Author's Note: Most of the characters' names are different in this fic. It
was originally a school assignment and I got carried away, but by then, the
names were stuck.
Cedric: Setsuna
Kalem: Kira
Rafe: Katou
Dardelan: Rociel
Dameon: Katan
And the 411: I am not Kaori Yuki nor do I own her characters or storylines. I am not Isobelle Carmody nor do I own the names of her characters.
Please remember that this is an ALTERNATE universe and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the original Angel Sanctuary manga or OVA series. Enjoy!
And thank you to all my reviewers! Especially to Belial, the very first one! But it would be ideal to get MORE reviews, being the ham I am! Please, if you enjoyed this fic, recommend it to others! Yes! That's what MoogleChan needs to fuel the engine and keep writing!!! REVIEWS!!!!
An Angel Sanctuary Epic
Chapter 2: "Uriel's Tower"
"Well, here we are," Rafe said as he and his companions emerged from a low grove, "Welcome to 'Nightfall Reverie'— also known as Uriel's tower."
Cedric looked up at the dark, massive tower before him. It was the tallest building he had ever seen in his life. The walls were made of glossy black obsidian and a spiral staircase wound its way around the whole tower. At the top of the stairs, Cedric could make out a tiny set of wooden doors.
"Whoa," Cedric breathed, "It's… big!"
"To say the least," Rafe laughed. Kalem cocked his head up and looked the building up and down. Then he sighed quietly. Cedric thought he heard him mutter under his breath.
"It's… been a while, Uriel."
"Did you say something, Kalem?" Cedric asked.
"No, nothing," Kalem said quickly, "Let's start climbing."
The trio started up the stone steps silently. The tower had a forbidding sort of atmosphere. Cedric felt that if he were to break the mysterious silence, some strange creature would hop out of nowhere and attack him. The other two must have felt the same way because neither of them was very conversational.
When they finally reached the top of the stairs, the tiny wooden entryway that Cedric saw before was now a pair of massive, solid oak doors. There was a tiny ledge in front of the doors, just wide enough for the three of them to stand closely together. To the left of the doors, there was a long thick rope connected to a large, shiny, bronze bell. Rafe reached out to grasp the rope and rang the bell.
At first, everything was silent except for the ringing bell echoing over the mountains. Then suddenly, the doors swung open rapidly to reveal a dark entranceway. Cedric jumped back a few steps and almost tipped over the ledge, but Kalem reached out, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him back onto the ledge.
"Careful, kid," he hissed and pulled him close. Cedric shivered and nodded.
"So, shall we go?" Rafe waved his hand at the open doors.
Rafe snatched a small torch from the wall inside and lit it. In the center of the room, there was a wide staircase covered by a crimson floor covering leading to a second story. The walls were decorated with long black tapestries lined with gold. There were huge paintings beside the tapestries of men and women wearing very old-fashioned clothing.
"Welcome back, Rafe." A deep voice cut through the thick silence. Cedric whirled around to look at the top of the wide staircase. There, on the very top of the stairs stood a tall figure, hidden in shadows. "And I see you've brought guests."
"Y-you're Uriel, the greatest wizard in the world who's hundreds and hundreds of years old?!" Cedric choked, feeling small and inferior.
"Yes, I am Uriel," he answered and added quietly, "do not talk about my age, please."
"Oh! S-sorry!" Cedric quickly apologized and looked frantically at Kalem who merely stood and watched the dark figure with an impassive expression. "W-well, your highness—er—your greatness, uh, Mr. Uriel, sir, um, we're here to, uh, ask you—" Cedric stuttered stupidly, awed by the powerful presence he was addressing. So silent, so stately, so—
"Okay! Cut the crud, Uriel!" Rafe cut in, placing his hands on his hips. "Come down here and quit being creepy."
"Silence, mortal," Uriel boomed, "Show respect to your master." Still obscured by the shadow, he began to descend the stairs, gliding silently. Cedric could feel the cold sweat of anxiety running down his back. He wondered just how willing the dark wizard would be to answer his questions. He looked up and noticed that Uriel was speaking again, nearly at the bottom of the stairs.
"Do not think so highly of yourself that you may invade my grand abode and demand of me what you—" Suddenly, his foot caught on a bump in the rug and he came crashing down the rest of the stairs in a tumbling heap.
Rafe sighed and shook his head, gazing down at the groaning heap of dark colored robes at his feet.
"I told you to get rid of this stupid rug!" he muttered, offering Uriel his hand, "What is it? Two hundred years old now?"
"Ugh," Uriel groaned, taking Rafe's hand and climbing to his feet, "I told the servants to order a new one, but they don't make them in this size anymore." Up close, Cedric was surprised to see that Uriel didn't look quite as ancient and powerful as he had thought at first. In fact, he looked no older than perhaps forty, and his sweeping, wavy mane of rich brown hair and smooth brown skin made him look rather pretty, and not foreboding at all.
"Geh," Rafe laughed dryly, "Anyway, I'm here for my payment, and these guys are here for some info."
"And my egg?" Uriel asked, brushing his robes off.
"Uh, it's here, sort of," Rafe said then pointed at Cedric, "He's got it!" Cedric jumped, terrified.
"W-well, yeah, I've got it," he admitted, "but you can't have it! It's mine!" Uriel stared at him for a moment and then touched his hand to his temples, turning away from the three.
"I feel a great headache coming on," he groaned again, "So what do you want in return?"
"In return for what?" Cedric blinked.
"The egg, you moron," Rafe snapped.
"Oh… the egg. Nothing! It's mine and I want to keep it!" Cedric clutched his breast pocket where the egg was. " I wanna know why you want my egg."
"Ah, you want to know," Uriel sighed, "Let me guess; you want to know what the egg is, why it's giving you a bellyache, and why I want it?"
"Yes, to everything except the bellyache," Cedric answered, a little startled at the wizard's abruptness.
"What? Your stomach hasn't been hurting since you've had it?" Uriel asked, raising his eyebrows.
"No, is it supposed to?" Cedric scratched his head. Uriel was silent for a moment, studying Cedric's face thoughtfully and then turned around, facing the stairs again.
"Come, we shall talk in my office," he called over his shoulder. Then he waved his hand, indicating that they should follow.
****
Uriel led them up the second story and up several more flights of stairs to a small room that seemed to be positioned at the very peak of the tower.
The room had a very warm and cozy atmosphere, unlike the rest of the cold, stone tower. An elegant settee set complete with polished mahogany coffee table and desk stood on a soft carpeted floor. Many awards and medals hung on the painted walls along with curious looking sculptures on shelves. Behind the desk was a set of double doors made of glass, leading out to a balcony with a glorious view of the mountain range beyond.
Uriel sat down in the chair behind the desk and motioned for them to sit. Cedric looked around, puzzled, trying to locate a chair to sit in, but there were none.
