Chapter 2 Learning The Ropes

(Emperor's P.O.V.)

The sound of clashing swords woke me up from my sleep. I opened my eyes that were stuck shut with a gross substance. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and to my surprise, none of my joints hurt at all. I sat up in my bed and surveyed my surroundings. I had moved to a castle-like place and I had no Recollection of moving at all. I looked at the bed I was sleeping in. It was made of silk and satin, and the blanket that covered me was made of very soft cotton.

"Where am I?"

I asked to the empty room. There was no response. I got up from the bed and stretched. I was happy that I could move again. It was then that I noticed how battered my body was. Cuts, scrapes, bruises, and casts covered most of my body. I took off the casts that restricted my movements. Scratching my neck, I walked to the window to see what I could figure out. I opened the doors so that the morning sunlight filled the room. I blinked my eyes many times so that my eyes could adjust to the brightness of the early morning light. There was a balcony beyond the doors that kept the sunlight out of the room. Moving to the balcony, I surveyed my surroundings. Below me was where the metallic clashing sounds came from. There were many Blue colored yoshis practicing their fighting forms. Captain Rojo was in the front of the group.

"Attention"

Rojo bellowed. The yoshis stood up straight and saluted Captain Rojo.

"You are dismissed for the morning, but Marine and Sapphire, come with me"

Rojo ordered. The group of Blue yoshis gradually dissipated until there was none left but Marine, Sapphire, and Rojo.

"I'm very proud of your efforts today, I'm going to reward you with fewer exercises at Midday Training. Understand?"

Rojo said with a slightly happy tone. Marine and Sapphire saluted Rojo

"Sir yes Sir"

The two Blue yoshis replied with enthusiasm

"Run along now you two, and DON'T get yourselves in trouble ok?"

Rojo said sternly

"We won't sir"

Marine and Sapphire called over their shoulders as the two ran off into what seemed to be a town square. Rojo sighed and started walking towards the door on the bottom level of the castle that I was in. Looking to the left, I could see more of the castle that stretched into the distance. Looking to the right, I could see the entrance of the Castle. I turned around to see Rojo standing in the middle of the room. I jumped back and let out a high-pitched yelp of fear. Rojo laughed and walked over to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and looked me directly in the eyes.

"You seem to feel better since you can walk. Can you speak? Can you talk?"

Rojo bombarded me with questions. I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Ok, I get the hint. I'll talk to you later."

Rojo turned around to walk out of the room, but I ran to catch up to him. I caught him as he was about to walk out of the room. I tried out my voice.

"Ahem"

I cleared my throat. Startled, Rojo turned around to face me. He smiled.

"I knew you were in good health"

He said with a laugh. Before I could do anything, Rojo grabbed me by my arm and dragged me along with him down a long hallway. We made a left turn and now we were in what looked like to be a Dining area. Rojo looked at me.

"Goodness, it looks like you've eaten absolutely nothing for an entire week!"

He exclaimed. I looked at myself. I was feeling a little bit hungry, but not wanting to make Rojo upset, I said:

"I'm not that hungry, but I will eat whatever you give me"

I replied cheerily.

"That's just splendid!"

Rojo replied.

"Hey, Chef!"

Rojo called. An Orange yoshi appeared from behind a giant oven made of bricks. The Orange yoshi looked annoyed, but when he saw Captain Rojo his eyes lit up, and he smiled

"Good morning Captain Rojo, what can I Make for you this fine morning?"

The Orange yoshi said happily. Rojo pointed at me

"I have already eaten this morning, but this fine individual is starving!"

Rojo replied with the same enthusiasm as the cook. The cook waved Rojo and I over to his counter that had numerous Black and Red bottles on them. Rojo motioned for me to sit on one of the black stools that were arranged in a row.

"Is this our new King?"

The Orange yoshi asked. Rojo sighed

"Yes, this is our new King. The Queen is currently still sleeping to my knowledge."

Rojo replied.

