Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Nasazura's Rest: Inner Sanctum

as written by Script

The Inner Sanctum of Nasazura's Rest was a large, circular chamber that stood at the heart of the temple. Therein, a sizeable round table filled much of the room, where the senior members of the Elysian Vanguard could gather to discuss important decisions for the order as a whole.

The vaulted ceiling arced high above the chamber's floor, and several magical globes shone down to provide the room with light. The room as a whole was ornate, but not extravagant. A number of arched doors led out from this central chamber to sectioned off areas off the sanctum, which as a whole was designed to be a place of refuge for the Vanguard to fall back to should the temple as a whole be compromised.

Today, the Sanctum was host to far more of the Order than it had been for the two previous years. An assembly had been called by Elante, of all the members of the Vanguard present at the temple itself. Word of the gathering's reason had spread, but not all were certain of its validity.

Supposedly, Sylvire Nasazura - the very woman after whom the temple had been named, who had led the Elysian Vanguard in its war against the Orsa of Terminus and the Sealed One - had returned.

____

Few were more personally stunned by this revelation than Sarael. The elven sorcerer practically hadn't stopped pacing since the news had reached him. As a descendant of the Nasazura line himself, he wasn't just meeting a hero of the Vanguard, he was meeting the reason that his family's name had meaning. His great grandmother had been Sylvire's sister.

His robes continued to billow as he paced at the back of the room, occasionally pausing to lean on the back of his chair for a few beats, before he continued. To say he was nervous would have been an understatement. What would she think of him? Had he accomplished enough? Was he a learned enough spellcaster for her approval? Living up to his name's legacy had been hard enough without the origin of that legacy actually being right there.

"Sarael?"

He snapped out of his worrying as Ari's voice cut into his thoughts. The teenager was watching him with a raised eyebrow from his position, leaning onto the table. "You're gonna carve a rut into the ground at this rate. Chill."

Sarael sighed. "I appreciate that worrying serves no practical purpose. But I seem unfortunately incapable of properly taking that fact into consideration. Normally, I am much better at disciplining myself in such regards, as-"

"Sarael." Ari cut in again, holding up a hand to stop him rambling. "Of course you're nervous. You're meeting your legendary great-great aunt. That's gonna get you on edge. Heck, I find my regular aunt kinda intimidating. Not to mention Auntie Cheng..."

"I just..." Sarael ran a hand through his hair. "I'm worried that she will find me wanting."

"Seriously?" Ari's eyebrows shot up. "You must be one of the most impressive mages I've ever met. And you're, what, a thousand years behind her?"

"Approximately seventeen hundred, I believe," Sarael corrected on reflex.

"Yeah. See? I can only imagine how good you'd be with an extra seventeen hundred years of practice. So relax." The olympian walked over to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, grinning. "It'll be fine."

Sarael nodded. "You're right, of course. All records indicate Lady Sylvire to have been an excellent teacher and mentor to many. She could not have been that were she not appreciative of the pitfalls of inexperience... Thank you, Aristides. I know that, logically, I ought not be so worried. But nonetheless, I am, as you would put it..." he paused a moment to think, "...ah, on fucking edge?"

Ari let out a snort of laughter. "Sounds about right."

It was at that moment that another figure sidled into the room, his hands stuffed in his jacket's pockets. Trys cast his eyes around the lofty chamber with an appreciative whistle, making his way over towards Ari after he spotted him. "Not bad for a meeting room," he noted. "Not as fancy as the statue room, but pretty fucking fancy all the same."

The greenskinned youth grinned, displaying a set of sharp teeth. "Do newbies usually get invited to secret inner sanctum meetings, or am I just that good?"

Ari rolled his eyes. "This is an exception to the norm, so don't get used to it. You've not even been officially inducted yet."

Trys paused for a moment, before shooting him a knowing sidelong glance. "So how many times have you been in here?"

"... this is the first."

"Hah! Already caught up to you, boy scout, and not even a week on the job." Trys nudged Ari in the ribs with an elbow. "You sure you're cut out for this hero shit? Maybe you oughta leave it to the big boys, huh?"

