CHAPTER SIX
Searching for Answers
"What the Hell? The controls are going haywire! I have no control over the Epoch!" yelled Janus as the ship made a right while he turned it left.
Crono and Gasper looked over either shoulder of the wizard and saw that the controls were indeed moving on their own. The guru decided to just sit back down, while the swordsman just shrugged.
The wizard began searching for a way out. Multiple times in the passed few days he'd been fighting for his life, trapped in oblivion, or used as a pawn to outsiders and he was sick of it. Before the wizard began casting a spell, the Epoch came to a halt. The ship began descending to the ground.
Janus grinned and started pulling his right glove tighter on his hand. The Epoch landed soundly and the cockpit opened, with a wizard flying out, scythe in hand. What the wizard saw though made him drop his weapon. Standing before him was a Nu and an old man who wore an unusual white lab coat and was leaning against a staff. Regardless on what he was wearing, the old man sparked a memory in the young wizard.
"Belthasar?" Janus whispered.
The old man nodded and walked past the wizard to his long awaited friend. Crono was next out of the Epoch and was equally shocked to see the Guru of Reason alive. Gasper was not surprised. Obviously since the future was "saved," so was Belthasar. What confused the Guru of Time was that Lavos banished Belthasar to the year 2300 AD, not 2000 AD.
"Ah, you're right on time," laughed Belthasar, "come in so I can treat you three."
"Sorry, we're leaving," Janus snapped, turning completely around.
"You are tired, Magus. Crono has seen better days, and I'm not releasing control of my ship until you had a least a few nights rest," Belthasar stated.
The wizard turned and gazed deeply at the guru, but the old man was made of tougher stuff than he appeared. Janus took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Crono limped over, patted his friend on the shoulder, and followed the two gurus. The wizard followed shortly after.
In the center of the dark room, laid a pentagram on the floor, that was drawn from the bone of a dragon. Around the outside of the pentagram were red candles, burning brightly, illuminating the room. Inside the circle was Noah, chanting arcanic words that were long forgotten.
The sorcerer opened his arms wide, calling out through the void for the demon he specifically wanted to summon. Aglaïa, his Chancellor of Knowledge, begged him not to go down this road. Demons were unpredictable and dangerous. Noah took those words of reason to heart, but he needed answers that only one could answer.
"Come forth, great Dizalu! Come forth," Noah demanded.
The candles burned more brightly and the room began to quiver. Before the sorcerer, a black gate appeared. Noah continued his chant, forcing the demon through the gate. Out of the gate stepped a blacker than the darkest onyx creature, made entirely of oil that dripped from its digits and were reabsorbed back into its body.
Immediately, Dizalu began scanning Noah's circle of protection, looking over the runes in the circle. If there was a simple flaw, there would be nothing standing in the demon's way to rip the foolish human apart. Over a quick examination, Dizalu gave up. This particular human was well prepared.
"LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH, HUMAN!" barked the demon.
Noah lowered his arms and was impressed on the demon's bluntness. Even under the perfect protection of the circle, Noah couldn't help but shuffle his feet.
"Yes, let's get this over with quickly. I have need with one Saturn Zeal. I will be needing his…"
"FORGET IT! YOU BANISHED HIM, NOW HE IS MINE!"
Noah took a step back, but reminded himself not to walk out of the circle. Regaining his composure, the sorcerer glared at the demon. Not a good move.
Dizalu smelled the fear from Noah in that brief moment. Now the foolish sorcerer had the nerve to glare at him. Dizalu jumped as high as the twenty foot room would allow and came crashing down. Once the demon landed, the floor began to crack, but didn't ruin the runes or the circle in the slightest.
"All right, that's enough! I just want to know when or where the Dreamstone and Sunstone are," yelled Noah.
The demon calmed at that statement. Dizalu stood tall and flipped the sorcerer off. Unlike demons from Hell, Dizalu was from Limbo. Just summoning his kind did not give the summoner 'control' into forcing the demon to answer their questions. Noah clenched his fists and had to use all the discipline he had to not walk out of the circle and try to destroy the demon.
