Disclaimer: Welcome to the redundant city of Redundancy City. May we help
you? (PS – Nope, I don't own it.)
SC: Been wishing for an antagonizing force? Here it is. Hopefully, posting this chapter a week after the previous one will help my redemption to you all.
Prologue to Darkness
~*~*~
In a distant land many paces to the east, on another continent, the sun's fiery eye was just setting behind the hilltops. Etched sharply against the pale orange sky like a spidery dagger stood a tall, looming tower comprised of jutting turrets and wicked spires. Below it, trees and bushes fell into its ever-growing shadow as the sun lowered itself into its bed for the evening. Throughout the building's interior, lights snapped on in an instant as the creatures within awakened. Lying pitifully under the clinging shadow, the nearby human city of Ecruteak softly nestled in for sleep, blissfully unaware of the pillar of darkness that remained invisible to the humans' eyes.
Fushia claws clicked furiously on the barren steel floor of the hallway as a disgruntled Zangoose walked briskly down it. Clasped in the creature's scarlet paw was a tablet, covered in extensive notes and calculations. He turned suddenly, the claws skidding slightly against the ground, and faced a blank metal door. A security device located beside the entrance blipped when he placed his eye to the scanner bed and allowed him secure passage into the room beyond. Not a moment later he was surrounded by dozens of other entities like himself.
A distraught Zangoose rushed over to the first. "Iolaas! Sir! We have some news to report!"
Iolaas wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Who said you could approach me in such a manner? I am the head of this research team, and I only respond to those who abide by my regulations, is that clear, Worker Number..." he bent forward to read the other's name badge, "... Fifty-seven?"
Fifty-seven's lip trembled a response. "Y-yes sir! Your orders are the law here, sir!"
"Very good. Now," Iolaas extended a violet claw and twirled it around his chin, partially to mock the low-ranking worker, partly to intimidate him. "You said you had a report? Report it already!" Fifty-seven squeaked in fear below the overseer's voice.
"Yes sir! R-right away, sir!" The frightened creature flipped through a file that lay on a nearby desk. "Ah, here it is, the news from Area One."
"Area One..." mumbled Iolaas contentedly. Area One was the section the Research Department had devoted to studying ancient texts and legends. "This may prove rewarding. What say you?"
The worker raised the paper before his eyes and tremulously read aloud: "T- To the Head Overseer, Area Five, Iolaas. This is a message concerning the obelisk discovered outside Olivine not long ago by our field researchers. After days of deciphering the text, our experts have translated the runes depicted on the sides. There is to be a gathering held tonight, and - Eek!" Fifty-seven dropped the paper suddenly as his eyes fell upon a certain word. Not a split second later, Iolaas's claw rested an inch from the worker's throat.
"Fool," Iolaas snarled past ivory fangs. "You dare disrupt my message with your bumbling fears? You should be happy you get the privilege of completing an honorable job such as reading me my message. Now tell me, what did the rest of it say?"
"It said... It said that the Lord wants you present for the reading of the deciphered words," he answered, then cowered in terror at the mere thought of the dark being who ruled the tower.
"...The Lord himself requests my presence? Are you sure of that?" An excitable event as it was, Iolaas didn't believe it feasible.
"Yes, of course sir! It says so right here!" Fifty-seven raised a claw and pointed to the Lord's personal seal, like a pancaked spider, stamped harshly against the thin paper.
Iolaas pondered this. He turned away from the shivering worker and made for the steel door he had just entered. "Back to your post, Fifty-seven. I must prepare for tonight."
"As you wish, sir!" chirped Fifty-seven before scurrying back to his work.
~*~*~
Iolaas smoothed his fur anxiously as the elevator climbed to the top of the tower's tallest spire. Lord Shaelvar personally invited him to the gathering... a grand honor indeed. The Ruler of Zyrcon Tower never came into contact with anyone except his most trusted minions... and those who did well at their posts.
Perhaps Lord Shaelvar has heard of my progress in the field of battle technologies, Iolaas thought. Or maybe, he mused to himself, he wishes to promote me, and move me to Area One. The overseer fantasized the possibilities fondly until the sudden brake of the elevator popped his thought bubble. He stepped out, feeling the cold whoosh of air as the doors clamped shut behind him.
He stood before a towering set of double doors, ebony as a crow's wings at night, which seemed to stretch up infinitely so that one couldn't see the top. Almost as if the doors acknowledged Iolaas's arrival, they swung themselves open, creaking and groaning at the hinges. Beyond the darkness beckoned, and Iolaas entered, feeling the tiny pinpricks of fear tickle his insides despite the fact that he knew what crept within. Why should he be afraid? Lord Shaelvar was completely safe to be around.
Mostly.
