She messaged him on her ring “Hey Babylon, would you be interested in coming with me to Hyperborea tonight?”
She waited for his response. “So can you meet me at the times circle fountain?” She said before leaving to go meet with him.
Silverahx
Of course the response was yes. Hyperborea was very young, and while Babylon knew it was horrifically patronizing, he was always happy to accompany her places - better he supervise her than let her get into danger by trying to do things alone. She was fourteen, after all, and a young-seeming fourteen at that. When he’d been fourteen, he’d barely been allowed to go to the mall by himself, let alone stay out all night fighting the forces of darkness.
With that in mind, it was probably for the best that he hadn’t awakened until much, much later. He doubted he would have survived otherwise.
She hadn’t mentioned a time, so Babylon set off immediately, arriving at the fountain some time after she’d arrived. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” he said, offering her a hand. “Are you ready to get going?”
With that in mind, it was probably for the best that he hadn’t awakened until much, much later. He doubted he would have survived otherwise.
She hadn’t mentioned a time, so Babylon set off immediately, arriving at the fountain some time after she’d arrived. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” he said, offering her a hand. “Are you ready to get going?”
“Nope I just got here too. Yup!” She said as she took his hand. She never even considered that he thought of himself as a chaperone, she just thought of him as a friend, an equal only separated by years of experience and rank.
She began the oath. “I pledge my life and loyalty to Cosmos, and to Hyperborea. I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.” She said as the pair disappeared from the Earth in a flash.
They reappear in a dark stony hallway that way only dimly lit by purple crystals embedded in the wall. “Sorry Babylon we must have appearing in my labyrinth….hmm I don’t recognize this floor. We must be on one of the lower levels.” She said as she looked around for any recognizable feature. The air was thick and stale.
Silverahx
Babylon looked around, his eyes adjusting to the dim light, and then raised his lantern. “Huh,” he said, in response to Hyperborea’s professed unfamiliarity with their surroundings. “Well, we’re definitely at your Wonder. That oath’s not like Floo powder.” You couldn’t accidentally sneeze in the middle of it and wind up somewhere else entirely.
“I’d guess we’re pretty deep,” he said, echoing her earlier sentiment. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a ton of circulation down here.” The air didn’t feel rancid, per se, but definitely like it hadn’t been disturbed in a long, long time.
“Does the floor slope?” he asked. “Might give us an idea of which direction to head. I mean. Are we leaving?”
He hadn’t really considered the other option before now, but he asked anyway. “Or do you want to go deeper?” He’d prefer they went now, while he had a reliable source of light, than send her back later to check it out on her own. Wonders didn’t tend to harm their own knights, but there was a first time for everything.
Really, he was in the most danger if they encountered any security measures. But that wasn’t going to stop him.
“I’d guess we’re pretty deep,” he said, echoing her earlier sentiment. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a ton of circulation down here.” The air didn’t feel rancid, per se, but definitely like it hadn’t been disturbed in a long, long time.
“Does the floor slope?” he asked. “Might give us an idea of which direction to head. I mean. Are we leaving?”
He hadn’t really considered the other option before now, but he asked anyway. “Or do you want to go deeper?” He’d prefer they went now, while he had a reliable source of light, than send her back later to check it out on her own. Wonders didn’t tend to harm their own knights, but there was a first time for everything.
Really, he was in the most danger if they encountered any security measures. But that wasn’t going to stop him.
“Um no I don’t think so. From what I can tell every floor is level, probably due to the magical nature of the place.” She said as she tried to get her bearing on where they were both physically and magically.
“Let’s…..head down deeper, I feel something down there.” She said point down into the darkness. She wasn't sure what it was but she felt like she needed to explore this place. She was certain though that this place was safe everything Theseus had told her about told her it was safe.
She started walking further in looking back to make sure Babylon was with her. “So how have you been?” She asked looking to make small talk.
As they were walking she stepped on something that cracked and shattered beneath her foot.”What the….” She looked down and saw she had stepped on what was at one time a skull.
She shriek and jumped back. “Wha...wha...what is….” She stopped as she looked forward and saw the hallway was littered with skeletons.
