Episode 9: Part 1
Small white snowflakes continued to fall as the five Vanguard Rangers descended gently on the next snowy mountain trail. In many ways, the gray dreary skies above reflected their discouraged mood as the five friends dispelled their wings and powered down again. Even with their powers, the Rangers' flight time was still limited and they had a lot of ground to cover. To conserve their energy, the five conducted their general search on foot, only using their powers and wings to fly between each location.
They had left the campus early and had only managed to search 3 of the 12 major waterfalls by noontime. After recalling their powers, Joe pulled out a map and compass from his coat pocket.
"Instead of trying to search all the other waterfalls in order, we might as well try the largest and most impressive one next." As he checked his bearings, he idly paced around to survey the area, "If I'm reading the map right, it should be nearby and just up this short mountain trail."
Nearby, Nick and Claire walked up a large hill overlooking the trail to get a better view. Once there, the Green Ranger took hold of Claire's legs and hoisted her up gently until she stood on his shoulders, "Any luck short stuff? Do you see anything?"
Claire wiped some of the snow away from her glasses and looked out in the distance, "I think I can just see the edge of the waterfall from here. It looks to be about a mile or so away."
"Well, I think it's best we stop and take a short rest," the Red Ranger called from the bottom of the hill. Nick lowered Claire down and patted the large backpack on his back, "Sounds good. I've got a bunch of sack lunches here for everyone."
Meanwhile, Izzy sat down tiredly on a large rock nearby and dusted off some snow from the pink winter beret she wore to match her coat. While she did, she shivered as another gust of chilling mountain air swept down the trail.
"Hey, you ok Iz?" Danny asked walking over and sitting down next to her on the rock. "You look a little cold,"
Izzy pulled her coat closer to ward off the chill around her neck and gave a half hearted laugh, "You know, maybe this was not the most practical winter coat to take exploring. It's not like looking cute or stylish here will help us any more in finding what we're searching for."
"Well, you do look cute and stylish enough to warrant some help in staying warm," Danny shrugged with a small smile nudging her with his shoulder, "I thought maybe I should help you out."
Izzy turned to look at him with a dismissive sigh, "What? Were you going suggest something perverted or use another one of your lame pickup lines?"
The Blue Ranger sighed and quietly shook his head while removing his thick scarf from around his collar. To Izzy's surprise, he gently placed it around her cold neck and quickly tied it up to keep her warm and comfortable.
"Come on, Nick packed some food. Let's go eat lunch."
Izzy sat for a moment in quiet surprise as Danny rose and headed toward the others without saying anything else. His thick blue scarf was soft and she felt a little warmer already. Try as she might to deny it, it was a sweet gesture. With a small smile, she stood up and followed the others, wondering if she and her fellow Rangers would in fact make a discovery after lunchtime.
After eating a quick lunch, the Vanguard Rangers made their way up the steep mountainous hiking trail. It was slow going with the snow and ice, but the Rangers couldn't help but wonder if the trail was any easier during warmer summer months. As they trudged up the path, several coniferous plants and evergreen trees also lined the way looking more like silent natural sentries, guarding the area. After a short hike up the last ridge, the five friends heard the sound of water and came upon a very large pristine waterfall. Despite the icy appearance of the snow covered banks, the great waterfall was a beautiful sight.
"Well, here we are everyone, Clarion Heights," Claire announced as she checked the map, "This is the place that feeds all the smaller waterfalls in the region."
Joe nodded and continued forward, walking toward the far edge of the banks holding his Keyrune, "All right. We might as well start at the source. Everyone keep your eyes peeled, ok?"
Like at the other waterfalls earlier that morning, the five Rangers spread out to comb the frozen edges of the falls for any strange writing, monuments, or magical phenomenon. As they did, Izzy strolled by the shore and took a moment to look at her reflection in the water. As she gazed into the crystal clear waters, she saw her reflection ripple slightly before changing into that of a morphed Pink Vanguard Ranger.
"No way…" she muttered to herself as she continued to stare in wonder at the magical reflection. To Izzy's surprise, her morphed image tilted her head toward the base of the waterfall and called her own shimmering wings. The reflected Pink Ranger took off across the surface of the water and disappeared behind the falls.
Izzy jumped back with a start, but her fellow Rangers were already at her side to see what was wrong.
"Oh my God! Did you see that?" she asked them.
The other four followed her gaze and scanned the area ultimately shaking their heads.
"Sorry Iz, there's nothing here," Nick sighed patting her on the shoulder to calm her down.
