur the awakening of the demon into his hands. For you see, Ilemyr left the seeds planted in all of the founders of the nation, and the seed was passed on in all of their descendants."
"What?" asked Cecily.
"That blasted Stobin was the only one who was too strong to get the seed in him," said Myriel, his tone of voice suddenly turning contemptuous. "The rest of them had the seeds implanted. Yes, even Hargeld had the seed implanted in him. All I needed to do was to awaken the seed."
"You are mad," said Ike, sapphire orbs projecting an extreme level of hatred. "You don't deserve to be here right now!"
"Oh, let us not be so uncouth, dear sir," said Myriel, his voice projecting in sinister tones as his unnaturally scarlet eyes lit up. "You will have plenty of time to extract your revenge later if you can defeat that demon."
"You really are mad, you know that?" asked Gaston angrily.
"Oh, save your anger," said Myriel. "I wait for you on the Isle of the Ancients. Come, and meet your fate!"
With this, the prince of Galdor warped away, the demonic flames dying almost the instant he warped away.
"Oh, dat blighter ain't gonna get nowere!" shouted Willie angrily. "I'm gonna get 'im, I will!"
"And so am I!" shouted Fiordiligi.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" asked Sharotal. "Let us go to the Isle of the Ancients."
"Yeah, let's!" shouted Maria. "I can't wait to kick this guy's ass!"
Ike said nothing more as the group slowly descended the mountain, taking the steps they had taken into the mountain and exiting the mountains under a veil of darkness that had taken hold of the landscape.