"I'm pretty sure most heroes don't stumble into the role by accident while following their dicks," Ari retorted, elbowing him back with a smirk.

Trys raised an eyebrow and gave a smug grin. "Yeah, but it worked, didn't it? Get to be a bigshot hero, and I got la-"

"Ahem." Sarael coughed sharply, interrupting the play-fight. Several of the others in the room were staring at the two teenagers, and Ari blushed furiously. "Perhaps a conversation best left to another time?" he suggested with a small smile.

"This is what I get for letting strays follow me home," Ari sighed. "That's one life lesson learned that I won't be forgetting anytime soon."

Trys just continued to grin, leaning over onto the back of one of the chairs with casual indifference. "Buck up, boy scout. I'm told there's good news. Besides, you'd have been bored as shit around here the last few weeks without me. I'm good entertainment value."

"If nothing else..." Ari added with a chuckle. "You left yourself open for that one."

Trys flipped him off.

____

Walking the halls of the temple that bore her name had been a surreal experience for Sylvire. It was a grand structure, as grand as any temple in her homeland. She recognised many of the scenes depicted in the carvings and on the tapestries, the figures that stood tall as statues. Battles, friends and allies from her past, all now on display as though they were ancient history.

Some of them were. Many weren't. She had certainly not known quite how to react to the towering statue of she herself that took pride of place in the Vestibule.

Strangeness aside, it filled her with pride that the young heroes she had plucked from comfortable lives and thrust into a war not of their own making, had come so far. That her order, though struggling as it was, had not been forgotten.

Elante had grown a great deal since her passing. He had changed a lot over the course of the Orsa conflict, but the hardness he had built up during those years was now tempered by his growth during the peace that had followed. It had saddened her to learn that Aeryn was once more in jeopardy, but the young mage was handling his absence with a firm resolve.

She had met with Arrow shortly after her return. The former soldier, now grandmaster of his own order, had been left briefly speechless - to her amusement. They had spoken briefly on the nature of his calling by the Lady Le'thorian. Though his destiny ultimately lay in Aelora, he remained on Valore for now, to support the Vanguard through its early years. He too, had grown since she had last seen him - though the changes were more subtle.

Now it was time for her to meet the rest of the Vanguard, those whose time at the temple she had been aware of only through the Well's connection to its halls. Elante explained that other familiar faces were amongst their ranks, but many were out on assignments or otherwise absent. Ciela, Ruan, Aliana, Aiedai, Parlina and Tessa all remained with the order. When she had inquired on the status of Rynhart and Rhea, who had taken on the role of the order's caretakers for a time, the answer had been uncertain. They were missing. Though Rynhart had been spotted in recent weeks in Westeria City, he had vanished again just as quickly. The situation with Rhea was even more bizarre. Apparently, she had disappeared from the temple one day and reappeared as none other than the Prime Minister of the TNG, with little to no explanation as to why, or how.

That was a concern for another day, however.

She, Elante and Arrow approached the inner sanctum of the temple, where Elante had instructed the order's members to gather. A low buzz of conversation was audible from within, but as they drew closer and Arrow stepped inside, it died down. Taking a brief moment to ensure she was fully composed, Sylvire followed.

The various men and women arrayed throughout the room turned almost as one to stare at her with a mixture of expressions ranging from confusion to awe. Her eyes drifted across them, taking in each member of the order in turn.

She took note of the faces she recognised, first. Oriel, Arrow's companion from their soldiering days, stood near the back of the room. He wore a bright smile, but she took note of a few fading signs of annoyance in his posture and body language. At the table itself was sat Lirael, who Sylvire recalled had been amongst those who had returned from Aeryn's homeland with him to aid them in the fight for Westeria.

There were more of those gathered that she did not know, than those she did - as was to be expected. The first to draw the eye was a warrior in full plate armour of black, adorned with gold trimming and designs styled after lightning. She stood straight-backed and proud, grinning broadly in Sylvire's direction.