I was being studied by the Orange yoshi once again. The Orange yoshi extended his arm as far as the arm would reach. I received the handshake with delight

"My name is Sunrise. No need for you to tell me who you are, I already know since my friend Rojo here told me all about you."

Sunrise said happily. Emperor took the drink that was in front of him. Sunrise was already back at his work. The sounds of clattering dishes and rushing water filled the room.

I could survey this room now too.

I thought to myself. I looked around the room. There were tables of the same fashion of the counter that I was sitting next to. The tables had the same Black and Red bottles on them. On the far wall, there was a Tapestry that depicted a regal looking pair of Yoshis on it, along with a young Black yoshi, and on the left side, an egg that had not hatched yet. I tapped Rojo on the shoulder.

"Were those my parents?"

I asked with wonder, looking at the tapestry. Sunrise dropped a dish. A shattering sound ripped through the room. Sunrise bent over to clean up the mess. While he was cleaning the mess, he muttered something under his breath that I could not hear or understand. Motioning to the Tapestry, Rojo began to speak.

"Those indeed are your parents. The White one on the left was your mother. She was the kindest and most charming one of our species. We named her Siren. She was very skilled in Magic, and in most of the fighting skills that I know of."

Rojo said with longing.

"I'm guessing the one on the right is my father….right?"

I said with complete uncertainty. Rojo nodded, and Sunrise picked up where Rojo left off.

"Yep, that there was your Father. Most of the people didn't like him. He ruled hard and put a lot of stress on the people. I don't mind that he's gone, but I mostly didn't like how he treated your Mother".

"What about the young Black yoshi on the right?"

I asked with the same wonder. Rojo stiffened and Sunrise stopped cleaning his dishes.

"I don't want to talk about that right now"

Rojo said quickly.

"Don't care for him either, he was a thief"

Sunrise said evenly. Rojo looked sternly at Sunrise who immediately started to whistle a tune that I didn't recognize, as he walked into the back of the kitchen. Rojo looked at me.

"You'll have to excuse Sunrise, he's not scared to give his opinion, and most certainly is not afraid, to tell the truth about anything"

Rojo said with a laugh. Now I was beginning to be thirsty. I turned back around in my chair to finish my drink that Sunrise gave me. I finished it in two gulps and turned back to Rojo, who was fidgeting with something.

"What do you have there?"

I asked. Rojo produced the object. It looked like to be a pendant with a black stone in the center of the necklace. I looked at the object with wonder. Rojo gave me the pendant and I studied it closely. The black stone glimmered faintly in the sunlight.

"That was your mother's favorite necklace. She wore it all the time and it was a gift to her from your father."

Rojo told me. I flipped the pendant over to see my mother and father carved into the back of the pendant.

"You gonna stare at the thing forever, or are you gonna see your place?"

Rojo called from the door. This call broke me from pendant's mental grasp. I ran over to Rojo who was holding the heavy wooden door open. Rojo and I walked out of the BreakFast Hall, and into the CourtYard. I inhaled the sweet smells of the CourtYard. Rojo looked at me.

"Do you know what this place is?"

He asked me as he motioned with his hand to all of the vibrant colors of flowers, yoshis, and animals that I could take in. This was an overload of color to me, causing me dizzy with Color Overload. I stumbled forward a little and Rojo grabbed me by my shoulder with a strong grip that kept me from falling. Rojo returned me to my upright position.

"I know that it's a lot to take in at once"

Rojo said calmly. He led me through the maze of flowers, yoshis, and animals. We walked at a brisk pace, and keeping pace with a First Class General was not the easiest thing to do. Then I saw something familiar that made me stop. Suddenly my vision went black and I could see Cannons firing, individuals screaming and crying, and I could smell smoke. I looked up from the charred ground to see Cannonballs impacting and destroying the building that was before my view. As quickly as the vision came, it was gone, and Rojo was calling my name.

"Emperor, hey, you awake in there?"

Rojo called quietly, waving his hand close to my face. I shook my head vigorously and looked at Rojo who was studying me closely.

"Are you ok?"

