Crystal Palace- Foyer:
The Mariner swung her sword at the charging Gelfling, the clang that rang out died into the surrounding cries echoing in the Foyer. She did not fight Gelfling, never like this and it was so different than she had expected. In the occasions that she had sparred with the Spritons had been to display her power above them and that she was superior to them, but the intent was never to kill. She did notice the subtle differences between the Spritons she had fought in the past to the many different Gelfling she was faced with today, many she assumed to be Stonewoods. Sifans were all about defense, rarely did they try to strike out, it was to defend themselves and wear their opponents out, but this other Gelfling were precise with their movements and were out for her blood.
To the Mariner, this was about respect and if the Gelfling thought they could defeat a Skeksis then it was on her to show them that no matter what power they possessed it would never be enough. She was looking out carefully for any signs of this odd power the other Skeksis had mentioned, but she saw nothing. She heard the stark laugh of Skekok who was fighting close by, she saw as he impaled a Gelfling with satisfaction stained across his face. Skekok kicked the body to the floor, it added to the growing piles of bodies that was restricting her movements in the small foyer.
She struck the Gelfling in front of her with the hilt of her sword and could feel herself growing more annoyed by the second. The outcome of the battle didn't matter because either way the Emperor was going to be furious with any result. If they slay the Gelfling and proved victorious, he would lash out because of the loss of essences but if they were to somehow spare the Gelfling to be harvested he would go into a rage for the Skeksis not following orders.
Maudra Yre's confidence was dwindling, they were failing, this was plain to her as she says the Foyer littered with her kin. The Skeksis were overpowering the Gelfling with their sheer force and the addition of their massive new creatures that were able to pick them up like defenseless flowers. With only two battalions left, she knew that she was only buying time for Rian to save the Spritons, but how many more lives would she be able to sacrifice? She knew that with the power behind the Skeksis, they would win the victory of this battle, her only dilemma now was to decide when to retreat.
Crystal Palace-Dungeons:
Rian had rushed the troupe to the dungeons to find that Gurjin and his half of the battalion had been trapped by Skekung and Skektek. Rian clung to the was as he peeked around the corner to peer into the room of cells. He saw the big black creatures, which was blocking most of his view, but he heard a Skeksis cackling and he clenched his fists with fury.
"Stupid Gelfling," Skektek was the one talking. "You will never defeat Garthim."
"What hideous creatures," Skekung sneered. "I never spent much time with them and for good reason."
"You better not get any ideas," Skektek hissed into the cells. "No one else is coming!"
Skekung laughed," Well, they are coming, but they'll be joining you."
The pair laughed at the brutal joke and Rian saw Skektek's face turn towards the hall. He ducked back around the corner and signaled for the rest of his warriors to retreat down the hall silently.
"We must hurry back," Skekung's voice rang clear.
"The Emperor will be pleased," Skektek's grin was audible.
Rian had managed to flee around the next corner before the pair emerged from the dungeons. Rian just had to bid his time and as soon as they left her would go and free Gurjin and the Spritons.
"I knew Gelfling were weak, but I am surprised at how foolish they are."
"One of their many flaws," Skektek agreed.
The footsteps receded and the hall fell silent, Rian peered around the corner and saw no creatures lingering in the hall. He beckoned the group to follow him as they crept back to the dungeons, the Skeksis had left no guard. The Skeksis must really believe that Gelfling are weak, Rian shook his head, but it was that thinking that would be the Skeksis downfall.
Rian entered the Dungeons and saw Gurjin locked in the furthest cell.
"Rian!"
Rian smiled," Good thing I came after you."
"You're telling me," Gurjin chuckled as Rian jimmied the cells lock. Cheers echoes through the cages as the army went to each one freeing the captives. It was quick work to release the Spritons, but the next issue was their health. They were starved and beaten, some of them were missing eyes or fingers. Rian was gawked by the state of them, with as weak as they were they would be no help to the revolution upstairs.
