Disclaimer: see part 1
--------Love's Trials-------
The chanting of the Cresilians' head priests filled the great chamber hall. The sound reverberated off of the marble walls, intensifying the sound until it was almost deafening. A tall, brunette woman swept her way through the corridor leading up to the chamber, her long, emerald green dress delicately brushing up against the tiled floor. Two men in long, brown robes flanked her on either side, keeping their heads bowed as they walked barely two steps behind.
"Has our sacrifice been found yet?" she asked, her voice silky and sultry, rolling off of her tongue in a beguiling way. One of the men, his head shaved except for the long queue starting at the nape of his neck and continuing down his back, bowed respectfully.
"Yes, my queen, we have found the sacrifice," he said, his voice steady.
"Where?" the queen demanded, her command almost barked.
"In a distant galaxy, not very far away," the other man said, his voice shaking slightly at the queen's tone. The queen came to a halt, one fist clenched, her lacquered nails digging into the heel of her hand.
"100 years I've been searching for the sacrifice and it was practically right underneath my nose. What planet is it on?"
"A planet called Earth, Queen Milena."
"Is the sacrifice male or female?" Queen Milena asked while staring ahead, her fist relaxing, her hand coming to rest by her side.
"We don't know, your highness. You're high priests are divining that as we speak. May we show you?" the first man spoke.
"Enlighten me," Milena said as she resumed walking at a brisk pace, shortly entering the chamber where her high priests were still chanting in an attempt to determine the sex of the sacrifice. She looked at the center of the room, her eyes settling on the pool of iridescent blue sand in the middle of the room. The light provided by the torches on the walls of the large circular room reflected off of the sand, causing it to shimmer underneath the light. As Milena walked around the large pool, the light rippled off of the sand, making it look like running water. 15 people, all men, knelt around the pool of sand, their foreheads touching the ground and their arms extended with their palms touching the floor as they chanted the mystical words that would reveal to them what they wanted to know. As they chanted, the symbol drawn in the sand began to glow with an unearthly light. It was a large circle with a square drawn inside of it so that the corners were touching the circle. Inside the square was another circle, perfectly drawn to fit inside the square. Yet another shape lingered inside the circle, a triangle with three dull stones at each vertex.
"Well, your highness, your high priests have drawn what you know as a Grace. The Grace is used in divining spells, such as the one they are chanting right now. In the middle of the Grace rests three stones, known as Grace's Tears. The divining spell will cause the stones to change color, giving us the answer as to what the sex of the sacrifice is. They have been chanting since yesterday's sun fall, almost a full day. In only a few minutes, the spell should be complete and we shall know what we want to know."
"How can we tell by the color of the stones?" she asked again. The other man at her side spoke up.
"If the sacrifice is to be male, the three stones will turn purple; if female, the stones will turn blue." The queen looked on approvingly at the scene before her.
"That reminds me of a prophecy I once read during my studies. Now I think I know what it means. It goes 'If the Tears of Grace shrouded in purple, two men, strong in body and will, destroyed must they be to unveil the path to the one, strong in all aspects of life, who's male energy shall grant power to the one up high for a millennia. His power will give the one up high the power to rule the light and bring power to those surrounding; in her wake shall the light be left and rejoicing shall commence for all her reign. If the Tears of Grace shrouded in blue, two women, strong in spirit and mind, destroyed must they be to unveil the path to the one, also strong in all aspects of life, who's female energy shall grant power to the one up high for a millennia. Her power will give the one up high the power to command the underworld; in her wake shall death prevail and her reign shall be cast into the shadows. If the Tears of Grace shrouded in both blue and purple, use the Heaven's Sea to lead thee down the right path and divine at thy own will. Fair warning, should thee divine wrong, the existence of the universe shall be destroyed and life shall remain no longer. Take caution in how thou divines. In thy hands, the universe does rest.' It was while ago when I read that and I didn't understand it. Now I think I do. That, gentlemen, is what's known as a triple fork prophecy."
"But, your highness, what is the Heaven's Sea?" one of the men asked. She smiled.
"That, I do know. The Heaven's Sea is an ancient name for the Great Mirror that hangs in the Temple of Narussia, Lord of the Afterlife. That mirror can be used to find out answers to most any question by pointing in the direction of the answer. It won't answer questions directly, but it will help a person discover the answer."
"How do you know it works? I've never seen it used," the other man exclaimed.
"I heard of it from my mother when I was a little girl, my mother used it when she was finding the sacrifice that would give her the power to rule her kingdom. I know it does work; I just have to find the right incantation. So, hopefully, the stones will be one color or the other so I won't have to risk being wrong, though I have a pretty good idea as to what the sex of the sacrifice will be." Queen Milena's tone suggested that she didn't want to reveal her guess, so the two men remained quiet and watched as the High Priests of the 15 different provinces worked their magic.
