Four Souls: Strange Answers
Author's note: hmm, um…. I'm insaneJ, there…. that's my note.
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The rescue party rode out from the castle early the next morning on horseback. Traveling as swiftly as possible, they made good time to the edge of the dragon nesting ground. Once there, Van was surprised to find that they hadn't encountered one land-dragon yet. On a normal day, dragons were usually swarming the place. The group, which consisted of Van, Allen, a reasonably happy Dilandau, Miguel, Hitomi, Lia, Jeris, Asnee, Yaren, Owean, Mandan and Aethan, stopped shortly to rest their tired mounts. Van spent the time perched on a rock above the resting point gazing out at the nesting ground. Not a single movement could be seen, which was odd for such a dangerous area. The quiet unnerved him a bit. Remounting, the group followed a well-worn trail through the forest surrounding the dragon nesting ground. Coming out of the forest near the central plain, they saw a largely distorted space patrolled by a set of six land-dragons.
"That's it," said Jeris with a note of worry nearly hidden in his voice.
"How do we get in?" asked Hitomi, "They have at least those six dragons guarding the entrance."
"My question is how are they controlling the dragons," said Lia. As the group watched, the large creatures paced around the partially hidden enemy camp.
"Do we have to kill them to get through?" asked Van. Hitomi's head snapped up when she heard thoughs words.
"Van, didn't your brother say that dragons react to fear and aggression? If we approach them unafraid and friendlily maybe they won't attack us," she exclaimed. Van winced at hearing the words 'your brother'. The hurt from losing Folken in such a way still hadn't left him.
"Yes, I remember… anger and fear draw the dragons…" he said with a barely noticeable hint of old pain in his voice. Hitomi pulled her mount up beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Ok, then who's the least afraid of thoughs monsters?" asked Yaren, totally oblivious. Hitomi shot a quick glare at him, and then turned back to Van.
"Well let's think about it… If we sent one of the girls in they'd probably get scared and run, so…" Allen was getting two very evil glares for that comment. Both Lia and Hitomi were visibly angered.
"Just for that… I'm going," said Lia with another hard glance at Allen. Jeris balked for a moment and then rode up beside her.
"Are you crazy? You can't go in there!" Lia's glare, which was now turned on him, shut Jeris up.
"Why not, I'm not afraid of them," she said. Everyone except Dilandau balked at that comment.
"How are you not afraid of them?" asked Yaren, loudly. Lia gave him another, softer glare.
"Dragons are attracted to fear, anger and urge to kill. At the moment I'm not interested in killing anything and I'm not all that angry so I should be safe right?" she explained. Jeris crossed his arms and half grinned.
"Alright fine, It's obvious we're not going to talk you out of this so go ahead… but if they show any sign of attacking you we'll know and come after… at least I will," he said, glaring at the other guys. Lia grinned a small thank you, then dismounted and began walking towards the dragons.
"What about her horse?" asked Owean, dumbly.
"They scare too easily," said Van with the slightest trace of a grin. Owean accepted the answer and trained his eyes on Lia's now distant figure. Compared to the huge creatures near her, she was tiny.
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As Lia approached, the giant land-dragons turned they're eyes towards her. They watched her draw closer with an air of anger about them. Lia continued calmly forward, unwilling to let her growing apprehension show to the mighty beasts. It seemed like they could sense every thought and feeling going through her mind. She griped her pendant, digging the silver dragon into her palm. Its slight warmth against her skin gave her the courage to continue forward. The lead dragon sniffed the air, and then turned its yellow-eyed gaze back to the approaching figure. When Lia was close enough, the dragon sung its head down to her level and examined her through cat-like eyes. It blinked twice, taking in the tiny body before it. Lia locked its gaze with her own eyes and tried not to blink. The dragon swung its head up viciously, causing her to jump back a step. Back at the edge of the plain, Jeris watched worried as the creature jerked its head around as if it could see them too. The dragon swung its head back down to Lia's level. She felt the slightest hint of a thought against her mind. She looked at the dragon, surprised, and could have sworn it was smirking. Lia relaxed and opened her mind to the beast.
