But that would have to wait. Right now, Ardette was on a mission. She was going to meet the Council, after weeks of anticipation and a lifetime of training. All of her questions would finally be answered. All of the mysteries in her life would finally be revealed. She just had to walk down this hall and open those doors and everything would finally makes. At least, she hoped they would. Nothing lately had been as it seemed. Her mother, who seemed to be the most powerful priestess on the planet was not only bettered in combat, she was killed in that battle. Her sister, who seemed to have a firm grasp on goodness and justice, had turned her back on all of it in her own pursuit of power. And of course Davion changed every minute. As she neared the Council chamber doors, she began to doubt everything she had ever presumed about the Council. Maybe she really was not ready to meet the Council. Unfortunately, just as she was ready to turn around and forget the whole thing, they reached the doors.

�Behold,� Fenyx proclaimed in a booming voice, �The doors of the Council of Immortals. Let all approach who seek their knowledge.� He turned to face the doors and raised his hands. Ardette had never seen the Will Arts being used and she was eager to see what they could do. She could actually feel the power building as he drew his will into himself. With a grand gesture he released the power he had gathered and filtered it into the doors. Slowly they opened and revealed the chamber inside.

The chamber was very different than Ardette had imagined it would be. It was very stark with almost no furnishings or decorations. The room was completely made of marble. It was so pristine that it seemed to glow. In the very center of the room was a large, curved, marble table. At the table sat the nine members of the Council of the Arts, each looking as grand as Ardette thought they would. Five strong women and four wise men watched the arrival of the four visitors with serene, but serious eyes. Not only did the Council look amazing, but also their presence was enough to make Ardette feel like an awkward country girl.

�Welcome, travelers.� A tall woman in the center position of the Council table said in a soft, silky voice. �I am Gea of the Arawings and I hope you will enjoy your stay here in Aerith.�

�Thank you, Gea of the Arawings,� Ardette said in a ringing voice. �I am Ardette, Priestess of Wynlary, and it is my pleasure to be here in the presence of the great Council of the Arts.�

�And I,� Idyllen responded in kind, �am Idyllen of Hecastia, an Arcaine Healer and Warrior, and captain of the Royal Guard. I am also pleased to be in the presence of the great Council of the Arts.�

�Now that we�ve gone through the pleasantries, we can get down to business.� Gea said in a business-like tone. She stood and as she did her beautiful violet wings spread to their fullest. Ardette was reminded of a butterfly�s wings, though these wings were formed of pure energy. Her wings seemed to perfectly accent Gea�s beautiful purple eyes and deep lavender gown. Her long black hair flowed gently down to her waist. � We have called you for a very specific reason, and I�m afraid that reason is most urgent.�

�Just get on with it Gea,� the man to her right said testily. His golden skin with a slight greenish cast and pointed ears that stuck out through his shoulder-length, dark brown hair immediately identified him as Vedan of the High Clan of Elves. His deep blue eyes betrayed his weariness and worry. �They are not here for story time, they�re here to solve a problem.�

�Vedan is right, Gea,� the woman on the other side of Gea said. Ardette automatically knew her to be Alara, queen of the nymphs, because of her golden skin and dark green hair. �He should, however, be more polite about it.� Her voice hardened with disapproval.

�As I was saying, before all of these interruptions,� Gea said, even more determined, �this mission, which I am to charge you with, is most urgent and very dangerous. Therefore, I will understand if you will not continue. I must inform you of this mission, before you make your decision, so that you can understand the seriousness of this situation.

�Let us start at the beginning. As you all know, the Mortal Arts began in a man named Meric. The Dark Arts, however, started with the betrayal of his Yerin. Now, unlike his brothers and sisters, Yerin hadn�t displayed any ability of the Arts. Unknown to him, the Ethereals had placed a strong seal on his soul, with which to keep his powers from ever forming. The Ethereals knew that if he were allowed to have his powers, he would betray his father and end his life. Unfortunately, Yerin was infused with Dark energies, which broke the seal and gave him his powers. He betrayed his father, just as the Ethereals had predicted. Meric was forced to destroy his own son. But Yerin�s death only spread the Dark energies across the world.�

Vedan took up the story, �To protect the people of the world, not only from the Dark energies, but also from themselves, Meric created the Seal. As you know, it possesses the energies of the Mortal Arts and keeps them separate. When the Seal was created, each of the five Ethereals shed a single tear, which crystallized into five powerful crystals. Those crystals fell on the Seal and locked the powers into place.

�The Seal and Tears were separated in order to keep the powers locked,� Alara continued. �The Tears were kept here until the Anari-Morcthakan War. The leader of the Morcthakan forces was a powerful wizard by the name of Jadus who had been possessed by the Dark Arts. His attack was not based in the desire to conquer the Anari Empire, but to gain possession of the Tears. With the Tears, he would have been able to find the Seal and unlock the Mortal Arts for himself. With that kind of power, he would have been able to take over the entire world. Luckily, he did not succeed. The Tears, however, needed to be separated, so that they would not so easily be stolen. The Anari Empire was split into the three kingdoms of Anari, Hecastia, and Redim, and each ruler was given a Tear to protect. A secret guardian was given the fourth Tear to protect and the final Tear has remained here, under the Council�s watchful eye.�

