In the realm of Zariel, every person can manipulate one of the four elements their zodiac belongs to - Fire, Earth, Air or Water.
Tamie Wingfield dreams to become the greatest Zodiac Master of all time. For that, she decides to join the Rose Cruce...
"So what's the news?" a vile chuckle was heard from a throne in a dark hall.
The guy to whom this question was addressed took off his hood and revealed his short blond hair and shining blue eyes.
"So far all good... I checked her out".
"Did she prove to your brother's expectations, Jan?"
Thunder sparkled through the dark night sky.
"She did. She is strong and I think after some training sessions she'll unlock her spirit too. Then I'll be able to take over her body and unseal my brother at last..." Jan sighed with sorrow in his tone.
"Oh, that's quite good news indeed..."
"But we've got several problems".
"Huh?" the boy on the throne jumped down, revealing his brown hair and hazel eyes full of inner rage and sadness. He wore black clothing, a Saturn medallion with a brown gem in its center, and had tailed goat tattoos on arms. "Like what problems, Jan?"
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"First of all, what Fiorette Wagner, the daughter of your order's funder, has told you, is true - Tamie indeed possesses a powerful muse, and she even rose five ranks in a single fight when that guy first emerged. I fear that at Rank Six when she reaches the level to summon the muse by herself, I won't be able to take over her body anymore, as that muse seems quite powerful and it shall throw me out. So we must operate as fast as we can".
"And the other problem?"
"The other problem is that the Silver Venus Celestial Lord is actually Georg Braun, as far as one of the girls in Rose Cruce has told me. Georg Braun is the Bearer of the Taste, and he seems to be the only one of those five Bearers who survived after sealing my brother and still hasn't been found by Gustav Jaeger, who's hunting Bearers down. Georg might cause me a problem in falsifying the Zariel archives about my brother, which will lead us into a huge disaster - if Rose Cruce members find out Erik is sealed and what they had been seeing was only his telepathic projection, they will haste to finish locking the seal (you know Edmund is a Bearer too so it won't be a problem for him to gather other Bearers), and I will fail to finish my job and unlock the seal completely. Our whole work will be in vain".
The brown-haired guy sneered:
"I can't let that jerk recreate the alliance of Bearers and lock even that small portion of Erik's seal that you've already unlocked during your life. Ugh, those bastard Jaegers always stick their noses into others' affairs! Even Fiorette's father, Lord Marvin was defeated by him. I will shortly run out of my funds. Ugh, damn that Edmund!"
They heard a sarcastic chuckle, and both of them hastily looked at a dark corner. Erik stepped out of there, his arms crossed. Both of the boys widened eyes seeing him:
"Erik?!"
"I overheard your conversation. Those problems aren't really problems, you know, Jan... First of all, you are now considered a Rose Cruce friend, so Tamie will naively trust you as she always does. You go on and work on her Zen and spirit powers, not the Writer Craft ones, so she won't be able to raise a rank. As for Georg Braun," his eyes angrily flashed once he remembered one of the people who sealed him, "dispatch your finest Zodiac Masters, Goldmund," he now looked at the brown-haired guy, "and get rid of him before Edmund, Lord Nick, and their friends find out about him. It's easy".
Both of the boys widened eyes. Goldmund grinned:
"Good idea..."
He whistled. Three covered-faced, black-cloaked people jumped down the ceiling:
"Yes, Magister!"
"Ninja Trio, you are the best of the Illuminant Darkness Order. Go and get rid of Georg Braun the Silver Venus Lord!"
"Yes, Magister!" the three Ninja yelled and vanished in dark smoke.
"Well, I'll be going now. I hope you'll wake me up soon," Erik grinned.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, you'll get free soon enough... Oh, and you remember our promise, right? That you are to wipe out Rose Cruce Order once you awaken".
"Huh, I don't forget anything. I have my own grudge against those fools. It was Wilhelm Jaeger who gathered those five Bearers to seal me, after all".
"Then I guess it's decided," Goldmund smiled with a vile sense of triumph. Erik and Jan disappeared, as one was an Illusionary Clone and the other - only a Ghost Clone. Once they vanished, he sighed and sat back on his throne, taking out a small locket. A tear streamed down his cheek: "Damn. Oh, Auntie Luna..."
He opened the locket and closed his eyes, listening to soft, melodic tunes:
"Hear my voice,
My powerful chant,
That's my lullaby...
Baby, baby, sleep on tight
Under the starry sky..."
(Song lyrics were written by the author, and sung by Lisa Schettner, on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thTbxfpxPXo )
The voice from the locket continued singing - the voice of his beloved aunt - and he, just like in his deep childhood, fell into a deep slumber under its chant...
