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Chapter 9: Is Prelude

No light followed them into the earth as they descended. Occasionally they would pass a large shard of sapphire that protruded into the tunnel, causing the light from outside to flow through the crystal, lighting the tunnel slightly. Though, the deeper they went even this light faded, until the only light they had was Kiru’s crystal necklace and her own markings and eyes. The tunnel wasn’t very wide, enough for two full grown dragons to walk side by side but with little space between them. The ceiling was rather low, if you raised your head up and lifted your snout you would brush the top of it. As they went on Rankor brushed his paw against the rock wall and looked at the old, worn surface. His eyes were puzzled for a moment as he stopped and held up the necklace to the wall for light. He was amazed as he looked at old and time worn claw marks etched throughout the tunnel.

“They dug this…” he whispered to himself. Realization dawned on him, this was real. This wasn’t just a convenient crack in the wall, this was really made. “Hey Kiru!” He shouted down the tunnel at a glowing speck that grew brighter as Kiru turned in the tunnel to face him.

“What is it? Find something?” she asked as she looked back at him.

“Not exactly, just realizing something.” He said as he walked quickly over to where Kiru stood and held the necklace to the wall so she could see it for herself. “The ancients really dug all this out, it’s not natural.” Kiru listened to him as she ran her paw over the chiseled rock surface, almost unbelieving. She knew that some dragons sometimes dug caves into the walls around the cavern. But on this scale, it was almost incomprehensible. “It’s rather astounding, really,” said Rankor as he looked at some deep claw cuts in the ceiling. “but ah…” He paused and walked a few feet as he though. “It just seems a bit much, not to mention pointless.” He stopped for a second and waited for Kiru to join him. “Looks like Ishingar was right, …for once.” The last two words were hastily disguised as a cough. But Kiru wasn’t fooled as she gave him a light thwack with a wing.

“There’s a lot of things he’s been right about,” she said as she and Rankor started walking again. “Just not about purpose or origin. That’s what he wanted to find out, but he didn’t have the chance to before he died.” Rankor nodded to that and quickly turned to Kiru as she chuckled.

“Uhh… I don’t think I’d be laughing if I was just talking about my dead great grandpa and his lost endeavors.” Said Rankor with a rather curious look to him. Kiru just shook her head and kept walking.

“No it’s not that, it’s just that we finally found something!” She was overjoyed now and started walking faster. Rankor moaned a little and hurried to keep up.

“You know I’m still a little skeptical on this whole thing!” Said Rankor as he followed her. “Our last trip to the Crystal Abyss and the Fossil chambers turned up nothing if you’d be so kind as to recall.” Kiru ignored him as she went farther into the deep, a determined smile on her face.

While it was definitely not the spacious hollow where Kiru’s family lived, it was still amazing to know that all this had been dug out over the ages with nothing but paws and determination. These tunnels were ancient. Dust on the floor that hadn’t been disturbed in eons. Why would it? There was nothing in these tunnels any longer to disturb it. They continued to walk into the depths of the earth, ever deeper. Every now and then they came across a slight bend in the tunnel or an alcove off to the side. They past dozens of these small rooms that branched off from the main tunnel. They checked them as they went but besides some broken clay pots and tattered remnants of cloth there was nothing to be found. Kiru once pounced in excitement at a scroll lying in a corner, but it crumbled to dust in her claws, alas, they continued on in silence. Kiru walked in front, leading with her natural light as they continued deeper, she abruptly stopped and stood still. After a moment, she turned to face Rankor.

“How did they see down here in this darkness?” Her voice echoed in the long hall and faded into the distance. Rankor slightly shifted his wings and shook his head.

“Probably fire, I don’t think the Hyrax dug these tunnels.” He seemed satisfied with his logic but Kiru continued to stare into one of the empty rooms, her tail drooping to the ground as she thought.

“They couldn’t have,” she said in a whisper, more a personal thought than a comment. Rankor walked up next to her and tilted his head, waiting for her to continue. “They can’t have lit fires down here,” she went on. “They would have needed a steady flow of fresh air to do that or else they couldn’t breathe.” Rankor nodded, that was true, but he still felt convinced in his theory. He ducked his head into another room and lit it up with a burst of green flame. He looked up at the rooms ceiling, black soot marks covered it, he smiled.

“Uh, Kiru.” He reached over and tapped her shoulder and she came to see what he had found. Her face was twisted in confusion.

“How? That doesn’t make sense. Where would they get the air needed for the flames?” Her answer came unexpectedly as a cool breeze swept past her. They both felt it and shared a glance before they walked deeper into the tunnel. There along one wall was a crevice in the earth. From it came clean fresh air blowing in from the sea. Kiru walked to it and peered in with an eye. The crevice twisted and turned in the earth, she saw no light from the far side through it. For a moment, she enjoyed breathing the cool air as it filled her body.

“Hey I guess I was right about the fire thing.” Said Rankor trying to hide a grin. He was doing it rather well considering how dark it was in the tunnel. Kiru lightly leaned her head on the wall, defeated.

“Congratulations, want a prize?” She said with a half-amused tone.

“Yes, I would like that,” said Rankor as he lifted his head up in triumph only to hit it on the jagged ceiling above. Jolting back down, he rubbed the top of his head fervently. “Ow.” He mumbled to himself. ‘Serves you right’ thought Kiru, her grin returning. She nudged him playfully with a wing as they continued on. Time seemed not to pass as they walked, the level of light never changed and it was always quiet and dark. They walked for what seemed to be hours, or was it merely a few minutes?

“How far have we gone?” Asked Kiru after a long silence. How was the tunnel still going? Kiru knew that with acid and a few strong paws digging a tunnel was fairly easy and quick work. But why such a long one? Rankor tripped on her tail and bumped into her as she slowed down.

“Sorry,” he said as he backed up slightly. He then put a claw to his muzzle and bit on it thoughtfully. “Honestly, it’s hard to judge by walking and not flying, but it feels like about half a mile.” Kiru nodded, sounded about right.

“You know,” said Kiru with an air of mystery. “With all the work they put into these tunnels it’s actually amazing that they left them at all.” She said as she started walking again. “Wonder why they really abandoned them.” She looked back at Rankor and saw he looked even more lost than she did. She didn’t see the large column of stone in front of her until she hit it full force. Kiru let out an agitated grunt as she backed up and rubbed her chest where she hit the rock. Half a second later she was smashed into it again, hard, as Rankor walked and crashed into her. “You know I’m going to list this as one of the reasons they left this place.” Said Kiru as she pushed back again and rubbed her numb chest. Small blossoms of pain ran through it as she felt it. She snorted in annoyance.

