4: Early Beginning

Large pieces of rubble were strewn across the floor behind Dinn as he silently faced the three from halfway across the room. He stood frozen in place like a statue, the only sign of movement came from the shinning sword in his hand and his dead glowing eyes that gently fluctuated in their intensity.

As the dust slowly dissipated and settled across the wide decrepit hall, Zayer intently watched Dinn, who just stood motionlessly observing him and the two behind him. Unable to make sight of the face of the motionless body tens of meters away, he kept focus on the blue glowing eyes.

A shiver ran down his spine. He had never in his life felt so much unexplained fear towards an individual. He could feel a small pressure pushing him back as he struggled to remain focused on the boy who he had easily made quick work of just a while ago. No. This person felt completely different to him in an unexplainable way. 'Did I hit em in the right places or something?'

After a few moments of careful observation the pressure pushing Zayer increased, causing him to nervously shift back. As his eyes tried to keep focus on Dinn his vision began to blur. Zayer was forced to take his eyes off of him for a mere second before the pressure disappeared altogether. Immediately turning his focus back to the origin of the pressure, Zayer took notice that the shinning sword had just silently flown out the room.

//Heh. IT'S BEEN SO LOOOOONG! Whew.//

A strange voice relayed itself directly into Zayer's ears. He quickly turned his head to look around himself, trying to find the voice's origin.

//Right here kid.//

Snapping his head back towards the motionless figure from before, Zayer was surprised to see him lifting his fists high up in the air as if he was stretching.

//You're either pretty good for your age or those two shits are pretty pathetic.// The voice of a young man echoed in his mind as Dinn pointed behind Zayer.

Looking back he was surprised to find both Werty and Nito laying motionlessly on the other side of the room, twenty meters away. Werty looked like a corpse with his body laid flat on his stomach against the wall. A few steps away Nito could be seen sitting with his back to the wall struggling to pant.

Continuing with his heads constant turning, Zayer now watched as Dinn (or who ever was in control of the body) made their way over.

//Well this makes it easier for me. If you wouldn't mind telling me what year it is kid?//

A little confused by his question, Zayer became even more confused by himself after he began to nervously answer the inquiry.

"Si-Sixteen Four-Ninety (16490)...Q.E."

//Still using Qinaq's calender? Damn. Well it's only been a short time since the last course and the worlds been pretty peaceful. I guess those guys still run shit. Let's hope I can change that this course. Kehehehe.//

As Dinn stopped a couple meters away Zayer could now make out the boy's face. Everything was just as it was before, except the glowing blue eyes. The whole of the eyes were glowing, sclera and all. Dinn was about the same height and wore matching clothes as Nito; a pair of black pants and a white tank top. His brown hair was cut short right above his eyebrows covering his tanned forehead.

//Don't worry kid when Jinak comes back with her hilt I'll give you a reward.//

The completely frozen face told him that and then turned around facing the enterance. Zayer felt a small urge spread through his body telling him to run now. Despite the urgent feeling Zayer stayed his ground as he crouched down looking at Dinn's scratched up back.

|A small boost. Use it wisely.|

A quiet internal voice got louder in Zayer's head as he aligned his sight onto his left hand.

At the reappearance of Dinn, who was came equipped with a mysterious, enormous and eerie pressure, Zayer felt the pain from his shoulder ease as a new sharp pain settled itself onto his hand. All the pain and weariness seemed to concentrate itself into his bandaged left hand; making him turn his cautious glare away from Dinn's back. Under the bandages the light of a glowing mark was desperately struggling to leak through.

Turning his eyes back towards Dinn, Zayer could make out the dimly glowing mark of Siana on Dinn's right hand. Zayer then turned his head to look at Werty and Nito who lay motionlessly behind him. Only being able make out Nito's, he could clearly tell that the heaving fool's mark wasn't glowing in the slightest. It retained the usual black tattoo like appearance every mark of Siana has.

Now with a completely revived stamina, Zayer slowly stood up as quietly and carefully as possible. He kept his cautious grey eyes on what he was resolved was a completely different person than the one he clashed with before.

