Read All of Book 1: Here
One hour later, a man knocked on Bao’s door. Opening it, the man sighed.
“Why are you all always in the last room I check?” he asked. Bao shrugged, “Well, Creator Xinar is calling everybody to the main hall, come on.”
The five of them made their way through the brightly light stone halls, making their way to the main entrance. They saw all the guards lined up against both walls as they entered. Hundreds of them, all dressed in the same white metal Chestplate, blue trousers, and white helmet with red feathers sticking out of it. As the Guardians walked, the Guards saluted them. The four returned the salute and took their place at the ends of the line, furthest from the door they came from, standing next to the main door. They stood, nearly perfectly silent, waiting and looking at the door in anticipation.
The door swung open, and the Guards and Guardians dropped to their knees as two people came in. The first was an old woman in a blue and gold robe, a blue hood with golden designs on the top covering a good portion of her face. She clutched a large staff in her hands, leaning on it for support. A golden staff with a green gem on the bottom, the handle was carved into elaborate patterns, curving its way to a large disk design on the top, a half-circle with metal rods supporting a disk with a large blue Sphere of a gem in the center. Familiar Ingrid, Advisor to the Creator.
Behind her was Xinar, The Creator. He stood tall over the kneeling figures, Blue eyes peering kindly out from his blue and white hood, wearing a white robe with Gold and Blue Designs. Under his arm was an ancient book, around two feet tall, one foot wide, and six inches thick. The cover was brown and cracked, and the pages were yellow. It was clear that the Book once had brilliant designs all over it, but time had faded them to mere shadows. Fire damage could be seen on one side. Esmun smiled. The Failoga Book, the source of the Creator’s power. The Book was the most powerful Magic Artifact ever created, the symbol of Archana and the Creator.
The two stood over the lines of bowing people for a second. Then Xinar spoke.
“Happy Ceremony all,” he said. The group responded in a unified chorus.
“Happy Ceremony, Creator.”
Xinar turned to the first man in the line, bidding him stand. He took the Book and opened it. A golden aura surrounded the Book, and it hovered out of his hands, floating a few inches from its holder’s arms. Xinar bowed to the man, who bowed back. Xinar pressed his hands over the Guard’s eyes and muttered words under his breath, then put his hands over his ears and did the same. The Guard bowed again and took a knee as Xinar repeated the process with the next Guard.
Down the line he went, the Familiar trailing behind him. They reached Esmun, who stood immediately and bowed. Xinar smiled and bowed back, then covered the boy’s eyes with his hands.
“See all,” he muttered, then covered Esmun’s ears, “Hear all.”
Esmun feels his senses strengthen as he bows to Xinar and retakes a knee. Xinar repeats the process a few more times and then stands near the door, bidding the group to stand. When the Guards and Guardians were on their feet, he spoke again.
“I am not going to stand here and tell you what to do. Many of you have been serving here since before I took the Book. Remember that the people are still uneasy. Today must go off without a hitch to reassure them that we are still powerful even with the events that happened. Go in Peace and Happy Ceremony.”
The guards saluted and filed past the Creator towards the door. Leaving the temple, they spread out amongst the crowd, leaving the Guardians with Xinar and Ingrid. The old woman smiled at the four boys.
“Are you ready?” she asked. The Guardians nodded. They were out first. Fremont led the four out of the main hall and up a set of stairs. At the top, they stopped at the door. Glancing at the others, Fremont took the handle.
“You ready?” He asked
“To stand in direct sunlight for three hours?” Esmun asked. Everybody nodded, “Bring it on.”
The four drew their blades, allowing the four colors to shine in the dim light. Fremont nodded and opened the door, letting in the sunlight.
Chapter 5: here
Will Fall Writings 