Chapter Two

The crystal Room of Mysidia was a stunning place. Light radiated from every corner though a single torch burned in the large chamber. The crystalline floor cast the reflection of every object in the room.

It was quite an amazing hall of mirrors.

A balcony constructed of crystal encircled the room high above the floor…Cecil wondered what it was used for…wouldn’t anyone in the room want to stand close to the crystal…to see its beauty very close? Maybe some were not deserving…

In the center of the chamber was an altar of fine crystal.

On the altar laid the object that Cecil sought.

The Crystal of Water.

This is it…Cecil told himself, his stomach clenched with excitement…

Taking a deep shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves, Cecil approached the altar…

"You should not be in here…"

Cecil flinched, strangely shaken by the sound of a voice. He turned frowning…there was no one behind him…as far as he knew, he was alone in the chamber…

He turned around slowly…sighing with relief…he was glad there would be no encounter before his hands touched the crystal…

Then he saw the old man…cloaked in dingy yellow robes…stooped from age but appearing as if he were master of all…the master of the crystal…the Elder of Mysidia…the old man had been overlooked in Cecil’s excitement to capture the crystal.

The Elder was the only person standing between Cecil and the Crystal of Water…the two supporters at his side, a black robe and white robe, would be easily taken care of…if they tried to intervene…

Cecil’s eyes met those of the old man…the Elder was unaware…the dark helmet allowed no one to see the brooding face of the Dark Knight…

Cecil took a hesitant step forward, starting to speak but feeling as if he had no voice…fool, he scolded himself, why are you afraid of an old man?

He cleared his throat before speaking.

"We’ve come for the Crystal of Water."

The old man blinked calmly, and the mages at his side remained motionless.

"You are alone?"

As if the old man’s question had somehow been answered, the pounding of heavy boots drifted into the chamber, and Cecil gazed behind him. Through the door came several of the soldiers, covered in ash and soot and dust and…blood…but otherwise unharmed…the mages fought back after all, Cecil thought ruefully…he didn’t want to see it happen…but it was a possibility…

The knights clutched swords, blood-soaked dark blades…their eyes glowed in the torchlight…

One man spoke bravely:

"Take the Crystal!"

Cecil remained motionless…the soldiers watched intently to see what their fearless commander would do…

Cecil paced forward again…deliberate steps, defiant steps…

He dared the Elder of Mysidia to say something…

"Take no more steps, Knight of Baron!"

Cecil halted…his damp hair clung to his forehead…God, it was hot…why am I afraid of an old man? He can’t do anything to me…he won’t try, not with the others here with me…

Ignoring the old man’s command, Cecil started forward again…the Elder’s eyes glittered keenly…Cecil was struck at how youthful the eyes were…it must be my imagination…

"Do not take another step," the Elder warned, his voice low and threatening. Cecil paused. "If you dare move a hair’s breadth closer, you shall find yourself dying from the arrow that will pierce your flesh naked of the black armor…upon your chest…"

The soldiers watched the scene unfold…certainly now the Captain would heed the warning…or would he boldly continue his journey toward the altar?

If Cecil’s face were visible, all would have seen the unchanged expression of his countenance…the eyes unwavering, fixed upon those of the old man before him…

He took a final deliberate step forward…he stood only a few feet from the Elder and his apprentices.

There was a deep silence that lasted for an unknown amount of time…time stood still for a moment in the Crystal Room of Mysidia…Cecil wondered why he ever feared the old man…

Cecil raised his arms high toward the heavens, a smirk on his face, and exclaimed in a triumphant voice:

"Then let me die here!"

All eyes turned skyward where the balcony presided over the chamber. The men stared in anticipation, awaiting the arrow that would end their leader’s life…an arrow…how insignificant…his blood would drain upon the crystalline floor…his life over…

Nothing happened…

A gasp escaped from the darkness of the balcony…

On the right side of the chamber everyone watched in horror as a dark-robed mage collapsed against the side of the balcony…then he was lifted and heaved over the side, pin-wheeling through the air, an awful rag doll falling to the ground below.

So that’s what the balcony is for, Cecil thought with some amusement…

The body finally struck the ground head first with a sickening crunch. The neck was bent at an unearthly angle.

