FOREVER DESTINY : Ancient Era Arc 1
Before the Beginning
Episode 9:
"Magical Bonds"
Story Focus: Kokuen-oh (and the Sandstrikers)
By Nekochan
Author's Note
Time for some more revelations, something that Kokuen-oh seems to be getting pretty good at. On to his Artifact! I also wonder one other thing . . . HOW in Cheakir will the Conduits and Rafakoh get out of the Spiritual Caves? (Grin)
Arigatou Minasan! (Thanks everyone!)
Nekochan
(-)(-)(-)
11:20 AM Sunday- Spiritual Desert May 8th- 981 D.A.
"+ . . . Conduits . . .+"
Hariel opened his eyes and spat the sand out of his mouth. He tossed the dust from his now sandy, pale yellow hair. Then he looked around.
Deserts are only in Sahngell, though! Could this be the Spiritual Desert in the legend? His maroon eyes found the wind-swept form of T'myra, half-covered by sand. "Tamer!" He cried and uncovered her.
She, too, coughed tiny granules from her lungs and brushed it from her dress. She looked up at Hariel as he smiled warmly. "Cotton, you're okay!" she cried and flung her arms around his neck. "I thought I'd lost ya' . . ." she whimpered.
Hariel kissed her cheek and pulled away to cup her face in his hands. "Never. I'll never leave your side, Tamer."
She smiled radiantly at him, then became a little more serious. "Where are we?" Tamer begged through tears.
"+ . . . Conduits . . .+"
"I'm willing to bet it's the Spiritual Desert, but what is that echo? Is that G'gonn?" Hariel asked her while helping her to stand.
"Yeah . . . it means 'Conduits.' That's what we're called . . ." T'myra said as she stood up. "The others! We 'ave t' find 'em, quick!"
"+ . . . Conduits . . .+"
"If you're quite finished . . ." Came a muffled voice.
"We'd like to get up now . . ." Came another annoyed voice that sounded feminine.
"Saberstryke? Rafakoh?" Hariel gasped. Both he and T'myra flushed as they realized that they had been standing on their two companions.
"Well, at least now all we 'ave t' do is find Shedosh . . ." T'myra chuckled as they helped the other couple get out of the sand.
"+ . . . Conduits . . .+"
"That's getting pretty annoying, if you ask me," Hariel complained.
"How long has that been going on?" Rafakoh asked curiously as she dusted herself off.
"I've heard it about 4 times now, but who knows how long before that," Hariel answered.
"+ . . . Conduits . . .+"
"Weird," Saberstryke muttered.
Tamer closed her eyes and began to glow her dark aqua aura.
"Whatcha' doin', T'myra?" Hariel wondered.
"Lookin' fo' Shedosh . . ." Tamer whispered, holding out her hand, which was pulsating. "If I can find 'is magical powa', we can find 'im."
"+ . . . Conduits . . .+"
The aura around T'myra's hand changed color to a pale blue. "Found 'im!" She said triumphantly.
T'myra ran towards a section of sand that looked like it had an indent in it, followed by the other three people present. Brushing away the sand, the Conduits and Rafakoh found Shedosh, very dusty and exhausted, but alive.
"Is this the Spiritual Desert?" he asked as he was helped to stand.
"+Yes+" two voices chorused; they sounded very nearby.
Everyone, including those who didn't know G'gonn, turned to see the Sandstrikers, looking very smug and in their direction.
"Those are the assassins Kokuen-oh described!" Shedosh gasped.
"+Indeed+" one chuckled.
"+We are the Sandstrikers, you see . . .+" the other rhymed. "+If you wish to see your friend once more+"
"+It is us with whom you must settle the score+"
"What're they laughing about?" Hariel whispered.
"They're called the Sandstrikers-" Saberstryke answered.
"-And if we want to see Kokuen-oh again, we have to deal with them," Rafakoh finished.
Saberstryke scoffed, "I can take care of them." "+Will you tell us where Kokuen-oh is, or are you going to have to endure my fury for a little while+"
"+You are no match for both of us+" they laughed.
"+We'll see about that+" Saberstryke chuckled. He drew the Soul Swords and charged one of the Sandstrikers.
"K'kedki, wait!" R'rufu begged while drawing her rapier. She flew to the other one. In the process, her cloak fluttered to the ground.
"+A clever disguise, Captain R'rafko, but it will not work on me - I know your tricks too well already+" he sneered.
"+What+" "They - know my real name!" R'rufu gasped.
"+This is for our leader, F'frvir+" They both shouted, charging their opponents.
