Preparations (Part 2)

The twenty-sixth chapter of the Crusaders of the Constellation Nove, it continues from Preparations (Part 1).

## Story

Next stop was the Realm of the Moon. "Be warned. Change is constant in this Realm. Besides, it's dark in there. Be sure that your light sources are charged," Samson advised. Once they set foot, they noticed that the place is full of moonlight. Ranald, Mayari and Asclepius headed to the ruins of a castle as soon as the sky started drizzling. It was called Argent Castle for its walls inlaid with silver. It has five towers named for the phases of the moon, and the three explored the Full Moon Tower first. They found some scrolls about lost martial arts. They went to the Gibbous Moon tower and found some silver plates, then the Half Moon Tower and found some silk robes. "It is hard to imagine that such an impressive looking place has fallen to ruin," Phrixus said as he and his friends headed to the Crescent Moon Tower. They found silver-bladed sickles in it. At the New Moon Tower, they found a watch-like device. Ranald cautioned Mayari not to attempt to toy with it, for the technology used to make it is currently unknown. They went out of the ruins and into the Garden of the Four Guardians. It too was overgrown with weeds. Four creatures slumbered in the gardens, a green dragon in the east, a white tiger in the west, a black tortoise in the north, and a crimson phoenix in the south that looked different from the one Azar befriended. An inscription nearby read 'Only the Silver Deer will awaken these beasts to protect this Realm once more'. Mayari told her friends that she wasn't sure that the Silver Deer really refers to her. "You'll never know," Ranald said. They went to Maanlicht Woods, only to find that it too has wildlife. Sweet osmanthus, pine and fir grow there, as well as white flowers of various species, like roses with silver thorns. The fauna there are nocturnal animals such as moon rabbits, wolves, panthers, and deer. There is a Clear Moon pond which a river called Silver Light flows in. Bai Tu was chased by Kibahime and Geri in their animal forms. The air seemed to change from being still to becoming a gentle breeze, with a light shower of rain falling on the woods. "The weather sure is strange today," Bai Tu said as he turned back into human form. "And you shapeshifted faster than before!" Ranald said. "It must be the moonlight's effect on shifters in general. I'm not so sure about Earth, but..." "We're good!"  Delmare and Cassiopeia emerged from the bushes with moon berries. "They sure are sweet and delicious!" Cassiopeia said.

They camped in the Realm of the Moon and fell asleep rather quick. After that, they went to the Realm of Mars, known from its red sky. Nergal quoted a rhyme:

"Red sky at night, shepherds' delight.

Red sky at morning, shepherds' warning."

"How do I know how the weather would be if the sky here's red all the time?" Phrixus asked as rain fell from the sky of the Realm of Mars. After waiting for the Realm to clear, the students and staff went exploring. The Fortress of Glory and Combat was quite well-preserved for an ancient building, and it has an arena in ruins connected to it. Ranald looked around the Arena and found some swords there, as well as some training manuals. He met Husdent, who accompanied him to the training room of the castle, where they found some scrolls pertaining to the forging of weapons. "It was the military centre in the ancient days of Aether World," the flame dog told Ranald. The forest near the castle was a jungle full of wildlife that was dangerous, even more so after Aether World's kingdom fell. Ranald went to meet his friends there, while Husdent met Samson and King Athos and gave them the scrolls and training manuals. "It would be useful for the library," Athos said. In the Jungle of Tribulations, Ranald practised the moves of the twelve martial arts against the creatures in it, without need to transform into his Golden Griffin Warrior Form. There was a branch of Claritas River flowing into the Realm of Mars and cutting through it, becoming a river that boils hot. It was called the Dread Steam River. Near the river were geysers that erupted suddenly and violently. Bai Tu disliked the geysers, and instead headed into the Warrior's valley followed by Chrysomallos, the golden-winged ram. Phrixus followed after, and they ended up in a secret tunnel leading to the basement of the fortress."Perhaps they built the tunnel in case they want to escape back then, but it truly was a harrowing experience," Bai Tu spoke after he, Phrixus and Chrysomallos emerged from the basement of the Fortress of Glory and Combat, where Ranald was waiting. "I was so worried about you!" he yelled at them. Baby Little told his buddy that at least his friends made it out alive. Ranald cooled down and walked with his friends back to camp. During dinner time, King Athos allowed the students to ask him questions. Ranald asked what will happen if they defeat the Devourer of Worlds, and whether they will receive the power of the stars like the Star Crusaders used to. "What you do after the Serpent's defeat is up to you. But as for the latter... all I know is that only the pure of heart receive the power from the stars," the king replied. After the session of questions, everyone rested in their tents.

