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Standard disclaimer: I don’t own the series. There, ya happy?
AN: the things I do in my spare time. Yeah, right fanfics. Surprisingly enough, I don’t have all that much free time. HA! Fooled you! Right. So, I wrote a chapter that somewhat explained what happened in Lahan. From Salla’s point of view. At least, I think it explained what happened. More like it confused readers even more than they already were, and introduced a new character that may or may not be important to the actual plot.
Righty. Um, it’s been a long day and I have a headache? Can I use that as an excuse? Never mind being off Friday. Three day weekend! Whoop! Ah, right. I am just rambling. Now, that last chapter kinda made me a little nervous. I mean, it was mostly explanations and stuff. I usually don’t like writing chapters like that… but good lord, trying to type out all that dialog… this may be revisited later…
Keep in mind that it really HAS been a full year since my last multi-chaptered fic, so the pacing of the story might be a little off. Yeah, that’s just an excuse, but really, it’s all I have to go on. I either go one of two ways on a story. I either obsess to the point I change things many, many times. (poor Arcy…) Or I just half-ass the story and rush through it. This story is a little different. I’m neither obsessing nor rushing the story. Yeah, I’m actually trying to do good here.
Good lord… I really AM rambling. I do apologize. I was listening to the Hamster Dance song. Yeah…
Oh, the genie thingy came from an idea that Nina Windia suggested. Oh, how I have been waiting to use this! So, thanks Nina Windia!
So, here’s the next chapter. I really do hope that it’s not too bad or anything.
He looked out at the blue ocean in the far distance. The youth in question was a teenaged boy with midnight blue hair and green eyes, dressed in gold and red royal armor. The sun was hanging high in the sky, casting its light on everything. The ocean was always something of a mystery to him. There was just something very… majestic about the endless waves.
He took his eyes off of the ocean and cast them back at the magnificence white and golden castle that sat at the heart of the large city. Dragnier, the home of Ladon’s chosen people.
His people.
He sighed and looked back at the ocean. He wasn’t sure what was going on. He had received no word from his god in days. As Ladon’s avatar, he needed the guidance of his god in order to lead his people to be the caretakers of Creation, the task that Ladon himself had given them.
But, now he did not know what to do.
He caught a bluish-white light appear in the corner of his eyes. He turned his attention from the ocean to the newcomer that was currently standing behind him. The person in question was a young man with gold eyes and shoulder length black hair that was tied in a ponytail. He wore a white and gold robe.
“You…” the man said in a surprised voice. “I am surprised to see you here.”
The robed man merely nodded. He walked over to the other and placed his hands in the sleeves of his robe. “I am here to inform you of the current situation,” the man said. “Ladon does hear your prayers, but he cannot answer at this moment.”
“Why?” the youth asked.
“It would seem that the goddess Myria is having a slight disagreement with the other gods,” the man said. “She does not like the usage of the Avatars leading the people.”
“But why?” the youth asked. “The Avatars answer directly to the gods themselves. If they misuse their vast powers that the gods have granted them, they must pay.”
“That is exactly the reason she is in disagreement with the other gods,” the man said. “She does not like the idea of mortals having such vast powers. She wishes for it to stop and the gods to directly lead their people.”
“The gods know what they are doing, Lucien,” the youth said. “Myria is… Myria is justified in being concerned, but she will let this drop. This is not the first time she has voiced concerns, nor will it be the last.”
“That’s just it,” the man, Lucien said. “It will not be the last. The other gods have become weary of Myria’s complaints. They wish something to be done about it, Prince.”
“And what does the mighty Ladon say of this?” the youth asked.
“He is taking a neutral stance as of now,” Lucien said. “But, as the God King, he cannot stay silent for long, lest there be anarchy.”
“Surely it will not come to that,” the youth said. “Myria is the mother goddess, after all. She and Ladon both have had hand in Creation. They always come to a consensus after much discussion.”
“That is one of the problems,” Lucien said. “Myria and Ladon are not in consensus with each other. As the Overseer of the Grand Design, I have an insight that the others lack, including Myria and Ladon. Already Myria’s children, her Angels, are rejecting her ideals.”
“And…what of her Maidens?”
“They stand by her… but I fear that one of her Angels is plotting against her. I do believe you have heard of him? Legence?”
