* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Koushiro opened the doors and looked around. There seemed to be no one around. He smiled. He knew that any more people bowing and saying, "Yes, your Exaltedness, what would you need, your Exaltedness?" he would go completely insane. Normally, Koushiro bathed languidly in the attention received, but at the moment, he was quite irritable. Today's council had gotten absolutely nowhere. Lack of productivity in a days work tended to unravel him a little.
Besides, he had no erudite perception of the topic they had discussed, anyway. Koushiro had practically torn the libraries at Tentorelle down searching for any information he might find about the so-called Prophecies of the Ages but he found nothing more than negative comments, never the real information. He didn't believe the Prophecies like Sage Phinen did.
And he would stick his title up his nose before asking her to show him where to find the correct references. It would be almost like admitting defeat. They contended frequently on intellectual issues and found themselves as frequently at par.
So he decided to take a little trip to the libraries at Gatoris. These were the best libraries in the world next to the ones in Tentorelle, although they involved books and scrolls dealing with the arcane—areas the sensible sages of Tentorelle would never touch. Magic and sorcery had no physical evidence, after all, and Koushiro was honest enough, to himself at least, to admit that the Kabuteric scholars were accomplished skeptics, close-minded to the supernatural.
'Ah, never mind that now.'
Feeling a bubbly feeling surfacing through him inside at the prospect of making a new research, Koushiro stepped fully out of his rooms and into the torch lit hallways. He scoffed at that. Clearly, the Gatorians have never heard of electricity. This was all too primitive.
The red-haired Council Master walked down the passageways in the direction he hoped the libraries could be found. He hadn't had the time to explore the palace since he arrived so he didn't know his way around. As he strolled along, he began to hear some sounds coming from the corridor to the left ahead of him. He wondered whether to dismiss them as simple unimportant sounds. Perhaps it was only a guard making his or her rounds.
But the sounds continued on. Koushiro suddenly recognized them as the voices of some very familiar people.
He peered around the corner and his suspicions were confirmed. Koushiro stepped out and said in his most self-aggrandizing voice, "And what might all of you be doing, prowling around corridors late at night?"
The Tribe Caller's Heir, the Empress of Palmera and the young inventor fellow from Courage jerked up in surprise at Koushiro's sudden interruption. They had been speaking to each other in low voices at close council.
"Koushiro!" Taichi exclaimed.
"That's 'Master' Koushiro to you, Tribe Caller," Koushiro corrected. "Now. May I be permitted to know what the three of you may be plotting? An open insurrection against your own crowns, perhaps?" He laughed at the thought. Only idiots would do so.
"Plotting?" the inventor, Daisuke, yelped. "We're not plotting! We're just—uh, chatting. Yeah."
Perhaps these idiots weren't so far off.
"Certainly," Koushiro drawled, finding entertainment in Daisuke's suddenly frantic answer. The lad had been smooth and wry in their last meeting—Koushiro had met him when he set out to see the inventor's quarters. Apparently, not now.
He suddenly noticed a few others standing nearby and apart from the three plotters. After squinting for a while in the dim light of the flickering torches and mentally cursing the lack of electricity in the City of Angewotep, he was surprised to discern their faces. Prince Ken of Wormtii, the Emperor's son, Jyou of Gomatelen, the quiet Prince Terran from Biyoara, and, most surprisingly, his young steward, Iori.
He gaped at the young boy for a moment before uttering, "What in the seven peaks of Kabuterin are you doing here, boy? I thought you had better sense than to go about lurking around unlit hallways."
Iori's face turned down and the Prince Terran stepped forward almost defensively. In a hesitant way. "Master Koushiro, do not scold him. He had no choice."
"Yeah," Taichi put in. He glanced at Terran. "And by the way, Terran, don't call him Master Koushiro. We're all of equal rank."
Koushiro huffed slightly at that.
"Anyway," Taichi continued, "Terran, Ken, Jyou and Iori just joined us by mistake. We ran into them when we passed the banquet hall and had to take them with us."
Koushiro suddenly frowned, seeing where this was heading with the aid of his supremely high intellect. (A/N: *Guffaw* We all love Izzy, anyway) He took a step back. The Empress of Palmera slowly stepped forward, smiling cheerily. "You'll have to go with us too, okay?"
His frown grew deeper. "I don't quite want to. I have better things to do than to haunt the hallways lit with choking torches. All of this palace would be a fire hazard if stones were quite flammable."
"Luckily, they're not," Taichi quipped. "Either way, you're going with us." He clapped his hand on Koushiro's shoulder.
Koushiro rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Barbarian."
"That's right," the Tribe Caller said good-naturedly.
Ken turned and looked down another corridor. "I think we can go this way."
Koushiro remembered that the Prince Ken was a tracker at heart, and so was Prince Terran. He supposed that the lad would have explored the palace thoroughly.
He shrugged out of Taichi's grip. "Why should I go with you? You do not have the authority to command me, as equally ranked as we are," he said, putting a sarcastic edge to the 'equally'. "Besides," he added. "I've no idea what the point of this childish night trip is."
"That's right," Jyou murmured. "You don't. And that's why we are wasting our time. Morning will be upon us in a few hours."
"So what's the point of this venture then?" Koushiro nearly screamed. What were they getting at?
Prince Terran spoke up again, his soft voice reaching the red-haired Master's ears. "The Tribe Caller wants to see his sister in the healing catacombs."
"Touching," Koushiro remarked.
Daisuke cleared his throat. "All of this said and done, I still understand that you will be going with us." He seemed to recover his urbanity, though Koushiro wasn't certain whether the boy's wheels were all running in the same direction. The Agunatran actually believed that he could order the Master of Tentorelle around? "What's more, I hear that the Princess is really pretty."
"You're not laying a single finger on her," Taichi growled.
As they began to walk down the corridor Ken had pointed to, Koushiro sighed irritably and fell in step with Prince Jyou. He was the eldest here; therefore he could assert the most authority. "I can see that you are a wise fellow, Prince Jyou—or at least, smarter than the Tribe Caller, but why did you agree to this foolish excursion?"
The Prince smiled slightly. "Foolish, is it? Well, it may be to you, I suppose."
"Is it not a fruitless endeavor to you?" Koushiro demanded. "Or do you seem to find an ounce of meaning to this little side adventure?"
Jyou's slight smile did not falter. "Indeed. An ounce, Koushiro. Maybe even more than that."
Koushiro felt a great deal of astonishment at the Prince's soft proclamation. "Do you mean to tell me that you agree to this folly? The girl can hardly twitch to the bitterest tasting tea leaves!"
Jyou's eyes were unreadable as he spoke: "Having lost my own sibling, I realize now more than ever the importance of a close family bond. Though my brother is gone from me now, the Tribe Caller's bond with sister is still possible. I will do all that I can to help others come to the same realization."