Moments later, there was a bright explosion of light as the stones changed color. Milena shielded her eyes from the light, only pulling her hands away from her face when she sensed it was safe. The 15 High Priests slumped in exhaustion, their powers completely drained. The queen, impatient for her answer, pointed her finger at one of the priests.
"You! What color are the stones?" The priest cast his eyes on the three stones in the center, gasping at the results.
"They're both blue and purple, your highness; it's both colors." Enraged, Milena rushed forward.
"Let me see!" she commanded. Two of the priests moved aside to let their queen inspect the results. True enough, the stones possessed both colors, the blue and purple on each stone swirling into each other, creating liquid patterns in the palm-sized stones. Milena turned around without a word and stormed out of the chamber hall, her face freezing up into a look of anger.
"Looks like I have research to do and quickly." And pray to Rodemasca, the Lord of the Underworld, that the sacrifice is a female, Milena thought with an evil grin.
***
The next day, on the planet of Cresilia, Queen Milena knelt in the Temple of Narussia, her palms pressed together as she softly chanted the incantation, speaking in a language long forgotten except for a specific few, herself included. She looked up once the incantation was finished, and gazed at the Great Mirror, watching the surface undulate as the power of Narussia poured into the mirror. She gasped at the sight in front of her. Unfortunately, she had no with her to witness the makings of history and was alone in the huge stone edifice; no one but royalty was allowed in the room that contained the Heaven's Sea, or, as it was now known, the Great Mirror.
"Speak of your desires," the deep voice spoke; she knew she was speaking to Narussia, the Lord of the Afterlife.
"I wish to know the true nature of the sacrifice, like my mother before me wished to know."
"I cannot tell you the true nature, only point you down the right path. Pay attention carefully, my child, and use your knowledge well." Milena watched breathlessly as images flashed before her, changing fluidly from one to the next. Once the surface of the mirror stilled, Milena drew in a shaky breath.
"Does this help you, child?" Narussia spoke. Milena nodded.
"Yes, my lord, it helps me greatly."
"Then, my time here is finished." The light left the mirror and its surface froze completely, becoming solid once more, leaving Milena kneeling on the cold, stone floor. One half of her ruby red lips twisted into a vicious grin.
"This universe is going to be mine," she whispered viciously.
--------Love's Trials-------
The chanting of the Cresilians' head priests filled the great chamber hall. The sound reverberated off of the marble walls, intensifying the sound until it was almost deafening. A tall, brunette woman swept her way through the corridor leading up to the chamber, her long, emerald green dress delicately brushing up against the tiled floor. Two men in long, brown robes flanked her on either side, keeping their heads bowed as they walked barely two steps behind.
"Has our sacrifice been found yet?" she asked, her voice silky and sultry, rolling off of her tongue in a beguiling way. One of the men, his head shaved except for the long queue starting at the nape of his neck and continuing down his back, bowed respectfully.
"Yes, my queen, we have found the sacrifice," he said, his voice steady.
"Where?" the queen demanded, her command almost barked.
"In a distant galaxy, not very far away," the other man said, his voice shaking slightly at the queen's tone. The queen came to a halt, one fist clenched, her lacquered nails digging into the heel of her hand.
"100 years I've been searching for the sacrifice and it was practically right underneath my nose. What planet is it on?"
"A planet called Earth, Queen Milena."
"Is the sacrifice male or female?" Queen Milena asked while staring ahead, her fist relaxing, her hand coming to rest by her side.
"We don't know, your highness. You're high priests are divining that as we speak. May we show you?" the first man spoke.
"Enlighten me," Milena said as she resumed walking at a brisk pace, shortly entering the chamber where her high priests were still chanting in an attempt to determine the sex of the sacrifice. She looked at the center of the room, her eyes settling on the pool of iridescent blue sand in the middle of the room. The light provided by the torches on the walls of the large circular room reflected off of the sand, causing it to shimmer underneath the light. As Milena walked around the large pool, the light rippled off of the sand, making it look like running water. 15 people, all men, knelt around the pool of sand, their foreheads touching the ground and their arms extended with their palms touching the floor as they chanted the mystical words that would reveal to them what they wanted to know. As they chanted, the symbol drawn in the sand began to glow with an unearthly light. It was a large circle with a square drawn inside of it so that the corners were touching the circle. Inside the square was another circle, perfectly drawn to fit inside the square. Yet another shape lingered inside the circle, a triangle with three dull stones at each vertex.
