Rutee sat on her bed tentatively, worry grasping at her heart. Even though
Leon was always pessimistic he did have a point this time. So, what if they
didn't find the fourth crystal in time? What if they couldn't find the
temple? What if someone had already beaten them to it?
The young woman shook her head violently and let out a helpless sigh. Standing she decided that a hot bath would help her relax and concentrate, since all she seemed to be doing was drive herself insane. Turning the water on she stripped then wrapped a towel around her thin body. Peeking out she glanced at the two swords and partially smiled.
"I'll just be a little bit. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves now."
"Alright." Atwight replied quietly, listening to the bathroom door shut.
For a moment there was silence between the two weapons but Dymlos broke it.
"She's rather strong in her emotional barrier, isn't she?"
"I suppose." The female weapon replied. "She's needed to be for most of her life but now...well, Stahn broke that barrier and then to have him disappear...it must be terrible. I'm glad I will always have you around."
The fire sword remained silent, knowing that if he could've he would have blushed and perhaps run out of the room.
"You'll always have me, even if we fight a bit. Or a lot. Or more than Stahn and Rutee. Either way, I'll always be there to protect you."
"Such a sweet sentiment."
...
The warm water lapped at her body with warm ease. Her tensions seemed to melt away bit by bit at the contact and for a brief moment she could barely remember why it was she was so worried. Sighing somewhat happily the young woman brushed aside some wet bangs and listened to the hum of the wind outside.
It was a strange situation to find herself in, she decided. First she hears the words of love she had longed for, then was proposed to and then...he died! What a damper THAT was. Shaking her head she drove the thoughts away and sat up to lean on the side of the bathroom tub.
"I hope we can make it..." She said aloud, her gaze lost in the air.
Laying back into the water Rutee rubbed the heated liquid over her arms and neck, lost again in her thoughts. As a final note to herself she decided that if they didn't manage to bring Stahn back to life she might just go insane.
...
The morning sky was split by the great colors of bright pink and orange tinged with sparkling gold and light blue. Clouds were sparse and from the current height of the Draconis one could see the passing cities below. Leon leaned against the rail, looking down dismally. Calvese was never a nice place and yet their whole 'mission' depended on the help of those people. His final thought: Stahn was as good as dead.
"You look happy. What's bothering you?"
Turning, the youth saw his sister standing behind him, a look of tiredness in her eyes. Smiling partially for half a second he turned back to the scenery and sighed.
"Don't get your hopes up too high, Rutee. I'm a little worried. Yes, we have one relic, we're on the way to get the second and then there's one in Phandaria, but what about the fourth one?"
"Well..." The girl began, standing next to him. "The swordians say that each crystal represents each tribe. One for Fitzgald, one for Phandaria, one for Calvese and the other small islands, and then a fourth crystal to the last tribe who settled in Seingald."
"Okay, well what about this hidden temple of the goddess?" Leon retorted.
"That I'm not too sure about but Philia said that there are many scriptures in the Straylize temple library. She sent a messenger bird to tell the priests there to start looking for more clues."
Shaking his head the teen felt a heaviness grow on his conscience.
"You're way too optimistic." He mumbled and turned back towards her.
The young woman shrugged and put on a weak smile. "Someone has to be, now that Stahn is gone."
Before he could reply a strong wind began to blow at the two siblings. Apparently the ship was starting to land. Smiling, Rutee extended her hand, which was taken softly by her younger brother, and together they walked to the cockpit.
Leon silent mused as they walked. "Yes, someone will need to be optimistic while Stahn is gone. I just hope it doesn't go to her brain..."
...
The climate of Calvese was just as they had all remembered it, harsh and hot. Garr was fanning himself like crazy, unused to warmer temperature than Phandaria, for him this was a great jump.
"Geez! It's 7 degrees hotter than hell here!" He yelled exasperated.
Philia giggled, though distressed herself. Ignoring them all Leon began to walk towards the temple in the middle of town with his sister trailing behind. The others followed soon after, stopping when they reached the large doors to the temple's entrance.
Looking at the ominous building the onyx hair girl swallowed hard against the dryness in her throat then approached the doors. Walking up the alabaster steps she thought how different it was to go in the front door rather than to have to sneak in the back at night.
Pushing the heavy hatch open she waited for the others to go in first then stepped in herself. Her memory didn't give the place its due; beautiful alabaster and marble lined the walls, making them cool and thick. Large portraits and sculptures were everywhere and a life-size statue of the goddess herself stood in the middle of the floor.
After taking in a good eye full the former lens hunter bellowed for help, making the others jump. With a soft voice she apologized as a blush made its way onto her cheeks from her echoing cry. Shortly after her voice had died down two priests entered and welcomed them.
