The Power Inside

[Fortune86]

"You can ask him yourself" said Chris.

 

At the top of the stairs he walked along a long corridor and entered an ornately decorated door. Inside was a waiting room full of finely furnished chairs. Chris dropped Diane into one, hooking her arms over the back so she couldn't run off, and went to go and talk to the woman sitting behind a desk.

 

They spoke too quietly for Diana to hear, but the woman rose from her seat and walked through a door at the other side of the room. When she came back she nodded to Chris, who went straight back to Diana and picked her up again, once again slinging her over his shoulder.

 

He entered Jyeh's office, saluted the best he could to the man behind the desk, dropped Diana into the chair in front of it and left. He was going to find his family.

 

Jyeh was reading a piece of paper on his desk. So far he had not acknowledged Diana's presence.

[Chicogal]

Diana glared at the back of Chris. One had to be the worst of the worst to work for Jyeh. It was because of Jyeh that dear Noland was dead, that Ceil had lost an eye and been injured so terribly. Eventually she was lugged through again (much to her chagrin) and put down once more into a chair. Right in front of that man.

That man who could only by Jyeh. She could just about feel evil emanating from him (although that could be her hatred for him acting up). But she was in the lion's den now, and she had to be careful. "So you're the famous Jyeh," she said evenly, coolly. This was the man she wanted to kill.

[Fortune86]

"I certainly hope so" said Jyeh picking up another piece of paper and starting to read it without looking up. "Any other man sitting in this chair would be arrested."

