Just to let you know this new world is going to be like a Dungeons and Dragons world. Magic, Mayhem, Monsters and Many Races… wow that's a lot of M's. Anyways it's gonna be like that so there will be challenges for the saiyans. Magic and ki have never really clashed that I know of so I can make any comparison I feel like :). Of course basic little cantrips won't do jack to the saiyans but the more powerful spells like Comet and Demon fire will have an effect not to mention rune magic. Remember my disclaimer? Unless I create it I have no claim to it, rune magic was created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman in their Deathgate Cycle, that's where I'm getting that magic from, or more specifically, the Patryn type of rune magic. I'm changing it a little, like the reason behind it working, not using the wave possibility theory, but it's pretty much the same thing.
Oh, just in case you are wondering… Normal saiyans can't breathe in space but they can travel in space. They generally have enough energy to travel anywhere within the solar system they are currently in with ease. However they lack the energy to make it across the space between solar systems. This is because they can't do it fast enough with the little air that exists within the bubble they create around themselves. To be able to travel across solar systems you need to be evolved to Gohan's stage to travel between solar systems. If one should make it to Arthain's level they'd have enough energy to go anywhere within their quadrant which means they really don't need star ships. There is also a technique to recycle the existing air but Arthain didn't bother to teach it for a very specific reason. Just so you all know. I'm going to have some space battles in the future and I don't want to have to type out the reason they're able to 'breathe' in space.
Oh, one thing, I was wondering where I was going to come up with stuff to fill in and then realized I don't have to. My story has probably just been shortened a couple of chapters but don't worry, all that would have been in those chapters is filler and who really cares about filler. I can't really introduce to many new things at this point. I should be wrapping stuff up. I hate authors that introduce new things near the end, new things that have a major impact on the story at least anyways. Small little new things are ok :).
Anyways, in response to Dany's post… Well the crystal was absorbed by Aerie, as in became a part of her. You could say there are two crystals now… Well actually no, there's 1 crystal but there's 2 rifts leading to the same place, kinda, the space between realities; one inside Aerie which she is drawing energy from, and the one inside the world crystal on Cerian Prime. The universe NEEDS a crystal to keep it moving, it's a living entity after all right? By the way I'm saying all this here and not in my story because well, no one in my story knows or will ever know so having it explained in there is kind of stupid, plus it doesn't ruin anything by saying it here :). The crystal is like its heart, if it's removed, it has to get a new one or… *CLASSIFIED*. The only thing is that it takes a tremendous amount of energy to replace the heart and it takes time for the universe to recover from each recreation of its heart. She, the universe, had millions of years to recover after the first heart was made. She's only had about 5,000 years since the second one was made. She hasn't fully recovered which means… *CLASSIFIED* Should THIS crystal be destroyed… *CLASSIFIED*
Anyways, in response to your opinions… I'll only say that one thing *CLASSIFIED* :). Hehe I looked over it again, what I had wrote, and the stuff that's classified will be explained in the story, not through words, but actions and reactions that take place. Just wait and see :). It's really going to be unique, so bear that in mind.
Hmmm… I just decided. I decided to chop the chapters down even more… but not the content amount. I'm going to make BIG chapters, VERY big chapters, like 7k words or more type chapters. If you don't like that well HA! :) hehe.
Chapter 17: A New World? A Different Reality
Vegeta let out a slow sigh of relief as they finally eased out of the nebula. After several nerve wracking hours and close calls they had finally made it through. Vegeta quickly glued his eyes to the display screen wanting to get the first look at the planet. What he saw surprised him greatly. Although it was all ruined it was easy to see that the planet had once been spectacular. Multiple abandoned star bases circled around the planet acting like miniature moons, and moons then could be considered because they were so immense. Aside from the star bases many other structures could be seen floating in space, many of which became active and turned towards the star ship.
Blue lights started flashing throughout the ship as it went to blue alert. One of the crew looked up at Vegeta in horror, "My liege, the… the floating debris as set their sights on us, and they are completely active. They keep sending a message over and over as they power up their weapons… The energy output my liege, it's… incredible. It's going off the charts. Our ship won't be able to survive more then a couple of blasts at most and there are hundreds of those defence turrets aimed at us!" The saiyan said in a panic.
Vegeta looked sharply at Arthain and he simply lifted his hand, "Don't worry, I'll handle this." He said calmly and walked over to the communication officer.
"Patch a channel through to them. Send it on the same frequency that they are sending out their messages. I know what they want." He said.
The saiyan didn't wait for Vegeta's command, he didn't want to die. He quickly typed a few things on the keyboard in front of him and touched the screen in front of him. "Alright, go ahead." He said in a hurry.
