Chapter two

Chapter two of DUST x3

C H A P T E R T W O

 

“Valndra, it already started,  faster than before.” quickly said Xierlius with panic filling his voice. He traced a symbol on his forehead then placed his fist over his fast beating heart and bowed in front of Valndra.

            "I already know that." Valndra took her eyes off of the burning red sky and faced Xierlius. I’m being treated like a queen… how sad. “Xierlius, there is no need to confront me in that manor, just simply come up to me and make your report.” Valndra said in her usual sweet tone. Her smile quickly disappeared from her face and pulled her long black hair back then let gravity make it fall down over her shoulders. Stress of the situation quickly overran her.

            “I’m ready to do anything that you wish, my lady.” Xierlius smoothly said, even though his arms were shaking a little bit from what might just come next. His mind retraced back into the past. Xierlius had his eyes shut tightly as the scenes of disaster replayed through his mind. He collapsed on both of his knees and his arms fell onto his laps. He tried to fight back the tears that welded behind his eyelids. Valndra took notice of him and knew what he was feeling. It was too much on him. He knew quite well on what he will face yet again.

            “It’s okay Xierlius. I’m going to stop this. And that’s a promise.” Valndra bent down onto her knees, her chainmail leather skirt that went down to her knees flowed around her.  She lifted up his chin and he opened his watery eyes. It was tough on everybody who survived, seeing your homeland being destroyed right in front of your eyes, though in times like these comfort can always be found. Valndra’s lilac hued jewel necklace, that matched  her eyes, glowed brightly under the cover of the maroon world. Xierlius took a deep breath and released the air from the captivity of his large lungs. His blue jewel, which had the same style of cut as Valndra’s and also complimented his eyes, started to glow a bright cobalt hue. Warmth and energy flooded into their body then soon blue orbs appeared from thin air and floated around the two. Their muscles relaxes and their heart beat slowed to a normal pace as the adrenaline died out of their bodies.

            In perfect sync they both said, “Of Love and War and Passion and Death, may our God and Goddesses that granted this phenomenal magic, please let us reverse this upcoming future of ours.” Xierlius, having a large fraction of his worry slip away, stood up quickly and held out a hand to Valndra. She grasped it tightly and pulled herself to her feet. The orbs then disappeared and their jewels stopped glowing. A warm breeze swept through the open windows of the balcony that created chills down their spines. They both looked out the glass window and into the forest. Series of howls were carried through the warm air, singling that Valndra was needed.

            “Guess they caught up to Annaria,” Valndra whispered under her breathe and turned her back toward Xierlius, “before I go, I want you to open the doors to the Fifth Chamber.”

            “But that’s�"“

            “Just do it Xierlius, please.” Valndra gave him a stern look then sprinted down the hallway and down a flight of spiral stone stairs.

            “Very well, Valndra.” Xierlius said quietly even though Valndra was too far away to hear him. He took a glance outside, and noticed how the sky was a  brighter shade of red than before. Internally he waved a goodbye to Valndra, for fear of the consequences that just may come afterward to her. His mind flooded with a questionable memory. I wondered what happened to her…

           

A tinted green smoke raised up to the grey cloud covered sky from the demolished earth below. Huge slabs of earth were lifted above the ground were everybody could see underneath them. Dirt slowly crumbled from the slabs in large clumps heavy enough to crush a child. The towns were all burned, only a few hundred survivors were left in each of the nine occupied lands. Xierlius stood in front of his crumbled house with streams of tears rolling down his dirt covered face. He started to gain dumb hope that the rest of his family is still alive underneath the piles of debree.

“This inevitable death is nothing more than the uncertain future Xierlius.” said Cerio, his summoned Spirit Beast that took the shape of Nierliox Saber Cat. Cerio dug his sharp claws into the shifted russet dirt. His ears flickered then he growled and turned around swiftly, sending dust flying in all direction. To the north, where the luscious green trees that were full with Verximite Berries were now nothing but ashes to be piled up on the ground… The East were the hills green grass with a touch of golden hue still was lit with a mixture of orange and green dancing flames…The South were the already ash covered ground had another meeting with tragedy… The West, were the tallest mountains resided were now shaved down by half a mile, some even already completely demolished.

The sudden swift movements in Cerio made Xierlius draw out his slightly blunted blade out of the sheath and held it tightly with one hand out in front of him. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw who it was. Those stunning lilac eyes always brightened Xierlius day, especially her smile that could kill a person practically. “Calm down Cerio, its only Uraenla, she won’t hurt us.” Xierlius said while she slid his sword back into his sheath and started to walk toward her. Despite his words Cerio still remained in his defensive form, and lowered his growl. Cerio's pupils dilated started to glow an off white hue and soon became misty as if it were ghost eyes.

Xierlius ran his dirty fingers through her straight black hair which was full of small tangles. “How’s the rest of this part of Karkala?” He asked while he focused on the strand of hair he was twirling with his finger.

