"I know that you're familiar with the Philosopher's Stone,"
Xelloss began, "But do you know how the Stone was created?"
"I know that it was supposed to be a part of the Staff of the Gods, but I couldn't find any more information on it," Lina answered, and her eyes lit up. "You're going to tell how the Stone was created?!"
"Yes, because its creation was at the same time the Saillune Sword was created, only it wasn't known by that name at that time."
"Cut to the chase, Xelloss. You're stalling," Lina said, impatient.
"Now, now, Lina, you know that a good story can't be rushed," Xelloss said with a wink, causing Lina to snort.
"Just get on with it," Zel growled, not really thrilled with the Trickster's presence.
"When the Lord of Nightmares first created this world, she thrust a great staff through it. She then set the powers of Lord Shabranigdo and Ceified loose, and sat back to watch the fun. What L-sama wasn't expecting, however, was for the battle to get out of control, which is exactly what happened. Shabranigdo and Ceified's battle began to affect the balance of the world, and the few humans who lived during these times were frightened for their lives."
"Well, they should have been!" Lina remarked, earning a dirty look from Xelloss.
"These two awesome powers ran amok for several hundred years, and then began to threaten the Staff, which was the support for the entire world. Before L-sama could intervene, a blast from these two powers impacted against the Staff and two chunks were broken off. One became the Philosopher's Stone, which L- sama sealed away in an Orihalcon Statue because she knew that it would cause trouble for the world if it was unleashed; however, the second chunk proved to be more troubling, due to the size and sheer amplification magnitude it possessed. To give you an idea of just how high I'm talking about, take the Philosopher's Stone, and multiply it's magical amplification powers by over a million, and you'll come close. HOWEVER," Xelloss added as Lina's eyes lit up and she began to drool slightly, "L-sama took this chunk, and altered it slightly. You see, L-sama knew that if a human obtained this chunk, even one who had very little magical ability but had evil intentions, then the entire world could be destroyed. So, L-sama programed this chunk so that it could only be used by one person, and one person only. She then searched the humans of the world until she came to a young warrior maiden named Aspen.
Aspen was a renowned fighter, both in the magical arts and with a sword, and she had the purest heart of all the humans that were living during that time. L-sama gave the shard to Aspen, and instructed her to watch over it and only use it when it was needed. A strange thing happened when Aspen touched the shard. It changed form, from that of a huge chunk of rock to a medium sized double-bladed broadsword. Aspen made a vow to L-sama, saying that she would do as L-sama instructed, and use the sword to protect those around her. It's because of Aspen and the Sword that there are humans around today. She used the Sword to protect the rest of the human population, which was an easy task at that time because it was so small. Over time, Aspen was given the title of Guardian of the Sword, and once Lord Shabranigdo was split up, she founded a small town that came underneath the Sword's barrier, which protected the town from magical attacks. Aspen eventually married, and had two children of her own. As time passed, she came to realize that she had not been given immortality along with Guardianship, and worried about what would become of the Sword should she die. The Sword answered for her, and Chose her young daughter as Aspen's successor..."
"Chose? How did it Choose?" Lina asked, interrupting Xelloss.
Xelloss gave her a dirty look, and said, "I think it sings. Anyway, Aspen began to train her daughter in the art of swordplay, and when the child turned fifteen, Aspen turned Guardianship over to her daughter, Janelle. Not much is known about the Second Guardian, just that she never married, nor did she have children."
"Then how did the Guardianship get passed down if she didn't have any children?" Lina asked.
"The Sword would Choose its next Guardian, Lina. I have no other explanation as to how this was accomplished. The Sword became known as Aramina, and the town that Aspen founded began to grow in size, and eventually became the Saillune Kingdom that we know today. Aramina continued to protect the kingdom, and over time became known as the Saillune no Ken, or the Saillune Sword."
"But what does this have to do with Amelia?" Zel asked.
"Need you ask? Amelia's the next Chosen One. Her mother, Ailanthus, was the last Guardian to hold the Sword," Xelloss answered.