Arthain nodded and approached the microphone and spoke into it in a deep voice and in a language they could barely understand. "This is Arthain Thyranix, Commander of Planetary Defence and Foreign Minister. The code is Final-Chosen-X754."
The next few moments were tense and silent but everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the return message came through, "Name, Rank and Code authorization accepted, welcome home Final Chosen."
Vegeta looked at Arthain steadily, "Final Chosen? What the hell does that mean?" Vegeta demanded.
Arthain turned to look at Vegeta, "It means I'm the last saiyan alive that is still considered a chosen one by the universe." He replied.
Vegeta became even more confused, "And how does that work? You're not even fully here." He replied confused.
"Let me ask you a question Vegeta… What color was my sphere? I mean before your touch activated it." Arthain asked.
Gohan gasped, "Cyan…" He said in a barely audible voice but it carried across the entire bridge.
Arthain looked at Gohan and a cyan glow began to emanate from his eyes the same color that emanated from the pendant around Brolly's neck and the eyes of the Zyians. Vegeta, Gohan, Karie and Bardock quickly got into battle positions seriously confusing the rest of the crew.
"What is the meaning of this Arthain?" Vegeta demanded, "Who are you really, and why the fuck are your eyes glowing the same color as that blasted pendant? I swear if you don't have a good answer you can kiss getting your body back good bye." Vegeta hissed as he slowly powered up and was echoed by the other three.
Arthain sighed, "Calm yourself you stupid idiot. Think about this for a minute, do you honestly think I'd have revealed my secrets like this to you before I had my body back if there wasn't a good reason?" Arthain inquired.
Vegeta grumbled but stopped powering up. Arthain was right, only a fool would say and do something like that when they hadn't even achieved their initial goal.
Arthain sighed again, "When Aerie absorbed the crystal she tore away the crystals power from everyone in our race, with one exception. I've told you before that there are always exceptions. I'm an exception. I'm still a chosen because I am still receiving the energy from the crystal. It's one of the reasons why I was able to split my body and spirit with relatively little difficulty." Arthain explained. "I was always at the front line of the fight, but I was never actually fighting. I was the one providing the support and protection for everyone. The front line was the best place for me to be because Aerie couldn't directly harm me in any fashion…just like I couldn't harm her directly."
Gohan's eyes widened as something dawned upon him, "You… and her… are mates?" He gasped in astonishment.
Arthain looked at him with such sorrow and sadness that it didn't need to be said, "I wasn't entirely truthful when telling the history. I was mortally wounded when she was sucked into the black hole… but not because of her directly. The emotional and mental wounds were the greatest of my injuries that day… but as you all can attest, those wounds are the ones that hurt the most and do the most damage. I always kept hope, right up until the last moment, that we would be able to save her. When she was taken away that hope was crushed… The emotions that rippled through me were to overwhelming to control, to contain. The emotions manifested themselves into pure energy and burst from my body. I overloaded you could say. Anyways, a bond isn't a physical thing, it's a spiritual construct. Why do you think you have to bite the person to form it? Because you must touch the soul and the soul is further then skin deep. So even though I don't have my body, our bond is still as strong as it would if I still had my body. Normally I wouldn't be able to feel her, like back then, but there is a hole in reality now that she is coming through, so I can feel her once more, and she can feel me. Which also means the power of the crystal, or rather the power that flowed into the crystal flows into me through the bond we share, that is why my eyes are glowing cyan. I, unlike everyone else who fell under her control, completely realize just who and what she is so she has no way of controlling me. I also know of several techniques to use to block her if she ever tries. She knows I know those techniques, she made one of them herself; she won't bother trying to turn me." Arthain said as he finished his story.
Gohan scratched his head and looked up at Vegeta, "Well, that explains a lot." Gohan said.
Vegeta sighed and grumbled to himself, "I hate these kinds of surprises, and I get the feeling there are many more in store for me." Vegeta said wearily and turned to glare at Arthain, "If you have anymore secrets you haven't revealed, I suggest you do so now, I dislike these surprises as I just said."
Arthain snarled at him, "Everyone has their secrets, do you demand to know all of Gohan's secrets? Or Bardock's? What makes me any different? I tell you enough so you won't be killed or do anything stupid. I don't need to tell you every single step I took through my 700 year life or all my thoughts and plans for the future." Arthain bit out.
Vegeta was about to snarl back when Bardock touched his arm. Vegeta whipped his head around to him, "WHAT!?"
Bardock was unfazed by the glare, "He has a point you know. Just leave him be, he's been pretty compliant so far. So what if he left out a minor detail of his life? It's obvious that it was painful for him to say." Bardock said.
