Ch. 5: The Legend of Satanix
Ascon raced to the throne room, almost out of breath; this had been the most he hand physically exerted himself in a long time. He would have teleported himself, but he was unable to concentrate on the spell. In a way, he was grateful, for it gave him a chance to think. How could Zagato possibly even consider this option? Ascon refused to consider the answer that he knew all too well..
Zagato stormed into Eagle's room, finally finding Presea. At the noise, Presea immediately bolted up from her leaning position over Eagle and turned to face the intruder.
"Zaga-Zagato, what are you doing here?" She asked rather lamely; he had every bit the right that she did to be there. Zagato glanced at Presea quizzically, and then pulled her out of the room, the door closing automatically behind them.
Presea stood dumbfounded as Zagato hurriedly explained to her, "Presea, I need you to wait for me at the forge in the Forest of Silence. I should be there in about two months." Presea glanced back at the room.
"What about Eagle?" Zagato did a sharp intake; he completely forgot about Eagle.
"I think it's safe to leave him alone for that long; it's not as if he needs much looking after; just making sure that he's comfortable. But Presea, this is very important; you mustn't tell anyone of this. And you need to leave right away."
Presea nodded, as she was too confused to do anything else. Zagato thanked Pillar that she was unaware of his indefinite suspension; otherwise she would have refused and reported to Clef. Actually, she should have reported to Clef anyway, and wondered why she was so cooperative. Still, she agreed to abide by it, which meant she would, that much he knew. Now it was time for something more important; getting ready for his own journey.
Master Mage Clef was talking to Lafarga and Ferio about a growing monster problem in the east; as much as they all wanted to find Kila, affairs of state must continue. And monsters were perhaps the biggest danger in Cephiro. No matter what Hikaru did to the Pillar System, the fear of the people would never go away, and as a result neither would the monsters. To anyone gifted with powers of observation, they may have noticed Clef's subtle changes that only a select few recognized; he was slower, with more wrinkles in his face, and seemed less..imposing. The changes were certainly more noticeable now that Kila had gone missing, but no one made any mistake; with the unfortunate demise of Lantis all those years ago, Clef was still the undisputed most powerful mage in Cephiro.
"It seems an unusually large group of Titars has shown up in the eastern forests," Clef began. "They shouldn't be too difficult to draw out and exterminate. I think a standard operation would suffice."
As Ferio and Lafarga nodded their heads in agreement, Ascon burst in through the chambers, completely out of breath. Clef looked at his chief disciple and chosen successor with bewilderment.
"Ascon, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to put the library back in order."
Ascon waited a moment, and then looked Clef right in the eye. "Master Mage, I think Zagato is going to try something incredibly stupid. I think-no, I know-he is going to attempt to revive the Rune-God Satanix."
*Before you ask, yes, I am aware that everything up to this point has been Manga based, but this is the only thing I am taking out of context because, lets face it, Mashin doesn't sound nearly as cool as Rune-God*
Clef felt as if someone punched him in the face; he suddenly had the urge to sit.
"'The RUNE-GOD Satanix'? You mean there is more than three?!" shouted Ferio, suddenly and unexplainably afraid.
"Perhaps it would be more prudent to tell us of this Satanix than to question the obvious."
All four turned to see Fuu, Umi and Ascot standing in the doorway. As the three sat down, Umi piped up, "Ha. That's rich coming from you, Fuu. You spent half your time stating and questioning the obvious during our adventures here in Cephiro."
While Fuu promptly blushed as she took her seat in Ferio's lap, Clef stood up again.
"Very well, it isn't a particularly long legend. Thousands of years ago, one group of Magic Knights decided to live in Cephiro, much like you three did. One of them, a man from your world became the High Recorder. Among his duties was to re-record many of the legends of this land. And he came upon this one, one day.
'It was an ancient legend, telling of a fourth Rune-God, Satanix. But unlike the other three, it didn't represent an element, but an emotion; Vengeance. He checked on this legend, taking him many years to find it, but find it he did. And there he learned of the terrible truth of Satanix. Its power reflected the will of vengeance in its don-er ten thousand-fold. One could easily use this evil power to match the goodness of the other three, and gain the revenge they seek. However, to one whom cannot control their vengeance, or mistake's another emotion for vengeance, then the Rune-God will take a cruel revenge of its own; it will fail its don-er when it is needed the most."