"What happened to you, little one," Rek'yr kneeled before a small Spriton boy who clung to the Spriton woman beside him.
"He won't speak to you," the woman replied. "He has yet to speak since his mother was taken to the Crystal chamber."
"What of his scars?"
"Skekna," the Gelfling around them all shuddered at the mention of the Skeksis.
"She is gone?," Rek'yr looked up to the woman who nodded silently, the boy had lost his mother to the Skeksis. Rek'yr closed his eyes and bowed his head," She is with Thra now, child. Be at peace to know she feels no pain."
"We should take them through the catacombs," Gurjin suggested. "Take them back to Stonewood where they can be treated."
Rian agreed," But what of Maudra Mera?," he dared ask the question he already knew the answer to. She was not in this room and the likelihood of her beings somewhere else alive was slim. The Spritons all bowed their head in silence to grieve the loss of their Maudra. "I am sorry for the loss of your Maudra," Rian placed a hand on his heart sincerely. "We had hoped to come sooner."
"Gurjin, you and Rek'yr will take the Spritons through the catacombs. Avoid those Garthim and get them back to Stone-in-the-Wood. The rest will go back for Maudra Yre and support a retreat of the army."
"I refuse to run," a Spriton stepped forward. "I will you go with you, Rian."
"As will I," another Spriton limped closer.
"I can't bring you into battle in your condition," Rian tried to explain.
"I'm not asking," the first Spriton gritted his teeth. "I've lived on those plains my whole life and they will pay for what they have done, not only to me but to my family, my clan and my Maudra."
Rian knew that he had no right to stop them from fighting, it was the same passion the Spritons at camp had when gearing up for battle. This was beyond personal for all of them, no other clan had been blatantly attacked and nearly desolated to extinction. With the 20 or so Spritons left in the cells plus the ones battling, there numbers had dwindled too next to none. Rian understood that they needed to fight for themselves and they in turn knew the dangers they would face.
"Anyone who wishes to leave will follow Gurjin. This will not be our only fight with the Skeksis, there are many battles left in this war. Rek'yr, go with Gurjin. I trust the two of you will get them back to Stone-in-the-Wood."
"Of course, Rian," Rek'yr accepted the position with a curt nod.
"You will go with this Dousan," it was the woman who had the boy clinging to her shabby dress. She was speaking to the child that was visibly shaking as she pried his hands from her leg. "Follow him and you will be safe." The boy shook his head rapidly, trying desperately to latch himself to her side again. "You must go," she grabbed his hands in hers, staring him in the eyes. "You must go quietly, and you must go now. Be as your mother taught you, Wren." The Spriton woman stroked the boy's face softly, as if he was her own child and then stood up.
"I will fight with you," she looked directly at Rian, her eyes now blazing with hunger for the blood of Skeksis.
"Many have already died," Rian said this not to deter anyone, but so they had an idea of what was to come.
"I have seen it with my own eyes," she replied. "Heard the screams of my people, heard them beg for their lives... I still hear it." She didn't blink as she looked at Rian, he held her gaze with his. It wasn't a point of intimidation; it was a point of how serious she was and how dedicated she was to the defending the rest of her clan.
"What's your name?"
"Nez," she kept her eyes trained on Rian.
"Let's not waste any time then, Nez. Let us go show the Skeksis how strong we truly are."
Crystal Palace- Crystal Chamber:
"This must be it," Naia opened the door, pushing heavily on its thick frame.
"This is not the lab," Brea disagreed.
"But look, there," Naia pointed to the center of the room. "It's the Crystal chamber!"
"Keep it down," Kylan looked over his shoulder.
Naia rolled her eyes," They're obviously occupied. Come, hurry! The Crystal is here." Naia entered the room swiftly making a bee line towards the center but slipped a few meters from the chambers opening." She caught herself and looked at the floor, it was streaked with... blood? It wasn't a large amount, but it was a trail smeared all the way the chamber.
