The Guardians of London: Fourth Echelon (Chapter Two)

[Hussmann54]

"I am indeed, or at least.." He turned to the others. "They have told me so."
Though he had warmed up to them and had even made what some might consider impressive progress in becoming who he was before, he still remained skeptical of them. Being pulled from the brink of insanity just to trust the first person to run into seemed like a foolhardy idea, but he was willing to let time reveal the truth.
"May I see it?"

 

[Yokillernick]

Kishima took out the page from his satchel and handed it to Kin.

"There you go. Good luck making sense of it me and Ryan tried had as we could and still had no idea how this will stop the 'great evil'"

 

[Hussmann54]

Kin took the page and gently folded it and put it into his pocket.
O Father waved a hand to the rest and the palace came back to life. Chores resumed, noise returned to the scene.
Anastasia approached them as Kin left them and asked "I hope it wasn't too much trouble..."

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

A shadow high in the sky began to descend upon the monastery. It soon grew, to titanic proportions. A dragon in all its grace and splendor, scales shimmering silver in the daylight as it came to roost before the great doors and finding them open, the rider slid off the beasts back and bidded it find a place to rest. Silas Grey rearranged his cowl and cloak before stepping through the open doors, and coming face-to-face with something he had dreaded meeting. Visions of the future began to align in his blind eye while his seeing eye raked across the being before him. Astos the Deceiver, Shadow Lord and servant of the Darkness. He held someone in his arms, and his face was creased with determination.
"Astos, so you've arrived. I foresaw your arrival as a vanguard of things to come. I trust that you know what is about to happen."

Astos frowned and placed the person he was holding on the floor, who groaned a little as Astos stepped over him, "Silas, great Archon of the Light, I do not come in anger and I do not come to misdirect. My fellow Shadow Lords have cast me out for my trickery, and I intend to make them suffer for banishing me from my own home. I was hounded through the Far Veil and it is here I have come to pledge my allegiance. I am, what is the phrase, becoming a turncoat?"

Silas glared and said "We'll see about that, Astos. I won't fall for your tricks and I know your Silent Ones are close by watching. One wrong move, and I will flay you body and soul."

"I am not threatening anyone." and here he held his hands up and got on his knees "I lay myself at your mercy, Archon Grey."

Silas stared him down and said "For now, I accept your offer. But I am watching you. When you betray us, I will not hesitate to destroy you." and here Silas held out a silver bell with a black handle and rang a single peal on it. It was sonorous and its ring echoed with a kind of sleepiness edged with fugue. A call of everlasting sleep and of the reverie of dreams, but as it echoed it gained a sinister edge and nightmares began to coil in its sound. Astos flinched, pained by the sound and everyone near felt sleep begin to weight at their eyes but as the sound died the sleepiness lifted and Silas put the bell away. "Maestra the Black Sleep will sing you into oblivion when you betray us, Astos. It will sing you the lullaby that will become your dirge. If you walk away once this is over, I will let you leave. But my eye is on you."

Here Silas turned away and called out for the monks to lead him to O Father, for he much wished to speak to him again.

 

[Hussmann54]

Two monks bowed low and led Silas to an inner room. O Father sat at a table, tea was served and he offered Silas a seat.

"A journey made from afar. I trust it was a pleasant one..." The man said, simply weighing the events in his mind. "Men sent by you have brought pieces of Kins mind, but this alone will not bring him back. His mind requires a deeper, yet simpler truth to understand itself. No amount of magic can bring it back. For the man wouldnt be the same, a shell of who he was. We need the man we sent to die."

He let the scent of fresh tea drift into his nostrils.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

"I have foreseen what must be done, but to assume that the task of returning him to himself will be easy may undo us." Silas said to O Father, his blind eye glowing faintly under his hood.
"I seem to have met with changing circumstances in your entrance hall. A Shadow Lord has betrayed his own."

