AN: I'M BACK PEOPLE WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER! So Claire and Chris make it to a mysterious door. Now they have to solve the riddle presented to them. Can they figure it out? And where were Jill, Wesker and Alana carried off to? Of course you have your typical disclaimers, so I skip the boring details and just get straight into the story
{With Wesker, Jill and Alana}
After being separated from the Redfield siblings, the three were tumbling through the tunnel and no matter what Wesker tried to do to slow them down, something was preventing his magic from affecting the currents. So all he could do was hang onto the girls and pray for a way out. Appreciatively, his wish was granted and the three were washed down a waterfall into a large lake. Surfacing with gasps from the girls, the three swam to the edge and clambered out, panting heavily.
"Are you two alright?" Wesker asked, after a moment of regaining himself.
"Y-Yeah. Ms Jill?" Alana panted as she struggled to sit up.
"That was hell..." Jill groaned as she managed to sit up, wringing the water out of her hair. "Where the hell are we now?"
"No idea..." Wesker said, looking around their new location. After some moments, he was able to ascertain that they were in some kind of cavern.
Once Wesker had sufficiently dried out his tail and reformed it back into legs, the trio began to gaze around the cavern, and the aquamancer would be the first to spot something on one of the walls: a set of runes that he had no recognition of, even with the study sessions he had with his mother. "What in the world are these..?"
"What is it, Wesker?" Jill asked, coming to his side and looking up to the wall.
"These runes… they are unfamiliar to me. Throughout my various study sessions on ancient runes, I have no knowledge of these particular sigils. This leads me to believe these were inscribed by individuals from a previous timeline. A time long before the Age of the Seven," Wesker says.
"The Age of the Seven..?" Alana asked, curiosity in her eyes.
"I speak of the Seven Ancient Ones, beings of incredible power who shaped our world, and were revered as goddesses. Their names were:
Alyssa, Goddess of Life and Light
Oceania, Tempest of the Sea
Terra, The Lady of The Forest, better known as Mother Nature
Electra, Songstress of Storms
Lucia, Keeper of The Timestream
Selene, Shadow Sorceress of Darkness and Moonlight
And finally, the most powerful of them all, The Overseer.
Her true name has been lost to the passage of time. Even her own children do not remember..."
"Whoa…" Alana whispered in awe at her stepdad's knowledge.
"You sure seem to know a lot about them. How long have you been studying their mythology?" Jill asked. More and more of Wesker's hidden side was coming forth and she was starting to place the pieces together. His water magic; his tail that came alive when he was in water; he was definitely connected to Oceania, of that she was certain. It appeared there were far more paths than one, that this man's connections led to.
"I've studied their history since I was a young boy. The stories their mythologies are based on fascinated me, in particular was the sea goddess. But enough about that..." Wesker then turned back to the runes and traced his fingers along the cut rock. What kind of inscriptions were these? How long had passed since they were placed here?
While Wesker studied them, Alana used her Light of Arlathan to shine upon anything else that might be of interest. Inscribed upon a different wall, were more of those markings. "Hey I found more of them here!" She called out, drawing Wesker's attention before shining her light on them.
"The crystal is not affecting them, though. I thought it was supposed to reveal their meaning? It did with the previous ones up above. So why doesn't it affect these..?"
Wesker rubbed his chin in thought. Indeed, this was a mystery. The previous times it acted perfectly, why did it not work now? Jill was wondering the same thing.
"This is clearly beyond the scope of what we have faced before. If they are not written in Sindarin, then whose writings are these?"
Just then, they heard something give out a loud yawn, making them whip around in surprise. Beyond some rocks was a huge, gray, metal door with an old man's face on the front. "What the hell?!"
"What is that?!" Alana yelped, shining her light on it.
"Hmm… if my books are accurate, I believe this is a Demon Door. They are ancient guardians designed to lock out a particular place to anyone except the creator. This type of magic dates back even further than the reign of The Overseer… as far back as The Old Kingdom…" Wesker informed them, after a moment of examination.
"The Old Kingdom..? What's that?" Jill asked.
"I've never heard of it either," Alana says with a shake of her head.
Wesker breathed deeply as he turned back to them.
"It is a *very* long story… one I do not have the time to recall in its entirety. So I shall summarize: The Old Kingdom was the oldest known human timeline, an age of might and magic much more prevalent than it is today. So common was the use of magic, even a child could do it. It bore some of the most powerful warriors and sorcerers the world has ever seen; among them one stood out."
