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Memories	By : Asirainis Category: +A through F > Dragon Quest/ Dragon Warrior Views: 1615 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Quest VIII, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Memories
Chapter Forty Two: Chen Mui and the Dragovian Sanctuary
The short man was dressed in yellow robes with a rope tied about his waist. His hands behind him as he bowed in welcome, "Welcome to the Dragovian Sanctuary. We Dragovians are capable of existing in two forms: human and dragon. I am Chen Mui, a Dragovian Elder. I'll be your guide here…" He turned to the side as he said thoughtfully, "It has been many hundreds of years since humans last set foot within the Sanctuary." He began to stroke his beard as he said, "Your sudden appearance may shock some Dragovians. That is why I would like to accompany you. You may feel uncomfortable at being escorted, but I pray for your understanding in this matter." Draco looked to the others, and as they all nodded, he nodded in return to the elder. Going around the rock formation, they came to the entrance of the village.
Chen Mui looked around in concern as Airlia paled… "My dream… Elder, you mustn't touch them lest you be drained of your energy too!"
He looked at her in surprise, "What did you say?" She nodded as she explained the dream to him that she had while in captivity. "Energy drain… You might be onto something. Still I must help my people!" She nodded as they checked on everyone.
The group came to one of the Dragovians as he lay on the ground, barely able to keep his head up… "Are you… are you humans?" He asked of them as they all nodded. He scoffed, "Well, it doesn't matter. We're dying out anyways…"
Chen Mui cried out, "Tell me! What is going on? What in the world happened here!?"
The man seemed to perk up a bit as he responded, "Ah, Master Chen Mui. I see you have returned to us. You have my sympathies. You've arrived just in time to witness the end of the Dragovian race…"
Chen Mui looked worried, his skin lightening drastically as he processed everything he was being told, "The end of the Dragovians? Things are even worse than they appear then." He turned to the group, focusing on Draco and Airlia as he said, "We had better visit the other Elders. We must get to the bottom of this!"
Chen Mui growled as he indicated the hut at the top of the platform, "They should be in session as we speak. Let us go there and get to the bottom of this matter!" As they hurried up the makeshift stairs, Medea wasn't able to precede, so Trode decided to wait with her for now. They could, however, see and hear what was going on up there…
"Master Chen Mui! What a surprise! It has been many years… When did you return?" The man said, bowing to Chen Mui with respect.
He glared hard at the man as he demanded, "Save it! You need to tell me what has happened here! Forgive me… That's a matter I need to discuss with the Elders. Let us pass!"
He nodded as he said, "Most honored Chen Mui. You may pass, but I can't permit the humans to enter the chamber with you!"
Airlia glared at him as she demanded, "You stand on formalities here, in this crisis? Seriously? Move!"
She moved him aside as they went inside before she apologized to the elder. "I'm sorry Chen Mui; I can't stand it any further. I need to go up and face the dragon with the others…"
Chen Mui looked at her with an even more concerned expression… "Dragon!? By the heavens!" They ran inside as the council elders looked up at the group. They were delighted by Chen Mui as chatter grew more and more excited, but then hushed when they saw the group behind him.
Airlia shared a look with Draco as she frowned. "Ah yes,"
One of the elders started to say as he explained, "You left before the ritual was carried out. This is the result of that ritual…"
Another elder explained the situation, "Just after you left, Chen Mui, the Lord of the Dragovians came to a momentous decision. As of course you know, we Dragovians are both human and dragon. He decided the time had come for us to abandon our human forms once and for all…"
Chen Mui slammed his fists on the table as he demanded, "What!? Preposterous! Does such a ritual really exist!?" He couldn't believe they would push away half of their being. Chen Mui thought about what he knew from the travels that he had been on and instantly thought of the Moonshadow Clan and Ishmahri… a clan that hadn't existed prior to Chen Mui leaving the Dragovian Sanctuary.
The female elder explained next, "Our Lord ascended the Heavenly Dais, to test the ritual on himself first. Once it was completed, our Lord became a dragon once and for all… or so he thought."