"Oh, forgive me," Uriel said when he noticed Cedric's befuddlement. He waved his hand lightly and suddenly, three chairs appeared out of thin air with a faint "pop." Cedric stared in fascination at the chairs settling down on the floor in front of the desk, thin puffs of smoke fading into the air around them.
Rafe hopped up over the chair with the lowest backrest and slung his legs comfortably over one of the arms. Kalem followed suit and sat down in the chair on the far left. That left Cedric to sit in the center chair directly across from Uriel. He walked over and sat nervously in the plush, cushioned seat.
"So," Uriel began, "you said you wanted information?"
"Well I'd like to know what exactly this egg is," Cedric replied.
"That egg is a magical relic. It is hundreds of years old and has a large amount of magical energy in it." Uriel leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
"What kind of magical energy?" Cedric asked.
"That I am not sure of, Cedric," he answered earnestly, "I was hoping to find that out."
"So that's why you wanted it!" Cedric stated more than asked.
"Well," Uriel said quickly, "apart from other reasons, yes."
"What other reasons?" Cedric asked eagerly. Uriel glanced up at the ceiling and then back down at Cedric, fidgeting with a paperweight on his desk.
"Like this," he hopped up out of his seat and strode over to a large, bureau-like cupboard nearby. He threw the doors open to reveal shelves of beautifully painted eggs, some encrusted with small gems, but none were as beautiful as Cedric's egg. "It'd make a charming edition to my collection, don't you agree? Easter's coming up!" Uriel flashed him a catlike smile. "I've got almost all of the Romanovs' Faberges!"
"Good lord," Cedric fell back into his chair, "Is he really the most powerful wizard in the world?!"
"He acts like an airhead, doesn't he?" Rafe chortled.
"I heard that," Uriel muttered and returned to his seat. "So, Cedric, now that you've asked your questions, let me ask mine. How did you get this egg?"
"It sounds kind of weird, but this guy was in this alley and these other guys in black attacked him. I went in there and scared them off, but I was too late for the first guy. He was really hurt and bleeding really bad. I don't know who the other guys were; they were all dressed in black and masked so I couldn't see their faces. Well, the first guy, ya know, the guy who was attacked, gave me the egg."
"Wow, he's a real bubblehead," Rafe muttered and nodded to himself.
"This, er, 'first guy,' as you say," Uriel said, "Did he say why he was giving you the egg?"
"He said that it seemed right that I should have it. And he said somethin' about some wings or something." Cedric scratched his head.
"What did he look like?" Uriel pushed on.
"Uh, he had really bright red hair and he looked about in his twenties…" he trailed off and looked at Kalem, then back at Uriel, "Why does this sound familiar? Did you know the guy, too?"
"He was… a friend." Uriel looked down at the desk. "A good friend."
"Oh… I'm sorry," Cedric looked down at his lap as well. "There was no way I could've saved him. He was already wounded and—"
Uriel held up a steady hand to silence him.
"It's all right. I'm not blaming you." He sighed and then looked back up. "Has anything unusual happened ever since you've had the egg in your possession?"
"Well, I've been having some weird dreams. There are these two really, really, pretty girls…" he trailed off at the looks on his listeners' faces, "Ahem! Yeah, anyway, there are these two ladies talking about the end of the world. The blond one wants to save the world, the brunette says the ends comin'. Then the blond one always seems to stare directly at me and ask for my help."
" 'Always'?" Uriel asked, "You've had this dream often?"
"Well, yeah, every night since I've had that egg."
"Then it has started," Uriel said more to himself than to Cedric. "It has started again."
"What? What's started?" Cedric asked confused.
"You say you haven't had any stomach aches since you acquired the egg?" Uriel cut in.
"Uh… no, why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing," the wizard muttered, frowning slightly. He then raised his eyes to examine Cedric. "Well… if Zaphkiel trusted you enough to give you the egg, you must be the one…"
Cedric stared. "The what? Me? What are you talking about?"
"You must… you must go. You must journey to the Water Temple and seek help from Jibrielle, the high priestess."
"Who?" Cedric asked.
"Jibrielle. She is the priestess of the Water Temple. She will know what to do."
"Wait a sec, I've got a question," Cedric said, "Why are we doing all this? What do I need to learn from this priestess?" Uriel looked at him and nodded.
"You know of the goddess Alexiel and her legend, right? Every hundred years a Child of Purity and a Child of Darkness is chosen from the mortals. They battle to see whether the world shall continue or end. That is what's happening now." Cedric gaped at him.
"I thought it was just a myth! It's really happening?!" he asked in alarm.
"Yes," Uriel answered, "And we've got to find the Child of Purity to prepare him. This egg is a relic made long ago by Alexiel for the Child of Purity. The Child of Darkness has an identical one. Now I need you to take this egg to Jibrielle because she will know what to do with it."
Uriel nodded and muttered more words to himself and then waved his hand in Rafe's direction. "You will accompany him." Rafe fell out of his chair.
"Who-what-where-when-why?!" Rafe squawked in rapid succession. He gaped up at Uriel. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
"No? Then no more cookies for you, Rafe," Uriel answered sternly.
"W-what? No, no! You cannot do this! You—"
"No. More. Cookies." Uriel's face was hard as stone as he articulated each word.
"Okay, okay! I'll go!" Rafe threw his arms up and climbed to his feet. Then he turned around to look at Uriel again. "But you gotta let me have some before we go. I mean, you missed one payment already."
"Your payment is… cookies?" Cedric looked up at Rafe. Then he burst out laughing. "You've gotta be kidding! Cookies?! Cookies?! Good lord! HA HA HA HA!" He rolled around, laughing more.
"Okay," Rafe said, giving him a scary smile, "laugh all you want, pretty boy. You'll see. Come with me!" Rafe threw an arm around Cedric and caught him in a headlock, "Let's go get some cookies and see how well you can resist them!" With that, they dashed out of the office. Kalem looked after his two companions, smiling fondly. Innocent children…
"And what, may I ask, brings you here, Kalem?" Uriel asked quietly from behind him. Kalem turned around slowly and gazed evenly into the wizard's deep emerald eyes. Then he closed his eyes calmly and shrugged.
"I'm just along for the ride."
****
Uriel sat back in his leather armchair. He took a sip of wine from a crystal goblet on his desk and sighed, thinking back to the conversation he had just had with Kalem mere moments ago.
"You cannot interfere, Kalem. Your time has passed. It is forbidden," he told Kalem harshly. Kalem's expression remained unmoved. Then his dark eyes flashed up.
"I don't plan on interfering. I just want to find the Child of Purity. Wasn't that your goal as well?" he asked.
"Yes, that was the reason I wanted the egg. I thought I could track him down, since the egg is attracted to its rightful owner. But circumstances have changed."
"You think it's Cedric, don't you?"