Silverahx
“I’ve been okay,” he answered, following her lead. “Work’s busy. Getting a lot of school groups and retirees who want to know about the fall foliage. How are-”
She shrieked. Babylon raced to her side, lantern held high to illuminate the highway in front of him. Skeletons were to be expected in an ancient city where lots of people had presumably died at the end of the silver millennium - but that didn’t make them exactly comforting to find. “Maybe - maybe a crypt of some kind?” he asked. “An ossuary? Like the catacombs of Paris.”
It didn’t really look like there was any rhyme or reason to how these skeletons were placed, though, the floor being littered as it was. Formal burial would have some kind of pattern to it, wouldn’t it?
He was reminded instantly of Mistral.
“Maybe… some kind of security system killed them? A spell or - or something. I’m not sure it’s safe for us to keep going,” he said. That was only partly true. It would probably be safe for Hyperborea. He’d never heard of a wonder trying to kill its knight. But it probably wouldn’t be safe for him.
Hyperborea took a few breaths to calm herself. “Sorry I just wasn’t expecting to find….something like this.” Hyperborea said as she took in the scene. She could tell something was wrong with the air here. It was thick and polluted compared to the rest of her wonder, now she understood why. These corpse shouldn’t be here she felt, they were wrong.
“I don’t think it's a tomb. Theseus would have told me if something like that was under Hyperborea plus Hyperboreans practiced cremation.” She explained while shaking her head. She was confused and worried about what this place meant.
A third voice appeared from the darkness behind them. “In a way you are correct heir of Babylon. These poor souls were thieves who fell victim to the labyrinth’s self defense system. I have mentioned it before but only a knight of Hyperborea can navigate the ever shifting maze. These men thought to break in and steal my city’s treasures, they became lost in maze and by the time I found them...well you can see their state. I’m sorry Kora, a part of me was hoping you would not find this place but I should have informed you about it none the less.” Theseus explained as he stepped out from the shadows. His voice sounded full of regret.
Silverahx
Babylon turned towards Hyperborea’s ancestor, gritting his teeth around the acrid taste that had filled his mouth. “I’ve seen wonders rip intruders apart before,” he said. “We didn’t have the good fortune of an ancestor to warn us that Mistral was dangerous. But I’ve met you before. You knew she’d taken me into the labyrinth. Why didn’t you ever warn us?” Hoping they would never find this place wasn’t a good enough excuse - not when lives were at stake. Who knew how much of a hair trigger the security spells here were activated by? If he was only protected by Hyperborea’s company, then that was especially worrying - he could have been separated from Hyperborea by any number of accidents.
“Was I in danger here?” he asked. “Did you knowingly let her put my life at risk?”
Theseus turned towards Babylon as he began to interrogate the ancient knight. “It was a failure of my character. I find shame in my failure as caretaker of this wonder to save these visitors, I did not wish to share my shame.” He said his voice not betraying any emotion.
“It is very unlikely you would be in the kind of danger these men were in. Were you to somehow get lost Kora could track your aura to find you. These were humans and had no such aura for me to feel.” The stone giant calmly explained.
“Babylon I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in any danger. And I didn’t mean to bring up memories of the tragedy at mistral.” Hyperborea apologized feeling terrible for having unknowingly put her friend in this kind of danger.
Silverahx
Babylon didn’t find Theseus’s explanation satisfactory. “It’s her wonder now,” he said. “You had to have known she’d find it someday. Were you just hoping it would be after she’d ended your vigil, so you wouldn’t have to explain it to her?” Cowardly, he thought. Irresponsible.
“And then you just left them there?” he asked. “They may have been thieves but - that’s just unhygienic. Deny them proper rites all you want, but who just leaves bodies lying around on the path to...”
He gestured vaguely. “Wherever the hell it is this thing goes. You left a mess for your descendant to clean up. You knew she’d find it. And you didn’t do anything. You didn’t prepare her for it. And you planned to be long gone by the time she had to deal with it, didn’t you?”
“And then you just left them there?” he asked. “They may have been thieves but - that’s just unhygienic. Deny them proper rites all you want, but who just leaves bodies lying around on the path to...”