The man who had greed Chen Mui first continued the tale, "In fact, the ritual failed. As you know, it consumes a great deal of energy for us to remain in our dragon forms. The ritual compensated for this by replenishing the energy from the ambient surroundings… Us. In other words, our Lord began to absorb the energy of his fellow Dragovians. We are slowly being consumed by his unending hunger for energy. Thus the Sanctuary has fallen into discord and disarray."
The next female elder picked up the tale, looking ashamed, "As soon as we realized the ritual had failed, we appeared before the Lord of the Dragovians to plead with him to reverse it. But the ritual has appeared to affect his mind as well. In his current state, he cannot be reasoned with. What now sits upon the Heavenly Dais, is not the Lord of the Dragovians, but a savage, uncontrollable monster. He attacked us, leaving us no choice but to withdraw."
The final elder finished the tale, "And soon the Sanctuary of the Dragovians will be no more. I can put it no more plainly than that."
Chen Mui stroked his beard thoughtfully as he said, "I see, I see. It appears terrible events have unfolded during my absence…"
The elder for who first started to explain the tale, dressed in blue with a long beard and full moustache with a brown leather cap on his head spoke next, "I meant to ask you this earlier, Chen Mui, but who are your companions? They appear to be humans, if my eyes do not deceive me. I mean no rebuke, just simply curious."
Chen Mui smiled as he turned to his companions, explaining, "Your eyes do not deceive you. Draco and these humans intend to confront the Lord of Darkness, Rhapthorne."
The man in green with a gray beard looked at them and noticed Airlia, "Indeed? Is Draco and that girl…?"
The woman with white hair – held in a bun by beaded sticks, dressed in a blue with a brown overdress spoke, "There will be time for that later. They plan to confront the Lord of Darkness, you say?" They started to talk to one another excitedly as they rebuked and rebutted the rebukes. Airlia and Draco had this feeling that they were both out of the loop on some mysterious secret, likely the one that Airlia had been on the thought of earlier on.
They looked around as Airlia spoke, "I am Airlia, and I've had visions of this Lord of the Dragovians pleading with me for help. Regardless if you want me to or not, know that I intend to save him. My friends will stand by me, regardless of what you have to say on the matter."
They nodded, "We were all in agreement that none of our own could survive this. And if you intend to take on Rhapthorne, then perhaps you might test your strength out and save our race. Please?"
The group nodded as Chen Mui watched their expressions. Marcello said, "I simply don't relish the idea of Airlia and the others fighting a dragon – but her dreams have yet to be wrong. So we must do what we can. Just promise us, you will support us in fighting this dragon." Chen Mui nodded as the group left the hut, agreeing to fight him after resting the night. They followed Chen Mui out of the hut, and back to the main level where he took them to a sizable abode.
Inside was a man bent over, examining something in a basket. Soon as he saw the group he got excited, "Master Chen Mui! You have returned! You've brought guests I see?"
Chen Mui nodded, "They will be taking on the Dragovian Lord tomorrow, so I want to see them comfortable tonight please. They are from the human world."
Somehow that triggered something in the man's brain as he said, "Guests from the human world!? Do you mean two of them could be Miss Xia's-?!" Chen Mui cut him off immediately there, but the name couldn't be unheard as Airlia's eyes took on a distant look. Marcello saw it and grabbed her hand to bring her back to the present before others could notice.
Giving him a grateful smile, she knew then and there that this woman... Xia… was important to her past. The man darted off to begin preparations for the banquet of cheese. While Chen Mui turned to the group saying, "Please… Make yourselves at home!" The Banquet had cheese of all kinds, spicy and mild, sweet and sour as they ate their fill. Soon, it was time to rest and Airlia saw the bed in the room… It had been hers… Xia's… She remembered the pregnant woman sobbing there for hours on end after finding out about Eltrio. The group spoke about the meal and about Chen Mui while Airlia tuned them out… She had a feeling she wasn't going to be sleeping much that night, and neither was Marcello by the worried glances he had given her. Airlia looked at Draco with a pleading gaze.
