Lorene sat on a tree branch looking around dejectedly. "Yet another boring, beautiful day," she sighed.
To look at Lorene, one would instantly be able to identify her as an elf. Her pointed ears and almond shaped, violet eyes were dead give aways. Long, blond hair cascaded down her back and almost to her feet when she stood at her full five foot ten inches height. The elf wore a knee length white dress with a pronounced collar that V'd to reveal her average sized chest. A pair of steel gauntlet claws hung from both sides of her rose colored belt, and a well crafted long bow laid across her lap.
A sparrow landed on her left hand. Lorene raised the bird up to her face and whistled at it. "Nothing interesting ever happens around here," she complained to the tiny creature. She sighed again and gazed out at the forest around her.
Lush, green trees surrounded her for miles on end. The yellow light cast down by the same colored sky filtered through the leaves dotting the bushes and plants like rain. Birds and other animals could be heard communicating everywhere. Lorene waved the sparrow away and rested her chin on in her hands.
"Just once, I want something to happen!" she demanded to anyone who might be listening. Little did she know that the gods of fate were actually going to make her wish come true.
The elf girl nearly fell out of the tree, when a brilliant explosion of light occurred not too far from her position. Once her balance had been regained, Lorene searched the forest for the source of the explosion. Using her keen elfin vision, she was able to pick up movement roughly a hundred yards away. Holding her bow in her left hand, she dropped down to the ground lightly, grabbed her quiver of arrows, and darted soundlessly towards the possible enemy.
Vaul blinked twice and looked around. "Wow! That was actually pretty cool." He flapped around taking in their surroundings. "This place seems nice."
"Looks can always be deceiving," warned Damion.
Vaul looked at the dead man questioningly. "Why do you always look for the worst in everything?"
Damion seemed about to answer, when he darted towards the young dragon instead. Vaul cried out just as the dead man caught an arrow that had been speeding right for his little head. "See what I mean?" gloated Damion.
Cole had dropped his pack and drawn his sword. "Damion, go left. Vaul get up in the trees and see how many we're dealing with." They both nodded. Damion darted silently into the forest, and Vaul flew up to the branches of the nearest tree. He started scanning the ground below, when he saw the most likely owner of the arrow. Now, Vaul had never seen an elf before, but his mother had read him and his siblings some books about them. Therefore, he was pretty certain that the woman making her way towards their last position was an elf. Vaul looked around her, but didn't see anyone else. When he returned his gaze to the elf girl, the Gold Dragon was suddenly struck with a strange feeling. It was as if someone had walked right up and touched his very soul.
"Whaaa?" he breathed just before Cole attacked her.
"Wait!" shouted Vaul, but it was too late.
Cole was the first to spot her. He signaled in at the direction he knew Damion to be in, knowing that the other man would see him. Sword ready, Cole dashed from his spot right for her. The elf yelped in surprise as he attacked. She threw out her bow to parry, but his sword sliced right through it. Cole heard her curse in what could only be elven before backing off. She tossed the broken bow at him, and quickly followed up by drawing something from her sides.
The green eyed warrior easily dodged the pieces of wood and moved in slowly. He didn't really plan on hurting her. He just wanted to take her down a couple of notches and then ask some questions. The elf raised her hands to show that she now wore a pair of metal claws. Cole could not help but smile.
"This might be interesting after all," he muttered. The elf darted at him.
Her claws shot out at his arms, but Cole easily parried both attacks. She slashed at his left with both of them. When Cole parried that attack as well, she spun around leveling a roundhouse kick at his head. Cole ducked under the kick and shuffled to his right. The warrior allowed the elf to regain her balance before he attacked. After all, he didn't want to hurt her.
Cole made a couple of test slashes at her torso, which she parried successfully. He backed off again to gauge his opponent. Where he had not even broken a sweat yet, the girl was already panting from the exercise. She was pretty quick, but obviously not an experienced fighter. Her attacks were repetitive, and she never counter attacked after a parry. Cole lunged forward quickly with a thrust for her chest. As he expected, the elf caught his blade between her claws. Using his greater strength, Cole immediately twisted his blade within the claws causing them to loosen their grip.