Three others were clustered together on the far side of the table. One, a blonde teen dressed in a bright red jacket, was watching with obvious curiosity. There was a sense of power to him that Sylvire couldn't quite put her finger on, but despite his appearance, she quickly deduced that he wasn't entirely human. Alongside him, an odd green-skinned teen was leaning against a chair. The boy was surprisingly handsome for an... orc? Or... what exactly was he? Likely a hybrid of some sort, but the specifics had to be something she'd never encountered before. It wasn't important, of course, but her curiosity was piqued.

The third caught her attention more assuredly than any of the others, however. A young elf, he looked oddly familiar, but Sylvire couldn't place his face. It took her a moment to realise just who he resembled, and her eyes widened a touch. She made a mental note to speak with him after the meeting was concluded, to ascertain the lineage she suspected he possessed. For his part, he barely held eye contact for a moment before looking down, inclining his head respectfully.

As Sylvire discretely maintained her composure her attention was next claimed by perhaps the most perplexing of those gathered. The void taint upon the centaur was strong, and unmistakable. As she met Sylvire's gaze, the centaur raised an arm to her chest and bowed her head in respect. The presence of someone so clearly touched by the void was concerning, but Sylvire trusted the judgement of the others. That the centaur was present would suggest that, despite the darkness that hung over her, her own light was sufficient to counteract it.

All eyes remained on her as she, Elante and Arrow stepped around to take up positions at the table. She took a breath.

"Greetings, warriors."

as written by Script and Tiko

"Unless anyone has anything else to raise, I think we can safely call this adjourned." Elante glanced around the rest of the room, taking the nods from the majority of the others and the lack of any interjections as confirmation that everything that needed to be covered, had been.

There was an audible sigh of relief from the side of the table where Ari's newcomer, Trys, was sat. The teen hadn't been very subtle about his boredom for the duration, and as Elante made eye contact with Ari beside him, the olympian looked more than a little embarrassed on his behalf.

Still, an ill-mannered teenager couldn't spoil his good temperament. With Sylvire back, it looked like they could finally start getting things on track again. The future was looking bright once more.

Besides, he had plenty of sympathy for Ari. He and Trys reminded him of himself and Aeryn just a few years ago.

As those gathered began to break apart to converse among themselves, the clatter of plate armor raised their eyes to the door where Shelby had arrived. She was adorned fully in her regalia as a Knight of Le'thorian, and her helmet was tucked under one arm as she addressed the room.

"Pardon the intrusion," she said. "I bring word that Akosua has returned. She waits in the courtyard with a number of new initiates."

"Thank you, Shelby," Elante nodded to her. "We'll go and greet her momentarily." Quieter, glancing across at Sylvire and Arrow, he let out a heavy breath and smiled. "Busy day this is turning out to be, huh?"

Sylvire smiled back at him. "The busiest I have had in a long time," she remarked. "It is refreshing. Come then, I would meet these new initiates as well."

"Akosua is a seer," Elante explained as they started towards the door. Most of the other wardens joined them as they started making their way towards the front of the temple. The arrival of a large number of new initiates was a rare event. "She's been travelling around for the last few months, seeking out new initiates for the Order. People who've heard Taima's call, but needed a little guidance to find us."

Sylvire nodded. "I have felt her presence here before, from the Well. She is a good woman."

"It must be strange, going from that ... awareness of everything happening here back to your own perspective again."

"Indeed," Sylvire smiled. "But I have adjusted quicker than I was anticipating. I am still part of the Well, make no mistake. I can feel my connection to all the other souls even now. But it is faint, like a comforting presence in the back of my mind."

They grew near to the front doors of the temple, then. The cool air of the courtyard was drifting into the vestibule where the doors stood open for them, and they stepped out into the open air.

as written by Tiko, Dashmiel, and Lobos...

The silence only seemed to become eerier as the battered trio made their way upwards out of the well of souls and into the inner sanctum.