"WHAT?!" everyone but Phil yelled, their eyes so wide that they resembled dinner plates.
"It's true," Phil said with a sigh. "Ailanthus was to pass the Guardianship over to Amelia when she had completed her training in both swordsmanship and the magical arts; however, circumstances beyond my wife's control prevented her from passing on the Guardianship."
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked, still reeling from all the information she had just heard.
"Ailanthus was forced to invoke the Dormancy spell on the Sword. This spell returns the Sword to its stone state, where it is pretty much useless except as a protection shield generator. It will not awake again until the Princess claims her place among the other Guardians," Xelloss explained.
"What's this Dormancy spell thing?" Gourry asked.
"It's a spell that's been programed into the Sword that only the Guardians know. You see, even though no one but the Guardian can use the Sword, the Sword can be controlled through the Guardian," Xelloss said.
"Huh?" Gourry asked, scratching his head.
Lina sighed, and said, "If someone wanted to use the Sword for some evil purpose, and they're powerful enough, they can slap a mind control spell on the Guardian, and basically use them like puppets."
"Oh, and this will allow them to gain control of the Sword! I get it!" Gourry said with a grin.
"Exactly. Only, the person you want to control has to be weak willed, otherwise you can only control them for short periods of time. Guardian's have some of the strongest wills of all, and though many have tried, no one has succeeded in controlling a Guardian until Ailanthus," Xelloss said.
"What do you mean?" Zel asked.
"My wife was in the nursery with Amelia thirteen years ago when the castle came under the attack of a rogue army, that was led by a Mazoku. This Mazoku was one of the strongest we've ever seen, and he wanted Ailanthus to pass the Guardianship over to Amelia, who was five years old at that time. Children are easily controlled, and with Amelia holding the Guardianship, the Mazoku would then be able to control the Sword. He had Ailanthus underneath a temporary mind control, but somehow she managed to break it just before handing the Sword to Amelia. She had no other choice. She...," Phil broke off as his voice cracked, and turned away from the group.
"She managed to chant the Dormancy spell, but the Mazoku knew what she was doing, and began to rebuild his control spell. With no other options open to her, and help busy elsewhere, Ailanthus buried the sword in her own body, and managed to finish the spell as she died," Xelloss finished.
"Amelia saw this, didn't she?" Gourry asked, his eyes showing shock and concern for the young child his friend had once been.
"She did," Phil answered, "And went completely hysterical. When we finally got to the nursery, the Sword had vanished, and with it my wife's body. Amelia came down with a severe fever, and after a week of worry, she pulled through, but she had forgotten everything that had taken place at the time of Ailanthus death. She also refused to touch swords, so we had to teach her swordplay through a series of deceptions. She never realized that some of the games she played were a preparation for the day she would claim the Sword. This mission up to Diolon was to be her final test before she was given Guardianship, and told the truth of her mother's death."
"This Mazoku, who is he?" Lina asked.
"A very dangerous one," Xelloss answered, opening his eyes. "He is the son of Hell Master Phibritzo. He is not affiliated with any of the other Dark Lords, and is more powerful than even myself. He is a rogue, against everyone, even his own kind. I have been ordered to kill him, but even Beast Master now realizes that is a fruitless request. He will do anything to obtain the Sword, and through the Sword destroy the Lord of Nightmares, for it was She who destroyed his father three years ago. He goes by the name of Ryo."
"Another wonderful family feud, and we're stuck right in the middle," Lina grumbled.
"How is it you know so much about all this, Xelloss?" Zel demanded, eyeing the Trickster with mistrust.
Xelloss giggled, and held up one finger, saying, "That's a secret."
"One of these days, we're going to strap you down and cut the answers out of you," Lina sighed, exasperated.
"Oooo, sounds like fun!" Xelloss giggled.
"That still doesn't answer my question as to how we're going to ask a dead woman about the whereabouts of Amelia," Lina growled, ignoring the giggling Mazoku.