Another twist of his blade caused them to completely lose their grip on his sword. Cole took two quick steps forward to place the sword at her neck. "Do you give?" he asked. "I promise that I'm not going to hurt you."
"You are in no place to promise anything, human," came a male voice speaking common from behind Cole. The former Dragonmaster tensed when he felt the cold edge of another sword at his neck. "Are you all right, Lorene?"
The elf girl, Lorene, stepped away from Cole nodding. "Yes, Jorith," she replied in common as well. She scowled at Cole, though. "He broke my bow."
There was a sudden flash of movement, and Damion was standing behind Lorene with one of his daggers at her neck. "Back away from him," he ordered the man behind Cole.
Jorith only chuckled. "You are in no place to make such a demand, either, painted one. Look around you."
Cole noticed the forest suddenly come to life. Elves wearing browns and greens emerged with arrows trained on Damion. One of the elves was holding a squirming Vaul. Cole's eyes locked with Damion's. Both men knew that the arrows would have no effect on the dead man. Cole, however, didn't want anyone to be hurt.
"Stand down, Damion," he told the other man. Damion glanced around once more and withdrew his dagger from Lorene's neck.
"Drop your sword, human," ordered Jorith. Cole obliged. "Now place your hands on your head."
"Jorith!" came a startled voice from farther behind Cole. He heard Jorith move around behind him, and then another elf walk up.
Cole heard the sound of a sack being opened. The two elves were talking quickly in their own language. A hand suddenly grabbed Cole's left shoulder, spinning him around. Jorith was just a little taller than Cole with piercing gray, almond shaped eyes and silver hair drawn back into a ponytail. He wore simple a brown vest and pants with soft leather boots. He still held a long sword to Cole's neck.
"What is the meaning of this, human?" he demanded with a gesture to the sack on the ground. Cole recognized it as the one holding the Dragon Equipment and the Goddess's Sword. Jorith leaned close to Cole's face. "Who are you to be caring such holy items around in a mere sack?"
Cole thinned his eyes. "That's my business, friend."
"I am not the friend of any human," sneered Jorith.
"That's enough, Jorith," interrupted Lorene. The elf girl stepped between them, laying a calming hand on his chest. "He's obviously not going to talk. We should just take them all back with us and let the elders handle it."
Jorith hesitated for a second, but he finally lowered his sword. "Your words hold wisdom, Lorene." He made a couple of hand signals to the gathered elves. "Gather their things and make sure no one else is out there. We will take these humans back to Ciryn-Tiell."
Cole and Damion's hands were bound behind their backs, and the two of them were forced to walk forward. Cole played around with the idea of casting some spells to even up the odds, but soon decided against it. Perhaps it was better for them to be taken to this Ciryn-Tiell. This just might be the best way for him to get his answers.
The former Dragonmaster was not sure how long the group walked. Whenever he tried to catch a glance at the sun through the forest canopy, all he could see was a yellow sky. Eventually, Cole noticed the forest starting to recede a bit. They emerged from the tree line directly in front of the most amazing city Cole had ever seen.
Towers of crystal littered the landscape for miles around. Houses that looked to be made from pearl were lined along roads of green marble. Walking through the streets wearing many items of clothing frin brightly colored robes to simple white ones were elves, thousands of them. Cole, Damion, and Vaul were ushered into the city very unceremoniously. Pedestrians gawked at the two humans as they were marched down the streets. Cole was soon to realize that they were being taken to a set of three crystal towers joined by a series of crystal walkways.
Cole noticed a group gathering in front of the central tower. Standing at attention around a group of older looking elves was a dozen elves in silver full plate armor holding lances. The older elves all wore silver robes, except for one who had on a gold colored one. They all had beards of varying lengths with the golden robed one owning the longest that went almost to his knees. His head held no hair, and his face was wrinkled. His deep blue eyes held a youthful spirit that belayed his obvious age.
Jorith stopped and bowed to the elders. "Elder Reinalthus, I bring to you the intruders you detected."
Reinalthus walked forward to take a closer look at Cole and his friends. His eyes lingered for a moment on each of them. Finally, a smile appeared on his aged face. "You bring us an interesting catch today, Ranger Jorith." He looked over at the younger elf. "Do you know what we have here?"