He gestured vaguely. “Wherever the hell it is this thing goes. You left a mess for your descendant to clean up. You knew she’d find it. And you didn’t do anything. You didn’t prepare her for it. And you planned to be long gone by the time she had to deal with it, didn’t you?”
“The words you speak are true heir of Babylon. I do not defend my actions they were made in shame and cowardice but I have never claimed to be a paragon of virtue. I am subject to folly as much as any mortal.” He said his purple eyes watching the mercury knight carefully.
As the other two were talking Hyperborea felt something calling her from down the hallway she inched her way forward subconsciously, stepping over the ancient corpses.
“Watch yourself Mercury knight. You are a visitor here, your ethics and morals are not mine. I did not deny them rites because of some petty anger towards their intentions. I did so because these men were foreigners, I knew not their planet of origin let alone their customs I would rather not give someone rites than give than disgrace them by giving them improper rites. Though I did ensure all their starseeds made their journey to Sagittarius Zero Star.” Theseus answered a slight hint of offense to Babylon’s accusations creeping into his voice.
“Where do you think you are right now Mercury knight? You are on the lowest floor of the labyrinth, the lowest point of the entire wonder. I cleared out the upper floors of their other fallen comrades where I assumed others would tread, this is not a floor any need travel to under normal circumstances. And to give answer to your curiosity that leads to the heart of this wonder.” The stone giant said pointing into the dark hallway. “The code piece of Hyperborea.”
Silverahx
Babylon did his very best to avoid rolling his eyes. Deliberately obtuse ancestors were one thing, but patronizing a*****e ancestors were another thing entirely. Oh, yes, he was absolutely thrilled that Theseus had done the bare minimum of his job description as a knight of the Cosmos. Honestly, those intentions were ridiculous. Oh, I didn’t know where they were from, so I just left their corpses lying around. They really brought the room together. My name is Theseus and I always decorate with dead bodies.
Ridiculous.
“In other words,” said Babylon, “Definitely somewhere she’d need to go sooner or later.” Personally, he found himself visiting the heart of his wonder fairly regularly - but then again, it was way more accessible than at the heart of a deadly labyrinth. The point remained - Hyperborea would eventually need to consult with her wonder’s piece of code, and Theseus had left this mess for her to deal with like a petulant child.
“Or did you not expect there to ever be another knight of Hyperborea to need to speak to the Code?” he asked, eyebrows rising curiously.
Ridiculous.
“In other words,” said Babylon, “Definitely somewhere she’d need to go sooner or later.” Personally, he found himself visiting the heart of his wonder fairly regularly - but then again, it was way more accessible than at the heart of a deadly labyrinth. The point remained - Hyperborea would eventually need to consult with her wonder’s piece of code, and Theseus had left this mess for her to deal with like a petulant child.
“Or did you not expect there to ever be another knight of Hyperborea to need to speak to the Code?” he asked, eyebrows rising curiously.
Theseus’ usually calm demeanor broke for a second as anger shone in his purple eyes. “I do not answer to YOU, heir of Babylon. I will not be interrogated by a child. Now I have answered your questions do with it’s information what you will.” Theseus said in a bitter and angry voice before vanishing.
Hyperborea made her way back to Babylon as Theseus vanished in a huff. “I’m sorry he’s not usually rude like that. If you’d prefer I can take you back. I don’t want to make you stay anywhere you’d be uncomfortable.” She offered, not that she really wanted to go back to earth. She wanted to go forward and see her code piece but she wouldn’t drag an unwilling companion along with her.
Silverahx
Regardless of the fact that he was pissed that they hadn’t been properly warned about the labyrinth’s potential dangers, Babylon still maintained that Hyperborea was safer with him than without him. And he calls me a child, he thought, not looking around for where Theseus had gone. He’d been around the block a few times. He knew how this bullshit worked.
“He ******** up and he knows it,” he said, rolling his shoulders. He passed his lantern to his other hand. “If you want to keep going, then let’s keep going. It’s not every day you get to visit the heart of your wonder.”
