Among the north foothills of Aleph, Orior settled down on a stone block, conversing easily with the Magnus Olympi Shamira and Cinaed, along with Cinaed's companion, the Imilian Maris. Cinaed, himself, and, surprisingly, Shamira, drank Vale's famous Ale, while Maris sipped Imilian wine. "There can be nothing else," she had told them contentedly. They discussed the recent final between Orior and Shamira.
"Amazing speed, Shamira. I could hardly track you." Orior complimented her, "Also, you performed a great Inferno, Cinaed."
Cinaed nodded assent. "I destroyed his pathetic Briar." He told them flatly. "Using plants against a Mars Adept? I'm surprised he made it to the finals…"
As the talk continued, Orior saw a figure approaching, and deeming it to be the scholar, Aleos, called out to him. "Aleos!" He cried. "Do join us!"
"Yes!" Cinaed agreed. "It's a PAR-TAY!" They all laughed. Aleos looked resigned, and sighed, but nonetheless took a seat and poured a measure of ale.
Orior introduced Aleos to everyone. "Shamira, Maris, Cinaed, this is Aleos; Aleos, Shamira, Maris, and Cinaed." Choruses of 'Pleased to meet you' rose, and Aleos bowed.
"And you, also." He settled. "Congratulations on your recent triumphs at Magnus Olympius, Shamira and Cinaed. You did very well." They thanked him, and Shamira rose.
"I propose a toast." Shamira said and raised her glass, her violet eyes solemn. "To our recent triumphs, to the Festival, to the Lighthouses, and to Weyard." Her words were echoed as crystal glasses clinked together in toast. They then sat and drank in silence, each enveloped in their own deep thoughts. Orior was intently peering at a flower, Cinaed seeming to sleep, Shamira gazing to the heavens, Maris swirling her wine, and Aleos, entranced, watching the far-off peak of Mount Aleph.
"Beautiful day." Cinaed said, and looked dreamily into the sky, his red hair drifting in the light breeze. A bird flew against the clouds, eggshell blue outlined against white, its lustrous song descending gently to their ears, heavenly notes to soothe the soul. A butterfly hovered between a pair of flowers, and a soft breeze caressed the grass. A small stream trickled beside them, tiny, perfect stones lining its bed. A pair of squirrels chased each other in circles 'round a tree trunk, chattering in high-pitched squeaks.
The peace was shattered by a resounding quake, and as the very earth shook, Aleos slowly rose, a shocked expression on his face. "Look. Look at Mount Aleph." The others traced his line of vision and stared at Aleph, and Cinaed yelled. "For the love of the Elements!" Mount Aleph was turning black, black as night.
It began in its roots, the foothills. A hateful black colour that spread like a virulent disease, infecting the golden soil to rotting black. The lively emerald plants that have adorned the slope of Mount Aleph for time immemorial now withered and died, shrivelling into nothingness and giving off a scent associated with rotting swamps, pits, and decomposing flesh. The sides of Mount Aleph, golden in their glory, now suffered the same fate, blackening, wide fissures like mouths revealing themselves and scarring the surface. They opened into darkness, where all present could hear a dread moaning, the voice of tortured souls.
The peak of Mount Aleph swelled and twisted, contorting itself until it formed what appeared to be a black rose of stone. This 'rose' slowly unfurled, giving forth an unholy crimson light. The entire land was drenched in a blood-red glow, drowning out all other colours but magnifying those of red hue. At the centre of this light was a figure. Orior raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glare, and espied the figure's form. It looked to be about ten feet tall, wrapped in a tattered black material. Enormous draconic wings sprung from its back, a shade of dark red webbed with pearly white bone. A huge mane of matted black hair coated its head, and it carried a an oversized blade of energy, almost a scythe, at its side. Its eyes glowed with the red light of a mad thing, masking the immense power that it held. The worst thing was that, beneath this monstrosity human features were still visible, yet corrupted. It sprung into the air, hovering a few hundred feet above the city of Vale.
Aleos flinched, realization dawning in his eyes. "Regnoare…" He breathed. "But… how?"
