Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, never have, and probably never will so
don't come knocking at my door with a lawsuit, please.
In a large chamber, twelve people, cloaked in shadows, waited impatiently for the last person to arrive. An air of injured dignity surrounded them, as if they didn't want to be there, or they didn't like the fact they had to meet in secret, like common criminals. Trying to quiet the dragons outside, and each other, they almost yearned for discovery. At least that would be more exciting than this.
"Be careful what you wish for, comrades." A dark voice cut through the room and effectively silenced everything. "Right now, any kind of discovery would ruin everything."
"Your late." They ignored the previous statements and cast accusing glares at the newcomer. "We wouldn't have to worry about wishes if you had happened to arrive on time. Oh, wait. Silly us, how could we have forgotten that you are always late." A ripple of amusement met that remark. "Someday that little habit of yours will get you killed."
An indifferent shrug. "So be it. But, I think you're wrong. For in this case, my 'little habit of mine' might have just saved our hides." Ignoring the anger and confusion, the shadow stepped forward towards the empty seat, but didn't sit down. "You see, I have been gathering some last minute information. It seems that our informant failed to tell us that Fanelia is now killing any dragon they come across. No longer is it just the Dragonslaying Rite, now it is just massacre."
Another shadow stood up hastily. "That's a lie!!" It shouted in outrage. "King Van is known for his friendliness towards dragons! Why now?!"
Waiting until the ranting stopped the last shadow spoke up. "Because they are in the way. In simple bestial greed they are now removing troublesome obstacles. Such as dragons. You think I would come here without proof comrades? Worry no more!" Satisfaction practically dripped from the calm, deadly voice. "I have proof, proof that will make even the most conservative of our group support what we must do."
"But why now?" This shadow didn't even bother to stand. It just sat there, almost in a defeated way. "They've killed dragons in droves before, just like they have raided the Graveyards before, take Zaibach for example. Why have we waited this long? Why are we striking at this exact moment?"
"Ah, but that's just it, my dear friend." They had just stepped in a carefully planned trap. "Yes they've massacred dragons, but their hatchlings? And their eggs? I think not. Sure, they've desecrated the holy dying grounds of the dragons, but now they have the impudence to desecrate the holy dying grounds of the Ancient Dragons." The words had been chosen carefully, and they had the desired affect.
All twelve shadows began to mutter in outrage. "They wouldn't dare. How could they? Have they forgotten their pact they have made with Gaea? Those fools!"
The shadow shook its head slowly, almost sadly. "But that's just it, dear comrades. They haven't forgotten, they have merely thought themselves to good for the pact. They would rather step all over the pact than live it." A deep, regretful sigh. "And it is the dragons who suffer. Not the humans, and not the beastmen who follow the humans, but the dragons! The rightful owners of this planet!" It's voice resonated through the chambers, drawing every shadow into it's spell. "If we strike now, we can stop this madness once and for all. With your support, and your followers, we can end this before there are no more dragons who will suffer these indignities."
There was a deafening silence as each shadow mulled over the words. They were putting a lot at stake here and they knew it. However, if they did in fact wait too long, then every dragon was as good as dead, and it was their part in the pact to protect dragons. Failing to do this was something none of them wanted to consider. Slowly, one by one each shadow got up and pledged their support. As they began to leave, three stayed behind.
"We will talk to the other tribes and tell them what as occurred and the decision reached. Because there was no dissention, they won't oppose the decision either."
The shadow's aura turned thoughtful. "They don't care what happens?"
They shook their heads violently. "NO! It's just that most were fine with whatever decision would be reached, and the rest wanted to fight, but had decided that they would leave it to the cooler heads to decide."
The shadow nodded it's head. "Understood." All four began to walk out. "Tell them to contact me as soon as possible. They know where to reach me." It stepped into a darkness almost as dark as the cave had been. Black, heavy clouds obscured the stars and the moon, blocking any possible light anywhere. "Did you know this is the first time we have not been able to see the Mystic Moon?" There was an underlying current of an almost evil glee to it's voice.
"You're right," All three looked up as well. "There is nothing. Perhaps it is an omen." There was an edge to the statement. "We'll be sure to tell them this as well."