�Now our story takes a turn, following the tale of evil and corruption,� the woman next to Alara said. Her light blue eyes, dark blonde hair that reached the middle of her back and the silver knots tattooed on the milky skin of her face identified her as the High Priestess Alanya. �The tale begins with a young priestess on her journey before she took up her place as a fully recognized priestess. She began this quest as any other, searching for ways to prove herself and learn the ways of a strong priestess.� Ardette started at the familiarity of the story. She knew instinctively that Alanya was speaking of Darienne and she immediately listened more intently, hungering for the reason her beloved sister betrayed her mother. �This priestess went into the kingdom of Redim, traveling the wilderness, feeling the connection of the of the world around her. She came to a small farmstead on the edge of the Dragon Mountains. The farmstead looked peaceful enough, but her horse wouldn�t step foot in the gate. She could feel strong dark energies around the farm and she worried that the owner of the farm could be in danger. Little did she know that the owner was the danger. She ran into the main yard to find an elderly man fallen on the ground. She ran to his side to help him stand, but before she could touch him, he grabbed her arm and looked straight into her eyes. It was then that he passed on the dark energies that possessed him and the priestess was lost to the Dark Arts.� Ardette heard Idyllen�s gasp, wondering if she knew that the priestess was a friend whom she called a sister.

The woman in a green dress on the far left of the table stood revealing the long brown hair flowing wild and tangled down her back. Her dark green eyes showed gravity and maturity, while revealing youth and humor simmering beneath the surface. Ardette recognized her as Emadry, the Council�s resident Witch. �The priestess fought as best as she could against the influence of the Dark Arts, but she wasn�t successful,� the witch said with a voice that strummed the body like the rumbling of thunder. �In the end, there are very few that can fight its power. When the Arts finally consumed her, she traveled to the East, hoping to find guidance in how to fully grasp the power she had been given. She trained for many months under the wing of Jadus, himself. After her training was complete she found two powerful allies to help her become a strong force for Jadus� approval. The Dark Faerie, Star, and the Dark Elf, Shadow, joined her under Jadus, and the three of them formed a plan to pick up where Jadus left off.�

�As you know,� A woman on the other side of the table in a dark red dress, with dark brown hair that was almost black, and unseeing eyes, just as black, began, �I, Petriana, Seer of the Council, can see past, present, and all future possibilities. But somehow, these three were able to cloud my vision until their deed was done. Late one night, two months ago, the three misguided souls crept into our chambers with their evil enchantments. Wrapped in a dark veil made by Jadus, the three were able to steal the Tear held here in Aerith. With that Tear, they will be able to find the Tear closest to it. With each Tear they find, they will be able to find Tears farther away. With the four Tears from here and the three monarchs, they will have enough power to find the fifth Tear. After that, the five tears will point them in the direction of the Seal. After that, they will have access to the ultimate power of the Arts.�

�At least for two minutes,� the man in between Petriana and Vedan stated. His dark brown eyes glittered irritably under his spiky black hair. �After that, the world itself will be decimated by the Guardian.�

�Yes, Zelan, I was just getting to that.� Petriana commented patiently.

�What�s the Guardian?� Idyllen said in a partially absent voice. She seemed distracted and distant, while still just as curious as Ardette about the mysterious Guardian that sent chills down her spine.

�The Guardian is an abomination,� Zelan stated grumpily. �I will never know why the Ethereals created it. If it is unleashed on the world, nothing will be left.�

�Did you say the Ethereals created it?� Ardette burst out. �Why?�

�The Guardian is the guardian of the Seal and Tears. It was created to be a last resort. If someone were to actually succeed in unlocking the Seal, the Guardian will decimate the world and remove the power of the Arts from every being that survives. That way, the Arts will never be used the wrong way again.�

�The only way to stop that from happening is to gather the other Tears, so that Jadus� flunkies won�t be able to use them to locate and unlock the Seal,� the Council�s Sage, Keiran, stated, his brown eyes serious. �That is why we have gathered you four to our presence. You represent the best the Arts have to offer. We charge you to go to the monarchs of the West and gather the Tears. You will start with Anari. King Ceneste is the most reasonable of the monarchs and his Tear will be first to be stolen.�

�We�re too late to save his Tear,� Ardette said, quickly piecing together the events of the last few weeks.

�How do you know, Ardette?� Idyllen asked, coming out of her contemplation with Ardette�s outburst.

�The priestess is Darienne, Idyllen,� Idyllen�s brother, Tialen, who was also the Council�s Arcaine Guardian.

�What?� Idyllen�s suspicions clearly being confirmed on her face. It was time for Ardette to tell her the truth.

�After Darienne stole the Tear, she visited Wynlary. I don�t know why she came, but in the end it didn�t matter. Idyllen, she killed Mother, and she tried to kill me.� Idyllen gasped. �I was able to fend her off, but not in time.� Ardette turned to face the Council. �She visited me in An Ardal. I didn�t understand why she was there until now. At first, I thought she was trying to goad me into attacking her. But she only sent her shadow, which I couldn�t figure out, until now. She was there on other business.�

�The Tear,� Tialen finished for her. �This is worse than we knew. It means we�ll have to send you to Hecastia as soon as possible. We have to warn you that the each Tear, not only has the ability to locate other Tears, but also carries the essence the Ethereal that shed it. This means they have they carry the Divine Arts. So far, Darienne has control over time and free will. She can temporarily pause time and control people around her. If she gains the other Tears, she will be able to control life and death, reality, and the Arts themselves. You must retrieve those Tears. Otherwise, this world is doomed.�

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