The Guardians' Pendants (The Zor Chronicles Part I) (20 page)

“You are quite deep
into thought for this hour of night, aren’t you, sister?” a voice
remarked from behind the female Zor.

Rezelna spun around,
wide-eyed, though the look of surprise on her face faded into warm
smile as she was met with two familiar faces.

“Ah, Karza, Nordin,”
Rezelna greeted them. “I must confess that there are many things
haunting my thoughts tonight,” she admitted. “As always, they never
fail to disturb what I wish could have been a peaceful night’s
rest.”

“What things trouble
you?” the wise Nordin asked, joining his sister in overlooking the
lines of dwellings and other buildings that were beginning to take
shape in the land below. He, like the others, was a Zor of a
curious appearance, with a pureness to his blue complexion that
shimmered like nothing else.

“Simply put, I worry
about them,” Rezelna answered anxiously. “I worry for the Zor of
this land, my brother. Our duty here is nearly complete, and the
safety of this new paradise home will soon be put into their
hands,” she continued. “I am not completely sure that I trust them…
without our guidance.”

Nordin nodded.
“Understandable, of course,” he replied. “But try and have faith,
dear Rezelna. For the Zor who seek aid shall always find it within
our legacy,” he added.

“The underground
Shrine?” Rezelna questioned.

Nordin nodded. “Peace
and prosperity are always to be strived for,” he began. “But the
ancient magic of our people must never be forgotten, should a time
arise when it is once again needed.”

“That is precisely why
I worry,” the female admitted. “I worry that these are not mere
precautions, but rather, I fear that we are leaving these traces
here fully knowing that someday they will need to be found again.
Are the pieces of the Stone not enough?”

“I believe you know the
answer to that well enough, my sister,” Karza spoke now, turning to
face Rezelna. “Sahr has made it clear that one way or another, the
Shrine must be re-opened some day, and its secrets exposed,” he
reminded her.

Rezelna hesitated
before nodding slightly. “Speaking of Sahr… where has he gone off
to?” she asked.

“He was northbound last
I checked,” Nordin replied. “If I recall correctly, he was due to
meet Kordas there… some final preparations, you see,” he
elaborated.

“Concerning the last of
the shards?” she asked.

Nordin nodded. “I do
believe so,” he replied.

“And Demias?” Rezelna
asked of the whereabouts of the last of her brothers with a clear
bitterness in her tone.

Nordin sighed. “There
has been no sight of him since this morning, sister,” he answered,
shaking his head. “I believe he might have headed to the southern
island. He seems to prefer it there.”

“That’s the best place for him, if you ask me,” Rezelna
scoffed. “Far away from me. Sahr was a
fool
to ever left him-”

“There is no other way, Rezelna!” Nordin interrupted. “It is
true; Demias may be… misguided, if you will – his views of what
shape this land should take certainly differ from our own, it is
true,” he admitted. “But we
must
stay true to our destiny
– we must
all
return. And fear not; Sahr has seen to it that
his more…
radical
ideas – if you will – shall not prevail,” he
reassured her. “Hence the excess of precautions; there is no cause
for concern.”

Rezelna hesitated. “I
suppose…” she gave in finally. “So long as he is kept from the
heart of his land… the centerpiece of his desires.”

At that, Nordin’s
expression turned somber as he looked over the sleeping village
below. “Fear not,” replied Nordin. “The heart is
secure.”

***

Darkness surrounded
Ikani once more as the vision came to an end. The bleakness was
short lived, however, for already he could sense the return of the
spirits from the past, fast approaching.

***

“Where are we going?”
came the sound of a concerned voice, echoing through the
blackness.

Demias frowned, holding
out the torch before him. “We’re going home, of course,” he stated
simply, even flashing a smile at that - though it was more
reminiscent to a grin. He turned to the blue-white Zor who stood
nervously by his side as they continued to walk.
“
Home,
my child.”

“But home
is-”

“Just around the
corner,” Demias interrupted him. “Precisely,” he added, grinning
once again.

They were passing
through a long corridor lined by stone bricks, headed towards a
single metal doorway at the end of the hall. Aside from the door
and two Zor who walked the length of the room, the space was
completely empty.

As the passed through
the door, however, the scene began to change. There was a skyline
dotted with high rising buildings and aircraft streaking through
the cloudless blue. Up above, the outline of a distant moon could
be seen – just barely – etched on the very edge of the
heavens.

“Whoa,” exclaimed the other Zor in awe. “It
is
just like home!”

The expression of
admiration quickly faded from his face, however, when he heard
Demias chuckling from behind him. “Oh, how misguided you are!” he
exclaimed, his laughter only growing louder.

“Wha
– what do you mean?” the other Zor stammered, backing towards the
far wall now as Demias began to draw nearer.

“When I said that you
were going home, my child, I meant just that!” exclaimed Demias. He
waved his hand through the air and muttered something
unintelligible to the Zor standing frozen in fear before him. He
suddenly slumped to the ground, unmoving as Demias approached him.
He smiled devilishly as he caught sight of the Mark of Rest that
now lay on the side of his neck.

Demias closed his eyes
and held his hands out before him, channeling his own energy before
extending his arms towards the stiff body that lay at his feet.
Upon making contact with the motionless figure, a second mark
slowly began to materialize below the Mark of Rest. It was the Mark
of Dominion – born from the transmission of his own spirit into the
sleeping body.