 

~~~

 

Ceil shifted in his seat and looked around at the skies. No sign of Kaz. He didn't even know if the freelancer was still on the island, or if had run off or been arrested. He could only hope that he was okay. It was too dangerous now to go back and look for him.

[Chicogal]

Diana didn't look too impressed. His wit wasn't particularly funny. She sat there in silence, adjusting herself on the chair. Her arms were getting rather sore from being tied like this. Blue eyes sweeping the man up and down, she tilted her head slightly. "So. Are you going to keep me in suspense or tell me what you're going to do to me?"

[Fortune86]

"I would have thought that was obvious" said Jyeh. "You're bait. Ceil will come for you and knowing Arthur and Bastain, they'll refuse to let him come on their own. It's rather important I have a word with my nephew and his friend, as well as anyone they may have spoken to recently."

[Chicogal]

Oh. Maybe she wasn't as dull as she (and Ceil) thought. She didn't really think that Ceil would actually come for her, though. "Well, you've got the wrong Summoner. Ceil just about hates me," she said. Okay, so perhaps that was a stretch of the truth. She didn't think that Ceil really hated her. But he didn't care for her either. She couldn't see a reason why he'd actually throw himself into such danger. She was curious about the mention of Arthur and Bastian, though. She'd thought them bad lots. How couldn't she have thought Arthur related to Jyeh? He seemed as cruel as this man.

[Fortune86]

"If that is what you believe then you are sadly mistaken" said Jyeh picking up another piece of paper. "Ceil is most likely one of the most caring and protective teachers the Summoner School has ever had. He regulary goes above and beyond to keep his students safe and to teach them the skills required to survive. He even started teaching them basic wilderness survival skills, when all previous staff members drew the line at combat. Despite his gruffness he is rather popular. I'm employing several of his former students and I am forever getting complaints from their captains about how often they remark on how 'Ceil would do this' or 'Ceil said that'."

 

For the first time he looked up and met Diana's bright blue eyes with his own cold ones.

 

"You were incredibly lucky really."

[Chicogal]

Diana listened to Jyeh, and although she didn't want to admit it... Maybe he was right about Ceil. When she'd gone against him, his anger had only been because he'd wanted her to survive. His slapping her when she'd almost been killed by that monster in the grounds had been him trying to shock her into not doing that sort of thing ever again. And that first night, when she'd thought that no-one really liked her, and had felt so alone... He'd given her his bed for the night. These thoughts flashed by in a second, but it was then that she decided - if she saw Ceil again, she was going to thank him. She met his cold eyes, raising her chin slightly. She wasn't going to cower if these were her final few minutes. "Were. You said, 'were,'" she picked up. "So - what, are you killing me or him or both of us?"

Edited June 5, 2013 by Chicogal

[Fortune86]

"Most likely all of you" said Jyeh sounding cheerful. "Summoners are defunct. You can no longer keep Wyhdori safe from monsters. Despite the best efforts of my predecessors and myself you are just too badly organised. Monster related deaths have risen an all time high, beaten only by their initial arrival. If humanity is to survive, we must look elsewhere for salvation."

[Chicogal]

Diana couldn't help the glare creeping into her eyes. She wanted to yell at him, oh yes she did. But that wasn't going to get her anywhere. "We were given our powers for a reason," she said, eyes narrowing slightly. "Our crystals are in our chests because Vundiha decided the world needed help. She would not have done so if she'd thought that we would become useless."

[Fortune86]

"That was nine hundred years ago little girl" said Jyeh returning his attention to the papers on his desk."But as we can not fathom the ways and means of the gods, they can neither understand what it is to be mortal."

 

The noise of the people streaming into the city could be heard through the open window, even from this height. There was even the moo of a cow as a farmer tried his best to restrain what was left of his herd.

[Chicogal]

"And you don't need to kill the Summoners, little man," Diana replied hotly. She wasn't going to take that crap from him without giving any back if he was going to kill her anyway. "There's no reason why you need to. Unless you have some other idea of defeating all the Titans and monsters?" She really didn't see the point in murdering those who weren't doing you any harm.

[Fortune86]

Jyeh rose an eyebrow and looked at Diana. At five foot nine, he could hardly be called 'little', but he admired her courage to try and insult him. Shame it wasn't going to help her.

 

"The Titans are my other idea."

[Chicogal]

((She meant more along the lines of, 'little man,' as in small in character. ))

 

Diana looked quite, well, confused for a moment. Then, she snorted. She was starting to feel a bit more like herself now. Maybe because she wanted to be herself before she died. "You think you can convince the Titans to come on the side of humans? Look, you might think yourself persuasive, but I don't think that's going to work." There must be more behind this, or else he was really, really, thick.

[Fortune86]

Jyeh chuckled darkly. Either Arthur and Bastain hadn't seen or explained as much as he had feared, or this girl was phenomenally slow.

 

"Did you see all those people surging into the city? Do you know why they are all coming here? Because there is no where else for them to go. Several hours ago the Titans destroyed every other settlement in Whydori. At my command. It took a few years, but we finally learned how to control them."

[Chicogal]

Diana was careful to not let her expression drop into looking stupid. She didn't want to look too much so. She'd been expecting something a bit shocking. "What's the point of that?" she demanded. So many emotions were rising up from within her. Anger, frustration, sadness. Others she couldn't even name. "You've destroyed people's livelihoods and their homes. You have refugees streaming in from all over, too many people to feed and clothe. You're going to have a problem of extreme poverty here when all the jobs possible are taken," she said, becoming quite enraged. "Or are you going to kill them, too? By the time you're finished, you'll have no people left to rule!" It took a couple of moments for her to calm down from her outburst, when something from a while ago surface to her mind. "Crystals. What are you doing with the crystals?"

[Fortune86]

"Tehgrimm Suda has more than enough provisions to care for those who manage to make it inside the gates" said Jyeh simply. "We've been planning this for a while after all, we were able to make preperations. Once we have enough people to carry on the human race I will order the gates sealed. I will use the Titans to purge the outside world clean of monsters. When every last monster is destroyed, we can rebuild and reclaim the land. A lot of death now in exchange for peace and survival later."

 

Jyeh stood up and walked over to the window to close it.

 

"You're young. Idealistic. I understand that the delicacies of such a ploy would be lost on you. Killing off fifty per cent of the population is horrific yes, but so much more preferable than watching the end of humanity slide ever closer. The way things were going humans would have been extinct by the end of the century. This way we have a chance, and our children and their children will live in a world without fear."

 

When Diana mentioned the crystals Jyeh turned back to face her.

 

"Oh so you do know about that do you? I had wondered. Well I suppose there is no harm in telling you...or better yet, why don't I show you? I think you'll be impressed."

 

