Interlude Chapter 5: The Shadow Sealer

Interlude Chapter 6:The Shadow Sealer

While the Quest continues…

The Quest for Peace has earned a slight reprieve from the battle with Xylen for the time being. Xylen, after being humiliated and beaten by Reias and the recovery of the Dark Triad, fled with Pellas to a planet that was once his stronghold so many

centuries ago.

This planet is called Terrenon.

When he was here the first time, the people of Terrenon were primitive, weak and easily led by any flashy magician who had enough tricks up his sleeve to dazzle

them with. While Chaos used this to his advantage, the gods of the planet were not about to let him mess with their creations, and as such a war broke out. The war

raged for centuries and many of the people caught in the crossfire between Xylen and the gods died. The war lasted nearly four hundred years and the mortals that managed to escape death were lucky enough to continue living in hiding. The war

dwindled down and soon it was just a small number of gods that were left alive. One in particular, known to the mortals as the Blacksmith; created seven swords one for every colour of the spectrum. He chose seven mortals from their lives and entrusted

them with one of his swords. The mortals were then separated so that no two swords were near each other. Combined, these seven swords created the Shadow

Sealer; the Blacksmith’s last remaining weapon to fight Xylen with.

Now after five hundred years, Xylen has returned to Terrenon to regain his strength so that he can take his revenge against the Quest and its Guardian Reias who

thoroughly humiliated him and to destroy the line of the Peace God once and for all…

Up on Allocarre…

Maaya: You have green eyes Perseus, they are very beautiful.

Perseus: Yes, it’s been so long since I’ve seen them I almost forgot that they were green. Being a vampire means you have no reflection

anymore.

Maaya: Are you alright now? I mean, the shock of your transformation into a god knocked you out for days.

Perseus: I will be, don’t worry about it.

One thing he had to make sure of, was that his magic had not suffered too much since he became a god. Studying by the light of day was still a

shock to him, he hadn’t seen the sun in a very long time. He wanted to be prepared for anything, Ani-Mei had asked him to be the one to contact Diamos in the Astral Realm to bring him here, he felt he could do it just

fine the way he was; but it never hurts to be prepared.

Perseus was surprised by how much he had forgotten; it was like he was relearning everything all over again for the first time. Ani-Mei was sending

him to Terrenon to help protect that world from Xylen, Perseus had just gotten used to the fact that Elvendia was strange and now he had to readjust again to another strange planet. He didn’t know much about

Terrenon; Adahy explained that he would be briefed en route to the planet once they had brought Diamos here. And Diamos knew this place; he’d

been there before.

Ani-Mei soon called him to the room where she would be contacting Diamos from. A change of clothes and hair cut later, Perseus was ready.

Ani-Mei: Are you ready Perseus?

Perseus: Yes, what do I have to do?

Ani-Mei: I will open the lines to the Astral Realm and when you call out to him, he should be able to hear you.

Perseus: I understand. I’m ready.

Ani-Mei: Then let us begin.

A small window appeared in the upper left corner of the mirror, Diamos was playing with a small, blond haired little boy.

Perseus: I didn’t know Diamos had a son.

Ani-Mei: Call out to him, he can hear you.

Perseus: Diamos?

Diamos stopped for a moment, he thought he heard his name called. But his grandson Endymion didn’t say a word. The little boy was looking at

him, wondering why he stopped playing with him.

“Diamos?” The voice called again.

Diamos: Perseus? Is that you?

He picked up the little boy and set him down in his crib; a small yawn told him that he had had enough playing for one day. Once he was settled the

voice called him again and he followed it to a room.

Diamos: It is you Perseus, where are you?

Perseus: On Elvendia; we need your help.

Diamos: What can I do? I’m trapped here with no body and no way out.

Ani-Mei: Peace God, have you forgotten about us already? You know we can give you back what you have lost, even if it is only for usage here on

Elvendia.

Ani-Mei: All you need to do is touch the mirror and we can bring you through to Allocarre. It is of the utmost importance that you come here.

Diamos: I’d have to tell Seiya where I was going, and I will miss my grandson’s birthday. But I also know that I owe you a lot Lady Starr. Give

me a few minutes to prepare.

Ani-Mei: As you wish. We shall wait for you.

