The Keyblade Chronicles (Chapters 5-9)

Chapter 5

Josiah and Daniel walked through the Great Hall of Manoor, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Sahzya Edein. Great, regal columns held up the lofty hall, crafted by people from another age. Their footsteps made satisfying clicks as they walked, the sound echoing throughout the hall.

“The air on this planet is 43.21% oxygen; did you know that?” Sahzya said. “It is some of the purest air in the known universe. It strengthens the body and the soul.” He smiled to himself. “The people of Manoor are strong. The Authority will not lay claim to this world. You may have sanctuary here for as long as you need.”

“We thank you,” Josiah replied. “Their grip has grown too strong. We’re suffocating out there. They’ll be looking for us.”

“Oh, no doubt,” said Sahzya. 

“We were hoping you-”

“That I had a plan?”

They both nodded. 

“There is only one plan. We strike them at their weakest point.”

“Which is?” Jo asked. 

“What do you know of the Keyblade?”

Daniel laughed, then: “The technology isn’t possible. It’s a myth.”

“They used to think trade-route travel was impossible too. Then that bastard cracked it. There is evidence of the Keyblade, right here on Manoor.”

Jo asked: “What evidence?”

“Let me show you.”

Chapter 6

The two moons hung low in the sky as Catherine and the stranger walked across the purple-hued desert. There was a stillness in the air that she had never felt before: a calm welcoming from an alien world.

The stranger stayed quiet, walking a few metres ahead of Catherine. She looked behind her, where the portal had been, but all that she could see was the same purple-hued sand. 

“Where am I?” She asked herself.

They walked for what seemed like hours, but it was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Then she spotted it: a silver structure emerging from the horizon. The moonlight glittered off its chrome exterior. 

They walked up to the building, after what seemed like another hour or so. There didn’t seem to be any entrance, but the stranger stopped at a wall, which must have been at least two hundred meters tall, and placed the palm of her hand on its smooth surface. Suddenly, and silently, the wall opened inwards, revealing a beautiful, emerald-green spire within it. 

“We have to take care of your arm,” the stranger said finally, breaking the silence. 

Catherine was too stunned to speak. 

They walked up to the emerald spire. 

Chapter 7

Maurice traveled silently through space. 

The Authority had requested his presence in wake of the stolen starpod, and he knew the meeting was not going to go well. 

He stayed in his seat the entire trip, staring out the window into the black void. Maurice was constantly impressed by the vastness of space. He saw it as territory to conquer, and he was hungry to conquer it all. 

“Approaching Exos 1,” he heard over the loudspeaker. 

He shuffled in his seat, eyes still peeled to the black space around him and his shuttle. He watched as the planet Exos came into view, and was soon engulfed by the atmosphere. 

They landed on the holding bay in front of the Holy Cathedral, and he felt the ship rumble as its engines turned off. 

Exiting the ship, he breathed in the air; it always tasted slightly metallic, like blood in water. This was not a jovial place. 

Maurice got into the hypercar waiting for him, and he was shuttled up to the cathedral. 

Chapter 8

Inside the emerald spire, Catherine and the stranger climbed a long flight of stairs. Higher and higher they went, as Catherine nursed her arm. Finally, after some time, they entered a large, circular room with tall podiums; each podium had somebody standing there. The room was quiet, and Catherine got the sense that even if she whispered the whole room would hear it as if it were spoken directly into their ears. Finally, the stranger spoke.

“Here she is,” she said.

A man at a podium at the far end of the room spoke, his low voice bouncing off the walls. 

“You are Catherine Ness?”

Catherine was stunned, and didn’t know what to say. She felt that she didn’t have enough information in order to discern what her next step should be; she felt as if she were walking a tightrope over a canyon. 

After an unbearable, oppressive silence, she said: “Yes, I am.” 

The man at the far end of the room adjusted his position and clasped his hands, with his elbows leaning on the podium. Then, he said: “This is Scienca.” Then, after a long pause: “You’re in another universe.”

Chapter 9

Catherine looked around her, at all the people standing at their respective podiums, then at the stranger beside her who, she now realized, was strikingly beautiful. 

“This is Sonya,” said the man at the far end, “she’s the one who saved you.”

Sonya did a curtsy. 

“She’ll be the one looking after you as you adjust to your new world,” he continued.

“My new world?” Catherine asked.

“Yes—I don’t imagine you want to go back to the place where they intended to tear you limb from limb.”

“That’s true, but I—“

Sonya spoke: “—Maybe we should start off on a gentler foot Pietro.”

The man at the far end, who was evidently named Pietro, straightened his back and sighed. “Lead us then, Sonya,” he said, almost mockingly. 

Sonya spoke softly but clearly; she didn’t have to worry about sound not travelling through this room. 

“You’re in Scienca, which is our name for his universe,” she said, turning to Catherine.

“How did you know to find me?”

Sonya looked at Pietro and he sighed again. He reached under his podium and pulled out an envelop, which was then handed down to a servant standing in front of his podium (Catherine hadn’t even noticed these servants when she walked in, but now she saw there was one at every podium), and the servant walked over to her and handed her the envelop. Catherine opened it, and pulled out a letter from inside. Unfolding it, she saw that it was addressed to her. 

“You may read it aloud, if you wish,” Pietro said.

She gulped a dry throat. 

“Catherine,” the letter began, “I hope to God that you live to read this. I cannot tell you who I am; just know that there are good people looking out for you. We know you were captured in Tantadon, and we know that Sonya will help you escape. As to how she will do that, we don’t know. If only—”

The letter stopped there, as it was ripped at the bottom. Catherine turned it over, and written on the back was the cell unit she was trapped in. 

“Who gave this to you,” she asked the room. 

A scribe. It wasn’t addressed to us, but we couldn’t resist peeking. And I’m glad we did.” 

“You used the Keyblade to save me.”

“That’s right,” said Pietro. 

“I thought it didn’t exist.”

“Not in your universe, no. But it can exist. And that’s what The Authority wants.”

“Who are you people,” Catherine asked, shaking her head.

Pietro smiled. “All in due time, Ms. Ness, all in due time.”