Silver Cathedral Saga (8 page)
The child
then fell into another direction with her daydreaming, much like
Christian did. Without the memory of her father attached. Though
this was very much connected to what she was told by her father, to
a degree.
She was on
a field with a mass of people from all three worlds on Astora with
her mother. She was near Christian even at this time, and him with
his sister and mother also. The entire hordes were quiet, waiting
to hear from someone who stood in front of the sight of the crowds
still amassing even now. Everyone stood in a thick, large, circle,
focussing on this man.
“Once a
year there is this competition between Amaranth, Adalas and
Astora,” said the man all eyes were waiting for. He’d spoken so
concise and proper and loud, though not loud as if it felt forced
and caused his voice to crack. “The victorious is given nothing,
other than the satisfaction of their pride. The loser is given just
as little, except the bitter feelings of jealousy, resentment and
shame that comes along with losing.”
Eleanor
knew the game was created to keep the worlds sharp at battle for
the times they would have no other choice but to do so. So when the
time did come, their skills where still as strong and sharp as they
were hundreds of years ago, which is when this competition
began.
Yet that
all changed last year.
The king of
kings, who held this competition and had just spoken, began to see
the fierce competitive spirit in too many and it began to come
through with his words. Unlike all others, the king of kings could
see the sense of things other people could not. He knew what would
happen if the angered Astorians lost to another game against
Amaranth this time.
It
seemed the king of kings could see things that may be so, yet it
was never clear if he truly could. Maybe the wise could see many
more paths of truth than those who have lived so little in
comparison
, though Eleanor to herself, tilting her head in the
now to see some sense in what she thought.
The king of
kings continued in her daydream:
“My Starao
people, you seem to have forgotten the point in this game. It was
to keep your minds on the goal: To survive against the true
enemies. Out there. I will not stand by and let your humanity
destroy what has taken too long to be built between our three
planets. I will not let the Starao worlds go back to war, nor allow
this game to fuel it to do so. So, from this day forth, there will
be no games, no competition. Only training. Training with our own
people, from our own worlds. I have sat in the darkness in the past
more than anyone should have to: Letting greed kill too many, and
make the few rich—whilst the rest suffer. It has happened too often
in the past, and I will not let it repeat itself. I will not let
competition eat every single one of us up—not again. Not this time.
Not this day!”
“We’re
here,” said Ematay interrupting Christian’s thoughts; his
daydream.
Eleanor and
Ematay looked above them. They stood before the Mistless Mountain:
A mountain that no clog had ever formed around, though no one knew
exactly why.
It stood so
tall they could not see the tip at this angle, and the clogs they
travelled through made sure they could not from a distance easily
either.
“Now what?”
said Eleanor to Christian. She looked back to the thick mist
clouding their path they had just taken.
Christian
whispered to himself: “’You might mistake it for a star. But then
that means you’re not so far. Within this structure there are many.
Although the two with jewels will help you plenty…’” He frowned at
the base of the mountain. “The real question is if the mountain is
the structure the riddle is talking about. Does it house something
more secretive inside.” He paused in thought. “I’m not sure.” The
boy looked to the bright, close star now, and showed a facial
expression that he just discovered something. He got off the horse
and traced their steps back a few paces, seeing a light he did not
notice before radiate from the star; the light was hardly
noticeable because of its size, unless you waited for a minute like
Christian; and measured the small, strong white light on the ground
with a bit of string he had always kept in his pocket.
It moved.
Granted, it wasn’t far; yet it had still moved noticeable enough
for eyes that could see minute detail.
“What is
it?” said Eleanor getting of the horse. She looked at the hills
blocking anybody from seeing them on one side, and the mountain on
the other. They were alone, and they most certainly felt it.
“I think
we’ve been looking for this in the wrong place,” said Christian.
“The light from the star is moving. Which means either the star is
tracking something, or is guiding us to where we want to go.”
“Do you
think it is the—” Eleanor was interrupted:
“I really
do. Only, if it is, then that means the Silver Cathedral is right
beneath us.”
The
Star-caster thought of something suddenly then vanished from sight,
for a few seconds.
He became
visible again, scaring the two children briefly, and spoke: “I
could see invisible light when I was invisible; from the star you
are talking about. I think you might be right with this one. It is
directing us inside.”
“With this
one? I haven’t been wrong yet,” said Christian, annoyed. He waited
a moment before carrying on. “It flies. Yes. There is no doubt
about it: The Silver Cathedral is floating in-between the floating
land we are standing on now and the sea below. And this star is
showing us where it is. I think. I hope. No, no, no. I know.”
“What do
you need us for?” asked Eleanor, “if you can carry a two way
conversation with yourself.”
“oh, hardy
ha ha madam find a lot,” replied Christian.
“I could of
told you that,” said Ematay. “If you asked. And the light seems to
be moving very slowly towards the Mistless Mountain,” said the
Star-caster. “Please stay on track folks.”
“Then I
believe that is where we’ll find the jewels to get us there,” said
Christian.
The three
of them made their way into the mountain.
None were
entirely sure what laid inside, so it was a mystery to all. Which
made the curious thoughts more harmful than not for the group.
About an hour passed before they decided they could no longer
use their stallion inside the narrow pathways, meaning they had to
let the poor mammal go alone.
It started to ‘nay’ as it saw the three of them
leave its side.
“Go on. Be off with you,” shouted Ematay. The
horse stood just looking at him still until he gave it nudge to
move on and away; it eventually walked off, reluctantly.
“I hope he’ll be okay,” said Christian.
“I am sure he will be fine. Now, let us see what
lies on this narrow path ahead.”
