Tormented Seas, Troubled Earth
Who doth rule the sea...?
Sana-Lynn's hazel eyes shot open and the girl gave a shuddering breath. All around her were her private quarters, a large bedchamber and sitting room, pale paneled walls all about. She had finished moving in from her student's quarters just the day before, this larger, more lavish living space just one of the many benefits of being a full member of the Order of the White Staff.
Still, its wood paneling and ornate tapestries were lost on the girl as she sat up in bed in a simple linen shift, putting a hand to her clammy head.
"Who doth rule the sea..." she whispered. The dream came nearly every night now, having started that first night after she had grasped the orb, given her by the Headmaster. In it, she was on a ship in the midst of a mighty storm at sea. Three others were on the ship with her, but they were faceless shadows. Lightning flashed overhead and there were two monstrous roars that suddenly reared up from the depths, displacing water in huge tumbling waves that threatened to overturn the vessel.
From the railing she watched as two distant creatures, both gargantuan, battled each other.
Fear and agony echoed across the maelstrom, screams of outrage and terror washing over the girl as sea-spray pelted her, causing her to shiver and quail –
Until a massive tentacle crashed down upon the ship, and darkness overcame all.
Sana-Lynn gulped a suddenly dry throat and tossed the comforter off of her, swiveling her legs over the side of the bed as she tried to calm her racing heart.
A sudden croak startled her, and the girl looked to her side. The big sleek green frog was there, staring at her with its amphibian eyes.
Sana wiped a shaky hand across her forehead. "What are you creature?"
The frog said nothing, merely croaking again.
"I am the Herald..." came the gentlest of whispers.
Startled, Sana stood and looked all about. The voice had not come from the frog, but seemingly from all around. The girl focused back at the foot of the bed. The frog was gone.
Upwelling fear caused the girl's eyes to tear over as she slumped to the floor. "What is happening to me?"
"Do not fear, child, but embrace that which is your right by birth..."
Sana shook her head, her long blond hair swaying. "I never wanted this destiny... this burden. Please, just leave me be."
"Regardless of your desires, it is destiny which is in need of you, child..."
There was a sudden knock at her chamber door. "Sister Atha, are you decent?" It was Brother Belman.
The girl looked all around still unable to find the frog. She glanced at the door and forced herself to her feet. It was difficult to keep the shaking from her voice. "Please, Brother, a moment."
The man's voice came back reassuring. "Please, take all the time you need, Sister."
Sana could do no less. She went to the wash room adjacent her sitting room and took a quick soak in the big copper tub that had been filled earlier. The water was cold, having not been changed since yesterday when the girl had not taken her soak, for she had been preoccupied. Quickly, she got out and dried herself on a plush white towel before heading back to her bedchamber. An ashen wardrobe held her clothing and she got swiftly into her white uniform. Her old cloak had been taken however, for she was to have a replacement for her ascension into the clergy. Her honey blond hair still wet, she brushed it only a few dozen times before going back out to open the door.
There Brother Belman stood, adjusting his spectacles. "Ah, Sister Atha, how are you this fine morning?"
The girl looked down. "I am well enough, Brother."
The weariness in her voice caught him off guard. "Is something the matter, Sister?"
Of course, Belman had been told nothing by the Headmaster. Maybe only Sana and he were the only two in the entire city who knew of her destiny.
Belman looked a little doubtful, but shook his head, and nodded toward a little boy in a plain white robe who held out a folded cloak of durable wool.
The Brother nodded. "This is your new cloak, Sana-Lynn, one made specifically for weathering the elements and travel. It seems the Headmaster has some kind of task in mind for you. He wishes to meet with you in the Inner Sanctum of the White Temple, a right reserved only for the high clergy. I must admit I was surprised, since you are so newly raised." He smiled. "But you are the best student I've ever taught, so it wasn't too shocking."
The girl found it hard to take his praise to heart. She was still too shaken. "I thank you, Brother."
Afterward, she took the cloak from the small boy after which Brother Belman smiled at the lad and told him to run along to his studies. Sana wrapped the cloak about her, a heavier mantle than she was used to. The material was not so pristinely white as the ornamental cloaks, but it still had the red triangles embroidered all along the hem.
Once fitted, the girl raised the hood to conceal as much of her face as possible. She felt the need for solitude and merely gestured for Brother Belman to guide her to the Inner Sanctum once she was ready. He still seemed put off by her lack of enthusiasm, but made no word of it.
They passed from the east wing, reserved for the clergy's quarters, through a hall with white-and-red tiled floors, before coming into the temple proper. Once there, high walls lined with statues of robed figures and great murals depicting epic scenes and ancient deeds came and went. Passed classrooms and through libraries they walked, bypassing knots of young students congregating in the halls before the heavy bells tolled, announcing that classes were to resume soon.