“Sorry again, it’s a bit hard to see if you haven’t noticed.” Said Rankor as he picked himself up and sat on his back legs as Kiru shook herself out. After shaking her scales, she walked around the column that was before her. It wasn’t much to look at. Diameter of a foot and rising from the floor to the ceiling of the tunnel. Looking past it she saw another in the dim light a few feet away. Curious, she walked around the first one and walked to the second. This one was even thicker and had a crack at its mid-level running through the entire structure. The sheer weight on top of it was the only thing keeping it together. Rankor walked up behind her and circled it from the other side. “Weird, what are these for?” He asked as he looked around at the little he could see in the dim light. No, nothing special that he could see. A room off to the side, empty, and the continuing passage. He walked past the second column and walked to a third one. Kiru walked up behind him. They walked past a few more of the odd pillars. They were unevenly spaced and seemed to be put in as an afterthought, or in a rush.

“I don’t think there’s anything special about them they’re just…” She never got to finish the sentence. A loud splitting and cracking sound reverberated through the tunnel. Kiru felt her paws shake. Was it just her imagination or was the ground moving? Then it was silent and still again as soon as it had come. Then the sound of stone falling was heard. Turning quickly Kiru glanced behind her down the tunnel. Rankor gently pushed his snout past her and shot a breath of flame down the passage, illuminating it. The first pillar lay on the ground, it had cracked in half. She turned to Rankor with a wry look on her face. “See, you pushed me into it so hard it broke, nice going! It did hurt by the way if you were wondering.” She looked to him, and in the dark it looked like he was scowling at her. ‘I didn’t sound that mean did I?’ she thought as she walked over to him. In the light of her marking she saw his face. It was etched with something she had often made fun of him for but had never really seen from him except maybe once or twice in her life. Fear. She stopped, dead serious now. “Rankor, what is it?” She asked straight to the point. Something was very unsettling about his look, dread seeped into Kiru’s soul for reasons she didn’t even understand. He lifted a paw to the fallen pillar and pointed to it. His paw waivered for a second. Then in a flash of speed he spun around and shot a scorching line of fire further down the passage ahead of them. A dozen more columns flashed in the light and disappeared just as quickly.

“Oh by the ancients,” he said in the ghost of a whisper.

“What,” asked Kiru her voice bordering on panic even though she didn’t know why. She froze at the sound of falling stones. Turning back to where the first column lay she saw small rocks start to fall from the ceiling, then they got bigger.

“These are supports!” Shouted Rankor. His high voice pained Kiru as it echoed in the vaulted tunnel. “We have to go, now!” He ran around the pillar and bodily shoved Kiru back up the tunnel. Then a massive slide of rock and rubble sealed the passage. Then the second pillar began to become etched with expanding cracks. Kiru didn’t know what happened in the next three seconds. She was physically lifted off her paws and carried away from the cascade of falling debris. She was then tossed forward into another support. “Sorry Kiru, but RUN!!!” Rankor shoved her forward as more stone fell behind them. After her mind came rushing back she did just that. She ran, with Rankor close behind.

~

Kiru bolted down the passage way, her heart racing and her eyes and markings glowing with such intensity that she now lit the darkness with ease. Gravel crunched beneath her paws as she ran, dodging past more pillars in her way, swerving between them as they became more and more common. The ground was shaking now as small lose stones and dust fell from above. Throwing her head back over her shoulder she saw Rankor right on her tail. He made eye contact with her for a brief moment. His eyes were full of fear and dread, but more than that was worry. She couldn’t look into his eyes any longer than that moment. That look etched a single thought into her mind. ‘This is all my fault’ She thought as she straightened out her head and dodged around another pillar. Behind them the sound of collapsing stones and supports grew louder. Suddenly up ahead the tunnel ended. Kiru swore her heart almost gave out until she saw the tunnel hadn’t ended, but had made a sharp right turn. She careened around it, and they both felt the largest sense of hope they never knew could be felt, far ahead was light. The pain from her paws disappeared when she saw it and she felt as if she was flying towards it. As they got nearer they realized it was not the gem light of day they saw, but the gleaming sapphire tunnels of the Roe. They had walked far enough through the earth to enter the gleaming cliffs from within. Kiru raced faster than she knew she could, Rankor right behind her. Thirty feet from the crystal tunnel, hope ended. A shower of stones rained down in front of them, blocking the jeweled passage ahead. The light cut off, and Kiru’s heart with it. Behind her stone continued to fall but she had already given up. Stone fell from in front of them and behind. She stopped running and wrapped her wings around herself, waiting for the end. Rankor had different ideas. He overtook her a split second later and with no time left to carry her he opened his jaws, lunged forward and sank his teeth around her neck. Biting down hard and tasting blood, he dragged her another several feet and threw her into a small room branching off of the tunnel. Kiru was thrown with such force that her body hit the far wall of the small chamber. She didn’t roar in pain from the bite or the shock or the fear. She stood still, her face and eyes motionless as Rankor Jumped into the room with her as the stones clogged the tunnel outside. The sound of falling stone continued for a few seconds then ceased. Everything had gone completely silent. Rankor stood up from where he had thrown himself on the ground and shook himself out. He then turned to the opening and saw the wall of rocks before him. Kiru looked past him to it as well. Her mind was still clouded by the sense of hopelessness she had felt in the tunnel. The felling that she was about to die. But she wasn’t dead, and they were safe. Safe… Kiru’s mind returned to her and she quickly shook herself out and checked her body for cuts or other wounds. She was fine, they had escaped the collapse perfectly unharmed. Minus the light pain on her neck, whatever it was. Kiru laughed lightly at this, unbelieving. Rankor was still looking to the sealed entrance way and was attempting to push some rocks out of the way. Turning her gaze away from him, Kiru looked around the small room they were holed up in. Low ceiling, ages worth of dust on the floor, cramped… Kiru stopped her head from scanning the room. Her eyes slowly swept side to side taking it all in. She had never been here before but she was having the weirdest sense of Déjà vu. In fact, this whole situation seemed eerily familiar. But of what? She sat down on the dusty floor of the room and thought. Why was this so familiar. She tried to piece it together. Dark halls, dust, cramped spaces... Just then her neck throbbed lightly in pain. In annoyance, she dabbed at it with a paw pulled it back into view. Glowing blood covered it. She had looked all over the room but where she was sitting. Her neck had been steadily bleeding and she looked down. The ground before her was glowing green as her blood dripped onto the floor. She tilted her head at it. That was also familiar. Confused she held up a paw and counted off on her claws. Dark, old and dusty, cramped, blood, just then Rankor turned to her and saw her counting. He raised an eye ridge and watched as she mumbled to herself.

