Chapter 8
The dark wasteland snaked into the distance, a black void, cold against the green lantern Shardak carried. The Glatorian- no, Toa, he had to remind himself- found it unnerving that the shadows did not flee from the light as darkness did in the world above. It reminded him of the spire. And Blast.
And the Ix.
"Melnox?" The voice, light and innocent, jerked Shardak back to reality. He turned to regard the Matoran standing next to him as he replied to his assumed name.
"Yes, Barit?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound casual. "Are we almost to Circle's Edge?"
The Onu-Matoran's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Almost." he said. There was no trace of discomfort in his voice. Shardak had quickly learned that all the Matoran here had spent so long underground they were almost blinded by bright light, and could see perfectly in the dark.
He'd also learned so much more during his time in the Circle. After the fateful meeting with Silencer and Melnox when he'd discovered that he was a Toa and learned of his powers in the aura field, Silencer and his allies had taken them to a second safe house and explained their plan to him.
"Untrained." Silencer had said, "You are a danger to everyone, but mostly to yourself. We can train you in both physical combat and in the ways of the aura field, but we need time. And time is not on our side. The Ix will never give up searching for you, and unless we can train you quickly then somehow get you out of the Circle you'll stand no chance if you flee."
"Can't you just escape with me and train me in Intax? Then-" he had stopped when Silencer cut him off.
"I'm a citizen here, and so is Ion. The Ix do not know Melnox exists, or if they do, they have not chosen to arrest me for it. As such we are not allowed beyond the Skull Gates or any gatehouse." said Silencer. "I've breached their security before, but that was only for-" he broke off suddenly, and then continued. "Anyway, I'd never be able to escape this place without hundreds of Ix on my tail."
"And besides." said Ion, his voice raw with emotion. "What do you think would happen to our friends?"
"They'd slaughter them. The Ix would kill them all." answered Silencer, his voice oddly flat as he said those words.
Shardak was about to reply no sane ruler would ever do such a thing. Then he'd remembered the horrible torture he'd suffered at the hands of the two Ix interrogators and the words dissolved in his mouth.
"Can I go back to Intax after this is all over?" Shardak had asked.
"If you can learn to control your aura powers, you can. You're a massive presence in the field, Shardak. I'm surprised the Ix didn't sense you earlier." Silencer had answered, looking thoughtful.
"Anyway, I've talked with Ion and Melnox, and we've agreed on a plan.
"We're going to disguise you as a Glatorian slave miner on the Circle's Edge. Recently captured, you'll say you know very little about the Circle and need to be taught everything a slave needs to know. Mostly about how we owe the Ix everything and how to work properly." said Silencer.
Shardak nodded, but then felt a pang of anxiety. "Do the Ix monitor all slave transactions as well?"
Silencer smiled grimly. "Yes, but there are many, many technically illegal deals that are made for Glatorian, Agori, and Matoran slaves. The-"
"Matoran here buy other Matoran?" asked Shardak, shocked.
"Not those from the Circle. Those from the worlds above." said Silencer. "Or lower class Matoran, such as Ga-Matoran or Le-Matoran. Even Karnr are sometimes enslaved."
"Matoran enslave other Matoran here?" Shardak had gasped.
"It depends on how useful you are. Po-Matoran and Onu-Matoran rank higher than all the others, and the rest are either slaves or lower-class citizens." Silencer answered. "During the Order's age, they'd eradicated slavery from the Circle, but, unfortunately, it thrives here now."
"What are Karnr?" Shardak asked.
"They're the pale-eyed, green and white beings that you said were at the gatehouse."
Shardak paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure I'll be alright? There's so much I still don't know."
"That's okay, most slaves don't, either." Silencer had answered. "But you'll learn. You won't be treated badly there, willing, able miners at Circle's Edge are in high demand among the upper-class citizens, since most Matoran are too afraid to go there."
The way Silencer said the last word made Shardak slightly worried, but he held his tongue. He'd already asked so many questions and gained many answers, and if Silencer was correct, he'd learn more about the Circle soon enough.