~//Sit down child & patiently wait.//~

The voice from Dinn that relayed directly into Zayer's ears from before changed into that of a menacingly cold mature individual. As if having eyes on the back of his head Dinn didn't even turn around as the menacing aura bombarded Zayer full force.

Zayer fell backwards as feelings of regret assaulted his mind for foolishly believing he could even stand against this wild being.

----------

Meanwhile in Siana's central district, at the very center of it's central territory, women and children filled the streets, quickly making their way as a large crowd. Many were entering and exiting a large dome structure in high volume.

The shining dome was piece of architecture of fantasy. It had a gleaming light blue roof covered in a pattern of small black stars. The bottom half was of supporting pillars that held up the roof. Each pillar had a priestesses standing in front of a pillar; all of them wore matching uniforms of light blue robes and stood in silence.

The inside of the majestic structure was filled to the capacity with women and their daughters all giving their prayer to a large mantis green statue at the very center. A glass barrier separating the statue from the otherwise open dome structure that had no walls between it's pillars.

Across the street wedged between two tall towers a smaller, similar dome was placed. It wasn't completely identical because unlike its larger counterpart it had walls. No one wandered near the area, creating an exclusive, cutoff atmosphere around it.

On the inside of the circular structure a group of twenty-one priestesses sat around a large square table chatting with each other. The ceiling sheltered the room but still mysteriously it was letting in the sunshine as if it was made glass. They all sat comfortably facing a large black crystal embedded in the center of the great wooden table that was also firmly rooted in the ground itself.

The table was at the center of the brightly lit room and occupied more than half the space the building occupied. All the women wore light blue robes except an elder who sat near a large door with a desk of her own. She turned her attention towards the group of women as she finished sorting through a pile of documents on her desk. Some had their hoods on and some took in the sunlight revealing a large variety of women of all ages and shades.

After the sounds of shuffling papers reached some of their ears, the group stopped their chatter. They all turned their attention to the head priestess sitting away from them. "This month's council has begun. Proceed," she directed.

"The Young Mistress Hera still hasn't been located," one woman immediately began.

"Still? It's been over a month! Are you completely sure she hasn't gone through a 'room'?"

"All our guards stationed at the 'rooms' still haven't reported any sight of her," the voice responded.

"Other than that we have more pressing matters to deal with," a third more low pitched voice chimed in. "It's been eight years since the tablet has picked up Daron's signal. We need to quickly eliminate his new host before he phases out."

"If his host phases out then we won't be able to keep him contained here any longer. His skill will begin to be inherited outside outside of the walls of the seal." A more worried voice resounded itself directly after.

"Pffft. You actually believe he can do anything in the body of a child." A young priestess added. "We can ea-"

"SILENCE!"

As the thundering of an elder woman's voice echoed in the room everyone turned their eyes towards the elder and only priestess wearing light green robes who moderated the discussion. "The abilities of Daron are as ancient as this city itself. His abilities span millennia and you dare to make light of a seniors caution?"

The young priestess now with her eyes now downcast shivered at the great elder's outburst. "My apologies Great Mistress Hera!"

"When I was a little girl Daron had completely overrun and wiped out the Hall of Sindara in the north and most of our northern branches before his host had even phased out." The elder's voice who brought up the topic of 'Daron' explained. "Single handedly. He destroyed much of everything we had including his locating shards." The fear in her voice was amplified by her aging voice.

"Don't underestimate his strength," the supervising priestess added. As the silence was short lived, the elder let out a soft sigh. "Just understand that young Trew. Proceed"

The discussion continued for a while covering recent events in the outside world. These topics included the results of the Red Moon Tournament that lead to the banishment of the young prince Shinha, the decreasing rates of war across the map, the recent appearance of an unknown individual that rumors name 'Reo the Sole Raider', and band of pirates suspected to be from Siana.

As the meeting was coming close to a wrap up a shocked gasp echoed in the room as one member began to point at the center of the table they gathered around.

Before anyone could continue the black crystal at the center of the table started dimly glowing a light blue light. Some continued sitting around the table could only look on in confusion wondering what this mean, while others stood. Eventually they could gawk no longer as the crystal flashed and shined too brightly to look directly at it.

