(no subject)
Chapter 17
"Come, my friends." A voice behind them all said. Scot and every one else turned with a start and faced the Dark Warrior. "It is time to go. You have training that you must go through if you wish to survive the hell that you must face in the world that you shall soon enter." He said and then, with a flap of his cape in the light breeze that had sprung from the foul depths of the earth and the evil pits of hell, turned and began to walk away. The Light Warriors climbed back onto their bikes and followed him. They caught him up and Scot quickly over took him and biked in front of him. The others were swift in the surroundment of the Dark Warrior.
"Where are going to take us, Warrior of Darkness?" Scot asked the Dark Warrior. He smiled a thin smile.
"To a place of pain. Come. We have not much time yet left to us. If you will but only follow me, you shall soon learn of this war that you fight in full and what part of it I must fulfill and what I must do to save your lives in the end....the end of the war that I shall soon speak of, my friends. Now we must leave this dreary place. Evil abides here and we are not safe any more in these parts of the city. Follow me." He said and then jumped over Scot and began to walk away from them. They followed at a slightly less of pace than that of the Dark Warriors'. They wanted to make sure that they could keep him in their sight for as long as possible. For what seemed to be hours, they biked behind him. Then they entered the woods and the Dark Warriors faced them.
"Leave your bikes here. You shall not need them in these groves of peace and nature. Come." He said. They did as they were told and locked their bikes to trees and then followed the Dark Warrior through the forest. He led them all through paths that they had never known even existed until now. They followed him past streams of clear blue waters and heard the singing of the pebbles under the water and the flow of the water reached their ears with a tinkling sound and sounded much like that of glass breaking and shattering upon the cold concrete of the city streets.
They followed him into and out of meadows and pastures where they saw deer and elk grazing in the bright of the sun light and warmth of the earth. The earth and smell of the grass and the dew that stood its guard upon each blade of grass all took them in with a rush of sound and color and smell and sight. A deer walked up to Elisabeth and touched her on the arm. She stopped and looked into its bright black eyes and then petted it gently on the muzzle. It then went back to its meal of grass and roots and the six people walked onward and onward and onward for what seemed to be miles on end. They followed the Dark Warrior past rocky cliffs of granite and limestone and marble of many shades and colors and looks. They climbed to a cliff and faced the bright morning sun, still high on its climb of the sky and its march of the day to the west, where it would find its bed and sleep the night to rise in the morning of the new day and brighten the lives and days of the mortals that now lived upon the dying world of the Earth.
"Come. We have a long way to go and so little time to do it in." The Dark Warrior said to his friends. They turned from the cliff that they were standing upon and then faced the west. Within another hour they were standing near a rippling stream that babbled and talked to them through a watery bed of sand silt. They faced the stream and watched as fish swam to and fro in the deep cold waters of the stream. They then crossed it at a small ford and waited on the far bank for their clothes to dry some. Within another two or three hours, they had come at last to abode of the Dark Warrior. In a small clearing stood a large tree. It seemed to grow up to the sky and then past it and beyond into the far reaches of space and time. Its branches were sixteen times that of an average human in thickness and weight. The bark of the tree was a steely red color and shined with dew and frost and the suns' rays broke upon the tree and turned its red bark to more of a orange color than that of a steely red color. They walked towards the tree and saw that the leaves of the tree were not needles like much of the forest trees had adorning their own branches, but these were broad and soft and green and clung to the stems and twigs of the branches like a dying soul does to its life. There seemed to be a great dent on one side of the tree. The suns' rays never seemed long nor bright enough to reach this place and it was shrouded in a deep blackness. The group quickly covered the clearing and then walked over to the place where the dent was. They saw that it was actually a large, man sized, hole that had been carved into the trunk of the tree.
"Enter the hole of the tree and you shall learn all you need to learn." The Dark Warrior said to the Light Warriors. They followed him inside of the tree and then felt a sudden sinking feeling. They were falling and at great speed.
"What the hell? You tricked us!" Scot shouted to the form of the Dark Warrior.
"Calm your soul, Venus. I have not betrayed you in any form whatsoever. You are now about to enter the mystical realms of which I train day and night and night and day within." The Dark Warrior said to Scot. Scot barely was able to believe him. He waited and yet he said nothing. He called out to his friends.
"April? Randy? Jessie? Jacky? Elisabeth? You guys okay?" Scot called into the darkness that beheld his eyes and he could not see his friend's faces, though he could barely make them out in a shadowy outline of their bodies.
"I'm okay here." April called back to Scot.
"I'll second that and I think so will the rest of us." Randy said.
"That's true." Elisabeth called. Then they felt something brush their feet and they knew without having to ask each other, that they had hit the bottom of whatever they had entered. Darkness covered their eyes with its cold touch and they could not see anything save for the dim outlines of their bodies in the brooding darkness of the cave or tunnel or whatever they were in.
"Come, we have work to do." The dark voice of the Dark Warrior rang out into the stillness and sprang upon their ears as if it were a blast from a cannon. They blinked their eyes and then were awash in a sudden blinding white light. In a moment the light was gone and they were standing on a baren world. One that was dark and cruel and filled with the deadly presence of evil.
"Where are we?" Asked the voice of Randy of the Dark Warrior. They faced each other with cold eyes for a moment and then Randy turned away and looked deeper into the black pits of the hell that they all saw before their very eyes of white flesh. There was before their own eyes the most pathetic looking of worlds. It was laid barren of all life and the only sign of the life that once flourished here were the broken and shattered pillars of stone and the empty ghost-buildings. There was the sign of death everywhere that the Light Warriors turned. It was in the air; the broken and shattered cobbles of the streets; the lonely ghostly buildings that lay in heaps of rubble and seemed to be in sad need of desperate repair and rebuilding; the land that was broken and shattered in large holes that seemed to have been from explosive bombs. The stars of the black and foul night shone through layers of dust and clouds of hellish pain in thin little twinkling dots. Were they come now to the Gates of dunest Hell? Were they come now to the Gates of vile Heaven? They prayed that the world in which they all stood in now was not what their own world would look like after the Battle of Hate and Love.
"We are in the First World." The cold voice of the Dark Warrior rang out to their ears and fell upon them as if it were a mere bell tolling the dead hours of the night long away into the watery graves of Times' Hand. "It is in this world that you were born and brought forth to do battle with the evil that was plaguing us." Every one stared at the Dark Warrior as if he had gone insane from the countless battles and strifes that they had all been in.
He simply looked at their eyes for a moment and then walked onward into the City of Ruin. They followed him, not knowing what else to do. They could not stay there on the edge of the city, they had not of the idea of what hellish horrors would invest upon their blood and slay them for the sheer hell of the killing and screams of pain that they would see and hear. Soon they reached the first few building of the City and saw that they were once farming buildings for they had massive acres of ground with what seemed to be dead plants in the lei of their rears. The plants that had survived whatever had struck the area were so old and withered that if one should touch it with a simple tap of a pin that is used for sewing garments, that plant would be so no longer: it would be dust. Elisabeth bent down and picked a flower and looked at it. It seemed to be the only one that had remained as a whole flower throughout the survival of the plants until they had set foot to the world. A small breeze turned the flower to dust in her hand. A tear shed from her right eye and then shattered upon the dusty ground in a small poof of dust. They walked on and deeper into the City. They passed house after house, building after building, and all was silent as if all were in remorse and grieving for the loss of the City----the loss of the life that had once been apart of the world that the Light Warriors now tread anew upon.
They then turned right and walked to the heart of the shattered city. In the center of the city there seemed to be a temple or tall building of worship of some sort for there were several dozen of the stone pillars that had been used as support systems for the temple that Elisabeths' mother and father owned: each pillar seemed to look much like that of the pillars that were shattered and broken back on Earth----that is if this wasn't apart of the planet of Life. They found that the building was in the shape of the Crescent Moon. There seemed to be a painted mural of the Solar System on the floor of the building. There was one change to the Solar System that all of the Light Warriors found before they even said the words aloud: the Map had ten planets!
"I don't get it. Why does this map show our Solar System and yet it seems to have ten planets?" Jessie said. In the center of the solar system was the sun, then the planets followed in suit as they normally did save for the unknown planet. The order was: Murcury, Venus, Earth, Mars, the unknown planet, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Earth and the other planets all seemed to have their correct number of moons but the unknown one didn't have any moons. It seemed to be third moon of Mars.
"This is the First Planet." A voice called out to them. It seemed to be on the back of the wind; it was so faint. "What you see upon the floor of this shattered building is the map of our home, the Solar System of Life and Death. In it is tracked the pages of Man and in it is also the Mistake that He made." The voice called to them. Scot took a step forward and his right boot touched the First Planet. When that happened, it brought a day that of which none of them would forget.
A blinding white light shot out of the center of the Map, from the Sun, and engulfed them all in its light. They covered their eyes with their hands and waited for the light to evade their sight. When it did so, there stood a young woman of about eighteen years of age before them. She was dressed in a flowing white gown with a white cape attached by a golden chain round her neck. Upon her right hand was borne a ring with a diamond the size of an American dime. In her left hand was borne a crystal staff that was the same colors as that of the Crystal Staff of Light that the Light Warriors held among themselves.
It was nearly an exact replica, save for one minor change in it: there was a golden circle upon the crystal at the top of the staff. Inside of the circle of gold was a five pointed star. The star itself was of white gold. It shined much like that of a real star: with a fire all its own. The woman had baby blue eyes and pale skin silk white skin and yet it seemed to be slightly tanned by the warm rays of the morning sun upon a soft summers' day in the garden when one would sit by the roses and look then and see, for the first time in their mortal lives, the sheer hellish beauty in them. Her hair was a bright golden color that seemed to shine like gold as she floated before them.
"Wh...who are you?" Randy asked the girl.