It's safe I'm a friend, she thought. The answer came back in a jumble of unordered thoughts and emotions, like the creature wasn't quite intelligent enough to speak in an ordered fashion. It seemed to be asking who she was, what she was doing there and who the humans with her were.
I'm Lia, a friend. My friends and I are here to find to other friends of ours who were taken by the people you are guarding against their will. With the last thought, Lia gave the creature a mental image of Aletta and Merle. The dragon replied that it had seen them pass with two of the people from the camp, but it seemed confused that they were abducted.
Will you let us pass to find them? We want to bring them home, Lia thought to the dragon. The dragon nodded its great head and answered in a more organized way.
We let go… find friend, find dragon-master like you too. Bring home safe. Lia was confused by the last bit, but thanked them kindly as she shrugged it off.
Thank you. I'm going to get my friends and they won't hurt you either. I'll be back very soon, she replied.
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As soon as Lia returned to the group she was bombarded with questions and an overly worried Jeris who ran out and hugged her the moment she was close. Van was particularly confused.
"How did you get near them? Dragons around here aren't people friendly," he ranted.
"I thought spoke with them," Lia replied calmly.
"Thought spoke? How?" asked Allen. Lia looked closely at him.
"I forgot you weren't here through most of that. Well then, I'm a mage. I talked to them through my mind," she said gruffly.
"So is it safe?" asked Hitomi.
"It's safe," Lia replied. "They'll let us pass, just no harming them in anyway." Lia detangled herself from Jeris' arms and beckoned them to follow her towards the camp.
"Like we could harm them…" muttered Yaren to himself as the group followed Lia towards the dragons. As they approached the door the dragons backed away, allowing them to pass.
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The door itself was the only truly visible part of the fortress. The rest seemed to be covered with a sloppy and distorted cloaking device. The door opened as Lia placed her hand on the cold metal. This is way to easy, she thought. The rest of the group seemed apprehensive as well. Once inside, the men drew their swords, or in Asnee's case gripped his metal pole, as did Lia. Hitomi palmed a small dagger that Van had given her for the mission incase they got separated. Once everyone had entered, the metal doors swung shut on their own. The celing lights flickered on making every one even more nervous. They traveled slowly and quietly down the deserted hallway. The hall ended in a large dark room. As they entered the light flickered on to reveal Pillan and the cat-woman whom every one assumed to be Kieran backed by the remaining dragon slayers and a gaggle of other soldiers.
"Lord Aloran thought you might come. To bad you won't be leaving anytime soon," said Pillan. Van winced; he had also though things were going to smoothly.
"How'd you know it would be today?" asked Lia with a forlorn grin. Pillan smirked.
"Our dragon-master Rory saw you talking to his friends out there," he answered. Lia joined Van in wincing. "Now if you'll just surrender quietly, this'll go a bit easier," he continued. Van shifted his stance, ready for a fight. He wasn't giving up so easily. Pillan sighed. "Well if that's the case, maybe this'll persuade you." He and Kieran moved aside to reveal Aletta and Merle, bound, gagged and unconscious, on the floor behind them.
"Aletta!" yelled Aethan, lurching forward. Jeris held his friend back, grimacing. Van's eyes darkened.
"What did you do to them?" he asked, his voice dangerously cold. Pillan, obviously oblivious as to the danger, shrugged.
"Nothing, they're just asleep. They'll be up in an hour or two," he answered. Van wasn't satisfied by the answer, but he kept quiet and glared at Pillan. Pillan smirked at the boy-king's response. "So what'll it be? If you come quietly, these two stay unharmed. If you resist, we may just have to injure them a bit." Pillan was obviously ignoring the eleven pairs of glaring eyes, and one oddly contorted version of a glare, directed his way. Lia lowered her sword and stepped forward a bit.
"If we surrender, you'll not hurt them?" she asked, with a cold glare. Pillan nodded.
"If all of you surrender, they'll be safe," he replied. Jeris' glare was even colder than Lia's.
"If we surrender, what happens to all of us?" he asked coldly. The cat-woman laid her icy violet eyes on him.
