Hello people, and say hello to chapter 16! You know, I swear I already wrote over half of this chapter, but I have absolutely no clue what happened to it. I remember starting to write it, but then finding that I wasn't in the mood, and thus I saved and went to watch youtube. Well, either way the chapter is here, so no worries! Now, more of you tried to guess what a flasher is, though many people got close, nobody hit the bulls eye. You should find out what a flasher is in this chapter, if not then expect to find out what it is soon. Some of you are also thinking that Gregor is no longer a rager, but something beyond that. I can't tell you what it is as of now, though I can say that he is still a rager, and he is still discovering his true potential. So, as usual, all feed back is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts! See you all after the chapter!
Fly you high,
-Tytonic
Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.
Gregor and the War of the Myriapods
Chapter 16: Xano's story
Luxa, Gregor, and two guards headed down to the gateway to the city, and when they got there, they found about 15 guards surrounding a signal, translucent slasher. He was showing no sign of hostility. They landed, and Luxa approached the slasher, though she stayed a square 15 feet away from the creature.
"My name is queen Luxa of Regalia, what business do you have here, slasher?" Asked Luxa.
"I have come in request to join you in the war against my kind. I am he named Xano."
-O-
"Xano? Isn't that the traitor the slasher that attacked us mentioned?" Whispered Gregor into Luxa's ear.
"Yes, I believe so. Despite this, I do not trust him, I should have him killed now." Whispered Luxa back.
"I don't trust him either, but don't kill him, if he is to be trusted, then we will have great need of him. Just have him like, locked up of something, so he can't hurt anybody. I would like to talk to him, in private." Responded Gregor.
"I do not think that is a good idea, though I have trust in your judgment." Whispered Luxa.
"Guards, contain him. Make sure there is absolutely no chance that he can so much as move." Said Luxa.
Luxa and Gregor watched as the guards began to tied up the slasher. Aside from how scarred the guards were, knowing that the slasher could kill them all in moments, seemed to have no trouble whatsoever tying the slasher up.
"Xano, why are you not resisting?" Asked Gregor.
"I have no desire to hurt your kind. To be truthful, I expected to be attacked on sight. I have knowledge that will be very valuable in this war, for I had a former rank as general." Responded Xano.
"Well ok then. Gather your thoughts, I am going to speak to you later, privately." Said Gregor.
"Gregor, are you sure that this is a wise decision? There is something about this slasher that makes me feel. . . helpless, like I am but the fish, whilst he is the hungry flier." Whispered Luxa.
"I feel it too, it is like he is radiating power. I am certain that if he wanted it so, we would all be lying in our own blood right now. I don't think we have the choice of killing him, we never did." Said Gregor.
"I regret to admit it, but I fear you are right." Said Luxa.
The flight back to the palace was uneventful, though it was only a few short minutes anyway. Gregor had asked Chronos to fly close to Aurora so that Gregor and Luxa could talk without the guards hearing. Luxa wouldn't want anybody to know how concerned Luxa truly was. They talked about few things, though the most brought up topic was how this slasher was clear, rather then any other color, and why he would betray his kind. Before that moment the humans were almost 100% sure that the slashers were like the cutters, that they were loyal to their leader no matter what.
When they landed in highhall, both Gregor and Luxa dismounted from their fliers. Neither of the guards that had flown with them landed, they fly in place for a few moments to see that their queen had landed safely, and they flew off to what Gregor assumed to be training, or guard duty. Both Gregor and Luxa followed a guard that had appeared down to a interrogation room, were Xano was supposedly being held. It took around 3 minutes to walk their, and when they arrived they found 2 guards on either side of a large stone door.
"Gregor wait, I am coming in too." Proclaimed Luxa.
"Luxa, you know that it is far to dangerous." Responded Gregor.
"Yes I know, but I am queen, it is important for me to hear this. Besides, how much danger can I be in with the warrior at my side?" Said Luxa.
Gregor just rolled his eyes, and walked into the door that had just been opened by the effort of three guards. He waved his hand, signaling Luxa to follow him in. He was fully aware of the grin on her face, how she could make him do absolutely anything she wanted him to.
When they both arrived in the circular stone room, Luxa signaled two guards that were already in the room out, and as they left, the door closed behind them. Both Gregor and Luxa drew their swords and stood before the figure in the center of the room.
