Hikaru: Rargh, school has started! This year, I became a big, bad Junior. You'd think becoming an upperclassman would be more ... glorious, but alas, that is not the case. Many people think I'm still a Sophomore or even a Freshman ...
--
Hoseia was seated on the royal throne of Terises, where the Merines Shirley had sat only minutes ago. This desecration had Walter (from his lofty, leafy perch) screaming to kill the offender, but everyone else wanted to hear the explation behind this, and so Norma cast a Silence eres on the bound Ferines.
Stella and Shirley were the first to demand answers.
"Explain what Senel has to do with another planet's fate." Stella said, a dangerous glint in her eye, her gold teriques still at her back. Shirley's teriques was at her back, too. Standing side by side, the Ferines sisters contrasted one another nicely.
Hoseia smiled here, even outnumbered by a band of angry erens plus a Merines. He held out his hands, and appearing at his fingertips was a holographic LCD screen, a keyboard, onto which Hoseia rapidly typed. The throne on which he sat glowed, similar to how it had when Shirley was in the process of reviving the Wings of Light. However, instead of the bluish white light that had manifested with Shirley's power, this light was of an unruly, crackling, purple and yellow form of electricity.
The coral floor glowed, and from the throne to the entire throne room, the room changed. Instead of the coral throne room, the erens and Merines found they stood in outer space. Chloe had another outburst until Jay calmed her, explaining that, as with the projections of the Quiet Nerifes, this was not real.
In the middle of the space, there was a moderately sized planet of white and blue--the planet commonly called Melfes by the Ferines, or Shining Blue. Hoseia's voice was magnified to reach throughout the room.
"This is your planet, Melfes. About ten light-years away from Melfes is the planet whose fate is in question--Auldrant."
As the erens stood in place, the scene panned away from Melfes, to another planet. This one was much, much bigger than Melfes, although it looked similar in regards to having clouds, water, and land.
"You see those rings around the planet? Essiential components of Auldrant's matter, fonons, originate there and diffuse into the planet's atmosphere and beyond through that belt. The fon belt is disrupted, presumably an asteroid caught within Auldrant's orbit is now orbiting the planet within the fon belt, messing up the layers and the diffusion onto Auldrant, thereby wreaking weather and elemental havoc. Life-threatening storms are now near-commonplace on that planet."
"Tragic," Jay said in a matter-of-factly manner, "but that doesn't explain where Senel and Kratos come in."
Hoseia's voice was irritable. "I'm getting to that. Auldrantian technology is fairly advanced; they can fly, although the planes belong to a few people and aren't mass-produced. They cannot go into space to neutralize the threat in the fon belt. The leaders of the world thought their civilization doomed, and although it is only a temporary solution, the civillians of the planet are currently in underground shelters. That is when Kratos appeared on Auldrant."
They zoomed in on the planet, through the disrupted fon belt, through the atmosphere, descending into a domed city that seemed to be floating on the shallower parts of the ocean. In what appeared to be a meeting room people, the presumed leaders of Auldrant, sat at a long table, Kratos among them. Kratos and the leaders exchanged many words, but no one could hear their actual speech.
"Kratos hails from a planet that has the technology to neutralize the threat. Kratos requested only one thing in return--to enlist the aid of a powerful warrior to carry out a certain mission."
Tear walked into the meeting room, and there she appeared to introduce herself to Kratos, and they shook hands. The view zoomed out from the planet, returning to the illusion of outer space. It zoomed through the stars again until another planet came into sight. This planet was by far the largest, and, as if tethered there, seven moons of differing colors were enthroned in space.
"Now. This is my home planet, Arcadia. It has changed a lot over the course of four thousand years. It used to have an ocean. Now there is naught but air, and by some miracle land still exists, and so do people and living civilizations. It is important that you pay attention. Underneath each Moon was an ancient civilization that harnessed the specific power of their Moon. The two we will focus on are the Silver and Blue Civilizations."
The erens, although stationary, dived into the planet, and they stood on ocean, underneath a great silver moon in the sky. Jay had a fuzzy, strange feeling. On the ocean appeared a single person, clothed in silver, gold, and white with mysterious, intricate designs.
"That is a Silvite, of the Silver Civilization. While each Civilization, or Empire, were countries in their own right, their people still traveled through them, immigrating, settling, and so on. The most common people were those from the lands under the Green Moon, the Moon bearing the energy of life. Now, each people from under their Moon had evolved with the characterisitics of their Moon."