“Kiru?” He asked. It was a normal question but in the current situation it finished the puzzle. Kiru stopped counting and looked around herself slowly. The darkness of the underground, the feeling of being trapped, her blood on the ground… and Rankor calling her name in the darkness. She remembered. Dunai. Her mind flashed with images of her trapped in the vaults of the fortress of Dunai when she was younger. Her wing caught on a great door and standing in a pool of blood, trapped deep in the earth. The present situation had all the parts required to be like a flashback. Only it was real and worse. Her breath became sharp quick inhalations, her mind and reasoning clouded by the additional intake of oxygen. Her eyes dilated involuntarily as her mind raced with the complete fear and dread she had lived long ago. As her eyes widened she saw more of the room. She slowly slid her eyes down and settled on a gathering of objects a few feet away. Her clouded and terror stricken mind was slow to comprehend what she was seeing. Oh yeah, bones. Her eyes took in the gathering of the bones. It looked like a complete skeleton. Her mind pieced it together. If the neck was there then the head should be… She slowly turned her head right and looked down. A large dragon skull stared at her with its hollow dead eyes. She stared at the skull and stopped breathing long enough for her mind to be rid of the extra inflow of air. Her mind became sharp again and it knew just what to do now. She screamed and fell onto the floor, covering herself in her wings and pulling in her legs holding herself. She continued to scream and the ground she was huddled on suddenly became wet and warm as she wet herself in fear. She was in Dunai again. Trapped in the earth and covered in blood. Only this time there was no way out. Strong arms suddenly pulled her up.

“Kiru snap out of it!” Said Rankor forcefully. But she couldn’t hear him, her mind was back in Dunai. Rankor held her as she squirmed in his arms, shrieking and sobbing. “Kiru!” He said as wrapped his arms around her trying to calm her down. In desperation, he struck her hard on the cheek with his paw, hoping to snap her out of it. But it did no good, she couldn’t even feel it in her state. “Oh, by the ancients please!” Rankor’s eyes darted all over the room. There was nothing there but rocks and the satchels. The satchels. Rankor looked at them and, putting Kiru down, ran over to them. He grabbed his and proceeded to dump the entire contents onto the floor. The amber his father had given him bounced on the ground and the water pouch also fell out. He reached for it and opened it. He then doused Kiru’s face with it, no effect. Rankor was starting to panic himself now as he dug through the rest of his items. Kiru remained where he left her, shuddering in a ball with her head tossing back and forth blindly like in a bad dream. What he wouldn’t do for some of his mother’s medicinal herbs right now. All that was in the satchel was a small bit of dry ell for a snack, the water and amber, some of Kiru’s maps, and… He froze as he recognized the shape of the small ferment pouch Gain had given him. Or was it Melin? At the moment, he didn’t care as he snatched up the pouch and ran to Kirus side. She wasn’t screaming anymore but she was still sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. He rolled her onto her back and lifted her head in a paw and held it to his chest as he sat on the floor. With the other paw he held up the pouch and looked at it for a moment. “I sure hope this works,” he said with worry as he ripped off the top in his teeth. The smell of the brew made him gag for a second before he recovered and proceeded to pour the contends into Kiru’s mouth. She choked and coughed once and swallowed the rest. Rankor continued to hold her as she squirmed and cried for the next few minutes until she quieted down and became sluggish, eventually collapsing into sleep. Rankor inhaled and exhaled deeply several times and held Kiru to him for a long while. “It’ll be okay, I promise,” he whispered to her. He held out the paw with the pouch in it again and chuckled dryly. “I can’t believe that worked,” he said as he held it up and drank down the last few drop of Sylon Roe ferment. That was one medical solution he could never tell his mother about. Tossing the pouch away he wrapped the other paw around Kiru as well and looked around, noticing the bones for the first time. A spike of surprise hit his heart but he quickly controlled it. He would worry about it later. He held Kiru’s head to his chest and reached his head over and began to lick off the blood from Kiru’s neck to clean the bite marks he had inflicted to her when throwing her into the room. After he had cleaned her wounds he carried her to the far side of the chamber and set her down to sleep off the ferment she had drank. Rankor then turned back to the opening of the room and the pile of rocks clogging it, a determined look on his face. “Okay rocks it’s just you and me, and you have no idea how lucky you are that I’m not my father right now.”

~

Kiru’s dreams were dark and muddled. She was running through the vaulted rooms of Dunai. Lost. She ran around corners, backtracked, marked passages she already passed by. But she couldn’t escape. Everything looked the same and the passages never ended. She ran down a long hallway and spread her wings as if trying to fly down it. She suddenly fell forward as she was yanked to a halt. Dull pain rippled through her as she stood again, panting, and looked back. Her right wing was caught in a gear mechanism of a great metal door. Small rivulets of blood dripped off the membrane. She tugged it, it wouldn’t budge. She started pulling with her legs. Walking and pulling away from the door. The sound of ripping filled the hall. Kiru turned her head back and saw her wing limp by her side. The membrane ripped in half and blood profusely pouring from it. She felt no pain and watched as the blood quickly covered the floor and then the rest of the hall. Then it started to rise. ‘Rankor help’ she whispered in an ethereal voice. The blood rose to her paws and slowly rose to her elbows. Then the hall shook and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. The hallway was a sea of glowing green as the blood continued to rise. Rocks fell around her and two large ones fell, one onto each of her wings. She tugged them back to her sides, but the rocks were too heavy and held them down. The blood now rose to her neck, covering her back and tail as it rose. She could do nothing more than whimper quietly as it rose over her head. She held her breath and opened her eyes. An ocean of green blood stood around her and stone continued to sink to the floor from above. Her lungs began to ache but there was no air to breath. In time she couldn’t resist any longer, she inhaled.