His whispered question was answered as the figure reached into its tattered robes and drew out a golden stone. It held it aloft for all to see, its golden power swallowed by the all-encompassing darkness of the figure. Its golden light flickered, dimmed, and losing its life as it, too, turned to black. The figure, in a booming voice twisted with malice, announced to the world:
"The Stone of Sages is mine! Now the world will fall into a Dark Age, an age of chaos and despair! For I am Regnoare, the Necromancer, Regnoare, the Demon, the Dark One! Fools, your doom is nigh! It has begun!" With that, Regnoare crossed his arms above his head, inhaled, then slowly brought his arms down and spread them. A black material, likened to fog but more substantial and laced with lightning, emerged and descended on Vale, roiling down the side of Aleph, obscuring all in a deadly mist.
Knowing he had to do something to survive, Aleos gathered his power and formed a barrier around them, a silver shield, but it seemed weak and pathetic in comparison to the coming oblivion, flickering as it struggled to survive. It would have been hopeless, but it was strengthened by a wave of yellow light flecked with green, and Aleos saw Orior gritting his teeth, adding his own power to the barrier. The others soon followed suit and beams of red, blue, and violet lanced forth and forged that barrier into an impregnable wall. But as the darkness cloaked all of Weyard from their sight, they lost consciousness and collapsed, their weapons falling from their motionless hands as the darkness filled their world to the brim.
---
Orior awoke, his aching body screaming for it to end and spare him this living torture. He saw Shamira lying beside him, blood trickling from a wound on her scalp, her helmet on the ground nearby. As burst of fire arced through the air, Orior swooned and slipped back into blissful oblivion.
---
A lone leaf twisted and danced through the air, its wanderings bringing it to the mountainside town of Vale. Or, at least, what used to be Vale. The green leaf blew through the deserted courtyard of the town, a courtyard strewn with rubble and the forms of humans, many still and unmoving. A large fire crackled merrily on the once-grandiose building named the Archives, a storehouse of knowledge, now being burnt to rubble. The fire was taking its sweet time, seeming to savour the taste of generations of knowledge burning in its grasp.
Uplifted by the buoyant warm air, the leaf moved in a lackadaisical motion, spiralling slowly through the demolished city. It glided over the collapsed Council Tower, its rubble spread in a sunburst pattern. The leaf had no idea of the many people who had been trapped inside the tower and died with it. A strong South wind carried the leaf past the market of Vale, all of the once-fresh food black and spoiled, the stench of rot permeating the air. The shopkeepers and their customers lay deceased in the courtyard, restive in final sleep at last.
Twisting into the outer reaches of Vale the leaf beheld a multitude of rotting greenery, now black with decay. The very air that the leaf rode on felt stagnant and venomous, an affront to nature. The soil was ruined, its once healthy lustre reduced to a cold grey. This was the end of Vale. Vale was no more…
But the leaf did not know this; it was only a leaf.
---
Aleos awoke with a shock and an exclamation of horror. Vale was on fire, ruined and destroyed. Massaging his aching head, he sat up and looked around. The Adepts he had been conversing with lay unconscious around him, bleeding lightly but otherwise fine. "We were lucky." He murmured staring at the bodies of the townspeople, people he had known all his life. He felt the cold dragon of despair coiling around his heart, and then a single thought ignited it to a blazing flame. "Sister! Aquina!" He took off in a flying sprint to search for her.
---
He found her outside what was once the Council tower. She lay in the shadow of an outcropping of stone, a thrusting sign of the devastation that ruled the formerly prosperous town of Vale. Her eyes were closed, and Aleos could see that there wasn't much hope. He hastily ran over and knelt beside her, and took her hand. Her skin felt cold, as if the life had been sucked from it. He quickly shed his cloak and covered her.
"Aquina. Sister, can you hear me? Aquina…" He brushed her misty hair off her forehead.
She slowly opened her eyes, weariness in them and in her expression. "Aleos? Is that you? I'm glad you survived, glad to see you once more before I die…" She coughed softly.
Aleos shook his head hurriedly. "Don't say such things, sister. I'm sure you'll be fine." But his eyes told a different story.
Aquina smiled gently. "Thank you for your kind words, but-" She broke off, and fell listless. Aleos shook her concernedly. She awoke confused, then her eyes cleared as she saw her brother. "I know I am dying. I can feel it in my bones. My Mercurian healing won't save me." She gave a hollow laugh, and grew quiet. "Aleos? Promise me this."