 

[Hussmann54]

Anastasia sat down next to Silas as the old one spoke. "A Shadow lord.... curious... They seek solitude and concealment from mortals, yet act at war with one another.... What did he want of you?" O Father stroked his beard pondering.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

"He professes to wish to change sides and betray his fellow Shadow Lords. I, however, do not trust his intentions. When he betrays us, because this is Astos the Deceiver we are speaking of and he will betray us, I already have a plan." said Silas, irritation in his voice. He produced the bell Maestra, the Death Bell and held the clapper so as not to let it ring.
"You know of the five bells, yes?" here he produced Raziel the Awakening Bell and Dreth the Shepard Bell. "I control three of them and two are yet lost. I propose something...a mission for our newly-found friend once he is feeling well enough."

 

[Hussmann54]

"What do you think Anastasia?" O Father turned to her, already having a rough idea of what Silas would ask of them.
She thought for a moment. "He lacks conviction. I honestly dont know if he is ready. But I wonder if he may not find the motivation in this."
They sat in silence before she spoke again. "Yes, perhaps he should undergo this task."

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

"The bell Azulon the Redeemer is powerful and, in our hands, could perhaps turn the tide in our favor. One peal can banish the taint of the Darkness on anything. We could use it to traverse the tunnels we've discovered within the rifts..." said Silas, tapping his fingers on the table. He felt a little nervous, his friend would not remember him. Silas sighed, all of the memories melting away like snow in the first days of spring. There were many good memories, some unpleasant ones when they argued on the finer points of philosophy and commerce. Silas had all the time in the world to do all of the things he wanted to do. He had learned to paint, to play many instruments, he had read every book he had ever wanted to read...and as the time approached for his death a strange feeling nestled in his heart. He didn't quite know what it was. But it wormed within him, and a sadness crossed over his face as he sat sipping some tea. A depression that would have crushed a mortal, but to Silas was nothing more than an oddity...his mind drifted back to the present and he laid out a scrap of parchment and began to sketch a map.
"The bell was last seen somewhere in the Veldt of Afria, held near the jungles of the Congo..."

 

[Hussmann54]

Anastasia sighed. "Well then we should let him decide." She turned to a nearby monk and whispered into his ear. He went off to fetch Kin, who was brought before them promptly.
He stood with ease in front of them. "Yes, O Father?"

"Nicholaus, we would like you to talk to this man, he has some things to discuss with you."
"Alright." He sat down and the others left them alone.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

Silas looked up. Kin's face was utterly oblivious, he did not remember him. The blind red eye glowed its faint molten red under Silas's hood. Black gloved hands still clutching the cup in his hands, Silas sighed. Silas took a sip, then another and said "Old friend, would that you remembered me we would have so much to speak on. But your mind has fled to lift a burden too great for a mind to bear. I have need of you, old friend, and even though your memories are gone your skill remains. I need you, Nicolaus, you are the only one who can perform this task..."

 

[Hussmann54]

Kin practically cut Silas off. "Yeah, I get that a lot, but so far, nobody has explained why. Im starting to wonder what the hell is really going on here." in his tone was contained a hint of spite, an odd juxtaposition coming from a man supposedly within a monastic order.

 

[Trasch17]

Sam stepped outside the shabby hotel, where he rented a room for an indefinite time. It was hot, the air was heavy and he almost instantly started sweating. He wore short beige trousers and a white shirt.
The hotel was located near the slums of Cape Town, where Sam wanted to investigate about Samedi. While he strayed through the slums he wondered what the Guardians were doing. He didn't report back for quite some time now.

[font color="grey"]They most likely forgot about you.

I don't think so.

He turned around the cornor and saw ... "Sources!"

[font color="grey"]Sources?

Dendra sounded confused.

[font color="grey"]Those are whores. And drug dealers ... and more whores. Not that I want to complain but... what else could you want from them except the obvious?

Information. Or to clarify things: Samedi is the head of the most successful mercenary force in South Africa. I'm 99% sure he's involved in some dirty business and if we can get evidence that he is...

[font color="grey"]...we could blackmail him into giving us the page!, Dendra finished the sentence.
[font color="grey"]Hoho... you're a dirty little boy!

Sam was slightly surprised.

Was that a compliment?

[font color="grey"]Probably the only one you'll ever get from me.

