Author's Note: *hides behind Sonari* Don't kill me, please! If you hurt me, I'll set Sonari on you!
Sonari: O_O I'm not your dog.
DAY: But if they kill me, you'll never know what happens to you!
Sonari: *eyes twitches* I'm still not your dog.
DAY: But…but…
Sonari: Go give someone else your 'buts'. I'm leaving. *walks away*
DAY: HEY! COME BACK HERE! -_- He's gone… He'll be back though, don't worry.
Newayz, sorry about the wait, I really am. I'm trying to write 2 good fics at once, as well as having a whole bunch of homework all the time, and a whole bunch of music stuff plus martial arts. All in all, I'm a busy person… I'm trying to find time to do this though… I really am…
Newayz, it's off to answer questions and the like, you know, author stuff.
*shiny anime eyes* You guys really think I write decent action? YAY! *does happy dance* This makes me happy! ^_^ *sing song voice to 'got a peanut'* Now I'm happy, Now I'm happy, Now I'm really happy now! Hee hee…hee… onto other topics.
Wow…2 peeps reviewed for the first time last chapter! ^_^ wait…that's a lot of people…wow… I'm really flattered that you both think I'm a good writer. I don't think that 'Lord of the Dragoons' would quite fit this story. Mayhap you'll see that too when I'm finished, Leon. ^_^ and for DarkAngel…You really think I could get published? I think that's the first time anyone's ever told me that… Thanks for the compliment! ^_^
*giggles* Too right, Chozen. I also particularly enjoy Yani's line there. "Ha! I did it! Stupid stone…" It also sounds like something I would say! ^_^ And don't worry about long reviews about absolutely nothing. I don't care. In fact, I like them. ^_^
Oh, and striker, I know you don't like Lana, but you don't have to be that violent… -_- I think I might have inadvertently started a cult…
Newayz, now that's out of the way, on to chapter 15! YAY! ^_^
The Secret of the Shrine
A tall, dark figure leaned over a large, flat, smooth, black stone. He gazed intently into the stone, his full attention on the image on the stone's surface. He had watched the stone intently, ever since he sent the Black Dragon to Lahrin. He knew what was in the Shrine, and he wanted it. He absently ran fingers through greasy black hair, and smirked as he saw four winged figures in Dragoon armor fly away in the direction of the Shrine. He chuckled softly.
"Good. They've taken the bait."
A diminutive young woman with long raven hair and cold gray eyes emerged into the dark room from a side passage.
"How go the plans?" she asked, while coming closer to the man.
"Well. Come see for yourself." He gestured for her to look into the stone. Her eyes widened slightly as she they focused on one of the Dragoons. She looked sharply at the man. This caused him to chuckle softly once again. "Don't worry, dear. You don't truly love him, do you? You'll still get your throne, eventually. Now, go and inform Malik that the plans go well. They've taken the bait, and they'll have a surprise waiting for them when they return home." A small half-smile formed across his mustache-laden lips. "And tell him that I won't require his services tonight. This victory calls for a little…celebration, does it not?"
A small, yet genuine smile graced the face of the woman. It added to her seemingly faultless beauty. Some emotion gently lit her eyes. She bowed slightly. "As you wish, milord." She left swiftly the way she came.
When she had left, the man turned his eyes back to the stone. The four Dragon Knights had almost reached the Shrine. With luck it would take some time for them to check and make sure that what he wanted was safe. He would have perhaps half a day to set into action his next plan. But that half-day was all he needed…
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Sil-alia landed on the ground well before the other three Dragoons. She was surprised when there seemed to be no signs of any demons in the area. Nothing looked disturbed. Everything was as it should be… But still, she had to check… She had to make sure it was undisturbed. If the demons got their ugly hands on it…
She shook her head and ran swiftly into the only passageway into the Shrine, letting the Dragon Spirit slumber. It appeared to dead end, not 100 yards away. Sil-alia wasn't surprised. This also was how it was intended to be. She stopped and carefully observed the writings on the ancient walls. She gently set her hand against the set of runes that said 'open; unlock' in the most ancient form of Wingly script. She heard the faint noise of rusty hinges squeaking, and a door just large enough for a person to step through opened in the wall. After a quick mental note to fix the hinges later, she ran into the newly opened hallway, closing the door behind her.
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
"So why, exactly are we going to this Shrine place?" Yani asked Rigana as he glided over beside her. He had caught onto the basics of flying pretty well. Sonari, however, was having a little more difficulty.