Hitomi Kanzaki, a carefree 21-year old woman, waved good-bye to her parents and younger brother. She was going back to her apartment after a two week stay here. It had been quite relaxing, her grandmother had been on a spiritual journey into the mountains and had just barely gotten back, so there had been no need to worry about her.
*Blood, blood everywhere. An old woman, lying face down, every major artery systematically cut. A shadow, laughing cruelly, lifts it's sword and plunges it into the woman's back.*
With a startled gasp Hitomi fell back into her seat. Sweating heavily, she stopped the car on the side of the road and tried to control her breathing. Why was she receiving visions now? Ever since Gaea her visions had slowed, and finally stopped altogether, so why was she getting them now? She hadn't done any readings, not even for her best friends, Amano and Yukari. Everything stopped as the identity of the woman hit her hard. "GRANDMOTHER!!!!!!"
Dragonrider Serori laughed nastily at the old woman who dared to fight back. "It's useless to try and fight me, you'll lose anyway. Just give up."
Hitomi's grandmother struggled against the invisible cords that bound her. "My granddaughter will come, and she'll find me, and you. When she does, you'll regret this!"
Serori laughed even harder. "I sincerely doubt it. Even if she does arrive here, it doesn't mean anything. Just less effort on our part." She sneered at the old woman's gasp of understanding. "That's right. We're here to kill her, but since she isn't here, we'll just have to get rid of all the evidence, hmm?"
"Lady." A voice spoke from the shadows. "She wasn't at her parents house either. So we did as you asked, and disposed of the evidence."
"Good. We're almost done here, ready the dragons and we'll find Hitomi later." She turned her attention back the dying woman. "Oh dear," Her voice was full of mock panic. "You're a bleeding mess. Whatever shall I do? I know." She grabbed her sword and with a quick stab, ended the woman's suffering.
Wiping the blood on the floor she stuck her finger in some and began to write on the walls. When she finished, she turned to the window, and, without a second glance, she disappeared.
On her dragon, high in the air, right above the apartment she searched for Hitomi's aura. "Kuso!" She snapped. "She's hiding it! Stupid girl, how and when did she learn a trick like that?"
The rider to her right, a cat-man named Akira, shrugged. "Magic- users, even those who don't know they are, have a defense mechanism. Even if they don't know they're in danger, and they are, some instinct kicks in and hides their aura from anyone who is a potential threat. Because she has that sixth-sense, Princess."
"Don't call me that!" Serori snarled, and with a mental command, her dragon side-swiped the other. Watching with satisfaction their downward spiral and reveling in their mental anguish, she turned to the rider on her left, a wolf-man named Sazanka. "Finish that sentence."
A quick nod. "Because of that sixth-sense, even though it is not considered magic on Gaea, she has the instinct." Anticipating the next question he hurried on. "You are also a mage, or Sorceress, in the full meaning of the word, but you have learned to control that instinct. Instead of just hiding your aura, you know if there is any danger and you are able to seek out the direction and choose if you will hide your aura or not."
Serori nodded, a little surprised at what she'd been told. "It's almost like a sixth sense I suppose." Her whole demeanor suddenly changed. "Why was I not told this?!"
Immediately Sazanka turned fearful, and his dragon began to edge away from hers. Serori noticed this, and with a predatory smile, her dragon quickly closed the distance between them. Swallowing hard, Sazanka glanced at the remaining distance, then up at Serori. Clearing his throat hastily, he quickly stammered out, "W, we thought tha, that y, y, you all ready knew th, thi, this." Taking a deep breath he continued. "You had taken control over your instinct so we had no reason to think otherwise." He breathed a deep sigh of relief as the dragon moved away.
"I, I s, s, see." She mocked. Glancing up at the sky she began to curse, their cloud cover was rapidly disappearing. "We've got to get out of here. If anybody sees us it's over!" All four dragons snapped to attention. "We need to leave, NOW! Preferably before Hitomi gets here."
"Too late." Sazanka hissed. True to his word Hitomi's car zipped into the well-lit parking lot.
"Shimatta!" Serori snarled. She glanced almost pleadingly back up to the sky, but the last of the clouds was right over them and that on would soon be gone as well. "You're lucky Seer. All right Dragonriders, we're leaving. On my mark!" She raised her hand and the other three dragons quickly got into position. Her hand dropped and in the blink of an eye they disappeared.
