Shorah everyone! Shorah is a standard D'ni greeting, by the way. It also happens to mean "peace," but that's unimportant right now. Anywho, this is the first of a few chapters centered in the magical land of D'ni. A world deep underground, a world shrouded in mystery. I'll try to explain all of the little D'ni quirks along the way, but E-mail me if you're unclear on something. Ok, here she is!
Chapter Three
D'ni Main Cavern
Tomoyo gasped at the scene before her. She imagined that D'ni would be dark and romantic, but she didn't expect it to be so spectacular. She almost didn't hear Rob announce that they were in D'ni. She gazed at the cavern walls and saw small alcoves craved into the rock. Homes, she realized, dotted the walls. She looked up and a few homes could be seen above as well. She looked down at her clothing and realized that Robahsu had been correct, D'ni clothing looked beautiful under lake-light. The warm orange glow was a bit dim, but made her eyes feel wonderful.
"So, are we all here and okay?" Rob asked his friends.
They all stated that they were fine.
"This place is so beautiful!" Eriol finally managed to exclaim through his surprise.
"Aye, it is," was Rob's reply.
"Um, how do we get to shore from here?" Li asked, indicating that they were on a small island.
"On this," Rob said, walking over to a rock.
"A rock?" Meiling said.
"Everything here is made from rock, even the boats," he explained.
Rob was quite right. That rock was indeed a large boat. Everyone looked at it and wondered if it would truly float, but it did. It floated quite nicely. Soon, everyone climbed aboard and Rob started to row them to shore.
"What's that?" Sakura asked, seeing what looked like a small cloud over the water.
"Those? Those are called Damselflies. They eat insects within the plankton. And those are fish," Rob explained, pointing to an odd animal that jumped out of the water and captured some of the flies in its mouth.
"What an odd looking fish..." Eriol commented.
"Yes, they've almost developed proper eyes. Before the D'ni came, this cavern was as dark as any cavern. All of the wildlife was blind. They actually brought this glowing plankton with them from Garternay."
"Wow..." Meiling mumbled.
"Ah, here's the first sight on our water tour of D'ni," Rob said, getting their attention, "This is Kerath's Arch. All of the great D'ni kings passed through this arch on the way to their crowning ceremonies. Myth has it that Prince Kerath was banished to Tre'Merktee, the Place of Poisoned Waters, by his evil Uncle. He came home on the back of a great lizard and rode through this inlet. A great arch was built to commemorate his voyage and his kingship. Kerath was the last King of D'ni. After he'd done everything that he set out to, he stepped down and appointed a council of elders to run government. Now, five elders preside over the Great Assembly."
"Wow! Is it true?" Sakura asked.
Rob chuckled and told her, "Maybe. Tre'Merktee is an underground desert in Garternay. Unfortunately, the age of Garternay was destroyed over ten thousand years ago."
"What happened?" Li asked.
"The D'ni never recorded much about that place. They thought that their arrival here was a time to start anew. They completely forgot about the past and focused on their new future. All I know is that a series of violent earthquakes is what inspired Ri'Neref to write the Age of Earth," Rob explained.
None of them quite understood what he meant by writing an age, but they would soon find out. Suddenly, Tomoyo saw something else interesting.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to a wall with a small, glowing orb in it.
"Ah, that is a fire marble. It's a piece of rock with a gelatinous core. When struck or vibrated, the marble begins to glow brightly. Judging from the brightness of that marble and the lake, it's late afternoon or early evening. Someone remind me to pass out timepieces when we get to my house," he explained. D'ni was indeed an interesting place.
Eriol inspected some people on the land twenty feet off. They looked fairly human, but he could see some differences. They were all quite pale. He noticed that they all walked smoothly and briskly and seemed to be quite pleasant to each other. He caught a glimpse of a girl's eyes and was especially intrigued by the color. Her eyes were a very pale, almost gray blue. He saw another man, but with pale brown eyes.
"And what's that?" Eriol asked, pointing to a domed structure that many people were walking in and out of.
"That is the Common Library. It holds over a hundred kormahn and kovahkh. One can acquire kortee'nea there as well," Rob informed him.
He knew that the words meant different kinds of books, but he didn't understand their significance, or at least not yet.
"How big is this cavern?" Meiling asked.
"About ten miles long and six across," Rob stated simply.
"Wow!" Everyone exclaimed. Rob was very glad that he'd impressed everyone.
"Ah, here's an open dock," Rob mumbled to himself and he rowed the boat up to it. He tied off the boat and helped everyone out.
"Okay, I live on level eight in the J'Taeri district. It's a very nice part of town, actually. It is also, however, a fair distance from here. We're on the second level now, so watch yourself and stay together," he told them.
They moved swiftly through the corridors and everyone marveled at the beautiful designs. Most of the homes had no roofs, simply because there was no rain in the cavern. The ventilation fans blew any and all condensation that may lead to rain away. They saw the beautiful script in its full glory as well. (If you want to see the script, look around http://linguists.riedl.org) It could be done very ornately and beautifully.
J'Taeri District
After about twenty minutes of walking, they arrived at an arch with writing on it. It simply stated "J'Taeri District." Once they crossed through the arch, they noticed a difference in the architecture. For one, the stone that made up the buildings was of finer quality in texture and color. Also, some of the homes had roofs.
"This is a more upscale area of town. It's reserved for important people and their families. In fact, the guild houses are on the level above this one," Rob explained.
Sakura walked up to stride alongside her boyfriend and took his hand. Rob smiled and gave it a gentle squeeze before lifting it up to kiss it.