"That is for Lord Aloran to decide," she said with an air of dryness. Van, quietly assessing the situation, nodded to the group and laid his sword on the cold tiles in front of him. The rest reluctantly followed his example. Pillan's guards surrounded them as the black metal door in front of the group slid open. Entering the large room was Aloran himself and a young man none of them had seen before. Tall and slender with flashing silver-violet eyes and midnight hair tied at the back of his neck in a short ponytail, he surveyed the scene with a bitter gaze. Lia, who had stepped back with the group when they were surrounded, moved nearer to Jeris. Seeing her reaction, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Behind them, Van and Hitomi inched closer together, ready to defend each other, if necessary, from Aloran's schemes. Aloran calmly walked forward, spoke quietly to Pillan, and turned to analyze the situation. He smirked frigidly when he saw he had the distinct advantage.
"Well it seems this slippery lot has been caught in our net. Well done Pillan, Kieran," he said. Kieran and Pillan bowed as Aloran moved forward towards his captives. A few inches from the group he stopped and beckoned to his dark-haired assistant. "Allow me to introduce my right-hand man." Placing a hand on the tall man's shoulder, he continued. "This is Rory Drilavia, the single heir to the throne of old Lavia and the only dragon-master in the world." Lia's gasp was audible only to Jeris, who was just as stunned. His grip on her waist tightened. Lia's brother is Aloran's right-hand man? That's Rory? The boy who was once my friend? He thought, shock flowing through him like a flood. Hitomi too was shaken. So this is the young boy from my visions, she thought. Aloran continued to speak. "Ironic isn't it, that the dragon queen would try so hard to save her young daughter and discover that while the girl was never found, her son survived to betray his country." Rory was smiling quietly to himself. Gathering her failing courage, Lia snapped at him.
"So you hand over your country to a madman? Where's your sense of devotion? Do you expect respect for this, money, what? What do you hope to achieve from this?" Rory laughed at her.
"What do I want, you ask?" he said, sneering. "I want revenge. Revenge for my country and myself. I want those Phoenix bastards to die a long, slow, painful death. And I want my mother to watch me from wherever she is and see the mistake she made when she tried to save my sister and not me. She never loved the rest of us… it was always Lani this, Lani that. Lani… she nicknamed my sister that, we all called her it. She was only so nice to Lani because she had lost Lani's twin brother and didn't want to loose her to. I don't think I can even remember Lani's real name. No matter, she's dead for all I care!" It was all Jeris could do to keep Lia from attacking Rory on the spot. Seething, she responded with seldom seen spite. (Ooh, alliterationJ)
"And if you saw Lani now what would you tell her after saying all of that where she could hear it!" she spat at him. He snickered at her anger.
"I would say she could go to hell for all I care!" he screamed. (Wow, a sibling b**** fight… and one doesn't even know itJ) Lia glared at him, anger gathering around her like a cloak. As if sensing her fury, he took a step back and asked in a quieter tone, "And why do you care?" Lia's anger diminished slightly when she saw his show of ignorance.
"I knew your sister when she was little. She was the adoptive daughter of one of the farm hands. She died when she was ten," she lied calmly. Jeris nearly smirked at her blatant lie. Rory took another step back, and then glanced at Aloran. Aloran was ignoring the scene and gazing at the back of the room.
"This has gone on long enough. Take them to the dungeon," Rory said calmly. As they were led by, Jeris couldn't help but notice the way Rory's eyes quietly followed Lia longer than was appropriate. Jeris felt a surge of hatred, disgust and jealousy. Maybe Lia's lie wasn't such a good idea after all. Now Rory doesn't know not to stay away from her. I'll have to give him a reason then, he thought with malice.
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They were left together in a small, badly aired, and damp cell. Hitomi found a small corner and curled up in it. Van, feeling somewhat responsible for their situation, joined her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Across from them, Lia and Jeris had stolen the other corner. Hitomi was grateful for Van's company, as she had a lot on her mind and was confused by much of it. She felt like she was caught between two walls and couldn't move. Like the last time she had visited Gaea, she seemed to be followed by war and misfortune. She hadn't even tried to see the future yet and evil still seemed to chase her wherever she went. Bad things kept happening to the people she had grown to love and respect. Was everything happening because she had come to a world in which she had no place or was she just a bad omen.