“Wasn’t there a hole there when we were running in?,” asked Aeldric to no one in particular as he pointed to a piece of immaculate wall. “No dust or debris either, the whole temple was shaking to its foundations but now you’d never guess it.”

“Most perplexing,” Rolando remarked with equal parts thoughtfulness and wariness.

Glancing at the intact masonry, Asher nodded, resting his uninjured arm on one of his knives hilt. “Illusion, perhaps? Seems awfully well crafted if it is.”

The man reached to touch the wall as he walked, wincing at the throbbing in his shoulder as he did.

“I do not know what we can expect, but I’m anxious to see how our comrades fare,” declared Aeldric as he moved past his companions and strode towards the doors of the sanctum.

He could feel the low humming susurration that indicated the wards were active upon it, causing him even more confusion.

“Come my friends, it’s far too quiet. Let’s try to be so as well.”

It was Rolando who stepped forward from the rest to press his hand upon the closed portal to open it. Unlike entering from the outside, the door was designed to respond to any of the sworn Elysian Vanguard departing the room. In Rolando's case though, the press of his palm against it was met with only more silence.

“The intrigue grows,” Rolando remarked.

He removed his hand and pressed it once more, but there was no familiar hum of energy, nor did the door grant him passage.

“It isn’t opening?” Murmuring, Asher joined Rolando, attempting himself.

Frowning, and with an inkling beginning to take seed, Aeldric stepped to join his companions and was met with just as much of a lack of success in opening the door.

“We weren’t gone that long. The wards shouldn’t even have been restored so quickly, let alone turned against us. Even with the worst of Void’s trickery, this shouldn’t be…,” muttered Aeldric as he took a step back and considered.

“Prepare yourselves,” he cautioned as he withdrew his pendant from around his neck and focused his intent for the Light to provide.

as written by Dashmiel, Tiko, and Lobos...

Stifling an oath, Asher backed off the door quickly. The methods in which Aeldric called on the Light were unpredictable in their manifestation, and he felt a smile quirk his mouth as he stepped sideways into the man’s shadow before bracing.

“Your affinity to the Light has seen us this far,” Rolando replied. “I do trust it won’t see us come to harm now.”

Aeldric’s pendant flared to brilliant life, and his bearing as he forcefully stepped forward and brandished it towards the doors spoke the tale of his pain and rage.

An explosion of light lanced out of the conduit as Light’s will made manifest shot towards the barrier presented to It, a barrage of light that violently shimmered as it reacted with the door’s wards.

Suddenly and without warning, the doors began to slowly swing open, nothing but a sustained creaking marking the manipulation of their wards by the power of the Light.

As the doors painstakingly creaked open at an almost comically slow speed, Rolando snorted.

"One might suspect the Light of possessing a strange sense of humor," he observed. “Shall we?”

“I’d imagine so,” Asher remarked dryly. “Elsewise we find out it has just enough humor to let it hit us in the ass on the way out.”

He edged closer to Aeldric to move with him, figuring it would be the safest place to attempt to cross the threshold from.

as written by Script, Dashmiel, Lobos, and Tiko

Sylvire led the group back into the inner sanctum, Elante falling into step at her side wearing a vexed expression. Oriel slipped forwards from the crowd to join Arrow, waiting with him as the knight allowed the group of newcomers to move ahead before he followed. “They certainly don’t look like agents of the void,” the young gunslinger murmured. “But I guess that’s exactly what an agent of the void would want me to think.”

“The sword does not reveal any ill intent,” Arrow noted quietly, nodding to the Sword of Truth sheathed at his side. “And nothing they’ve spoken so far that I’ve heard has been a lie. Hard to believe as it may be, they might very well be exactly what they say.”

“How would there be Grandmasters we don’t know about, though?” Oriel frowned, finding it hard to reconcile the bizarreness of the situation with the verdict of the Sword of Truth. “Are they Aeloran, or is this another void-blasted anomaly?”

“I suspect the latter,” Arrow nodded. “Or something similar. In any case, I expect we’ll find out the truth of the matter shortly.”

