Part VI

The night sky above Genoha was full of tiny twinkling lights as massive swarms of glowing insects writhed in vibrant patterns above the large clearing. Thirteen black columns stood in stark contrast against the violet hue of the atmosphere as Morak walked along a path between two of them. Once inside the large ring of stone he could see thirteen smaller pale columns making up the interior and a large mound of earth at the very center. He paused briefly to crouch beside the crushed white stone making up the winding path and allowed his shifting cloak to obscure his slender form. Seconds bleed into minutes as Morak patiently allowed his hearing to become the predominant sense.

‘The stones give off such energy. It is no wonder the council seeks control.’ He thought pushing back his shifting hood.

As Morak surveyed the complex his pointed ears twitched beneath straight ebony hair held clinched tight behind his head. Silently he retrieved a small transceiver from a leather pouch on his belt and aligned the delicate circuits covering the handle with the silver Allon pathways tracing through the pale young flesh of his fingers. He shivered slightly as he felt energy leak out of his fingertips and into the device he held as the Allon made contact on both sides. Squeezing gently he heard a low pricking sound from inside the casing of the transceiver and he began to whisper softly into it.

‘All clear Gehse.’

He patiently waited as Gehse quietly stalked across the open clearing towards him and spoke only when the two were reunited.

‘I have seen nothing but glow bugs up here but the stones, can you feel the power coming off of them?’ Morak asked watching Gehse unroll a sheer piece of translucent.

As Gehse touched the edge of the sheer film a blue glowing ripple formed and washed across the surface revealing an intricately drawn map. The brothers crouched quietly as he manipulated the translucent beneath his fingers pausing to highlight the spot they stood in at present before tracing what he believed to be the best course of action. Morak ran a finger down the length of his jaw watching as Gehse carefully plotted before nodding in agreement.

The pair moved through the open complex as Gehse had suggested and kept their visibility to a minimum. They carefully approached the center of Genoha ascending through the low grass covering the central mound and stood atop the apex. Moving past his brother Morak quickly motioned for him to stop as he walked up the stairs onto a small dais. In the center of the stone platform stood an octagonal base carved with symbols neither of them had ever seen.

‘Morak what is that?’ Gehse asked from the grass below the dais. ‘The council said nothing of this.’

Morak gestured for silence looking nervously at his brother and again the clearing became quiet. As he moved closer to the pedestal the markings covering it began to glow with a dull white luminance highlighting them against the carved stone.

‘There is some kind of door on top of the pedestal Gehse.’ Morak called to his brother.

Between his fingers the hatch easily slid open revealing a short ladder leading to the floor below. Once inside Morak made his way down the ladder hearing his brother protesting quietly from above. Beneath the pedestal he stood in a small room with exits leading in each direction and contemplated where they could lead peering down each he watched as the steps passed down and out of sight. Each passage reverberated with the sound of machinery so Morak did his best to determine which one went north and began quietly stalking through it. As he neared the end of the long passage he wondered how deep in the rock he had traveled.

The walls surrounding him opened into an expansive cavern carved from white stone and Morak found himself standing atop another massive staircase leading down to the floor below. From the top of the towering stairs he could see many machines made from the same shining silver metal that speckled his palms.

‘What is this?’ He pondered aloud breaking the monotonous groan of the pumping levers and values of the machines below. ‘What can all of this be?’

Morak turned from the chamber and made his way back up the passage to the small room beneath Genoha climbing the short ladder to the dais above. As he stepped onto the cold stone floor of the platform he heard a strange metallic sound from the grass below and quickly turned withdrawing dull hilts from his belt. On the hillside below Morak saw five hulking protectors surrounding the collapsed form of his brother.

Etian and Lyla sat quietly in the saddle as Tosh recounted the story his father told him long ago. Above them the wispy gray clouds gave way to the massive triangular form of an airship as it broke through to survey the ground below.

‘It must be the man from the city!’ Lyla shouted interrupting Tosh.

‘How can we outrun that?’ Etian asked his eyes wide with fear.

‘We must get into the trees, hurry!’ Tosh kicked his heels sending the gelding into a run.

Before the airship could descend on top of them they burst into the tree line dodging the dense branches as they quickly slowed both horses.

‘We have to keep moving. Genoha should be this way.’ Tosh called through the foliage.

‘I can see one of the spires north of us through the trees.’ Lyla replied pushing branches away from her face.

‘We should tie the horses and continue on foot.’ Etian said helping Lyla down from the saddle before dismounting himself.

‘I concur.’ Tosh replied joining them on the ground.

With the horses tied to a tree branch the trio began quietly moving through the thick brush towards Genoha. Passing through low hanging branches Etian motioned for Lyla to hold before he and Tosh spread out to check for danger. She waited a few tense moments before they both returned and assured her it was safe to proceed deeper into the forest. Inside the canopy of trees beams of golden light broke through casting shadows across the moist ground beneath their feet as they traveled.

'Where has the red orb been? Could it all be returning to normal?'  Etian absently asked pushing a large branch from his path.

'If I never see it again it will be too soon.' Tosh replied motioning Etian to checkout some noises ahead of them while he waited with Lyla.

The two stood silent as Blue picked at the seed pod of a fallen plant.

‘You must be hungry little one.’ Lyla said reaching into her satchel for a strip of dried meat.

She took a large bite from half of it before playfully tossing it to the furry blue creature dancing excitedly at her feet. Tosh turned a stoic gaze towards them both as the clearing became silent once again. Lyla stifled a gasp as Etian burst from the lush green branches and rushed towards them waving his hands low informing of what lay ahead.

