Chapter 7
The Hermit*
The Prophecy of War
~ Asgard, The Dark Continent ~
- Forest of Lies -
All is silent on the onyx-black continent of death known only as Asgard, where the Mystic Valley lies dormant, no life but the cold and snow littered air. Only the bravest explorers, or the dumbest manly men, come here in hopes of finding fame and fortune in the uncharted lands.
The forest of jade pines, devoid of dragons and other large life native to the plains of Fanelia and the mountains about Asturia and Freid. The thick expanse of trees hold countless plump animals used to the biting cold mood swings of nature and unusual birds flitting from dark branch to branch with their warbles and caws to their mates. They fly to the only structure, one nestled deep and forgotten in the forest, a stone temple with a strange eye symbol above its dark doorway. The whistling of the wind is all the can be heard throughout the place, the breath of death wafting about the emptiness within.
All life is peaceful and cold, or was until the pillar of light came down from the heavens near a cave deep in the forest, miles from the structure. The shouts of young men and woman, along with a loud metallic thudding echo throughout the forest, sending all life sprinting in every direction for safety, awaiting the deadly silence they are so used to.
~
Hiero became aware of two things when he started to be able to feel his body again. For one, he recalled that he'd lost his shirt in rushing Chesta and much needed food back to the ravine base yesterday, so he felt very cold and wet currently. It was a familiar kind of cold, as if he was lying in snow. As he struggled to look about, he found he was lying in snow, but a very thin layer. There were trees above him taking on most of the chilly confection. The next thing he became aware of was that he was laying on his stomach and someone was on top of him, with their boots digging into the back of his skull.
He heard a slight moan, a voice he knew, Dalet's. Hiero just growled and swiftly got up, sending Dalet shouting out a string curses as he was sent back first into a tree, mounds of snow cascading upon him from the branches above. Hiero took one look at Dalet, a funny looking snow pile on his upside-down body and some caked in his shoulder pads, some obviously going down his armor and onto his skin enough to make his face turn blue and teeth chatter, and laughed.
Dalet just got a disgusted look on his face. "Baka! What was that for!?"
"For landing on me without asking….dick," Hiero said, looking around. He was alone with Dalet as far as he could tell," Dammit, why'd I have to land with a whiney narcissistic bastard? Dilandau!! Alessa! Chesta! GATTI! Anyone??"
Dalet started to shout too, his teeth chattering the entire way as he tried unsuccessfully to warm himself up. Hiero ignored him for a bit, still shouting, until his eyes met with a cave with a glowing green light within, a familiar smell of sulfur. He went over to Dalet and faced the shivering Slayer towards it.
"Get inside there and wait for me. You'll freeze, much as I don't like you, and I know you hate my guts, Dilandau won't happy if you die. Beat it, babe." Hiero smirked, shoving Dalet as hard as he could towards the cave.
"What is that smell? What's so safe about a green cave?" Dalet said crassly, but Hiero was already walking away.
"Trust me, it's warmer, Stay near it and call out to the others. I think we'll be fine staying there until the morning comes." Hiero shouted, and ran into the dark coldness of the forest.
~
"Dammit, why am I always so fucking self-less. I feel like a frozen fish stick….whatever that is. Mom never explained that one to me. Heck, if I had asked, she'd have wondered how I knew about them, Hiero shivered, wishing he'd borrowed Dalet's armor instead of trying to do this bare-chested," Brrr….if I stay out here any long, my balls will freeze off. That's hell to grow back. I couldn't walk for weeks the last time my royal jewels got….Eh, forget that. Yuck, don't think about that. It's taken you centuries to try and forget that bit of torture."
"Hiero?! Dalet!? Can you hear me?" he heard a voice shout.
'Chesta?' he thought, and ran for the voice when he heard it again. He was happy when he saw the young blonde slayer leaning against a building doorway, trying to keep himself warm by rubbing his arms, but what made him even happier was to see the others huddled behind him. His face fell when he looked at them, finding Dilandau holding up Alessa slightly with Migel. He frowned deeply when he saw Alessa was out cold.
He grabbed her up out of their arms, noting how blue they all looked, but how very pale and bruised Alessa was. He looked at Gatti and saw he had similar bruises, as well as a bleeding arm, and had Alessa's duffel bag on his back. Hiero quickly shot an accusing stare at Migel, who looked back defiantly.
"I'm sorry, but I passed out when that light took us. They just fell out of my grasp. She's alive, so don't accuse me of anything, dammit. Gatti took most of the landing in that tree, she was out cold before he even hit. We don't know what's wrong with her." Migel replied heatedly.
Hiero checked Alessa's pulse, then made sure she was breathing. She was, slow and steady, but definitely alive. "Where is Dalet?" Dilandau spouted, control still within his voice.
"I left him back at some shelter we found, a cave. Just follow me, it's better than this….place…."Hiero was saying, then his voice trailed off as he looked up at the temple awning," Wisdom."
Only Dilandau and Chesta seemed to find this interesting and looked up with him. "It's the ancient eye of wisdom, the one used in the ancient texts. So what?" Dilandau asked, growing impatient.
"I'll tell you when we get back to Dalet….and clean up. I know a lot more about surviving in the cold that you do. Believe me, let's get moving before we all freeze to death." Hiero coughed, leading the group away from the silent temple.
"Oh yeah, where's Migel's guymelef?" Hiero added, casting his eyes back on the still angry looking Slayer. Migel frowned and Hiero heard Dilandau growl. "I….crashed it into a lake when the light dropped me. It's….useless now. I was able to eject when I saw the frozen expanse and hit closer to the land, but my guymelef wasn't so fortunate. Even if it was still functioning, we'd die trying to retrieve it."
"Something you'll be punished for later, Migel. Now walk faster….your stalling on purpose now." Dilandau hissed.
~ Hot Springs ~
Hiero put Alessa a large recess of the cave, just a ways off from the large Hot Springs pools that bubbled and let out warm steal that kept the place free of the biting cold outside. He was right, as always, about the ways of nature. The cave led into an underground cavern, the water being heated by the warm insides of the planet, making a natural hot bath, despite the smell of rotten eggs. There had been a many a time in the two worlds he'd been in before Gaia that Hot Springs came in handy for shelter and much needed cleaning. The hot water was enough to clean anything, just with the sulfur smell that came with it, but the smell didn't last long.
He tended to her bruises with his power while the others warmed up, probably too busy with that notice he was working spells, he hoped anyway. He was ready to explain off his magic endowment, but he didn't feel he needed to. Everyone was under enough stress with all the hell that had broken loose already. He'd wait for someone to bring it up, and not before then.