The two lapsed into silence as they joined the others inside the inner sanctum. Sarael was the last to enter, and the elven wizard seemed to be eyeing the newcomers with more curiosity than suspicion as he took a seat beside Elante.

Sylvire waved the doors of the Inner Sanctum closed behind them, leaving the gaggle of observers in the vestibule to wait for their return, then took a seat between Arrow and Elante, gesturing for the new arrivals to sit across from them.

“In the event that you are not already aware, allow me to introduce myself,” she began. “I am Sylvire Nasazura, acting Elder of the Elysian Vanguard. Elante and I are the only members of the Circle of Elders present at this time. We will hear the explanation you have for us for your presence in our sanctum.”

“The short answer is that it wasn't supposed to be your sanctum,” Aeldric stated with a loaded look at his friends. He wasn't sure if they had grasped their predicament yet, but he felt he ought to explain their dire situation if only to hear it himself before he went insane.

“Perhaps it would be easier to start nearer to the beginning,” he said with a weary sigh.

“A short time ago, the Vanguard, our Vanguard that is, became aware that Valore was being caught in the grip of a persistent and widespread rash of instabilities. These instabilities took on all manner of effects, and affected everything from time and space, to the connections between our mortal planes and the astral planes of the various minor light divinities. I personally tried repeatedly to access some of their domains but to no avail.

“Whether the Void itself was behind these or merely took advantage of them quickly became a moot point, because its agents wasted no time and began to cause havoc on a grand scale and while the chaos hampered us greatly, it was nothing to the Void to lose its own as long as it also hurt us. It wasn't long before things took a turn for the worse and...and the temple became besieged,” Aeldric's words faltered and a pained and haunted look was clear in his features as he was reminded of all that transpired so recently, a world away. So many friends and comrades dead, and here he was, safe, rather than at their side until the end.

“In the midst of prolonged and heated battle, we determined that our numbers remaining would not be enough to hold, in a last ditch effort, Arrow...our Arrow…,” once again Aeldric’s words faded briefly as he shot Arrow a pained look.

“The well of souls, it was to be our last hope, but the Void seemed to expect that. One of its spawn followed us, and its tainted blood defiled the well at its critical moment of activation. The intended... consequence was to be our deaths, as it took Arrow who was simply too close to the raging maelstrom of wild magic that detonated from it, but for the rest of us it seems the Light had other plans. What the Void can manipulate, so can the Light. I suspect It made use of the magical cascade around us and the weakened bonds between worlds to send us here, where I hope It expected us to work for It once more rather than simply it being an act of pity. But I am not yet certain, I'm merely It’s instrument of Will and await It’s insight. And thus we are here. My companions can corroborate,” he finished with a look at Rolando and Asher.

“I do believe you have effectively summarized the state of things far more eloquently than either of us could,” Rolando answered in reply to Aeldric’s glance.

For his light words though, there was a sadness that lingered behind his eyes though. If Aeldric’s hypothesis proved correct, then their world was lost. Their companions dead. Everything they had known and fought for, claimed by the Void. They alone remained.

“As Aeldric said. Chaos, death, desperation, and then boom.” Asher’s attempt at light humor sounded strained, his friend’s recounting driving home the pain behind the surprise.

Sylvire’s expression darkened as Aeldric’s explanation continued, her lips tightening in a sorrowful frown. Elante’s eyes went wide at the extent ot the destruction described. The temple seemed so … safe, and impregnable, despite the dangers in the mountains around it. The only time it had felt threatened was when the Aschen and Taiyou presence on the planet had been strongest. That it had been breached and everyone there defeated in this parallel world was… sobering.

On Arrow’s death being describe, he himself avoided reacting obviously – though there was a slight deepening to his frown. Being presented with news of your own death was bizarre, if nothing else. At his side, Oriel grimaced. The fact that his, Elante’s and so many others’ fates hadn’t been described left little doubt in his mind what had likely become of them.

“He spoke the truth,” Arrow said solemnly once Aeldric had finished, his tone grim.

