Crystal Points
Emania, Land of Infinite Gods


History is much like an Endless Waltz.
The three beats of War, Peace, and Revolution
continue on forever.
-Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz





Episode 8- The Last Point Found? Fire Mountain Under Siege.


    Dawnlight now splashed upon the fringes of the land, and with it brought an 
unsettling feeling of unrest. This feeling descended upon the Fire Mountain 
and its inhabitants, though they slept with the awakening of the day. Chilly 
breezes stirred though the tapestries in the dining hall, and silent feet 
padded their way quietly past them, sushing the quietly chirping bird on her 
shoulder. Up onto the parapets the little figure crept, staying away from 
guards that would slow her walk. The feeling of unease had woken Lillia 
early, and it caused her concern. It almost seemed as though she could hear 
a thing in the distance, yet not discern what it was. Curiosity had always 
been her trait, so she acted upon it, rising from her bed and wandering.
    Up upon the turrets of the temple's walls, the little blonde haired girl 
sat, legs dangling off the side as she waited to observe the rising of the 
sun, from where it announced the day. Scanning the horizon brought no change 
in feeling, merely a chill from the air, causing a shiver. Not seeing 
anything amiss, Lillia sighed, shrugging. Then, with a whimsical smile, 
flung her arms very wide, tilting her head back and breathing in the cool 
morning air. As she did this, the finch beside her chirruped anxiously, 
hopping onto her knee and flapping his wings in warning. Lillia turned her 
head to see what Chirper was so upset about, and saw that she was not alone 
on her perch. A woman had joined her, tall and also blonde, a thick, blue 
woolen shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Lillia wished she had thought of 
bringing that. Then she remembered the woman, a refugee from one of the 
towns around the Mountain.
    "What are you doing up here this early?" her intruder laughed sleepily, 
shaking her head. "You should be in bed!"
    "I couldn't sleep," Lillia replied honestly. She turned back to her arms 
wide pose, and closed her eyes. "So I'm out flying instead!" After a moment, 
she could hear the young woman giggling at her, so she opened her eyes again 
and looked at her. "I'm Lillia. You're Rose, aren't you? From the Shaking 
Pines town."
    "Yeah," Rose agreed coming to stand beside Lillia. "I couldn't sleep 
either. I heard the cooks in the kitchens already getting up." She turned 
around and looked inward at the grounds below. "Guards are changing...." she 
mentioned as she watched a few men mill below on the cobblestones. 
"Everyone'll be up soon, I guess. Kinda weird out today," she added, rubbing 
her arms for warmth. Lillia shrugged, turning back to the deep valley that 
stretched out beyond them. It was still dim with the dawnlight, grey rather 
than illuminated, but lightening all the while. The evening fog was 
revealing the morning dew, rolling away from the slopes of the mountains 
beyond. Trees and shrubbery was revealed as the wisps of whiteness withdrew.
    Again, Lillia found herself shivering, a sense of uncertainty growing. Eyes 
picked over the edges of the shrouded land, birds eyes, sharp and clear.
    Rose was continuing, "I wish I'd been able to come up here for training. 
Never got the chance. It's too bad, its so pretty up here. And there's lots 
of guards around," she laughed, watching the men below disperse. "But we're 
going to be kicked off of here if any of them spot us. It's really not 
safe-"
    "Rose? There's something in the mist."
    "-with all the.... Huh?" She broke off her rambling, turning to see what 
Lillia saw. The younger girl had her hand to her eyes, peering forward. 
After a moment, she breathed deeply, setting her hand down onto the stone. 
Chirper made a low, throaty musical note, hopping up onto her shoulder and 
spreading his wings.
    "I can hear them. They're coming."
    "Hear who?" Rose strained, trying to understand what was going on. She 
looked bewilderedly between the girl with her and the edges of the valley 
below. Frowning, she waited as the fogginess of morning withdrew further, 
and at the base of the slop stood a small, dark figure. It was too far to 
see her clearly, but the form was too delicate and small to be male. If Rose 
leaned forward, she imagined she could see a faint catching of white hair. 
But that was just her imagination. And as moments passed, and the sliver of 
risen sun began to burn away the mists, she saw that this solitary figure 
was not alone. Ghostly forms shrouded her, rising up from the distant 
grounds. And they were armed, and black, and ugly.
    "Oh gods," Rose whispered, a sick feeling growing in her stomach. After a 
moment, she gathered up her wits, and tried to think. "Sky. I've got to tell 
Sky...what the hell...I've got to tell everyone! Lillia!" She snapped, 
grabbing the girls arm. She was staring still at the creatures that now 
displayed themselves more clearly at the border of the veil of mists. "Get 
inside! Warn the High Priestess!"
    The girl blinked in startlement for a moment, as though unsure what was 
being requested of her. "Can't prevent it now," she told Rose softly, eyes 
sad. "I'll go." She swung her feet inside the temple and hopped onto the 
ground, taking a few slow steps, then breaking into a run as she gathered 
speed, her familiar winging along behind her.
    Rose, at this point, did not care about Lillia's softly spoken words, but 
instead was growing frantic with worry. They had not yet begun to move 
forward, but with each passing moment, another and another demon was finding 
itself revealed. And they disappeared into the trees and grass, seeming to 
rise out of the land itself.
    She spun, feet flying. The guards, the guards, the guards were changing. 
Had to warn everyone. Empty posts, left for the day, men climbing the creaky 
wooden steps. Rose's feet running against the stone. Up the steps to the 
tower, where she gasped to look and see more appearing. Warn everyone. It 
was Shaking Pines all over again, the gash that had appeared on market day, 
in the center of town. It was not just the Fire Mountain in danger. No, 
there were villages and towns arrayed around the Mountain. She was in the 
tower, and could hear men shouting below. She was not alone in seeing it 
anymore. One of them had also spotted the attackers, and now the alarm would 
go up. Turning around, Rose saw the brazier that would light the first 
signal fire of danger. It was bronze and it gleamed in the torchlight on the 
column beside her. Grabbing it up, she threw the brand into the pit, 
watching the tinder catch and flame. What else, what else? How to wake up 
the world? Beside an empty stool, she saw the watchman's trumpet. What good 
was a fire if all slept? Noise must be made. She snatched it up, sending a 
quick glance below her, seeing Sky's familiar head bobbing its way rapidly 
up the stairs towards her. Uncertainly, she fumbled with the instrument, and 
brought it to her lips.
    From within, sleepy headed men and women woke, priestess, soldier or 
princess.
    And the world knew that Emania was at war.