Xano was completely tied up, everything covered by ropes and chains, save the face. Since slasher's don't use their actual jaws to talk, only their throats, his jaws were chained back so they couldn't move.
"Okay, so Xano, you said you had some important information that would greatly aid us?" Asked Gregor.
"Indeed. As I previously stated, I am a former general of the Myriapods. I was of the highest ranks, I have knowledge of almost every plan, strength, and weakness of my kind." Said Xano. It looked creepy to see him talk with his jaws chained back, he mouth kind of vibrated slightly, and a voice came from it.
"If so, speak, I would like to hear of them all. Do not worry, I might have you untied, if I believe that you have told us everything, and will not attack once free." Said Luxa, from Gregor's side.
"I would not dream of it." Said Xano. Luxa would not take anything from him, nothing.
"speak, now." Said Luxa angrily.
"Very well. I shall start with one of the largest facts. The Myriapod leader, King Kedvor, does not care about any once species specifically, his goal is simply to take over the entire underland. The Myriapods once ruled over the entire underland, and any species that existed were slaves, under the Myriapods control. This was the case for millions upon millions of years, however, one day, a new enemy appeared, as if from nowhere. I believe they are called, in your tongue, the cutters. No being had ever seen such a force, and we had never faced such an enemy. One day they swarmed in from the unknown lands, lands much farther away from the known lands today, a land so far away that it lays below what the overlanders call 'California'. They came in numbers far larger then we could have imagined possible. While the Myriapods had numbers ranging from 100-200 million, they had numbers over 2 billion. It took a total of 700 years for this war to end, and as you would expect, the Myriapods lost. We retreated to hidden caverns, a far smaller land hidden beneath the underland, and we sealed the entrances. Only about 10 thousand of us survived. After what I believe to be around 1 million years, it was but earlier this month that we emerged. We had intentions of staying in seclusion for another million or so years, until an earthquake caused a large cave-in, causing us to flee from this area. As of now, we stand around 1 million strong." Explained Xano.
"Wait, so if that is true, then what happened to all of the cutters? They do not die easily, if there were truly over a billion of them, they would still be thriving in those numbers today." Asked Luxa, clearly not believing this story.
"Very good question. We were not 100% trapped in this cavern though, I have my ways, and I had access to the rest of the underland. I discovered that they were all killed, by a plague. I also discovered much about this plague. I know a cure for it, as well as were this plague once resided. It seemed that it only affected cold blood creatures. It would be a great weapon against the Myriapods, unfortunately, it seems that it ceased to exist thousands upon thousands of years ago." Said Xano.
"If you know so much about it, then why are you alive? Wouldn't you have gotten it as well, and been killed?" Asked Luxa.
"Another very good question. You see, I am not a Myriapod, but rather a Symphyla. A Symphyla is closely related to a Myriapod, but yet are much rarer, and as you can see, translucent. Me and only one other of my kind still exist. Unlike Myriapods though, my kind lives much longer, you see I am millions upon millions of years old." Said Xano.
"You are that old? That would explain why you would know all of this, though it does not explain how you would survive a plague. Explain." Said Luxa.
"Yes, it does explain much. The reason I was not affected by the plague, was because, like only 1 other time in history, I am a flasher." Said Xano.
"A flasher, what is a flasher?" Asked Luxa.
"A flasher is similar, yet very different from what humans call a rager. A flasher is warmblooded, though its original species is not. This grants it extraordinary abilities. As you would guess, the fact that I am warmblooded prevents me from being victim of the plague." Said Xano.
"So your sort of like me? I am a rager, your a flasher. So you can fight much better then most?" Asked Gregor.
"Indeed, though a flasher has more speed and agility than a rager does, whilst a rager has more strength and power. Being a flasher is much more uncommon then being a rager, and aside from me, it has only occurred one other time. It is believed that being a flasher is passed through blood, and only one can exist at a time. My father was the previous flasher, though according to what I have been told, he died at the very moment I was born. There are secrets about being a flasher that even I have yet to discover, such as outraging." Said Xano.
"What's outraging?" Asked Gregor.