Instead he'd asked, "But how will this help my training? Mining won't give me mastery of the aura field."
"I have a safe house near the Slave Compound. When you're supposed to rest, you can easily return to the safe house and train. Returning in the morning should be easy; the Compound houses so many slaves from all professions that it's wildly chaotic during shift changes."
Shardak had quickly learned that "day" and "night" meant virtually nothing in the Circle. The cold blue and green lights were always shining down on the Circle, and no one seemed to all rest at the same time. "But I can't use my name." he said. "I told you the Ix forced me to tell them everything."
"Melnox is not a citizen here." said Silencer without further explanation. "You can go under his name. It'll rule out accidental slips of the tongue, and since the name isn't a common Matoran name it won't seem suspicious."
"Okay." answered Shardak.
Silencer smiled sympathetically. "Excellent. As soon as you're ready, we'll disguise you and tell you what to do when you arrive at the Circle's Edge."
When Silencer brought him to the Slave Compound, he'd fabricated a story about how he and Ion had acquired Shardak as a slave from the latest beings captured from the Kodax Fells above. The guards had nodded, as this was nothing unusual, and Silencer demanded one-fifth of the wages Shardak made from his work, the rest for the Ix and the slavemasters.
After bargaining, Silencer and the slavemaster, one of the short, stocky pale-eyed beings, walked over to Shardak, and, after chaining him with the other slaves, led them to the compound.
The slave compound was a rundown, ramshackle building that had been carelessly constructed by heaping several stones atop one another. It had a stone roof, one that Shardak half expected to collapse. The walls were no better, and the stones were covered in lichen, as well as the silver moss he and Blast had seen on their journey through the void.
He'd quickly become accustomed to the routine. His shift was four hours long, during which he'd practice mining with a pick and shovel, trying to find the hidden "emeralds" within. The slave overseers said as soon as they were confident in his abilities, they'd send him on his first assignment.
Shardak had also realized equally quickly that they'd only bothered to train him because of the job's many dangers. They'd said it would be unprofitable for them to lose a physically fit slave to an accident, and he'd been grouped with the other fit slaves for training.
"We're here." said Barit, and the present flooded back into focus. "Circle's Edge."
Shardak looked around and almost gasped in shock.
They were standing on the edge of a massive precipice. It was as though suddenly the ground had vanished beneath them. Like the void they'd encountered Banrax in, he was unable to see the depths below. Unlike the void above, the blackness seemed to draw him in, as though some primal part of him desired to merge with the rippling waves of darkness.
The void was eerily silent. Even though Shardak could see workers hanging from ropes or standing on overhangs, and watched their picks striking the rock again and again, he couldn't make out any noise at all.
"It's a strange, unique phenomenon." said Barit, as though reading his thoughts. "At an unidentified point in history, a large amount of sonic energy was released into this void, causing all sounds to fade. You can make it out, if you listen carefully. Once you're inside Circle's edge, it stops."
Shardak listened, not daring to bend down in case he fell into the void. Sure enough, he could hear sounds rising from below, but it was almost unintelligible. He'd have never recognized the sound had he been able to see the Matoran's and pale-eyed being's shovel striking the obsidian earth over and over again.
"You there!" One of the Karnr, a short but somewhat gaunt being, strode over to them. Shardak could tell immediately from the silver whip he held in his hand he was one of the slavemasters. "Join team seven. They're down on the highest mining platform." the Karnr led them, whip held in hand, toward several crudely carved handhelds for them to lower themselves onto the mining platform.
Shardak eyed them doubtfully for a few moments, but Barit quickly began climbing as though he'd done it all his life.
"Go." ordered the Karnr.
Shardak turned toward the slavemaster and saw his eyes held the baleful promise of punishment. He quickly began his descent.
Once there, he and Barit were approached by a Po-Matoran. Shardak was shocked to see he bore scars on his shoulders and back, and one arm had been nearly severed completely.