Vegeta visibly strained to calm himself. "Fine, bring the ship into low orbit; we're going down to the planet. I want to get home as soon as possible. And signal for a landing party to meet me at the hangar bay." Vegeta snarled out and left his chair.
"Don't forget the plate and key!" Arthain called after Vegeta as he headed towards the hangar.
Arthain sent a thankful look towards Bardock who just shrugged his shoulders and response. The four left the bridge and followed Vegeta to the hangar bay.
By the time Vegeta and company reached the hangar the landing party had already assembled. When word had reached them that they were entering the nebula around the planet they figured they might be called upon so took it into their own hands to get ready. Vegeta just nodded in satisfaction, glad that something is going his way for once. He beckoned for the soldiers to enter the drop ship and proceed to the planets surface.
The squad leader saluted Vegeta and hustled his men into the ship. Soon the compartment decompressed and the air within rushed out as the doors opened. The normal saiyans all erected shields around them and followed the shuttle out as it made its way towards the planet. The journey seemed to take forever, and no one truly realized why until they broke through the atmosphere. The planet was huge. It dwarfed the massive gas giants that existed in various solar systems throughout the quadrant. The planet itself could have easily passed for a star due to its huge size.
As soon as the drop ship landed the back doors opened and the saiyan landing party rushed out to secure the surrounding area, although there was nothing that needed to be secured from. Although the planet was huge, it was dead. Vegeta settled down beside the squad leader and began to issue orders.
"I want this area secured when I get back. I have no idea when that will be. It could be anywhere from a few days to several years. Either way I plan on being back before 3 years are up. If I'm not back in 4, leave without me because I won't be coming back. Should I not come back I want you to take this star ship and get the hell out of here, out of the quadrant. Get as far away as you can from planet Vegeta and this quadrant. The star ship has enough supplies for 10 easily so just radio back if you need more. Once you have this area secured I want you to call down several more drop ships and start exploring the place. We may be able to salvage something, anything." Vegeta said.
The squad leader nodded and turned to his men, "Alright you shits, I want everything within a square kilometre completely secured with defensive shields set in place and radar tracking activated. Get moving, Go! Go! GO!" He yelled as he began his job.
Vegeta nodded in satisfaction, his mood significantly improved due to things finally starting to go his way. For some reason just walking upon the ancestral home of the saiyan race had improved his mood tremendously.
He turned to address Arthain and the others, "Well, we had better start now. Arthain, you should lead because you know this planet better then anyone dead or alive." Vegeta commanded.
Arthain just snickered and took to the air. The others followed quickly and soon realized that Arthain was going incredibly fast. Gohan didn't have much trouble staying up with him but Bardock and Karie had to pour every ounce of their life force into speed just to stay within sight distance of the legendary saiyan. The journey seemed to take forever, not that they had any doubt it wouldn't feel that way. With the enormity of the planet they were glad of the break neck speed Arthain as headed at. As it was it still took a long time to reach their destination.
As Gohan looked at the devastated landscape and ruined cities he couldn't help but notice something odd. It was something so confusing yet simple that he couldn't figure it out. After what seemed like hours Arthain dipped low and flew into the ruins of a city and it was then that Gohan realized what was odd.
"There are no shadows!" He exclaimed in surprise.
Arthain looked back and grinned, "Just figured that out now eh?" He yelled over the roar of the wind, a roar the stopped as he reached the center of the city.
The others stopped behind him and quickly followed his lead as he landed. They were in the very center of the city which meant that the four major roads of the city converged upon this one spot. The place was huge and a massive fountain stood in the center of the circle where water once flowed. The road itself was completely in disrepair but when all things are considered it was in good repair. The stones were made out of the finest quality and it didn't require an expert to tell anyone that. A stone that is able to withstand thousands of years and not be weathered down is good quality. Massive buildings towered over them but they were strange in design and shape. They appeared to twist and turn as the spiralled, literally, upwards into the sky. No matter how hard the four saiyans looked they couldn't find a single edge to any of the buildings, excluding the very top and bottom of the buildings.
Arthain smirked, "Welcome to my home city, I not only used to live here but I was born and raised and ran this place. The reason you don't have a shadow is well… Don't bother trying to understand it. We faced an enemy in the past, something so long ago I don't even know it aside from legends. We fought a race over this planet. The race thrived upon shadows and could control any amount of darkness. So to counter it my ancestors simply… removed all traces of shadows from the planet. Needless to say the enemy lost the war soon after and we had supreme dominance over this planet." Arthain explained, "I don't know how they did it, so don't bother asking."
Gohan nodded and began to look the place over. Arthain on the other hand knew what he was looking for, "Vegeta, you have the plate and key right?" He asked.
Vegeta nodded his head in affirmation but kept glancing around trying to take in all the sights at once.
