Chapter 219: 219
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I was floating above a place I'd never been to before. It had an environment of frigid weather where snow carpeted the both the rocks and ground. The surrounding sky was covered in dark clouds, and the wind, which despite my astral form, was bitingly cold.
It caused me to shiver slightly.
No, the wind probably wasn't the reason. Perhaps the thing I could see protruding out of the rock was what made me nervous instead.
They were giant double doors so large they covered the entire side of the cliff face to the left of the mountainous peak I'd found myself in.
On the doors, a series of carvings depicted scenes of death and destruction on a scale even I'd never seen before. It was a world on fire where blue and red giants stomped on the tiny humanoid figures underneath them.
In front of these doors, two figures were huddled close together.
One of them was a stranger to me. He had a tall frame that was wrapped from head to foot in a thick black hood and coat that hid its features from my eyes.
The other one was a female with skin so dark it was blue. Her short white hair was shaved at the sides. She had a beautiful face with a chiselled jawline, and her pale eyes underneath dark brows were silver in hue.
I knew that face. It was the face of Great General Morrigan, one of the military leaders of the Scarlet Moon.
Despite the cold surrounding her, she was wearing her snug black vest layered with black scales on the chest and shoulders. It seemed the red cloak was all she had to protect her from the elements, but she didn't seem bothered by the chill.
Morrigan was conversing with the cloaked stranger in hushed tones, but my astral form could hear them loud and clear.
"I don't quite understand your excursion in the central region," the stranger said. He had a male voice. "Was the point to acquire Great General Garm? I didn't think he was such an important piece…"
"Garm has a legitimate claim to the seat of the Trickster Pavilion's patriarch," Morrigan explained. "That will be useful in sowing discord within their clan."
"Your obsession with that clan continues to elude me," the stranger admitted. "I pray it doesn't side track you from the plan… the great game is already afoot."
Morrigan shook her head. "I haven't forgotten my responsibilities… One could say differently about you and your own obsession with the brothers."
I couldn't see his face, but something told me that stranger was showing off a frown right about now.
"I have done very little, but yes, I have assisted them somewhat, although indirectly," the man answered. "The boy is important. His brother too is a candidate. They can be groomed."
Morrigan smirked. "Yes, he has shown an aptitude at foiling our plans… things would be easier if we had the chosen one in our hands by now. I believe you're at fault for losing him as well…"
"That was an investment," the stranger replied. "One I believe will prove fruitful later on. For now, we can allow the human mage to remain where he is."
Morrigan placed a hand over the door but her fingers didn't touch it.
"They're restless on that side now," she noted. "I can feel their eagerness…"
The stranger turned his head to the door as well.
"They aren't the only ones…" he replied after a moment of pause. "One of the keys is already in our possession… the others will be ours in time."
"While the boy may be manageable, the other three will not be easy opponents," Morrigan replied. "They will not relinquish their charge to us without many sacrifices."
"Many sacrifices are being prepared," the stranger chuckled. "For now, we'll focus our attentions on acquiring the fifth…"
"Ah," Morrigan raised a finger. "Several candidates have already been found… one of them will surely awaken to the gift."
It was at this point when I drifted closer to them as their conversation, although gibberish to me, seemed extremely important, and I wanted to get closer so as not to miss anything. That was a wrong choice.
"It seems a fly has intruded in our meeting, the strange said.
They both turned to look my way. I don't know how, but they noticed my presence.
"Clever little fly," Morrigan chuckled.
Then she raised a hand, and from her palm, something sharp and dark sprung forth. It came toward me with blinding speed. And as soon as this arcane projectile pierced into my chest, I woke up with a scream.
"Dean, it's alright," someone said while arms held me down. "You're back. You're safe…"
I blinked, and my vision cleared as the spell came undone.
My eyes searched my surroundings, revealing the wooden beams of the ceiling above. Aura and Arah had been sitting opposite sides of the cot I'd been laying in. A brass bowl lay next to my right hand. Next to it was a cup filled with sticks of incense that were still alight and spilling a calming floral scent into the room.
I sat up groggily and wrapped a hand over my brow. "Remind me not to try that again…"
"You're the one who wanted to see if you could glean new secrets from your gift of sight," Aura reminded me.
