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Valley Gale Keep was first built atop a great promontory of stone at the start of the Golden Age. Many of the great halls and chambers seen today are original features, though every stone upon the outside has been replaced, and the fortress expanded greatly. The original promontory is no longer visible, having been built and buried over the eons.
- History of the Greater Continent
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Chapter 2:
First Time in Heels
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#2.1 – Friday, the 6th day of the 9th month…
Every schoolchild learned in kindergarten what the Slayer Dragons were. The sometimes harsh truth that they were not themselves dragons, that they defended the world from magical threats. That there leader was called “The Pendragon” and how there hadn’t been one of those since before the Long Night SS. All of these lessons and her own substantial knowledge sloshed through the back of Scarlet’s mind as they entered Valley Gail Keep PP.
To reach the Enclave at the heart of the fortress, the pair climbed many stairs. It was quite some distance from the valley floor where they entered the tunnel system, but would probably have meant walking even further to take an elevator. Here, Emmerich really showed his age, and Scarlet did her best to help him along. He did more to keep her upright, her legs most unsteady on the new pair of heels.
At long last they reached the much-fabled Shadow Hall, a white-marbled anti-chamber which served as the entrance to the Slayer Dragon’s Enclave. Eight alcoves lined each wall, with dark suits of armor stood up inside.
“Dolahans*,” Scarlet gasped. “T-these are trophies from the First Army of Darkness†!”
“Don’t forget to breathe, book-wurm,” Emmerich whispered to her as he walked her through the final arch and out into the Enclave proper.
“Presenting, Ms. Scarlet Jusenkyou, and the esteemed Dr. Thompson.”
Scarlet felt tickled pink to hear her name echo through the halls of the Enclave. The announcer moved on to the next guest, and she would be forgotten by the crowd in moments. But to bring that name back here, to the heart of the fortress, where her ancestors once walked was all she could have asked for.
At the bottom floor of the Enclave sat a grand hall, with two floors of balconies above them. Every surface was decorated, a kaleidoscope of polished wood, marble, and semi-precious stones.
As they entered, Scarlet dug her fingers into Emmerich’s arm so she could turn her eyes straight up. Suspended from the ceiling, an enormous glass and mirrored case displayed it. The relic sword Echbaldam P, the myth made real. A piece of the divine in the mortal world. Scarlet had seen pictures, spent hours studying replicas. But to look at the real thing, for herself, with her own eyes, meant everything to her.
Despite its place of prominence, only one Pendragon ever held Echbaldam. The last true Pendragon, in fact, Scarlet’s own ancestor. The rest all carried the now-lost sword Echbalder#. While less powerful, it was arguably the more important historically. Important to the general operations of the Order, too; since without it they technically did not have a leader.
Only once her eyes came down from the sky could Scarlet see the hall about her. Every few paces sat another display case. But Scarlet didn’t need to read the carefully-prepared index-cards beside each artifact. “I can’t believe it! A Fourth Age reliquary**! Aww! Gabriel Rikart! I thought his was lost!”
“It’s a reproduction, you can tell by the welding beneath the gold-leaf,” Emmerich pointed to a corner of the ornate box. “Still lost, I suppose.”
Scarlet flitted to the next case, nearly rolling her ankle as she cried out with excitement. “And this! This is Julia Thomas’s armor! She was contemporary with Conri, you know!”
Emmerich put a hand on top of Scarlet’s head and held her in place before she went running off to the next display. “Why don’t you stop and really look at it?”
Scarlet pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders and stared at the supine armor. “She was really small. That plate-mail would almost fit me.”
Something shiny caught the corner of Scarlet’s eye and she dashed off again, narrowly avoiding stepping on her own skirts. “Emmerich! Look! It’s the Rotunda of Memory!”
Emmerich followed at a more measured gate. Scarlet slipped through a little archway into a wide, round room with walls covered in intricate niches. Each one held a gilded(or possibly even solid gold) statue of a former Slayer Dragon. Going all the way back to Conri Jusenkyou†† who re-founded the Order after the Long Night.
“They used to call this the Dome of Memory,” Scarlet stopped to pant several times and get her breath back. “Why they changed it, I can’t say+.”