"It could be. Normal humans would feel the correct side effects of the egg, stomach aches and general weakness. But if he is immune to that, he might be the one. But just to be safe, we should not let him know. He should travel to Jibrielle, and she'll do the explaining to him if he is the one and she can confirm it."
"And what if it isn't him?"
"Then…comes the end."
****
"Okay, first we turn left here… and then right at this river… yeah," Cedric read off of the tattered map in his hands. The paper was turning yellow and was difficult to read.
"Are you sure we should leave the navigating to him?" Rafe asked Kalem. "I think he's holding the map upside down."
"Shut up!" Cedric glared at Rafe.
Cedric and his two companions were climbing to the side of a hill. Uriel had given them a map to guide them safely to the Water Temple.
"Gosh… I'm so tired," Rafe complained and flopped down on a large boulder covered with moss. "Are we anywhere near an inn or something?"
"Well," Cedric studied the map again, "Well, the next one up ahead is about… seven miles away. Or we could always go back to the one we just passed, which is four miles back. Or we can travel fifteen miles of our course to the East Coast—" Rafe shook his head.
"Forget it," he sighed, "I'll just walk 'til I drop dead from exhaustion—no, from your idiocy, Cedric! Of course we're not gonna walk fifteen damn miles to some place totally out of our way!"
"Or we can always stay in the town beyond this hill," Kalem called to them from higher up the hill.
Cedric and Rafe scrambled to their feet and hurried up the hill after him. When they reached the top, a modest, peaceful-looking town stood close to the foot of the hill.
"I feel like an idiot," Rafe and Cedric groaned together.
****
Cedric opened his eyes and sat up. He was lying in a soft familiar patch of grass in a beautiful courtyard with fountains and a hedge maze.
Not this dream again, he thought jadedly. He watched the two women exchange words for the umpteenth time.
As the young girl turned to stare at him to send him her usual request for help, she stopped abruptly and stared past him this time. Cedric looked at her puzzled, and then turned around to see what had caught her attention.
To his horror, there was a huge ghastly dragon behind him with three huge black wings. Its large claws were raised high above his head and seemed to be ready to come crashing down at any moment.
Cedric screamed and rolled out of the way just as the humungous claws crushed the ground he had been sitting on moments earlier. He looked frantically up at the girl and her companion, but they were no where in sight. He turned back to the dragon, hoping that it had followed suit, but unfortunately it was still standing in the same spot, its claws retrieved from the ground.
"Oh god!" Cedric cried and ran into the hedge maze. He rushed through winding paths and rolling slopes until he found a small crevice in the hedges and jumped into the thick green wall. It was a hole in the wall and led to another section of the maze.
He curled up in the hedge and tried to keep as still as he could so as not to summon the monster. He turned cautiously to look out the other end of the opening, hoping to find refuge. But before he could crawl an inch, he heard a sound behind him from the other opening of the hedge. He turned his head slowly and looked over his shoulder. There, filling the opening was a bright yellow circle with a deep red slit in the center of it. It was the eye of the beast. They watched each other for a moment, Cedric in pure terror, the monster in hunger, when suddenly it let out a colossal roar.
Cedric screamed, too, and found that he was paralyzed with fright. He was just beginning to think that he would surely die, even though it was only a dream, when someone came from behind him and pulled him through the hedge to the other side. He craned his head around and saw that it was the young girl who had always asked him for help.
"Come with me! Quickly!" she cried and grabbed his arm.
She took his hand in hers and led him across the yard to a small white, alter-like gazebo in the center of it. She sat down on an ivory bench at the top of the steps and pulled him down beside her.
"We'll be safe here, don't worry," she said quietly, still holding onto his hand.
Cedric looked doubtfully around the small gazebo and nodded, even though he was really wondering how they would be safe in a flimsy little building with barely any walls.
The hedge closest to them began to rustle violently. The monster was tearing through the hedge, howling great roars in the process. Cedric looked back at the girl, but she had her eyes closed and seemed to be in some sort of trance. He turned back to the thrashing bushes, realizing that his death was very near when suddenly the shaking stopped.
Instead, a slight rustling commenced from the bushes and a slender figure stepped out of the leaves. The girl's eyes flew open suddenly.
"Get back!" she whispered urgently and shoved Cedric into a large potted plant beside the bench. He tried to stay as still as he could but couldn't seem to keep from shaking. Whoever it was that had just emerged from the bushes seemed to be very frightening and had a dangerous air.
"So," he heard a melodic voice say, "priestess of the Water Temple now are we? Jibrielle, you've come a long way." The voice chuckled delicately. There was something odd about the voice. It was very boyish and could almost pass as a girl's but it belonged to a man. The man spoke in a polite and courteous way, but there was something sinister and dark about his tone.
"What do you want here, Dardylen?" the girl, now known as Jibrielle, asked, "I didn't think you'd have the nerve to show your face here."
"How cold you've grown, my dear Jibrielle," he cooed, "I'm simply visiting to see how you've been faring on your own."
"You've not found your source yet?" Jibrielle said.
"So blunt," he said, "have you forgotten how to treat an old friend? Have you forgotten how we were?"
"You've not found one, that's why you're here," Jibrielle sighed.
Cedric was beginning to get hot in the pot and curious to see what was happening. He carefully rose from his hiding place and looked from behind the leaves. The man, Dardylen, was sitting with his back to the pot so Cedric could not see his face. All he could see was his long mass of wavy, silky silvery hair. He wore a sleeveless black shirt with matching black, tight-fitting pants. He tossed his hair back with an ivory colored hand.
"Of course, my sweet Jibrielle," he leaned forward and touched her cheek, "you know it's got to be you. You're the only one for me. I could never do with another."
"Don't touch me," she said sharply and turned her face away from his hand, "I shall never help you."
"Now don't be stubborn." There was a slight edge to his voice. "I may forget to be nice."
"Hurt me, do what you want," she spat at him, "but I will never be your source."
Dardylen seemed taken aback by this and stood up. Still, Cedric could not see his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to be trying to think of some way to respond. Then suddenly he bent over her and grabbed her neck with one hand. Cedric noticed that on his right hand, he wore a beautiful ring encrusted with a black gem. The gem had a strange mark that resembled three wings and a cross on it.
"Listen," he snarled dropping his voice, "No one insults Dardylen like this. I will find my source soon. That's for sure. And when I do, you're going to be awfully sorry that you didn't accept my offer when I came to you first!" With that, he pushed her back against the bench and straightened up.
Jibrielle clutched at her neck and looked up at him. He had his hands on his hips and was looking down at her again.
"Jibrielle, high priestess of the Water Temple," he said coldly, "Be sure to watch your back." He turned on his heel and waved a dainty hand at her. She looked down and seemed close to tears.
"Oh, and one more thing," Dardylen paused, his back still turned, "You'd better tell your little boy toy to come out of that pot over there. He might get devoured by those big, nasty worms."
"Cedric…"
"Cedric!"