The light then slowly receded and they all turned their attention to the crystal that had now turned a completely clear light blue and was glowing softly under the sunshine the glass-like ceiling let through.

"Looks like Daron has taken control of his host."

The crystal started to crack and pieces of the expensive looking rock started to fall off. The intensity of the light kept on increasing however as the priestesses could only worriedly look on. As it started to crumble the blue light slashed and became white. The table began to shake as white sparks started to char the wooden table. Some of these sparks however were flashes of light that escaped through the clear roof above.

"!!What's it been two hundred years since I've last been in central. How you doing you self righteous bitches! KAHAHA!!!"

"Wh-Who are you!" A priestess said as she covered her eyes from the light, backing away.

"!!Not teaching your new recruits about me really hurts me Hera. Or are you a new one too!!"

"You reincarnating vermin. DIE," a middle aged priestess shrieked.

"No!"The woman raised her hand towards the eerie crystal that continuously cracked, but her actions were soon halted by the words of Hera, the supervising priest.

"!!You Hera bitches just keep getting more and more aggressive each course. We~ll whatever. Just wanted to let you bitches know it's gotten pretty boring in Siana's little playpen. Hehe. I'm gonna leave.!!"

"What?!" The elder Hera was obviously shocked at the bold declaration. "You think we'll just sit by and let you?! I'll personally find your host and crush your soul- YOU VERMIN!"

"!!Calm down granny. I don't want to see you die, you're more interesting than those other Hera bitches. What's the deal? Why so angry?Did I kill you're sister in my last course or something?!!" The voice from the crystal was taunting her as more pieces continued to fall off.

"You massacred all the northern temples you fiend," she furiously declared. She was now standing up from her small desk making her way over to the table keeping her eyes on the cruystal despite the blinding light it emitted.

"!!Oh yeah~! Forgot about that. We~ll whatever. I'm gonna need my hilt back so BYE-BYE!!!" Just as the voice from the crystal said that the rest of the rock flashed and all the pieces exploded across the room. A few of the priestesses turned their heads trying to avoid the shards while Hera and a few of the others looked straight on, unaffected. A white sword hilt was floating where the center of the crystal once was.

One of the women who did not look away quickly threw something at the hilt as it slowly floated upwards. Within moments it flashed and sped through the clear roof towards the sunny sky.

"Trew. Inform the rest of the temples in the Southern and the Western territories of Daron's return. Inform Durol and Shar as well right after that," the elder commanded. Trew nodded in response. Hera then turned her focus towards another priestess as Trew scurried out the room. "Which way is his Rovyst?"

"To the north Elder Hera." The priestess bowed to the elder.

A rage filled expression rested itself on the supervising elder's face as she reminisced of her tortured past at the hands of Daron's previous host. "Lead the way."

----------

As the lights from the crystal flew out from the temple's roof they scattered across Siana. Being caught in the glimpse of many as they traveled over all six territories.

---

-Fwshhh-

"What was that mom?" The curious voice of a young boy asked turning towards his mother as the white light flew past.

"Shhhh. Be quite Vaxen." She put her hands over the mouth of the boy dressed in a beautiful yellow dress. "I don't know," she answered. She put her hand down and quickly grabbed his gloved right hand and the two continued walking. The streets all around them were abuzz chattering of the mysterious light and what it could have possibly meant.

---

-Fwshhh-

"Yo Cort! Whazzat?!"

"Shut the hell up Fitch! Does it look like I know!"

On top of the roof in the newly separated Southeastern district four boys were all on the roof of a 50 story building. Two of them stood on guard at the roof's entrance and looked above as light whizzed past.

*Yawn*

At the center of the roof was a luxuriously set up black canopy with a bed under it. The body of a shuffling individual rolled under the the thin sheets. To the beds side stood a tall handsome black haired man. His manly features stood out, being complemented by his short one inch hair. He immediately turned his attention to the figure rising from the bed.

"Shit! You woke King up," Cort nervously whispered.

---

-Fwsshhhh-

"Torina! Stop day dreaming!" A middle-aged women said as she observed a five year old staring out the window. "Look at your book!"