"My name is Princess Moonstar." The girl said to the group.
"Are we still on Earth or am I dreaming?" Elisabeth asked the open air.
"No, you are not dreaming, Fire. And we are not on Earth. This is...or was your home world." Princess Moonstar said. She turned around and then began to walk out of the building that once housed the Map of Life and Death and Man's Mistake. The Light Warriors and Dark Warrior followed her. They did not know why they followed the girl, they just felt as if they had to do so. They felt as if, through following her, they would learn all about the Powers of Light and Dark. They were soon standing upon a dusty road that led to what seemed to be the remains of a castle. They took this road and walked upon it and for some time none of them spoke. They soon reached the main gates of the castle and saw that they had once been majestic in their time, for they were made of gold, now dulled by the hell of war.
The left gate was partly torn down and lay broken upon the shattered ground. Parts of the right gate were also missing, but they could not go through that way: the right side of the gates lay in the their path and it was too thick for them to climb over it. The gates themselves weighted about two thousand pounds. Jacky walked up to the gate that lay in their path and balled her right hand into a fist. She then knocked once upon its dull surface. It rang back with a dull hollow sound. The gates were as hollow as a pipe!
"You have got to be kidding?! These gates are hollow!" Jessie said when she heard the sound that they made when one knocked upon them.
"That is why they are the Gates of Starlight." Princess Moonstar said to them. They faced her with slight grins in their eyes. They understand the joke about the Gates of Starlight, yet it was no joke at all.
"Princess Moonstar, ma'am, why are we here? What is this building? I do not understand the sudden sadness in your eyes and your heart. Tell me and the others, if you will, what-er-why....why does all of this.....this world, this place, this soil beneath our feet, everything about this world seem so familiar and yet so very much a part of us is some strange way? Please, your Highness, tell us." Scot said softly. A smile parted the lips of the Princess. The sadness stayed embedded deep within her eyes, but the smile was small and soft and kind and loving.
"This world is your home, Scot. You, as well as the rest of the Seven Warriors of Prism Light, were all born upon this world and its once beautiful soil. The same with your parents, as well as the entire Human race....well what's left of it." Princess Moonstar said to them.
"I...I don't understand. I was born upon Earth...not this place. This place looks as if all hell broke lose and then tore the place to shreds!" Randy said.
"You are right in saying that, Ice. But....even still you were raised, at one point in the march of time, upon the soil of this world." Moonstar said to them. She walked forward to them and then looked at each person deeply within their eyes for a moment. She ended with the Dark Warrior. "You see...all of hell did break lose. More than two thousand years ago actually. This world was once a beautiful world of lush gardens, green pastures, deep dark forests, glittering towns, merry people, love, wisdom, virtue, trust, life, justice, happiness. Everything that one could possibly ever want was here on the planet Airenes. This was my home as well as yours, Light Warriors." A tear welled itself into her right eye and then fell and shattered like glass upon the broken ground. After breathing a deep sigh, the Princess Moonstar looked to the questioning eyes of the Light Warriors and then, with a slight nod of her head, bade them to follow her.
She led them around the building, all the while she whispered to herself of the beauty that once haunted Airenes. She spoke of the people, the friends that she had known, her parents, creatures that they had been friends with. Soon they came to a shattered part of the westward wall of the building and, through the gaping hole, they entered to their pasts and their futures. "Your Highness?" Jessie spoke to the back of Princess Moonstar. She turned and faced her.
"Can you tell us what caused this destruction here....that is if it's not too painful for you to tell us?" She asked her.
"Why yes....I can tell you about that. But I think that it would be better if I showed you as well as tell you about it. Come with me, please." She said in a soft, tired voice. They walked through what seemed to be a garden of the past. Roses and bushes that had once been green and healthy were now wilted away into dust. None dared to touch them. They knew what would happen if they did so. They knew all too well. They followed the Princess through a courtyard that had, in the middle of it, a fountain of water. But the fountain was empty and wasted away to dust. Rose bushes and lilies dotted the courtyard here and there in a circular pattern about the fountain.
"This fountain seems to be a bit familiar, Princess. What is it?" Scot said. He eyed the fountain with caution for a moment and then walked over to it and looked down at the cold stone that was covered in layers of rocky dust. He layed his gloved hand upon the surface of it and then was awash in painful tears of memories long, long, long since dead and forgotten. He saw everything that was once apart of the world and peoples of Airenes. He saw the fields of emerald green grass, the towns of a happy people going about their daily chores and not caring what would become of them the next day or the day after that, he saw the roses in all of their splendor and beauty and light. They were dotted with dew of the early morning.
They shined like rubies in the firelight of the sun. He saw the waves of the sunlight spilling forth its warmth and comfort and peace upon the world. He saw the fountain, filled anew with crystal clear water and it was singing sort of....the water sounded like that of silver bells being chimed to life with a soft caring hand. The fountain had a mermaid with its center and it was holding a large shell, through which the water poured over the stone wave that the mermaid laid upon. Then Scot saw the Castle and a balcony did he see with his cold eyes. He then felt fear and regret deep within his heart. He didn't want to see what he was about to see, but he knew that he had to.
"Scot?" April soft voice called him back to the world of dust and death that they were now in. Damn. He was so close he could smell it. It was perfume that he could smell before he was called back to the real world from the World of Shadows. He blinked a few times and felt a tear fall from his eyes. It shattered upon the ground.
"You okay?" April asked him.
"Yes. I'll be fine. I saw the world as it once was. I saw the beauty of it. The people. The towns. The lands. The Castle. I even saw the Fountain as it once was." Scot said and looked back to the fountain. The mermaid statue was gone. Only the head lay where the stone wave had once been. The rest was shattered into small pieces of dust and it could not be repaired. The circular structure of the fountain had many holes and cracks and craters within it. Scot breathed a heavy sigh. The Princess touched him on the left shoulder with her hand.
"Yes?" He said without taking his eyes from the Fountain.
"To answer your question, this is the Fountain of Wisdom. Your Fountain of Wisdom, Venus." The Princess said. "You had it built, with my permission and help, as a gift to a person that you once loved more than your very life. You were willing to die to protect her and I think you still are."
"That is true. But I don't know of whom you speak, Princess." Scot said. He looked into her eyes a moment and she looked over to April.
"Now I understand. April and I were in love on this world as we are now on Earth. I remember what happened that day. We were just teenagers back then like we are now. We were about a year or two older I believe." Scot said softly to the dusty air.
"Yes. I too remember, Scot. I was standing on a balcony. In fact it was the North Balcony, Princess Moonstars' favorite for it’s where we all met each other for the first time and where we all became friends. Well, actually all but one of us." April said to Scot. She looked into the Dark Warriors' eyes. "You weren't there when we all met for the first time. You were never born and raised in this world I think. If I remember correctly you were born and raised on Earth, since you were the Prince of Earth as the rest of us were Princesses and Princesses of our own respected planets as well as being friends and members of the Court of Light here on Aireness."
"That is true. The Dark Warrior wasn't with us when we all became fast friends. We never met him until two or three years after the rest of us met each other. Am I right in saying this, Princess Moonstar?" Randy said. She nodded to him.
"Come. We don't have much time." Princess Moonstar said to them. She turned and led them from the courtyard and then deep into the heart of the Castle of Airenes. They walked down many a passage and tunnel and walked through many a room and all at the same time they were conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares, long, long, long forgotten. Soon they stood in the very heart of the Castle: they were come at last to the throne room. Two golden thrones sat upon a dais that was covered in a dusty once-red carpet. Leading up to the dais, was a staircase of white now-stained-brown-by-the-layers-of-dust-marble. The thrones themselves where soft and inviting, and yet they seemed to ring of boredom and sleepy, tired eyes. Their cushions were of red dust-filled satin velvet.
The Light Warriors faced the thrones and then knelt to the floor of the room and bowed. They did so for one reason: that of respect for the Princess and her parents. They were remembering well. All they had to do now was make the trip complete by visiting the very place where they all met for the first time and watch as they were made witness to the death of their own world once more. They followed the Princess through another series of doors and passages and soon they were standing above the weathered surface of the courtyard of the Fountain of Wisdom. From there they were laid witness to the whole of the Northern Hemisphere of the Castles' grounds. They could see six other Fountains and they each knew what they were. To the southeast of the North Balcony, was the Fountain of Virtue. To the southwest was the Fountain Trust. To the direct north of the Fountain of Wisdom was the Fountain of Life. To the northwest was the Fountain of Justice. To the direct west of the North Balcony, was the Fountain of Moonlight. To the northeast of the Balcony, was the final Fountain: that of Friendship. Each of the Fountain, save for the of Friendship, had been raised as a gift and memorance someone by someone in the Light Warrior Team.
Scot had raised the Fountain of Wisdom for April to show his love for her. The face of the Mermaid, since she was one with the sea and could speak to the sea-creatures of Airenes, was in the likeness of her face. She had accepted the Fountain as a pledge of his love for her and the two of them had been fast lovers since that day long ago when the first drop of water was brought forth from the sea and began to run into the Fountain. Randy had raised the Fountain of Trust to prove to Jacky that he could be trusted with any form of a mission and would never back down out of that mission, once he had undergone it, until it was over. The Fountain of Virtue was built from the mind and hands of April to show her courage and her love for Scot. Jacky, Jessie, and Randy raised the Fountain of Life for the peoples of Airenes. It was meant to show that they were to keep peace in their hearts, minds, souls, and bodies each and every day of their lives. Randy and Scot had raised the Fountain of Justice as a means to symbolize the right of every person to a fair and just trial for whatever crime might committed against the Princess and her family and that of the people of all the universe. April, Jacky, Jessie, and Elisabeth raised the Fountain of Moonlight when Princess Moonstar met them while she had been riding one day during the winter and they had saved her life from danger. It was raised to remind them of the quickly wrought bond of friendship that five girls had for each other. But the final Fountain, the Fountain of Friendship, was raised by all of them: Moonstar, Jacky, Jessie, Randy, Scot, Elisabeth, and April for when they had met with the Dark Warrior for the first time on the Planet of Airenes and the Planet Earth joined with the other planets to form the Council of Light. The Councils' symbol was a ten pointed star. Each point was one of the ten planets of the Original Solar System. Their goal was to protect the peace and serenity of the universe from a growing evil that many of the Council members felt and had seen in their dreams and to ensure order through the ten planets.