"So, I finally get to meet your parents?" she asked.
"Yep, you sure that you can handle them?"
"I don't know. Is there anything for me to be worried about?"
"Yeah, my father. He's a Saiyan and naturally aggressive. If he takes a swing at you, hit him back."
Sakura chuckled, "And your mom?"
"She'll love you!"
Sakura was getting a little tired so she grabbed his arm and leaned some of her weight onto him. He let her hand go and put his arm around her shoulders. She put hers around his waist.
"Ho much further?" she asked.
"That green house over there," he pointed out a house less than a hundred feet away.
They stepped into the house and Rob called, "Kehn tomahn!" (I'm home)
"Robahsu? I thought you were away for the next couple of months," a female voice called back.
"It's a long story," Rob told her, "Where's father?"
"Oh, he's at the Writer's Guild. He should be back in less than three tahvotee." (That's about 44 minutes)
"Ah, come out and meet my friends mother!"
"All right, just one moment..." she trailed off.
Sakura caught sight of a beautiful woman, apparently in her late thirties, through a hallway. She was trim, perhaps only 110 pounds. Like most D'ni, she'd noticed, she had dark brown hair and pale eyes. Only, her eyes weren't the average pale blue or brown. No, hers were pale green. A very odd green at that. They were bright and startling. Sakura could see where Rob's eye color had come from.
She walked out into the main entrance to find something she hadn't expected. This was not the same Rob that she'd raised. He looked much older. Perhaps 43 hahr (a hahr is about a year, give or take a few days) instead of the 29 hahr old child that had left. (Remember, the D'ni lifespan is thrice a human's, so they age far more slowly)
"Mother, these are my friends from the surface. They'll be staying with me for about a month and we'll take K'veer for a while, if that's alright?" he explained.
"Sure, you can use K'veer for the next month. Now, introduce your friends!"
"This is Daidouji Tomoyo," he stood behind Tomoyo and placed a hand on her shoulder as he said her name.
"Call me Tomoyo. I'm pleased to meet you Mrs....?"
"Oh, just call me Nahgrena. I'm pleased to meet you as well!" They shook hands in the D'ni way, with both hands.
"This is Li Syaoran," he placed a hand on Li's shoulder.
"Shorah," Li said as he shook her hands.
"Li Meiling."
"Nice to finally meet you Nahgrena!" Meiling chirped as she took her hands.
"Hiiragizawa Eriol."
"What a complex name," Rob's mother chuckled out.
"Yes, it is," Eriol said and flashed her his mysterious smile.
"And last but most definitely not least," Rob said as he slid his arms around Sakura, "This is my girlfriend and love, Kinomoto Sakura."
"Nice to meet you!" she chirped as she shook Nahgrena's hand.
"But, I thought that Taigahn was your girlfriend?" Nahgrena said, confused.
"Like I said, there's a long story here. I'd prefer to wait for father to return before telling it though," Rob said.
"Well, alright," she said, "If you're hungry, dinner will be ready in four tahvotee." (About an hour, 58 minutes to be exact)
"Thanks mother," Rob called. He then turned to the group, "Ok, I'll show you where you can stow your stuff temporarily for the next hour or two."
He then led them to a fairly barren room. It must have been a guest bedroom of sorts. It had a stone bed with a mattress and a stone desk. There was also a lamp on the table. They put their stuff by the bed and Rob went to a cupboard in the back.
"This is a storage area / guest bedroom. You can have a few of these supplies..." he trailed off as he pulled out a large sack from the drawer.
"What are you giving us?" Syaoran asked.
"Just a D'ni care package," he said as he reached in and pulled out smaller sacks, and then distributed them to everyone. "Let's see, we have a small bag of fire marbles for emergencies, we have a standard D'ni timepiece, a Rehevkor (like a complicated dictionary), and some documentation that will let you go anywhere in the city with the exception of the Guild Houses and the Council Buildings."
They all glanced through their bags, confirming what he had said. They wondered how he could have done this, but a phrase he commonly spoke came to mind. 'I'm a god!'
He taught them how to use the fire marbles. One must simply tap them against a hard object and they would slowly dim over time. He taught them how to use their timepieces. They resembled human pocket watches, but were more simplistic. Instead of determining exact time, they gave you a rough estimation. They had five wedges, two light and three dark. He explained that the two light were the day gahrtahvotee and the three dark stood for twilight and night. He informed them of the 30-hour day as well. If they needed an exact time, he told them how to use the more cumbersome timepieces. They resembled globes that opened. Inside, the timekeeper showed the hahr (year), vilee (month), yahr (day), gahrtahvo (about six hours), tahvo (about 14.5 minutes), gorahn (about 36 seconds), and it also showed and ticked out the prorahn (1.5 seconds).
About one tahvo after entering, they emerged enlightened. They were speaking in Japanese for some reason and Nahgrena looked at them oddly. They told her that they were from a country called Japan on the surface. She was amazed that there were people on the surface. D'ni scientists thought that any surface dwellers would be small in population and have a much lesser intellect. That was partially true, the D'ni were brilliant compared to humans, but many humans were on equal footing with the D'ni. (I'm brilliant, by the way. My IQ is in the high 130s and average is 90-120.)
Two Tahvotee Later
"Shorah!" a deep voice called from the door of Rob's home.
"Oh, Bochen! You're home!" Nahgrena called and hugged her husband.
"Ah, father, it's good to see you!" Rob walked over and hugged his father.