The body of the mage never twitched again…

At the exact moment a scream was heard from the left balcony. Heads spun in that direction…a white-robed mage lurched forward, smashing into the balcony with such force that the crystalline railing shattered, and the body tumbled over the edge, mingled with a hail of broken crystal shards…they rained on the floor with a peculiar tinkling…

The bluish shards were almost immediately soaked in a growing red stain…blood…how disgusting, Cecil thought off-handedly…but he could not tear his eyes away from the body of the white robe…it’s just something we do…we hope something like that doesn’t happen to us, but we’re fascinated when it happens to someone else…

…God…we are sick…

Two soldiers of the Red Wings appeared from the darkness on each balcony…the old man’s head drooped sadly…he was finally finished…defeated…broken…

Cecil sneered at the mages standing at the Elder’s side…

"Now step aside and there will be no more bloodshed!"

Cecil made his way coolly toward the altar, and the Elder watched him, his face etched with pity…

…pity? Cecil thought in contempt…pity yourself, old man…

Before Cecil climbed the first step, the pent-up anger of one of the apprentices was dispelled in the cry of "Damned Dark Knight!" as the mage lunged toward Cecil. The knight instantly reached for his sword but the mage’s hand wrapped around Cecil’s wrist so firmly that he could not draw the black blade. The other mage leaped forward and stretched a hand toward Cecil’s neck.

Cecil stepped away and nearly sprawled backward onto the floor. He regained his balance in time to seize the first mage by the leg and heave upward with all of his might, sending the young mage flopping head over heels through the air; as he descended his head lashed out and struck the corner of the crystalline steps…

The apprentice laid motionless at Cecil’s feet…

I…killed…him, Cecil only had time to think for a half a second as the other mage was groping for a handhold on Cecil’s armor, trying to wrestle the knight to the ground…one arm was linked steadfast around Cecil’s head…in the struggle, the mage laid hold of one of the ivory horns of Cecil’s dark helmet and as Cecil flailed in an attempt to shake the young apprentice loose, the horned helmet was wrenched painfully from his head. The mask rolled across the crystalline floor with sharp jangling echoes and at last came to rest on its eyes…staring with its hideous empty black eyes toward the altar…

Cecil finally grasped both wrists of the pernicious mage and slung him over his head. The mage smashed into the crystalline floor and his breath gushed out loudly…he rolled over and over, moaning, sobbing…

Cecil brushed away the stray strands of silverish hair that clung to his brow…

The Elder gasped.

"No…"

The old man staggered away from Cecil as if he had been physically struck. Cecil glared at him, eyes narrowed.

"What?!" he demanded harshly, his chest heaving.

"How is it that those eyes I have seen before, yet still remain the eyes of a stranger?"

The Elder was genuinely frightened…he clutched his wooden staff closely to his frail body…

"What are you talking about, old fool?!" Cecil regarded the man skeptically…maybe he’s never seen someone die before…

The Elder’s body spasmed violently for a moment as his face turned ashen.

"How can this Darkness ever be scoured?" he asked no one in particular. "How will this evil turn to the ways of salvation?"

Cecil clutched the old man’s withered arm threateningly.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he snarled viciously and gave the old man a shake. The elderly man wept bitterly:

"Take the Crystal! Take the Crystal if you must!"

Cecil shoved him aside, watching him drop to his knees…the old man sobbed…the Dark knight gazed at him…he felt a fleeting emotion…guilt? Regret? He shook his head…whatever it was vanished…

Cecil stepped toward the altar…in his eyes the crystal reflected brightly…He reached out, cradling the Crystal of Water in his hands gently…

This is it…he thought with mixed feelings of triumph and sorrow…the crystal seemed to shimmer as he gazed upon it…

Cecil drew it close to his body and turned to descend the steps…

"Take the stone…" the Elder moaned from where he lay on the ground…his breathing was raspy…but those eyes…Cecil shuddered…the youthful eyes of an old man…it was absurd…the Elder’s eyes flashed as he spoke in a hiss:

"Take it and hold it against your breast that it may signify the hardness of what throbs beneath it!"

