Chapter 5:
Journey of Ages Part I: Eltar
Eltar had seen its share of violence over the span of history, but the civil unrest they now suffered was of their own creation; there was no external threat to blame this time. The planet, lying in the outer rim of the galaxy, had been forced to fight in more interplanetary as well as intergalactic wars than they cared to remember, but the threat that they now faced within their own atmosphere was greater than any invasion or battle they had ever been drawn into. Never before had the capital city of Eltos been in such a state of disarray. The city's crystal spires almost shook with the amount of tension in the air. Parents used their magic abilities to create wards around their homes at night, to fight off any evil that this threat may bring, literally, to their doorstep. The Eltar High Council had set a curfew not only for the capital, but for the entire planet that declared no Eltarian shall be outside past dark, lest the threat escape the confines of the Eltos Institute. The High Council had also sanctioned the military to patrol the streets of Eltos, making sure no doomsayers were to be found on the street. So far, the measures taken had ensured that peace remained. But time was running out.
The threat was not an invasion, or a disease that threatened to kill every life form on Eltar. It was worse than that. It was a human.
Most alien races viewed humans one of two ways: they hated them and wished to see them destroyed with as much violence as possible, or they wanted to avoid all contact whatsoever with any humans. Eltarians were of the latter school of thought; the humans didn't bother them, they didn't bother the humans, and they wanted to keep it that way until the universe collapsed. Moreover, the majority of humans didn't know that intelligence past their own existed, and those that did were often labeled as crazy. Typically, humans only believed in the existence of aliens when they showed up on Earth seeking to destroy every last human or to take over the planet.
It was heatedly argued over what was worse; whether a human had arrived on Eltar, or the manner in which he had arrived. The only way humans could travel though the galaxy was in huge metal spacecraft, that is if they weren't Power Rangers, but that was another sensitive issue to the Eltarians. The human that had arrived on Eltar had not crash landed, or been near anything that resembled a spacecraft. That would have made things easy. The Eltarians would have used their magic to alter the human's mind and would have sent them on their way back to Earth, no questions asked. It wouldn't even have been raised at the Eltos Fountain, the hub of Eltar gossip. But this human had decided to arrive on top of the Eltos Fountain, nearly killing three Eltarians from the shock of his arrival. The Eltarians that had witnessed the event had said that one moment they saw a flash of light and the human was lying atop the fountain, unconscious. A riot had nearly broken out, with the guards surrounding the human and carrying him to the Institute, where he would be monitored until he awoke from his slumber. For days, the Eltar High Council had been debating over what to do with the human. He had been armed with the gold dragon bracer and the Dragonsaber, meaning that he must know of the Force of Ages. What his intentions for the Force were were unknown to Council, as he still slumbered. But there was only one viable explanation.
"This must be Zordon's doing!" Clara cried, trying unsuccessfully to defend the human once again in the council chamber. Raising Zordon's name was probably not the best course of action since he was one of the few Lost. The Lost were Eltarians who left the crystal spires and cities of Eltar to meddle in the affairs of humans that were battling alien threats. Zordon had been the most notable of the Lost, as he had almost single-handedly changed the fate of Earth by enlisting the aid of five teenagers with attitude in Angel Grove. Even when he had briefly left Earth he could not keep out of the lives of humans. He had ventured to K-O 35 and giving Ranger powers to Andros, who became the red space Ranger. It had been ironic that Andros had to destroy Zordon in order to save part of the galaxy from the clutches of evil. No one had cried for Zordon; he had chosen his fate.
"How dare you speak a name of the Lost inside these hallowed walls! You go to far child!" the High Councilor, Lorden, yelled. Lorden had tried to convince Zordon to stay decades ago when he had decided he was going to leave for Earth. Lorden, of course, had failed, and had to watch his brother leave Eltar in exile for all eternity. In fact, Lorden was the first Eltarian to rise to the seat of High Councilor with such close ties to one of the Lost.
