@Tev I was thinking it would be pronounced eye-sow-s, so like Isis but with a different sound.

((Ugg, this always happens to me. I start a new fan fic, then the next day when I sit down to write part two, SOMETHING goes wrong. This time, the forums refused to load for about a week. That kind of crushed my spirit, and I have not been motivated to go back to this since. But I will write a second chapter!! maybe...))

((NOTE from pictures of cradle, we can see that half of it is not exposed clockworks, but rather a variety of plains, forests, and mountains. That is where most/all of this RP will take place.))

((again, all names are generated with random name generators. They are in no way supposed to sound of any one particular culture or whatever, they just is coolzish. If you guys can find one that does good mountain names/geographical names in general, that would be really cool))

Chapter 2: Threats

The camp of Casovir lay sprawled at the base of a mountain, nestled between a strong river and a dense forest. It was a very good location, as all the entrances were easily defend-able, but not necessarily entrapping. Boats were always ready to get across the river, and the forest was known by heart to the scouts. The mountain was full of caves that were stable and wide, and strategic movements could lose an enemy force in a day or two.

While most groups had been small since the Cataclysm, Casovir was considered to be smaller than most. It had a fighting force of about 40, and a civilian population of about 60. Most camps had about 100 and 200, respectively. The towns had many more than that. Because of this, the guards of Casovir had to be on constant vigil, as any competent force could crush them easily.

This guard was stationed in a rough ring around the civilian camps, so there was no chance of anyone sneaking in. At the center of the camp were the officer tents, where the leaders of Casovir convened on matters of importance. It was towards these very tents that Isos now walked.

Isos could just barely pick up what they were saying in the tent, but as he got closer, he knew what it was. "--- no, we --- how could --- simply not pract --- we don't have any --- tions --- this could be our last shot. Nothing we ever do will have as much of a chance as this plan, right here in front of you."

As he flipped open the tent door and stepped in, Uyei turned to see who he was. The scorn on his face flipped to a grin when he saw Isos.

"Well, if it isn't our soon to be Champion! Could you please come over here and tell these fools that their plan is just... just plain idiotic?"

Isos was less than a single test away from graduating from a Defender Elite III to a Champion rank. The rankings were one of the very few things that had survived the Cataclysm. Normally, he would have to wait to be admitted into areas reserved for Champions and above, but no one here doubted his abilities.

"Oh come now, we all know that I, being only a mere Defender, cannot have any wisdom to impart on our great leaders..." Everyone smirked inwardly at Isos's sarcasm. He seemed to be the only soul on Cradle who could provide any levity at the moment.

Everyone but Lord Cepheus. He headed the camp, and he had the greatest say among the 12 members that made up the inner council. He was strong and intelligent, but he hated when tradition and order were ignored... Isos was the prime example of that.

"This is no matter to be joking about. We face a real and immediate threat here, that from the Gexili clan. They have hunted us for years, but now they have drawn stronger. Someone is helping them. We must find out who, and put a stop to it!"

Cercis, the head of scouting, chimed in then. "Lord, if I may... how exactly are we to stop them? We never stood a chance before, and now, well, we might not even be able to run next time. An attack would be foolish."

The proceedings went on for several hours, during which Isos said nothing. He knew that the council was evenly split, and although there were more important officers in favor of the attack, no action could be taken until there was a majority.

Isos hated this endless bickering. It nearly frightened him that in a few days, he would be obligated to take part. Sure, being a Champion or Vanguard was an incredible honor, but there was no way he had to like the responsibility that came along with it. After several hours of debates and plans being tossed back and forth, no one was the least bit moved, so the council decided to break and adjourn for the day.

The reason for the meeting was thus: two days prior, a team of three scouts had left on a routine venture into the woods. They never returned. Eventually the bodies were found, limbs rent from bodies and armor blackened with burns. It was as if the Snarbolax of legend had returned to haunt the Knights once more. The Gelixi were ruthless, but they didn't kill like this...

((Hopefully, I wont get stuck for months again...

Again, thanks for being supportive and critical of my writing!))

((Well, although this is going really slowly, it is continuing. Yay! Also, each time I reference a new council member, I will say so, and you can go up to the top to check.))