"Well could you bring it over here? We might as well start this journey now eh?" Arthain said.
Vegeta looked over at Arthain before he looked to what Arthain was looking at. There was a circular indentation in the center middle saucer of the fountain. Vegeta floated up to it and placed the plate into its place on the fountain. The plate glowed brightly before it disappeared, along with the entire fountain. In its place stood a large portal big enough to easily allow several saiyans to enter at a time. Size spinning crystals floated around it supply the energy to the gateway, keeping the rift between realities stable.
When the portal opened everyone turned and joined the two in front of it, "How long will it stay open?" Karie asked curiously.
Arthain looked over at Karie, "Long enough for us to get through. Once through the plate will follow us. We just have to insert it from the other side and it'll open once more." Arthain responded.
Karie nodded and looked around, "Well… Let's do this." She said and stepped through the portal. Bardock and Vegeta were quick to follow not wanting to be left behind. Gohan entered the portal afterwards but just as he went through the gate, he turned around and could have sworn he saw an eerie grin creasing Arthain's face. A second later he was all the way through and was quickly joined by Arthain. Like Arthain said, not moments later the plate followed them through and the portal closed.
The party found themselves in a clearing in the middle of a huge forest. A massive pillar of rock towered above them going for at least a kilometre. Engraved in the stone was a circular hole big enough to fit the plate. Vegeta nodded to himself, satisfied that he could still get home. Karie pocketed the plate and looked around.
"What know?" Bardock asked, "This place feels… different."
Arthain looked over at Bardock, "Of course it does. It's COMPLETELY different from our reality. There is no technology in this world, hell if there were the gods would maul the people that tried to develop it. When the saiyan race first found this reality the gods fought us. The war raged for awhile with no victor so we decided to call it a draw. We agreed to no introduce technology into this universe and in exchange we were free to explore this reality as we choose." Arthain said.
Bardock nodded, "Just how many gods are there?" Karie asked.
Arthain thought about that for a moment, "Oh… Quite a few I suppose. There is a good for everything: fertility, animals, land, rage, war, death, murder, everything. I'd guess there are several hundred, maybe a thousand. We never bothered counting. We were concentrating more on beating them and when it came to the treaty and afterwards we never saw more then 5 gods at any one place or time so it was impossible to count." Arthain answered.
Karie gaped in surprise, "A thousand gods?" She asked in perplexity, "How did that happen?"
Arthain looked at Karie, "Quite easily, noticed how the air, how reality, feels different here? It pretty much means that it's easier to become a god. We have no real gods in our world. The ones we consider gods are beings that are so powerful their life force allows them to live forever. Here the gods simply will themselves into existence. What you are feeling is the ether, a band of energy that runs through everything. Some creatures can dip into it while others live in it. It's rather unique actually and if we hadn't had troubles of our own we probably would have studied it intensively." Arthain said.
Another thought occurred to Arthain suddenly as he noticed the others dawdling, "I thought I should mention this little fact. One thing we did learn was that this reality… Well time flows slower here then in our reality. Meaning that we have a year to find my body and get back. Otherwise we won't have enough time to get back to Planet Vegeta in time to do the final preparations." Arthain said casually causing the other four to whirl around in surprise.
"I though we had three years here!" Vegeta demanded.
"Oops."
Vegeta stomped away grumbling to himself for a moment before he turned back to the others, "Alright people, let's get going, NOW! We don't have time to spend sitting her with our thumbs up our asses." Vegeta growled and proceeded to launch himself into the air. Once in the air Vegeta realized something else and floated back down to the ground, "Alright Arthain, where do we go now?" He demanded.
Arthain smiled, "This place will have changed over the past several thousand years, despite it flowing slower here then our world a lot of time will have still passed, and the gods here enjoy changing the landscape. They wouldn't have dared to change my tomb but its location… that's another matter. And to find it we need to get in contact with the gods, and to do that we'll probably have to do some stupid pathetic little quests for the insignificant creatures here." Arthain said with a sniff of distain.
Vegeta nodded, "Well no time like the present, let's go." He said as he took off only to stop again. He looked down at Arthain, "Hey hurry up, we have to follow you!" Vegeta yelled.
Arthain shook his head in amusement, "It seems some traits breed true no matter the number of generations." Arthain whispered to himself quietly, so quiet that only Gohan caught it gaining a little smile out of him.
The four rose into the sky to join Vegeta above the tree line. Arthain looked around in all directions and spots several spires reaching into the sky a long ways to the south. Arthain turned to the others and saw that they noticed the city as well, "We might as well head in that direction. Who knows what city it is but it's probably the best place to start." Arthain said and the others nodded. Four sonic booms sounded as the saiyans blasted through the air towards the city.