"Apologies High One, but I would not have thought that your brother's name would enrage you so," Clara said, bowing to the High Councilor. Lorden knew where Clara was going to take this, and he also knew he didn't want the entire council listening to the proceedings. Looking down the length of the councilor's table, Lorden chose his words carefully. "Excuse us, Councilors. I wish to speak to this young upstart in privacy." Rising from their seats, the six councilors bowed to Lorden and exited the chamber, sending death glares at Clara. Waiting for the door to close completely, Lorden calmed himself. It would not be proper to yell at his daughter even in private. With a resounding thud the doors to the chamber closed. Waving his hand, Lorden locked the doors, not wishing to be disturbed.
"Daughter, you know you cannot speak your uncle's name in front of the entire council. I've had a hard enough time rising to this level sharing blood with him, and I do not need you to remind the councilors of the fact that I am related to one of the Lost!" Lorden said, trying to get his teenage daughter to understand the proper protocol.
"I'm sorry father, but who else could have sent a human here?" Clara said, moving closer to her father, trying to make him see her side of the issue. "Zordon was the first one to introduce Ranger powers to the humans on Earth and when he passed on the mantle to Rion, he must have told him about the Force of Ages and Eltar. It's the only logical explanation."
"I highly doubt that the Protector on Earth, this Rion, even knew of the portal room in the Cavern of Power, let alone about the existence of this planet, dear Clara," Lorden said, trying to convince himself of his own argument. The fact that the human had the Dragonsaber meant that he was a Ranger, meaning that he had been in the Cavern of Power. Was it really so unlikely that he had stumbled upon the portal? "As much as I hate to admit it, even privately, I think that you are indeed right Clara. But you cannot speak of this to anyone. Let us see what the human has to say when he awakes."
As if on cue, the door that Lorden had just magically locked with a wave of his hand was now being knocked upon. Both Clara and Lorden gazed into the viewing crystal that sat in the centre of the council chamber. The viewing crystal could be used to see anywhere in the entire universe; from the farthest reaches of the galaxy to right outside the council door. Lorden focused the crystal's magical gaze outside the council door. One of the guards was beating on the council door with his staff, holding a document crystal in the other hand. Sighing, Lorden waved his hand once again, admitting the guard into the chamber. The crystal showed the surprise on the guards face when the giant doors swung inward, allowing him entrance. The guards knew that if the doors were locked, they were to knock, but to not expect entrance. The council matters were for those of the council and no one else. Marching to the council table swiftly, the guard bowed and handed Lorden the crystal.
"What is the meaning of this interruption guard?" Lorden asked as he accepted the crystal from the guard's trembling hand. Once again waving his hand, this time at the table, the table's surface shimmered and gave way, revealing a slot. Placing the crystal in the slot, Lorden waited for the guard's explanation before accessing the crystal's contents.
"My deepest apologies High Councilor, but I was sent with all haste to you from the Institute. It would seem that the human has awoken and it's creating quite a stir. The rest of the information is within the crystal," the guard said, bowing to Lorden once again and removing himself from the chamber. Clara moved beside her father, so that she would be able to watch the contents of the crystal as her father watched them. Waving his hand over the crystal, the report sprang to life before Lorden's eyes. The face was of Rylek, a doctor that worked at the Eltos Institute and specialized in human affairs.
"Greetings High Councilor, I trust this finds you well. As you the guard has likely already informed you, the human has awoken. What concerned me was that when he awoke he recited the Ancient Cadence as if he had seen it before. Other than that, he seems rather tame, and in control of himself…which is surprising given the circumstances of his arrival, yet he does not remember speaking the Ancients Cadence. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to discern how he ventured here or what his intentions are. He has requested that he speak to the highest authority possible, which is why I have sent this missive to you, High Councilor. We await your arrival. Dr. Rylek out." The image of the doctor faded back into the crystal, leaving Lorden and Clara in silence to consider what they had just heard. Wordlessly, the two stood up and walked out the chamber door, into the bustling streets of Eltos, wondering what this human had to say.