Well, it could be every day, but he supposed that would get a bit boring after a while. The novelty would wear off. “It’s okay, really,” he assured her. “Leave anyone alone on a bit of space rock for a thousand years and they’re bound to go stir crazy. It took my ancestor literally years to like me.” He chuckled. “Maybe I just have that effect on people.”
She nodded. “Forward it is then.” She said as she began walking forward being careful to walk over the skeletons. She took notice that there was no branching paths on this level just a straight hallway. The floors must narrow as they go down. She reasoned to herself.
“Maybe just ancient knights.” She said with a giggle. “I know I liked you the first time we meet. You give off a good vibe.”
It didn’t take long for them to reach a archway leading into a brightly lit room. At first Hyperborea was blinded by the sudden bright light but as her eyes adjusted she looked around in awe of the room. It was well built with beautiful statues, of what she assumed were knights, placed in the four corners of the room. There were lines etched into the wall in vein like patterns on the wall, some of them glowed a faint purple others were dark. The lines continued onto the floor and all lead to the center of the room where a large floating rainbow colored crystal sat with what looked like fog rolling off of it.
“It amazing!” She said as she walked around the room. “I think these are the magic being despired through the wonder...but it looks like some of them are blocked.” She thought to herself. “Maybe it's the bodies, they’re polluting the air and blocking the magic.” She thought out loud.
She wasn’t sure why but she felt like the solution was in the code piece itself. “Hang on.” She said as she walked over and touched the crystal trying to match her consciousness with its.
Silverahx
“Maybe just ancient knights,” Babylon agreed, following closely behind her. He certainly hoped just ancient knights - it would suck if everyone he knew secretly hated him.
He vanished his lantern as they passed into the well-lit chamber, and whistled lowly as he surveyed the room in front of them. He’d never seen a Wonder that did things by half measures, and Hyperborea didn’t disappoint. “Color me impressed,” he said. “Your ancestors sure know how to build an inner sanctum.”
Whatever she was up to, Babylon was just going to stand back and let her do it - no point dying by accidentally provoking a magical explosion on someone else’s wonder, or whatever. “‘Kay,” he called, watching her cross over towards the crystal. He expected whatever happened next to be suitably weird and mystical. Things tended to be at least a little bit weird and mystical when knight magic was involved.
He vanished his lantern as they passed into the well-lit chamber, and whistled lowly as he surveyed the room in front of them. He’d never seen a Wonder that did things by half measures, and Hyperborea didn’t disappoint. “Color me impressed,” he said. “Your ancestors sure know how to build an inner sanctum.”
Whatever she was up to, Babylon was just going to stand back and let her do it - no point dying by accidentally provoking a magical explosion on someone else’s wonder, or whatever. “‘Kay,” he called, watching her cross over towards the crystal. He expected whatever happened next to be suitably weird and mystical. Things tended to be at least a little bit weird and mystical when knight magic was involved.
It worked, Hyperborea felt her consciousness being tugged at and being pulled from her body. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her body went ridged but stayed standing with her hand on the crystal.
Hyperborea was experiencing the entirety of the wonder, as if her senses had become one with the city itself. She felt a well of power like she’d never experienced before. With difficulty she managed to direct the power outward into her labyrinth burning away the miasma that had infected it due to the bodies.
Outside of her consciousness the lines that had been dark in the room were now lit and the dimly lit ones glowed brightly. Similarly lines were beginning to etch themselves onto Hyperborea’s body as it began to glow faintly, armor beginning to appear on her chest.
Hyperborea found herself floating further apart as her consciousness continued to be pulled by the code piece. She felt as if she was becoming one with the stars, losing more and more of herself in the process. It felt peaceful like she could simply let herself be lulled into an eternal sleep amongst the stars.
Just as she was beginning to forget who she even was. She suddenly felt a burning where her right eye was supposed to be. My oath! She thought. I can’t give myself up here, I made a promise to fight the negaverse, to never submit. She felt a sharp pain in her mind as she tried to dislodge herself from the code piece. She managed to force herself away from the code piece, flinging her body away from the crystal and tumbling over her feet in the process.
“I...What happened?” She asked as she looked around and then looked down at herself. She was glowing. She had rainbow colored transcendence marks all along her body now and she had gained some new golden armor.
