Time:
The story evolves around two different types of time, that in Etheria and that in the mortal world (basically our world)
All you need to really know is that in Etheria, time passes much slower than in the mortal (our) world. Also, Etherians refer
to years, months, days, etc. in a different term (you'll see when you reach that point).
For those who want the details:
~ Etherians will refer to our years as revolutions (i.e. two mortal revolutions (or simply revolutions) = 2 years)
~ Etherian "turns" = 100 years
~ Etherian "passing" is equivalent to 2 days
(Complicated enough? ^_~;)
Disclaimer: Vision of Escaflowne and its characters and likeliness is copyrighted to its respective company(ies). But the characters I created and this story is copyrighted to me.
Rating: PG-13
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FATES' JUDGEMENT
By Cosmos (ml_eclipse@hotmail.com)
Chapter 3: Quest for Infinity
A solitary passerby strolled quietly down an empty street. A flicker of motion quickly caught his eye. He looked up toward a balcony laid deep within a large yard of a well-fenced middle-class home. Despite the orange light of the sinking sun, he could only make out the lonely shadow of a girl standing quietly on the balcony overlooking a large wooded park a short distance away. Had he been able to see her face, he would have noticed the solemn, mysterious gaze in her eyes as she looked at the darkening horizon.
She watched in silent solitude as the wavy face of the setting sun gradually sank beneath the thin line that separated heaven and earth. A beautifully daunting cloak of midnight blue speckled with the twinkling faces of distant stars soon covered the sky. Seemingly out of nowhere, the pale silver face of a full moon appeared, shining brilliantly in the new night. Its faint light eased the darkness from her eyes. In the distance, she saw a strange light flash across the sky, which she took to be a falling star.
Yellow specks of light soon flickered to life, highlighting a small path leading deep into the heart of the park. A sudden cold night wind brushed by her, making her shiver despite the long-sleeve shirt and pants she has on. Her steady gaze shifted from the now undeterminable horizon to the bright face of the silver moon. A heavy foreboding feeling suddenly fell over her. Its tight grip firmly attached to the forefront of her mind. Her brows furrowed together in deep thought at the bewilderingly strange emotion she now felt pulsing in the pit of her stomach. The magnificent moon floating magically in the night sky suddenly became suspicious in her eyes. Its seemingly innocent face looking down at her appeared to hide a knowing smile. Suddenly the wind was no longer silent and cold but flickered to life with millions of voices speaking to her simultaneously. Their echoing whispers brought fear into her heart while their words painted a future that was beyond her comprehension.
Her hand impulsively rose to grip tightly on the decorative iron railings as the vision opening to her mind's eyes overpowered her consciousness. As quickly as it came, the voices soon disappeared along with the wind; yet, their words remained to haunt her dreams.
The night silence soon became broken with her pounding heart and the short quick breaths she took as her pulses increased in fear. Her hold on the railings remained equally as tight with knuckles gleaming white beneath the faint light of the haunting moon. Her thoughts were all jumbled together with the wind's prophetic words and her own. Staring blankly at the brightly lit city a good distance away, she saw nothing except the very shadows of massive wings outlining the tall form of an individual hidden deep in darkness waiting for her.
Suddenly, her mother's voice called to her from within the house. At this moment when she felt isolated by the vision's strange power and by fear, the familiar sound of her mother's voice gave her the strength to regain control of her mind. Struggling hard to calm her heart, she whispered aloud her surprise, "What had just happened there? It seemed like…it seemed like I was suddenly forced into a waking nightmare. And…and what was it that I just saw? Wings? Black wings?"
Her mother called to her again.
After a moment's silence, she decided to think nothing of it. Probably just my imagination, she thought. "I'm coming, Mom," she answered and quickly left the balcony but not before a disturbing thought passed through her mind, Or was it a vision?
Had she stayed longer, she would have noticed the moon darkened for a few seconds when it became eclipsed by large dark wings. The soft silky feathers around the edge shone with the colour of silvery snow as it caught the pale light of the full moon. The tips of many feathers undulated along the surfaces as powerful wind currents passed overtop. The massive, majestic wings flapped almost silently through the cold night air, taking its owner to an isolated region deep within the park's forest.