The Cavern of Power lay empty; it's tranquility soothing to both the Rangers and Zoe. The energy torches cast a pale glow around the Cavern, making the shadowy corners seem far deeper than they actual were. The statues stood embedded into the wall, as they always did, with the heroes casting their watchful gaze over the inhabitants of the Cavern. The thundering crash of the waterfall soothed the weary spirits of the Rangers, yet at the same time charged Zoe with anxiousness. Both Chris and Johnny felt disabled at the loss of Rion…they had been Rangers for mere hours and now they were expected to lead the next Ranger along the path of becoming a Power Ranger. They wouldn't even be able to tell Zoe what her guardian spirit would be until she morphed and they saw it on her power suit. Similarly, they had no idea what her weapons were called either. Essentially, they really knew next to nothing about the remaining Ranger powers, other than how to identify who was destined to use them. Unfortunately, they would have to make do.
Zoe paced the Cavern, examining it's every wall and corner, making sure she knew her surroundings well. She seemed rather excited at the prospect of being a Ranger, and wanted to remember this moment for the rest of her life; Johnny could definitely relate. Chris stood in front of the five statues, meeting their sentinel's gaze with his own. He remembered vividly the first time that he and Stone had stumbled across the Cavern while on their way to Delta. Neither of them had asked to be Rangers, but they accepted the powers anyways. It seemed that you didn't choose the power; it chose you. Like Johnny, Chris wished that Stone was here with them. It just didn't seem right for them to be here without him. He was their leader, and had sacrificed his own safety so that they could get the humans back to Bastion. The Rangers felt quite guilty that if they had returned to the battle Rion might still be with them now. They only hoped that he could forgive them.
"I promise I won't hold it against you," a voice from one of the shadowy corners said. Drawing their weapons and placing themselves between the voice and Zoe, as she wasn't a Ranger yet.
"Who said that?" Chris demanded, scanning the piercing darkness for any sign of the intruder. Johnny began to creep closer to the corner from which the voice came, prepared to fight anything that moved within the copse of darkness.
"I did," Rion said, as he materialized in front of them. Chris and Johnny dropped their weapons to the floor with clanks at the absolute shock of seeing Rion before them. But something was different…
"We thought you were dead," Johnny exclaimed, rushing forward to meet Rion in a warm, welcoming embrace. Rion raised his hand, gesturing for the black Ranger to stop.
"I am dead," Rion said, walking towards the five statues. "The only reason I can appear to you is because you are in the Cavern of Power and you have found another Ranger. I have been granted the ability to return when you find the new Rangers so that I may explain their powers to them. Other than that, I must reside within the Beyond." Chris and Johnny both lowered their heads. Seeing Rion in front of them had made them hope that maybe Stone had been mistaken when he had said that Rion had perished. That, sadly, was not the case.
"You must be Rion," Zoe said, finally gathering enough courage to speak to the ghostly figure. Rion turned to face Zoe, and smiled.
"Yes dear girl I am Rion. I'm the Protector of the Ranger powers. Now, not be rude, but my time here is rather…limited. You, my dear Zoe, have been chosen to be a Power Ranger. As your Ranger friends have no doubt told you, this is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. You will command a power that is far greater than you have ever encountered before or could likely ever imagine, but you must use this power to fight a battle that few think you can win. However, should you accept your destiny, decided at birth, you will be the yellow Ranger, commanding the Griffon and wielding dual Wingdaggers. You must accept these powers Zoe, no one, not even I, can force you to take them." Before Zoe could step forward to accept her powers, Chris piped in.
"Wait a minute…she got a tidbit of information we never got. You said our destiny to become Ranger was decided at birth. What the hell does that mean, other than we were chosen from the moment we came out?" Chris said, wondering just what exactly Rion had meant. Sighing, Rion began to explain.