"How awful," cried out Fuu, "What was to be their redemption ends merely in their destruction."
Clef, not used to being interrupted, continued. "Yes, it is a sad ending, and this former Magic Knight tried to make sure that no one would be able to use it. He took no chances; he spent hours making sure that it only one from another world could awaken a Rune-God."
Here Clef paused, unwilling to continue, yet knowing he must. At this point Umi piped up.
"Well, someone needs to go tell Zagato that he's wasting his time. Only those from another world can become Magic Knights."
"No, that is not true." Clef stated sadly. The others gazed upon Clef incredulously.
"The aforementioned Magic Knight found a terrible secret, one that was lost even then. He almost convinced himself to destroy this information, but it would be in direct violation of his position which he swore as High Recorder. In the end, he compromised with himself. He used magic ink so that it would never need recording again, and wrote it in his native language, in hopes that none would be ever able to read it. He gave a translated copy to the Master Mage at that time, so that they might at least always no of the danger. The translation was roughly, 'The most common misconception of the little-known legend of the Magic Knights is that one must be from another world to awaken a Rune-God. That is only a half-truth. The only true requirement to qualify for awakening a Rune-God is that you must merely have blood from another world flowing through your veins.' In other words, those from another world, and their descendants, have the power to awaken Rune-Gods."
Everyone except Ascon now stared at Clef in horror. Lafarga at this time cleared his throat.
"Yes, well, um, I believe that Zagato will be wasting his time never-the- less. I have guards under strict orders to let neither him nor Lintas out of the palace.."
At that moment two guards burst into the room. They were torn and obviously just been on the wrong end of a beating.
"We...came to report..that Lt. Zagato, has escaped."
Lafarga leaped to his feet, but Clef placed his staff on Lafarga's shoulder.
"It is useless to chase after him now; he will be half-way to the Forest of Silence by now, looking for the legendary mineral, escudo. What we must do is warn Presea."
Clef began using his telepathy, trying to sense Presea, but he couldn't. He could 'feel' her presence in Cephiro, but he couldn't place it, which meant only one thing..
"It appears as if we are too late. Zagato has already told Presea to wait in her forge by the Forest of Silence." Clef could only shake his head.
"He'll eventually find the Spring Eterna, and I doubt he'll have much trouble obtaining escudo. We must stop him," Clef stated with a sense of urgency, "He has no idea what he is doing. His hate is so strong, I doubt even he, who has a heart stronger than his father's, the greatest native magic user Cephiro had ever seen (Clef stood firm in the belief that Lantis' powers equaled the elder Zagato, possibly exceeding them, and certainly his own) could handle it. At times he looks to have the strength of his mother, both he and Lintas, but luckily for us, at least at this stage when Zagato is far from finding Satanix, neither have quite learned how to alter all their heart's energy to full their magic, as they were busy with their military duties. We can still stop him, if we form the right plan."
Ascon spoke up. "Allow me to go after him, Master."
Clef, Umi and Ascot both stared at him, giving him the 'not in your dreams' look.
Ascon sighed and calmly stated, "If Zagato is indeed in this cycle, he will need a close friend to help him. And while he is rather unemotional and detached, Zagato is one of my friends, and I think I may even be able to convince him to come back. But if I must use force, I will."
Clef sighed and nodded his head in consent. "You have power beyond your years, Ascon. Go then, and bring him back."
Ascon bowed, whispered a spell, and disappeared.
Phew. That took me a while to update First off; I would like to thank hikarushidou and kamazova for their kind and motivational compliments. BTW, kamazova, from your review, I got the impression that you have the impression that you thought I was a girl. Well, errrr, I'm a guy. Wait, let me check, *checks real quick*, yeah I'm a guy. It's okay, though, I can understand where you would have trouble. Second, I would like to give an extended thanks to DarkHorse, for his constructive criticism. Constructive, not done in an ass-hole way criticism can be more helpful then all the compliments in the world. Not that I mind them ladies, but they are more helpful.writing wise. Ego-wise, however, I think DarkHorse is a bastard. LOL just kidding. BTW, finish your Ramarian crisis fic, it was really good, damn it! Please R&R, especially Review, cause that way I know you are reading
Ascon raced to the throne room, almost out of breath; this had been the most he hand physically exerted himself in a long time. He would have teleported himself, but he was unable to concentrate on the spell. In a way, he was grateful, for it gave him a chance to think. How could Zagato possibly even consider this option? Ascon refused to consider the answer that he knew all too well..