The trip back here had been easy enough, but Hiero had take Chesta outside with him to gather some firewood for cooking, as boiling it would take much too long. He'd left Chesta to it after his own arms had become full with dry wood, and Chesta didn't seem to mind. They had been gathering close to the cave, so there wasn't a chance in hell Chesta would lose his way
Hiero heard vaguely behind him that Migel and Ryuon announced they were going to catch some birds to roast up, as the food Hiero had supplied was running low already. It sounded decent enough to him. He hadn't eaten much of those kills, maybe a few small scraps on account that he'd already inhaled a lot of food at the coronation ball, but with all that had happened since then, his appetite had worked back up. He did his best to ignore the hunger pains and he went on searching out the wounds on the Mystic Moon's beauty's body.
Empathy seemed to be drowning his senses something awful as he healed her, that calming feeling again. She always seemed to help him forget the pain of the past and present, mostly the coughs he was fighting off. He'd heal from it in another few minutes, he always did. He had never been sick a for more than a an hour at best whenever he did catch something. That and small cuts and bruising were no contest against his enhanced healing abilities.
Alessa was not that fortunate, with severe bruises all over her and a nasty bump on the head. He had wanted to strangle Migel more than Gatti for dropping her, but Gatti was hurting too. He could almost feel Gatti's mind crying inside, wanting the pain in his broken arm to stop. Gatti had other injuries Hiero had to tend to, but not a severe concussion like Alessa had. He could wait a few more minutes, a few more minutes with Alessa was addicting enough to become hours.
He laid his hands on her head for the final spell, convinced nothing more was wrong with her. He let out the chant quietly, but it overtook his mind as it was meant to, blocking out all other sounds. "Oh, blessed and humble hand of God, life and breath of Mother Earth, come before me and show your great compassion and deliver us….RECOVERY!"
His hands came alive with white energy, creeping through the bones and soft flesh of his lithe fingers, the energy flowing into her head with the healing caress. She rustled a but, the wound and bruise upon her head vanishing beneath her perfect, lilac hair. He gave a it a gentle stroke as he inspected her a little longer, not wanting to walk away just yet.
"What was that?" Hiero nearly tore a chunk of Alessa's hair out he was so startled by Chesta's voice. Instead, he let go of her hair and whirled about with wide and stunned eyes. Chesta backed up with a jerk, as if it was an inborn reflect. 'Get slapped enough, you'd jump back too. Hmm, I have been slapped a round more than him….you get used to it eventually. Poor guy though, but not my problem. Slapping doesn't bother me.' he thought, and offered a sheepish smile.
"Healing spell….another little gift I have. How do you think you survived your wounds from the ambush? I mean really, no one on Gaia heals that fast, except me." he said simply, brushing the question off as casual conversation," Watch over Alessa for me. I'm not done."
Chesta nodded vaguely, shrugging out of his dinged armor. He still had the sleeveless lavender blousy vest on, the small hole his past injury had made in the fabric, blowing open and shut every few seconds.
Hiero walked over to the other Slayers and Dilandau, who were also wearing the same kind of blousy vest, but Dilandau's was pure white. He went up to Gatti, whose lavender vest was spattered with blood. Hiero didn't smirk or grimace when he saw Gatti's arm was broken badly, some of the ivory bone sticking up through the frontal bend of his elbow. Gatti's face was the perfect picture of agony, cuts and scrapes all over his once perfect face and blood tricking out of the gash across his right leg.
'Easy as pie….brave guy though, to take all that for a girl he doesn't know.' He thought fondly and knelt by Gatti, who looked at him with strained eyes.
"This is going to hurt, but best I take care of the severe wounds before the small stuff. Just grit your teeth." Hiero told him, getting a faint nod, but Gatti looked very confused. He winced the moment Hiero grabbed his arm out of the blue and set the break back in place. He didn't cry out, thanks to his Dragon Slayer training. Showing weakness was screaming over wounds that weren't fatal, and he knew Gatti wouldn't dare embarrass himself like that in front of the other Dragon Slayers, let alone Dilandau himself.
"Oh, blessed and humble hand of God, life and breath of Mother Earth, come before me and show your great compassion and deliver us….RECOVERY!" Hiero said quietly, the healing lightly pulsing into Gatti's arm. In a short minute, the arm was healed, and Gatti proved it when he moved it about, flexing it once, then twice. Hiero just let him be amazed and healed the gash on his leg, ignoring the tightening of Gatti's muscles from the pinching pain. 'If you think this hurts, wait till I heal your face….now that'll hurt….not like I'll tell you that. Surprises are so much fun.' He mused mischievously.
He looked up softly at Gatti's amazed face, brushing back the silvery-blonde bangs away from the Slayer's face before cupping Gatti's face in his hands, chanting the spell one last time. This time Gatti nearly screamed, but Hiero clamped his mouth shut by shoving upward with his thumbs on Gatti's chin. In a few short minutes, there wasn't even a trace of scarring or even the fact that Gatti had been injured at all.
The silvery-blonde youth looked even happier than Hiero thought possible, touching his face curious with gloved, then ungloved fingers. He looked about ready to cry, laugh, and scream at the same time, but all he did was look like a child full of wonderment. 'He better not hug me or I'll break his arm again. I can't stand being touched by strangers. Knowing his name does not make us bosom buddies or some shit.' He thought crassly, turning his head towards the exit that now held Migel and Ryuon, both with a good number of fat and plucked geese in their hands and smug grins on their faces.
Hiero just returned it and Dilandau stood up, his face going back to soldier mode. Hiero could feel that Dilandau, as well as the others, were deeply curious how Hiero could heal with words and touch, but eating was more important at present. "Gut those birds you two. Gatti, Dalet, you help them. Hiero and I will get the fire ready." Dilandau announced, getting a quartette of "Yes, Lord Dilandau's" before the four Slayers quickly got to work.
Dilandau got a very sturdy cooking house created, probably from his own training in the past for outdoor survival. Hiero had learned from his past parents on Val's world, but the ones he had built were to cook massive amounts of fish, mostly for himself and Lina. He still had a hearty appetite, but nowhere near as ravenous as it had once been on that world.
Hiero helped him, stuffing smaller twigs under the makeshift cooking wrack of thick wet logs, so they would not burn away and ruin the food. They'd last a long time and so long as they weren't saturated terribly, they wouldn't hinder the flames destined to course about it. Dilandau's method of starting a fire was the old fashioned way, rubbing one stick against another while blowing. His garnet eyes were large and anxious, but not happy. He looked more annoyed. "Little pyro….don't get pissed off now or you'll impale you precious hands." Hiero chuckled.
Dilandau glared at him, stopping his efforts. "You have a better idea to get this fire going? My men have nearly got the birds ready….Huh?" Dilandau snapped, but Hiero just offered a sincere smile, pushing his hands away from the wood. "You can slap me if this doesn't work, I might have wasted all my energy on healing Alessa and Gatti." Hiero breathed, putting his hands right in front of the woodpile, flexing his fingers slightly.
"What….what are you….?" Dilandau was saying, but lost his voice when Hiero hands glowed with reds and oranges. "Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand. FIREBALL!" Hiero chanted, a fist sized fireball thrusting out of nothing and starting the fire up nicely. Dilandau's eyes shrank with delight, an impish smile slinking over his lips. "Beautiful….but how? How can you make fires and cures with just words?" Dilandau asked, his voice all dazzled as he stared intensely at the flames.
