Avil was being pulled along by Yeva who was hurrying up the brick laid path, heading up to the portion of the township that lay at the top of the nearest plateau. For all he tried, Avil couldn't see beyond the plateau, there were a stone wall built along the edge of the cliff that was hiding the majority of the buildings behind it. However beyond it he could see a structure that stood far taller than the others, a stone obelisk carved of a multiple different materials and decorated with a variety of differing gems. From the distance he could make out the varying patterns that the gems made. The red rubies were all straight lines and rectangles, the blue sapphires were smooth and rounded ovals, while the green emeralds were all rigid and oddly formed zigzags. All along the obelisk he could see that the gems were actually pulsating as though the stone structure itself had a heart beat of its own.
"Where exactly are we going?" Avil asked still jogging after the smaller girl. "I mean what's up here?"
"The King's Monument of course." Yeva called back stopping so suddenly in front of a wall that Avil nearly ran right into her. "Hold on."
He managed to stop himself of course though just barely, she let go of his arm and raised her hand up and for the briefest of moments her hand shone with the same shimmering light that hung in the sky. And just like that the wall before them lit up with hundreds, no thousands of intricate runes, all of which reflected the prismatic glow of Yeva's hand. Before them was a large layered ring with many intricate lines connecting here and there. Yeva turned her own hands left, right, and left again, the lines and rings following her hand's movements until the lines all formed a straight line heading towards the center of the rings.
The moment the rings and lines all matched up with each other, did the ring show with a bright light and suddenly the rock wall vanished. The glowing rings had warped the stone, turning the wall into a fairly long tunnel through the cliff side. Avil looked on with wide eyes at the tunnel that'd just appeared before him, he'd heard that such doors like this existed but he'd never thought he'd actually get to see one in person. Allurrings is what they were called, doors that were hidden throughout the world, left by the Celestials themselves for the Mortals to use as gateways to hidden sanctuaries. Usually they required a certain type of spell to unlock but this one- Avil didn't even know where to begin with guessing how this one worked.
"An Allurring." He said unable to hide his amazement with the sight of the gateway.
"Is that what you call them in the Underworld?" Yeva asked letting her hand fall back to her side before pulling her sleeve back down to cover her hand. "We call them Aveiries. Gates left by the Avesia long ago before even the first Mortal drew breath. This one that guards our Kings' Monument can only be unlocked by one of the Lavians, it won't open for anyone else. " Yeva turned to look at Avil and gave him a smile. "Come on before it closes."
She began to walk inside and Avil hurried in right behind her, his eyes going all around to the tunnel as they did. Adorning the walls, floor, and ceiling he could see cyan colored markings of Celestin, the language of the Celestials. He'd seen it written in some of the books in his father's library, but he'd never really had any interest in studying it before. How he regretted that decision now, it's not everyday that one had the chance to read the markings left behind by the Celestials themselves. He continued to look on in awe at the tunnel and all the markings, wondering just what meaning they had behind them. Perhaps they told of a tale of how Tul'lavey came to be, or maybe they were prayers for the Lavians to utter while in this place. Whatever they meant, Avil could feel the power and authority radiating off of each and every one of them. That power and weight only growing stronger with each step he took closer to the exit of the tunnel.
"What's this one say?" Asked a voice that Avil recognized and he looked on ahead to the exit that still appeared to bright for him to make anything out while inside the darkness of the Allurring tunnel.
"Looks like it's another story about the kings." Said another female voice that Avil knew and he felt his steps beginning to hasten as he hurried to the end of the tunnel.
When he emerged from the darkness of it he found himself standing inside what he could only describe as a hollowed out inverted pyramid that was large enough to house another large township's worth of people. The floors and walls were all slanted, going upwards in all directions with small flat platforms and paths carved into the stone to help with balance. But scattered all around those platforms, Avil could see hundreds upon hundreds of stone monoliths standing upright with more Celesty symbols carved into them. What's more was that scattered around the edges of this inverted pyramid were small streams of water. All of which flowed down the paths of this place headed toward the lowest point of this inverted pyramid at the center of the room where the obelisk stood. There he could see the water had gathered around the obelisk which much to Avil's shock was actually levitating.
