• Tales of Xalthia

    Chapter 27: Complicated Discoveries


    Devon, the Prime Minister of Esseand, escorted Tsuki and his companions through the castle, telling them the history behind the city and why they chose to build in such a unique area. Being foreign travelers that have ties to another kingdom, however, they weren't allowed to see things until their status in Ersheath improves. To ensure their safety and well-being, only the officials of Ersheath know of where they came from. If word were to get out that travelers with ties to another kingdom were roaming around Ersheath, panic and other problems could arise from it. It took about twenty minutes to visit the places they were allowed to see within the castle. When the tour of the castle was complete for the time being, Devon led the group to the second floor where the library was at.

    After being up on the second floor for several minutes, they finally reached the library. Devon approached one of the doors alongside the wall and turned to face Tsuki and his companions. "This is our royal library. Beyond this door, you'll find out historian. She'll be expecting your visit. She'll help you with anything you may need. In the meantime, I have to report back to His Majesty. If you folks will excuse me" he said. He then bowed to the group and walked further down the hall, disappearing around a corner.

    Tsuki watched as Devon walked past them and disappeared down the hallway. "She'll be expecting us? It seems King Raiku made some arrangements for us" he said.

    Cheria nodded. "I'm honestly surprised he took us in and allowed us into the castle so easily. I mean, we aren't from this kingdom so I would of expected some kind of mistrust and hostility among the knights here" she said.

    Ramza chuckled a bit. "The knights of Esseand are more peaceful than you may think. We don't wish to raise conflict. The knights and officials all trust Raiku wholeheartedly so if he says that we're safe to conduct our business here, they'll listen" he said.

    Tsuki shrugged, shaking his head. "At least things are in our favor. At least we can finally talk to an expert and see if they have answers to our questions" he said.

    They soon pushed open the doors to the library. When the door opened up, they saw numerous bookshelves with countless books on them. The library was a medium-sized room that looked half the size of an audience chamber with two floors to it. Each floor had shelves upon shelves of books. They had every book genre in the library from simple comics and magazines to dusty history books. Since the library is always open for the public, they had to make sure they had material for all ages. Being surrounded by countless books and several scholars scattered throughout the library, they had everything they could need.

    Tsuki and his companions took several minutes to check things out and see what they could find. However, not finding anything useful, they all met back up at the first floor in the center of the room in front of a series of tables. Once they gathered, a girl with black glasses, shoulder length brown hair with a white silk robe approached them. She looked to be about twenty years old and was as tall as Lynette.

    The girl approached Tsuki and his companions at arms length in front of Tsuki and examined all of them closely, studying them. When she was ready to speak, she faced Tsuki. "Your attire and looks...you must be the travelers from Cayhill my brother told me about. He wasn't joking; you guys stick out like a sore thumb. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Luan Calloway. As my name states, I'm King Raiku's little sister" she said. She then bowed to the group in respect.

    Tsuki examined the girl as she introduced herself. "His sister? Wait, you're the historian he arranged for us to meet with? You look so young" he said. He was surprised that there were people as young as this girl that could actually be a historian. "My name is Tsuki Himura. It's a pleasure to meet you. My companions are Lynette Suzaki, Cheria Tsubasa, Nagi Ferid, Elle Solize, Ruko Keiss and---" he said as he tried to introduce his friends.

    As Tsuki was introducing his friends, Ruko wasn't aware of what he had interrupted when he finally came down from the second floor and interrupted Tsuki. "Hey, I found something you guys might be interested in" he said.

    Luan looked over at Ramza when he rejoined Tsuki's group as he appeared to be a part of their gang. "Ramza? I didn't know you were a part of this" she said. She then approached him until she was standing up close to him. "So, this is where you disappeared to. You had me worried when you suddenly left without a word" she said.

    Ramza scratched the back of his head and placed a hand on top of her head. "I'm sorry. I was in a hurry and needed to leave immediately. I didn't have time to let anyone know I was leaving" he said.

    Ruko looked over at Ramza. "You know her?" he asked. Just then, he remembered Ramza telling him that he had someone he was trying to get back during the celebrations Basilwell had several weeks ago. "Wait, is this that special person you mentioned to me in Basilwell?" he asked.

    Ramza chuckled and shook his head. "Heavens no, but she's her childhood friend" he said. He then patted Luan on the shoulder and looked at the others. "3She may look young, but Luan is a huge history buff and explorer. Hell, she's even smarter than most of our top scholars. There isn't anything that she doesn't know" he said.

    Luan giggled a bit and shook her head, pushing him away gently. "You give me far too much credit. I just grew up reading books and learning about our world's history" she said. She then looked at the rest of the group, holding her hands up to her chest. "I simply love reading about history of the world and of each kingdom. There's so much I still need to learn and it's my mission to learn everything I can" she said.