Kiru coughed and frantically reached for her throat with a paw as she fought for breath. It took her mind a fraction of a second to realize it had been a dream. Taking in deep breaths she focused on her surroundings and tried to think of the last thing she could remember. Her mind felt unnaturally slow and dull, as if it were clouded. The latest memories in her mind were a black void. Why couldn’t she remember? She stood up to shake out her scales and wobbled as she did, nearly falling over. She sat down again and put a paw to her temples. Her head was in pain, a dull pain that ebbed away as she stood still. Lowering her paw to the ground she looked around slowly so as not to set off her head pain again. She was in a small room, low ceiling, rocks blocking the only way in… A faint memory pushed its way forward, the cave in. Her mind spiked with pain as she remembered the cave in. The fear made her head hurt even more and she clenched her teeth and held her forehead as she reeled back against a wall while it subsided. Taking calming breaths, she continued to scan the room. Fear wouldn’t help right now, she had to figure this out. She couldn’t remember anything else since the cave in. She knew she was in the small room with no way out but she didn’t remember how she got in. She rubbed her head again and looked at the loose rock laying around. Had one hit her and knocked her out? That would explain the pain and wobbliness but it didn’t seem right. She took in the small room again and wrapped her tail around her front paws as she sat. She glanced around until her eyes then fell on the skeleton in the corner. With a small cry of alarm, she scrambled back a few feet until she backed up against the wall again, her head feeling like crystal shards were piercing it.

“It’s okay Kiru, it’s just old bones” she said to herself forcefully in a voice of reason. Her ragged and pained mind wasn’t having the reason, and proceeded to stab the reason and offer its own insight. ‘Yup, bones trapped underground and dead. Just like I’ll be soon.’ Kiru moaned in pain as she rubbed her temples hard, trying to suppress the pain. Her attention was suddenly diverted to the entrance of the room where the sound of rolling and crunching stone was heard. A head appeared around the left side of the entrance from the tunnel followed by a neck wearing a hybrid crystal necklace, the rest of Rankor entered the room quickly at the sight of Kiru. Standing quickly, she wobbled and triped once as she ran to him and met him in the middle of the room, her wings wrapping around him and his around her. Her head was pounding now but she ignored the pain, happy that something was here that made sense, Rankor. Kiru’s rested her head on his shoulder, shuddering slightly and letting out small joyful sobs as he held her.

“Are you okay?” Asked Rankor as she lifted her head up to meet his gaze. Kiru chuckled slightly and looked up into his eyes.

“I’m better now but my head is killing me and I feel… lethargic for some reason.” She lifted her wings off of his back and pulled them back to her side. She remembered one thing at that moment. Her brilliant idea of going on this adventure in the first place. “I’m so sorry,” she said with a quiet wavering voice, shaking a bit again.

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s not like you did it on purpose.” Said Rankor as he nudged her head gently and she looked to him again. “We’ve been through worse.” Kiru tilted her head at that, another pang of pain lancing through it. Her eyes vacant and searching.

“When?” She asked when she couldn’t possibly think of a worse predicament. Rankor shrugged and proceeded to enlighten her.

“Oh, do you remember the time we went spelunking in a deep dark tunnel for fun and got trapped underground by, oh wait that’s now! This IS the worst thing to ever happen to us!” Kiru dropped her eyes from his gaze. The weight of the situation closed in around her, and she realized just how bad of a predicament they were in, because of her. She felt a weight in her chest and she felt even worse that she had pulled Rankor into this mess. If only… Kiru was pulled out of her self-inflicted state of anguish by a light tapping on the head. She looked up again and saw a wide grin, with a slightly apologetic tone, etched across Rankor’s face. He grinned so genuinely that Kiru had to laugh at it, rubbed an eye, and whacked him playfully on the side of his snout with her paw. After a few more moments she folded in her wings and sat back again.

“So, what did I miss? What happened? I don’t remember anything since the rocks started falling.” Said Kiru as she looked around the little room they were in. Rankor stood for a moment. His scales shining in the dim light of the necklace around his neck. He tilted his head slightly to her query.

“You don’t remember anything?” He spoke cautiously. Kiru squinted her eyes slightly at his tone.

“No. Why?” She asked as Rankor fidgeted slightly, dragging a hind paw through the dust on the floor. His eyes darted across the room for a second and quickly turned back to Kiru. Curiously she turned her aching head. Her neck erupted in pain. She yelped as she turned it back and held a paw to where it hurt. She pulled it back and saw faint spots of dry and fresh blood. Rankor had a pained and, if she thought about it, guilty look as he watched her. “Why is…” She then saw the dry blood on the floor a few feet away as she scanned the room again. Sniffing, she also picked up on the thick scent of urine. She looked down at herself and sniffed again. A look of shame crossed her eyes and face. Rankor raised a paw up to comfort her but she raised her own and held his from her. She raised her head and looked to him, her neck paining her again. “What happened.” She asked in a definite voice holding her head again from another jolt, Rankor sighed in submission.

“You, you froze in the tunnel when the stones started coming from both directions.” He stopped, opening his mouth a few times and holding back, unsure of the words. “I uh, I’m sorry I couldn’t think of anything else so I grabbed you with my teeth and threw you in here. I didn’t think I threw you that hard.” He lowered his head, his eyes darting across the floor. He felt a wing tip on his shoulder and looked up. Kiru smiled at him.

“I can’t be mad at you for that, you saved me.” Rankor’s face relaxed immensely, as if a weight had been lifted from him. “I guess that also explains the massive pain and mental cloudiness I’m having now. What happened after that?” Asked Kiru, a little of the weight got back on.

“Uh, well you had a breakdown.” He said as he pointed to the dry blood. “You broke down and I couldn’t get through to you so I might have… uh, hit your face and gave you the ferment Gain gave me.” He lowered his head in apology for his methods but Kiru wasn’t really listening. Kiru gazed back at the blood on the floor and Rankor followed her view. “Do you remember what you were thinking about?” He asked as he walked to her side and sat next to her, draping a wing across her back. She shook her head to his question.

“I don’t remember anything,” she said as she held her head again. The pain was now less sporadic and more dull than a stabbing feeling, still hurt though.

“Weird,” said Rankor as he sat with her staring at the dry blood on the ground. “You know,” he said after a minute in silence. “I’m not an expert, far from it, but it looked like you were remembering something before you broke down. Any ideas of what would freak you out that much?” Kiru shook her head.

“I can’t think of anything, it’s also not really my thing to freak out.” Rankor nodded, still worried and confused about the situation.