"What's this? You're not getting mushy on me, are you?" Bochen chuckled, hugging his son.
"No, it's just been awhile," Rob replied.
"Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the cavern?" Bochen asked.
"Uh, that's a long story. A story best told over dinner!" Rob told him.
Dining Room
There was a great variety of D'ni food on the table. There were chor bahkh (meat filled rolls), ikhah nijibets (a roll-like bread), shoontahnah (fish dish), and even a few rice dishes fresh from a granary age. There was a nice variety of D'ni food with a few Saiyan touches added here and there. It was practically a feast.
Everyone was eating, for the journey through the Corridor of Time had been draining. Rob and Bochen demonstrated their Saiyan tendency to eat a lot, so they took nearly half the food themselves. Soon, everyone was done and Bochen asked for Rob's explanation.
"Well, dad, I'm not the Robahsu that you know. I am from 800 hahrtee in the future. I came here with my friends for a vacation and a break from a rigorous training routine," Rob explained.
"How can you be from that far in the future? A D'ni only lives 325 years," Nahgrena said.
"I'm only half D'ni, no one could have possibly known how long I would live," Rob pointed out.
"Well, are you strong?" Bochen asked.
"Very. I am one of the two most powerful beings in the universe," Rob said.
"Who is the other?"
"Sakura, my girlfriend," Rob said, indicating the emerald-eyed beauty next to him.
"Impossible! A girl that strong?" Bochen exclaimed.
"Indeed she is, father."
Bochen charged up his strongest energy attack and suddenly threw it at Sakura. Sakura caught it with one hand then drained the energy from it until it disappeared.
"Believe me?" Rob asked.
"Uh, yeah, actually..." Bochen half stuttered.
"Well, we'll be staying on K'veer for the next month or so," Rob told him.
"Perhaps you should fight your present self to give him some exercise," Bochen suggested.
"NO! I cannot interact with him and you cannot ever tell him that we were here. If you do, history might change in horrible ways," Rob cautioned strongly.
"Alright, we won't tell," Nahgrena stated.
"Both of you, swear on your honor," Rob commanded.
"We swear on our honor that your secret will be kept," they swore in unison.
"Good, crisis averted."
Bochen turned to Sakura and asked, "So, you keeping my son in line?"
"You'd better believe it!" she said jokingly.
"How long have you two been together?" was Nahgrena's question.
"About five hahrtee, five vileetee (year and a half)."
'Don't mention marriage,' he told both of them telepathically.
"You two must be very close..." Bochen smiled as he spoke.
"Well, I should show my friends to K'veer and get them settled," Rob said as he stood up. Eriol, Syaoran, Meiling, Tomoyo, and Sakura stood up also. After saying goodbye and promising to stop by before going home, they departed.
Instead of taking their previous route back to their boat, he led them to a hidden staircase behind the house. After descending a few hundred feet, they came out to a small dock. Rob instructed all of them to embark and they soon got underway.
"That's K'veer," Rob pointed out an island a mile off that had a tall, spiraling structure. It looked almost like a screw sticking up through a piece of wood. However, they turned and he rowed them away from K'veer.
"Where are we going?" Syaoran asked.
"If memory serves, K'veer doesn't have much food on hand. We need to go to the Central Island to get supplies."
As if on cue, they turned a bend and a large island appeared in front of them. It was a large circle, perhaps a mile in radius. It was only two levels, though. Boats were docked in a large ring around the Island. Rob noted that it was almost night, so he quickly rowed out to the Island.
Central Island
They docked and disembarked at one of the docks. He tied it up to the dock and tied a colored piece of rope to the pylon the boat was tied to. Rob explained that that would keep someone from just taking the boat. Since boats were need so much, people just took boats to and from their destinations. Very few people actually owned a boat and few boats were owned by one person.
"I won't be long, so separate into groups if you like and meet me back here in half an hour," he told them.
"What if we get lost?" Tomoyo asked.
"Pair up with someone magical. If you get lost, your partner will be able to sense me," he suggested.
Tomoyo wanted to look around with Sakura, so they went of on their own. Eriol, Syaoran, and Meiling also took off. Rob chuckled, thinking that no one wanted to stay with him, but he moved on. He approached a reputable food vendor, a friend of his from the Culinary Guild.
"Hey Sahnpa!" Rob called to his friend.
"Oh, hey Robahsu!" she called back. They shook hands over the counter between them.
"I need to restock K'veer for a month's stay. A few friends are staying with me. Can you help me?"
"Ha! I could fill that mansion with food if you wanted."
"No, a month'll do."
"Ok, would you like anything in particular?"
"Just the normal assortment of fruits, vegetables, etc. Enough for myself plus five more."
"We just got some stuff in from a new Age."
"Really? Like what?"
She showed him a few pieces of fruit and a slice of bread. He tried the fruit and they were all good. One was like an avocado, another was like a sour apple, and the last tasted like a sweet plum. The bread was like a form of Rye Bread on the surface. It was dark and had a sweet taste to it.
"Alright, add a case or whatever you pack this stuff in to my order," he told her.
"The bread comes in a full barrel. Are you sure that you can eat that much?"
"Well, I can always come back for more so make that a half-barrel."
"Alright! Anything else?"
"Yes, could you ship it directly to K'veer for me? Preferably tonight or early tomorrow morning."
"Well, I don't know..."
"Sahnpa."
"Alright, I can get it in before breakfast tomorrow. Is that it?"
"That should do it!"
They haggled over a price and Rob paid her. Though the D'ni weren't very greedy people like most humans are, they still had use for currency. He used money that he'd collected before he left D'ni. He departed and went to another vendor. He would stop by the beverage vendor as well.