"F'frvir? Did I hear them say F'frvir? How do they know him . . . I wish I could understand what they were saying!" Shedosh whispered.
"F'frvir was their leader, they say . . . but that means-" "+Are you K'knkir and S'swrtir+" R'rafko demanded.
"+You always were the observant one, R'rafko+" they laughed.
"It's K'knkir and S'swrtir! But they've changed-" Saberstryke was cut off as his hand nearly got cut off, "+You'll pay for that, Sandstriker+"
"K'kedki, look out!" R'rufu cried.
The Sandstriker battling her took this opportunity to raise his sword high and was prepared to pummel the Captain into unconsciousness.
When she realized this, she screamed.
The combatants heard a cry from behind R'rafko before the sword could reach her.
"(Whip Lash!)"
A black streak crackling with dark aqua electricity wrapped around the Sandstriker's sword as it was pulled from his grasp.
"+What+" he demanded.
He looked to the direction of the whip and saw a grinning T'myra, holding his sword in one hand and her whip in the other, which was still electrified.
"+You really are a Half-Breed Mage+"
"+Damned Right+" T'myra answered and cried out again, "(Whip Lash!)" This time she sent it towards the other Sandstriker.
He dodged out of the way, but didn't see T'myra crack it back towards herself, knocking him down and the sword out of his grasp. He reached out towards his weapon, but was nearly stepped on by the Lord Saberstryke, who knelt down very gracefully and swept back up with the sword in hand, his cape fluttering as he did so.
The Sandstriker stood up, backing away . . . away from his twin . . . "+You shall not be victorious+"
"+We shall win and ours' will be glorious+" the other Sandstriker agreed.
T'myra twirled the sword in her hand. "+I dunno' 'ow your gonna' manage it . . . your unarmed ya' know+" She turned to the remaining two Conduits, "They're 'elpless now; we've got 'em!"
"+We wouldn't be so proud of our work, if we were you+" The first Sandstriker held up his hands in a strange pose.
"+Because you think of us as only two+" The other one did the same, and they immediately began to circle the Conduits.
"K'kedki, what are they doing?" R'rufu pleaded, moving closer to him.
"I'm not sure . . ." Saberstryke sighed, gripping her free hand in his.
"Is it just me, or did they just double?" T'myra asked.
"I'm seeing triple!" Hariel insisted.
"They're everywhere!" Shedosh gasped.
"+You want to see your friend so bad+"
"+We'll show you to the helpless lad+"
The Conduits began to get the distinct feeling that they were sinking. They all glanced down to see that they were already ankle-deep in the sand, which had turned a darker shade of brown . . .
"What is this stuff?" Hariel asked, trying to help T'myra get out - after all, she was the shortest.
"I can't get out!" Rafakoh cried, clinging tighter to Saberstryke.
No one could get out.
The Sandstrikers chuckled to themselves, That's the point . . . you never saw it coming . . .
(-)
12:10 PM Sunday- Spiritual Caves May 8th- 981 D.A.
'Oh- Oh . . .' Kokuen-oh groaned. He sat up and realized he was covered head to toe in dust. 'Sand . . . How did I- Oh yeah . . .' he interrupted himself. He took a look around the room. 'Wow . . .'
The granules seemed to give off an inner twinkle. It was as if heaven had collided with earth, and all the stars had decided to reside there, in that cave.
'I wonder where I am?' he said out loud. He could find no clue as to where he was, and saw only one way in or out, which was not in the ceiling. So how did I get IN here? Those Sandstrikers, they'll pay . . .
Kokuen-oh started to walk towards the exit, but nearly tripped over a decently large something in the sand where he had tried to walk. 'What's This?' He held it up. 'Some kind of book?
The cover was very old and worn. There seemed to have been lettering on it once, but it was no longer legible.
'-H . . . P . . . O . . . H . . . C - Hpohc? What's that?' The letters are awfully spaced out . . . maybe there were other letters there at one time . . . He looked inside the book and found that there were faded, but still readable words inside on the first page, 'Ancient . . . First . . . Second . . . Third . . . It must be the titles of the chapters, or something.'
As shocked as Kokuen-oh had been to find the book, nothing could prepare him for what he saw written on the next page:
. . . Second shall seek out the First Conduit and, in turn, discover Fourth and Third as well. Upon gathering, Fourth shall take them to the unknown Sixth Conduit, and First shall lead the Conduits to Fifth. All together, Fifth shall read The Map. Sixth will be troubled by these prophesied events and leave to seek means and allies to stop The Prophecy from occurring . . .