"Four years ago, while we were renovating an old portion of the palace, we found a secret passageway behind an old tapestry. At the end of the passageway was a room, and in that room we found the Dormant Sword. The rest, I think I'll allow Aila to explain to you," Phil answered, and stood, followed closely by the others.
As they followed Phil through the twisting hallways of the palace, Lina glanced at Xelloss.
"You seem to know an awful lot about this Sword," she said.
"Of course. All of my kind know about the Sword," Xelloss replied, keeping his voice low so that Phil couldn't hear him.
"Has the Sword always been in the Royal Family?" Gourry asked.
"No," Phil answered. "Aila is the first in the Saillune Family to be a Guardian, and that's only because she married me."
"So how did the Sword's name get changed? Didn't the Guardians move around a lot?" Gourry asked.
"They did, but they always wound up returning to Saillune after a short absence and, even when they were traveling, the Sword still managed to keep the protective field up around the kingdom," Xelloss answered.
"How is it you know all these details about Amelia's mother?" Zel asked, looking back at the Trickster.
"Ailanthus and I are old friends," Xelloss answered, and giggled when Lina and company came to a halt, and stared at him.
"You're kidding!" Lina cried.
"Not at all," Xelloss replied, and walked past them.
"This just gets weirder and weirder," Lina muttered to herself.
"Guess we're in trouble again, huh, Lina?" Gourry asked, not looking too happy with his observation.
"You guessed right, Gourry," Lina replied with a sigh.
"What I don't understand," Gourry continued, "Is how this guy can be more powerful than Xelloss when he's not working for another Dark Lord."
"Ryo is the son of the Hell Master, and when Hell Master was killed, all his power went to his son. However, Ryo refused to become a Dark Lord, nor did he agree to work underneath one. So basically we have a rogue Dark Lord out there, who's not a Dark Lord," Xelloss replied.
"In other words, he's got a lot of power, is on the loose, and there's no one who can stop him, right?" Gourry asked.
"Right," Xelloss replied. "Are you three going to stand there all day, or are you going to continue on towards the Sword Room?"
Lina and the others exchanged looks, then started walking again. The group walked in silence for a few moments as Phil continued to lead them through twisting passageways and down steep stairs.
Lina finally lost her patience, and demanded, "Just how far away is the stupid room?! We've been walking for hours, and if we continue to go down we're going to wind up coming out on the other side of the world!!"
"It's not much farther," Phil replied. "The Room is located in the heart of Saillune. That's why the magical field surrounding the city is so strong."
"Figures," Lina muttered.
Several more minutes passed, and Lina opened her mouth to complain some more, when Phil came to a halt in front of a large, stone wall.
"Oh, great! A dead end!" Lina wailed. "What did you do, take a wrong turn?!"
"Not at all," Phil replied, and placed his hand against the wall, which began to glow. After a few moments, the wall stopped glowing, and slowly began to rise above the floor, revealing another passageway behind it. "I had this door installed when we discovered the Sword down here, and it's magically locked so that only the Royal Family will be able to open it. This insures that no one will accidently find their way down here beyond this point."
"Makes sense," Lina replied as they walked through the now open doorway.
"Look, is that light up ahead?" Gourry asked.
"Yes, and I can detect a very strong magical presence," Zel replied as they moved towards the source of the light.
The group stepped through another doorway, and found themselves in a large, circular room. In the center of the room was a large stand, and on top of the stand was a rock shard that was half the length of Xelloss' staff, and as thick as one of Phil's arms. The shard was bathed in a serene, white light, and was the only source of light in the entire room.
"That's the Sword?" Lina asked.
"Yes, this is the Sword in its Dormancy state," Phil answered, stepping further into the room, coming to a halt roughly five feet from the foot of the stand. He gazed at the glowing shard for a moment, then held out his hands, and said, "Guardian Ailanthus, we request your assistance."