Ani-Mei: I hope he is ready to return to Terrenon…it has been a long time since he has seen her.

Perseus: I think he can handle it, after all, they loved each other once.

Ani-Mei: Yes, that is true. But he is going to face off against Xylen and even though he is weakened, Pellas is not.

Perseus: We can handle Xylen. Don’t worry about that.

The trip was rather strange for him, it felt like he was being dragged through deep waters, every movement he made was slow and sluggish. But once he was

through, he could feel that his body was back.

Diamos: Okay, that was weird.

Ani-Mei: But you are alright?

Diamos: Yes. What was it you needed my help with?

Ani-Mei: About three weeks ago we received a message from Terrenon; Leiya needs you. Perseus will tell you more about it, I have something I must do first.

Diamos: Is Leiya alright? Ani-Mei said you would tell me more.

Perseus: As far we know she is, but it has been a while since we’ve heard anything. You know what happened with Xylen right?

Diamos: Yes, Reias beat him and reclaimed the Triad.

Perseus: Do you also know that Terrenon is where he’s headed to recharge his powers?

Diamos: No, that I didn’t know.

Perseus: We can’t let him come back to Earth fully recharged, the legacy is not ready to handle him. We have to stop him there on Terrenon.

Diamos: So when do we leave?

Perseus: We have to pack up some supplies first and wait for our ride to arrive.

Diamos: Don’t tell me, it’s Juno right?

Perseus: You know him?

Diamos: We’ve crossed paths once before.

Perseus: Ani-Mei said she was going to contact him when he passed by this system and ask if he’d give us a ride to Terrenon. We would get there

ahead of Xylen and have enough time to locate Leiya and her friends before he does.

Diamos: Juno’s a difficult man to talk to, he’s the Ariddean Emperor and has a lot of things to deal with. I just hope he’s in a good mood when he

gets here.

Perseus: I hope so too. Come, we’ve got packing to do.

Diamos: I just wanted to thank you Perseus. Your being here is a great comfort to me.

Perseus: Yeah, now that I don’t have to look in the mirror to talk to you this time. It’s nice to see you face to face.

Diamos was pleased to have him along, he got to know his descendant quite well when he was sharing his body. Perseus made him proud. He

could think of no one better to introduce Leiya to than him. He wanted to show her so much of his world, and this time he hoped he’d get the

chance to show her. Seeing the love of his life again made him nervous though, it had been a long time and Diamos wasn’t sure if she’d want to

pick up where they left off last time.

Maaya: So you will be joining the Peace God on his trip to Terrenon?

Perseus: Yes, I can’t wait to see this place, the way Dee talks about it makes it sound so wonderful.

Maaya: I will miss you.

Perseus: I’ll be back before you know it. Don’t worry.

Maaya: Promise me that you will be safe?

Perseus: I promise, Maaya. I’m in good company.

Maaya: I have grown to like you a lot Perseus. I would like to know you better.

Perseus blushed; he hadn’t heard a woman say that to him in a long time.

He would always have a place in his heart for Steph and his children, but he had to move on. Here was a beautiful goddess standing before him,

declaring her intentions to get to know him better. For the first time since he married Steph, he was happy again.

Maybe it was time to let another woman into his heart. He did not want to spend his newly acquired immortality all alone…

On the way to Terrenon, Diamos and Perseus are out of contact range, they had no idea about the trouble that had begun to stir

back home on Earth. This threat would come to harm the legacy, and they would never know. There is only one person

who could warn the legacy about the dangers that are approaching; an old ally…

Part B: Domestic Trouble

Several years ago…

General: You’ve done well today; I’m proud of you all. With your help we can clean up this town; we can rid it of the non-terrestrial threats and

prepare for our praise from the God of War. We will rule this town, then the state and eventually spread country-wide. When the war of the gods hits home we alone will stand while the rest of the weak minded sheep fall.

Dax, the blond haired guy tried to hide his smile; the Buzz Kill was off his nut for sure. Whoever heard of a God of War named Dalen?

“Don’t think I can’t see your doubts; it’ll all be clear in time I promise you that. When Dalen chooses to show himself to us you’ll have no

more doubts.”

He continued: “Once we prove to Dalen that we alone are worthy of his praise and support the conquest will be simple, he will reward us

handsomely.”

