tygati | The Green Planet 6 (Reply)

Look, plot! ^^; Or what passes for plot in my universe...

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Horses, Wyer had decided, were amongst the dumbest creatures he'd ever met. Including Lord Gevais. He and Elohan had managed to sneak out via the window and some convenient stone steps Wyer had summoned, pilfering two mounts from the stables before riding into town.

As anticipated, the townspeople loved Elohan. Out amongst them he lost all of the uncertainty and shyness that seemed to plague him in more private moments, sitting tall in his saddle and conversing animatedly with anyone who sought a word or two from the dashing prince.

Wyer watched the Ilysian prince thoughtfully, comparing this foreign man to the ruler he was more familiar with. There were similarities in their kindness and love for the people, very important in a leader of the people, but as far as their personalities went Elohan and Selan were completely different.

Selan had always been rather quiet and soft spoken, his smiles slow and gentle like starlight. Elohan by contrast was sharper, more intense. His smiles were quick and brilliant like the bright sun overhead. Both inspired loyalty in whomever they met, though in vastly different ways.

Most fascinating of all was the confidence with which Elohan moved and spoke. It was something Wyer had never really seen before. Some of the Lords of the Royal Houses were almost arrogant, but none of them had this blazing quality in them that made you believe in everything being said and done.

It simply wasn't possible not to like this man, he had finally concluded.

Well, almost not possible, he amended as a squad of soldiers surrounded them almost immediately upon re-entering the palace grounds. One of the soldiers, apparently the leader, stepped forward.

"Prince Elohan," he announced officiously, "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor commands you to surrender your weapon at once."

Elohan blinked. "What?"

"Didn't think I'd notice, did you?" A deep voice asked, cold and shrewd. The soldiers stepped aside to reveal a man who could only be the Emperor, dressed in clothing both ornate and costly. The resemblance to Elohan was obvious, but where the prince was warm this man was cold. Where Elohan was kind this man was cruel. "But I have ears everywhere, Elohan," he continued. "A witless boy like you could never hope to steal my throne from me."

"Father," Elohan said, stunned, "I'm not... I don't want..."

The Emperor's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do not lie to me, boy. I've seen it in your eyes as you've bided your time waiting for me to die. So you thought you'd just off me and take my place, is that it?"

"No!" Elohan looked around wildly at the soldiers, finding nothing but cold stares. "Father, this is madness! What are you saying?"

The Emperor stepped back out of reach. "Guards, take my traitorous son to the dungeon."

"What?!" Elohan exclaimed, his horse stamping restlessly as it caught its rider's dismay. "Father, no!"

The prince's protests fell upon deaf ears as the Emperor moved away and the soldiers stepped in to pull Elohan down from his mount. Wyer, until that moment frozen in a state of disbelieving immobility, reacted with a shout and a flare of magic from his orange crystal. Beneath them the ground erupted upward, scatting the soldiers like a child's toys and leaving the terrified horses a straight path to follow.

They took it. It was all Wyer could do to keep astride and hope he didn't fall off in their mad dash, unable even to concentrate enough to maintain the magic that had allowed them to escape. For a moment he wished Vendris was still on the planet, for he at least would be able to calm the panicked creatures.

The horses finally ceased their headlong flight in a small wooded area, shivering and pawing nervously at the ground. Elohan swung down off his and reassured it before catching the reins of Wyer's so that the Lunarian could manage to dismount.

"I don't ever want to do that again," Wyer stated firmly, prompting a faint, startled laugh from Elohan.

"No... I can't say I disagree," the prince said slowly. "But everything about that was... wrong."

Wyer frowned. "What do you mean?"

"My father's always been violent and a little paranoid," Elohan acknowledged, "But that was just... too much. Even for him."

"So he's not always a raving lunatic," Wyer stated dryly. "Good to know."

"I don't understand anything that's been going on." Elohan scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration. "This last year or so has just been a complete mess."

"Last year..." Wyer echoed thoughtfully. "Elohan, did anything change a year or two ago? Something that could influence your father?"

Elohan frowned. "I don't think... wait." He straitened, sapphire eyes widening. "It's been a little more than a year and a half since General Anavin arrived. He and father have spent a lot of time together..."

"That's not good," Wyer said tensely. "I'd better tell Selan." He concentrated a moment, then his frown deepened and he touched his fingers to the orange crystal set into the bracelet on his right wrist.