Sam smirked and started his investigations.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

"Nicolaus, everything you were died for a reason. If I told you why we did what we did, then all we did would have been for nothing. My friend, I did not do this without reason...this world will die without you...I gave you the strength to complete the task, even when I myself did not wish to go through with it. You convinced me, Nicolaus. Now here you are, without memory and purpose hidden within a haze. Let me share a secret with you..." said Silas, leaning forewrd and whispering.
"I am fated to die, to sacrifice myself to stymie the Darkness long enough for your victory. Where I fail, you will ascend and take my place. It must be you who shatters the Darkness and banishes it back from whence it came. I am fated to fight and die, you are fated to be victorious. I was meant to guide you to that moment, the moment when all comes together. The pieces of this puzzle are falling into place...when the time comes you will have the chance to save this world because of my guidance. But fate is fickle and quick to change, we must be vigilant to ensure all comes to pass as was forseen. The Darkness will be banished with the words the Light spoke to cast it into the chaotic realm it hails from. Only you are meant to speak these words, and I am meant to bring you to that moment. I wiped away your memories to ensure you would not be burdened by those you would leave behind. You would have refused if I had not done so, but I did not act until you yourself convinced me to do it. To send you to that place, to have your mind made blank and ready. Ready to become the hero this world needs."

 

[Hussmann54]

"Are you telling me that I did this to myself?" Nicholaus said, his face holding disbelief. He nodded over Silas shoulder, to Anastasia, who was in conversation with others.
"Then what does she have to do with any of this?"

Meanwhile Anastasia was talking to the Ilirians who had arrived.
"You have my thanks, Knights. I trust the page didnt come at too much trouble.."

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

"Honestly, I haven't the heart to tell you..." and Silas sighed. "She meant more to you than anything, the way you hid your plans even to the final moment. You apotheosis is not complete though...you have yet to embrace your destiny..."
Here Silas conjured a small image of a circle of twelve symbols symbols.
"This is the Illrian Knighthood; created from Illrians and Humans mixing together to make more powerful soldiers. Illrians had one job; keep the Darkness from arising again. Basically, ending the Cycle of each world eventually fall to the Darkness and its machinations. However, due to extraneous circumstances beyond the control of the Knighthood...things became out of hand and the Darkness had a gap of time to set everything in motion to invade. We, the Illrians, could not stop it...the Darkness's rising. Instead we delayed it as long as possible, but time is running out. Earth will either drive back the Darkness...or it will be sacrificed to deny the Darkness the pleasure of corrupting it. Then humanity will be forced to find yet another new home."

 

[Hussmann54]

Kin could only stare for a moment into space as he mulled over what Silas said. "So what exactly is it you want me to do? What am I looking for?"
He felt overwhelmed. Almost like his life was more and more becoming somebody else's property.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

"A bell. It seems foolish, but it is extremely powerful. One peal of Azulon the Redeemer, the taint of evil will flee from the sound. But the stronger the evil, the greater its ability to resist. It is within the verge of the Congo jungle, held safe in a temple where it must be retrieved from the Necromancers that have been keeping it. Once you lay hands on it I will guide you unto the next part of the mission." here Silas looked away and said "You must feel like you are being ordered about for no reason or use. I want to show you why but...this should help." and Silas produced a small book...the Illuminomicon.
"Here, the ancient stories of where humanity came from and of the foundation of our faith. It may shed a little light on the stakes..."
Here Silas lowered his hood to show his face and smiled "Nicolaus, you are fated to be a hero. But you felt in order to be that hero you couldn't be held back by anything. Do you still want to be that hero?"

 

[Hussmann54]

Kin didnt break his gaze, fixated on somethinng behind Silas, but he wasnt really even looking at him. In his mind he mulled it over. He stood for a second. "I dont even know what I want. Can you even imagine that? Do you know what this feels like. To suddenly be an 'un-person'? To suddenly be nothing?" He sat back down. His frustration showed. "Fine...."
He looked up at Silas, simply saying the first thing to come out of his mouth. The words, while still not truly that of his old friends, rang with something familiar to Silas.
"What kind of security should I expect?"

Spoiler: OOC

The more I hear "Skyfall" by Adele, the more I want to mold Kin and Ana to fit it. Say what you want, but that girl can sing.