Sakura and Tomoyo
Sakura glanced at her large timepiece and told her friend, "Okay, if I've set this thing right, it should go off every 10 minutes or so."
"Cool! Now, let's hit the clothing stores!" Tomoyo squealed.
"You do realize that we have no money to buy clothes with, right?"
"So? We don't have to pay to look, I hope."
They looked around for a clothing store and they finally found a small one.
"Not much of a range..." Tomoyo remarked glumly.
"You heard what Rob said. The D'ni go for functional, not fashionable."
"Yeah. I guess it's a good thing that I brought a few of my special creations for you with me."
"You didn't..."
"Oh, but I did Sakura-chan!"
"Oh! What a nice color!" Sakura said, pointing to a dark purple cloak.
"Yeah, that is pretty. I could do better though..."
"Tomoyo, I'm not going to look at the local clothing if you only complain about it."
"Ok then, let's see what else is around here."
"There's a souvenir shop."
"Oh! That crystal is so cool! And so are all of those!"
"Ladies, they are fairly common stones," the shopkeeper told them.
"Oh, sorry, we're from another Age and have never been to D'ni long enough to really look around," Sakura excused herself.
"Ah, well, we've lived in the rock for many, many years. In that time, we've developed a great understanding of stones and crystals," the shopkeeper explained.
"This is still great workmanship," Sakura said.
"Yeah, it's great!" Tomoyo added.
"Are you interested in purchasing anything?" he asked the girls.
"No, we're only here while our D'ni friend get supplies. We don't have any money," Tomoyo explained.
"You know what? I think I have something that would suit you two perfectly..." he said as he reached into a bin beneath the counter, looking for a specific pair of rock necklaces. He finally pulled out two necklaces. One was a dark emerald on a golden chain. The other was an amethyst crystal, also on a golden chain.
Sakura stared wide-eyed at the two necklaces and said, "Those look expensive. Like we told you, we have no..."
"No, I insist that you take them fee of charge," he cut her off. He continued to say, "Think of it as a welcome to D'ni present."
"We couldn't poss..." Tomoyo tried to say but was cut off by the man.
"Did your friend tell you how stubborn the D'ni race is?" he smiled at them.
"Alright, we'll take them," Sakura and Tomoyo took the necklaces. Each one complimenting the wearer's eyes nicely. The vendor smiled by how happy he'd made them. They didn't know that gold was very common in the northern tunnels and that the gems were also quite common. He did, however, use a device to alter them to the girls' specific eye colors.
The girls thanked him profusely and left a few moments later. He smiled and waved as they walked away.
Eriol, Syaoran, and Meiling
The trio were walking around, not particularly interested in much. They made small talk about how old D'ni auras felt. The auras seemed refined somehow. Eriol mentioned that perhaps the longevity of the race coupled with the race's existence of over ten thousand years. They saw Rob head back to the boat and they joined him. Sakura and Tomoyo followed a moment later.
"Where'd you get those necklaces?" Syaoran asked.
"Some nice vendor gave them to us once we told him that we were tourists!" Tomoyo said.
They continued to talk about what they had observed while walking around. It would be about a few minutes before they could get to the boat because of so many going home right then, so they sat in a food court-like area for a few minutes.
Rob was standing and unknown to him; a pair of eyes was watching him. A pair of pale green eyes saw him and suddenly brightened.
Sakura turned her head just in time to see a girl jump out of nowhere and jump on Rob's back and start tickling him. He laughed, but threw her off. When she stood to face him, Sakura got a good look at her. She was Sakura's height, about her weight, too. She had bark brown hair and pale green eyes as well. Sakura thought the girl looked like a D'ni version of herself. Then she heard Rob speak.
"Uh, shorah Ahnsah!" he said to her.
Her smile suddenly disappeared and she looked at him suspiciously. She finally said to him, "I thought you called me Taigahn?"
"I should call you Goddess."
"Uh, um, w-what do you mean?" Ahnsah seemed surprised by his statement.
"Drop the act. I'm from 800 hahr in the future. I'm well aware that you were the Goddess of Life."
"Were?"
"Yes, in my time, you are no longer a goddess."
"Huh?"
"Let me introduce my friends first."
Rob walked over and introduced Syaoran, Eriol, Tomoyo, and Meiling first. He then walked up to Sakura and held her hand, saying, "And this is Sakura, the new Goddess of Life and my new girlfriend."
"I'd like to know how that happened..." Ahnsah said.
"You know that I can't. I must protect the Timeline," Rob told her.
"You sound like some righteous god," she muttered.
"That's because he is a god. He is the God of Death," Sakura told her.
She stared at him in shock before asking, "how?"
"I can't tell you," he said simply.
"Oh, well, I guess I should leave you alone..." Ahnsah started to walk away.
"No! Please! Come with us. We'd like to get to know you better!" Tomoyo said, grabbing her shoulders playfully and leading her back to the group.
"I wouldn't want to impose.." she began.
"You won't be. The more the merrier, eh?" Rob said cutting her off.
"Well, alright!" she chirped cheerfully.
They then started to head for the boat. They got in and started rowing for K'veer.
Fin Chapter Three
Well, one more character thrown into the mix! I have seven to keep track of now! I just love to make this difficult, don't I? Oh well, all is well for the time being. For the MYST fans out there, I did change a few things, but this is an AU fic, get over it! Ahem, so, next chapter will be out soon!