"You will begin by mining the obsidian and emerald from this cliff. You will cover sector eight, over there." Shardak's gaze followed his finger to an empty platform jutting deeper into the void. It was directly below the platform they were currently standing on.
Shardak nodded, and then as soon as they were out of earshot, muttered, "What happened to him?"
Barit grimaced. "His arm was probably injured in an accident, and he began preforming poorly. The worse you preform, the more you'll be whipped."
"Don't they need as many unwounded miners as they can get?" asked Shardak, confused. "Why would they damage one further, and not allow his arm to heal."
Barit smiled coldly. "If you can't work, you die. Slowly. Why do they need fit slaves when they can grab hundreds more from the Fells? Or from another Ix outpost?"
"There are more outposts?" asked Shardak, surprised.
"Many more, scattered throughout the Upperdark." said Barit. Their domain ends on the edge of the Grand Abyss."
Shardak almost asked about the Grand Abyss, but decided to ask another question, one that had been weighing on his mind since he'd arrived in the Circle four days ago.
"What are the Ix, anyway? Are they Karnr? Glatorian?"
Barit's eyes suddenly became panicked. "Do you want to get us killed?" he whispered, voice furious.
"I just asked-"
Barit cut him off. "Don't ever ask that question out loud, if you value your life." he whispered. "Even I don't know the answer. It's strictly forbidden to talk about the Ix, or portray them in any way."
Shardak was about to reply when a scream rang out next to him. He whirled around, and saw to his shock and horror that one of the massive scaled beings that had attacked him and Blast within the void above had slammed into the overhang, shattering the wooden platform. With a shriek, one of the being's talons wrapped around a hapless Matoran and hauled him over the edge.
A chorus of gasps and shouts rang out from above. Shouts of "Lumidrax!" rang through the air.
Shardak looked down, and saw the other Matoran working with him had fallen into the void. He watched, horrified, as the green light from their lanterns spiraled down, down, down, finally ceasing completely.
With a roar, the scaled being turned and saw Shardak and Barit. Dropping the wounded Matoran onto another mining platform, he lunged at the Toa.
Shardak's first instinct was to raise his tool, and then he remembered the Blade of Arcturas had been taken from him during the interrogation. As the Lumidrax descended upon him, he swung his pick wildly, slashing and hacking at the being's scaled body, aiming for the throat. The being snarled defiance and slammed into him again.
Shardak swung the pick around and smashed it against the side of the Lumidrax's head. The creature's mandibles snarled horribly as bluish blood oozed from the wound. Shardak slammed the pick against the being's skull again, and heard the awful snap of bones.
Jaw broken, the Lumidrax flew backward, trying to escape the slashing pick. Shardak could see Barit slashing at the creature's tail out of the corner of his eye. As the monstrous creature closed in again, Shardak slashed at the being's chest.
However, he was too late. With blinding speed the Lumidrax whipped around and flung his talons out at Barit. The Onu-Matoran reacted quickly, crushing the being's taloned claw and hacking it off, but was too late. Shardak brought the pick upward with all of his strength and slammed it into the Lumidrax's shattered jaw.
The being screamed and pulled away from Barit, and Shardak felt the cobalt blood spatter against his helmet and arms as a gleaming weapon descended.
With a last scream, the Lumidrax's head spiraled away into the abyss, its decapitated body collapsing against the platform. Blood, both Shardak's and the Lumidrax's, pooled around the slain creature.
Shardak gasped. Where the being had been moments before was the wounded Matoran. He smiled weakly at Shardak, raising a knife, then fell to his knees.
The Karnr slavemaster walked over, his expression unreadable. He did not acknowledge either Shardak or Barit, but looked down at the fallen Matoran slave. Shardak saw that while he was wounded, he would heal within a few weeks.
"Get up!" he snarled, kicking the Matoran savagely.
"What-" Shardak began, but Barit elbowed him in the ribs, silencing him.
"Can't..." the Matoran gasped, "Help..."
"I'll help you!" snarled the Karnr brutally, grabbing the fallen Matoran's head and twisting it savagely so he was forced to lock eyes with the slavemaster.
