The Guardians' Pendants (The Zor Chronicles Part I) (9 page)

Ikani, tight up
against the rock wall behind him, struggled to catch his breath.
There was not much room for him to move around, and immediately he
began to worry about Niru, who had gone in before
him.

“Niru?” Ikani
breathed. “Are you all right?”

There was no response
from the other Zor. Ikani called his name once more, inching deeper
inward, feeling through the darkness for his friend. As he inched
his foot further forward, however, the level ground beneath him
suddenly gave way, and he was sent tumbling downward as the tunnel
suddenly widened. Trying his best not to scream, he hit the ground
with a loud thumb several seconds later.

“Ikani?” came a
familiar voice. “Are you all right?”

It was Niru. Ikani
stood up, coughing as he breathed in the dusty underground air.
“Yeah,” he replied finally, clearing his throat. “And
you?”

“Well, I haven’t been
eaten,” he replied simply, shaking his head. “But I haven’t a clue
where we are, and there are no more lights.”

Suddenly, the newfound
tunnel was illuminated by a familiar blue glow emanating from
Ikani’s chest. His jewel erected itself around his neck once more,
pointing down through the tunnel.

“Who needs lights?”
Ikani asked cheekily, even offering a half smile.

Upon turning around
and examining the hole through which they had fallen, it quickly
became clear that there would be no chance of them returning the
way from which they had come. They had fallen down a near vertical
hole in the far rock wall, and to make matters worse, they now
seemed to be positioned somewhere far below the sub-mountain
tunnels. Nevertheless, they turned their attention forward and set
out on a trek through the narrow system of tunnels into which they
had fallen.

“How do you suspect
these tunnels got here?” Niru asked curiously.

“I don’t know,”
answered Ikani. “I reckon they’re natural.”

As they continued on,
the two Zor suddenly took notice of the fast-rising levels of heat
inside these tunnels. Aside from the difficulties already imposed
upon them when it came to the stale, dusty underground air, the
thickness of the air around them soon became nearly unbearable as
the temperatures continued to rise steadily.

A sense of fear
suddenly washed over Ikani as he began to realize where they were.
The mouth of the tunnel gradually began to open wider until there
was no more speculating. Rivers of molten lava flowed before them,
flowing from the surrounding walls. The stifling heat choked the
Zor more than ever.

They were inside the
Great One Volcano.

“What do we do?” Niru
asked frantically. “How do we get out?”

“We have no choice but
to keep following the tunnels,” Ikani replied, soldiering on
despite the fact that even he was beginning to doubt that there
might be another means of escape.

“What’s with that
stone?” Niru asked suddenly.

“What do you mean-?”
Ikani asked, stopping as he gazed downward at his jewel. It was
trembling violently, seemingly pointing in all directions. At that
moment, Ikani was filled with a renewed sense of hope as he began
to wonder I they were growing nearer to the missing Veha Guardian.
Had he simply gotten lost in these tunnels as well?

Ikani scanned his
surroundings for any sight of Oren, or anything for that matter.
There was nothing; nothing besides the lava falls that spanned the
walls of the flaming mountain, reaching high over their heads.
Then, there came a frantic cry.

“Ikani, look
out!”

His attention shot
upwards. A mass of molten rock was hurtling down towards the two
Zor. Ikani had no time to think. However, there seemed to be a
deep-seated instinctual sense inside of him that propelled him to
reach for his sword. And so he did. He held it high over his head,
marveling as the molten mass suddenly stopped in mid-fall before
shooting towards them again. Ikani steadied his sword, wide-eyed
with marvel as his blade seemingly fused with the fiery object
itself as the rock vanished from sight. Nearly paralyzed with both
lingering panic and a sense of awe, Ikani, trembling still, managed
to hold his sword out before him. He marveled at its new look. It
was much larger in stature, with a long, flaming blade and a red
handle that felt as if it were meant for none other than his hand.
He lifted it upward then, captivated by its
near-weightlessness.

“Incredible,” he
breathed, still awe-struck.