"I know… maybe stop me next time," I sighed.
"Well, did you actually see anything like that time when you saw Ty get kidnapped?" Arah asked.
I glanced over at her and sighed once more. "Yup… I can't make sense of it though…"
The next hour was spent with me explaining to them what I'd seen and heard followed by a discussion that made as little sense as my dream.
"While ominous looking doors seem fascinating," Arah interjected, "I'm more concerned with these keys and this fifth gifted… you both realize what they were probably referring to, right?"
How could we not. Aura and I were intimately familiar with the legend of the five Sense Knights and the five keys they were supposed to be protecting.
"You think it's really that?" I asked. "I was sort of hoping they were nothing more than fairy tales…"
"Fairy tale or not, if Morrigan believes in it, then it'll mean trouble for us regardless," Aura frowned.
"Besides, you've already met two other Sense Knights, right?" Arah pointed out. "So there's most likely some truth to the legends…"
That was what I was afraid of. Honestly, I had enough of a worry dealing with saving Luca. I'd rather not get tangled up in some prophecy or legend or whatever the hell Morrigan and her companion was up to.
"A fifth," Aura repeated. "What do you think that means?"
We were all quiet for several moments before Arah broke the silence with her deductions.
"It most likely means the fifth Sense Knight, right?" Arah guessed. "If we assume smell, taste, and sight are already taken. The likely answer is that either touch or hearing is the fifth gift."
"Hearing might already be taken," I answered.
I recalled Darah and I having a conversation about a Sense Knight whose name shouldn't be spoken less he heard it. It was all very Voldemort to be honest.
"Then the only thing left to worry about are these keys," Arah pressed on. "If we assume the keys exist then the seals probably exist too."
"You think those doors I saw were the seals?" I guessed.
"Seems likely, but I'm not sure…" Arah answered. "Anything you want to add, Aura?"
"I've never heard of these doors you speak of, Dean… I've never read anything like it in the family's archives," Aura admitted. "Perhaps the library in the Great Tower may have more info… and although our clan is friendly with the Skycraper clan, it'll be difficult to visit as they're further to the west and past the blockade in the Westersand Desert…"
Her brow furrowed as she thought more about it.
"Perhaps we can ask Ashley… she is a shieldmaiden, and they're also responsible for remembering our history," Aura added.
The sound of an explosion rocked our room. It was quickly followed by raucous cheering from just outside.
"Looks like they're at it again," Arah noted.
"Every freaking night," I growled.
"Don't let it bother you so much," Aura suggested as she too got up at the same time as I did. "They most likely detonated their spells just outside our territory."
"Yup," Arah nodded while a frown was plastered on her lips. "Those Dominion idiots just want to rile us up… don't let it get to you, Commander."
I crossed the small room and pulled open the door. Outside, I could see the men lining the wall in front of me with their hands raised. They were cheering for something they could see directly below the wall.
"For mud's sake," I exhaled, "What's happening now?"
I walked over the stone floors and over to the wall, brushing past the two Foolhardies recruits who were in my way so I could see what everyone else could see.
A few months after the Sunspire-Trickster war, the wall that protected the clan's territory in the Westmarch had been completed just on the opposite side of another wall that had been built by the Sunspire Dominion to close the entrance to the Westersand Desert.
Both our walls were twenty feet high and many miles wide with a short stretch of barren earth between us which had been designated by our leaders as a demilitarized zone.
Units in the Westmarch like my one-thousand-man unit were on rotation to man our wall. This month was our turn. Unfortunately, the enemy on the other side were pretty annoying and were always taunting us.
I'd learned this was because the commander on the other side was fairly young like me and had been part of the war too. But we'd never met as we were in the south battlefield and they'd fought in the north battlefield.
However, the fact that the Foolhardies had distinguished themselves in battle was a cause of great ire for the commanders of the enemy army, which meant trouble for me and my guys every time it was our turn to man the wall.
This time though, something was different. For as I watched from below, it was then that I noticed that the enemy commander had finally come down to the barren field herself.
I recognized her of course. It was Dawn the Dawnbreaker.
