And here's the chapter to enlighten all about the mysteries of the cataclysm! And who this mysterious sheik is, and how Celt stumbled into this new technique! Enjoy everyone!
Athos rushed at the sheik, who smartly dodge out of the way from a deadly slash. He wondered how this little boy managed to call him forth. He was one of the five who were twisted in attempts to break the curse, deforming the soul, and trapping it within the gem, which held the curse. What did he call it? The Cataclysm Technique? The words stirred memories from his library from time long ago, when he was young, and trying to break the curse. As he thought, he simply avoided and parried attacks from the sheik, while throwing some of his own in, sub-consciously.
Athos ruffled through his library, flipping through book, running a hand through long gray hair. As he rand a hand through it, his hand touched the ruby, and suddenly, his eyes fell on a word in his dossiers that cought his attention. "Cataclysm?" He asked himself, as he began to peruse the book. He began to read, as the books hinted at this seemingly infinitely powerful technique. Each book gave hints, and he used his knowledge of his own books to track all the tid-bits, and it kept pointing at the two people of the conflict that started the Garo.
"Garo... the one who damned us all..." Athos muttered to himself, and he began pulling books down from the shelves, throwing the books on the desk. "And...how did I not notice this name?" He said to himself, running his hand through his hair again, in thought. As such was a nervous habit of his, which he did constantly as he felt that he was onto something, and moved the locks of long grey hair from his eyes. "...Augustana." He said to himself, as he shuffled through the book he had found after killing a sheikah bandit who had apparantly raided a community near his and sacked a library. He never thought the Sheikah would record anything of this sort, or at least, anything about the conflict.
He read about apparantly, what was a bigraphy of the founder of the sheik. She at one time, was the fiance of what was described vaguely as a very handsome man. They had been together in secret for a long while, until they came out into the open about their relationship, because the man was of low rank in the army, although, later was found that he was holding his true power back, to see if she'd actually love her for who he was, and not as someone to help her rule. The two were a sight to behold. But as time went on, the husband became jealous of her, and how he couldn't get control of all of the power. He had entered this to win her love, but in the end, it turned to political strife.
Riots broke out. Hell broke loose. As people began to side with each other, Augustana called her husband out, to end it. She didn't want any more deaths. She didn't want any more lives lost because of her folly. Athos kept reading, captivated by this story, running fingers over the cursed gem. He had just realized who the husband was. "Garo..." He said, as a searing pain shot throuh his head, and he was thrown into the actual story itself.
"Garo..." A woman with long sily like blonde hair said, a white mouth wrap around her face, bright crimson eyes glowing with fury, wearing no hat, and wore a long white robe, ancient yet fine, trailing behind her. A tall man, fine and handsome, slicked back black hair, a demonic grin and posessed look in his eyes. "...Augustana, my lovely wife." He said, a toothy grin on his face, as he walked towards her, the sky dark, mid-day, the sky filled with rain clouds. His eyes were sunken, dark rings around them, wearing a long tattered brown cloak, the trademark of his infamous humbility.
"I'm not your wife anymore, I told you, my feelings for you are dead." She said coldly, words of acid dripping from her mouth. He smiled. "You can't say that after all those lovely nights we shared... so intimate and romantic, how could you forget?" He asked, extending a hand, a tendril of shadow extending, running its tip across her face. She pulled her face away sharply, although no harm was intended to her just yet. She knew he was trying to get into her head. "You're dead to me. Period. You don't cross my mind like it used to." She said.
Garo smiled. "Well, I bet you'd like to make that little fantasy of yours, lately true... to kill me, right?" He asked, and she nodded. He grinned. "Well, you'll have to lower that mask and show me that pretty face of yours." He said, and she growled at him, lowering her mask. Garo smiled, with a sigh. "You're so beautiful when you're angry. I miss you so. Why don't we just forget about all this, and stop the fighting, and get back together? Making up was always the best part of those fights we used to have." He said affectionately. Augustana frowned. As much as she wanted to go back to those old days, they were as good as gone.
"No, we can't Garo." She said, pulling out two daggers, holding them out at her sides, as a tear slid down her face. She really did miss him, from those old days, when he was normal, uncorrupt by the prospect of power. She was miserably sad, she had lost the love of her life, the one person who loved her for not her power, but who she was, the same reason that he had sought her out at one point. Now she had to kill him. But it was for the best, he wasn't himself, he was someone else. She convinced herself that he had been possessed. "I will put you out of your misery, my love." She muttered to herself, as the first raindropped fell, landing upon her cheek. Thats when the battle begun.
The cursed gem on athos' head, had recorded the exact happening. Apparantly, once one had acknowledged the happening, the gem played back the happening, to keep the remembrace of the two souls. At the end of the battle, the two had lay critical blows upon each other, each standing besides each other, her blade driven into his chest, his silver blade driven into her heart. blood dribbled down her mouth. She would die before him, but he would surely die from her blow. "Garo..." She choked out, a pained look upon her face, tears rolling down her face, as she stared longingly into what was once her lovers eyes. "Why did it have to come to this...?" She choked out, and Garo's face softened. "One of us had to go, one of us was bound to rule, not both of us." He said, with a satanic grin on his face, blood dribbling from his mouth as well. She choked on her own words, as more blood came up.