Without hesitation Tosh moved gracefully into a crouching stance sliding the dark blade from his side as the pair motioned symbols in the air between them. Count of two on foot aggressive. Tosh nodded and motioned for Lyla to follow. With the polished alloy staff in hand she quietly brushed aside the hanging leaves and kept step with them both.

The gently swaying leaves burst to tiny pieces as the black metallic shaft of a projectile sliced through the foliage on a path directly aimed for Tosh. With a resounding snap he quickly flexed the shield into solid form and deflected the arrow down into the ground.

‘We must get out of the trees!’ Tosh shouted deflecting another of the bolts into a tree trunk near Lyla as she frantically dodged.

The turf below foot broke and splintered as they ran at full pace through the dense cover of the trees. On his left Tosh saw their pursuers moving like water over the rough terrain rapidly making up the distance to their prey.

'They are too fast!' Lyla called over her pounding heart as they ran through the trees.

Outside of the tree line a large clearing opened up surrounding Genoha as the massive black and white stones towered towards the sky. They quickly spread out with Tosh at the point and Etian and Lyla filed in at his flanks proceeding towards the center of the site. Lyla began slowly twirling her staff between her palms evoking a gentle cyan glow as Etian gripped the hilt of his blade and felt the tiny sparks of power surging between them as it hissed to life. From behind them Blue came rushing out of the thick cover chirping twice before crouching next to Tosh.

‘In your story you left out how they defeated these things.’ Etian said watching the tree line.

‘I left it out because he claimed it was impossible. Where are they?’ He answered nervously posing his own question.

‘We should run for the center.’ Lyla said and without waiting for either of them she did so.

Etian replaced the blade at his side and began following her while Tosh stood still watching the edge of the trees.

‘Come on before they catch us.’ He called back over his shoulder seeing Tosh turn to follow them.

Around them the once polished well kept stones looked worn with age and lack of care since last his father had described them. The power still rung out strong from the chipped and cracked surfaces covering the towering stonework but somehow things felt diminished as they found the white stone path Morak had also walked.

‘I can see the dais ahead.’ Lyla called back to them as she continued pushing forward.

Etian watched as she rushed up the mound over the long unkempt grass covering the hillside making her way up the steps onto the stone platform. As he and Tosh reached the dais they heard a quiet gasp escape her lips and both turned to look in her direction. The forms of dark alloy protectors stood silhouetted against the green horizon of trees behind them as they briskly journeyed over the open field towards the central mound.

‘Can you open it?’ Etian asked watching Tosh fiddle with the hatch at the top of the pedestal.

‘It appears rusted shut.’ He barked back furiously yanking on the metal lid.

‘We have no time for that.’ Lyla assured them both flowing into a liquid stance as the Mishun staff twirled in a cyan arc before her.

They both nodded and withdrew their dull blades sending sparks of color cascading off their hilts as the circuits flared connecting each to his armament. The three brought their weapons together in a flurry of light as energy fluxed off of them hissing and crackling through the silence covering the stone platform.

‘Two here.’ Etian called pointing his direction.

‘I have two here also.’ Lyla said putting her back against Etian as Tosh moved to join them.

‘The same on all sides it appears. Stay together as long as possible.’ Tosh commanded preparing for battle.

Around them the protectors quickly made up the distance to the worked stone platform atop the mound and moved in from every direction. Each protector was made from a dark alloy that shined so deeply it appeared wet as they gracefully flowed like liquid metal through each precise movement. Etian found himself in awe of the creatures as one of them slowly molded its forearms into massive hammers and began swinging wildly at him. His eyes went wide as he dodged each swing from the first protector watching as the second began to replace its hands with bolt launchers.

‘How are we supposed to fight this?’ He shouted at Tosh still dodging the swinging hammers.

Tosh had no time to answer as his own quarry had formed massive shields and were preparing to crush him against the stone platform. The silver metal dotting his face began to burn beneath his skin as Etian let out a scream with the protectors almost on top of him. Something inside called out from the depths as the metal sizzled on his orange cheeks blinding him and leaving him defenseless.

Lyla saw Etian’s blade come up to meet the hammer as it thrust down towards his crumpled form watching as it erupted into a violent cloud of sparks before sending a shock wave hurling through the hillside. The ring of white energy rippled through them as the force of the explosion knocked out their hearing sending them all to the ground and the protectors with them.

Tosh grabbed his head with his ears still ringing as he tried to make sense of the scene around him. Three of the protectors lay motionless on the grass their metal forms broken into pieces like shattered stone littering the green overgrown grass covering the dirt. He coughed up little drops of blood as he felt the bruise from the shock wave forming on his abdomen. Lyla slowly stood helping Etian to his feet as she gathered her staff and prepared for another round.

‘What was that?’ She asked loudly still unable to hear from the explosion.

Before anyone could attempt an answer the remaining protectors began advancing as Blue huddled behind Tosh barking nervously. Still blinded by the burning pain and deafened by the explosion Etian stood still clinging to both of his companions hoping they could pull him through. The clouds above parted as the massive airship came into view once more sending the sound of the three massive gyros echoing against the columns surrounding them.

‘He is persistent.’ Lyla said pointing upwards.

Cyan traced through the air as she spun the staff between her twirling fingers attempting to keep the colossal metal creatures at bay as one of them moved in to flank her.

‘Lyla watch out!’ Tosh exclaimed a second too late.

From behind her a large shield sent Lyla to the ground leaving her in a heap as the Mishun staff fell lifeless at her side crackling against the grass. In his distraction Tosh was easily overtaken by his own protector when it quickly rushed into him its arms made into huge wedges of metal that pinned him to the ground beneath it.

‘Etian run!’ He shouted from below the massive metallic form as he watched his friend blindly stumbling nearby.