"But momma what's that light?" The curious girl pointed her finger towards the sky outside. The mother then turned her sights towards the outside sky.

"Whatever it may be is of no concern to us now." She pulled the curtains that let in a decent amount of light through. "Read." The mother gestured towards the book while tapping the desk with her finger.

As the girl began to read the mother stepped back and sat on a chair behind the girl on the opposite side. The circular room was covered in book save for it's truncated sides there she sat and the wall across with the window and desk.

---

-Fwsshhhh-

As the lights flew they all slowly made their way to small houses or huts scattered across Siana. These houses and huts all had yellow roofs and armed guards standing in front. Some of the guards jumped out of the way and some tried to block the light. A physical barrier made no difference as the light just passed through bodies, walls or closed doors into the center of the 'rooms'. They then made their way into the outside world.

----------

In the outside world the lights reappeared all across the world. Some appeared in desserts in the middle of the night, in palace halls at high noon, mountain caves high above the sea level, and some in deep underground catacombs.

Directly after reappearing in the outside world they shimmered and faded into the air.

----------

Back in Esidia, the brightest light shot directly towards the most tallest structure the district had to offer. The tall brown, stone tower loomed over the quiet area as the bright light flew through one of it's large open windows. The light started to lose its shine as the object responsible for the powerful light landed in the small, hands of an eight year-old boy.

//Kekehehahaha! Those old infants thought they could seal my power using one of Lia's pebbles!//

Zayer was now on full alert. The shinning white sword had returned but now it was actually solid instead of it's previous incomplete, corporeal, form from before. It was still glowing but not as much as before as it came back along with a new torrent of that mysterious pressure that surrounded him .

Standing his ground, Zayer watched as Dinn slowly turned around.

//Time for your reward for being so kind.//

Zayer quickly jumped out of the way. A streak of light flashed by him after Dinn let loose a slash towards him.

He didn't bother to turn around after hearing the noise behind him and began dodging more of these attacks as Dinn let go of a flurry of them from tens of meters away.

//Just kindly accept the reward you shitty brat! I don't have enough time so just trust me.// The commanding voice rattled his ears.

As more and more attacks were sent flying his way, Zayer noticed the farther away he was from Dinn the weaker the pressure became. After barely dodging another slash that almost cut his arm Zayer moved farther and farther back.

Each white wave of light became weaker and weaker. Whether this was due to the distance or something else Zayer couldn't tell.

'Shit.' Gently jumping over another attack, Zayer realized his mistake as Dinn came rushing in at an unimaginable speed.

//Got you!// The telepathic voice said as the sword in Dinn's hand began to glow a blinding blue. The light from Dinn's eyes had now disappeared as if the sword had collected it all.

Coming in for thrust Dinn was only an arm lengths away from piercing his heart. Zayer abruptly lifted his right hand.

The sword forcefully glided itself through his hand as Zayer quickly forced it off course. The blue light started to melt itself into Zayer's right hand making it glow the same blue as Dinn's eyes.

"Aahhhhhh!" Screaming out in pain, Zayer kicked Dinn back before landing on the ground with the sword still poking through his hand. "Aauuughh!"

!!First the feeling. Then the instinct. Then th-!!

After writhing on the ground for a while Zayer painfully pulled the sword out of his hand. The blue glow disappeared from his hand and the sword started to flash violently. "Ha~ha~~."

"Hehe~ha~hah~"

Letting out little laugh he started to pant in pain. Zayer turned around and dropped to his knees. He was now facing one of the many wide open windows lined up on the sides of the room. He looked towards the sky.

He looked down towards his hand expecting a profusely bleeding wound. He winced in pain as he touched it. "What the fuck?!" The wound had already completely healed over but the pain of being stabbed was still there.

"Aaugghh!"

The surprise was short lived as a new wave of pain concentrated in Zayer's other hand. Closing his eyes in pain, he started unwrapping his bandaged his left hand in an effort to relieve the pain. The sharp pain then quickly subsided and Zayer opened his eyes.

"Hah~ha~hah~ha~"

Looking at both his hands as he kneeled on the ground Zayer began to pant. "Fuck!" His mark of Siana had completed itself. Flipping over his right hand Zayer immediately stopped panting as his eyebrows crunched in confusion. "What the hell is this?!"