Cecil whirled around furiously…he glared at the wrinkled face…he seemed about to strike the Elder but did not…

He turned again toward the door of the crystal chamber and without another word approached it.

"Why?"

He paused…the voice of the Elder drifted behind the dark knight…

"Why does King Odin of Baron so eagerly seek the crystals of the earth?"

Cecil said nothing…what could he say? What was there to say when he didn’t know the answer himself?

He ignored the fragile man lying upon the steps and scooped his horned helmet into his hand. The sound of the Elder’s sobs floated in the room…

"Look within you to find the light!"

The Elder’s voice was suddenly strong again…Cecil halted…

"Find the good aching to come forth!" the old man pleaded…Cecil narrowed his eyes…

"Please turn aside the darkness for the sake of all living…"

Oblivious to the cries of the Elder, Cecil strode to the door of the crystal room. He angrily reached a hand out to push the door open, but, after a frustrated shout, he shifted the crystal into his left hand and raised a heavy boot, smashing it into the door. The door shuddered, and Cecil planted another vicious kick into it. It finally splintered and shattered with a tremendous thundering –

* * * * * *

--that made Cecil jump, startled, wide-awake. Sweat glazed his face and his hair was wet to its silvery tips.

A dream..?

His heart floundered in his chest…

No…it was real…

He listened intently for the noise that had wakened him…

But it was a dream…

When it came again, he started…

It was a frantic pounding on his chamber door.

"Captain Cecil!"

A muffled voice mixed with the knocking.

"Captain!"

The pounding on the door resumed.

"The airship is under attack!"

Cecil skidded the chair away from the desk in such a hurry that the chair teetered backwards and crashed on the floor. He fumbled for the gauntlets that he laid on the desk earlier, and after finding them he snatched them onto his hands…

Before he could open the door it flew toward him violently, nearly smashing into his face. A soldier stood in the doorway, frightened…his knees were almost knocking together…

Cecil frowned…

"Sir, sorry to wake you—" the soldier stammered. "--But the airship is being attacked by–"

A shrill scream pierced the air, drowning out the soldier’s voice. Cecil didn’t wait another moment as he snatched the dark sword in one hand and sprang into the doorway…after glancing left and right, he charged through the narrow hall, barely dodging an over-turned chair…The roar of the airship grew steadily louder, rising with each step as his heartbeat did the same…He pounded up the steps toward the deck, and when he reached it, he gazed around intently.

"What the—"

A demonic cry split the air again, followed by the sound of tremendous beating wings. Cecil dropped to the ground an instant before cruel talons swept overhead, brushing his dark armor…God…what is that? He hardly had time to ponder the question as a gust of wind rushed over him, and he squinted his eyes and sneaked a glance up…swarthy feathers fluttered around him…

A raspy breath hissed behind him, and Cecil turned around…

A monstrous raven peered at him with an empty gaze…through the milky yellow eyes it watched him…studied him…it studied him with as much fascination as he gazed at it…the chest muscles of the predator churned beneath the jet back feathers…The eyes followed him curiously…coldly…from the sockets…when the razor sharp beak opened, thousands of tiny fangs glistened in the early morning light…

Grotesque was the first word that ran through Cecil’s mind…and oddly enough, the word beautiful followed shortly behind…

The raven shrieked again, and a thick forked tongue drooped between its fleshy lips as tendrils of saliva poured from its mouth. The mucus slopped onto the deck in a sickening puddle…

What in God’s name is it doing here…Cecil blinked, unable to take his eyes away from the creature…

…feeding…Cecil thought crazily…it’s here to…feed..