“Measure yourself, child,” Emmerich commanded. “It won’t due to be seen as needing supervision.”
As the evening progressed, Scarlet managed to remain firmly on-point, leaving out all the ‘ya’s’ and ‘gonnas’s’ that dominated much of her usual vernacular. Adults she could talk to quite well. Other kids? Not so much.
Amid the endless fascinating exhibits, Scarlet felt excited to see what bits of the Enclave she was granted access to. In just a small space, she could see the hand of dozens of artisans across thousands of years. Not merely ornate mosaics and statuary; the Enclave was still a fortress after all.
In fact, the greatest fortress on Aren++, the Enclave was built like an enormous bank vault. Its last line of defense said to be the Shadow Hall through which Scarlet entered. According to legend, conjured creatures would spring from behind the enchanted suits of armor and tear apart any intruders.
But Scarlet never believed in that story, anyway. At the start of the Age of the New Day, Conri penetrated the then-abandoned fortress just fine. And despite the long-standing rule that no one but the Slayer Dragons were allowed inside, here Scarlet was. Walking about the bottom floor of the Enclave and no one even checked her iden-card.
So what, then, Scarlet wondered, stood as the final line of defense protecting the secrets of the ancient Order of Slayer Dragons from inquiring minds?
“A velvet cordon across the bottom of the staircase,” Scarlet said, running her hands along the purple rope.
Three figures appeared at the top of the stairs, and Scarlet evaporated back into the crowd. Only the Slayer Dragons themselves would be descending from the higher levels, and excited though Scarlet felt to meet them she didn’t dare be the weird girl hanging around landing.
The room fell silent.
Scarlet found Emmerich’s arm and gripped it, both from excitement and to keep from falling off her heels. There was no way of knowing which Slayer Dragons would be in attendance; The Nine were so rarely together at the Keep.
Moving away from Emmerich, Scarlet balanced precariously on a small lip around the edge of a pillar. It wasn’t much, but Scarlet needed any advantage to get a peek over everyone’s shoulders. She twisted her hand in her shawl, pulling it tight.
The first figure to descend the steps was tall and gaunt, with very tight-fitting regalia in sky blue and green. The shape of the outfit betrayed his graceful candor; a gentle, charming soul. The second was a woman of medium height with a moderate build. She wore elaborate turquoise and gold; and while her face was hard and rounded, with a sharp jaw, she possessed the same quiet countenance, the self-assuredness of a Slayer Dragon.
“Saber Raquell and Arnhoiht Walsh!” Scarlet gaped, her voice barely above a whisper. The third figure finally came into view, a man in his late forties. Dressed in elaborate regalia, his colors were crimson and nightshade. Scarlet clapped her hand over her mouth. “Amarir Tenzeki! The Light Bearer!”
“Calm yourself, book-wurm,” Emmerich warned. “You can’t just approach the man who stewards the power of the Pendragon. If you are patient he may make a point of greeting everyone in the room.”
She watched the three Slayer Dragons descend the stairs, pass the cordon, and begin to interact with the crowd. Decorum demanded no one approach them, and none did. So, Scarlet waited, swaying back and forth and grinning from ear to ear, wondering faintly why she felt so dizzy.
Excitement, that had to be it.
The words came out of nowhere. She’d been distracting herself, admiring a molded fresco, when someone behind her commented “I like your colors, young lady.” But by the time Scarlet managed to turn on her heels, the fast-moving Light Bearer crossed the room and began to ascend the staircase once more.
Scarlet watched as Amarir Tenzeki climbed the stairs, thinking he must be leaving the party. She felt delighted, then, when he only went up a few steps and started waving to get the guests’ attention. “First, I’d like to thank you all for coming,” he announced. “I always love to be in town for these things, so many interesting faces! I don’t normally speak, but today I need to ask a question. It is my understanding that we have in our midst a descendant of the Jusenkyou bloodline! And that, of course, is someone I distinctly need to meet! Would the Lady Scarlet Jusenkyou kindly come forward?”
Scarlet felt like her heart would stop. Amarir Tenzeki, the Light Bearer of the Pendragon, knew her name!?