His eyes darted quickly from place-to-place as he came in for a landing. With all the heightened senses of a well-trained warrior, there was little that would pass his notice. Despite that, he took special care to go to the mortal world under the cover of night. This would allow him some time to use his wings to search for Infinity a lot faster.
Failing to detect anything suspicious, he permitted his feet to touch the ground silently. With the power of his mind, he willed his beautiful wings to fade away into the still air until the very last silvery feather could no longer be seen. The power of flight lay within the mind. It was his will that formed these wings and it would be his will that would call them forth again in times of need.
His dark maroon eyes glanced down toward the object held within his hand. Its smooth crystal surface sparkled brilliantly each time the moonlight fell on it. A dull dark rosy hue emanated from deep within the gem's heart indicating that Infinity resided only within the vicinity but not somewhere close. His brow furrowed together with disappointment. Nothing, he thought, throughout my entire flight Alantia hasn't been able to detect anything more. Looking out across the dully-lit park path, he shrugged his discontentment away. I shouldn't be surprised, he thought. The Three Fates are very determined to keep Infinity's mortal identity a secret. Well, the night is still young…
Eyes burning with determination, he stepped onto a dirt path leading out the park. His movements were like that of a hunting cat, sleek, silent, and poised to strike at any sudden danger. With attention fully focused on the difficult task ahead, Van set out into the lonely mortal night to hunt for the one cursed with the sign of infinity.
Much later, an arrow of light pierced through the heart of a heavy morning mist, immediately severing the mist's torso of tiny water droplets into fragments of earthly clouds. Unstoppable, it whistled past dew-ensnared petals of cherry blossoms, which drooped in defeat under the weight of the pearl-like water droplets.
The arrow swiftly ate up the distance between itself and its target sitting on an old weather-battered wooden bench. Unaware of the approaching danger, the slumped figure clothed in a long black coat (underneath which could be seen a thin blood-red shirt and light brown pants) continued to slumber. A curious glint of something golden peeped out from beneath the soft black leather, but the arrow continued on its course without distraction. Its aim was incredibly true.
Suddenly, without warning, the silent weapon struck its target right in the eye. Shocked into wakefulness by the abrupt burst of blinding rosy-tinted light, Van jolted upright with his right hand instinctively on the decorative hilt of his magnificent sword. His mind fully alert, his body poised to move, and his eyes swiftly scanning the scene before him; not a trace of sleep could be seen in his sharp features.
The warm face of the waking sun met his gaze with laughter and joy, greatly contrasting the graveness in his eyes. Above him, the birds crowded the beautiful clear blue sky when his sudden movement frightened them into flight. Seeing that there was really no danger threatening him, Van gradually loosened his grip on his sword. Now with muscles fully relaxed, he fell back onto the bench with a heavy sigh. As if sensing that the danger was over, the natural scene around him also calmed as the birds returned to the branches of nearby trees whereby a chorus of chirps and whistles soon roared into life; yet the beautiful chorus fell on deaf ears.
He ran his hand through his hair with fatigue clearly written on his handsome face. He had searched all night into the early hours of dawn hoping that Alantia could pick up any traces of Infinity's powers, but his exhaustive search through more than half of the large city proved to be fruitless.
All he obtained were perplexed stares and glares at his attire from the mortal inhabitants of this strange kingdom, but the looks increased when they noticed the extraordinarily strange sword hanging at his side with its gold-decorated hilt and dark blue leather sheath emblazoned with exquisitely-complex designs. Knowing that he must somehow blend in if he wanted to remain undetected by The Hunter, he had spent some precious time searching for something to disguise himself and most importantly to hide his weapon. Fortunately, he discovered a long black leather coat left unattended by its owner on a chair just outside a café. Walking casually by, he swiftly snatched it up and escaped into a dark alleyway. He had then continued his search with his sword securely hidden under the long jacket. However, unexpected danger was waiting for him around the corner as he had found out.