Draco nodded as he went to go find Chen Mui, and Airlia turned to leave with him, needing to find out more about Xia and how they were connected. However, the elder remained mum on the subject, leaving them to go back to the room for the night. Airlia sighed as she sat in the corner and tried to fall asleep while the other members of the group fell asleep in various places through the room. Airlia barely slept as every time she had tried, the dreams came at her even harder than before.
So she sat quietly in the corner, to try and not wake anyone as Marcello returned from the balcony. Seeing her awake, he frowned and came to sit by her… "Try to rest my friend. We have a long road ahead of us." She nodded as she leaned her head on his shoulder and slowly fell asleep as he held her close for the first time ever that she willingly let him hold her. It gave him some hope in his heart that she would someday see his feelings for her were true.
The pair fell asleep and awoke before anyone else was up. They got up to go find Chen Mui and saw him reading a book. "You two are up early. What is the matter?"
Airlia looked at him and said, "I've been having dreams of which I believe two people in them are your daughter and her beloved – Eltrio! Tell me, how am I connected to them?"
He looked at her, and smiled sadly, "Please, free the mind of the Lord of the Dragovians, and I will gladly tell you everything."
She glared at him and nodded, leaving him to his thoughts as Marcello growled at him, "These dreams have given her so little rest of late! How are you going to apologize to her when she learns everything? Because I suspect I already figured out everything and how it ties to those two."
Chen Mui shook his head, "I can only try to apologize when the truth is revealed…"
The dark haired man shook his head before he ran to find her. Chen Mui left to wake the others as Marcello tried to bring what comfort he could to the troubled woman, "Airlia, I suspect you're right in every suspicion you've had about this dream, about you and Draco, and when we prove you're right they will all owe you an apology." Airlia sniffled as she turned red rimmed eyes towards the man she loved and nodded.
They could hear Chen Mui speaking to the others as they came down the stairs to meet up with Airlia and Marcello. "We need to get to the top of the Heavenly Dais, but it's a labyrinth to get there. So please, we must take care reaching the top!" They nodded as the group left and went back to the Elders Hut.
Once they were inside, Chen Mui led them to the nearby steps leading downwards and down a tunnel that curved around to where a door being guarded lay. The man bowed to the group before speaking, "I have been instructed to allow you to proceed past here. The Heavenly Dais awaits you, please be careful for the Lord of the Dragovians is surely there – waiting for you."
As they went through the door, Chen Mui stopped. "I cannot continue. If the Lord of the Dragovians were to sense my presence, he will begin to drain my own strength away. So I will wait here, and fight alongside you in spirit. I know you can bring the Lord of the Dragovians back to his senses. I believe in you!"
They went through the door as Munchie rejoined them, Draco smiling as he put him in the pocket of his jacket, hanging just beneath his armor. Looking around, they could see there were three paths they could take. Airlia took out the holy water and splashed it everywhere, "So we don't have to worry so much about creatures here, insane by way of the Dragovian Lord."
They nodded as they proceeded to take the path on the very left, following it all the way around to a small cove as Airlia felt her heart constrict as she read the only stone that remained intact as she whispered, "Xia's grave…" Her heart didn't quiver the way it had before at Eltrio's grave… telling her something was off about this one. They returned the way they came, opting for the middle path. They followed its winding path all the way through a stone floating with a spiraling path inside to bring them out to a broken intersection. Choosing the only path they could there, they found themselves on the summit, with a path leading up.
Upon the dais, they saw strange, tiles illuminated winding upwards. Following the path, they found themselves with another section to go. Sighing resolutely they nodded as they proceeded to see three more choices of steps. She chose, once more, the middle steps as they nodded. Following her, they took the nearest stairs, going up, and seeing the top, they were able to trace a path to their location, so following steps down to another platform, and then back up through the giant dragon's skull, and around, they came to a door with the same emblem that they've seen many times before, including on Airlia's birthmark. It burned fiercely as they opened the doors and proceeded forth. Once they reached the platform, she saw the dragon was no longer golden in color, but red – truly the madness had gotten to him now and they had to fight to bring him back to his sense… they drew their preferred weapons as they prepared for battle.
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Memories