Uneasy Alliances Chapter 3
Secrets and Lies
By The Game God
12021 BC:
The trio was thrown out of the vortex onto a grassy, windswept plain. Schala rose to her feet and gasped, she saw the Kingdom of Zeal before her eyes. Glenn moved towards the sorcerer, "It appears you’ve failed again, Magus."
Magus gazed at the Chronixtal; "I need to re-energize the Chronixtal somehow." He looked around; "With as much magical energy Zeal produces, I don’t think that will be a problem."
"The Mammon Machine, then?" Glenn asked.
"No." Schala said. She turned around; "The Mammon Machine doesn’t exist." Both Glenn and Magus stared at her, confused. "Look around, no Blackbird, no Enhasa… I would say we are in a time before my father took the throne."
"Then how will we re-energize the Chronixtal?" Glenn asked.
Magus looked to the west, "The only other way we can… the Sunstone."
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The trio headed towards the Sun Palace, shrouded in the dark of night. "I will be able to open the Sun Palace…" Schala stared, "… but the Sunstone is guarded by a creature created by the original four Gurus of Zeal, known as the Son of Sun."
Glenn drew his sword, "I doubt that it will pose much of a threat."
Schala put her hand on Glenn’s arm, "No, you cannot destroy the Son of Sun."
"Why not?" the knight asked.
"Schala sighed, "When I was eight, Zeal fought a war against a man named Mosk’leono, the Guru of Eternity. Though I hate to admit it, Dalton saved Zeal from Mosk’leono’s army."
"Such irony." Glenn said.
"During the war, Mosk’leono attempted to breach the Sun Palace and capture the power of the Sunstone. His soldiers were held back by the Son of Sun long enough for Dalton and his forces to arrive and stop them. Mosk’leono was tried and sentenced to exile by my father, the King of Zeal. It was not long after that that my father died and my mother ascended the throne."
"Should not you have taken your father’s place?" Glenn asked. Schala said nothing. The door of the Sun Palace lay before the trio. A plaque near the door read: ‘San diam Zeal. Ka futarous sa de terra jorl vithnen. Ka Zum Klase.’ which was Archaic for ‘Kingdom of Zeal. The ultimate power on earth lies within. The Sun Palace.’
Schala put her hand to the door. She closed her eyes and her pendant began to glow. The door soon opened. As the trio moved inside, they saw the beautiful white gold walls and statues inside. The design greatly resembled the Ocean Palace.
As they moved towards the Sunstone, a fiery beast floated down from the ceiling, "Don nga ka Proge di Zum!" it said.
Schala stepped forward, "Caemanesan, Proge di Zum, don nga Schala, Juysess e Zeal." Glenn looked to Magus, the sorcerer was not translating the princess’ words. "Ar ne meacol, no feyma tu nere allaan, dey jamira tuu loran asira, vi chea ti Zumshune."
The creature remained silent for a moment. "What did you say to it?" Glenn asked.
"I challenged it, if we can defeat one of it’s fire creatures, we can use the Sunstone."
"Vea, kaara tu me!" the Son of Sun said. A beast of fire appeared before us. A wave of fire shot out from the beast. Schala stepped in front of Magus and Glenn. She put her hands together and a barrier of swirling light appeared in front of the trio, blocking the fire. Glenn ran forward and slashed at the beast, the Masamune passing through him.
The creature blasted Glenn across the room with his fire. Glenn gritted his teeth, "Perhaps a different form attack." He held out his hand, a wave of water burst from his fingers at the beast. The creature jumped back from the water.
Magus turned to the knight; "I believe you have the right idea…" he turned back to the creature, "… Ebony Ice!" he shouted. Waves of black sleet poured around creature. A wave of fire shot out from the creature, knocking the trio to the ground.
"We should combine our powers." Schala said. Magus and Schala rose to their feet and fired wave after wave of light and shadow magic at the beast, paralyzing it. Glenn gripped the hilt of the Masamune tight, magical energy swirling around the blade. He leapt towards the creature and slashed it down the center. The fiery beast vanished.
The Son of Sun nodded as the trio moved towards the Sunstone. Magus placed the Chronixtal on the Sunstone. A violent flash of light ensued filling the Chronixtal with a cool, white glow. "Now to send you home, Glenn."
"Halt!" A group of soldiers in white armor stood at the door, weapons drawn on the trio. "You’re under arrest by order of the king!"
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The trio was lead into a room in Zeal Palace, hands bound. A fifteen-year-old girl with silver hair moved towards the young soldier who had captured the trio. She ran her hand across his cheek, "You did well, Dalton, you’ll make Sergeant for this. You are dismissed." Dalton left as the girl sat on a small throne and picked up the Chronixtal from the table next to her; "I am Ynarra, the prince’s betrothed and future Queen of Zeal."
"Perhaps we should speak with the king." Magus said.
Ynarra grew angry, "The incompetent fool, he wouldn’t know what to do with you, your fate is in my hands."
"We are not afraid of you." Schala said.
"You will be." Ynarra said. She held out her hand and forced Schala across the room with her magic. Glenn and Magus rushed towards her. She used her power to force the two away from her. She moved closer to Schala, "Your friends will be exiled, you will die." She used her magic to again force Schala back against the wall. The force had loosened Schala’s bound hands.
"Prism Rain!!" she shouted, firing swirling light at her future mother. The assault caused her to drop the Chronixtal. Schala picked up the crystal before she endured another shock from Ynarra.