At the base of the obelisk he could see three lights, one red, blue, and finally the last one being green. They were dancing around each other in a never ending pursuit of each other. But there some yards down Avil saw him, Isa was running around on all fours examining every little thing while Morgan followed after him. Surprisingly enough he also saw Ruin following after them with a Lavian escort which explained how they got in here. Avil hurried down to them leaving Yeva behind waving his arm about as he approached the three of them.
"Hey guys!" He called out make the four of them look up at him as he approached. "I didn't think you'd be here already, when did you show up?"
"Not for very long." Morgan said but Isa jumped up interrupting her.
"Avil do you see all the rocks?" He exclaimed gesturing to all the monoliths with his outstretched arms. "All of them tell a story about the Three Kings Edo, Mena, and Iam."
Morgan let out a sigh at that while Ruin let out a bit of a chuckle. "I think you mean Iro, Kenra, and Drian." Avil said with a bit of a smile on his face. "Those are the Three Kings of the Celestial Realm, and rulers of all existence."
"Yeah, Morgan was just telling me the story about Iro and his golden rose. It's a good story right Nim?" Isa asked the little dragon with a grin on his face while Nim offered an affirmative chirp in response. "Hey how'd you get in here? They told us only a-"
Isa never got a chance to finish before a loud shrill screech sounded behind them and they both spun around to find an aghast looking Yeva leering at Isa. "Y- you- Beast! What are you doing here, you're tainting this place!"
Avil looked back at Isa and then to Yeva who was holding her hand up with another prismatic glow beginning to form. "Avil help me purge this creature from-"
Morgan's dark clothed figure appeared in front of Isa, her silvery eyes beginning to shimmer with anger. Avil's heart shot up into his throat as he moved to get between the two of them, but thankfully Ruin hurried to defuse the situation by appearing in front of Yeva. "Yeva wait a moment." He said in a calming voice taking her hand into his. His rose colored eyes began to give off a faint glow as he spoke, he was using his own power to calm her down and from the looks of Yeva's face it was working too. "Isa and Morgan are both descended from your King. Use those eyes of yours, look at their Aura and you'll see for yourself that they both have the light of your King's children."
When Ruin's words ended, his eyes ceased their glowing and Yeva's own rainbow eyes began to glow as she looked over both Morgan and Isa. A moment later did she let out a gasp, her hands coming to her mouth while her eyes rested on Isa. "I- I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed bowing her head to him. "I didn't know sir, please take pity on me."
Avil was about to speak but Morgan beat him to it. "If you really want to be forgiven, learn to judge on character rather than appearance." She said rather harshly which made Yeva lower her head even more. Ruin voice Avil's own thoughts by saying that may have been a bit harsh but Morgan didn't care. "She was the one that was ready to kill Isa because of his appearance. So excuse me for not holding her feelings in very high regard."
"That's not fair Morgan." Avil said jumping to Yeva's aid who now looked like she was just trying to shrink away from them. "She didn't know he was with us-"
"And that should excuse her reaction to him?" She asked shooting him a death glare before making her way past him to stand in front of Yeva. Morgan wasn't very tall herself, but compared to the small frame of Yeva she might as well had been a giant. The raven haired girl glowered down at Yeva who refused to meet her eyes and looked like she was nearing tears. "He's not like the ones that attacked all those years ago."
At that Yeva's eyes shot straight up to meet Morgan's. "How did you-"
"Reading the texts on these tablets isn't something that's beyond me." Morgan said placing a hand on her hip. "The lesson these tablets teach is of caution, not of hatred. Weremen are people too, they have a heart just as you or I." Leaning down a bit so that she could look the smaller girl in the eye Morgan added. "And they have feelings just like you do."
Morgan held Yeva's gaze for a few moments before she turned and walked away from her with Isa tentatively following after her. He didn't make it very far though when he turned around and hurried back to Yeva and gave her a wholehearted hug which made the small girl let out surprised gasp, her eyes growing even larger as Isa pulled away from her. He reached into the small bag he had at his shoulder and produced what looked to Avil like a sweet roll and place it in Yeva's hand.
