First Tale : Odin's Trust

Chapter IX

"Thus, two souls wandered into the depths of the dark whose shadows concealed how many secrets, we knew not. The warriors of the past, who had sealed the Jewel away from the reaches of common man, had left many a trap for those who were foolish enough to seek out the treasure. Alas, we call it treasure, but the Jewel is damned for eternity and from its damnation, it curses those who dare to wield its power. To the Jewel of the Damned, it matters not who the wielder is, whether of pure heart or demon spawned. It will devour the souls of both darkness and the light and in the shadows that arise in its wake will open the gates to the nether world."

- The words of Ghenravin as noted in the Journals Of Ghenravin, The Wanderer

The echoes of their footsteps rang through the air as Riyu Kikame and Hijo Ramurao walked through the unknown levels of the Glast Heim sewers. Riyu followed his master silently, content to walk behind him, allowing Hijo to deal with any problems that might arise in this place of shadows. There was little light, truth be told, to illuminate their surroundings. If that was not bad enough, the lighting in these unknown levels was deteriorating rapidly. Riyu strained his eyes to stay focused, but he was quite sure that his master was not having as much trouble as he was. Hijo seemed to know the entire place like the back of his hand and was walking with a slightly quickened pace. Every now and then, he would mutter things that Riyu could not understand and at other times, he would talk about his past, but always in bits and pieces.

"It is as if he cannot remember his own past. What is wrong with him? Why are we walking through these sewers in the first place? What in the name of Odin is the Jewel of the Damned?", these were only some of the questions that haunted Riyu time and time again.

There were too many things happening that Riyu did not understand, but his master obviously did not feel the need to enlighten him. Otherwise, he would have already done so. However, Riyu felt he needed to know. There was danger involved, obviously. They were being pursued by some sort of cult called the Herald of Flames and his master knew a lot about them too. He just was not sharing a lot of information at this point. Every time Riyu tried to ask a question, Hijo would simply answer back,

"There is no time, Riyu. We must hurry. There are many matters to be sorted out and hundreds of thousands of lives to be saved. Time is of the essence."

His answers and grown shorter and shorter as they progressed and somehow, Riyu felt his master changing. He did not know how and why, but there were slight changes in his personality and he was definitely acting strange. The calm attitude of old was disappearing and there was some sort of wild streak showing up in him. Riyu had not experienced any fear for his life till now, but something about these sewers sent a chill down his spine. All was not right in these slimy depths and he found himself checking his katana blade again and again. As far as Riyu Kikame was concerned, his master was his first assurance of safety and victory. Once that assurance was compromised, it came down to him and his sword. Dealing with the wizard, David, had done a great deal to boost Riyu's confidence, but he knew that he had taken the wizard by surprise. An actual, up front battle would allow little room for surprise and the enemy would be able to react to his moves. Riyu doubted his speed matched even a fraction of his master's, but he had enough confidence to hold his own.

"Just enough to survive, at least.", he told himself as they turned around another corner.

The maze seemed to be never ending and Riyu felt the first signs of fatigue kick in. He had lost track of time and walking around in the sewers had done no good to his physical and mental state. Hijo, however, seemed relatively unaffected. In fact, nothing seemed to affect him now. He had made up his mind about something and that resolve seemed to give him infinite strength.

"Surely, there is a strange tale behind all that is happening here. I hope master decides to tell me sometime soon. Speaking of the master, what is he doing?", Riyu thought as Hijo abruptly stopped before making a turn.

"I believe we have reached the end of our little trek, Riyu.", Hijo said, still staring into the darkness ahead.

Riyu stared into the dark void ahead, unable to recognize anything. The sense of fatigue was getting worse by the minute,

"Pray tell, master, what shall we find at this end?"

Hijo chuckled for the first time since they had descended into the unexplored levels of the sewers,

"I have kept many things from you, have I not Riyu? Well, I believe you should know now the danger that lies before you. There are, as you might have noticed, no monsters in these depths. No dark creatures prowling around waiting to take a bite out of your flesh without a moment's notice. There is no danger here, or so it seems to those with no knowledge of what the darkness really holds."

Riyu was slightly confused, but curiosity replaced confusion, "Something awaits us inside?"

Hijo replied, "Something? Yes, Riyu, you could say that something waits for us. That something is what the sorcerer referred to as the Jewel of the Damned. I remember much of what happened in that time now. The memories returned to me in pieces and I was busy sorting them out. I apologize if I seemed distant, my student. It was not right for me to keep you in the dark for so long, while I tended to my own personal problems."

Riyu remained silent while his master continued, "In times of old, Riyu, the Crusaders of God fought with the Herald of Flames, as you might have learnt during our little adventure so far. However, apart from this conflict, there were many other matters, which required our attention. While catering to the wishes of the Order on one such occasion, I happened to wander into the western lands outside Glast Heim."

"Glast Heim? Western lands? But the ocean forms the border of Glast Heim in the west.", Riyu thought and Hijo Ramurao had already anticipated those very thoughts.