Chapter 3: The Job

Uceru, Vanguard Elite I, Head of Information, paced angrily out of the officer tent, frustrated with how the discussion had turned out. Although he supported the plan off attacking the Gelixi back, he thought that Cepheus was being an irrational fool about it.

His train of thought was thus: the Gelixi were strong. They were vicious. They killed for no apparent reason. But they didn't kill their prey like they did those poor scouts. They normally take lives with precision and efficiency; a well aimed spear to the heat core or head; a boulder trap disguised into a ledge; a pit-trap with poison spikes. The wounds on the scouts looked like claw marks and burns...

The Gelixi, normally found in scattered, small tribes, were also acting more organized. It was subtle, but from his 13 years heading Information, he was attuned to know when something was trivial or not. This most certainly wasn't, a fact that the others didn't understand. Someone was helping them, lending them new weapons, massing them for an assault.

Several of the council members, especially Brastan, wanted to charge in blindly to the Gelixi camp. Uceru wanted to send his spies into the Gelixis, hoping to find out more, but there was no way. Any of his normal spies would be detected right away. Only one person could do the job.

Uceru strode quickly over to where Isos stood, apparently just gazing up at the smoggy sky.

"Do you think it really used to be blue? They say in the books that the sky was a beautiful, striking blue... and that the clouds were white, like cotton. How silly. White clouds."

Uceru didn't really know how to respond, other than by cutting straight to the chase. In Information, you said what you knew, never danced around the point of an argument.

"Isos... how much do you know about the Gelixi?"

"Enough, why? I know that they split went the wrong way out of Haven, and almost all perished from the contaminants... I know that they were morphed hideously... I know that they have a tribal structure with a single, powerful warrior ruler at the head of each tribe... I know that they can control their energy flow --"

"Stop, yes, that. I know that you have been... training in this forbidden technique. My spies see everything, Isos."

The color drained from Isos' face at this accusation.

Sheepishly, he replied, "What-- I am not-- ... did you tell Cepheus? Am I being exiled? Is that what this is about?"

"No Isos, I don't tell Cepheus anything unless I have to. The man is a brilliant leader, but he can be so arrogant at times. Rather, I think the... whats the ancient word... Magic? That will suffice. The 'Magic' that the Gelixi can perform is rather worth researching. We could use that power to do incredible things, perhaps restore the Spiralians place in this world. Rokelyer agrees with me, but Cepheus would certainly fillet us and serve us at dinner if he found out. Actually, the fact that you can perform Magic makes you the only one who can --"

Isos interrupted him, finishing his sentence. "Spy on the Gelixis? Well, that is certainly a novel idea. I thought you supported the attack?"

Uceru was a little supervised that his plan had been that obvious. "I do but... we simply don't know enough about anything. I wish you had joined the Information Teams, rather than gone into the front lines under Brastan, you are far too bright for that hack-and-slash style combat."

"Well, thanks you sir... I suppose I won't have to call you sir for very long will I? Strange, being so far up in Casovir, so far up that I would be called 'sir' by almost everyone, not the other way around." Isos' mood had shot up a little bit at the praise. He tended to make odd, random observations when happy.

"Alright then, its settled. I will have Rokelyer send for the best we have got, technology wise. You will certainly be needing it. Oh, and one of my best spies will be accompanying you, Sevun." Uceru was about to walk away, when a young courier ran up to him and Isos.

"Sir! Sytisus -- *pant* -- just confirmed that -- *pant* -- the remains of the scouts, the ones found killed in the forest? One of them wasn't there."

((Sytisus is the Head of Medical))

"But there were three bodies, no?" and "Weren't there three bodies, though?" came the confused and simultaneous replies from Isos and Uceru.

"Well, yes, but... one of them was Gelixi. The medic of the team, Petra, is still out there."

Uceru jumped at this opportunity to save the scout, and to get more information about the Gelixi. "Have you told Cercis yet? No? WELL GO! She needs to know this..."

The messenger ran off, presumably to wherever Cercis was at the moment.

*********************************************

Petra ran through the dense forests, farther away than she had ever scouted before. They were following her, whatever they were. Jedilt and Tytis were gone... gone so fast. One second, they were listening for sounds, then the next, something massive was on top of her, ripping at her armor, spewing fire from its maw. She couldn't remember how she escaped, but she knew at least one Gelixi had died in the process.