    Too much beauty can be seen from above.
    It seems, sometimes, that the further away a person is from the ground, the 
more their eyes can take in of the directions, and see more clearly, even if 
obscured by dawnlight mist. It had been a strange awakening for the Inner 
senshi, after what seemed a short- though restful- sleep. Ami had stirred 
first, cerulean eyes looking at the pebbles that lay too close to her face. 
Bed should be soft pillows and warm blankets, not a cloak and a forearm. 
Then, as her eyes opened further, she lifted her head to find herself, 
Minako, Rei and Makoto very much alone in the clearing. It would have been 
insensible to think that the silver eyed had simply vanished, like a dream. 
But it seemed they had. Such strange people. But nevertheless, Ami woke the 
others, and after having a quick breakfast, they were off again, Lagu, Ken 
and Eolh gliding down from their resting places. So now they soared, the day 
drawing up clear and cloudless, the sunlight unbearably bright.
    Minako held on tightly to the stiff feathers. They were prickly under her 
palms, and scratchy. But at first she'd been too afraid of falling off to 
let go, and then worried about pulling too hard. Not that Makoto had said 
anything to her about it. But right now, all she wanted to do was get down. 
Once used to it, the flying sensation had been exhilarating. How could it 
not? Riding a dragon! How many people get to do that? Wind in your face, 
hair streaming out behind you, a beautiful day and the heroine of an 
adventure! Of course, now her eyes were dried out, and  she wanted some 
goggles or something. Her hair was a tangled mess, red ribbon wrapped around 
a fist since the wind kept trying to snatch it away from her hair. And her 
legs ached, from being saddlesore and...if you rode a dragon, did that count 
as 'saddlesore'? Technically speaking, she wasn't using a saddle. Minako 
resolved to figure that out later, or maybe ask Ami. Isn't there a saying 
about being too long in the saddle?
    Keeping her eyes half lidded, she peered in a nearsighted-looking stare 
around her, and down. The three dragons had lowered their height, velocity 
slowing as they dipped further from the clouds. Now they banked among rocks 
rather than clouds, pretty painted layers of silt deposits, and ancient 
volcanic ash, folds in the blanket of the earth, brown and red and grey. The 
ground was broken where fissures had cracked it, dark in the crannies of the 
ground. Sweeping in and out of canyon walls and spires, they dropped lower, 
skimming the surface.
    *Here. This is where she rests.*
    Minako was afraid her hands would begin to bleed on the feathers, she held 
them so tightly. Eolh kicked up an enormous amount of wind as he landed, the 
four shoulderblades of his back working in complex unison to land them 
neatly on the ground.
    Once down, she took a breath to calm herself, then, "Minna! Henshin yo!"
    "Mercury Crystal Power!"
    "Mars Crystal Power!"
    "Jupiter Crystal Power!"
    "Venus Crystal Power!"
    "Make-up!"