Just a short time ago, that had been Sana's life as well, and she had loved it. Now, all she had were doubts.
Soon enough, the two stood before a stretch of wall before a hanging tapestry depicting a rampant silver chimera on a field of white. The halls to each side of the tapestry were empty, as classes had been called, but this was indeed still in the middle of the school proper, and Sana was confused. "Why do we stop here, Brother?"
Belman gave a slight smile and gestured toward the tapestry. "Sister Atha, this is the entrance to the Inner Sanctum, can you not see it?"
"All I see is a tapestry."
The man clasped his hands behind his back. "Ahh, but you must look closer, Sister. Raised as you are, you now have the ability to see it, if not to enter. No, the enchantment on the portal is very specific of who is allowed to enter the Inner Sanctum. It, the spell itself, is what chooses who is of the high clergy, and not a Deliberate Council as all the uninitiated are told. The Holy itself guards what is sacred to it, and only those with certain inner traits are allowed to enter the sanctum."
Sana looked to him. "Can you not enter, Brother?"
The man smiled, adjusting his spectacles. "I cannot, I am rebuffed gently by a barrier that no mortal can dispel." He paused to chuckle. "But I do not envy any of the high clergy for I suspect they carry a burden that I myself would not be strong enough to bear. I can see the portal, however. Can you?"
A burden, Belman said. She already carried one now, one she hadn't known she had carried, having done so ever since she'd been born. Her hazel eyes looking up, Sana saw that the tapestry was gone, a swirling portal of bright white light in its place. Suddenly, she hardened her gaze and went forward without hesitation...
No barrier rebuffed her.
For a time, she floated in whiteness, soothing and warm, like the Holy flowing through her when she summoned it. She was not aware of her body here, of her burdens. All she was was the warmth that swirled and flowed about her like eddies in a river, bringing her on with them as they flowed gently toward some end.
"Sister Atha, I am glad you are here," Dalton Samar announced simply.
The girl opened her hazel eyes and stood in the midst of a great cavernous chamber, far too large to be sitting in the center of the White Temple. It was perhaps a square mile in size, with walls that harbored enormous stained-glass windows that all depicted a stylized woman in elaborate white robes.
"It is appropriate that you have your hood up, Sana-Lynn. In doing so, you look an awfully lot like her," the old man announced, gesturing toward an enormous statue of white marble that stood centered in the mighty camber.
Sana looked up and up at the great statue before her. The woman it depicted stood in dramatic pose, flowing white robes wreathing her as is if she were encompassed by winds, holding up an intricate white staff topped with a shard of blue crystal above her hooded head. Two pairs of wings spread from her back, the whole statue carved with a level of detail that seemed almost more alive than Sana herself was.
A truly wondrous look was on the Headmaster's face, as he gazed upon the statue. "If the Holy ever had a material form, this is what I always imagined it would be."
Sana looked down suddenly and tears came to her eyes, hidden by the hood. "That is a goddess, Headmaster. It doesn't look anything like me."
Dalton looked doubtful. "This is no goddess, Sister Atha, and though the wings may be an embellishment, the rest is probably close enough to the real thing. Not in actual size, of course."
The girl looked over at him, her hood swaying. "What do you mean, Headmaster?"
The old man gave her a paternal smile. "Please, Sana-Lynn, pull back your hood unashamed of your tears, of the fears that induce them. Pull back your hood and look upon the White Wizard."
Sana gasped in shock. "It cannot be... the one of legend..."
"Indeed, Sana-Lynn," The Headmaster confirmed.
In awe, the young woman pulled back her hood, her tears forgotten as she gazed upon the statue of the legendary Light Warrior, Chosen of Water... as she had become.
As she gazed upon it, Dalton spoke softly beside her: "I cannot know your pain, Sana-Lynn, but I will tell you this. There is more strength in you than anyone can possibly comprehend. So please, face your pain and your fear with a true heart, and one day there will be no evil, no matter how great, that will be able to look upon you without knowing its end has come."
The girl looked down, more hot tears filling her eyes, before she suddenly leaned against the old man, crying softly. The Headmaster patted her back soothingly, until she managed to pull away, before looking up at her with a kind smile. "Now we must go, Sana-Lynn, into the city."
The girl wiped a final tear from her eye. "What for, Headmaster?"
Worry entered his eyes, though he smiled. "Why, to meet the Chosen of Earth, Sana Lynn."
Shocked again, the girl could only nod.
