~ Chapter 6 Excerpt ~

 

Across the vast ocean, separating the lands that held Cyeria, the blazing late afternoon sun reflected its orange and red hues off of the glistening waves that crashed against the rocky coastline of the shore. The events began on the very same day that sorrow hung in the hearts of those in Cyeria.
High upon a cliff rested Arcidus, (Ar-ke-dus), eldest of the silver Antarsians, noble son of Diomedes, (Di-o-me-dis). Like many other days, Arcidus enjoyed the solitude and serenity that Mother Nature had to offer in this coastal retreat. Engrossed in relaxation and meditation, the soothing sounds of the waves across the reef and rock beneath renewed his soul from any worldly tensions.
Gazing into the cloudless sky, past the fiery sunset, Arcidus became astutely aware of an unnatural shape against the horizon. Alerted by this figure that approached the land, Arcidus decided to investigate. Quickly rising to his feet, Arcidus spread his magnificent silvery wings and extending his large, spined, iridescent dorsal sail. As the sun's rays shimmered from the large scales that covered his body, they gave off a blinding reflective flash as he leapt effortlessly and gracefully into flight from the cliff. Swooping to the south, Arcidus descended upon the region with incredible speed to where the intruder had disappeared past the beach and into the forest. Resting himself stealthily upon the earth, Arcidus folded his wing behind him, retracted his dorsal sail to a rested position, and made his way into the forest in pursuit.
Proceeding down a trail a few hundred yards from the beach, Arcidus entered upon a large clearing cautiously. Stopping momentarily to verify a direction, Arcidus was startled by a deep, soothing voice from behind him, "Art thou lost, Arcidus?"
Without turning, Arcidus realized who the voice belonged to and responded likewise, with a bit of sarcasm, "Of course not…just assuring that no one else was."
Emerging from the giant pines that concealed his form was Rhadimettes, (Rad-i-med-ease), eldest of the red Synasian, proud son of Mephatiston,(Mef-at-iston). Arcidus turned to face Rhadimettes as he approached full of grace and confidence.
Glints of sunlight peered through the treetops and eerily reflected off of Rhadimettes' fiery red scale that covered most of his body. He had a dark, sinister appearance to him, but yet appeared elegant, and refined. His large, curved, crème colored horns jutted from his head and menacing spikes emerged from his neck to his tail. With his large taloned wings neatly rested, they lie behind the leathery rust colored pads that emerged from his chest and belly that were slightly illuminated as he drew closer. Barely acknowledging Arcidus' presence, Rhadimettes casually glanced at the surrounding trees around the clearing as he asked, "So…Arcidus…what brings thee through these parts today?"
Matching Rhadimettes' tone, Arcidus replied, "Well…Rhadimettes…as I was resting in meditation upon the cliffs of the shore, I noticed an unusual sight…it was that of a figure returning to land from across the sea. By any chance…would that have been thyself?"
Due to Arcidus' observation, Rhadimettes became a bit defensive and answered him with a chuckle and a belittling tone, "Now Arcidus…how does one meditate whilst spying on others? If thou must have an answer…then yes, it was I."
"It must have been quite some journey." Arcidus recanted.
"Simply one of peace and tranquility…as only a sea bound flight could offer." Rhadimettes returned with reverence.
Shaking his head in agreement, Arcidus asked, "Refresh my memory, Rhadimettes…is that not the direction of where the humans now inhabit?"
Obviously angered by Arcidus' question, Rhadimettes drew within a few inches and peered with his black eyes at him. Calmly, in a low confrontational voice, Rhadimettes warned Arcidus, "Thou should keep knowledgeable in thine own affairs and be quite careful of accusations!" Rhadimettes then regained his stature and distanced himself a bit. After a brief moment, he began to pass by Arcidus.
Confident in the answer that he received, Arcidus did not face Rhadimettes as he passed by. Within a few moments, Arcidus questioned, "Rhadimettes…did thou just threaten me?"