"Don't..." coughed the Matoran, but the slavemaster was grinning wickedly now. Without another word, he drew a long, curved knife, and before Shardak's shocked eyes, ran it through the Matoran's head.
He almost screamed, but Barit, as though anticipating his reaction, silenced him with a look. As if nothing had happened, the slavemaster returned to his post and the slaves continued to work.
Shardak felt disgust. Didn't the Karnr realize he was a slave, too? A slave to the Ix, like they all were? Had the little but of power his masters endowed him with turned him bitter, or had he always been that way?
Shardak sighed, then picked up his fallen, bloody pick and began to work again.
"Dodge! Thrust! Block!"
Shardak blinked as Ion called out a command as Melnox slammed into him. Shardak leaped backwards and slashed Melnox to the ground, then turned on him and caught the mutated toa on the arm.
Melnox responded with a series of simple thrusts, which Shardak countered his curved makeshift sword. It was not as powerful as the Blade of Arcturas, and the swords were blunted, but they were good for sword practice.
"Dodge!" Ion called out as the Melnox swiped a sword over his head, narrowly missing Shardak's helmet. Shardak cleaved upward with his sword, blocking Melnox's next blow. Melnox easily dodged, then raised his sword, ready to thrust it at Shardak.
Shardak whipped around and blocked Melnox's attack, dodging his next thrust but allowing Melnox to stab at him, denting his armor lightly. The Toa narrowly blocked Melnox's next blow, then caught the mutated Toa of Fire with a blow to the shoulder. His next thrust weakened Melnox's defenses. Melnox stabbed at him twice, but he blocked it both times easily.
Toa Toa of Fire was able to thrust at Shardak, denting his armor again. Shardak blocked, then watched as Melnox's stance shifted from the simple Lihtne Combat form defense he had been using to the more complicated Sila form, which utilized both physical strength and Elemental Powers together.
For the past three days, Shardak had worked on learning how to use the Lihtne, Guokte, and Sila combat forms, first learning how to defend against all three styles, and then practicing himself.
He'd then learned how to fight defensively with Lihtne, combining it with simple thrusts. While he found this difficult, Melnox had told him that it took even the most talented years to master fighting offensively with Lihtne, and that it was easy to combine with another combat form to give the fighter an advantage.
He found it relatively easy to combine Guokte with Lihtne, which focused on fighting with dual blades, mainly to confuse opponents. Melnox and Ion were pleased that he had mastered it so quickly, but told him that most Ix and Karnr were also able to use Guokte with their scythes and that Sila would be more effective against them.
Shardak switched to Guokte, drawing a second sword and blocking Melnox's next strike with a two sword defense. Melnox blocked his sword thrust with another blow, and managed to hit Shardak again. Shardak raised his second sword, but Melnox disarmed him quickly.
Before the other Toa could strike him again, Shardak blocked his sword with a complicated Lihtne defense and attacked recklessly, aiming to land a blow on Melnox's chest. Melnox managed to narrowly dodged, and struck his sword with such momentum that he nearly disarmed Shardak.
Shardak stabbed out at the other Toa, and Melnox dodged his blow again. Melnox struck Shardak again, and Shardak stabbed out, dodging two of Melnox's blows but taking a hard strike on his shoulder. Melnox lowered his blade, intending to strike Shardak in the chest, but Shardak managed to dodge before he could land the blow. Blast had fallen silent now, watching Shardak's progress intently. Shardak managed to dodge two more of Melnox's thrusts, then stabbed out wildly and struck Melnox a hard blow to the chest.
"Good!" said Melnox, then rasied his sword above his head, ready to bring it down on Shardak. Shardak noticed that Melnox had left his side open, and had almost landed the blow when Melnox's blade changed direction and disarmed Shardak easily.
"Stop!" Melnox ordered as Shardak reached to retrieve his fallen blade. Shardak halted quickly, breathing heavily. The fight had tired him.