".... and that is really not good."

Elohan looked up. "What is it?"

Wyer met his gaze, eyes creased with worry. "I can't reach Selan or the other Knights."

"I'm guessing that doesn't happen often?" Elohan asked warily.

"It's never happened."

Elohan grimaced. "We are in a whole lot of trouble."

While he very much wanted to call the current state of affairs 'organized chaos,' Arycian wasn't exactly certain just how much organization was going on.

Somehow one of the Council members had gotten wind of where Selan had been, though fortunately not what he was planning, and now the entire palace was in an uproar. Someone accosted them no matter where they went, making it extremely difficult to get everything ready, and Arycian's temper had reached the breaking point two surprise confrontations ago.

The next time it happened, he snapped completely.

"Enough! You've all heard the official report, there is nothing that has been left out, so you can just turn around and go right back the way you came or I swear I will change forms and eat you!"

The man in question, Lord Purcia's personal aide, took one look at his face, turned white, and fled. While the loss of propriety certainly wasn't going to be good for his reputation, the desperately grateful look Selan cast him was well worth it.

"Honestly," Arycian muttered as he held open the door to the smallest of the banquet halls that had been designated as their meeting place. "What are they hoping to accomplish with their antics?"

"They're simply curious, Arycian," Selan said with a smile. "Don't you remember when everything unfamiliar had to be examined in every possible manner? Whatever happened to Sendrian curiosity?"

"I think it stayed behind in that closet I managed to get locked into for five hours before you found me," the tall Advisor replied dryly.

Selan laughed.

Inside all six of the Rainbow Knights on Lunaria were waiting for them, along with a number of the palace guard. Zantier arrived from another entrance just a moment later, small datapad in hand and quite the spectacular bruise on his cheek.

"Zantier!" Selan exclaimed, hurrying over to him. "What happened?"

Zantier's gaze flickered briefly to Arycian before he smiled reassuringly down at the anxious Selan. "Just an accident, Majesty. Nothing to worry about."

"Hold still," Selan ordered anyway, reaching up to cup a hand over the injured cheek. "I can fix this."

Though surprised, Zantier held still obediently until the ugly bruise had faded away. When Selan lowered his hand Zantier smiled. "Thank you, Majesty."

Selan reached up and affectionately mussed Zantier's ever-perfect hair then turned to face the rest of the group as the dark-haired Sendrian set about fixing the mess he'd made.

"All right. By now everyone has heard about Jemne, Vendris, and my trip to the Green Planet. What isn't common knowledge is that we're going back."

There was a brief, startled murmuring that quickly faded away into an anticipatory silence. Selan perched himself atop one of the banquet tables, ankles crossed, and looked over them carefully.

"You're all here because either I or one of my Knights believes you should accompany us on this mission. The young man we met, Elohan, is in need of our assistance. It is my belief that, should we succeed, we will have taken the first step toward friendship between Lunaria and the Green Planet."

Selan paused, carefully thinking over how he wanted to word his next few words. "If at all possible I would prefer to avoid any kind of violence. We want these people to trust us, not fear us. However, if such a thing does prove to be unavoidable I trust you all to conduct yourselves in such a manner as is in all of our best interests."

The Blue Knight, Krys, grinned. "Translated, killing bad, keeping from getting killed good."

Selan laughed softly. "Something like that, Krys."

"Are we to leave Lunaria entirely unprotected while we are aiding these people?" Aeshia inquired, frowning slightly.

"No. I will be leaving two Rainbow Knights here, as well as the majority of the palace guard," Selan answered. "I will leave it up to you to decide who stays."

Aeshia nodded. "I believe I shall volunteer to remain here, if that is permissible."

"I as well," Ziern spoke up. "I am not particularly curious about this world beyond what has been reported, but I am well aware that am in the minority amongst the Royal Knights. All who wish to go should be able to do so."

Selan smiled. "Thank you Ziern, Aeshia." He hesitated, glancing between Arycian and Zantier.

"I'm going with you," Arycian stated flatly. "Someone has to keep you out of trouble while you're off trying to save the world."

Zantier snorted. Selan smiled again. "Very well then. Zantier, if you don't mind being left in charge..."

The dark-haired Sendrian shrugged elegantly. "I reserve the right to bite anyone who decides to be particularly stupid."