"Is that blood," Kylan's face drained.
"It doesn't matter," Naia was very curious about whose blood was on the floor, but her enthusiasm for healing the crystal outweighed her curiosity. She gasped as she looked down into the hole. "...there it is."
Brea made her way to Naia's side carefully avoiding the trail of blood smeared across the floor.
"How are we going to get to it? It's all the way down there," Kylan came to Naia's other side.
"I'll jump," Naia concluded. "It should be easy. I'll land right on the top."
"No!," Brea immediately deduced that was a terrible plan. "If you miss you will fall to the center of the world."
"Center of the world?," Kylan cocked his head.
"That's what I was told. The crystal chamber is a pathway to the center of Thra. No animal can survive the journey, not even Skeksis."
"If we can't get it, there must be a way to bring it up, right?"
"Yes," Brea's eyes brightened. "This room is for the Skeksis to absorb the Crystal's light, when it comes up the sun shines onto it through the opening up there,' she pointed to the ceiling."
"How do you know that?," Kylan questioned.
"I may have got distracted in the library and read a book about the Crystal...," Brea admitted bashfully.
"When?!," Naia put her hands on her hips.
"When you two snuck off," she looked between them. "It wasn't very subtle," she added.
Kylan looked to Naia and the blood that had drained from his face earlier came rushing back and he couldn't look Brea in the eyes. Had they really been so obvious? He was flushed with embarrassment, but Naia didn't linger on the topic.
"Did the book say how to raise the Crystal?"
"No," Brea sighed disappointed with herself.
"Shh!," Kylan interrupted and the room rang with silence. "Someone is coming," he dreaded to make the announcement. The group scattered instantly, hiding behind the pillars decorating the edge of the large room. Brea had no chose but the walk through the blood this time, but this time she didn't even notice it.
Not when we are this close, she silently begged with Thra. I have the book. It can't be over now. Her worst fear waltzes into the room in a huff, his dark robes dragging behind him. He flips a metal switch by the door and a whirring stir in the center of the room. Brea's jaw drops as the crystal rises from its chamber, floating in the air effortlessly.
The Emperor circled the crystal, glaring at it with dark beady eyes. He looked different to Brea, he looked paler but at the same time darker. It was a strange phenomenon that terrified Brea to her core. She peeked across the room to where Naia had hidden and then to where Kylan was standing petrified, like he was hidden in plain sight. The Emperor took no notice of them, he was captivated by the purple hum of the Crystal of Truth.
"I hold your power," he sneered.
Brea was confused, she again looked to Naia who was too focused on the Crystal and didn't notice Brea in the slightest.
"I am more than your power!," the Emperor shouted, the harsh voice bouncing off the walls.
What was the Emperor doing? Why was he here... yelling at the Crystal of Truth? Brea couldn't make sense of what was happening, and it made the fear in her grow and spread through her slowly. That's when Brea noticed Naia was inching closer and closer to the Emperor, the crystal shard clutched in her grasp. She was going to try and surprise him? Kill him? What was she thinking?!
Brea turned to Kylan who was still stunned by the sight of the Emperor or the crystal, he failed to notice Naia's movements.
"I AM YOUR POWER!," The Emperor raised his staff to the crystal and shot out a dark electric shock, which penetrated the crystal and cause it to shake in the air. Brea watched the once bright crystal absorb the darkness and it sounded like the crystal was swelling and as if it might crack down the center from the pressure. Brea braced for the worst, if the Emperor has gone mad and destroyed the crystal, the upset of life on Thra would be astronomical. Forget the was between Gelfling and Skeksis, it would be miniscule in comparison to the horrors that would erupt.
The crystal chime reverberated in the room for a moment longer and then faded, the dark ominous color turned back to its bright color. It was as if the incident didn't happen, but Brea was still shaken by what she had seen. She trembled in her corner, her legs turned to mush by the mindless rambling the Emperor was continuing to shout at the Crystal. Then Brea saw it in the corner of her, Naia was no longer hiding, she stood tall behind the Emperor who kept his black eyes fixated on the floating gem.