"First I would like to say that I never told you any of this because time was rather constricted when you two got your Ranger powers. Be that as it may, I shall explain everything to you now," Rion said as he turned to face the five statues. "The Ancients have been watching Earth for far longer than any of us, that is those in the Beyond, can discern. The Ancients were the species that introduced dinosaurs to the Earth, allowing the reptilian species to assume dominant control over the Earth. Now you may wonder how or why the Ancients allowed one species to become so dominant over another," Rion said, watching as the three humans heads all nodded simultaneously. "The Ancients have the gift of foresight. They can see what will happen long before it comes to pass. Thus, the Ancients knew that the dinosaurs would be destroyed by a meteorite; see where this is going? The Ancients created the Force of Ages, a power that could trump any force but their own. When one of the Ancients gave up their powers, their spirit was added to the Force, making it grow stronger as time progressed. The Ancients, however, did not trust themselves enough to be in charge of such a power. What if one of the Ancients destroyed all other Ancients, building the Force to unimaginable power, and harnessed the power for himself? The galaxy would be destroyed in the blink of an eye. That is why the Force of Ages was trusted to the planet Eltar. Eltar is home of Eltos, the crystal city. Zordon, the Protector of my time, granted me and my friends the Ranger powers to drive back the Baliens the first time. I also know that he gave five teenagers with attitude in Angel Grove Ranger powers that harnessed the power of the dinosaurs. By doing so, Zordon set a sequence of event in motion that the Ancients had very little control over. That is why the Ancients began to select children at birth that would have the ability to harness Ranger powers. You see, the Ancients knew that the Baliens would invade once again and that you three would be among those of the right age to drive back the Baliens. How you met, however, was purely coincidence. Had things not worked out so well and I had been among the living it would have been my charge to seek out the Rangers. As you know Chris, you and Stone stumbling upon this Cavern was destiny. I guided you here without you really knowing what was happening…now you know the truth." Turning to face the Rangers, Rion tried to hide his smile. The three humans stood with their mouths gaping open as if they had just won a million dollars.
"But if we were selected from birth doesn't that mean that we have to accept our powers?" Zoe questioned, not understanding how she had any choice in the matter.
"That's what I said!" Johnny cried. Chris smiled at the exuberance of youth. Rion, however, explained once again.
"That's where it gets rather complicated and even I don't fully understand. Being selected at birth means you have the ability to harness the powers. The decision of whether or not you do harness them is yours. That's the difference. Ability is one thing, acceptance is another," Rion said, moving to stand on the circular crest that he had used to access the golden Force powers such a little while ago.
"I'm not afraid," Zoe said, stepping forth. The resolve in her eyes was stronger than diamond. She would stand her ground alongside the other Rangers and fight for the freedom of the planet. The Wingdaggers and the power bracelet, containing a yellow zircon, began to glow and float slowly towards her. Reaching up as Chris, Johnny, and Rion looked on, she grasped the weapons as the bracelet slid onto her wrist. Chris and Johnny began to applaud as Rion explained the morphing process; but Zoe's mind was somewhere else.
I hope you're proud of me Stone, Zoe thought, stay safe until I see you again. With a smile, the three Rangers teleported back to Bastion, as the Cavern of Power was left in fading illumination as Rion's spirit dissipated into the darkness, awaiting the arrival of the next Ranger.
General Auron was livid…enraged was far too weak a word…to the point that even the tranquility that his Omega chambers provided was not enough to soothe him. His slave supply for the Omega Project had now been disrupted and he would have to begin procedures to send the Omega scientists humans from some of the other slave camps. It wasn't a necessarily difficult procedure, but one that should not have had to be taken. Curse those Rangers! They, however, would no longer be a problem as the only Ranger that could have stopped the Gigans had been destroyed. Although the red Ranger had escaped with the saber that killed the Minotaur Gigan, he doubted one Ranger could kill all the Gigans he had stationed on Earth. As he wrote out the details that Graymane would need to follow to begin the slave transfer from Alpha, there was a timid knock at his chamber door. Without looking away from the report, Auron pressed the button that would allow whoever was at the door admittance. Lieutenant Pine strode in accompanied by his two idiotic sergeants, Briggs and Rathburn. Auron had tasked the three with creating a detailed schematic of the human stronghold…Bastion they called it…and what the best likely assault plan would be. He had also ordered them to locate it on his map in the war room, so that they begin to plan their assault as soon as possible.