"Travelers! Welcome to the temple of Calvese. Is there something we can help you with?" The one in a red robe asked.
"Uh, well, there is actually." Rutee said, not sure of exactly where to begin.
Upon the other girls loss of words the green hair priestess stepped forward. "Excuse me, sirs. We are on a pilgrimage, I suppose you could say. We're looking for something called 'the trials of the goddess'. There are four crystals that we need to find and the hidden temple of the goddess. We were hoping that you could perhaps help us."
When she gazed up at the two priests she saw clearly that they knew of what she spoke of. The men shared glances then nodded.
"Please, follow us to the library."
...
Rutee sat down in a plush red chair across from the men and waited. When the others were seated as well the priest in a blue robe began to speak.
"It is an odd thing that you ask us to help you with. We have heard of the trials you speak of and we know the legend, but I strongly caution you NOT to seek it out. Just finding the four relics will be hard enough but the temple is said to be hidden deep in the core of the world, keeping its secrets from all of mankind."
The young priestess had a blank look on her face as all of the information was being computed. Garr shook his head with annoyance and spoke up.
"Look, we've already decided that we're going to go on this journey, heck, we already have two of the four relics in our possession. What we need is the crystal here in Calvese and directions to the fourth one. And a little clue as to where this temple is wouldn't hurt."
The old men were silent for a minute before the one in the blue robe went to one of the bookshelves and began to shuffle around. While he was away the other cleared his throat.
"If you've decided then there is no stopping you." He said. "We can help you, the relic you are looking for is here in the temple, inside the large statue of the goddess you saw. I do not know exactly where the other crystal is, but I can tell you that each one will be located in a temple. The trials are sacred and holy there fore the relics will be in a holy place. You said you had two, which ones are they?"
Garr shifted. "We have the ones from Fitzgald and Phandaria. But how can what you say be true? We didn't find those in any temple or holy place."
"I can answer that." His sword piped up. "The crystal from Phandaria was taken from the mountain temple by Janos. The one from Fitzgald was probably taken from an old place of worship that was destroyed and Ilene picked it up somehow."
"I...see." The king replied, much to the confusion of the two men.
The blue robed priest came back with a book. Opening it up he took out a crumpled map and handed it to Philia. Looking it over she saw that it was tattered and torn in places but its colors were still very clear. There were four very distinct red dots on the page.
"What is this?" She asked.
"That is a map as to where the four relics were long ago, when they were first placed in hiding. As you know they're not all in place anymore, but they should still be around the same spot. Come now, let us go get that crystal for you."
...
The crystal had popped out of the statue with ease, as it was merely placed in her hand. After many thanks the six travelers boarded the Draconis once more and set their sights for Phandaria. Slight fear started to nag at Rutee when she heard it would take the whole night and some of the next day to get there, but she was constantly reassured by the others that there was nothing to fear.
...
Laying down that night Rutee simply couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned numerous times and all it did was make her sore and angry. After an hour or so of no sleep she pulled on a light cloak and walked to the viewing deck. The night air was cold and made her shiver, but it was also refreshing and exhilarating. Standing next to the edge she looked down and saw exactly why the rails were in her way.
The ground beneath her spiraled into mountains that would more than certainly hurt if one were to fall off. Gulping she carefully gripped the railing and leaned over farther to see and right before she could slip a bright light whizzed past her eyes making her yelp and fall back, onto the floor.
Standing quickly the girl saw that the bright light was circling her with speed, stopping every now and then to dash past her ear and then circle round her head again. Becoming rapidly annoyed the woman grabbed the light with ease and held it tightly in her hands. Carefully opening her balled hand she gasped softly.
Looking back up at her, Rutee saw a small pixie sized Stahn smiling up at her, though he looked different, he didn't have his armor on and his hair was up in a ponytail. The small form floated again and hovered right in front of her eyes. She could see clearly the soft smile that played on his lips and the gentle gaze he had on her.
A stray tear slid from her eyes, which she quickly wiped away. The figure stopped smiling then and his look of joy was replaced with one of sad confusion. As she watched closely the young woman saw the fairy-sized body melt away into a round ball of light. Her own smile faded but she did not move, the small orb was still in front of her eyes and showed no sign of leaving.
"Stahn?" She whispered, after a quiet minute.
As a response the small wisp glowed brightly, spikes of gold emanated by its strength. Rutee smiled and let out a soft laugh. She didn't know exactly what was happening but the fear that it was all a dream compelled her to once again trap the light in her fist then take it to her room.
For the whole night she had stared at the ball with wonder, believing with all her heart that her love was doing all in his power to stay by her side. Though he never returned to a bodily form again she didn't mind so much, all that she cared about was that he was there again.