He walked over to his desk and picked up a little bell which he rang. Lowe entered the room and glared around.

 

"Ah Lowe, please be so kind as to escort our young friend here. There is something I'd like to show here."

 

Lowe nodded and roughly grabbed Diana's arm, pulling her to her feet. Jyeh walked through the door ahead and Lowe followed, pulling Diana with him.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Fortune86

[Chicogal]

Diana watched him with narrowed eyes. He was evil, pure evil. There wasn't a need for this! If he had gone about this peacefully, it would have been so much better. He could have sealed off every major city with everyone in it. He could have not done this, thought of something better. She laughed bitterly. "I don't think I can be impressed by anything you do," she hissed, although she rose when she was tugged on. She wanted to know what he was doing with these crystals. They had to be the Summoner's crystals. Was he killing Summoners for them? She walked alongside the man named Lowe, holding herself up straight. Proudly.

[Fortune86]

"I didn't say you would like it" said Jyeh evenly.

 

He led Lowe and Diana down several flights of stairs and then into a room. Several guards were posted in here, but Jyeh walked straight past them to the door beyond. One of the guards opened it for him and the others and he stepped into a corridor that was obviously hewn right into the cliffs.

 

"We started this project many years ago" Jyeh said matter-of-factly. "But it was a while before we got any real results. We had to build almost an entire second city under Tehgrimm Suda. It's not the sort of thing we could in public after all."

 

He walked down the rocky corridor and opened another door. This time an eerie light shone through, bathing them all in it's sickly shine.

 

Jyeh stepped through to allow Lowe to pull Diana in. It was a vast cavern, the ceiling several hundred feet away, and in the centre was a bizzare altar which lay eight men and woman. Their eyes were open, but they weren't looking at anything. Each of them could pass for dead if not for the slight rise and fall of their chests as they breathed.

 

Above them loomed a large mysterious contraption that spun down from the distant ceiling. The contraption was the source of the strange light and if one drew too close you could almost feel it throbbing.

 

A couple of men in white coats were attending to the contraption and the people on the altar. They had looked up from their work when Jyeh opened the door, but quickly resumed their duties.

[Chicogal]

Diana stalked along, gaze taking in what was around her. This was quite well-guarded, she noted. A whole underground city? It had to be bad if they needed so much space. The light coming from within the final room was horrible. Unnatural. Then she looked down, a sharp intake of breath coming from her. This was wrong. Something was very, very, wrong - completely and utterly so. Those men and women... Eight. Eight of them. Eight Titans. She turned to Jyeh, feeling revolted. "You're controlling them through Summoner crystals inside people? Replacing their Fiends?" she asked incredulously, blue eyes unbelieving.

[Fortune86]

Jyeh laughed. She still hadn't worked it out.

 

"Oh dear little girl. The Titans are their Fiends."

 

Still laughing he walked over to the altar and laid a hand on the headrest of the nearest male.

 

"Joey Malnese. Thirty six years of age. Fiend was known as Sevren. Now more widely known as The Serpent."

 

Jyeh walked to the next person and gestured to them.

 

"Samatha Cairn. Forty one years of age. Fiend Amaga. Now The Horse."

 

He walked over to the next one.

 

"Ephron Hujia. Fifty nine. Fiend Fuslam. You'd know them as The King."

 

Jyeh looked down at Ephron and gently patted his head.

 

"Ceil would have a fit if he knew this old man was down here. He was Ceil's teacher. Ceil loved him like a father. Broke his heart when he vanished. He swore he'd never let anyone get as close to him as he had been to Ephron, because as a darkness Summoner he would never live long. Refused to make anyone go through the same pain he did."

 

He began to walk around altar.

 

"It turns out Fiends really don't like being seperated from their Summoners. It took years to learn how to do so without killing them. In the end we had to build this using shards from the shattered crystals"

 

Jyeh gestured up at the contraption above the altar.

 

"Don't ask me exact how it works, far too technical for me, but work it does. And the surviving Fiends mutated so badly no one recognised them, not even the families and friends of their Summoners. Of course the first thing the resulting Titans did was go on the rampage. They were often drawn to the places most important to their Summoner. The King for example was forever trying to get to Niefir when Ceil became the next teacher. It must have been drawn towards its master's 'son' or something. Other times they relentless hunted Summoners and other Fiends. Perhaps they hoped they would be killed and put out of their misery. It doesn't matter, I control them now."

 

((Spelling. I will manage it one day.))

Edited June 5, 2013 by Fortune86

[Chicogal]

Oh. Oh Vundiha, no. Diana stared at the men and women, blue eyes full of pity and a sort of regret. When Jyeh came to Ephron, she froze. She knew that name. Ephron. Then she got her answer. "Ceil's... Teacher?" she whispered to herself. This was the man who had been like his father. Noland had told her about him. And here he was, probably terribly tortured. Ceil would probably just about die from seeing this. Her teacher, she was learning more and more about the man he truly was with every passing minute. She couldn't help her gaze being riveted to Ephron. This was truly saddening. More than saddening, really. It made one desperate, hopeless. It made her want to cry, but she wouldn't in front of him. No. "So why do you need to kill even more Summoners?" she asked fiercely, looking back at Jyeh again. "You have enough Titans, and apparently enough crystals to control them."

[Fortune86]

"As I said, we only recently discovered how to control them. Now we have no more need to experiment, but with the Titans under control we no longer have a need for Summoners at all. What would they do in our new monster free world? With nothing to fight they'd turn on each other, or worse. No. It would be better to erase them from the world along with the monsters. Relics of an ancient world."

 

Jyeh motioned to Lowe who nodded and began to pull Diana back out of the room. Jyeh followed closely behind.

 

"Now lets go back up stairs and wait for the others yes? I'd hate to miss them."

[Chicogal]

Diana was not satisfied with that answer. "I didn't know that having the crystals was genetic," she said, turning her head over her shoulder so she was speaking sideways. "There will still be children born with crystals. They will stay hidden. You can't erase Summoners if Vundiha still bestows the gift. Unless I'm mistaken," she said. There was something fierce raging within her, a fire which wanted Summoners like her to be born. To live. To fight. To ride and run and fly with their Fiends, feel the incredible sense of connection to another being different physically but the same spiritually. Experience the glee of discovering themselves to be a Summoner, the feeling of being... Free.

[Fortune86]

"You sound so sure of yourself" said Jyeh sounding a little tired. "But you forget that Vundiha gave the gift of the crystals to fight the monsters. No monsters, no new crystals. Simple as that."

 

They made their way back to the room with all the guards. Jyeh nodded to them and then turned to Lowe.

 

"Take the girl somewhere secure and keep her there. I have some business to attend to."

 

Lowe nodded and dragged Diana away. He did not return Diana to Jyeh's office, but a large room that looked as though it was normally used for meetings. He pushed Diana into a chair, made sure she was secure, then sat down on the table.

 

((Won't be posting again today.))