"She didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He said making Yeva look down at the sweet roll in her hand before up to Isa who was smiling so brightly he put the sun to shame, as he pushed the sweet roll towards her. "It's just how she shows she cares."
Isa turned and hurried after Morgan, his black tail waving merrily as he caught up to her and asked about the tablet she was reading. Ruin on the other hand was just smiling after the monkey boy before he regarded Yeva. "He's right you know." Both Yeva and Avil looked up to the rose eyes man who was gazing at the two of them. "Morgan cares more than she lets on. She just doesn't know how to show it." Turning back to Yeva he bowed his head lightly to her. "Thank you again for all your help earlier Yeva."
He too went after Morgan to look at the monolith she was now reading aloud to Isa, leaving just Avil and Yeva to look after the three of them. "I'm sorry for that." Avil said bowing his head to Yeva. "Morgan is-"
"Right." Said the small girl as she brought the sweet roll to her chest and closed her eyes as if she were saying a silent prayer. "It goes against my teachings to judge others like that." Yeva paused for a moment before brushing her hair from her face. "Your highness is lucky to have a friend like her." She added with a bit of a laugh. "She'll keep you humble for sure."
Avil could only blink in response to that as he looked at her. Did she really get over Morgan's words just like that? She must have because the very next thing Yeva said was how she'd forgotten why they'd even come here. "Come on I wanted to show you something before."
Yeva grabbed Avil's hand and guided him along the slanted pathway, weaving in between several of the monoliths, each and every one of them marked with the Celesti language that told tales Avil could only guess at. But they however were heading down to the center of the inverted pyramid was at its lowest, but also where the large obelisk hovered above the three dancing orbs. As he neared obelisk though Avil began to notice that it was actually spinning, incredibly slowly but it was spinning nonetheless. And the Celesti markings that adorned it were actually what were glowing, not gems like he'd thought when he saw it from a distance.
The obelisk was a three sided pillar, with points both at the top and at the bottom. The bottom point though is where Avil saw yet another revelation, the obelisk wasn't floating at all, it was being held up by a single orb of glass or crystal no larger than a his own head. But what's more, he could see edges on the crystal sphere, or what he believed to be edges at least which told him that this sphere was indeed hollow like the shell of a nut. The three glowing orbs however were indeed floating and now that he was up close Avil could see that these things were absolutely identical to the three gems that the Elder had back at the temple. These ones though- these ones Avil could feel the power radiating off of them and now that he could see and fully feel their power did he realize that these were what was generating this odd aura of power around them.
These three tiny little gems, no larger than marbles, floating around inside the crystal sphere chasing one another in a never ending dance... These were what Avil was sensing all along. Not the marks that were written in Celesti that radiated light as if mimicking a heartbeat, it was these things all along. Avil knelt down at the edge of the pool of water where this crystal ball and the floating gems rested, constantly holding up the weight of this obelisk.
"Dai Mokis." Yeva said kneeling down beside Avil as she looked at the three gems forever orbiting around one another. "That's the name we have for them, but translated to the common tongue of the Underworld... I believe you'd call them Tri-Blades."
"Tri-Blades." Avil repeated looking in awe at the small gems locked away in their crystal prison. "Are they- Relics?"
"The most sacred of Relics in fact." Yeva said as she stood up gesturing to the slowly rotating obelisk which now that Avil was looking at them as well he could see was written much differently than all the rest. These words they- they were moving! They were flowing down the length of the obelisk like a gently flowing stream, and they were moving along with the rotation of the obelisk telling Avil that they were meant to be read from bottom to top with the words at the top always moving downward in a never ending cycle much like the gems. "The story of our people, the Lavian, the story of Tul'lavey, and the story of the Dai Mokis are all written right here on this obelisk.
