Now I am real curious!! Greatr chapter Ats and I wonder who the third person will be![]()
Thanks. Well, that's what I am good at, I've been told: keeping peeps interested and wondering about stuff.
![tongue :P :P](/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/theme_icon3.gif)
There will be a few minor changes, perhaps you will notice that more than a few sentences differ, and also there will be more talk amongst the characters, a few new added characters, etc.Sorry about not commenting sooner, this looks really good. It'll be interesting to see how things play out as opposed to the original.
Thanks for reading, xmajorax. And don't feel bad, Serris is coming up soon enough. I can't wait to introduce him finally to one of my stories, and what better than this one?I just started reading it and I'm loving it so far. I can't wait to read more!
![tongue :P :P](/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/theme_icon3.gif)
It's a just a story, go with the flow. Even professional writers do silly stuff like that. Oh, and most pros don't even capitalize races, btw. Just thought you should know that since you suggested that I should capitalize the races in this story. I did it, so that looks good, I guess.Wow, great job. The only thing I wanted to say is that I'm not sure you should abbreviate Celestial Mark... idk it just sounds a little modern to me. Other than that great chapter. You're doing an awesome job taking the Zelda out of it. I bet if someone didn't know that's what it originally was, they would never guess.
![tongue :P :P](/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/theme_icon3.gif)
--Only three more chapters to go to end this one, but don't be surprised if I add a brand new chapter.
![;) ;) ;)](/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/wink.gif)
Part 6: Learning Facts About the Mission
30 minutes before sunset
Artemys found himself standing in the middle of the room where all the portals had been created by the Amura. He was dreaming, he knew it right away, and when Althea appeared before him, she also let him know that even if the dream appeared too real, it was only that: a dream. He briefly glanced around the room trying to find the other dragir, and he noticed that they were laying face up comfortably behind him. Their breathing was soft and they appeared to be perfectly at peace. He glanced upon Lazarus of House Ryu, then upon Tyrus of house Sullivan. The two female dragir would follow soon after. Artemys could not help it but stare at Saskia of house Zeeron, who had laid right next to him.
Seeing her, he remembered that Magatha had mentioned to him that she liked him. But, was that true? Artemys knew that could not be the case, for Saskia of house Zeeron had never given him a reason to believe that. She’d talk to him and had seemed friendly most of the time, but not anything other than that.
"Artemys," Althea's voice suddenly made him turn to face the front.
He saw her standing a few feet away from him, the Amura looking as calm as ever in her serene stance. He was quick to head to her.
"Are you ready to hear about your mission?"
"I am," he said, for he was.
A brief period of silence ensued, with Artemys only being able to hear his thumping heart.
“You can ask me any questions that you may have or don’t understand,” Althea pointed out, her voice kind and soft. “Alright?”
He nodded at her in total understanding.
"Then let us begin.” Althea said. “Your mission will be to head to the royal castle of Phyd and rescue someone.”
"Who, if I may ask?" Artemys had politely questioned a few seconds later. The first thing that he had learned about his mission had totally confused him, for he had believed that his mission would be to go up against foes in battle.
"A recent newborn child," Althea replied, keeping her cool. "A child of great value to us and to the world itself. A child who carries a mark and one who needs saving."
Artemys felt that he had the need to ask a few questions.
"Why does the child need saving?” he asked. “And what is this mark that you speak of?"
The Amura knew that Artemys was asking questions merely because he was afraid to blow the entire mission, so he just wanted to make sure he got all the information correct. That fact alone made the Amura smile proudly behind the veil, for mistress Vee had selected a good warrior in him.
"The lass has a mark known as the Celestial Mark. It is engraved on the upper part of her right wrist," she went on to explain to him. "Her given name is Annabeth Cole Phyd, she's the granddaughter of the King of Phyd."
"And what about my first question?" Artemys could not hide a troubled stare, although he appeared very focused before the Amura.
"An evil being has shown great interest in her, and he cannot have her, lest us all be ruined! Tonight, he will attempt to abduct the little child for his own evil purposes. Artemys, your job and that of others is to keep him from getting his hands on her. Do you understand me?"