"Ah! What?" Cedric blinked and squinted at the light coming in from the window. Rafe's worried face was bent over him and speaking.
"God, you scared me," he gasped with relief, "we thought someone was doing voodoo on you or something."
Cedric sat up and looked around. He was in his room at the inn they were staying in. Rafe was sitting on his bed beside him and Kalem was sitting on a chair nearby. Both wore identical expressions of relief but Kalem wiped the expression off quickly and turned away.
"What are you guys doing here? Was I screaming in my sleep?" asked Cedric.
"Yeah, but you weren't just screamin'," Rafe said, "I came in here to knock you out so you'd shut up, but you were burnin' up. I got Kalem in here and we tried to wake you, but you just kept tossing and turning and screaming. Eh—of course, we weren't that worried," he added quickly. Cedric smiled at his friends' concern. There were deep blue pockets under both of their eyes, evidence of their waiting at his side for the whole night.
"So," Kalem said, "why were you screaming? Bad dream?"
"Uh, yeah," Cedric admitted sheepishly, "It was the same one I always have, but this time a monster with big black wings popped up and scared the living—"
"A monster with black wings? How many wings did it have?" Kalem looked more serious than usual.
"Three… yeah," Cedric cocked his head back remembering.
"Did he see you? In the dream?" Kalem asked quickly.
"No… but he knew I was there," Cedric said.
"Damn… he knows we're here…" Kalem cursed, "We must leave. Now."
****
The sky was dark and clouded with thick clouds. A fat drop of rain flew down from the sky and splashed on Cedric's nose.
"Ack!" he gasped, "It's starting to rain! Wonderful…"
"Wonderful!" Rafe agreed enthusiastically, "This gives us another reason to stop!"
"We can't stop. Not yet." Kalem's voice was quiet but urgent. "We're not far enough from the last town. He'll be able to track us down if we stop."
"Yeah, and besides, the nearest town is about five miles ahead. We might as well keep going until we reach it," Cedric added, already used to Kalem's mysteriousness. He had questioned him before about this mysterious "He-who-must-not-be-named," but was given no response.
"I dunno about you guys, but my butt's getting really tired," Rafe complained and rubbed his rear, "I don't think this stupid horse likes me much." As if responding to his insult, Rafe's mare began to take off ahead of the other two at a mad gallop.
"Stop! Stop! I'm sorry! Kalem, help!!!" Rafe wailed up ahead.
"What an idiot!" Cedric laughed then turned to Kalem and asked, "Now that he's gone, will you tell me who this guy is that you're so worried about?"
"His name… is Dardylen," Kalem answered.
"Dardylen?! That's the guy from my dream! The one who popped out of the bushes!"
"Dardylen is a dangerous man," Kalem continued, "He wants your egg."
"And if he were to get his girly little hands on it?" Cedric asked.
"Things could get very unhealthy."
As if on cue, a bolt of lightning struck the sky, lighting everything up for a split second and then fading back to its original darkness. Somewhere on the horizon, Cedric could see a small black speck in the sky that seemed to be moving. It grew larger and larger until it resembled a black bird.
"What the…" Cedric strained his eyes to see. Kalem had stopped his horse and seemed to be watching the speck, too. As it drew nearer, Cedric saw that it was a dragon. A humungous dragon flying in the sky—the same he had seen in his dream.
"That's it! The dragon!" Cedric jabbed his finger in the air.
"And he's found us…" Kalem whispered.
The dragon soared down lower and slowed its progress. On its back, there was a small figure standing there. It was Dardylen, the man Cedric had seen in his dream. He was standing casually on the dragon, arms crossed over his chest and leaning all his weight on one leg. His eyes watched Cedric and Kalem carefully. He had a curious expression on his face, snobbish and sinister, his mouth smirking slightly.
Cedric and Kalem did nothing but watch him as he sailed over their heads. He circled them a couple of rounds and then, tossing his hair, he sailed away opposite of where he had come from. Cedric turned to look at Kalem.
"That was him. But he didn't do anything. He didn't hurt us."
"Don't be so naïve, Cedric," Kalem eyed the hills around him uneasily, "he's got something up his sleeve."
Again, as if on cue, the ground shook and rumbled under them. Their horses whinnied and reared in fear. Kalem jumped off his steed and landed lightly on his feet, sword drawn and held ready.
A dark, cloaked figure rose from the ground before them out of the very shadow that lay there. He raised his head and pulled his hood down to reveal a young man with a sharp-featured face and longish, pale, blond hair. His eyes were light blue and had a sorrowful look in them.
"Lord Dardylen wishes for the egg in your possession," he spoke softly in a deep voice, "Please give it here. You will not be harmed." He held his hand out, palm up.
"Oh puh-lease!" Cedric rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation, "Do you really expect us to obey you? Ya better think twice! This is my egg! I'm not givin' it up so easily!" The stranger bowed his head.
"Then you leave me with no choice. Prepare yourselves for combat."
"Bring it on!" Cedric challenged. He crouched into a defensive stance, eyes alert and waiting. Kalem came up by his side and did the same.
The young man brought his hands up and chanted some foreign words quietly and then made stranger gestures in the air with his hands. A circle of dark, towering silhouettes came around Cedric, Kalem, and the stranger. They slowly materialized into grotesquely deformed ogres, the smallest of them at least eight feet tall and five feet wide.
Cedric gasped and looked at Kalem. He did not return the gaze but kept his eyes steadily on the large monsters.
"I'll take the beasts, you get the blond," he said quietly to Cedric who nodded in agreement.
Without a warning, Kalem lunged at the ogres, sword raised high, and sliced down on the closest one. It quivered for a moment, paralyzed in its stance and then burst into a bloody mess. Entrails plopped down on the ground at Kalem's feet and he turned to face the other ogres.
"Who's next?" His eyes were black and cold.
The ogres all stared at their comrade's severed body for a moment and then roared with rage. They charged at Kalem who leaped into the air, gracefully flipping backwards away from the cluster of ogres.
Cedric watched with transfixed fascination as Kalem fought the ogres with much skill. He saw Rafe galloping up to the bunch and jump off his horse.
"They're doing fine on their own. Let us take our fight elsewhere," a voice came from behind Cedric and before he knew it, he felt himself being lifted off his feet. He flew up several feet into the air and was soon sailing high above the hills and trees away from his friends. He turned around to see who was carrying him and saw the stranger.
"W-where are you taking me?! Lemme go!" he struggled in the stranger's firm hold.
"Do not struggle unless you wish to fall to your doom," the stranger said. Cedric obeyed and stopped his struggling.
They finally descended to a small plateau with a few dry bushes and shrubs. Once his feet touched the ground, Cedric wriggled out of the stranger's grip and jumped several feet away. He whirled to face the stranger.
"Let us begin our battle," the stranger said.
"Let's!" Cedric agreed and prepped himself for a charge.