"You understand the basic concepts." said Melnox. "But you need to be able to be less focused on learning the moves. In real combat, your opponent may use almost any style of fighting, combine any combat form, and, even if he is completely inexperienced in even Lihtne combat, may use brute force to overpower you. It is virtually impossible to learn every combat form that exists, but a good warrior-
"-Must be able to defend against them all." Shardak finished. He began to breathe again, and slowly relaxed from the tense fighting moments before. He wished his elemental power was more offensive. Silencer had told him on the first day of training that fighting with the aura field could be dangerous, and while he'd tried it with Silencer, the Toa had warned him not to use it in battle with Melnox.
"How many combat forms are there in all?" Shardak asked. He knew that Melnox had mastered two combat forms, Lihtne and Sila, and had some experience in three others, Tera, Guokte, and Vauhti, but the others were unknown to him.
"There are seven main combat forms, which every warrior should be able to defend against, Lihtne, Guokte, Kracht, Napad Sila, Tera, and Vauhti. However, there are many other, lesser known forms, such as Texiten and Basto, which involve use of shields and maces.
"Never assume that because these combat forms exist that a warrior will combine two forms together for greater power or maneuverability." continued Melnox. "And even if a fighter uses only Lihtne or Guokte, never underestimate him. Even though he follows the combat form completely, he will always improvise, at least somewhat. Many of the moves I used against you were not Sila. The final attack was Vauhti, which involves using speed and cunning to penetrate defenses."
Shardak nodded. Days had bled into weeks since the battle with the Lumidrax, and he'd learned so much about the Circle in such a short time, from both Silencer's friends and the slaves and slavemasters.
The Ix were at the top of the pecking order, and their word was law. To question them meant death or torture, or worse, banishment to the Eternal Game. He'd never learned what this game involved, but from the dark looks he'd been given, he'd quickly inferred it was a forbidden topic, like the Ix themselves.
Under the Ix were a select group of Onu-Matoran, Elementals and Kranr, which he'd learned his old captor Banrax was privileged to belong. After questioning Barit, he'd realized not many people knew exactly what this group did, and that Barit did not either.
Below the upper-class citizens were the middle-class such as Silencer, and the rest of the inhabitants were either gangsters who dwelt in the under city or slaves. Whenever his shift ended, he'd return to Silencer's safe house, rather than the Compound, and trained.
"Is Silencer here?" asked Shardak finally. He felt a cold pit of fear grasp his heart when he remembered what he was planning to ask the Toa of Fire tonight.
As though on cue, the door burst open, and Silencer entered, his face grim. "Hello, Shardak." he said. His voice was kind, but his eyes were sad. Shardak felt a sliver of unease seep through him. Had something happened to Blast?
"Are you ready to begin Aura training?" asked Silencer.
"There's something I want to ask you first." Shardak said, heart in his mouth. "I need to get Blast out of the Hold."
In the stunned silence that followed, Shardak winced. Had he been too direct? Perhaps Blast was already dead, and there was no reason to try and rescue him.
Silencer's expression, shocked at first, began to calm. In a serious voice, he answered, "I know you'd ask us someday."
"Is he alive?" asked Shardak. "If they-"
"He's alive." said Silencer. "And can still be rescued. The Ix haven't decided to execute him yet."
"Yet?" asked Shardak, shocked. "He hasn't done anything to them!"
"He entered the Circle." said Silencer. "Had you not been rescued, you'd be either dead or worse, imprisoned. You wouldn't last five minutes in the Eternal Game."
"What is the Game?" asked Shardak. "I've heard Barit mention it several times, but never learned anything else about it."
Silencer sighed. "When the Ix took over the Order, they implemented ways of controlling the population. This new idea of theirs, the Eternal Game, is a contest where the players must kill each other to win. The last survivor returns alive. It is played with around thirty or so beings, but only one returns."
Silencer's voice turned angry. "Last year, the Ix released six Toa survivors into the arena. We thought for a moment our last hope had not been extinguished, but we soon realized these Toa were either corrupt or had had their minds completely broken by the Ix. Those who still had sanity were killed off one by one."