You do have a place here, with Van, said a part of her. She shrugged off the thought. She didn't deserve to be with Van; not with all the suffering she caused him. Hitomi watched the other members of their group. Aethan was taking care of both Aletta and Merle, who'd been left in the cell with them. Dilandau had changed back into Celena and was being comforted by her brother Allen. Owean was trying to help Aethan, while Yaren and Mandan sat against the wall and talked. Asnee was sitting quietly against the remaining wall space, staring off into his own world. As the group sat thinking the floor of the fortress began to hum as the levy-stone engines flared to life.
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"Does she know?" Aloran asked Rory, who was standing next to his throne-like seat. Rory smirked in amusement.
"She knows," he replied.
"Your sister has recovered her lost memories then?" Aloran glanced quietly at his commander.
"Yes." Rory's words were answered by a cackle from Aloran.
"Then the way to the Dragon Isle is clear. I'll have that shard in no time," he said, pulling a fist-sized ball of cloth off of it's nearby pedestal. Aloran carefully unwrapped the sphere to reveal a faucetted, multi-colored crystal. His hand caressed a tiny notch in the gem. "Once the crystal is complete I'll have that island country and the rest of this world as well. No one will be able to stop me."
"How will you convince my little sister to open the mists?" asked Rory with a calm smirk. Aloran lifted a small box from the arm of his chair. Inside the mahogany cover laid a small bottle and a needled syringe. Aloran grinned evilly.
"Fill the needle halfway with this drug and inject it into her," he said.
"What will it do?" questioned Rory calmly.
"Once it enters her blood stream it will consume the life force of the victim and heat the body from the inside. Such a drug is deadly to a normal human, but a mage has an amazingly strong life force. With in five minutes she won't be able to perform the simplest spell with out causing herself great pain and fatigue. After seven days, the drug will have sucked up enough of her power to begin feeding on her life force. When that happens the effect it has will be the same as the damage to a normal human. It will kill her." Aloran's wicked grin had grown wider. Rory's eyes darkened slightly.
"Is there a cure?" he asked. Aloran's grin faded a bit.
"There is a sister plant to the one that creates this drug. But Ceredonia is a plant that grows only on the Dragon Isle." Rory's eyes brightened again at this answer.
"So we drug her when we reach the mists and force her to open them. Then we use her as a shield against the dragons. Who will find the shard?" asked Rory.
"You will, only you can enter the sacred shrine where the shard of the crystal is kept," answered Aloran.
"Then this begins at sunrise. I best get ready." Rory began walking towards the chamber door.
"Yes, you better," said Aloran quietly.
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Rory paced his small room, fingering the small box in his hand. He knew he had a deep detest for his younger sister but he still didn't want to kill her. The ones he had sworn revenge against were long dead; he held no willing grudge against Jeris, even though he was the last remaining child of the phoenix clan. Rory hadn't forgotten their friendship, and that it was Jeris who had tried to save him, his mother and his sister. He sometimes even wondered why he had such bitterness against both him and Lia. It was almost as if something was forcing him to hate the couple. He had felt an instant resentment towards the Fanelian king and his young companion and yet he had no reason to dislike them at all. He had met Van when they were very young and he had never even see the young woman before. So why did he have such feelings towards thoughs four, and why had he not had this reaction from the others.
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The early morning light filtered through the tiny window of the cell waking Lia. The salt smell told her they were somewhere over the ocean. She sat back against the wall next to the still sleeping Jeris. Across the room she saw no one stirring. Heavy breathing and Lia's small sigh made the only sound in the room. About five minutes later she heard a soft click at the cell door. Glancing quietly at the entrance, she saw Rory standing in the open doorway. Her head started nodding and her eyes became fuzzy. Confused she shook her head to clear it. Unwillingly, she stood up and walked towards the door. Once there she blacked out completely. Rory gathered his unconscious sister into his arms and left as quietly as he had come.
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When Lia woke she found herself in a strange room strapped down to a chair. Still feeling dizzy, she surveyed the scene with blurry eyes. A dark blur moved towards her. She could barley make out Rory's facial features, but his voice was obviously cold.
"You're finally awake? Well than, you're going to help me with something," he said. Lia was to tired and sick feeling to retort and Rory seemed to know it. "You've got no choice you know," he said. "We can do anything we want to your friends and you wont be able to stop us in your current condition." Instead of blazing with psychotic fire, Rory's eyes had a distance in them that even Lia, blurry eyed and dizzy as she was, could notice.
