Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only my own characters
CHAPTER 51-The Search
"Not another one!" moaned Eva "Who's going to die this time?"
"What?" asked Arrathir.
"Notice the past two times a planeswalker showed up, one of us died? It was me with Numa and you with Arog."
"Yes," said Arrathir "But the planeswalkers also helped awaken the Keepers. Anima awoke Erik and Numa Charles. Notwithstanding the fact Erik still hasn't accepted his Keeper, but at least we knew he was a Keeper. Maybe this new enemy will help awaken the Keeper of Red Mana."
"So we should start searching," said Eva.
"No," said Khell "It is late and we are all tired. If indeed an enemy had captured Charles and Erik, he will most likely keep them alive as bait. However, I find it strange that we heard nothing. I'm sure Erik would not have given himself up without a fight, and if not Erik, I'm sure the Keepers would have put up a fight."
"He was healing Charles," said Arrathir "Maybe he was caught by surprise and his mana was too low to summon anything."
"Possibly," said Khell "Now we should rest. We have a long day ahead of us."
As Khell left, Eva embraced Arrathir tightly.
"I was so worried about you," she said "After you died, I felt like I'd lost a part of myself. I was afraid I'd never see you again."
"Hey, it's me," said Arrathir "I've been up against tough odds and come out victorious before. There wasn't any reason to doubt me."
"That's easy for you to say!" said Eva "You didn't go through the pain, the doubt, the desperate hope, and the fear I went through! You can go and act all macho about it, like your death was no big deal, but it was for me!" Eva turned and ran from Arrathir.
What was that all about? She knew I'd be back.
Once again, your lack of tact never ceases to amaze me.
What? How? What did I do?
Arrathir, you knew there was a way for you to return, but Eva didn't. It made thing a lot harder for her since she had to rely on faith alone to that you would live again.
Still don't see where you're coming from.
Remember how you felt when Eva died. You were desperate to see her again and were ready to do anything, just for a chance to save her. Eva went through the same thing, but whereas you knew there was a way, she didn't, which made things a lot harder.
I just fucked up again, didn't I?
This may be your biggest to date.
I gotta go apologize.
No. Let her cool off and you sleep on it, thinking about what you are going to tell her. You are well on your way to winning this girl's heart, Arrathir, but there are still a few rough spots you have to iron out.
You're telling me…
The next morning, the summoners awoke as the sun began tainting the horizon a pale orange. After a quick breakfast, they distributed Charles and Erik's loads among themselves, Khell and Arrathir insisting upon taking the majority of the weight.
They set off around min-morning, heading up the mountain while looking for traces of the other Keepers' passage. The going was slow, mainly because there was no exact path to follow so they had to forge their own.
"This is only the start of the cordillera," said Khell "Once we cross this mountain, we'll see the full extent of the range."
As they advanced, the terrain became much rockier. They passed enormous boulder perched precariously on the edge of ravines that seemed as if they would tip over at any instant and roll crashing down below.
By mid-day, they were well into the mountain range and the desert was only a thin golden like visible between the gaps in the cliffs surrounding them.
They passed through majestic canyons, polished smooth by the continuous erosion of a river that had existed millions of years ago; through valleys filled with stone arches, like a giant deserted croquet field. They walked along the edges of steep cliffs that stood a dizzying height above the ground.
As they reached the top of a plateau, they saw the desert set out behind them; a vast plain of sand as far as the eye could see and far, far away, a fine, sparkling line that was the ocean.
They stopped for lunch on the plateau, taking shelter from the blazing sun under an overhang.
"We have to watch our water," said Khell "With Charles and Erik gone, we have plenty, but we don't know how long it might take us to find them."
"Khell," asked Eva "Do you remember anything about the Keeper of Red Mana that could help us with our search?"
"Unfortunately, no," said Khell "I've asked Rin several times, but the only thing he remembers is the Keeper's name: Chiruu."
"I've been wondering," said Eva "What is the naming pattern behind the Keepers' names? They all start in "Chi," which means "energy", but what about the second parts?"
"Probably something having to with their names," said Arrathir "Come to think of it, 'Chiguriin' does sound like 'Chi-green,' so it would mean 'energy of green' or something like that."
