Chapter 17: Legends

The massive wooden doors creaked and slowly swung inward.
“Whoa,” Rainbow whispered.
Griffin turned and grinned at her. “Impressive, huh?” he inquired.
Rainbow said nothing and took in her surroundings. The group was standing in an enormous room, with a high ceiling covered with skylights, which provided the light. Many doors lined the walls. Above each door hung a tapestry, each one intricately embroidered with a scene, each one different. At the head of the room, opposite of the main doors, were three large, beautiful thrones. They seemed to be carved out of giant gemstones, for one was bright crystal green, one was a cinnamon-orange colour, and the third was a pure blue. All sparkled and shone like diamonds.
Mason, without hesitating, walked up to the third door on the left. He was about to open it, when yells were heard from inside. Mason looked back to the others, eyebrows raised, then beckoned for them to come listen at the door. As he placed his ear on the door, the others all did the same. Do not ask how they all got an ear on the door, but they did. A girl inside raised her voice.
“Is that all you can do?”
A young man’s strained, agitated voice came over the sudden rings and clashes of metal. “No… I just… wanted to let you win a bit first!” He let out a quick yelp, and Mason opened the door. The others crowded around behind him to look. They were looking into a big square room, with stone walls and no windows. From the light of the torches, Rainbow and Candace could see high shelves lining the walls that were filled with weapons of all shapes and sizes, neatly organized. It seemed that they were in a training room. And indeed, it was.
In the center there was a tall, thin girl. She seemed to be about eighteen years of age, and she wore chain mail underneath her blue dress. From the belt down, her dress was cut to look like long flower petals, overlapping each other and reaching down to just below her knees. Her golden eyes flashed mischievously as she swung her sword and a plain whip at the young man with whom she was in combat.
It seemed an unfair fight, for though they were the same age, he young man wore no chain mail, only a blue tunic and leather pants. He fought with a dagger that was maybe a foot long. But a strange fact about him was that he wore three belts down his waist, and each was crowded with small pouches and phials.
The two warriors did not notice Mason and the others standing in the doorway. At the moment, the young man was climbing back up from where he was sprawled on the floor. The girl stood, tapping her foot impatiently. “This is too easy,” she laughed. “Perhaps next time I will have to choose someone with more skill to train with!”
The young man moved to a fighting stance. “Just know I am going easy on you, Miragla,” he panted.
Miragla smirked. “Oh really, Sterling,” she said, rolling her eyes.
She then flicked her wrist, snapping her whip toward Sterling’s feet, intent on tripping him, but he jumped over it and, at the same time, removed a phial from his belt. As Miragla swung his sword at his head, he ducked and began to sprinkle a fine, bright red powder on the stone floor. He circled around the room, dodging and ducking Miragla’s weapons with agility, until a red ring surrounded the two of them on the floor. Sterling dove out of the ring, and landed with a roll that ended him on his feet. Before he was even completely up, he reached into a pouch and withdrew two small stones. He struck them near the ring, and as a little spark leapt to the powder, Sterling stood, smiled, and said tauntingly, “What now?”
Flames ignited the powder and whooshed around the circle, until Miragla was standing in a ring of fire. She gave an exasperated sigh. “Sterling Richard Pounds, you are so unfair!”
“I’d say you’re about even now,” Mason laughed, while he walked into the room, followed by Griffin and Justice.
The flames died out instantly. Sterling, grinning, walked over to Miragla. While holding out his hand for her to shake, he said, “The second.”
Miragla shook his hand. “What?” she asked.
“My name,” he replied. “I am Sterling Richard Pounds the second.” Not sure of what to reply to that, Miragla glared at him. Teal eyes sparkling, Sterling turned to Mason. “Hey, little guy!” he said, tousling Mason’s hair.
Mason rolled his eyes, but smiled as he replied, “HI, Sterling. Been – er – practicing?”
“No,” Sterling answered, laughing. “I’ve been – winning!” He high-fived Mason.
Miragla came between them. “Um, I beg to differ, Sterling.” Miragla said, with a smile barely visible on her face. “You forget which of us is more skilled, and I –“
“Whoooaaa, what’s going on in here?” a voice said. A figure strode in the room. He wore a brown tunic and tight-fitting green pants that reminded Rainbow and Candace of the skinny jeans that were “in” back home. A long dagger hung off his thick brown belt. His straight, black hair nearly covered his bright green eyes. He was smiling, and walked up to Miragla. “You haven’t been hurting him again, have you?” he said to Miragla, nudging Sterling.
“Who’s side are you on?” Sterling said to him, feigning anger.
Ignoring Sterling, the new person went up to Candace and Rainbow. “Well, hello, strangers,” he said.
“Hi,” Rainbow said. “I’m Rainbow.”
“And I’m Candace,” Candace added.
“What’s up, guys?” he replied.
Rainbow glanced at Candace. “Not much, I guess. What was your name again?”
“Caradoc,” he answered. “Call me Caradoc, just Caradoc. Don’t even think about calling me Carrie.” Candace smothered a smile.
Under his breath, Griffin muttered, “What’s wrong with that, Carrie?”
Caradoc blinked, and his eyes turned a deep purple. He turned to Griffin. “I thought I heard a voice over here, did you, buddy?”
Griffin was about to laugh, then saw Caradoc’s eyes, and quickly answered him. “No! Nothing!”
Mason walked out of the room, and beckoned to Rainbow and Candace. “Come, girls,” he said, “I have something important to show you.” The girls walked out of the room. Hearing footfalls behind them, Mason turned around. “Just them,” he said to Griffin, who had begun to follow them. Griffin stopped, whirled back around, and walked back to join the others.