"You see, a long time ago," Rigana began to explain, "there was an extremely powerful Tahoan, a warrior like Sil-alia. However, she lived in a time of relative peace, so she put most of her studies and effort into researching how to control and harness her power so that others may use it once she passed into the next life. She was also a very, very religious person, more so than the Tahoan normally are.
"Now, we don't know exactly how, but somehow she managed to harness her power and living energy into a sort of sphere. After that, we lose all records of what happens to her. She disappears into thin air. Some choose to believe that she joined with the Archangel himself, thus gaining the perfection she worked so hard to obtain. Others think that the making of her sphere of power drained her so much that she died from overexertion.
"But whatever you choose to believe, it is known that that sphere is inside the Shrine, somewhere in the depths of its mazes. It is known now as the Oracle, for legend says that whoever can wield its powers can control time and space, as was the unnamed Tahoan's specialty. It is also said that whoever gazes into the depths of the sphere can see past, present or any of the many different futures.
"The Oracle is what the demons are after." Yani was silent.
During the explanation, Sonari had managed to catch up with the other two. He seemed to have finally gotten the hang of flying. "So, those demons are after this Oracle, that can, in essence, tell the future, so they can shape their plans around it?" It appeared that he had overheard much of what Rigana had said.
"That's what it seems to be," Rigana replied.
Sonari took a deep breath. "And I suppose Sil-alia's the protector of this Oracle?" A simple nod from Rigana confirmed his suspicions. "And we're only mixed up in this because a couple long dead Dragons decide that they like us as warriors, and they want us to have their powers, and now we're supposed to use those powers to stop these demons?" Another curt nod from Rigana. He muttered softly under his breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Damn. We've got ourselves in deep this time."
Rigana chose to ignore that comment, and instead pointed to a small clearing in the forest ahead of them. "There's where the Shrine is. I hope it's still standing, and Si's standing with it…" Her voice trailed off as her mind wandered to depressing thoughts.
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Sil-alia ran through the Shrine that she had been trained in almost since birth with ease. She knew the twisting hallways and secret passages like the back of her hand. She let her fingers trail along the smooth runes of long forgotten languages etched into the walls.
When she had reached her destination, which took only a small matter of minutes, she stopped before a carving of a young woman with her hands held up high, an orb levitating over her outstretched hands. She whispered a single word of the archaic tongue of the mages.
The carving of the beautiful woman became animated. The face that was once staring up at the orb turned to look at Sil-alia. A smile crossed her face as she recognized the one who had activated the spell. She held out the orb hovering above her outstretched hands. The orb in the stone vanished, and a fist sized, luminescent crystal appeared before Sil-alia. She gently took the stone out of the air, thanked the woman in the carving, bowed to her once, then traveled back the way she came.
Her next destination was a large room. Someone who was traveling with her might have been confused about why she had come here. The only things that made this room different from the rest of the hallways in the Shrine was that there was some sort of fixture close to the door that was giving off an incandescent light, some sort of ornate, wooden stand maybe a third of the way across the room, but the thing that stood out the most was the fall wall. It was simply a large, infinitely smooth slab of rock. It was just about the only part of the Shrine without ancient runes and various other types of script or carvings on it, and the only place with such a large area untouched.
Sil-alia took a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. She walked over to the stand and let her fingers trace over the complicated patterns carved into the wood. She took the crystal and reluctantly put it in the stand, then stood off to one side. A single beam of light shot out from the fixture on the wall and plunged into the crystal. The crystal seemed to explode in the same light that was coming from the fixture on the wall. When the bright light had faded away somewhat, the light from the crystal was fixed on the far wall, the smooth one. Except now there was one difference, one very vital difference. The smooth wall had now turned into some sort of doorway of swirling light.
Sil-alia unsheathed her Shurikama and stepped slowly through the doorway made of light.
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Rigana alighted gently in the small clearing in front of the Shrine, casting her gaze about for danger. Being a veteran from the Age of Turmoil, she knew about the likely hiding places for demons, and ways to lure them out of hiding. However, the sight she saw upon arrival at the Shrine was far different than she expected. Instead of the scene of a bloody battle, the area was peaceful. No demons were in sight. And there seemed to be none in hiding.
Yani and Sonari landed nearby as Rigana swore a long string of violent oaths. Yani blinked a couple times before responding verbally. "Now what sort of language is that for a lady?"