"Fine. You are dismissed," demanded Noah, waving his hand.
The demon began to laugh as he was fading back to his plane of existence. When the demon was gone, Noah cast a simple detect element spell around him and out of the circle. Confident that the demon was indeed gone, the sorcerer stepped out of the pentagram and out of the room.
"I told you it was ill advised to summon that type of demon," Aglaïa softly said.
Noah turned to his Chancellor of Knowledge. She wore an exotic white robe (many actually believed it to be a gown) that complemented her fair white skin. Her long blue hair cascaded half-way down her back and some of her hair rested on her shoulders. Her face was said to put angels to shame, with her lips in a constant pout (if she was happy or sad, it remained that way) and her eyes were a crystal blue. Behind that goddess body, was a knowledgeable woman, which was exactly why Noah chosen her to be his Chancellor of Knowledge.
"I just didn't want to go back to that damn tapestry," snapped Noah.
"Did you not especially make it for those purposes?" asked Algaia with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes. But I have to search each and every time period thoroughly," responded the sorcerer.
"You don't have to. By my calculations, the Dreamstone is a commodity in the Prehistoric Era while the Sunstone is either someplace in the Dark Ages, or most likely, it is in the First Millennium Age," Algaia said, bowing.
"I have come to those conclusions too but I still have to use much of my energy to travel through the weave of space and time. After that, I have to search with a fine tooth comb to make sure I have the specific metals needed, or it'll be a wasted trip," sighed Noah.
Aglaïa watched her liege step before the tapestry and began to wave his arms. The tapestry began to come alive. A dinosaur came down and started eating a human while three humans threw spears at a flying bird like creature. In the center of the piece, a white outline of a door appeared. Noah stepped through and vanished.
After a couple of days of recuperating, Crono and Janus were ready to continue their search for Schala. Crono continued to question the motive of the personal issue of looking for Janus's sister, but the wizard quickly dismissed it by saying 'We need her magic.' Belthasar was also keeping to himself. He said that he sent the Epoch to 1000 AD for Crono to use it to get Janus out of Limbo and he also programmed it to return to the End of Time when an unknown passenger disembarked from it. What he was holding back from the three was how he knew what was going to occur.
After it seemed Gasper was going to be fine in this time era and that Crono was able to walk on his right leg without help or without a limp, Janus wanted to be up and gone. Again, for some unknown reason, Janus felt a pulse to stay with his comrade and old mentor until they felt ready to continue. He understood why he felt that he needed Crono to be healed, that way the swordsman wouldn't slow him down but why did he care what happened to Gasper?
The wizard just shook it away and asked Belthasar where he should look for Schala. The only answer he got was shrug. Now, completely angry, the wizard demanded, "Crono to quit trying to cut yourself in that Cyclone attack and to get aboard the Epoch."
The duo jumped into the Epoch, though Crono leapt ahead and into the driver seat. Janus growled and hopped into one of the back seats. The wizard knew that Crono was well aware on where they planned to go. The swordsman turned the knob to the First Millennium.
The Wings of Time took to the sky and circled around the planet, faster than the speed of light. It came to a halt in the exact same place it left, just a thousand years in the past. Crono took the controls in hand and guided the aircraft east, towards Melchior's place.
Once above the Guru of Life's house, the swordsman set the craft down, almost right to Melchior's door. As the Epoch landed, Janus hopped out and started stalked up to the guru's door. The wizard rapped loudly.
"Hm, it's you again. Ah, Crono, how has your adventures gone?" asked Melchior.
Crono bowed his head low and handed the old blacksmith the sheath, specially designed for Rainbow. A dark cloud covered the guru's face. He made that sword for Crono and Crono alone. He knew the boy was a great swordsman but he also knew he would use the blade to protect, never to destroy. Now, it seemed that Crono was showing his age, by showing Melchior that he was irresponsible with the blade and lost it.