    Tsuki fell into thought for a moment. If she was as smart as she and Ramza say, then maybe he could finally have his questions answered. "We've gotten a pretty good idea on the history behind Ersheath and Nargelond, Can you tell us everything you know about the cult that ravages the globe? Or anything about the Ancients?" he asked.

    Luan held a hand under her chin, closing her eyes. "Those two groups, huh? You couldn't ask for a more difficult subject. Let's see..." she said. She then turned around and paced from left to right in thought. "I'll start with the cult first. The cult goes by the name of Draxus. They were once a small cult that consisted of less than fifteen members who were common thugs and fanatics. However, over the years, they've grown exponentially in numbers and power with at least one hundred and fifty known active members with increasing members each month" she said. She then walked over to a file cabinet that was on the other side of a counter and pulled out several sheets of paper and placed them on one of the tables in front of them side-by-side. "To this day, Draxus has attacked thirty-five villages, killed at least three hundred and fifty people and abducted forty-five poor souls. There are no records or any survivors from both attacks on the villages and those who were abducted. To make matters worse, we don't know where they're based at since they're constantly on the move so no one's been able to bring them to justice. They're elusive, crafty devils that have been evading the world's government for over twenty years" she said.

    Cheria sighed heavily as Luan told them what she knew about the cult. It was a sore subject for Tsuki and especially Nagi but they still didn't know much about them. At least, they finally had a name to go by. "Well, you can update those records of no survivors" she said, taking a brief glance at Tsuki, Nagi and even Elle though not making it apparant.

    Luan tilted her head. "What do you mean? Do you guys know of any survivors?" she asked.

    Cheria nodded. "Yes. There are at least three survivors. Tsu and Nagi are two of them. The third one has yet to be seen" she said, glaring at Elle. She wanted to scold Elle without Tsuki or anyone else knowing since she, Lynette and Nagi knew of the secret she's hiding.

    Luan's eyes widened a bit when she told her that Tsuki and Nagi were survivors. "What!? No way...you two are the only people to survive an encounter with Draxus and live to tell the tale! Do you mind telling me what happened?" she asked. She wanted to know what ordeal the both of them had went through and the things they had witnessed.

    Tsuki shook his head. "Another time. Nagi has received significant mental trauma and scarring and hasn't recovered from it. I'll tell you when she isn't present. I don't want her to have flashbacks again" he said.

    Nagi had been holding onto Tsuki's arm tightly when he first mentioned the cult. She knew where the conversation would end up at and she tried her hardest not to listen. When Tsuki told her that he would explain it without her around, she felt relieved. "I'm sorry for this, Luan..." she said.

    Luan looked at Nagi and her discomfort and uneasiness was plainly visible. She hadn't realized that she asked a question she shouldn't have. She gave her a warm smile and nodded, looking back at Tsuki. "Okay. I'll move on to what I know about the Ancients then. Compared to Draxus, I have information about the Ancients that puts the stuff I have on Draxus to shame" she said. She turned back around and walked back up to the file cabinets were old, dusty textbooks were lined up along a shelf. Judging from the condition they were in, they haven't been touched in quite a while. She slid her finger across the spines of the books and stopped at one that appeared more aged and torn than the rest. "I'm sure you guys are at least familiar with the basic stuff right? About how they have this special power and all that junk?" she asked.

    Tsuki nodded. "Yeah. I want to know more about them. Things I didn't already know. Anything new could be of great help to us" he said.

    Luan pulled out the old, torn book off the shelf and held it behind her back. "As you're all aware, there's not much known about the Ancients. The worlds' top scientists say they're still in the dark about most things. However..." she said. She then approached the table again and placed the book down, pushing the papers on Draxus aside. "I'm already one step ahead of all those people" she said.

    The book that Luan set down on the table was covered in dust and dirt. The whole thing was beat to hell and looked almost ancient from the condition it was in and how it was made. The book was made out of a different material that modern books are made up of. Even the paper looked and felt different. The writing on the book's cover, spine and back was in a language that had been lost in history. Tsuki and his companions were stunned and speechless.

    Luan giggled at their reactions. It was to be expected. She was the only person in the world who knew much more about the Ancients than anyone except for Elle who was an Ancient herself. "If you think that's amazing, just wait until you see these" she said. She then walked up to a safe that was in the wall where the dusty bookshelf was. She entered a combination and moments later, the doors to the safe flew open. She then took out three scrolls, charts and a stack of paper. They all appeared as aged as the book was. She walked back to the table and set them down carefully. "All of these were discovered in a pit by yours truly" she said.