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Previous night…
Before he was able to hide his sword, its beauty—and obvious value—enchanted some pairs of greedy eyes from a group of thugs. Having followed his every move, they laid a trap for him just a few blocks down an empty street.
Just as he was about to reach a deserted intersection, a tall shadowy figure ran across his path into a dark alley between two tall old brick buildings. Immediately his eyes narrowed with suspicion. The stranger's long purposeful strides, slightly bent form, and sneaky glance, all indicated that this person did not cross his path for no apparent reason. Van knew it was deliberately set to capture his attention—and possibly himself.
However, despite being fully aware of the potential danger lurking around the corner, Van decided to follow the lure without actually taking the bait. He casually strolled along, making it seem like he was following the stranger; yet, just as he stepped into the dark alley, Van took a slight detour. Silent as a stalking cat, he leaped onto a set of old rusty steel ladder hanging a short distance above the ground on a wall of a broken-down warehouse. Using the darkness to his advantage, Van's unexpected change in direction went unnoticed by the bungling thieves still waiting for him deeper into the alley.
Taking one step at a time, Van climbed higher toward the top of the building. Once he reached the flat roof, Van snuck along the edge, peeping over the side from time-to-time to scan the scene below.
Soon enough, he spotted the small group of men crouching in two's and three's along the shadowy walls of the alley ready to pounce on him had he fallen for their trap. The group of men were composed of various ages. From what he could see, the youngest might be around thirteen and the oldest wearing a green bandanna on his head appeared to be in his late twenties.
With the assumption that these men were The Hunter, Van found it surprising of the ease at which he was able to sneak by them undetected. Supposedly some of these men were powerful mortal sorcerers; yet they could not even detect one solitary Etherian soldier? Humph! Van thought arrogantly, Either I am mistaken and these men are not The Hunter, or I have greatly overestimated my foolish adversaries. Taking off his coat and shirt, Van willed his wings to appear. Immediately, the soft feathers formed beneath the skin on his back and soon pierced through small, unseen slits between his shoulder blades. Large white wings unfurled into the cold night air like the mast of a grand ship. Unsheathing his sword, Van thought, Let's see how good these fools are. With one powerful flap, he was airborne. Gliding silently down the side of the old building careful to always remain hidden within the shadows, Van landed quietly on the dirty, foul-smelling ground below.
His wings quickly faded into the night, leaving the bare form of a young warrior behind hidden in the shadows. In his hand, the deadly steel blade burned through the darkness as its sharp face bathed in a single beam of pale moonlight.
"Waiting for me?" Van said in a satirical tone. The sound of his voice startled the thieves and they spun around to face this unexpected foe.
At first, they were unable to see the stranger but as he took a slow step into the pale lights of the full moon, their confused expressions melted into recognition. However, upon spying his lean well-muscled body, they mistakenly assumed that he was a weak adversary undeserving of their fighting skills.
"You're a fool, boy," one of the thugs jeered at him. "You shoulda' hightailed outta' here while ya' could."
"Ya'," his comrade snickered, "b'cause now we a' gonna make rat meat outta ya'. Ain't that right boys?" He looked over his shoulder at the other six men, who were roaring with malicious laughter.
Un-intimidated, Van stood his ground with attention fully focused on the bigger, older men slowly surrounding him on all sides. His dark maroon eyes flickered to each man while his mind noted his opponents' positions predicted their strengths and possible moves of attack, and weapons held dangerously in their hands. The soft sound of worn leather rubbing against the hard metal hilt of a sword alerted the men to the dangerous weapon held in his hand.
The men stared at the ancient sword with glowing green eyes. Chuckling avariciously, the man with dark brown hair wearing a forest-green bandanna on his head stepped forward and demanded Van to hand over his sword. Judging by the man's commanding disposition, Van assumed him to be the leader of this group.
With a dangerous glare, Van replied coolly, "Why don't you come and get it from me?"
Laughing again, the older man said, "You're a big'a bas—rd then I thought. Hey, I'm feelin' generous ta'day. So I'll tell ya' what. Hand me that sword o' ya' and I'll tell my men here not ta' beat ya' up too much."