"Who won?" asked Shardak.
"Won what?" asked Silencer, as if Shardak had interrupted his thoughts.
"The Eternal Game. Who won last year?" asked Shardak.
Silencer did not answer. He instead asked, "Anyway, about Blast. Do you have any idea how much risk there is in this? If we help you, we could be signing our death warrant, as well as the death warrants for all of our friends."
"I know how risky it is." said Shardak, surprised at how much passion Silencer's voice held. Then he remembered how close he'd come to losing Melnox during the Ix's takeover. "But I can't let Blast die. He- he risked everything to help me find Nightshade, and now I'm sure she's dead, and this was all for nothing. Silencer, you, Melnox, and Ion have helped me so much, revealed the real killers of Arcturas. I can't let my best friend die because of me."
For a moment, a faraway look came into Silencer's eyes, as though he was remembering something from long ago.
"I'll help you." he said. "How can I not? It is part of a Toa's nature to defend the weak. If I were to deny that, I would be no better than the Ix."
"You know a way?"
"Yes." said Silencer. His face was regretful, however. "I wish we'd had more time. Two weeks of training won't matter if you have to fight a Kranr, or worse, and Ix, in open combat. Your skills in the aura field are still dangerously uncontrolled. However, while I can't come with you, I do have several things that will help you survive."
He pressed several objects into Shardak's hand. They were gray, and were about the size and shape of a Midak bullet.
"These aren't weapons, but when thrown, they explode into flames. The fire quickly dies, but it can be dangerous if thrown at a being. They're mostly for distraction. There are only five of them, so use them wisely."
Silencer lowered his voice. "And I have one more thing for you as well, Shardak." he said, raising a dark fragment of stone to the torchlight.
"The Shadow Orb." whispered Shardak. "Surely you need this? When I return to Intax, it will just give the Ix another reason to follow me."
"Shardak." said Silencer. "I'm coming with you, back to Intax. If all goes well, I'll meet you near the air channel near Intax."
"But don't you need to stay in the Circle?" asked Shardak.
"The Ix don't know I'm here." said Silencer. "And now that I have found another surviving Toa... the time for secrecy has passed. If we do not act now, and I cannot train you, the Ix will claim the rest of the planes of existence, as they have the Circle."
Shardak nodded. "So how will I enter the Spire? Surely the place will be swarming with Ix."
Silencer shook his head. "An Elemental Prince, Flareus by name, is currently in charge of the Spire. He's as brutal as Banrax is, some say more so. They're also bitter rivals for the Ix's attention."
"You make it sound as though you know them." said Shardak.
"I do." replied Silencer, darkly. "Anyway, you'll be cloaked, using the power of invisibility. That should allow you to enter the Inner Circle and escape the Kranr guards. However, even the strongest invisibility spell won't hold up to an Ix. You'll have to bypass them in another way."
"What if I am able to break Blast out, and we do escape?" asked Shardak. "What then? Surely we can't stay within the Circle."
Silencer shook his head. "Once you escape, I'll send you through the Labyrinth."
Melnox, usually concealing his emotions well behind his cold red eyes, gasped in shock. "Silencer, are you sure. That's-"
"Yes, I'm sure. It's the only way. Their only chance to evade the Ix."
"What about the Labyrinth?" asked Shardak.
Resignation flashed across Silencer's face. Voice heavy, he said. "It's time I explained everything about the Circle." he said.
"Back before even the Elementals and Ix existed, after the Fall of the Ancient forerunners who preceded them, an ancient species from beyond the recorded cosmos invaded this universe. Their powers were far, far greater than anything the prehistoric races of Xaterex had seen before, for they possessed advanced mental powers that they used to telepathically command thousands of beings to surrender.
"These beings, the Mindeaters, were so-called because they controlled hundreds of telepathic slaves. Called Drones, it was said at the time the Mindeaters devoured the creature's willpower from within, giving them the name. They were brutal and cruel, and forced hundreds of beings to mine for a mysterious substance they called Essence, which was the only thing they ever fed on.