Hiero smiled back knowingly. "Magic….doesn't have to be a secret anymore. That's the only word I can use to describe it….its not the issue right now. Just help me keep it going, so we can eat and then wash all the crap on our bodies off." Hiero said lightly, getting an indifferent shrug out of a smirking Dilandau, who was more than happy to play with the fire.
~
Alessa's eyes burned a moment, her nostrils filling with the delicious scent of poultry with a hint of burning wood. She rustled quietly, then perked her ears to the sound of crackling embers. She must have been breathing it in for a good amount of time, the scent making her mouth fill to the brim with drool. She swallowed it harshly, not liking the taste at all, and then her ears heard new sounds. The rustling of fabric and the brief sounds of water being disturbed.
She waited a moment, then heard talking. She got overly curious as the voices went on, voices she knew, Hiero's, that Dilandau guy he was chummy with, that jerk Migel, and the other Dragon Slayers murmuring small replies and questions. The splashing of water came again along with dripping and harsh movements. Hiero's icicle clinking laugh, so heartfelt and enchanting, echoed, then Dilandau's own insane laughter joined him, making her cringe, but her curiosity grew.
'One peek wouldn't hurt….my eyes feel crusty anyway. How long was I out?' she wondered, peeking her eyes open only a little, so she'd still appear to be asleep. She felt her nosebleed so much she could feel the blood lick at her ear, her eyes struggling to stay thinly opened.
Every single last Dragon Slayer had nothing on, all of them sitting up to the middle of their chests in a green and bubbling pool of sulfur smelling water. IT was several feet away, but she could see them all perfectly, mostly the three young and naked men directly across from her view, facing her, but not aware she was even staring them up and down and trying not to hyperventilate.
Hiero was sitting in between both Dilandau and Migel, though what was under the water was partially obscured, she could tell what was down there. The last time she'd seen naked males was when the girls at the orphanage shoved her into the boy's locker room after the baseball game. It had been when she had just hit thirteen, getting more than a good look at several blushing and towel snapping young men, most of them getting out of the shower stalls with only a towel on their shoulders. She'd been pelted with dirty underwear, wet towels, and numerous empty bottles of sport's creams, but it had been worth the humiliation for those few minutes she managed to keep her hands off her beet red face.
She was worried here, since every single one of these young men had swords, daggers, and one had a loaded crossbow just behind his head, Ryuon was his name. He had his back facing her, Dalet's own pretty boy brunette head to his right and Gatti to Ryuon's left. Both of them looked to have a decent build and creamy colored skin, their muscles alight with the water, rippling subtly in their arms and necks, what she could see of their necks anyhow. Guimel was sitting on the left side of the green pool and Chesta was on the right.
Chesta had a very decent build, but looked more like a little kid in a man's body. He had such a baby face, he looked so innocent and kind, all attached the body of a well-built male. He was shorter than all the others were. He was currently looking gently at his reflection with glazed eyes.
Guimel was just plain scrawny, like the 90-lb. weaklings that get beat up in beach movies. He was just skinny, like the nerdy boys she was used to in her class. How he got to be an elite Dragon Slayers was beyond her, but he hadn't said he was a weapons expert or a crack guymelef pilot, he was a battle analyst. In short, a nerd with a sword, he did statistics, not expert slashing and soaring. Guimel looked a bit beside himself, looking about himself nervously as if the other would beat the crap out of him at any moment.
They all looked so relaxed, but they were still naked. They were bathing, bathing a good one minute walking distance from where she was laying.
She felt a blush creep up her cheekbones when Hiero shifted a bit, the water splashing up against her well sculpted torso. His hair was wet, the stains f the blood of Fanelia long gone. They all looked considerably cleaner. 'First he acts like a perv and thinks I'm a hooker, then he's all nice to me, treats me like a princess, next he turns out to be friends with that lunatic Dilandau….he's really strange with his mood swings, but….what a body.' She thought, then a little voice in her head told her to quit dreaming.
Hiero was in his own little state of mind, one that was always switching back and forth like the tides, and he was royalty, a king. Why would he ever see anything in her, and she had only known him for a few days, she knew she should close her eyes and stick to reality.
Another minute of staring and she blocked out the voice. 'To hell with reality, this place is as far from reality as I am used to. What they don't know won't hurt me. I deserve a little bit of relaxing….uh….entertainment after the hell I've been going through.' She thought.
Alessa couldn't take her eyes off the naked men bathing and chatting, more so her eyes were on Hiero. The way his slender muscles moved, almost like a graceful animal, when he gave himself a stretch, sparkling jade droplets of water dripping down in small streams over every contour of his body. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach the whole time, and to make matters worse, they nearly leapt out of her chest when the Dragon Slayers started shifting about, coming a bit out of the water to readjust their sitting arrangements. She nearly hiccuped when Dalet came completely out to switch with Chesta, saying his seat was bruising him, letting Alessa see every lean inch of Dalet's backside dripping with sparkling water. Her eyes quivered a bit and she thrust her eyes on Hiero, waiting for Dalet and Chesta to finish switching.
"Dammit, you're so picky, Dalet. You whine like a damned woman." Dilandau hissed, standing up swiftly and smacking Dalet suddenly as the brunette had sat down. Dalet fell all the way in the water towards poor Chesta, who was already settled in his new spot. The sudden action of Dalet's face crashing into Chesta's legs sent him in a panic and he leapt out of the water.
Alessa bit her tongue and suddenly had the urge to look at the ceiling, so she did. 'There's only so much I can take….why do I turn from this, but not from Hiero? They don't know.' As her eyes lowered, Dalet came up sputtering, and slowly slunk back to where he had been sitting. From what she had seen of Dilandau, his body was lithe and perfectly shaped, his slender build flexing like ripping water over his pale skin. He wasn't badly endowed either down below either, then Alessa mentally slapped herself.
'Pervert….you're worse than that arrogant creep Migel, him trying to look down my blouse every time he walked around me….oh,….but, they'll never really know….they won't, enjoy it while it lasts, girl. They don't put stuff like this up at the orphanage…..lousy penguins.' She thought, remembering how the nuns had forbidden even an R-rated movie to be rented for movie night. She let her eyes drift to innocent Chesta, stifling a blush yet against the site of his entire bare backside.
Chesta, after he looked at Dilandau's sour face, sure the danger was over, went back in the water. Hiero looked, to her dismay, to be getting a kick out of it all.
"Heh, you know we should do this more often when all this prophecy mess is over." Hiero spouted, his double colored yes flashing with amusement. Dilandau's face matched it in the blink of an eye, looking overly pleased and arrogant about himself.
"This isn't a social event, Hiero, I don't appreciate my men acting like they are on leave when our lives and reputations are at stake. Discipline is essential to a strong soldier you know." Dilandau said casually, casting a knowing glance at Hiero.