    The scrolls, charts and paper were all made out of the same material as the book which signifies to them that they were all connected and came from the same time period. They were all torn and appeared very fragile. One mistake and they could disintegrate to dust. They all shared the same print and language as well which further proves this as such.

    Lynette gazed at the items that Luan took out and placed on the table. She wanted to touch them to get a better look but was afraid that they would turn to dust with age so she restrained herself. "Are these what I think they are?" she asked.

    Elle nodded. "Yes. Relics of the past. These do indeed belong to the Ancients. The language and material matches up perfectly" she said, confirming their curiosity.

    Luan tilted her head and looked over at Elle. She seemed to know about the Ancients as well. "Oh? You appear to be an expert on the Ancients as well. Have you studied them too?" she asked.

    Elle shrugged. "Something like that" she said. She wasn't about to tell her who she really was. She then approached the table and examined the items carefully. The book is where she started first. She brushed her hand gently and slowly across the book's cover, revealing what appears to be the title. "Road to Redemption" she said, reading the title out loud. She then carefully opened up the book and read a few pages.

    Cheria walked up behind Elle and watched her read several pages. Since she didn't know how to read the language that belong to the Ancients, she couldn't make anything out. "That looks complicated. You can actually read all of that, Elle?" she asked.

    Elle nodded. "Most of it. This is written in one of the old languages of the Ancients that became lost" she said. She then skimmed through the rest of the book before she got to blank pages and closed it.

    Ramza folded his arms and looked at Elle, leaning up against a pillar of stone. "What could you make out?" he asked.

    Elle sighed heavily and scratched the back of her head. "This isn't just a book. It's a journal. The person who wrote this never completed it. It belonged to a soldier who took part in the War of Mana. Whoever this soldier was, they wanted peace and balance in the world again. The book ends prior to the final battle of the war, the Battle of Ishgard. It's safe to assume that the soldier lost his life in that battle" she said. She then turned her focus on the three scrolls. They were made of different material but still bearing similarities. There also appeared to be royal seals on each scroll. Not much else could be made out because they were so faded but they were clearly different seals. "These scrolls seem to belong to three different groups. This one appears to be a falcon and this one a dragon. For the third one, it's so faded so I can't be certain but it appears to be a serpent" she said, point at the scrolls from left to right.

    Luan folded her arms and fell into thought as she examined the seals that Elle pointed out. "A falcon, dragon and serpent, huh? They could symbolize the old kingdoms that our foundations were built on" she said.

    Ruko soon came to a realization. "That's most likely the case. Think about it for a minute. Dragons are native to Nargelond, falcons are native to Ersheath and serpents are native to Cayhill. In fact, the royal seals of those kingdoms bear a striking resemblance to the ones on these scrolls" he said.

    Elle nodded, holding her hand up to her chin for a moment before she carefully opened the scrolls one at a time. Once they were open, she read each scroll. Thankfully, it was in a more familiar language of the Ancients unlike the book. It only took her a few minutes to read all of them. "Well, this may come as a surprise. It appears that Nargelond, Ersheath and Cayhill were once allies, judging by what's written in these scrolls" she said.

    Luan's interest grew even more when Elle informed them that the three kingdoms were once allies. "Allies, you say? What do the scrolls contain?" she asked.

    Elle nodded. "Yes. These scrolls are messages that were being exchanged between the three royal families. They were forming a plan to work with local militia to stop a conflict that had been going on at the time" she said.

    Nagi rubbed her chin for a moment. "If they were once allies, I wonder what happened the drove them apart to break the alliance" she said.

    Luan shook her head. "Whatever happened between them didn't happen in this day and age, that's for sure. Our answer must still remain in the secrets that the Ancients still hide from us" she said.

    Tsuki looked over at the charts. There were about ten of them but all appeared to be mapping the same regions but with different markings. The stack of paper that Elle brought out appeared to be data sheets and old maps with trade routes. His interest was more on the charts though. "What about these?" he asked.

    Elle took a look at the charts and studied them carefully. After a few minutes, she sighed with a troubled look on her face. Something wasn't right about the charts. "This is strange. It looks like these are war charts. Judging by the layout and terrain, this appears to be an overlook for the Battle of Ishgard. However, what makes them strange is that I have no idea where these came from. The seal on the charts are different than the kingdom seals. Whoever these belonged to, they did not come from any of the kingdoms or militia that took part in the battle" she said, revealing some troubling news.

    Tsuki looked at Elle and gave her a serious look. "Are you saying that there was another group involved in the war? Why wasn't this told in the history books?" he asked.