"Fully," Artemys felt several sensations then. He felt nervous, compassion for the newborn, troubled with himself, and very lost, as if he did not belong in the room. The Amura knew what he was going through, but said nothing.
"But tell me,” Artemys went on. “Who is this evil being you speak of? And why, truly, does he desire this child?"
The Amura knew there was ample time left, so she could grant the dragir some answers before he was sent out to tackle the mission. She had answered questions from the other dragir as well, so having to answer Artemys's was fine.
"We simply know this foe as Master Shadow, but his Furrion clan call him the Dark Lord."
"So he is a Furrion?" Artemys’s face hardened, and he felt his rage rising just a little bit. For all he knew, the Furrions had sided with the Sleechurs and were on the brink of invading his homeland. That very thought was what had made the dragir become slightly agitated and angry.
"No one knows what he truly is," Althea politely explained, shaking her head once. "His magic is strong, though. With it, he has morphed his body to his liking. You’d do well not to underestimate this foe if you run into him, Artemys. He uses a dark, magical blade that steals the very essence of life from foes and makes him stronger. He has many evil plans for himself and for this world, Artemys. He is a loss to us all."
Artemys remained standing, pondering on the information, his eyes on the stony floor. “Where would a creature like him find such a powerful sword? I mean, really, a sword that is able to steal souls?”
Althea Angelides remained quiet for a while.
“Normally, I wouldn’t have spoken of this to you, Artemys,” Althea said, lowly. “Except that we are facing tough times. The world is in terrible peril, I think you deserve to know. All you need to know for now is that this blade belonged to a god. A war between gods and other species took place in this world long ago. It is safe to say that the blade was lost during the war, as were many relics and other weapons, the spoils of war. I am guessing that Lord Shadow found it and claimed it as his own.”
Artemys nodded, understanding. Althea was glad to see that nod, for she knew that she had given him a satisfying response to his doubts.
"Now let us talk more about your mission. You won’t be alone in all this," Althea spoke, hoping that what she said next would calm the dragir a bit. She knew that Artemys had hardly killed anything during the early years of his life, he had just been training to become a warrior and one that would see plenty of action in many years to come. The young dragir only knew about Sleechurs and Furrions but knew nothing much about Phydians, nor Fairies, nor Amura, and he knew nothing of greater forces found elsewhere.
Artemys straightened at that and glanced back at the Amura.
"I won’t?" Artemys straightened at that and glanced back at the Amura.
She softly shook her head, Artemys wondering what could truly be her appearance behind the robe and veil.
"Others from your kin will support you," Althea continued. "They have already been told what they need to do, and they will be doing most of the fighting if it comes to that, and believe me, it will.”
Artemys’s heart skipped a beat at that revelation.
“There will be many enemies, Artemys, and danger all around you. But you are a good warrior, you have been training hard and are capable of pulling this out. Your mission is the hardest. You are to infiltrate castle Phyd and secure the newborn and her mother at all cost. Once you have them secured, you will have to create a portal using a magical stone, one that I have provided you with in your satchel. It will be the silver colored stone, Artemys, don't forget that."
"Wait, wait," Artemys pleaded, thinking that his dream was about to end. "So let us assume I do get to where the mother and child are. Do I just bring that stone out and trace an opening in mid air? Similar to that which you did at Dragiria with your finger?"
"Exactly," Althea nodded lightly. "You will simply make a door big enough where you and any others can escape through. That stone has already been altered by me, so when you use it, you will not be coming back here, rather you will have returned to Dragiria, to the very same spot where we met earlier."
The Dragir felt his tension diminish greatly at the sound of his homeland's name, and he smiled.
"Artemys," the Amura proceeded. "You also need to know that when you wake up from this dream, your amulet and ring will be activated, their magic will be at your disposal. I am proud of what you chose, young one. If there is anything you should know now, it would be how to summon Qetz."
"Qetz?"
"Yes, Qetz," Althea replied, too gently. "A mighty war beast from the heavens. This beast was part of that ancient war that I told you about. The room where you saw all the objects that I sent you and your friends earlier is where I have been keeping lost relics and other items that I have found through out time."