"No! I saw it!" Izzy insisted, "My reflection, it was morphed and it took off toward the falls. It was right... here." She stopped and fell silent as she saw her normal reflection in the running water again."
Joe, Danny, and Claire exchanged skeptical looks before the Red Ranger stepped forward toward the water where Izzy had been standing. "Ok then, let's just see about that."
As he held up his own Keyrune, he gave a surprised gasp as the small red gem at the head of the artifact began to glow gently.
Izzy shot Nick an "I told you so look" before pulling out her own Keyrune. To everyone's surprise, the Rangers' artifacts began to resonate together with magical energy. It was a warm and gentle power that buzzed in their hands, making them certain that something here had reacted with their artifacts. As they continued to stand holding their glowing Keyrunes, Danny scanned the surface of the waters.
"Do you think it has something to do with the falls, or is it a special property of the waters?"
As if some higher power had answered his question, a rumbling sound was heard and several large rectangular stones slowly rose up from the water forming a narrow walking bridge into the waterfall. The Rangers continued to gape in wonder as Empyrian sigils that covered the bridge stones lit up and glowed with a gentle pulsing light.
"What? I just had to ask," The Blue Ranger shrugged as the others glanced at him a moment.
Taking a deep breath, Joe began walking forward on the glowing bridge and the others followed close behind. While they approached the base of the waterfall, the cold running waters lapped quickly at the edges of their walkway.
"How deep do you think the water is here?" Nick asked with unease as he hesitated at the sight of the powerful waters cascading down in front of them.
"Probably better we don't think about that right now," Claire gulped, trying to keep her fears in check too. "Danny? Think you can do something about that wall of water?"
The Blue Ranger glanced at the waterfall and raised his Keyrune, "Oh... right! Here goes nothing."
With a force of his will, a stretch of the falling water parted like an opening curtain and revealed a path leading deeper into a cave behind the torrent. The Vanguard Rangers exchanged another hesitant look with each other before advancing further into the dark cave. Once they made their way off the footbridge and past the roaring water above, the Red Ranger lit his own Keyrune and raised it up like a brilliant torch to light their path.
"I guess now it's my time to shine," Joe quipped leading the way as both Izzy and Claire stayed close clinging to his coat sleeves while Danny and Nick protected the group's rear.
To their surprise, the dark cave was wider and deeper than they thought. Off to their far left, they could hear the echoes of gently running water coming from a shallow stream leading back out into the falls. As they passed, they could see the waters of the stream seem to glow a brighter iridescent color when exposed to the light of the Keyrune.
"Weird," Joe remarked, "You think we should try to follow it to the source?"
"Well, it's not like we have many other points of reference in here," Nick shrugged urging them forward.
After a short walk through the dark passages, the Rangers finally came to a great open cavern with ancient architecture carved into the rocks. Up ahead, they could see that the stream of iridescent water flowed from a large pool of water near the center of the cavern. As the five Rangers approached, the cavern began to light up as torches lining the cave slowly began flickering to life and illuminating the place.
The Vanguard Rangers fearfully grabbed for their Keyrunes and huddled together when they caught sight of a tall lithe figure standing atop a stone platform in the middle of the pool. The figure wore ancient gray robes adorned in precious stones and runic designs, almost resembling that of a wizard. From his back extended 4 great angelic wings tucked back in a resting position. The face of the mysterious figure was the most puzzling. The stranger looked to be a much older man or some wizened sage with long white hair and a serious but contemplative expression on his lips. Wrapped around his eyes like some kind of blindfold was a rich cloth of snow white satin.
To the Rangers' shock and horror, the ancient figure lifted its head slowly and raised a thin arm out toward them, "Welcome, lost children of Eden. I have been expecting you."
Although the mysterious being was blindfolded, it looked directly at them with an almost preternatural intensity.
"Oh crap," Danny hissed quietly in fear, "The last time a person with angel wings said that, we all nearly got killed."
Joe eyed Danny for a moment before stepping forward tentatively, "Please tell me... who is it that we are addressing?"
The ancient angelic sage smiled slightly and extended his ancient wings, "I am Remiel, a son of Eden, and protector of the Fountain Aurum."
"Son of Eden? As in the biblical Garden of Eden?" Claire asked, "Are you an Empyrian?"
Remiel raised a calming hand to silence her, "Was. I had shed my physical form ages ago and remain as a guardian spirit to watch over the waters of this sacred place."