    Elle nodded. "It appears so. Take a look at this" she said. She then pointed to multiple areas on the charts that were marked. "These aren't just simple markings. These are the areas where each fighting force was based at. Whoever these people were, they had knowledge of their positions and kept track of all their movements. They appear to be extremely skilled at reconnaissance, that much is certain. As for why they weren't mentioned in any of the history books, I don't have an answer for you" she said.

    Luan held a finger to her bottom lip and bit on it softly, remembering something. She's heard about something like this before. After a brief moment, she walked back to the bookshelf where she pulled the last book off of and pulled out a heavy-looking book. She then placed it on the table and flipped through the pages. It took her a few minutes to find what she was looking for. "During the course of the Battle of Ishgard, the allied factions weren't the only forces that were present. In the wake of Divine Redemption, the body of a male bearing markings and symbols as well as garments and equipment that were not native to any of the present forces was recovered from the scattered remains. No one has since been able to identify where the individual came from and was labeled as a civilian casualty" she said, reading from the book out loud.

    Ramza stroked his chin in thought. "I've never heard this information before. It seems that there's still a whole lot of information that still hasn't been released to the public" he said.

    Luan nodded. "Yes. In fact, the history that the public knows of heavily contradicts to what actually happened. You may not believe this, but most of the information that we know about the war was fabricated to hide the actual truth. For example, let's start with the Battle of Ishgard. History books say that the battle took place in an empty plain that was said to be holy grounds of the Great Spirits. As plausible as that sounds, that is a lie. It actually took place on the holy grounds of Ishgard, the most ancient, prosperous and militarized cities during its time. Word has it that the city was obliterated due to the intervention of the Great Spirits. However, no one knows the fate of the once prosperous city, not even the Ancients themselves. It was almost like city itself vanished into thin air" she explained.

    Tsuki scratched his head. Now, he was lost and confused. "Fabricated lies? The fate of Ishgard? Why is most of the information about the War of Mana kept in secret? Actually, the better question is, how can a city simply vanish into thin air? That's impossible, no matter how highly advanced the Ancients were" he said.

    Luan shook her head. "I don't have a good answer for you on that. I've been trying to find out the reason why the information was withheld for three years now and I haven't even came close to finding out. As for the disappearance of Ishgard, I've always believed that---" she said.

    Just then, the doors to the library flew open with two knights fast approaching the group in the center of the room. They appeared to be in a hurry.

    Luan didn't appreciate how the knights suddenly stormed into her library. "By the gods, this is a library, not a dining hall. What's the reason for this sudden intrusion? If you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of an important discussion" she said, scolding them.

    The tall knight saluted them and bowed at Luan. "Our apologizes, Ms. Calloway. We didn't mean to intrude on your discussion. However, His Majesty has requested the presence of our foreign travelers. The situation in Dagbor took a drastic turn for the worse and he would like their cooperation on this matter" he said.

    Luan's eyes widened with shock. "Did you say Dagbor!? But, that's where Setzu is!" she shouted. Her calm and cool attitude quickly turned into one of worry and horror.

    When Tsuki heard the name Setzu, it seemed familiar to him. There was something about that name but he couldn't remember. He then shook his head and looked over at the knights. "Dagbor?" he asked.

    Ramza nodded. "Dagbor is a shared border town to the southwest. The town is split in half, divided by a river and heavily guarded gate. One side belongs to Ersheath and the other side belongs to Nargelond" he explained.

    The tall knight nodded. "Yes. Tensions have always been high among the soldiers and townspeople from both kingdoms in Dagbor, but it seems thinks have finally spilled over. His Majesty is waiting for you in the Royal Promenade. If you would follow us, things will be explained in due time" he said.

    Tsuki nodded. "Okay" he said. He then looked over at Luan. "We'll continue this discussion later. There's still so much more we need to talk about" he said.

    Luan shook her head. "If you would allow me, I'd like to go with you. There's someone important to me who was sent to Dagbor on a mission and hasn't given me any kind of notice as of late, so I'm worried" she said. She couldn't bear the thought of having someone important to her being injured or worse.

    Tsuki could tell just by looking into her eyes that whoever this Setzu was seemed important to her. He briefly saw Cheria in her eyes since they both share a similar reaction when things like this happens. He then nodded at her. "Sure" he said. He then faced the knights once more. "We're ready. Lead the way" he said.

    The two knights then started to escort Tsuki and his group out of the library. They were brought to the third floor where the Royal Promenade was at. The air among them was tense and heavy. They were all feeling anxious to hear about what's happened in Dagbor. However, for some, they couldn't shake the feeling of dread. They felt that something went horribly wrong somewhere but they didn't know what.

    To be continued...