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Journeys of Time 5: Forged by Glacial Scars

This story is copyrighted to SashaWS/ArtisticEastern, containing characters owned by various people used with permission.

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As Tenchi and Peridot followed the male through the village and back towards the residence of Zinava, they couldn't avoid to notice that everyone was looking at them. This filled Tenchi with a slight feeling of dread as they must have considered her to be either a true warrior or a sadistic demon, but soon a hand landed on her shoulder as Peridot spoke up to her, "No need to worry, Ten-Ten. They are looking at you like you are a true champion of us all. They got no fear in their spirit, just pure amazement of who you are." Tenchi heard her, but she still worried that someone might have a bad intention for their stare. The male soon called out in front of the door to the leader's house, "Miss Zinava. I brought miss Tenchi and her servant." Peridot grunted, "I am her wife, thank you very much." The male corrected himself, "I mean miss Tenchi and her wife." He bowed apologetically to Peridot before allowing them to enter.

As they entered, they noticed everyone except for one sitting there in front of Zinava. Upon seeing the final arriving, Zinava stood up and bowed, "You finally awakened. Your effort of healing even my warriors have been of the utmost sign of generosity. I thank you for this and I am also thankful that you honored my request of not removing the garb that Solan was wearing. And finally, I want to apologize for putting you through all that when your kindness showed itself to be sincere." Tenchi nodded, "I too want to apologize for losing myself against miss Solan. I just do not find it fair to use something meant for war against someone in a duel." Zinava nods, "Yes, I personally reprimanded her for it. I had her being transported to her quarters so she could rest up."

Peridot closed her eyes, "Still I find it a bit odd. I am a spiritual healer and I can also sense the spirit of others. Yours and Solan's are almost vibrating with the same intensity. Why are you treating family like they are a servant?" Zinava looked shocked at Peridot, "I got no idea what you are talking about." Peridot closed her eyes before sighing, "Listen, I am seeing that you are hiding something, so let me point something out here." Tenchi was about to stop Peridot, but a sharp glare stopped her from doing so as Peridot pointed at Zinava, "First of all, your energies are almost identical except for the fact that hers is a bit less warm than yours. Second of all, she is sharing the same energy pattern as one of the wyverns we got to meet, meaning she is clearly not a full breed dragon, but a halfbreed. And last of all, like me and Ten-Ten, your body is developed more like that of one having given child birth. As of this, I conclude two facts about Solan." Everyone waited before Peridot smirked, "She is one born of a rider and wyvern relationship and she is your daughter."

The room was silent before Zinava just smiled, "A warrior of righteous intention and a healer with a mind to break down even the greatest walls of ice. I admit, you are right. Solan is... my daughter and I am a lover of wyverns." One of the guards outside spoke to the other, "Did you hear that? Icebreaker Zinava is Solan's mother and apparently a black snow." Peridot's hearing picked it up and she asked Zinava, "Excuse me, but what does the term black snow mean?" Zinava's eyes sunk down with her eyelids, "How did you hear that?" Peridot looked backwards, "I heard one of them say it." Zinava grunted, "It is... a title for those that are not full blood dragons." Tenchi quickly got up and growled, "Your version of the former nickname back at home. A filthtail... but it is illegal to say it. Now, if you excuse me." Tenchi walked over to the guard and smiled, "Excuse me, but did you say something about black snow?" The guard nodded, "Yes, I did." Tenchi just smiled before growling as her right fist connected with the cheek of the guard and he soon skid across the ground with a smoking imprint of a fist on his cheek, completely knocked out cold as Tenchi growled, "I cannot stand those that degrade the ultimate trust and love between a rider and their wyvern! I do not care who they are, what they are or where they are. My fist comes with the fury of justice against the bad name-calling!"

Zinava smiled and bowed deeply, "Thank you. I never thought I would see the day when someone actually stood up for me like that." Tenchi turned to face her with a soft smile, "Everyone should have a right to be who they are and have the kids they want. And those kids should never be treated like freaks, but like actual fellow dragons. Look at Janch for an example there." Tenchi pointed at Janch, who looked around and blushed as Tenchi spoke, "She loves a wyvern and have a halfbreed kid. Her daughter was always ashamed of her heritage so much that she kept two wings hidden from others to cover up the fact she was a halfbreed. During the span of just one day, I turned both their lives around, because it is not fair of others to degrade you."