    Together, the brilliance of their auras filled the canyon with glitter and 
brightness, fire, water, electricity and energy. Moments later, four sets of 
heeled feet hit the ground with a prepared smack, and eyes cast about for 
any awaiting enemies.
    "So?" Mars asked after a moment of silence. "There's nobody here!" She was 
the first to straighten herself up, the others a beat behind.
    "Minna," Venus tried, "Mercury?"
    Scanning....
    "We're alone. I'm picking up infrared of..." Mercury hesitated, then 
quirked her eyebrows amusedly, "cows. About five klicks to the southeast of 
here. And greater vegetation."
    "Nothing? You're sure?" Jupiter sounded disbelieving, coming to stand and 
watch Mercury's computer take in information. "Not anything? Won't fairies 
show up on your computer? Magic and technology don't usually mix...."
    Mercury was adamantly shaking her head, clicking the compact computer 
closed with a snap. "Hai, Jupiter. Very sure. There is nothing here 
physically. Mars?"
    "I already said there was no one here!"
    Venus was exploring already, head staring up the steep walls of rock. There 
was little shrubbery, some sparse brush, acclimated to the barren soil. She 
kicked a rock a length or so away from her, and dust rose up around it. 
"Okay. Now what?"
    *There.*
    Mercury, Mars and Jupiter turned and said, "Lagu,"
    "Ken,"
    "Eolh," then blinked. Jupiter recovered first. "Eolh says that you should 
go there." Jupiter turned and pointed towards the place her dragon had shown 
her, a low, narrow gash in the surface of the canyon wall. Venus got a 
strange expression on her face, and stared at it.
    "Ah, eheheh...." she laughed nervously, "Dark in there...." Then, 
recovering, "Okay! Guess it's my turn! Let's get going! Sooner we find the 
next Point, the better, ne?"
    She got barely more than two steps before her way was blocked by the 
delicate bulk of Lagu. The water dragon slipped before her, tail coiling 
around as her liquid prism eyes focused their lenses on the pretty sailor 
suited soldier of Love.
    *You go alone.*
    Sailor Venus heard the words in her mind, in the back of it. Strangely 
familiar, it reminded her of Ami's. But it sounded older. Much, much older, 
the way a young woman's voice will someday become an old woman's. Such was 
Lagu's. None of the dragons had spoken to Venus yet, and she had been under 
the impression they could not.
    *Do not underestimate us.*
    Again, Lagu's voice echoed in her mind.
    *It is she and I who have suffered the most. Be warned.*
    Venus watched the sleek figure wind its way over her, wings transparent in 
the noonday light. Then dust caught up around them from the dried ground, 
and she saw the worried faces of her friends.
    "Venus-chan?"
    Face to face, she met their eyes, lastly meeting Mercury's. "Lagu says I 
have to go alone."
    "Wakarimasu," Mercury replied quietly. I understand.
    "Are you crazy?" Mars shouted, disbelieving. "Venus! You can't go in there 
alone! Just because I don't sense anything out here doesn't mean that-"
    "Mars, Jupiter," Mercury tried to console, "We each had to meet on our 
own." Turning, she looked over her shoulder to see Lagu, standing beside the 
opening. "This is a thing we must each accomplish by ourselves. Now is 
Venus' turn."
    "Yeah!" Venus echoed, grinning and trying not to look worried. She winked 
and threw a victory sign, "After all, I'm always last, remember? Can't break 
with tradition!"
    She turned on a heel and began to walk towards the cave mouth.
    "Venus!" Mars called, running forward a bit. "Wait!" When Venus hesitated, 
Mars brought her hands together. "Here. It's dark in there." On the tips of 
her fingers, a fireball formed. "Fire...." very softly she finished, 
"Soul...." Rather than flinging a giant ball of flames at an opponent, 
Sailor Mars cupped the fire in her hands, holding it a moment, then 
releasing it into the air, watching it float its way over to Venus, who 
lifted her own gloved hands to receive it. "I don't know how long that will 
last," she warned, wagging a finger. "So you'd better hurry up, O master of 
tardiness!"
    "Hai!" Venus agreed, and turned, running inside, her shadow falling all 
around her with the Fire Soul in her hands.