“Maybe that’s what
lead us here after all,” Niru mused. “According to the educators of
Af’Lanu, Veha Guardians are said to have access to special tools
whose power only they can tap into.”

Ikani, deep in
thought, said nothing in reply. Part of him was taken aback by the
sudden revelation that maybe – just maybe – he
was
worthy
of bearing the title of Veha. However, another part of his mind was
distraught by an emerging realization that his Pendant was more
than likely not guiding him to Oren after all, as it now lay limp
against his chest once more.

Ikani shut his eyes,
breathing deeply. Then, readying his sword, he opened his eyes anew
and took a swing, sending a blast of fire energy hurtling towards
the near wall. The barrier between them and the outside world was
suddenly broken as light poured in through the newly formed exit
way. They were free.

Chapter VIII – A
Cold Welcoming

Upon arriving back in
Af’One Village, Ikani and Niru had parted ways, both of them
returning to their dwellings to rest through the remainder of the
night that had fallen in their absence.

“Farewell… Chosen
Veha,”
uttered a familiar
voice.

Ikani’s eyes snapped
open. He was shocked to find that he was once again standing atop
the Tavar Tower. Standing before him was X, her towering figure
gazing enigmatically down upon him. Ikani turned his head, scanning
the rest of his surroundings. He was surprised to find Kaho, Lanaru
and Enoke all standing behind him.

“Hey!” Ikani called in
their direction, waving. There was no response. Ikani hesitated,
lowering his hand and gazing curiously at the other Veha. Their
attention was turned the other way, and they all seemed to be deep
in conversation, laughing and enjoying themselves.

Ikani spun around once
again, turning back towards X. As he did, he froze when he instead
found himself standing face to face with another figure, dressed in
all black, its shrouded face downturned towards the
ground.

“Who are you?” Ikani
demanded, readying his sword.

At that, the figure
began to laugh. Gradually, a great red aura began to appear from
around the mysterious stranger, growing outward and swallowing the
surrounding light as the skies above turned to darkness. Ikani
braced himself, but it was too late. The shadows had already
consumed him.

Light quickly found
its way back into Ikani’s world, however, as he awoke to light
pouring in through his window. Still breathing heavily, he pulled
himself upwards and sat at the edge of his bed.

“Must have been a
dream,” Ikani figured, wiping the sweat off of his brow and
releasing a sigh of relief.

After making any
necessary preparations, Ikani peered out through the single window
of his hut. It was long after sunrise, and he had clearly slept
through the tolling of the miner’s bell. It was strange to Ikani
when he came to realize that this no longer mattered to him. His
life as a miner – as he was only now coming to realize – was a
thing of the past. There would be no more walks up the familiar
roadways to the mine entrances; there would be no more long days of
mining iron ore or of sneaking off the job with Niru to explore. As
he clasped the Pendant that hung around his neck tightly once more,
and as he placed his newly acquired Fireblade in its holster on his
back, Ikani became more aware than ever that the life which he had
left behind in this village would not returning to him any time
soon. It was for that reason that he realized there was nothing
else he could do but move forward. And so he left his dwelling,
setting out into the Village streets.

Gazing around at the
desolate stone streets, dotted on either side by small, mostly
one-room dwellings of the Zor One, Ikani appreciated for the first
time the true serenity of Af’One village when it was not bustling
with hundreds of Zor on their way to the mines and the steel
factories. The skies above may have been hazier than those
elsewhere, and the soot from the mines did seem to linger wherever
the Zor might travel, but – at least for Ikani – that did not
change a thing. He began to think of Niru, wondering how he was
faring down in the mines today. Then his mind wandered to Hari, the
guard who operated the mine’s elevators. Ikani had always looked up
to Hari and admired his work ethic and kind spirit, and the thought
of perhaps being able to approach him as an equal certainly piqued
his interest. At that, he hurried along the usual route that lead
him towards the mine entrances. Stumbling through the entrance to
Mine A now, Ikani stopped suddenly, taken aback by Hari’s absence.
In his place stood a tall Hub Zor, wearing a sandy-colored cape and
wielding a sword. At either side of him stood a single Siren,
unmistakable by their tall, slender figures and dark cloaks that
hung over their faces.