"We don't have time for this. Melchior, have you any idea when the pendent of Zeal came into the Guardia family line?" snapped the wizard.
Melchior looked over to the wizard. He could tell that he was from Zeal but the guru refused to believe it. Crono and his friends came by with a broken Masamune and with the legendary Dreamstone for him to fix the blade. Again, the old blacksmith refused to think too much on it. He never believed his heart could take any truths that the travelers would bring to him.
"I won't ask. Hmm," the guru paused, bowing his head and contemplating.
The wizard folded his arms and began to tap his foot. Janus looked over his shoulder after feeling a hand on it. Crono stared at him hard and then stared at the guru. Janus shrugged away the swordsman's hand but nodded his silent agreement. They had to practice patience.
The swordsman drew his newly acquired wooden sword. He slowly crouched down, feeling inside himself and began to visualize the maneuver. Crono shifted his eyes to the side after hearing a snicker. Janus was lying down with his back against a tree. His hands were behind his head and his eyes were closed but he continued to snicker.
Crono tried this maneuver twenty times today and each time he received a new bruise. The swordsman stared down at his wooden sword. If it was bladed, he would've lost several limbs instead. He fell back within himself, steading his breathing. Then he leapt up into the air and started spinning around in his Cyclone.
He kicked out and it seemed as if he would be able to extend his leg out and pull it back in time, until a door slammed open with Melchior yelling, "I know where and when the pendant reappeared into Guardia's history!"
Crono smashed his knee with his sword, creating a sickly pop sound. Crono landed hard on his hip, grabbing both his knee and his side. Melchior ran over to the swordsman.
Janus opened his eyes but did not laugh. Ouch. That had to hurt. He must have dislocated his knee, thought the wizard.
Melchior grasped the swordsman's leg and shoved his knee back into place. The guru quickly poured some type of tonic on the leg, mending it further. Once the tonics did their work, Crono was back up and ready to hear Melchior's tale.
"What did you find?" asked Janus, walking over and examining his comrade's knee.
"Five years before the people actually started dating the calendar, the first true royalty had the pendent and started using it as the royal seal. I actually believe they were the ancestors of the royal family of Guardia," announced the guru.
"Did this time have an era named after it?" Janus replied looking back to the guru.
"Yes… well, no. The year 1 AD was the start of the Dominic Age. It's when a war between the lands of the east fought the land of the west. It ended in a truce later on. It brought clarity and unity to both continents. The east brought religion and it was the start of the old cathedral which of course was destroyed in 828 AD. The west bought medicine and the human race began to grow stronger after 1 AD," Melchior took a breath.
Janus nodded. "Then the Dominic Age it is."
The blacksmith sat, staring at the blade of perfect balance and power. The katana was thin but there was no doubt in her mind that the blade could parry a great sword with little ease. The beautiful work and the time spent into making the blade so flawless had to be made by a master. No, the word 'master' was insignificant. Whoever created such a blade had to be a grand-master blacksmith.
"You haven't even touched the blade yet?" scowled Euphrosyne stepping into the forge. The room was surprisingly cool, about eighty degrees, and the light was far too dim. For fear of entering Thalia's domain in such low light, Euphrosyne stood in the doorway.
"No… I haven't," Thalia gently replied.
"Why not? When Noah returns he'll want an update. What will I tell him? This is completely unacceptable!" snapped the Chancellor of Inventions.
Gracefully turning her head to eye Euphrosyne, the Chancellor of Forging stared directly at her. The blacksmith didn't move other then that, but the movement put Euphrosyne on her toes. Even though Thalia's gaze wasn't threatening, she was a very dangerous woman. The inventor nearly jumped out of her shoes when Thalia spoke.
"Have you, my dear Euphrosyne, ever come across a great machine that was far beyond your skills to make? Then you were given that machine, not to study and not to improve," turning her head back to the sword, the blacksmith continued, "but to make two smaller and probably weaker versions of the creation. To finish it all up with the pressure of your lord telling you that you have to get those machines up and running as soon as possible. I'm sorry but I actually have to find the heart to even melt this piece of art."