    If Venus had expected a cave of damp and dark, her reality was quite 
another thing. It was damp, and dark, but the image that often comes to mind 
is also one of dreariness, and the cave of the dragon of earth was far from 
dreary. Walls smooth as cream, carved like fresh churned butter. Tiny drops 
of water, so insignificant alone, combined with time and patience and eons. 
These tunnels were the product of that patience. Earth's secret beauty, 
unrevealed to the daylight.
    It was cool, but not chill, a steady, constant temperature that breathed in 
the darkness of the subterranean. The ability to maintain a constant 
temperature is one sign of a living organism. Speech and consciousness, in 
fact, do not denote life, but rather the ability to generate offspring, and 
carry DNA. Atoms to molecules, molecules to matter, matter to tissue, tissue 
to organs, organs to organism, organism to ecosystem, ecosystem to 
biosphere, biosphere to planet, planet to solar system, solar system to 
galaxy, galaxy to universe, etc. etc. etc.....
    And none of this mattered to the wandering Sailor Venus, who was busy 
keeping herself from becoming scared witless. It wasn't that she was afraid 
of the dark. Even if she was, who could blame her? The yawning gape of cave 
mouth in the side of the canyon wall, the pitch within that stretched for 
infinite lengths ahead of her. It was daunting even to the bravest soul, 
such as a pretty sailor suited senshi. No, her fear was that she was alone, 
and that she did not know. Few things are as frightening as not knowing. Not 
knowing if the sounds in your ears are normal sounds, not knowing if an 
enemy lurked around the next shadow, not knowing if the dragon would lay in 
the path she took. Already, Venus had passed several forks in her road.
    Now she wandered a narrow passage, spelunking unwillingly as she ducked her 
head, pressing a palm against the wall to steady herself, the oils in her 
hand creating a faint eternal marker of her passage. In her other hand, she 
held up the dulling orangey brightness of Mars' fire. Which, as she watched 
in horror, swirled out.
    Darkness.
    Venus shivered, though there was no wind, and the temperature in the cave 
was not unpleasantly cool. For a moment, she could see her eyes playing 
tricks on her, in attempt to see. Faint dark swirls crossed her vision, then 
settled into ebony. Nothing to see, she was blind. And it was so very quiet. 
Hearing her own breathing, steady, though ragged. Pulse in ears. Heart in 
throat.
    "I'm going to fail," she whispered fearfully, more that failure seemed 
imminent, not an enemy. And enemy could be faced. Uncertainty? How do you 
defeat that?
    Venus sank to her knees, placing her hands on the smooth stone, closing her 
eyes. Some of the vertigo left if she did this, playing a trick on her 
senses, eyes still trying to see. If the eyelids were shut, then perhaps 
they would stop seeking light.
    Other kinetic senses left to themselves, visionless, her mind tried to 
compensate. Though the silence, Venus heart a distant thrumming, steady and 
irregular at once, the sound of a river flowing though underground channels, 
blood of the land.
    She crawled forward. There was no chance to go back- she wouldn't be able 
to find her way. No, only forward now, around the last bend, feeling with 
groping fingers.
    *This is my heartbeat.*
    Her breath caught, feeling the tingling in her mind. The aged voice, rich 
as silt.
    *Blind, you still do not see. Go away, and let me sleep for another 
thousand's thousand years. *
    That was not a reaction Venus had been expecting. Startled, she burst, "But 
we need your help!"
    *Who is this 'we' you refer to? The 'we' who forgets the old ways? The 'we' 
who kills my children? Or is this the dying 'we' who beg for help? Go away. 
I am too weak to give it.*
    Quietly, Venus sat herself in a heap where she had crawled, awkwardly 
trying to think of what to say. "Lagu is awake! And Ken and Eolh! We're not 
alone...we need your help, too! To save the world." She said it as much to 
herself as to the dragoness, and her words sounded empty.
    *Save the world. So noble. What care I of the world? My children care not 
of it. Why should I care for it? Lagu is too hopeful. She creates them, 
gives the life, but I give them birth. I see how humans think now. The world 
is theirs. Kill my other children. I disclaim them. Nothing to do with them. 
Fleas. Hopeless fleas. *
    "They're more than fleas, if you're so scared of what they've done," Venus 
realized out loud, her voice strangely calm. It echoed emptily in the 
darkness.
    *And who are you, to care so much for them?*
    That was a question that Venus felt capable to answer. "I am the pretty 
sailor suited soldier, Sailor Venus, champion of love and justice!"
    In the velvet blackness, she heard a rumble of draconic laughter, and 
realized that she had just been ridiculed. *How nice for you. Is that all 
you think you are?*
    "Well, um..." Venus stuttered a moment, thinking. "Sailor V!"
    *And?*
    "Princess Venus," then, she added, "Aino Minako."
    *And?*
    "And what? That's who I am! Aino Minako, Sailor Venus, same person. What 
else do you want from me?"
    *You give me only names. Go away. You do not understand.*
    "I just want to save the world!"
    *Is that all? To save the world?*
    "Yes!"
    *Why?*
    "Because it's worth it!"
    .
    .
    .
    *Light up the world.*
    "Huh?"
    *Light up the world.*
    She sat there, and thought about that for a few moments. Then she stood up, 
and, winking, blew a kiss. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
    In the brilliance of gold that flung itself around her, she could see the 
expanse of the cavern she had wandered into. A wide, shallow underground 
lake stretched beyond her, with the tranquility of a glass mirror. A step 
further, and she would have stumbled over the low lip, and splashed into its 
reflective calm. Here was the quiet loveliness of the underworld.
    It glittered in her gold. She didn't know how such stones grew, but around 
her, descending, petals of rose quartz caught up the illumination of the 
fire, pink and red and purple and gold, fragmenting in unbroken shafts. Tall 
formations like organ pipes soared up to her left, deeply shadowed, and a 
great ceiling to rival Gothic arches. These were the bones of the earth, the 
cathedrals within the planet.
    And there was the dragon.
    Gleaming in the golden light, smooth bodied and massive, curled into a 
hollow of the cave. Tail wrapped around her body, talons folded up under her 
chin. Smooth, twin horns slicked back over her head, which lay in the pool's 
center, the yellow prism in her forehead gleaming. Teardrops still sat 
freshly on her face, the great golden eyes blurry with sadness.
    *I sing a song of forests, girl. I sing a song of plains. I sing a story of 
people, I sing a song of remembrance. I sing of cities, glorious cities just 
born. I sing of their glory! I sing of how people work together to make 
their lives great! I sing a lament of cities, girl, for the death they 
perpetuate. I sing of things made, of things men must destroy. I weep for 
the death of Beauty, and of the world destroyed.*
    "Your world isn't dead yet," Venus told her simply. It was fact. "If you 
don't help, then it will be."
    *But there are so many worlds....*
    She began to understand. Not one world, but many. "Gomen. Oh, gomen 
nasai....."
    This was the grief of a Mother, for her children who had died.


    Three senshi waited outside the cave mouth. Waited patiently, for several 
hours. Waiting is an unfair game. It is more painful than it should be.  The 
purple hour of twilight had not yet settled when Lagu stood, Ami stirring to 
her feet and stepping forward.
    "Ami-chan? What's wrong?" Makoto asked as Rei turned to follow Ami's gaze.
    *They come.*
    The golden dragon crested the darkness of her underworld, and joined the 
rest of her family. Minako walked alongside her, expression curtained. Then, 
quietly, "She says her name is Jara."
    The mourning golden dragon faced the other three. Tentatively, she touched 
noses with Ken, then Eolh. The senshi watched as the two females bowed 
heads, Jara more than twice the size of Lagu. It was a delicate gesture, one 
of respect.
    "Minna," Ami told them. "It's time."
    "Jara feels blood on her," Minako said hoarsely, a pained expression. The 
bonding that joined dragon to princess had formed, and Minako felt the acute 
pain of Jara through it.
    Four dragons. Ken, Eolh, Lagu, Jara.
    Four soldiers. Rei, Makoto, Ami and Minako.
    And they took flight.