---

The mark of Siana is a unique mark that everyone born within Siana has. This mark differs in appearance from male to female but it essentially proves of your birthplace being within Siana. The mark is only completely visible the day of birth and after a child has reached maturity. After birth the mark disappears and slowly begins to reappear as the child grows. During the time the mark is incomplete, a youth can't leave Siana using any of the special 'rooms' used to reach the outside world.

The marks also mean different things for the different genders. For boys it gives them an idea of when they will phase which is when they will be forcefully teleported into the outside world. For girls it's completion means that they can enter and exit Siana using the rooms available to all it's citizens for a fare. Both of the marks are black in all cases and will appear on the dominant hand of the individual.

---

----------

All across the world news spread. Different religious organizations all across the world claimed of a new prophecy taking place. Some claimed a calamity of epic proportions was on the horizon while others saw this as a sign of the arrival of a prophet or great hero. Different religions all had contradicting and different claims. The only thing they could still agree upon was that the times coming ahead were going to become chaotic.

---

In the large palace of Shar many were clamoring outside the palace gates which was a usually uncommon sight except during Moon Festival and other national holidays and celebrations. Hundreds of people shouted and yelled as they all looked on towards the grand palace that housed the kingdom's royalty.

-

"Next!" A man in noble looking clothing looked on and shouted out towards the large cluster of people assembling themselves in the throne room. All of these people appeared to be of devout and differing religious backgrounds. Which was a common sight within Shar as the nation had no nation wide religion.

The throne was filled in the shape of a grand hall with the country's nobles sitting on an elevated stage on the sides of the white and silver decorated room. On the opposite side of the hall doors was an even higher stage with three people on it looking down into the hall's leveled floor.

A priestess in blue robes stepped forward, gaving a light bow before the King Ajios and his son the Crown Prince Kaled who sat side by side. The two each nodded their heads politely returning their allied nation's envoy's respectful gesture as they continued to sit on their grand and comfortable seats. The whole court was filled with multiple high ranking religious figures all watching or waiting patiently for the chance to address the King.

"Trew. Please don't tell us this is about the new prophecy," the prince worriedly said as he looked on at the blonde haired woman. His tine was casual inviting the interest of many of the people present.

Lifting her blue eyes she stared at the prince showing an urgent expression before facing the king. "Your majesty... Daron has broke the seal."

"What?!" The king said as he immediately stood up from his throne.

"Who's Daron?"

"That's all?"

"I know right. We have more pressing news that cou-!"

"Silence!" The prince shouted. The chatter disappeared as the prince's command shook the audience present. Turning his eyes towards Trew and then to his father, he asked,"Who is Daron!"

The audience began it's chatter again but stopped as the king's glare made them aware of his annoyance.

"This is of a matter we shall speak of privately later on," the king assured Kaled. "However this matter is quite the pressing issue." After the king's words the whole room grew dead silent.

"Hahahaha!" The laughter of an old man resonated among the audience. "The beginning of a new surge of power is rising my lords. Prepare yourselves." The old manshouted as he pointed towards the crowd of nobles looking his way from the sidelines. After making his proclamation he began walking towards the exit. Soldiers were about to attempt to apprehend the boisterous elderly man before the prince signaled for them to cease their action. Instad they opened the doors for him to leave.

"Hahahaha-!"

The large palace doors swung closed as the man continued laughing in the hallway's until his maniacal cackle was no longer audible in the throne hall.

The king turned to his son, "Kaled, you will need to assemble promising individuals to combat Doran and whatever else this will need too." Then he turned his sights towards the man standing to his left. "Summon the most greatest combatants and decide on at least five to train Kaled and his chosen companions. Your first duty as crown prince is to end Daron."

"Yes father!"

"Also inform Durol of our desire to cooperate. Begin talks with Vushin to be included as well." The king took in a deep breath. "I HERBY ANNOUNCE A ROYAL DECREE! ALL MEN WITH SIANA'S MARK TO ARE BE EXECUTED ON SIGHT!"

CHAPTER 4 END