“Nothing that gives you bad dreams or terrorized you when you were younger.” He asked a little cautiously. Kiru snorted and rubbed her snout.

"Nothing in my child hood really freaked me out or scared me ….” She paused before she finished the sentence. Her mouth hung slightly ajar as her mind mulled over memories. Then it clicked. Images and memories of what happened on that day long ago stuck her mind. She lurched forward breathing heavily, her mind throbbing again and tears welling in her eyes. Rankor quickly grabbed her in his paws and held her as she shook.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m here, I’m here… I always will be.” Kiru looked up into his eyes. ‘Always will be’ she thought. She smiled and lay her head on his shoulder, sniffing as she called down enough to speak.

“Thank you,” she said in a warm and tired voice as she stepped out of his embrace and took several deep breaths.
“Of course,” he said as he watched her warily just in case. “What was it by the way, If you want to say that is.” Kiru breathed slowly and spoke one word.

“Dunai,” was all she said. Rankor’s eyes gleamed, understanding immediately. Kiru looked past him to the tunnel outside of the entrance. Her face became marked in sadness. “I’m so sorry.” She said as she looked down and dragged a paw across some loose pebbles.

“For what?” Asked Rankor as Kiru looked up in a startled manner.

“For getting us trapped in an underground system and doomed to die of starvation.” Rankor merely shrugged. Kiru’s mind gave up, this wasn’t very Rankor like behavior. “Do I have to reword the statement?” Rankor waved a paw at her and gestured to the tunnel then to a large pile of rock on the other side of the room.

“You were out for quite a bit and, well, I had nothing else to do but dig.” Kiru just stared at him.

“You dug out to the cliffs? Have I been out for days!” Rankor laughed at that.

“No, more like an hour or two.” At her look, he continued. “Didn’t dig back to the cliffs but we can get into the sapphire tunnel now. It didn’t collapse when the rest of it went down.” Kiru continued to stare at him.

“You dug all of that out, in two hours?” She asked in a tone of confusion. Rankor held himself up rather proudly at that.

“Wasn’t that hard, a lot of it is just simple sandstone. Little force and it clears nicely, the problem was the aluminum rich stone that is present in the sapphire cliffs they were a bit… Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked as Kiru tried to hold her mouth in a line but it still curved into a smile.

“Nothing!” she said as she continued to stifle a laugh. “You’re just reminding me a lot of your dad right now.” Rankor was not amused. “Guess you did inherit something from him after all.”

“It’s kind of hard not to absorb some information if since the day you hatched all you heard about were rocks.” Said Rankor with a flick of his tail and a roll of his eyes as he recalled his father’s many rock based bed time stories. Yes, bedtime stories about rocks. He would take Neiru’s stories any day.

“Okay back to the current problem on hand, why are you so not freaked out? This tunnel only goes one way as far as we know and you know we’re going to die down here right?” She said, not able to figure out why he was so happy. He grinned broadly at that.

“You might want to see what I found before you write us off.” He said as he nudged her up. “Come on let’s get out of here, it stinks of…” He clammed up quickly, but Kiru still smacked him with her tail.

“Yeah I get it, subtle.” She stood and shook herself out and remembered something. She turned back to the skeleton. “Hey Rankor you look at this poor soul yet?” Rankor shook his head as he walked to the rooms entrance.

“Had more pressing matters than looking at bones,” he said as he poked his head out into the tunnel. Kiru rolled her eyes but knew she couldn’t blame him. So, gathering herself up she walked over to the skeleton. Immediately she could tell something was strange. “Rankor…” She said almost absent mindedly. Rankor turned back to her and saw he kneeling down by the mid-section of the skeleton, looking at the ground. He walked up to her, his tail sweeping dust into the air and causing him to sneeze.

“Sorry,” he said as he wiped his snout. “What is it.” He watched as Kiru bent down and picked something up from the ground. It was a plate of metal, the straps holding it to the body had long since decayed, but the metal itself was still pristine. She handed it to Rankor.

“I’m no expert, but it looks like armor.” She said as Rankor took it and held it close to the glowing necklace so he could see it in better light. His eyes narrowed as he blew on the piece, dust flying off. He looked at it in the light, turned it sideways and bit it and licked it.

“This is karlite.” He said in an air of awe. “But that’s impossible, no one but the anci…” He shared a glance with Kiru and they both looked back down to the skeleton. The skull stared at them silently in the dim light. “This is an ancient,” he said looking at the bones with new interest. Kiru walked to the other side of the ribcage and found the matching piece for the other side in the dust. She picked it up and studied it for several seconds.

“Rankor,” she said slowly. “What can burn or penetrate karlite?” Rankor didn’t look up from the piece he was holding.

“Nothing we know can get through it. It’s impenetrable.” He said as he sniffed the piece. Kiru was silent.

“Well something sure did,” she said. Rankor took a moment to process what she said. He looked up as she handed him the other piece, he took it. Two small holes were in it, about two inched wide each, melted through. As Rankor looked at the armor mystified Kiru looked at the rest of the bones. There were many more armor pieces. Tail pieces, underbelly, legs, and… Kiru stared at a small chain that hung around a neck bone, with the other end buried in dust.

“I really want this armor,” said Rankor as he hesitantly put it back down. “But I want to get out of here more.” He turned to see Kiru reach for the chain and pull it to her. The neckbone snapped and fell as she tugged at it and she carried the chain over to her eyes, a small oval metal pendant hung at the end of it. “Come on Kiru, there’s nothing in here but old bones and epic armor.” Kiru wasn’t listening to him, she rubbed off the dust from the pendant and looked at it, eyes wide in confusion.

“Laser gunner, Madell,” she said. Rankor tilted his head at her.

“What?” He asked in confusion.

“That’s what written on it,” said Kiru as she rubbed the metal clean with her paw. “Laser gunner, Madell.” She flipped the pendant over and wiped the other side. Her eyes widened and her heart beat doubled. “DCC Bordiai.”

~

They spent the next few minutes gathering their items and securing them. Kiru placed the metal pendant into her satchel and followed Rankor out into the tunnel he had dug out. It was cramped to say the least, but worse, it made Kiru remember Dunai again. It wasn’t that far she had to crawl, only the last thirty feet to the gleaming tunnels beyond. That small stretch felt like an endless mile. After crawling for what seemed an eternity she climbed out of the ruble, her paws touching down on smooth Sylon Roe sapphire. As her eyes took in the blue crystal hall lit with the light of the gems from outside, she felt the darkness drift out of her. She stood for only a moment, then looked to Rankor who smiled and waited patiently to the side.

