Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle) (55 page)

He now understood why Mark wanted to hurry before being stuck in the nosebleed section.

Sarah and Connor
started up the s
teps and turned off on the fo
u
rth
row
,
in the middle section. The six of
them
walked to the end where about three Changers
,
that all looked like
actual
angels with two pairs of white wings and
one wore
a brown set,
sat beside
two Keepers and
beyond the giants sat
six Balancers
,
shoulder to shoulder on the
stone
row. Connor
sat down next to a man with a
deadly looking battle
ax
e
,
laying b
eside
his left hip.
Connor
sat down next to
the weapon
and
the other person
didn’t even acknowledge
him
as
he
took
a
seat.
Connor’s
feet dangled about three feet from
the ground of the filled third
row. Sarah sat thigh to thigh with
him
and
he
put
an
arm around her shoulders an
d she rested her head against his
ribs. Kara sat next to her with Mark and Jack and Jillian to his left.

Connor
then
studied the
impressive
architecture of the stage before
him
.

A singular  of
small marble staircase
in the center that led up to a solid white marble stage that
stood
over ten feet off the ground.
It was the perfect contrast to the stone everyone sat on.
In the
very
center of the stage
laid
a darker shade of marble which was also slightly elevated like an ancient podium.
There were two sides and a back wall made in a very peculiar fashion. About twenty feet in the air were three large stone platforms
, one
up
on each wall and
they too were made of marble. Connor
knew that is where the
thirty
Elders would sit
and look
upon
them
all
. Each platform
had been craf
ted from pure
marble as were
all
the
individual
seats
. The
solid
seats were different for each section. The right wall held ten individual seats
and were smaller for a single individual
, the left held five wider seats for pairs to sit
up
on
and the back wall’s
ten
seats were
much
larger to accommodate for the size
and bulk of
the Elder Keepers.
The central seat
s
w
ere
different for each platform because they
were larger and much more elegant. Connor
deducted that it would be for the Elder Leaders
, eldest of each group
.
The Balancers central seat
remained
made for
two people to sit
,
just
like
the others, but this seat
had been inlaid
with
veins of
gold
.
Even the central chairs for the Changers and Keepers were also lined in pure gold.
The front of the seats held an open walkway with a single
railing
to keep the Elders from falling over.

Behind the central seats were huge
,
arched Mahogany
red
doors that split open in the center. The doors were all jeweled with huge stones which would make
Rhoda and many women
faint if
they
ever laid eyes on it.
Elegant and ostentatious made everything feel beyond wealthy, but as one gets older wealth doesn’t much value whereas its beauty will remain forever ideal.
The linings for each d
oor
had also been
made of pure gold and hel
d the same carvings
they
saw
when they
first entered the mountain.
He
couldn’t believe the complexity of each door
either
,
he
guesses that one door
alone
would sell
somewhere
in the billions for its jewels alone.
The amount of history seen and lived within the room far exceeded any amount of precious metals or gems.

About thirty feet above
each of
the Elders platform held a banner. Each of the three had solid black background
s
, but each banner held a different symbol
threaded from
spun gold. It reminded
him
of Elder Adela
and Alexander
’s robe.

Off to the left wall held a
five pointed
star inside
of
a circle and he
knew that to be the symbol for the Balancers.
It was a golden pentagram.
Each point stood for the five elements; Metal, Terra, Pressure,
Liquid and Fire.
Connor
suddenly
felt co
nscious of
the
armlet on
his
left
arm.

To the right wall
draped
a banner with a slit like Mark’s eyes
;
when his body had been altered to a certain extent
and
he
knew that
the symbol just
had to be the side for Changers.

The Banner of the Keepers
was
actually shaped like an
hourglass. The top and bottom were each half
full
and a few trickles of gold gave the illusion that the sand was
constantly
falling out of the narrow
ed
center.
Connor
knew why the
Keepers
chose that symbol. They were the keepers of time which held knowledge
that
he
might not ever fully comprehend
, even if he lived millions of years
.