“Halt!” the guard
commanded. “What business have you here?” he questioned
harshly.

Ikani froze. What
should he say. Thinking on the spot, he attempted to form a viable
excuse. “I… I do believe that I am running a tad late for work,
sir,” he replied nervously. “My apologies; I’ll be headed down to
the mines now… sector 7 to be exact,” he added
abruptly.

The guard eyed him
suspiciously and did not movie.

“You work here, you
say?” the guard asked skeptically. “I see no miner’s attire. By the
looks of you, I get the impression that your time would be better
spent out protecting our homeland, wouldn’t you
say?”

“Well, you see…” Ikani
hesitated.

The guard snickered.
“Oh, I am terribly sorry. I seemed to have forgotten about the
little mishap of which I was recently informed, but I’m sure you
know all about that. Aren’t you a little too beaten up after
falling to that Stone Golem to be heading down to the mines
today,
hero
?” he
sneered.

“What business is it
to you?” Ikani snapped defensively, his hand instinctively reaching
for his sword.

“Oh, but it’s all of
my business,” the guard replied condescendingly, feeling for his
sword as well. “After all, while you may be under the impression
that the safety of the Zor rests in your hands,” he continued,
“Chief Remula seems to think otherwise.”

Ikani frowned at the
sound of Remula’s name. “Remula is corrupt and a deceiver; he
always was! Why else would Havea have banished him from the
Authority eighteen years ago? And besides, what business have you
here anyways? Satellite security is left to the individual Islands
to -”

Ikani stopped
mid-sentence at the sound of the guard’s arrogant laugh ringing
through the air anew.

“I really do hope you
were in attendance during the Tavar’s Induction Ceremony two nights
past,
hero
. Did you happen to
miss the part where it was announced that Satellite Security has
been put in the hands of the Sirens? That’s the Hub’s business,
which means it’s my business as well. And for the better, I must
say After all, Chief Remula is only playing it safe and keeping
such decisions out of the hands of failures such as yourself!” he
taunted.

“Where is Hari?” Ikani
barked, readying his Fireblade in a fit of rage, pointing it
towards the guard.

“
Me’hts-zie
!” cried the
guard in the tongue of the Sirens.

It must have been a
call to action of sorts, because immediately after the command was
uttered the Sirens began to close in on Ikani. He waved his sword
before them threateningly, admittedly not knowing how to act. If he
were to attack and harm the guard, then any hope of redeeming
himself in the eyes of the Tavar would be lost. And so he continued
to back away, his movements quickly turning into a frantic run as
he hurried towards the only place he could think of that would be
relatively safe – the mountains.

It was not long before
the Sirens had given up, leaving Ikani to flee. He was not
surprised; he figured that it was all part of their plan. They
desired to exile him from home – to banish him from the very land
which he was sworn to protect. It was behind a fallen body of rocks
a short ways up the mountainsides that Ikani waited in silence
while the sun began to slip beyond the smaller mountains of the
west. As nightfall drew near, Ikani began to devise a plan. He knew
that there was no use in setting out aimlessly in search of Oren
any longer, and without any hints from his Pendant he concluded
that it would not be a feasible option at the time. He also knew
that it was pointless to sit around and accomplish nothing. And so
as lights began to illuminate the streets below as the village fell
beneath the curtain of night, Ikani watched on as the Zor below
retreated to their dwellings after a long day’s worth of work.
Occasionally Ikani would catch a glimpse of a squad of Sirens or
guards and his mind would once again wander back to the mess of
questions that still burdened him. Where had all of the old guard
gone? And most importantly, was their truly a need for the
excessive security that had suddenly taken charge – questionable as
it was? Surely the Tavar and his Authority would not be taking such
actions if they did not also perceive that the Five Islands were in
danger, Ikani figured. In that case, then, why hadn’t they been
taken more seriously upon their arrival at the Tavar Mafa? As the
final lights in the dwellings below were extinguished for the
night, Ikani realized that the only way that he could hope to get
answers would be to speak to one o the guards who must have seen it
all go down. He was going to have to locate Hari.