Rigana scowled before she replied. "It is very suitable language for one who had seen countless battles with these damn beasts, and who knows what they're about. Are you men really that blind? This is a trap! And Sil-alia has obviously fallen for it." Rigana swore again, and as her initial outburst of anger faded, so did her Dragon's armor.
Yani followed suit as he asked another question. "Well, then…uh…what do you suggest we do now?"
"We have to find Si! Then we have to figure out what sort of trap they set us, where, and why." She sat down heavily on the ground as she pondered their predicament. "We can't follow Si through the Shrine without getting ourselves hopelessly lost, but I don't want to just sit here and do nothing! By the Gods, I wish Jano and Ando were here. Those two were too clever for their own good. They would have figured this problem out by now…" She let her voice trail off, even though it sounded like she was talking more to herself than to Yani.
Yani looked around for Sonari, wanting to ask him his opinion on their next move. When he didn't see him anywhere, he poked a finger into Rigana's back. "Hey, do you know where Sonari went?"
Rigana turned around when she felt a finger digging into her back. "What? What do you mean? He was right…" Her voice tailed off as she realized that Sonari really was nowhere to be seen. She swore before exhaling heavily. "Well…maybe we should stay here and wait for whichever one of them comes back first." She sat down on a large rock, daggers still in hand, scanning the area for signs of anything out of the ordinary. "Honestly, if things like this keep happening, those two are going to be the death of me!"
"They make quite an interesting pair, don't they?" Yani commented wryly.
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Sonari lost interest in the conversation Rigana and Yani were having when it turned to demons and traps. He let his Dragon's Spirit rest, then wandered towards the ornate stone building they had alighted nearby. He found the entrance, and walked slowly inside. His brows came together in a frown when he realized the passageway came to a dead end not far away. Only then did he turn his attention to the walls around him.
The walls were covered in countless runes of an ancient language he had never seen before, occasionally interrupted by carvings, lovingly cut into the stone with exquisite care. His eyes scanned the walls taking in the meanings of the runes. His father had told him that the Gift of Tongues was frequent among the Artifice, part of their unique powers, being able to understand all languages, written and spoken, even if they aren't able to speak or write it.
"Sometimes the simplest of decisions makes the greatest change," Sonari murmured aloud as his eyes scanned the walls, looking for clues about where Sil-alia had gone, his indomitable curiosity calling him to follow and see this Oracle that Rigana had been talking about. "It is up to you to unlock the door to the future…" His voice trailed off and he raised his hand to touch the rune that read 'unlock.' "Strange…talking about unlocking a door…" A little application of pressure, and a door swung inwards, squeaking as it went. Sonari entered the secret passage, but didn't close the door, wanting to be able to find his way back out when the time came.
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Sil-alia glanced around, nerves tightly strung, alert for the slightest sound. This was the only place in the Shrine that she had never been before. The tunnel opened ahead of her, walls shimmering with a luminescent light. She walked forward slowly, pulled ever forward, yet staying alert to her surroundings, making sure she wasn't caught off-guard. Grandfather had told her terrible stories about the Guardian of the Oracle before, and she knew she didn't want it to be able to catch her unready for a fight, for she would fight, if need be.
Finally the tunnel opened into a large room. More like a cavern than a room. Before entering, Sil-alia looked carefully around, making sure that the Guardian wasn't ready and waiting to pounce on her. Seeing nothing, she edged her way carefully into the room. Cautiously, she sheathed her Shurikama near at hand and walked slowly to the object she was looking for.
In the very center of the chamber, there was what appeared to be a large orange ball of light floating at torso level above the ground. Upon closer inspection, one could see all the myriad shades of color playing in the light orange of the orb. Sil-alia forced her breathing and heartbeat to slow to normal, raised by the caution and fear of being in this place. This accomplished, she closed her eyes and gently placed her hands on the orb.
"Please, Oracle, give me guidance. Show me what I need to know."
She didn't notice the gleam of golden eyes peering out of the shadows of the tunnel she had just entered from.
Author's Note: Well, there ya have it. That is a little longer than my average chapter, if that's any consolation to ya.
Sil-alia's found the Oracle, and is asking it for help; Sonari's probably lost himself somewhere in the Shrine trying to poke his nose in on what Si's doing; Rigana and Yani get some bonding time; the evil people are revealed and such; what a nice chapter.
Oh, and aer'll like the next chapter! Just you wait and see! Vision thingies abound! ^_^
Til then, later folks! ^_^