"Shin No Ippo 22" by Brandon ´Red´ Christ

Shin No Ippo XXII

            “Good First King, look at it…” Vann muttered, a cross between excitement and apprehension on his face, “A Bull. And look at the size of it…”

            “What is your name, Dragon?” Jay asked, lowering the sword to his side.

            “My name is Raleigh, from the bloodline of Arcanin,” the dragon spoke, its breath making the air hot, “Why have you come?”

            “Raleigh,” Jay sheathed the sword, “We have heard legends that the Mars Lighthouse is the light that burns in the north,” Jay pointed, “With your permission, we would like to see this wonder, and perhaps make use of it.”

            “The blade, it needs to be blessed with our Holy fire, yes?” Raleigh growled, “Were that not a token of friendship from our Brothers of the east, I would burn you all alive. Wait here for the night, while I make my brothers aware of your presence. IF you continue, you will die.”

            “I understand, Raleigh, your kindness will not go unnoticed,” Jay bowed, and Raleigh came up from his crouched position.

            “Such good manners for a human. You remind me of the Two-Eyed boy… Perhaps he will be able to help you,” Raleigh growled, and with a powerful thrust, disappeared into the night sky.

            “Now what?” Owens asked, staring at the clouds Raleigh has disappeared into.

            “We do as he says,” Jay shrugged, “And wait for him to return.” They all returned to their beds, and went to sleep.

.  .  .

            “Jay, wake up. The Dragon’s back, and it’s brought friends,” Rayne pushed his shoulder gently. Jay quickly got dressed, and walked outside to meet the beasts. In the sunlight, their cardinal and golden scales glistened, and the snow’s light made them all the more majestic. The five sat, Gazing across the barren planes, and thinking the thoughts that only beasts as old as they could think.

            “Boy,” The dragon growled, albeit not in an unfriendly way, “These are a few of my brothers. Adonihs, Emprehus, Innera, and Silvan. We are here to take you and some select comrades to Mars Lighthouse. Only six more of you may come; seven people are the most I may carry, and the others must be left to protect your caravan home. Choose wisely.”

            “Lyn, Mai, Zordos, Rayne, and Owens are my closest friends. They shall come with me. Also, Vann has been kind enough to help us come this far; surely he must be included,” Jay smiled, “Seven was actually the perfect number, Raleigh.”

            “It was for us, as well,” Raleigh pressed himself to the ground, so they could climb on, “That means there will be eighty-seven of us to watch every one of you.”

            “I’m not sure I like this,” Owens leaned over to Mai.

            “These dragons don’t think too highly of us. Just be respectful, and we’ll get out of this alive,” Mai whispered back. The seven quickly gathered their things, and left, Raleigh taking off in a burst of power. Through the entire day, they rode on Raleigh’s back, until the group began to make out a distinct shape at the base.

            “It looks like… a tower…” Lyn peered forward, leaning over Jay’s shoulder.

            “You have sharp eyes, female. That is Mars Lighthouse, the single source of an eternal flame in this entire world. My brethren live in the nearby mountains, but we will bring you to the base. From there, you must scale it if you wish to see the top. Such was the commandment of The First King, and so it shall remain. When you reach the top, we will see to it that the defender of Fire is there.” Raleigh landed, near the entrance. It was a cavernous door, left open in the absence of life. The ground had turned black, and there was no snow for miles. In fact, the air almost seemed warm, and from the size of the great light above them, it was no surprise.

            “Raleigh, would you tell me who it is who guards this tower?” Jay asked, turning to the smoldering beast.

            “He is a boy, not much older than yourself. A mere few years ago, he was imbued with the power of the flame, that blazes atop this tower. I know not his name; we simply call him Brother. He is as much a dragon as we are, as far as the elder is concerned,” Raleigh turned, “He holds some great importance among you humans, from what I understand.” With this, Raleigh turned away, but let out a final growl, “He will return you to your camp, should you be the victor.” Raleigh exploded into the sky once more, and his comrades quickly followed into the distance.

            The seven walked inside the great doors, which shut behind them, as torches lit down the long corridor. Another set of doors stood ahead of them, with strange scripture cut into the fine metalwork.

            “Let’s see,” Zordos stepped forward, “… ‘Only those permitted may enter’. Well, there’s no one here to guard these doors now.”