Naia was not afraid, she was petrified. She held her head high and puffed her chest out, ready to take on the ruler of the Skeksis with nothing but a crystal shard in her hands. She had no real weapon, no way to defend herself from the Emperor who was coated in arms. She took no notice of his incessant mumblings of power and steadied her feet; she was going to heal the crystal and it would be the Gelfling who hold the power. Thra would no longer be a prison to them, they would live freely and never be forced to answer to Skeksis again.
She would heal the crystal.
"Emperor!"
Breas voice shattered the illusion in Naia's head. Naia saw her step out from behind her pillar, she looked like a force of nature with her platinum braids and glaring golden eyes. Naia saw the Emperor visibly stiffen under his cloak, she could hear his quick raspy breaths and could nearly feel the rage emanating from him.
"You," he said in a viciously voice.
Brea was totally insane, she had to be. She stepped forward to distract the Emperor, if she didn't Naia would have been caught and the shard would have been lost. She had to think of something, and this was the only think she could do.
"You dare enter the Crystal Chamber!," he roared.
Crystal Palace- Corridors:
"Emperor!"
Rian froze at the muffled voice, eh was racing through the halls of the castle to return to the Foyer. His mission was a success and he had freed the captured Spritons! It was victory that would leave the Skeksis baffled. It was then he heard the muted echo of a familiar voice.
"Rian? What is it?," Tijar couldn't help but whisper.
"You dare enter the Crystal Chamber!" he heard the Emperor bellow from down the hall.
"Go," Rian commanded to Tijar. "Take them to the Foyer. Tell Maudra Yre to retreat."
"Where are you going?"
"I'll meet you back at Stone-in-the-Wood," he told him before sprinting off down the familiar hallway, back to the once forbidden door. He couldn't believe what he was seeing pas the large wooden frame. There stood Brea, it had to be Brea. No one else could had braids like hers. So many questions raced through his head, how did she get here? Why was she here?
"You will never rule over us again," Brea's words were commendable. She sounded strong and serious, but the Emperor suppressed his laughter.
"I wonder if your minds are smaller than your heads," he hissed in a reply. "I already rule over you. Each Gelfling is mine and I will claim every one of their lives for my own. As a matter of fact," he circled around the Crystal in the center of the room, closing the distance between them. "I am on my way to wipe your race out completely."
"No," she stood there in defiance, she didn't flinch as the Emperor approached. "You do not hold the power of the Crystal!"
The Emperor's face contorted and his anger surged, it was as if Brea had landed the most heinous insult. Behind the Emperor there was moving shadow, no, it was a Gelfling! No, it was Naia! Naia expanded her wings and flew to the top of the Crystal, the Emperor was locked on Brea and took no notice of her. Rian almost called out to her, as if to warn her until he saw the Crystal shard glittering in her hand.
They were going to heal the crystal!
"I hold more power than the Crystal will ever have," The Emperor barked. "Let me show you!"
The Emperor spun in one swift movement and raised his staff, sending out a violet shot of lightning, but this time it was not aimed at the Crystal. It went straight to Naia.
"NOOOO!," Kylan jumped from where he was hiding.
The bolt struck Naia in her chest, the power sent her flying into the pillar behind her, causing it to crack then crumble. She went limp and fell to the ground without a sound, the pillar spilling dust all around her.
"NAIA!," Kylan ran to her side.
Brea was frozen, what had she done? Rian then rushed to her side, while the Emperor still had his back turned. His eyes shimmered, gazing on the drooped Gelfling that lay across the room, he was happily awaiting what would happen next.
Kylan cradled Naia in his arms, tears pouring from his eyes. "Naia! Naia, please! Look at me, Naia!" She didn't move, didn't open her eyes, she never uttered a word.