Oh, and I need more replies about the Lemon. I really would like to know if you want one or wouldn't care if one goes in. Chances are there'll be at least a lime, but the lemon is mostly up to reviewers, ok? Tata for now!
Chapter Three
D'ni Main Cavern
Tomoyo gasped at the scene before her. She imagined that D'ni would be dark and romantic, but she didn't expect it to be so spectacular. She almost didn't hear Rob announce that they were in D'ni. She gazed at the cavern walls and saw small alcoves craved into the rock. Homes, she realized, dotted the walls. She looked up and a few homes could be seen above as well. She looked down at her clothing and realized that Robahsu had been correct, D'ni clothing looked beautiful under lake-light. The warm orange glow was a bit dim, but made her eyes feel wonderful.
"So, are we all here and okay?" Rob asked his friends.
They all stated that they were fine.
"This place is so beautiful!" Eriol finally managed to exclaim through his surprise.
"Aye, it is," was Rob's reply.
"Um, how do we get to shore from here?" Li asked, indicating that they were on a small island.
"On this," Rob said, walking over to a rock.
"A rock?" Meiling said.
"Everything here is made from rock, even the boats," he explained.
Rob was quite right. That rock was indeed a large boat. Everyone looked at it and wondered if it would truly float, but it did. It floated quite nicely. Soon, everyone climbed aboard and Rob started to row them to shore.
"What's that?" Sakura asked, seeing what looked like a small cloud over the water.
"Those? Those are called Damselflies. They eat insects within the plankton. And those are fish," Rob explained, pointing to an odd animal that jumped out of the water and captured some of the flies in its mouth.
"What an odd looking fish..." Eriol commented.
"Yes, they've almost developed proper eyes. Before the D'ni came, this cavern was as dark as any cavern. All of the wildlife was blind. They actually brought this glowing plankton with them from Garternay."
"Wow..." Meiling mumbled.
"Ah, here's the first sight on our water tour of D'ni," Rob said, getting their attention, "This is Kerath's Arch. All of the great D'ni kings passed through this arch on the way to their crowning ceremonies. Myth has it that Prince Kerath was banished to Tre'Merktee, the Place of Poisoned Waters, by his evil Uncle. He came home on the back of a great lizard and rode through this inlet. A great arch was built to commemorate his voyage and his kingship. Kerath was the last King of D'ni. After he'd done everything that he set out to, he stepped down and appointed a council of elders to run government. Now, five elders preside over the Great Assembly."
"Wow! Is it true?" Sakura asked.
Rob chuckled and told her, "Maybe. Tre'Merktee is an underground desert in Garternay. Unfortunately, the age of Garternay was destroyed over ten thousand years ago."
"What happened?" Li asked.
"The D'ni never recorded much about that place. They thought that their arrival here was a time to start anew. They completely forgot about the past and focused on their new future. All I know is that a series of violent earthquakes is what inspired Ri'Neref to write the Age of Earth," Rob explained.
None of them quite understood what he meant by writing an age, but they would soon find out. Suddenly, Tomoyo saw something else interesting.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to a wall with a small, glowing orb in it.
"Ah, that is a fire marble. It's a piece of rock with a gelatinous core. When struck or vibrated, the marble begins to glow brightly. Judging from the brightness of that marble and the lake, it's late afternoon or early evening. Someone remind me to pass out timepieces when we get to my house," he explained. D'ni was indeed an interesting place.
Eriol inspected some people on the land twenty feet off. They looked fairly human, but he could see some differences. They were all quite pale. He noticed that they all walked smoothly and briskly and seemed to be quite pleasant to each other. He caught a glimpse of a girl's eyes and was especially intrigued by the color. Her eyes were a very pale, almost gray blue. He saw another man, but with pale brown eyes.
"And what's that?" Eriol asked, pointing to a domed structure that many people were walking in and out of.
"That is the Common Library. It holds over a hundred kormahn and kovahkh. One can acquire kortee'nea there as well," Rob informed him.
He knew that the words meant different kinds of books, but he didn't understand their significance, or at least not yet.
"How big is this cavern?" Meiling asked.
"About ten miles long and six across," Rob stated simply.
"Wow!" Everyone exclaimed. Rob was very glad that he'd impressed everyone.
"Ah, here's an open dock," Rob mumbled to himself and he rowed the boat up to it. He tied off the boat and helped everyone out.
"Okay, I live on level eight in the J'Taeri district. It's a very nice part of town, actually. It is also, however, a fair distance from here. We're on the second level now, so watch yourself and stay together," he told them.
They moved swiftly through the corridors and everyone marveled at the beautiful designs. Most of the homes had no roofs, simply because there was no rain in the cavern. The ventilation fans blew any and all condensation that may lead to rain away. They saw the beautiful script in its full glory as well. (If you want to see the script, look around http://linguists.riedl.org) It could be done very ornately and beautifully.
J'Taeri District
After about twenty minutes of walking, they arrived at an arch with writing on it. It simply stated "J'Taeri District." Once they crossed through the arch, they noticed a difference in the architecture. For one, the stone that made up the buildings was of finer quality in texture and color. Also, some of the homes had roofs.
"This is a more upscale area of town. It's reserved for important people and their families. In fact, the guild houses are on the level above this one," Rob explained.
Sakura walked up to stride alongside her boyfriend and took his hand. Rob smiled and gave it a gentle squeeze before lifting it up to kiss it.
"So, I finally get to meet your parents?" she asked.
"Yep, you sure that you can handle them?"
"I don't know. Is there anything for me to be worried about?"