Now she could only think of one thing.

Run.

Run faster.

((Alright, there it is. Tell me; when I write the dialogue, i feel the 'blah said blah' and 'blah replied blah' is a little repetitive and forced, what do you think? If so, how can I make it better. This story is still shaping in my head, but there are some good chapters coming up in the future, I cant wait to write them!))

Chapter 4: Gearing Up

Isos was a bit surprised at the amount of technology that Rokelyer was entrusting him with. It must have taken him a very long time to produce these prototypes, and now they were being sent into the field for the first time. There was an array of guns, swords, and other tactical equipment that Isos didn't know what to call.

Rokelyer was showing him the pieces, explaining what everything did.

"And here we have the bombs, which are absolutely guaranteed to blow up anything in your path. All you do is press this, then twist this for three seconds..."

Isos could barely stand Rokelyer's long complex rambling about the slight details and nuances of each weapon, but he knew that it was these nuances that might save his life later. So he paid close attention, making mental notes about the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon.

"So, Isos, there is my huge selection of weapons. Remember, can only take four weapons, so pick wisely."

Isos picked a mixed selection of weapons; the first was a huge, heavy sword, which had a glowing aura around it and was covered in strange markings. Rokelyer told him it was called a Divine Avenger. Supposedly, it would tear through any Gelixi in his way, but it looked almost too heavy for use. His seconds choice of swords was a much smaller, sword, which dripped with a vile green poison. It's edge was serrated and looked perfect for cutting through almost anything; and Isos was told that this was a Dread Venom Striker.

He weighed the two weapons, and they set comfortably in his hands. They were a far cry from the normal calibers and brandishes that are usually all they could afford. Now he had his swords, he needed a pair of guns. Quickly, a certain pair stood out to him; the Sentenza and the Blitz Needle.

When he had selected his weapons, Rokelyer handed him a small circular device that looked was about the size of a trinket.

"What is this?"

"That, Isos, is a prototype cloaking device. You simply stick it onto the outside of your shield, and it will allow to to become invisible. Of course, it will only last for about a millicycle (Link) before you have to recharge it, so use it only when you need it."

"Thank you, Rokelyer." Isos had his supplies, now he needed to go find this Sevun guy.

((Well, I'm back!))

Chapter 5: Waterfall Cliff

Isos just barely caught his footing on the loose rocks of the cliffs. For nearly a decicycle, he had been combing the mountains for any signs of the mysterious Sevun. So far, he had found nothing that pointed to Sevun’s passage at all. He was beginning to lose hope.

Of course, when the guards said they last saw Sevun climbing into the mountains, he had been skeptical and tried to laugh it off (since no one in their right minds would actually climb the mountain), but they were dead serious. Grumbling, he had walked off and started trekking up through the rocky crags and outcroppings.

The one section of the mountain left was, of course, the one he had least wanted to enter. It was separated from the rest by a sheer cliff, completely flat with no handholds, and with only a small ledge about a foot wide as passage. Halfway down this narrow path, a raging waterfall poured down, threatening to batter those foolish enough to tempt it plunging far below.

But Isos had no where left to look, and he needed to find Sevun; Sevun’s skills were somewhat legendary at Casovir. Some people said that he could blend in with any group he wanted to, and some exaggerations claimed he had once lived among a pack of rabid wolvers for a year. If Isos planned on getting into the Gelixi camp, he needed someone with that skill.

Trying his hardest not to look down, Isos stepped slowly onto the ledge. He began to edge his way farther and farther along the wall, getting frighteningly close to the waterfall. The water began to hit him in greater and greater volumes, making his progress unsteady and difficult.
This slow movement continued for a few millicycles.

When he reached the middle of the waterfall, where the force was the greatest, he yelled out,

“Curse Almire, Sevun, why do you have to be so hard to find?”

When he said this, the wall behind him, which he thought was solid, slid aside; he fell backwards into the wall with a cry of surprise; and the wall slid closed behind him.

Chapter 6: Lucky Sevun

Isos sat up with a groan; he ached all over and felt as if he had been unconscious for a while. He looked around, and remembering how he got into the cave, tried to assess whether he was actually in danger.