"What did you do to me," she said quietly. Rory gazed calmly at his sister.
"I gave you a drug that renders a mage nearly helpless," he replied.
"Why tell me so much?" asked Lia, confused by his quiet reaction. Rory sighed.
"There's a person in your group who I knew along time ago. She was one of my best friends and she was taken from me. When I saw her again I felt this unprovoked anger inside me, like something that hated her was trying to get out. I don't want to hurt this person but every time I'm ordered to do something about this person I can't keep myself from going through with it. It all started awhile back when I found this book in my foster parent's living room. Inside was a story of five souls who were bound to protect this world. The fifth became jealous of the other four because of their love for each other so he cursed them to never meet life after life and suffer without each other. The curse was sealed three times, once to make sure they never came together, once to make sure they never fell in love, and once to make sure they never found out the truth of their past. At the end of the book there was this poem, like a prophecy, that went like this:
Four souls thrice sealed; Dragon, Mage, Warrior and Eye; Destiny tied by four held; a promise, a secret, a plan and a lie; Break the first seal; Four souls meet; As lives go by; By friendship's heat; split by a lie; Break the second seal; Two sets of lovers; together yet apart; a curse is sworn; it breaks a heart; Break the third seal; With the curse a plague is spread; war, strife and hardship move across the land; Hope lies yonder on four sleeping souls; should the lovers unite, in Gaea's future happiness unfold." Rory finished his story abruptly. Listening, Lia's heart seemed to stir as if it were remembering something she couldn't see. Rory continued quietly. "Part of me says that the four should come together, but another part says that it would bring disaster on everyone. That part of me hates this person I used to care about. It wants her dead, but I don't want her hurt."
"Who was she?" Lia asked, carefully.
"A friend," he replied, "She was more like a sister." Had she not been so tired and restrained, Lia would have jumped out of her seat. He's talking about me. He knows who I am. But what does this mean, what about the story? Something tells me it's important, but why?
"I have to ask, who were the people in the story?" she sputtered. Rory didn't even glance at her before answering.
"The five protector souls of Gaea. There was Yarden, the lord of the sky; Kael, the lord of protection; Mrena, the lady of prophecy; Cian, the lord of life and death; and Medea, the lady of magic. Cian was the one who betrayed everyone. As the story goes, Mrena was in love with Yarden and Medea with Kael. Cian was in love with a human woman but she died so he became jealous of all four and cursed them. Wait a minute. Why am I telling you this? I have a job to do." Rory's eyes had changed blatantly from quietly distant to madly psychotic. He grabbed Lia by the shoulders and grinned insanely. Lia, shocked by the sudden change, did nothing but stare. "Open the mists to the dragon island. Now!" Rory's shout brought Lia somewhat back to her senses.
"Why should I? What do you want there!" she yelled back.
"Because we have your friends, that's why. As to what we want, that's for me to know and you to find out on your own. Lia shook her head, trying to clear it. Considering the situation she was in, she decided she didn't have much of a choice, a decision based partially on the fact that she was drugged and wouldn't have been able to think strait if her life depended on it.
"Alright," she said. Focusing on her magic she called threw the barrier surrounding the dragon island. When her conscience reached a certain point, she felt a twinge in the astral fog as it slowly opened. Coming back to her body, she found herself gasping. The tethers that had kept her tied to the chair had been cut and she was on the floor clutching her head in pain and gasping for breath. She didn't even notice the floor beneath her begin to hum. All she felt before she blacked out was someone lifting her from the cold floor.
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Jeris had spent most of the morning worrying about where Lia was. It wasn't as if she would have escaped without them so there was obviously something wrong. Van had watched him pace around the cramped cell and listened to Yaren constantly yelling at him to sit down and stop frustrating people. Jeris had finally sat down only to pop up again when the guards came to bring them food. After that it had taken all four of the boys together to calm him down enough to make him eat. If Van hadn't been so worried himself, he might have found the whole thing amusing. The rest of the girls, Celena included, had spent most of the morning talking about yesterday's events and what they thought might happen next. Van had spent the morning with his back to the wall watching everyone and thinking. An hour before, when the fortress had stopped somewhere over the ocean, he had felt an odd twinge in his mind like someone was trying to tell him something. He had dismissed it as not having enough sleep until about forty-five minutes later when he had felt a surge of energy and a strange presence surrounding the fortress. Nearly instantly the fortress had begun to move again. Van knew that both Hitomi and Jeris had felt it too. Why it was only thoughs two, he didn't know. A click at the door interrupted his thought process. Three guards entered with a handful of others behind them.