The words continued, but Kokuen-oh couldn't bear to read them, for he feared that he would know, roughly, what it would say, 'Has someone been spying on us? How could they have known . . .' He flipped to the last few pages and read them:
Fourth, ascending to the Spiritual Desert, will be trapped by two minions of Sixth in the Demi-Realm of Rock and Cave. The other Conduits and Captain of Spring will follow suit, unintentionally, and find themselves sharing Fourth's fate, but will be taken to a separate branch of the Spiritual Caves. So, Fourth will seek out his companions and his Artifact
That was where the text ended. No period or other punctuation mark, the sentence just stopped, as if time had stopped.
Kokuen-oh swallowed hard and spoke, 'I will find them, and my Artifact, too!'
As if by magic, the sentence continued from where it left off.
, and be determined to find both.
Kokuen-oh nearly dropped the book and backed up into the nearest wall. This is not happening, this is not happening . . . Kokuen-oh told himself, but part of him just screamed out that it was happening, right before his very eyes! 'I have to get out of here . . .' Kokuen-oh continued to move down the only corridor he saw, hoping that he would find his friends around the corner.
They were not awaiting him.
It seemed as if hours had passed and Kokuen-oh still had not found the other Conduits, Where are they? Where could they be . . .
Suddenly, he thought he heard voices; the only thing he could thing to do was run towards them.
(-)
12:35 PM Sunday- Spiritual Cave May 8th- 981 D.A.
"We've been wandering around here for so long that my hair's turning gold!" Hariel complained, rubbing the sand from his white head.
"Aw, don't let it get t' ya', Cotton. B'sides, ya' look cute!" T'myra chuckled, "But funny nonetheless!"
Hariel glared at her playfully, then smiled. All those times . . . she really was flirting with me . . . Kohmah, I'm so glad I was right about her!
The other Conduits laughed; it was so nice to see her teasing him again.
"We need to focus on getting to Kokuen-oh!" Shedosh reminded them, "If we don't find him, then the Sandstrikers will get to his Artifact before we can get him to it!"
Kokuen-oh ran into the room and stopped just before reaching them, gasping a little. 'Hey everyone . . . Oh, I'm so glad I found you! I-' Kokuen-oh began, but was cut off by Saberstryke's reply to Shedosh's comment.
"Do you think the Sandstrikers are any better off than we are? If we don't know what his Artifact is, they probably don't know what his Artifact is," Saberstryke answered.
'Am I invisible or something? Am I speaking G'gonn? Well, that shouldn't matter, since THREE-' Kokuen-oh was about to hit Saberstryke on his helmet and complain that at least the Lord, T'myra, and R'rufu could speak G'gonn, when he heard a "whoosh" sound and found that he couldn't hit Saberstryke. Kokuen-oh's eyes went wide with shock.
After Kokuen-oh attempted to hit Saberstryke, the Lord shuddered a bit and rubbed his head, but Kokuen-oh didn't see this as he panicked.
My hand did NOT just pass through his head! Kokuen-oh stammered in his mind. No it did NOT
"Actually, I don't think any of us, the Conduits or Antulpan, have found out what an Artifact was prior to finding it," Shedosh answered.
'Shedosh? Can you hear me?' Kokuen-oh demanded. 'Hey . . .' All of his friends were free of the dusty layer that covered his skin. 'Could this sand be what makes me invisible to them?'
To test his theory, Kokuen-oh looked around. There was virtually none of the sparkling sand in this room.
Great. I just HAD to be the one to fall into the magical sand!
"Speaking of Antulpan, do you think he could've been the one who hired K'knkir and S'swrtir back in G'gonstrm and just sent them out again after us?" Rafakoh asked.
An idea struck Kokuen-oh just then, If this sand is magical . . . then that book HAS to be magical, too! Kokuen-oh looked at the last page of written text, which was still under the chapter 'Ancient', and saw this:
The Conduits had found Fourth, but they did not realize it, for a spell of dust had been cast upon him. Fourth knew not what he could do, but sought The Prophecy's guidance
The eerie feeling upon seeing the words just stop there passed through Kokuen-oh once again as he thought about what the words said.
'Sought The Prophecy's guidance?' He was looking in a book for guidance, not some prophecy! This is no help! Damnit, he cursed in his head as he threw the book down. When he looked back at the place he had thrown it, he noticed an odd-looking wall. His eyes wandered around the wall and noticed that there were indentations . . . and two handles . . . Are these things doors? In caves? They have to see this! This could be important! Uh- um- 'GUYS! CONDUITS? HELLO! LOOK! DOORS, IN CAVES! SHEDOSH! SABERSTRYKE? T'MYRA! HARIEL? RAFAKOH!'