The faint sounds of other Zangeese breathing in the room enveloped him. "Ah, Iolaas, glad you could make it," a voice like low thunder said, words rolling through the gloom. "I was afraid that your duties had kept you from us."
The pinpricks turned to stabbing icicles, but Iolaas ignored them. "Never could such lowly studies and tests keep me from visiting you, my Lord. Besides," he added, trying to desperately quell the tremor he felt rising in his throat, "what would one do without something to get him away from the primitive drones of the office every now and then?"
A dark chuckle that sent chills through the air reached Iolaas's tufted ears. "You always were one with a bit of wit, weren't you? And now that you're here, we can begin the reading." Two sharp claps reverberated through the air, and suddenly the floor lit with a soft glow, sending pale beams of light upwards. For the first time Iolaas could see the other Zangeese present in the room with him. Their faces loomed in the faint light, caught between the pressing darkness above and the weak brightness below. Raised high against one of the cavernous room's walls was a tall throne, seated upon which was Lord Shaelvar himself. The grand chair shielded him from the light, but Iolaas could still make out two tiny emerald glimmers reflected off his eyes.
"Head Researcher! Commence your presentation. Let the other overseers hear of your findings." Lord Shaelvar shifted anxiously atop his throne, his beady eyes narrowed in anticipation. A lone, rather thin Zangoose inched forward and leaned over his notes.
"Yes, my lord," he enunciated clearly, speaking loudly enough for the room to hear. "As you all know, our field explorers discovered a small, ancient obelisk while on a mission to spy on the Sevipers." The other Zangeese in the room spat or snarled viciously at the mention of their mortal foes. The speaker held up a paw, silencing the outbreak. "While the purpose of said object remains a mystery, writing has been discovered along its edges. It is the written text used universally by all Pokémon centuries ago. Dating tests have proved it to be older than both the Tin and Brass Towers."
An excited whisper flitted between the listeners. A monument older than the legend of Ho-oh? Impossible! He continued over the din: "Current archaeological finds made it possible for us to translate the runes into our own, current lingual patterns; however, the words themselves aren't written the normal Pokémon speech, but in none other that the Seviperian language. Their language has been kept secret for generations, and not one soul outside their species could ever hope to understand its meaning."
"That is why," Lord Shaelvar cut in, "our leading spy has volunteered to translate the text. He is... what you might call an _expert_ at the Seviperian language. Yamimakai?" He waved off to the side, and in the shadows beneath him a pair of red eyes gleamed, appearing out of nowhere, rising up from the darkness in a cobra-like manner.
"Listen!" the shadowed figure roared, creating a wall of sound that reverberated throughout the room. Almost all the Zangeese flinched in unison. "When darkness and light are torn in a rift, head for a mountain high! There, past the trials that guard the gate, you'll find a temple in the sky! A sacrifice, there must be made, to enter the sacred gem; and from within, the beast will rise, its power made ready to him! Listen! And heed, this warning I tell, for the might of this creature can open the gates to Hell! Only the brave and rightful heir can control the power hidden there! Up in the mountain, hidden high, seek the Temple of the Saint Dragon, God of the Sky!"
The poetic words ended abruptly as the being finished, the last of the echoes dying off gradually. Lord Shaelvar clapped his paws together exuberantly. "There you have it. The Sevipers' secret has been discovered! We now know the legend they have striven to keep hidden from us!"
Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing: was Lord Shaelvar crazy? "But Sir," a doubtful Zangoose said from the side, "how can you know all of that from just a simple rhyme? We nothing of which mountain they speak of, or..."
THWACK! His words were cut off by his unfortunate decapitation. Lord Shaelvar had given just a flick of a claw, and the shockwave had sent the Zangoose's skull careening off. Inside, Iolaas's fearful icicles grew into rusty swords with diamond-tipped ends. The looming emperor licked his claw thoughtfully.
"We do not know anything except for this legend's existence. That is why you all," Lord Shaelvar's voice crescendoed through the dark, "must get back to your posts immediately and begin making sense of it! Off with you!" And the lights flickered out, plunging the room into blackness. The Zangeese went frantic, struggling to exit the cave of a room before more heads went rolling.
The Dark Emperor smirked at the chaos pulsating below. "Aah, their terror is amusing. Don't you agree, Yamimakai?" Lord Shaelvar asked his innermost minion.
"Yes Master," he hissed, the only visible part of the creature its glowing scarlet eyes. "Terror amuses me almost as much as death does."
"Good, good," said Lord Shaelvar through a flash of wicked fangs. "For we shall be seeing more of both in the future."
~*~*~
SC: And now, more cliffhangers for you. So, just who is this "all-powerful" emperor, Lord Shaelvar? And what of his minion, Yamimakai? Might this being in shadow be a traitor? What role will Iolaas play? I'm not telling. Wait and see! ^__^
SC: Been wishing for an antagonizing force? Here it is. Hopefully, posting this chapter a week after the previous one will help my redemption to you all.