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, the shard began to glow brighter and brighter, almost blinding Lina and the others with the intensity of its light. Slowly, the light began to die down as a small, golden sphere rose up from the surface of the shard and came to rest in front of the stand. The sphere began to grow in size and took on the form of a human. The gold light seemed to liquify, then melted off to reveal a small young woman.
"That's your wife?!" Lina asked, her eyes wide.
"Wow, she's shorter than Lina!" Gourry cried, earning a fist to the head from said petite sorceress. "Ouch."
Lina rubbed her hand while eyeing the woman who stood with her head bowed, as if she wanted to orient herself to her surroundings. Gourry was right. Ailanthus stood a good inch and a half shorter than Lina, though Lina could definitely tell where Amelia got her figure from. Long, pale lavender hair hung in a braid over Ailanthus shoulder, just barely scraping the floor with its tip. As Ailanthus raised her head, Lina did a double take. For a moment she had thought she was looking at Amelia. Except for the hair color and warm brown eyes, Ailanthus was a dead ringer for Amelia, and Lina finally saw who Amelia got her looks from. Ailanthus was practically identical to Amelia, from her heart shaped face to the large, expressiveness of her eyes. She was dressed in an outfit that was loose and flowing, but wouldn't get in the way if she were forced to make any sudden moves. It was the type of outfit one wore when one was expected to fight often.
"At least we now know who Amelia looks like," Gourry quipped.
"It's true, Amelia always did look more like Ailanthus than myself," Phil replied, his blue eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.
Lina watched as Ailanthus's warm brown eyes roamed over the group of people that had collected in the room, and then her eyes fell upon Phil. With a happy cry, the small woman ran over to the man who literally towered over her, and threw herself into his arms.
"Aila," Phil murmured as he gently brushed a hand across the back of her head, and the group could tell that he was trying very hard to keep his control as he sat her back onto her feet, and she stepped away from him.
"I can only guess," Ailanthus said, her soothing voice making everyone in the room relax, "That there is some emergency. Otherwise, you would have never broken your promise to me, Phil."
"You're right, Aila," Phil answered.
"Wait a second!" Lina cried, catching everyone's attention. "How are we able to talk to her?!!"
Ailanthus smiled at the small redhead, her entire face appearing to light up. "You must be Lina Inverse. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"How do you know who I am?!" Lina nearly screamed, prompting Gourry to gather her up in a huge bear hug.
"Calm down, Lina. I'm sure that she'll answer our questions if we're patient," Gourry said, trying to keep the steaming redhead from completely blowing her top.
Ailanthus giggled, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Gourry Gabriev. Zelgadis Greywyrs, I bid you welcome. And well met, General/Priest Xelloss. It's been awhile."
"Indeed, it has been awhile, Guardian Ailanthus," Xelloss replied, smiling in an odd way.
Ailanthus gracefully inclined her head, and said to Gourry with a sly grin, "You can let her go unless you don't want to."
Both Lina and Gourry turned bright red as Gourry released Lina, but neither made a move to step away from the other, prompting Ailanthus to smile again.
"Ah, I see you two have come to a conclusion about your feelings for each other. Good. That fact will help you on the journey that you will be taking."
"You know, you're starting to sound like Xelloss, saying things without giving away their meaning," Lina said, exasperated.
Ailanthus giggled again, and replied, "I know. It's a lot of fun. In answer to one of your un asked questions, yes, Amelia is still alive. However, I cannot tell you her location. There is something that is blocking the Guardian/Chosen Bond that exists between all Guardians and their Chosen successors."
"Which means that we're going to have to do a search," Zel mused.
"Indeed. Also, the Sword of Light shall be needed on this journey, and Gourry and Lina must retrieve it before it can begin," Ailanthus said.
"You can see the future?!" Lina asked at the same time Gourry asked, "How am I supposed to retrieve the Sword of Light?!"
"One at a time, please!" Ailanthus laughed, and sat down crosslegged on the stone floor, indicating that the others should make themselves comfortable as well. "Let's start with you, Lina. I shall try to answer any and all questions that you have."
Lina opened her mouth, and began.