Scattered along the walls were various writing and bulletin boards. The ones that weren’t completely covered in unintelligible scribbling had maps and charts describing the mountain. Isos couldn’t possible imagine what it all meant.

“Hello! What are you doing in my cave?” A voice echoed through the cave, seemingly from nowhere in particular. Isos jumped to his feet and drew his calibur (he had left his new gear in case he damaged it in his search), ready to face whoever it was that lived in the hole.

“Where are you, who are you, and what do you want from me?” Isos would rather not have to fight anyone, but he had a bad feeling about this.

“Nowhere, nobody, and... nothing!” This time the voice had come from directly behind him, and he slashed the empty air. Somehow, the speaker could project his voice.

“No, rather, it is a question of what you want from me.” Now it came from a shadowed portion of the room. A knight of average stature slid out of the shadows, apparently unarmed. Isos was not convinced of his harmlessness.

“What is that supposed to mean? I was just, you know, passing by on the perilous cliffs out there when your door opened and dumped me here.”

The stranger just laughed. “Well then, you left out the important part—Sevun.”

A wave of understanding came over Isos. “Oh... you can tell me where Sevun is, stranger?”

“Oh, I can do better, I can take you to him.”

The strange Knight led Isos through a small labyrinth of tunnels that all looked identical to him, muttering something strange all the while. Isos had to know.
“What is that your mumbling about? Something about a cave?”

The stranger looked back at him with something like a great regret in his eyes. “Oh, that... here I will explain. Fifteen hectocycles ago, I was exploring these caves and I found a small room. It was obviously not natural, for the edges were rounded and smoothed, not at all like the normal cave shapes. In it were some strange items, or at least those which others might call strange; in fact, to me, the books, most certainly full of ancient lore; the box, which could have held any number of great secrets; and the dagger were my greatest discovery. But when I returned the next cycle, they were all gone, even the room was gone. I have been searching ever since, but I can’t seem to find that room.”

This one is just a tad bit completely insane. Isos thought to himself. This wasn’t getting him anywhere, and he had wasted enough time already. He decided to make sure the crazy, strange Knight even knew where he was going.

“You are still leading me to Sevun, right? Because I sort of need to find him fast, and I am not sure if you even—“ What happened next was totally unexpected by Isos.

Faster than he could even blink, the stranger had disappeared, and instantly he was holding a sharp piece of metal against Isos’ back. His voice had changed too, from the slightly deranged cheerful tone of before to a new, dark, threatening sound.

“What are you doing here? Who sent you to find Sevun? Well?” No one spoke for a moment, and the tension was palpable.

Finally, the stranger stepped back and lowered the metal, which turned out to be nothing more than a blunt steel rod. He dropped down on the hard rock floor, with a defeated look in his eyes. But Isos had figured it out. The stranger was incredible fast, could disappear at a moment’s notice, and lived alone. He was obviously a spy, maybe from the Casovir intelligence.

There was only one Intelligence agent in these mountains currently, and that was Sevun.

“You’re Sevun. When you said you could lead me to him, you already had.” Isos couldn’t believe that this was Sevun.

“Oh, you just figured it out, did you? Eh, did better than the last one. Anyway, why are you really here? Who sent you to come find me?”

“Uceru.” Isos was somewhat surprised; he couldn’t tell if the emotional instability from earlier was a part of the disguise or if he was really just that crazy.

“Ah. He said he would send for me eventually... you know, they call me crazy, but I’m really not. Does imagining a missing cave and dedicating your life to finding it really make you crazy?” Isos got the feeling the question was rhetorical.

“Well, alright then, Sevun. It seems that we are nearly out of time before night falls, and I must be getting back to Casovir and you are supposed to come also, so... let’s be going. Oh, I suppose I should tell you my name. I’m—“

“Isos, I know. Knights don’t get promoted to Champion every day you know. But you are right, we must be going. Follow closely, or you will never find your way out of these caves.”

Isos laughed, but the he realized Sevun was serious.

He followed very closely.

Chapter 7: Infiltration

The two shadows slipped silently past the Gelixi guard, gliding through the dense undergrowth without a sound. They guard either did not register the ever so slight rustling of the leaves at the edge of his view or attributed it to the wind. It mattered not to the shadows.