"Not always, my student.", Hijo said, "Not always was Glast Heim's west blocked by the ocean. There was a time when the plains of Glast Heim covered the west and I can state for a fact, from personal experience, that it was a wonderful and glorious land. Unfortunately, it was on this land that the forces governing the laws of our world decided to clash in a devastating battle. The Gods of our kingdom, headed by Odin Himself, hammered at the minions of the abyss, led by the dark one, whose name we shall not speak."

"You were involved in the conflict, master?", asked Riyu.

"No, thankfully I was spared the brutality of that battle. Besides, I would never have survived a conflict with the demons. After all, to face the Gods, those demons needed considerable strength and believe me when I say this, their strength was extremely considerable! Indeed, I gave them a lot of consideration before I even decided to explore the battlefield, once the battle was over of course! I know little of what exactly happened during the fight itself, but there were many wounded and dead on the battlefield. The Gods, or what I would like to call their avatars or shapes, had taken many casualties. Thor, Freya and other great ones of Asgard lay dead on that field and I walked right into the midst of them. I was ignorant at that time, learning much about the world and its ways, but of religion I knew quite a bit. Yet, I approached with courage in my heart, making sure that I stayed away from the dead piles of demons, that were scattered all over the battlefield. There would be some foul creatures with a hint of life still left in them and it was not my place to try and deal with those vermin."

"Did you speak with the Gods, master?"

"I do not know for sure if I actually did any speaking at all. I remember approaching one of them. He was taller than me, a lot taller, but I couldn't be really sure since like the rest of them, he too was lying flat on the ground. I imagine he rose to speak with me, but I cannot recall the exact details. All I remember was that strange voice telling me that he was Odin, the great leader of the Gods of Asgard. Lord Odin told me that they had fought a great war, called Ragnarok. He said it was a mythical war, a war of legends. I remember little about such a legend of Ragnarok, but I believed Lord Odin at the time and I still do. He said that Ragnarok had brought about the end of the ruling powers of Asgard and of the netherworld. There was little his brethren could do for mankind now and that it was up to the mortal world to decide our fates. I realized little of what he meant then and I doubt I fully understand now. However, once he had had his say, Lord Odin handed me something covered in a thick red cloth. It was about five feet or more in length and the covering was quite thick."

"A sword perhaps, master?"

"Very perceptive, Riyu. Indeed, it was a sword, although I came to know of that little fact at a later time. Lord Odin told me that the Jewel of the Damned, wrapped in that cloth, had to be guarded and kept away from the hands of evil and those, who would seek to bring death and misery unto man. He said the artifact was a sort of key with a long history behind it. The Jewel's very soul was tainted with the blood of a God. Lord Odin did not elaborate on that history, but he did ask me to take the sword and guard it with my life. There were no other crusaders with me at the time and I was alone. The responsibility was entrusted to me and I failed to keep it."

"In what way master?"

"I took the sword back to the Crusaders of God, hoping to gain some advice from those with more experience and knowledge. At least I had enough brains in my head to not mention the artifact directly. I did some basic research and asked the few friends that I had at the time to help me seal the Jewel in the best possible hiding place. The sewers, in my opinion, were rarely visited at the time and the Jewel could be sealed off inside for all eternity. If I had known that this Ragnarok war would unleash thousands of demons into the wild and increase the number of foolish adventurers around, then I would have sealed that sword somewhere else and taken some more effort with the seals too. Alas, I was foolish and my friends and I sealed off the Jewel in this part of the sewer."

"And now, this Herald is looking for it and so are we, except that we are already near it."

"That is right, Riyu. Ahead lies the unholy place, tainted by the influence of the sword itself. I fear its darkness is so profound and evil that no monster dares set foot in this place. Be glad that the paths to the netherworld were sealed off long ago, since this place would normally be an ideal breeding ground for those, who serve the dark one."

"I see, master. So what are we to do now? We have found this Jewel, this dark sword. What shall we do with it? Surely, we cannot leave it here for the next adventurer who pops in for a look. The seal is undone as it is and this level of the sewers can be accessed by all."

Hijo nodded in agreement, "We must destroy the sword, Riyu! It must be shattered into a thousand pieces and the core of its evil vanquished from the face of this Earth. Unfortunately, the task itself is quite daunting and dangerous. To add to our difficulties, I am not sure how to go about achieving that particular task either."

Despite their problems, Riyu found himself smiling, "I see, master. Well, the best thing to do now would be to secure the sword and then get out of here. This place seems to be draining my energy."

Hijo replied, "Yes, let us delay no more. There is no telling how many minions of the Herald are on our trail by now. Come!"

Riyu nodded and began to follow his master. He had hardly taken a few steps, when he heard a high pitch voice echo through the sewers,

"FLAME DRAGON…ASURA STRIKE!"

It was the last thing Riyu Kikame heard as the world went black around him. His senses seemed to disappear all of a sudden and he felt numb. He felt like there was nothing around him, absolutely nothing.

Darkness descended over him…darkness was all around him…there was darkness everywhere!