"You will die!" She channeled her power and released at Schala. Glenn broke free and blocked Ynarra’s power with the Masamune. Blocking the brunt of the attack knocked Glenn back away the future queen. "Infidels!" she shouted. She raised her hand and released again, this time being stopped by Schala’s prismic barrier.
"Chains of Darkness, hold her fast!" Magus shouted. Black mist bound Ynarra’s hands. Magus moved towards the others and took the Chronixtal from Schala. Ynarra broke the ebon chains. Magus held the Chronixtal high above his head; "The destruction of Zeal is on your head." Ynarra released her magic, but to no avail, the trio was already gone.
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178 BC:
The trio landed on a silent battlefield at sunset. They moved to the remnants of an old building, "Where are we now, Magus?" Glenn asked.
"I got us out of there as fast as I could, you should be grateful you’re alive." the sorcerer replied.
"Where are we?" Schala asked.
Glenn looked around, "I’d say we are in Guardia, or rather what will be Guardia."
"Guardia?" Schala asked.
Glenn sat down next to the princess, "There was a war that lasted for a thousand years. The world was ruled by four factions that were locked in constant combat. The war ended when a wise knight proposed a truce. The factions united and appointed the knight as their king. He named his new kingdom after his wife, Guardia."
"A thousand-year war." Schala said.
Glenn continued, "I am a knight of Guardia, the Captain of the Knights of the Square Table, a group of mighty warriors who serve the king and queen. In my time, Guardia is still recovering from a different war."
"Against whom?" Schala asked.
Glenn pointed towards the sorcerer, "Him."
She rose and moved towards him. She moved her hand to touch his face, "Who are you?"
Magus turned and grabbed her wrist, "No one to be trifled with."
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In the dark of the night, after Glenn and Schala had gone to sleep. Magus stood in the field near the old building. He drew his scythe and practiced his combat skills. Swinging his scythe in the air, reflecting the moonlight. When he was finished, he drove the pike at the end of the scythe into the ground as a shaft of dark energy shot up around him.
He clasped his scythe tight, it turned into his cape and he draped it around his shoulders. He turned to see Schala standing near a tree, "I know who you are.." she said. He turned away, "… you’re Janus."
He turned back to her, "Not anymore."
She moved to him, "What happened to you."
For a brief moment, a wave of compassion flowed through Magus before he said, "You know how I disappeared from the Ocean Palace…"
"Yes, Janus."
He turned around sharply, "That is not my name!" he shouted.
"I’m sorry… Magus."
He continued, "I landed in the mountains north of here in the middle ages." He put his hand over the amulet on his chest-plate, "Your amulet protected me. I was raised by a wizard known as the Great Ozzie. In time, he had used me as his pawn to mass forces of Mystics against Guardia."
"And you attacked Guardia." Schala asked.
"I did nothing, Ozzie ran my armies. All I wanted to do was destroy Lavos."
"How do you know Glenn?" she asked.
Magus looked away, "He and his partner, Cyrus, intended to destroy me. I couldn’t allow that, not before I destroyed Lavos, so I killed Cyrus and turned Glenn into a frog."
Schala gasped, "You killed his partner." Magus nodded. "And you feel no remorse."
"None." Magus said.
Schala stared at him for a time, trying to see her brother in Magus’ icy eyes. "What happened after that?"
Magus growled, "I tried to bring Lavos to my castle. Glenn and his friends interrupted the ceremony and defeated me in hand-to-hand combat. Lavos still arrived and a time gateway opened that swallowed my entire castle. That was when I arrived in Zeal."
"And you disguised yourself as the Prophet."
He nodded, "It was my last chance to destroy Lavos… and I failed."
"What happened after I sent you and the others to safety?"
"I joined Glenn and his friends in rescuing the boy and together we destroyed Lavos."
"You actually destroyed Lavos?"
"Not until 1999." Magus replied. "After that I tried to find a way to rescue you."
"So you are in there somewhere, Janus."
Magus turned, "What?"
She smiled, "If you were truly Magus, you wouldn’t have gone through all of this to save me."
"You’re delusional."
"Am I, Janus."
Magus thrust his hand towards one of the nearby trees, blowing it apart, "That is not my name!!!" Schala backed away from the sorcerer. Perhaps Janus was truly gone.
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Glenn awoke to see the Zealian princess watching the sunrise. "Good morning, your highness." he said.
She smiled, "Please, Schala."
He nodded, "Schala. Did you sleep well?"
She sighed, "Magus told me about your partner… I’m sorry."
"I’m sure he feels no regret over Cyrus’ murder."
She lowered her head, "You’re right, he doesn’t."
"Where is he?" Glenn asked, looking around.
"He went to find us something to eat before we leave." Glenn nodded and gazed at the rising sun. "If you hate Magus so much…" Schala started, "… why are you helping him?"
Glenn sighed, "I’m not helping him…" he turned towards Schala, "… I’m helping you."
"Why, you hardly know me."
"You remind me of a friend of mine, Leene."
"Your girlfriend?" Schala asked.
"She is my queen." Glenn replied. "I must return to Guardia…" he looked at Schala, "… what are you going to do?" Schala sighed, she knew that Zeal, the only home she had ever known, was gone.
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Magus, Glenn and Schala stood in the middle of the battlefield. "Now, to send you home." Magus said to Glenn. He held the Chronixtal high above the high above his head. The vortex swirled around the trio, hurling them through time to the middle ages.
.