There were a number of stifled snickers from around the room, and Selan laughed outright. "Very well, Zantier. Try not to do any permanent damage while I'm gone."

This time over half of the assembled chortled aloud, despite the veiled glare Zantier shot in their direction. Selan dismissed them all to pack, giving instructions for everyone to meet at the spaceport in an hour. In moments only he and his two Sendrian Advisors remained.

Selan looked up at Arycian with amusement. "Going to keep me out of trouble, hmm?"

Arycian smiled tolerantly. "You have this thing for protecting everyone but yourself, Selan. Someone has to be there to protect you."

"I suppose I should be honored," Selan mused, sky blue eyes sparkling. "Aside from the occasional sparring match with the Royal Knights, you haven't seen fit to exercise your skills in centuries."

Arycian shrugged. "It's hardly fair for me to duel anyone else," he pointed out, "And Zantier cheats."

The dark-haired Advisor snorted. "I do not cheat. You just get distracted easily."

"You're just jealous that I'm better than you."

"You're just sore that you lost."

"Zantier, Arycian," Selan interrupted, "Argue later. Arycian, go pack. Zantier..."

Zantier arched an eyebrow and smirked. "You're far too nice, Selan. One of these days I'm going to teach you how to tell someone to get lost."

Selan flushed. Zantier laughed. Arycian rolled his eyes and dragged Zantier out of the room, smiling wryly at Selan on the way out. "See you in an hour," he called. "Don't get lost."

In exactly one hour's time four Royal Knights, twenty-five palace guard, and one lean Sendrian arrived at the spaceport to find three ships powered up and awaiting them. Selan appeared in the doorway to one and waved, catching the Yellow Knight's eye in the crowd.

"Tenri," he called, pointing, "You're piloting that one. Arycian, still remember how to fly one of these things?"

The Sendrian raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I fly better than you do," he gibed, taking the steps two at a time into the waiting ship.

"Jemne, with me," Selan continued. "Krys, follow Arycian. Vendris, with Tenri. The rest of you pick a ship and we'll be on our way."

As befitting the palace guard, boarding was accomplished without a single difficulty. The three ships rose into the air like silvery birds, one after another turning and pointing toward the luminescent green orb shining like a beacon in the sky.

Selan relayed coordinates as they cleared the moon, the trip going relatively uneventfully until about halfway there when suddenly all the equipment seemed to scramble due to some sort of strange interference. There was a moment of brief panic before Selan's magic caught all three ships and brought them down manually.

"What in Stars was that?!" Arycian demanded the moment they landed, crossing the distance between the ships with a leap that only a Sendrian could have made. "Selan! Are you okay?"

"Yes," Selan replied, brow creased by an uneasy frown. "That didn't happen last time. I wonder what-" he broke off, stiffening. Behind him Jemne froze as well, eyes going wide.

"Selan...?" Arycian questioned worriedly.

"Wyer's in trouble," Krys said suddenly from where he'd come up behind the Sendrian. "Something about being overwhelmed. Should we transport, Majesty?"

Selan straightened. "No. Leave this to me."

Eyes glowing vividly with power, Selan cast out magic to encompass every one of the Lunarians. There was a brief moment of disorientation in which the world ceased to exist before beginning anew, then abruptly they were all in the courtyard outside the old, crumbling temple they'd seen on their previous visit.

Wyer and Elohan were immediately noticeable, fighting back to back against a good three or four dozen soldiers. Wyer's magic manipulating the stone beneath their feet was the only thing keeping them from being completely overpowered.

Without a single moment's pause, the four newly-arrived Rainbow Knights moved in to disable the Ilysian soldiers. The rest of the palace guard followed suit a moment later and in almost no time at all the bodies of the Ilysian men were lying unconscious on the ground.

"Wyer, Elohan," Selan called, moving toward them with Arycian following closely, "What happened?"

Wyer shook his head. "The Emperor ordered Elohan imprisoned and we ran. This lot found us about twenty minutes ago and we've been fighting them ever since. Am I ever glad to see you."

"Imprisoned?" Selan asked, startled. "Why?"

Elohan and Wyer exchanged wary glances. "Well, we're not sure, but we think that maybe General Anavin has something to do with it. See, we figured that-"

There was a sudden shout, then soldiers began to appear from every direction. In moments, there was fighting everywhere.

And Colored that one Arycian picture cause