...TBC
Summer vacation! Now I'll have lots of time to write! Next chapter, Phandaria and a few new problems arise.
The young woman shook her head violently and let out a helpless sigh. Standing she decided that a hot bath would help her relax and concentrate, since all she seemed to be doing was drive herself insane. Turning the water on she stripped then wrapped a towel around her thin body. Peeking out she glanced at the two swords and partially smiled.
"I'll just be a little bit. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves now."
"Alright." Atwight replied quietly, listening to the bathroom door shut.
For a moment there was silence between the two weapons but Dymlos broke it.
"She's rather strong in her emotional barrier, isn't she?"
"I suppose." The female weapon replied. "She's needed to be for most of her life but now...well, Stahn broke that barrier and then to have him disappear...it must be terrible. I'm glad I will always have you around."
The fire sword remained silent, knowing that if he could've he would have blushed and perhaps run out of the room.
"You'll always have me, even if we fight a bit. Or a lot. Or more than Stahn and Rutee. Either way, I'll always be there to protect you."
"Such a sweet sentiment."
...
The warm water lapped at her body with warm ease. Her tensions seemed to melt away bit by bit at the contact and for a brief moment she could barely remember why it was she was so worried. Sighing somewhat happily the young woman brushed aside some wet bangs and listened to the hum of the wind outside.
It was a strange situation to find herself in, she decided. First she hears the words of love she had longed for, then was proposed to and then...he died! What a damper THAT was. Shaking her head she drove the thoughts away and sat up to lean on the side of the bathroom tub.
"I hope we can make it..." She said aloud, her gaze lost in the air.
Laying back into the water Rutee rubbed the heated liquid over her arms and neck, lost again in her thoughts. As a final note to herself she decided that if they didn't manage to bring Stahn back to life she might just go insane.
...
The morning sky was split by the great colors of bright pink and orange tinged with sparkling gold and light blue. Clouds were sparse and from the current height of the Draconis one could see the passing cities below. Leon leaned against the rail, looking down dismally. Calvese was never a nice place and yet their whole 'mission' depended on the help of those people. His final thought: Stahn was as good as dead.
"You look happy. What's bothering you?"
Turning, the youth saw his sister standing behind him, a look of tiredness in her eyes. Smiling partially for half a second he turned back to the scenery and sighed.
"Don't get your hopes up too high, Rutee. I'm a little worried. Yes, we have one relic, we're on the way to get the second and then there's one in Phandaria, but what about the fourth one?"
"Well..." The girl began, standing next to him. "The swordians say that each crystal represents each tribe. One for Fitzgald, one for Phandaria, one for Calvese and the other small islands, and then a fourth crystal to the last tribe who settled in Seingald."
"Okay, well what about this hidden temple of the goddess?" Leon retorted.
"That I'm not too sure about but Philia said that there are many scriptures in the Straylize temple library. She sent a messenger bird to tell the priests there to start looking for more clues."
Shaking his head the teen felt a heaviness grow on his conscience.
"You're way too optimistic." He mumbled and turned back towards her.
The young woman shrugged and put on a weak smile. "Someone has to be, now that Stahn is gone."
Before he could reply a strong wind began to blow at the two siblings. Apparently the ship was starting to land. Smiling, Rutee extended her hand, which was taken softly by her younger brother, and together they walked to the cockpit.
Leon silent mused as they walked. "Yes, someone will need to be optimistic while Stahn is gone. I just hope it doesn't go to her brain..."
...
The climate of Calvese was just as they had all remembered it, harsh and hot. Garr was fanning himself like crazy, unused to warmer temperature than Phandaria, for him this was a great jump.
"Geez! It's 7 degrees hotter than hell here!" He yelled exasperated.
Philia giggled, though distressed herself. Ignoring them all Leon began to walk towards the temple in the middle of town with his sister trailing behind. The others followed soon after, stopping when they reached the large doors to the temple's entrance.
Looking at the ominous building the onyx hair girl swallowed hard against the dryness in her throat then approached the doors. Walking up the alabaster steps she thought how different it was to go in the front door rather than to have to sneak in the back at night.
Pushing the heavy hatch open she waited for the others to go in first then stepped in herself. Her memory didn't give the place its due; beautiful alabaster and marble lined the walls, making them cool and thick. Large portraits and sculptures were everywhere and a life-size statue of the goddess herself stood in the middle of the floor.
After taking in a good eye full the former lens hunter bellowed for help, making the others jump. With a soft voice she apologized as a blush made its way onto her cheeks from her echoing cry. Shortly after her voice had died down two priests entered and welcomed them.
"Travelers! Welcome to the temple of Calvese. Is there something we can help you with?" The one in a red robe asked.
