The Last Celestial

Fire Within The Forest Part III

Elders who were experts with creation and weaponry all gathered in the Forest of the Zodiacs. The forest was huge, bigger than the sss jungle but it was a gem hidden from the maps of the Earth and cannot be traced by any of the satellites. For it was too sacred to be known by man.

The natural riches of the land was enough to feed a whole country of different harvest. But, the fruit the trees bear cannot be consumed by humans. As the soil the trees grow from is mixed with the remains of the Celestial beings. The soil itself is a treasure. It shines gold from a distance. The Golden dust that reminds the Keepers of the beauty of the Celestials.

The tree that grows has markings on its bark unlike the regular trees.

It happened once, a Keeper became too hungry and was too lazy to get food from their satchel. He grabbed a fruit from the tree that glows golden at night, and when he took a bite and swallowed --- he glowed and his body exploded.

From then on, the fruits from the trees were turned into weapons. The seeds from the fruits have to be carefully harvested, and the Keeper who harvest it needs to be trained and knowledgeable with the kind of fruit and the weapon the seed can be turned into.

Nathaniel, the Elder Keeper in command and the leader at the fortress of Scorpio specializes in Harvesting seeds and creating explosions. Heiy, on the other hand specializes with testing out saps, seeds and many more resources.

And then there's Tahani. The leading and current best at making armors, suits and defense mechanisms there is. She and her husband pioneered the Barrier that is being tested out at the Fortress of Scorpio.

Now, her team of fifty people needs to double their production of the golden dust derived from the soil of the forest. The fortress of Taurus needs it. And Kriyanne needs it desperately.

Nad, the younger sister of Dah is Tahani's right hand. Nad is now responsible for overseeing the extraction. And every particle must be carefully extracted and examined. Now that her mother is busy with an important project --- Nad unleashes her fangs and terrorizes those whose job is below the quality standard.

"What do yah think yer doin' ah?!" Nad also got her father's thick Irish accent. "I told yeh to carefully extract that!" She screamed and pointed at the man whose eyes were practically dried up. They've been sleepless for days. And deep dark bags are evident underneath their eyes. "Pull yerself' together or I swear to yer Mum I'll slap yah back to Pisciean era!"

"Ye---yes, Ma'am!" The poor guy answered loudly.

Nad huffed and grumbled like a child. A tyrant more scarier than her mother --- that's what she's known for. But even through her tough exterior, she keeps on worrying about her mother.

Tahani asked her urgently about this. And now, her mother locked herself in a cave located in the deepest part of the forest. The cave of Leo as they call it. Fire combust inside the cave unexpectedly. And even though Tahani never explained why she went there, Nad has a clear idea what her mother is up to. And she hopes Tahani succeeds.

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Tahani wiped the thick layer of sweat from her face. She sighed loudly and felt completely satisfied with her work. She limps her way out of the cave, and draped on her arm was the suit she made for Andrew. She made it just in time. Andrew's suit of armor is complete and is ready to go.

Just like how she made the glove, it took her several days to extract all that sap from the rubber trees inside the forest of Zodiacs. But with the help of the other extractors, she got what she needed and had an extra bucket to spare.

To create the gloves she used ceramic or aluminum hand-shaped molds, or formers, that are first extensively washed in hot water and chlorine to ensure there is no residue from previous batches. When the latex has dried up, she carefully pulls it from the mold and stitches it together using a jute derived from the forest.

When all is well and the suit is ready, she prepared a small burr to carve the special incantation. An incantation used when their ancestors were still alive. It's the same incantation used when creating a barrier. After carving, she began to paint the carvings with black paint made by molasses.

When she was done, she tested it repeatedly by wearing the boots and vest while standing in the middle of the cave of Leo. Before she had the Keepers from the fortress of Leo to test out the items for her. But now with everyone on high alert, she simply cannot push in  such a request in a short amount of time.

Plus she didn't have the luxury to create dozens of these for the Keepers assigned to guard Leo's relic. She only had time to create one, and it's specially for Andrew. When a big fire combusted out of nowhere, the armor prevented her from getting burnt. Yes, she had scrapes here and there. She also had first degree burns on her ears and fingers. But it was all worth it.

