Chapter 25: Connecting as a Team

Friendships and Rivalries

Upon entering the temple the group of knights found themselves in a large entranceway with three series of downward leading stairways, and then they saw the desolation around them. The walls were scorched, and punctuated with holes from either magic or arrows, eluding to a past attack, and then everywhere around them were signs of death. Bodies. Elves, mummified over time due to the Temples being buried, still dressed in the remains of their robes and armour clad human skeleton warriors were strewn across the floor. Laying simply in the manner to which death befell them.

If it was unclear to what happened here, seeing armed human skeletal remains inside what had been an elf temple. The young knights were now left with very little doubt that humans had attacked here before the elves had mandated to flee back to Xadia. However, as the human remains clearly proved, the elves had not gone down without a fight. Sarai and Zeren were saddened by style sight of such death, where as Thorfinn and Jorvik were less affected. They both bowed thwir heads in solemnity but Zeren could tell that both the other boys were still curious and suspicious of elves.

"This must have happened back when the continent was originally divided..." Sarai spoke, manoeuvring around the dead bodies. "It must have been buried for so long, this is a graveyard..." Jorvik murmured, "we should move on. And try not touch anything, there may be booby traps".

"So which way, oh exalted leader", Thorfinn frowned, refusing to meet Zeren's eye. "You're the noble amongst us, so obviously your the one whose gonna be given the praise and reporting of our findings to the same bastards in power. Right?"

"Stop that!" Sarai interjected, waking forwards and slapping the blonde boy across the face. "I know that you don't think highly of nobles and royalty, but Zeren is not like the castle dwelling royals of the political elite". Turning to look at her leader, and first friend, the reddish brown haired girl saw that the prior words had inflicted a flicker of hate within his mismatched violet and green eyes. Seeing a single tear trickled down his face, Sarai turned around. "Zeren... what's wrong?"

Walking back towards him, she placed a hand on his face. Also seeing the unexplained tearfulness within their leader, Thorfinn and Jorvik both approached. "Hey", Thorfinn began, "what's up with you? Your a noble, why are you crying?"

"I said stop!" Sarai spun around and shoved the other boy back. "Zeren might have be born into high wealth and social standing but the day I met him, I saw that for some reason he holds a deep hatred for that class of people!"

"I don't feel like a noble", Zeren muttered, "If they knew who I am, they'd kill me". He had meant it to be under his breath but unfortunately, Sarai and Jorvik both heard and spun around to face him. Yet, before they could question him, Zeren had begun to walk away towards one particular arched downward stairway. "I don't want to talk about it", he uttered as he disappeared out of view, only reappearing as a fire spell ignited in his hands. "Its this way".

Looking in the direction that Zeren had gone in, Sarai made it her point to send one last glare towards Thorfinn before following her friend and leader. "Do try not to provoke our team leader", Jorvik spoke, annoyed, to Thorfinn, "we are supposed to be building inter squad relations. Besides, Captain Yami told us to be respectful with Zeren". Scowling, the blonde boy looked between the brunette girl and his red haired friend, seeing that their expressions were of similar disbelief and concern towards his actions, Thorfinn relented and nodded his head. "Very well. I'll restrain myself from annoying him. But he should be honest with us!"

Sarai frowned but so and nothing. She wanted to say that Thorfinn was being inconsiderate but she too realised that Zeren was hiding something, something big, about himself from them. And as much as she wanted to believe in her first real friendship, outside of her sisterhood, she knew that she couldn't just blindly trust him yet. Which stung her aching heart.

Come on", Jorvik spoke again entering the downward stairway that Zeren had gone, "we have a mission, and our squads honour to uphold". Resolved to carry on, Thorfinn moved off and began descendeding the stairs feeling his way along the dusty crumbling walls whilst keeping an eye on the uneven surface of each step. As he, Jorvik and Sarai descended further down the stairway, they noticed that the flickering flame in Zeren's hands wasn't giving off a sinister feel or darkened presence. As dark magic often did. Before Sarai could enquire about how his spell was able to achieve that, unlike Jorvik's spell that had downed a dragon, Thorfinn walked past her and placed a hand on Zeren's shoulder.

"Hey, man... I-I'm sorry if I upset or annoyed you earlier, but in my defence you are kinda silent and a bit withdrawn". Zeren flinched slightly at the mention of his withdrawnness. "If you think that I am ignoring you because I'm one of those conceited disdainful nobles, then you are wrong about me entirely", the leader explained. Turning to face them all, Zeren wore an expression of intense sadness and fear, "I did not mean to make you feel bitter. Although I get why you would feel as such towards the nobles and royals".

Taking a slow ragged breath, which made Thorfinn forget his jealousy and supported Zeren slightly as his leader continued. "You all see me as a noble and whilst I was born into a noble family... the truth is... I hold no love or respect for the ones in power now. The kings and the lords. They all have blood on their hands, and I will get even with them". Spinning around on his feet, Zeren hid the tears that were forming in his eyes before noticing a sentence carved into the wall next to him.

