Chapter 4  Biased Source

 

Saphir leaves Justin and Ryan arguing in the library about whether it was demonic possession or telepathic control which affected Brad at the moment he first held the sword… but Saphir, seemingly immune to whatever magics are in place, knows that the sword must have had a much more direct effect on their friend.

 

The Poirier family has powerful magic to its name. It is owed many favours from many higher beings… one such being is the Oracle of Cyjuen… a creature which sees through all magical veils… beyond all walls. It lives in a dimension which is outside linear time… the past, and future, are as real to it as the present. There are still stories passed down through the generations of the family, of his great-great-great grandfather having to explain the concept of ‘linear time’ to the Oracle… it’s always good for a laugh at family gatherings.

 

Saphir pours a circle of multi coloured sand on the floor in his room. He sits, cross legged, in the center of the circle, and pulls each of his Cards from his pockets… five Cards.

 

At the top of the circle, he places, face up, a Card… the great winged warrior, PALIDOR. Exactly seventy two degrees clockwise on the circle, he places FENRIR, the howling wolf set before a full moon. Another seventy two degrees, CARBUNKLE, the protective spirit. After that, the seductive SIREN… and lastly, the ethereal PHANTOM.

 

He closes his eyes, and concentrates. The Cards glow white… and float off the floor. They spin around his head, filling his room with dancing lights…

 

Saphir takes a deep breath…

 

“EAY ae-ku-ge de-raahah, OOnae-lumah oo-fu GE-haoo-femah-te-kukah, deoo ku-raah-te meay-kuk-ra-de oo-ha de-raah feoonm-te.

 

EAY ae-ku-ge fuoon de-raah jaeaheaym oo-fu teaen-ge-haah-ku-ku deoo peah meay-fu-deah-te funoo-see seeoh ahohah-ku.

 

EAY ae-ku-ge de-raae-de ohooee nah-seeoo-jaeah de-raah fuoo-kuk oo-fu eay-kuk-haoonae-ha-luah fuoon-see de-raah feoonm-te.

 

EAY luaemm ee-baeoo-ha de-raah teah-pe-de, oo-feah-te deoo de-raah BAEooeayneayahn fuae-seeeaymoh.

 

EAY ae-ku-ge aeeay-te oo-fu de-raah OOnae-lumah KUae-jaeooeayn.”

 

When Saphir opens his eyes, the world around him is fuzzy… the Cards floating around his head are moving very slow… and then very quickly, but in the opposite direction. Small dust particles caught in the rays of light stand still in the air… different parts of the room seem to be moving at different speeds.

 

Sitting before him, bathed in the light from the Cards, stands a tall woman. Her face is unseen, the light is blocking her features from Saphir’s view. She waves her hands, moving slowly… almost majestically…

 

“I am the Oracle of Cyjuen. You, Sapphire Warrior of the Poirier family have called me. I owe you and yours a great deal… I will aid you in whatever way you wish.”

 

When Saphir speaks, he feels his mouth form words long before he hears the sound… another side effect of the strange time distortions…

 

“Oracle of Cyjuen, a great evil is gaining power.”

 

“Yes… the God Jove. I live in your future and past, remember? Also… you do not need to address me in such a formal matter.”

 

“Right… right. Okay, so, Jove’s coming. But, that’s only one of the reasons I summoned you. One of my friends, a fellow Dragoon Warrior, has become… evil.”

 

“Brad has been corrupted… by the weapon. You are correct about that. The weapon chooses the strongest warrior, and readies him to become the God’s General.”

 

“Strongest warrior? But… Brad… how can he be the strongest? Arrowny has the old magics, Justin’s a freakin technomage… and I’ve got the Cards, the Glaive, and the Poirier family magic. Just within our group, there are stronger people… how could Brad be the strongest?”

 

“There are simple reasons. Brad is the strongest… because Arrowny has the old magics… Justin is a technomage… and you have the Cards, the Glaive, and the Poirier family magic. Brad’s slate… is blank. He has the greatest amount of unused potential. The sword uses that potential… makes Brad the strongest.”

 

“So, Brad’s the General… that’s just great.”

 

“And, it’s not like your Cards are a reliable source of power right now, are they?”

 

“Well, they have been acting up. The spells are either really, really powerful… or they just don’t work at all. I don’t suppose you have an explanation for this?”

 

“Of course I do… I am an Oracle after all. Your Cards are not working properly, due to your connection with Jove’s power.”

 

“My… connection? I have no connection with Jove!”

 

“Yes… you do. Some time ago, you were involved in a fight against a man named Joseph, whom had betrayed his master Morning Star, and became one of Jove’s servants. In return, the Children of Jove granted Joseph enormous powers as a gift from their God. The power was meant for Joseph only… but before he died, it was transferred to you.”

 

“… how?”