"And the rest of the monoliths," She said gesturing all around her. "These tell the stories of our Kings. From their rise to power, to the wars and battles waged against the Others, to the birthing of their children, the marriage to their wives." Yeva grabbed Avil's hand and pulled him toward a monolith whose markings shown with green light with every pulsating of this place's heart beat. "This is the tale of Drian, and his marriage to the Maiden of Love and Virtue, our Lady Listel"
Yeva's hand came up as she began to trace the markings that were lain upon the monolith, each one shining even brighter as her finger passed over them.
"On that evening when Graceful Drian was asked by his brother to choose a dance partner to honor the Mother of Life; it was expected that he choose Iro's own wife Lucina. But nay did he choose to dance with the sun, that graceful King, instead he moved to a young girl with powdery white hair, violet colored eyes, and skin that not even freshly fallen snow could compare.
"Listel was her name, a Celestial of low name and rank, far below that of a Celestial King, let alone that of the Queen of the Realm. Yet Drian singled our fair Listel out and asked that she be his dance partner, naming her to be the fairest maiden to draw breath. All were shocked to hear such words fall from young Drian's sly and clever lips, this king who had never made any attempt to claim a wife of his own. Now spurns the sun itself in favor of a single snowflake standing amongst the crowd.
"Listel accepted Drian's invitation and all were swayed by the grace in her movements. Matching Drian's step for step, gliding around the golden halls of Galamesh like a winter breeze blowing up powdered snow. On and on the two danced, enrapturing the eyes and attention of all those attending the ball honoring the Mother of Life. It was said that by the time their dance had ended, every woman's cheek was wet with tears of appreciation, and every man's jaw was taught with envy. On that night Listel had gone from a lowborn Celestial to the talks of the Realm, and Drian was said to have courted her again on the celebration of the Celestial Sisters.
It was here again, where Drian and Listel found each other again on the dance floor, gliding over the gilded floors, as smoothly and silently as a shadow across an open field of snow. Once again women's tears were left wet with joyous tears and men were left envious of Drian's dance with who would come to be known as the Maid of Love and Compassion. For on this same night is when Drian asked for her hand in marriage.
"All across the land, women and men alike wept at the knowledge that the last Celestial King had taken a wife, and that a maiden so fair she even out shone Lucina herself was to take him as a husband. The wedding was to take place shortly after on the eve of Drian's birthday. And thus is the tale of Drian's wife, the maiden named Listel, the Goddess of Love and Compassion."
Avil found himself blinking at the stone tablet before him, pondering deeply to himself about the tale he'd just heard. He knew that Listel was a Celestial of humble beginnings but to think that she was only granted fame and title because Drian picked her out of a crowd of people... It just didn't fit the Fallen King that Avil had always been taught about, the Celestial who refused to go along with the wishes of his elder brothers. He who waged a seemingly endless war for what, because he was bored? That same man chose to bring up another, and make her his wife, but even more so to hide it?
"Why did they hide his marriage to Listel?" Avil asked out loud. "This paints him in a much different light than the way I was taught about him. So why hide this, why say that Drian seduced her rather than he fell in love with her?"
"I can't speak for those above us." Yeva said calmly as she stood back up to her full height. "Maybe it has something to do with what Drian would go on to do? Perhaps the Avesia didn't wish for him to be remembered when he was good? I don't know your highness, perhaps I'll never know. But what I do know is this. If someone like Drian who would come to be known as a the worst of the Celestials, can have a heart just like yours and mine. Than why can't a single man like you be able to change the world?"
Now Avil felt his cheeks fill with heat as he glanced in Yeva's direction. "I- uh- well- Thank you Yeva..." He said still with a rosy complexion on his face. "You- you don't know how much it means to hear someone say that to me."
A/N: Well wasn't that a sweet way to end the chapter? Avil's getting support! He's finally starting to have someone tell him he CAN do what he wants to do! Good for him.
But oh goodness anyone expect the Drian we know now to have such a compassionate side to him? Or do you think that maybe there's more to the tale that Yeva and the Lavians don't know about?
Either way I hope you're all ready for the action to start back up because after we get to meet one more character a bit more, will Sidian and the spawn finally begin to make their move!