“From the reports I received from Valndra, West Eerineth was the most damaged. Have the hope of Mieryox swell inside of us if that land would be restored back to normal.” Uraenla eyes started to veer off in an invisible world of imagination of other parts of Aldenora being pieced back together again to where the scars of the land would be almost invisible.

Xierlius dropped his hands to his side and saw the worry swell inside her, he then said “Hey, you know there’s nothing to worry about. You know that our God and Goddesses our on everybody’s side for the restoration of Aldenora.” His lips broke out in a smile and he took a step backward. Uraenla slightly opened her mouth, wanting to say something to him, yet nothing came out. She backed up too and lengthened the distance between them even more. She dipped her head and a large chunk of weightless black hair fell in front of her face. She started to feel hope disappearing from inside her as she fully grasped reality.

“I have too…,” Uraenla stopped in the middle of her words, mouth still agape. The squawks of a hawk wavered though her ears and she looked up to the still maroon tinted sky. The hawk became clearer as it lowered itself to the ground in front of Uraenla. Its feathers on the wing were white with speckled black dots while its body had a light brown hue to it. She bent down and lightly touched the hawk’s soft head.

"Is that a new bird?" Xierlius asked, never before seeing such a hawk.

"It's our clans emergency hawk that we use in times of disaster. They're the fastest we have."

"Well I never seen any bird that looks like that around Aldenora at all." Xierlius lifted an eyebrow, and wondered if she was really telling the truth.

 “Anyway, I have to meet with Valndra in Eerineth. I don’t know what she wants from me though.” She quickly stood up and smiled toward Xierlius. She pushed her hair out of her face and nodded toward him. Even though she was smiling, her lilac eyes were dull and filled with lost hope that might never return. The quickly turned her back toward him and started to walk away, the shifted earth beneath her crunching under her shoes like a fresh layer of white snow.

“Tell your sister that I said hello for me.” Xierlius yelled out toward her before she got too far away for her to hear him.

“Hah! You know Valndra hates your guts. Anyways, it’s not like she’ll kill me for saying that.” She took a glance over her shoulder and mentally noted that Cerio’s eyes were still ghost like. I wonder if that cat knows. If he tells Xierlius about it, it’ll be all over for me. A Grey spotted unicorn trotted up to her and she got on the unicorns back and rode off.

Xierlius waved even though he knew that she couldn’t see him anymore. The hawk squatted and flew away.

“That Messenger Hawk wasn’t Valndra’s you know.” Cerio quietly said. Xierlius looked at him strangely and frowned.

Xierlius sighed, “That hawk isn’t in their family at all. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen that type of hawk before. But its colors, they look faintly familiar, but where did I see a hawk like that before?”

“Not just the Hawk was strange but the presence that Uraenla gave off was strange. It was, well different than the normal magic I sense every day.”

“You mean that her magic somehow changed?”

“Well not exactly changed. Her jewel and eye color are still the same as ever.”

“What did it feel like then?”

“It was haunting, almost like she was under somebody’s own control. She also felt much more powerful than her type of magic allowed her to be.”

“You mean as powerful as an Half Blood?”

“No. It was more than that, much more.” Cerio growled once more and looked at the path that she took. Xierlius looked as well and his eyes widened.

“The way she took wasn’t toward West Eerineth where her sister Valndra is. It’s the complete opposite.” Xierlius pointed out.

“And the way she came in, it was from Alcinsar.”

“Isn’t Alcinsar the only land that wasn’t affected by all of this, Cerio?”

“That’s true. She could have just went there for some resources since many people had fled there, and is just returning there to gather her belongings.”

“Even if she did that, the only sensible way to get to West Eerineth would be to go through Northern and Southern Hierslyn.” Xierlius dipped his head were he faced the ground. He studied a wilted white flower. The soft pedals dropped in a gloomy manor, and the crisp edged were almost black in color. He stepped on the small flower, eradicating it so it fell into small pieces into the dirt-ash terrain.

“But who in the right mind would go through Hierslyn if there not a Sincaera?” Cerio’s voice started to grow louder in the frustration of her small actions.

“Any non Sincaera would be killed almost instantly if they entered Hierslyn, all because their under his rule, and they also follow that so-called god.” He looked down were the wilted white flower was once attached to its browning stem. He watched for a second as the pieces of pedals were being gently lifted away by the cool wind.

“Unless…” Cerio zoned off into the grey, destroyed world.

“She has some type of connection to him.” Xierlius said while he looked at his Spirit Beast. “This has to be reported to our queen.” Xierlius whistled a melodic tune then within seconds a classic white unicorn appeared before him. He hopped onto its back and turned ninety degrees westward then strolled forward. The heavy weight of the unicorn embedded hoof tracks into the soft terrain. Xierlius never looked back at the ruins of his home, which his family laid dead under the crumbles.

“So he leaves without saying goodbye... Hope he as something planned at least.” Cerio laughed under his breath then vanished into the air, only leaving a trail of blue mist that soon dispersed.