The forest didn't notice their passing, nor did the animals, but someone did. The girl stood up, drew some runes in the air and disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later…
Gohan sighed in exasperation. The cause of his annoyance was a group of floating people arrayed in front the party. Vegeta stood at the forefront with his arms cross in front of him and a scowl on his face. Bardock and Karie stood to either side with Arthain behind him. Gohan currently floated behind Arthain keeping an eye on his surroundings as well as the people in front of Vegeta.
"Who are you people!?" Vegeta demanded in his usual arrogant manor. "I have business in that city!"
Arthain sighed, "You know Vegeta, going around acting like that is a real good way for them to greet you… with spells, swords and more then likely summonsing." Arthain said helplessly.
Vegeta glared at Arthain and was about to speak but stopped as the center figure spoke up, "The ethereal one speaks wisdom my friend, it would be wise to listen to him."
Vegeta whirled around and glared at the elderly male grumbling all the while. "I think it should be us who demand who you are and what you are doing here." The elder said. "This is our city, our land, and you are strangers. Are we simply supposed to allow strangers into our city without first learning their intentions?"
Vegeta sighed, finally admitted that perhaps they were right, "Alright, to keep thing short we need to talk to a god, have you seen one?" Vegeta asked semi-politely.
Arthain burst out laughed causing Vegeta's head to whip around, "You're not helping the situation you know." Vegeta snarled.
Arthain's laughter died down, "Oh it's nothing, it's just you're starting to sound like me, sarcastic like." Arthain said, still chuckling a little.
Vegeta glared at him for a moment before he turned his attention back to the people in front of him. Once the elder had Vegeta's attention he spoke up, "Not just anyone can speak to the gods you know. You must pass a series of…"
"… Tests yes I fucking know. Look I don't want to be here a long time. I have a lot of stuff to do back on my home world. I just need to find this guys body but knowing what little I do of your gods they probably decide to hide it for shits and giggles or something. So if you could be so kind as to guide me in the direction of the nearest god?" Vegeta said in annoyance.
The elder crossed his arms. "Look, I don't know who you think you are but NO one demands to see the gods." The elder said as his tone started to heat up.
"Now look here old man!" Vegeta started but was smashed backwards as an intricate rune blazed into life and smashed into his chest. Vegeta's eyes start to glow as did his entire body, "That was a serious mistake you pathetic insignificant worm!" Vegeta snarled as he began to power up.
The air around him erupted into a huge aura of yellow light as he started to gather his life force within his right arm. He was about to release it when Gohan's hand clamped onto his arm and began to squeeze it painfully.
"Calm down Vegeta, this will not do anything aside from guaranteeing them not helping us. That will only make our work here that much longer and harder! I want to get home to my mate and children. I do not want to be stuck in the god infested reality, got it?" Gohan growled.
Arthain nodded in agreement, "Yes, if we don't do it their way the only other way to speak to the gods is to use the doorways, and to do that we have to force our way through. I'm sure you can kill one or two gods but there are nearly a thousand in total, they'll simply overwhelm you." Arthain spoke up, siding with Gohan.
The elders exchanged looks that conveyed the same thoughts, they have power to challenge the very gods themselves and even win? I doubt that!
Vegeta glared at Gohan for a moment and seriously thought about lashing out and then realized he would be humiliated when Gohan beat him into the ground. "Fine, have it your way." Vegeta said and powered down. He turned his gaze upon the rune users, "Fine, I accept, I'll do your stupid tests. The sooner we start, the sooner we get this shit over with." Vegeta said.
The elder had been tempted to say no but after seeing the raw power that had emanated from the person in front of him and that he had stopped so easily when the other told him to. He didn't want to see what they were truly capable of. He had a feeling it would put his rune magic to the test; he didn't doubt he could survive, but he didn't want to chance it. It was a test he wasn't quite willing to try at the moment.
The elder nodded, "Alright, now that we have that out of the way, I think we should introduce ourselves. I'm the leader of this city, Gahlanthas. The people behind me are Dakkon, Elan, Blaze and Tixx. We are the rune lords of Vihn, and this is the capital city." He said. The people behind Gahlanthas nodded their heads as their names were called out.
Vegeta looked over his shoulder then back at Gahlanthas, "I'm Vegeta, King of the Saiyan race and the leader of the alliance that rules over several thousand races and even more solar systems and planets. To my right is my chief of staff, Bardock. He basically takes care of much of the nitty gritty shit that goes along with any travel plans I make. To my left is Karie, a bodyguard you could say. The ethereal person you see is Arthain; we're trying to get his body back. Behind him is Gohan, my foreign minister and advisor." Vegeta said.