"She was known as the Hero Queen, the royal princess of the Old Kingdom's capital, Bowerstone. However, she was not always so. She fought her way to the crown, building herself up from beggar status. A life of crime traded for king and country, so to speak. What a rags to riches story, eh? But I'm getting off topic…"
"The Hero Queen built several of these Demon Doors to protect her fortunes and her secrets. Only those who could break the riddles spoken by the doors, could access their contents. That this door still exists, even to this day, is telling that something exceptionally valuable, or powerful, lies inside…"
"Whoa…" Both girls were in awe at the story, as brief as it was. So if a Demon Door was here, then… that meant...
They turned back to the Demon Door, who seemed to be waiting for them to approach. So they walked over to the door, upon which he began to speak, once they were in range of its eyesight.
The door yawned. "Whomst disturbs this one's sleep? For what seems like an age, I have slept, yet ever watchful, for the moment when one worthy would appear to reclaim the lost secrets within. If you believe yourself to be that worthy one, prove oneself before me in a series of trials. Should you pass, my secrets are yours. Fail, and I shall sleep once more, until another approaches."
"Trials? What do we need to do in order to pass them?" Alana asked next.
"My first question," The door began. "Whomst among you carries the blood of a Hero? Does such a one exist among you? Step on the sigil, and we shall see…"
The three looked at each other before Jill tried first. Walking over to the sigil, she stepped on it. There, she waited to see what the door would say of her.
This sigil looked familiar to Wesker… the symbol of the Heroes Guild. It glowed blue at first as Jill stood upon it. However, it soon turned red and the sigil rejected her.
"You do not possess the blood of a Hero… But… You are worthy~ You shall go far in this world." The door told her.
Jill blinked in surprise at that, but stepped off and allowed Wesker to go next. Maybe with his connections to Oceania, maybe he would have better luck.
However, much to her and his own shock, the symbol immediately turned red, and a powerful force threw him from it. Jill would be there to catch him before he could hit the ground. What the hell was that about?!
"You are unworthy! Do not attempt to stand trial again, heathen! Innocent blood stains your hands!" The door shouted at him.
As Jill made sure Wesker was OK, Alana knew she was the last one up. She hoped that she could open the door. Otherwise, they were stuck here with no way out. So with a shaky breath, she stepped onto the sigil.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, a light began to envelope her. It was golden, wrapping itself around her entire body and lifting her from the ground. She floated in the air as the golden light turned blue, then back to gold again. The door seemed to crack a smile.
"At last… a worthy individual… Child, the blood of Heroes flows in your veins. You alone may open me and reveal the secrets within, but your fragile mind may not be prepared for what you will witness… I must test you with another trial…"
Alana was in shock. SHE was a Hero?! But she was just a little girl! Behind her, Wesker and Jill stared in disbelief. Alana was able to get past the first trial?
The door spoke again. "Little one, remember that it is not the size that matters. It is how you use it. Now, I shall test the strength of your mind. Answer my riddles thrice, and I shall open. Prepare yourself." The door paused before speaking once more.
"My first riddle: What is the music of life?" It asked.
Alana was stumped. Music of life..? What did it mean by that? Just then a voice would whisper into her mind 'Silence'. Nodding to herself, she turned back to the door. "The answer is silence."
"Correct. My second riddle: I am a box without hinges, a key or a lid. But within me, golden treasure is hid. What am I?" The door asked next.
Now this one she heard of before. "It's an egg."
"Correct again. My final riddle:
The man who devised it, does not want it.
The man who bought it, does not use it.
The man who uses it, does not realize it.
Here are a series of symbols. Can you work out which is the correct symbol?
A skull and crossbones
A coffin
A knife
A set of bars
Work this out, and I shall open."
Alana walked a bit closer and began to study each of the symbols laid out before her. But which one was the right one? She re-read the riddle several times, trying to figure out the correct answer. Skull and crossbones? No, that's more of a pirate thing and she didn't see the connection between any of them.
The knife? It could be bought and not used. But any of them would realize that they have a knife on them. Knives are commonplace, so that couldn't be it. The set of bars? That's more like something of a prison. No one wants to be behind bars but they are prevalent. So that left one answer.
"A coffin," she says finally.
"Correct. An undertaker builds coffins, but does not use them himself. A man buys a coffin for someone else's use. The man in the coffin cannot realize it, because he is dead." The Demon Door grins. "You have passed my trials, little Hero. You may open me and pass within…"
The door stops and sinks into its frame, before splitting down the middle and each side sliding into the rock. Behind it, was a swirling vortex of various purple colors: a portal! But… where did it lead..?
So the trio would head into the portal, unaware of what may lay beyond…
As the light faded away from their sight, the group found themselves inside a small chamber lit by torches. There was a large well in the middle, but it didn't go very deep. Beyond it, was an alcove that led to a corridor on either side. As they made their way to the end of the alcove, they looked either way and saw that the corridor opened up into sunlight.