Once they finished their lunch, the summoners set off again, heading due north-west, following the edge of the plateau. However, they soon came to the end of the plateau with no apparent way down. They stopped to discuss their situation.
"Do we go back?" asked Khell "Or do we descend by some means?"
"How do we even know we're heading in the right direction?" asked Arrathir "For all we know, Charles and Erik could be behind us."
"Then let us do a mana reading to determine our next course of action," said Khell, closing his eyes. Arrathir and Eva imitated him, concentrating.
Arrathir felt an abundance of red mana all around them, so he concentrated on finding disturbances in the flow of mana. These disturbances could be caused by differing mana types. However, he could find nothing unusual about the mana flow around them.
"I've got it!" said Eva "It was just for a second, but there was a trace of blue mana ahead of us."
"Residual mana from their passage," said Khell "Good work, Eva! So, we go down."
Peering over the edge of the plateau, they could see it was nothing but sheer, steep cliff all the way down to where the rock wall met the ground.
"Arrathir," said Khell "Could you summon…"
"Way ahead of you," said Arrathir, summoning his Havoc Demon. The creature appeared with a screech and gave Arrathir a wink, which he returned.
"Khell, you go ahead and make sure it's safe," said Arrathir.
As the demon bore the Keeper down to the ground, Eva and Arrathir stood in an uncomfortable silence.
Go on, apologize. That is why you sent Khell down first, right?
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm not quite sure what to say.
Just say, 'I'm sorry, Eva. I was an idiot.' She won't care what you say, just as long as you apologize. She knows it comes from the heart.
As Arrathir opened his mouth to speak, the Havoc Demon returned to the plateau without Khell. Eva got on without a word. Mentally cursing himself, Arrathir got on behind her and the Havoc Demon descended them to the ground where Khell was waiting.
After crossing the valley they'd descended into, the summoners started uphill again, occasionally taking mana readings to verify the were still heading in the right direction. Sometimes, the readings would be obvious, precisely indicating which way the two Keepers had come, but most of the time, the results were hazy and often threw them off track.
"Their mana is moving," said Khell as the summoners set up camp as twilight began setting in "Which makes me wonder who exactly we are up against. To keep two Keepers captive while traveling across this terrain and over such a long distance is quite a feat."
"Just as long as it's not another tribal deck," said Arrathir "We've had slivers, goblins, and shadow. What's next? Elves? Raffinity?"
"Only time will tell," said Khell.
The next morning, the sun found the summoners already on the move. By mid-day, they had reached a pass between two summits. The reading clearly showed Erik's mana lay beyond the pass. As well, it seemed to have finally stopped. The summoners took the pass, which led upwards between the mountains. As they came over the crest of the pass, they gasped in awe.
Beyond the pass lay a river. Born of an invisible spring in the mountains, it flowed rapidly downhill to a valley below. However, it wasn't presence of water in this dry place that amazed the summoners. The valley below them was a vast expanse of lush, green forest, like a giant oasis in the middle of this desolate place.
"It's impossible," said Arrathir "All this vegetation can't be here!"
"The valley is surrounded by mountains," said Khell "All the moisture is kept trapped in the valley, allowing for life to thrive."
"It's still hard to believe," said Eva "It's like an Eden in Hell."
As they descended into the valley, the air changed from hot to muggy. The summoners were sweating profusely by the time they reached the bottom of the slope. They now stood in the forest by the river which flowed away through the trees.
"They're definitely here," said Khell after a quick mana reading "Their mana is coming from that direction," he added, pointing eastward.
They progressed slowly through the forest. The vegetation was very dense and the trees were closely knit together. Khell had to shift to his wurm form several times to forge a path through the thicket. After a few hours of battling through the forest, they came out of the trees, only to be confronted by an enormous mountain in their path.
"They're in there," said Khell.
"In the mountain?" asked Arrathir.
"There must be some sort of cave or something," said Khell "Split up and we'll search. If you find anything, send up a mana flare."
So the summoners separated. Khell went right, Eva left, leaving Arrathir to search the front of the mountain. As he picked his way across the rocks, Arrathir wrinkled his nose. There was a foul stench on the air. It smelt a bit like rotten eggs.