They all moved forward yet again and carried what
they needed, but had to sacrifice one bag full of things they
thought they wouldn’t need. The horse carried it for them on the
saddle and it was too heavy to carry for one person
alone.
The blue light from the star somehow shone through
the mountain and into the interior’s paths and walkways. Water
dripped when it went quiet, without the sound of hooves to comfort
them.
The brown rock changed its colours to be deeper
and lighter in a subtle way that it wouldn’t be noticeable unless
they looked back.
Eleanor and Christian now realised they couldn’t
relax on the horse like they had done before, and as they were
about to plod on Ematay put his hand out to stop the children on a
much bigger path ahead. “This is not good.” He spoke softly looking
up.
“What?” asked Eleanor and Christian at almost the
same time, not being so quiet.
“Pixies,” said the Star-caster pointing up to the
ceiling in a way for them to notice. “We will have to be extra
careful.”
Ematay started to move slowly first, but not to
move through the wide path. “It is a good thing that they sleep so
much.” The Star-caster took of his star band, and gestured for the
children to do so too, and they did.
The blue starlight suddenly zipped from their
bands as they took them off.
All three of them crept through the path which
resembled a wide hall; the Pixies above slept in holes they made
inside spikes of rock that hung like sharp weapons ready to drop.
You could see the beings were blue, but with a tint of grey. The
reason they knew this was because when Pixies slept they glowed in
the dark when they were in a deep sleep, dreaming: Lots of greyish,
blue faint lights shone from the ceiling, lighting their way down
the path as they moved, so there was no real need for their
star-metal bands.
They
soon enough got out of the way of the Pixie nest. It wasn’t a long
room they lived in, just wide.
“Phew,”
said Ematay. “That was close.”
“I don’t
understand,” said Eleanor. “From what I was told, Pixies don’t
cause much trouble. Other than their Silver Dust.”
“For an
adult they wouldn’t cause any trouble at all. Other than that
particular thing you just mentioned. But they have been known to
kidnap children. I don’t think they mean to cause harm, but they
love the company of little ones. It has been known that a few
children have… changed; but when they played with the Pixies a
substantial amount, and in a strange way.”
“How so?”
asked Christian.
“… They
turned in to one.”
“By the
gods,” said Christian.
“I guess
there have been hundreds of children kidnapped by them over the
years,” said Ematay. “Because they are not few in number.”
The two
children were somewhat scared and shocked now.
“Their
Silver Dust: It’s one mighty addictive substance. That’s how they
get the children to stay with them so long. Their magick dust casts
illusions. Ones the individuals desire the most. It affects
everyone the same, yet they exclusively use it on children. So
there are some addicts around who keep them locked up to use their
dust. I suppose living a life of ones desire can be more of a dream
than an addiction. Yet it has made people do some horrible things
to their own kind; so they could go back into their own fake world.
That is why it has been banned.”
“How
fascinating,” said Eleanor, being more intrigued than frightened
now.
“There is
no doubt that it is interesting,” said Christian. “But I think you
should take your own advice Ematay, and keep focused.
“You cheeky
beggar,” said Ematay. “Although you have a point. We should
continue.”
They all
turned their heads to see there were more narrow paths that
followed the wider one now.
To
their surprise, the narrow path didn’t last long; it led them to
more of a room that the Pixies were just in.
A one where
statues laid in every corner. The carved stones resembled
themselves in many ways, and the fourth must have been the horse
they let go before. Eleanor knew this because the animal had a dark
brown patch of fur on the back, near its tail. It was scratched
onto the stone to give the same effect.
“By Emae
and Remor,” said Eleanor. “It’s… us. She looked at the statue of
herself.” About two seconds later, she noticed both of what was her
eyes faded away—and became vibrant red jewels. “Rubies,” she said
to herself bending down to take a closer look.
She noticed
the blue light from the star now stopped in this room before
everybody else on the floor.
The others
examined each of the statues before facing their own.
The jewels
suddenly presented themselves to who they were carved from whilst
they looked upon them. As if they were presenting the right
onlooker with a present.
“Christian,
two of my eyes has just turned into red gems… of course. The two
jewels, they are the eyes.”
“Mine too,”
said Ematay.
“Could
these statues be ‘the ones with jewels’. The ones which ‘will help
you’, or us, ’plenty’? These folks never do anything straight
forward, do they.”
Christian
took the red jewels from the eyes. Instantly, he could see people
move within one of the rubies, although when he tilted it, they
were not inside, like they appeared. They were just being shown to
him. The same with both gems.
“Pick up
both of your jewels.” They done just that. “Well, can you see
anything?”
“No,” said
Ematay, “I can see the Silver cathedral instead. No people.” His
eyes saw the familiar place he lived.
The
cathedral was flying on what looked like a rock of some sort.
Little did people imagine it would be between the land in the air,
and the sea below. It was hidden under the land, floating far
enough above the water to not cause ripples and signal its
whereabouts whilst it remained unseen. At the same time, it looked
as if the rock was one with the structure, and intertwined with
it.
The rock
was great in scale and depth. Though it looked more like windows,
for seeing around an entire three hundred and sixty degrees, like a
’watch tower’, but not so much a tower: It was more like a ‘watch
under’. All of this could be seen as the Silver Cathedral was
floating in the gem; with a red tint to it because of the jewel.
There was no silver to give the place its exact name, at least not
from Ematay’s sight of it right now.
“I can,”
said Eleanor. As she finished saying her last word, all the jewels
glowed a vicious scarlet, and covered the naturally built room over
the slow formation of time.