Jorith looked utterly lost and confused by the older elf's words. "N... no, Elder."
The Elder chuckled and pointed at Damion. "Here we have a man who walks the thin line between life and death with a bird as his only link." His finger moved to Vaul. "And this furry little creature is none other than a member of the venerable Dragon Tribe." He bowed his head to the Gold. "Greetings, young Dragon of Althena."
Gasps arose from all within earshot. Vaul managed a small smile for the old elf. "Uh, hi, I guess."
Finally, Reinalthus stopped in front of Cole. "But this man may be the most interesting of all. Tell me, Jorith?" he asked. "How were you able to capture one of the Goddess Tribe so easily?"
All those gathered simultaneously cried out in awe at the Elder's statement. Cole, himself, was sputtering. "W... w... what are you talking about?"
Reinalthus turned and started for the tower. "Enough of all this chattering out here. It's getting late, and I'm too old to be standing around out here. Bring them inside, so we can finish this up before meal time."
The gathered crowd was calling out to all the elders, but the old elves were already heading inside the center tower. Jorith pushed Cole forward to follow. They walked through an opening in the tower and entered a circular chamber surrounded by crystal pillars. A red circle occupied the center of the chamber.
"Take the dead one and the dragon to some comfortable rooms," ordered Reinalthus. "Have the other one brought to my study."
Jorith and some of the soldiers saluted. "Yes, Elder." Cole was pushed over to the red circle. As soon as he was upon it, the warrior was surrounded by light. When the light faded, Cole found himself standing in what seemed to be an office. The walls were all made from red crystal. Towards what he assumed was the back of the room was a clear crystal desk with a fine crafted rocking chair behind it. In front of the table were several different colored cushions. Each corner of the room had a small podium topped with fire giving the room a warm glow. Cole just stood there staring at the room for several minutes trying to organize his thoughts.
"What was that old man talking about?" he asked out loud. "Goddess Tribe? What did he mean by that?"
"I meant exactly what I said, young man," came the Elder's voice from behind. Cole spun around to see Reinalthus and a single soldier who was holding the sack with the Dragon Equipment.
Reinalthus walked past Cole and sat down in the rocking chair. "Put the sack down on the table and leave us," he told the other elf. The soldier nodded and did as he was told. When they were alone, Reinalthus motioned for Cole to sit. "Have a seat, my boy. We have some obvious things to discuss, and it may take some time."
Cole walked over and sat down on a blue cushion. "Why did you bring me here?"
Reinalthus folded his hands. "Like I said. We need to talk about some things. First I would like to ask you about these." He nodded, and the sack opened. Piece by piece the Dragon Equipment and the wrapped up Goddess Sword floated out and hovered over the desk. "Why do you have these holiest of items on your person?"
Cole swallowed hard. "The truth?"
The old elf smiled. "If you please. Lies tend to bore me."
"Fine," said Cole. "They used to belong to me."
"Oh really?" replied Reinalthus with a raised eyebrow. "Are you telling me that you are a Dragonmaster?"
Cole nodded. "I was. Certain events have transpired to cause me to lose my connection with the Dragon Armor."
"Interesting," said the old elf quietly as he rocked in his chair. "And what is your name, my young friend?"
"Cole."
Reinalthus stopped rocking. He leaned forward with a very intense look on his face. "Did you say your name was Cole?" The green eyed warrior nodded. "I don't believe it," whispered the Elder. He rose from the chair and walked over to stand next to Cole. "I don't believe this." Cole got to his feet. "Believe what?" He balled his hands into fists. "Dammit, old man, start making some sense!"
Reinalthus started circling him. "Tell me, Cole. Have you ever met an elf maiden by the name of Serene or her brother Orin?"
Cole followed the elf with his eyes. Serene. "Yes. Due to some unusual circumstances, I did meet them."
The Elder clapped his hands and loosed and awed cry. "In my thousand years I never expected to actually see this day come." He snapped the fingers of his right hand. The right wall nearest to them flashed, and a rack of scrolls emerged from it. Reinalthus moved over to the rack. "Come here, Cole."