Isos was surprised at how much Sevun's personality varied. After Isos left the cave, Sevun told him they would meet outside of Casovir. Isos retrieved his gear, and when they met up, Sevun was dead serious, not the slightly raving Knight he had been before. Now he was managing to lead the two of them right up to the Gelixi camp without being noticed at all.

They continued on, slipping past guards for about a centicycle until they finally came to a large clearing in the jungle. The clearing was obviously not natural; the dense jungle had been messily uprooted and the holes filled with dirt, and stray vines and grasses littered the camp. The tent-like structures were scattered in no particular fashion, and Gelixi quickly scurried from place to place.

As random as it seemed, it was still far too ordered for a Gelixi camp.

Ever silent, Sevun motioned for Isos to follow him around the clearing towards the setting sun. From there, the shadows from the trees behind them would conceal them in the already dim afternoon light. When they reached the right spot, Sevun waited. Isos was going to ask him what the waiting was for, when Sevun suddenly jumped out of the trees and pulled Isos across the clearing to an empty tent. No one noticed.

Inside, they planned out a route that would let them see most of the camp in the short time the cloaking device would give them. Isos would use it and sneak around while Sevun darted from shadow to shadow, following and providing assistance if needed.

The first tent of any significance was only a short distance away. It appeared to be an armory. There were rows of daggers and short swords, axes and spears, throwing knifes and even what appeared to be a calibur. There was nothing out of the ordinary, although the Gelixi were certainly well equipped.

Next, Isos moved over to a much larger tent, which held the extra supplies and food for the Gelixi. Again, even though it seemed to be very structured for them, it was not unheard of for the Gelixi to store food. His cloak time was running out, and he probably only had time to check out one final tent.

He started towards what looked like a leader's tent, but his vision was drawn to another tent which was completely dark and too small to house anything. He stepped inside, only intending to take a brief look, but what he found was not at all what he expected: a staircase leading down into the ground.

Sevun slipped over to him and whispered a warning. "Isos... there is probably nothing down there. We need to get moving, you are almost out of time."

But Isos just shook his head and went down the stairs. There seemed to be some sort of weird force pulling him down, persuading him to see what was in the tunnels. Sevun just sighed and followed.

The stairs took Isos down about 25 feet before they opened into a long corridor, about 7 feet wide, with rows of what appeared to be cages along the sides and a larger one at the end. Isos shined a light into the room and jumped back in horror.

Inside the prison, or as it was, the cage, was a beast completely unlike any other that Isos and Sevun had ever seen. It shared some rough anatomy with wolvers; it was four-legged and had a mouth lined with teeth like a wolver, except that these teeth were at least 5 inches long and looked designed to rip through Spiralian armor. The beast was asleep, but even laying down, it was at lease twice as big as any alpha wolver Isos had ever heard of. Every part of the beast made Isos' fill with repulsion and dread. He walked down the corridor and examined as many as he could stomach to look at. Several of them had blood on their claws and teeth and burn marks on their faces.

These were the things that had slaughtered the scouting team.

The strange curiosity that had drawn him in earlier was gone, replaced by disgust, hatred, and fear. Panicking and not caring how much noise he made, Isos ran out of the tunnel and into the dying sunlight above. The sudden, rapid movements had drained the cloak's energy, however, and now he stood completely visible in the middle of a Gelixi camp.

Sevun stepped out of the shadows next to him as the misshapen Gelixi approached, daggers and spears in hand. "You have really done it now, Isos. Remind me never to let you take charge again."

Sevun's next sentence startled Isos almost as much as the beasts had, for it was entirely in perfect Gelixi.

"Tgat oeri rseotshses ire;tsoierdeoartn ,th e frrettydtntw,hnend opa,sn ro at hloprfstckmdme iWes aotseeren tt s t l atd tedmg h vilahuyr eugh hfpup om m ba s;" ((Yes, this really is just gibberish. Don't try to make sense of it.))

Alarmed, but also intrigued, a Gelixi that appeared to be a minor leader replied with just as much nonsense. "? s eevhr aalaf teiot uaott:np tdut taenhpsdmeew mnn hs uer??s anneame uoeo,s'att rtp rrlftgad a sostas? fttute,u ohld;tns ohdiun atnoss n neka`etqona chey ne do twmfoodde, sonl sohpsro iotq epa!"