 

“At one point during the fight, Arrowny threw a blade at Joseph, which pierced his hand. Joseph pulled the knife out, and proceeded to stab you with it. His blood was covering the knife when it entered your body… and thus, his power was transferred to you. But, it was not meant for you, so it is interfering with your own natural abilities.”

 

“Oh… okay… that makes sense. The other thing though… is how do we stop Jove? Our research tells us that once the God is resurrected, nothing can defeat it.”

 

“Of course that’s what your research tells you. Have you taken the source of your information into account. Did you know that the book you have, the golden bound book that Arrowny and Brad brought you from the librarian, was written by the followers of Jove?”

 

“YES! Why would they put their own God’s weakness in a book that they wrote themselves? It makes sense that they would want to hide any means of stopping Jove from the world. So… the next question is… if it really is possible to stop him… how do we do it?”

 

“That… is another question that I can answer. There exists a weapon… one, single weapon, which is capable of killing Jove. The Gods were born from the Titans… Saturn was their father. And, through the body of their father, the Gods will return to an ethereal existence. The weapon is a scythe, forged from the bones of Saturn. It alone can defeat Jove.”

 

“Good to know. So, where do we find the scythe?”

 

“The Scythe of Saturn exists within a dimension of existence known as the Plane of Equality… a place where all aspects of life between all beings are brought to the same level. You may wield the Scythe if you are worthy enough to take if from its resting place within the Plane.”

 

“How do we get to the Plane of Equality?”

 

“That… is something which you will need to figure out on your own. I have given you all the aid you require… it is up to you now.”

 

“But, what about my powers?”

 

“They will return when, and if, Jove is defeated. That is all I have to say… I bid you farewell.”

 

The Oracle fades from sight, and the Cards slowly come to a stop. They fall back to the circle, in the exact spots where they started. Everything in the room returns to normal speed, and Saphir begins to process the information that he was given.

 

He gathers up his Cards, and heads downstairs to confer with Ryan and Justin. He finds them sitting down in the living room, mindlessly playing a platform jumping video game. Saphir gets them to turn it off, and tells them all about his conversation with the Oracle of Cyjuen.

 

When he’s done, they just sit in silence… Justin and Saphir trying to figure out how to find the Plain of Equality, and Arrowny just mindlessly flicking through the muted television channels…

 

Saphir sighs…

 

“I guess we’ve got to do some research.”

 

Justin nods in agreement…

 

“We’re not going to find that place by sitting around all day.”

 

Arrowny’s eyes widen in surprise as he lands on one of those ‘breaking story’ news things…

 

“Guys… that’s gonna have to wait.”

 

He turns up the volume… the news anchor, a young blond woman, is standing in the parking lot of one of those office supply stores. There are a massive number of police and paramedics in the shot… and a great many plain clothed people, running around, and screaming.

 

The anchor speaks in rushed words into the camera…

 

“Approximately fifteen minutes ago, police were called to this location, an office supply depot in Boston. Witnesses report that the suspect, a Caucasian male, in his late teens to early twenties, entered the store, and started asking questions about desk chairs. When the employees were unable to find him what he wanted, he began a brutal and random slaughter of all nearby people. The death toll has reached a confirmed fifteen dead, and three people are unaccounted for. According to witnesses, the suspect is armed with a large blue sword, and is…”

 

Arrowny mutes the television. Justin lowers his head…

 

“It has to be Brad… and it’s probably a trap… and obviously, we have to jump in head first. Problem is, he can break through my force fields, and through Saphir’s force waves… we’ve really got no way to stop him from cutting us into little strips of muscle and sinew.”

 

Justin glances across the room, and sees that Saphir and Arrowny are already heading for the weapons rack in the basement. Justin sighs...

 

“And, of course... we’re running directly into the fray...”

 

He stands up, shaking his head... and follows them to the basement.

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

A few minutes later, the three of them arrive at the office supply store in Boston in a flash of Warp light. The authorities are all outside, so they should be able to do what they came to do without attracting too much unwanted attention... police tend not to look too kindly on people carrying medieval type weapons around, whether or not they’re trying to help.

 

All three of them, ready for battle, start looking around... chairs and desks... aisles and aisles of office supplies... and bodies all over the place. Each one is ripped... torn apart... blood is pooling on the tile floor.

 

Only one thing seems out of place... a large, high backed black leather chair... turned away from them... out in the open display space in the center of the store.

 

Justin shakes his head...

 

“I’ve watched too many of Brad’s movies to not recognize that as a trap.”

 

Ryan and Saphir just nod...

 

“You’re right about that.”

 

“It’s a trap all right...”

 

“Damn...” Brad’s voice sounds out. “New rule... you don’t get to watch movies anymore.”

 

The leather chair slowly turns round, and Brad is sitting in it, hands folded in front of his face, and his lips curled in a sadistic smile. He stands... and the other Warriors are a little taken aback at his appearance.