“…are you listening?” Connor
felt
his
sister reaching around
Sarah’s shoulder
to hit the back
side
of
his head. She succeeded. He
turned to look at her and she said “Now that I have your
undivided
attention
, I asked you
:
W
hat do you think the Elders will do first?”

“Probably come out and
introduce themselves to us
.”

Jillian began to laugh. “They do that too
, but they usually start this day by telling the tragedy’s that have been reported since the last meeting.”

“What’s next?” Connor
asked
.

“Well that is tricky to say. Every meeting changes from time to time to keep it from getting to
o
stale. The meeting will usually last all month so they might have something new
this time
. After the meeting there are new things for entertainment that will be open for us…” Jillian continued
speaking upon
the things they did in the past and
he
becam
e
intrigued with many of the prospects she mentioned.

They
all continued making small talk and the stands had
filled to near capacity
.
Connor
looked around the room to see many
beings
doing exactly what
they were; passing the time. T
wo Immortal Guard’s
were currently
posted under each Elders platform and two more
protected
the top
dais
,
looking for any sign of danger
to their charges
. Each of the twelve guards protected the
Elders from any threat that might loom in the mass of immortals
. Four Balancers stayed on their side,
f
our Changers
kept
to theirs and the Keepers
remained
on the back wall. Two of the
f
emale Balancer
s shared familiar features and Connor
knew they were sisters. They had dark skin and straight hair.
He then
recognized the two on the bottom to be Cassie and Marik, they were the ones
he
caught following
them
to the entrance
of the mountain
. Marik had a broadsword strapped to his back and
Connor
knew he could use it
expertly
by the way it moved with him
. The bottom two Changers were a gorilla with long and big hairy arms and his partner was a female Cheetah. She had a sleek and lean body and
he
knew she would
undoubtedly
be fast. Their upper counterparts were two males in a similar shape of a lion with golde
n wings. The four female Keeper Guards
looked the same except for their
vibrant and unique
eye colors.
One had
turquoise, pow
er blue, blood red and pale gray
eyes.
E
ach of their
golden
pendants
glint
ed
off the rooms light.

Connor
noticed
sudden
movement in front of the marble stage
as a li
ne of Guards entered the room. He
counted ten
on each side of the stairs and they were mixed
up
with no apparent order
and no dress code
seemed
mandatory so long as they wore the golden pendant
.
He
then
s
potted
Firon standing on the left side of the staircase
to the stage
.
Then
they all changed their stature
and became solidly planted
like an oak tree
where they stood. They all looked like solders prepared for inspection, but
Connor
knew they were preparing for the arrival of the Elders.

Connor
squeezed Sarah’s hand and she stopped talking
with Mark and Kara to look at him. Before she could speak they
felt a foreign mind
seeking ent
r
ance
.
“All rise for the thirty Elders.”

The noise
of the room
immediately died and then everyone stood. There wasn’t any music or trumpets, but that didn’t make their arrival any less dramatic.

The first door to open was that of the
Elder
Changer’s.
Connor
counted eight
men and
two
women walking in a single line and separating to take their
individual
seats. Their chins were level and showed
that they deserved respect
and
up
held
station
.
Each one had a black robe with a golden
catlike
pupil
,
just
like their banner
,
on their chest and the
ir robes
were all sleeveless. The thing
that seemed odd is that
not
a single
one of them were transformed.
He
guessed only everyone else has to manipulate their bodies. The five men all had long black hair which blended in with their ro
b
es. They all had
comparable,
pure
silver eyes, but that is where the similarities ended. Each of their heights were different, but all were shorter than
Connor
, but not by much
. Some of them
attired
wristbands or rings that looked t
o
o extravagant, but they were all real. The women on the other hand were
identical
twins and shared everything except for the cut of their black hair.
They bo
th had
dark,
creamy complexions and loo
ked to be about in their
early to
mid twenties.
The shortest
and most muscular
of all the men sat in the largest chair.
D
eep set eyes and a strong jaw
gave him a serious appearance
. He was clean shaved and high arched eyebrows.