Prologue to Darkness
~*~*~
In a distant land many paces to the east, on another continent, the sun's fiery eye was just setting behind the hilltops. Etched sharply against the pale orange sky like a spidery dagger stood a tall, looming tower comprised of jutting turrets and wicked spires. Below it, trees and bushes fell into its ever-growing shadow as the sun lowered itself into its bed for the evening. Throughout the building's interior, lights snapped on in an instant as the creatures within awakened. Lying pitifully under the clinging shadow, the nearby human city of Ecruteak softly nestled in for sleep, blissfully unaware of the pillar of darkness that remained invisible to the humans' eyes.
Fushia claws clicked furiously on the barren steel floor of the hallway as a disgruntled Zangoose walked briskly down it. Clasped in the creature's scarlet paw was a tablet, covered in extensive notes and calculations. He turned suddenly, the claws skidding slightly against the ground, and faced a blank metal door. A security device located beside the entrance blipped when he placed his eye to the scanner bed and allowed him secure passage into the room beyond. Not a moment later he was surrounded by dozens of other entities like himself.
A distraught Zangoose rushed over to the first. "Iolaas! Sir! We have some news to report!"
Iolaas wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Who said you could approach me in such a manner? I am the head of this research team, and I only respond to those who abide by my regulations, is that clear, Worker Number..." he bent forward to read the other's name badge, "... Fifty-seven?"
Fifty-seven's lip trembled a response. "Y-yes sir! Your orders are the law here, sir!"
"Very good. Now," Iolaas extended a violet claw and twirled it around his chin, partially to mock the low-ranking worker, partly to intimidate him. "You said you had a report? Report it already!" Fifty-seven squeaked in fear below the overseer's voice.
"Yes sir! R-right away, sir!" The frightened creature flipped through a file that lay on a nearby desk. "Ah, here it is, the news from Area One."
"Area One..." mumbled Iolaas contentedly. Area One was the section the Research Department had devoted to studying ancient texts and legends. "This may prove rewarding. What say you?"
The worker raised the paper before his eyes and tremulously read aloud: "T- To the Head Overseer, Area Five, Iolaas. This is a message concerning the obelisk discovered outside Olivine not long ago by our field researchers. After days of deciphering the text, our experts have translated the runes depicted on the sides. There is to be a gathering held tonight, and - Eek!" Fifty-seven dropped the paper suddenly as his eyes fell upon a certain word. Not a split second later, Iolaas's claw rested an inch from the worker's throat.
"Fool," Iolaas snarled past ivory fangs. "You dare disrupt my message with your bumbling fears? You should be happy you get the privilege of completing an honorable job such as reading me my message. Now tell me, what did the rest of it say?"
"It said... It said that the Lord wants you present for the reading of the deciphered words," he answered, then cowered in terror at the mere thought of the dark being who ruled the tower.
"...The Lord himself requests my presence? Are you sure of that?" An excitable event as it was, Iolaas didn't believe it feasible.
"Yes, of course sir! It says so right here!" Fifty-seven raised a claw and pointed to the Lord's personal seal, like a pancaked spider, stamped harshly against the thin paper.
Iolaas pondered this. He turned away from the shivering worker and made for the steel door he had just entered. "Back to your post, Fifty-seven. I must prepare for tonight."
"As you wish, sir!" chirped Fifty-seven before scurrying back to his work.
~*~*~
Iolaas smoothed his fur anxiously as the elevator climbed to the top of the tower's tallest spire. Lord Shaelvar personally invited him to the gathering... a grand honor indeed. The Ruler of Zyrcon Tower never came into contact with anyone except his most trusted minions... and those who did well at their posts.
Perhaps Lord Shaelvar has heard of my progress in the field of battle technologies, Iolaas thought. Or maybe, he mused to himself, he wishes to promote me, and move me to Area One. The overseer fantasized the possibilities fondly until the sudden brake of the elevator popped his thought bubble. He stepped out, feeling the cold whoosh of air as the doors clamped shut behind him.
He stood before a towering set of double doors, ebony as a crow's wings at night, which seemed to stretch up infinitely so that one couldn't see the top. Almost as if the doors acknowledged Iolaas's arrival, they swung themselves open, creaking and groaning at the hinges. Beyond the darkness beckoned, and Iolaas entered, feeling the tiny pinpricks of fear tickle his insides despite the fact that he knew what crept within. Why should he be afraid? Lord Shaelvar was completely safe to be around.
Mostly.