Tenchi didn't notice that outside, Solan was listening to the whole conversation through a window, removing the cloth from her face to wipe the tears away from her eyes before she looked over everyone present in the room, her eyes fixating at Peridot before she put the cloth back over her muzzle and slowly walked to a location behind the building, "Her spirit... it is... familiar to me..." Reaching the door covered in protective seals, she reached into the garb and retrieved a necklace that she held in front of the door, the seals coming undone before she entered and once the door closed, the seals were reapplied over the door, "Yes, this feeling... it is your time..."

Tenchi took a seat before Zinava nodded, "Now, I wish to hear everything you got to tell me." Tenchi wasn't sure where to begin, but she thought it would be better to start at the beginning to tell about how the rest of the planet looked like and where everyone came from. With Phoebe's help, Tenchi introduced Zinava to the greatest nightmare in the family, her own journey towards her current status as the queen of the Frostclaw Tribe, Ri'Co'Va, as well as the goddess of justice. Once said story was told from the beginning to the end, Zinava had mixed emotions running wild inside of her. She felt hatred towards the ones that had injured Tenchi both emotionally and physically, disgust towards the graphical points and a slight hint of amazement how even with all this, Tenchi still had the spirit to keep on fighting, "Miss Tenchi... you are probably the strongest being when it comes to continue through tough situations in life."

Tenchi felt a sincere warmth inside from hearing Zinava say this, but she knew it was not all because of her own accomplishments, "My strength is that which I carry from all the tribes I am a part of. I would never know the true strength of their belief in me, if I had not met my wife and then met her family. They all helped me to grow stronger as a person. And one of them proved to me that even a dark tribe can bring a warm light to the future." Sasha began to blush a bit as she rubbed the back of her head, making Zinava confused until Sasha spoke up, "I might as well formally introduce myself. I am the queen of the dead." She raised her left arm to show the black tattoo appearing along it and up to her face, "I am not born through birth, I am created by divine powers and granted the title of a Shadowtail."

Zinava felt her blood run cold at the reveal before Sasha lifted her hand to her, "Have no fear. I am not acknowledging their methods of the past. I am the failed creation to be a speaker of the darkness and destruction itself. I slayed a god and took his powers for myself and had my powers sealed. I found the will to change my dark path to the one of light itself, but I never left both feet from the darkness. I walked them both until this day. In truth, I embraced my role as the queen of the dead and also now as the goddess of darkness and destruction. But my true strength never came from my titles and the power they granted me. But my true strength consists of what I have around me right now. My very own family. I want to protect them and that is why I never let my inner darkness consume me." Sasha felt everyone hugging her and Zinava didn't have a second thought as she began to applaud at this, "Your words are not acidic at all. I believe you." It was at this point that Tenchi finally had a chance to ask, "Hey, where is uncle Alex?"

It was then that a guard looked into the room, "I apologize for eavesdropping like this, but do you mean a purple thin dragon with strange straws in the face?" Tenchi nodded to him, "Yes, that is him alright." The guard nodded, "I saw him walking into the darkness outside in the snow." Tenchi got up with everyone else before Zinava stood up too and they began to walk towards the entrance to Kilskara. When they finally reached the snowy ground, they saw Alex standing in front of the behemoth that had captured Peridot when they arrived, wyverns soon walking up around them both before Alex grabbed his katana and drew it before spinning around to draw out a second katana from his back and closed his eyes when facing the wyvern, Tenchi quickly calling out, "Uncle! What are you doing? Stop it!" Alex didn't hear her before he struck the katanas together and both of them disappeared as seven sharp blades came out from the ground behind him, making everyone gasp as now even the tribeskin began to gather around to watch this.

Once enough had gathered, Alex struck one of the blades and what seemed to be a calm lullaby played from the blades and everyone moved backwards. Peridot was about to speak up against what was about to happen, but Tenchi quickly placed a finger on her muzzle and smiled as Alex's voice began to calmly sing, "I don't care what you're thinking, as you turn to me. Because what I have in my two hands is enough to set me free. I can fight all the temptations and resist it for a time. But when it's just too much to take, you will sneak up from behind." Looking over at Tenchi and the others, he smiled and pointed at them, "Is it me you say you're looking for?" Assuming a quick stance like a martial artist, he beckoned to them with a finger, "Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for. Here for."

Janch took the invite and rushed over to attempt to punch him, as Alex quickly moved like flowing water to dodge all the strikes, "Try and reach inside of me. Try to drain my energy. Let me show you just what I'm made of." Janch attempted multiple quick uppercuts and scratches, but Alex was quickly parrying them with his hands and with the last few attempts to hit him, he brought her down onto the ground, all while still singing, "Simple curiosity, tries to take a bit of me. Let me show you just what I'm made of now."