    Fire Mountain was a temple, but it was built as a citadel. Why this was, no 
one seemed to know, and it had never been questioned. It never seemed 
important. War was foreign to the Land of Infinite Gods, a thing spoken of 
only in secret places, never to actually occur. It was a dark thing, 
unwanted by all. Until these last years. Until something changed. Until a 
new way of life began to take root, and with it came greed and corruption 
and the claim of dominion over the earth.
    Now it swarmed over the land.
    Insectlike, black with chitinous armor covering body and soul. Perhaps, 
when the world was still very young, some far seeing architect had planned 
against the current case, letting the high, grey drop cliffs of the Fire 
Mountain serve as more than decoration. Now they were its best defense. No 
army had ever camped at their skirts. Now horrible creatures stormed the 
gates, worming their way up the sides, up the back, using grappling hooks 
and chains and ladders to try to breach the walls. No gunpowder existed, and 
so they did not use it, blasting down the walls like Constantinople. Rather 
magic, a constant, steady stream that pounded away day and night, for now 
the siege had extended into another sunset.
    The defenders knew they would not last too much longer. Wards could keep 
them out, keep them back, the twisted things. But more frightening was the 
faces they resembled. Too close, though repulsive, their eyes still shadowed 
intelligence. Demons weren't supposed to have feelings. Seeing once flinch 
in pain when struck was not a good thing to witness.
    Lenora stood at the Dawn Gate, darkling robes swirling about her as a hand 
drew through the air. "Air, Breath of Life, I beg you. Protect your children 
in their desperation. Ward this place, and let us have peace." As she traced 
the air, a faint tawny emblem burned transparently. Then smoke of burned 
grass choked her, and she smelled blood once more.
    An arm steadied her, and she looked to see a grimly smiling face. "It seems 
the asylum I granted you, Princess, is worth nothing."
    Rory shrugged. She'd changed from her travel gear into one of the 
priestess' spare garments, plain cotton fabric. Hair tied up into a series 
of knots, she had donned the bags and herbs of a healer, and was walking the 
walls. Against the constant barrage, rifts were breaking in the wards. 
Goblins seeped though. The walls held out only so much. Men struggled below 
them, swords bloody and gored. They were winning, but the tides of magic 
turned at sunset. And now it grew dark once more.
    "No one is safe anywhere, until the people decide they want something 
else," Rory told her. "Bellina's having a fit down there. Can't find you, 
Lady Lenora. You're too valuable to be up on the wall."
    Lenora snorted, a rude sound. "So are you. You've got that Balan to protect 
you." She sighed deeply, eyes turning away. "Am I really more valuable than 
any of them? Are we?" She looked down at the men below. "I've seen those men 
before. Fire Mountain's honor guard. But I don't even know their names."
    "The one with the big sword is Sky," Rory told her. "And the dark one with 
him is Xanntippe."
    The Priestess shook her head, a few stay auburn locks clinging to her 
cheeks. "And you already know their names."
    "I met them before. Come on. They're on their way back in. We should be 
too."
    After a moment's hesitation, Lenora took Rory's arm, and they began to head 
back in, towards the inner wall. They did not get far. Screams erupted from 
the Sunset Gate, and a shower of sparks soared into the purple sky. "They've 
breached our seals!" Lenora broke into a run, and Rory had no inclination to 
stop her.


    Upon the ridge of the east, a straggly line of people formed. They were 
worn looking, and their clothes were old, though patched neatly. These were 
not a glamourous people. A casual observer would have noted that they were 
tired, as though they had traveled very far very quickly, with little rest. 
Also, that only a handful of these rode horseback. Most were on foot. A more 
wary observer would have taken note, that despite this, there was an aura of 
determination about them, as though they were set on a goal, and they would 
not stop until it was attained. And of course, there were their eyes.
    "I can't believe you're here. I told you to stay away, Undine." Caitlyn 
muttered darkly at him from Ember's back.
    "Huh. I guess that's the man in me, thinking you women mean one thing and 
say another."
    That got a dagger-like glare in return.
    "I'm not in the mood to be teased."
    "When are you ever?"
    She rolled her eyes.
    That caused him to grin a bit, but it faded as he took in the dark bags 
under them, and the weariness. "Cait, have you-"
    "I've slept enough. And after the battle, I'll get plenty."
    She let the double edged phrasing hang. If she lived, she'd sleep. If she 
didn't live, she'd still sleep. Either way, rest afterward. Same with the 
hundred or so men and women she had with her, milling in the forest in a 
disordered multitude.
    They broke the treeline, and a murmur went up though the ranks of 
sorcerers. A glassy rip could be seen in the air, and the outermost wall of 
the Fire Mountain was shredded. Even as they watched, a dark figure hurtled 
down the wall as one small, scrambling figure clawed its way to the top.
    "We're going to lose a lot of them," Caitlyn whispered as her eyes swept 
across the sea of demons. "Gods, human fighting faerie-"
    "Don't think about it," Undine told her. "Just don't think about it." He 
looked at the people below them, fingers to their lips as they considered 
the battle upcoming. "For our future."
    "What future is there without a safe world to live in?"
    To that, Undine had no answer, so he wisely stayed silent.
    Caitlyn wheeled Ember about. Faces with silver eyes turned upward, looking 
at her. So young. The older ones wouldn't come. Too many deaths. Too many 
Cleansings. Not enough believed any good could come of this. Not enough time 
to change enough minds. Time. Always time.
    "I know you hate them!" Caitlyn began, acknowledging bluntly the obvious. 
There were grim expressions from the upturned faces. "But for our own 
future, this is now our best hope! A world of demons is not a world to be 
lived in." She let Ember idle to the side. "Ranks! Form up! Cavalry to me! 
Foot to Undine!" Never much for words, they obeyed her directions. As she 
watched the lines draw into rows, bits of armor, shield and helmet glowing 
dully in the twilight. She drew her sword. "This is our way to fight!"
    A cry tore from a hundred throats, and then there was the pounding of 
hooves and feet against the ground as the century of silver eyed witches 
engaged in battle.