Silverahx
Well, transcendence was certainly weird and mystical, even if it wasn’t what Babylon had been expecting to happen. It all seemed… rather sudden, but all the lines on the floor were illuminated now, so clearly she’d done something, even if most of it seemed to have occurred on an astral plane where Babylon couldn’t bear witness to it.
He hurried over to Hyperborea’s side, crouching beside her on the floor. “Something weird and mystical, I think,” he said, looking her over. One of her eyes looked a bit off - something very David Bowie-esque was going on with her pupil. Maybe a concussion? Babylon frowned. “We call it transcendence - I think I’ve told you that before. It happens sometimes. Look, are you okay? You’re not dizzy, or nauseous, or - your ears aren’t ringing, are they?”
Deep space would be a very bad place to get a traumatic brain injury, even a mild one.
“Whatever you did, it worked,” he added. “All the lines are glowing.”
He hurried over to Hyperborea’s side, crouching beside her on the floor. “Something weird and mystical, I think,” he said, looking her over. One of her eyes looked a bit off - something very David Bowie-esque was going on with her pupil. Maybe a concussion? Babylon frowned. “We call it transcendence - I think I’ve told you that before. It happens sometimes. Look, are you okay? You’re not dizzy, or nauseous, or - your ears aren’t ringing, are they?”
Deep space would be a very bad place to get a traumatic brain injury, even a mild one.
“Whatever you did, it worked,” he added. “All the lines are glowing.”
“I transcended? Like you and penthe and Ida?” She said as she got to her feet. “Well I can say I certainly wasn’t expecting that tonight. But it's a welcome surprise.” She did a mental check of herself.
“I think I’m fine, my eye hurts a little but I don’t think it's anything serious. I almost lost myself there I have to be more careful in the future.” She concluded.
“Shall we head up and see what it looks like now.” She said motioning for him to follow her out.
As they ascended through the labyrinth Hyperborea noted that all the levels were well lit now. After alot of walking they finally reached the top and exited from the temple of Apollon Hyperborea immediately noticed a change. The once dead rainbow cherry blossom trees were now alive again and in full bloom. Their multicolored glowing petals fluttered in the breeze. “They’re so pretty.” She said marveling at the magic trees.
Silverahx
“Dang,” said Babylon, coming to a standstill beside Hyperborea. “That sure is something. You did that, you know? Wonders respond to the care that they’re given.” The old Virgon trees at Babylon had new leaves. There was a meadow at Mistral. Slowly but surely, all the old kingdoms were coming back to life.
And to think, Theseus thought she’d never need to go there, he thought, biting his tongue. Babylon had a bone to pick with Hyperborea’s incompetent ancestor, but it wasn’t polite to go to someone’s house and start a fist-fight with their grandfather, so he was going to hold back.
“You did good, kid,” he added.
Hyperborea blushed at his praise. “Merci.” She stepped out into the courtyard. Her wonder felt more...Alive. It was still broken and worn but it actually felt alive now.
Theseus reappeared next to her. “Kora what did you do?” He seemed genuinely perplexed, though not upset as he had been when he left before. “Never in all my dreams did I imagine I would lay my eyes upon these petals again.” He paused seeming to take it all in.
“Kora will you indulge an old man. I would like for you to take the creed of Hyperborea. You have long since proved your martial competence and now you have shown that you are a better caretaker of the city than I ever was.” He said in an unexpectedly kind and weary voice. Hyperborea nodded.
“Knight Babylon, whatever you may think of me I would ask that you bear witness to her as she takes the vows of knighthood.” He said to the mercury knight as he stepped to the side confident that his heir knew the steps, as he had taught her both the words and motions of their ancient tradition.
Hyperborea walked over to a raised marble platform that stood above the bronze statue of an ancient knight, it was flanks on both sides by four rainbow cherry blossom trees. She kneeled down and began reciting the creed of Hyperborea.
As she spoke her body began to glow brightly and she felt a warmth envelope her. Once she had finished the glow retreated and she had changed. She felt stronger and faster, more powerful than ever. Her uniform had changed: she now wore a full length dress with one open sleeve, she had bracers on both arms. and she wore a long flowing iridescent cloak. In her hand was a white staff topped with a winged golden star. The golden laurels atop her head were now made of rainbow colored crystal. She stood up feeling pride welling up in her. She was a full fledged knight now.