Hiero met it with a smiling nod, then cast his eyes at the others. "I can see that, they're all in pretty good shape, all be it healthier than before. Hopefully Asgard has lots of those fat birds around. We'll need all the strength we can get….for tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?" Ryuon asked casually, squeezing out the wet length of his long black hair, some splashing in Gatti's and Guimel's directions. Gatti started to get out, but instead just sat on the edge of where Guimel was, washing his legs a bit. His body wasn't so bad either, resembling that a of a finely built track star, his silvery-blonde hair, hanging wetly against his calm face. He had one leg crossed over the other, so she couldn't see anything, and was deeply glad for that. Seeing Dilandau's family jewels was plenty, she didn't need to see everyone utterly naked. The guilt would be too much for her to even look them in the eye ever again.
Gatti seemed to have the best build of all the Slayers, not too big and not too small, and not as slenderly built as Dilandau. It was athletic really, and she had no doubt in her mind that was probably part of the reason Gatti was second in command, for his strength and prowess. He reminded her of her father. He'd been a very active man, the way he carried himself so carefree, but never afraid to speak his mind.
When he got back in the water he was beside Guimel, giving the fluffy-haired boy a rumpling on his head with a small laugh, like a big brother would. It was nice, then Gatti's eyes went to Hiero's, the smile still persistent on his lips. "Yes, what is so essential about tomorrow, does it have to do with that odd temple we found?" Gatti asked, his tone feigning curiosity, the deep boyish tone eliciting a smile on Hiero's lips.
"That temple you were all in, it's called the Temple of Wisdom. I saw it in a vision, when I first touched Chesta's hand. I saw that exact same place, the voice in my vision said its where the Angel of Wisdom will ascend to his destiny….and that angel is Chesta. I am completely positive….he must be taken there when morning comes so he can….do whatever he to do to get dubbed this angel. Like someday Dilandau, Val, and I will, and Alessa, along with two more of you." Hiero explained, his eyes growing hard suddenly.
'Me….an angel? Impossible….but, that strange man on that floating hunk of blackness said he wanted Hiero, Val and myself to be given up, maybe that's why. But how could I be an angel?' she thought.
Hiero started a bit and looked directly at her, startling her mentally for a moment, but she dismissed it. He eyed her curiously, then shook his head with a wane smile. 'No way he can see me from there, especially not my eyes. He doesn't know I'm up, don't panic. He doesn't know.' She thought, but a pang of guilt made her shut her eyes, only using her ears for the rest of the conversation.
"How do you know its two of us?" Dalet asked with distaste, wiping his face off delicately. Hiero smirked. "I know because it's more than obvious that Folken would do anything to retrieve the lot of us. The prophecy calls for seven angels, who must call upon the gods of war and death to decide Gaia's fate, but that's all I really know," Hiero said, then looked sharply at Guimel," Chesta said you had something of Sora's. Did you bring it with you in our escape?"
Alessa recalled those moments with a bit of fear infecting her soul. Hiero had dragged Dilandau along and Migel escorted her even rougher all the way to his messy room then the hanger. She'd seen ever single Slayer speed out of poorly lit and moldy smelling rooms as the tremors that were rocking the base to pieces got stronger. Ryuon grabbed a quiver full of metal quarrels** and a hand crossbow, strapping them to his back and hip as he ran along, Chesta grabbed a limp looking brown sack that smelled of pork, and Gatti had a small pouch, something with metal stuff clanging inside it. Dalet grabbed nothing but an off-white sack, with some lavender and white fabrics sticking out, probably dirty clothing. Guimel didn't bother to go in his room at all and had already left her sights before Migel could get her back in the halls. She felt like Hiero would get a bad answer because of this, but when she peeked again to see if it was true, Guimel nodded slowly after the few minutes passed.
"Ok then, I'll….do a reading on it once Alessa wakes up and gets all….cleaned up. I bet she'll welcome a hot bath after having Migel's filthy hands all over her." Hiero snickered, the Slayer in question blushing as all the other Slayers looked at him in astonishment. Migel just sniffed and turned away from them all, crossing his arms over his chest.
Hiero smiled even wider, a devilish twinkle settling in his eyes. It wasn't long before the young men all started to get out of the water, Dilandau first and the other next, all but Hiero and Migel. Migel finally got out of his huff when Dilandau angrily shouted his name, the blue-eyed Slayer quickly rising out of the water and starting to get out. Hiero grabbed him by the throat without warning and put him in a headlock, standing at his full height. Alessa gulped and forced her eyes to stay on their faces as the water slinking down their perfect skin, their slender builds almost similar, but Migel had more color in his skin that the pale peachish color of Hiero's body.
Hiero leaned his face right near Migel's ears, the blue eyes of the Dragon Slayer looking scared to death. "If you ever have another cruel or perverted thought about Alessa or dare to scare and hurt her like that again, I might repeat history, Migel….don't you tempt me to crush your throat, understood?" Hiero hissed,.
Alessa was barely able to understand how he knew what Migel had done, but she was even more baffled when she saw Hiero's eyes changing from the double colors, to red, then black. Migel had pawed her and flirted a bit aggressively, just as bad as when he had woken her up rather rudely. His body was similar to Ryuon and Dalet's, the same good abs and slender build on his legs, which were kicking up frantically. He really had a decent body, as incredibly tense it was, his convulsions and gagging, too much water splashing up for her to see anything else even if she wanted to.
Migel never got one kiss out of her, but he was a cruel interrogator, making her feel like an abused child. Now Migel was wearing the same expression she had been, but ten times more terrified.
"Understood." Migel squeaked out. Hiero's face softened as suddenly as the attack had begun, and simply tossed Migel hard into the water with a carefree smile. Hiero turned about, his entire sleek backside in Alessa's sights, until he got out of the water and went to the fire to dry off with the other, the flames blocking her view of him.
Migel got out of the water afterwards, gasping and coughing madly before he managed to reach the rocky shore and crawl to the fire.
'How….what just happened?' she thought, but each time she tried to process it, that angered face of Hiero's popped into her mind, the malice in his voice running down her spine, making her close her eyes until she was sure they were dressed.
~
When Alessa had finally woken up, she ate the last of the food, then demanded she take a bath. Hiero was more than willing to let her take one, sicne they had all eaten and bathed before her. The downside was that she didn't trust them to keep their backs turned, so all of the young men walked out through the cavern tunnel to the point where it was far enough away to give her privacy, but close enough to the heat source so they wouldn't freeze.
It had taken a bit of time to convince Dilandau to do this, but he felt he was lucky that Dilandau prided himself as having wonderful manners, and the small request of a female seemed trivial, but enough. After a few minutes, most of them started to doze off, all looking in the opposite direction of where the Hot Springs lay. All but Hiero himself who took this time to let his mischievous side come out and play. He whispered a small chant, making sure no one was looking at him, and cast an illusion spell upon his body, the spell of invisibility. Many a time this spell had come in handy in spying on pretty young ladies in bathhouses, a childhood pastime that became a wonderful and well worth while prank he and Val loved to play.