Standing opposite her with his hand holding onto the claymore strapped to his back was Luca.
"Muddamit," I sighed. "Darah's going to kill me if we start another war…"
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I was floating above a place I'd never been to before. It had an environment of frigid weather where snow carpeted the both the rocks and ground. The surrounding sky was covered in dark clouds, and the wind, which despite my astral form, was bitingly cold.
It caused me to shiver slightly.
No, the wind probably wasn't the reason. Perhaps the thing I could see protruding out of the rock was what made me nervous instead.
They were giant double doors so large they covered the entire side of the cliff face to the left of the mountainous peak I'd found myself in.
On the doors, a series of carvings depicted scenes of death and destruction on a scale even I'd never seen before. It was a world on fire where blue and red giants stomped on the tiny humanoid figures underneath them.
In front of these doors, two figures were huddled close together.
One of them was a stranger to me. He had a tall frame that was wrapped from head to foot in a thick black hood and coat that hid its features from my eyes.
The other one was a female with skin so dark it was blue. Her short white hair was shaved at the sides. She had a beautiful face with a chiselled jawline, and her pale eyes underneath dark brows were silver in hue.
I knew that face. It was the face of Great General Morrigan, one of the military leaders of the Scarlet Moon.
Despite the cold surrounding her, she was wearing her snug black vest layered with black scales on the chest and shoulders. It seemed the red cloak was all she had to protect her from the elements, but she didn't seem bothered by the chill.
Morrigan was conversing with the cloaked stranger in hushed tones, but my astral form could hear them loud and clear.
"I don't quite understand your excursion in the central region," the stranger said. He had a male voice. "Was the point to acquire Great General Garm? I didn't think he was such an important piece…"
"Garm has a legitimate claim to the seat of the Trickster Pavilion's patriarch," Morrigan explained. "That will be useful in sowing discord within their clan."
"Your obsession with that clan continues to elude me," the stranger admitted. "I pray it doesn't side track you from the plan… the great game is already afoot."
Morrigan shook her head. "I haven't forgotten my responsibilities… One could say differently about you and your own obsession with the brothers."
I couldn't see his face, but something told me that stranger was showing off a frown right about now.
"I have done very little, but yes, I have assisted them somewhat, although indirectly," the man answered. "The boy is important. His brother too is a candidate. They can be groomed."
Morrigan smirked. "Yes, he has shown an aptitude at foiling our plans… things would be easier if we had the chosen one in our hands by now. I believe you're at fault for losing him as well…"
"That was an investment," the stranger replied. "One I believe will prove fruitful later on. For now, we can allow the human mage to remain where he is."
Morrigan placed a hand over the door but her fingers didn't touch it.
"They're restless on that side now," she noted. "I can feel their eagerness…"
The stranger turned his head to the door as well.
"They aren't the only ones…" he replied after a moment of pause. "One of the keys is already in our possession… the others will be ours in time."
"While the boy may be manageable, the other three will not be easy opponents," Morrigan replied. "They will not relinquish their charge to us without many sacrifices."
"Many sacrifices are being prepared," the stranger chuckled. "For now, we'll focus our attentions on acquiring the fifth…"
"Ah," Morrigan raised a finger. "Several candidates have already been found… one of them will surely awaken to the gift."
It was at this point when I drifted closer to them as their conversation, although gibberish to me, seemed extremely important, and I wanted to get closer so as not to miss anything. That was a wrong choice.
"It seems a fly has intruded in our meeting, the strange said.
They both turned to look my way. I don't know how, but they noticed my presence.
"Clever little fly," Morrigan chuckled.
Then she raised a hand, and from her palm, something sharp and dark sprung forth. It came toward me with blinding speed. And as soon as this arcane projectile pierced into my chest, I woke up with a scream.
"Dean, it's alright," someone said while arms held me down. "You're back. You're safe…"
I blinked, and my vision cleared as the spell came undone.
My eyes searched my surroundings, revealing the wooden beams of the ceiling above. Aura and Arah had been sitting opposite sides of the cot I'd been laying in. A brass bowl lay next to my right hand. Next to it was a cup filled with sticks of incense that were still alight and spilling a calming floral scent into the room.