"Yeah, my father. He's a Saiyan and naturally aggressive. If he takes a swing at you, hit him back."
Sakura chuckled, "And your mom?"
"She'll love you!"
Sakura was getting a little tired so she grabbed his arm and leaned some of her weight onto him. He let her hand go and put his arm around her shoulders. She put hers around his waist.
"Ho much further?" she asked.
"That green house over there," he pointed out a house less than a hundred feet away.
They stepped into the house and Rob called, "Kehn tomahn!" (I'm home)
"Robahsu? I thought you were away for the next couple of months," a female voice called back.
"It's a long story," Rob told her, "Where's father?"
"Oh, he's at the Writer's Guild. He should be back in less than three tahvotee." (That's about 44 minutes)
"Ah, come out and meet my friends mother!"
"All right, just one moment..." she trailed off.
Sakura caught sight of a beautiful woman, apparently in her late thirties, through a hallway. She was trim, perhaps only 110 pounds. Like most D'ni, she'd noticed, she had dark brown hair and pale eyes. Only, her eyes weren't the average pale blue or brown. No, hers were pale green. A very odd green at that. They were bright and startling. Sakura could see where Rob's eye color had come from.
She walked out into the main entrance to find something she hadn't expected. This was not the same Rob that she'd raised. He looked much older. Perhaps 43 hahr (a hahr is about a year, give or take a few days) instead of the 29 hahr old child that had left. (Remember, the D'ni lifespan is thrice a human's, so they age far more slowly)
"Mother, these are my friends from the surface. They'll be staying with me for about a month and we'll take K'veer for a while, if that's alright?" he explained.
"Sure, you can use K'veer for the next month. Now, introduce your friends!"
"This is Daidouji Tomoyo," he stood behind Tomoyo and placed a hand on her shoulder as he said her name.
"Call me Tomoyo. I'm pleased to meet you Mrs....?"
"Oh, just call me Nahgrena. I'm pleased to meet you as well!" They shook hands in the D'ni way, with both hands.
"This is Li Syaoran," he placed a hand on Li's shoulder.
"Shorah," Li said as he shook her hands.
"Li Meiling."
"Nice to finally meet you Nahgrena!" Meiling chirped as she took her hands.
"Hiiragizawa Eriol."
"What a complex name," Rob's mother chuckled out.
"Yes, it is," Eriol said and flashed her his mysterious smile.
"And last but most definitely not least," Rob said as he slid his arms around Sakura, "This is my girlfriend and love, Kinomoto Sakura."
"Nice to meet you!" she chirped as she shook Nahgrena's hand.
"But, I thought that Taigahn was your girlfriend?" Nahgrena said, confused.
"Like I said, there's a long story here. I'd prefer to wait for father to return before telling it though," Rob said.
"Well, alright," she said, "If you're hungry, dinner will be ready in four tahvotee." (About an hour, 58 minutes to be exact)
"Thanks mother," Rob called. He then turned to the group, "Ok, I'll show you where you can stow your stuff temporarily for the next hour or two."
He then led them to a fairly barren room. It must have been a guest bedroom of sorts. It had a stone bed with a mattress and a stone desk. There was also a lamp on the table. They put their stuff by the bed and Rob went to a cupboard in the back.
"This is a storage area / guest bedroom. You can have a few of these supplies..." he trailed off as he pulled out a large sack from the drawer.
"What are you giving us?" Syaoran asked.
"Just a D'ni care package," he said as he reached in and pulled out smaller sacks, and then distributed them to everyone. "Let's see, we have a small bag of fire marbles for emergencies, we have a standard D'ni timepiece, a Rehevkor (like a complicated dictionary), and some documentation that will let you go anywhere in the city with the exception of the Guild Houses and the Council Buildings."
They all glanced through their bags, confirming what he had said. They wondered how he could have done this, but a phrase he commonly spoke came to mind. 'I'm a god!'
He taught them how to use the fire marbles. One must simply tap them against a hard object and they would slowly dim over time. He taught them how to use their timepieces. They resembled human pocket watches, but were more simplistic. Instead of determining exact time, they gave you a rough estimation. They had five wedges, two light and three dark. He explained that the two light were the day gahrtahvotee and the three dark stood for twilight and night. He informed them of the 30-hour day as well. If they needed an exact time, he told them how to use the more cumbersome timepieces. They resembled globes that opened. Inside, the timekeeper showed the hahr (year), vilee (month), yahr (day), gahrtahvo (about six hours), tahvo (about 14.5 minutes), gorahn (about 36 seconds), and it also showed and ticked out the prorahn (1.5 seconds).
About one tahvo after entering, they emerged enlightened. They were speaking in Japanese for some reason and Nahgrena looked at them oddly. They told her that they were from a country called Japan on the surface. She was amazed that there were people on the surface. D'ni scientists thought that any surface dwellers would be small in population and have a much lesser intellect. That was partially true, the D'ni were brilliant compared to humans, but many humans were on equal footing with the D'ni. (I'm brilliant, by the way. My IQ is in the high 130s and average is 90-120.)
Two Tahvotee Later
"Shorah!" a deep voice called from the door of Rob's home.
"Oh, Bochen! You're home!" Nahgrena called and hugged her husband.
"Ah, father, it's good to see you!" Rob walked over and hugged his father.
"What's this? You're not getting mushy on me, are you?" Bochen chuckled, hugging his son.
"No, it's just been awhile," Rob replied.
"Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the cavern?" Bochen asked.
"Uh, that's a long story. A story best told over dinner!" Rob told him.