Cole, still very confused, walked over to the old elf. The Elder looked at the rack for a short time before pulling an ancient looking scroll free. He unrolled it and looked it over. "Yes. This is it." He handed it to Cole. "Read this."
He took the scroll. For a moment it was in elven, but to Cole's amazement the strange letters slowly transformed into common. When the transformation was complete it read:
To the Council of Elders now and in the future. There will come a day in a time yet to come, when a human will appear in our lands. His name will be Cole, and you must do all in your power to help him. I understand that this is difficult to comprehend or believe, but you must heed my words. Unless you aid him, the future as you know it may very well be destroyed. As a servant of the Goddess, I give you my word that he can be trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Dragonmaster Orin
Cole stared at the scroll in his hands completely dumbfounded. He remembered having spent a good amount of time with Serene, but he had only met Orin for a brief few seconds. "Well," began Cole. "I'm not sure what to make of this, but I hope you take his advice."
Reinalthus took the scroll back and returned it to the rack. "Between this and the remarks about you made by Serene, I will personally make sure that you receive all that you need. Now, come back and sit down." They moved back over to the desk, where the Elder resumed his seat. "While I am going to trust you, Cole, I would still like to hear exactly what it is that you are supposed to do that saves us all."
"Well if you want to know it all, then it's a pretty long story," admitted Cole.
The elf laughed. "I'm old, Cole. Time and I are good friends."
So the hours passed, and Cole told Reinalthus everything from Ziatoch to the Time Runes, and finally all about the events surrounding his double and why he was now talking with the Elder. By the time he was finished, Cole was ready for a long nap, but the old elf was still very awake and attentive.
Reinalthus gave him a sober smile. "I must say, Cole. For one still young in years, you certainly have seen much. I know elves who have lived ten times as long as you, and they have not see a tenth of what you have."
Cole's head was leaning on his right hand. "It's been some ride, I can tell you that."
The Elder rose and made his way back over to Cole. "As for the search for your loved one, the Keeper of Damon's Spire was correct. We of the Fairy Tribe can help you."
Despite his weariness, Cole vaulted to his feet. He grabbed the old elf by the shoulders and started shaking him. "Are you serious?" he asked instantly. "Can you really help me find her?"
Reinalthus carefully pried himself free from Cole's urgent shaking. "Yes. We can put you on the correct path. Don't worry, Cole. I'll explain everything to you after you've gotten some rest. Even members of the Goddess Tribe need sleep."
"Wait a minute, Reinalthus," Cole interjected. "Why do you keep saying that? I'm not a member of the Goddess Tribe. I was just Althena's Dragonmaster."
The Elder pointed right at Lucia's pendent. "Well that thing for one. That is an artifact of the Goddess Tribe. I can tell plain as the ears on my head."
Cole grasped the pendent. "But this isn't mine. This belonged to Leeta and her mother before her."
Reinalthus shrugged. "Okay, I'll accept that answer. But that still does not explain the power I sense within you, Cole. You may not have completely tapped into it yet, but it's still there. Before you go to sleep, ask yourself this question. Why is it that you of all people can cast the same spells as your Leeta can, and some yet that she could not? If she is of the Goddess Tribe, then what about yourself?" He gave Cole a hard pat on the back. "Think about it."
When Cole finally arrived at the room, he found Damion and Vaul waiting for him. The room they had been given had four crystal walls, two beds with white yellow sheets, and a single crystal table with a pitcher of water. Vaul tried to say something to Cole, but the former Dragonmaster brushed past the dragon heading for one of the beds. He simply dropped on to the bed and closed his eyes.
Vaul was still speaking, but Cole's mind was spinning with a myriad of questions about the meeting he had just had with Reinalthus. Thoughts about the Goddess Tribe, the next stage of his quest, and Leeta repeatedly assaulted his mind. But even those demanding thoughts were no match for exhaustion once his head touched the pillow. Mere seconds after the touchdown, Cole's eyes closed and he passed right out.
Vaul just hovered over Cole for a another two minutes until it was plainly obvious that he was not going to be waking up anytime soon. The young dragon made a disgusted noise and started flapping for the door to the room.
