The Trial of Bones: Astellus and Faei

The Trial of Bones: Astellus and Faei

On the outskirts of Piscedius, beyond the cliffsides of the Swordfish citadel, there lies a sacred ground littered with memorials to Apprentices and Elites who had fallen in combat. It is one of the sacred grounds in the realm of Atherala; the Swordfish Elite's enemies, even the Dreadfish, respect it enough not to set foot upon it. If so, they would disturb those warriors resting peacefully beneath the grounds and be haunted by their restless souls for an eternity.

The Valley of Fallen Heroes was set on what many would deem a desolate wasteland. There was not a sign of life anywhere, not a bird chirping in the sky nor a single ant crawling across the ground. The only things that moved around in this land were the murky layers of fog that crept along the floor, obscuring it completely from the naked eye. To anyone else who saw a person roam through these grounds, it was almost like watching someone walking on air.

In the middle of this sacred land, there stood a lone solitary object, a small podium cylindrical in shape holding seven matching sets of keys. Each set of keys had a letter written on them, which corresponded to two matching gravestones. It was rumored that both keys, when turned simultaneously, would reveal the secrets of the Swordfish Elite. Many have attempted to solve this puzzle, and none succeeded.

We hoped our attempt would turn out differently.

THE TRIAL OF BONES
The Challenge of Astellus Devzen and Faei Tama

It had been nearly two weeks since Faei Tama and I first entered the graveyard, and still we were having no luck finding the gravestones that corresponded to our keys. Growing weary and exhausted, we paused for a while to take a short rest as we contemplated another tactic.

"Well, we've been through most of the keys so far," I panted, exhausted from running around all night. Not to mention all week.

"Nothing's worked yet..." Faei Tama sighed. Despite her usual cheerful demeanor, it was pretty easy to see she felt indescribably nervous in a place like this. She also seemed understandably anxious that we would not pass the trial. "We're averaging one set of keys every two days and we've got three sets left to go through."

"I wonder if we're going to fail like everyone else," I said with more than a hint of disappointment. "I'm starting to feel as though I let you and everyone else down. I had an idea being an Honorable would be tough...but I had no idea just so much how."

"I guess now you know what I've been through these past few weeks!" Faei giggled, apparently rather uneasily. "It's pretty tough having to deal with what Aurora and the others put us through."

"I know," I laughed, my mind rather at ease now. I didn't know what Faei was thinking, as she tended to have a highly complex character. But she was trying to lighten the mood, and the least I could do was be more relaxed to let her know it was working.

Lying down and looking back to make sure I would not be resting on anyone's grave (lest I disturb a resting soul), I said rather contentedly, "I wonder what Xargon will say to us when we pass this test."

"Oh? You seem pretty darned optimistic," Faei laughed, slightly more relaxed now as she sat down next to me. She also checked quickly to make sure she wasn't sitting on anyone's grave.

"Probably something like, 'What took you two so long?' or something," I replied unsurely, seeing as I really didn't know Xargon's complex mind a whole lot myself. "He seems like a really cool person...I've had lots of chances to talk to him recently. He's got a real good ear for music...he even told me a lot about a few good musicians!"

"Like who?"

The conversation had certainly grown awkwardly casual considering we were falling behind in our task for the Trial of Bones...a passerby might have thought we were two schoolgirls making juicy gossip. Nonetheless, I continued to spill.

"Well...have you ever heard of a band called Fishyforce?"

"Heck yeah!" Faei replied enthusiastically. "They're a dark/metal band right?"

"I really do wonder how they do all those mad guitar skills...I heard one of their songs and thought there was no way human fingers could do that."

"I wonder what Xargon might say if we didn't pass," Faei sighed, bringing our concerns back to the trial at hand.

Our time to rest was growing short, and time was running out. But I could not move. No matter how stubborn my determination was, my body ached so painfully it felt as though it were decaying at this very moment. I began to wonder if I would meet my fate here on this night as well.

Dying in a graveyard. Ironic and convenient, I thought to myself rather disappointedly.

Looking next to me, I saw that Faei had also laid herself down to rest. I felt comforted, not to mention a little less guilty about lying down so exhaustedly on the job by myself.

"Hey Astellus..." Faei said as she turned her head to face me, "...why did you try so hard to be an Honorable anyway?"

"I had no intention of becoming an Honorable or gaining any sort of status in the Elite," I shrugged. "I guess it was a matter of learning to deal with my own weakness."

Faei's gaze narrowed solemnly as I continued.

"It's really thanks to the Dreads. After the attack on Atlantis I felt as though there was this single image of the attackers in my head, and I wouldn't allow myself to think of anything else."

Faei was lying back now, staring at the stars. Yet I could still see she was absorbing every word.

"I wanted to become stronger so that I could defeat them...it's like I just lost my mind. I wanted nothing else but to kill the man who destroyed Atlantis. Maybe that's the way these things are meant to affect people...and it's silly knowing the clue as to whether or not I'll get stronger lies in a little set of keys."

"I see..." Faei nodded.

"How about your story?" I asked curiously. "What drove you to be an Honorable?"

"We really should get going," Faei sighed. "Whether we pass or fail...I guess I'll tell you sometime later."

I nodded as we both got up to continue to solve the puzzle...however, an exposed tree root caught both of our feet. We collapsed to the ground and I'm almost certain we disturbed some poor soul who would surely come to haunt us for tripping and falling on his grave.

I wiped the dirt on my face as I got up from the foggy mist that shrouded the ground beneath us, groaning pitifully. Next to me, Faei was feeling herself all over with an incredibly panicked look on her face, as though she had seen a ghost. Had the haunting started already?

"Oh noooo!!" Faei screamed, disturbing the souls even further apparently. "I lost the keys!!"

My left eye twitched and my eyesight began to fade...I was about to faint. Suddenly, out of the darkness, in the corner of my eye I saw two gleaming spots of golden light on two tombstones. Tapping Faei's shoulder, she turned to face me with her face as pale as the evening fog.

"What?!" she cried.

"I think we found our matching sets of keys," I muttered with a great deal of surprise.

I pointed to the gleaming spots of light. As I looked closer, I saw that somehow, by some miraculous blessing, one matching set of keys had fallen into two matching tombstones. Written on them were two names...

"W. Pisces the Third...and W. Edwards the Third?" Faei said with astonishment.

"What letters did we have left on those three sets of keys?" I asked, equally surprised.

"I believe...T, S, and...W!" Faei replied.

"This could be it!" I shouted enthusiastically as Faei and I ran over to the stones, being careful not to step on any of the graves. It seemed as though no matter how much we got held back, we would (quite hopefully) end up passing after all.

"Are you ready?" I asked nervously as I turned to Faei.

"As I'll ever be!" she replied enthusiastically. "On three...one...two..."

We both reached for the keys and prepared to turn...who knew what would happen next?