Dining Room
There was a great variety of D'ni food on the table. There were chor bahkh (meat filled rolls), ikhah nijibets (a roll-like bread), shoontahnah (fish dish), and even a few rice dishes fresh from a granary age. There was a nice variety of D'ni food with a few Saiyan touches added here and there. It was practically a feast.
Everyone was eating, for the journey through the Corridor of Time had been draining. Rob and Bochen demonstrated their Saiyan tendency to eat a lot, so they took nearly half the food themselves. Soon, everyone was done and Bochen asked for Rob's explanation.
"Well, dad, I'm not the Robahsu that you know. I am from 800 hahrtee in the future. I came here with my friends for a vacation and a break from a rigorous training routine," Rob explained.
"How can you be from that far in the future? A D'ni only lives 325 years," Nahgrena said.
"I'm only half D'ni, no one could have possibly known how long I would live," Rob pointed out.
"Well, are you strong?" Bochen asked.
"Very. I am one of the two most powerful beings in the universe," Rob said.
"Who is the other?"
"Sakura, my girlfriend," Rob said, indicating the emerald-eyed beauty next to him.
"Impossible! A girl that strong?" Bochen exclaimed.
"Indeed she is, father."
Bochen charged up his strongest energy attack and suddenly threw it at Sakura. Sakura caught it with one hand then drained the energy from it until it disappeared.
"Believe me?" Rob asked.
"Uh, yeah, actually..." Bochen half stuttered.
"Well, we'll be staying on K'veer for the next month or so," Rob told him.
"Perhaps you should fight your present self to give him some exercise," Bochen suggested.
"NO! I cannot interact with him and you cannot ever tell him that we were here. If you do, history might change in horrible ways," Rob cautioned strongly.
"Alright, we won't tell," Nahgrena stated.
"Both of you, swear on your honor," Rob commanded.
"We swear on our honor that your secret will be kept," they swore in unison.
"Good, crisis averted."
Bochen turned to Sakura and asked, "So, you keeping my son in line?"
"You'd better believe it!" she said jokingly.
"How long have you two been together?" was Nahgrena's question.
"About five hahrtee, five vileetee (year and a half)."
'Don't mention marriage,' he told both of them telepathically.
"You two must be very close..." Bochen smiled as he spoke.
"Well, I should show my friends to K'veer and get them settled," Rob said as he stood up. Eriol, Syaoran, Meiling, Tomoyo, and Sakura stood up also. After saying goodbye and promising to stop by before going home, they departed.
Instead of taking their previous route back to their boat, he led them to a hidden staircase behind the house. After descending a few hundred feet, they came out to a small dock. Rob instructed all of them to embark and they soon got underway.
"That's K'veer," Rob pointed out an island a mile off that had a tall, spiraling structure. It looked almost like a screw sticking up through a piece of wood. However, they turned and he rowed them away from K'veer.
"Where are we going?" Syaoran asked.
"If memory serves, K'veer doesn't have much food on hand. We need to go to the Central Island to get supplies."
As if on cue, they turned a bend and a large island appeared in front of them. It was a large circle, perhaps a mile in radius. It was only two levels, though. Boats were docked in a large ring around the Island. Rob noted that it was almost night, so he quickly rowed out to the Island.
Central Island
They docked and disembarked at one of the docks. He tied it up to the dock and tied a colored piece of rope to the pylon the boat was tied to. Rob explained that that would keep someone from just taking the boat. Since boats were need so much, people just took boats to and from their destinations. Very few people actually owned a boat and few boats were owned by one person.
"I won't be long, so separate into groups if you like and meet me back here in half an hour," he told them.
"What if we get lost?" Tomoyo asked.
"Pair up with someone magical. If you get lost, your partner will be able to sense me," he suggested.
Tomoyo wanted to look around with Sakura, so they went of on their own. Eriol, Syaoran, and Meiling also took off. Rob chuckled, thinking that no one wanted to stay with him, but he moved on. He approached a reputable food vendor, a friend of his from the Culinary Guild.
"Hey Sahnpa!" Rob called to his friend.
"Oh, hey Robahsu!" she called back. They shook hands over the counter between them.
"I need to restock K'veer for a month's stay. A few friends are staying with me. Can you help me?"
"Ha! I could fill that mansion with food if you wanted."
"No, a month'll do."
"Ok, would you like anything in particular?"
"Just the normal assortment of fruits, vegetables, etc. Enough for myself plus five more."
"We just got some stuff in from a new Age."
"Really? Like what?"
She showed him a few pieces of fruit and a slice of bread. He tried the fruit and they were all good. One was like an avocado, another was like a sour apple, and the last tasted like a sweet plum. The bread was like a form of Rye Bread on the surface. It was dark and had a sweet taste to it.
"Alright, add a case or whatever you pack this stuff in to my order," he told her.
"The bread comes in a full barrel. Are you sure that you can eat that much?"
"Well, I can always come back for more so make that a half-barrel."
"Alright! Anything else?"
"Yes, could you ship it directly to K'veer for me? Preferably tonight or early tomorrow morning."
"Well, I don't know..."
"Sahnpa."
"Alright, I can get it in before breakfast tomorrow. Is that it?"
"That should do it!"
They haggled over a price and Rob paid her. Though the D'ni weren't very greedy people like most humans are, they still had use for currency. He used money that he'd collected before he left D'ni. He departed and went to another vendor. He would stop by the beverage vendor as well.