The raven hovered in mid-air for a moment then dove straight at Cecil, the cruel beak aimed at the Knight’s unprotected face. Cecil had no chance to move as the bird plunged toward him, and the only action he could muster was whipping his sword toward his face in defense. The beak ricocheted from the black blade and clattered over Cecil’s shoulder guard. He felt the hot fetid breath on his cheek and he was disgusted as a spray of the putrid saliva spewed on his face, his neck, his arms…The talons tensed and rent the steel of Cecil’s dark armor…the hair on the back of Cecil’s neck prickled as the sharp talons screeched across the steel armor…

Cecil gasped. The raven’s heavy body was lying on his chest and he could hardly draw a breath. From the corner of his eye he glimpsed a soldier pummeling the creature in the soft belly with his boots and fists. The animal’s attention was diverted…its neck retracted into the thick feathers of its neck, and with a hellish scream the cruel curved beak drove forward and slammed mercilessly into the chest of the soldier…The shout of agony was cut short by choking sobs as warm blood gushed from the man’s nose and mouth…it dripped onto the bird’s feathers and washed over Cecil’s hands and poured upon the wooden deck of the airship…closing his eyes to block the horrible sight, Cecil planted his legs on the airship deck and with every ounce of strength he could muster, heaved upward. The raven toppled off-balance and lurched to the floor, its beak still buried deeply in the man’s chest.

After twisting and wrenching its muscular neck, the predator lifted its beak from the lifeless body. The entire beak was flecked with blood and it dribbled down the feathery chin and pooled on the deck. Cecil scrabbled backwards as the beast bobbed its head, its milky eyes darting left and right; it swung in his direction, and Cecil heard the frantic cries of the soldiers as they shouted orders across the deck. In a moment the sound of trampling feet rippled across the airship, mingling with the roar of the airship and the heavy guttural breathing of the raven and the steady thumping of Cecil’s own heartbeat…the soldiers closed in on the beast, each wielding a sword or spear or some even charging the creature empty-handed. The long muscular tail lashed out, slapping hard into the torso of one man and sending him over the railing of the airship. His agonized scream was almost drowned out by the piercing shriek of the raven as it turned on the crewmembers, striking at them without mercy. The soldiers rambled onward, and another whip of the serpent-like tail sent another man pin-wheeling through the air.

At last a spearhead found its mark, and it was driven ruthlessly into the creature’s leathery hide. A guttural shriek erupted from what sound like everywhere at once…Cecil squeezed his eyes shut tightly but the scream persisted and even flinging his hands over his ears didn’t block the terrible sound.

Cecil clambered to his feet, gasping hoarsely, and watched the men hack unmercifully into the animal, its piercing death cries deafening, its feathers swelled and dipped to the ground. The brackish blood spurted from multiple wounds as it writhed and beat its wings pathetically upon the deck…hot blood splashed in sheets over the crewmembers…

No one released a weapon until the creature convulsed once more then laid still.

There was a moment of stricken silence upon the deck…heavy panting from the soldiers seemed to mask the droning of the airship…one man coughed…another tossed his sword in disgust upon the deck…

"What’s going on…?"

Cecil walked toward the soldiers in a stupor…he adjusted his armor…

One man prodded the lifeless body with a boot.

"Crazy d," he intoned dumbly…

Cecil nodded…he knelt wearily to retrieve his sword which had been lost in the struggle…almost mechanically he pushed the blade into the sheath on his back and stared at the raven, not knowing what to say…

A raven…attacking an airship? Ravens wouldn’t normally attack an airship…most people won’t come near one…it doesn’t make sense, Cecil reasoned silently…

But a lot of things are making much sense now…he reminded himself…the command of King Odin to capture the Crystal of Water from Mysidia…the Chief Guard’s sudden interest in turning me into a traitor…the words of the Elder of Mysidia as we left the crystal room…

Cecil froze. What made me think of that? God, I thought I had forgotten it…the dream…before I woke up I had the dream…I dreamed about Mysidia and the crystal and the Elder, that old fool...No, I didn’t dream about it…Cecil decided, strangely undaunted…

I did it again…I stole the crystal again…I laughed and scorned the old man…I looked at the crystal of Water again and then had the nerve to hold it in my own God-forsaken hands…

"Captain Cecil!"

A shout broke the awkward silence, tearing Cecil away from his thoughts.

"We’ve arrived at Baron! Everyone prepare for landing!"

Cecil nodded as the soldiers began to solemnly file past him…some seemed as if they would speak, but in the end no words were spoken. Cecil gazed at the gigantic beast, bloody, disgusting, hideous…dead…it had attacked the Red Wing airship…and look at it…now it was dead…

Crazy bastard…Cecil reflected with some amusement…crazy…