"Outraging is when your flasher, or in your case rager, senses are enhanced, kind of like adrenaline specifically for your rager/flasher. I have only had this happen a few times, it seems to only occur in time of great emergency. You lose all control over your body, and you do anything you need to in order to save whoever is in danger. You see, it never activate when you yourself are in danger, only when something or somebody you care greatly about is in danger. It takes away your sense of self-safety as well; you will make many reckless and idiotic moves, though the heightened senses are more then enough to make up for the reckless actions." Said Xano.
"Gregor, have you ever had that happen to you?" Asked Luxa, horrified at the idea of loosing all control whatsoever over your body.
"Well. . . only once, around 5 days ago. It was when you were pinned to the ground, completely unconscious, with a slasher moments away from burying its fangs into your neck. I had no control, and I only remember gaining control once the slasher was dead, and had enough damage to die 10 times over again." Said Gregor, hanging his head, blushing deeply.
"That is true? I heard guards saying that you were like an. . . an animal killing the slasher, but I only believed them to be rumors." Said Luxa, as she took Gregor's hand, seeing the obvious discomfort.
"It is a terrible feeling, I lost all control, it was like being inside somebody else's body, I couldn't do anything but watch as I tore through slashers like nothing. I feel like such a monster." Said Gregor, sorrow showing in his voice.
"Well, queen, that clearly proves that he has deep feelings for you. I'm not going to get myself mixed up in your drama, but when it happened to me, it was when my loved ones were killed right in front of me, slaughtered. The king knew of my ability, and wanted to control me, so whenever I did something wrong, he would have somebody close to me killed, he had full control over me, through my loved ones. I ended up killing him out of pure anger when he tied up my mate, and executed her right in front of me. The only reason I was not attacked and killed, was because everybody was to afraid of me to attempt it, knowing that I would just kill them. The only other time it happened, while not under the rule of this king, was a few years ago, when I saw a Myriapod murder six newborns. My brother's children. I was very close to them, and they were like my own children to me, considering that their father was very rarely around to see them." Said Xano.
"That's. . . that's just terrible!" Muttered Luxa, eyes wide with horror.
The interrogation went on for around another 2 days. In these 2 days Luxa had food brought in for both Gregor and her, as well as beds. They would take shifts listening to Xano spit out all of this information. At one point it became far to much information to possibly remember, and they had multiple scrolls brought in, and they had to start copying all of the information down.
This time was very boring, and tiring, but yet, it seemed that Xano needed no food nor water, and could keep talking endlessly. Honestly, to admit it, Gregor was really starting to like this overgrown bug.
It had been around 2 days when Xano finally started to come to a conclusion. Not only that, but it was a horrifying conclusion.
"The only hope we have of winning this war, is to find and kill every signal member of the royal bloodline. The Myriapods are like the cutters, they have endless loyalty to their leader, and will follow any and all orders without question. This also means that they will never do anything without an order." Said Xano.
"So if we kill their king they will fall into chaos? Sort of like in the prophecy of gray, when king Gorger died, the rats fell into chaos." Said Luxa.
"Yes, indeed. The leader ship will pass onto the next in the royal family though, and they will continue their assault on the underland. In order for the plan to work, we would need to kill every member of the royal family." Said Xano.
"Wait, if we kill the entire royal bloodline, then won't a new royal family emerge, and take control of the Myriapods?" Asked Luxa.
"Yes, though it would take hundred of years. All of the Myriapods grew up knowing only of taking orders, never of making orders. They would need to adapt, they would need to learn how to make think for themselves." Responded Xano.
"So what are you saying? Won't they just try to take over again once they are ready?" Asked Luxa.
"Yes, they would attempt it. This is were I make a proposal. I see the obvious benefits of having the humans as ally's. I am one of few that have the strength, the will, and the freedom required in order to take control of the Myriapods. I would ensure that piece reigns. I believe that an alliance between the rats, humans, fliers, and Myriapods would create a force beyond comprehension. It would create the most fruitful peace the underland has ever seen. All of our species would benefit greatly from it. " Said Xano.
"I agree with this, though this would only be the case if all you say is true. We have no way of knowing it is true. You have not gained our trust." Said Luxa.
"I see both of your points. I say that we should not make to big of steps here. We should continue the war as is for a time, at least until we know we can trust Xano. If he is to be trusted, then we have a path strait to some of the best moments op the underland has ever seen." Said Gregor.
"I see your point Gregor, and I fully agree. We should continue as we are now until we can trust Xano, and then we can decide on further actions." Said Luxa.