Aleos nodded. "Anything." He lifted her head gently. She closed her eyes, and spoke thus:
"Promise me you'll always live well. Live not the secluded life of a scholar, but live as our ancestor, Argyros, lived. Live a hero. Stop this madness, this shadow that has fallen over Weyard. You may find others that may help you: embrace them as your friends. Live strong, live wise, and never give up hope. Stop Regnoare." She opened her eyes again. "I have seen him. He will bring no good to our world, only chaos. Aleos? Go, live the life of a Void Adept like your ancestor before you. Live, and I wish you good luck, and may the elements protect you."
With this last farewell, she closed her eyes, and sighed her last breath as her spirit departed this world. Aleos embraced her, and bowed his head in deepest sadness.
---
That was how they found him. Standing watch of a shrouded body, head bowed as he honoured the fallen dead. Shamira, Orior, Maris, Cinaed, all in mourning and nursing their wounds, met with Aleos as he gave peace to the fallen. They hung back, recognizing Aleos' need to be alone. Aleos removed his cloak from the form, and they saw the figure of a fair Mercury Adept, her face dream-like and contented in death.
To their amazement, Aleos clasped his hands, murmured a few words, and drew a circle in the air. In that circle the air became grey and opaque, a seeming hole in the fabric of reality. Straining, Aleos raised his hands, and the body before him rose, her hair falling as a waterfall to the ground. Moving his hands to the side, the hole, this void in the air, moved to the side and closed over this girl's body, leaving nothing behind. Its job done, the hole closed, and Aleos collapsed.
"Let's go." Orior motioned, and they approached silently and respectfully.
Aleos could barely stand. "It… is done. She will rest now in eternal peace... my sister has met… her Maker…" With that, he fell unconscious, sapped of all his strength. Orior caught him easily, and laid him in a sleeping position.
The Adepts sat in a circle and waited for Aleos to awake.
---
They did not have to wait long. A mere ten minutes later, Aleos awoke with a jarring cry of "AQUINA!" scaring the other Adepts senseless. Orior recovered first. "Aleos, calm down. Regnoare is gone; your sister's body is honoured. It's over." He clasped his hand on Aleos' shoulder, who shook it off.
"No, it's not over, it will never be over. Not until Regnoare is destroyed and Sol Aurarius recovered." Gripped by determination and led by will, Aleos suddenly broke free and dashed into the burning archives, breaking through the flaming door with ease.
Orior looked at Cinaed and shook his head. Cinaed smiled. "Hey, I like this guy."
---
Aleos ran through the burning building, dodging flaming rafters as they relinquished their hold from above. He ran quickly, for time was against him as the fire consumed everything. And so he ran, gathering scrolls and carefully placing them in the pocket of his cloak. In the inner court of the archives, he passed his hand slowly along the wall, as if feeling for something invisible. He stopped, and drew an insignia on the wall, causing silver light to spread on the wall, revealing a hidden door, which promptly opened upon Aleos' command. Elated, he ran down the newly revealed staircase, and as he descended, the walls slowly changed from greyish stone to earthen soil. At the base of the staircase was a great tomb of purest white marble, glowing eerily in the darkness. Aleos stood in front of the door, and read the ancient inscription around the frame, the letters written in a holy white fire:
Hic est Masamune ancient quod validus mucro of extraho.
Aleos read this, and smiled. He murmured the ancient words and drew a complicated insignia on the stone. Where his finger passed, the stone blazed brilliant silver until it formed a shape, a single star with five points. Aleos stood back as the earth shook and the marble door opened, snapping cleanly into the earthen wall. Still smiling, he proceeded into the Chamber of the Void.
This was where Argyros had honoured his faithful sword before he had retired to a more peaceful life. It was a chamber lined with purest silver, the whole place taking on the metallic hue. No light was to be seen, so Aleos walked beside the walls in darkness and murmured ancient words, torches springing to life behind him. They illuminated a pedestal, which was, like the walls, made of silver. Upon the pedestal rested a single sword, and a golden sheath. Its blade had a slight curve to it, yet was sharp on both sides. Its bellguard shielded the fingers of the wielder and the entire artefact had a lustrous glow. The sheath was of deepest gold laced with ruby.
Approaching respectfully, and stood before the pedestal, deep in thought. His sister's words echoed in his mind: "Go, live the life of a Void Adept like your ancestor before you." Aleos nodded silently, his mind made up.
He reached slowly and grasped the metallic handle, and felt a power surge up his arm. It crackled throughout his entire body, and then, just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. He slashed with the sword experimentally, then with more confidence as he could barely discern the path of the blade, the path only given away by a faint light where the blade passed. Smiling broadly, Aleos took the sheath and put away the sword. Turning into the darkness of the stair, Aleos walked up calmly, feeling sure that he could defeat Regnoare in no time.