"Yes human?" Auron said, still not looking up from his procedural draft. Pine cleared his throat whilst Briggs and Rathburn tried not to wet themselves.
"Here are the schematics you asked for General. I have included how many humans reside on each level, so that you may know if any have escaped as well as you will know how many humans will be in your service after your grand assault," Pine said as he placed the documents on Auron's desk, bowing. Trying to keep his temper under control, Auron raised a single eye from the procedure he was drafting.
"And tell me, human, what good are your numbers now that the slaves from Delta now reside there hmm?" Auron said with a hint of anger in his voice. All three human's faces blanched. They were quick to bow in apology.
"My apologies General, I did not consider that," Pine said while still bowing. Auron sniffed in disgust.
"It's obvious you did not consider many things human…now leave my sight before I decide that you have lived out your usefulness to me," Auron said with a snarl as he waved his hand towards them in dismissal. How he hated ignorance. Glancing at the schematic and the figures Pine had created, Auron smiled. The assault on the grand human stronghold would not even require half of his assault force. He would be sure to send a few Gigans to keep the Rangers busy. Finishing the details of the slave transfer procedure for Graymane, he moved to his comm unit to send a call to Graymane to come pick them up. As he dialed in Graymane's domicile number, there was another knock at his chamber door. Nudging the open button with a giant paw, Graymane rushed into the room, out of breath. Unconcerned with Graymane's health, Auron went right to business.
"Ah Graymane. I was just about to summon you to pick up the slave transfer procedure for the slaves at Camp Alpha. Your timing is rather impeccable," Auron said, handing the wolf Balien his orders. Graymane reached out and took them from the General's hand. Saluting, the Balien began to speak.
"Yes sir, thank you sir. But I came to inform you of a rather interesting development. After the battle we detected a human energy signal being teleported out of Earth's atmosphere. We tracked the signature to its destination. The human, we believe it to be the red Ranger at this point sir, landed on Eltar," Graymane said, still out of breath from his run to Auron's chamber. Auron's eyes widened at the name of the Balien home planet's nemesis. Eltar had long been a thorn in the side of Bali, as the Eltarians believed the Baliens to be pure evil, and always arrived to stop the Baliens on their conquests. How the human knew of the history between Eltar and Bali was beyond the General.
"Eltar! What in the name of Bali does the human want on Eltar? Does he expect the Eltarians to come aid the humans?" Auron laughed at the thought of the Eltarians getting involved with human affairs. Eltarians viewed humans with a considerable amount of skepticism and disdain.
"I am unsure, sir, but if the human is granted the powers that the Eltarians use to battle us, this war may be far from over," Graymane said, hoping his comments had not angered his General too much. Auron considered what Graymane had said…it was quite the tangible threat.
"Very true, Graymane…very true indeed. Gather a legion," Auron said as he watched Graymane's eyes widen…a legion would ensure the destruction of Eltar. "We leave immediately for Eltar…they will not escape this time."
Stone awoke in a room surrounded by crystalline walls, with a figure standing over him speaking into a crystal that was floating before him. Presumably, the person was some sort of doctor that was in charge of him. Stone had asked to speak to someone in authority, but he was unsure if the figure would have sent for whoever was in charge or not. He didn't even know where he was after all. Trying to shake the lingering daze from his head, he propped himself up in the bed and cleared his throat. Before he had the chance to speak the wall in front of him, which had appeared to be solid, shimmered and two figures walked through; a man, wearing a robe that likely represented his position, and a girl. Suddenly, Stone's mind was sent asunder. He was brought back to the Cavern with the girl standing before the statues, reaching out to grasp the bow from the last statue. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Stone began to speak.