Then it happened. This is what the Emperor wanted. Naia then exploded as if she were a bomb, her body instantly torn into thousands of pieces that projected in every direction. Brea couldn't make a sound as the atrocity unfolded. She couldn't make sense of it, where had Naia gone?
Kylan stayed where he was, kneeled beside the cracked pillar, his arms still holding the phantom of the girl that was once there. The only difference was now his face and clothes were sprayed with blood. He looked down at him trembling fingers where Naia had been only moments before. Kylan looked past his hands and saw the crystal shard was laying in the dust, he shakily reached for it.
Rian took his chance; he seized the Emperor's staff from his grip. The Emperor was too busy relishing in the splendor of his triumph to have noticed Rian had entered the room. Rian held the staff in his hands and brought it down over her knee with such force, it snapped the staff in two. The room burst with a blinding purple light, no one could see anything, there was piercing sound of shattered glass that was deafening to everyone.
"NOO!," The Emperor shrieked once the room was restored to its original state. The color was gone, and the sound dissipated. Skekso's eyes gaped at his broken scepter. He fell to his knees snatching the two pieces from Rian trying to force them back together. He needed his scepter! It held the power of the Darkening!
Brea lurched forward, vomiting over the black tiles, her stomach contents mixing with the blood stains. Rian backed away from the Emperor, he hurried to Kylan who was still kneeling with the Crystal shard sitting in his lap. "Get up, Kylan," he pulled him to his feet and dragged him towards the door. Brea was quivering, her whole body was shaking as she wiped her mouth.
"NO! NO!," the Emperor kept trying to repair his staff.
"Brea," Rian grabbed her to help her stand. She took his help because she didn't think she could have done it by herself. Naia was gone.
"Rian?," Brea looked at the familiar face before her. What was Rian doing here?
"She was so beautiful," Kylan whispered in a daze, staring the shard balanced in his palms. He held the crystal shard like it was a newborn Fizzgig, too scared to grip it tightly for fear it might break.
"We have to leave. Brea, go! Kylan!," Rian was the only one who seemed to understand their reality. If the Emperor came to his senses, they would meet a swift execution. Brea and Kylan were both still in shock from having to witness the death of a dear friend. Rian was only managing to keep together because it was not the first death, he had witnessed that day. "Run! Run!," he guided them through the maze of hallways, he was lucky they were obedient during their stupor.
Rian knew they couldn't head towards the Foyer, there was no way he would be able to maneuver these two through the madness. He instead headed towards the guard entry on the south side of the castle, a place he assumed to be deserted since the Gelfling no longer guarded the castle. He was able to take a sigh of relief as he looked at the once familiar place that now lay dormant. He worried for Kylan who kept muttering to the crystal shard about it's beauty, but thankfully Brea seemed to be clearing up... even thought she was distraught by the loss of Naia.
"The Emperor killed her," she gawked, no doubt replaying the memory in her head. "He killed her without a word."
"She is gone, Brea," Rian gave her a tight hug.
Brea sniffled into his shoulder," She almost did it. She almost healed the crystal."
"She was so close," Rian's shoulders slumped at the realization. Naia had been merely seconds away from potentially rendering the Skeksis powerless.
"She was so beautiful," Kylan said as if agreeing with the pair.
"Kylan," Brea turned to him. "Are you alright?"
Kylan gripped the shard tightly, his knuckled turning white. He was the furthest from alright he had ever been. Naia was more than a friend to him, she was someone he cared for so deeply. How could he have lost something so precious without any warning? How could her life had ended hat way? At the hands of the Emperor?! No, she was meant to be someone. She was the next Maudra of her clan, the next leader of the Drenchens, how could this be her fate? She was destined for better. Naia deserved better.
"Kylan?," Brea was now concerned for her friend.
"We should go," Rian saved Kylan from responding. "We should be able to sneak out without being seen."
"What are you doing here in the castle anyway, Rian?," Brea finally articulated the question lingering in her mind.
"I'll tell you about when we reach Stone-in-the-Wood."