Van remained silent.
"Look Rad!" a younger man yelled, "Your scarin' him outta' his booties. He's so scared he can't talk." A roar of snickers quickly filled the dark alley.
Their foolish words, their taunting gestures, and their bad smelling breath greatly aggravated him. I am wasting precious times with these fools, Van thought. It is obvious these idiots cannot be The Hunters.
"Like I said," Van repeated, "Come get my sword if you can, but I warn you it will not be easy." A smirk appeared on his face.
"Son-of-a-bi—!" Rad swore as he charged angrily at Van with a large dagger held treacherously in one hand, poised like a spring ready to wreak havoc on his foe.
With a quick shuffle of his feet, Van sidestepped to avoid the attack, and Rad found himself stabbing the empty air where his foe once occupied. At the same time, Van drew his sword through the air. The blade whistled dangerously through Rad's dark hair. The attack was so quick that the onlookers could scarcely follow the whole event with their eyes. Within a minute, it was all over. The other men watched as their leader stood looking at Van's hand with such intense fear that made them all nervous of the stranger. Rad stared in terror at his green bandanna lying helplessly in Van's open palm. He also noticed a few locks of dark hair resting in his opponent's hand.
"M-ma-man," Rad stuttered, "Ya' damn fast!"
"Humph," Van grunted, "if you don't want to end up like your bandanna, I suggest you get out of my way."
Rad frowned. This mysterious guy is far more skilled than he had judged. An attack against him would most likely end in serious casualties—for both. Realizing that he greatly underestimated this young stranger, Rad decided not to risk his men in attacking. A sword is not worth my friends' lives, Rad thought.
"Sure thing," Rad said in a now calm voice. "Come on guys! Let's get tha' hell outta' here!"
His men looked at him in shock. They have known him for so long to know that he never gave up a fight this easily. They hesitated to follow his order.
Angry at their foolishness, Rad snapped, "Don't make me repeat myself!"
Quickly the whole group scrambled away without further incident. Rad might have been a thief, but he was no fool to confront someone many times more skilled than himself. As he ran, Rad looked back at the young man still standing with his sword brandished dangerously in his well-trained hands. Who the hell was that guy? he thought. And where did he learn to fight like that? A small smile of admiration appeared unnoticed on his face before he disappeared around a bend.
Van waited a few moments after the last traces of the thugs disappeared around the corner before re-sheathing his sword. He threw the bandanna to the side as he strolled silently out the alley. Along the way, Van noticed large, dirty brown rats scurrying about the open garbage bins lining the alley. Squeaks and hisses filled the night as these poor creatures fought over tiny, spoiled scraps of morsels. Just as he was about to step out on to the empty street, a large rodent crossed his path. Looking down, he saw with great surprise that the rat was staring straight up at him. A small squeak escaped its mouth before it quickly scuttled away. An unexpected thought invaded his mind as he watched the rat retreat into the dark, dingy world it called home. A beautiful soul resides in that body of fur and claw…but does anyone see it?
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Present time…morning…
The sounds of approaching footsteps quickly snapped him out of his reverie. Pulling his jacket securely over his sword, Van stood up and walked silently away. Stepping out onto a busy morning street, he found himself quickly being swamped by people bustling along toward work. Desperate for a quiet, secluded place to think, Van searched around the area for such a place. Fortunately, he spotted a small terrace overlooking the ocean that appeared to be deserted. Jostling his way through the thick crowd of people, Van quickly took refuge on the terrace built on a rock ledge overlooking a mass of clear blue water. The cool, salty wind felt wonderfully refreshing against his face. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He turned his back to the busy street and all it's inattentive inhabitants. The soft, lulling sound of the calm waves hitting the rocky face below provided him the tranquility he has so long been starving for.
From the corners of his eyes, he could make out a blurry figure approaching his left. Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by the amount of people now surging through the streets, Van paid no particular attention to this approaching person; he kept his gaze on the far horizon. The figure also stopped by the terrace for a brief moment's peace from the hustle-and-bustle on the streets. Van could hear a small depressing sigh escape into the wind before quiet footsteps behind him indicated that the person was now moving on.
