Chapter CLXXVII: Holy Dealings ~Rainstorm

Rainy walked through the Spectrum wondering how Lich and everyone else that had gone were doing. He just continued to pace back and forth and back and forth, looking out the window every once in a while. Ever since Havering freaked out and wouldn't let them help him, Rainy had pretty much avoided him, and really everyone else. He was having some trouble. During one of the many times when Rainy had just been sitting around and doing nothing, he had been thinking as usual, and remembered something Ravis had talked to him about when they were younger....

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Gratician Field was all green already, and Spring had just arrived. The snow had all melted away which made Rainy somewhat sad, and yet he was happy for the warmth of the new sunshine. He was sitting under his favorite tree, looking at the fluffy white clouds floating by. He sighed a happy sigh when suddenly...

"WOOOOOOOOO!!"

Rainy jumped up from where he was sitting and looked behind him to find Ravis with that ever present grin on his face. Rainy laughed along with him and then sat back down. Ravis also sat down and began to speak.

"Hey, do you know what I heard about what's behind the Academy?"

"No, I have absoutely no idea what you're talking about. I didn't even know there was a back to the Academy."

(At this time, they were both still attending the Academy).

"Well one of the eldest teachers there told me that back a long time ago, around the time he was younger there used to be an altar back there where students would go after their training..."

Rainy thought for a second. "And what exactly would they do back there?"

Ravis hesitated and looked a little nervous for a second.

"What? What is it Ravis?"

"Well, they used to study to become Seraph." (Note: This is not Seraph in the normal Hebrew meaning of the word. In that meaning, Seraph is the lowest in the order of angels. In the world of Nimbus, they are the top).

"What? Are you joking?" Rainy said.

"I know, you think I'm pranking on you again don't you?"

"Well, yeah. You usually do I mean come on!" Rainy said, rolling his eyes.

"But this time, my information came directly from a professor. Unless he's lying to me, which he very well might be, I would trust his word."

Rainy pondered for a moment. "I wonder what it would be like if that were actually true..."

"And how long exactly did you say it was since they've done this?"

"Well let's see, you go to Academy when you're 50, and you graduate when you're 56 right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Well then let's see. Professor Bliz is 450 years old, so it had to have been about 400 years ago right?"

"Wow, that's a long time. I wonder if they'd let someone still do that?"

"Don't get any ideas buddy. You and your thoughts. You always gotta be dreamin' about something doancha?"

But Rainy hadn't heard him, he was too busy already daydreaming about what it would be like.

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Rainy smiled and wiped a tear from his eye as he got up from his seat. He still wondered if the Academy would let students do that ever again. Just then, D'Nel walked by, looking rather bored.

"Hey, D'Nel, how ya doin’?"

"Who are you?" D'Nel said with a weird look on his face.

"I guess we haven't properly been introduced, or if we have you just don't remember me. I'm Rainstorm Yoshi, but most people around here just call me Rainy."

"Well then, I'm D'Nel, nice to meetcha I guess."

Rainy saw his chance, and took it.

"Hey, D'Nel, you look rather well travelled; I bet you've been to a lot of different places haven't you?"

D'Nel puffed out his chest a bit and smirked, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Ever been to a place called Nimbus?"

D'Nel thought for a second, "Nimbus...Nimbus why does that sound familiar? Weren't we just there awhile ago?"

Rainy mentally slapped himself for the lack of tact, "Yeah, that's right. Did you manage to get off the train and get a look around? I'm sure you wanted to see what was all there considering you look like the adventuresome type anyways."

"No, I never really got the chance, considering we had to go after you almost right after we got there."

Although D'Nel sounded a bit annoyed, Rainy was pleased with the way this conversation was going.

"Well, would you want to go back ever to take a look around?"

"You bet I would! I'll go anywhere for a little adventure."

Rainy thought for a second, Well, here goes.

"Come on, you've gotta have some artefact or something in that bag of tricks you and Ray Noh carry around with you. There's gotta be something in there that I - I mean we could use to go there."

"Well, let's find out; worth a look I guess."

D'Nel dissappeared for a second into his and Ray Noh's room to look through while Rainy sighed relief. But then a split second later he mentally slapped himself again. Oh wonderful, how am I going to get away from those two (assuming that Ray Noh is coming along) and get away for a while?

Before he could finish his thought, he heard D'Nel's voice, all excited, shout, "What is this?"

Rainy went into his room to find D'Nel crouched over his bag, looking at something.

"Whatcha got there?"

"I have no idea, just looks like an old doorknob off of some old door. Dunno why the hell we would keep this thing around."

"Looks like there's something written on it right there..." Rainy said.

"Actually there is," D'Nel said, pulling out a rag to rub off the dirt that was covering it partially.

"Well the letters are a little faded, but it looks like it says ‘Everywhere Knob’ on it."

"Let me see that a sec," Rainy said. "Yeah, you're right, it does."

"Question is, how do ya use it...hmmm."

First D'Nel held it up to the door of the room and then tried turning it like a normal door knob but nothing happened. Then he tried just turning it in the air at random heights, which looked rather amusing to Rainy. And then something happened. All of a sudden, the knob was stuck in mid-air as if it had been glued to something invisible.

"Well, I think we've found out how to use it, but how exactly do we get where we want to go?"

"Try just turning it and pulling."

"Alright...."

So D'nel turned and pulled and there was nothing there, just a white space.

"Um....I think something went wrong," said D'Nel as he closed the door.

"Let's see, try thinking of something you saw on Nimbus, maybe that'll work."