 

He is wearing a charcoal grey armoured chest plate, a piece of shoulder armour connected to a flexible metal gauntlet by leather arm pads. Brad stretches his arms out... small cracks ring out from his joints...

 

“I knew you guys would show if a few bodies got piled up. Gotta say though... I figured you’d come out with some grand plan to try and win me back to the side of good and justice and Christmas and puppies and oh so fluffy bunnies and such. Never expected that you’d all just show up, weapons out, ready to beat me down.

 

You must have realized that you can’t win. I’ve already proven that I am practically immune to all of your great powers... force fields and waves... I can beat all of you in fights... so... what’ve you got left?”

 

Arrowny takes a step forward, raising his hand toward Brad...

 

“Not much... just this...”

 

A bolt of lightning bursts forth from Ryan’s hand, striking Brad directly in the chest... but the electricity arcs harmlessly along his armour. Brad laughs... Ryan stares in shock, and throws a fireball. The flame is absorbed into the grey metal. Brad laughs some more...

 

“The Children forged my armour... it absorbs all form of magic. See... they know that I can beat all of you in a fight... but if I was vulnerable to magic, you could just stand out of reach and toss fireballs until I was dead. This way... you don’t get to do that... you’ve actually got to fight me. So, now... all I need... is my sword.”

 

He stretches his arm out, and when he pulls it back, his sword is in his hand. The Warriors glance around confused... Justin actually shakes his head trying to figure this out... but Brad just shrugs...

 

“Don’t bother trying to figure it out. You don’t have the time... because I’m going to kill you until you DIE from it!”

 

Brad rushes forward, and in an attempt to surround him, the three Warriors step in different directions... Justin to Brad’s left, Saphir to his right, and Ryan takes a step back, trying to keep Brad’s focus forward...

 

... but that’s what Brad is expecting. Rather than keeping focused on Ryan, he turns quickly, and slams the broad side of his sword into Justin. The technomage falls back, and Brad spins round quickly, slashing at Saphir. The only thing that saves the glaive bearer is Justin’s quick work at raising a weak force field. Rather than being cut by the sword, Saphir is struck only by the energy barrier, which is warped under the force of Brad’s attack.

 

With both of his comrades knocked down, Arrowny is faced with the unenviable prospect of facing a deranged, crazy, maniacal Brad... and Ryan’s starting to think that Brad’s sword might just be making him a little bit evil...

 

The fight does not go well for Ryan... he only barely manages to avoid Brad’s attacks. He ducks under a spinning slash... jumps over a thrust which rips a wide gouge in the floor. Ryan tries to fight back, slashing out with Sky Render, but the Brad raises his gauntlet, and slams Arrowny’s blade away. He grabs Ryan by the throat, and raises his sword high above his head. Brad gives a little smile... and slams the butt of his sword into Arrowny’s head.

 

“I’m going to kill you now.”

 

Brad takes a firm grip on his sword, and swings down! Ryan actually closes his eyes against the oncoming blade... but it never comes. Wearily, he opens one eye, just slightly... and Brad is no where to be seen. Ryan stumbles to his feet. He can feel the blood oozing down his head.

 

As Saphir and Justin get up, Ryan realizes something... they can’t beat Brad... they won’t be able to win. He could have killed all three of them had he wanted to.

 

They need to make a plan... they need to figure out what they need to do... the list of obstacles in their way are... Jove, the Children... and Brad. One way or another... they will all have to be eliminated... one way or another.

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

“You should have let me KILL THEM!”

 

Brad is furious. If he could kill this Child, he probably would. He was just about to cut Arrowny in half, and they teleported him away at the last second.

 

He is in a dark room with Ganymede, one of the twin boys, who is just shaking his head.

 

“We have already explained this to you. You may kill the technomage and the Sapphire Warrior... but NOT the Protector. Our God wants Ryan Arrowny alive. He is... important.”

 

“So you’ve said... but, as I keep telling you... we can’t let ANY OF THEM LIVE! You don’t know them like I do. Any one of them... Saphir, Justin, Ryan... any one of them could put an end to your plans. But... Arrowny is their leader. You insist on keeping him alive... but the simple fact is, if he were to die, it would cause a rift between the other two... it will make them easier to defeat... easier to kill. You must let me KILL Arrowny.”

 

“We cannot allow that. Ryan Arrowny is pivotal to our plans. He is necessary... our God wishes him to live. Jove has spent a great deal of time preparing Ryan for his role in the coming world.”

 

Brad throws his hands up, still very angry...

 

“FINE! But, when Ryan, Saphir, and Justin find a way to put a stop to all your plans... remember that I wanted to kill them all right from the start! Don’t come crying to me!”

 

Ganymede shrugs...

 

“The Children of Jove never cry...”