Gahlanthas nodded and brushed his hair back showing pointed ears, "Alright, if you can keep a reign on your temper we'll offer our hospitality. You'll have a greeting fitting of a king, I'll take your word for it, but remember, even though you are a king, NO one here is under your rule so you have no say over anyone aside those that came with you." The elderly elf said.
Nothing more needed to be said at the time so the elders flew off and towards the city with the saiyans in tow. The city itself was magnificent, in its own way. Large walls, although not as thick as the ones around Vegeta, surrounded the city; unlike the wall that surrounded Vegeta this one had many towers along its length. Several large gates were located at seemingly random intervals along the length of the wall. A road ran from each gate, gates that were currently jammed with people entering and leaving the city. The elders didn't bother using the gates and just flew right over the walls with the saiyans close behind, or in Vegeta's case, beside the elders.
The city looked extremely delicate to the untrained eyes, or mind, but none of the saiyans were untrained. They could sense life force and with a slight modification of that skill they were able to decipher ether levels and see the runes that were invisible to the normal person. The city was comprised of many spires and towers reaching high into the sky with arching bridges connecting various towers together. Every building had been constructed out of marble and twisted into magnificent shapes that dazzled the eye. Something caught Vegeta's eye and caused him to grumble to himself. Over the center of the city floated several buildings. Much like the royal palace back on Vegeta the royal palace here floated in the air above the city. The only difference is that on Vegeta technology was used to keep it floating, here it was magic. Runes crisscrossed across the breadth of the underside of the palace. Runes didn't just reside under the palace, they resided everywhere. To Vegeta and company the entire city was full of runes. They had the feeling that it would have been very messy if they had tried to force their way into the city. In fact many runes weren't stationary and went flying around the city as they protected it from both unfriendly forces and the elements of nature.
The palace was their destination, and although it floated like Vegeta's, it was completely different in structure. For one thing it was just a single structure floating in the air but multiple structures with multiple levels. The buildings themselves weren't stationary, they slowly moved in a seemingly random pattern. It seemed as if they reacted to stimuli within the air and moved towards the elders as they approached the main building. The main building had a huge dome in the center with several hallways jutting from the sides. Small spires rose up from the top of the main building, one on each corner and one at every 90 degrees of the central dome. There were five hallways in total, two for either side and one from the back and each ended at a huge tower that spiralled into the air much like the buildings back on the ancient saiyan home world.
The extended group landed in front of two huge double doors. The doors were situated at the front of the palace to serve as the main entrance. The elder, Gahlanthas, simply walked forward and as neared to within a foot of the door the runes on it flashed brightly and the doors swung open. The rest of the elders entered after Gahlanthas with the saiyans just behind them. The inside of the palace was much different then Vegeta's. Vegeta's was barren and utilitarian in style. This one was design for beauty. Marble columns lined the main hall while expensive wall hangings hung on either side of the hall. The floor was made of marble slabs, with streams of silver and gold running through them, and fit together so tightly the lines between almost disappeared. Balls of light flittered here and there lighting up whatever need to be lighted. The balls, and much of the palace interior, were covered in runes.
Various people walked calmly and nonchalantly through the room. They had their duties but they weren't in any hurry to get them finished because there was no hurry in finishing them. There hadn't been a major incident since the saiyans had arrived thousands of years before so they felt secure in their superiority. The lesser races of the world left them alone because, although they were envious, could do nothing to affect them. Anyone of them had the power to devastate an entire army. Arthain paid particularly close attention to the runes that surrounded everything. No one, aside from one person, noticed because he made it looked as if he was indifferent to his surroundings.
A teenage girl suddenly ran out and hugged Gahlanthas, "Grandpa, you're back! I was so worried about you!" She said happily. The girl was about 16 years of age and quite beautiful. She looked like everyone else but Arthain caught something no one else did, something that apparently not even the girls 'grandfather' had noticed. There were extremely faint runes inside the girl's eyes. He frowned at her for a moment but quickly stopped as she looked over at him.
"Who are these people?" She asked quickly.
Gahlanthas looked back at the saiyans and then to his granddaughter, "They're saiyans my dear. They're apparently come here to speak with the gods about finding the spirits body." He answered.
The girl frowned, "You're going to do it?" She asked in confusion.
The elder leaned down and whispered to the girl, "Don't worry, the tasks I'm going to give them they won't be able to complete. They say they're able to kill gods but I highly doubt that. They'll either give up or die during my quests so don't worry your pretty little head." He said softly. The saiyans heard every word but didn't show it, they weren't about to let the elves know that they had superior hearing.
The girl smiled happily, "Oh, I see, ok that's ok then." She said and turned to address the saiyans, "Nice to meet you, I'm Alihvan, granddaughter of the greatest man on this planet, Gahlanthas!" She stated proudly, "Welcome to the capital of Vihn."