“Okay,” she said in a more relaxed tone. “Let’s see what you found.” She followed him as he walked through the tunnel. The tunnel here was the same size as the stone one that they had originally entered, but with the light shining through and illuminating the passage, it felt nowhere near as cramped. They walked for a while and eventually rounded a corner where the tunnel suddenly went at a steep downward angle. To Kiru’s amusement Rankor became giddy and walked even faster. ‘He’s acting like a hatchling’ she thought to herself. ‘I mean it’s just water and…’ She stopped and listened, cocking her head to the side. No, it wasn’t her addled mind playing tricks on her, the sound of soft waves breaking on stone could be heard echoing faintly in the tunnel. Now Kiru was also going faster, following Rankor at a small gallop rather than walking. Her wing tips brushed the walls as they went down even deeper, eventually leveling off as it became a flat gradient. The sound of waves grew louder as they rounded another corner, but it’s what they saw that made their spirits soar. They stepped out into an enormous crystal room. It was huge, to put it simply. The entire village on the Dead Shore could fit into it, twice. In the center of the room was a large and deep pool of water that took up almost the entire space.

“Like it?” Asked Rankor in a tone that suggested he knew all too well that she did. As he asked he turned his head back and fiddled with his satchels, and shaking his wings, he threw them off. Kiru nodded to his question, too stunned for words. Rankor grinned at her expression. “I wasn’t able to check all of it out, as far I can tell it’s just really empty, said Rankor as he stepped to the edge of the small sea. Shaking off his last satchel, he jumped in, swimming around as if he had never seen water before in his life. Kiru came back to reality with a jolt as a splash of water hit her in the face. She cleared her eyes, and snickered at him.

"Oh, you think that's funny after the day I've been having! Just you wait!" she said slyly as she took her satchels off as well and leapt in after him. The water was refreshing and cleared her mind of what had transpired such a short while ago. She would never forget it, but the calm and quiet water was definitely good therapy. She swam down deeper into the waters and looked around. She hovered in the liquid, wings spread, her eyes drifting left to right looking at the indoor sea. Wait… She gazed around her, using her wings and tail to rotate herself in the water, something was… Weird. The entire pool seemed to have been shaped rather than formed. The entire sea appeared to be a perfect rectangle with all the sides cut deliberately and accurately. As Kiru breached the surface to breathe she looked around the edges. A walkway in the sapphire was cut perfectly around the entire enclosure. She gazed up to the vaulted ceiling. It was too perfect, too deliberate. This place was built, or rather carved, not natural. She swam to the edge and pulled herself up onto the walkway that went around the entire chamber except at the front where the waters lapped at a large sapphire wall. The area itself was roughly three times as long as it was wide and was dark at the far end where the light had dimmed due to depth. Kiru turned to the wall where the light shone the brightest and walked toward it. It was smooth, and extended across the expanse of the sea to the other side. The wall itself was not that thick but it was hard to see through. Kiru pressed her eyes against it and squinted through the gleaming wall. It was hard to tell due to the nature and texture of the sapphire, but Kiru thought she saw waves on the other side. She took a step back and laid a paw on the wall. She knew it in her heart. On the other side of it was the open expanse of the Sapphire Sea. She put her paw back onto the solid crystal and gazed up. Whoever had made the wall had made it so no one could see the secluded area from the outside. From the outside, it would appear as just a normal part of the cliff face. Kiru tilted her head to the side of the wall where it connected to the main body of sapphire. She did a double take and slowly walked over to the wall again, her claws clacking on the sapphire under her paws. No, the sapphire slab wasn’t connected to the wall, it rested in it. In a groove. The enormous slab of sapphire wasn’t physically a part of the structure. It was being held in place like… Kiru gasped, eyes wide, and took a step back looking across the water to the other side of the wall. Same thing. She gazed up at the slab, her mind not being able to comprehend it in its entirety, but here it was in front of her. It was being held in place like a giant door. Not the great metal doors of Dunai that swung out, or the doors of Elial Point that rotated across the opening like a large wheel. This door seemed to be designed to be pulled up as one piece. Kiru staggered back, her mind reeling and aching. Raising a paw she clutched her forehead. ‘That’s not possible, nothing that heavy can move. Even if it could, the sheer energy required would be…’ Her mind stopped thinking as she tripped on her tail, staged, and fell onto her back. She groaned, rubbing a paw behind her head, and looked up above her. Her eyes saw a thick chain attached to the top of the door. She lay there, motionless, just staring at it. She then followed its dark shadow as it went through the sapphire ceiling, around a large pulley, and stretched to the back of the room. Kiru had seen mechanisms like this in some of the older settlements that were dug into the sides of cliffs, but never on this scale. Standing, she spread her wings and flew up to the vaulted ceiling. As she got closer she noticed huge metal hooks spaced around the top of the room. She flew to one and looked it at. Large and solidly attached to the ceiling, clearly designed to support a massive weight on it. ‘Weigh of what though?’ Thought Kiru as she glided away from the hook and toward the far end of the sea. Her thoughts of the door had been accurate.

“That’ll do it I guess.” She said with an air of admiration as she landed on a large part of the walkway at the far end. Before her stood two massive spools with chains attached to them. She gazed up at them. Each were several times larger than she was and were designed to support enormous tension. She turned at looked to the other end which supported the chain for the other side of the door. She nodded to herself and swung her tail in a thoughtful arc. This mechanism was designed to raise and lower the slab, but how? Walking to the side of one of the great spools she noticed that something was missing, it was easy to see what. On the side of the spools were large gears that went to nothing. On the ground beside them however were large cuts and scratches in the sapphire, like something big had been forcefully disconnected in a hurry and carried away. Kiru turned back to the door, realization hitting her. “They didn’t want anyone to get in,” she said to herself as she sat down beside the spool.

“Or out for that matter,” said Rankor as he walked over to her. Kiru, startled by his voice, spun around quickly. Her tail lashing out as she did so and hitting Rankor square in the chest. He stumbled back on two legs, lost balance, and fell over the edge of the walkway into the water again.

“Don’t do that!” Said Kiru as she hurried to the edge and grabbed his paw, pulling him back out. Rankor stepped back onto solid ground and shook out his scales.