I sat up groggily and wrapped a hand over my brow. "Remind me not to try that again…"
"You're the one who wanted to see if you could glean new secrets from your gift of sight," Aura reminded me.
"I know… maybe stop me next time," I sighed.
"Well, did you actually see anything like that time when you saw Ty get kidnapped?" Arah asked.
I glanced over at her and sighed once more. "Yup… I can't make sense of it though…"
The next hour was spent with me explaining to them what I'd seen and heard followed by a discussion that made as little sense as my dream.
"While ominous looking doors seem fascinating," Arah interjected, "I'm more concerned with these keys and this fifth gifted… you both realize what they were probably referring to, right?"
How could we not. Aura and I were intimately familiar with the legend of the five Sense Knights and the five keys they were supposed to be protecting.
"You think it's really that?" I asked. "I was sort of hoping they were nothing more than fairy tales…"
"Fairy tale or not, if Morrigan believes in it, then it'll mean trouble for us regardless," Aura frowned.
"Besides, you've already met two other Sense Knights, right?" Arah pointed out. "So there's most likely some truth to the legends…"
That was what I was afraid of. Honestly, I had enough of a worry dealing with saving Luca. I'd rather not get tangled up in some prophecy or legend or whatever the hell Morrigan and her companion was up to.
"A fifth," Aura repeated. "What do you think that means?"
We were all quiet for several moments before Arah broke the silence with her deductions.
"It most likely means the fifth Sense Knight, right?" Arah guessed. "If we assume smell, taste, and sight are already taken. The likely answer is that either touch or hearing is the fifth gift."
"Hearing might already be taken," I answered.
I recalled Darah and I having a conversation about a Sense Knight whose name shouldn't be spoken less he heard it. It was all very Voldemort to be honest.
"Then the only thing left to worry about are these keys," Arah pressed on. "If we assume the keys exist then the seals probably exist too."
"You think those doors I saw were the seals?" I guessed.
"Seems likely, but I'm not sure…" Arah answered. "Anything you want to add, Aura?"
"I've never heard of these doors you speak of, Dean… I've never read anything like it in the family's archives," Aura admitted. "Perhaps the library in the Great Tower may have more info… and although our clan is friendly with the Skycraper clan, it'll be difficult to visit as they're further to the west and past the blockade in the Westersand Desert…"
Her brow furrowed as she thought more about it.
"Perhaps we can ask Ashley… she is a shieldmaiden, and they're also responsible for remembering our history," Aura added.
The sound of an explosion rocked our room. It was quickly followed by raucous cheering from just outside.
"Looks like they're at it again," Arah noted.
"Every freaking night," I growled.
"Don't let it bother you so much," Aura suggested as she too got up at the same time as I did. "They most likely detonated their spells just outside our territory."
"Yup," Arah nodded while a frown was plastered on her lips. "Those Dominion idiots just want to rile us up… don't let it get to you, Commander."
I crossed the small room and pulled open the door. Outside, I could see the men lining the wall in front of me with their hands raised. They were cheering for something they could see directly below the wall.
"For mud's sake," I exhaled, "What's happening now?"
I walked over the stone floors and over to the wall, brushing past the two Foolhardies recruits who were in my way so I could see what everyone else could see.
A few months after the Sunspire-Trickster war, the wall that protected the clan's territory in the Westmarch had been completed just on the opposite side of another wall that had been built by the Sunspire Dominion to close the entrance to the Westersand Desert.
Both our walls were twenty feet high and many miles wide with a short stretch of barren earth between us which had been designated by our leaders as a demilitarized zone.
Units in the Westmarch like my one-thousand-man unit were on rotation to man our wall. This month was our turn. Unfortunately, the enemy on the other side were pretty annoying and were always taunting us.
I'd learned this was because the commander on the other side was fairly young like me and had been part of the war too. But we'd never met as we were in the south battlefield and they'd fought in the north battlefield.
However, the fact that the Foolhardies had distinguished themselves in battle was a cause of great ire for the commanders of the enemy army, which meant trouble for me and my guys every time it was our turn to man the wall.
This time though, something was different. For as I watched from below, it was then that I noticed that the enemy commander had finally come down to the barren field herself.