---
The other Adepts were conversely quietly when Aleos emerged from the ruins of the archives, the most beautiful sheath any of them had ever seen strapped to his back, the gold and ruby reflecting the light beautifully. Aleos looked at them, and then said curtly, "Follow me," and waved them behind him. With strong strides, he crossed easily through the ruins of Vale, paying no mind to the ruined shops or the bodies that still lay untended. He came to Mount Aleph; its golden soil still black with rot. Bypassing this depressing sight, he walked through the dying woods until he arrived at the north side of Aleph, and their jaws dropped. This place was untouched by Regnoare's evil, like an island in the ocean; this was a place of liveliness in a sea of destruction.
Aleos turned to face them. "This is where we made our stand against the evil. As you can see," He swept his arms behind him, "Our shields not only saved our lives but also saved all the wilderness that we so enjoyed. The same squirrels, the same flowers, the same grass and trees, all owe their existence to us." He paused. "Come. Collect your fallen blades and let us hold conloquium, a sombre council."
As they settled in the traditional circle required for conloquium, Orior stood. "Let's start with what we know. Regnoare is our enemy, and has received immense power from Sol Aurarius, Stone of Sages. He can devastate life and demolish entire cities." He shrugged. "How can we stand against that?" He looked at them, querying.
Aleos spoke. "I did not venture into a burning building simply for a sword." He reached into his cloak. "I also retrieved scrolls concerning Alchemy and the Stone of Sages." He spread said scrolls on the ground in front of them and explained. He pointed at one particular scroll. The scroll portrayed a large sphere flanked by a complicated rune at each of the cardinal points. "The Stone of Sages is the pure incarnation of Alchemy, all the power of the elements combined, and the key to our world. As such, its power comes from the elements." He looked at each of them in turn. "Which means…"
Maris was the first to realize where he was going. "If we shut off the power of Alchemy, the Stone of Sages will be destroyed!"
Aleos nodded. "Precisely, Maris. But even without the Stone of Sages, Regnoare is still an accomplished Necromage, and so we must be cautious." He thought for a moment. "There is a possibility, one that cannot be ignored. Our world, Weyard, was created through the four Elements, and that same force still sustains the world today. As such, if we seal its lifeforce, there may be dire consequences. The world itself may wither and die." He shook his head. "Nonetheless, we must push on. If the world were alive, it would understand that it might be required to die in order to prevent from becoming a twisted, scarred, evil thing. Now," He brought out another scroll, this time a map of the world. The familiar crescent continent, Terragei, and the Lemurian country on its solitary island, and each capital marked clearly. 'Where would each Element gather, where is its strongest point? Its nexus, if you will."
Orior, looked up, realization dawning in his eyes. "The lighthouses… so we have to seal the Elements from their respective Lighthouse! But how?" They all looked at Aleos expectantly.
Aleos looked grave. "We'll… burn that bridge when we come to it." He dropped his hands at his sides and sighed.
Cinaed looked at him. "You have GOT to be kidding me. You don't know what to do? What was the point in doing all this planning, then?" He stared at Aleos accusingly.
Aleos' expression was stony. Little by little, though, hints of a smile began to break through, like the sun emerging from behind a cloud. Finally, he lost control and began laughing in his silvery voice. The others looked at him, astonished. Then, they too fell victim to the contiguous mirth and fell laughing.
Aleos held out his hands in supplication. "Fate will guide us," but this only made them laugh harder. Cinaed stopped laughing long enough to assure Aleos that they'll find a way.
Aleos grew solemn. "Now, good people, we must take an oath. An oath of destiny. We will swear to defeat Regnoare no matter the cost, even if that cost is the eventual destruction of Weyard. For if we don't, Weyard will be tortured and our fallen brethren will remain unavenged. We will be the Light to cut through the darkness, the Fivefold Star!" With this last exclamation, he thrusted his blade into the air, the sun's rays glowing at the tip. With eyes full of spirit and souls filled with purpose, the others followed suit and did the same. The nexus of the tips formed a sunburst too bright to behold, a shining star to ward off evil. As a small whirlwind of leaves, embers, dew, and fog formed around them, nature recognized this oath and took it to heart. The Fivefold Star were sworn, five beacons of light to fight the shadow.