"Where am I?" Stone asked, not directing the question to anyone person in particular. It was the man in the stately robe that answered.
"You are on Eltar human. Unfortunately your questions will have to wait. I am High Councilor Lorden, leader of the Eltar High Council. This is my daughter Clara, and Dr. Rylek, who will be supervising your stay here at the Institute. Now, you spoke the Ancient Cadence…how does a human know the Cadence?" Lorden asked, edging closer to Stone.
"Cadence? What the hell are you talking about?" Stone said, wondering if he had landed on a planet comprised entirely of psychopaths. Almost immediately the three Eltarians spoke in unison.
"Those who stand true, are not many but few - To harness the power against darkness you must not cower - To hold the Force of Ages you must be ready to travel the galaxy's pages - Across the galaxy the powers lie guarded by the Eltar High - Stand forth young mortal, your destiny lies beyond this portal," they said, the words magically glowing before them. Stone suddenly understood.
"Oh. That. That poem…or Cadence as you call it…appeared before me in a chamber within the Cavern of Power," the Eltarians gasped at the mention of the Cavern. This meant that there worst fears had come to pass. A human Ranger had found its way to Eltar. "I was told by Rion, the Protector, to seek out the chamber using these," Stone said as he showed them the dragon bracer and the Dragonsaber. It was Clara who spoke next.
"So then you are a Ranger!" The words hung in the room like a bad stench. The Eltarians waited for his answer. Knowing that his life might likely depend on his answers, Stone chose carefully.
"Well, I was the red Ranger…but now I assume I'm supposed to use these somehow to fight the Gigans the Baliens have stationed on Earth." Before Stone could explain any further, the room was a tumult of comments and discussion. Clearing his throat, Stone spoke again. "Before you execute me or whatever, I want you to know that I have no idea how to become the gold Ranger as Rion did," Stone said, although it was likely none of the Eltarians had heard a word he had said. It seemed as though the mention that he had been the red Ranger had caused quite a disturbance. He figured he should ask what the hell was wrong before they decided to do something rash; like relieve him of his life. "Did I say something wrong?"
Lorden turned to face Stone, his face an expressionless mask devoid of any emotion whatsoever. The doctor, Rylek, had moved to a nearby table to file another oral report into a crystal; Stone could overhear the words Baliens, Earth, and human…everything else was too muffled for him to pick up on. Mumbling some incoherent words and waving their hands, Clara and Lorden summoned chairs out of thin air. Stone's jaw dropped, but he knew enough not to ask any questions at this point. Lorden inhaled deeply and began to speak as if the words pained him to say.
"No, young human, you did not. If you had been aware of our customs and culture then you would understand why we were so shocked at what you said. Before we explain though, there are some things you need to understand. Eltar is a peaceful planet that thrives on our affinity for magic as well as our abilities to use it. That is how we summoned these chairs before your eyes. We pride ourselves on our passive isolation. We do not meddle in the affairs of other planets and their species, unless provoked, and we have come to expect the same. There have been only three documented cases of Eltarians leaving Eltar to intervene in the affairs of another species. The most significant of these was when my brother Zordon left Eltar to go to Earth to recruit five teenagers with attitude. The rest, as you say, is history. We refer to Zordon and the others as the Lost…by leaving Eltar to intervene they go into exile. So, as you can see, we do everything within our considerable power to maintain our splendid isolation," Lorden said, leaning back into his lavish chair. Rylek finished his report into the crystal and handed it to Lorden. Nodding, Lorden watched as Rylek exited the room through the shimmering wall. Rubbing his eyes, Lorden stood up and faced one of the crystals walls that peered out into the city streets. "There is only one species in our lengthy history that has attacked us without provocation."