"You have my condolences," Koushiro murmured, feeling it more now than the first time he had said it to Jyou, for the aching simplicity in the older lad's words. "But why now, when the girl is poisoned to the point of eternal oblivion? How could he bond with a silent girl?"
"It would be good for Taichi to see her although he may not speak to her," Jyou told him. "If we give him that, it would satisfy him a little." He then grinned. The smile looked strange on Jyou's face, for Koushiro had always seen it so formal and sad. "Besides," Jyou remarked in an unnaturally pleasant manner. "Miracles may happen. Who knows?"
Koushiro sighed. "You're a lost cause." He heard a change in the tone of the voices ahead and looked up. "What's going on up there?" he called up. "I demand to know immediately. What have you done now? Honestly!"
"Will he ever get off our case?" he heard Daisuke ask Taichi and Koushiro scowled at that.
Iori, who had been walking slightly ahead of his master with the Princes Terran and Ken, turned and said to them, "It seems that the Heir to the Tribe Caller's title, the Empress of Palmera and the Agunatran inventor have encountered somebody along the way, Master Koushiro, Prince Jyou."
"Another unfortunate, I see," Koushiro noted. "Well, let's not dally. Let us go greet our next victim."
They picked up their pace. When they reached the trio, they found themselves staring in surprise at the Ice Prince of the Winter Tundra. Prince Yamato seemed slightly ruffled and quite angry. Yamato and Taichi appeared to be having a clash of words.
Taichi was saying threateningly, "You will be coming with us, Yamato."
Koushiro remarked, "He really needs to attempt changing his opening statements. His charisma needs working on. How on earth could he get people to come along with his merry men if his very words have the undertones of a threat?"
The Prince of Garurunil was lazily leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. Yamato raised his eyebrows when he saw Koushiro and the rest. "Well, well, well. There are more of you going along with the fellow's crazy plan? It is quite surprising how intelligent people can look on the outside." He closed his eyes, chuckling.
Koushiro felt indignant at that. "If you would excuse my interruption, Prince Yamato, not all of us desired this little side adventure. And I am quite smart!"
"I agreed with you, Koushiro. People don't always look intelligent in outer appearances—that's what I had meant."
"Of course you'd agree with me—" The Kabuteric youth began to say when he paused, catching the hidden insult in Yamato's words. "Are you implying that I look stupid?" he exclaimed. "Of all the—"
"Excuse me, Koushiro," Taichi grated. "No one cares whether or not you look stupid. All we know is that you never seem to shut up." He turned to Yamato. "You are coming with us, either way, Yamato. We forced them to go with us; therefore we must express the same sentiment with you. Koushiro made no objection."
Koushiro began, "Actually, being the smart person I am, I—"
Taichi sighed. "Just come with us."
"Where? What if I don't want to go?" Yamato asked challengingly.
"It wouldn't matter if you did," Taichi retorted.
As the two hotheads continued their heated diatribe, Mimi growled in frustration, throwing her hands up into the air. "How much time do we have to waste before we get to the healing catacombs?"
"What would be your reason to partake in this outing?" Koushiro asked her curiously. The Empress didn't seem the type to be adventurous. To Koushiro, she seemed more the type who laid back and let everyone do the work for her while she dropped grapes into her mouth.
Mimi's eyes softened sadly. "I am going on this little outing, as you say, for my friend, the High Priestess Miyako, who had been struck down by some mysterious ailment upon our arrival into the desert."
Koushiro nodded, understanding. "Reasonable enough. Her condition is a strange one."
At last, Yamato irritably relented to come with them. "Yes, fine, I'll go with you fools. Just. Don't. Touch. Me."
They resumed their trek through the dim palace. Yamato walked with them, a little away from the group. Koushiro sniffed slightly at that. The Prince of Ice was exactly that—a prince made of ice. He held himself aloof and in higher regard than to others. No doubt about it—the Prince of the enchanting palace of Garurunil was very impressed with himself and totally unimpressed with others.
(A/N: Just like Koushiro! Apparently, it hasn't occurred to him yet. So much for all that intellect.)
"What were you doing out so late in the middle of the Palace maze?" Jyou asked the pale prince, ever the polite Heir.
Yamato shrugged indifferently. "Just looking around."
"Ah."
The walk continued in silence until Ken announced, "Here we are. This is the door to the catacombs, I think. I wasn't allowed to enter this room but I saw many priests and priestesses heading inside it earlier when I was poking around the Palace."
The group paused in front of the two large doors with two enormous torch dishes glowing on both sides. Both doors were ornately decorated and made to look religiously intimidating, in a way. Koushiro wasn't certain that the way he thought of it was accurate, for the Kabuteric people didn't quite believe in religion, but his interest was suddenly piqued when he saw some symbols carved into the framework.
They were the same type of inscriptions that could be found within the walls of his home in Tentorelle. They were all over the pillars next to the doors, missing pieces to the puzzle of his home. He stared at them, deep in thought.
"Hey, Koushiro! Are you coming or are you just going to stand there gathering dust?"
Koushiro glanced up in surprise. It was Taichi.
He rolled his eyes. "I'll ignore your tactlessness for now. The sooner we get this excursion over and done, the sooner I can go to the libraries."
"You can't," Taichi called back over his shoulder. He was inside the catacombs by now. "If my memory serves me correct, my mother had told me that the libraries were always closed at night." He laughed. "After we see Hikari, though, maybe you'd like us to join you when you break in there."
"I am no juvenile delinquent," Koushiro stated hotly.
"Repeat it over and over again, if it makes you feel better," Taichi laughed and moved on.
Koushiro muttered a choice oath and followed the large-haired young man into the catacombs.
The healing catacombs of the palace of Gatoris were vast-looking, honey-combed with many tunnels and passageways leading into rooms of quiet solitude. The walls of the catacombs were still decorated with the strange inscriptions of the same ones in Koushiro's home. There were hardly any other people about, and whenever they caught sight of a person, they all were usually unnoticed, surprisingly.
"Must we really do this?" Koushiro glanced at the quiet Terran after a close encounter with a young priest. Luckily for them, the priest simply thought their sounds to be that of rodents and moved on. "Prince Terran, you're a sensible-looking chap. Why in the seven peaks did you agree to this silly adventure?"
Terran hesitated then he answered, "Well, Highness, to tell the complete truth, we stumbled onto the plot quite by accident. We, meaning Prince Jyou, Prince Ken, young Iori and myself. We freely agreed to accompany them, though. In my case, it is because I have heard many stories concerning the Princess Hikari."
"What?" Taichi yelped, overhearing. "What stories? Whatever they are, if they're bad, it's naught but slander against my sister!"
The Prince from the Kingdome of Love smiled gently, looking…strange to Koushiro's eyes as his hair seemed to catch fire in the dim torches like some seraphic deity, but he brushed the thought aside as soon as the Prince spoke.