"Are you sure you should be leaving the room?" said Damion.
"You heard what those guys said before Cole came back," Vaul reminded him. "We're free to move around. Just cause Cole wants to sleep doesn't mean we have to." Without another word he flew over to the door, fiddled with the knob, and flew out once it was open.
Using the teleportation spell Ruby had taught him, Vaul traveled outside of the tower. Even after all the hours, there were still some elves standing and staring at where the Gold and the others had been taken inside. Boredom fueled the young dragon's actions as he flew down the marble streets. Elves pointed at him as he passed by, but Vaul ignored them. He was more interested in looking around the city. After a half an hour of exploring, Vaul found himself in a small garden of what appeared to be rose bushes. There was a fountain in the center of the garden.
The fountain was a statue standing in two foot deep pool that was roughly five feet in diameter. The entire thing was carved from pearl white marble. Vaul landed on the edge to take in the statue itself. The statue was of an elf wearing the Dragon Armor. Vaul could make out every line of the Armor and every curve of the elf's sharp features. Water was flowing out of the base the Dragonmaster stood upon.
"He was my ancestor," said a female voice from behind Vaul. The Gold looked over his shoulder to see the elf name Lorene walking over to him.
"Really?" asked Vaul. "What did he do?"
Lorene stopped right behind him. "He defeated the first Magic Emperor." She looked down at him, and Vaul felt that strange sensation he had earlier in the forest. "I came out here to apologize for shooting at you back in the forest."
Vaul shrugged. "It's okay. I get shot at a lot. Comes with hanging around the people I do and being what I am." He turned back to the statue. "What was his name?"
"Orin," she answered. "What's your name?"
Vaul spread his wings and flapped up to her eye level. "I'm Vaul. Your name's Lorene right?" She nodded. "Do you know where I can get some fish around here?" he asked with a smile. "I'm pretty hungry, and a growing dragon needs to keep his strength up."
Lorene smiled back. "I think I can scrounge up something for you to eat." Vaul assumed a perch on her left shoulder, and the two of them walked back into the city. "So tell me about some of your adventures, Vaul."
Cole awoke the next morning extremely hungry. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and yawned. Damion was sitting cross legged in a corner, and Vaul was nowhere to be seen. Seconds after his awakening, a white haired elf maiden in a yellow sun dress entered bearing a tray of what smelled like fresh baked biscuits with honey and some fresh fruit. Cole accepted the tray gratefully and began consuming its contents.
"Elder Reinalthus desires to see you as soon as you are finished, Sir Cole," she told him.
"Phokay," he replied with a full mouth. Cole grabbed a cup of some fruit juice to wash down the biscuits. The maiden bowed her head slightly and left.
"You've been asleep for quite some time," said Damion after a moment.
Cole bit into what he thought was a peach. "Well, it has been a while since I really got some sleep. I guess I needed it." He finished the peach quickly and consumed another biscuit. "Where's Vaul?"
"He left some time yesterday shortly after you passed out," explained the dead man. "He has not been back since."
Cole drained the last of the juice from the cup. "He's probably fine," assured Cole. "You know how curious he can get." Cole returned the cup to the tray, only to find that there was no more food left. "Damn. Nothing left."
Damion raised a black eyebrow at him. "You seem in good spirits today."
Cole rose from the bed and placed the tray on the crystal table. "Damion, my friend, today I get one step closer to finding her. Yesterday, Reinalthus said he could help me." He wiped the back of his right hand across his mouth and started for the door. "Come on. We'll find Vaul later."
The two men left the room to find a pair of silver armored soldiers waiting for them. "Follow us," one said. They walked over to a yellow circle and stopped. "Step here to be transported to Elder Reinalthus's study."
"Thanks," said Cole as he stepped on the circle.
There was a flash, and Cole soon found himself back in Reinalthus's study from the previous day. After another flash, Damion had joined him. Cole looked to the other side of the room to see the old elf sitting behind his crystal desk.
"Ah, Cole my boy," greeted Reinalthus. "And the walking corpse." He waved them over. "Come. Sit. We have much to talk about."
Cole and Damion walked over and seated themselves on the cushions in front of the desk. Cole decided to get right to the point. "Reinalthus, you told me yesterday that you could help me find Leeta. How?"
