Shield of Fire
The iron gate

Dumbfounded… Puzzled… Shocked… There are many words to describe their faces at that moment. All the contestants are looking at the giant iron doors blocking the entrance, unable to process what had stood obstacle in their way. Again.

Crini made her way through the tall bodies blocking her view to arrive at the very front. Her eyes grow wide at the sight, and her mouth drops open.

The metal plates cover all the space that must be previously open from fallen rocks. They reach twice the height of the Ethnians and their weight should be easily a dozen tonnes at least.

Desperate, her eyes wander on the metal surface in an attempt to locate a handle or something to open it, but more frustration hits her the more she looks at it and replaces nothing.

“How we’re supposed to open it? There’s no handle!” Crini voices, stunned by the massive obstacle. And she was just about to feel happy they reached Friki mountain without any attack from otherworldly creatures.

“Does anyone recognise the language or the symbols?” Koniaak mentioned with uncertainty covering her voice.

Crini zoomed out of the solidity of the gate and focused on the engravings on it.

The centre of it was occupied by a depiction of two figures floating above a giant tree with only five branches, spreading symmetrically, with the central one reaching higher from the rest of the others.

The figure depicted on the one metal plate - floating above the one half of the giant tree - had wings on its back. It was holding a shield in one hand and a spiky sword in the other. There were no facial features on its head, apart from a wavy line with sharp edges on top of its head.

The other figure - floating on the other half of the picture - had wings as well but they seemed different. While the ones were resembling birds’ wings, the others were resembling more of bat wings.

Its arms were straight on its sides, with shapeless shadows forming on its palms.

“It’s the creation of Ethnos,” Triana speaks with a loud and clear voice. “We all know the story.” Moving forward she gets Crini’s questioning look at her. “Well… not all.”

A gentle cough got everyone’s attention. All heads snapped in Moiki’s direction. “I believe that the words covering the frame of the metal gate are from the divine language. But has millennia to be spoken and most of the scripts of that time didn’t survive.”

“Check it out with Zoiki. Two minds like yours would be more capable to replace the meaning than the rest of us.” Triana suggested turning to look at him.

The two Sopolians give a slight bow of their heads before they move a bit further away from the group, studying closely at the door and whispering to each other. Triana stands tall - almost three metres of her height. Rising her hands in the air she makes a gesture for the rest to gather around.

“That door was not here one week ago,” Tadal whispered, clearly annoyed by the unfolding of the events. “I was crossing these lands as part of my training, and I had a clear view of the mountain’s entrance. The door was not there.”

“How could someone bring it all the way to Friki mountain and put it here? The distance is too long and there are no other places to use as midpoint spots.” Jato added, scanning the area around in case his point proved wrong.

“He’s right,” Poinary spoke with a strange calm in his voice. “We barely managed to get here under the extreme weather conditions in the area and we don’t carry anything on our shoulders. No one could survive dragging these pieces in the sand. They will be buried under its weight!”

“That’s out of the picture.” Tadal intervened. “Unless…”

Everyone’s eyes suddenly pin on him. Suspicion flickers behind them.

“Trabots.” That is all Tadal says. The group gives him a nod of acknowledgement, but Crini just stands there, looking at him referring to things she has no idea about.

“Floating, volatile-form creatures.” Lura opens his mouth to speak, unaware that Helion was ready to do the same, standing behind him. “They can shift space and time as they wish, and are the only species that communicates with us.”

“So, we can replace them and ask them what is written on the gate.” Crini’s voice fills with a spark of hope.

“It’s not that easy.” Loftak addressed her. “Finding a Trabot may take a lifetime. Remember, they are shifters. They can exist in any place and on any timeline. Communication with them has been lost since the day of eternal darkness.”

“What’s that?” Crini cut her off. Loftak snorts in annoyance.

“When we replace finally shelter, allow me to untangle any confusing points or questions you may have.” Helion’s cold and calculating voice resonated from the back of the circle. “A briefing on Ethnian history would also be good for you.” he turns at her. The tone when he spoke does not match in the slightest with the softness spreading across his face.

Crini looks at him with caution. He’s one of the very few people from the group that couldn’t read through. She had made a brief report, observing every contestant’s behaviour, but Helion was still a mystery to her.

Well, one in a long list of many.

Zoiki and Moiki approach with rapid steps to the group, making an opening to come through. Their faces look excited. “We may have found the answer!” they say in unison.

“If our assumptions are right,” Zoiki took a step forward - before he starts marching in a circle in the centre - “We believe that the language on the gate is the blessings of Leukos, which are based on a combined language of ancient Ethnic with divine language.”

Moiki followed into the centre. “So, if our translation is correct, then we’re looking for the name of the piece that barricaded Exalos’ wrath during the battle.”

Crini - without a word coming out of her lips - moved to the side, making her way back to the front of the iron gate. She let her eyes drift to the engravings, watching closely for any minor line that she may didn’t observed before.

“It must be somewhere here…” Crini whispers to herself as he looks at the great battle depicted on the gate.

She wondered how could someone - or something, she wasn’t sure for anything right now - could make such fine lines and curves on such a hard material. It would require top-class technology and artistic style to do it.

Her eyes fall on the two forms fighting in the centre, above the massive, strange-looking tree. Although the features on their faces were non-existent, there was great detail on the rest of them. The armour and the sword, the wings and many more are engraved to the finest detail.

Crini’s eyes grow at the revelation. She turns but stops abruptly when she sees Lura standing right behind her, his form towering above her like a shadow. “I think I know what we’re looking for.” she breathes out with a short laugh.