Moonstar and the Dark Warrior had been members of that Council. Princess Moonstar spoke for the peoples of Airenes and the Dark Warrior spoke for those of Earth. So had the rest of the Light Warriors. Elisabeth had been the speaker for the planet Mars. Jacky had been the speaker for the planet Jupiter. Randy had been the speaker for the planet of Pluto. Scot had spoken that of Venus. Jessie had spoken for Saturn. And April had spoken for Neptune. "Princess, we all know whom spoke for each of the planets. But we do not know whom spoke for the last two: Mercury and Uranus. Who were they?" April asked.
"You know them as Queen Hate's servants: Amethyst and Malachite, but they each spoke for the last of the planets. Amethyst was the speaker for Mercury and Malacite spoke for Uranus." Princess Moonstar said. It wasn't very surprising to the Light Warriors. They knew that if two of Hate's servants had connections like that, then it would have been easy for them to conquer this world and destroy the peoples that lived upon it.
"Was it Amethyst and Malachite that had engineered the destruction of this world, Princess?" Randy asked.
"No. They did not do that. Queen Hate was the one who had done that. Come, Light Warriors. You have much to learn and so little time to learn that of which you must." The Princess said to them. She strode further out to the cracked and weathered surface of the Balcony and then turned and faced them.
"Now you must see what this world once looked like and bear witness to its death. Prepare yourselves for the excruciating pain of horror and hell and the hell of hate." The Princess said to them. They closed their eyes and then opened them after a few moments. What they beheld unto their sights took their breath away from their lungs and choked it to a full stopage of life.
They beheld green fields being blown gently by the wind. Golden sunrises from the stone wall of the Balcony of Life. They saw the fields of emerald green grass, the towns of a happy people going about their daily chores and not caring what would become of them the next day or the day after that, they saw the roses in all of their splendor and beauty and light. They were dotted with dew of the early morning. They shined like rubies in the firelight of the sun. They saw the waves of the sunlight spilling forth its warmth and comfort and peace upon the world. They saw people mingling in the Courtyard below them and upon the Balcony itself. It seemed to be a celebration of some sort. They moved around with the people and then they froze. In the center of the Balcony was a young woman that looked just like the Princess, only she was about a year or two younger. They knew then they were in the deep past of their former lives.
They saw her wearing the same clothing that she was wearing now, but this time it was not her ghost that they saw. It was the Princess herself. They moved towards her with care and saw that she was speaking to the younger version of Randy. His light brown eyes shined brightly in the moonlight, for it was night and the moon was shinning in full glory and lust that night. The stars shone bright and were like diamonds in a cloth of blackness. Their shine was praised by many a word and thought. They all remembered well how they had met. Standing next to Randy was Scot. They had already met and become friends before the rest of the Light Warriors had met each other.
"Ah, Princess Moonstar?" The small band of friends heard the younger Randy speak to the Princess.
"Yes, Randy?" She answered back to him.
"I would like you to meet my friend, Scot. He and I have been together in friendship for well nigh a year now. Scot, this is the Princess Moonstar." Randy said and faced Scot, whom bowed low with respect. They could see that he wore a sword upon his back. He was dressed in same outfit that was costume of his Light Warrior identity, with the only difference in being the sword that rode upon his back and was sheathed in a leather scabbard.
"So I finally meet up with Scot the Warrior of Venus, eh?" The Princess said jokingly. Scot laughed gently at the remark, but his eyes were cold and frozen. Even now in the past, they could all see that he was very cold and would never put up with anyone fooling around with him or his friends.
"Well, I'm not as bad as the people of Venus make me out to be, Princess. True I have been in many fights and I have had to use the piece of junk that rides upon my back many a time, but I never killed anyone with it." Scot said. A slight darkness crossed his face. The Princess saw it, but said nothing of it. She knew that he had lied and she knew that he most likely had a good reason to do so. Only the best fighters in the galaxy ever had to lie about something They moved off and the Princess led the two to her parents, the King and Queen of Airenes.
"Father. Mother." The Princess said to them and bowed slightly to show her respect for them.
"Ah, my dearest daughter. Are you enjoying yourself?" The King asked. He was a kind old man in his late fifties. He had black hair with a streak of white just above his ears that curved down the sides of his skull to connect in a point at the back of his head. Upon his head rode the crown. It was made of gold and silver and was studded with ten jewels. Each jewel was a planet that were friends to the people of Airenes and were loyal to the King and Queen. The King wore a blue robe and underneath this was a tuxedo of green and black. He wore a green jacket with six gold buttons upon it, three on each side of the lapels of the jacket. Under the jacket was a black vest and a green shirt. White gloves covered the Kings' hands. Black boots went up to his knees. They shinned with freshly applied polish. The King had dark green eyes and weather-tan skin. His large hands were kind and gentle and soft and warm. With his hands, the King could sentence a criminal to life or pardon the person. Never once did he ever bloody his hands with the death of anyone that lived or visited his kingdom.
The Queen wore a light green robe and was wearing a white gown underneath it that matched that of the Princesses' gown. She had gray hair and light blue eyes that seemed to be crystal clear and deep as midnight black all at the same time. She too wore a crown like that of the King's. Both crowns were nothing really special to look upon. The were merely decorative symbols of friendships from each of the planets that served under Airenes and along side it. No one planet ever ruled the others and no planet had to follow another's laws unless the people of any planet were living on a planet different from their own.
"Yes, father, I am enjoying myself. I wanted to thank you for giving this celebration and to introduce you to someone. It is the happiest time of my life, now that all of the Planets are united under one flag. I can’t believe that you and other members of the Council of Planets have invited me to be an honored member for that of Airenes!" The Princess said.
"You are eighteen years of age, girl. It’s about time that you learn how to rule kindly and with the help of others. Through the teachings of the Council, you’ll learn how to take care of the planets’ problems like I have done so in my life time. After all, your mother and I won’t be here forever, child. Well, introduce me to that person please, my daughter." The King said.
"Father, this is Scot and his friend, Randy." The Princess said as she turned to face the two of them. Randy and Scot bowed low to the King and Queen and then rose.
"You're the Warrior of Venus, aren't you?" The King asked him. He stared into Scot's eyes for a moment and then look to his daughter.
"Yes, I am that person. But I am not as bad as the people of my home-world make me out to be, Your Majesty." Scot said.
"Aye, I can see that. That sword that you bear across your back....it seems to be familiar to my eyes. May I see the blade?" The King asked.
"Aye." Scot said and drew the sword. The blade of the sword was a deep jet black and was about four feet long and two inches wide. The King's face was mask of fear and shock at the same time when he saw the blade of the Sword. He knew it well. He knew well of the owner of the Sword. Scot saw the fear in his eyes and replaced the weapon back into its sheath. He faced the King and Queen and their daughter with a slight dread in his eyes, but they did not see it. He knew what might happen to him, but he wasn't sure if what he thought would happen would really be of the truth for him.
"Your Majesties, why are you so afraid of the Sword that I have shown unto your eyes?" Scot asked kindly.
"That blade is the balde of the Dark Sword. The Sword that you have strapped to your back, Scot, is the Sword that killed hundreds of thousands of our people in the days of when war was not just a distant memory, it was all that we were and what we would be if we did not stop it from killing so many." The King said in a grave voice.
"Aye, I know the Legend of the Sword of Darkness. I knew the man that once bore it to its final resting place." Scot said. "That man was my great-great-great grandfather, Tyrannieis the Dark. He is also called the Satan Warlock. I am his great-great-great grandson. I shall pay for his crimes with my blood if need be, but I ask only that the Sword of Darkness not be destroyed. It is a simple mark of the times of old and of the War of Darkness. It is now meant only to be a mark of the times that were and have been and as a warning of what happened so many years ago. I bear it so that I may protect myself when I travel from planet to planet, for I am not familiar with the layout of them and would prefer to stay alive than be dead in the gutters of the streets."
“Aye, I agree, young warrior. I also knew the man that once held that sword to its final doomed life.” The King said.
“Father, I have an idea that could help this Sword and its bearer reclaim the honor that it has lost so many years hence. May I tell you of it sometime?” The Princess Moonstar said. Her father looked into her eyes and then back to Scot.
“Very well, daughter. What is your plan?” He said to her kindly.
“Well, Scot could join up with the palace guards. He’d be the youngest person on that fighting team, but he may be a great help to them…considering he’s in possession of the most vile of all blades in the known universe, many people would then fear the guards of this palace since no one will know whom it is that holds that sword.” The Princess said.
“That is an idea, but I should like to be in a division where there are people roughly about my own age, Princess. I do not mean to harm your honor or anything of the sort, but you understand my concern for this motive.” Scot said.
“Yes, I do. I know that many may not take you seriously simply because of your age. The men and women that serve in such the guard as that of which I have spoken are well into their forties and fifties and know much about how to fight. They would think that such an action on my part would be foolish and would look down upon myself and you as well, my friend.” The Princess said. Scot bowed at the words: my friend. To be the friend of Princess Moonstar was an honor that many in the land would die for. It meant that you would be respected and that you were very trustworthy and kind-hearted as was the Princess and her parents.
“Thank you, Princess. I shall not fail you nor your mother and father. But, I cannot go into this guard alone. My friend, Randy, should be allowed to enter into it with me. He and I work well together and have gotten ourselves and others out of more fights than either of us care to remember!” Scot said.