He had seen those icy blue depths of Alessa's eyes staring at him, at all of them, and deep down he felt rather embarrassed that the trickster himself had been beaten by a woman in a little antic he'd grown so well at. She hadn't hid it well, nor bothered to censor her thoughts. Half of them made him blush, but in the end, he was saddened he had scared her. He was merely defending her honor against Migel's grabby hands. He gathered she could do just as well as he could against the jerk, but when he heard her fearful thoughts, he felt guilty, more about scaring her than harming Migel.
He knew how frightened Migel was of strangulation, the vessel of his death, so he had employed it to teach the terrible flirt a lesson. Upon letting go, he hated himself, he felt like Allen, and that disgusted him. Allen would do something that petty and chauvinistic, but Hiero hadn't meant it to be. He was defending a close friend, wasn't he?
He had made up his mind that he'd get even so he wouldn't feel like a macho pig, but a pervert. He could deal with that, and what perverts got in their eyes was better than spouting chauvinistic crap and demeaning a strong woman.
'She shouldn't have tried to be so sneaky….I'm the king of sneakiness, literally now. One quick look and we're even….not like I'll ever tell. Once she's all done, we can get on with this reading and get some damned sleep.' He thought, creeping quietly back towards the Hot Springs cavern.
He drank in the sight of her, what he could see anyway. She looked nervous, her eyes and head looking about, her lip slightly pouted. He could see the tops of her breasts, nicely shaped and the perfect size. His eyes went back to her face, what he deemed to be the most important part of a woman, aesthetically. Women were works of art to him, living goddesses of the most pristine beauty, so long as they had good hearts. It didn't matter how pretty a woman was or how big her chest was, if she was a pain in the ass or a crueler than sin, they were no longer women, they were monsters.
He smiled suddenly at that, even though he was the only one aware of it. 'You're a monster….you're worse than any monster ever born. You weren't even born like other boys, you were created by the magic tampering of a vain bitch you once called mother. How could Alessa ever care for me if she found out what kind of a true freak I am. Hell, I've killed more people than Dilandau and his Dragon Slayers combined. Magic is all they get out of me….hopefully I can keep everything else a secret….," he was thinking, them Alessa stood up to use a small cloth she'd taken out of her back to clean herself.
He flitted his eyes up and down her perfectly curved and supple body a moment, his senses becoming jelly, like his legs as his hormones got worked up. He slumped a bit onto his rear, breathing hard even when he forced his eyes on her face, trying to blot out the splashing water and sighs she was making. 'Now why do I feel dirty about this….is it the same reason she felt bad about eyeing all of us? Heh, Val would be dying about now. He'd be trying to cover his horn up….' Hiero smirked, fighting a nosebleed when he angled his eyes down to see if Alessa had gotten back in the water. She hadn't, so he went back to staring at the ceiling.
Rather he would have if he hadn't heard other sounds behind him. He crept about the cavern opening and kept his invisible body pressed against the side, turning his eyes back inside the entrance slightly. He growled in his throat when he saw Dalet was sneaking through the shadows with a sleazy grin on his face.
Hiero gently pushed into the Dragon Slayer's mind, and felt sick. Dalet was being a pervert like Migel had been, only he was going to spy on Alessa too. 'One thing I can't stand is a pervert that copies off of me….the nerve of him. Only I get to get away with being a sneak, not you,' he thought humorously, then his frown became a creepy little grin,' Oh….I feel the little devil big biting my ass….Oh Dalet, do you believe in ghosts?'
Hiero walked quietly past the grinning Dalet who was watching Alessa too eagerly, licking his lips and rubbing at his thighs absentmindedly. Hiero just shook his head before hatching his little prank. "BOO!!" Hiero screamed, and grabbed Dalet after the Slayer jumped in the air out of fright, and tossed him right towards Alessa.
The moment Dalet landed on the rocky floor yelping, a foot from a shaking Alessa, she screamed at the top of her lungs, ducking her body into the water. A few seconds later, she was punching Dalet in the face. Hiero was fighting the urge to laugh until he couldn't take it any longer, falling to the floor as fresh peels of laughter came from him all over again
After the other Slayers, with Dilandau grudgingly trailing, Hiero's spell was canceled when Dilandau tripped over him. Hiero stopped laughing when his eyes met Dilandau's, who looked a bit uneasy, but he was interested in what had just happened. His red eyes were small again, showing he was entranced and wild with curiosity. "Later….Alessa's kicking Dalet's pervert ass….that would really ruin your reputation if one of your men lost to a woman, now wouldn't it?" Hiero smirked.
Dilandau swore under his breath and looked at the scene of his Slayers dragging a whimpering Dalet away from a screaming Alessa. "Hmm….he'll be training extra hard tomorrow for this….no one makes me look like a fool. Or a poor general….especially not a woman," Dilandau spouted, getting off of Hiero with a huff," But you'd better tell me or you'll regret it. I hate it when people don't tell me things, especially if they expect me to trust them. You're a true enigma, Hiero Fanel, I like you. You're strong and….remind me of myself in a way. Try not to disappoint me by keeping secrets from me."
Hiero got up with a grin and made a mock bow. "Yes, Lord Dilandau." He chuckled. He was actually surprised to see Dilandau smile back, as insane at it looked.
"Yes….we'll get along fine. You display nearly the same amount of pride and prestige that I do. Yes….how lovely it will be to finally have….dare I say it, an equal." Dilandau chuckled, walking out of the cave with his Slayers in tow. Hiero cast a glance back at Alessa, who was still huddled in the water and angry, a vein throbbing in her forehead. Then he turned and left.
~
Another hour passed by before Alessa got out and dried off, yelling to them once she got back in her Mystic Moon clothing, as the clothes Hiero had given her to wear were still drying. Dalet was keeping his distance from her and Hiero, but would flash him dirty looks whenever Hiero chanced a glance upon the pretty boy brunette.
Now they were all sitting in a tight circle, Dilandau and Alessa on either side of him, Migel beside Dilandau, then Guimel, Gatti, Dalet, Chesta, and Ryuon all the way back to Alessa. He'd be telling Dilandau plenty about his magic, but not now, for ow he had to use his natural gift, his visions.
He looked softly at Guimel, who looked ready to cringe, but fought it off. "Guimel, can I have what you took from Sora?" he asked pleasantly. Guimel made a noise in his throat and looked to Dilandau, who gave a stern nod. After that, Guimel reached inside his left pocket and tugged out what at first looked like a rabbit's foot charm, but it was too loose and wavy. Once Guimel lifted it towards him, he saw it was a thick lock of silvery-white hair, Sora's hair, tied up like a charm with a strap of tanned leather.
"Ok, that's perfect. The closer it was to her, the better. Now everyone put your right hand forward and clasp each other hands as best you can. It's essential if you want to share this vision. Explaining it once I get out of it might take far too long." Hiero explained, and everyone, yet hesitantly, did so," Guimel, put your hand and the hair the over mine once I put my hand on all of theirs. Got it?"