Mason, Rainbow, and Candace walked two doors toward the throne. They stopped before the door. This door looked the same as the others, but the tapestry above it immediately caught the girls’ eyes.
In the portrayed scene, there was a woman with flowing golden hair and an anguished face. She was on her knees, begging, pleading with some unseen being. Beside her was a tall man, he too was looking up desperately. His flaming red hair seemed to jump off the cloth. In the woman’s arms was a small baby, with locks as black as midnight. The baby was crying.
Rainbow and Candace stopped to study the sorrowful picture. Rainbow’s eyes grew damp as she felt the sadness of the scene. Candace’s heart felt pained. Mason spoke, startling them out of their thoughts.
“Lady Anguila and Lord Roberim. They were rulers once. Great rulers. They governed the whole land of Keenzendura. In those days, there was little or no evil. What little crime that was committed was always stopped immediately. Children could freely and safely roam the streets at will. Young maidens could safely take long walks through the forest, without weapon or guardian. Men needed not worry over their family’s protection, for there was nothing to protect from. But all good times must come to an end. The Lady and Lord had an evil in their hearts. A small evil that slowly grew. It began to consume their thoughts. Then their actions. They had to be punished.”
“What was the evil?” Rainbow nearly whispered, still staring at the tapestry.
“Pride,” Mason answered. “As I said before, they were great rulers, and many told them so. They became proud. And their pride led to greed. The two soon didn’t see themselves as rich and wonderful. No, they thought they needed more riches and more power. So they began to rob from their own people. To try to gain more territory, Roberim began to amass an enormous army, legions of his people. He forced all the men and boys over twelve into fighting. They went to war against Elmdeno, the land to the East. However, because of Roberim and Anguila’s pride, they were defeated. In shame, the Keenzenduran army slowly marched home. Roberim was killed in battle.
“The news of Roberim’s death reach Lady Anguila just as she had given birth to her first child, a boy, with hair as black as the raven’s wing, as dark as Anguila’s heart. It was an unheard-of phenomenon. A person with black hair had only occurred once in the history of the world, with a young maiden named Magdalene. She was the mother of the Great One’s only Son, brought to down to this world to save us all. But that is another tale. Since the defeat at the battle against Elmdeno, every child born has black hair. We all now bear it, reminding us forever of the dark sin Lord Roberim and Lady Anguila committed. Most of us had never seen anyone with hair other than black. Until you two came, of course.”
“You keep referring to ‘the Great One’,” Candace said thoughtfully. “Who is he?”
Solemnly, Mason answered. “The Great One is the Creator of all things, the Ruler of this world, and the King above all kings.”
“Oh,” Rainbow said. “He’s God.”
There was a slight pause, then Mason replied. “Yes.” Then he reached for the big brass ring that was the door’s handle. With a creak the wooden door opened. A stone hallway lit by torches was beyond the threshold. “Come, follow me,” he said, walking into the hall. The girls followed him.
“What are you going to show us, Mason?” Rainbow asked, amused when her voice echoed back to her from the stone.
Without slowing his pace, he replied over his shoulder, “You’ll see. Patience is a virtue, you know.”
Soon the hall turned into stairs which spiraled down until ending in a locked iron door. Reaching into his pouch, Mason withdrew a key.
Candace whispered to Rainbow, “That boy has everything in his pouch.”
The key, iron like the door, fit perfectly into a large keyhole on the left of the door. Mason turned it, and there was a loud clang as the door unlocked. Mason gave it a gentle push, and the door swung inward smoothly and noiselessly. Mason grabbed the nearest torch and stepped inside. The girls did likewise.
The three were now standing in a circular room. Mason went around the perimeter of the room, which was nearly ten feet in diameter, and began lighting several torches which hung on the wall. As the room slowly became illuminated, Rainbow and Candace gasped.
In the center of the room was an enormous golden gem. Its many facets sparkled silver in the torchlight. A peculiar humming sound seemed to emanate from it, and both girls were drawn to it. Rainbow stepped forward and held out a hand to it. But she quickly hesitated and drew her hand back, looking at Mason.
“May I- may I touch it?” she asked him. He nodded in approval. Rainbow placed her hand against it. It was not cold, as she expected, but warm, and energy seemed to radiate from it. She thought it seemed even larger, if possible, when next to it, for indeed, it came up to her waist.
Candace’s voice broke the silence. “What is it?”
“I was wondering when someone would ask that.” Mason leaned against the stone wall. “This is the Golden Vault.”
“But,” Rainbow countered. “Isn’t a vault like a…a safe or something?”
“And this is a rock,” Candace continued.
“So it is,” Mason said. “But it is told that when both Keystones are reunited and placed here-“ he indicated two heart-shaped indentations- “the stone will reveal a scroll that will who the three Great Rulers will be. They will renounce evil and will start the Golden Age of Keenzendura.”
“Exactly what are the Keystones?” Rainbow asked.
Mason looked at her. “The Keystones are gems made and empowered by the Great One Himself. Only two exist. They are called Palol and Tylol, or Daylight and Moonlight. The Keystone of Daylight is under my care. It gains one passage through our tunnel to Pethochos, by absorbing sunlight. Palol won’t work on a cloudy day, or in the night. But the Great One created another stone. The Keystone of Moonlight, Tylol. It is similar to the other, but this shimmering deep blue stone absorbs moonbeams. United, there is nearly nothing that can surpass their greatness.”
Rainbow and Candace were listening, wide-eyed. Then Rainbow said, “Where is the Keystone of Moonlight?”
A downcast look came over Mason’s face. “The Keystone of Moonlight has been missing for many years. I’m afraid it has come to Valrone.”