"I know that it was supposed to be a part of the Staff of the Gods, but I couldn't find any more information on it," Lina answered, and her eyes lit up. "You're going to tell how the Stone was created?!"
"Yes, because its creation was at the same time the Saillune Sword was created, only it wasn't known by that name at that time."
"Cut to the chase, Xelloss. You're stalling," Lina said, impatient.
"Now, now, Lina, you know that a good story can't be rushed," Xelloss said with a wink, causing Lina to snort.
"Just get on with it," Zel growled, not really thrilled with the Trickster's presence.
"When the Lord of Nightmares first created this world, she thrust a great staff through it. She then set the powers of Lord Shabranigdo and Ceified loose, and sat back to watch the fun. What L-sama wasn't expecting, however, was for the battle to get out of control, which is exactly what happened. Shabranigdo and Ceified's battle began to affect the balance of the world, and the few humans who lived during these times were frightened for their lives."
"Well, they should have been!" Lina remarked, earning a dirty look from Xelloss.
"These two awesome powers ran amok for several hundred years, and then began to threaten the Staff, which was the support for the entire world. Before L-sama could intervene, a blast from these two powers impacted against the Staff and two chunks were broken off. One became the Philosopher's Stone, which L- sama sealed away in an Orihalcon Statue because she knew that it would cause trouble for the world if it was unleashed; however, the second chunk proved to be more troubling, due to the size and sheer amplification magnitude it possessed. To give you an idea of just how high I'm talking about, take the Philosopher's Stone, and multiply it's magical amplification powers by over a million, and you'll come close. HOWEVER," Xelloss added as Lina's eyes lit up and she began to drool slightly, "L-sama took this chunk, and altered it slightly. You see, L-sama knew that if a human obtained this chunk, even one who had very little magical ability but had evil intentions, then the entire world could be destroyed. So, L-sama programed this chunk so that it could only be used by one person, and one person only. She then searched the humans of the world until she came to a young warrior maiden named Aspen.
Aspen was a renowned fighter, both in the magical arts and with a sword, and she had the purest heart of all the humans that were living during that time. L-sama gave the shard to Aspen, and instructed her to watch over it and only use it when it was needed. A strange thing happened when Aspen touched the shard. It changed form, from that of a huge chunk of rock to a medium sized double-bladed broadsword. Aspen made a vow to L-sama, saying that she would do as L-sama instructed, and use the sword to protect those around her. It's because of Aspen and the Sword that there are humans around today. She used the Sword to protect the rest of the human population, which was an easy task at that time because it was so small. Over time, Aspen was given the title of Guardian of the Sword, and once Lord Shabranigdo was split up, she founded a small town that came underneath the Sword's barrier, which protected the town from magical attacks. Aspen eventually married, and had two children of her own. As time passed, she came to realize that she had not been given immortality along with Guardianship, and worried about what would become of the Sword should she die. The Sword answered for her, and Chose her young daughter as Aspen's successor..."
"Chose? How did it Choose?" Lina asked, interrupting Xelloss.
Xelloss gave her a dirty look, and said, "I think it sings. Anyway, Aspen began to train her daughter in the art of swordplay, and when the child turned fifteen, Aspen turned Guardianship over to her daughter, Janelle. Not much is known about the Second Guardian, just that she never married, nor did she have children."
"Then how did the Guardianship get passed down if she didn't have any children?" Lina asked.
"The Sword would Choose its next Guardian, Lina. I have no other explanation as to how this was accomplished. The Sword became known as Aramina, and the town that Aspen founded began to grow in size, and eventually became the Saillune Kingdom that we know today. Aramina continued to protect the kingdom, and over time became known as the Saillune no Ken, or the Saillune Sword."
"But what does this have to do with Amelia?" Zel asked.
"Need you ask? Amelia's the next Chosen One. Her mother, Ailanthus, was the last Guardian to hold the Sword," Xelloss answered.
"WHAT?!" everyone but Phil yelled, their eyes so wide that they resembled dinner plates.