"Did you hear something?" Shedosh asked.
"Is someone calling us?" Saberstryke questioned his friends.
"Doesn't the voice sound familia'?" T'myra wondered.
"It sounds like . . ." R'rufu trailed off.
"Kokuen-oh!" Hariel gasped.
"KOKUEN-OH?" The other Conduits and Rafakoh said, startled.
'YES!'Kokuen-oh sighed loudly, relieved he had at least made some kind of connection to his friends. 'GUYS! LOOK, OVER HERE!' he shouted.
"I think he wants us to look at something," Hariel insisted.
"Over there!" Rafakoh pointed to the 'doors.'
"Weird," T'myra whispered.
"And Kokuen-oh has The Map! Now what are we going to do about finding his Artifact?" Saberstryke demanded.
"+Time shall run short, escaping the clocks. Seek the dormant Warrior, Fourth, burning within a heart of rock . . . Burning within a heart of rock+" a voice echoed.
"I don't like this," Rafakoh shook her head, "That voice just recited one of Kokuen-oh's parts of the prophecy in G'gonn. I'll bet it was the Sandstrikers."
"+Very perceptive, Captain. So . . . which door are you going to open+"
"It's them, an' they want t' know which door we'll open," T'myra translated.
"We'll open both, of course," Shedosh responded.
"+We'll open both. So, what's it to you+" Saberstryke demanded.
"+Tsk, tsk! We would be more careful of what we do . . .+" the Sandstrikers warned, rhyming with Saberstryke.
"They don't think we should open both," Rafakoh told Shedosh and Hariel. "+How come+"
"+Death may be brought upon by one . . .+"
T'myra, the Lord, and Rafakoh paled.
"What's wrong?" Hariel asked.
"They said one door will kill us," Saberstryke responded.
"+You see, we made some plans before you came . . . One door leads to the Seer's Artifact and the other is not the same+" a Sandstriker laughed.
"+By the way; there is one catch . . . your air supply will soon run out, like a burning match+"
"Great . . . one door leads t' Kokuen-oh's Artifact. The other will lead t' our death. Also, our air supply will run out b'fore too long," T'myra explained.
How could those two have found my Artifact? Not even I know what it is . . . Kokuen-oh thought.
He decided to test out the limits of his 'invisibility'. He attempted to go through the walls of the doors and gasped at what he saw.
Behind the first door was one of the Sandstrikers.
But where's the other one? Hey . . . he moved to the second door and looked in. NO WAY!
Behind the second door . . . was the other Sandstriker.
YOU BASTARDS! That's not fair
But the Sandstrikers didn't hear him. He ran back through the walls and tried to contact his friends, but they were more interested in their own conversation.
"I say we open numba' two." Tamer motioned to the door on the right.
No . . . no, it can't be happening . . . Kokuen-oh gasped.
"We can't take any chances! That could be the door that has our doom in it!" Shedosh warned.
It is . . . my prophecy . . . but that means-
"Well, it's not doing us any good just standing here. We need to make a decision, soon, or the time to get Kokuen-oh's Artifact will be up and we'll all be dead because of the little oxygen in here!" Saberstryke reminded them, "That was the trick about this Artifact; there's a time limit . . . on our lives." Saberstryke's hand moved towards one of the doors.
'WAIT! DON'T OPEN IT!' Kokuen-oh cried, 'DON'T OPEN IT!'
The Lord reached for the door, and both flew open, sending him flying against the opposite wall. Rafakoh quickly rushed to his aid as the remaining Conduits assessed the situation.
Both Sandstrikers were cackling, one in each of the doorways. They promptly attacked.
Kokuen-oh watched in horror. There was nothing he could do . . . nothing! NOTHING! I want to help them . . . STOP IT!
At that point, a pale green light at his hip caught his eye.
'The Map?'
Then, a brighter light drew his attention to where he had tossed the book he had discovered earlier. The pages of the book turned furiously with the same green light and then shot upwards to the ceiling. The Map flew to the book and positioned itself directly above it. Slowly it descended, becoming a part of the book.
The green aura flashed around the whole room; Kokuen-oh could tell that his friends had seen it to by their screams of confusion, not to mention the Sandstrikers' own comments. When the light dimmed, the book was floating in front of Kokuen-oh. The cover was now restored and he saw, in gold lettering, 'THE PROPHECY' written on the front.
'The Prophecy?'
You Are The Only One Of Your Kind In This World . . . You Can Help Your Friends . . . GO ON! The book's aura was pulsing with the voice Kokuen-oh heard in his head . . . the voice of a young, male teenager . . . that had a distinct sound to it as one who'd grown up in K'konn G'gonstrm.