"Well, should we ask the council? You know that they would be against it, and they would try to have Xano executed." Said Gregor.
" That is true. We cannot allow the council to know of this. They would also never allow us to go on a quest in to the uncharted lands, so I think that we should only allow those who would accompany us to know. I believe that you already know who all would accompany us." Said Luxa.
"Yes I do. Know, how about we get something to eat, and then get some sleep? We could have a little fun after you wake up to." Said Gregor.
"Yes, That would be nice. As queen I never have any time to do anything fun. I get such little sleep, that when I have free time, I usually sleep more." Said Luxa.
"Well that really sucks. Can we go now? I'm starving, and I need to see my mom before she gets herself thrown in the dungeon, if she hasn't already. By the way, what do we do with Xano here?" Asked Gregor.
"Honestly, I would have a room prepared for him, though I have no clue how he lives, I shall ask him." Said Luxa.
"Xano, I shall have you released, though I have no knowledge of your species living habits, so what shall I do? Do you wish to have a room?" Asked Luxa.
"The living habits of my kind are rather poof compared to humans. I shall have a room, though it should have nothing in it, not even light." Said Xano.
"Very well, I shall have it prepared. In the mean time do you care to join us for a meal? You must be famished." Asked Luxa.
"I could go for another week without food, though I will take your offer, thank you." Said Xano.
"I shall have you cleaned, and prepared for a meal, then sent to the dinning room. Please ignore all poor looks you get, for I feel you will get quite a lot." Said Luxa.
"Thank you, queen Luxa, this is far kinder treatment than I expected." Said Xano.
Luxa nodded and left the room, giving commands to the guards to complete all she promised for Xano. They all looked at her like she was crazy, but followed her orders nonetheless. Gregor and Luxa both went down to their washrooms together (the washroom Luxa uses is in the same direction as the private one Gregor and his friends use). They had random conversations most of the walk, though most of the talk ended up being Gregor telling Luxa about the overland, and her wanting to do things like watch a movie or ride in a car. Gregor let his imagination wander about the movie part, maybe it was possible to show her one, before they went on a suicide mission to assassinate a king.
Gregor turned into his washroom and said goodbye to Luxa (not before giving her a quick kiss, and staring into her eyes for a minute or so). He walked into the Washroom, and stripped, setting his cloths next to Alex's. He then slid into a bath, and called to Alex like he usual does.
"Hey Alex, how's it going?" Asked Gregor.
"Great dude, were have you been for the past 2 days?" Asked Alex.
"Interrogating that slasher. It turns out he is really old, and I mean really old. He is over a million years old! That met that he had a crap load of stuff to tell us." Said Gregor.
"Wow, over a million years old?! How long do they live?!" Asked Alex.
"Well he is a special type of slasher. His type will live forever, or at least until he gets killed, which is highly unlikely." Said Gregor.
"Oh ya, what's going on with Zoey? She over it yet?" Asked Gregor.
"Well about Zoey. . . She went missing yesterday, and since they could't interrupt Luxa, they haven't started a search yet." Said Alex.
Well that was very random and unexpected! Hope you guys like the story so far, because it is kind of floating away from my control, and I am struggling to keep it inside my liking, though I am managing. By the way, I need to tell you guys, before it gets to stuck in your head as is, that Xano, the X is pronounced as a I decided to take a suggestion you guys made. I will ask a question at the end of each chapter, and whoever get's it right gets mentioned in the next chapter! So as usual all feed back is encouraged and appreciated, see you later!
R&R Guys,
-Tytonic
Question: How did Xano's dad die?
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*POOF*
Tytonic- So, how did you guys like the chapter?
Gregor- It was awesome! I learned so many cool things from Xano, and I still need to read the scrolls the Luxa wrote while I was sleeping.
Luxa- I agree completely! He has done so many cool things, he was even in the overland a couple of times!
Gregor- He was?!
Luxa- You were asleep when he told those stories, you will read about them in the scrolls later.
Gregor- Ok! Never been so exited about reading!
*All three of them laugh*
Tytonic- Ok, keep at it guys, and make sure you find Zoey, it may be more important then you think! See you guys later!
Gregor and Luxa- Bye!
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*POOF*
Tytonic- I swear I burned a hole in my head staring at this screen for so long!
Fly you all high,
-Tytonic