The Chronicles of the Five Pillars

Chapter 2

The First Pillar of Lord Palantha, the Ruler candidate, drummed his fingers on his knees. His wings were gone… All winged creatures could hide their wings as they became tattoos on their shoulder blades. Palantha and Odarette hid their wings as well.

“Why are we walking again?” Odarette asked out loud. “Not that I’m complaining but your initial explanation was just not clear enough for me.”

It was Palantha who answered. “It’s because it’s better to look on foot, right? Teleportation will make us miss a lot of possible Pillars that we may meet on the way.”

Soleviel nodded. “That is correct, Lord Palantha. Also, we would not want to attract attention. Knowing Noirn, he would have us followed and spied on if we did. It is better to be inconspicuous.”

“It’s also because not all from the five races believe in the Ruler, is it not?” Odarette asked quietly. Soleviel only nodded.

“I am more than capable of protecting Lord Palantha but it is better if we meet less… hindrances… along the way.”

Palantha looked thoughtful. “I wonder what the Third Pillar would be like… Soleviel is really smart, serious and powerful-“ …the First Pillar wore a smug smirk… “-while Odarette is great at cooking and is the best healer I know!” The female Ivoree blushed.

“Well, we’ll know when we see him or her, right?” Odarette said brightly.

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A young man with long red-wine hair and indigo eyes scowled as he looked down at the gold and jewels at his feet.

“It’s not here,” he muttered, annoyed. Kneeling in front of the pile, he sifted through the treasure. “But oh well… These things are worth a fortune! And they’re all mine…” Chuckling, he gathered the treasure in a bag.

Ah… The excitement and rewards of thieving was what he lived for!

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“Mehale.”

A youth, wings hidden and probably only a couple of years older than Gyriem, knelt in front of the Golden-eyed Ruler candidate and his First Pillar, the lethal Crimsen named Noirn.

“You called for me, Lord Gyriem, Master Noirn?” he said in a quiet tenor voice.

“Is the Second Pillar prepared for his first mission?” Noirn purred in a velvety tone. Mehale finally lifted his head to look at them, more on Gyriem.

“I have been prepared since the moment I swore my allegiance,” Mehale replied in his soft yet firm voice. His eyes focused on the Golden ones and he saw the slight confusion on Gyriem’s expression.

“You are very beautiful, Mehale,” Gyriem said after a moment’s hesitation. The Second Pillar’s eyes widened as he did not expect the compliment. “Does your appearance reflect who and what you are?”

Noirn looked at his master approvingly. He had his doubts on Mehale as well on the delicate-looking youth.

Mehale turned bowed his head once more but Gyriem and Noirn did not miss the small smirk that crossed his features.

“If you are awed by my looks, then I would like to say that I am as beautiful as I am deadly…”

…And Gyriem had no doubts.

Noirn was very pleased. Gyriem made no mistake in choosing this one to be a Pillar.

“For your first task…”

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Palantha sighed heavily. Maybe he should’ve listened to Soleviel and left the white bunny alone…

“Soleviel’s going to be so mad at me for getting lost,” he cried as he continued walking around the forest.

He could already imagine the twitching on Soleviel’s temple as first; he tries to hold his temper, then explodes and yells at him. Maybe Odarette would be more sympathetic…

A thought crossed Palantha’s mind. “I don’t need them to protect me!” he declared. “I have my own powers and ten wings! I can defend myself!”

BOOM!

“Ahh!” Palantha screamed as he looked around him like startled deer and tried unsuccessfully to look for a hiding spot.

“Jeez, you’re so loud!”

The Platinum-eyed Ruler candidate looked up at the tree right next to him and found a good-looking young man – either in his late teens or early twenties – sitting on the branch just above him.

Palantha quickly jumped away from the tree.

“W-Who are you and w-what was that sound?” he demanded though he was clearly spooked.

The older boy jumped from the tree, landing without any troubles despite the height.