They conversed like that for a few moments, before Sevun turned to Isos with a relieved expression. "They will let us stay if you show a demonstration of your... abilities to them."

Well, at least we have a tiny chance of making it out alive, Isos thought.

*********************************************

Petra was not having a good day. First, all her comrades were killed. Then she was chased for about a decicycle and captured, and now it appeared she was going to be executed.

Her Gelixi captors shoved her onto her knees on a hastily constructed wooden platform, and the chatter in the crowd died out quickly. A Gelixi stepped out in front and began to adress the crowd, which appeared greatly distressed at the leader's news. The speech seemed to go on for an excessively long time, but Petra would have preferred that it end sooner. Inevitable was inevitable, and there was no escape from this situation.

What she didn't expect was for her executor to be a Spiralian. He looked vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't quite get a name. He stepped up to her slowly, at first with a hesitant look on his face. The crowd cheered. The Spiralian's expression changed to grim determination. He raised his hand.

The world went black for Petra.

((I HATE HATE HATE procrastination.))

((Yeah, I have... really no work ethic whatsoever. Once I get slightly bored of something, I stop working on it for months or years (why I can't do anything good in Minecraft).

And no, it is not too late at all to post an application! A story needs more than 3 characters, after all.

And don't worry, I won't be that morbid right at the start. All will go well... for now...))

((Lordofnecromancers... do you realize that I can't use that bio at all? The story is set well after the end of the Spiral Order, and A. no one would have survived that long and B. Most if not all of the gremlins are dead or mutated. So, while I like that bio very much, it just doesn't work. You are very welcome to rewrite it if you want.

Also: I feel like my description of the beast in the cave for the last chapter was a bit lacking, so I found a picture that should help out at least a little. It isn't really exact, but it gets the point of how evil and repulsive the things are. Link))

((Bonus points if you can figure out which non-SK character Sevun's serious side is based on!))

Chapter 8: Legend

When Petra awoke, she was dazed and confused, to say the least. She had been executed, but she felt very much alive. As her vision refocused, she realized that the executor and another Knight were sitting on a bench, conversing. It appeared to her that they were still inside the Gelixi camp, as indicated by the shadows of movement from outside. The tent she was laying in was not the average soldiers quarters; it was actually not a bad living space by Spiralian standards. Surely for the Gelixi it was a Royal abode.

She now doubted the other Knights meant her harm, as she would be dead already. "Excuse me, but what in the Core is going on here? One minute I am being hunted, then I'm a prisoner, then, what, you pretend to kill me or something?"

Isos turned at the sudden outburst of noise from the previously unconscious Knight. "Back finally, eh? Took you long enough. You want to know just whats going on? So would I. Hopefully Sevun can start keep speaking Spiralian long enough to get you up to speed."

Petra assumed that Sevun was the other Knight, who seemed to have no expression. He seemed the type to stay quiet unless something important is to be said, and also the type not to waste time with too much emotion. Although Petra could never quite understand the closed nature of those people, she knew they were valuable traits for some fields. Even so, when she looked closely, there seemed to be a certain chaotic nature behind his unmoving shell.

Sevun stood up and began his explanation. "Well, as you may or may not know, I am one of the only Spiralians we know of who can speak Gelixi. I am also one of the few that has studied them. They have a legend in which a certain Knight will betray his comrades and learn the way of 'Magic,' and assist the Gelixi in their fight. For the Gelixi, this mythical Knight is a revered figure, since they value selfish treachery above honor and loyalty."

"And you told the Gelixi that I was that Knight? No wonder they seemed so enthusiastic when I stepped up to the platform..." Isos had never thought he would be mistaken as a mythical prophet of evil by hundreds of misshapen savages.

"Exactly. They required a demonstration of your abilities. I did not, however, expect them to make you kill the missing scout."

"I have a name, you know."

Sevun's expression never changed. "Of course, sorry... oh what was it... Petra! Yes, I didn't expect that at all. Good thing you were able to just knock her out, Isos."

He shrugged in something like a thanks.

