Silver Cathedral Saga (7 page)

“Come on,
kids’,” said Ematay. You are helping me find my way. And I believe
you have no home from what you told me on the ride here.”

“We could
stay here, though, right?” said Christian.

“Christian
is right. This place is protected. Nothing can get in. You heard
the man.”

“Older men
have a thing about exaggerating. The older you get, the deeper the
tales. It works in reverse for some, but not many on this world;
probably a symptom of getting bored with their ageing lives.”

“”There is
no valid reason to go, except guiding you back,” said Christian.
“And you don’t even need us for that. You can starport back
whenever you want.”

“You’re
both my concern now. I don’t think I could leave you. Even if I had
to,” said Ematay. “With spirit and sight, the brave will always be
right. By night and day, you will always have to pray. In a
hopeless remain, our power will stay. We protect, we save, we even
save the brave: That is our promise to ourself and our world. That
is the Spell-caster promise.”

Eleanor
pushed both her lips together, not sure what to do.

“Are you
trying to manipulate us?” said Christian.

“We don’t
know how safe this place is. I don’t want you two to be just some
more casualties in this war; some more numbers that will leave the
land of the living.”

“Neither do
we,” said Christian. “But travelling even further would mean we
could end up stepping onto even more battlefields. There is no
guarantee of safety moving on again, either.”

“Life
itself has no guaranteed safety. But as long as I am alive, you
will be kept safe with all the powers I possess. And don’t make me
pull out the ‘my brother died for you’ card’.”

Eleanor and
Christian forgot about that until now, and felt even more awful for
doing so. They knew there on—they had to go.

“I can’t
speak for Christian, but I’ll go.”

“Oh, come
on. Where would you be without me,” said Christian. “You’d never
find the place without figuring out the poem. You’d get yourselves
caught up in a fight before you even got there. Needless to say, I
have to come.”

“Then it
looks like we’re coming,” said Eleanor.

Ematay
smiled. Both the children could see he wanted the company.

“Then we
should go after some more rest,” said Ematay.

They were
then all directed to a rather nice room for each of them free of
charge.

The
pitch-black of night went on, all fourteen hours of it.

Astora
always had more night than day; ten hours were day. The reason
Astora’s people relied on star bracelets and star magick so
much.

The three
of them had no idea they would sleep so well, and as they did, they
didn’t think the day would come to them so quick.

Eleanor,
Christian and Ematay woke around the same time, and looked out the
mesmerising stained glass windows that let the light in with
different colours: With purples and yellows, with reds and blues
and whites, and even blacks and greens. They all lit up the floors
of their rooms and walls with a presence of the gods being with
them, even though they were not and could not be seen. Though they
still all felt as if they were, saying, or rather showing all
three: “We are on your side.” Each of the three took it in a
slightly different way, but they all felt similar with what it was
trying to tell them. Even though they all met up and spoke nothing
of what they felt when they awoken on that morning. Seeing now that
the stain glass windows were more than the walls around them, with
not just numbers and length and height, but also in transcending
into something the two little ones would never have guessed was
possible, not until they had come to realise it themselves
today.

They all
packed stuff the people of Silvarian let them have to help.

Eleanor
remembered one of the Romani people, a woman, before they went to
bed yesterday. She told them that “the Romani ancestors came from
the infamous planet Earth, as they were treated unfairly; so some
agreed to live on Astora—in peace, from the first ever Star-caster,
but not Starao herself. It was said she took them to a wild forest
and deep underground on Earth; it took them to a place where many
gateways existed. Then the next thing they remembered was being on
Astora. So long as they used their gifts to help the planets’
people, they could live here in peace.” The woman continued after
pondering on something:

“The
strangest thing is that none of them remembered much about their
home world after a while. I guess they wanted to push it out of
their minds,” said the Romani lady, “because there was so much
wrong with Earth’s people and their understanding of things; they
didn’t just fear the unknown—they killed it—killed us. And from
what I’ve heard, it still hasn’t changed.” The woman was then
interrupted by Ematay:

“That’s
enough of that. They don’t need insignificant details,” said
Ematay. Though it sounded as if he was for some reason annoyed and
angry, nobody could figure out why.

They
were all about to leave the place with the things they needed.
Their horse was well looked after and seemed as rested as them.

The little
group of three had to make sure that thirty hours had passed again
until they left, so they could see the star again beam down from
the darkness of space above them.

Yet another
problem came to them just before they left Silvarian. News from a
stranger said hundreds of Shadows were nearing their home. “There
can’t be more than a five minute walk away,” he said. “You can
easily see them in the distance right now.”

Ematay
flashed to the woman who ambushed them in Sunndira. He knew
Space-casters housed rare, powerful and dangerous magicks. If this
dark queen was on the enemies side, they would be slaughtered here.
Shield or no shield.

“We have to
go now. Hurry, pick up the pace,” said Ematay looking at him
stuffing food and bottles of water in their bags on the horse.

“But we
could run straight into them,” said Christian.

“Won’t we
be safer here with the Romani’s shield in place?” asked
Eleanor.

The
Star-caster, the friend of Eleanor and Christian looked at them
both and shook his head a little. He whispered the next sentence.
“They will all be killed if Sunndira is anything to go by. Romani
magick or not.” He pushed the children to move. “Don’t worry, we
still have star magick on our side; with it being night, I am not
so limited with my power now, and this won’t be a Silver Haven for
much longer if we stay.” He thought for a few moments, just
remembering something. He ran to the Silvarian’s Elder, the one in
charge. He told them to get out, and head for the one city they
believed was safe: Swansie: The breeding ground for their famous
War Swans.