****
End of Part 2
Did you like it? PLEASE REVIEW THEN!!! It was all your great reviews for the first chapter that got this one out! Keep up the reviews!!! Don't forget to recommend it to others!!!
Cedric: Setsuna
Kalem: Kira
Rafe: Katou
Dardelan: Rociel
Dameon: Katan
And the 411: I am not Kaori Yuki nor do I own her characters or storylines. I am not Isobelle Carmody nor do I own the names of her characters.
Please remember that this is an ALTERNATE universe and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the original Angel Sanctuary manga or OVA series. Enjoy!
And thank you to all my reviewers! Especially to Belial, the very first one! But it would be ideal to get MORE reviews, being the ham I am! Please, if you enjoyed this fic, recommend it to others! Yes! That's what MoogleChan needs to fuel the engine and keep writing!!! REVIEWS!!!!
An Angel Sanctuary Epic
Chapter 2: "Uriel's Tower"
"Well, here we are," Rafe said as he and his companions emerged from a low grove, "Welcome to 'Nightfall Reverie'— also known as Uriel's tower."
Cedric looked up at the dark, massive tower before him. It was the tallest building he had ever seen in his life. The walls were made of glossy black obsidian and a spiral staircase wound its way around the whole tower. At the top of the stairs, Cedric could make out a tiny set of wooden doors.
"Whoa," Cedric breathed, "It's… big!"
"To say the least," Rafe laughed. Kalem cocked his head up and looked the building up and down. Then he sighed quietly. Cedric thought he heard him mutter under his breath.
"It's… been a while, Uriel."
"Did you say something, Kalem?" Cedric asked.
"No, nothing," Kalem said quickly, "Let's start climbing."
The trio started up the stone steps silently. The tower had a forbidding sort of atmosphere. Cedric felt that if he were to break the mysterious silence, some strange creature would hop out of nowhere and attack him. The other two must have felt the same way because neither of them was very conversational.
When they finally reached the top of the stairs, the tiny wooden entryway that Cedric saw before was now a pair of massive, solid oak doors. There was a tiny ledge in front of the doors, just wide enough for the three of them to stand closely together. To the left of the doors, there was a long thick rope connected to a large, shiny, bronze bell. Rafe reached out to grasp the rope and rang the bell.
At first, everything was silent except for the ringing bell echoing over the mountains. Then suddenly, the doors swung open rapidly to reveal a dark entranceway. Cedric jumped back a few steps and almost tipped over the ledge, but Kalem reached out, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him back onto the ledge.
"Careful, kid," he hissed and pulled him close. Cedric shivered and nodded.
"So, shall we go?" Rafe waved his hand at the open doors.
Rafe snatched a small torch from the wall inside and lit it. In the center of the room, there was a wide staircase covered by a crimson floor covering leading to a second story. The walls were decorated with long black tapestries lined with gold. There were huge paintings beside the tapestries of men and women wearing very old-fashioned clothing.
"Welcome back, Rafe." A deep voice cut through the thick silence. Cedric whirled around to look at the top of the wide staircase. There, on the very top of the stairs stood a tall figure, hidden in shadows. "And I see you've brought guests."
"Y-you're Uriel, the greatest wizard in the world who's hundreds and hundreds of years old?!" Cedric choked, feeling small and inferior.
"Yes, I am Uriel," he answered and added quietly, "do not talk about my age, please."
"Oh! S-sorry!" Cedric quickly apologized and looked frantically at Kalem who merely stood and watched the dark figure with an impassive expression. "W-well, your highness—er—your greatness, uh, Mr. Uriel, sir, um, we're here to, uh, ask you—" Cedric stuttered stupidly, awed by the powerful presence he was addressing. So silent, so stately, so—
"Okay! Cut the crud, Uriel!" Rafe cut in, placing his hands on his hips. "Come down here and quit being creepy."
"Silence, mortal," Uriel boomed, "Show respect to your master." Still obscured by the shadow, he began to descend the stairs, gliding silently. Cedric could feel the cold sweat of anxiety running down his back. He wondered just how willing the dark wizard would be to answer his questions. He looked up and noticed that Uriel was speaking again, nearly at the bottom of the stairs.
"Do not think so highly of yourself that you may invade my grand abode and demand of me what you—" Suddenly, his foot caught on a bump in the rug and he came crashing down the rest of the stairs in a tumbling heap.
Rafe sighed and shook his head, gazing down at the groaning heap of dark colored robes at his feet.
"I told you to get rid of this stupid rug!" he muttered, offering Uriel his hand, "What is it? Two hundred years old now?"
"Ugh," Uriel groaned, taking Rafe's hand and climbing to his feet, "I told the servants to order a new one, but they don't make them in this size anymore." Up close, Cedric was surprised to see that Uriel didn't look quite as ancient and powerful as he had thought at first. In fact, he looked no older than perhaps forty, and his sweeping, wavy mane of rich brown hair and smooth brown skin made him look rather pretty, and not foreboding at all.
"Geh," Rafe laughed dryly, "Anyway, I'm here for my payment, and these guys are here for some info."
"And my egg?" Uriel asked, brushing his robes off.
"Uh, it's here, sort of," Rafe said then pointed at Cedric, "He's got it!" Cedric jumped, terrified.
"W-well, yeah, I've got it," he admitted, "but you can't have it! It's mine!" Uriel stared at him for a moment and then touched his hand to his temples, turning away from the three.
"I feel a great headache coming on," he groaned again, "So what do you want in return?"
"In return for what?" Cedric blinked.
"The egg, you moron," Rafe snapped.
"Oh… the egg. Nothing! It's mine and I want to keep it!" Cedric clutched his breast pocket where the egg was. " I wanna know why you want my egg."
"Ah, you want to know," Uriel sighed, "Let me guess; you want to know what the egg is, why it's giving you a bellyache, and why I want it?"
"Yes, to everything except the bellyache," Cedric answered, a little startled at the wizard's abruptness.
"What? Your stomach hasn't been hurting since you've had it?" Uriel asked, raising his eyebrows.
"No, is it supposed to?" Cedric scratched his head. Uriel was silent for a moment, studying Cedric's face thoughtfully and then turned around, facing the stairs again.
"Come, we shall talk in my office," he called over his shoulder. Then he waved his hand, indicating that they should follow.
****
Uriel led them up the second story and up several more flights of stairs to a small room that seemed to be positioned at the very peak of the tower.
The room had a very warm and cozy atmosphere, unlike the rest of the cold, stone tower. An elegant settee set complete with polished mahogany coffee table and desk stood on a soft carpeted floor. Many awards and medals hung on the painted walls along with curious looking sculptures on shelves. Behind the desk was a set of double doors made of glass, leading out to a balcony with a glorious view of the mountain range beyond.
Uriel sat down in the chair behind the desk and motioned for them to sit. Cedric looked around, puzzled, trying to locate a chair to sit in, but there were none.