Rhadimettes replied antagonistically, "Believe of it what thou will…maybe you should just return to thy mediation, 'tis a much healthier choice…" With that, he disappeared quickly into the darkness of the forest with a sinister chuckle as Arcidus remained in the clearing.
Rhadimettes possessed little patience for those who meddled in his affairs. He was distrustful of the other Arcone, even of his own brethren, and was secretive about his affairs at all times. Being the elder of the red Synasians, who were the most unscrupulous by nature of all the Arcone, Rhadimettes exerted little effort for the other Arcone, unless of course there was a direct benefit for him. Spending most of his time indulging himself with all that surrounded him, from food and wine to precious artifacts and materials, Rhadimettes spurred overwhelming controversy, sometimes even from his own bloodline.
The coveting of material possessions had been forbidden for millennia, according to the spiritual doctrine that was inspired by the Higher Power that binds all living things. This practice, scorned by the elders, only bred greed, theft, and pride, which was in direct conflict of the aspirations for spiritual cleansing.
Rhadimettes had always attempted to explain that his collection, that which others knew about, was a byproduct of good fortune or trade. Unable to prove otherwise, the other Arcone skeptically accepted the excuse, but some did so with a very watchful eye.
Rhadimettes thrived upon his own personal accomplishments, whether true or deceptive. He felt that he possessed a far better understanding of the mechanics of the physical world than the other Arcone did…especially when the subject approached unity of their society.
Although an elder member himself, Rhadimettes was not a strong advocate of the Arconian Council; he reasoned within his own psyche that the involvement of many individuals making decisions produced more confusion and less progress. He believed that only one individual should make the final decisions, obviously one who was iron-willed and possessed a strong initiative, much like he envisioned himself. With the subject of integration of other societies, especially the humans, Rhadimettes was adamantly against this notion. He was convinced that other societies would contaminate the Arcone evolution and set their culture back.
The humans were the number one reason for these feelings, and Rhadimettes had little care or concern for them or their affairs. Biased by his impatience, pride, and personnel experience, Rhadimettes reasoned in his mind that there were evolutionary reasons why the Arcone were larger and smarter than the humans.

Rhadimettes' patience continually grew short with the Council's decisions towards reintegration with the humans. He saw this idea as being ridiculous and futile, but nonetheless, as he was outnumbered, he contained his thoughts to himself. Aside from the occasional comments to test the others' positions in the Council, Rhadimettes played along with the majority.
Impatient with these thoughts constantly running through his mind, Rhadimettes returned to his homelands. There he would carefully materialize his master plan that had been years in the making. This plan would finally set into motion the events that would bring him the prestige and power that he felt he deserved above all others.
Meanwhile, Arcidus had decided that it was wisest to keep this occurrence with Rhadimettes to himself, at least for the time being. Arcidus did not clearly know what the others might interpret this ordeal as. Being distrustful of Rhadimettes already, one could see how he obviously was hiding something. Then again, maybe Rhadimettes was just protecting his personnel business, which was a common trait of his. Alas…but what if Arcidus was wrong? Could there be more at jeopardy than what seemed to be evident to him? Confused with what to make of the situation at hand, and weighing heavily on his mind, Arcidus decided to pay a visit to his long time friend, and confident, Tritoneus, (Tri-to-nus), eldest of the golden Arcone, and virtuous son of Colosodus, (Co-los-i-dus). Being the eldest Arcone of the Antarsians or Synasians, and the supreme member of the Arconian Council, surely Tritoneus would have the guiding wisdom to assist Arcidus in his conflict.
Tritoneus was the foremost peacekeeper of the Arcone. He believed in thinking situations through to resolve them in a diplomatic manner. Although passive and gentle by nature, Tritoneus was not lax enough to be swayed easily by other ideals or personalities.
Rather, he was wise enough to recognize that some of the other Arcone were assertive enough to try to take advantage of Tritoneus' disposition; one point in question was that of the human race.