"Let me take a wild guess…the Baliens," Stone said as he sat up in his bed and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Clara smiled, and Stone knew he had hit the nail on the head. Lorden shuddered at the mentioning of the alien species.
"Yes it was the Baliens, human. They nearly destroyed all of us despite our magical abilities. Only by drawing upon the Force of Ages were we able to drive the Baliens back to their home planet. That being said, why have you come to Eltar human?" Lorden asked as he turned to face Stone once again. Before Stone could answer, however, Clara piped up.
"Surely you being here has to have something to do with my uncle Zordon," Clara said as she leaned closer to Stone. Stretching his aching muscles, Stone answered despite still being confused as to why they thought he knew Zordon.
"I'm here because my species doesn't stand a chance unless I can find this Force of Ages Rion told me about. Only by using this saber was I able to destroy the one that killed him. The only catch is I don't know how to morph using these powers," Stone said, moving to get up out of his board-like bed.
"So you're here by chance?" Clara asked as she slid her chair back to allow Stone to move. Stone sighed, wishing that he had nothing to do with fighting the Baliens. He wished that none of this ever happened. He wanted things how they were a year ago…everything was normal.
"No, I'm not here by chance…although I wish I was. I'm here because Rion told me I needed to seek out the Force of Ages if the humans were to win the war against the Baliens. He told me to summon forth the dragon in the Cavern of Power and when I did as he said a passage was revealed to me that had the Cadence in it. When I read it was teleported here, at least that's what I figure. So until I find this Force of Ages, that is if it still exists, I'm not going home. We don't stand a chance without it," Stone said, moving to where he could look out the same window that Lorden was. The city of Eltos was seemingly made entirely of crystal. The buildings glimmered in the sunlight, with the water from the fountain sparkling in the rays of warmth. Under other circumstances he would have killed to stay here. Turning away from the window, Lorden faced the human.
"So you think you can harness the Force of Ages after you find it? What makes you think we'll tell you where it is? As I've said we enjoy our isolation, and by helping you we would be meddling in a battle that we did not start. I'm afraid I will have to remove you of those," Lorden said as with a deft hand gesture the Dragonsaber and dragon bracer flew away from Stone into Lorden's hands. "I must insist that you come with me to appear before the High Council. There we will decide what to do with you."
Both Stone and Clara did everything in their powers to control their emotions. Clara was enraged that her father would not help someone that was in dire need. She knew firsthand that Gigans were not easy to defeat. Stone on the other hand was simply enraged.
"Do I even have a bloody choice?" Stone said as he walked towards the shimmering wall.
"Not really," Lorden said as he followed Stone through the wall. How he hated dealing with humans.
Stone had been in front of the Eltar High Council for what seemed like days, but in reality had only been a mere two hours. They were relentless in their questions about Stone's past as a Ranger and why he had come to Eltar. Stone had answered the same questions over and over again until he thought he was blue in the face. He figured that the Council was waiting for his answer to change slightly so they could interrogate him on why his response had been altered. Finally, much to Clara's delight and the Council's surprise, Stone snapped.
"Look you high and mighty councilors – I've answered your questions more times than I care to count. I'm here because without the Force of Ages my species is all but extinct. And while you seven sit there and imitate Switzerland, my friends are dying! So here's the deal…" Stone, however, could not inform the High Council of what was going to happen. He was interrupted by a breathless guard's intrusion into the chamber. Immediately Lorden was on his feet.
"What is the meaning of this interruption!" Lorden roared. The guard, however, had run out of time. Falling to the ground from what the Council thought was exhaustion, they saw the wounds on his back. Stone rushed to the guard's side and put his ear to the guard's mouth. Hearing the guard's message, Stone's face blanched. Gently lowering the guard down to the marble floor, Stone stood before the Council and spoke, his voice ringing out through the chamber.
"Baliens have entered the city."