The faint sounds of other Zangeese breathing in the room enveloped him. "Ah, Iolaas, glad you could make it," a voice like low thunder said, words rolling through the gloom. "I was afraid that your duties had kept you from us."
The pinpricks turned to stabbing icicles, but Iolaas ignored them. "Never could such lowly studies and tests keep me from visiting you, my Lord. Besides," he added, trying to desperately quell the tremor he felt rising in his throat, "what would one do without something to get him away from the primitive drones of the office every now and then?"
A dark chuckle that sent chills through the air reached Iolaas's tufted ears. "You always were one with a bit of wit, weren't you? And now that you're here, we can begin the reading." Two sharp claps reverberated through the air, and suddenly the floor lit with a soft glow, sending pale beams of light upwards. For the first time Iolaas could see the other Zangeese present in the room with him. Their faces loomed in the faint light, caught between the pressing darkness above and the weak brightness below. Raised high against one of the cavernous room's walls was a tall throne, seated upon which was Lord Shaelvar himself. The grand chair shielded him from the light, but Iolaas could still make out two tiny emerald glimmers reflected off his eyes.
"Head Researcher! Commence your presentation. Let the other overseers hear of your findings." Lord Shaelvar shifted anxiously atop his throne, his beady eyes narrowed in anticipation. A lone, rather thin Zangoose inched forward and leaned over his notes.
"Yes, my lord," he enunciated clearly, speaking loudly enough for the room to hear. "As you all know, our field explorers discovered a small, ancient obelisk while on a mission to spy on the Sevipers." The other Zangeese in the room spat or snarled viciously at the mention of their mortal foes. The speaker held up a paw, silencing the outbreak. "While the purpose of said object remains a mystery, writing has been discovered along its edges. It is the written text used universally by all Pokémon centuries ago. Dating tests have proved it to be older than both the Tin and Brass Towers."
An excited whisper flitted between the listeners. A monument older than the legend of Ho-oh? Impossible! He continued over the din: "Current archaeological finds made it possible for us to translate the runes into our own, current lingual patterns; however, the words themselves aren't written the normal Pokémon speech, but in none other that the Seviperian language. Their language has been kept secret for generations, and not one soul outside their species could ever hope to understand its meaning."
"That is why," Lord Shaelvar cut in, "our leading spy has volunteered to translate the text. He is... what you might call an _expert_ at the Seviperian language. Yamimakai?" He waved off to the side, and in the shadows beneath him a pair of red eyes gleamed, appearing out of nowhere, rising up from the darkness in a cobra-like manner.
"Listen!" the shadowed figure roared, creating a wall of sound that reverberated throughout the room. Almost all the Zangeese flinched in unison. "When darkness and light are torn in a rift, head for a mountain high! There, past the trials that guard the gate, you'll find a temple in the sky! A sacrifice, there must be made, to enter the sacred gem; and from within, the beast will rise, its power made ready to him! Listen! And heed, this warning I tell, for the might of this creature can open the gates to Hell! Only the brave and rightful heir can control the power hidden there! Up in the mountain, hidden high, seek the Temple of the Saint Dragon, God of the Sky!"
The poetic words ended abruptly as the being finished, the last of the echoes dying off gradually. Lord Shaelvar clapped his paws together exuberantly. "There you have it. The Sevipers' secret has been discovered! We now know the legend they have striven to keep hidden from us!"
Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing: was Lord Shaelvar crazy? "But Sir," a doubtful Zangoose said from the side, "how can you know all of that from just a simple rhyme? We nothing of which mountain they speak of, or..."
THWACK! His words were cut off by his unfortunate decapitation. Lord Shaelvar had given just a flick of a claw, and the shockwave had sent the Zangoose's skull careening off. Inside, Iolaas's fearful icicles grew into rusty swords with diamond-tipped ends. The looming emperor licked his claw thoughtfully.
"We do not know anything except for this legend's existence. That is why you all," Lord Shaelvar's voice crescendoed through the dark, "must get back to your posts immediately and begin making sense of it! Off with you!" And the lights flickered out, plunging the room into blackness. The Zangeese went frantic, struggling to exit the cave of a room before more heads went rolling.
The Dark Emperor smirked at the chaos pulsating below. "Aah, their terror is amusing. Don't you agree, Yamimakai?" Lord Shaelvar asked his innermost minion.
"Yes Master," he hissed, the only visible part of the creature its glowing scarlet eyes. "Terror amuses me almost as much as death does."
"Good, good," said Lord Shaelvar through a flash of wicked fangs. "For we shall be seeing more of both in the future."
~*~*~
SC: And now, more cliffhangers for you. So, just who is this "all-powerful" emperor, Lord Shaelvar? And what of his minion, Yamimakai? Might this being in shadow be a traitor? What role will Iolaas play? I'm not telling. Wait and see! ^__^