'But How?' Kokuen-oh asked. Is that the voice of my old form, Ch'tsu K'kbo? How in Cheakir-
You Could Once . . . Long Ago . . . You Still Can . . . the voice insisted.
'But I-' Kokuen-oh stuttered. He gasped as he saw his friends being badly beaten by the Sandstrikers. He wanted to cry, My friends . . . are doing this . . . to help me . . . I have to help them . . .
You Could Once . . . the young voice repeated.
A Sandstriker ran past Rafakoh and Saberstryke.
I've got to help them . . .
Long Ago . . . it stranger whispered again.
It ran past Hariel and Shedosh.
I WILL help them!
You StillCAN!
The Sandstriker raised his sword high above T'myra's head. T'myra only stared at it with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, frozen in terror.
Kokuen-oh ran in front of her and yelled out, 'I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANY OF MY FRIENDS ANY LONGER!'
A bright green light flashed into the Sandstriker's eyes and, as it burst out from Kokuen-oh, the sand came with it.
"(Visibility!)" Kokuen-oh shouted. A spell . . . I just cast a spell . . . but how?
"Kokuen-oh!" his friends cheered.
"I won't let you hurt any of my friends any longer!" Kokuen-oh repeated, his features beginning to shift. "I WON'T LET YOU!" The green aura distorted everyone's view of Kokuen-oh as the pale green light once again enveloped the room.
When everyone could see again, no one recognized the figure protecting T'myra, except T'myra herself . . .
"Ch'tsu . . ." T'myra whispered, gazing up at what she could only explain as an older form of her first love.
Kokuen-oh had changed into a Demidon, somehow, and only T'myra and Lord Saberstryke realized how he was able to fight with both of the Sandstrikers and hold his own ground.
"A Rage . . ." they awed together.
"+But- How-+" The Sandstrikers gasped.
"+YOU WON'T GET AWAY+" Kokuen-oh yelled, slashing the Sandstrikers' weapons from their hands with his short sword.
"+Oh yes-+" one Sandstriker began.
"+We will+" the other Sandstriker continued.
Both of their forms dissolved into sand as they slithered away like snakes.
"+He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day+"
"+COWARDS+" Kokuen-oh cursed, collapsing to his knees as his friends surrounded him.
His Demidon form flickered as his body was surround by green again. He fell into his friends' arms as an Angel once more. They slowly set him on the ground, but he spoke with a strong voice.
"The Prophecy; that's my Artifact. Somehow, it's enabled me to be part of every nation; my real form is that of an Angel, I can cast spells like a Mage, I'm a Seer, and I can Rage like a Demidon . . . I don't know how . . . It's still so mysterious . . . However, I think that what we saw on The Map is only part of The Prophecy."
"What's this Prophecy you keep talking about?" Shedosh asked.
"That book," Kokuen-oh pointed to where it had fallen, his voice becoming softer and more strained, "I think I'm meant . . . to write it out . . . for everyone," he sighed.
"Write what out?" Saberstryke wondered.
"Our destiny," Kokuen-oh replied as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
(-)
1:00 PM Sunday- Spiritual Caves May 8th- 981 D.A.
T'myra and Hariel watched over their odd friend, the Angel Seer Kokuen-oh, while Shedosh, Lord Saberstryke, and Rafakoh discussed how to exit the Spiritual Caves.
"How is it possible, T'myra?" Hariel asked. He had never seen anything like what Kokuen-oh had done to drive off the Sandstrikers, but the circumstances surrounding Kokuen-oh's transformation were even more unclear to him.
"What? Fo' 'im t' be so tired 'ee fell asleep right after the battle? I can b'lieve it-" T'myra insisted.
"No, no- how can he be an Angel, but also a Seer, and be able to cast spells? Not to mention he has the ability to - what did you call it, 'Rage'? You said only Demidons could do that . . ." Hariel wondered aloud.
"Well . . . I can see where 'ee got the Rage ability - 'ee was part Demidon at one point, after all . . . but the Seer and spell-casting part? I've no idea . . . " T'myra shrugged, casting a sideways glance at Kokuen-oh, asleep next to them. I'm willin' t' bet it's got somethin' t' do wit' 'is Demidon blood bein' drained from 'im, though . . .
-
"Shedosh, are you positive that you have no spells available to you that would allow us to escape from here?" Saberstryke asked.
"Absolutely nothing," Shedosh responded for what seemed the tenth time.
"What are we to do?" Rafakoh pleaded from inside Saberstryke's comforting embrace, "The air supply will run out-"
"Now, we still aren't sure of that," Shedosh pointed out.