With the last word, Alex helped Janch up and gave her a hug before Chaldoa took a chance and ran in to give her own shot at it as Alex kept singing without even panting as he dodged the first punches from the bigger dragoness, "Like a million faces, I've recognized them all. And one by one they all become a number as they fall." He shut his eyes before smiling as Chaldoa's energy allowed him to read every incoming strike, guiding them to the side with the same grace as he had with Janch's own, "In the face of reason, I can take no more. And one by one they all become a black mark on the floor."

Chaldoa found it impossible how far Alex had made progress in sensing her movements as she switched up to the next level and attempting to strike him faster, only to witness with the rest how even then he had no problem with parrying them, "Is it me you say, you're looking for? Let me show you who I am and what I have in store." Stomping hard on the ground, Alex made all the snow fly off the ground before he opened his eyes, "In store." It was then that Chaldoa and Alex began to exchange quick punches that made even Tarja's punches look like slow-motion and like before, Alex never let the singing end, "Try to reach inside of me. Try to drain my energy. Let me show you just what I'm made of. Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me. Let me show you just what I'm made of now."

It was at this point when Chaldoa broke through the shield of fists to strike Alex right in the gut as everyone looked shocked and even the wyverns that had begun to dance around them stopped as Alex sunk onto his knees and the blades all began to shine like a rainbow as an aurora formed above them, but no one felt their energy being drained as Alex still kept on singing, "You can't take another life long try. You can't take another try." He looked up as the snow soon formed a pair of white wings behind him and Chaldoa moved back before Alex sung for the last time, "Try to reach inside of me. Try to drain my energy. Let me show you just what I'm made of. Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me. Let me show you just what I'm made of." As the music slowly began to end, Alex let out a final one for good measures, "Try to reach inside of me. Try to drain my energy. Let me show you just. What. I'm. Made. Of." It was then that the darkness was broken lightly as a thin beam of light came from the sky and slowly enveloped him in its wonderful shine before the music died off and where Alex had been bathed in the light, there was now a golden statue of him.

The applauds went louder than at any wedding as it seemed his song that plagued many with its imperfect timing, had finally won him the heart of the entire tribe and all the wyverns. Tenchi could have sworn that if Zinava's jaw could hang any lower, a female wyvern might mistake it for a nest. And when the jaw finally was back in place, Zinava just looked at Tenchi, "Okay, can you all stop to amaze me now?" Tenchi giggled and smiled before Zinava thought and pointed out into the darkness, "Since you told us about the outside world, we might as well share something of our own. In that specific direction, you will find a holy sanctuary that none of us have dared to enter for over a hundred years. It is called No'Cha'Zji, the Creators' Hall."

Tenchi heard the last part and her eyes went wide, "Creators' Hall? As in Lòeón, Trinity and Faarg?" Zinava nodded, "Yes, though we are usually not speaking their names and call them by their titles, but I can excuse you since you are after all made on their request." Tenchi looked at the rest, "Well, why don't we go and see it for ourselves?" Zinava was about to warn, but Tenchi calmed her quickly, "No, we are not going to force ourselves in there." Everyone else nodded to Tenchi and Zinava smiled, "Very well, promise you will come back here. I got to head back and try and find Solan now."

As they took farewell for the moment, Janch and Vana got their loyal wyverns that had been curled up together and they began to adventure out into the unknown path of snow, but a snap of claws was heard behind as a path lit up for them and Zinava waved before she returned back down into Kilskara, leaving them to journey on their own. Due to the fires around them, they got to witness much of the wildlife there, especially a wyvern that seemed more to enjoy pulling pranks on them as when Janch wasn't looking, it threw a snowball at her with the tail, causing Janch to fall off Gane's back from the fifth hit and gave everyone else a good laughter. Well, everyone except for Janch that cussed the wyvern out.

After nearly twenty minutes of traversing the snowy landscape, they stood in front of a highly-mechanized tower. Tenchi looked over it and just smirked to herself, "What a bunch of showoffs. I mean really, did they have to overdo their construction like this? A simple temple would been fine." It was at this moment when the doors opened and the more they opened, the bigger everyone's eyes went, including the wyverns' as they stood in front of three massive statues depicting the Creators, but near their feet, each in a throne, sat the Creators and waved to them, "Welcome to our sanctuary. You have been expected."

The End.