"Oh, forgive me," Uriel said when he noticed Cedric's befuddlement. He waved his hand lightly and suddenly, three chairs appeared out of thin air with a faint "pop." Cedric stared in fascination at the chairs settling down on the floor in front of the desk, thin puffs of smoke fading into the air around them.
Rafe hopped up over the chair with the lowest backrest and slung his legs comfortably over one of the arms. Kalem followed suit and sat down in the chair on the far left. That left Cedric to sit in the center chair directly across from Uriel. He walked over and sat nervously in the plush, cushioned seat.
"So," Uriel began, "you said you wanted information?"
"Well I'd like to know what exactly this egg is," Cedric replied.
"That egg is a magical relic. It is hundreds of years old and has a large amount of magical energy in it." Uriel leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
"What kind of magical energy?" Cedric asked.
"That I am not sure of, Cedric," he answered earnestly, "I was hoping to find that out."
"So that's why you wanted it!" Cedric stated more than asked.
"Well," Uriel said quickly, "apart from other reasons, yes."
"What other reasons?" Cedric asked eagerly. Uriel glanced up at the ceiling and then back down at Cedric, fidgeting with a paperweight on his desk.
"Like this," he hopped up out of his seat and strode over to a large, bureau-like cupboard nearby. He threw the doors open to reveal shelves of beautifully painted eggs, some encrusted with small gems, but none were as beautiful as Cedric's egg. "It'd make a charming edition to my collection, don't you agree? Easter's coming up!" Uriel flashed him a catlike smile. "I've got almost all of the Romanovs' Faberges!"
"Good lord," Cedric fell back into his chair, "Is he really the most powerful wizard in the world?!"
"He acts like an airhead, doesn't he?" Rafe chortled.
"I heard that," Uriel muttered and returned to his seat. "So, Cedric, now that you've asked your questions, let me ask mine. How did you get this egg?"
"It sounds kind of weird, but this guy was in this alley and these other guys in black attacked him. I went in there and scared them off, but I was too late for the first guy. He was really hurt and bleeding really bad. I don't know who the other guys were; they were all dressed in black and masked so I couldn't see their faces. Well, the first guy, ya know, the guy who was attacked, gave me the egg."
"Wow, he's a real bubblehead," Rafe muttered and nodded to himself.
"This, er, 'first guy,' as you say," Uriel said, "Did he say why he was giving you the egg?"
"He said that it seemed right that I should have it. And he said somethin' about some wings or something." Cedric scratched his head.
"What did he look like?" Uriel pushed on.
"Uh, he had really bright red hair and he looked about in his twenties…" he trailed off and looked at Kalem, then back at Uriel, "Why does this sound familiar? Did you know the guy, too?"
"He was… a friend." Uriel looked down at the desk. "A good friend."
"Oh… I'm sorry," Cedric looked down at his lap as well. "There was no way I could've saved him. He was already wounded and—"
Uriel held up a steady hand to silence him.
"It's all right. I'm not blaming you." He sighed and then looked back up. "Has anything unusual happened ever since you've had the egg in your possession?"
"Well, I've been having some weird dreams. There are these two really, really, pretty girls…" he trailed off at the looks on his listeners' faces, "Ahem! Yeah, anyway, there are these two ladies talking about the end of the world. The blond one wants to save the world, the brunette says the ends comin'. Then the blond one always seems to stare directly at me and ask for my help."
" 'Always'?" Uriel asked, "You've had this dream often?"
"Well, yeah, every night since I've had that egg."
"Then it has started," Uriel said more to himself than to Cedric. "It has started again."
"What? What's started?" Cedric asked confused.
"You say you haven't had any stomach aches since you acquired the egg?" Uriel cut in.
"Uh… no, why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing," the wizard muttered, frowning slightly. He then raised his eyes to examine Cedric. "Well… if Zaphkiel trusted you enough to give you the egg, you must be the one…"
Cedric stared. "The what? Me? What are you talking about?"
"You must… you must go. You must journey to the Water Temple and seek help from Jibrielle, the high priestess."
"Who?" Cedric asked.
"Jibrielle. She is the priestess of the Water Temple. She will know what to do."
"Wait a sec, I've got a question," Cedric said, "Why are we doing all this? What do I need to learn from this priestess?" Uriel looked at him and nodded.
"You know of the goddess Alexiel and her legend, right? Every hundred years a Child of Purity and a Child of Darkness is chosen from the mortals. They battle to see whether the world shall continue or end. That is what's happening now." Cedric gaped at him.
"I thought it was just a myth! It's really happening?!" he asked in alarm.
"Yes," Uriel answered, "And we've got to find the Child of Purity to prepare him. This egg is a relic made long ago by Alexiel for the Child of Purity. The Child of Darkness has an identical one. Now I need you to take this egg to Jibrielle because she will know what to do with it."
Uriel nodded and muttered more words to himself and then waved his hand in Rafe's direction. "You will accompany him." Rafe fell out of his chair.
"Who-what-where-when-why?!" Rafe squawked in rapid succession. He gaped up at Uriel. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
"No? Then no more cookies for you, Rafe," Uriel answered sternly.
"W-what? No, no! You cannot do this! You—"
"No. More. Cookies." Uriel's face was hard as stone as he articulated each word.
"Okay, okay! I'll go!" Rafe threw his arms up and climbed to his feet. Then he turned around to look at Uriel again. "But you gotta let me have some before we go. I mean, you missed one payment already."
"Your payment is… cookies?" Cedric looked up at Rafe. Then he burst out laughing. "You've gotta be kidding! Cookies?! Cookies?! Good lord! HA HA HA HA!" He rolled around, laughing more.
"Okay," Rafe said, giving him a scary smile, "laugh all you want, pretty boy. You'll see. Come with me!" Rafe threw an arm around Cedric and caught him in a headlock, "Let's go get some cookies and see how well you can resist them!" With that, they dashed out of the office. Kalem looked after his two companions, smiling fondly. Innocent children…
"And what, may I ask, brings you here, Kalem?" Uriel asked quietly from behind him. Kalem turned around slowly and gazed evenly into the wizard's deep emerald eyes. Then he closed his eyes calmly and shrugged.
"I'm just along for the ride."
****
Uriel sat back in his leather armchair. He took a sip of wine from a crystal goblet on his desk and sighed, thinking back to the conversation he had just had with Kalem mere moments ago.
"You cannot interfere, Kalem. Your time has passed. It is forbidden," he told Kalem harshly. Kalem's expression remained unmoved. Then his dark eyes flashed up.
"I don't plan on interfering. I just want to find the Child of Purity. Wasn't that your goal as well?" he asked.
"Yes, that was the reason I wanted the egg. I thought I could track him down, since the egg is attracted to its rightful owner. But circumstances have changed."
"You think it's Cedric, don't you?"