"I'm afraid we're a little confused then Remiel," Joe continued, "What is this place and how do you know us? There's a lot we don't seem to understand about our Keyrunes or our connections to your race of people."
Remiel nodded, "This is the Fountain Aurum, whose magic waters were blessed by my race in ages past. This water contains the visions of prophecy which those of Empyrian blood can see when they gaze upon it."
"That makes some sense," Izzy murmured to her friends, "I saw myself become the Pink Ranger and head toward the waterfalls."
"Of course you know a great city now stands at the foot of the waterfalls and mountains," Remiel continued, "I imagine Lord Gideon and the Cambion demons see the sacred waters of Hyperion Falls as an affront to their kind, but a valuable tool to gaze into the future as well."
"We can understand that," Nick called while holding out his Keyrune, "But what we don't understand is what this all has to do with us, or what happened a few thousand years ago."
Remiel gestured to the pond and the Rangers all peered into it as an image of a beautiful floating island began to form. "My people once lived on a small floating continent named Eden. It was a place of great peace and beauty, and it was protected by many great warriors, such as the ones who held those Keyrunes. Our purpose was to oversee and protect your human race in its infancy."
"But the Cambion had other plans," Claire gently interjected.
Remiel nodded, "One of the greatest figures of my people, Archangel Gideon grew resentful of his duty to serve and protect what was in his words, our inferior human cousins. He stirred up a rebellion and experimented with dark unnatural chaos magic. He and his twisted followers fought a bitter civil war and tore our continent apart in a great Cataclysm."
The Rangers fell silent, fixated by the angel's story, "Before Eden fell back to the earth, our warriors banished him to a dark pocket dimension and placed a great seal upon it. With no where left to go, the survivors of my race hid their knowledge away and became one with the humans, hoping that one day, our descendants would be wise enough and responsible enough to reclaim that lost knowledge. And so it is, you five are here."
"Wow... that explains a lot," Izzy gasped still trying to wrap her head around the fantastical story.
"It does... but one fact still remains," Joe chimed in as he turned to face Remiel, "That ancient seal is failing. Gideon and his followers are on the verge of breaking free and the five of us seem to be the only ones who can stop them... but we're not strong enough."
The angelic spirit fixed its sightless gaze upon the Red Ranger, "You five come seeking wisdom and power to defeat our Cambion foes. I have seen that in the waters already. What I have yet to determine is whether or not you are even worthy yet. Only then may you possibly succeed."
"Here we go with the prophecy and predestination stuff," Danny growled, "Whether or not we're worthy as individuals, doesn't matter. Our cause still is. If we don't do anything, then Gideon is going to set the whole world on fire."
Remiel smiled in what almost looked like amusement at Danny's outburst. "What you ask is for the blessings and power of my race's greatest heroes. You may have a trace of our blood flowing through your veins, but blood alone does not a champion make."
Joe frowned and called out to the blind seer forcefully, "My friend is right Remiel. Our home is in danger and we don't have time for riddles. We came here to ask for your help. If we have to, then we'll keep fighting the Cambion legions, with or without it."
The other Rangers held their breath before the a small smile crossed the blind angel's lips, "I'd almost forgotten how stubborn and impatient your human race can be. Very well child. I will help you five, but I must still test you. I am still a guardian of lost knowledge and I must know whether or not it will be used responsibly."
Looking to the others to get their consent first, the Red Ranger nodded, "Then we accept. We'll take your test as soon as possible."
Remiel lowered his arms and nodded, "Tomorrow then, at first light. Until that time, you are welcome to the shelter of this cave."
The Rangers watched as the blind angelic seer turned his attention back to gazing at the pool of prophetic waters and becoming motionless, almost like a statue.
"Man, that is too creepy," Izzy hissed as the five moved safely away and huddled at the far edge of the cavern.
"Maybe, but it's the only choice we've got right now," Nick whispered, "What help do you think Remiel will be able to give us against Gideon?"
"I'm more worried about what this test is all about," Claire muttered, "I'm kinda doubting that it's going to be a multiple choice exam."
Joe shook his head and used his Keyrune to create a small campfire on the ground nearby, "It's not going to do us any good worrying about either question. Right now, we need to hunker down and make camp tonight. Getting rest and staying warm is all we can do."
"Joe is right," Danny nodded in agreement as he sat down to warm his hands near the fire. "though I am curious about one other thing."
The Red Ranger crossed his arms expectantly as Danny turned toward Nick, "Since you packed lunch, I don't suppose you've also got any hotdogs or mashmallows in your bag, do you?"