I recognized her of course. It was Dawn the Dawnbreaker.
Standing opposite her with his hand holding onto the claymore strapped to his back was Luca.
"Muddamit," I sighed. "Darah's going to kill me if we start another war…"
I was floating above a place I'd never been to before. It had an environment of frigid weather where snow carpeted the both the rocks and ground. The surrounding sky was covered in dark clouds, and the wind, which despite my astral form, was bitingly cold.It caused me to shiver slightly.No, the wind probably wasn't the reason. Perhaps the thing I could see protruding out of the rock was what made me nervous instead.They were giant double doors so large they covered the entire side of the cliff face to the left of the mountainous peak I'd found myself in.On the doors, a series of carvings depicted scenes of death and destruction on a scale even I'd never seen before. It was a world on fire where blue and red giants stomped on the tiny humanoid figures underneath them.In front of these doors, two figures were huddled close together.One of them was a stranger to me. He had a tall frame that was wrapped from head to foot in a thick black hood and coat that hid its features from my eyes.The other one was a female with skin so dark it was blue. Her short white hair was shaved at the sides. She had a beautiful face with a chiselled jawline, and her pale eyes underneath dark brows were silver in hue.I knew that face. It was the face of Great General Morrigan, one of the military leaders of the Scarlet Moon.Despite the cold surrounding her, she was wearing her snug black vest layered with black scales on the chest and shoulders. It seemed the red cloak was all she had to protect her from the elements, but she didn't seem bothered by the chill.Morrigan was conversing with the cloaked stranger in hushed tones, but my astral form could hear them loud and clear."I don't quite understand your excursion in the central region," the stranger said. He had a male voice. "Was the point to acquire Great General Garm? I didn't think he was such an important piece""Garm has a legitimate claim to the seat of the Trickster Pavilion's patriarch," Morrigan explained. "That will be useful in sowing discord within their clan.""Your obsession with that clan continues to elude me," the stranger admitted. "I pray it doesn't side track you from the plan the great game is already afoot."Morrigan shook her head. "I haven't forgotten my responsibilities One could say differently about you and your own obsession with the brothers."I couldn't see his face, but something told me that stranger was showing off a frown right about now."I have done very little, but yes, I have assisted them somewhat, although indirectly," the man answered. "The boy is important. His brother too is a candidate. They can be groomed."Morrigan smirked. "Yes, he has shown an aptitude at foiling our plans things would be easier if we had the chosen one in our hands by now. I believe you're at fault for losing him as well""That was an investment," the stranger replied. "One I believe will prove fruitful later on. For now, we can allow the human mage to remain where he is."Morrigan placed a hand over the door but her fingers didn't touch it."They're restless on that side now," she noted. "I can feel their eagerness"The stranger turned his head to the door as well."They aren't the only ones" he replied after a moment of pause. "One of the keys is already in our possession the others will be ours in time.""While the boy may be manageable, the other three will not be easy opponents," Morrigan replied. "They will not relinquish their charge to us without many sacrifices.""Many sacrifices are being prepared," the stranger chuckled. "For now, we'll focus our attentions on acquiring the fifth""Ah," Morrigan raised a finger. "Several candidates have already been found one of them will surely awaken to the gift."It was at this point when I drifted closer to them as their conversation, although gibberish to me, seemed extremely important, and I wanted to get closer so as not to miss anything. That was a wrong choice."It seems a fly has intruded in our meeting, the strange said.They both turned to look my way. I don't know how, but they noticed my presence."Clever little fly," Morrigan chuckled.Then she raised a hand, and from her palm, something sharp and dark sprung forth. It came toward me with blinding speed. And as soon as this arcane projectile pierced into my chest, I woke up with a scream."Dean, it's alright," someone said while arms held me down. "You're back. You're safe"I blinked, and my vision cleared as the spell came undone.My eyes searched my surroundings, revealing the wooden beams of the ceiling above. Aura and Arah had been sitting opposite sides of the cot I'd been laying in. A brass bowl lay next to my right hand. Next to it was a cup filled with sticks of incense that were still alight and spilling a calming floral scent into the room.I sat up groggily and wrapped a hand over my brow. "Remind me not to try