The Legend of Liocorna
Disclaimer: Still don't own Escaflowne or it's characters -_-° …
And here we have another chapter, sorry I didn't already update last weekend, but I the five days of school before that were rather stressing since I wrote exams in Chemistry and Religion. Religion was a total disaster and I don't know what to think of chemistry... And last week on Wednesday my big Brother died because of cancer. (He was only 26!) All was total chaos!
Anyway, read and ENJJJJJJJOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYY!!!!
Chapter 15: Confusion all around
Van found himself in total darkness again. He called out, wanting to know if someone was there and heard him, but there was no answer. He called out again and again until his throat was dry, but still no answer. Only the thick, unbreakable darkness around him.
Okay, Van. Stay calm; you have been in worse situations then this before. Somehow I must find out where I am. But am I really somewhere? Maybe I'm not even awake yet? It still doesn't explain this total blackness. But it still feels kind of familiar. The surrounding feels like I am in Eteral (if you forgot what it was, look it up in chapter 8).
…
Yes it feels like it but yet again not, as if something was wrong with it. But what?
Van quickly turned around believing he had seen something move out of the corner of his eyes. He looked again and was definitely sure that there was something moving; trying to fight it's way towards him, as it seemed although he couldn't say what it was.
Out of nowhere there came an eerie voice from all around him. It was as cold as the darkness itself and seemed to be one with it.
"Very, very soon, the darkness will have spread within you. It is already beginning… my little Draconian. You will be mine." The voice said. It was hardly above a whisper and yet Van heard it as clearly as if the person was standing directly beside him.
Suddenly the "thing" that had been coming nearer and nearer let go a burst of dazzling light, the darkness retreating slowly.
"VAN! Don't listen! Come back! You have to WAKE UP! Come back! Come back to us… and… to me… come back." This voice, so different from the first one and calmed his confused mind. He felt the same small sensation he had felt last time when he had woken up from Eteral. And the voice sounded so familiar…
********** ~~~~~~~~~~~~ **********
When Van finally opened his eyes he was instantly blinded by glistening light and immediately had to shut his eyes in pain. He groaned a little as he let them adjust to the light before slowly pushing himself up from the floor he was currently lying on with his arms. The floor was smooth and cold to the touch but in a comforting sort of way. He carefully opened his eyes once again and quickly looked around noticing in relieve Dryden, Allen and the others lying around him also trying to get up. There was confusion in each of their faces and one face was missing to Van's horror.
Allen, who was sitting right next to him, rubbed his head with a pained expression on his face.
"Man, what a hard landing I think I hit my head somewhere." He looked around, as did everybody else in wonder.
They were all assembled in what looked like a great hall. Pillars all around rose high into the air. The roof didn't close fully, only about a fifth if it all, the rest was closed by a big glass-dome also supported by smaller pillars. The whole constructor was held in a faint grayish white, seeming to glow by itself since only a few big candles shone here and there. They did not shine with a red and orange flame, but a blue and silver one fitting perfectly into the picture. Many things had been carved into the stone. Pictures showing many unicorns but that were all they could make out for other things they could not really describe. Most of the light came in from the glass-dome, flickering as if it was reflected by water. Wait… water???
Allen's mouth gapped open wide.
"Where in the name of all Gaia are we?!?"
"I have no clue, Allen. I have never heard of such a place before and I don't think it is the Mystic Valley." Dryden answered quietly also staring around in amassment.
"You are in the Temple of Destiny, sacred to the Clan of Liocorna, who build it long before they left, even before the Draconians constructed the Fortuna Temple. You are within it's heart were nothing can harm you at the current moment."
Every one turned his or her head in the direction of the voice. At the far end of the hall was an altar they hadn't noticed yet although it was rather big made out of glistening white marble. A big book lay on the altar and a gigantic picture adorned the wall directly behind the altar. It was a picture of a Unicorn in all its glory, the horn maid out of fine crystal. On it was sitting the most beautiful woman you could ever imagine with long, flowing air to her waist, bright eyes and slender figure dressed in a simple gown. On her forehead and above he in the sky was the same sign in form of a glistening star with a little bluish pebble in it as it had been on the prophecy.
In front of the Altar stood the one Van had missed, Hitomi. She stood there, her hood cast aside her hair flowing around her and was facing away from them at the big book in front of her. Van could dimly see that the book must have had a mind of it's own as it was writing itself full… all by itself!