IIIIIIIIII
Morning light wafted in through the high windows, much of it glinting off racks of weaponry where they stood against the walls of the training hall. Swords, axes, flails, pole-arms, and maces of every type stood in those racks, and more weapons besides.
Valor Loftlan stood in plain armor: sabatons and greaves over his feet and shins, an armored fauld covering his thighs and waist, protruding down from his breastplate, which was unadorned steel. Steel-backed gauntlets covered his hands and bracers his forearms, unworked pauldrons upon his shoulders, and an open-faced casque upon his head. In his right hand was gripped a plain steel longsword, while in his left was held a round shield, little larger than a buckler, but with a steel face that the rampant black bull of House Loftlan was painted upon.
Across from the young man was Oster Arlington, a solid fellow in the white-enameled full-plate of a Knight of the Sacred Dawn. He smiled. "You're doing quite well, young Valor, exceptionally so for one who has never undergone a knight's formal training. Still, you are troubled, I can see it in your face, feel it in your blows. You cannot allow such things upon the field of battle." The man shifted his elaborate broadsword as he went into a guarded stance, bringing up his kite shield with the sunburst emblazoned upon it.
The boy nodded. "Yes, I thank you, Sir Arlington. I know I lack focus, and it is something I must work on."
"Does something vex you, lad?"
Despite his judgement, Valor did not tell this old family friend what troubled him. His mother had warned him that he must exercise extreme caution with divulging the fact that he was Chosen of the Crystals, and none, not even close friends, could be told. He looked down. "I just... I just wonder what my father would have to say about things, now."
The old knight grinned. "Have no fear, boy, his pride in you was always immense, and I doubt that would change could he witness today what a wondrous fighter you've become. I have no doubt of it in my soul of souls, lad, that it would be so. Now, have at you!" he bellowed, charging straight in to thrust with his broadsword. They were of equal height, but the old knight was broader, better armored, and had years more experience in combat besides. Still, Valor sidestepped the attack and whirled, bringing his longsword about in a resounding blow, though the knight battered it aside with his shield, counterattacking. Their blades rang several times as each parried and countered, maneuvered and struck again.
Wearing less armor, Valor had to guard himself more, but he was not put entirely on the defensive due to an increase in speed over the knight. He used this advantage after blocking another thrust to spin down and sweep his legs through Arlington's own, tripping the man and dumping him to his back. The fully armored knight fell hard, the wind knocked from him. When he recovered, he looked up to see the point of Valor's longsword hovering over his throat, though the boy himself wore no triumph on his face.
The old knight smiled through his thick red mustache. "An excellent tactic, lad. A fully armored man is little more than an overturned turtle on his back. The weight of full-plate precludes getting up without much difficulty, a grave disadvantage in melee."
Valor nodded, helping the old knight clamber up to his feet again.
There came polite clapping from across the room and the two men looked over toward the broad archway that led to the rest of Loftlan Manor.
Aria Brigada Loftlan stood there quite poised in an elaborate white dress, with black-work embroidery heavy up the sleeves, her long argent hair done up in an elaborate style this day, with bangs covering one of her sapphire eyes. However, she was not the one clapping. That came from the younger, slightly shorter woman next to her.
Oster Arlington smiled. "Ah, Erin, so you have come."
The young woman bowed as Aria presented the girl to her son. "Valor, I would like you to meet Erin Hayata Arlington of the House Arlington, daughter of Oster and Seena."
Valor was impressed with the girl's beauty, for she was that, wearing a black dress covered in golden scroll-work, her long darkly red hair framing a heart-shaped face and flowing down the front of her dress. Her flawless skin was like ivory and her large emerald eyes sparkled as she smiled at him with a curtsey.
The young man immediately came forward a few steps as he removed his helmet to reveal his shoulder-length brown hair with argent highlights, before executing a formal bow. He had been training with Oster only two hours, not even a start to his normal daily regimen and was not sweating. Still, he could not help but feel under-dressed in his plain armor.
The girl examined him approvingly. "You cut quite the dashing figure, Lord Loftlan."
The boy's face heated, especially as he discovered he had no training in this area. "You... uh... are quite beautiful, Lady Arlington." It sounded clumsy to him, but the girl smiled more deeply. He looked to Aria. "Mother, you could have waited until I was more presentable."
His mother gave a slight shrug. "I had no intention of waiting another seven hours until you were finished with your regimen, my son."
Erin examined him again. "You fight amazingly well, Lord Loftlan. My father has won any number of honors in tournaments and battle alike, yet you best him this day."
Oster clapped a hand on the boy's pauldron. "Aye, lad, you have a true greatness in you, a born warrior. You can use footwork I've never even heard of, and your strength is palpable."