“It is done then?” The Princess asked Scot. She looked over to Randy whom had been watching the whole of the conversation take place before his eyes and then bowed low to her. It was his way of saying that he would go with Scot to become one of the honored guards of the palace.
“Very well, dear, take them away with you and show them to their quarters. Mind that you also introduce them to the four other people whom your father and I have already brought into the guards’ division for the children. You know where they are, don’t you?” The Queen said.
“Mother, I did not know that you and father had already made them the newest of the guards! I wish I had been able to meet them on the day of their coronation into the ranks of the guards. Oh, well. It is of no matter to me. At least I’ll be able to watch the coronation of Scot and Randy.” The Princess said.
“The four other people are in the Lower Courtyard, dear. They are talking amongst themselves or something like that. I don’t see why they don’t just come up here and join the rest of us in this celebration. It is very odd…how they’re so reclusive and reluctant to join in the other goings-on of this world. They seem to prefer to stick with and too themselves. Oh, well. What does it matter? Each to his or her own, I always say.” The Queen said. Princess Moonstar bowed to them and then turned to Randy and Scot. They nodded that they were more than ready to follow her and so she led them through many a passage and turn until they were at last down in the Lower Courtyard.
“The people that my father told me about must be in one of the sub-courtyards that connects with the Lower Courtyard. We shall try the northern one first. That is the only one with enough foliage to hide ten people without them being seen by anyone from the balcony. Come with me and you shall soon meet the ones that you must work with.” Princess Moonstar said to her two friends. They again nodded to her and she led them onward. They walked past the rose bushes that they-the future Light Warriors-had seen covered in dust and made of just dry dust, but this time they were full of blossom and life and energy and love. They walked past a wooden gate and then past another one. The Princess moved over a third wooden gate and then opened it. They entered the small maze of bushes that had lilies and roses growing on them and were soon face to face with the rest of the younger versions of the Light Warriors. The only one that was missing amongst them was the Dark Warrior. All of the younger versions of the Light Warriors were wearing the same suits as that of which the elder versions were wearing.
“Hello, Your Highness. It good to finally meet you face to face at last.” The younger Jessie said to Princess Moonstar.
“Yes, I think the same. I have just now been told your entrances into the guards that are supposed to “protect” my life.” The Princess said the word: protect, with such hatred and bitterness that the small group did not know whether she was angry with her parents or with them.
“Forgive me for asking, Princess, but have we wronged you in any way?” April asked. The Princess looked totally shocked for a moment and then smiled kindly.
“No, I…I’m not angry with any of you. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. It’s just that many of the guards that my father keeps to give me safety on this world and on others…well, let’s just say they aren’t very good when it comes to fighting for one’s life.”
“I take it that you can easily best many of the guards then?” Jacky asked. The Princess looked over to Jacky with a slight hint of quandary in her eyes.
“What do you mean by that? I don’t really understand, miss…” The Princess paused a moment trying to think of the right title to call the girl that had just spoken, as she did not want to insult her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. How very rude of me and the others for not telling you our names! My name is Jacky and this April, Jessie, and Elisabeth.” Jacky said as the Princess and she shook hands warmly.
“You need not apologize. I did not ask for your names and so I understand why you thought that it was rude of you to do what you had just apologized for. Anyway, this is Scot and his friend Randy.” The Princess said and then they fell into a quick and brief moment of all shaking each others hands and saying hello to each other.
“Now then, Jacky, you had asked me if I could best the guards easily? I did not quite understand what you meant by that.” The Princess said.
“Oh, what I meant is that if you were to fight with them, physically and with a weapon of any type, you would be able to defeat that guard without having to kill him or her?” Jacky said.
“Aye, that’s is true. I learned how to fight by myself. I had no one to teach me how to fight properly and so I began to invent moves and tactics that do seem to work in a fight, for I have fought with many of the palace guards and have almost always won the fight.” The Princess said. Then it dawned on her that Jacky might have made a challenge to fight her. Doing so could result in her being jailed for three months, on account of threatening the Princess.
“I don’t want to insult you or anything, Jacky, but did you just kind of challenge me to a duel?” The Princess asked. Jacky seemed to be a bit shocked at the question, but answered politely.
“No, I did not make a challenge, Princess.” Jacky said.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind fighting you. It’d be a great way for us to test our skills with each other and train as well. I’m sure my father will allow us to mildly fight one another.” Moonstar said.
“That would be foolish, Moonstar.” Scot said.
“Why?”
“A mild fight is a lost fight.”
“What?”
“A mild fight is a lost fight. Fight mild and you train mild. Fight fierce and you train fierce. Thus by doing so, you prepare you mind, spirit, and body for the ultimate fights: that of death and of life. Where one wrong move, one wrong twist of the hands or of the face or of the mind or the body, and you will die. Training in this fashion allows you to be able to handle a variety of conflicts and lets you see what moves are the most dangerous ones that you must look out for during a fight and what should be shrugged off as if it were merely a dead fly on your window sill.”
“You and I will have to discuss this tact of fighting further some day, Scot. But as of now, I should like to show you all to your quarters and allow you all to get some rest. After all you surely must be tired from the introduction of ourselves.” The Princess said. She stared in the eyes of each person there and saw a light shinning in every set of eyes that she had never seen before that day.
“I think I may be speaking for all of us when I say that none of us are tired as of yet. Our bodies can take much punishment before we finally must crack under the strain and even then we will still be able to go on. I shall tell you about this later, of course, but I for one would like to know where I am to be quartered so that I may be able to learn the layout of the palace as soon as possible. And, if it is alright with you and your parents, Princess, the location of your room as well.” Scot said.
“Sure. Follow me and I shall lead you to the places that you speak of. Any one else wish to join us?” The rest of the group nodded and the Princess led them back the way that they had come until they were well within the palace walls. After turning a few more passages and corners, they were standing in front of Scot’s bedroom door. It was made of heavy oaken wood and yet was light enough so that a grown man could carry it without much difficulty. The wood itself was strong and heavy enough to stop a forty-five caliber pistol’s bullet.
“Scot, this is where you shall be quartered for your duration with the guards of this palace.” The Princess said. “To the right is where you shall be quartered, April. To the left is where you, Randy, will be staying. Adjacent from Randy is Elisabeth’s room. Adjacent from Scot is Jessie’s room and adjacent from April will be Jacky’s room. My room is at the end of this hall.” The Princess spoke to them and then pointed absently down the northern section of the hall.
“When will we be able to meet the rest of the guards that are here in this hall? I noticed that we passed twenty more doors of oaken wood. All of which were closed and presumably locked. Those rooms board the rest of the guards, right?” Scot said.
“That is correct. Those rooms hold the adult guards. The six of you are the only children in the entire palace to have the honor of protecting my life with your own. And you will be able to meet the rest of the guards later. For the now of the moment, you may rest.” The Princess said.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Scot said and bowed to her. She nodded and then the small band of friends split up and each went to their rooms. Scot opened the door to his room and then walked inside. He found that it was well furnished with a comfortable king sized bed to one corner of the room. There was a small window of glass-pane facing Scot. It faced the northern part of the world. There was one on the eastern and western walls as well.
“No wonder there are so few guards in the palace! The windows allow them to watch all parts of the kingdom! But I wonder if some of the rooms ever let the guards see into the southern part of the world. That would be useful to watch from all directions of the world so that one may always know where his or her enemy is at any time.” Scot thought. He unsheathed his Sword and then walked deeper into the room. To his right, near the bed was a small table of red oaken wood. It had three drawers in it, each outfitted with a brass handle that was shaped in the form of a dragon, sword, and star with a ring around it. Scot had not the idea what the symbolism behind these three things were, but he did not care about that at this moment.
All he wanted to do was to get some rest before he would actually start his career as one of the youngest of the palace guards. He turned around and then walked a few paces to the right of the bedside table and opened another door that was made of the same wood that his bedroom door was made of and found that there was a small closet and inside was a long dark blue cape with a golden chain attached to it so that it could be worn loosely about the neck. He did not see any other garments that were meant for him to wear. He reached inside of the closet and drew out the cape and then draped it upon his shoulders, locking the chain into place upon his own clothes. It covered much of his body and went straight down his ankles, covering the entire front part of his body, including the legs. Scot looked long and hard at the blade of his sword.
“I may finally put this blade back into good use. May the man who bore the blade of this sword rest in hell forever and burn there in its flames for all time! And father, may you rest in peace.” Scot said to himself. He lay the sword upon the bedside table so that the hilt of the weapon faced the bed. He then walked around the room once more and soon found the latrine, another smaller closet that seemed to be full of nothing but pegs. He guessed this was were the guards would usually store their weapons, for the doors were twice as thick as the other closet doors and both were double locked.
“You can forget me keeping my sword in this place! I’d rather have it within my reach and not without my sight.” Scot thought. He turned to the right of the weapon closet and saw that there was another table sitting on the left of the bed, only this was a bit bigger than the one on the right and there were a few wooden chairs surrounding it. A candle of purple marble stood upon the table’s polished surface. It could be lit simply by saying the words: ‘light on’ or turned off by saying the word: ‘light off.’ Depending on the deepness of the darkness around the bearer of the candle, the candles’ brightness would increase or decrease so that the bearer of the candle might be able to see up to hundred feet in all directions of the compass without going blind from the light of the candle itself.
Scot removed the cape that he had been wearing while he was looking around his quarters and then replaced it in the closet he had found it in. He walked over to the bed and removed his boots and was soon sleeping peacefully. A knocking sound outside his bedroom door awaken him from his slumber some time later. Scot woke on the first knock and looked around. It was pitch dark outside. “Night. The perfect time for a fight.” Scot thought. He heard another knock and climbed out of bed.