The scenery changed, and now they stood on a sea that shone the most magnificent blue, not unlike the sea on this planet, Melfes. The buildings underneath the Blue Moon were coral designed and colored ... Everyone let out bursts of shock. Appearing before them was another person that was hauntingly familar. Fair skin, blue or green eyes, with golden yellow hair ... dressed in blues, whites, greens, with specific robe and petal designs.
"Ferines." Walter said tonelessly, the Silence eres having worn off. Despite his lack of vocal emotion, he must have been totally stunned.
"Yes, Ferines, commonly called Azurites in the Arcadian language. The Blue Moon has power of wind and water. Observe,"
The Ferines onscreen, a woman, flashed, and she bore wings on her back, her teriques. She glowed with power.
"And there was no Nerifes. Azurites, Ferines ancestors, worshipped their Moon, as every other Empire did. As I'm sure you can gather, Arcadia was already filled with different races and civilizations and cultures. It wasn't long before relations between Empires crumbled and gave rise to war."
Great beings it looked like rose from each Empire, meeting one another, dealing death and destruction in spades.
"Ancient Arcadia was advanced enough to travel through space. The Silvites had enlisted the aid of Cruxis, an organization on a nearby planet, while the Azurites had an alliance with Dawn Age Auldrant. The two Empires had already brought all the others to their knees, and those were the only major powers on Arcadia left. To fight the Azurites, Silvite spies had stolen special Moonstones imbued with great powers of the Blue Moon and distributed them to Cruxis. Cruxis already had such things in their possession, but these were of a greater power."
Jay's jaw dropped, unhinged, amethyst eyes wide. "Is that why ... Kratos has wings that vaguely resemble teriques?"
Hoseia nodded. "Kratos is from Cruxis, and yes, the Cruxis Crystals were brought over from Arcadia. Anyway, Cruxis's people, called angels with powerful abilities and magic, allied with Silvites to fight the Azurites and Dawn Age Auldrantians. That is the InterStellar War. The fight between the Empires with their mixed armies and superweapons had a catastrophic consquence for Arcadia--the power of the Silver Gigas Zelos had erased the ocean from existence."
The event replayed on the sea. Flying Azurites, angels, and Auldrantians and Silvites flew in vehicles warred, and towering over them were two giant beings of power. The Silver Gigas resembled a sphere, shining silver, and its attacks were all-powerful. The Blue Gigas was a giant bird, its wings quite reminiscent of a teriques. When the attacks of the Blue and Silver Gigas collided, a huge flash encompassed all, and when it died down, the structure of the planet had changed--there was no more ocean, and the remaining landmasses floated on air.
"The Silver Moon has power over the void, that is, nothing and therefore everything. I suspect it is because of Zelos's power that the landmasses were able to float like they do. Anyway, bitter and torn, many civilians resented the war their countries were involved in, and left planet Arcadia."
The projection showed disheartened Silvite and Azurite civilians in their respective nations.
"The Azurites left first. They found a planet, a barren rock--and settled there. Using a Blue Moon Crystal--the purest form of Moonstone carrying the Lunar powers--the Azurites gave birth to a new sea and therefore Nerifes; such was the power of the Blue Moon. The discontented Silvites, however, were not able to leave. Two thousand years later, the Empires were at their peak of power once again, and once more world war raged. This time, all nations were equaled in strength, and they kept killing Arcadians, taking the lives of many innocents using their Gigas. The Silvites were at a loss as to what to do. Deciding they were acting for the best, half the Silvites were chosen to leave the planet for a new one, and the other half ascended into space, below the Silver Moon, being as watchers for Arcadia."
The projection showed seven Silvite mages. Using the power of their Silver moonstones, they were doing something with Zelos. Seven crystals were embedded in Zelos's silver epidermis, each shaped differently and shining their own color, arranged in a circular manner. Jay already had a suspicion about what was going to happen next. The Arcadians, regardless of under which Moon they originated, suffered from the world war. And the thing that had caused the world war was the possesion of extreme power ... the Gigas.
Hoseia already said that Zelos had power over the void, nothing, which is essentially everything. If the goal of the Silvites was to take action in such a way that there would be no more world war ...
"The next and not necessarily the last war atrocity occurred. While it may have been conceived with 'good' intentions, I can assure you, it is not. Using Zelos's power, the Silvites of the Great Silver Shrine called to the Seven Moons and ... the Rains of Destruction occurred."
Each of the Seven Moons glowed, radiating their color, even in the darkness of space. Then, bits and pieces of the Moons--certainly large to a human perspective--began to fall, burning in the atmosphere of Arcadia. The floating lands were pelted with moonstones, some huge enough to be an island in their own right. Millions died, there was no question of that.