“Does self-righteous
Sahr truly believe that he can stop me?” Demias mocked his brother,
speaking aloud. “Sooner or later, when they are gone – and I remain
– bound to this land by your spirit, he shall come to realize when
it is far too late that only I am fit to rule this
land!”

At that, Demias began
to make his way back towards the doorway behind him. He glanced
back at the city expanse before him and the body that lay on the
grassy floor, sensing the presence of his own energy from within
the slumbering entity. An ominous laugher echoed through the
room.

“Rest now, Nuraka, my child. For when you are next awakened,
I will need you at your very
best
.”

Chapter XVIII – Drums
of War

No.

No.

It couldn’t
be.

Ikani’s eyes snapped
open and he stumbled onto his feet, overcome by panic and frantic
with disbelief. It was Nuraka. It had always been Nuraka. While
Tavar Havea and Veha Oren and now the new Veha themselves had been
fighting without rest to keep Remula at bay, they had all the while
missed sight of the true evil at power, shrouded in the very shadow
that had returned him to this world. The rebellious God Demias
lived on within Tavar Nuraka.

“Ikani!”

The echoing voice
penetrated the silence of the empty room, broken before only by
Ikani’s panicked breaths. It was Kaho.

“Kaho!” Ikani cried,
rushing for the door. “
Bring me to
the others,
” he thought hard. He
pushed the door open and found that he had suddenly been returned
to the main hall, though he was alone.

“Ikani!’ came the sound
of the female Veha’s voice again.

“Kaho!” Ikani called
back once again. “Enoke, Lanaru! If you’re out there, please listen
to me!” he exclaimed. “Each door will answer to your calls. You
need to call your way back to the main hall!” he
cried.

Ikani’s head was
swiveling, his attention seemingly focused in all directions at
once, though the room around him remained still and unmoving. They
were running out of time, and Ikani knew it very well. Remula had
already beaten them to the Shrine and awakened Demias’ spirit. If
they were going to have any hope now of stopping Nuraka, they were
going to have to act quickly.

He spun around as a
door behind him shot open. Out rushed Kaho.

“Where are the others?”
she asked frantically.

“On their way,” Ikani
answered. “I hope…”

On cue with this reply,
two more doors were pushed open and out ran Lanaru and Enoke.
“What’s going on?” Enoke demanded.

Ikani, shaking
uncontrollably, replied. “It’s Nuraka!” Ikani exclaimed, panicked.
“It
was
Remula. It still is, but…”

“What’s the miner
trying to say?” Lanaru interrupted.

Ikani took a deep
breath, attempting to calm his mind, which was working in
overdrive. “Listen,” he began. “The Gods lived here before. I think
they might have even been Zor themselves… only different. And, as
the legend goes, they build Paradius,” Ikani continued. “But one of
them rebelled against the other four. His name was Demias,” Ikani
recalled. “And… he never left this place.”

“What are you
implying?” Enoke asked.

“Before the Gods left
Paradius – as was their destiny following their Creation – Demias
planted a piece of himself within one Zor before putting him to
sleep using the Mark of Rest. He intended to have someone awaken
him someday, when the time was right… to serve him,” Ikani
explained. “Demias lives on… within Nuraka.”

There was a collective
gasp that resonated amongst the other three Veha.

“So
Nuraka…”

“Isn’t the new and
noble leader that he claimed to be,” Ikani finished. “I feel now as
if I’d always been suspicious of him, but my suspicions in regards
to Remula must have overshadowed those thoughts until
now.”

“How do you know it was
Remula who awoke him?” Kaho questioned.

Ikani thought back.
“When we all came to the Vaults for the first time, before we were
transported to the Spirit Realm, I eavesdropped in on a
conversation between Remula and Nirune, the head of Vault Security.
He talked about a break-in that had taken place in Quadrant Four
some five weeks beforehand,” Ikani explained. “Floor X is located
in Quadrant Four of the Vaults, and it just so happens to be where
the Shrine of the Gods was secretly located. It also turned out
that the thing that Remula was seeking – Demias’ spirit vessel –
was located within the Shrine. Coincidence? I think
not.”

“So what do we do?”
Enoke asked.

“We hurry to the Hub
and get there as soon as we can,” Ikani declared. “And we prepare
the Resistance to fight. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that both
Nuraka and Remula will be there.”

“And how do you plan on
getting us there with the Pod system down?” Lanaru inquired
critically.

At that, there was a
great rumbling that’s seemed to come from all directions. All eyes
turned to Enoke.

“Please tell me that
earthshaking is your doing, brother,” Lanaru muttered
uneasily.

Enoke said nothing. The
sound grew louder, seemingly closing in on them now as the ground
below them began to shake more violently.

“We need to get out of
here, and fast!” Ikani cried. “We’ll worry about getting to the Hub
once we reach the surface again. Follow me!”

Without another word,
the Veha hurried towards the doorways from which they had come,
fleeing the Shrine without a single backwards glance. They had
entered into the Stone Giants’ pit once again, stumbling as the
tremors below their feet continued to grow increasingly more
intense. Suddenly from behind them, there came the tremendous sound
of glass shattering. The Veha spun around to find that the
encasement surrounding the Giants had been broken in all the
commotion. The five Stone Giants now towered over them
anew.