"It's true," Phil said with a sigh. "Ailanthus was to pass the Guardianship over to Amelia when she had completed her training in both swordsmanship and the magical arts; however, circumstances beyond my wife's control prevented her from passing on the Guardianship."
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked, still reeling from all the information she had just heard.
"Ailanthus was forced to invoke the Dormancy spell on the Sword. This spell returns the Sword to its stone state, where it is pretty much useless except as a protection shield generator. It will not awake again until the Princess claims her place among the other Guardians," Xelloss explained.
"What's this Dormancy spell thing?" Gourry asked.
"It's a spell that's been programed into the Sword that only the Guardians know. You see, even though no one but the Guardian can use the Sword, the Sword can be controlled through the Guardian," Xelloss said.
"Huh?" Gourry asked, scratching his head.
Lina sighed, and said, "If someone wanted to use the Sword for some evil purpose, and they're powerful enough, they can slap a mind control spell on the Guardian, and basically use them like puppets."
"Oh, and this will allow them to gain control of the Sword! I get it!" Gourry said with a grin.
"Exactly. Only, the person you want to control has to be weak willed, otherwise you can only control them for short periods of time. Guardian's have some of the strongest wills of all, and though many have tried, no one has succeeded in controlling a Guardian until Ailanthus," Xelloss said.
"What do you mean?" Zel asked.
"My wife was in the nursery with Amelia thirteen years ago when the castle came under the attack of a rogue army, that was led by a Mazoku. This Mazoku was one of the strongest we've ever seen, and he wanted Ailanthus to pass the Guardianship over to Amelia, who was five years old at that time. Children are easily controlled, and with Amelia holding the Guardianship, the Mazoku would then be able to control the Sword. He had Ailanthus underneath a temporary mind control, but somehow she managed to break it just before handing the Sword to Amelia. She had no other choice. She...," Phil broke off as his voice cracked, and turned away from the group.
"She managed to chant the Dormancy spell, but the Mazoku knew what she was doing, and began to rebuild his control spell. With no other options open to her, and help busy elsewhere, Ailanthus buried the sword in her own body, and managed to finish the spell as she died," Xelloss finished.
"Amelia saw this, didn't she?" Gourry asked, his eyes showing shock and concern for the young child his friend had once been.
"She did," Phil answered, "And went completely hysterical. When we finally got to the nursery, the Sword had vanished, and with it my wife's body. Amelia came down with a severe fever, and after a week of worry, she pulled through, but she had forgotten everything that had taken place at the time of Ailanthus death. She also refused to touch swords, so we had to teach her swordplay through a series of deceptions. She never realized that some of the games she played were a preparation for the day she would claim the Sword. This mission up to Diolon was to be her final test before she was given Guardianship, and told the truth of her mother's death."
"This Mazoku, who is he?" Lina asked.
"A very dangerous one," Xelloss answered, opening his eyes. "He is the son of Hell Master Phibritzo. He is not affiliated with any of the other Dark Lords, and is more powerful than even myself. He is a rogue, against everyone, even his own kind. I have been ordered to kill him, but even Beast Master now realizes that is a fruitless request. He will do anything to obtain the Sword, and through the Sword destroy the Lord of Nightmares, for it was She who destroyed his father three years ago. He goes by the name of Ryo."
"Another wonderful family feud, and we're stuck right in the middle," Lina grumbled.
"How is it you know so much about all this, Xelloss?" Zel demanded, eyeing the Trickster with mistrust.
Xelloss giggled, and held up one finger, saying, "That's a secret."
"One of these days, we're going to strap you down and cut the answers out of you," Lina sighed, exasperated.
"Oooo, sounds like fun!" Xelloss giggled.
"That still doesn't answer my question as to how we're going to ask a dead woman about the whereabouts of Amelia," Lina growled, ignoring the giggling Mazoku.