"The Rains destroyed the Empires, their cities, their people, and weapons. Technology was lost. People had to begin anew. Silvites descended from the Great Silver Shrine and sealed the other Gigas and their Moon Crystal, the controlling device of these superweapons."
"Controlling a powerful, sentient being using a crystal ... does that sound familiar, Walter?" Will said loudly, in an exaggerated tone.
Hoseia cleared his throat loudly. The projection changed. What Jay assumed to be the Great Silver Shrine was a huge building, shaped like a third-dimensional hexagon, shining silver. When the projection changed again, it showed a great silver ship moving among the seas of stars. Large, silver, and rectangular ...
"That's ... the Legacy base." Chloe said bluntly, shocked.
"One of the abilities of the Legacy is to detect the nearest life-supporting planet. Which, on their voyage, turned out to be--"
"Melfes." Every person in the room echoed.
Hoseia nodded, still seated on the throne.
"Precisely. You have learned an important thing--Orerines and Ferines have the same origins,although under a different Moon. Your people are analagous to cousins. Which means I, Reno, and Nievia would be like second cousins, since we are directly descended from Arcadia. However, that is irrelevent. What Kratos is trying to accomplish ... is deeply tied with Auldrant, Cruxis, and the Silvites of the Great Silver Shrine."
Jay chose this moment to propose his own thoughts on things. "You mean Auldrant is the planet that needs saving, and Cruxis sent Kratos over to help? Or, rather, the Silvites had Cruxis send someone?"
Hoseia was silent for a time before he spoke again.
"Cruxis, based on the comet Derris-Kharlan, which is currently anchored to a planet, maintained friendly relations with the Silvites even thousands of years after their alliance, unlike Auldrantians, whose advanced technology was lost. I myself don't know why exactly the Cruxis are helping the Silvites ... perhaps some pact is in place between them? Anyway, the only thing that concerns you is Senel, Kratos, and this planet ... so we will continue. Even though I don't know why the Cruxis are helping the Silvites, I at least know why the Silvites turned to their long-time ally for help. The Silvites think of themselves as the watchers of Arcadia and therefore what is best for the planet or not. In other words ... if Arcadians prove to be as foolish as the ones who caused the Inter-Stellar War and the Gigas War, the Silvites will send one of their people to collect the Moon Crystals and bring them back up to the Shrine to use the Rains of Destruction to eradicate the majority of mankind, so it will have to start over."
Another suffocating silence constricted the hall.
"Now, Senel is not from Melfes." The silence turned into shocked outburst. Hoseia cleared his throat again to silence them. "You saw so yourself several times. Senel is the strongest person among Orerines, with or without eres. Anyway, the Silvites that came here are indeed your ancestors, but without the Silver Moon and its moonstone, genetic mutation and isolation made you into the race you are today. Thereby, Senel is still an Orerines, but once again, your second cousin in terms of species. Senel is a Silvite. He's got silver-white hair, a characterisitic of the Silver Empire. And you all saw it before Kratos took him--the silver crystal shining on Senel's hand?"
There was no denying it. Everyone, particularly Stella and Shirley, recalled how the mysterious silver crystal shone just moments before Kratos had nabbed him. Jay frowned, even more alarmed by this fact. So, Senel was not a true Orerines, either ... was he the same as Jay? Were Senel and Jay's origins the same?
"Senel coming here was not an accident. When Senel was a child, maybe at the age of four or five years, someone tried to steal Senel from the Great Silver Shrine. They indeed succeeded, but the kidnapper's identity remains unknown, for he or she died in the attempt to escape. The motives behind the kidnapping were unknown, unless the kidnapper tried to blackmail the Silvites by taking one of their clan ... but it would have to be someone from Cruxis or with access to Cruxis's space-traveling technology. Silvites still have advanced technology, but lost the interest and technology necessary for interstellar travel. They still communicate with Cruxis, but when interstellar travel is involved, Cruxis sends the ships. So, anyway, Senel is orphaned on Melfes, and the rest is history."
Jay furrowed his eyebrows. Something just didn't match up ... "But why would Cruxis spend its time and effort saving a planet that had allied itself with an enemy before? And why did Kratos need to enlist Tear's aid?"
"That, I don't know. I don't know much about Cruxis itself to begin with, only their technology level, race of people, and such basic info. To me, it sounds like Cruxis doesn't really care about whether or not Auldrant is destroyed ... but decided to save it on a whim. And when the parents of Senel found out their son still lived, they appealed to Cruxis to get him back, and the mission fell to Kratos."
The projection ended, the lights and elaborate visuals disappearing. The throne room returned to normal, and Hoseia was slumped in the throne, having used a tremendous amount of his energy to create the projection. He still had strength enough to speak.