    Adjusting his grip on the sword, Balan tried to keep it from flying from 
his fingers. Already slickened by nerves, blood now mingled into the sweat, 
both from slit knuckles and from dead enemies. Having discarded his shield, 
he now fought with blade alone, in the midst of a knot of the honor guard, 
the first arrivals at the Sunset Gate. Though the drop cliffs that face the 
valley were too steep to climb save with ladders, grappling, or wings, and 
the back of the temple grounds was guarded by the peak of the volcano, the 
east and west were the ways down, and the ways up. As such, they were easy 
to climb, and so these were the best possibilities for attack. A feint, a 
stab, a duck, a roll. One man to the left protecting the man beside him's 
weaker side. For some time, Balan too had donned the helmet of the guard, 
the cheekplates over his face, the nose guard running down between his eyes. 
Faceless, nameless, part of an army. Strange things, such a way of fighting. 
Emotionless, distant. Analytical and detached. A mass of men bent on killing 
their enemy. Still, a mass of men working in cohesion. Working to aid each 
other as they killed. Identical armor, identity lost. Identical faces, 
identity found.
    A head rolled away. Slick red blood now shone, rather than the sharp grey 
of steel. More enemy presented themselves before him, and the defenders 
continued to cut and stab and kill and protect. Such was their duty, such 
was their desire. The break in the wall had taken little time to form, with 
the shields of the priestesses now shattered. It was small, too small for 
many men to fill at once. But large enough to break the dam, letting the 
black waters roar inside. Splattered blood onto the armor, up the arms and 
chest. The ivory grip growing looser and his fingers slipped, catching at 
the last moment to stab into the face and up the jaw of a ogre. Big toothed 
and dull faced, with bulging blue eyes. Gone and stepped over, the body 
steaming in the coolness of the night air.
    Why to fight? Why do they come so fast and so desperately? But in the 
melee, Balan did not have time enough to worry about ideology. Just when to 
slash and when to stab, when to duck and when to scream. Sometimes he would 
wish that he would die. Then he wouldn't have to keep on fighting. But then 
he would remember something very basic, and for a few more minutes, 
continue, until the faces bubbled up in his mind again. Those faces of the 
women within the walls. Was their battle any more than his? Battling time? 
Simply waiting and worrying and watching and spell casting and praying and 
crying and mourning. Keening could be heard from the great walls. New moans 
as a companion fell into the ground. A sting in his shoulder, a smooth slice 
from a ragged blade. Protect the ones you love. Protect what you hope for.
    Faces. Always faces. The little girls who were acolytes, who stared round 
eyed as he had arrived in the city, the two women with him in tow. The High 
Priestess, so young and gentle faced, graciously allowing them sanctuary for 
the time being. Princess Aurora, with that worried look when he announced he 
was going to join the battle with the guards. How she had wrung her hands 
and then began to shout at him, using language he was more than slightly 
shocked to hear fall from her lips. His wonderful Princess, always doing 
something unexpected.
    Lady Lightning. Two faces, so similar, overlapping each other, one familiar 
and smiling, mist shrouded and bent over a cookfire. The other in that odd 
outfit, face set and electricity crackling in battle. Hurry, Lightning. The 
Fire Mountain will not survive this. Too many. Just too damned many.
    A new creature, before him. Hooded and black with gnarled hands. So silent, 
featureless. Floating. His arm drew up, leaden with exhaustion. It didn't 
matter, really, how fresh he would have been. With unnatural speed, it was 
before him, and knocking him aside, body hitting hard as it rammed back into 
the stone wall of the temple grounds. Blackness sparkled in his eyes, vision 
tunneling to see the hands grow as it fled forward. Choke to death. Air and 
oxygen growing thin in the lungs. Such a lousy way to die.
    He felt nothing. No impact, no tightness on his neck. Sitting slumped and 
dazed, he watched a marvelous thing begin to happen. Opening and closing his 
eyes, he thought the bang to his head was making him see things. Tiny 
battles were erupting invisibly, the infinite flood of dark bodies boiling, 
but not forward. Feeling ill, he tried to fight off nausea, trying to see 
what was going on, what was happening. Before him, the spectral body halted 
in advance. A man came out of invisibility- invisibility? No, that was 
impossible- dazed, he thought that the man must have just appeared while his 
vision was still narrow. But there was undoubtedly a man there now. A new 
man, fresh and still unbloodied. Though the clangor of weaponry, only a 
muttering of words could be heard, indistinguishable to Balan.
    But it had effect on the creature. Water hurled its way from one hand, 
sluicing in rings that wrapped from all directions. It was close enough for 
Balan to feel the salty spray on his face, thrown out as the water spun 
though the air. An arc cut though the whitewater, and Balan watched the 
creature become two. On his knees, Balan pressed himself upward against the 
wall, picking up his dropped sword. His rescuer paused a moment, looking 
down at him. Indigo hair. A wan smile. Silver eyes.
    "You're not dead yet," the man informed him, then turned to run back into 
the fray. Balan watched him run off, joining a mounted woman with long brown 
hair, pulled into a bun at the back of her head. She seemed to accept it 
easily when he joined her, and the pair vanished into the swirling battle.
    They were here. They came. Fighting on our side. Fighting with us. Against 
the darkness. Against the demons. Only one word came to his mind. "Why?"