"Okay . . . So I'm afraid of tight spaces, so WHAT?" R'rufu demanded, nearly breaking from Saberstryke's hold.
"Now, now, R'rufu . . . just try to relax," the Lord tried to calm her down by massaging her shoulders. So even the Great Seafarer has a mundane fear . . . She looks like a child frightened by a nightmare!
R'rufu had silently returned to the Lord's arms, a twinge of fear still apparent on her face.
"What about Kokuen-oh's book; could that tell us anything?" Saberstryke suggested.
"Perhaps . . . I'll go get it," Shedosh answered. He walked over to where Hariel and T'myra were sitting with Kokuen-oh.
"Hey Shedosh, come up with anything?" Hariel asked.
"No," Shedosh replied, kneeling down to look at Kokuen-oh. "Anything happen with him?"
"Nope," Tamer answered. "What are ya' lookin' fo'?"
"That book he had," Shedosh answered, looking around.
"I think it landed ova' there," T'myra motioned to her right.
"Thanks," Shedosh replied and picked up the book once he got there. He opened it up to the first couple of pages and gasped as he read it, This is . . . encrypted . . . in Magic! Was he actually able to read this? Shedosh returned to the Lord and Captain. "Saberstryke, Rafakoh, look at this!" He held the book open to the first page with a lot of writing on it.
"What does that say?" Saberstryke looked at the jumble of letters.
"I'm not sure . . . not yet, anyway. You see, I know it's in Magic, but I'm not sure what it says exactly because it's encrypted," Shedosh answered.
"Wow . . . Did Kokuen-oh say if he could read this?" Rafakoh asked. "And I thought the language was called 'Mycuajan'?"
"I don't think so. That is, he didn't say if he could read it," Shedosh replied. "And about that; Mycuajan is what we speak in modern day Mycuaja, but Magic is the old form of Mycuajan that we use to cast really powerful or ancient spells - the word order is the big difference."
"What do you think all of it means?" Lord Saberstryke wondered, "If Kokuen-oh can really read that book?"
"I really am-" Shedosh began, but was interrupted by a stirring Kokuen-oh.
"Cuo- cuorruo . . ." Kokuen-oh mumbled.
" 'Sink down', or 'be ruined' . . . That's Mycuajan!" Shedosh gasped.
"Jynacue . . . Pulabysa, Bolo Ute Talea De Cuyncue . . . Acuyo Nuncue . . ." Kokuen-oh wheezed.
" 'From here . . . Dust, fly away to the Item of Fifth . . . Cast now . . ." Shedosh translated. "Wait a second!" he cried, dashing back to Kokuen-oh's book, "Yes! I knew I saw those words in here . . . yes, only here it's in Magic . . ." Nuncue Cuyncue, Jynacue Acuyo, Cuorruo De Pulavysa, Talea Bolo Ute . . . Now Five, From Here Cast, Sink Down, of Dust. Item, Fly Away To . . . "Okay, I think I got it," Shedosh set the book down and closed his eyes. He sat with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. He chanted, "Nuncue Cuyncue, Jynacue Acuyo, Cuorruo De Pulavysa, Talea Bolo Ute!" "(Now Five, From Here Cast, Sink Down, Of Dust. Item, Fly Away To!)"
"Um . . . Shedosh?" Hariel spoke up.
Shedosh's hands had begun to glow a bright blue.
"Yes, Hariel?" Shedosh asked.
"You- um, you're glowing," Hariel explained.
"What?" Shedosh asked as he opened his eyes and the room was filled with a bright blue light, "Cuysanam cuontyjo nyta unusa?" ("(What's happening around me?)")
Hariel realized that Shedosh was panicked. "Guys! Something weird's going on! Shedosh doesn't normally use Mycuajan, unless he's really spooked!"
"We noticed, Cotton! We're not that stupid!" T'myra cried, then noticed a groaning from next to her.
"What's going on . . ." Kokuen-oh moaned, looking up at Tamer.
"Well-" Tamer began to explain with a bit of sarcasm as she helped him up, but couldn't finish her sentence before Shedosh began speaking again, thankfully in Sahngellian.
Shedosh was blindly staring up at the ceiling with the same, pale blue light coming from his eyes, but he was a little calmer now. "I can- I can see . . . a city . . . IT'S MYSECUAMAJA!" he cried.
The other Conduits and Rafakoh gazed up at the ceiling and saw a projected image of, indeed, the great city of Mysecuamaja.
"Hey, is that really possible?" Lord Saberstryke asked T'myra and Hariel, "I mean, can he really do that?"