"Uh, well, there is actually." Rutee said, not sure of exactly where to begin.
Upon the other girls loss of words the green hair priestess stepped forward. "Excuse me, sirs. We are on a pilgrimage, I suppose you could say. We're looking for something called 'the trials of the goddess'. There are four crystals that we need to find and the hidden temple of the goddess. We were hoping that you could perhaps help us."
When she gazed up at the two priests she saw clearly that they knew of what she spoke of. The men shared glances then nodded.
"Please, follow us to the library."
...
Rutee sat down in a plush red chair across from the men and waited. When the others were seated as well the priest in a blue robe began to speak.
"It is an odd thing that you ask us to help you with. We have heard of the trials you speak of and we know the legend, but I strongly caution you NOT to seek it out. Just finding the four relics will be hard enough but the temple is said to be hidden deep in the core of the world, keeping its secrets from all of mankind."
The young priestess had a blank look on her face as all of the information was being computed. Garr shook his head with annoyance and spoke up.
"Look, we've already decided that we're going to go on this journey, heck, we already have two of the four relics in our possession. What we need is the crystal here in Calvese and directions to the fourth one. And a little clue as to where this temple is wouldn't hurt."
The old men were silent for a minute before the one in the blue robe went to one of the bookshelves and began to shuffle around. While he was away the other cleared his throat.
"If you've decided then there is no stopping you." He said. "We can help you, the relic you are looking for is here in the temple, inside the large statue of the goddess you saw. I do not know exactly where the other crystal is, but I can tell you that each one will be located in a temple. The trials are sacred and holy there fore the relics will be in a holy place. You said you had two, which ones are they?"
Garr shifted. "We have the ones from Fitzgald and Phandaria. But how can what you say be true? We didn't find those in any temple or holy place."
"I can answer that." His sword piped up. "The crystal from Phandaria was taken from the mountain temple by Janos. The one from Fitzgald was probably taken from an old place of worship that was destroyed and Ilene picked it up somehow."
"I...see." The king replied, much to the confusion of the two men.
The blue robed priest came back with a book. Opening it up he took out a crumpled map and handed it to Philia. Looking it over she saw that it was tattered and torn in places but its colors were still very clear. There were four very distinct red dots on the page.
"What is this?" She asked.
"That is a map as to where the four relics were long ago, when they were first placed in hiding. As you know they're not all in place anymore, but they should still be around the same spot. Come now, let us go get that crystal for you."
...
The crystal had popped out of the statue with ease, as it was merely placed in her hand. After many thanks the six travelers boarded the Draconis once more and set their sights for Phandaria. Slight fear started to nag at Rutee when she heard it would take the whole night and some of the next day to get there, but she was constantly reassured by the others that there was nothing to fear.
...
Laying down that night Rutee simply couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned numerous times and all it did was make her sore and angry. After an hour or so of no sleep she pulled on a light cloak and walked to the viewing deck. The night air was cold and made her shiver, but it was also refreshing and exhilarating. Standing next to the edge she looked down and saw exactly why the rails were in her way.
The ground beneath her spiraled into mountains that would more than certainly hurt if one were to fall off. Gulping she carefully gripped the railing and leaned over farther to see and right before she could slip a bright light whizzed past her eyes making her yelp and fall back, onto the floor.
Standing quickly the girl saw that the bright light was circling her with speed, stopping every now and then to dash past her ear and then circle round her head again. Becoming rapidly annoyed the woman grabbed the light with ease and held it tightly in her hands. Carefully opening her balled hand she gasped softly.
Looking back up at her, Rutee saw a small pixie sized Stahn smiling up at her, though he looked different, he didn't have his armor on and his hair was up in a ponytail. The small form floated again and hovered right in front of her eyes. She could see clearly the soft smile that played on his lips and the gentle gaze he had on her.
A stray tear slid from her eyes, which she quickly wiped away. The figure stopped smiling then and his look of joy was replaced with one of sad confusion. As she watched closely the young woman saw the fairy-sized body melt away into a round ball of light. Her own smile faded but she did not move, the small orb was still in front of her eyes and showed no sign of leaving.
"Stahn?" She whispered, after a quiet minute.
As a response the small wisp glowed brightly, spikes of gold emanated by its strength. Rutee smiled and let out a soft laugh. She didn't know exactly what was happening but the fear that it was all a dream compelled her to once again trap the light in her fist then take it to her room.
For the whole night she had stared at the ball with wonder, believing with all her heart that her love was doing all in his power to stay by her side. Though he never returned to a bodily form again she didn't mind so much, all that she cared about was that he was there again.
...TBC
Summer vacation! Now I'll have lots of time to write! Next chapter, Phandaria and a few new problems arise.