"The Mindeaters soon discovered that Essence, while not plentiful on most planets, was plentiful here. And they also soon discovered massive deposits of Essence below the earth. It was they who created the first tunnels, the Earth Node that you and Blast entered the Circle though, and they who created the mines at Circle's Edge.
"They also discovered that below the Earth Nodes and mines, there was another world below-the Grand Abyss. It is said to be a realm of blank nothingness, a void between worlds. Not a plane, but a dimensional prison between all of the other realms. Cruel entities from the distant past, beings who have powers that bend space and time, are said to exist there, forever locked between worlds for past crimes.
"Now, here's where the legends mix with the facts." said Silencer. "It is said that the Mindeaters created their capital below the Great Abyss, in an inner world below. This cities' name, lost to time, became known in later eras as the Nameless City. However, it is unknown if such a world ever existed, as soon after, the Mindeater Empire was destroyed in a massive, bloody coup by an army of escaped Elementals and slaves.
The Mindeaters survived, however, and remnants of their dark power still linger even here. The Elemental Lords soon realized the truth- that the dark power of the Mindeaters was about to tear their newly founded city apart. They soon realized that the Abyss itself was closing in on their city, and in a dangerous risk of life, combined their power to create the Circle, a barrier against the Abyss.
"However, this was only a somewhat successful cure." said Silencer, voice heavy. "When they were conceiving their plan to destroy the Toa Order, the Ix created a bioweapon they called Elimination. They used it during the war, releasing large quantities into the atmosphere around besieged cities. They used this plague against the Circle, and it killed many of its defenders. This left the city open to the Ix's armies, and the Circle fell quickly and easily to their legions."
Silencer waited for a few moments, and then finished, "The Labyrinth was once part of the Circle's city as well- the district for upper class and Elemental nobility. During the plague, it was abandoned, and the series of tunnels collapsed in on itself, rendering them unstable. As such, it has become known as the Labyrinth, for it is a nearly unnavigable maze."
Silencer lowered his voice. "The Labyrinth can lead you to Intax, Shardak. It is, apart from the Earth Node you followed the Copies of Corpse through, and the secret tunnels in the Ix's citadel, the only entrance to the upper world."
Shardak nodded. Silencer's tale had answered all of his questions about the Circle, but there was one more thing he needed to know, something Barit wouldn't answer.
"Silencer, what are the Ix?" he asked. "I asked Barit during mining the day the Lumidrax attacked, but he wouldn't answer.
"They are neither Toa, Glatorian, Kranr, nor any other species like ours." said Silencer. "But they are part of the generation following the Fall, that is certain. Their Empire spans across many other worlds far darker than the Circle, as well as much of your own world. I've fought them for many years, and I know they need the Shadow Orb for some obscure plan only they know of, but little else is truly understood about them or their goals. The Ix are so far removed from the common people of the Circle that they've become a separate race, the oppressors and the oppressed, and so on."
Shardak was about to acknowledge Silencer when another, more urgent question, entered his thoughts. "You said the Labyrinth was unnavigable by anyone who didn't know it by heart. And earlier, your plan stated I needed to cloak myself with an invisibility power. My Aura skills are so undeveloped that I doubt I could even hide myself in the field, much less become completely invisible. Are Ion and Melnox Aura-users, as well? Can one of them accompany me?"
"No, I thought I was the only aura field user in existence other than the Ix before you showed up. If all goes well, we will meet you near the air channel that leads to Intax. However, there are other ways to gain invisibility, and your guide knows the Labyrinth like the back of her hand."
"Guide?" asked Shardak. "Who-"
"That would be me." said a new voice.
Shardak and Silencer both turned to regard the figure standing in the doorway. She was tall, armored in dark sapphire armor with blue eyes. In one hand, she carried a trident, in the other, a spear. She turned to regard Shardak, and spoke again,
"I am Kyhrex. I will guide you through the Labyrinth and back to Intax."