“Yes,” the youth said. “Last time I saw Myria, Legence was in her company. Why do you believe that he is plotting against him?”
“Because of what her Maidens have said. Leigh thinks that he will try to assassinate Myria, while Nina thinks that he will try something else. What, she doesn’t know.”
The youth laughed. “One of Myria’s own, plotting against her? Lucien, I do believe that you have been associating with human mortals far too long. You seem to have taken on their sense of humor.”
Lucien gave the young man a cross look. “Believe what you will, Prince Ryu, but I think that you should be wary of Legence. If both Leigh and Nina, the two closest to Myria believe him to be a threat, then you should too.”
Ryu crossed his arms and smirked. “Perhaps. But, for now…” Ryu turned out to look at the ocean once more. “I must go and meditate. Good day.”
And with that, Ryu headed back to Dragnier. Lucien could only shake his head. He shrugged his shoulders and vanished in a plume of white and blue light.
Ryu woke with a start. The sun was barely beginning to rise through the window of the hotel room he was currently staying in. He sat up and rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes. He didn’t exactly want to go back to sleep after that dream. There was just something unnerving about it.
While not uncommon for one to have dreams about past lives, especially for the Destined Child, Ryu seemed to hardly have them. That dream was one of only a few he had ever had. The others were so murky he could never recall lucid details about them.
This one, however, he could recall everything about. By what was said in the dream, he thought the lifetime was all the way back before the Goddess Wars. He thought it might even god as far back as before the War of the Gods.
Ryu stood up and walked over to the window and opened it. He leaned on the window cell and stared out at the cityscape of the Urkan Tapa. Not exactly as backwaters as he thought it would be.
The Urkan Tapa was the known home for the followers of Myria. The city was named after its region. The Urkan Region had been established during the beginning of the Techno Age. The Urkan Tapa was founded by priests of the Goddess of Light, the Mother of All Things, Myria.
The Urkan teachings go on to say that the one they called God created her angels, her Guardians and sent them to protect the world against the demons known as the Brood. Ascended dragons do look like demons, but only the fallen ones.
Myths and legends about Myria were far and few. The Ladonic teachings told that she was the evil goddess Tyr, goddess of lies, desire, and destruction. An ancient Wyndian legend told about how Myria was the Mother of Angels, the ancestors of the Wing Clan. Most people rebuked that theory, however. They stated that the Wyndians were long time allies of the Dragon Clan and had always worshiped Ladon, not the goddess.
It was hard to tell what was truth and what was fiction anymore. Ryu had grown up in the Church of Ladon, so he viewed Myria as an evil being bent of world destruction. An evil goddess that threatened to plunge the world in eternal darkness.
So, the Urkan Tapa, the heart of the Myrian faith, was NOT the best place for a Brood prince, let alone the Destined Child, but Ryu was a wanted man… err child. He didn’t have much choice.
Besides, Dragnier would never dare cross into Urkan territory. The Urkans wouldn’t go into Brood territory either, lest they start another holy war. The last one nearly wiped the Brood off the face of the earth. If the survivors of the Brood Wars had not hidden out in the Desert of Death, they surely would have been slain by the goddess’ Guardians.
The Urkan Tapa itself was a rather large city with a mix of ancient stone buildings and the more recent, modern looking ones. The city was rich with history and kept most of its culture alive. The modern buildings had been built to replace the ones that had eroded and decayed over the hundreds of years.
The Region was governed not by royalty or democracy, but by the High Priests of Myria. The Godwin Foundation was located on the same continent as the Urkan Tapa, but they had no dealings with the Urkans. Though, they did get along. They merely stayed out of each other’s business.
Ryu’s left arm twitched involuntarily. He looked down and saw that it had crystallized once again. The arm flashed, then reverted back to flesh. He sighed and shook his head. He sometimes wished that the disease would just completely crystallize him, so he wouldn’t have to worry about the threat of dying.
Why did that man save him?
Ryu just didn’t care anymore. He was tired of running. It seemed like Ladon had forsaken him. Wasn’t he the Destined Child, Ladon’s chosen? If so, why didn’t Ladon hear his cries and prayers? Why didn’t Ladon save him when he was in Lahan?