The saiyans nodded their heads and Vegeta stepped forward imperiously, "I'm Vegeta, and the people behind me are Gohan, Karie, Bardock and the spirit is Arthain." Vegeta said, not noticing the slight frown on her face at the mention of Arthain. "If you want to know anymore, ask your 'great' grandfather. I don't feel like saying it again."
Alihvan smiled and turned to her grandfather with a little hop, "Grandpa, I'm going to head out ok?" She stated more then asked.
Gahlanthas smiled down at her, "Sure thing, just be back for supper, alright?" He said.
She beamed at Gahlanthas and nodded her head really quickly before she bolted out the way she had entered.
Gahlanthas turned to the saiyans after watching her leave, "She's a strange one, but I love her nonetheless. Her mother died at child birth and her father couldn't bear to live without his wife so he soon followed." He said, "I've been taking care of her ever since. She's always full of energy and pulling endless pranks on us. We act angry and upset but the spice she brings to all our lives are a welcome relief from all the work we are forced to do so we don't mind to much." He finished and turned to face the far end of the hallway, "Now if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the council chambers where we can decide what tasks to give you." He said and started off.
The group walked along behind the elders and took many twists and turns within the hallway system before the finally reached the door leading to the council chambers. Inside the room were two tables. Each table faced the other with a long flat edge while the other side, of both tables, consisted of 5 even length edges creating a weird, but symmetrical, 6 sided table.
The elders took their place at the far table with Gahlanthas sitting at the head. The saiyans took their cue and sat at the other table with Vegeta at that head and the others seated the same way they were on the star ship.
Gahlanthas sat back in his chair and clear his throat as he prepared to speak, "Alright, before we agree to help you we need to know exactly why you wish to speak with the gods. You've already said you needed to get Arthain's body back, but we wish to know the why behind that."
"Because I'm their best hope of beating a creature of infinite energy back in our… home world." Arthain said, "I'm much stronger then their most powerful warrior, but only if I get my body back."
Gahlanthas raised his eyebrow, "A creature of infinite energy? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt although I highly doubt its 'infinite' energy or you would not have any chance against it." Gahlanthas cleared his throat again. "Alright, you wish to speak with the immortals? Well it's not a simple process in we need certain… materials as well as the time to prepare for the communication. It's hard to get their attention." Gahlanthas explained. "To that end we need to attract their attention with items worthy of their attention. The first item we need is a special item. It's called the Sword of the Avenger. It's a broadsword that is said to be able to cut through anything and was given to a pathetic human to fight invaders several millennium ago." Arthain almost choked out laughing at that statement causing Gahlanthas to glare at him, "Is there a problem with what I said?" He inquired.
Arthain just shook his head, "Oh no, I'm just wondering what kind of attention it will attract… Steal a sword they made and gave to humans?" Arthain asked and shook his head in amusement, although that wasn't what he found so funny.
Gahlanthas glared at him, "Nevertheless, we wish to have that item because it would be the perfect to draw the attention of the gods. We just need it to get their attention and it's perfect for that. You need to get other items to pacify them, to show them your intentions aren't harmful." He said, "We'll tell you what else you will need to get after w-you have the sword. The sword may be found in the human stronghold of Khaz'Hila. It'll be virtually impossible to storm due 95% of it being hidden under a mountain…" He broke off as he saw the wide grins creasing the faces of the saiyans, "It doesn't matter how strong you are, you won't be able to break through a mountain." Gahlanthas frowned when the saiyans kept on grinning; he finally let it pass and traced several runes in the air. A globe appeared between the tables that began to slowly revolve. "Alright, you can go bang your heads against the mountain if you want but it won't accomplish anything. The city is here," A red dot appeared on the globe, "And we are here." A blue dot appeared on the globe, "Retrieve the sword any way you can…tomorrow. It's nearly dinner time and it would be rude if you didn't attend." He said, "You do not want to be out at night, there are creatures on the prowl that even I dare not face." He said in explanation.
Vegeta nodded, "Alright we'll accept but one thing. You've seem rather… eager to help us. Inviting us into your home, feeding us, giving us all the information we require… I'm a ruler as well and I know we don't do things without a reason. What do you get out of all this?" Vegeta asked suspiciously.
"I figured you would ask this, and you are right, we aren't doing this for free. The items you are collecting are to draw the immortals attention and alter their mood upon arrival… But do you REALLY think gods need those items? Not really, they'll leave them here when they leave and the items you will collect are items we want but haven't the time, or ability, to get." Gahlanthas explained.
Vegeta smirked, "Ah, yes, greed is always a good motivation." Vegeta said causing Gahlanthas to flush and anger. Tixx rose and was about to yell at Vegeta when Gahlanthas held a hand out and bid him to sit.