    High above on the towers of the High Mountain, Lenora choked back a scream. 
In rejection of what was unfolding below, she stepped back, finding her arm 
caught up again by the Northern Princess. It was as well Rory was there, 
since Lenora sunk in a pool of black robes. Pale, her hands trembled. "Oh 
gods, what's happening? Bellina? Bellina!" The older woman still stood, 
watching stonily as boiling pockets of fighting ruptured, the soldiers that 
entered the battle from outside appearing and vanishing as they avoided 
confrontation, striking without letting the enemy see or hear them come. The 
headwoman of the temple watched it with a cold feeling in her chest, not 
understanding, not caring. Take advantage of it now, she reasoned. Deal with 
the aftermath later.
    Another voice was more blunt in explanation. "Looks like your evil witches 
came to pull your asses out of the fire." Chastity was sitting at the top of 
the steps, looking around the parapets. Idly, she picked some dirt out from 
a fingernail with a stiletto. "Nice of them, huh?"
    "Shut up, Chastity," Rory snapped at her irritably. This was hardly the 
time for wiseass remarks. The thief shrugged and continued to pick a nail. 
"Priestess, please, it's all right.... We need to send out more of the guard 
to help them...we can spare some more from the barracks...they've been able 
to rest a bit. If we have so many trained magic users that can fight as 
well, then we should take advantage of it and-"
    "Lenora, she's right," Bellina agreed, turning to step away from the edge. 
"We can wait until the enemy cuts down the witch forces. They're more 
expendable than our men. Then drive our-"
    "You bitch!"
    Eyes turned to look at a livid Princess Rory, who was still on her knees 
beside Lenora. "How dare you speak to me that-"
    "Shut the hell up! And you listen to me." Rory's voice dropped low, and she 
saw Bellina's face harden as she realized that Rory would not be manipulated 
or pushed the way Lenora was. Rory stood, tightly controlling her face. 
Chastity's eyebrows were up, unsure whether to be amused or to join in. "You 
have been killing those people for years now." Releasing Lenora abruptly, 
the young High Priestess stared at the Princess. "And they help you. They're 
helping you. Look! For the love of the gods, look out there!" A finger 
pointed out over the stones that formed the tower. Smoke drifted up and 
beyond them. "They've destroyed your shields. The henge has been taken. 
They've penetrated the outer wall. They've broken the backs of our men, and 
now you're going to just let our last chance die? What the hell is wrong 
with you?"
    "I have been running the temple of-"
    "Headwoman! I did not give you permission to speak! You are in the presence 
of the Crown Princess of the North, and without my and my father's support 
you would not receive the tithes that you so proudly distribute!" Rory faced 
off with the older woman, fists tight at her sides, face red. "You are 
outdated, old woman. Your ideals and your beliefs are what is going to kill 
this world. You want to kill them? Is that your vision of the future? You're 
killing the world, Bellina, and you don't even know it! Get out! Get the 
hell out! Lenora is High Priestess, not you. She runs this temple, not you. 
Get out! Out!"
    A rumble built up in the valley below. The rumble of engines of war, and 
the turning of the tide of men. One hundred witches are a force to be 
reckoned with, but in contrast to thousands of anguished demons, there was 
very little that could be done. They swarmed through the valley floor, over 
the sides of the mountain, up over the standing stones before the drop 
cliffs, beating outside the doorways and the ground. Metal burned in the air 
and blood ran along the ground. Faceless and nameless. Faceless and united.
    "You have no jurisdiction over me, Princess Aurora," Bellina told her 
coolly, with the steady gaze that she had earned though her work. "Your 
speech is only your opinion, not that of...."
    "I agree with her!" Chastity interrupted brightly, smiling cheerily at 
Bellina. She tapped her knife to her brow in mock salute.
    "No one asked your opinion, whore."
    "Oh, now that's just not nice. 'Sides, I happen to be a thief, not a 
prostitute."
    "Shut up."
    "I seem to be getting that a lot today!" Chastity continued to grin, 
sounding sweet.
    "Both of you," Lenora said quietly. She sat still on the ground, black 
robes pooled around her like the tide. Her small hands held one of the folds 
tightly, knuckles white. The delicate veins drew blue under her skin, and 
her face was shadowed in the darkness. "be silent." She smoothed the fold in 
her hands, quietly. "Bellina, you will go to the armory, and see that the 
weaponry is distributed between the men in the barracks. We will be joining 
our new friends as soon as possible."
    "Lenora, I must advise against this-"
    "I do not care what you advise, Bellina. I do not care about your grudge. 
Go now."
    The older woman looked between the three young ones there. Rory showed no 
pity or joy. Simply hardness against her. Chastity was picking her nails 
again. Lenora did not look up. So the headwoman of Fire Mountain suddenly 
found herself discarded. They were so young, in comparison to her. Children, 
to her. Children who did not know what they were doing. Children who were 
going to run the world. "Yes, High Priestess," Bellina said flatly, then 
walked past Lenora, whisking quietly from the room, avoiding stepping over 
Chastity. Her footfalls were light upon the stone steps, then gone from 
their hearing.
    "Chastity, a favor?"
    The thief looked up, mildly surprised to be called on. She had just 
followed along up there, for the show. "Yeah?"
    "See to it that the priestesses come upon the wall. All who have magic. We 
have been running for too long." She stood slowly, folding her hands. Then 
she looked at Rory, then Chastity. "Too long. It is time we took 
responsibility for our actions. Come. It is time my people learn to fight 
again."