“That was my trap,” he said cheerfully with a smile on his face. He then blinked as he took a careful look at Palantha. “You’re lucky you didn’t land on it… Wow! You have pretty eyes!”

Palantha instantly forgot everything else as he placed his fingers below his eyes, feeling smug and glad. “You think so? People just stare at them and shiver! You’re only the second person to tell me they’re pretty!” He then remembered his earlier questions and tried to glare at the happy youth. “Hey! You didn’t answer my other question!”

But as he walked towards the redhead, voices began drifting towards them.

“What an amateur trap!”

The youth’s smile disappeared as he glared, fists clenching. “Amateur, huh? I’ll show them! I’ll-“

Palantha tugged at his sleeve, making him look at the shorter boy. “Hey… If they think your traps are amateur, wouldn’t that mean they’re stronger than you? And by the sound of things, there’s also much more of them than you.”

The redhead blinked before chuckling sheepishly. “Yeah, you’re right!” Without further outbursts, he shot off. “Run!”

Palantha gaped in disbelief.

“Over there! They’re over there!”

What did I get myself into? Palantha thought desperately as he ran after the redhead.

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“You were supposed to be watching him!”

“Oh! Now, you’re blaming me! How typical!”

“I knew we shouldn’t have brought you along!”

“How was I supposed to watch him?! I was changing clothes! Palantha may be innocent and carefree but I would not undress with him in my presence!”

Odarette crossed her arms across her chest smugly as the First Pillar Soleviel was lost in words. She knew she had won the argument… Palantha may not have a gender but he was raised as a boy more than a girl… But what was more important presently was the location of their lord.

Soleviel clenched his fists. He shouldn’t have let Palantha stray from his sight! As soon as he gets the young lord, he would clamp a firm grip on that boy and make sure they were chained together.

BOOM!

The two quickly looked towards the direction of the sound.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Master Soleviel,” Odarette said grimly.

But Soleviel was already flying towards the sound, his five pairs of golden wings glistening as he hurried towards where his master was.

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“Why are they after you?” Palantha yelled over the constant blasts that followed them.

The redhead grinned rakishly. “I stole something of theirs… I didn’t they’d be so touchy!”

Palantha gave him a pointed look. “I think anyone will feel touchy if you steal from them!”

A burst of power came too close and the two were thrown to a nearby rock. Palantha barely managed to form a bubble shield in order to protect himself. The redhead did not need a shield as he landed on the rock on his feet. Palantha had to admit that he had amazing reflexes.

“They’re getting too troublesome,” the redhead declared with a smirk. “Hey, you.” Palantha pointed at himself in question. “Yeah, you. Am I right in thinking that you have the legendary Platinum eyes?”

The younger of the two stared in shock. “Y-You knew!”

The redhead glanced back at him. “The first think I look at people if they’re not holding any weapons are their eyes. Platinum is more than just a color, Lord Palantha. Your eyes have their own power.”

The ones the redhead stole from finally caught up with them.

“You can’t escape now, you stupid Ebonian!”

Palantha shakily stood up. “You’re an Ebonian?”

The one in question rolled his eyes at their pursuers. “Sheesh! I didn’t think you saw my wings!”

“We saw the color!” one of the pursuers yelled. “They’re black!”

The redhead blinked. “So you just saw the color?” A smirk appeared. “Good.” He turned to Palantha once more. “Hey, kid, just how good are you?”

Palantha reddened in embarrassment. “N-Not good.”

The redhead’s smirk turned into a smile. “Hey, no worries! It must be hard to master your metal!”

“Stop ignoring us!” one of the pursuers yelled. “Get them!”

The redhead stepped in front of Palantha. “Stay behind me, okay?” he said with a friendly wink. Palantha only nodded.

Two silver bracelets appeared on the redhead’s wrists as he held them out in front of him. Palantha stared at them.