Silverahx
Tonight had taken an exceptionally unexpected turn, but hey, Babylon was pretty good at rolling with the punches. He followed Hyperborea up onto the dais, keeping a few feet of distance between them - he was here as a chaperone, a diplomatic observer, a friend, but certainly not as a participant.
As she rose, Babylon dipped slightly in a bow. “Congratulations,” he said warmly. “You could have warned me I was coming to basically a birthday party. I would have brought a gift.”
As she rose, Babylon dipped slightly in a bow. “Congratulations,” he said warmly. “You could have warned me I was coming to basically a birthday party. I would have brought a gift.”
Hyperborea walked over to Babylon, she had to hike her skirt up a bit so that she wouldn’t trip over it. The added length was going to take some getting used to especially for fighting in. “Merci.” She said blushing a bit at his bow.
“I wish I had known myself. I never thought tonight would be so...eventful.” She said with a chuckle. “I’m glad you were here though.”
“Be proud of yourself, I know that I am proud of you kora….no Hyperborea.” Theseus said in a warm voice. “I will leave you both for now, if you have need of me simply call, knight Hyperborea.” he said with emphasis on the knight part before vanishing.
Hyperborea smiled at Theseus before he vanished, he certainly had his faults and he could be real pig headed sometimes but deep down he was a good person er stone giant.
“I’m sorry for dragging you around like this, but thank you for coming here with me tonight.” She said turning back to Babylon.
Silverahx
“Yeah, no problem,” said Babylon, staring at the space Theseus had vanished from for a moment. Ancestors were weird, but Hyperborea seemed like she’d impressed hers today. That didn’t mean he thought any better of Theseus, but he wasn’t going to step on the moment. He remembered how good he’d felt the first time Menachem had seemed to even remotely approve of him.
“You want to stay longer?” he asked. “See what else’s come back to life? Or should we get back to Earth?”
“You want to stay longer?” he asked. “See what else’s come back to life? Or should we get back to Earth?”
“Let's go back, I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough excitement for tonight.” She said with a laugh. She offered her hand out to the Mercury knight. A moment later the two were gone from ancient city and back where they had left Earth from.
“It feels weird being a knight now, and a transcended one at that. A part of me feels like I didn’t earn it.” She said partly to herself and partly to her companion. She looked up at the stars thoughtfully. “I’m not nearly as experienced or as wise as you or Hver or Camelot. Plus I seem to always seem to mess things up.” She said subconsciously reaching up cover her right eye, she thought about all the mistakes she had made in the past the people she’d lost because of her own ineptitude. She also thought about the future she had seen when she meet with Hver, the future her that was clad in black and silver. She had willingly betrayed order, sure it was a future that now would never happen but the shame of her future self's actions still weighed on her shoulders.
Silverahx
Babylon bit his lip. It did seem a bit lopsided that her transcendence had looked so easy when he’d nearly died for his, but he was on the outside looking in. Maybe she’d fought some grand battle on an astral plane completely invisible to him. “Well,” he said, smiling as though nothing was wrong. “Your wonder certainly saw you fit, and that’s all that matters.”
He shrugged. “Experience and wisdom you can pick up as you go,” he assured her. “You only know Hver and I’s end results. You didn’t see the paths we took to get where we are. And that makes us look a lot more impressive.” Babylon had still had a lot of growing up to do, even after attaining his knighthood. Hell, he’d done a hell of a lot of growing up just within the last year! “Camelot, I’m pretty sure, was born a responsible adult.”
“Anyway,” he added, “Anyone who says they never make mistakes or mess stuff up is a liar. Don’t be friends with people who pretend to be perfect all the time - they’re not trustworthy.”
He clapped her on the shoulder. “Trust me, kid, you’re doing fine.”
“Merci! Vous savez toujours la bonne chose à dire.” She said as she reached up to hug the older knight
“Bonne nuit Babylon! Say hello to Avalon for me.” She said with a smile and wave as she started making her way back to Crystal.