    Below the gates, a white haired woman stood. She wore simple clothing, 
black. When she walked a chime would sound, evidence of a bell on the anklet 
she wore. Sweet spicy fragrance swirled around her, masking her from the 
smells of death that swam around her. Just beside the unbreached main gate, 
she observed with curiosity the ring of stone pillars. Fingers, they seemed 
to be the earth reaching for the sky. Four pillars of granite, heavy beyond 
compare, and formed before time began, so it was said. Now under the four 
full moons, it was bathed in pale lights of color, yellow and blue, red and 
green. Off dark armor, too, did the moonlight shine, the stars dappling the 
darkness. She wore a cloak and gathered it around her for warmth. Silence 
would come soon enough, to replace the screams of battle. Silence to replace 
the endless babbling of too many people. Silence to let the dead rest. The 
infinite dead. She knew the battle was near conclusion. Priestesses were 
trying to help now, up on the walls. Someone in there had finally decided to 
work with the 'enemy'. One brain out of all of them, at least. Guards were 
backing up any forces outside. Still, she knew, it was only a matter of 
time.
    There would be no reinforcements from outside. None from the East. Too 
poor, too old fashioned. They'd be likely to side with her more than 
anything. The East she would leave alone. The West was withdrawn, too 
worried about their own concerns. They grew fat on their own self 
satisfaction. The South? The North? Clashed in battle, days ago now. Main 
armies decimated, both now kingless and without rulers. For what? Nothing. 
The taking of the Fire Mountain was a step towards the future she desired. 
The future she was creating. Calculated so carefully. And so with her duty 
here complete, she sought a faerie road, and stepped onto it.
    It would be over soon.


    Within the circle of stones, a slight wind caught against the dry dirt on 
the ground. A moment passed, and the circling grew stronger, forcing the 
creatures that stood there to back away to make room. This was a road of 
light, white light that formed from the ground and grew around a pair of 
lightly placed feet. The cool cloudless night parted a moment for the silent 
entrance of this new player. Her eyes were closed, dark lashes brushing her 
cheeks. As the brightness died away, the wind that caressed her let go of a 
swirling cloud of hair, letting it fall once again. In awe, the wide eyed 
creatures watched her raise her head, open her eyes and look around.
    Black boots, high and topped with white. Short skirt of black, collar of 
black, choker of black, a star in its center. Bow on her chest and back dark 
red. Hair falling long and dark green to her knees, pulled back and spun 
into a bun. Long white gloves that covered her elbows. Hands that gripped a 
scrolled silver staff. She turned around, looking at the pillars of stone, 
looking at  the blast scars upon the walls of the temple. Looked and saw the 
battle that raged around the corner of the western wall. Watched a man 
struck down by a club, brains bashed out onto the ground. Her stomach turned 
over, feeling ill.
    "Always battle," she spoke, hands tight on her staff. "Never ending."
    The silent spell around her cracked, then shattered. Demon faces focused on 
the soldier before them, surrounded by them. One creature, a large, bulky 
thing, fanged with teeth that protruded though its face, swung a club over 
its head. It was an inelegant weapon, but whether clubbed or cut, dead was 
still dead. Did it matter how the end came? So long as it was effective. So 
many debates over the ends justifying the means.
    The woman did not panic, seeing the thing lumber at her, charging. She 
lifted her staff to the air, and mist gathered around the garnet orb that 
rested in the center of a heart shaped scroll. Quietly, very quietly, she 
whispered, "Dead Scream."





************************************************************************

    Huh, I brought Pluto in. Wasn't planning on doing that. At least not for 
awhile....But I thought she'd fit in there perfectly. How 'bout you? Well, 
Jara, too, is a runic name. I means 'harvest,' and is a symbol of  inner 
turmoil. I do wish I could have had more time with Jara and Eolh the way I 
have with Ken and Lagu...it's too bad. Minako always seems to go last, ne? 
Last to arrive, last to get her heart crystal stolen, last to get Crystal 
Power....Last to get her dragon. The cosmic forces are just set against her, 
I guess.... Other than Mina getting Jara, this chapter is another one of 
those 'setting things up' kind of chapters... Gomen it's so short. -_-, So 
we'll see. I need to plot out the next chapter. I know what has to/I want to 
happen, but still, little things always pop up that I wasn't expecting. Like 
Sets. We'll see how things go.
    Ja, til next time.
    -Queen

    iceaffinity@hotmail.com

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