The Elder smiled knowingly at him. "You are a straight forward one, aren't you?" He clapped once and got to his feet. "Let me just say a couple of things, so that you can understand how we can help you.
"Thousands of years ago, as you know, the elves lived among the other races of Lunar and the Blue Star. But after the collapse of the first Magic Empire, we decided that we no longer belonged on Lunar. Humans were too unstable to trust, therefore, our elders of the time decided to no longer have anything to do with them. So, with the permission of Althena, we traveled to this dimension.
"This place is an in-between world. It exists as that thin yet extremely strong layer between numerous dimensions. We made our home here because of the peace and seclusion it would provide. After the rebellion against the Empire, we were tired of fighting wars that we never even had a hand in starting. So we escaped and left all the other races behind. Once in a while some of us, however, would return to Lunar. An example of that would be a tribe that Ghaleon belonged to. Them and other members of the Fairy Tribe continued to cross back over during the millennia.
"Having explained this to you, let me now tell you how we may be able to help. I have thought about your story at length and taken into account your description of the time you saw Leeta's spirit."
"The Soul Stealers," interjected Damion.
Reinalthus nodded. "Correct. That fact alone tells me that her soul somehow crossed over to the Afterlife, or to be more specific, the Underworld." Cole was about to speak, but the Elder raised a silencing hand. "Let me explain further before you speak. The Afterlife is a collection of multiple dimensions that are closely linked together. The Underworld is where the damned go and are transformed into demons by the rulers of that dark world."
Cole was starting to feel sick. "How did Leeta end up there? And how can you be sure she is there?"
Reinalthus's lips thinned. "I cannot tell you exactly how she got there. My only guess is that it had something to do with the way she was wounded by the Demon Dragonmaster. But I can definitely say that she is in the Underworld. You see, Soul Stealers are basically slaves to the overlords of the Underworld. These overlords use these trapped souls to steal other souls that may be bound for other planes of the Afterlife, and then they subjugate them."
The sick feeling inside of Cole had now changed to a slowly growing anger. "All right," he said quietly. "If she is there, then how do I get there without dying myself?"
The old elf gave him a half smile. "That is how I and my people can help you. Because we live in this 'in-between' we elves are capable of opening portals to other dimensions. We can send you to the Underworld to rescue Leeta."
Adrenaline was pumping through Cole's veins. He jumped to his feet and rushed over to Reinalthus. "All right, so send me there right now!"
Reinalthus raised his hands in a defensive gesture at the excited warrior. "Calm down, Cole. I'm afraid that my aid will not be immediate."
Cole felt like he had just been slapped. "W... why?" The Elder walked back around his desk and retook his seat. "Forming dimensional portals is not an easy or normal thing we do, Cole. These things can only be done at specific times when the dimensional energies are aligned correctly."
"Okay," said Cole slowly. "How long will it be before these energies are aligned?"
"A week," replied the old elf.
The excited energy that had been fueling him half a second ago, suddenly seeped away from Cole. "A week," he repeated quietly. "Well, that isn't too long."
"Here, no," agreed Reinalthus. "But in other dimensions it can be either longer or shorter."
Cole shot him a worried look. "How long is that in the Afterlife?"
"Let me see." The Elder ticked off numbers on his fingers. "In the dimensions of the Afterlife time is moving faster. So, it may only be a day or two. To give you a cross example, though, A day in this world is worth roughly one month's time on Lunar and the Blue Star."
Cole felt numb all over. "You mean it's already been a month back home?" Reinalthus nodded. "But what about the war? If we spend several more days here, it will almost be a year since I left Vane." He looked between the elf and Damion. "What if my double wins while we're here? What if in going on this quest, I've ended up letting everyone back home down, again?"
Reinalthus got up and walked over to the former Dragonmaster. He reached out and laid his right hand on Cole's right shoulder. "I cannot answer any of those questions, Cole. All you can do is wait, and hope that your friends back on Lunar can continue to fight for just a bit longer."
Cole heard the old elf's words, but one question was just continuing to scream in his mind. Was he repeating his mistake in Xobelisk all over again?