The next Realm they visited was the Realm of Jupiter, the biggest of them all. It was always stormy, though rain sometimes falls from the sky. The ruins of the buildings such as the Thundering Fortress were on the Realm by the time the spacecraft arrived. The Fortress has some thunderbolt motifs carved on its doors, and from the main door, there is a walkway leading to a watchtower. It was called the Watchtower of Forest and Storm. It is made of brass and stone, with a golden roof and windows. "It's probably to keep a lookout for intruders...anyway, let's explore," Samson said. Ranald headed into the Thundering Fortress, long abandoned after the kingdom's fall. It was vast. His friends went to the nearby Grasslands of Heaven to find objects to carry with them on their journey. The grasslands have some rare herbs growing around, as well as some baobab trees. Gazelles can be found roaming the area, as well as lions and leopards, while eagles can be seen soaring in the turbulent skies. There's a river valley where the Roaring Thunder Stream is found. Rare fish can be found there. Now, there's a mountain range surrounding where the Thundering Fortress and Watchtower of Forest and Storm are.

Ranald went to the Thundering Fortress's rooms and found some books on law and governance. He also came out with some artifacts and Thunder Topazes. He went to rest in the camping grounds near where the Dimensional Shuttle rested. King Athos was testing a teleportation machine where all the treasure they found was transferred to the Aether World Cosmic University. Ranald asked the king, "What is that for?" Athos invited him to place the treasure in the machine's opening. He did, and Athos manned the computer on the machine. The stuff Ranald put in it vanished, only to reappear in the university. "Woah!" Ranald exclaimed. "We need to teleport some stuff back to school if there's too many of them," Athos replied. Phrixus and Chrysomallos came back to camp, as well as the rest of the students. They found some useful items for use in upgrading their weapons. It is a good thing that the Dimensional Shuttle's Train Mode also has a portable laboratory for the students to research weapon upgrades and medicine. Asclepius guided Ranald and Mayari on making medicines that cure status ailments. At night, they stayed inside their tents after dinner, watching the storm rage outside.

Next was the Realm of Saturn. It has a gloomy atmosphere. Everything in it looked as if they are in shadows all the time. Some noises and moans can be heard from the forests near a field the spacecraft landed on, but no source can be found. Several students looked around and lit up their light sources. A rustling of leaves was heard, but no matter where they looked, no source can be heard. Shani noted that the Realm of Saturn looked like the kind of place he would like to stay in. "Are you scared?" Ranald teased the naga. Shani shook his head and slithered into the forest, known as the Black Skull Forest. The field was full of asphodel plants, and surrounding and cutting through the Realm are five rivers: Cocytus, Phlegethon, Styx, Lethe and Acheron. All five rivers split from a branch of Claritas river flowing to the Realm. The Styx River encircled the Realm of Saturn's towering Palace of Time, made of Celestial Obsidian, and lying in ruins. Only its east wing was left intact. Ranald and friends followed Shani into the Black Skull Forest. The Forest was dark and gloomy, and many spectral animals can be found roaming about. The group had to fens off the hostile ones before proceeding. At the Styx River, there was a wooden bridge. Ranald crossed it and found a gigantic three-headed dog at the palace gates. The dog was huge and covered with jet-black fur, its paws have sharp claws of silver, and it's three heads have red eyes and are equipped with sharp teeth. The creature lunged at Ranald in an attempt to eat it. He kicked the three-headed dog and used his schoolbag to shield himself and Baby Little from its bites. They had a brief fight until Orcus called the dog. Its three heads sniffed around for more intruders, and upon seeing Orcus, it growled. The pale boy walked slowly to the three-headed dog, speaking gently to it. He patted one of its heads, and the dog rolled over. Ranald was surprised at this change in the dog's demeanour.

"How is it possible to tame such a ferocious beast?" Ranald asked Orcus. "Not all things can be tamed with force. This guy is kinda lonely after a long time being a guard for its palace. Maybe he can be useful in sniffing out treasure," the boy said. He and the three-headed dog, not his pet of sorts, went with Ranald and his friends in the Palace of Time. The east wing was found to be filled with watches and clocks of every kind. Bai Tu, who was quite tense when he saw Ranald battle the three-headed dog, found a silver pocket watch. Every tick it gave out seemed to calm him down. The dog helped the students find more treasures and scrolls. One of the scrolls was about a martial art that can enable the practitioner to manipulate time but considering the complications, Ranald decided not to learn it. Instead, he kept the scroll in his schoolbag to give to King Athos later. Baby Little told Ranald that someone else can have the scroll instead. When they came back to camp, Ranald gave the scroll to a steampunk-dressed lad with goggles. He thanked Ranald and introduced himself. "I'm Horaz the Timekeeper. Thank you for your gift." Ranald smiled at the student and went to chat with Phrixus who was watching over the belongings of the other students who went exploring. Then he headed back to the tent to sleep.