Guimel gave a slight nod and waited, then Hiero put his hand over everyone else's. Guimel slowly lifted the hair charm and his hand over Hiero's and slapped it down.
~ The Astral Plane ~
Dilandau was aware of very little for a few moments after the light filled his senses, now he found himself suddenly floating in space, a few stars flitting past his crimson sights. He could see his Dragon Slayers doing pretty much the same, but appeared to be standing on nothing in the deep expanse of seemingly endless space. He could see a few strange planets, ones he'd probably read about in books.
It was frustrating being in such deadly silence, how he hated it being so quiet, it always made him jumpy. It was as if he expected enemies to pour out of the shadows and surprise him. Surprises were distasteful, he was too good a soldier to. No was worthy enough to do that to him, except Hiero. He was full of them, but they were welcomed, they were far more interesting and creative than amateur back attacks and ambushes. Only he had a right to surprise the fools he fought, not them. They were beneath him.
Right now he felt like screaming, it was too damned quiet. "HIERO!? Where are you, dammit?!" he screamed, thrashing about. Then a light came, a one so blue there was no way anyone could describe it, it was so light, like a robin's egg, but so calm and cool like a fresh morning sky. It was always changing, so all Dilandau did was watch as it spiraled about the galaxy.
After it game a red light, like a streak of freshly spilled blood. Dilandau's eyes got all excited, and he reached for it, but it was gone along with the other light. It felt familiar though, the trail seemed to be affecting him in some way.
It made him feel strong, yet it was so damned familiar. He couldn't place it, but his body seemed to be responding to it. "This déjà vu crap is getting to me….I hate not knowing what's going on! HIERO!" he screamed again, his Slayers still all dazed by where they were.
Then the stars melted away and a new space scene appeared before him and his Slayers, the Mystic Moon and its moon in the distance. He looked about again and nearly screamed in surprise. They were a short ways from what looked like a giant woman in a celestial blue and green gown, her long and flowing white hair. She looked like she was curled into a fetal position, her sparkling chestnut brown eyes looking so tranquil and sweet it was making Dilandau sick.
No sooner had they all gotten a good look did she lift her head up, a frightened expression on her face. Her full mouth opened slightly, her eyes quivering dangerously. Dilandau followed her gaze to the source of her fear, the incredibly blue and crimson streams of light he'd seen before. As they got closer, Dilandau could see there were forms within them.
They were both men, but the one within the blue light looked like an angel with long black hair, contradictory to the mythical blonde innocent angels he'd had shoved down his throat in his schooling. His eyes were shining a similar blue and he was decked in white, shimmering armor, a sword nearly as big as he was in his right hand. The one in crimson was in red armor, dark and ghastly, sort of like his own but more angular and horrifying. He had a onyx horning helmet on his head, his eyes the color of purest blood through and through. He had silver daggers in both hands, flames licking at his feet as he and wings of black fluttering in his back.
'They remind me of something….but what? Oh, of course, Escaflowne and Alseides, the armor is most similar….even the weaponry, even as crude as it is now compared to what I'm used to. But who is the woman? And why in hell is she sitting in middle of the heavens….is she a goddess?' he wondered, then the two beings passed right through the lot of them to the woman.
They both stopped before her, then whirled about to look as if they were facing Dilandau and his men. "What are they?" It was Alessa's voice, but he couldn't seem to locate her. She sounded like she was near the giant woman, but he just couldn't find her.
"I don't know….they might be gods, but I don't remember gods looking like this….they were always associated with dragons and symbols, not….whatever those are." Dilandau responded, still searching, then he felt sick suddenly. He grabbed his mouth hard to prevent himself from retching, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head as the nausea persisted. He felt cold too, like he was being dipped into an icy pit. He'd felt like this once before, when Van had gone crazy and murdered all of his Slayers after Freid was burned. He didn't feel afraid, just so very cold and sick, and it wasn't going away.
He lifted his head a bit when he heard his Slayers shouting at him, and saw a ball of gray energy spirally at them all. He couldn't see what was within it, only two lifeless, white eyes, utterly indifferent to everything. It had a gaping and shadow mouth that dripped out cruelty and malice, worse than his own when he was in battle. At least he had fun, this thing coming at them was just pure evil. It was without care, Dilandau could feel it in his bones. As it tore through them, leaving them physically unharmed, but Dilandau shivered violently. He turned a bit to see a few of his Slayers were shivering as well, Gatti, Chesta and Migel. They looked as sick and cold as he felt, struggling to usher it away. Unlike him, they looked scared to death.
Then came Alessa's screams, and Dilandau forced himself to turn around. He still couldn't see the Mystic Moon female, but he could see the two giant beings that were guarding the woman were fighting off the evil energy ball. Blood flew across the cosmos, silver screaming across their blades with electric fury.
The battle was intense, even though Dilandau still felt a little sick, he was giggling like crazy when blood flew and steel clashed and armor split. As the battle wore down, ever so slowly, Dilandau saw the giant beauty was weeping, reaching her arms out to all of the fighting beings before her. The white and red knights were bleeding badly, but still fighting, and the ball of hateful energy was dwindling, almost dying. It refused to give up and went at both of the beings again roaring with unholy agony.
That's when the light erupted, the women threw herself in its path, the knights not seeing this in time and ran at her with their blades along with the energy ball crashing into her front. "Merge, my champions and my eternal enemy. Let my death bring you all new life….only through my children, my angels, shall you live again and save me truly. Be one with me until the time comes….be one with me forever." The woman spoke softly, her voice making the entire space they were in alive with light. Dilandau blocked his eyes, pain enveloping every pore of his body, a fleeting image of the world of Gaia fluttering through his mind.
~
Dilandau was on his back now, something wet and gold leaking on his face, right across his scar. "Cheek….so cold…." He mumbled, his eyes fluttering open gradually.
He was in a shimmering palace room, near as he could tell. He got to his feet and looked about and found he was right, but it was the oddest palace he'd ever seen. It was like he was inside an enormous and hollowed out conch shell, gold adorning the windows and doors. Everything looked to be slicked with diamonds and seashells. 'Wonder what it was like to fight whatever used to live in those things before they turned it into a home? Hmm….probably laughable, it'd be hard to take a battle between a giant shellfish and a guymelf seriously. Hmmph, pathetic….where the hell am I?' he thought, not expecting answers.
"Atlantis….the ancient home of the Draconians and their cousins, the Mystics." It was Hiero's voice, with a highly airy quality. Dilandau turned about to see the sapphire-haired king just standing there, still no shirt on and his eyes were distant.
Dilandau stayed where he was, giving the building another look. He gasped as the building lost its room, the once beautiful sunny light coming through it becoming red and desolate.
He looked back at where Hiero had been standing, but found he wasn't there, Sora was, looking the same as she did when he had first met her. She was kneeling in prayer, a few others that looked almost like her, their hair in different styles and some were males with simple shirt hair adorned with silver circlets and bangles.