"Four years ago, while we were renovating an old portion of the palace, we found a secret passageway behind an old tapestry. At the end of the passageway was a room, and in that room we found the Dormant Sword. The rest, I think I'll allow Aila to explain to you," Phil answered, and stood, followed closely by the others.
As they followed Phil through the twisting hallways of the palace, Lina glanced at Xelloss.
"You seem to know an awful lot about this Sword," she said.
"Of course. All of my kind know about the Sword," Xelloss replied, keeping his voice low so that Phil couldn't hear him.
"Has the Sword always been in the Royal Family?" Gourry asked.
"No," Phil answered. "Aila is the first in the Saillune Family to be a Guardian, and that's only because she married me."
"So how did the Sword's name get changed? Didn't the Guardians move around a lot?" Gourry asked.
"They did, but they always wound up returning to Saillune after a short absence and, even when they were traveling, the Sword still managed to keep the protective field up around the kingdom," Xelloss answered.
"How is it you know all these details about Amelia's mother?" Zel asked, looking back at the Trickster.
"Ailanthus and I are old friends," Xelloss answered, and giggled when Lina and company came to a halt, and stared at him.
"You're kidding!" Lina cried.
"Not at all," Xelloss replied, and walked past them.
"This just gets weirder and weirder," Lina muttered to herself.
"Guess we're in trouble again, huh, Lina?" Gourry asked, not looking too happy with his observation.
"You guessed right, Gourry," Lina replied with a sigh.
"What I don't understand," Gourry continued, "Is how this guy can be more powerful than Xelloss when he's not working for another Dark Lord."
"Ryo is the son of the Hell Master, and when Hell Master was killed, all his power went to his son. However, Ryo refused to become a Dark Lord, nor did he agree to work underneath one. So basically we have a rogue Dark Lord out there, who's not a Dark Lord," Xelloss replied.
"In other words, he's got a lot of power, is on the loose, and there's no one who can stop him, right?" Gourry asked.
"Right," Xelloss replied. "Are you three going to stand there all day, or are you going to continue on towards the Sword Room?"
Lina and the others exchanged looks, then started walking again. The group walked in silence for a few moments as Phil continued to lead them through twisting passageways and down steep stairs.
Lina finally lost her patience, and demanded, "Just how far away is the stupid room?! We've been walking for hours, and if we continue to go down we're going to wind up coming out on the other side of the world!!"
"It's not much farther," Phil replied. "The Room is located in the heart of Saillune. That's why the magical field surrounding the city is so strong."
"Figures," Lina muttered.
Several more minutes passed, and Lina opened her mouth to complain some more, when Phil came to a halt in front of a large, stone wall.
"Oh, great! A dead end!" Lina wailed. "What did you do, take a wrong turn?!"
"Not at all," Phil replied, and placed his hand against the wall, which began to glow. After a few moments, the wall stopped glowing, and slowly began to rise above the floor, revealing another passageway behind it. "I had this door installed when we discovered the Sword down here, and it's magically locked so that only the Royal Family will be able to open it. This insures that no one will accidently find their way down here beyond this point."
"Makes sense," Lina replied as they walked through the now open doorway.
"Look, is that light up ahead?" Gourry asked.
"Yes, and I can detect a very strong magical presence," Zel replied as they moved towards the source of the light.
The group stepped through another doorway, and found themselves in a large, circular room. In the center of the room was a large stand, and on top of the stand was a rock shard that was half the length of Xelloss' staff, and as thick as one of Phil's arms. The shard was bathed in a serene, white light, and was the only source of light in the entire room.
"That's the Sword?" Lina asked.
"Yes, this is the Sword in its Dormancy state," Phil answered, stepping further into the room, coming to a halt roughly five feet from the foot of the stand. He gazed at the glowing shard for a moment, then held out his hands, and said, "Guardian Ailanthus, we request your assistance."
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, the shard began to glow brighter and brighter, almost blinding Lina and the others with the intensity of its light. Slowly, the light began to die down as a small, golden sphere rose up from the surface of the shard and came to rest in front of the stand. The sphere began to grow in size and took on the form of a human. The gold light seemed to liquify, then melted off to reveal a small young woman.