The crowd parted rather effortlessly, opening a path that led straight from Amarir to Scarlet. She still kept one hand on the pillar and her other holding her shawl, so she at least looked relatively regal.
Amidst the near-panic state, she got a chance to see Light-Bearer Tenzeki’s reaction as he laid eyes on her. He must not have been expecting a mere tween, something Scarlet was sure disappointed him. ‘Lady Scarlet Jusenkyou’ he called her, that wasn’t Scarlet. The frazzled nervousness made her tremble until her very skeleton shook. But she forced herself to smile, and slowly approached the Light Bearer.
Scarlet had a hard enough time walking in heels, and she knew if she stumbled now it would never be forgotten. Against all odds, she managed to close the distance without making a fool of herself. She would have liked to hold on to Emmerich’s arm, but she needed to own this moment alone.
Heart pounding in her ears, Scarlet approached the Light Bearer. She knew all of the rituals and decorum practiced by Arindell’s elite. Specifically, she knew not to address the Light Bearer formally. He carried the power of the Pendragon, but he was not the Pendragon.
Light-Bearer Tenzeki came down off the steps and gently took her hand in his. “I still like your colors, young lady. It is a pleasure to formally meet you.”
Scarlet felt a ringing in her ears. There were so many things to say to a hero like Amarir Tenzeki. Her mind stopped racing, the swirling kaleidoscope of thoughts replaced by white noise. Desperate, she said the first thing she could think of.
“You used to date my therapist!”
Whelp, that was that. Being thought of as an eloquent lady felt fun while it lasted.
“That’s… uh,” Amarir Tenzeki grimaced and frowned at her. With his free hand, he brushed aside Scarlet’s hair, having noticed the bandage underneath. “Oh, dear, what happened here? Let me heal that for you.” His hand glowed with magical power as he reached out to touch Scarlet.
And that was the last thing Scarlet remembered.
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* ref. Dolahan
† ref. Army of Darkness
+ People just liked it better that way.
SS ref. The Long Night
P ref. Echbaldam
# ref. Echbalder
** ref. Ages: The Fourth Age
†† ref. Conri Jusenkyou
++ ref. Aren
PP Valley Gail Keep
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* #2.2 (Friday, 6/9) *
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“I don’t know, try a healing spell?”
“That’s what Mr. Paperdragon Tenzeki did, and it floored the pipsqueak.”
Voices drifted slowly through the haze, and Scarlet became aware she was lying on a bed. Distant memories of hitting a polished marble floor and the distinct knowledge that in her entire life she could never live this down twisted in her psyche.
Silently, Scarlet opened one eye.
For a brief instant she thought the embarrassment really had killed her and she was staring down at her own dead body. Then she noticed the edges of the mirror in the ceiling. Lucky for Scarlet it was indeed physically impossible for her to feel any more shame than she already did.
“I think she may just have a touch of low blood sugar,” the third voice belonged to Emmerich, and Scarlet felt a little safer knowing he was there. Then again, since the other two were Saber Raquell and Arnhoiht Walsh, she couldn’t really be any better-defended.
“She gets a little sucked into books,” Emmerich said. “Forgets to eat. She’s also been bleeding from the head for a few hours.”
“All perfectly understandable,” Walsh replied. “Saber, try a healing spell.”
“Have your mom try a healing spell.”
Scarlet clenched her eyes shut again and held her breath, desperate not to laugh. She kept all nine Saber Raquell action figures at home. None of them talked like that.
“All right, your wee fainting flower seems to be breathing on her own,” Raquell said. “Keep her up here until she can stand on her own. I’ll have some cookies and punch sent up.”
“Sabe, the servants aren’t allowed on the upper floors,” Walsh told her.
“Fine, I’ll have my man-servant bring up some refreshments.”
“That’s me, isn’t it?” Walsh said. “Yes. I’ll see what I can find.”
Scarlet opened both eyes to slits and very slowly turned her head to the side. All three adults were standing by a doorway. Arnhoiht Walsh left, and Emmerich spoke quietly to Raquell. The woman’s head rotated ever so slightly, bringing Scarlet into her field of view. Raquell replied again to Emmerich, waited until he looked away, then turned back and winked at Scarlet.
