The Guardians' Pendants (The Zor Chronicles Part I) (16 page)

“Now then,” Garahi
began. “About that long story of yours…”

Ikani took a deep
breath, unsure of what to say or where to begin. Within a fragment
of a second it seemed as if whatever part of his spirits had been
raised moments ago were not falling anew as he thought back to the
events that plagued his recent memory.

“There are others,”
Ikani began. “Others like me. However, we lack something; we lack
something of great importance, actually.”

“Is that so?” Garahi
asked curiously. “And what exactly might that be?”

Ikani hesitated before
speaking. “We lack unity,” he stated finally.

For whatever reason,
Garahi appeared to find that remark somewhat humorous, as he
chuckled for a moment. “I imagine you do,” he replied. “After all,
you a
re
here alone,” he pointed out.

Ikani smiled weakly,
albeit he felt frustrated at the wise Zor’s misunderstanding,
regardless of how justified it might have been.

“I’m sorry, but… I’m
not sure that you quite understood me,” Ikani began. “What I mean
is – well – overall, we are lacking in numbers,” he stated. “There
are but four of us, one from each Satellite island. We haven’t a
Veha from the Hub to work alongside us.”

“And so you doubt the
strength of your heroic bond as Veha because of the fact that you
fall short in numbers?” Garahi asked.

Ikani nodded. “I am not
alone, though. No matter where I go, it seems as if the title of
Veha before my name stands as but a reason for which I can be
mocked; I continuously stand in the face of doubt,” he explained.
“Great danger is amiss, Garahi. We attempted to inform Tavar
Nuraka, though he simply dismissed us as frauds do to our shortage
in numbers and our failure to complete his test of our
strength.”

Garahi eyed him as he
began to take food off of the fire, handing at least two rations
worth of it to Ikani, who accepted it graciously and without
question.

“And that,” the wise
Zor began, “is where you are misguided. Do you honestly believe
that Veha Oren would do anything to intentionally jeopardize your
success as the new Veha of Paradius, Ikani?” he
asked.

“Oren!” Ikani
exclaimed. “You know of him, then?”

Garahi chuckled. “Of
course I do!” he answered, suddenly quite lively as the sound of
the name appeared to draw upon endless memories. “A great hero of
this land indeed. But I am sure you would know that as well, of
course. I am assuming you have met him before?”

At that, Ikani retraced
his steps of the past. He thought back to his early days in
Paradius – days of great wonder and of endless
discovery.

“I have,” Ikani
recalled. “It was on one of my very first days working in the
mines!” he began. “I remember struggling greatly at first – my
squadron has reached a rather stubborn patch in the rock, you see.
It was then that I remember it; it came out of nowhere, really,”
his tone was also rich with nostalgia by now. “A hand came down on
my shoulder. Immediately, I felt reassured and more determined than
ever to break through. Then came a voice… it said,
‘
keep it up, young miner. Someday,
you will prove to be a great asset to the Zor of this
land.’”

At that moment,
something appeared to click in Ikani’s mind.

“Oren,” Ikani breathed.
He turned back to Garahi. “Do you mean to tell me that it was Oren…
who chose us?”

Garahi merely
smiled.

“Well?” he
asked.

Garahi did not offer
any sort of answer to Ikani’s question when he next
spoke.

“Do
not listen to those who question you, Ikani – rather, question
those who
doubt
you,” he stated with great
confidence.

“How do you… how do you
know my name?” Ikani asked, his eyes wide with
shock.

“I know more than you
think,” Garahi answered, his hand now reaching for his headscarf.
“For I am not exactly who you believe me to be.”

As the headscarf fell
over the wise Zor’s shoulders, Ikani was overcome with
disbelief.

“Tavar… Havea?” he
stuttered. “But… you were supposed to have died!” Ikani
exclaimed.

Havea laughed. “Well, I
was also supposed to be Garahi, was I not?” he asked. “And you, my
dear Ikani, were
supposed
to have stuck
together with the others! Do you see now how often we all stray
from the paths that we are supposed to take?” he
asked.

Ikani, still awestruck
and hungry for answers, was unsure of what to say.

“Yes,” he said finally.
“But… I still don’t understand. If you aren’t dead, then why did
you vacate the position of Tavar? You were a fantastic ruler!” he
exclaimed.

At that, Havea’s
expression grew somber. “Believe me, if I had been given the
choice, I would still be watching over my beloved homeland today,”
he replied. “I was forced to step down.”

“Forced?” Ikani asked,
surprised.

Havea
nodded.

“But by
whom?”

The wise Zor sighed. “I
believe you know of him, Ikani,” Havea began. “He captured me… it
was Remula.”

“
Remula
captured you?” the Veha cried out in chock.
“But how? Why? Was it because you dismissed him eighteen long years
ago? Does he still hold a grudge even now?”

Havea appeared suddenly
troubled, fidgeting about and opening his mouth one moment before
closing it the next, unsure of where to begin.

“While I have no doubt
that this is true, and that he almost certainly still holds a
grudge, there is still a great deal that you must know about
Remula, Ikani,” Havea stated. “It started nearly fifty years ago to
this day,” he recalled. “We had just received the terrible news of
the passing of our last Chief of Security. Died during a routine
practice drill, actually. After a lengthy period of evaluation, it
was unanimously decided amongst all of us in the Authority that
young Remula was best suited for the job. His existence here may
still have been short at the time, but while his spirit was young
and still growing, his supreme skill and excellent enthusiasm was
unmatched by any other. We had no doubts in our minds that he
should become our new Security Chief.”