"We're here to escort you to the main hanger," said one of the guards. The group stood quietly and followed, some with worried looks on their faces. Van gave Hitomi a rare but reassuring smile. She smiled back slightly, and then followed Aletta through the door.
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The guarded group arrived at the main hanger to find the door open and Aloran, Rory, Pillan and Kieran waiting for them. In Rory's arms was his unconscious sister Lia. Jumping forward, Jeris was pushed back and given a warning glare by one of the guards. Rory glanced at him, a sad look in his eyes, and walked towards the group.
"Here," he said when he was close enough for Jeris to reach. He handed Lia to him carefully. Jeris looked over her quickly. Other than being unconscious and very warm, she seemed all right. Jeris glared up at the retreating Rory. When he had reached him, Aloran smirked and walked into clear view of the secured assembly.
"You all are going to join us on our little expedition of the Dragon Island," he said. "You're friend there, with a little persuasion of course, opened the mists that blocked us from this place. Any trouble you cause will result in instant death for you and the one nearest you at the time. You will follow my direct orders until the mission is complete." The group let Aloran's orders silently sink in. Aloran walked towards the open hanger door, motioning to the soldiers surrounding them. The nearest soldier pushed Jeris forward into a swift walk.
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They descended the fortress from a slanted walkway onto a high cliff raised above the blue-green ocean. The land surrounding them was covered with emerald foliage and silver-gold earth. In the distance could be seen gigantic violet-blue mountains that looked as if they had been carved from solid gems. In the sandy cliffs, Aletta could see tiny shells that looked like glittering jewels of various colors. A sudden movement caused her to gaze at the immense tree line. Tropical birds of every color exploded from the leaves as an enormous silver shape emerged from the trees. It was a dragon. Silver in color, it was huge compared to the land-dragons seen through out mainland Gaea. Instead of the skin webbing the land-dragons had stretched between their forefeet and hind legs, gigantic, sheer sliver wings protruded from the creature's shoulder blades. In the center of it's forehead was a multi-colored gem. It rose to its great hind legs and addressed the group in a sophisticated manner.
"Who are thee, indrudersss in our land?" the creature said, its gem blazing with cold fire. Aloran stepped forward.
"We are here seeking an item valued by the Lavian people in order to save the dying land," said Aloran, blatantly lying. The dragon cocked its great head.
"Only thossse desssended from the clan of the dragon people may enter that sssacred place," said the dragon. At Aloran's beckoning Rory stepped forward.
"This young man is the only know living member of the dragon clan, he will go with you to retrieve the item," Aloran commanded. The dragon looked irritated that a human would dare order it about. It turned its head towards Jeris.
"The girl there will come asss well. I sssenssse a sssimilar blood in her," it commanded. Jeris' mouth dropped open.
"She can't. She's hurt or something. She needs help," he said. Jeris could have sworn the dragon was smirking.
"Thee will come asss well. Thy will carry her to the ssshrine, child of the phoenix." The creature turned to Van and Hitomi as well. "Thee two will join us asss well. I sssenssse thy intentionsss are good. We will fly to the ssshrine in the mountiansss." Van nodded at the creature's order. If it wanted Hitomi and him along, he would carry her. The dragon to seemed to nod at Van's thoughts. "Come," it said. "My mate awaitsss usss at the ssshrine. For the ressst of thee, my ssson Mirenze will watch thy movementsss until we return." A smaller bronze dragon came into view as the silver one took off into the sky. Since the dragon obviously knew the chosen five could fly well enough to follow, the three boys striped off their shirts and launched into the sky, Van carrying Hitomi and Jeris carrying Lia.
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Author's not: Ahh, I love dragons… so pretty… Ok, I'm a bit zoned out right now, don't mind me.