In the midst of his thoughts, Van dropped his gaze to the cool crystal residing in the palm of his hand. What he saw shocked him into a frantic rush of adrenaline. The once dull rosy crystal was now burning brightly with a deep rose-pink colour. Alantia has sensed the presence of Infinity! And the power is very close.
Van immediately spun around looking wildly about the crowd of people walking pass him. Looking over to his left, his eyes caught a brief glimpse of a slender figure disappearing into the thick crowd a short distance away. He could only make out the faint colour of brown fabric fluttering in-between the bodies of people.
Frowning, Van glanced down at the crystal again in the hopes that it would indicate to him the direction this person was heading. Surprisingly, Alantia has lost the signal and now pulsed with the same dull rosy hue. Frustrated, Van slammed his fist on the railing with a loud bang. This brought a few surprising stares and raised eyebrows from the crowd. Ignoring them, he turned to look out at the ocean once again. Soaking in the peacefulness of the scene before his eyes, Van slowly regained control of his anger. Once he was able to calm his emotions enough to permit him to think clearly, Van replayed the scene in his mind. He carefully analyzed every detail of the memory, from the faintest sound to the smallest of movements. When exactly did Alantia detect Infinity? Van thought, Perhaps the person just passed by me on the street while I had my back turned. Or…
He frowned as he delved deeper into the last moments of the incident. Then his brows slowly rose as his eyes enlarge with excitement. He remembered that immediately after he spun around to look for the person carrying the power, the same figure he had noticed standing beside him on the rocky terrace had just passed by him. By the time he looked in the direction this person was heading, only a small section of the back could be seen for a brief second before the person was completely engulfed into the crowd, but it was long enough for him to notice that the person was wearing a white shirt and a strange pair of brown pants that seemed to have pleats around the upper thigh. Now that he thought about it, it must have been quite a large pair of pants because it appeared to be fluttering in the wind. This did not make sense.
Feeling frustration once again boiling to the surface, Van decided to dwell on the matter no further. He quickly submerged into the crowd and headed in the same easterly direction he last noticed the figure had gone. Along the way, he paid particular attention to all the people wearing brown pants and white shirts. However, most of them were much taller than the person he had faintly glimpsed moments before. He soon found himself drifting toward the inside edge of the sidewalk where he ended up stopping to lean against a tall iron gate to ponder further on the small clue he was able to gain toward Infinity's mortal identity. Deep in concentration, he was unaware of the strange glances young mortals were giving him as they passed by heading for school.
A quiet whisper caught his ears as one of the female students spoke to her friend when they passed in front of him, "What do you think he is doing, Keri?"
Her friend shrugged as she answered, "Who knows. By the way he is dressed, I'd say he is certainly not planning to attend school today." The two girls giggled as they looked at the long black coat he was wearing.
Hearing their voices so close, he glanced up at them. His eyes immediately focused on the girl named Keri. Seeing his handsome face looking intently at her, Keri nervously blushed and quickly pulled her friend along through the gate. However, his attention was not on her but on what she was wearing: a white shirt and a short pleated brown skirt. So, he thought, it wasn't a brown pair of pants I saw but a brown skirt. Then the Fates have chosen a girl to be the bringer of Infinity. Turning around, he silently watched some students filter into a huge four-story ashen-grey coloured building. A few other students dawdled around the shades of the many trees dotting the school landscape. He noticed large glistening windows dotted the face of the building with two large pallid doors guarding the main entrance, where the students were heading. The midmorning sunlight glinting off a metal plaque caught his attention. He glanced to the other side of the gate where, upon a grey column, a sign was placed indicating the name of the building. He read the name in a low whisper, "Lady Providence High School."
Glancing down at the brightly burning crystal hidden in his hand, a smirk slowly appeared on his face as Van thought, How ironic.
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Next: Chapter 4: "The Hunt has Begun"
Cosmos 2004