Zagato stormed into Eagle's room, finally finding Presea. At the noise, Presea immediately bolted up from her leaning position over Eagle and turned to face the intruder.
"Zaga-Zagato, what are you doing here?" She asked rather lamely; he had every bit the right that she did to be there. Zagato glanced at Presea quizzically, and then pulled her out of the room, the door closing automatically behind them.
Presea stood dumbfounded as Zagato hurriedly explained to her, "Presea, I need you to wait for me at the forge in the Forest of Silence. I should be there in about two months." Presea glanced back at the room.
"What about Eagle?" Zagato did a sharp intake; he completely forgot about Eagle.
"I think it's safe to leave him alone for that long; it's not as if he needs much looking after; just making sure that he's comfortable. But Presea, this is very important; you mustn't tell anyone of this. And you need to leave right away."
Presea nodded, as she was too confused to do anything else. Zagato thanked Pillar that she was unaware of his indefinite suspension; otherwise she would have refused and reported to Clef. Actually, she should have reported to Clef anyway, and wondered why she was so cooperative. Still, she agreed to abide by it, which meant she would, that much he knew. Now it was time for something more important; getting ready for his own journey.
Master Mage Clef was talking to Lafarga and Ferio about a growing monster problem in the east; as much as they all wanted to find Kila, affairs of state must continue. And monsters were perhaps the biggest danger in Cephiro. No matter what Hikaru did to the Pillar System, the fear of the people would never go away, and as a result neither would the monsters. To anyone gifted with powers of observation, they may have noticed Clef's subtle changes that only a select few recognized; he was slower, with more wrinkles in his face, and seemed less..imposing. The changes were certainly more noticeable now that Kila had gone missing, but no one made any mistake; with the unfortunate demise of Lantis all those years ago, Clef was still the undisputed most powerful mage in Cephiro.
"It seems an unusually large group of Titars has shown up in the eastern forests," Clef began. "They shouldn't be too difficult to draw out and exterminate. I think a standard operation would suffice."
As Ferio and Lafarga nodded their heads in agreement, Ascon burst in through the chambers, completely out of breath. Clef looked at his chief disciple and chosen successor with bewilderment.
"Ascon, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to put the library back in order."
Ascon waited a moment, and then looked Clef right in the eye. "Master Mage, I think Zagato is going to try something incredibly stupid. I think-no, I know-he is going to attempt to revive the Rune-God Satanix."
*Before you ask, yes, I am aware that everything up to this point has been Manga based, but this is the only thing I am taking out of context because, lets face it, Mashin doesn't sound nearly as cool as Rune-God*
Clef felt as if someone punched him in the face; he suddenly had the urge to sit.
"'The RUNE-GOD Satanix'? You mean there is more than three?!" shouted Ferio, suddenly and unexplainably afraid.
"Perhaps it would be more prudent to tell us of this Satanix than to question the obvious."
All four turned to see Fuu, Umi and Ascot standing in the doorway. As the three sat down, Umi piped up, "Ha. That's rich coming from you, Fuu. You spent half your time stating and questioning the obvious during our adventures here in Cephiro."
While Fuu promptly blushed as she took her seat in Ferio's lap, Clef stood up again.
"Very well, it isn't a particularly long legend. Thousands of years ago, one group of Magic Knights decided to live in Cephiro, much like you three did. One of them, a man from your world became the High Recorder. Among his duties was to re-record many of the legends of this land. And he came upon this one, one day.
'It was an ancient legend, telling of a fourth Rune-God, Satanix. But unlike the other three, it didn't represent an element, but an emotion; Vengeance. He checked on this legend, taking him many years to find it, but find it he did. And there he learned of the terrible truth of Satanix. Its power reflected the will of vengeance in its don-er ten thousand-fold. One could easily use this evil power to match the goodness of the other three, and gain the revenge they seek. However, to one whom cannot control their vengeance, or mistake's another emotion for vengeance, then the Rune-God will take a cruel revenge of its own; it will fail its don-er when it is needed the most."