"So how do I summon Qetz?" Artemys seemed eager to know. To his knowledge, he knew that somehow he had acquired a mighty companion, a heavenly war beast as Althea had just said, so his inner being was tingling with much excitement.
"You simply grab and hold the amulet core, or the statuette of the winged being, close your eyes, and request his aid by calling out his name. The war beast will obey your command. But...also be warned that Qetz is a living creature in his own way, so just like the rest of us, he is obliged to obey certain rules, even if he is just a spirit trapped within the pendant. He must return to his magical home, which is within the statuette hanging from the chain, and rest for several hours. The statuette will change colors. It will go from green to red. When it does turn red, Qetz's time with you would have ended and he will dematerialize and return to the material plane found within the amulet. It will remain red until Qetz has had its rest and then it will turn back to green, meaning that you can summon the beast again. As to the ring, Artemys...well...you will just have to experience that yourself. Good luck with your new pet, and I hope that you succeed with the mission."
“I understand, Althea.”
“Good,” she said. “Now, if there is anything else that you wish to know before I put you back to sleep, now would be the time to ask.”
Artemys shook his head at her. “I think I’ve heard plenty.”
“Very well,” Althea said, her voice suave. “When you wake up you won’t find your dragir kin in the room, they would have already left. But you won’t be late, so as soon as you gather yourself and your items, proceed into the portal.”
Artemys suddenly felt impossibly tired in the dream, and he began to get dizzy. His lack of energy made him stumble to the side and he felt someone grabbing him tightly. He did not know anything else from that moment.
***
Artemys woke up again, feeling dizzy at first. That feeling subsided, though, and he stood up from the temple’s cool ground, noticing that the rest of his kin were not there. The Amura had been correct, he knew.
He noticed a dark brown colored satchel laying on the ground near where his fairy pistol and the two magical trinkets laid. He quickly bent low to retrieve the satchel and opened it, noticing that the Amura had spoken truthfully. He found pink stones and also a silvery one within, the one that he would use to trace a magical portal once he would have the newborn and her mother secured.
Artemys strapped the satchel around his waist belt and buckled it up. He then leaned forth and retrieved his other belongings. He gave the ring a quick glance, noticing the red gem that shone brightly at the top. He inserted it on his right index finger, feeling a weird sensation and a shiver as he did. He ignored the shiver and then moved on to tie the amulet around his neck, also feeling a weird feeling as he did.
Artemys wondered whether that feeling could be attributed to the items being magical. He shook those thoughts off, then remembered the vivid dream that he'd had.
How Artemys would have loved to summon Qetz and meet the creature there and then, but he resisted the urge knowing that he needed to get going. Lastly, he retrieved the heavy double-barreled fairy pistol from the ground. As he examined it closely, he noticed that the pinkish stone located within the weapon's handle was shining brightly as well. The pistol was heavy, and he would need to find a holster for it soon. For now, he knew he had to carry it with him.
He glanced around the room but found that many of the portals were already dimmed in hue. That let him know that through them his other friends had gone. One portal alone remained, flashing brightly. Artemys knew that he would have to go through it and experience those sickening sensations that came with traveling through space and time. He winced, but he also nodded in acceptance of what he needed to do.
"It's for the good of the world," he reminded himself.
Feeling a bit nervous, he started for the portal, a little unsure of himself, for Artemys was pondering about the Phydians. What manner of creatures were they? How would they react when they saw him? He closed his eyes and wondered whether they would see him as just some monster. He had never seen a Phydian before, had only heard of them. Their appearance was similar to his, he knew, but the Phydians had no horns, no scales, just very long, pointy ears. And they surely did not enjoy the privilege that he as a dragir did: The privilege to live for many centuries.
He stopped when he stood two feet from the portal and examined its intricate designing; the symbols, the runes, all of it. His thoughts went back to the earlier day that he had lived at Dragiria. Then those thoughts drifted over to the dream, Artemys remembering right away that he had a mission to complete.
Remembering that the Amura had mentioned the little newborn, he took a deep breath and imagined that evil being named Shadow putting his evil hands on the child. The dragir scowled at that thought and steadied himself. Then he walked into the portal, decisively. He knew he would fight to save the newborn and would attempt to make Mistress Vee feel proud of him.
*End of Part 6*