Indeed, Euphrosyne understood the pain of destroying works of art that she couldn't even begin to create. Understanding the troubles the blacksmith was having, she didn't question her further. Having her own difficult tasks ahead of her, the inventor crossed her arms over her chest and bowed before her fellow chancellor, the common bow of parting.
Looking back to the inventor, a spark of inspiration washed over the blacksmith like a tsunami. Easily leaping the ten foot distance to the door, Thalia grabbed Euphrosyne's shoulder and spun her around and put her arms across her chest. Grinning, the Chancellor of Forging stalked back to the blade, whispering to the blade as if it was alive. Curiously, the inventor walked in to see what has come over the blacksmith.
Faintly, she heard her say, "Forgive me beautiful blade and forgive me great smith who forged this work. I swear by my ancestors, I will do my best to create a blade of equal beauty that I will call our own."
With that, the blacksmith slammed her hammer between the handle and the blade, removing the metal. Throwing the handle to the side, Thalia gently placed the blade into the forge. Within minutes, Rainbow was no more.
Kicking a rock over, Noah looked onwards into the jungles up ahead. For the past few days he'd been looking for the Dreamstone, which should be a commodity in this time period, to no avail. Long ago, Noah mastered the arts of being patience but even the most disciplined man has his boundaries. He was growing mentally tired of the search and physically wearily of the transport through time.
Perhaps… the people here have already used the stones up for fuel to keep warm. The only extra about I can't touch, or I risk ruining this timeline, thought the sorcerer. Without turning around, he sensed a presence behind him. Calmly, he drew his hood over his head, praying the wanderer wouldn't pose a threat.
"Magus, that you?" asked a man in a deep dialect.
Whispering a quick spell, Noah answered, "Yes I'm here. Don't come any closer or Ayla will be doomed. Actually, she still might be doomed. I was sent here by the others to collect a Dreamstone that can save her."
"Ayla in trouble. Kino help! What Deam… stone?" asked the prehistoric voice from behind the sorcerer.
Noah couldn't help but grin. Not only has the change voice spell created a perfect Magus voice, but if luck would have it, this caveman will be making life so much easier on him. Fate worked in so many different ways. Letting the suspense eat away at Kino, Noah waited until the simpleton demanded what the sorcerer wanted.
"WHAT DEAM STONE?" bellowed Kino waving his arms. Noah couldn't see him but he knew the caveman was flailing his arms about.
"Dreamstone. It's a very shiny, red rock," the sorcerer responded slowly.
"Red rock. Kino have. Kino go get it."
"I won't be here when you return," Noah paused, aiming his right hand in front of him. The air in front of the sorcerer began to contort and spin in a miniature cyclone. The grass before him flattened and the land was formed into a spiral.
"Bury the stone there. I'll be back for it later."
"Okay Magus," Kino excitedly said, running off to his settlement.
As soon as the sorcerer couldn't hear the caveman anymore, Noah grasped his brooch and began to chant quickly. He'd been gone too long and the time travel was taking its toll. Breathing deeply, Noah fell within himself and started weaving through the space around him. In another moment, he winked out of existence.
Stepping through the time weaved tapestry, Noah doubled over in exhaustion. Before he could hit the floor though, he was caught by a pair of rough but gentle hands. Euphrosyne softly lifted her lord up, which he kindly grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her arms length away from him. A weak smile came to the sorcerer's lips.
"I'll have the Dreamstone by the morrow for you. While I'm searching for the Sunstone, I want you to begin on the invention," Noah said through several yawns.
The chancellor nodded and watched her lord walk off into the hall, leading to his private chambers. Once her lord was gone, she let out a long sigh. Reminiscing back a few hours ago, she remembered her conversation with Thalia. Euphrosyne had no room for errors for what her sire wanted from her. The machine must be ready as soon as Noah handed her a fragment of the Sunstone. Failure could mean great disaster.