"How awful," cried out Fuu, "What was to be their redemption ends merely in their destruction."
Clef, not used to being interrupted, continued. "Yes, it is a sad ending, and this former Magic Knight tried to make sure that no one would be able to use it. He took no chances; he spent hours making sure that it only one from another world could awaken a Rune-God."
Here Clef paused, unwilling to continue, yet knowing he must. At this point Umi piped up.
"Well, someone needs to go tell Zagato that he's wasting his time. Only those from another world can become Magic Knights."
"No, that is not true." Clef stated sadly. The others gazed upon Clef incredulously.
"The aforementioned Magic Knight found a terrible secret, one that was lost even then. He almost convinced himself to destroy this information, but it would be in direct violation of his position which he swore as High Recorder. In the end, he compromised with himself. He used magic ink so that it would never need recording again, and wrote it in his native language, in hopes that none would be ever able to read it. He gave a translated copy to the Master Mage at that time, so that they might at least always no of the danger. The translation was roughly, 'The most common misconception of the little-known legend of the Magic Knights is that one must be from another world to awaken a Rune-God. That is only a half-truth. The only true requirement to qualify for awakening a Rune-God is that you must merely have blood from another world flowing through your veins.' In other words, those from another world, and their descendants, have the power to awaken Rune-Gods."
Everyone except Ascon now stared at Clef in horror. Lafarga at this time cleared his throat.
"Yes, well, um, I believe that Zagato will be wasting his time never-the- less. I have guards under strict orders to let neither him nor Lintas out of the palace.."
At that moment two guards burst into the room. They were torn and obviously just been on the wrong end of a beating.
"We...came to report..that Lt. Zagato, has escaped."
Lafarga leaped to his feet, but Clef placed his staff on Lafarga's shoulder.
"It is useless to chase after him now; he will be half-way to the Forest of Silence by now, looking for the legendary mineral, escudo. What we must do is warn Presea."
Clef began using his telepathy, trying to sense Presea, but he couldn't. He could 'feel' her presence in Cephiro, but he couldn't place it, which meant only one thing..
"It appears as if we are too late. Zagato has already told Presea to wait in her forge by the Forest of Silence." Clef could only shake his head.
"He'll eventually find the Spring Eterna, and I doubt he'll have much trouble obtaining escudo. We must stop him," Clef stated with a sense of urgency, "He has no idea what he is doing. His hate is so strong, I doubt even he, who has a heart stronger than his father's, the greatest native magic user Cephiro had ever seen (Clef stood firm in the belief that Lantis' powers equaled the elder Zagato, possibly exceeding them, and certainly his own) could handle it. At times he looks to have the strength of his mother, both he and Lintas, but luckily for us, at least at this stage when Zagato is far from finding Satanix, neither have quite learned how to alter all their heart's energy to full their magic, as they were busy with their military duties. We can still stop him, if we form the right plan."
Ascon spoke up. "Allow me to go after him, Master."
Clef, Umi and Ascot both stared at him, giving him the 'not in your dreams' look.
Ascon sighed and calmly stated, "If Zagato is indeed in this cycle, he will need a close friend to help him. And while he is rather unemotional and detached, Zagato is one of my friends, and I think I may even be able to convince him to come back. But if I must use force, I will."
Clef sighed and nodded his head in consent. "You have power beyond your years, Ascon. Go then, and bring him back."
Ascon bowed, whispered a spell, and disappeared.
Phew. That took me a while to update First off; I would like to thank hikarushidou and kamazova for their kind and motivational compliments. BTW, kamazova, from your review, I got the impression that you have the impression that you thought I was a girl. Well, errrr, I'm a guy. Wait, let me check, *checks real quick*, yeah I'm a guy. It's okay, though, I can understand where you would have trouble. Second, I would like to give an extended thanks to DarkHorse, for his constructive criticism. Constructive, not done in an ass-hole way criticism can be more helpful then all the compliments in the world. Not that I mind them ladies, but they are more helpful.writing wise. Ego-wise, however, I think DarkHorse is a bastard. LOL just kidding. BTW, finish your Ramarian crisis fic, it was really good, damn it! Please R&R, especially Review, cause that way I know you are reading