"But... you told me... that we'd rule together... that we'd never die... that we'd live on in each other's hearts, forever, loving one another... remember that promise we made in secret? To each other's souls we'd stay bound?" She said, and Garo's eyes became that of someone else's... his own. "...I'm sorry." He said, and she, with her last breath, cursed him. "Garo... we'd live together in death, we promised. We will die together tonight... but all of your followers will be cursed, cursed forever to correct the evil acts they committed in the name of what you thought was correct." She said, and he frowned.
She began rambling. "...Forever, will your descendants of your followers be cursed to correct your heinous crimes... in the name of the marriage pact we made, and bound ourselves to when we married. You told me you'd never betray me... and you did. You broke the most sacred of promises... our marriage vows." She said, with a final breath, as a glow poured forth from her wound, as did his, and she embraced him tightly, driving her blade deeper into himself, as they both died, their souls entwining, against his will, one dark, one bright. "We'll live together in death, in the worst way possible. In utter hatred of each other, within your followers curse..." She said, and he howled in contempt, as she smiled, in the arms of her lover.
Followers everywhere that night, noticed a gem implanted into their forehead, leaving a painful searing sensation. Some attempted to remove it, and when they did, they died instantly. The Sheik heard of Garo's action, and that they had both died, and the Sheikah drove Garo's followers out of Hyrule, and into another realm, where some Sheikah followed to keep an eye on them. They fled into a Canyon, where they forged a secret existence, realizing their own folly, and how they had followed wrongly, damning themselves, ashamed of their choices, and leader. So they hid, and did as their curse dictated, letting the happening fade into a tale, to a legend, to a foggy memory in the mind, that the sheik had cursed them wrongfully.
Each time a Garo learned this, their mind was warped, and they became one of the twisted. The Sheikah had hidden this info, so that the Garo didn't have to suffer any further. The two souls lived in each of the gems, one of purity, one of darkness. Athos realized that the Cataclysm was the essence of Augustana's soul, and the limitless power that went with it, the power that went with her powerful love. So there was two sides to the curse... Augustana's, and Garo's. This little boy, in a fit of anger at his own pain, drifted towards Garo's soul, and with his dark soul, brought out Athos, one of the five Twisted, who died shortly after finding the secrets of the curse, and the strife it brought to his own soul.
He parried this sheikah's blows, coming to reality, which only seconds had only passed, his intelligent brain processing all of that info in less than half a minute. "Why did you attack me?" Athos asked, forcing the Sheik's blade back. The sheik growled. "I need money. I want to eat." He said, a desperate look entering his eyes as he charged Athos. "You have no idea... how it feels to be as hungry as I have been..." He said, desperation powering his blows. Athos jumped back. "Then take the money." He said, throwing a pouch on the ground. "Asking is a great way to get spare money." He said, and the Sheikah looked shocked. "No one gives me money... I've asked... I've been shunned for begging..." he said, as he bent over to quickly pick up the money, and Athos brought down the handle of his blade into his neck, knocking him out from sheer force.
"Money. Your weakness. And you showed it right to me." He said, shaking his head, picking up the money, and looking at the figure, raising his blade over him. "I'll put an end to your pitiful existence." He said, bringing the blade down, but suddenly, Athos' arm was overpowered. Celt's eyes came back to the surface. "No. Don't kill him, I'll make better use of him." He said, and Athos nodded, at this curious child. He wondered if he would fall to the same end that he had suffered upon finding out about Garo and Augustana... but maybe Augustana's soul would keep him safe... maybe he could break the curse... maybe even bring the Twisted hope. He saw potential in this child. "Celt... never use the Blood Cataclysm, ever again. Don't drift into the darkness of the curse. Stay pure." He said, as he dissappeared from Celts body, and Celt became normal. You're a special child, to be able to tap into the soul of Augustana. He heard, ring thorugh his mind, the words of Athos.
Raidell looked at him, amazed. With the Cataclysm, he could just possibly equal up to Sere. Celt picked up the Sheikah. "Let's get to your house now." He said, wondering if what Athos had said had anything to do with the curse. Who was Augustana? Why would a soul be embodying the cursed gem? He would have to look this up... He thought, as he walked alongside a shocked Raidell, until they arrived at his home. Raidell stopped Celt. "You know, you saving that Sheik has him indebted to you? He has to pay off his life debt to you now. I'm a witness." And Celt nodded. "My race lives by a similiar rule." He said, as they walked in, and Celt laid the bandit on a couch.
"Do the Sheikah have a library? With documents of all their history?" He asked. Raidell frowned. "I could set you up with Sere, I'm almost his right hand man. But you'd have to prove yourself to him, which could be trouble. If you fail, you die. If you kill him, you die." Raidell said, and Celt nodded. "I'll risk it, I have something I need to look up..." He said, looking outside, to the snow around the snug cottage home. Raidell looked at him, and sighed. "Yer one nutty kid."
That was one DAMN long chapter. I just revealed soemthign big, but not all of my surprises are yet used up. -grin- I still have a few pocket aces. Hope this all made sense to you guys, and if not, don't hesistate to message me, and I'll explain further. D Stay tuned for more, and hope you enjoyed this chapter!