"Come, my friends." A voice behind them all said. Scot and every one else turned with a start and faced the Dark Warrior. "It is time to go. You have training that you must go through if you wish to survive the hell that you must face in the world that you shall soon enter." He said and then, with a flap of his cape in the light breeze that had sprung from the foul depths of the earth and the evil pits of hell, turned and began to walk away. The Light Warriors climbed back onto their bikes and followed him. They caught him up and Scot quickly over took him and biked in front of him. The others were swift in the surroundment of the Dark Warrior.
"Where are going to take us, Warrior of Darkness?" Scot asked the Dark Warrior. He smiled a thin smile.
"To a place of pain. Come. We have not much time yet left to us. If you will but only follow me, you shall soon learn of this war that you fight in full and what part of it I must fulfill and what I must do to save your lives in the end....the end of the war that I shall soon speak of, my friends. Now we must leave this dreary place. Evil abides here and we are not safe any more in these parts of the city. Follow me." He said and then jumped over Scot and began to walk away from them. They followed at a slightly less of pace than that of the Dark Warriors'. They wanted to make sure that they could keep him in their sight for as long as possible. For what seemed to be hours, they biked behind him. Then they entered the woods and the Dark Warriors faced them.
"Leave your bikes here. You shall not need them in these groves of peace and nature. Come." He said. They did as they were told and locked their bikes to trees and then followed the Dark Warrior through the forest. He led them all through paths that they had never known even existed until now. They followed him past streams of clear blue waters and heard the singing of the pebbles under the water and the flow of the water reached their ears with a tinkling sound and sounded much like that of glass breaking and shattering upon the cold concrete of the city streets.
They followed him into and out of meadows and pastures where they saw deer and elk grazing in the bright of the sun light and warmth of the earth. The earth and smell of the grass and the dew that stood its guard upon each blade of grass all took them in with a rush of sound and color and smell and sight. A deer walked up to Elisabeth and touched her on the arm. She stopped and looked into its bright black eyes and then petted it gently on the muzzle. It then went back to its meal of grass and roots and the six people walked onward and onward and onward for what seemed to be miles on end. They followed the Dark Warrior past rocky cliffs of granite and limestone and marble of many shades and colors and looks. They climbed to a cliff and faced the bright morning sun, still high on its climb of the sky and its march of the day to the west, where it would find its bed and sleep the night to rise in the morning of the new day and brighten the lives and days of the mortals that now lived upon the dying world of the Earth.
"Come. We have a long way to go and so little time to do it in." The Dark Warrior said to his friends. They turned from the cliff that they were standing upon and then faced the west. Within another hour they were standing near a rippling stream that babbled and talked to them through a watery bed of sand silt. They faced the stream and watched as fish swam to and fro in the deep cold waters of the stream. They then crossed it at a small ford and waited on the far bank for their clothes to dry some. Within another two or three hours, they had come at last to abode of the Dark Warrior. In a small clearing stood a large tree. It seemed to grow up to the sky and then past it and beyond into the far reaches of space and time. Its branches were sixteen times that of an average human in thickness and weight. The bark of the tree was a steely red color and shined with dew and frost and the suns' rays broke upon the tree and turned its red bark to more of a orange color than that of a steely red color. They walked towards the tree and saw that the leaves of the tree were not needles like much of the forest trees had adorning their own branches, but these were broad and soft and green and clung to the stems and twigs of the branches like a dying soul does to its life. There seemed to be a great dent on one side of the tree. The suns' rays never seemed long nor bright enough to reach this place and it was shrouded in a deep blackness. The group quickly covered the clearing and then walked over to the place where the dent was. They saw that it was actually a large, man sized, hole that had been carved into the trunk of the tree.
"Enter the hole of the tree and you shall learn all you need to learn." The Dark Warrior said to the Light Warriors. They followed him inside of the tree and then felt a sudden sinking feeling. They were falling and at great speed.
"What the hell? You tricked us!" Scot shouted to the form of the Dark Warrior.
"Calm your soul, Venus. I have not betrayed you in any form whatsoever. You are now about to enter the mystical realms of which I train day and night and night and day within." The Dark Warrior said to Scot. Scot barely was able to believe him. He waited and yet he said nothing. He called out to his friends.
"April? Randy? Jessie? Jacky? Elisabeth? You guys okay?" Scot called into the darkness that beheld his eyes and he could not see his friend's faces, though he could barely make them out in a shadowy outline of their bodies.
"I'm okay here." April called back to Scot.
"I'll second that and I think so will the rest of us." Randy said.
"That's true." Elisabeth called. Then they felt something brush their feet and they knew without having to ask each other, that they had hit the bottom of whatever they had entered. Darkness covered their eyes with its cold touch and they could not see anything save for the dim outlines of their bodies in the brooding darkness of the cave or tunnel or whatever they were in.
"Come, we have work to do." The dark voice of the Dark Warrior rang out into the stillness and sprang upon their ears as if it were a blast from a cannon. They blinked their eyes and then were awash in a sudden blinding white light. In a moment the light was gone and they were standing on a baren world. One that was dark and cruel and filled with the deadly presence of evil.
"Where are we?" Asked the voice of Randy of the Dark Warrior. They faced each other with cold eyes for a moment and then Randy turned away and looked deeper into the black pits of the hell that they all saw before their very eyes of white flesh. There was before their own eyes the most pathetic looking of worlds. It was laid barren of all life and the only sign of the life that once flourished here were the broken and shattered pillars of stone and the empty ghost-buildings. There was the sign of death everywhere that the Light Warriors turned. It was in the air; the broken and shattered cobbles of the streets; the lonely ghostly buildings that lay in heaps of rubble and seemed to be in sad need of desperate repair and rebuilding; the land that was broken and shattered in large holes that seemed to have been from explosive bombs. The stars of the black and foul night shone through layers of dust and clouds of hellish pain in thin little twinkling dots. Were they come now to the Gates of dunest Hell? Were they come now to the Gates of vile Heaven? They prayed that the world in which they all stood in now was not what their own world would look like after the Battle of Hate and Love.
"We are in the First World." The cold voice of the Dark Warrior rang out to their ears and fell upon them as if it were a mere bell tolling the dead hours of the night long away into the watery graves of Times' Hand. "It is in this world that you were born and brought forth to do battle with the evil that was plaguing us." Every one stared at the Dark Warrior as if he had gone insane from the countless battles and strifes that they had all been in.
He simply looked at their eyes for a moment and then walked onward into the City of Ruin. They followed him, not knowing what else to do. They could not stay there on the edge of the city, they had not of the idea of what hellish horrors would invest upon their blood and slay them for the sheer hell of the killing and screams of pain that they would see and hear. Soon they reached the first few building of the City and saw that they were once farming buildings for they had massive acres of ground with what seemed to be dead plants in the lei of their rears. The plants that had survived whatever had struck the area were so old and withered that if one should touch it with a simple tap of a pin that is used for sewing garments, that plant would be so no longer: it would be dust. Elisabeth bent down and picked a flower and looked at it. It seemed to be the only one that had remained as a whole flower throughout the survival of the plants until they had set foot to the world. A small breeze turned the flower to dust in her hand. A tear shed from her right eye and then shattered upon the dusty ground in a small poof of dust. They walked on and deeper into the City. They passed house after house, building after building, and all was silent as if all were in remorse and grieving for the loss of the City----the loss of the life that had once been apart of the world that the Light Warriors now tread anew upon.
They then turned right and walked to the heart of the shattered city. In the center of the city there seemed to be a temple or tall building of worship of some sort for there were several dozen of the stone pillars that had been used as support systems for the temple that Elisabeths' mother and father owned: each pillar seemed to look much like that of the pillars that were shattered and broken back on Earth----that is if this wasn't apart of the planet of Life. They found that the building was in the shape of the Crescent Moon. There seemed to be a painted mural of the Solar System on the floor of the building. There was one change to the Solar System that all of the Light Warriors found before they even said the words aloud: the Map had ten planets!
"I don't get it. Why does this map show our Solar System and yet it seems to have ten planets?" Jessie said. In the center of the solar system was the sun, then the planets followed in suit as they normally did save for the unknown planet. The order was: Murcury, Venus, Earth, Mars, the unknown planet, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Earth and the other planets all seemed to have their correct number of moons but the unknown one didn't have any moons. It seemed to be third moon of Mars.
"This is the First Planet." A voice called out to them. It seemed to be on the back of the wind; it was so faint. "What you see upon the floor of this shattered building is the map of our home, the Solar System of Life and Death. In it is tracked the pages of Man and in it is also the Mistake that He made." The voice called to them. Scot took a step forward and his right boot touched the First Planet. When that happened, it brought a day that of which none of them would forget.
A blinding white light shot out of the center of the Map, from the Sun, and engulfed them all in its light. They covered their eyes with their hands and waited for the light to evade their sight. When it did so, there stood a young woman of about eighteen years of age before them. She was dressed in a flowing white gown with a white cape attached by a golden chain round her neck. Upon her right hand was borne a ring with a diamond the size of an American dime. In her left hand was borne a crystal staff that was the same colors as that of the Crystal Staff of Light that the Light Warriors held among themselves.
It was nearly an exact replica, save for one minor change in it: there was a golden circle upon the crystal at the top of the staff. Inside of the circle of gold was a five pointed star. The star itself was of white gold. It shined much like that of a real star: with a fire all its own. The woman had baby blue eyes and pale skin silk white skin and yet it seemed to be slightly tanned by the warm rays of the morning sun upon a soft summers' day in the garden when one would sit by the roses and look then and see, for the first time in their mortal lives, the sheer hellish beauty in them. Her hair was a bright golden color that seemed to shine like gold as she floated before them.
"Wh...who are you?" Randy asked the girl.
"My name is Princess Moonstar." The girl said to the group.