The tallest of them, and old man as best Dilandau could see. He thought he could see the wisps of a white beard swishing out on front of the guy, but he moved so slowly, Dilandau really couldn't tell. Every last one of these people looked to have no emotional capabilities except sadness.
"Sora Fontaine of the Sacred Order of Mystics, you are the last of us to be sent to the world of Gaia to ensure the Prophecy of Seven Angels is completed. You have all the time in the universe to resurrect the powers in the chosen ones, at any cost. The Draconians nearly did it, but they were too arrogant in using their wills to control things. We nearly lost the Gods of War and Death to their feelings and pride, but we shall achieve what Mother Gaia asked when she created us. Sora Fontaine, do you understand your mission?" the old man said, his snowy gray hair shifting slightly in an unfelt breeze.
Sora looked up, and Dilandau pulled out his sword in disgust. She always looked like that, giving off that pathetic sad puppy dog eye look whenever anything was going on. When Folken was abusing his men, when his Slayers were reborn, when the women begged to be spared the agony, when the soldiers called her a whore, a demon, nothing ever phased that sickeningly sad face. He ran at her, and slashed at her image and the others, but his sword went right through them. He didn't care, if he felt they were hurting, he would feel better, but his rage only worsened. "Dead, I want you dead. You deserve to burn in hell for starting this, you witch! Why won't you die!?" he yelled, his eyes burning with madness and hate.
Sora just nodded when he slashed through her neck, then her chest, Dilandau's desires for the blood that wouldn't flow driving him harder and harder. "I will create the angels with my own hands and the tools by which they will be born. The bloodline will be perfection, innocence, evil, chastity, honesty, bravery, infinity, and bound in blood. State what I shall instill within them and it shall be done Elder." She spoke, her airy voice making him scream.
"Wisdom, Courage, Love, Truth, Light, Death, and Power….these be the powers set upon Gaia's form that will awaken those chosen by destiny to become the angels of the prophecy. It matters not how many times you try, you must succeed or Gaia will suffer forever with the gods of Death and War in her bosom and the anti-god clawing at her mind. Make haste and aid Gaia's fate, to be free in death or in life. You will be forgiven all sins in your quest. Feel nothing, only complete the mission." He said, and Sora nodded again as Dilandau tried to decapitate her a fourth time.
Then everything was gone, all became as black as pitch. Then came new scenery, a landscape soaked with blood. His eyes lit up excitedly, then dulled when he saw young, torn bodies, seven of them strewn about the rocky plains he stood in. He blinked a few times, noting how familiar they all looked.
"Lord Dilandau…." Chesta shouted, and he saw the young blonde Slayer running towards him, along with Gatti and Migel. Alessa was a ways behind them, along with Hiero, but he was walking rather slowly, as if in a terrible trance. He waited until Hiero was closer, the others staring with him at the depressing approach. Hiero stopped in the middle of where the bodies were, kneeling before one, a young man with short black hair and lifeless red eyes.
Dilandau went to him, and looked the dead youth's body with him, and felt a startling revelation come over him. "He….he looks just like Van….he's taller and not as boorish, the hair is a little different too, but his face is a perfect match." Dilandau rasped, then saw the Alessa and the other three Slayers were near them.
Chesta let out a startled cry, pointing at a body of a young blonde boy, short like Chesta, the same eye color, though one eye was gouged out and an arm was missing, but he had Chesta's face. Gatti was kneeling by the one that truly resembled him, except the hair was slightly longer and the body was missing all its limbs. He looked like he had seen a ghost, and Dilandau could understand that. Alessa was crying, and it made his cheek tick. Crying was so weak, he couldn't stand it, even from a stupid woman. Women were fine and dandy for a kiss and some feeling up when the moment presented itself, but in such a desolate and serious battleground, it was just nose.
He whirled on her and yelled," Shut up, woman. Stop balling like a little baby." Alessa looked up at him angrily, tears still streaming down her face while she stood over the body of a young woman. Dilandau never changed his angered expression, but looked at the body with indifferent eyes. It looked almost like Alessa, same hair color and icy blue eyes, but her chest looked like it had been eaten out and her finger ripped out of their joints, the hard way by pulling them. Strips of torn flesh were floating in the red lake beneath the body like fleshy seaweed.
"Its not you, even if it looks like you. Don't be such a wimp. We're not on your stupid Mystic Moon, so get used it, woman." He grinned slightly, then looked toward Migel. Migel looked a bit lost, toe a headless body, the head set in the corpses shredded lap. It was almost like Migel's face, but the hair was more like Dalet's, cropped back in a raggedy ponytail. The face looked scared to death, blood still oozing out of his mouth.
"Dilandau…."Hiero called, jarring Dilandau from his thoughts and making him turn," I think I found your….old self. I guess that's what these are, past lives or something."
Dilandau felt his heart lurch violently for a second, but took a deep breath and walked over to where Hiero was sitting, by the body of an armored young man, the armor littered with bloody holes and burn marks. It was lying on its front, practically swimming in a pool of blood. Hiero waited until Dilandau reach him to start to turn it over, Dilandau steeled himself and watch the action with feigned interest, then his eyes flew wide with horror when he saw the marred face of the dead youth.
He touched his own face fearfully, his index finger pricking at his scar, a small stream of sweat working its way down his pale cheek. "My face, Gods….that's my face….but how? I didn't die….what's going on?" Dilandau whispered, shaking his head in disbelief.
It was him, or close to it anyhow. The young man had his face, his garnet red eyes, even his pale skin, even paler now in death, but the hair was like Allen Schezar's, all girly and pathetic. He didn't want to believe it was him either, but that dead face seemed to be taunting him, the dead garnet eyes dragging him further into this nightmare.
Then Hiero turned it back over, getting up rather quickly and drawing his dagger up. His eyes were narrowed and angry, enough for Dilandau to draw his own sword and whirl about to the unseen enemy.
He grinned with psychotic ecstasy when he saw it was Sora, virtually untouched by the blood she was walking through. She stopped a few feel away, and Dilandau wanted nothing more than to rip her apart, but she didn't come any closer, only shaking her head wistfully, showing no emotion.
"Another failure….the Fanel and Schezar failed to synchronize once again with the gods….they weren't ready. They were too greedy, to impatient, they could not unlock their powers properly….once more. Failure is not acceptable. I must wait another 1,000 years for the next children of destiny to be born….ah, but….wait…." she was saying, then touched her head, going into a trance.
She fell to her knees, looking up to the sky with a listless smile. "Ah, technology will soon grace this world, wonderful technology derived from the genius of the Mystic Moon. I must bring him here to pave the way for the next try….this time I will create them perfectly, with my magic and the brain Zaibach will think they gain. Oh, let a holy war rage, yes, it will. And then will be born the children of prophecy by my own hands and magic. Oh yes, the fallen dark dragon will be the key, oh, oh, he will be the key to the prophecy, I see it. I will succeed once the brain dies. Ah….I must make haste and prepare my song….I must guide the brain to do my will, to create my perfect angels." She said, only with dull happiness. She clasped her hands together and shot up like lightening, running off.