He was so wrapped up in his speech that he failed to notice the looks of concern the recruits were giving each other. They knew he had lost his

mind…

Now…

Maggie: And now he wants us to invade the country to find this so called God of War, can you believe him?

Alisandro: We all knew the Buzz Kill was off his nut years ago, and ever since those two gods appeared to the UN talking about

some Dark Moon or whatever, he’s become more and more obsessed with him.

Shareena: You can’t expect the Greek government to just sit idly by while an American armed force invades their lands, I can’t follow the

Buzz Kill on this, it’s not only illegal; it’s suicide. We have no idea where this Hidden City is even supposed to be.

Maggie: I know Shar, believe me I know…but he’s threatening us all with a court marshal if we don’t go along with this. I don’t know about you

but I’d prefer to keep my reputation in good standing.

Brandon: I doubt that he’s in the right mind to court marshal us, half the force already thinks he’s a lunatic.

Dax: Yeah, a lunatic with a license to kill. The Buzz Kill still has a lot of powerful friends in the Pentagon who back him.

Brandon: Well I’m not going to invade Greece, you guys go right ahead.

Brandon: Amy, you don’t buy this do you?

Amy: Of course not. I’m not going with him. I’d like to remain a law abiding citizen of America thank you very much.

Brandon: At least some of us still have common sense.

Maggie: So you’re really not going Shar?

Alisandro: And if you do get court marshaled for it?

Shareena: I won’t and I’m not going. I am totally with Brandon and Amy on this.

Jeri: Matt, really? Aren’t you going to listen to the general?

Matt: Jeri, honey, I love you like a sister but this is nuts. Do you really think the Greeks will let us even get close to their air space to find this so called

Hidden City? I don’t think so.

Jeri: So that’s it? My best friend won’t even support our general?

Matt: I support the sovereignty of Greece. Unless they have special permission to do a recon mission in the country from the Defence Minister,

I’m staying put.

Amy: Seems that’s only going to be you four.

Brandon: And if you survive, I’ll be sure to say “I told you so.”

Dax: Yeah, you would asshole. You love to.

******

Hidden City, two weeks later…

Jeri: Do you think they were right?

Maggie: Well so far we’ve gone undetected so I’d say no, they weren’t.

Jeri: But for how long will we remain that way?

Up on Olympus…

Hera: And you are certain that these mortals are not from the city?

Aphrodite: Or our country?

Apollo: Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. They are not ours.

Zeus: And Apollo would see all as the Sun God, but the question is; what are they here for and why?

Apollo: Good question father.

Hephaestus: Enlighten us Athena, you’re the Goddess of Knowledge.

Athena: I know they are military; even I know a war game when I see it; but they are not Greek military. I suspect the Americans; they are highly trained and disciplined, strategically they match all the known American tactics. But I do not know as of yet why

they are here or how they even found Hidden City.

Artemis: Are they a threat?

Ashika: I know why they came here, they are looking for Dalen.

Zeus: Why are they looking for Dalen? I thought he was back on our side?

Hera: Tell us child.

Ashika: He is, but the general who leads them still believes that Dalen will favour him if he proves himself worthy. But how they intend to do

that, I don’t know. I can’t see the future as often as I see the past.

Hephaestus: I mean come on!! We just got rid of Xylen and now we have a new problem already??!!

Athena: They are only mortals Hephaestus, we can deal with mortals.

Hephaestus: And how do we know the Americans don’t have their own god-killing weapons and they sent those troops here to use them on us?

Artemis: Why would they? The Americans don’t believe we’re real anymore. Aren’t you being a bit overly paranoid?

Apollo: My twin is right; there has to be another reason they’re here.

Hephaestus: And I think you’re just not thinking clearly about this!! Hidden City is supposed to be protected by us from the outside world, and

these foreigners found us and we didn’t even notice!!

Zeus: My children, rest assured; we will watch these mortals carefully and if they take any sort of aggressive action against us we will take care

of them. We’re gods remember?

Murmurs of consent went around the table; for now they would just wait and watch the American invaders…

******

What could General Buzz be planning now that he has found Hidden City? What will he do to try and earn Dalen’s favour? As

his father, Ares once said:

“There is no true peace, only temporary lulls between battles.”

Ares may have been right after all. Only time will tell.