"There is nothing flying about of that sort. Your sister, Tribe Caller, is predestined to become a great ruler by many who foretell the complete truths, I've heard," Terran told him. "I'd like to see someone who looms large in the Prophecies of the Ages."
"Don't tell me that you believe in that hodgepodge!" Koushiro exclaimed in a whisper, keeping his voice low.
"I believe that he just did!" Taichi chortled. "You seem ruffled, Koushiro."
"Listen," Yamato interrupted abruptly in his icily offensive way. "We're not here to have any theological discussions, all right? We're here because our future Tribe Caller here wants to see his sister. So can we go into her silly chamber and get everything over with?"
They grudgingly relented to his words and all of them turned to the beautiful doors when they heard someone say, "Yamato! All of you! Are you in the catacombs to see Him, too?"
They all turned around and saw the tall blonde Prince of Hope striding towards them with a startled look on his face.
"Takeru!" Yamato frowned. "What are you doing here as well?" He scowled. "Don't tell me that you are also here to see the sleeping Princess of Light."
"What?" Takeru looked honestly puzzled.
Suddenly, Terran walked resolutely toward a large ornate catacomb door. He gently laid his hand upon it and several large sounds pinged from inside the lock. His crimson eyes seemed to hold a strange inner light. "Tribe Caller," he said in his soft, light voice. "Your sister's heart lays beating within this chamber."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mimi, the youngest Empress of Togesantira, looked at the Prince of Love in confusion as the youth opened to door to the chamber. How did he know where the Princess Hikari slept in induced slumber? And how did the Prince unlock the heavily secured door with a simple touch?
She glanced at Terran briefly before turning to look inside the chamber. The funny patterns on the walls continued inside, although they were more heavily encrypted here. She brushed that aside and peered in closer to see the Princess.
The Princess Hikari of Gatoris was a petite young girl who looked around the Prince Takeru's age. Her lashes formed dark crescents on her surprisingly pale skin and her short glossy hair was the same color as Taichi's.
"Hikari," Taichi murmured and walked to the altar on which she lay on.
Mimi's eyes filled with tears at the look of sadness of his face. Taichi loved his sister so much, even though they had never met. It was amazing. And here she was, but he could not speak to her.
"She's beautiful," Daisuke whispered in awe at the Princess' delicate features.
"Do not tell me that you are in love." Iori smiled, watching the girl and her brother with respect. As he said this, Mimi's gaze just happened to fall on the face of young Takeru and saw his eyes soft with feeling. Mimi studied him. He seemed surprised and his cheeks pinked slightly as he stared at the girl on the altar.
She looked at everyone else. The sleeping girl and her brother seemed to affect everyone in a way. Jyou's expression was unreadable, but his eyes held pain in stark clarity. She knew that he was thinking about his beloved brother. Ken's look mirrored his, and Mimi recalled that he, too, had lost a brother once. Her eyes filled with tears once more, sad for them both.
Koushiro was no longer raptly studying the walls but watching the two desert siblings with startling pity. Yamato seemed slightly moved by the silent correspondence of Hikari and Taichi, but his eyes remained as cold as ever.
Terran was studying the pair intently, his scarlet eyes a mystery. He seemed to be thinking hard. He stepped forward suddenly and turned around to look at Mimi, a strange look in his eyes. "Empress. Your friend…she is here, isn't she?"
Mimi suddenly remembered what she had come here for. She nodded. "I want to look for Miyako."
"Then I will go with you," Terran said. "She is bound to be awake now."
Before Mimi could ask how he could know, Ken announced, "I will go with you as well." He glanced meaningfully at Taichi and his sister. "I believe that they need time to be alone, even if they cannot speak to each other."
"If it's all right with you fellows, I'd rather go back to my rooms now." Koushiro turned toward the door but was stopped by Jyou's quiet statement. "We will all go to search for the Empress' companion, Koushiro."
"Fine, fine," the red haired youth muttered and stalked out the door.
Yamato, of course, said nothing, but his gaze held volumes of amusement.
They all filed out of the room; Taichi didn't seem to notice their exit as he gazed at his sister in sadness. Once they were all assembled outside in the hall down a ways, Yamato suddenly rounded on his little brother.
"What were you doing by the catacombs, Takeru?" he asked dangerously. "Who was this 'Him' you spoke of?"
The younger blonde smiled at his brother. "Him, of course. Is there any other?"
But before Yamato could continue further, Mimi looked around and asked, "How do I find Miyako?"
They all stopped and stared at each other in silence.
"I'll take a look that way. Maybe there'll be some sign. The Priestess Miyako is of certain importance, after all," Ken said and turned to walk down the corner. He disappeared from sight.
"Does he know where he's going?" Daisuke asked frankly. "If you ask me, all of the hallways in the catacombs look the same to me."
"Ken took an extended trip around the Palace when we arrived," Terran told him softly. "That included the library, and there were many maps of Gatoris to be found there." He smiled fondly. "Young Ken absorbed everything very avidly. He's like that sometimes."
"And what'll we do when we find your friend, Mimi?" Jyou murmured thoughtfully. "Not even the priestesses of Gatoris can wake her up."
Silence once again fell like a shroud around their shoulders.
"There appears to be a flaw in your plan, Empress," Yamato then stated blandly.
Mimi glared at him. "Thank you for stating the obvious. Now if you'd put aside your mockery for a moment, maybe you'd like to—"
"Mimi!"
The eight of them whirled around in surprise as a lavender-haired girl tackled the startled Empress of Palmera, followed by a white and brown blur. Mimi flailed frantically until she realized that the girl who had hugged Mimi was the High Priestess of Palmera, Miyako Inoue.
"Miyako? Hawkmon?" Mimi whispered in disbelief. Then it clicked. "Miyako! Hawkmon!" she cried. "You're—you're awake!"
Tears were rolling down the younger girl's face as she smiled at her empress. "I'm so glad to be awake...it was horrible."
"What had happened?" Iori asked curiously. "I don't understand anything."
Jyou smiled gently at the boy. "Mimi's friend—the High Priestess, Miyako—was attacked by some strange shadow creature when they were traveling toward Angewotep. It probably cast some spell on her or something—"
"Nonsense!" Koushiro scoffed. "Her attacker was probably some rogue Digimon—nothing more!"
"You are wrong there, sir!" Miyako declared. "It was not just some Digimon!"
"What was it then?" he challenged her. She faltered, much to his triumph.
Terran looked disapprovingly at the gleeful Koushiro. "For shame, Master Koushiro. Do not burden her mind with memories she would rather forget. She has just awoken from a long and nightmare-filled sleep."
"How did you know?" Miyako asked him in amazement.
"Nightmares?" Mimi repeated. "How horrible it must have been for you, Miyako..." she whispered.