Sylvire nodded, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. “I am sorry to hear of the fate of your temple. You have my condolences… I know that it is not easy to watch the world you know and the people you love burn and be turned away. But I believe you right that your coming here was the Light’s will, not its pity. Though darkness may rise on one facet of the world, the light blooms elsewhere in turn. That much has always been true. I see no reason to think such would be different across the lines of different worlds.”

The sorceress could understand more than most the suffering behind the eyes of the trio before her. Their loss was not so dissimilar to when she had been forced from her home to preserve the safety of the artefacts against the Sealed One’s forces, leaving her allies and family fallen in her passing. There were no words to ease that loss, not truly.

“In our realm, we have experienced much similar to that which you describe. Planar anomalies and chaos have been rife, and agents of the void that have lain quiet for a long time have reared their heads again in the chaos. The Vanguard has been undoubtedly weakened, which is why I and the others of the Well have been awakened to help protect and guide the order through these times.”

Elante nodded, furrowing his brow. “There was a point after Rhea vanished where Syvil and I were the only two Elders, and our ranks were thin besides. I… was at something of a loose end, we couldn’t manage with just the two of us.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It still felt a little bit too much like a failure to have not been able to handle leading the order without Rhea close at hand, even though he knew it was hardly his fault that he lacked the necessary experience. “So I asked Sylvire for help.”

Rolando seemed somewhat perplexed at this revelation. “So few?” he inquired.

Even in their final hours, they had possessed dozens of Elders at their disposal. Their numbers order wide had spanned into the hundreds in the days leading up to the end. The progression of the Void’s spread within this realm seemed far less advanced, so why so few Vanguard already he mused.

Asher had chewed over the information, pondering thoughtfully over the welcome distraction of remembrance. Glancing at Rolando as he asked a question, the dark-skinned man scowled slightly, thinking he might have stumbled on why the Well of Souls had spat them out here.

“How...many veterans are left here?”

“The Vanguard is still young in its rebirth,” Sylvire answered, as Elante frowned in thought. “And our name does not carry the weight outside of Aelora that it once did. By your reactions, I must assume that circumstances here are different to your own in that respect too. It has been only a few short years since the Sealed One’s defeat, and much of our number’s efforts have been focused on building a foundation for the order to rise again. Only now have we begun to bring in new initiates to our ranks.”

“We haven’t …” Elante hesitated, biting his lip for a moment before continuing. “We haven’t lost anyone since the war. Not like that, anyway. Not everyone stuck around afterwards, but that was before we really officially became the Vanguard. Since then, Rhea’s disappeared and suddenly become the prime minister, Rynhart’s left, and Aeryn’s…” he grimaced here, scowling down at the table, “missing.”

“So in short, the answer is that by and large, you’re looking at them,” Arrow noted grimly. “Syvil is due to return soon, with aid from the Aeloran Vanguard. But they have their own lands to protect, and a lot of lingering corruption to cleanse. We can’t rely on them being able to spare a large amount of aid.”

“Aeloran Vanguard? Corruption…? I don't under--” Aeldric's mind continued to reel the further the conversation progressed, and the rigors of the recent past caught up with him as he half stumbled back, clutching his head.

His armor vanished in a silent twinkling of light, and the stalwart warrior looked very much like an old broken man standing suddenly in his austere robes.

“Forgive me, this is too much to take in at once,” he bleated wearily. “If possible, I'd ask to postpone any more discussion of this nature for a short while? My comrades and I were quite literally embroiled in a weeks long siege just minutes ago…,” Aeldric's voice trailed to a pained whisper as he recalled their arrival, and a pang of pain struck now that he no longer has the adrenaline coursing to dampen it.

“There's also...my student fell and her body still lays by the Well. I'd like leave to tend to that, and perhaps some rest and nourishment? I assure you we're your brothers in arms and we'll abide by whatever measures you see fit until you reach a more concrete decision,” croaked Aeldric, the plea directed at Sylvire barely a whisper.