'Piir hoarth ent ther Ath Ahnvae'

Seeing that Zeren's thoughts were no longer on the prior subject, Thorfinn followed the other boys line of sight till he too found the elvish writing. "That's elvish writing!" Thorfinn muttered angrily, thinking about the painful history and violent history between humanity and Xadia.

"It says..." Zeren interrupted, trying to break away from the anger that was welling up inside of him due to Thorfinn's words. "Treasure chamber and sky of night". He was about to move off, when Sarai stepped in front of him and blocked his way. With hands on her hips and a confused scowl on her face she looked cute, but Zeren quickly shook his head of that thought.

"You... you know elvish!" Sarai was blindsided by this tidbit of information, and out of the corner of her eyes, Thorfinn and Jorvik were as well. "How do you know elvish? And who are you really?" The response she got back was not what she had expected, as before Zeren could speak a loud clanging started reverberating deep down in the bowels of the buried temple.

It sounded metallic in origin but had a cadence about it that suggested that something living had been disturbed by their presence.

"We need to hurry onwards", Zeren spoke moving past Sarai. "We need to complete our mission". Frowning at being denied answers, the brown haired girl simply rolled her eyes and sank back into step, followed by the other two boys.

Eventually, the narrow stairway opened up into a large vaulted and colonnaded hall, the ceiling above them was pitch black and painted with many little white and gold stars. The sole light source was a thin strand of light that had shone down onto one of the columns before being reflected around the hall by a series of mirrors hanging from every other column. Emerging from the stairway, the four teenage knights were completely awestruck by the scale, architecture and decore of the colonnaded hall. "This is amazing..." Jorvik exclaimed, "elves may be humanities enemy but the construction of this place... the architecture..." he mused.

Thorfinn was silent as he moved forwards appraising a few carved columns, running his hand along the grooves of ancient runes and pictures. "Yeah, you're right Jorvik", he relied, "this place is something else. It may be a ruin now but it's still beautiful". Nodding her head, Sarai pulled a sketch book from her satchel and began to make a rough, as far as she could see, drawing of the huge hall. Before moving over to one of the columns and sketching runes and carvings. "It's beautiful..." she murmured quietly, as Jorvik walked over to her and pointed at another set of runes. The series of runes appeared as concentric circles with an either an X drawn through them or what looked like a little wave above.

"It's all so sad", Jorvik suddenly spoke. Turning her head, Sarai looked towards the black haired boy, reappraising him slightly in the face of his differing opinions of elves from Thorfinn. "How so?" She asked. "The elves and dragons don't like dark magic. Humanities ancestors refused to give it up, our arrogance and the treachery of a few elven Arch Mages, led to war..."

Jorvik frowned as he turned to face Sarai. "I can see that you and Zeren are close, and that somehow he has either a connection to elves or a desire for peace with them. As do you", he spoke.

"But... you must realise that your shared dream will not be easily accepted by the majority of those in power. The Pentarchy murdered its only true force against Xadia, and those that replaced them wield a bastardised semblance of that power". Halting from himself speaking, he pointed towards Thorfinn. "Thorfinn, me and Gyda, all grew up in a orphanage due to our parents being killed by elves. Me and Gyda never truly blamed Xadia for their deaths, we blamed the human kings for continuously giving the elves a reason to hate and attack us. But Thorfinn... he was never able to free himself of that hatred".

"So you're saying for me to be wary about what I say about wanting peace with Xadia around Thorfinn..." Sarai replied. "Thorfinn understands why some want peace but his anger still burns hot. And it makes him impetuous at times". Sighing, the girl leant on her spear, "I get that... but why tell me and not me and Zeren together?"

Meeting he gaze, Jorvik spoke. "It's as you said, about when you first met him. I can see it too... there's anger and a deep pain in his eyes. And that scares me".

Their conversation was interrupted by Thorfinn striking his sword against a flint to cast a light onto an oiled rag he had tied to a stick. "There we go now we have a bit more light", he stated holding the flame high and illuminating more of the hall ahead. "Good job Thorfinn", Zeren responded, momentarily stunning the blonde for his receiving praise. "Ah your warming to me aren't cha?" Thorfinn smirked, causing the leader to almost smile, and narrow his eyes. "You have your uses I suppose".

Chuckling, Thorfinn walked ahead casting the light outwards for the group to see where to go. "Is it me or is there something else here?" Jorvik gasped, turning around and holding out his broadsword. "It's like that sound we heard earlier is getting closer". Sarai angled her spear in her arms, whilst keeping her ears pricked for any minute audible disturbance. 'Something is wrong... I don't know what but there is evil in this temple'.