Depths of Death

Chapter Three

"C-can't be done!" Remus said. "Which?"

"We do not have the power to rescue any one character from the Depths of Death," Sira said. "We do, however, have the power to enlarge Alleu. Please, Mother, we have to."

"Wait... Sira, is Niah your mother?"

"Excellent deduction, Sirus. Yes, I am Sira's mother."

"But you're a creation story, aren't you? How can that be?"

Sira gave a small smile. "Would you like to hear the tale?"

I nodded. "That would be wonderful."

Sira waved her hand, and a few benches appeared. "Then listen well. Not many know this story."

Niah and Sira sat side by side. It was quiet until Niah spoke. "Yes, our copies have long since died away. None in the other worlds know of us, as our story has stopped being told."

"Niah, my mother, was the wife of the Creator," Sira said. "I am the Creator's daughter. He created my mother and me first, then he created the whole rest of the world.

"I was as if a small child for years, but I did grow up. When I turned fifteen, the Creator said to me, 'Sira, daughter of mine own creation, you are of the age of ten-and-five years. Most women on thy planet I hath created would be finding their soul companions as of now, but I must forbid you from doing so.' I did not understand at the time, but as I watched the other women from the window of the house I was forever caged in, I began to notice what was being taken from me."

I sat in complete silence. This was no creation story.

"I know what you are thinking, boy," Niah said. "It is a creation story. She was not of the failed-"

"Quiet, mother, you'll spoil it," Sira said. "One day, a man came outside my window. We talked for an hour or so, and I had the feeling he was trying to court me. I told him that I was forbidden to marry, and he left without another word. Other men came and went, despairing as they heard I could not marry, although I was of age and beautiful, according to the men. All but one man left as soon as they heard of my dilemma. His name was Lires, and he told me he did not wish to court me, just to befriend me.

"It was this man that I fell for. He told me that he would always love me, he would never leave. And he didn't. But then, those people started failing. Their organs stopped working properly, and they could no longer speak or move. They just... died."

Niah cut in on Sira. "Those were the Klusks. The Kluskian race did not fail for many years, but whenever Sira fell in love..."

"The race began to fail." Sira said sadly. "And they are not here, for Alleu had not been created. Those characters are forever lost, as our story is no longer being told."

"So... why are you dead?"

"Oh, yes. Soon, I confronted the Creator. 'Father, my Creator, why hath thou killed thy races?' and he told me that it was the curse he had laid upon me. 'When thou start to fall in love, I shall start to deteriorate my race. They are not hard to create by mine own hand.' I started to fight, however, and he became angry. I told him that he was not doing his job as Creator, punishing the wicked and rewarding the good."

" 'Would thou like to be punished, puny girl?' he bellowed. He went into a terrible rage, but the protections he put around our cottage withstood against his own power. It was a terrible time to be near Sira," Niah said. "He sent storms and fires and everything to hurt her."

"And by the time I was eight-and-five years, though, my mother was old," Sira said. "She was dying, withering away. And all that was left for me when she died was a terrible punishment. When my mother died, I went out into the sun, the first calm day in months, I screamed at my father. 'You killed her! I have had punishment enough! Stop this and let me fall in love!' He did not stop. He let me waste the nice day in grief, crying the hours away, and burying my mother. I sat vigil outside her grave all night, and he set the rains down again. I ended up drowning in my own tears and the rains he flooded the meadow with."

"That's terrible! What if Dora drowns in the Depths of Death! We need some way to save her!"

"Remus, Tonks isn't going to drown in there," I said, rolling my eyes. "We'll go down there and find her. Who can we take to help us track through the Depths of Death?"

"I know just the right dwarves for the job," Sira said sweetly. "Fili, Thorin I, Thorin Oaksheild, Thorin Stonehelm, and Kili. They're from The Hobbit. I am not actually sure if they can navigate through caverns that well... But Niah gave them the power to transport back to their apartment complex. What are they, Complex 3C?"

"No. They had to move to 4A, there wasn't enough big rooms for them in 3C," I said, spewing random knowledge I'd memorized out of boredom over the past few years. "And all three? Why not just Oaksheild or something?"

"Because the Depths of Death is designed to confuse one or two people," Niah said. "By having many, the Depths of Death will not be as effective. I would like to send all of the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson characters, but that is not ideal for you travelers, so I will only send Sirius, Remus, Kili, Zoe, Fili, the three Thorins, and Kara."

"I cannot go, Lady Niah," Kara said. "I... I know how I am in dark caverns. I won't be of any use at all."

"She need not go, Lady Niah," Zoe said. "Methinks eight people shall be enough to retrieve Tonks and any other lost souls in thy Depths of Death."

"I agree with Zoe," Sira said, brushing long, black hair from her eyes. "If Kara is not comfortable, then she can stay."

I turned around and I saw a dark cavern full of sharp objects. I didn't know why anyone would ever explore in there, but Tonks was a good friend and she deserved to be saved. I took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's get going before I lose my nerve."

And we stepped into the darkness.

XXXXX

Not-So-Short Author's Note: Okay, screw it. No more minimum reviews... unless I realize I'm getting lots of read-and-runners. Not cool, people. Please review.

Thanks.

Now, those who do review (shout out to LupinxTonks4ever! She's amazing and always reviews and you should go read her stories. :D) Thanks and keep doing that! Any character requests? For the ones mentioned this chapter, I'm going to have to do a bit of research to get their character personality and such correct, but if it's in PJO, Warriors, or any of my fandoms listed on my profile, I will know them by heart. :D anyway, I'm sorry if Remus is a bit OOC, or any character, really, but I can't help it, Remus is so amusing like this!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

~Zabria Rose~