"I think I didn't hear right Hitomi. Where are we again?!?!?!" Merle was only more confused then before.
With a sigh Hitomi turned around and faced them. Her eyes were a little dull to them, but maybe it was only the weird light, she also looked a bit paler then usual. She spoke once again:
"It is like I said Merle. You're all in the Temple of Destiny or if you would like o say, the temple of the Liocorna Clan. The Transportation-Pillar brought you here when I summoned it."
"And where is here? Where is that Temple supposed to be? Someone must have noticed it since it or are we on the Mystic Moon?" Millerna interrupted confused to no end.
"No we are still on Gaia. The Liors went to Gaia together with the Draconians, so they build their temple here, even after they fled back to the Mystic Moon later, when there were only few left because of the hunting."
"But which country? I know of no place on land that has such a temple?!?!"
"I never said that we build it in any country or the main-land."
Van gasped: "You mean that we are…" He didn't finish his sentence just stared in utter astonishment at the glass-dome once again, where the light still sparkled until their suddenly drifted a large shadow by, scaring them all out of their wits. "What WAS that?!?"
"A blue Whale. They also live in the oceans on the Mystic Moon. We seem o be near their pairing grounds right now, due to the season…"
Dryden remained calm although it seemed to cost him much of his energy: "Let me get this straight. We are currently in the Temple of Destiny; build by the Clan of Liocorna. We have been transported here by that light you summoned in the other temple and this temple is under water, somewhere under the surface of the ocean?"
"Correct."
"And where in the ocean are we?"
"I'm not quite sure, could be south-east of Astoria, about 300 to 400 miles of…"
They stared at Hitomi as if she had gone berserk.
"*Sigh* The temple changes it's position from day to day and that's why no one has ever found it, even under the ocean."
Still those strange stares, but Hitomi ignored them and walked up to them.
"Come. The hall isn't exactly one of the comfy places here. I'll bring you to the library, where you can sit down and if Dryden wants to, he can try to find some texts written in Draconian or Common, even if there are not much of them in this temple."
Hitomi walked past them and still somewhat numb with astonishment, the others followed her Van leading the rear. Something inside of him didn't want to be close to her right now and he paused to think a few seconds about this, but quickly shrugged it of and began to follow the rest again.
She led them down a vast hallway, which ceiling wasn't so high as in the hall and Hitomi told them upon Dryden's question, that there was a second floor above them, but it didn't matter right now.
At the end of the hallway they finally came to a door, bigger then the others they had seen. It had no handles just like the rest of them. Hitomi laid her hand upon the door and whispered a silent word of command. The doors swung open and everyone stepped into the great library in awe.
Lines and lines of books covered the high walls of the room and the bookcases all around. They came in all colors and sizes, yet they seemed to be sorted by some weird system you had to get used to at first. In each corner and in the middle of the huge room were a few tables with comfortable looking chairs, the light black wood polished until it shone. Piles of papers and writing equipment lay on the tables if someone had wanted to make notes or copy something from one of the books. Also, all around the tables with it's chairs and at the bookcases you could see large and comfy pillows, perfect for sitting down and read for several hours without getting a stiff neck.
The small group stood at the entrance unable to move out of their trance, mouth gaping open as an old and gruff voice made them jump a mile into the air:
"Well, well, what have you brought there with you, Revered Daughter? (Got that out of the Dragonlance Legends books. Dragonlance books are absolutely great!!) I am greatly surprised that you brought them here although it has been forbidden by the 9 High Ones."
They all turned around, eager and yet horrified to know who had spoken only to find… a ghost???
Old and worn the face before them was, with shiny blue eyes, totally white hair and beard both going down to his shoulders, significant cheekbones and a rather thin line indicating his mouth which was curled up in a confused but also warm smile. He wore a simple white robe with patterns of gray and blue on the sleeves and around the waist. Also he had the same headband as Hitomi around his forehead.
Normally nothing would have indicated towards him being a ghost, but it was hard to believe he was something else, since you could visibly make out the lines of books and the desk right behind him through his body. His hands were folded inside the long arms of his robes in front of him and he laid his head a little to the side as he observed the still gapping people before him.
Hitomi made a step forward towards the ghost a faint and amused smile on her lips:
"It's good to see you, Sherak. *Sigh*Yeah, I know, the 9 are going to have a fit again but that is not the problem and it was the only way of getting them to safety in time."