They both shrugged.
"I've never seen him cast a spell like this," Hariel insisted.
"Ya'd be surprised the kinds o' thin's you'll see when powa'ful spells start goin' off," Tamer spoke with the voice of experience.
"It's as if I'm flying there right now . . . ah, what the-" he gasped, jerking his head to the floor.
Just as soon as his blue vision reached the floor, the sand began to sink in, swirling into a sort of whirlpool.
"It's getting closer . . . I'm nearer to the ground . . ." Shedosh sighed, completely unaware of the events occurring in the cave.
"Wow . . . I REALLY want t' learn that spell!" Tamer chuckled.
"Look!" Rafakoh pointed to the floor.
The very middle of the whirlpool had opened up and they could see the tops of some buildings in the distance, not to mention some very tall trees nearby.
"Is that-" R'rufu began.
"Mysecuamaja . . . I'm almost there!" Shedosh gasped.
"What are we going to do about that?" Hariel demanded, pointing to the growing whirlpool.
Kokuen-oh looked at the image in the floor. He guessed it was projecting at least 50 feet above the ground.
If I have the ability to Rage again, then I should have the Manifest ability again, too! "T'myra, Manifest and then jump!" he shouted, and flung himself, along with Shedosh and The Prophecy into the vortex of sand. As he did so, Kokuen-oh's aura flared light green again and his figure shifted to Demidon form once more. He released his wings and held onto the now unconscious Mystic. It was a little burdensome, but he managed to glide down.
"Sounds good t' me," Tamer agreed, grabbing Hariel by the waist and jumping at the same time into the whirlpool of sand as her teal aura began to dance around the cavern. She grew wings, clawed hands, horns, and a tail as she fell, and used the wings as soon as she knew they would function. The leathery folds opened and she held tight to the Angelic boy. Even w' my lil bit o' extra strength, this isn't easy . . .
"Is this really a good-" Lord Saberstryke began, but was immediately silenced by a forceful kiss from R'rafko, which sent them spiraling into the vortex after the others. The Lord opened his wings and held onto his love. "Now, was that really necessary?" he inquired as they glided behind T'myra and Hariel.
"Doesn't matter," R'rufu giggled as she smiled. "I wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. It worked, and it worked well."
"You are a devious one, love."
"I know."
As the two couples and Kokuen-oh with Shedosh flew towards the green surface of Mycuaja, they caught sight of the awesome city that was Mysecuamaja.
"It's as incredible as I can ever remember!" Hariel sighed as he hung onto T'myra. I thought she said Half-Breeds could only Rage if they were really angry . . .
"Oh . . ." Shedosh mumbled as one who'd been asleep, "What happened? Are we flying?"
"I believe you cast a very powerful Teleport spell, Shedosh, in the form of a whirlpool," Kokuen-oh explained, "We jumped into it."
"Reeaalllly?" Shedosh asked, sarcastically, "I could've sworn I cast some kind of Sleep spell!" Then he did a double-take, "You're a Demidon again!"
"Well, at least you still have your humor and your perception," Kokuen-oh chuckled.
"Hey, Rafakoh," Hariel called.
"What?"
"How come you aren't flying?" Hariel wondered.
"Because . . ." R'rufu smiled and clung to Saberstryke even tighter, as if that answered his question.
Hariel could tell that the Lord was enjoying carrying her more than he let on. "I see," Hariel laughed knowingly. We should consider ourselves lucky that Shedosh's spell didn't put us right on top of Mysecuamaja! How would we have explained four flying Demidons to the Capital Guard?
Once the six people were once again on the ground, Shedosh requested the details of what had happened.
T'myra and Kokuen-oh took a short nap to regain some energy while he was filled in, after they explained to an inquisitive Hariel that Manifesting was like a lesser form of Raging; the being only changed into a Demidon, but didn't gain the extra power and thus their features didn't invert. It had been recognized a long time ago that Half-Breeds could Manifest (bring out their Demidon or Monster blood), even if for only short periods of time; whether or not part-Demidons could Rage had been the questionable aspect of Half-Breeds. In addition, while Manifesting was not as energy-draining on a Half-Breed as Raging, it still had a distinct effect on a being.
Shedosh was quite shocked to learn that the light blue aura streaming from his eyes had been the same kind as his aura, for it was still glowing faintly around him and the other Conduits recognized it.
When he discovered they truly were near Mysecuamaja, he began to whisper, almost not believing it, "I saw the city, yes, but as I got close, it seemed to be colored in grays, then . . ." He paused.
"Then?" Kokuen-oh asked, opening an eyelid.