The lavender-tressed girl looked sober. She nodded. "It wasn't the experience I'd suggest for the weak-hearted," she stated, a haunted look in her troubled eyes. "I barely survived the physical pain, but the mental attack..."she trailed off. Mimi hugged her again. She continued. "Anyway, I am glad to be back. Thank the Goddess that I am awake once more."
"Indeed," Mimi agreed. "But you wouldn't have been asleep long, anyway. We were going to go look for you ourselves!"
Miyako looked around and for the first time, it seemed, she noticed that there were others in the catacomb hallway with her. She turned pink and her Digimon, the Hawkmon, ventured, "I take it that Miyako and I haven't met these others yet?"
Mimi laughed. "I'm sorry, I forgot. I was too glad that you were back, Miya!" She turned around and pointed to each in turn. "That is Prince Terran of Biyoara, the one who reminded us that we should look for you, and that's Prince Jyou. He's the next Emperor of Gomatelen. Over there is Prince Yamato from Garurunil and his brother, Prince Takeru of Angesdale. This is Koushiro—"
"Master Koushiro," the redheaded scholar corrected haughtily. "And it is considered rude to point."
"And the fellow over there with the funny-looking glasses on his head is Daisuke, an Agunatran mechanic," Mimi continued, completely ignoring the Head of the Kabuteric Council. She looked around, frowning slightly. "Where did Ken go again?"
Almost as if on cue, the Prince himself came striding down the same corridor Miyako had emerged from. "I have reason to believe that the High Priestess—" He stopped and noticed Miyako and Hawkmon. He smiled at her and bowed. "Is awake."
"His name is Prince Ken of Wormtii," Mimi told Miyako. "He's our guide through the Palace and the catacombs."
Miyako looked at Ken with some interest. "But you are not from here. How could it be that you know your way so well through the weaving tapestry of hallways of fabled Gatoris?"
He smiled with slight embarrassment. "I am fond of tracking and am very partial to maps and exploration. A predilection I may have attained through my heritage as a Wormtiine in the forests of Biyoara."
Terran laughed and announced in his light voice, "It is time for us to complete the night. Come, friends and colleagues, let us return to the chamber of the Sleeping Princess to greet her."
Everyone stared at the self-effacing Prince, the same questions brimming in their minds.
As expected, it was Koushiro who aired it out. "What are you talking about? How do you know these things, Terran? Are they mere guesses or is there a logical reason for your statements?"
Light suddenly exploded from inside the door they had all left Taichi in, bathing the corridor with a heavenly glow and an ethereal song. Terran turned to all of them, once again reminiscent of an otherworldly fire-haired deity. He had a gentle smile on his face. "We must not dally. He has arrived at last."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Takeru was the first to follow the mysterious Prince of Love back into the room of Princess Hikari.
Takeru had been waiting for Him to come. He didn't know how he came to the realization that the feeling inside him was this—he had merely assumed that he wanted time to fly faster because he wanted to return to Angesdale. But he realized that he was waiting.
And at last, the time had come.
He followed Terran into the room, blinking momentarily at the overly luminous and cleansing light emanating from inside. Taichi had stood up in surprise and was staring with awe at the walls and ceiling of the room. The carvings engraved upon them were glowing and moving together.
For some reason, Takeru didn't find any of this surprising—his gaze moved without prompting to rest upon the slight figure of the Princess Hikari of Gatoris. When he had first seen her, he was startled. Certainly, her ethereal beauty was enough to send awe through his veins, but it wasn't that which had surprised him.
He had seen her before. He knew where he had seen her. As clichéd as it may have been, he had seen her in his dreams. And when he laid eyes on her, he knew what she was to become. It warmed his heart and he knew he would help her become what she could be and protect her forever.
Takeru let his eyes linger on her face for a few more moments before rising to meet the ruby gaze of the Prince Terran. They regarded each other momentarily and Terran nodded, smiling gravely at the young prince.
Takeru understood, at that moment, that Terran had been awaiting Him as well. While he was glad that he wasn't alone in the waiting, he wondered, along with everyone else, how the mysterious Prince knew so many and let on so little.
His wonderings weren't able to get very far, though, for the carvings on the wall had suddenly stopped moving. Takeru's breath halted as well and he held it in suspense as the light suddenly burst forth in a new wave. His eyes were blinded for a moment but the lights all suddenly seemed to be moving the other way.
As the light left, Takeru's eyesight returned to take its place and he saw a figure standing where the wall carvings had congregated. All of the light that had burst forth seemed to be drawn to him, bathing over him in unending waves.
Takeru turned his head—the figure was too bright to look at, reminiscent of the sun—and saw Terran smiling openly at the glowing person. He had gracefully dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
Takeru knew at that moment that this light-swaddled man was the One he had been waiting for and followed Terran's suit, falling to his knee in deep reverence. He bowed his head as well and closed his eyes, feeling like this was the moment that his entire life had been waiting for, had been made for.
He heard the others kneel as well to Him.
The light began to pulsate and swirl like some cloud around Him and separated to form several columns by His sides, each in front of the other Heirs. The columns also seemed to contain figures within, but Takeru's gaze was not riveted upon the new arrivals. He gazed at Him, feeling happier than he had ever been in his life.
"YOU ALL HAVE MY GREETINGS," the figure in the center said in a voice that elevated Takeru's soul to reach the heavens with Him. "RISE."
And as the Heirs rose, the columns of light at His side began to disperse to leave behind other divine-looking figures. At last, the light surrounding Him seemed to implode and there He was.
Elin, the Father God of Light and Maker of All. (A/N: Look At All The Capital Letters!)
Takeru felt his heart soar with happiness and he tore his glance away from Elin to look at the other divinities. In front of him were two who he suddenly realized were the divinities of his own people. Seoras, the God of Farming and Produce, and beside him was His wife, the beautiful Cerelia, Goddess of Harvest.
(A/N: You know what, if you don't like long descriptions, you'd better skip this part, since I've found it fun to describe warped visions of my equally warped imagination.)
Seoras' short brown hair was unadorned, and His blue eyes sparkled with an amazing depth. His fine features were tanned and dark, as though He had spent a lifetime toiling under the sun, coaxing seedlings to grow and produce. Cerelia's sun-like hair flowed free, scattering golden bursts of light randomly, and a wreath of flowers and fruits circled Her head delicately. Her robes were colorful and vines encircled Her arms as graceful armlets.
He glanced at the others. Standing solemnly at Elin's side was Xylia of the Green Forest, the Goddess of the Biyoarans. She was also known as Kacela, Goddess of the Hunt. Her skin was slightly tinged with a delicate green color and Her beautiful face showed profound serenity Takeru had seen once in the face of Terran. The barefoot Goddess of the Green Forest wore beautiful robes of various shades of emerald over leggings and elaborately designed hunting clothes. There was a circlet of leaves on her crown and a bow hung loosely in Her hand, and Her fiery red hair streamed unbound and glowing, although Her ethereal face still held a heart-stopping dignity.