Havea stood up and
began to pace around the cavern, continuing. “For a while, things
went wonderfully. Paradius was under the trustworthy eyes of the
Veha as well as a wonderful new group of Guards lead by Remula
himself. Though I am still to this day sorry to say that things did
not remain that way for long.”

“In what way?” Ikani
asked, though part of him figured that he already knew the
answer.

“You see, Ikani, Remula
had always been of the curious type,” Havea began anew. “The more
he knew, the more he wanted to know. And as Security Chief, he was
entitled to know even the most classified of secrets known to
Paradius Authority. Some of these things were not even known to
Veha Oren and his company. And naturally, regardless of one’s
standing amongst our people, one will always hear a great number of
rumors – legends, if you will. However, Remula became quite caught
up in these legends as time passed by. He began to inquire about
many secrets; he even asked me directly on several occasions if
there were any rumored secret areas on the Five Islands,
unbeknownst to the general population, left over from Distant past
and the time of the Gods themselves.”

“And?” Ikani begged.
“Did such places exist?”

“If they do,” Havea
began, “they exist without my knowledge. But that was not the end
for Remula; he persisted, be sure. He learned the tongue of the
Sirens, questioning those who had surveyed these lands for as long
as we Zor, those who have witnessed our growth, surely holding and
passing on many secrets of their own.”

“What did they tell
him?” Ikani yearned to know more.

“About that, I cannot
be sure,” Havea replied. “For it was soon after he began to enslave
those very same Sirens who whom he appealed for help and to fight
alongside him that I decided to relieve him of his duties. The
Sirens, being the reserved creatures that they are, strongly
opposed Remula’s forced rule over them, though they knew they were
no match for the chief himself. And thus they took their anger out
on innocent Zor, and I would have nothing of it. For eighteen long
years after that I never did hear much of Remula again. For quite
some time I wondered if he had died somewhere along his way. Until
one night, when I was preparing to retire for the
evening.

Ikani moved now to the
edge of his seat. “What happened then?” he asked.

“I
was captured,” Havea replied. “Before I had even become aware of
the intruder upon me, I was taken and locked away somewhere deep
beneath the foundation of the same Tavar Mafa over which I ruled.
It was there that the assailant revealed himself to be none other
than Remula. From there on, he questioned me relentlessly,
threatening me with torture if I refused to comply. He told me what
he had been up to – that he had been scouring the Five Islands for
years in search of the one thing, the one
legend
that had always eluded him…”

“What was that
legend?”

Havea paused for a
moment, taking a deep breath and gazing deep into Ikani’s hungry
eyes. “The Shrine of the Gods.”

Chapter XIV – Flight
Towards Light

“What is the Shrine of
the Gods?” Ikani asked Havea, confused. He had never heard of such
a place before.

“Legend has it, Ikani, that somewhere deep beneath the ground
on which we walk lies a secret room, left here by the Gods
themselves before their departure. Virtually nothing more is known
in regards to its contents, and most argue against the very
existence of the place altogether,” Havea answered.

“And so… did he find
it?” Ikani questioned. “Did Remula find the Shrine of the
Gods?”

“I cannot be sure,”
replied Havea truthfully. “It was shortly after being captured that
I was rescued by Veha Oren,” he added. “He brought me here,
returning but once afterwards. That was the last I ever saw of
him.”

Ikani’s expression was
downturned now, feeling helpless against an enemy of which he was
already greatly fearful. “What are we to do, then?” he asked
desperately.

“Use the power that you
have been given by the Gods,” Havea answered. “And locate the
Shrine yourselves.”

“But I thought you said
it was but a legend!” Ikani pointed out, confused.

“I did,” replied Havea,
a slightly smile escaping across his face. “But that is not to say
that I do not believe.”

Suddenly, there came
the familiar sound of the Firewolf’s growling once
again.

“Kanae! Have you not
had enough to eat yet?” Havea asked the animal, chuckling as he
aimed to toss him another charred piece of meat off of the fire. He
stopped, however, upon coming to the realization that the wolf was
not growling at them, but rather at the silhouettes that had
somehow made their way into the tunnel unbeknownst to Ikani and the
wise Zor.

“Guards,” Ikani
breathed, frozen by a sudden cold wave of fear.

“Worse,” Have hissed.
“Sirens.”

Ikani readied his
sword. “Get behind me!” he commanded. Havea quickly obeyed, just in
time for the first group of Sirens to round the corner. Their eyes
remained unseen from beyond their low hoods, but still Ikani could
feel them – ice cold, staring him down.

“Retreat at once,
Sirens!” Ikani commanded. “We mean no harm!”

His orders seemed to
only make them angrier, however, as the closest Siren to them let
out a loud shriek that seemed to come from all directions, bouncing
off all walls of the cavern until it was actually coming from all
over as the others joined in as well. Immediately afterwards, they
began to charge.

Ikani gave a swift
swing of his sword, sending a wave of fire coursing in the
direction of the Sirens. It was quickly dodged by the leading
group, who had now readied swords of their own and had leapt
towards Ikani. He ducked, dodging blades of steel in all
directions, all whilst trying to protect Havea and Kanae who
remained close behind him.

“It’s no use!” Havea
cried out in dismay as the Sirens began to encircle them. “We’re
surrounded!”

And surrounded they
were. Dozens of Sirens now filled the inside of the tunnel, forming
a circle around the two Zor. Almost on cue with their near
surrender, however, came a great rumbling from above
them.