"It could be. Normal humans would feel the correct side effects of the egg, stomach aches and general weakness. But if he is immune to that, he might be the one. But just to be safe, we should not let him know. He should travel to Jibrielle, and she'll do the explaining to him if he is the one and she can confirm it."
"And what if it isn't him?"
"Then…comes the end."
****
"Okay, first we turn left here… and then right at this river… yeah," Cedric read off of the tattered map in his hands. The paper was turning yellow and was difficult to read.
"Are you sure we should leave the navigating to him?" Rafe asked Kalem. "I think he's holding the map upside down."
"Shut up!" Cedric glared at Rafe.
Cedric and his two companions were climbing to the side of a hill. Uriel had given them a map to guide them safely to the Water Temple.
"Gosh… I'm so tired," Rafe complained and flopped down on a large boulder covered with moss. "Are we anywhere near an inn or something?"
"Well," Cedric studied the map again, "Well, the next one up ahead is about… seven miles away. Or we could always go back to the one we just passed, which is four miles back. Or we can travel fifteen miles of our course to the East Coast—" Rafe shook his head.
"Forget it," he sighed, "I'll just walk 'til I drop dead from exhaustion—no, from your idiocy, Cedric! Of course we're not gonna walk fifteen damn miles to some place totally out of our way!"
"Or we can always stay in the town beyond this hill," Kalem called to them from higher up the hill.
Cedric and Rafe scrambled to their feet and hurried up the hill after him. When they reached the top, a modest, peaceful-looking town stood close to the foot of the hill.
"I feel like an idiot," Rafe and Cedric groaned together.
****
Cedric opened his eyes and sat up. He was lying in a soft familiar patch of grass in a beautiful courtyard with fountains and a hedge maze.
Not this dream again, he thought jadedly. He watched the two women exchange words for the umpteenth time.
As the young girl turned to stare at him to send him her usual request for help, she stopped abruptly and stared past him this time. Cedric looked at her puzzled, and then turned around to see what had caught her attention.
To his horror, there was a huge ghastly dragon behind him with three huge black wings. Its large claws were raised high above his head and seemed to be ready to come crashing down at any moment.
Cedric screamed and rolled out of the way just as the humungous claws crushed the ground he had been sitting on moments earlier. He looked frantically up at the girl and her companion, but they were no where in sight. He turned back to the dragon, hoping that it had followed suit, but unfortunately it was still standing in the same spot, its claws retrieved from the ground.
"Oh god!" Cedric cried and ran into the hedge maze. He rushed through winding paths and rolling slopes until he found a small crevice in the hedges and jumped into the thick green wall. It was a hole in the wall and led to another section of the maze.
He curled up in the hedge and tried to keep as still as he could so as not to summon the monster. He turned cautiously to look out the other end of the opening, hoping to find refuge. But before he could crawl an inch, he heard a sound behind him from the other opening of the hedge. He turned his head slowly and looked over his shoulder. There, filling the opening was a bright yellow circle with a deep red slit in the center of it. It was the eye of the beast. They watched each other for a moment, Cedric in pure terror, the monster in hunger, when suddenly it let out a colossal roar.
Cedric screamed, too, and found that he was paralyzed with fright. He was just beginning to think that he would surely die, even though it was only a dream, when someone came from behind him and pulled him through the hedge to the other side. He craned his head around and saw that it was the young girl who had always asked him for help.
"Come with me! Quickly!" she cried and grabbed his arm.
She took his hand in hers and led him across the yard to a small white, alter-like gazebo in the center of it. She sat down on an ivory bench at the top of the steps and pulled him down beside her.
"We'll be safe here, don't worry," she said quietly, still holding onto his hand.
Cedric looked doubtfully around the small gazebo and nodded, even though he was really wondering how they would be safe in a flimsy little building with barely any walls.
The hedge closest to them began to rustle violently. The monster was tearing through the hedge, howling great roars in the process. Cedric looked back at the girl, but she had her eyes closed and seemed to be in some sort of trance. He turned back to the thrashing bushes, realizing that his death was very near when suddenly the shaking stopped.
Instead, a slight rustling commenced from the bushes and a slender figure stepped out of the leaves. The girl's eyes flew open suddenly.
"Get back!" she whispered urgently and shoved Cedric into a large potted plant beside the bench. He tried to stay as still as he could but couldn't seem to keep from shaking. Whoever it was that had just emerged from the bushes seemed to be very frightening and had a dangerous air.
"So," he heard a melodic voice say, "priestess of the Water Temple now are we? Jibrielle, you've come a long way." The voice chuckled delicately. There was something odd about the voice. It was very boyish and could almost pass as a girl's but it belonged to a man. The man spoke in a polite and courteous way, but there was something sinister and dark about his tone.
"What do you want here, Dardylen?" the girl, now known as Jibrielle, asked, "I didn't think you'd have the nerve to show your face here."
"How cold you've grown, my dear Jibrielle," he cooed, "I'm simply visiting to see how you've been faring on your own."
"You've not found your source yet?" Jibrielle said.
"So blunt," he said, "have you forgotten how to treat an old friend? Have you forgotten how we were?"
"You've not found one, that's why you're here," Jibrielle sighed.
Cedric was beginning to get hot in the pot and curious to see what was happening. He carefully rose from his hiding place and looked from behind the leaves. The man, Dardylen, was sitting with his back to the pot so Cedric could not see his face. All he could see was his long mass of wavy, silky silvery hair. He wore a sleeveless black shirt with matching black, tight-fitting pants. He tossed his hair back with an ivory colored hand.
"Of course, my sweet Jibrielle," he leaned forward and touched her cheek, "you know it's got to be you. You're the only one for me. I could never do with another."
"Don't touch me," she said sharply and turned her face away from his hand, "I shall never help you."
"Now don't be stubborn." There was a slight edge to his voice. "I may forget to be nice."
"Hurt me, do what you want," she spat at him, "but I will never be your source."
Dardylen seemed taken aback by this and stood up. Still, Cedric could not see his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to be trying to think of some way to respond. Then suddenly he bent over her and grabbed her neck with one hand. Cedric noticed that on his right hand, he wore a beautiful ring encrusted with a black gem. The gem had a strange mark that resembled three wings and a cross on it.
"Listen," he snarled dropping his voice, "No one insults Dardylen like this. I will find my source soon. That's for sure. And when I do, you're going to be awfully sorry that you didn't accept my offer when I came to you first!" With that, he pushed her back against the bench and straightened up.
Jibrielle clutched at her neck and looked up at him. He had his hands on his hips and was looking down at her again.
"Jibrielle, high priestess of the Water Temple," he said coldly, "Be sure to watch your back." He turned on his heel and waved a dainty hand at her. She looked down and seemed close to tears.
"Oh, and one more thing," Dardylen paused, his back still turned, "You'd better tell your little boy toy to come out of that pot over there. He might get devoured by those big, nasty worms."
"Cedric…"
"Cedric!"