Sulfur. We must be in a volcanic area.
Following the smell, Arrathir soon discovered a small crevice in the ground. Cautiously lowering himself into the ground, he found himself in a low rock tunnel. From the way the small seemed to waft up through the tunnel, he assumed the passage led down into the mountain.
Taking a handful of mana, he prepared to send up a signal for Khell and Eva, but as he released the mana, a tremor shook the cave, throwing him off his feet. The mana impacted with the ceiling with a small explosion. In a thunderous crash, the tunnel began to cave in. Arrathir barely had time to dive out of the way to avoid being buried under the avalanche of rocks. When the cave-in ceased, Arrathir found himself in complete darkness. Even his improved vision didn't help him.
I'm buried alive!
Relax, Arrathir.
We're gonna die! The vapors will accumulate and suffocate us!
Snap out of it! The vapors come from somewhere, so follow the tunnel and see where it leads.
What if it leads nowhere? Chikuro, I'm scared!
So am I, but it's the only chance we have.
Lighting a handful of mana, Arrathir guided himself by the flickering light along the tunnel which gradually sloped downwards. After a few minutes of walking, Arrathir saw a faint red glow ahead. Extinguishing his mana, he guided himself by the glow, eventually coming out into a vast, circular cavern.
Here and there, red pools of molten lava glowed faintly, providing a surreal lighting to the cavern. Looking up, Arrathir could make out a distant circular opening which provided a circle of natural light in the center of the cavern, which, Arrathir now realized, was the crater of a volcano.
"You came," said a voice "But really, you could have used the other entrance."
Arrathir saw a figure standing in the shadow across from him, just on the edge of the spotlight formed by the mouth of the crater.
"Where are Charles and Erik?" Arrathir demanded.
"The blue summoner?" asked the figure "He was as good as dead when I brought him here, so I finished the job. No point in wasting a life essence, especially a Keeper's."
"And Erik?" asked Arrathir.
If he absorbed Charles' life essence, all I need to do it beat him and Charles will be revived.
"He's fine," said the figure, stepping into the light so Arrathir could see his face. Arrathir was taken aback. While he stood there, speechless, the figure preened its left wing's feathers with its beak. "He's never been better," said Chihowaido, the symbol of white mana glowing brightly on his forehead.
HIM!
"You!" said Arrathir.
"Yes," said the Keeper of White Mana "Me."
He looked the same as Erik had, except the aven beak was back and a pair of brown wings had sprouted from his back.
"What happened to Erik?" demanded Arrathir.
"My host?" asked Chihowaido "He was too weak and stupid to foresee my gradual takeover of his body. It took me a long time, bit I've finally broken through. While he was attempting to heal the late Charles, I took over. I knew your loyalty to your friends would cause you to follow their mana radiations.
"Why didn't you just attack at the camp when you took over?" asked Arrathir.
"The Keeper of Green Mana was there," said the spirit "I couldn't have him interfering. I needed to get you alone."
Arrathir, give me control. I have a score to settle with this guy.
"So you've finally shown you true form, Chihowaido," said Chikuro, taking over.
"Chikuro," said the other Erik "So good of you to join me."
"What is the purpose behind this?"
"I am going to accomplish something I should have done millennia ago," said Chihowaido "I am going to rid the Multiverse of your evil! I will defeat you, Chikuro!"
"Why did you kill Charles?" asked Chikuro "He had nothing to do with this!"
"Chiburuu was a traitor once," said Chihowaido "He would have probably joined you again."
"I'm not back to take over the Multiverse," said Chikuro "Why would I be helping to awaken the Keepers of Mana? They would be the only ones who could stop me."
"To assemble them all before you kill them and take their power for your own!" said Chihowaido "I see through your tricks, ghell!"
"Same as always," said Chikuro "A paranoid schizophrenic bastard."
"I won't let you succeed this time!" said Chihowaido "You will die!"
"I've been awakened longer than you," said Chikuro "My power is far greater than yours."
"We'll see about that," said Chihowaido "Let's begin!"
To be continued…
Author's Notes: So, the true villain has been exposed.
Until next time, Adios!