"You see ... that is why ... your conflicts are ... petty. Even Nerifes should ... know that the Ore ... rines are the cousins of the Ferines. It was just like the Kharlan War that gave rise to Cruxis."
Shirley began to shine radiantly, the way she had when she had been seated on the throne to revive the Wings of Light. The erens gave shuddery gasps of shock; what was happening? Was Nerifes ... attempting to speak through Shirley?
Hoseia seemed to suspect as much. Hands pushing on the arm rests of the throne, he pulled himself to an upright sit. Beads of sweat rolling down his face, Hoseia addressed Shirley, or rather, Nerifes.
"Is this really what you want, Nerifes? To repeat the same mistakes, to keep on this endless cycle of killing? Even if all the Orerines were gone, nothing would really change. Thousands of years from now, even the Ferines would turn against one another."
There was silence for a time, during which Shirley was most certainly speaking with Nerifes to receive its answer. A few moments later she gave a shrill gasp, eyes wide, and tears forming.
"Nerifes ... agrees with you. It doesn't want this murdering to continue ..."
"Then why is it that Nerifes had the Merines carry out the Catacylsm?" Jay snapped, feeling annoyed. Nerifes seemed like a woman having very severe mood swings. An insanely powerful woman ...
Here Hoseia spoke up. "You know the Accession is when the Merines hears the voice of Nerifes, and their consciousness become one. In other words, the Merines's body houses a second soul, the power of Nerifes."
Shirley shone again, and she spoke. "Nerifes ... says that it originally never wanted to kill. The anger and anguish of the previous two Merines drove Nerifes to this ..."
Will's jaw dropped, unhinged. "I see. The Accession is a double-edged sword."
There was a crash, and the erens looked above. Walter had twisted one of his arms out of the branches that bound him, and the free hand glowed darkly with the power of eres.
"Lies ..." he said lowly, menacing. "All lies! Merines, kill that bastard on your throne!"
"Uh-oh ..." Norma said, clutching her straw. Csaba nocked an arrow his bow, standing to shield Ven. Although the beast was healed, its tamer didn't want it injured any more. The other erens geared up, battle-ready. Walter cast very powerful eres, and moreover, he could cast them with just one arm free.
Walter, with a throwing gesture of his hand, released the energy he'd built up, which formed into the ultimate horror--Extension.
Forming in a way similar to the birth of a star, the spell expanded to encompass and disintegrate all--
Stella acted quickly; she and Shirley held out their arms, and blue and gold teriques together defended against the spell. Walter's eyes were wide, his jaw hanging open. He was frozen with shock.
"M-Merines ... why?"
Hoseia struggled, but he stood. Staggering over to the huge tree Walter was trapped in, he crackled with electricity. Glaring at Walter, he threw lightning bolts at the tree, purposely missing him each time.
"Never ... call ... me ... a bastard ... again!" Hoseia roared in between lightning bolts. The room was filled with the acrid smell of burned living wood. Finally, his body unable to withstand the exhaustion of power, Hoseia fell to his knees. Norma and Will automatically rushed to his aid.
Chloe sheathed her sword and dashed to the balcony outside. When she returned, she was delighted, announcing shrilly, "The sea is calm! The sea is calm, almost just like the Quiet Nerifes!"
From his position kneeling before the giant tree, Hoseia still smirked up at Walter, who was still too shocked to attempt another eres at the Orerines, or even move.
"What're we gonna do now?" Moses asked, Giet mirroring his confusion.
Shirley stared at Walter. "Is Senel in danger?" she asked.
"He shouldn't be as long as Kratos is with him. I'll make sure he gets back safely." Hoseia answered amidst the green glow of healing crystal eres.
Shirley nodded, face set in grim determination. Stella, who seemed to read Shirley's thoughts, donned her teriques, floating in the air. She flew up to Walter, still trapped in the tree's grasp.
"Nerifes and the Merines wishes for Oreines and Ferines to live peacefully. Delques, will you help them?"
Walter was silent for a time, contemplating this. Finally, giving a resigned sigh, he said, "As long as those Orerines bastards leave us alone, then I am content ... Telmes."
--
Hikaru: Sorry it's so late! But here it is. We'll tune in to Senel, Kratos, and Tear next chapter. Also, Maurits will come back sometime. Haha. Anyway, I was always wondering why Nerifes was so quick to change its mind about killing off the Orerines after four thousand years of burning hatred. Well, I think that it wasn't so much Nerifes's will to kill them, but that of the Merines who caused the Cataclysm and such.
Also, if Nerifes were "infected" with the burning hatred, then it would explain (at least to me) why Nerifes wouldn't let Shirley use her insane Merines power.