Scarlet immediately clenched her eyes shut and lay as still as a corpse. No matter what life did to her, small details crept in. The huge bed, the mirrored ceiling, the shape of the room were all consistent. Both Hunter and Conri Jusenkyou slept here while they were Slayer Dragons, hundreds of years ago. This was closer to her ancestors than she was ever going to get.
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* #2.3 (Friday, 6/9) *
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Late that night at her quiet suburban home, Scarlet lay in the center of her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, hands neatly folded over her stomach. Flat on her back, she still wore her gown, and attempted several times to use the shawl as a death-shroud. Her father, Roy, sat beside her in a chair pilfered from the kitchen, casually scanning the evening paper.
“I’m not moving,” Scarlet said.
“That’s fine,” her father replied. “You’ll get hungry eventually.”
“I died from embarrassment,” Scarlet stated. “Put that on my tomb stone.”
“You don’t sound dead. You smell pretty ripe, though.”
“You can bury me in this dress!”
Her father folded his newspaper and sat up straight. Roy was a practical man, a loving father, and in possession of the only other known set of ‘Jusenkyou Green’ eyes. “It would make a lovely gown for that purpose. Come on, daughter, up and at ‘em. Can’t lay about forever. I’ll find a necromancer to raise you from the dead. Mr. Koldatha from down the road should be out watering his lawn at this hour.”
Ann appeared in the doorway, knocking softly on the frame. “Emmerich is leaving; can you roust our recently deceased child to say ‘thank you’ and ‘good night’?”
Roy patted Scarlet on the shoulder.
Padding along in bare feet, Scarlet made her way back to the front room with her head held low. The cut still throbbed, whatever the Light Bearer tried to do, it didn’t heal the stupid thing. The fainting spell ripped off the little plastic strips and opened the cut again, so the underside of the bandage was soaked in blood. At least none of it got on her fancy dress. Scarlet planned to wear the thing as many times as she possibly could.
Emmerich waited in the front room, sweating visibly and mopping his brow with a towel Ann brought him. He was overweight, but still active for a man of ninety-three. As he saw Scarlet he managed a weak smile, and tried to tuck the towel under his left arm, but winced in pain.
“Hi, Emmerich,” Scarlet said, getting to within a few feet of him and struggling to meet his gaze. “S-sorry I embarrassed you…”
“Embarrassed? I would never have gotten to see the upper levels of the Enclave if not for you. Think nothing of it!” Emmerich raised his right hand a bit to gesture, but stopped again, and used it to steady himself on the open front door. “You should know, Light Bearer Tenzeki had some very kind things to say after you…”
“Can we go with ‘fainted’?” Scarlet suggested. “Blacked out just sounds… ugh.”
“I like ‘got very swoonish’,” Ann said.
“Not helping, mom.”
“H-he actually,” Emmerich’s voice broke into a stutter and he struggled with his tuxedo jacket. “He g-gave me this note, I should have given it to you in the c-car.” Emmerich managed to get a folded slip of paper out of his pocket and tried to extend his arm to close the distance between himself and Scarlet.
And then his knees gave way.
Roy caught him first, reacting even before Scarlet saw the fall. He caught the rotund scholar by the shoulders and managed to lower him to the tiled floor, while shouting for Ann to call emergency services.
For several long seconds, all Scarlet could do was stand there, lost.
“Scarlet!” Roy was saying. “SCARLET! Get down here, come on.”
Still unable to process, Scarlet knelt down as ordered, and took one of Emmerich’s hands.
“Just hold on,” Roy said. “Hold on, old friend—Scarlet, talk to him. Scarlet!”
The rest of the events passed by in a sort of blur. Flashes, moments of clarity mixed with confusion. The lights, more than anything, stuck with her. Amidst a thousand other sights and sounds and smells, a lifetime of feelings, for some reason the lights shown through. First the lights of the ambulance, which arrived in minutes. Then, those of the coroner’s van, which came sometime after. She remembered Emmerich’s cold, lifeless hand being wrenched from her own as they took him away.
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End:
Chapter Two
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