He asked me in full seriousness.

"Oh me? Yeah, I'm fine"

I replied with a smile. It was then that I noticed that I was not wearing any shoes or boots. I looked down at my feet and moved my right foot in a circle. Rojo looked down at my foot in interest, and he buried his face in his hands.

"How could I be so dumb?"

He asked himself as I studied my feet. They were fairly large in size and all of my toes looked like a normal foot, but ended in sickle-shaped talons. They were dusty from the lack of footwear that I was absent of. He looked at me again and apologized for not seeing this sooner.

"Oh, it's fine really."

I replied.

"If you insist that it is, I would like to take you somewhere that you may like."

Rojo offered as we started to walk again. Keeping pace with Rojo was not so hard to do now as I was excited to see what he had planned for me. We walked for some time and arrived at the base of the building that I saw in my vision.

"Do you know what this place is?"

Rojo asked as we stopped at the base of the building. I studied the building. It looked like to be made of marble, as it was shining splendidly in the sunrise. The Blue hue of the pillars created an Emerald Green deep in the center of the pillars.

"I don't know if I do, but I could know if you told me."

I replied evenly with a bit of sarcasm. Rojo nodded in agreement. He took me by my shoulder and led me around the right side of the building. I looked at the hedges that were perfectly trimmed into rectangular prism-like shapes. For some reason, I wanted to look for a pool of water. We walked for a little bit of time so that we could reach whatever it was that we needed to go. Soon we came to a large door about my height. I seemed to be very interested in the door since Rojo told me what this area was.

"This is what your parents called the "Revelation Room or RR for an abbreviation"

Rojo told me. I wondered what a "Revelation" was. As I pondered this in my mind, I ran my fingers along the meticulously, intricately carved door. Rojo could obviously see my fascination with the material the door was composed of.

"The materials that were used in this door were very hard to find on this island of our Island Chain."

Without missing a beat, I asked a question.

"What is this material?"

I asked Rojo. He smiled and stretched a little.

"This is called Ivory. It's malleable and easily carved into"

Ivory

I breathed to myself. I walked over to Rojo who was shifting his weight uneasily. I noticed that to make Rojo uneasy, it took a lot of events to happen.

"Are you OK Rojo?"

I asked him. Rojo looked at something that seemed to be behind my left shoulder.

"Don't...move…"

Rojo said quietly. I stopped breathing and kept completely still. Rojo took a knife out of his boot. He closed his left eye and threw the knife at me. I closed my eyes not wishing to see my death. There was a sickening thud that came from behind me. Rojo let out the breath he was holding and I looked to see what fell victim to Rojo's expertly thrown knife. The creature looked like to be a lizard of sorts, as it had the normal body of a lizard(except with the knife in its head). The one thing that was different about this animal was the spikes that protruded out of its back. The spikes ended in barbs and were purple at the base and black at the tip. I turned around to look at Rojo.

"What is this?"

Rojo unsheathed his sword, and from a safe distance, poked the creature with the tip of the sword.

When the creature was poked, it thrashed for a full three seconds and then laid still. Rojo cleaned the tip of the sword with a leaf that he found on the ground.

"That was something known by the Islanders as an Assassin Lizard."

Rojo said tensely. I did not know why one lizard was so scary, but I did not question Rojo's actions. Instead, I sought more information.

"Why did you kill that creature?"

I asked him with a touch of sadness in my voice. Rojo scowled at me but seemed to understand why I was asking such a question.

"The Assassin Lizard can fire their spikes off their back when they feel threatened. One spike can kill a fully grown individual of our size in a half hour with no symptoms at all."

Rojo explained as he kicked the reptile into the nearest bush.

"What about the knife?"

I asked Rojo. Rojo looked at me funny, and then nodded to himself and closed his eyes momentarily.

"When you kill an Assassin Lizard, the weapon you use is no longer usable."

He explained to me. This fascinated and annoyed me both. Fascinated to know that this creature was so dangerous and annoyed that I couldn't do anything to save an innocent creature from death. My attention turned back to the door.