"As long as we don't disobey the chief, and you appear dead, Petra, and as long as we agree to whatever the Gelixi demand of us, we will be treated like gods until we can find a good way out." As far as Sevun was concerned, he had learned all he needed.

But Isos, dissatisfied with the fact that Sevun wanted to leave already, said, "Wait a minute, Sevun, we came into this camp to find out what we're up against, not to rescue Petra. Of course, it is good we showed up when we did, but we still haven't completed our mission."

A slight smile flashed across Sevun's face, which was the most expression he had shown in a decicycle. "I already saw all I need, Isos. We just need to fiind the right book."

((Roakou, Zedire will most certainly play an important part in the story, but it may not be the kind you are expecting. I can't have him and Sevun be too similar, but you will see in the next chapter or two.

More bonus points if you can decipher the passage!!!!!))

Apps are still open to all!))

Chapter 9: Warning

Getting out of the Gelixi camp was actually much easier than they had expected. Isos was revered by the Gelixi and they simply let him walk out, not thinking he wouldn't return. By the time they realized the trickery, Sevun had led Isos and Petra nearly back to Casovir.

As they rounded the last turn on the path back, Isos glanced over at Petra. She was struggling a bit to make it back; certainly her time in captivity must have been painful and exhausting. Realizing he had the authority to, he ordered her to go see Sytisus as soon as she could.

"Isos, I am fine I don't need to--"

"No, you aren't. When you are back in shape, you can meet up with us at the library, but as is, you're in no condition to be doing much of anything."

Petra didn't try to protest past this. She was a medic, and she knew when someone needed more than a little rest.

*********************************************

"Sevun..." Isos yawned. "Are you sure that this book is here? These books are just legend anyway."

Sevun didn't even glance up to reply.

As Isos plopped down on a bench, waiting for Sevun to find some specific part of some specific book among the hundreds of tomes in the library, Petra caught up with them, looking a bit awed at the size of the place.

"Isos, how is it that these books are still here? I mean, the walls themselves should have crumbled by now, so the books surely should have rotted."

He just shrugged, replying, "Yeah, it is a bit weird. I suppose you stop thinking about it once you've been here a while. There must be some sort of energy source keeping the whole place from decaying."

Petra sat down, but still looked a bit intimidated by the high library shelves filled with books. Isos chuckled inwardly at this. Knights tended to be frightened by books because most of them never got to even see one. As far as Isos knew, this library was the only one left, and only he (and apparently Sevun) knew about it.

They were there for what felt like hours before Sevun found the right passage. "Isos, Petra, come look at this."

They got up, stretching their slightly aching muscles, and stepped over to the book Sevun was indicating. It was a huge book, nearly half a foot thick and at least a foot on each side. The pages were dusty and rough, but appeared to be in good condition nonetheless. The writing was tiny, almost too small to be seen. Zooming in on it, Isos read the passage.

doow wolley a ni degrevid sdaor owt,
htob levart ton dluoc i yrros dna
doots i gnol, relevart eno eb dna
dluoc i sa raf sa eno nwod dekool dna
htworgrednu eht ni tneb ti erehw ot;

riaf sa tsuj sa ,rehto eht koot neht,
mialc retteb eht spahrep gnivah dna
raew detnaw dna yssarg saw ti esuaceb,
ereht gnissap eht taht rof sa hguoht
emas eht tuoba yllaer meht nrow dah,

yal yllauqe gninrom taht htob dna
kcalb neddort dah pets on sevael ni.
yad rehtona rof tsrif eht dekram i ,ho!
yaw ot no sdael yaw woh gniwonk tey
kcab emoc reve dluohs i fi detbuod i.

hgis a htiw siht gnillet eb llahs i
ecneh sega dna sega erehwemos;
i dna ,doow a ni degrevid sdaor owt,
yb delevart ssel eno eht koot i,
ecnereffid eht lla edam sah taht dn.

Isos could not tell the what language it was. It of course wasn't Spiralian, but it didn't appear to be Gelixi either. He asked Sevun, who probably knew.

