v e r s i o n 1 - b l u e

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As soon as her parents were out of sight, the sky darkened. The winds picked up, and soon the chariot was bobbing up and down on the waves like a toy in the bath tub. A lightning bolt flew directly at Sandra and would have killed her, if the rocking of the boat hadn’t thrown her off-balance - knocking her out of the way. From far away, they heard a female voice shout:
‘Tinzeg, ulvenza! Tinzeg! Wirnë u yenelath!’ Everyone looked confused, wondering what it could mean, but Cassia and Emily looked at eachother in horror. Their mother had unleashed Chaos - the guardian of the planet Neptune to protect them. They thought that this was merely a violent storm. They were wrong. Someone was after them. Someone strong, someone powerful. So powerful, that their mother had unleashed Chaos to save them.
Norui - who was a year younger than everyone - was huddled in a corner with her eyes closed. Everybody else’s eyes were wide open with fear. A rush of cold air - colder than before - settled over them. It surrounded the chariot, then glowed bright blue. The blue light comforted them all, and although Norui was still sitting down, she had opened her eyes, and was looking more comfortable. The wild, shrieking voice of Chaos blew around them.
‘Nena nar asfalglas tana bir Calut-Ir - dun non ene faligne glirin.’ Though he spoke the Ancient Tongue of Neptune, Emily and Cassia could understand him well. He said they were going to Saturn, as it had not been attacked yet. Emily asked if Uranus was all right, but he said no, and that it was completely wiped out. There was hope that some of the people had evacuated before it happened. Poor Ani. Emily thought. She couldn’t imagine her planet wiped out, then she realized with shock that it was happening. If her parents hadn’t suspected it, they wouldn’t be on their way to Saturn. A shock traveled through them all, and Neptune disappeared. Saturn flashed before their eyes, but only for an instant. The bizarre voice of Chaos explained.
‘Calut-Ir a dul u bereth del aniel. Cena len flas artech eleten!’
Sandra looked thunderstruck. Cassia understood exactly how she felt. What was happening to her was happening to Sandra as well. When the landed on Jupiter, the planet looked as if nothing was happening.
‘We have to warn them so they can set up a resistance!’ But it was too late. Queen Pleione’s army had landed. Chaos glowed and made ready to take them to Mars.
‘NO!’ screamed Cassia, not caring whether he understood or not. ‘NO! We’ve let too many planets slip from our clutches! Three great civilizations down the drain! I know there’s not much that twelve children can do, but we have to try!’ This she half screamed, half sobbed. Chaos gave off an unearthly scream that made the hairs on everyone’s neck stand on end. The blue around them transformed into a rod of piercing blue light in front of Cassia. This light then changed into a sceptre. It was made of silver, and at the top there was a blue stone. The silver was worked into the likeness of waves breaking onto sand, and the weight was comfortable in the girl’s hand. The stone looked as if there was smoke incased in it. Cassia’s eyes went wide as a bright light glowed in front of her. The light formed into a man. The man had a beard that masked his beautiful, and youthful face. His body was strong and muscular, despite the whiteness of his hair. His eyes had a strange quality to them - like they had some sort of inner fire. Cassia felt like they were burning into her as they rested on her, and her sceptre. Suddenly, she realized who he was. her mother had told her bedtime stories about him when he was little, and she had been told all her life of his importance, but she was the only one she knew who had ever come face to face with Raleazar - the Sun-King. She executed a low curtsey, and noticed the others around her showing respect to him in the fashion of their culture.
‘Rise my children.’ They lifted their faces, and stood up. ‘Cassia,’ for a moment, the second in line for the throne of Neptune was puzzled. Raleazar had used her informal name? But why? What cause had he to do such a thing? She had always dreamed that Raleazar would have been all for formality and regality. He was not acting the way she expected him, and it caught her off guard. She blushed, and gaped a little before catching her error, and correcting herself. If he was Raleazar, should he not be calling her Cassiopeia? Her formal name?
Raleazar was all powerful, and could read thoughts, but he chose this moment to ignore what she was thinking, and paid no attention to what she deemed a “slip-up”.
‘You have in your hands a most remarkable object. Not only is it remarkable in what it can do, but it is also very remarkable that you are the one meant to carry it - at least at this point in time. Listen to me carefully my child. This is Ninenach - the Rod of Neptune.”
They all knew it, and all were suprised that it was granted to Cassia - barely into adulthood. The royal children were all familiar with the fact that it housed Chaos (known as Tinzeg by the people of Neptune) the planet’s guardian.
“I know that you are all familiar with the fact that this rod contains Tinzeg the wild Angel I put in charge of guarding the planet of water, but there are other things you can do with this as well.” When no one responded to that comment, he let out a loud melodious laugh. “You are not as inquisitive as those of your age should be. Do no be afraid. I have plans for you to prosper - to give you hope and a future.”
“W-what else can be done with it...m-my Lord.” Mattias tried to state as strongly as he could.
Silently Caran commended him for his bravery. Even he would not have had the strength for that. He put a hand on his sister, who’s quaking knees had caused her to sit on the ground, shivering. He wrapped his arm a little tighter defensively around her as Raleazar looked at her, but in the gaze of the Sun-King felt his fears melt away. Norui ceased her quaking, and ran towards the Ruler heedless of any possible consequence. In his arms she felt completely and utterly secure and she felt like nothing else mattered. Raleazar looked toward Mattias.
“She could do almost anything she desired, providing what she did would benefit more than herself.”
“The code of the Dairuë !” Maia breathed. “I’ve read about them. I’ve wished I could be Dairuë more than once.” She said growing redder in the face with each word.
“But what is Cassi doing with something to do with the Dairuë ?” Norui said, peeking out of the many folds of Raleazar’s robes.
“Think about it for a moment children. What could Dairuë do with this situation?”
“A Dairuë would save all the people and destroy the army.” Emily sighed dreamily. And manage to snag a hero for a husband while she was at it. Raleazar smiled knowingly at her, and she went instantly red in the face. How could she have forgotten he could read her thoughts?
“Yes, Emily. That is very nearly what would happen.”
“You mean that Cassia can do this? But she is not even trained in the Ways!” Maia looked worried as she said this. She was aware of the fact of what could happen if someone was not trained strictly in the Ways, or the Peldenath of the Dairuë. They could outdo themselves, and either ruin their abilities, or kill them completely.
“No Maia, she is not. I am aware of the dangers of this course of action, but you must trust me. I will not let you fail. I will guide you all the way through this, and all will be well. Trust in me.” As he said this, he faded. His words ‘Trust in me’ still echoed through their minds, and indeed all around them as if they were inside a building or a cave.
“What do I do?” Cassia pleaded to the sky. She could see what was happening around them - yet for some reason they were untouched. She saw the people being slain, and could hardly stand it any longer. Letting her arms raise towards the sky, she screamed out the words “ Fentena nali! Eruvanya yilmun Ranin! “ The others felt slightly faint, and then all around them went dark, and they knew nothing more.

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