Now she is resting on a big oak tree a few kilometres away from the dreaded cave. She closed her eyes and let herself rest. The tree gives her enough shade, but she can still feel the brightness of the sun under her lids.

She laid there for minutes, and only opened her eyes when the brightness of the sun was covered up, and her vision was overshadowed by what seemed like a darker shade.

"Elder Tahani."

Tahani's eyes snapped open when she heard Elder Diomedes' voice calling for her. She stood up from her rest and patted off the grass and other stuff stuck on her clothes. "Elder, you're back." She greeted, her voice was hoarse and unclear. A sign of her fatigue.

Diomedes examined her features and noted how incredibly haggard Tahani was. Some of her clothes had burnt holes in it. And her skin had scrapes and burns and bruises all over. Her thick curly hair also wasn't saved from the burning. And overall, Tahani gave off that burnt smell.

And Diomedes is honored for having her as the creator for Andrew's armor. She is indeed a hardworking woman. "I see you're out of the cave." Was his whimsical way of starting a conversation.

Tahani scratched her head and removed some of the ashes and pieces of broken down limestone from her head. "Yes, Andrew's suit is now finished, Elder Diomedes." She said she grabbed the suit that was laying on the ground and handed it over to the Elder. She also picked up the boots, then gave them to the Elder.

Diomedes thanked Tahani and grabbed on both ends of the thick leather like suit and stared at its design. It's a beautiful auburn color. "Good work, Elder." He praised Tahani, and gave the woman a firm handshake after draping the suit in his arm. "Now, let's head off to Andrew. We're going to anoint him officially as a Keeper today."

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Andrew was wearing the same uniform Dah was wearing when he was being anointed. A black and white tunic with the markings of Haris on the back. Signifying that Andrew is going to be a part of this association until the day that he dies.

One by one they stepped inside a small cavern. The walls of the cavern had different paintings, symbolizing all of the Celestial beings. The color of the Celestial depends on the power they wield. Red for fire, auburn for earth, blue for water and white for air. And in the middle of the cave, there were rows of stones laid on a semi circular line.

Diomedes and the others stopped walking right before they reached the line of stones. "Andrew, you must stand on the stone alone." He instructed, voice clear and calm.

Dah, Timothy and Tahani were right beside the young man.

"Go on." Was Dah's encouraging words to him. It was a proud moment for him, and tears formed in his eyes. "Go on, Andrew."

The boy looked at them and nodded, signalling that he's ready. He took a deep breath and began to walk towards the stones. Andrew stepped on one of the stones, and instantly the paintings on the cave glowed. Before the eyes and skin of the Celestials were painted black, now they were glowing in gold. Andrew marveled at the sight.

Just a few feet away from him a flicker of light appeared. The light grew and grew until embers of fire formed in the air. Strong gushes of winds blew out of nowhere --- and in a second the flickers of light had gone out and a strong explosion happened.

He remembered this feeling, and it happened before. He stood his ground, and placed one knee in front of the other.

He heard the loud sound of thunder, lightning crashing in front of him. And the familiar red and blue flame appeared and it formed the shape of a great lion. It was Leo, standing there in a fiery form.

The Keepers behind Andrew gasped in awe. Diomedes who was standing still fell on his knees and bowed to the greatness of the being in front of him. Tahani and the others followed, their mouths hanging in awe.

The heat of the room was intense as Leo glows and the fire burns and burns continuously.

"Andrew..." A mighty voice rang out of nowhere. The voice was so powerful that the cavern shook lightly and golden dust fell from the top of the cavern. "...from this day on, not only will my power live inside you. But also my will. The grounds are shaking, and the Undying man is rallying forces great enough to topple strong nations. But you, and the awakened bull along with the Scorpion must come together. I bestow upon you, not only my power... but my Fire of Life."

The golden eyes of the lion glowed and then it ran towards Andrew until all of its entire being sank to the young man's body. The young man screamed and felt waves of pain course through his body.

When the last bit of ember faded and disappeared through thin air, the young man fell on his knees and lost consciousness. But on his head, marked the face of the Bull and the Scorpion. It was a gift from Leo. A gift that he must find, before the Undying man gets it first.