that again""You're the one who wanted to see if you could glean new secrets from your gift of sight," Aura reminded me."I know maybe stop me next time," I sighed."Well, did you actually see anything like that time when you saw Ty get kidnapped?" Arah asked.I glanced over at her and sighed once more. "Yup I can't make sense of it though"The next hour was spent with me explaining to them what I'd seen and heard followed by a discussion that made as little sense as my dream."While ominous looking doors seem fascinating," Arah interjected, "I'm more concerned with these keys and this fifth gifted you both realize what they were probably referring to, right?"How could we not. Aura and I were intimately familiar with the legend of the five Sense Knights and the five keys they were supposed to be protecting."You think it's really that?" I asked. "I was sort of hoping they were nothing more than fairy tales""Fairy tale or not, if Morrigan believes in it, then it'll mean trouble for us regardless," Aura frowned."Besides, you've already met two other Sense Knights, right?" Arah pointed out. "So there's most likely some truth to the legends"That was what I was afraid of. Honestly, I had enough of a worry dealing with saving Luca. I'd rather not get tangled up in some prophecy or legend or whatever the hell Morrigan and her companion was up to."A fifth," Aura repeated. "What do you think that means?"We were all quiet for several moments before Arah broke the silence with her deductions."It most likely means the fifth Sense Knight, right?" Arah guessed. "If we assume smell, taste, and sight are already taken. The likely answer is that either touch or hearing is the fifth gift.""Hearing might already be taken," I answered.I recalled Darah and I having a conversation about a Sense Knight whose name shouldn't be spoken less he heard it. It was all very Voldemort to be honest."Then the only thing left to worry about are these keys," Arah pressed on. "If we assume the keys exist then the seals probably exist too.""You think those doors I saw were the seals?" I guessed."Seems likely, but I'm not sure" Arah answered. "Anything you want to add, Aura?""I've never heard of these doors you speak of, Dean I've never read anything like it in the family's archives," Aura admitted. "Perhaps the library in the Great Tower may have more info and although our clan is friendly with the Skycraper clan, it'll be difficult to visit as they're further to the west and past the blockade in the Westersand Desert"Her brow furrowed as she thought more about it."Perhaps we can ask Ashley she is a shieldmaiden, and they're also responsible for remembering our history," Aura added.The sound of an explosion rocked our room. It was quickly followed by raucous cheering from just outside."Looks like they're at it again," Arah noted."Every freaking night," I growled."Don't let it bother you so much," Aura suggested as she too got up at the same time as I did. "They most likely detonated their spells just outside our territory.""Yup," Arah nodded while a frown was plastered on her lips. "Those Dominion idiots just want to rile us up don't let it get to you, Commander."I crossed the small room and pulled open the door. Outside, I could see the men lining the wall in front of me with their hands raised. They were cheering for something they could see directly below the wall."For mud's sake," I exhaled, "What's happening now?"I walked over the stone floors and over to the wall, brushing past the two Foolhardies recruits who were in my way so I could see what everyone else could see.A few months after the Sunspire-Trickster war, the wall that protected the clan's territory in the Westmarch had been completed just on the opposite side of another wall that had been built by the Sunspire Dominion to close the entrance to the Westersand Desert.Both our walls were twenty feet high and many miles wide with a short stretch of barren earth between us which had been designated by our leaders as a demilitarized zone.Units in the Westmarch like my one-thousand-man unit were on rotation to man our wall. This month was our turn. Unfortunately, the enemy on the other side were pretty annoying and were always taunting us.I'd learned this was because the commander on the other side was fairly young like me and had been part of the war too. But we'd never met as we were in the south battlefield and they'd fought in the north battlefield.However, the fact that the Foolhardies had distinguished themselves in battle was a cause of great ire for the commanders of the enemy army, which meant trouble for me and my guys every time it was our turn to man the wall.This time though, something was different. For as I watched from below, it was then that I noticed that the enemy commander had finally come down to the barren field herself.I recognized her of course. It was Dawn the Dawnbreaker.Standing opposite her with his hand holding onto the claymore strapped to his back was Luca."Muddamit," I sighed. "Darah's going to kill me if we start another war"