The light came again, and Dilandau heaved, the ground leaving his feet, leaving him falling through dead air. "HIERO!! STOP THIS!!" he screamed, slashing his sword about, desperate to catch it on something, anything to make the pain stop.
~
"STOP ITTTTTTT!!!!" Dilandau yelled, then heard someone yell next to him, it was Hiero, and he was plugging his ears.
"AHHHHH!!!! I stopped it, I stopped it! You're making me deaf. OW! Oh crap….here it comes…."Hiero griped, then grabbed his mouth as his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward it the circle of hands. Gatti caught him by the head with his leg, sticking it out swiftly to make sure Hiero didn't crack his skull open.
Dilandau just blinked, confused, even with the odd look Gatti gave off, then his Slayer shrugged. "That was….informative." he said, sounding a bit breathless. Hiero managed to pick himself up, shaking his head slightly. "Yes, like we already know, Sora's responsible for everything, even for the past. She had Dilandau's fate altered by influencing Dornkirk secretly, changing my uncle's fate, my parents and the Schezar's….everything, it was all part of her prophecy plan. We were all toys to her…." Hiero gasped.
The other Slayers nodded, then Dilandau joined them, not bothering to suppress the rage that was welling up inside him. He smashed his hand against the ground, standing up roughly with a growl. "That bitch….she did it all. My creation in my mother, twice! Your deaths! All the….every single damn thing that happened was Sora's fault. Arghh!! I'm going to tear her limb from limb! NO! I'll roast her, then I'll tear her limb from limb, and then I'll kill her! Even better! Let me at her!" he raged, slashing his sword just barely over everyone's heads.
Hiero caught his arm on his final slash, his look deadly serious, his eyes flashing angrily. "We'll kill her….after we make this prophecy come true. She tried to force it along and her angels got greedy. They didn't know how to use the power and ultimately failed in the goddess Gaia's wishes. If we harness those powers, the ones in the temples and in ourselves, we can save this world from Folken….then get revenge with all Sora foolishly provided with us." He said, his voice struggling for control.
Dilandau didn't know why, but he nodded. The way Hiero looked, he reminded him of himself when he was angry. It was never wise to get him angry, but that wasn't the only reason. He felt deep down that Hiero was right, and he trusted him. Dilandau had only trusted his men in the past, but he only had six of them. Hiero seemed to understand their pain more than he thought possible as well, so what harm could there be in listening.
He lowered his sword, and grimaced when he heard a chorus of gasps. He looked sharply at his Slayers, who all sprang back the moment his eyes found them. "Quiet! Hiero….is right. The more power and strength we have, the more painful Sora and Folken will die," Dilandau said evenly, then looked at Hiero," So what do we do to achieve this?"
Hiero looked at the last person Dilandau expected anyone to look at, Chesta. "You and I will take Chesta back to that temple come first light….he is the Angel of Wisdom. He has to go it alone, we'll wait outside the temple until he's done. There's no way about it and no arguments can be made. Chesta is the first angel that must awaken. Only then can I see who is next."
Dilandau smirked, but gave off a curt nod before putting his back to Hiero and walking off towards the smoldering cooking pile. "All right then. Its settled, so there is nothing more we can do until morning. Now we sleep….I don't want any mistakes made, I won't tolerate it," he spouted, leaning against the stone wall with one arm on his hip and the other his sword before him," Dalet, since you seem to be teeming with energy tonight, you get first watch, then Guimel, Gatti, and Migel. Gatti, I want you near Lady Alessa."
Gatti nodded and helped Alessa up, but she had an insulted look on her face. Before she could open her mouth, he pointed his sword at her with his usual smirk. "Don't question me, woman, stay near Gatti. He'll prevent Dalet from getting energetic, now won't he?" Dilandau drawled out sarcastically. Gatti shot him a brief glare, but then looked at Alessa and took her hand.
Hiero watched this with wide, child-like eyes, his eyes securely fastened on Alessa and Gatti as they went to another part of the cave. As they laid down, Dilandau cleared his throat, Hiero's head lifting towards his with gentle curiosity. "You stay by me….if we are truly the chosen Fanel and …..-gag- Schezar that need to synchronize as those fools of the past failed to do, we best stay close."
Hiero raised an eyebrow, languidly approaching Dilandau. As he reached him, Hiero sat down and looked up with his double colored eyes, a small, suggestive smile pursing on his lips. Hiero's fingers went to his scar, plucking at it almost mockingly.
"Afraid Sora might get you in your sleep, Dilandau?" Hiero chuckled, patting one finger on the scar on the side of his nose as his grin grew.
Dilandau just scoffed, then let out one of his disturbing giggles as he sheathed his sword and easily sat down in front of Hiero. "Not in the least, Hiero. Are you, little king?" Dilandau tittered.
Hiero just raised his eyebrows and laid himself down. "No….just making conversation. Don't get your panties in a twist."
Dilandau frowned slightly, but it didn't last. He laughed, from the heart. It felt funny, but it wasn't exactly killing him. "I don't wear panties, pretty boy, never did," Dilandau sighed, laying down beside the young king," And thanks."
Hiero looked a little puzzled at that and voiced it. "For what?"
"Saving us….by helping my mother. As much of a wimp she was….she was still my mother, "Dilandau let out, squirming," You eased her pain, and that means you eased mine, and saved our lives from the pain that would have followed if you hadn't tried to help her. If she hadn't loved you….There I said it, so don't go spreading it around or I'll spoil those good looks."
Hiero chuckled a bit, patting Dilandau on his shoulder. "I know….don't give yourself an aneurysm. I get it…." Hiero blushed.
"Didn't know that she was in love with you, huh? Well, still full of surprises, comrade, aren't you?" Dilandau breathed sleep weighing his voice down.
Hiero just shrugged, shutting his eyes gently. "It's a shock to hear….I guess she did get a lot more than I thought out of that vision. At least….she felt real love. I envy her….she was an angel." Hiero yawned.
"Yes….that she was, don't remind me. Go to sleep….Night." Dilandau huffed, shutting his own eyes as sleep finally took him, whatever Hiero's reply was, he never heard it. 'Chesta….wisdom angel….this is a lot to take in, but it feels like the right thing to do. Sides, it might be fun. Either way, folly or not, we can still blow the temples up or something. I need to fight something….Yes, fight….blood raining down. So sweet….so…sweet.' he thought, his dreams of war and crimson rain spraying across the landscape embracing him at last.
To Be Continued….
*The Hermit card here represents Hiero, Dilandau, Alessa, and the Dragon Slayers searching for answers about the prophecy and their need for the truth about why they were all to be involved in it in the first place no matter the price.
**Quarrels are arrows for hand crossbows and bows.