"From where did you come, the island hasn't resurfaced yet as far as I can make out through the little window of my room"
"We came from the Fortuna."
At hearing this, the eyes of the old man (or rather ghost) grew wide for a moment before he regained control again. He laughed softly:
"Never thought it would get so desperate. *Chuckle* A fit indeed they will have, but I rather think they will be very pleased with you and glad all went right. Very well, since they are all here - and I suspect that you won't be leaving the same way again - they can make themselves comfortable, maybe even read a book or two. We've still got a few good novels in common at the rear. But I think I will rather get some ladders for them instead of trying o explain them now, how the hovering stones work."
"Hovering stones? What hovering stones? I don't see any in here?!?" Merle interrupted the conversation between the two. She had somehow managed to get over her astonishment and now her curiosity was getting the better of her (as always). With ears pricked forwards and tail swishing from side to side she locked at Sherak wondering.
The old man laughed warmly:
"If you really want to know little one, come over here. Come. Do you see this round flat stone in the floor? Step on it with both feet and stand straight. Good now just say which shelf you want to reach and tap you right foot twice on the stone while saying so. Try it!"
"Okay, let's say… The ninth shelf. WHOA!!!"
Merle fought with her balance as the stone gave a small jerk and slowly started to drift upwards until Merle's face was level with the ninth row of books from the ground. She looked around and the stone turned with the movement of her head around in circles.
"And how do I get from one side of the shelf to the other?"
"Just draw your hand slowly over the books and the stone will go with the movement of your hand." Hitomi answered and they all watched as Merle proceeded to look over the book.
Slowly everyone started to relax and began to stroll around the mass of books. And since not everyone seemed to be fond of the stones, Sherak conjured some ladders with a flick of his wrist. At the end only Van was left standing with Hitomi alone, but he didn't went over to her, but stayed where he was, about three steps away from her.
"Hitomi."
At him saying her name she turned around and looked at him with mild confusion. The tone in which he had said it was rather strange to her.
"Yes Van, what is it?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you about what?"
Van felt anger once again rise in his chest, but he tried to control it. He didn't know where that hatred came from, why he was getting angry so much; he only knew that he had about enough of it all.
"About what you ask? I mean, about all this! About this hidden temple, the things you knew, and the power you could have used to stop them. Was it nice to see other countries like Zaibach, Hearim and Basram fall into the clutches of our enemy? Did you really think that you could have hidden away forever?"
Van thought he had seen a flicker of hurt and betrayal in Hitomi's eyes, but she quickly blinked and now her face only showed that sincere calmness it had showed before in the hall as she stood there, staring into his eyes that were slowly filling with hate and disgust towards her. The rest didn't notice them as they were occupied with many other thoughts and were also to far of to hear them.
"Van, don't think like that. You should by now know, that…"
"That what?", he interrupted her, "That you didn't want to tell me, that you don't trust me? *Humph* I should have know from the beginning, when you tried to walk away from me again, that were just to scared to tell me, because you thought I would tell somebody else about you. You know, I'm really disappointed in you."
He saw how Hitomi closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, breaking their eyes contact and leaving him inertly through all his hatred and anger empty. He felled himself drowning in deep, black waters within, but his anger was to great and his heart to shadowed to really notice it.
"If that is, what you are thinking of me, Van, then I have no right to discuss this with you or try to defend myself. That is all I can say."
With a small snarl Van turned around and stalked to an empty corner of the room where he seated himself on a cushion. He didn't even register Sherak appearing beside Hitomi seemingly out of nothingness.
Sherak observed Hitomi for a while, until she eventually opened her eyes to look into his. He smiled sadly.
"Time and Destiny have a strange way of reacting together, sometimes showing the most unsuspected, but it will wear off."
Hitomi only nodded, nothing more. He gently brushed his fingers through her hair.
"I can see, that you have yet again grown much in wisdom, power and courage although you haven't been gone very long. Come, you should wear something more formal while you are here, something tjat will make your status clear among the creatures who still roam this temple. And you should go see the 9 High Ones. They don't like to wait long."
Hitomi only nodded again and slowly turned and walked out of the vast library, not once taking a backward glance at anyone.
Chapter end
Finally made it! And again, I am totally SORRY for have taken sooooo long, but the reasons have all bean said above, before the beginning of the chapter. Until the next chapter… REVIEW!!!!!!!