The God of the Gomatelenians, Aranav of the Endless Ocean, stood with His powerful arms crossed. His skin was tinged with a deep azure color and His hair was a lighter shade of blue, flowing as though underwater under a crown of shells. He wore a long robe which seemed to rise and ebb, like a wave, and He held an enormous conch shell in His hand, the Horn which could summon all sea creatures to His feet. His eyes were dark blue, so dark as to be black, and Takeru saw, with some surprise, that his fingers were webbed and that his legs weren't legs but a long glowing tail of shining light.
Taiyang, the God of the Sun and Fire, was grinning openly as He stood before Taichi. His skin was a brilliant gold and His dark sable hair was wild and tinged with spontaneous bursts of fire. A sword of pure flame was held in His large hands and His clothes flashed bright and golden. He slightly resembled Elin in some way Takeru couldn't put his finger on. Perhaps it was the Gods' golden eyes which radiated light. Taiyang's radiated a golden light which warmed Takeru's heart noticeably.
Then there was the winged Goddess of Garurunil, Lycoris, the Goddess of the Nighttime Sky and Stars. Golden lights twinkled merrily in Her silver-blue tresses, as though the heavens were contained in Her hair, and Her skin was a beautiful white color. Her dress was a flowing blue and her piercing blue eyes were sky blue, cool and distant, though at the same time, friendly and gentle. Her wings were a graceful protrusion from Her back, colored a dazzling gold.
The studious-looking God, Akili of Great Wisdom, stood with His hand over the Book of All, the same book reverently adored by all Kabuteric people. His dark auburn hair was neatly tied back with a wreath made of wisdom and His dark, dark eyes seemed to be taking everything in clinically. They were beautiful in their darkness, though, and the wisdom He possessed was clearly seen here—Akili had the wisdom of All. He wore black scholarly robes and a golden medallion hung from His neck.
The Goddess Ayanna of the Plants and Flowers was smiling gently at Mimi. Her brown green-flecked eyes conveyed warmth and love for the girl in front of Her. Ayanna's pink hair was circled with flowers. Leaves protruded from Her temples. Surprisingly though, Ayanna's hair ended in leaves and vines protruding flowers. Her body was slim and stemlike, and Her dress was made of undying petals.
At last, standing before Ken was Kozue, God of the Trees and Branches. His eyes were the same violet as the Prince's and His shiny black hair was uncropped. He wore simple brown robes and stood ageless and eternal, like the trees He protected and loved. He had strong arms and a powerful body, His brown skin a beautiful mix of caramel, cocoa and russet. His rangy sleeves ended in a shimmering green light.
So there they were. The Gods and Goddesses of the Eastern Continent. Elin of Light, Seoras of Farming and Cerelia of Harvest, Xylia of the Green Forest or Kacela of the Hunt, Aranav of the Endless Ocean, Taiyang of Sun and Fire, Lycoris of the Heavens, Akili of Great Wisdom, Ayanna of all things Hibiscus, and Kozue of the Trees.
As Takeru gazed at their faces, he realized with a start that most of the Heirs resembled their respective divinities. For instance, Takeru himself had Cerelia's blonde hair and Her husband's light blue eyes. Terran looked almost exactly like Xylia, except for the fact that he was a he—it confused him greatly.
Jyou had Aranav's blue hair and eyes and Ken had Kozue's eyes and shiny black hair. Koushiro and Akili had the same calculating looks in their eyes and both had black eyes and auburn hair. Taichi shared Taiyang's wild brown hair and spontaneous smile. Mimi and her Divinity shared the same eye color and the same dramatic pink. Of course, Takeru wasn't certain that Mimi's hair was natural. Yamato had Lycoris' pale skin and cool blue eyes, although Lycoris' were friendlier.
Takeru glanced at Hikari, wondering how she resembled Elin and saw immediately. Hikari seemed to glow with a beautiful inner light and wisdom flooded her features, even as she slept under the influence of a powerful poison. He felt his cheeks flushed and turned his eyes back to Elin.
Elin had been watching him, a gentle smile on His lips. Takeru's cheeks reddened a little more. When he glanced back at the Mother and Father Gods of his country, he saw them smiling at him and he shifted uncomfortably, wondering why they were looking at him and smiling that way. His cheeks flamed.
The God of Light bowed His head. "WE ARE COMPLETE. MINE CHILDREN ARE ALL WITH ME, AND THEIR CHILDREN ART WITH THEM, ALONG WITH THE COMPANIONS, AS THEY EVER WILL BE UNTO THE END OF TIME."
Daisuke, Miyako and Iori appeared to be the companions Elin had spoken of, since Elin bowed to them deeply.
Taichi suddenly spoke up bravely to the God. "All are complete, Holy Elin, but one still sleeps in darkness." His eyes were sad and pain throbbed in his strong voice.
"INDEED." The God turned and looked at Hikari. "MINE DAUGHTER LIES CUT OFF FROM THE NOURISHING LIGHT, DRIFTING IN SILENTLY ENDLESS OBLIVION."
"Can you do anything, Father?" Takeru found himself pleading. "Please return her to us."
"RETURN MY DAUGHTER TO WHOM?" Elin stared intently at the blonde boy.
Takeru looked puzzled for a moment, then the correct answer rang in his head. "Return her…return her to me. Please."
Taichi shared Takeru's earlier look of confusion, but Elin spoke: "THERE IS A WAY." He nodded. "BUT THE RULES LAID DOWN BY THE UNIVERSE AT THE WAKING OF TIME DO NOT PERMIT MINE INTERFERENCE. THE GAME HATH BEEN SET, AS IT HAD BEEN EVER DESTINED TO, AND ALL IS UP TO THE CONTESTANTS." He smiled at them. "THE CURE TO RESTORE LIGHT TO MINE PROSTATE DAUGHTER'S LIFE RESTS WITHIN EACH OF THY SOULS. TOGETHER, UNEARTHED AND COMBINED, ALL IS POSSIBLE."
"But what does that mean?" Taichi asked desperately.
Taiyang laughed suddenly and spoke to him. "It means that you have the power to save Hikari." His voice was mellow and reminded Takeru of a gentle candle. "Each one of you can do great things by yourselves, but together…" He laughed again.
"So how do we save her? How do we save my sister?"
"It's simple, really," Akili spoke up. "But it requires all of you."
Elin nodded. "THERE WILL COME A TIME, PERHAPS NOT TOO FAR AWAY, WHEN ALL OF THE CHILDREN OF MINE HEART ARE IN DANGER. THY PERIL, HOWEVER," He nodded to them, "IS FAR GREATER THAN ALL OTHERS, AND ONLY CANST THOU RELY ON THOSE WHO ART ALSO OF THY SOUL. TRUST IS PERTINENT TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS SALVATION."