“You have the Silver!” Palantha exclaimed in shock.

The redhead’s smirk became lethal. “And none of them even come close to the Copper level.”

The pursuers, realizing what was hanging from the redhead’s wrists, blanched.

“Don’t worry,” the redhead suddenly said. “I’m not using these…” A sword appeared in his hands and not even a blink later, he was already on the other side of the pursuers, who had fallen under the blade.

Palantha stared in shock.

H-He’s impossibly fast!

The redhead began walking towards the young Ruler candidate when a wind blew and Soleviel the Aurumon stood protectively in front of Palantha, his own infamous curved blade poised towards the thief.

“Soleviel, don’t hurt him!” Palantha cried as he hung onto the taller man’s arm. “He protected me!”

“How can you be sure that he doesn’t plan to kill you next?” Soleviel demanded though his eyes never strayed away from the neutral indigo ones.

“There you are!”

Only Palantha looked up as a frantic Odarette landed. She ran towards the young lord, mindless of the blade Soleviel held. She grabbed the Ruler candidate and pulled him in for a tight embrace.

“Palantha! We were so worried!” Odarette cried as she smothered the younger teen.

“I’m sorry, Odarette,” Palantha replied meekly. But as soon as Soleviel took a step towards the redhead, he squirmed from the girl’s grip. “Soleviel, he didn’t do anything to me!”

“You really should listen to your lord,” the redhead began lazily. Soleviel’s eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about the way he…

Palantha finally pulled from Odarette’s gasp and approached the thief, ignoring Soleviel’s voiced protest. He firmly stood in front of the redhead.

“I won’t let you hurt him, Soleviel,” he declared with determination.

The thief stepped forward. “I’ll just leave, Lord Palantha. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

The Aurumon’s eyes widened. “You told him who you are?”

Palantha shook his head earnestly. “He guessed.”

Soleviel still gave the thief a suspicious look. “I’m guessing you want a reward.”

The thief grinned widely. Wrapping an arm around Palantha’s shoulders, he bent over the younger boy and…

…kissed him on the forehead.

“That’ll do,” he said with a smirk as he pulled away. Palantha blushed and placed a hand on the kissed spot.

Soleviel growled while Odarette gaped.

The thief gave a jaunty wave. “Well, I’ll be going now!” He just entered the tree line when-

“I finally found you…”

A new voice…

Who…?

Soleviel pointed his blade towards the person perched on the massive rock behind them. Silky blue-black hair flowed around him – with some strands braided and some strands adorned with ribbons or metal rings – as his robes fluttered slightly at the wind… His eyes were startling – one was violet while the other was a crystal blue.

But what was more startling were his wings… A single pair of wings…

The left wing belonged to the Ivoree race while the right wing belonged to the Ebonian…

It was a hybrid.

Paalantha quickly thought of what he knew about hybrids. First of all, they were very rare as most of the time, the genes did not match. They were also scorned by society – by both sides of their bloodline…

Why was a hybrid looking for them?

Unless…

“I am Mehale,” the beautiful hybrid introduced himself. “I come as messenger for the Golden Lord Gyriem.”

Soleviel became even more defensive as he shifted to a fighting stance. How did the hybrid get past his senses?

“Don’t trouble yourself,” Mehale said calmly. “I am not here to fight… I am merely here to deliver a message to Lord Palantha.”

Palantha’s eyes widened. Gyriem had something for him?

“What is it?” Palantha asked as he took a step forward.

Mehale focused his eyes on those Platinum ones. “Master Noirn has received new that you have selected two Pillars… I am Lord Gyriem’s Second Pillar and he has already selected a Third.”

“Why would he want us to know?” Odarette demanded in confusion.

But Soleviel knew the reason why as he glanced at his anxious master.

The pressure was on. As long as Palantha knew that Gyriem had more, he would be troubled and stress over the facts. This could have devastating effects… especially on Palantha’s confidence.