“I guess I deserved that,” he said as he nudged Kiru’s wing. Kiru rolled her eyes and fought back a grin. “Anyway, when I came here earlier I looked for a way out and found nothing.” He gestured to the pool before them. “No hole in the wall, probably flooded through small cracks over time.” He looked back to Kiru who was not exactly feeling better with this new revelation. He quickly changed the subject. “Like I said, I probably deserved that and now we’re even!” He put on a smile for her, hoping her mood would change with it.

“You deserve a whole lot more than that before we’re even.” Said Kiru with a slight hint of humor. Rankor laughed at that and quickly stood up and pounced her. Kiru yelped at the unexpected assault and grabbing him as well, they rolled across the floor in a tangle of wings, tails, and legs. Eventually they rolled into a wall and untangled themselves. They lay side by side laughing and looking up at the crystal celling far above.

“We even now!” Said Rankor as he nudged Kiru’s snout with his.

“Not even close,” said Kiru with a soft smile which slowly turned into a sad frown as she gazed up.

“What’s wrong?” Asked Rankor as he shuffled closer to her.

“We’re still stuck in here,” said Kiru in a pained voice. “Might be better than the tunnels but nothing changes.” She turned her face away from Rankor. “I’m so sorry about this, I wish I never found that stupid journal entry or…” Rankor held up a paw and silenced her. He then stood up and rolled her over and helped her up.

“You already said sorry once, that’s enough.” He said as he stretched out a wing and brushed her with it. “Look we’re in here now and out of the collapsing tunnel of death, so that’s a plus.” She looked into his eyes searching for some lingering hatred of her for the situation, she saw none. She lowered her head and wiped her eyes.

“Thanks,” said Kiru as she gazed across the indoor sea. She dragged a claw across the sapphire ground and looked into the water. “So,” she started. “Mind telling me why you’re not complaining or freaking out like usual? We are still trapped.” She looked to Rankor and he lolled his head back and forth.

“I’m not really sure about that,” he said as he looked into the deep water before him. Kiru arched an eye at him, urging him on. “This water has to come in from somewhere, wherever that is there has to be a hole or something, that’s our way out.” Kiru nodded at that.

“That makes sense,” she said as she stood again. “Let’s look in the morning though.” Rankor nodded at that and jumped into the water again for a swim. Kiru watched as he swam under the surface her mind still doing its thing. ‘What if that hole is just a crack in the wall or so small you’ll never fit?’ Kiru let out a long and tortured sigh. She’d worry about that when it came to it. As Rankor swam in the deep pool Kiru took out the journal again and reread a part of the passage that had led them here in the first place.

On an unrelated note I did meet one elder with whom I talked to just before he died. He told me a story, it seemed trivial, a delusion in his state perhaps. All he told me was that there was something, something in the great sea of the Sylon Roe that he found when he was very young. He only saw it once and it confused him. When I asked him why it confused him he simply replied “Bordiai was genesis.” I have speculated on the meaning of his words. Genesis: The beginning, Origin. From his words I gather that this Bordiai was a beginning of something. However, the word Bordiai has no meaning in our tongue. May have been nothing.

Kiru dug in her satchels with a paw and withdrew the oval metal pendant. She held it close to her eyes, inspecting it. DCC Bordiai.

“Well Ishingar, looks like there is a Bordiai… Whatever in the name of the ancients that is.” She bounced the pendant in her paws and too lazy to put it back in her satchel, hung it around her neck. The cold metal bounced and clanked off her scales, catching some of the green light from her markings. With a grunt she stood up again and gathered her things, did another quick scan of the area and… She stopped and looked behind her to the far wall. There was another passage way, a metal door hung on its frame, the way open. In the darkness she had not noticed it before. Walking around the great chain spool she walked to the doorway. Above it was a piece of metal about three feet long, covered in dust and rust. Curious, she flapped her wings and hovered at the metal plate and wiped it with a paw. The letters were aged but large enough to tell what it read after all this time. Dry Dock 2. Kiru frowned at it and landed again. ‘What’s a dry dock?’ She thought as she looked back at the pool. “If that’s what it’s supposed to be it sure isn’t dry.” She shook her head and raised a paw to the ajar door, pulling it open further. It wouldn’t budge. Ages worth of rust held it in place so firmly it might as well have been a single piece of metal. Grunting, Kiru stepped sideways into the doorway. She fit easily and found herself in a room. She concentrated, letting her blood flow faster and let her markings light the room. Besides a few extremely thick metal plates resting in a corner, the room was empty. Racks lined one of the walls, numerous shelves which now lay bare. No, not completely bare. A single piece of wrinkled and aged parchment lay on one of the shelves. Kiru walked over and picked it up. It was a letter.

Protocol Donur Sweep has been enacted, all personnel assigned to Dry Dock 2 are to relinquish and transfer supplies to Dock 1 immediately. After the transfer remove the mechanisms of the dock, we cannot allow the Zan access to our armories. All non-essential personnel are to take refuge in the mines of Quez-or Liel, we know it isn’t safe there but we have no choice.
May the light of the Aylasouls and spirits of the ancients be with us.

Kiru expected answers when she came here. Not more questions. She flipped the parchment over in her paws, nothing on the opposite side. With her mind trying to find meaning in the words she took out the journal and put the paper into an open page, never know when it could come in handy. She looked around the room again, she had to admit it was rather cozy, better then sleeping next to a vast pool of cool water. Putting her items on one of the shelves she made her way back to the large open room outside.

“Kiru!” She heard Rankors faint voice calling before she saw him.

“Over here!” She shouted back. At the far end of the pool she saw the glimmer of the crystal necklace come into view as he turned around and flew towards her. He landed beside her moments later and looked around with worry.

“How did you disappear like that? I’ve been looking for you for a few minutes.” Kiru rolled her eyes and pointed behind her to the open doorway. Rankor glanced at it, worry seeping into his features. ‘There’s the Rankor I know’ thought Kiru smugly.
“You know,” started Rankor. “Small tunnels are not my thing right now.” Kiru gave him a very unamused look.

“I’m the one who should be saying that, and besides it just goes into some sort of storage room. It’s empty now but it is a better place to spend the night then out here.” At that they both turned to view the small sea again. The light of the gems above the sapphire sea outside seemed to be dimming as the indoor area they were trapped in was getting much darker, and all of a sudden felt much colder and foreboding. The feeling passed quickly as Rankor walked past her, lightly bumping her with his tail, and slipped past the door into the room. Kiru continued to stare across the vast expanse of water and then turned to read the sign again. “For once can things just make sense?” She asked herself as she followed Rankor into the room. She found him placing his things on the shelf near hers and right after went over to inspect the metal plates. ‘He’s more like his father then he thinks’ thought Kiru wryly but compassionately.