Ryu shook his head as he watched the sun slowly rose. He made up his mind. He was not going to drag his friends into this mess anymore. Ryu quietly walked over to the side of his bed and picked up his vest and placed it on over his shirt. He tugged on his boots and put his gloves and scarf on. He picked up his bag and sheathed sword and slowly started towards the door.
He didn’t want to alert anyone to what he was about to do. He didn’t bother to look at his friends one last time. Instead, he walked down to the end of the hallway and entered the elevator and pushed the button going down.
He knew if he was going to be safe from Demus, he would have to go to Angel Tower and ask for sanctuary. It was the only way. Ryu gave one last somber look at the hallway, then the elevator door closed.
Yuki groaned as she rolled over onto her side. She curled up into a ball and smashed the pillow over her head. She had the weirdest dream. She thought that a tribe of flying monkeys was banging cymbals in her ears…
She twitched when she realized that the cymbals were not a dream, and someone really was banging something in her ears. She lifted the pillow from her head and noticed Nina holding two pot lids in her hands. The princess was already fully dressed. Sari was standing behind Nina, also fully dressed. Nina was about to bang the lids together again when Yuki jumped up and held her hands out in protest.
“I’m up, I’m up!” Yuki shouted. “What do you want?!”
“Ryu’s gone,” Sari said somberly. “He wasn’t in his room this morning.”
“What time is it…” Yuki groggily asked.
“Eleven a.m.,” Nina said. “Deis and Garr are currently searching the city looking for Ryu.”
“Oh…” Yuki mumbled. She lied back down and pulled the covers over her head again. Yuki shrieked when Nina banged the pots in Yuki’s ear. Yuki jumped up and gave the giggling Nina and Sari a death glare.
“Maybe you have slept long enough?” Sari questioned.
“Arg…” Yuki grumbled as she kicked the covers off of her. She swung her legs over the bed and stood up. She pulled her boots on and somewhat straightened out her hair. She put on her glassed and grabbed up her twin daggers.
She then started out the door. Nina and Sari merely stared at her in confusion. Yuki turned around and shot them a look. The two girls nodded and followed Yuki out the door.
Yuki had been deprived of much needed sleep. Well, actually it was a common fact that Yuki was not a morning person. She couldn’t figure out how Yui could wake up at the crack of dawn and be super cheerful. Apparently, Jin shared not liking early mornings with his sister. But, at least he got up before lunch.
The girls walked down the hall and got on the elevator. None of them said anything. What could they say? Ryu had just up and vanished in the middle of the night. Nina couldn’t figure out why Ryu would just run away.
Didn’t he trust them? Was it something one of them said? She briefly wondered if it was how Yuki had been acting around Ryu, but quickly dismissed the idea. While Yuki had been mean to Ryu, he hadn’t completely avoided them.
Nina was on the verge of panic. What if something had happened to him? What if she never saw him again? She just didn’t know how she would handle that.
The girls walked in silence as they exited the hotel building. They wandered down the streets of the Urkan Tapa for a little while. They dodged both people and cars that quickly zoomed down the paved streets.
Nina realized that they hadn’t seen neither Deis not Garr for a few hours. Could Ryu had already gone to Angel Tower? Could they?
Nina was pulled out of her musings by Sari tapping her on the shoulder. She looked to where Sari and Yuki were looking and left loose a sigh of relief. There, standing in an abandoned alleyway, was a distracted Ryu.
Nina cautiously walked over to Ryu and stood in front of him. He blinked and looked over at her. Nina smiled slightly and crossed her arms.
“Why did you leave?” Nina asked.
“I… just don’t want you guys to get involved in this anymore…” Ryu stated.
“Well, guess what?” Yuki grumbled, apparently not over getting woken up. “We are. So, you just have to get use to it.”
Sari nodded somberly. “It was our choice to follow you. No one forced us. We want to help you, but are unable to if you keep running off.”
Ryu shook his head. “I… just don’t want you guys to get hurt again…”
No one had to ask Ryu what he meant. Both Yuki and Nina remembered the Tournament. Sari had not participated, but she remembered the wounded bodies of Nina and Yuki. No one really wanted to talk about that.
“Well, it’s our decision to make!” Yuki stated proudly. “If I didn’t want to get involved, I wouldn’t have saved your ass back in Crete.”
“And I wouldn’t have freed you back at the castle,” Nina grinned.