The people
soon responded to the Elder’s loud words; they all began to leave
the structure, and headed for their last city, hoping it wouldn’t
be tarnished with destruction.

Ematay,
Eleanor and Christian left as the hordes from Silvarian done so.
All were on horses. The three noticed as soon as they stepped out
that there must have been a rain storm when they slept; as the path
was muddy and darker, and that beautiful smell of fresh, clean
earth fluttered through the air, of nature in its cleansed form.
Though it seemed their eyes felt heavy still.

The Shadows
were marching, making thunderous noises from the sheer number of
them pound at the ground. It would frighten the bravest and
smartest of people, no doubt about it.

All three
needed to ride on their horse in the opposite direction. The city
folk also did too, not by choice, as it was the long way round to
their destination.

Huge lines
of horses left quickly, trotting then galloping away, leaving the
city behind to its inevitable fate.

The noise
that sent trembling shivers down Eleanor and the other twos spines
didn’t go away, even after the sound did eventually disappear. It
was as if the noise was so loud and repetitive that it became
ingrained inside their heads, like an annoying, yet frightening
song.

The
Star-caster made them all invisible once more until they were out
of sight of their enemies, just in case. Although a horse riding
alone (with its saddle and gear on) and without anybody on it,
would have been suspicious for anyone to see.

They soon
fixated on the star, trying not to worry so much now, and moved
closer to its presence. Although they knew they would never reach
it, it did begin to look bigger in a suspicious way. Which they all
agreed was strange for a star.

Among one
of those needed things they packed in Silvarian, was a small map of
where they believed they would be travelling, if they were to
follow the star. It showed their journey, and even all of Eleanor
and Christian’s journey from what was once their home village.

Whilst
Eleanor talked about how much her life had drastically changed in
just a couple of days to Ematay, Christian drew on the map. Yet he
didn’t deface it too much.

He just
drew things children would. Things with a not so steady hand: Like
swords, stick men, resembling the three of them. A shield with the
symbol of Astora on: A swan. He drew a fire too. All of this was
drawn with a magickal quill, one with never ending ink; created by
the Adalasians on their own world, Adalas.

They
spent many hours riding and tried to keep to having food and rest
once or twice at the most each day.

Thoughts
plagued them all as they rode in silence of the Shadows already
having taken on the Silver Cathedral, which means their world would
no longer be as before—nor their people. All they had now was the
mere word of ‘hope’ to keep referring to. And hoped that it was on
their side in these dark, changing times. Because if they thought
on the truth of all that moved and was happening, it would disturb
even the minds of the gods right now. Let alone themselves, as mere
humanoids.

A History Told. A History Seen

As Eleanor
walked on she daydreamed too of something that seemed to have
lingered inside and felt necessary to worry about about people, but
there was still little that could be done about it on her own.

She
remembered this especially because this was the last thing she
could remember of her father. Him talking to her, telling her of
their world when it was all very new to her young eyes. He spoke of
Amaranth, and the truth behind their degrading system they passed
on to Astora, their home world. Though she didn’t understand much
of it then, she understood it all now. Maybe too well.

“It is
still caught in its medieval ways, not just with weapons and such,
but with brutality. There is a very unfair democracy; and it has
always taken place since anyone could remember on Amaranth. The
council members on this planet were always wealthy bureaucrats that
cared only about their own wealth and profit; that was all. All of
them came from a business life and background. An industry of
farming, tailoring, stable keeping, Inns, blacksmiths, protectors
and guards, amongst others. The ones that always had a sky high
profit from the many thousands of people in the one and only city.
Everything our own world is against.

Amaranth is
also the world where Spell-casters originated from, and from them
they passed on the knowledge to the other two worlds.

But Adalas
refused to use their magick; sticking with their own corrupt-less
system few know about to this day. Although it has been speculated
it is a power that was given as a gift before any were alive.

The most
well known people on Amaranth—their Edeolon warriors, are the only
power to arise from their system that gives our united Starao
nation hope for progress and betterment.

The Edeolon
Warriors will always be the strongest of all warriors; being the
first six born into every millennium, there was so little of them
to go around, which makes them all the more important to
protect.

But with
these extraordinary beings, a talent emerges when they hit the
double digits: Ten. This gives them the greatest ability of all:
And with it, it is said to be able to exceed any other living being
in the universe.

However,
that is still yet to be proven so.

Our own
world maybe medieval by its weapons, and even its magick in some
aspects, but it is about more than a system that exists on
self-gain. Even the Star-Catchers can see that: The five moons that
surround this amazing world.” She remember he looked up to two of
the moons above in the sky then.

“Astora’s
democracy is fair by nature; we rebelled from Amaranth with our
rulers, thank the gods. We have had many rulers and people who
cared about one another. Not just how much they can fit into their
pockets. This world is a combination of the Edeolon religion and
the demi god ‘Starao’, which was the most loved god, regardless of
her being half of one.

Adalas is a
much more secretive planet than Amaranth and Astora. There were
even rumours they were not entirely human; but no known person knew
if this was true or not.

Their lands
have a futuristic feel. With supposed technology none of the other
two worlds could figure out.

Their
planet was mostly filled with white, tall buildings over the
surface. Where three hundred statues that were one hundred foot
tall looked exactly the same and were spread around their land. It
was told to people that their palace was hidden, like our Silver
Cathedral’s. The very thing people remember Adalas for, was their
magickal blacksmith abilities.

Indestructible swords, shields that reflect projectiles back to the
fired target, and magick bows with no need of a single arrow; these
are only a few of what they can craft. Although they craft the
weapons to help those in need only; as Adalasians are the
peacekeepers of our Starao three worlds. Where the king of kings
lives: The king that rules over all three worlds.”