"There were two points, above the city and next to it, that glowed a bright blue. What they could signify, I have no clue. Unless . . ." Shedosh trailed off, holding his chin in contemplation. "Kokuen-oh? May I see that book of yours?"
"Sure, Shedosh, and its The Prophecy," Kokuen-oh informed the Mystic as he handed him the book.
Shedosh took it and read the title, "So I see."
He flipped to the first page, and, seeing a table of contents, turned to the second. His suspicion was confirmed; The Map had become part of The Prophecy. He turned to the back of that page and found what he was looking for.
"Ah, here it is, my part of The Prophecy: 'Find the Fifth Warrior, as hope begins to die, floating among all with Eyes of the Ages, unmoored in the Sea of the Sky.' There was also 'Fifth; if you confine your thinking to what you know and you see, you won't find anything easily.' Yes, I remember now," Shedosh muttered to himself. "Which reminds me, Kokuen-oh; are you able to read this Prophecy, as you call it?"
"Of course; why wouldn't I be able to read it?" Kokuen-oh wondered.
"Unless my eyesight fails me-" Shedosh began.
Kokuen-oh looked like he wanted to comment, but shut his mouth.
Shedosh tried to ignore the action. "This text is encrypted in Magic."
"That's not possible! I can't read Magic, whatever that is! Your eyesight must have failed you!" Kokuen-oh scoffed.
Shedosh nodded, with a smile that displayed his insistent belief of what language the text was written in. "Lord Saberstryke? May I ask a small favor of you?"
"Of course, what is it?" The Lord asked.
"What languages have you been taught?" Shedosh wondered.
"Not Magic or Mycuajan, if that's what you're thinking," K'kedki replied.
"As I thought. Well then, that's just perfect." Shedosh held The Prophecy up for the Lord to see, opened to one of the few pages that had been 'written' in, "Even if you can't read the encryption, would you please read this aloud?"
"Uhm . . . Okay . . ." Saberstryke sighed, "Uh- Nyjenuytas nycuendo . . . urabys urabysa de potentya . . . Is that right?"
"That's fine. Now, you have no idea what that means?"
"Absolutely none," Saberstryke answered.
"Let me see that!" Kokuen-oh grabbed the book, "Where did you begin?"
"Right there," Saberstryke pointed to 'Nyjenuytas'.
"But that clearly says, 'The Conduits went to the High City of Magic'! Are you blind?" Kokuen-oh demanded. It's not like I have a reason to lie about this sort of thing . . . but it does make one wonder . . .
"No, but I believe you are, Kokuen-oh. That's Magic - an old form of Mycuajan; not Sahngellian or even G'gonn," Shedosh insisted.
"But how-" Kokuen-oh gasped.
Shedosh didn't have the opportunity to respond.
"We shouldn't worry about that now!" T'myra interrupted them, sitting up on the ground, "We should be lookin' fo' Shedosh's Artifact!"
"Very well . . . Let's see, from the sight that was given to me during the spell, I believe I know the two possible locations of my Artifact. Perhaps we should look first at the nearest one?" Shedosh suggested.
"Sounds good t' me! Where is it?" Tamer asked.
"Let me think . . ." Shedosh began to walk through the forest, into the city of Mysecuamaja.
(-)(-)(-)
Continued in: Ancient Problems
3/3/2001
YAY! Whadda' ya think? Kokuen-oh can still Rage . . . Sarcastically How is that possible? Anyway, I tried to give Kokuen-oh more of the spotlight this time. I think he got more, don't you? Well, he almost made it through one whole episode, but that one time didn't quite count, since it was the Sandstrikers' fault. Now Kokuen-oh has The Prophecy and thinks he's supposed to write out their destiny. What could this bode for the future? Keep reading to find out!
2/5/2005 and 2/28/2005
Don't you just hate those Sandstrikers? I thought they'd make pretty good villains; they've certainly got the motive. Does anyone else recognize the book? I'd guess not, but I'll give you a hint: Go watch Message! See you in Chapter Ten! Update: I did some clarifying and other general wordsmithing / spell-checking / grammar-correcting. Nothing major changed; don't worry. (Smile) This should be the last time that I do any edits to any episodes prior to and including this one!
4/1/2005
I guess Shedosh snuck his way into this last episode of Kokuen-oh's spotlight (grin). I think the restructuring helped Kokuen-oh more than it hurt Shedosh; this is still a fairly natural pausing point. I did some wordsmithing changes, but not a lot got changed. I've already been through these chapters with a fine-tooth comb; they don't need much work anymore, I think. (big smile)
Nekochan