“Is that all?” Soleviel said harshly. However, Gyriem’s Second Pillar was not daunted.

“Lord Gyriem is going to regret taking on such a treacherous Second Pillar.”

All eyes turned towards the thief. He had been forgotten but after the statement, all eyes were on him.

Mehale’s eyes widened. “Y-You…”

“Hello, Mehale,” the thief replied sardonically with a cruel smirk. “Been slashing defenseless people’s backs lately?”

The neutral look returned on Gyriem’s Second Pillar’s face. “You have no right to talk to me that way, thief.”

“Right back at ‘ya, backstabber.”

The air around them began to hum. Soleviel grabbed Palantha and jumped away from the two, dragging Odarette with him.

“It seems the two have a past,” Soleviel noted.

“I think that’s rather obvious, Master Soleviel,” Odarette replied as she hid behind the Aurumon, pulling Palantha with her.

“For someone who only has the Silver, you don’t know how to hold your tongue,” Mehale said darkly as he stood up, balanced on the tip of the rock as the wind around him gathered and darkened.

“Your Palladium has always given you a big head,” the thief retorted as he shifted in a defensive stance.

“We need to help him,” Palantha cried as he looked on. “Soleviel, please.”

The Aurumon sighed in annoyance. How could he deny his lord anything if he was using that desperate voice?

“That is enough,” Soleviel interjected, unfurled his great wings. The thief looked at him, leaving his defensive stance. The hybrid, on the other hand, was still giving signs of agitation.

“You should be careful, Master Soleviel,” the redhead warned. “Mehale may have the Palladium but he has so much of it that he’s almost at a Gold level, if not.”

Soleviel turned his attention towards the hybrid in shock. So Gyriem had acquired another powerful Pillar…

Mehale opened his own wings. “I take my leave of you.” His eyes then narrowed at the thief. “I hope to never see you again, Xyntiel.”

The thief didn’t reply as Gyriem’s Second Pillar launched himself into the air and flew off, the dark cloud following him.

Xyntiel sighed wearily. He sighed then gasped when a smaller body collided against his back as Palantha embraced him from behind. He smiled gently as he looked down at the young Ruler candidate.

“Hey,” he said brightly. “You’re acting like we’re friends.”

“We are,” Palantha whispered as he kept his arms around the older teen. Xyntiel stiffened.

Soleviel and Odarette watched. They had a feeling they knew what was going to happen next…

“Will you be my Third Pillar?” Palantha asked the good-looking redhead.

Xyntiel’s eyes widened in surprise. Third Pillar? To be a Pillar?

He almost laughed out loud. Fate enjoyed giving him different positions… But to be a Pillar was something he never expected…

The Aurumon and the female Ivoree waited. Would Xyntiel accept or refuse? What was his race anyway? What if he was an Aurumon or an Ivoree-

“Only if you feed me every single day,” Xyntiel replied with a cheeky grin.

Palantha finally looked up at him and smiled brightly.

“Okay! Now I have an Aurumon, an Ivoree and an Ebonian!”

The other two Pillars sighed. They should’ve known that Xyntiel was from the Ebonian race…

“So your name is Xyntiel, huh?” Palantha inquired. The Third Pillar nodded enthusiastically.

“Thief extraordinaire!” Xyntiel declared proudly.

“Yet they tracked you down so easily,” Soleviel said dryly, motioning towards the bodies around them.

Xyntiel glared. “It was a one-time slip up!”

“Are they dead?” Odarette asked, looking over one body.

The redhead shook his head. “Nah… I don’t kill as much as I can.” His eyes then brightened. “But hopefully, I hit them on the head hard enough for them to get amnesia!”

Palantha continued his conversation with the perky new Third Pillar while Soleviel massaged his temples…

He just knew that the new addition would be more trouble than he was worth!

A/N: What do you guys think of Mehale and Xyntiel? I hope it wasn’t too quick – the pace!