"Well, your highness, your high priests have drawn what you know as a Grace. The Grace is used in divining spells, such as the one they are chanting right now. In the middle of the Grace rests three stones, known as Grace's Tears. The divining spell will cause the stones to change color, giving us the answer as to what the sex of the sacrifice is. They have been chanting since yesterday's sun fall, almost a full day. In only a few minutes, the spell should be complete and we shall know what we want to know."
"How can we tell by the color of the stones?" she asked again. The other man at her side spoke up.
"If the sacrifice is to be male, the three stones will turn purple; if female, the stones will turn blue." The queen looked on approvingly at the scene before her.
"That reminds me of a prophecy I once read during my studies. Now I think I know what it means. It goes 'If the Tears of Grace shrouded in purple, two men, strong in body and will, destroyed must they be to unveil the path to the one, strong in all aspects of life, who's male energy shall grant power to the one up high for a millennia. His power will give the one up high the power to rule the light and bring power to those surrounding; in her wake shall the light be left and rejoicing shall commence for all her reign. If the Tears of Grace shrouded in blue, two women, strong in spirit and mind, destroyed must they be to unveil the path to the one, also strong in all aspects of life, who's female energy shall grant power to the one up high for a millennia. Her power will give the one up high the power to command the underworld; in her wake shall death prevail and her reign shall be cast into the shadows. If the Tears of Grace shrouded in both blue and purple, use the Heaven's Sea to lead thee down the right path and divine at thy own will. Fair warning, should thee divine wrong, the existence of the universe shall be destroyed and life shall remain no longer. Take caution in how thou divines. In thy hands, the universe does rest.' It was while ago when I read that and I didn't understand it. Now I think I do. That, gentlemen, is what's known as a triple fork prophecy."
"But, your highness, what is the Heaven's Sea?" one of the men asked. She smiled.
"That, I do know. The Heaven's Sea is an ancient name for the Great Mirror that hangs in the Temple of Narussia, Lord of the Afterlife. That mirror can be used to find out answers to most any question by pointing in the direction of the answer. It won't answer questions directly, but it will help a person discover the answer."
"How do you know it works? I've never seen it used," the other man exclaimed.
"I heard of it from my mother when I was a little girl, my mother used it when she was finding the sacrifice that would give her the power to rule her kingdom. I know it does work; I just have to find the right incantation. So, hopefully, the stones will be one color or the other so I won't have to risk being wrong, though I have a pretty good idea as to what the sex of the sacrifice will be." Queen Milena's tone suggested that she didn't want to reveal her guess, so the two men remained quiet and watched as the High Priests of the 15 different provinces worked their magic.
Moments later, there was a bright explosion of light as the stones changed color. Milena shielded her eyes from the light, only pulling her hands away from her face when she sensed it was safe. The 15 High Priests slumped in exhaustion, their powers completely drained. The queen, impatient for her answer, pointed her finger at one of the priests.
"You! What color are the stones?" The priest cast his eyes on the three stones in the center, gasping at the results.
"They're both blue and purple, your highness; it's both colors." Enraged, Milena rushed forward.
"Let me see!" she commanded. Two of the priests moved aside to let their queen inspect the results. True enough, the stones possessed both colors, the blue and purple on each stone swirling into each other, creating liquid patterns in the palm-sized stones. Milena turned around without a word and stormed out of the chamber hall, her face freezing up into a look of anger.
"Looks like I have research to do and quickly." And pray to Rodemasca, the Lord of the Underworld, that the sacrifice is a female, Milena thought with an evil grin.
***
The next day, on the planet of Cresilia, Queen Milena knelt in the Temple of Narussia, her palms pressed together as she softly chanted the incantation, speaking in a language long forgotten except for a specific few, herself included. She looked up once the incantation was finished, and gazed at the Great Mirror, watching the surface undulate as the power of Narussia poured into the mirror. She gasped at the sight in front of her. Unfortunately, she had no with her to witness the makings of history and was alone in the huge stone edifice; no one but royalty was allowed in the room that contained the Heaven's Sea, or, as it was now known, the Great Mirror.
"Speak of your desires," the deep voice spoke; she knew she was speaking to Narussia, the Lord of the Afterlife.
"I wish to know the true nature of the sacrifice, like my mother before me wished to know."
"I cannot tell you the true nature, only point you down the right path. Pay attention carefully, my child, and use your knowledge well." Milena watched breathlessly as images flashed before her, changing fluidly from one to the next. Once the surface of the mirror stilled, Milena drew in a shaky breath.
"Does this help you, child?" Narussia spoke. Milena nodded.
"Yes, my lord, it helps me greatly."
"Then, my time here is finished." The light left the mirror and its surface froze completely, becoming solid once more, leaving Milena kneeling on the cold, stone floor. One half of her ruby red lips twisted into a vicious grin.
"This universe is going to be mine," she whispered viciously.