Just then D'Nel thought of the field where they had originally landed. He gave the knob another turn and another pull and there they were, in the middle of the field where the Spectrum had landed not too long ago.

"Woohoo!" shouted D'Nel, "Let me go get Ray Noh and we'll be off."

Rainy looked through and then walked through onto the grass of his homeworld as D'Nel came crashing through the door with Ray Noh all excited.

"I have to go somewhere right now, I'll be back soon, and I hope what I'm about to do doesn't take that long."

"Wait, you're not gonna stick around with me and Ray and tour us?" asked D'Nel.

"Nope, not this time, sorry. Maybe next time we come back huh?"

D'Nel looked a little nervous, "Well then maybe me and Ray will stay here and guard the door so it doesn't...uh...close...yeah that's it!"

Rainy smiled to himself as he waved goodbye, murmuring the words for the teleport spell under his breath, and in a bright flash of light and a whoosh he was gone.

A few seconds later he ended up at the stairs to the Academy, and he walked inside and asked where to find Professor Bliz. The yoshi at the desk told him to go to room 202 on the second floor. Professor Bliz should've just been finishing up a class.

Rainy said thank you and went up the stairs to find Professor Bliz, who indeed was just letting his class out. Professor Bliz looked up and caught Rainy's eye and he smiled, Rainy had done quite well in Professor Bliz's class.

"Rainstorm, my boy how have you been?"

"Fine, sir, just returning to actually ask you a question, just like old times huh?" he said with a small grin.

"Sure, sure. Step inside my room for a second and let me pack up while you ask your question."

Rainy stepped inside of the ancient classroom, and it looked exactly as it had when he had been in there: Professor Bliz's desk at the head of the classroom next to the board with the rows and rows of tables in front of it for the students.

"Now what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Well....um....you see...."

"Come, come now, out with it!"

"Well, it has to do with something that the Academy used to do when you were going here..."

"And what could that be? To my knowledge, it hasn't changed much since I was a student..."

"Well it had to do with the altar in the back of the–"

Rainy was cut off by Professor Bliz running to the door to slam it shut and lock it.

"What is it, sir?"

"Well, we teachers are never supposed to talk about this, but there used to be an old altar where students would study to become Seraph."

"Why did the Academy stop doing it sir?"

Professor Bliz fell silent and looked at the floor. "Well there was this one time.....the ceremony went just as planned, but when the particular person came back...."

"What?"

"It was...the man who tortured your dreams for so long…"

Rainy stopped and looked into Professor Bliz's eyes and saw absolutely no trace of un-truth in them.

"I...I see..."

"So, ever since then, the Academy has ceased to do the program."

"Is there anyway that I would be able to do this ever, sir?"

"Well...you could, but there would be consequences you realize?"

Rainy had a puzzled look on his face, "Such as?"

"Well for one, you'd lose some of your spells as a result of you becoming a Seraph. You wouldn't ever be able to cast fireball, explosion, dark holy, choking smoke, or cloak of shadows. They aren't considered holy spells, but in their stead, you would gain a few more, and your other precipiwizard spells would remain. The other consequence though is that you'd never be able to return to Nimbus after the ceremony. Once the ceremony is over and if you become a Seraph, you would never be allowed to come back."

"And why exactly is that?"

"Well, because the ceremony was never supposed to be done ever again. Most Professors have forgotten about it anyways, but if they ever found out someone did the ceremony, it would be your life and mine."

Rainy gulped, but persisted on.

"And you would help me to do this, sir?"

Professor Bliz sighed and thought for a moment. "Yes, I would help you. I've always been interested in seeing the ceremony. I had read plenty about it in my day here because it used to be a class on how the ceremony was carried out, and I own one of the last remaining books on how it is done."

"Great! One thing though, we'd have to do this now."

"Now? Good Gods, why?!"

"Because, to tell the truth, I'm on a schedule, and if I don't do this quickly, I may not make it back in time to my fellow train-mates who I daresay will need me soon. Speaking of time, how long does this take exactly?"

"I would say in the area of say 45 minutes or so, but you will not be able to do anything for 10 minutes after turning into a Seraph as your body will have to adjust to being one. You will be very weak for that time."

"Okay, Professor, I'm ready. Let's go."

Professor Bliz then grabbed his book and they headed down the old staircase, first making sure that there was no one following them. This old passageway was filled with cobwebs and seemed like it hadn't been used in years, but eventually they got to the end. They were standing in a courtyard next to a small altar illuminated by the beam of moonlight that the hole in the ceiling let in.

"Alright, I will have to have you lay down on that altar and stay very still, you must trust me completely."

Rainy nodded and lay down on the altar.

"Now, just listen as I read the final thing you will hear as a normal Yoshi."

Professor Bliz cleared his throat and said in his booming voice, "Rainstorm Yoshi! You will now be tested by your Goddess in an examination of your soul. Should you pass this soul screening, you will thenceforth be known as Rainstorm Seraph. Though you may lose some of your magic abilities, you will gain the blessing of your Goddess, and some spells in return for your devoutness. You will also grow wings, which will aid you in your holy quest where you may go."

Then Professor Bliz threw some powder onto Rainstorm.

"Now look me straight in the eyes."

"What's to happen next Professor?"

"Goodbye my friend, you'll be back soon."

Just then, Rainy saw something glint in the moonlight before feeling excruciating pain in his chest.

"What...what just happened?" he asked.

Then he noticed the rather large knife sticking through his ribs into his heart.

"Professor...why?"

"It's part of the process, may your Goddess deem you worthy."

Then the whole world began to spin before Rainy's eyes and everything went black.