Sakura and Tomoyo
Sakura glanced at her large timepiece and told her friend, "Okay, if I've set this thing right, it should go off every 10 minutes or so."
"Cool! Now, let's hit the clothing stores!" Tomoyo squealed.
"You do realize that we have no money to buy clothes with, right?"
"So? We don't have to pay to look, I hope."
They looked around for a clothing store and they finally found a small one.
"Not much of a range..." Tomoyo remarked glumly.
"You heard what Rob said. The D'ni go for functional, not fashionable."
"Yeah. I guess it's a good thing that I brought a few of my special creations for you with me."
"You didn't..."
"Oh, but I did Sakura-chan!"
"Oh! What a nice color!" Sakura said, pointing to a dark purple cloak.
"Yeah, that is pretty. I could do better though..."
"Tomoyo, I'm not going to look at the local clothing if you only complain about it."
"Ok then, let's see what else is around here."
"There's a souvenir shop."
"Oh! That crystal is so cool! And so are all of those!"
"Ladies, they are fairly common stones," the shopkeeper told them.
"Oh, sorry, we're from another Age and have never been to D'ni long enough to really look around," Sakura excused herself.
"Ah, well, we've lived in the rock for many, many years. In that time, we've developed a great understanding of stones and crystals," the shopkeeper explained.
"This is still great workmanship," Sakura said.
"Yeah, it's great!" Tomoyo added.
"Are you interested in purchasing anything?" he asked the girls.
"No, we're only here while our D'ni friend get supplies. We don't have any money," Tomoyo explained.
"You know what? I think I have something that would suit you two perfectly..." he said as he reached into a bin beneath the counter, looking for a specific pair of rock necklaces. He finally pulled out two necklaces. One was a dark emerald on a golden chain. The other was an amethyst crystal, also on a golden chain.
Sakura stared wide-eyed at the two necklaces and said, "Those look expensive. Like we told you, we have no..."
"No, I insist that you take them fee of charge," he cut her off. He continued to say, "Think of it as a welcome to D'ni present."
"We couldn't poss..." Tomoyo tried to say but was cut off by the man.
"Did your friend tell you how stubborn the D'ni race is?" he smiled at them.
"Alright, we'll take them," Sakura and Tomoyo took the necklaces. Each one complimenting the wearer's eyes nicely. The vendor smiled by how happy he'd made them. They didn't know that gold was very common in the northern tunnels and that the gems were also quite common. He did, however, use a device to alter them to the girls' specific eye colors.
The girls thanked him profusely and left a few moments later. He smiled and waved as they walked away.
Eriol, Syaoran, and Meiling
The trio were walking around, not particularly interested in much. They made small talk about how old D'ni auras felt. The auras seemed refined somehow. Eriol mentioned that perhaps the longevity of the race coupled with the race's existence of over ten thousand years. They saw Rob head back to the boat and they joined him. Sakura and Tomoyo followed a moment later.
"Where'd you get those necklaces?" Syaoran asked.
"Some nice vendor gave them to us once we told him that we were tourists!" Tomoyo said.
They continued to talk about what they had observed while walking around. It would be about a few minutes before they could get to the boat because of so many going home right then, so they sat in a food court-like area for a few minutes.
Rob was standing and unknown to him; a pair of eyes was watching him. A pair of pale green eyes saw him and suddenly brightened.
Sakura turned her head just in time to see a girl jump out of nowhere and jump on Rob's back and start tickling him. He laughed, but threw her off. When she stood to face him, Sakura got a good look at her. She was Sakura's height, about her weight, too. She had bark brown hair and pale green eyes as well. Sakura thought the girl looked like a D'ni version of herself. Then she heard Rob speak.
"Uh, shorah Ahnsah!" he said to her.
Her smile suddenly disappeared and she looked at him suspiciously. She finally said to him, "I thought you called me Taigahn?"
"I should call you Goddess."
"Uh, um, w-what do you mean?" Ahnsah seemed surprised by his statement.
"Drop the act. I'm from 800 hahr in the future. I'm well aware that you were the Goddess of Life."
"Were?"
"Yes, in my time, you are no longer a goddess."
"Huh?"
"Let me introduce my friends first."
Rob walked over and introduced Syaoran, Eriol, Tomoyo, and Meiling first. He then walked up to Sakura and held her hand, saying, "And this is Sakura, the new Goddess of Life and my new girlfriend."
"I'd like to know how that happened..." Ahnsah said.
"You know that I can't. I must protect the Timeline," Rob told her.
"You sound like some righteous god," she muttered.
"That's because he is a god. He is the God of Death," Sakura told her.
She stared at him in shock before asking, "how?"
"I can't tell you," he said simply.
"Oh, well, I guess I should leave you alone..." Ahnsah started to walk away.
"No! Please! Come with us. We'd like to get to know you better!" Tomoyo said, grabbing her shoulders playfully and leading her back to the group.
"I wouldn't want to impose.." she began.
"You won't be. The more the merrier, eh?" Rob said cutting her off.
"Well, alright!" she chirped cheerfully.
They then started to head for the boat. They got in and started rowing for K'veer.
Fin Chapter Three
Well, one more character thrown into the mix! I have seven to keep track of now! I just love to make this difficult, don't I? Oh well, all is well for the time being. For the MYST fans out there, I did change a few things, but this is an AU fic, get over it! Ahem, so, next chapter will be out soon!
Oh, and I need more replies about the Lemon. I really would like to know if you want one or wouldn't care if one goes in. Chances are there'll be at least a lime, but the lemon is mostly up to reviewers, ok? Tata for now!