“And… well… hum?” Sari merely shrugged. She just didn’t have anything to add. She hadn’t saved or helped Ryu, so she didn’t say anything.
“Maybe so, but…” Ryu started. “I… just… crap! I just don’t know anymore!” Ryu shook his head and balled his fists at his sides. “I am sick of this!”
“Then do something about it!” Nina shouted. She lowered her voice and placed her hands on Ryu’s shoulders. He thought about jerking away, but decided against it. “Just don’t run away from your problems. That never solves anything.”
“With your friends at your side, you can accomplish anything,” Sari chimed in.
Yuki grimaced and nodded. “Yeah, what they said.”
Ryu grinned slightly. “Thanks, but… I think that I should go alone.”
Sari shook her head. “You do and Nina and Yuki would just follow you.”
The two in question looked over at Sari. Yuki grimaced and Nina blushed. Ryu merely stared at Sari.
“You think?”
Sari nodded. “Yes. I do not think that they would let you go without a fight. Even if they act indifferent towards you,” Sari said as she looked at Yuki. Yuki scowled and turned her head.
Ryu sighed in defeat. “Fine. You guys can come. I… guess I just needed to hear that from you guys…”
Nina nodded. “Of course!” Nina reached into her backpack and pulled out a digital camera. “Okay! Say cheese!”
Ryu, Sari, and Yuki looked over at Nina in confusion, just in time to get their picture taken. Yuki suppressed a groan as Sari smiled slightly. Ryu just placed his face in his hand.
Deis watched as the four children walked through the city. She gave them a solemn look and then turned her back to them. Garr, who was currently cloaked, gave Deis an odd look.
“Are we not going after them?” Garr asked.
“…” Deis didn’t look at Garr.
“M’lady?” Garr questioned. It was unusual that Deis didn’t have a witty comeback. She was acting like something horrible was about t happen.
“Our journey with them ends here, Garr,” Deis said, her back to Garr.
“What… do you mean?” Garr asked.
“Its up to them now,” Deis said. “We can only watch from here on out and pray that they will succeed.”
“You mean…”
“Yes,” Deis said. “The time has come. It all starts now.”
From there, the four walked the distance to Angel Tower. The tower was located just outside of the city. There didn’t need to be any arguments about the holy site. Everyone knew that this was where the final battle between Guardian and Brood was fought.
The tower, however, had been renovated over the years. While the Dragon Graveyard still lay in the most bottom rooms of the tower, the upper halves had been renovated into rooms for weary travelers and those who were on a pilgrimage.
Ryu wondered whom he had to talk to in order to gain sanctuary. He stood at the base of the giant monolith and nearly screamed. Everywhere he looked were charged bodies of priests and tourists.
He quickly glanced back at Yuki and the others and noticed that Yuki was holding her head in pain. Nina had her wand at the ready and was already in her battle stance. Sari was a few feet away, behind Yuki.
Yuki looked up and grimaced. “Something… someone killed these people,” she said through gritted teeth. “I… can hear… people calling for help… ah!” Yuki wailed as she doubled over in pain.
Sari looked up at the very top of the tower. Standing at the altar, clad in the armor of a dragon warrior, sword in hand, was Prince Demus. He smiled and jumped down to the ground. He landed right in front of Ryu.
Ryu couldn’t even think. Before he even had time to draw his sword, Demus lunged at Ryu. Ryu yelled, but was pulled back by Yuki and Sari. The three stumbled to the ground as Nina stood in front of them. Demus smiled and swung again. This time, however, he missed.
There was a sudden flash of light and an odd, purple sparkly smoke filled the air. Demus looked around and noticed three distinct figures in the mist. The one at the front walked through the smoke and grinned at Demus, his sword at the ready.
“I told you if any harm came to Ryu, that I would track you down and make you pay,” Jin said with a malevolent smile on his face.
Demus readied his sword and stared at Jin. It was then that he noticed Salla and Bunyan standing right behind Jin on either side of him. He wondered what made that sudden smoke. He thought for a second that Jin might have magically formed it, that maybe he was some kind of magical being, like a genie.
He then took noticed of Yuki staring at the ground at what appeared to be a smoke bomb. Yuki grinned and kicked it off to the side. Demus merely smiled.
“Ah, I see now. Well Uzuki, if you think you can take me, then come!” and with that Demus lunged at the assembled party.
To be concluded…