"Are we still on Earth or am I dreaming?" Elisabeth asked the open air.
"No, you are not dreaming, Fire. And we are not on Earth. This is...or was your home world." Princess Moonstar said. She turned around and then began to walk out of the building that once housed the Map of Life and Death and Man's Mistake. The Light Warriors and Dark Warrior followed her. They did not know why they followed the girl, they just felt as if they had to do so. They felt as if, through following her, they would learn all about the Powers of Light and Dark. They were soon standing upon a dusty road that led to what seemed to be the remains of a castle. They took this road and walked upon it and for some time none of them spoke. They soon reached the main gates of the castle and saw that they had once been majestic in their time, for they were made of gold, now dulled by the hell of war.
The left gate was partly torn down and lay broken upon the shattered ground. Parts of the right gate were also missing, but they could not go through that way: the right side of the gates lay in the their path and it was too thick for them to climb over it. The gates themselves weighted about two thousand pounds. Jacky walked up to the gate that lay in their path and balled her right hand into a fist. She then knocked once upon its dull surface. It rang back with a dull hollow sound. The gates were as hollow as a pipe!
"You have got to be kidding?! These gates are hollow!" Jessie said when she heard the sound that they made when one knocked upon them.
"That is why they are the Gates of Starlight." Princess Moonstar said to them. They faced her with slight grins in their eyes. They understand the joke about the Gates of Starlight, yet it was no joke at all.
"Princess Moonstar, ma'am, why are we here? What is this building? I do not understand the sudden sadness in your eyes and your heart. Tell me and the others, if you will, what-er-why....why does all of this.....this world, this place, this soil beneath our feet, everything about this world seem so familiar and yet so very much a part of us is some strange way? Please, your Highness, tell us." Scot said softly. A smile parted the lips of the Princess. The sadness stayed embedded deep within her eyes, but the smile was small and soft and kind and loving.
"This world is your home, Scot. You, as well as the rest of the Seven Warriors of Prism Light, were all born upon this world and its once beautiful soil. The same with your parents, as well as the entire Human race....well what's left of it." Princess Moonstar said to them.
"I...I don't understand. I was born upon Earth...not this place. This place looks as if all hell broke lose and then tore the place to shreds!" Randy said.
"You are right in saying that, Ice. But....even still you were raised, at one point in the march of time, upon the soil of this world." Moonstar said to them. She walked forward to them and then looked at each person deeply within their eyes for a moment. She ended with the Dark Warrior. "You see...all of hell did break lose. More than two thousand years ago actually. This world was once a beautiful world of lush gardens, green pastures, deep dark forests, glittering towns, merry people, love, wisdom, virtue, trust, life, justice, happiness. Everything that one could possibly ever want was here on the planet Airenes. This was my home as well as yours, Light Warriors." A tear welled itself into her right eye and then fell and shattered like glass upon the broken ground. After breathing a deep sigh, the Princess Moonstar looked to the questioning eyes of the Light Warriors and then, with a slight nod of her head, bade them to follow her.
She led them around the building, all the while she whispered to herself of the beauty that once haunted Airenes. She spoke of the people, the friends that she had known, her parents, creatures that they had been friends with. Soon they came to a shattered part of the westward wall of the building and, through the gaping hole, they entered to their pasts and their futures. "Your Highness?" Jessie spoke to the back of Princess Moonstar. She turned and faced her.
"Can you tell us what caused this destruction here....that is if it's not too painful for you to tell us?" She asked her.
"Why yes....I can tell you about that. But I think that it would be better if I showed you as well as tell you about it. Come with me, please." She said in a soft, tired voice. They walked through what seemed to be a garden of the past. Roses and bushes that had once been green and healthy were now wilted away into dust. None dared to touch them. They knew what would happen if they did so. They knew all too well. They followed the Princess through a courtyard that had, in the middle of it, a fountain of water. But the fountain was empty and wasted away to dust. Rose bushes and lilies dotted the courtyard here and there in a circular pattern about the fountain.
"This fountain seems to be a bit familiar, Princess. What is it?" Scot said. He eyed the fountain with caution for a moment and then walked over to it and looked down at the cold stone that was covered in layers of rocky dust. He layed his gloved hand upon the surface of it and then was awash in painful tears of memories long, long, long since dead and forgotten. He saw everything that was once apart of the world and peoples of Airenes. He saw the fields of emerald green grass, the towns of a happy people going about their daily chores and not caring what would become of them the next day or the day after that, he saw the roses in all of their splendor and beauty and light. They were dotted with dew of the early morning.
They shined like rubies in the firelight of the sun. He saw the waves of the sunlight spilling forth its warmth and comfort and peace upon the world. He saw the fountain, filled anew with crystal clear water and it was singing sort of....the water sounded like that of silver bells being chimed to life with a soft caring hand. The fountain had a mermaid with its center and it was holding a large shell, through which the water poured over the stone wave that the mermaid laid upon. Then Scot saw the Castle and a balcony did he see with his cold eyes. He then felt fear and regret deep within his heart. He didn't want to see what he was about to see, but he knew that he had to.
"Scot?" April soft voice called him back to the world of dust and death that they were now in. Damn. He was so close he could smell it. It was perfume that he could smell before he was called back to the real world from the World of Shadows. He blinked a few times and felt a tear fall from his eyes. It shattered upon the ground.
"You okay?" April asked him.
"Yes. I'll be fine. I saw the world as it once was. I saw the beauty of it. The people. The towns. The lands. The Castle. I even saw the Fountain as it once was." Scot said and looked back to the fountain. The mermaid statue was gone. Only the head lay where the stone wave had once been. The rest was shattered into small pieces of dust and it could not be repaired. The circular structure of the fountain had many holes and cracks and craters within it. Scot breathed a heavy sigh. The Princess touched him on the left shoulder with her hand.
"Yes?" He said without taking his eyes from the Fountain.
"To answer your question, this is the Fountain of Wisdom. Your Fountain of Wisdom, Venus." The Princess said. "You had it built, with my permission and help, as a gift to a person that you once loved more than your very life. You were willing to die to protect her and I think you still are."
"That is true. But I don't know of whom you speak, Princess." Scot said. He looked into her eyes a moment and she looked over to April.
"Now I understand. April and I were in love on this world as we are now on Earth. I remember what happened that day. We were just teenagers back then like we are now. We were about a year or two older I believe." Scot said softly to the dusty air.
"Yes. I too remember, Scot. I was standing on a balcony. In fact it was the North Balcony, Princess Moonstars' favorite for it’s where we all met each other for the first time and where we all became friends. Well, actually all but one of us." April said to Scot. She looked into the Dark Warriors' eyes. "You weren't there when we all met for the first time. You were never born and raised in this world I think. If I remember correctly you were born and raised on Earth, since you were the Prince of Earth as the rest of us were Princesses and Princesses of our own respected planets as well as being friends and members of the Court of Light here on Aireness."
"That is true. The Dark Warrior wasn't with us when we all became fast friends. We never met him until two or three years after the rest of us met each other. Am I right in saying this, Princess Moonstar?" Randy said. She nodded to him.
"Come. We don't have much time." Princess Moonstar said to them. She turned and led them from the courtyard and then deep into the heart of the Castle of Airenes. They walked down many a passage and tunnel and walked through many a room and all at the same time they were conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares, long, long, long forgotten. Soon they stood in the very heart of the Castle: they were come at last to the throne room. Two golden thrones sat upon a dais that was covered in a dusty once-red carpet. Leading up to the dais, was a staircase of white now-stained-brown-by-the-layers-of-dust-marble. The thrones themselves where soft and inviting, and yet they seemed to ring of boredom and sleepy, tired eyes. Their cushions were of red dust-filled satin velvet.
The Light Warriors faced the thrones and then knelt to the floor of the room and bowed. They did so for one reason: that of respect for the Princess and her parents. They were remembering well. All they had to do now was make the trip complete by visiting the very place where they all met for the first time and watch as they were made witness to the death of their own world once more. They followed the Princess through another series of doors and passages and soon they were standing above the weathered surface of the courtyard of the Fountain of Wisdom. From there they were laid witness to the whole of the Northern Hemisphere of the Castles' grounds. They could see six other Fountains and they each knew what they were. To the southeast of the North Balcony, was the Fountain of Virtue. To the southwest was the Fountain Trust. To the direct north of the Fountain of Wisdom was the Fountain of Life. To the northwest was the Fountain of Justice. To the direct west of the North Balcony, was the Fountain of Moonlight. To the northeast of the Balcony, was the final Fountain: that of Friendship. Each of the Fountain, save for the of Friendship, had been raised as a gift and memorance someone by someone in the Light Warrior Team.
Scot had raised the Fountain of Wisdom for April to show his love for her. The face of the Mermaid, since she was one with the sea and could speak to the sea-creatures of Airenes, was in the likeness of her face. She had accepted the Fountain as a pledge of his love for her and the two of them had been fast lovers since that day long ago when the first drop of water was brought forth from the sea and began to run into the Fountain. Randy had raised the Fountain of Trust to prove to Jacky that he could be trusted with any form of a mission and would never back down out of that mission, once he had undergone it, until it was over. The Fountain of Virtue was built from the mind and hands of April to show her courage and her love for Scot. Jacky, Jessie, and Randy raised the Fountain of Life for the peoples of Airenes. It was meant to show that they were to keep peace in their hearts, minds, souls, and bodies each and every day of their lives. Randy and Scot had raised the Fountain of Justice as a means to symbolize the right of every person to a fair and just trial for whatever crime might committed against the Princess and her family and that of the people of all the universe. April, Jacky, Jessie, and Elisabeth raised the Fountain of Moonlight when Princess Moonstar met them while she had been riding one day during the winter and they had saved her life from danger. It was raised to remind them of the quickly wrought bond of friendship that five girls had for each other. But the final Fountain, the Fountain of Friendship, was raised by all of them: Moonstar, Jacky, Jessie, Randy, Scot, Elisabeth, and April for when they had met with the Dark Warrior for the first time on the Planet of Airenes and the Planet Earth joined with the other planets to form the Council of Light. The Councils' symbol was a ten pointed star. Each point was one of the ten planets of the Original Solar System. Their goal was to protect the peace and serenity of the universe from a growing evil that many of the Council members felt and had seen in their dreams and to ensure order through the ten planets.