"What does this Revelation Room do?"

I asked Rojo. He looked at me excitedly, but before he could speak, the door opened with a low pitched creaking sound.

"Welcome my young King"

Northwind and Frostbite appeared in the doorway. The two of them bowed their head and returned to their original posture. Rojo stood up to his full height and kneeled before Northwind and Frostbite.

"If it's OK with the High Council Members, I would take great gratitude and honor so that I may accompany my King in the Revelation Room."

Rojo stated while he was kneeling. Northwind and Frostbite looked at each other with worried glances. I could tell by the way that they looked at each other that this area was…..Sacred or something very special. Northwind beckoned me with a waving arm. I looked at Rojo, who was still kneeling. Standing next to Northwind, she whispered in my ear.

"If you want him to accompany you, you need to say this phrase: You are welcome in my house of Revelation and Memory."

She said. I nodded and turned around to face Rojo who was still kneeling. Beads of sweat were forming on the top of his forehead.

"You are welcome in my house of Revelation and Memory"

I declared. Rojo shuddered and tears started streaming down his cheeks. He rose and ran over to hug me. I could feel the happiness and joy radiating from him(Along with the pain from his crushing hug strength). Rojo let me out of his hug and bowed in front of me.

I still don't know why these individuals are still causing me a King. This does not feel like this regality belongs to me.

I thought to myself as I was pushed by Northwind into the dark, humid hallway. Rojo ran to join the group.

"Before we go any further into this Sacred Area, you must first remove your boots, shoes, and sandals"

Frostbite declared. This brought some feeling to me; it was like I had been here before. Since I did not have any footwear to remove, I walked over to the right side of the hallway and studied the drawings on the wall. I noticed that there was a lot of chiseled portraits of Regal looking Yoshis. The others with me removed their boots and set them near the Ivory door with metallic clunking sounds that were reverberating through the hallway.

"Stay with me in pace and in line if you wish to live"

Frostbite said with a weird tone of voice. To me, it sounded like she was about to be possessed with something. I shook the thought away as Frostbite started to walk down the hallway, our nails causing clicking noises as they contacted the Linoleum floor. I felt as if I was being watched. Through the mist in the hallway, I could see metal plates on the floor. Frostbite moved quickly, and keeping pace with her was not the easiest thing to do. I looked at Rojo, who was to the immediate left of me. He was focused straight ahead of him and sweat beaded his head.

"Stop"

Commanded Frostbite. Everyone stopped and looked around. We had appeared to reach the end of the hallway quickly. Frostbite produced a stone from her hand. It was a normal looking rock. She tossed it onto the metal plate and as soon as the stone hit the plate, two giant spears exploded out of the walls and impacted each other so hard, sparks flew from the impact. Rojo and I were the only ones who were fascinated by this, for it was only us that exclaimed in awe. I turned to Rojo and he looked at me.

"You've never been here before?"

I asked Rojo in wonder. Rojo nodded.

"The reason why I was so happy was that I have never seen the inside of the Revelation Room at all."

He said excitedly. We stood in place as Frostbite said some words under her breath. When she was done speaking, the spears receded back into the walls from whence they came. Then the ground rumbled a little and the main door opened.

"Why is it that i've never been so amazed before?"

I heard Rojo ask himself as the mist started to dissipate.

"Maybe it's because you've only looked at what's in front of you"

I heard Frostbite mutter as dust started to fall. I heard Rojo's breath catch in his throat.

"Why is there dust in here?"

He asked tensely. Frostbite turned to him.

"If I told you that, it could mean the difference from secession and unification"

She said solemnly as we all turned to look into the Revelation Room.

"Looks like A pretty cool place"

Rojo said as he tried to walk into the place, but Frostbite stopped him.

"You might not want to go in without following me first"

She said quietly as she started going through some hand motions. Rojo scoffed.

"And why would that be?"

He asked with mock worry as he took A step back. NorthWind scoffed angrily.

"I don't need your questions, I need your obedience"