In a large chamber, twelve people, cloaked in shadows, waited impatiently for the last person to arrive. An air of injured dignity surrounded them, as if they didn't want to be there, or they didn't like the fact they had to meet in secret, like common criminals. Trying to quiet the dragons outside, and each other, they almost yearned for discovery. At least that would be more exciting than this.
"Be careful what you wish for, comrades." A dark voice cut through the room and effectively silenced everything. "Right now, any kind of discovery would ruin everything."
"Your late." They ignored the previous statements and cast accusing glares at the newcomer. "We wouldn't have to worry about wishes if you had happened to arrive on time. Oh, wait. Silly us, how could we have forgotten that you are always late." A ripple of amusement met that remark. "Someday that little habit of yours will get you killed."
An indifferent shrug. "So be it. But, I think you're wrong. For in this case, my 'little habit of mine' might have just saved our hides." Ignoring the anger and confusion, the shadow stepped forward towards the empty seat, but didn't sit down. "You see, I have been gathering some last minute information. It seems that our informant failed to tell us that Fanelia is now killing any dragon they come across. No longer is it just the Dragonslaying Rite, now it is just massacre."
Another shadow stood up hastily. "That's a lie!!" It shouted in outrage. "King Van is known for his friendliness towards dragons! Why now?!"
Waiting until the ranting stopped the last shadow spoke up. "Because they are in the way. In simple bestial greed they are now removing troublesome obstacles. Such as dragons. You think I would come here without proof comrades? Worry no more!" Satisfaction practically dripped from the calm, deadly voice. "I have proof, proof that will make even the most conservative of our group support what we must do."
"But why now?" This shadow didn't even bother to stand. It just sat there, almost in a defeated way. "They've killed dragons in droves before, just like they have raided the Graveyards before, take Zaibach for example. Why have we waited this long? Why are we striking at this exact moment?"
"Ah, but that's just it, my dear friend." They had just stepped in a carefully planned trap. "Yes they've massacred dragons, but their hatchlings? And their eggs? I think not. Sure, they've desecrated the holy dying grounds of the dragons, but now they have the impudence to desecrate the holy dying grounds of the Ancient Dragons." The words had been chosen carefully, and they had the desired affect.
All twelve shadows began to mutter in outrage. "They wouldn't dare. How could they? Have they forgotten their pact they have made with Gaea? Those fools!"
The shadow shook its head slowly, almost sadly. "But that's just it, dear comrades. They haven't forgotten, they have merely thought themselves to good for the pact. They would rather step all over the pact than live it." A deep, regretful sigh. "And it is the dragons who suffer. Not the humans, and not the beastmen who follow the humans, but the dragons! The rightful owners of this planet!" It's voice resonated through the chambers, drawing every shadow into it's spell. "If we strike now, we can stop this madness once and for all. With your support, and your followers, we can end this before there are no more dragons who will suffer these indignities."
There was a deafening silence as each shadow mulled over the words. They were putting a lot at stake here and they knew it. However, if they did in fact wait too long, then every dragon was as good as dead, and it was their part in the pact to protect dragons. Failing to do this was something none of them wanted to consider. Slowly, one by one each shadow got up and pledged their support. As they began to leave, three stayed behind.
"We will talk to the other tribes and tell them what as occurred and the decision reached. Because there was no dissention, they won't oppose the decision either."
The shadow's aura turned thoughtful. "They don't care what happens?"
They shook their heads violently. "NO! It's just that most were fine with whatever decision would be reached, and the rest wanted to fight, but had decided that they would leave it to the cooler heads to decide."
The shadow nodded it's head. "Understood." All four began to walk out. "Tell them to contact me as soon as possible. They know where to reach me." It stepped into a darkness almost as dark as the cave had been. Black, heavy clouds obscured the stars and the moon, blocking any possible light anywhere. "Did you know this is the first time we have not been able to see the Mystic Moon?" There was an underlying current of an almost evil glee to it's voice.
"You're right," All three looked up as well. "There is nothing. Perhaps it is an omen." There was an edge to the statement. "We'll be sure to tell them this as well."