"That's your wife?!" Lina asked, her eyes wide.
"Wow, she's shorter than Lina!" Gourry cried, earning a fist to the head from said petite sorceress. "Ouch."
Lina rubbed her hand while eyeing the woman who stood with her head bowed, as if she wanted to orient herself to her surroundings. Gourry was right. Ailanthus stood a good inch and a half shorter than Lina, though Lina could definitely tell where Amelia got her figure from. Long, pale lavender hair hung in a braid over Ailanthus shoulder, just barely scraping the floor with its tip. As Ailanthus raised her head, Lina did a double take. For a moment she had thought she was looking at Amelia. Except for the hair color and warm brown eyes, Ailanthus was a dead ringer for Amelia, and Lina finally saw who Amelia got her looks from. Ailanthus was practically identical to Amelia, from her heart shaped face to the large, expressiveness of her eyes. She was dressed in an outfit that was loose and flowing, but wouldn't get in the way if she were forced to make any sudden moves. It was the type of outfit one wore when one was expected to fight often.
"At least we now know who Amelia looks like," Gourry quipped.
"It's true, Amelia always did look more like Ailanthus than myself," Phil replied, his blue eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.
Lina watched as Ailanthus's warm brown eyes roamed over the group of people that had collected in the room, and then her eyes fell upon Phil. With a happy cry, the small woman ran over to the man who literally towered over her, and threw herself into his arms.
"Aila," Phil murmured as he gently brushed a hand across the back of her head, and the group could tell that he was trying very hard to keep his control as he sat her back onto her feet, and she stepped away from him.
"I can only guess," Ailanthus said, her soothing voice making everyone in the room relax, "That there is some emergency. Otherwise, you would have never broken your promise to me, Phil."
"You're right, Aila," Phil answered.
"Wait a second!" Lina cried, catching everyone's attention. "How are we able to talk to her?!!"
Ailanthus smiled at the small redhead, her entire face appearing to light up. "You must be Lina Inverse. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"How do you know who I am?!" Lina nearly screamed, prompting Gourry to gather her up in a huge bear hug.
"Calm down, Lina. I'm sure that she'll answer our questions if we're patient," Gourry said, trying to keep the steaming redhead from completely blowing her top.
Ailanthus giggled, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Gourry Gabriev. Zelgadis Greywyrs, I bid you welcome. And well met, General/Priest Xelloss. It's been awhile."
"Indeed, it has been awhile, Guardian Ailanthus," Xelloss replied, smiling in an odd way.
Ailanthus gracefully inclined her head, and said to Gourry with a sly grin, "You can let her go unless you don't want to."
Both Lina and Gourry turned bright red as Gourry released Lina, but neither made a move to step away from the other, prompting Ailanthus to smile again.
"Ah, I see you two have come to a conclusion about your feelings for each other. Good. That fact will help you on the journey that you will be taking."
"You know, you're starting to sound like Xelloss, saying things without giving away their meaning," Lina said, exasperated.
Ailanthus giggled again, and replied, "I know. It's a lot of fun. In answer to one of your un asked questions, yes, Amelia is still alive. However, I cannot tell you her location. There is something that is blocking the Guardian/Chosen Bond that exists between all Guardians and their Chosen successors."
"Which means that we're going to have to do a search," Zel mused.
"Indeed. Also, the Sword of Light shall be needed on this journey, and Gourry and Lina must retrieve it before it can begin," Ailanthus said.
"You can see the future?!" Lina asked at the same time Gourry asked, "How am I supposed to retrieve the Sword of Light?!"
"One at a time, please!" Ailanthus laughed, and sat down crosslegged on the stone floor, indicating that the others should make themselves comfortable as well. "Let's start with you, Lina. I shall try to answer any and all questions that you have."
Lina opened her mouth, and began.
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Next episode: Question and Answer time! What will Ailanthus reveal,
and what will the Slayers Gang learn?