Vegeta stood and looked at his companions, "I think we'll need to wash and get ready for dinner. The appropriate clothing will be provided I assume?" Vegeta inquired. Gahlanthas nodded in agreement. "Good." Vegeta said and turned to leave.
Gahlanthas traced several runes in the air. The runes, four in total, sped forward to hover just in front of each corporeal saiyan. "These runes will guide you to your rooms." Gahlanthas explained. Vegeta nodded yet again and was about to leave when he remembered something.
"Oh, you might want to have your cooks make extra. I tend to eat 10 helpings of everything, and my companions are the same." Vegeta said.
The elders eyes widened in surprise, "You have got to…"
Vegeta shook his head, "You could make the normal and disregard what I say but don't expect your food to remain on your plate for long." Vegeta said and quickly left before the elves could respond. The other saiyans left soon after as they followed their own rune.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later…
Gohan walked into the dining room and it was huge. Tables were situated all over the room in a symmetrical pattern and nearly all of them were filled with people. The one that was located halfway between the main table and the far end of the dining hall. Gohan walked over to that table and sat down to the right of a grumbling Vegeta.
"Look where they put us, I may not be an expert on how they sort rank but we should AT LEAST be at the main table with the other elders!" Vegeta complained from his position at the head of the saiyan table.
Gohan shrugged, "We are strangers in their land; even being invited to dine with them is to be considered special I suppose. Just be glad we are not at the table furthest from them." Gohan tried to comfort.
Vegeta snarled, "If they had placed us down there I'd have killed the entire damn lot for the insult." He said.
Arthain smirked, "Which is exactly why they placed you here. They aren't stupid you know. They didn't put you anywhere where you had a right to complain or initiate violence but far enough from the main table to cause insult." Arthain said.
Vegeta glared at the back of Gahlanthas' head as he conversed with the person sitting next to him, which just so happened to be his granddaughter Alihvan. Alihvan got up and glided towards the saiyans sitting at their table.
As she reached the table she gave a small curtsy, "I'm sorry about being so rude earlier. I didn't have any clue as to why you were here. I simply assumed you were here to take advantage of us." She said apologetically.
Gohan smiled at her, "Do not worry. The last thing we are here to do is to take advantage of you. I just want to get home to my mate and child. I have another one on the way and I will miss his/her birth as it is, I do not want to miss much more." Gohan said.
Alihvan smiled back at him, "Hopefully this won't take long then, for both our sakes." She said.
"Do you have any idea what the other items we are supposed to gather might be?" Vegeta asked.
Alihvan just gave him a little smile and said, "Now now, don't be trying to get information out of me simply because I am Gahlanthas' granddaughter. Just wait patiently and you'll find out." She said.
Vegeta sighed, "Wily old man." Vegeta grumbled.
Gohan looked over at Vegeta, "Hey, Vegeta, do you want me to handle this on my own? It should not be hard. I could probably get it without levelling the mountain and hurting anyone inside."
Vegeta thought about it for a moment before replying, "Sure why not, saves me from doing the menial task of retrieving the sword. Me, a king, being some one else's fetch dog, how insulting…" Vegeta trailed off into mutterings.
Alihvan gave Gohan a brilliant smile. Only one person knew the true meaning behind the smile. Alihvan nodded her head, "Well, I should get back to my grandpa, I just came over to apologize for my earlier behaviour." She said, curtsying again as she walked back to take her seat beside Gahlanthas.
The usual dinner conversation ensued from that point on. Nothing really remarkable happened, aside from the incident when the food arrived. The waiters barely had time to set the plates down before the saiyans tore into it like they hadn't eaten in over a week. The food disappeared faster then the waiters could re-supply it. The elders decided at that point that making the extra food had been a good decision after all, even if it appeared as if they were obeying a foreign monarch.
After dinner the saiyans gathered in the lounge near their rooms and talked for several hours before they headed to bed. Gohan wanted to go to bed early so he could be rested for the next day. With Gohan gone the conversation died rapidly because most of it had been centered on his job. Little did they know that the next day would be the beginning of something that would change the face of that world, forever.
To be continued…
For the palace in the story… Think of the Taj'Mahal, the big dome in the center. It's a bit different, as in the dome isn't as tall and it's more oval. Also the building that the dome is situated on is wider and longer in the story then the Taj'Mahal, as in the dome is centralized, but it doesn't take up the entire top part of the building.
AHA MY LONGEST CHAPTER! BOOYA! Enjoy the chapter, hehe.
Also, I've decided exactly when I'll post the power levels. I'll post them when Vegeta and company get back to planet Vegeta.