Tritoneus' position on that subject was one of optimism, he marveled at their potential. His personnel vision was one of peace and harmony amongst both races, a culture diversified within the two societies that would eventually expand to include all others. This vision was supported by the other Antarsians but not as widely accepted by the Synasians.
Tritoneus and the other Antarsians were well aware of the shortsighted pessimism presented by the Synasians, but also realized that there were valid points raised by both sides.
Being quite devoted to a moral and inclusive ending to all conflicts of opinion, Tritoneus accepted the opposing points of view. He always cast his opinion with the belief that with the unity of the Arconian High Council, all would eventually prevail on common ground. At the same time, Tritoneus also believed that with only the occasional use of the Council's combined intellect, critical consequences could easily arise within their culture, which could surely be catastrophic for any others.
After reaching the clearing upon the shore again, Arcidus took flight to confer with Tritoneus. Once aloft, he approached the Great Indorean Mountains of the east and The Path of Judgement that was contained within them. Lying in the southern region of the mountains, this was the only ground passage through the range. Thousands of feet from the earth, he passed over the mountain range and entered the lands of the Arcone.
Vast forests and numerous hills, scattered with small clearings and plateaus, stretched as far as the eye could see. The only sign of life from above were the occasional flocks of bird that scattered frantically from the treetops.
The lands occupied by the Arcone contained a magnificent landscape of natural beauty. From the coastline to just before the midway point westward, the rocky landscape began to taper down until it ended where the Great Miezra river lie. Running north to south, the Great Miezra appeared to dissect the land in two. The northern end of it emptied into the Noble Lakes of Redemption, which encircled a portion of land to nearly create an island. To the south, the Great Miezra emptied into the Majestic Basin of Life, which was a large body of water that opened into the ocean.
Westward from the Great Miezra, and south of the central plains, were contained the provinces occupied by the Antarsian families. From east to west, the families were: the Golden Antarsians, (guardians of the eastern passage), then the Silver Antarsians, followed by the Bronze Antarsians, Copper Antarsians, and finally, the Brass Antarsians who's province ended at The Western Acatian Wall, the furthest mountain range to the west that ended at the coastline.
North of the central plains and west of the Great Miezra contained the provinces occupied by the Synasian families. From east to west, their families were: the Black Synasian family, followed by the White Synasian family, then the Blue Synasian family, the Green Synasian family, and finally, living within The Western Acatian Wall, was the Red Synasian family, (guardians of the western passage).
Contained in the heart of these lands was the Arconian Sanctuary, the sacred citadel that was the communal place for the Arconian Council. Lying almost equidistant from all the families' provinces, the Arconian Sanctuary was erected under the toil of all the Arcone to represent unity and equality. The Arconian Council was comprised of the eldest member of each family who represented the voice and opinion of their juniors. All pertinent matters to the Arcone were handled within the Council.
The Arconian Sanctuary was positioned upon the highlands of the plains, a small area that appeared to divinely elevate from the earth, and surrounded by dense forests. Openly visible and stretching into the sky over the treetops, the Arconian Sanctuary was a monument to marvel.
Being that the Arcone were quite meticulous about their construction, the Arconian Sanctuary's exterior was an unyielding stone structure that was painstakingly adorned with intricate carvings, icons, and insignias from the base to its zenith, hundreds of feet into the air. An open-faced stairwell, integrated into the front wall, gave rise to fifteen-foot wide stairs that climbed up the citadel to the entrance. Guarding the arched doorway, on either side, were the carved likenesses of two of the ancient elder Arcone, the third being carved above the doorway. So breathtaking was this shrine, it was no wonder why this would be an exception to the Arcone's typical preference for the concealment of themselves and their dwellings.
After some time in flight, Arcidus now approached the end of the Great Indorean Mountains, and the beginning of the Golden Antarsian's province. Holding true to their ways of secrecy, Arcidus descended upon the rocky slope of the mount and slowly made his way down to a clearing at the forest mouth, not far from The Path of Judgement. Almost immediately upon his landing, Arcidus could sense that he was being carefully watched, knowing for sure that the Golden Antarsians were astutely aware of his arrival.