Erin nodded graciously in agreement. "Indeed, you seem very strong, my Lord."
The boy tried to fight down the heat that suffused his face, knowing he was making a fool of himself with his lack of control. "I thank you, my Lady." Immediately, he felt stupid. He should have complemented her as well.
Aria came forward enough to be able to grace them all with her smile. "Please, honored guests, leave my son to get freshened up, and we may have brunch out amongst the gardens. Spring is finally starting to overcome winter and the flowers are blooming."
Erin cordially shook her head with an upraised hand. "No, please, I could not possibly interrupt Lord Valor's routine. Please, allow your son to finish, Duchess, and I and my father would be most happy to come for dinner this very night, if it pleases you."
Aria bowed her head respectfully. "But of course, my Lady, as you wish."
Oster came up to his daughter, running an armored hand through his mane of dark reddish hair. He looked to Valor. "Continue your training, lad. I doubt there is a knight amongst the court that could best you in single combat. Lord Garland could challenge you, perhaps, but his way is not the way of a true knight..." He paused, suddenly hesitant. He glanced at Aria and Valor both. "The court is not what it once was. Come, daughter."
The girl gave one last appraising look at Valor before gliding off after her father.
After they were gone, Valor came up to his mother's side. "Are you certain we should not tell them, mother? I feel wrong keeping it from my father's best friend, and my bride-to-be."
His mother gave him an approving gaze. "You feel the weight of this burden most keenly, my son."
Valor looked down. "I do, and the weight has only grown."
His mother nodded in commiseration. "We do not tell them to protect them, my son. Knowledge is power, and a dangerous power at that, especially considering this knowledge. You see, my son, it is not because we don't trust them, it is because they would then share your burden. Would you wish that upon them?"
The boy's face became resolute. "Never."
"Then train, Valor, as your father wished, as you know you must."
The boy nodded and his mother stepped away. Several mercenary captains hired to drill him in weaponry would come in an hour, and he would use the time until then to practice what he had learned of unarmed combat from the Monks of the Unrelenting Fist.
Five hours passed, and Valor found himself drilling with a halberd under the gray gaze of a lean grizzled captain called Dulgren, a mute due to the heavy scar around his neck that had nearly killed him long ago. Heavy scars crossed his face as well, taking bits from his hooked nose. He had been the one to train Valor extensively on how to use the reach of a polearm to its fullest advantage against many types of foes.
The boy did so until his mother appeared in the archway suddenly. "Captain Dulgren, would you excuse us, please." The man did not hesitate, doing so with a respectful nod before leaving the armory. Afterword, Aria pulled the doors closed as her son wiped sweat from his brow.
She came up to him urgently, speaking low despite the chamber being empty. "Valor, the Headmaster has arrived with a guest you must meet as soon as you are able. They await in the parlor."
"Is a bath being drawn, mother?"
The duchess nodded. "As we speak, my son."
"Very well, I shall be there as soon as I am decent."
Aria simply nodded and left the chamber.
When she was gone, Valor sighed heavily.
He removed his armor, and went to his apartments on the top floor. He bathed quickly in the great bronze tub and dried himself. Afterward, he dressed in a doublet and snug leather pantaloons, fitting plain black boots on his feet before leaving for the parlor. He would have to dress more elaborately tonight, but for now, he just wanted to be comfortable.
He met his mother in the parlor, and there was Dalton Samar, the short wiry Headmaster draped in white robes as always, carrying his plain ashen staff. A sudden and most certain weight settled over the boy, as Valor looked to the white-robed and hooded figure that stood next to the small Headmaster. This weight grew as she pulled back her hood and a pretty girl with long blond hair looked back at him with troubled hazel eyes.
A strange and wondrous calm flowed through them both as their gazes met.
The young man suddenly felt heavy and light together as a flash before him became the Orb of Earth that he had had tucked in a pouch around his neck. He saw himself fly across the world again, but he knew he was seeing the past this time, and his spirit soon stood before a huge plinth of yellow crystal, overflowing with the power of life itself.
At the same time, Sana-Lynn Atha felt like she was ethereal as the Orb of Water suddenly hovered before her in instead of being tucked into her belt pouch. She traveled similarly into the past until her spirit stood before a mighty shard of sapphire crystal, pulsing with blue light, its life-giving power flowing from it in waves.
Some strength we have found in your meeting.
Some hope we have gained...
To become again as we once were, the guardians of all things...
The preservers of all life.
In bright flashes of light, the orbs disappeared back into their respective containers and the Chosen of Earth and the Chosen of Water were unable to be introduced as the strength left their bodies completely.
Both collapsed to the floor.