"Ah! What?" Cedric blinked and squinted at the light coming in from the window. Rafe's worried face was bent over him and speaking.
"God, you scared me," he gasped with relief, "we thought someone was doing voodoo on you or something."
Cedric sat up and looked around. He was in his room at the inn they were staying in. Rafe was sitting on his bed beside him and Kalem was sitting on a chair nearby. Both wore identical expressions of relief but Kalem wiped the expression off quickly and turned away.
"What are you guys doing here? Was I screaming in my sleep?" asked Cedric.
"Yeah, but you weren't just screamin'," Rafe said, "I came in here to knock you out so you'd shut up, but you were burnin' up. I got Kalem in here and we tried to wake you, but you just kept tossing and turning and screaming. Eh—of course, we weren't that worried," he added quickly. Cedric smiled at his friends' concern. There were deep blue pockets under both of their eyes, evidence of their waiting at his side for the whole night.
"So," Kalem said, "why were you screaming? Bad dream?"
"Uh, yeah," Cedric admitted sheepishly, "It was the same one I always have, but this time a monster with big black wings popped up and scared the living—"
"A monster with black wings? How many wings did it have?" Kalem looked more serious than usual.
"Three… yeah," Cedric cocked his head back remembering.
"Did he see you? In the dream?" Kalem asked quickly.
"No… but he knew I was there," Cedric said.
"Damn… he knows we're here…" Kalem cursed, "We must leave. Now."
****
The sky was dark and clouded with thick clouds. A fat drop of rain flew down from the sky and splashed on Cedric's nose.
"Ack!" he gasped, "It's starting to rain! Wonderful…"
"Wonderful!" Rafe agreed enthusiastically, "This gives us another reason to stop!"
"We can't stop. Not yet." Kalem's voice was quiet but urgent. "We're not far enough from the last town. He'll be able to track us down if we stop."
"Yeah, and besides, the nearest town is about five miles ahead. We might as well keep going until we reach it," Cedric added, already used to Kalem's mysteriousness. He had questioned him before about this mysterious "He-who-must-not-be-named," but was given no response.
"I dunno about you guys, but my butt's getting really tired," Rafe complained and rubbed his rear, "I don't think this stupid horse likes me much." As if responding to his insult, Rafe's mare began to take off ahead of the other two at a mad gallop.
"Stop! Stop! I'm sorry! Kalem, help!!!" Rafe wailed up ahead.
"What an idiot!" Cedric laughed then turned to Kalem and asked, "Now that he's gone, will you tell me who this guy is that you're so worried about?"
"His name… is Dardylen," Kalem answered.
"Dardylen?! That's the guy from my dream! The one who popped out of the bushes!"
"Dardylen is a dangerous man," Kalem continued, "He wants your egg."
"And if he were to get his girly little hands on it?" Cedric asked.
"Things could get very unhealthy."
As if on cue, a bolt of lightning struck the sky, lighting everything up for a split second and then fading back to its original darkness. Somewhere on the horizon, Cedric could see a small black speck in the sky that seemed to be moving. It grew larger and larger until it resembled a black bird.
"What the…" Cedric strained his eyes to see. Kalem had stopped his horse and seemed to be watching the speck, too. As it drew nearer, Cedric saw that it was a dragon. A humungous dragon flying in the sky—the same he had seen in his dream.
"That's it! The dragon!" Cedric jabbed his finger in the air.
"And he's found us…" Kalem whispered.
The dragon soared down lower and slowed its progress. On its back, there was a small figure standing there. It was Dardylen, the man Cedric had seen in his dream. He was standing casually on the dragon, arms crossed over his chest and leaning all his weight on one leg. His eyes watched Cedric and Kalem carefully. He had a curious expression on his face, snobbish and sinister, his mouth smirking slightly.
Cedric and Kalem did nothing but watch him as he sailed over their heads. He circled them a couple of rounds and then, tossing his hair, he sailed away opposite of where he had come from. Cedric turned to look at Kalem.
"That was him. But he didn't do anything. He didn't hurt us."
"Don't be so naïve, Cedric," Kalem eyed the hills around him uneasily, "he's got something up his sleeve."
Again, as if on cue, the ground shook and rumbled under them. Their horses whinnied and reared in fear. Kalem jumped off his steed and landed lightly on his feet, sword drawn and held ready.
A dark, cloaked figure rose from the ground before them out of the very shadow that lay there. He raised his head and pulled his hood down to reveal a young man with a sharp-featured face and longish, pale, blond hair. His eyes were light blue and had a sorrowful look in them.
"Lord Dardylen wishes for the egg in your possession," he spoke softly in a deep voice, "Please give it here. You will not be harmed." He held his hand out, palm up.
"Oh puh-lease!" Cedric rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation, "Do you really expect us to obey you? Ya better think twice! This is my egg! I'm not givin' it up so easily!" The stranger bowed his head.
"Then you leave me with no choice. Prepare yourselves for combat."
"Bring it on!" Cedric challenged. He crouched into a defensive stance, eyes alert and waiting. Kalem came up by his side and did the same.
The young man brought his hands up and chanted some foreign words quietly and then made stranger gestures in the air with his hands. A circle of dark, towering silhouettes came around Cedric, Kalem, and the stranger. They slowly materialized into grotesquely deformed ogres, the smallest of them at least eight feet tall and five feet wide.
Cedric gasped and looked at Kalem. He did not return the gaze but kept his eyes steadily on the large monsters.
"I'll take the beasts, you get the blond," he said quietly to Cedric who nodded in agreement.
Without a warning, Kalem lunged at the ogres, sword raised high, and sliced down on the closest one. It quivered for a moment, paralyzed in its stance and then burst into a bloody mess. Entrails plopped down on the ground at Kalem's feet and he turned to face the other ogres.
"Who's next?" His eyes were black and cold.
The ogres all stared at their comrade's severed body for a moment and then roared with rage. They charged at Kalem who leaped into the air, gracefully flipping backwards away from the cluster of ogres.
Cedric watched with transfixed fascination as Kalem fought the ogres with much skill. He saw Rafe galloping up to the bunch and jump off his horse.
"They're doing fine on their own. Let us take our fight elsewhere," a voice came from behind Cedric and before he knew it, he felt himself being lifted off his feet. He flew up several feet into the air and was soon sailing high above the hills and trees away from his friends. He turned around to see who was carrying him and saw the stranger.
"W-where are you taking me?! Lemme go!" he struggled in the stranger's firm hold.
"Do not struggle unless you wish to fall to your doom," the stranger said. Cedric obeyed and stopped his struggling.
They finally descended to a small plateau with a few dry bushes and shrubs. Once his feet touched the ground, Cedric wriggled out of the stranger's grip and jumped several feet away. He whirled to face the stranger.
"Let us begin our battle," the stranger said.
"Let's!" Cedric agreed and prepped himself for a charge.
****
End of Part 2
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