Moonstar and the Dark Warrior had been members of that Council. Princess Moonstar spoke for the peoples of Airenes and the Dark Warrior spoke for those of Earth. So had the rest of the Light Warriors. Elisabeth had been the speaker for the planet Mars. Jacky had been the speaker for the planet Jupiter. Randy had been the speaker for the planet of Pluto. Scot had spoken that of Venus. Jessie had spoken for Saturn. And April had spoken for Neptune. "Princess, we all know whom spoke for each of the planets. But we do not know whom spoke for the last two: Mercury and Uranus. Who were they?" April asked.
"You know them as Queen Hate's servants: Amethyst and Malachite, but they each spoke for the last of the planets. Amethyst was the speaker for Mercury and Malacite spoke for Uranus." Princess Moonstar said. It wasn't very surprising to the Light Warriors. They knew that if two of Hate's servants had connections like that, then it would have been easy for them to conquer this world and destroy the peoples that lived upon it.
"Was it Amethyst and Malachite that had engineered the destruction of this world, Princess?" Randy asked.
"No. They did not do that. Queen Hate was the one who had done that. Come, Light Warriors. You have much to learn and so little time to learn that of which you must." The Princess said to them. She strode further out to the cracked and weathered surface of the Balcony and then turned and faced them.
"Now you must see what this world once looked like and bear witness to its death. Prepare yourselves for the excruciating pain of horror and hell and the hell of hate." The Princess said to them. They closed their eyes and then opened them after a few moments. What they beheld unto their sights took their breath away from their lungs and choked it to a full stopage of life.
They beheld green fields being blown gently by the wind. Golden sunrises from the stone wall of the Balcony of Life. They saw the fields of emerald green grass, the towns of a happy people going about their daily chores and not caring what would become of them the next day or the day after that, they saw the roses in all of their splendor and beauty and light. They were dotted with dew of the early morning. They shined like rubies in the firelight of the sun. They saw the waves of the sunlight spilling forth its warmth and comfort and peace upon the world. They saw people mingling in the Courtyard below them and upon the Balcony itself. It seemed to be a celebration of some sort. They moved around with the people and then they froze. In the center of the Balcony was a young woman that looked just like the Princess, only she was about a year or two younger. They knew then they were in the deep past of their former lives.
They saw her wearing the same clothing that she was wearing now, but this time it was not her ghost that they saw. It was the Princess herself. They moved towards her with care and saw that she was speaking to the younger version of Randy. His light brown eyes shined brightly in the moonlight, for it was night and the moon was shinning in full glory and lust that night. The stars shone bright and were like diamonds in a cloth of blackness. Their shine was praised by many a word and thought. They all remembered well how they had met. Standing next to Randy was Scot. They had already met and become friends before the rest of the Light Warriors had met each other.
"Ah, Princess Moonstar?" The small band of friends heard the younger Randy speak to the Princess.
"Yes, Randy?" She answered back to him.
"I would like you to meet my friend, Scot. He and I have been together in friendship for well nigh a year now. Scot, this is the Princess Moonstar." Randy said and faced Scot, whom bowed low with respect. They could see that he wore a sword upon his back. He was dressed in same outfit that was costume of his Light Warrior identity, with the only difference in being the sword that rode upon his back and was sheathed in a leather scabbard.
"So I finally meet up with Scot the Warrior of Venus, eh?" The Princess said jokingly. Scot laughed gently at the remark, but his eyes were cold and frozen. Even now in the past, they could all see that he was very cold and would never put up with anyone fooling around with him or his friends.
"Well, I'm not as bad as the people of Venus make me out to be, Princess. True I have been in many fights and I have had to use the piece of junk that rides upon my back many a time, but I never killed anyone with it." Scot said. A slight darkness crossed his face. The Princess saw it, but said nothing of it. She knew that he had lied and she knew that he most likely had a good reason to do so. Only the best fighters in the galaxy ever had to lie about something They moved off and the Princess led the two to her parents, the King and Queen of Airenes.
"Father. Mother." The Princess said to them and bowed slightly to show her respect for them.
"Ah, my dearest daughter. Are you enjoying yourself?" The King asked. He was a kind old man in his late fifties. He had black hair with a streak of white just above his ears that curved down the sides of his skull to connect in a point at the back of his head. Upon his head rode the crown. It was made of gold and silver and was studded with ten jewels. Each jewel was a planet that were friends to the people of Airenes and were loyal to the King and Queen. The King wore a blue robe and underneath this was a tuxedo of green and black. He wore a green jacket with six gold buttons upon it, three on each side of the lapels of the jacket. Under the jacket was a black vest and a green shirt. White gloves covered the Kings' hands. Black boots went up to his knees. They shinned with freshly applied polish. The King had dark green eyes and weather-tan skin. His large hands were kind and gentle and soft and warm. With his hands, the King could sentence a criminal to life or pardon the person. Never once did he ever bloody his hands with the death of anyone that lived or visited his kingdom.
The Queen wore a light green robe and was wearing a white gown underneath it that matched that of the Princesses' gown. She had gray hair and light blue eyes that seemed to be crystal clear and deep as midnight black all at the same time. She too wore a crown like that of the King's. Both crowns were nothing really special to look upon. The were merely decorative symbols of friendships from each of the planets that served under Airenes and along side it. No one planet ever ruled the others and no planet had to follow another's laws unless the people of any planet were living on a planet different from their own.
"Yes, father, I am enjoying myself. I wanted to thank you for giving this celebration and to introduce you to someone. It is the happiest time of my life, now that all of the Planets are united under one flag. I can’t believe that you and other members of the Council of Planets have invited me to be an honored member for that of Airenes!" The Princess said.
"You are eighteen years of age, girl. It’s about time that you learn how to rule kindly and with the help of others. Through the teachings of the Council, you’ll learn how to take care of the planets’ problems like I have done so in my life time. After all, your mother and I won’t be here forever, child. Well, introduce me to that person please, my daughter." The King said.
"Father, this is Scot and his friend, Randy." The Princess said as she turned to face the two of them. Randy and Scot bowed low to the King and Queen and then rose.
"You're the Warrior of Venus, aren't you?" The King asked him. He stared into Scot's eyes for a moment and then look to his daughter.
"Yes, I am that person. But I am not as bad as the people of my home-world make me out to be, Your Majesty." Scot said.
"Aye, I can see that. That sword that you bear across your back....it seems to be familiar to my eyes. May I see the blade?" The King asked.
"Aye." Scot said and drew the sword. The blade of the sword was a deep jet black and was about four feet long and two inches wide. The King's face was mask of fear and shock at the same time when he saw the blade of the Sword. He knew it well. He knew well of the owner of the Sword. Scot saw the fear in his eyes and replaced the weapon back into its sheath. He faced the King and Queen and their daughter with a slight dread in his eyes, but they did not see it. He knew what might happen to him, but he wasn't sure if what he thought would happen would really be of the truth for him.
"Your Majesties, why are you so afraid of the Sword that I have shown unto your eyes?" Scot asked kindly.
"That blade is the balde of the Dark Sword. The Sword that you have strapped to your back, Scot, is the Sword that killed hundreds of thousands of our people in the days of when war was not just a distant memory, it was all that we were and what we would be if we did not stop it from killing so many." The King said in a grave voice.
"Aye, I know the Legend of the Sword of Darkness. I knew the man that once bore it to its final resting place." Scot said. "That man was my great-great-great grandfather, Tyrannieis the Dark. He is also called the Satan Warlock. I am his great-great-great grandson. I shall pay for his crimes with my blood if need be, but I ask only that the Sword of Darkness not be destroyed. It is a simple mark of the times of old and of the War of Darkness. It is now meant only to be a mark of the times that were and have been and as a warning of what happened so many years ago. I bear it so that I may protect myself when I travel from planet to planet, for I am not familiar with the layout of them and would prefer to stay alive than be dead in the gutters of the streets."
“Aye, I agree, young warrior. I also knew the man that once held that sword to its final doomed life.” The King said.
“Father, I have an idea that could help this Sword and its bearer reclaim the honor that it has lost so many years hence. May I tell you of it sometime?” The Princess Moonstar said. Her father looked into her eyes and then back to Scot.
“Very well, daughter. What is your plan?” He said to her kindly.
“Well, Scot could join up with the palace guards. He’d be the youngest person on that fighting team, but he may be a great help to them…considering he’s in possession of the most vile of all blades in the known universe, many people would then fear the guards of this palace since no one will know whom it is that holds that sword.” The Princess said.
“That is an idea, but I should like to be in a division where there are people roughly about my own age, Princess. I do not mean to harm your honor or anything of the sort, but you understand my concern for this motive.” Scot said.
“Yes, I do. I know that many may not take you seriously simply because of your age. The men and women that serve in such the guard as that of which I have spoken are well into their forties and fifties and know much about how to fight. They would think that such an action on my part would be foolish and would look down upon myself and you as well, my friend.” The Princess said. Scot bowed at the words: my friend. To be the friend of Princess Moonstar was an honor that many in the land would die for. It meant that you would be respected and that you were very trustworthy and kind-hearted as was the Princess and her parents.
“Thank you, Princess. I shall not fail you nor your mother and father. But, I cannot go into this guard alone. My friend, Randy, should be allowed to enter into it with me. He and I work well together and have gotten ourselves and others out of more fights than either of us care to remember!” Scot said.