Hitomi Kanzaki, a carefree 21-year old woman, waved good-bye to her parents and younger brother. She was going back to her apartment after a two week stay here. It had been quite relaxing, her grandmother had been on a spiritual journey into the mountains and had just barely gotten back, so there had been no need to worry about her.
*Blood, blood everywhere. An old woman, lying face down, every major artery systematically cut. A shadow, laughing cruelly, lifts it's sword and plunges it into the woman's back.*
With a startled gasp Hitomi fell back into her seat. Sweating heavily, she stopped the car on the side of the road and tried to control her breathing. Why was she receiving visions now? Ever since Gaea her visions had slowed, and finally stopped altogether, so why was she getting them now? She hadn't done any readings, not even for her best friends, Amano and Yukari. Everything stopped as the identity of the woman hit her hard. "GRANDMOTHER!!!!!!"
Dragonrider Serori laughed nastily at the old woman who dared to fight back. "It's useless to try and fight me, you'll lose anyway. Just give up."
Hitomi's grandmother struggled against the invisible cords that bound her. "My granddaughter will come, and she'll find me, and you. When she does, you'll regret this!"
Serori laughed even harder. "I sincerely doubt it. Even if she does arrive here, it doesn't mean anything. Just less effort on our part." She sneered at the old woman's gasp of understanding. "That's right. We're here to kill her, but since she isn't here, we'll just have to get rid of all the evidence, hmm?"
"Lady." A voice spoke from the shadows. "She wasn't at her parents house either. So we did as you asked, and disposed of the evidence."
"Good. We're almost done here, ready the dragons and we'll find Hitomi later." She turned her attention back the dying woman. "Oh dear," Her voice was full of mock panic. "You're a bleeding mess. Whatever shall I do? I know." She grabbed her sword and with a quick stab, ended the woman's suffering.
Wiping the blood on the floor she stuck her finger in some and began to write on the walls. When she finished, she turned to the window, and, without a second glance, she disappeared.
On her dragon, high in the air, right above the apartment she searched for Hitomi's aura. "Kuso!" She snapped. "She's hiding it! Stupid girl, how and when did she learn a trick like that?"
The rider to her right, a cat-man named Akira, shrugged. "Magic- users, even those who don't know they are, have a defense mechanism. Even if they don't know they're in danger, and they are, some instinct kicks in and hides their aura from anyone who is a potential threat. Because she has that sixth-sense, Princess."
"Don't call me that!" Serori snarled, and with a mental command, her dragon side-swiped the other. Watching with satisfaction their downward spiral and reveling in their mental anguish, she turned to the rider on her left, a wolf-man named Sazanka. "Finish that sentence."
A quick nod. "Because of that sixth-sense, even though it is not considered magic on Gaea, she has the instinct." Anticipating the next question he hurried on. "You are also a mage, or Sorceress, in the full meaning of the word, but you have learned to control that instinct. Instead of just hiding your aura, you know if there is any danger and you are able to seek out the direction and choose if you will hide your aura or not."
Serori nodded, a little surprised at what she'd been told. "It's almost like a sixth sense I suppose." Her whole demeanor suddenly changed. "Why was I not told this?!"
Immediately Sazanka turned fearful, and his dragon began to edge away from hers. Serori noticed this, and with a predatory smile, her dragon quickly closed the distance between them. Swallowing hard, Sazanka glanced at the remaining distance, then up at Serori. Clearing his throat hastily, he quickly stammered out, "W, we thought tha, that y, y, you all ready knew th, thi, this." Taking a deep breath he continued. "You had taken control over your instinct so we had no reason to think otherwise." He breathed a deep sigh of relief as the dragon moved away.
"I, I s, s, see." She mocked. Glancing up at the sky she began to curse, their cloud cover was rapidly disappearing. "We've got to get out of here. If anybody sees us it's over!" All four dragons snapped to attention. "We need to leave, NOW! Preferably before Hitomi gets here."
"Too late." Sazanka hissed. True to his word Hitomi's car zipped into the well-lit parking lot.
"Shimatta!" Serori snarled. She glanced almost pleadingly back up to the sky, but the last of the clouds was right over them and that on would soon be gone as well. "You're lucky Seer. All right Dragonriders, we're leaving. On my mark!" She raised her hand and the other three dragons quickly got into position. Her hand dropped and in the blink of an eye they disappeared.