"Which way should we go?" Wesker asked.
"Let's try to the left. Maybe there's something there," Jill suggested.
Wesker nodded and the three went left, leaving the corridor. Now outside, they found themselves within a vast garden decorated with many plants and flowers. It was so big in fact, it had street lamps to keep it lit. When they turned around, they discovered they stood in the shadow of a massive castle, shining a golden hue in the early morning light. They saw people here too, dressed like old aristocrats. Yet, they seemed to have something of a whitish sheen to them, as if they were… ghosts… and the garden's gates were shut, presumably locked.
The corridor they had exited was beneath the staircase leading to the castle's main doors. They were also sealed shut, but a large chest with the Heroes Guild symbol carved into it, had been placed neatly in front of them. It glowed softly, as if waiting to be opened.
Seeing the symbol on the chest, Alana jogged over and placed her hand on the lid. It felt.. as if something was calling to her, so she unlatched the clasp and opened it up. Inside was a bright light, which then shot up into the air and disappeared in a burst of sparks. As the magic dissipated, the environment began to shift around them and the scenery around them vanished and in a whirl of white light, the trio found themselves back outside in the Arklay Mountains. But something was different.
The castle was not there anymore. But instead, there sat Redfield Manor. That led Wesker to connect the dots rather quickly, as a look of revelation entered his cobalt eyes.
"I… think I get it. Redfield Manor is built upon the remains of Bowerstone Castle… and Raccoon is what used to be Bowerstone! Chris' ancestral home is built on the ancient remnants of the Old Kingdom's seat of power! But then… does that mean the Redfield line is descended from the Hero Queen? Are they… royalty..?"
"Wait a minute. If Alana was able to get the door open and this is the Redfield home… then… oh my goddess…" Jill gasped at the end before looking at Alana, whose eyes had gone wide. "Alana… you're a Redfield!"
Alana couldn't say anything as tears of shock and happiness welled up in her eyes. She had a family! She was a Hero! But… could Chris be her father? If he was, then how come he didn't remember her? Did something happen? So many questions bounced around in her head.
Just then, before they had time to really contemplate what they were seeing, the environment shifted back to that of the demonscape, and the castle reappeared. The chest they had opened however, was gone…
The castle doors swung open, and out of the darkness behind them, stepped a beautiful, middle aged woman wearing royal garb and a crown. The Hero Queen! It had to be! Who else could it possibly be?!
"Is that… the Hero Queen?" Jill gasped in shock.
Alana couldn't believe her eyes. She was so beautiful. And she felt so strong, according to what she sensed from the woman. Slowly, she approached the woman, who smiled and knelt down to the little girl.
"Little Alana Redfield~ So you are the one who opened my door and revealed my secret… the secret I have kept for so long… But do you truly understand what you have witnessed? Does your young mind realize what you have unleashed upon the world? By opening the door and chest, you have revealed that the Old Kingdom once held power here… and you have released me~"
"So what does that mean for all of us? Does that mean magic will come back to the world? And what will happen to me now? Who are my parents? Are they even still alive?" Alana asked her.
"So many questions, little one~" The Queen giggled. "Yes, your parents are alive, and they are much closer than you think~" She added. "I cannot tell you, however. Though I wish to reveal their secret to you, as you richly deserve, it is not my place to do so. You would not learn the lesson you have in store. Now, onto other matters." She stood up, drawing herself up to her full height… and that was intimidatingly tall. For a woman, she was likely around eight feet.
"Releasing the magic I locked into the chest has had a profound effect on your own world, the extent of which you cannot know. When you return, you may or may not notice subtle changes. As for what will happen to you… that is up to you. The future has not been written. There is no fate but what you make."
She turned and began to leave, walking back to the castle doors.
"I shall leave you with one more clue… My name is Shiala. Remember it."
As she walked back into the castle, the scene shifted again and in a burst of white, they were thrown out of the Demonscape. When they awoke from their unconscious states, Wesker was the first to notice they were no longer at the Demon Door, but somewhere else entirely. It was some kind of reliquary. Did Shiala teleport them here?
"Shiala… the Hero Queen must have sent us here. Perhaps a final gift for releasing her spirit…" He pondered to himself, not really speaking to anyone in particular.
So many questions for them. Who were Alana's parents? What profound effects were going to happen to Raccoon, now that the ancient magic has been released? Why had Shiala told them what she knew? And perhaps most importantly, what was her connection to the modern day? Who carried her royal blood?
AN: Another chapter complete! So many unanswered questions for the trio. But one revelation was made known: little Alana is a Redfield! But who are her parents?