“More karlite,” he said as he inspected them. “What my dad wouldn’t do or give to figure out how they were able to form this stuff into usable items.”

“Or burn holes it in,” said Kiru as she remembered the armor plates they found on the skeleton. Rankor nodded.

“Especially that,” he said with a yawn. Being underground it was hard to judge the exact time of the day. But with the level of light penetrating the sapphire at a constant decline they knew it was late. Rankor took off the hybrid crystal from his neck, placed it on the shelf, and proceeded to breathe a swath of green flame onto an open patch of ground to warm it. “There you are,” he said to Kiru as he moved to the side, yawning again. Kiru smiled at him as he shook his tired head and walked back to his satchels to take out some food they had packed. He wasn’t entirely happy for dry eel at the moment, but he was satisfied with it. The warm crystal was soothing as Kiru settled on top of it, she turned to watch as Rankor sniffed some plant matter in the satchel, a twisted look of disgust on his face. She chuckled lightly, light pain lanced through her neck. It still ached from the bite but it was now more a mild annoyance than a stabbing pain. She rubbed it slowly with her paw as Rankor finished up finding his snack. As she watched him it occurred to her just how much he had done for her lately. She stopped and thought farther back into the past. No, not just lately but over the course of their lives. She had always been the one who charged ahead into the unknown, and there he was, always at her side to see her through it, no matter how stupid or boring the adventure. He had always been there to point out the obvious in his own way and even when defeated in trying to dissuade her he would always go with her and cheer her up in the common event that they found nothing at the end of their journey. Today had been more of the same but on a grander scale. He had seen her through one of the worst times in her life and he still pressed on to get them both home safely. He also tried to not make her blame herself for the outcome of their current dilemma. As she thought to herself Rankor walked back from the shelves and blew another stream of fire onto the ground. After heating it he settled down and proceeded to curl up for the night. He was visibly exhausted from the day. The cave in, the digging, and the lack of sleep from their previous night had taken its toll on him. Kiru felt sorry for him, and a deep sense of appreciation. She watched as he slowly drifted off to sleep, but before he could she stood up and walked to his side, gently poking his wing with a claw. He opened an eye at her, a faint but tired smile across his face. “You okay?” he asked as she settled down beside him. He lifted one of his wings to make space for her, and for a moment his face was etched with contemplation. After dwelling on his thoughts, he made a decision and gently draped the wing over her as she lay beside him.

“I’m fine,” said Kiru in answer to his question as she got comfortable on the ground beside him. “I just…” she quieted and searched for the words as she looked into his eyes. He was tired and wanted to sleep, but she knew he would listen to her as long as she spoke. That’s just how he was, and she had taken it for granted for so long. She leaned her head against his and he turned to her, a worried look on his face.

“You sure? It’s been…” He stopped and woke a bit as he chose his next words. “It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it,” he finished lamely and was a bit embarrassed as a result. Kiru chuckled at that and Rankor visibly relaxed at that, breathing at a steady pace again.

“It’s been an adventure in itself,” she breathed in calm breaths as she felt sleep edge upon her. Rankor nodded at that and started to close his eyes again. “But it wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable without you.” Rankor’s eyes flashed open again and looked to her, confusion on his face. “I don’t think I ever really thanked you for everything you’ve done over all of our trips together.” Rankor smiled and brushed his head against hers.

“Don’t mention it,” said Rankor with a warm voice. “I am always happy to follow you to the ends of the world.” Kiru brushed a tear from her eye with a paw.

“I know,” said Kiru in turn. “I’m sorry I never noticed it,” more tears rolled from her eyes down to her snout. Rankor raised one of his paws and wiped them away. He edged closer to her and wrapped his wing around her a little tighter. Kiru closed her eyes and smiled as he did, “you’re the best friend I could have ever wished for in life.” Now Rankor was feeling a weight in his chest as multiple emotions flowed through him.

“You’ve always been the light in my life,” he said to her. “Nothing could ever change that.” With their heads side by side they drifted off to sleep. A deep and relaxing rest that would lead them into a new day.

~

Dunai. Kiru shot her eyes open and bared her teeth at the darkness, panting heavily and looking around in alarm. ‘It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream…’ she repeated to herself over and over again. Calming down she took in deep breaths and looked around. The sapphire room was still dark, probably still the middle of the night. But Kiru couldn’t sleep. She raised her head and felt it bump on Rankor’s wing which draped over her. She hummed affectionately as she gently slipped out from the embrace careful not to wake him. She stood and slipped out of the doorway and back into the large room. Or should she call it Dry Dock 2, whatever that was. She walked to the water’s edge and bent her head down into it. Bringing it out she shook it dry and took a drink before looking across the expanse of it before her. To awake now to sleep she began to walk around the pool on the side she hadn’t yet. Nothing special. She walked to about midway down the pool and stood looking into the water. Then, taking in a breath she leaned back against the wall behind her. There was no wall. With a surprised yelp she fell through a small arch in the sapphire, hitting her head and tail on either side as the middle of her body fell through.

“I am so sick, and done with tunnels!” She said as she clenched her eyes closed from the pain on the side of her head. Standing she looked herself over. No cuts or bruises, that she could see in her dim light at least. She wobbled slightly on her paws as she stood and turned to the arch she had fallen into. Only it wasn’t just an arch, it was another passage. Looking up she saw another metal plate, this one wasn’t corroded as badly and was easy to read. Dry Dock 1, with an arrow pointing ahead. “Sure, why not,” said Kiru in a half amused tone as she stepped in and walked down the corridor. It was very short, and a minute later she entered another huge room identical to the last. She looked to the front where the massive door to the Sapphire Sea was, yup it was here as well. She turned and looked down the other way, and stopped. It looked very empty and dark, that, or something big was… She took a step back taking it in. It wasn’t empty, direct opposite of it. Hanging from the massive hooks on the celling was an enormous metal structure, with a very elegant and streamlined design, and it was clearly built. Her heart racing, she hesitantly walked toward it. The light from her markings bounced off the metal, illuminating it in a deep shade of metallic green. She walked closer to a piece that appeared to have writing on it near the front. She walked closer and her glow made it easy to read. Bordiai.