"I-I'm sorry, but none of this makes much sense," Mimi admitted.
The girl's Goddess laughed gaily. "That's true, isn't it? Basically, what Father is trying to say is that you must trust each other enough to lay your lives in each of your hands. A great journey is ahead of you and it is fraught with danger. There will be many times when you will have to abandon everything to full faith and reliance on your companions."
"But where are we going?" Yamato demanded. He was frowning.
There was a tinkling sound filling the room. It was Lycoris. "My son," She smiled at him, Her voice light and cool. "You have much to learn. Do not be impatient, for Time will never stop or go back. Not when things are so important now. Time will reveal all and you will know. Warm your heart, my child, for ice invites danger of melting at the inopportune times."
Yamato's eyes were confused but he said nothing more.
"You will be with us, won't you?" Takeru asked. "I mean, you'll go with us to wherever we will be headed?"
His Goddess actually leaned down and hugged him. She smelled of freshly picked flowers and beautiful winds. "We always were with you, my Son. You just knew not where to look."
Koushiro had been eyeing his God with intense calculation. He asked, "Wise Akili, God of my People, I have a great many things to ask you, if you wouldn't mind."
Akili grinned at the youth and shook His head slightly. "Now is not the time, Koushiro, but the full knowledge shall be revealed unto you with the passage of Time."
"Time seems to have a great deal of importance in all this," Ken observed.
Kozue nodded gravely. "Time may mean nothing to trees, but the trees still bend to the will of Time. Such are we."
Jyou was quietly standing unobtrusively in front of his God. "Father," he murmured. "How is my brother?"
Aranav looked at the blue-haired prince, His eyes sad and stormy. "A great loss you have suffered, as have I. He will be content in the future." Jyou's eyes filled with pain.
Xylia had been studying Terran, who seemed to be avoiding looking at her Goddess. The Divinity's eternal face seemed to crease with sadness and the Lady of the Hunt murmured, "I am sorry."
Terran's eyes came up in alarm, and he seemed almost afraid. "Please, do not. It-it doesn't—"
Xylia took a firm hold on Terran's hand. "The Time will come for you as well, my child. The reflection within will take the true form and come to light."
(A/N: I'm sure you know what Sora and her Goddess are talking about.)
Terran's eyes seemed almost sad. "Everything will go wrong from there, holy Goddess. Such is the manner of things."
Takeru didn't understand this odd exchange, why Terran seemed afraid of his beautiful Divinity, why they seemed to…well, know each other, probably. But he didn't have time to ponder these things, because Elin caught His glow again.
"TIME GROWS SHORTER FOR US TO BE HERE, THOUGH IT EXTENDS ITS REACHES FAR BEYOND THIS UNIVERSE AND BEYOND THE NEXT." He smiled benevolently at all of them. "THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOU. TAKE IT."
And with a burst of blinding light, all of the deities returned to light and were gone once it had faded, although lingering traces of glittering sparkles drifted around where each had once stood radiating love.
After a short stunned silence, Koushiro muttered, "An amazing event. Truly amazing."
Daisuke grinned. "That doesn't happen to normal people very often, does it?"
"We're not that normal," Terran muttered, striding to where the princess lay sleeping. "Not anymore."
"What are you doing?" Taichi caught up to the red-haired youth. "And what do you mean by that?"
Terran demurred a reply to Taichi's second question, answering the first. "Look at her, Taichi. The Gods have removed their power from her. There is nothing to sustain her from the arms of death now."
Taichi turned to his sister and saw, with growing horror, the truth in the Prince's words. Takeru stepped forward anxiously and saw as well that the girl began to breathe hard. Her head suddenly began to twist and turn, her face in an expression of agony.
"Hikari!" Taichi cried, gripping the edge of the altar. He turned to Terran in panic. "What are we going to do? She can't die! I won't allow it!"
Terran looked strange in the dim light. His hair was sifting to the brush of unfelt wind. "Do you really want her to live? What would you do? You haven't known her for your entire life. She may not be what you expect."
"Of course I want her to live!" Taichi yelled at the other Heir, tears streaming down his face. "I'd do anything! I'd go to the Underworld and bring her back, just to keep her alive. I don't care if she's not what I expect. She's my sister, Terran. I'd give her my life so she could keep hers. And whatever stands in my way—huh?"
The future Tribal Caller stared in puzzlement at his hands as they seemed to glow like fire. Terran smiled broadly, although it was a sad smile. He reached out with a surprisingly dainty hand and took the youth's glowing hand in his, capturing Takeru's hand in his other as well. The fire in Taichi's hands seemed to spread, and Takeru was suddenly filled with a fierce courage and he stared at his dimly glowing hands.
Takeru was too busy staring at his hands and feeling the strong bravery and nerve course through his veins to notice anything else, but when he looked up, he saw other small points of light circling the altar. The Heirs had formed a circle around the sleeping princess.
The light present in the youths' hands began to pulsate and glow violently, but they radiated most blindingly from the Tribal Caller's person, bathing the room in blazing fire. Takeru, however, felt none of the heat that one is expected to begin burning up with when inside a room filled with tall and unstoppable fires.
Terran's delicate hands gripped his tightly as he began to fall to his knees, holding him up. The valor inside him suddenly raised itself and roared. Light burst from within the circle to plunge into the girl's system.
'This will heal her,' he thought wildly, feeling reckless. 'We're going to save the Princess Hikari...'
Then it was as if something was torn from him inside and bursting outward towards the girl. Takeru staggered, though he wasn't alone in feeling the powerful tugging. Mimi actually fell to her knees, although her hands were still held tight with Jyou's and Ken's, both of whom were sagging slightly from the effect of the pull. Yamato and Koushiro both looked exhausted, while Terran's face was a pale white.
Only Taichi remained straight and immobile as he stared straight at the stone table where his sister lay.
All of a sudden, there was a sound that was not heard, yet which rung echoing into Takeru's heart and he saw nothing but a blinding sky of orange fire. When it faded, Takeru found himself and all the others excluding Taichi on their knees, though they still held each others' hands.
And then the girl on the altar blinked and sat up.
Takeru could not believe and he stared at the princess in amazement. Taichi gave a cry which might have been a sobof a sob of happiness and moved forward, throwing his arms around his sister. "'Kari," he murmured, whispering a shortened version of the girl's name.
Hikari of Angewotep, Princess of Gatoris, stared at him in confusion. "Are you…are you my brother?"
Taichi could not say anything, looking too choked up in emotion to answer, but his head nodded an affirmation. Hikari broke into a glowing smile which made Takeru's heart ache as she put her arms around her brother. "Tai…"
Oddly, Takeru heard sounds of sniffling and turned his gaze upon the only other two girls in the room. Mimi and Miyako both were clinging on to little dainty hankies and dabbing them at their sparkling emotional eyes.
Where they got the handkerchiefs, Takeru would never know.