"Isos, I have no idea what language it is. We have dated this book to five hundred thousand cycles ago -- that places it well before the coming of Spiralians to Cradle. That number could be smaller than the actual time. Uceru had always been convinced that it was a fake, engineered by someone to appear that old, but I suspected different. So I ran it through some tests and managed to produce a working translation. As it is, the language is very complex, and a simple word might translate into many lines of description. I have done my best to simplify it. I expected to get a poem of sorts, but it turns out to be closer to a history lesson."

Long before this time, the Masters found an energy of Light and purity that banished the evil Dark.They, having already nearly destroyed themselves with the Dark, at first used this energy to restore themselves and achieve near perfection.

However, the energy did not give them foresight. They continued to exploit this energy, erasing all evil and Dark from the world, until all that remained was a golden paradise of Light.

Of course, such an imbalance can not stand. Without Dark there can be not Light; without death not life and without evil no good. As the Masters died, they realized their error and sought to contain the energy of Light so that no others would upset the eternal balance of Light and Dark.

They searched for a great time, and the solution was thus; they created a great shield, inside of which had an invincible sphere that contained the energy. Guardians were created to protect the sphere, made out of pure Darkness stolen from countless worlds.

But the Masters realized that even pure Dark might not be strong enough to stop all who sought the energy. They created a fail-safe of sorts; if the guardians failed and someone opened the sphere, all the energy of the shield planet would be focused, creating evils great enough to prevent them from gaining pure Light. Slowly, the sphere would leak a small amount of energy, therefore restoring the intruders and preventing them from doom.

We have discovered this too late. Now, due to the foolishness of our people, the energy has been released, and our civilization crushed. The Master's plans for recovering the intruders with energy was not fast enough; there is no chance for us. So we now will dedicate our last remaining cycles to helping future inhabitants of Cradle know this.

The message is thus; if you open the sphere, you MUST seek the Light. Otherwise, you will be destroyed before it finds you. We shudder at the thought of how many peoples will ignore this warning, and surely you see what happened to them. Find the Light.

The three of them didn't say anything. The fate of Spiralians had just become much more bleak.

Chapter 10: Traitors

((Phew, almost lost the momentum, but I managed to get trapped on a craptastically slow computer that wouldn't run Steam, let alone SK. Fortunately, typing is fine :D))

The tent was quiet, as always, in spite of the fact that it was packed full of busy Spiralians. Intelligence Knights talked only when necessary, and as such their work tented not to make much noise.

Uceru listened to the report from one of his lowest ranking Knights. The report was about a small pack of wolvers that had been migrating from one den to another. Although the report was utterly trivial, Uceru believed that the best way to train new Knights was to send them into the field. New trainees were often assigned to watch animals in the wild as if they were enemy camps, and they took the pretend spying extremely seriously.

When the young Knight had given his report, Uceru gave him a nod and sent him off to his next task. Looking around, he still couldn't see the individual he was looking for. But seeing was not the same as finding. He turned to the hidden figure behind him, fully aware of who it was and what the stranger's purpose was.

They greeted each other with almost nonexistent nods; those in Information rarely spoke their hellos to each other.

"Did you watch them, Zedire?" Uceru had waited days for this information, and the answer might change everything about the future of Casovir.

"Yes, sir. I did. I followed them from camp all the way to the library."

"And? What were they doing there? You know what I suspect."

Zedire gave a slight nod. "Just as you expected, sir. They plan to seek the false salvation found in the books."

Uceru sighed. Even though this was the news he had been expecting, he still wished that Isos and Sevun hadn't chosen this path. He liked them both; Sevun was arguably his best spy and Isos was a dependable, intelligent soldier who would have made a good replacement for Brastan someday. When Sevun reported what he saw at the Gelixi camp, Uceru feared they would look into the history, but there was only one source for that: the library.

Uceru himself had read a good portion of the library; it was full of lies. Every book in there was forged to look old, and he knew it, even if Sevun had repeatedly argued otherwise. But they were promising lies, ones that seemed to provide an answer to all the problems with the world.

Sevun thought that by finding the 'light' that the books praised so much, he could restore the Knights to their previous glory. In reality, all he would do is release the evil contents of the core a second time and destroy everything they had worked for.

Interesting how despite the enormous efforts of thousands of Spiralians across Cradle, the death of their race might be caused by the actions of one Knight.

Uceru turned back to Zedire and gave him a new set of orders.