“It is done then?” The Princess asked Scot. She looked over to Randy whom had been watching the whole of the conversation take place before his eyes and then bowed low to her. It was his way of saying that he would go with Scot to become one of the honored guards of the palace.
“Very well, dear, take them away with you and show them to their quarters. Mind that you also introduce them to the four other people whom your father and I have already brought into the guards’ division for the children. You know where they are, don’t you?” The Queen said.
“Mother, I did not know that you and father had already made them the newest of the guards! I wish I had been able to meet them on the day of their coronation into the ranks of the guards. Oh, well. It is of no matter to me. At least I’ll be able to watch the coronation of Scot and Randy.” The Princess said.
“The four other people are in the Lower Courtyard, dear. They are talking amongst themselves or something like that. I don’t see why they don’t just come up here and join the rest of us in this celebration. It is very odd…how they’re so reclusive and reluctant to join in the other goings-on of this world. They seem to prefer to stick with and too themselves. Oh, well. What does it matter? Each to his or her own, I always say.” The Queen said. Princess Moonstar bowed to them and then turned to Randy and Scot. They nodded that they were more than ready to follow her and so she led them through many a passage and turn until they were at last down in the Lower Courtyard.
“The people that my father told me about must be in one of the sub-courtyards that connects with the Lower Courtyard. We shall try the northern one first. That is the only one with enough foliage to hide ten people without them being seen by anyone from the balcony. Come with me and you shall soon meet the ones that you must work with.” Princess Moonstar said to her two friends. They again nodded to her and she led them onward. They walked past the rose bushes that they-the future Light Warriors-had seen covered in dust and made of just dry dust, but this time they were full of blossom and life and energy and love. They walked past a wooden gate and then past another one. The Princess moved over a third wooden gate and then opened it. They entered the small maze of bushes that had lilies and roses growing on them and were soon face to face with the rest of the younger versions of the Light Warriors. The only one that was missing amongst them was the Dark Warrior. All of the younger versions of the Light Warriors were wearing the same suits as that of which the elder versions were wearing.
“Hello, Your Highness. It good to finally meet you face to face at last.” The younger Jessie said to Princess Moonstar.
“Yes, I think the same. I have just now been told your entrances into the guards that are supposed to “protect” my life.” The Princess said the word: protect, with such hatred and bitterness that the small group did not know whether she was angry with her parents or with them.
“Forgive me for asking, Princess, but have we wronged you in any way?” April asked. The Princess looked totally shocked for a moment and then smiled kindly.
“No, I…I’m not angry with any of you. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. It’s just that many of the guards that my father keeps to give me safety on this world and on others…well, let’s just say they aren’t very good when it comes to fighting for one’s life.”
“I take it that you can easily best many of the guards then?” Jacky asked. The Princess looked over to Jacky with a slight hint of quandary in her eyes.
“What do you mean by that? I don’t really understand, miss…” The Princess paused a moment trying to think of the right title to call the girl that had just spoken, as she did not want to insult her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. How very rude of me and the others for not telling you our names! My name is Jacky and this April, Jessie, and Elisabeth.” Jacky said as the Princess and she shook hands warmly.
“You need not apologize. I did not ask for your names and so I understand why you thought that it was rude of you to do what you had just apologized for. Anyway, this is Scot and his friend Randy.” The Princess said and then they fell into a quick and brief moment of all shaking each others hands and saying hello to each other.
“Now then, Jacky, you had asked me if I could best the guards easily? I did not quite understand what you meant by that.” The Princess said.
“Oh, what I meant is that if you were to fight with them, physically and with a weapon of any type, you would be able to defeat that guard without having to kill him or her?” Jacky said.
“Aye, that’s is true. I learned how to fight by myself. I had no one to teach me how to fight properly and so I began to invent moves and tactics that do seem to work in a fight, for I have fought with many of the palace guards and have almost always won the fight.” The Princess said. Then it dawned on her that Jacky might have made a challenge to fight her. Doing so could result in her being jailed for three months, on account of threatening the Princess.
“I don’t want to insult you or anything, Jacky, but did you just kind of challenge me to a duel?” The Princess asked. Jacky seemed to be a bit shocked at the question, but answered politely.
“No, I did not make a challenge, Princess.” Jacky said.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind fighting you. It’d be a great way for us to test our skills with each other and train as well. I’m sure my father will allow us to mildly fight one another.” Moonstar said.
“That would be foolish, Moonstar.” Scot said.
“Why?”
“A mild fight is a lost fight.”
“What?”
“A mild fight is a lost fight. Fight mild and you train mild. Fight fierce and you train fierce. Thus by doing so, you prepare you mind, spirit, and body for the ultimate fights: that of death and of life. Where one wrong move, one wrong twist of the hands or of the face or of the mind or the body, and you will die. Training in this fashion allows you to be able to handle a variety of conflicts and lets you see what moves are the most dangerous ones that you must look out for during a fight and what should be shrugged off as if it were merely a dead fly on your window sill.”
“You and I will have to discuss this tact of fighting further some day, Scot. But as of now, I should like to show you all to your quarters and allow you all to get some rest. After all you surely must be tired from the introduction of ourselves.” The Princess said. She stared in the eyes of each person there and saw a light shinning in every set of eyes that she had never seen before that day.
“I think I may be speaking for all of us when I say that none of us are tired as of yet. Our bodies can take much punishment before we finally must crack under the strain and even then we will still be able to go on. I shall tell you about this later, of course, but I for one would like to know where I am to be quartered so that I may be able to learn the layout of the palace as soon as possible. And, if it is alright with you and your parents, Princess, the location of your room as well.” Scot said.
“Sure. Follow me and I shall lead you to the places that you speak of. Any one else wish to join us?” The rest of the group nodded and the Princess led them back the way that they had come until they were well within the palace walls. After turning a few more passages and corners, they were standing in front of Scot’s bedroom door. It was made of heavy oaken wood and yet was light enough so that a grown man could carry it without much difficulty. The wood itself was strong and heavy enough to stop a forty-five caliber pistol’s bullet.
“Scot, this is where you shall be quartered for your duration with the guards of this palace.” The Princess said. “To the right is where you shall be quartered, April. To the left is where you, Randy, will be staying. Adjacent from Randy is Elisabeth’s room. Adjacent from Scot is Jessie’s room and adjacent from April will be Jacky’s room. My room is at the end of this hall.” The Princess spoke to them and then pointed absently down the northern section of the hall.
“When will we be able to meet the rest of the guards that are here in this hall? I noticed that we passed twenty more doors of oaken wood. All of which were closed and presumably locked. Those rooms board the rest of the guards, right?” Scot said.
“That is correct. Those rooms hold the adult guards. The six of you are the only children in the entire palace to have the honor of protecting my life with your own. And you will be able to meet the rest of the guards later. For the now of the moment, you may rest.” The Princess said.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Scot said and bowed to her. She nodded and then the small band of friends split up and each went to their rooms. Scot opened the door to his room and then walked inside. He found that it was well furnished with a comfortable king sized bed to one corner of the room. There was a small window of glass-pane facing Scot. It faced the northern part of the world. There was one on the eastern and western walls as well.
“No wonder there are so few guards in the palace! The windows allow them to watch all parts of the kingdom! But I wonder if some of the rooms ever let the guards see into the southern part of the world. That would be useful to watch from all directions of the world so that one may always know where his or her enemy is at any time.” Scot thought. He unsheathed his Sword and then walked deeper into the room. To his right, near the bed was a small table of red oaken wood. It had three drawers in it, each outfitted with a brass handle that was shaped in the form of a dragon, sword, and star with a ring around it. Scot had not the idea what the symbolism behind these three things were, but he did not care about that at this moment.
All he wanted to do was to get some rest before he would actually start his career as one of the youngest of the palace guards. He turned around and then walked a few paces to the right of the bedside table and opened another door that was made of the same wood that his bedroom door was made of and found that there was a small closet and inside was a long dark blue cape with a golden chain attached to it so that it could be worn loosely about the neck. He did not see any other garments that were meant for him to wear. He reached inside of the closet and drew out the cape and then draped it upon his shoulders, locking the chain into place upon his own clothes. It covered much of his body and went straight down his ankles, covering the entire front part of his body, including the legs. Scot looked long and hard at the blade of his sword.
“I may finally put this blade back into good use. May the man who bore the blade of this sword rest in hell forever and burn there in its flames for all time! And father, may you rest in peace.” Scot said to himself. He lay the sword upon the bedside table so that the hilt of the weapon faced the bed. He then walked around the room once more and soon found the latrine, another smaller closet that seemed to be full of nothing but pegs. He guessed this was were the guards would usually store their weapons, for the doors were twice as thick as the other closet doors and both were double locked.
“You can forget me keeping my sword in this place! I’d rather have it within my reach and not without my sight.” Scot thought. He turned to the right of the weapon closet and saw that there was another table sitting on the left of the bed, only this was a bit bigger than the one on the right and there were a few wooden chairs surrounding it. A candle of purple marble stood upon the table’s polished surface. It could be lit simply by saying the words: ‘light on’ or turned off by saying the word: ‘light off.’ Depending on the deepness of the darkness around the bearer of the candle, the candles’ brightness would increase or decrease so that the bearer of the candle might be able to see up to hundred feet in all directions of the compass without going blind from the light of the candle itself.
Scot removed the cape that he had been wearing while he was looking around his quarters and then replaced it in the closet he had found it in. He walked over to the bed and removed his boots and was soon sleeping peacefully. A knocking sound outside his bedroom door awaken him from his slumber some time later. Scot woke on the first knock and looked around. It was pitch dark outside. “Night. The perfect time for a fight.” Scot thought. He heard another knock and climbed out of bed.