            “Fine, let’s get moving,” Jay pushed open the doors, and they entered the giant chasm.

            The room was gigantic, at least twenty floors up, and as many down. Light burst forth from strange boxes, and lit the giant catacomb. Within it, thousands of shelves stood, each floor organized meticulously. Within these giant shelves, which were twice as tall as a person, sat thousands of books, of varying sizes, colors, and age. The group stared in wonder as the lights slowly worked their way up and down the walls, illuminating the giant room. Staircases sprawled up and down the exterior walls, eventually spiraling their way to the top.

            “Look at all of this… there’s millions of books here…” Jay walked into the center of the room, a giant chasm that allowed him a view of all the floors above, and many below.

            “This isn’t a lighthouse… It’s a library. It’s a synopsis of all the knowledge of the First World…” Zordos looked above him, “This place has more books than anyone could ever read in a lifetime…”

            “Think about all the knowledge here…” Owens shook his head, “If we had the time, we could probably find a perfect map of the entire world.”

            “Wait, Owens,” Lyn turned to him, “That’s brilliant! Jay, Zordos and I can read this ancient language… And look at all these books, they’re perfectly organized… IF we can find the right section, then maybe…”

            “If we can find a map, we can copy it over, and use it ourselves. And chances are, it will have all the markings of where the Elemental points are! We could have a perfect map!” Rayne grinned, “Alright, Zordos, you go with Mai, I’ll go with Jay, and Owens, you and Lyn go together. Vann, look around on this floor, but stay here; we need a marker for where we came from. We’ll split up to find the right floor, and then we’ll comb the entire floor.” Rayne took off, quickly running up the stairs. Jay followed, and the rest split up.

            “Alright, so what are we looking for, exactly?” Owens asked, turning to Lyn as they worked through the floor.

            “Well, it would look something like… this,” Lyn drew her finger through the dusty floor, drawing a symbol, “Anything with that in it would be a good place to start. After a good while of searching, Owens yelled, his voice echoing through the hollow tower.

            “Hey, everyone get over here! I think I found it!” The others quickly gathered, and they saw what Owens was staring at. A giant door stood before them, with scripture cut into it.

            “Take heed, lest you be destroyed; this is the Great Map room,” Jay read aloud, “… This place is weird. Only certain people were allowed in, and others would be killed for entering?”

            “We’ll figure it out later,” Zordos shrugged, as he forced the doors open, “Let’s take a look, at least.” They entered, and looked around. As the ceiling lit itself, they found themselves in a giant room, with a great, rounded ceiling. It was dotted with constellations, all recognizable, and the floor was painted with a strange map.

            “This map…” Mai walked through the room, “There’s nothing in common with this and our world… It’s not even a map of our world.” Suddenly, they all turned, as a new voice echoed through the chamber, near the exit.

            “This is a map of the First World, before the First King used the mighty Mjolnir to reshape it into the world you see today. It’s the first, and only, piece of evidence that the old stories are true. Well, that’s ignoring The Holy Ground of Silfortha, of course…” The young man stepped into the light, his blue and red eyes glowing in the darkness.

            “Vyse… What are you doing here?” Jay drew his sword, quickly followed by the others.

            “Easy, Jay. I haven’t come to fight you; not yet, leastways. This is my library, you see; This place was known as Kirin’s Tower in the First World. It was the singlemost comprehensive library ever constructed…” Vyse quickly stopped, as the floor began to turn, “Quickly! Away from the center of the Floor!” He barked, and they backed away, as a maw opened from the floor. A Great crystal, carved of a ruby-like substance, rose from the hole, and the floor closed beneath it as it floated into the air.

            “What is that?” Vann asked, walking towards it. A Gunshot rang out, and Vann stopped, gazing at the hat that had been shot off his head.

            “Another one of you moves near that stone, I’ll kill you. Understand? You don’t understand what that is,” Vyse kept the revolver high, and quickly slipped a shell into the empty chamber.

            “Vyse, what is this?” Jay asked, “You’re perfectly fine with us, then you’re trying to kill us. What’s going on?”

            “I wasn’t quite finished speaking, when the tower armed itself,” Vyse replied, lowering the gun, “You see, this may also be a library, but Kirin Tower is also the singlemost powerful weapon left from the First World.”