Not only Mimi and Miyako were moved by the desert siblings' reunion. (A/N: Desert siblings. I like the sound of that. *Corlath* :p) Takeru's heart warmed immediately toward both and he noticed that the others as well were affected. Jyou's eyes held a look of pain and longing, but genuine happiness for them as well.
Yamato watched the two at the altar without any trace of customary coolness in his icy eyes. Takeru recognized the look which replaced the distant expression in those blue irises and grinned.
Even Yamato had warm feelings.
Her warm eyes streamed happy tears. "I knew you would save me." Strangely though, she wasn't looking at her brother. Rather, her gaze had settled upon the startled Prince of Angesdale. He smiled at her shyly and her answering smile was like the sun coming up.
Takeru felt someone's gaze upon him and saw Terran watching the silent exchange with gentle wryness. Terran smiled ingeniously at him and turned away. For some indiscernible reason, Takeru felt his cheeks beginning to burn.
"We're glad you're back." Taichi broke free from his sister's embrace and spun around, as if remembering that there were others in the room. His cheeks were tinged slightly at his emotional breakdown in front of other monarchs. "May I present my sister, the Sleeping Princess of Gatoris, Princess Hikari of Angewotep?" He bowed deep and extended a hand to help the girl down.
Takeru and the others bowed their heads as well.
"This may be premature," Hikari said to them in a weakly delicate voice, "but I welcome you to the city of Angewotep and into Gatoris, my home." Her eyes were still on Takeru's, though.
"We are pleased to be here," Jyou answered formally, bowing once more in the ritualistic way the Gomatelenians showed respect for a ruler. "Everyone has been very gracious and hospitable."
"I am glad." Hikari glanced around, her elfin features growing alarmed. "Gatomon? Where is Gatomon?"
Her eyes were once again drawn to his and Takeru's heart stood still. (A/N: *Guffaws* My Heart Stood Still. Yankees, anyone?)
They were a soft, dark golden brown reflected by the flickering torches. The blush on his cheeks grew more evident as he met her gaze clearly. He, however, could not fathom the reason why a great deal of his blood had decided to rush to his face simply because he caught the gaze of a newly-awakened princess again. They stared at each other and he noticed that the Princess of Light had a luminous sort of beauty (A/N: I couldn't help it.)
And again.
"Hikari!"
A soft voice suddenly snapped them out of their trance-like state, the time of which they both had spent memorizing the details of each others' faces, and they both turned a little slowly toward the source of the sound. Takeru tore his gaze from Hikari in time to see a small white cat hurtle through the air towards Hikari.
"Gatomon!" Hikari cried and caught the Digimon in a tight embrace. She sank to the floor, cradling the weeping cat, tears also running down her face.
"Where did the cat come from?" Koushiro wondered.
"Come back here!" a voice suddenly sounded from the hallway, accompanied by the swift and nearly soundless pattering of running feet. "Gatomon!"
Taichi's eyes widened and he cautioned, "We're not supposed to be here."
"I'm glad you finally noticed," Yamato remarked dryly. "Good for you. Your timing's a little off, though."
Taichi looked at the other with angry eyes and Takeru wondered if it was wise for Yamato to provoke Taichi after seeing what the Tribal Caller was capable of. Either it had not occurred to Yamato (which was unlikely) or he did not care.
A girl skidded into the room, her black hair flying. She paused suddenly and stared at them. Takeru recognized her as the niece of the Queen of Angewotep. Elani, he believed.
"We can explain," Taichi began urgently.
Elani frowned at them. "Entry into the Holy Catacombs is forbidden to all but those of the White robes and the Gau-won-ra."
"Gau-won-ra?" Takeru wondered.
Yamato replied, "The stealthy ninjas of the City. Like her."
The Gau-won-rin was sweeping her cold glance through the room and her eyes narrowed suddenly as two long knives with a finely hooked and tapered points appeared into her hands. "What have you done with the Princess Hikari? Where have you put her body?" A feline-shaped Digimon stepped out from behind her, low growls rumbling from its black throat.
"We have done nothing," Koushiro protested. "Princess Hikari is—"
"Princess Hikari is glad to see her Royal Cousins after such a long period of darkness."
It was Hikari.
Elani spun around and saw the girl attempting to rise from the floor holding her Digimon. Takeru hurried forward to help her up without a single forethought. He thought he saw Terran's wry smile at this but decided not to think about it. He stepped aside as soon as she was fully on her feet.
"H-Hikari!" Elani threw her arms around the younger girl, tears hidden in her thick curtain of black hair. Hikari smiled sweetly, closing her eyes and holding her cousin as well.
Takeru, watching her face, began to feel a few gentle tugs in the vicinity of where his heart was. His eyes widened slightly in alarm.
What was this? What was happening to him?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The entire city of Angewotep was rejoicing.
People laughed and danced gaily in the streets, celebrating the Princess' waking. Before the Heirs had entered the catacombs, the city of Angewotep had seemed a sparsely populated place, an impression even more enforced by the spacious architecture. But now, people filled the broad avenues with singing and feasting.
Jyou found himself admiring their devotion to their monarch, finding pleasure in their happiness of Hikari's safety. Penny-pinching bakers and vendors broke out their wares and freely distributed them to the general populace, along with once-misers who now threw gold coins into the streets, exulting in Hikari's awakening.
While all outside the golden walls of Gatoris was noisy though, the Palace was a complete contrast to the boisterous merrymaking of the Gatorians. The halls were quiet and empty, nearly everyone being cloistered the vast council chamber of Gatoris. The people inside the Palace had also joined the celebration, but three straight days of merriment were all they could afford to use for rejoicing Hikari's return, along with a great amount of the Palace's food storage. But three days only, for time pressed on their troubles from the West.
Jyou sat silently next to his mother and General Aes. They had been sitting with the Gomatelenian delegation for some time, listening as each reigning monarch from each Kingdome had made speeches about Princess Hikari's miraculous recovery. None who hadn't been involved in the wakening understood how the Princess emerged without a trace of the deadly poison in her blood.
Come to think of it, those who had been part of it didn't understand it quite well, either.
Jyou still didn't know what exactly went on in that room. He wasn't certain whether he really had seen his God, but the mere presence of the once-Sleeping Princess was proof enough that the Gods had been a part of that night. Jyou was no skeptic like Koushiro of Tentorelle, but he sometimes doubted his reason, seeing as he was frequently visited upon by nightmares which left him insomniac for many days. (A/N: Or nights, rather.)
Nightmares of his dead brother. Nightmares of that horrible discovery down in the water. Nightmares of the future.
As he recounted the events of that night trying to puzzle out the events, his gaze wandered over to Taichi. He had also been in the center of things. How exactly had that orange light exploded into the room? It seemed to have emanated from Taichi. Jyou studied the Heir closely, deciding not to pay attention to the Head Healer's oratory.
