Kun'nuk'kles awoke with a splitting headache. That was all, for a little while. He couldn't see anything. Then, slowly, vision returned. He saw, directly in front of him, some wood. Above him. It was above him, because he was laying down. It would be a… ceiling. He blinked. Outside there were the sounds of the jungle, among other things. "Thou art awakenéd?" a voice from the side came.
Kun'nuk'kles took note of the accent and archaism, and tried to look at whoever was talking. He couldn't. His neck was too stiff. The owner of the voice seemed to recognize what he was trying to do, and came into his sight. Kun'nuk'kles blinked again. It was a creature he had never seen before, outside of a museum. It was much like an Echidna, but spikier, and, for some reason, gray. It was a Hedgehog.
"Yes, I see that thou hast noticed my species," the Hedgehog said. "I am called Sonya."
Kun'nuk'kles blinked again. "You…" he managed, croaking. "Are female?"
Sonya chuckled. "Indeed I am. And thou art male. Shall we progress beyond the obvious observations, to the reasons for thy presence?"
"I… don't know why I'm here. Last I remember, I was sliding down the side of a mountain…" Kun'nuk'kles said, and stopped. "Wait. Where are my things? Where are my staff and the Emeralds?"
"Thy possessions art here, and unharmed. On the subject of thy Emeralds… where didst thou acquire them? They art most similar to artifacts mentioned in a story of my Ancestors."
"I… they're mine. I made them."
Sonya raised an eyebrow. "Thou MADE them? How didst thou accomplish this task, perchance?"
"I… say, could you please stop it with the archaic speech? It's driving me nuts."
"Very well. But please tell me how you made them. I really need to know."
"I Bound the Chaos Spirits to the Ordered form of Beryl. So far, I have managed to get five of them into this crystalline form… although I'm told that I am not the first."
"You… are resurrecting the Old Bindings?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To keep Mobius alive."
"What?"
"The Chaos Spirits… are causing the planet to die, slowly. I'm not sure of the specifics, but I need to do this…"
"Then… you will need my help. You will need the Chaos Oath."
"The Chaos Oath? I've seen it written in the Sanctuary."
"Oh, yes. I had forgotten. You are Echidna. Well, you don't know the final translation."
"What? Final translation? What are you talking about? It translates to, 'The Chaos, Seven in number, Serve, for the Heart of Chaos is Power. To Control the Power, the Chaos must be United.'"
Sonya shook her head. "That's not quite it. That's a slightly skewed translation. The Chaos Oath is as follows; 'The Servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is Power, enriched by the Heart. The Controller is the one that Unifies the Chaos.'"
As she spoke, Kun'nuk'kles shivered. "I FELT that. That is a spell, and a powerful one. But, as it is, it has no focus. It has power, but that's it. It doesn't DO anything."
Sonya nodded. "True. But that is what is left to us. Our Ancestors left nothing else to us. We have lost the tale of their demise… we do not even know how to use their Barriers."
"Oh? You step on them."
"What?"
"In order to use the Barrier Artifact discs, you step on them, breaking them in half. The halves will vanish, and the Barrier will surround the one who activated it. How do you think I survived inside of the volcano to Bind Chaos Red?"
"You went into the volcano? That would explain why it stopped smoking…"
Kun'nuk'kles sat up, painfully, and rubbed at the back of his head. "How long have I been here, anyway?"
"Not long. A day or two."
"WHAT! I… thank you for your hospitality, but I've REALLY got to go."
"I will go with you," Sonya said, handing him his sack and staff.
Both of them were miraculously unharmed. Kun'nuk'kles didn't bother to argue. He knew about this kind of female. His WIFE was this kind of female. Regardless of danger, once they make up their minds, they stick to their decisions. That was why he had left so abruptly. He re-tied the sack to his neck, and got up. He hurt, but it was nothing that he couldn't ignore. He went out of the door of the crude hut, and was faced with an impressive sight.