It would probably be no different from everyone else's speech, anyway.
Taichi, for once, wasn't sprawled out on his seat and sleeping the speeches away. He seemed more alert than ever and appeared the perfect picture of a Desert Prince. But there was something different about him, Jyou decided. He moved to the edge of his seat, peering over the railing.
Taichi glanced over at him and smiled broadly from where he was seated, not so far from where Jyou himself sat.
Jyou nodded back a greeting and suddenly understood. The future Tribal Caller's eyes used to be simple brown and black, and his skin an unremarkable coffee tint. But after that night, Jyou had known that there was something odd about him.
Taichi's eyes were now a warm golden orange with flecks of brown and his skin was a dark golden tan. Jyou's eyes widened with surprise. It must have been the ginger light that had burst forth into the room when they gathered around the Princess' altar.
Jyou was broken from his inspection by General Aes. "What are you doing on the edge of your seat, Highness? Is the old man's speech that interesting to you?" She grinned mockingly at him.
He started and smiled at her. "I find it as interesting as a growing barnacle, if you'd really like to know."
The girl shrugged. "Not really. Your scholarly ways aren't for the military thumbheads."
"Of course."
Jyou shared an easy camaraderie with the young General Aes, for she was closer to his age than anyone else in the Palace other than his brother. Both of them found their amity quite necessary, for Jyou was often lonely and Aes was frequently demeaned by older officials because of her young age. Her military genius was never overlooked, though, along with her ability to keep her head in times chaos.
"Look, the man's speech is over—"
"Jyou, General Aes," Jyou's father said in a warning tone. "Be silent."
Jyou turned red at the reprieve, as slight as it was. Since Shin had died, an enormous responsibility was placed on Jyou's shoulders. He was going to be the Emperor of Gomatelen, Champion of the Kingdome of Reliability. He shouldn't mess up. But he did, far too many times already.
Jyou sat still, trying to focus all his attention on the next speaker, which was easier than expected, because Taichi's father had stood up. The man had a presence which commanded authority.
"All of you here have been patient enough to sit through all this talk," the great man began. "Very patient. But know that our welcoming back of my daughter is not the only reason why we congregate to the Holy Palace's deepest chambers. Most of you here have also attended our earlier seminary and understand that war may be coming to our land from across the sea. There is nothing we can do but prepare and hope that we are all merely jumping at shadows—a paranoid man has a better chance of surviving an ambush, unless he has worried himself to an insensibility rivaling the Ancient Hulren!"
Several people laughed at this. Hulren was a paranoid adventurer from the caves who kept from sleep for nineteen days, fearing what he didn't realize was his shadow. It was an old tale but recounted to children with much amusement.
The Tribal Caller continued: "Much is to be done to protect ourselves from this potential siege." Thus Taichi's father began to map out an excellent defense strategy for all the Kingdomes, underscoring the need for arms and reinforcement of buildings.
When he finished, Mimi sounded the horn to be heard and the Queen of Angewotep nodded to her. "You may speak, Empress of Palmera."
Mimi nodded back and stood up, looking regal in her Empress insignia and elaborate hairstyle. However, her eyes betrayed a slight terror of speaking in front of such an audience, and her voice trembled slightly. "I fully agree with the Tribal Caller's plan. It would safeguard our towns from being annihilated by war and it would also ensure the safety of our citizens from a physical attack. In many ways, it is an excellent design, but we all have overlooked the very thing Hulren had lost sleep over."
"His shadow?" someone asked.
Mimi nodded, her headdress tilting slightly. "Hulren was afraid of his own shadow, but what we have are the Shadows which think for themselves. What defense have we against the denizens of the Darkness which come from the West? They are here—what sort of monster had the claws to tear a hole in the hardest and most defensible fortress of Gomatelen? There was the attack on my caravan, traveling through the desert, only a week ago." She looked around timidly. "I think that the war against this darkness is no longer a possibility—it is a certainty."
She hurriedly sat down and the room was filled with murmurs. A horn rang and after a short moment, the Queen nodded to someone Jyou couldn't see. "Rise."
To Jyou's amazement, the Agunatran inventor, Daisuke, stood up. There was immediate silence. It was rather daring of the inventor to raise his voice among the royals, Jyou mused, watching the lad clear his throat. Perhaps he would have something important to say—there was something Daisuke had been working on in Gomatelen that he refused to tell anyone of.
"My name is Daisuke of the Motomiya. I come from the Kingdome of Courage, under the clan of Fladraki." The auburn-haired fellow paused. "I may not have a crown to put on my head, but this inventor may have something of consequence to say to this autumn assembly. The horn was over there by my chair for a reason, I suppose, and I decided that this reason was for me to announce something of great revelation and scientific innovation.
"The lovely Queen of this extraordinary realm has seen fit to allow me the opportunity to either make my announcement, or to make a fool of myself, forever engraved upon your memories as the Agunatran who was three suns short of a desert. I see some of you appear to have expressions of outrage that a lowly inventor such as I has taken the floor."
"I wonder what our desert friend is up to," Aes murmured. "Such eloquence. He is bound to insult someone."
Jyou cracked a wry smile. Daisuke only getting started.
(A/N: I rather like Davis a lot more now. ^_^ So refined.)
"Do not worry," Daisuke continued. "I will not allow those expressions to petrify on your faces, for children need not be frightened of a grotesque face. I will not keep you all long in your seats, though these cushions are the penultimate seats of comfort. I am certain that others of more consequence have important words to say today, but my little announcement may be of some use for this problem of which the assembly speaks of, if luck is on my side. Truth be told, I am quite bursting at the seams to announce this report for I invest a great deal of my pride in this."
He looked around, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "My august Ladies and refined gentlemen, I bear you the amazing tidings of this inventor who has found the secret to crossing the Great, yet sometimes bothersome Ocean!"
There was an interval here where all simply stared at the inventor in blank incomprehension. Many wondered whether the fellow was right in the head.
The Queen of Angewotep rang her bell, gesturing for Daisuke to sit down. She stood up and looked at everyone in the room. "This has come as a shock, we presume?" She smiled. "Young Daisuke has approached us concerning his invention and we see it as a way to investigate further the mysteries of the other shore."
"Is it true, my Lady?" someone asked.
The woman nodded. "Our land now has an opportunity to explore this land of which we speak of with apprehension and perhaps a treaty may be formulated with whoever lies across the Sea."
The Tribal Caller stood up with his wife. "I have seen the ship for myself. The young lad has sent out several unmanned prototypes already, returning many pleasing results. The safety is quite guaranteed, as the lad himself went out and nearly reached the other side, deciding to return before landing.
"This
is the opportunity for us to reap the fruits of exploration—we will go across
the sea."
Not the clearest thing I've ever written, but I'd had fun writing it down, so whatever. It's also very dragging—I like dragging. Or have you noticed already? ^_^
