CHAPTER EIGHT: THE QUEST FOR CLUES IV: TALES FROM THE RYU DOJO

Ryu and Reis stood at the Entrance to the Passage Of The Galagan.

"Our next destination is the Temple Of The Light Ryu east of this entrance. We're going to speak to Rokkan's Master who happens to be my Masters' brother" Ryu said.

"Sounds interesting" Reis said.

"You're not asking any questions. Aren't you at least curious?" Ryu asked.

"I figured you'll tell me more when you're ready and to some extent I now understand what you meant by the test of resourcefulness was necessary for us both. I'll make my own deductions and conclusions after learning everything we need to learn" Reis said.

"Besides, to be honest, I'd say this has all been a rather rewarding experience for me" Reis said.

Ryu patted him on the back.

"Nicely said Reis" he said.

Eventually, they arrived at a large Temple that seemed to be made of precious stones that further diffracted and amplified the Light from the Limelight Devices thus giving the Temple a glorious many coloured appearance.

"It's really beautiful" Reis said.

"They don't call it the Temple Of The Light Ryu for nothing you know?" Ryu said and led Reis into the Temple.

Within the Temple, Light Ninja trained.

In their midst, giving them directions was an elderly man who could only be described as ancient. He looked as old as the elderly man in Tanya's Tent who was Master Hiruko.

"Master Hiroshi" Ryu greeted.

The elderly man walked towards them.

"My brother informed me that you'd soon be arriving Ryu. You wish to show Reis the Tales concerning the origins of the Ryu?" Master Hiroshi asked.

Ryu nodded.

"Reis Dragonhaärt is co-protector of Ryuujinn's Legacy" Ryu said.

Master Hiroshi nodded and led the two to a wall. There were two Dragon Statues in front of the wall. Master Hiroshi pushed the head of one of the Dragon Statues into the wall and a secret passage opened revealing great stairs that led further underground.

Ryu and Reis descended into the Passage. It was a great Passage with massive pillars supporting the Temple above. There also appeared to be more training grounds.

"This is where Rokkan trained to prepare himself to confront Tristran" Master Hiroshi said.

Master Hiroshi led them to Seven Great Dragon Statues that formed a circle. The wings of the statues were stretched towards the next dragon in the circle till the tips of their wings touched, connecting them in a circle.

"Each of these seven statues bears a fraction of the Tale Of The Ryu and their origins" Master Hiroshi said.

Each of the Dragon Statues was different in colour and bore a single colour. Master Hiroshi left the two boys alone. They walked beneath the wings of two Dragon Statues and found themselves within the circle the Dragon Statues had formed. It was a great circle.

"What does Master Hiroshi mean by each of the seven statues bears a fraction of the Tale Of The Ryu?" Reis asked.

Ryu and Reis examined the Dragons. On each Dragon Statue was written a single word. Ryu and Reis read the words clockwise starting from the Dragon whose position was to their North.

"Crystal" was imprinted on the first Dragon Statue.

"Molten" was imprinted on the second Dragon Statue.

"Hurricane" was imprinted on the third Dragon Statue.

"Terranica" was imprinted on the fourth Dragon Statue.

"Tornado" was imprinted on the fifth Dragon Statue.

"Melody" was imprinted on the sixth Dragon Statue and on the seventh Dragon Statue was imprinted the word "Torpedo".

"These Dragon Statues are arranged in the order I encountered their respective Dragon Saint in my homeworld.

"Crystal, Molten, Hurricane, Terranica, Tornado, Melody and Torpedo" Ryu noted.

"Following that logic, the Dragon called Crystal must bear the first part of the Tale" Reis observed.

"That must certainly be true" Ryu said.

"But how does it bear the Tale?" Reis asked.

"Where else? Within its memories which are contained within its mind making that…its head" Ryu said as he pushed the head of the Dragon Statue with the name 'Crystal'. Its head slowly rose up and as it arose, a path opened up between the Dragon Statue and the centre of the circle revealing shards of crystals. The raised head also revealed words imprinted on the chest of the Dragon Statue, words which had been concealed by its lowered head.

"Look! Words!" Reis pointed.

Reis and Ryu approached the Dragon Statue's chest and read the words. The words imprinted spoke thus;

"There are many Dragons in our homeworld however we only know about their existence through Tales passed down through the Ryu"

"Ryu, the Dragon Statue's head only revealed the words. The words are imprinted on its chest making that its heart" Reis pointed out.

"I guess you're right" Ryu laughed.

Then the boys walked to the next Dragon Statue in a clockwise direction.

"Molten" Ryu said and pushed the head of the second Dragon Statue.

A path of flames flowed from the Dragon Statue to the centre of the circle. The Dragon Statue's head arose revealing words on its chest. The words imprinted spoke thus;

"Out of all these numerous Dragons, only seven of them have ever been known to manifest in our world. These Seven Dragons that are known to have manifested in our world are known as the Dragon Saints"

Ryu and Reis walked to the next statue and pushed its head.

"Hurricane" Ryu said and a path of water flowed to the centre of the circle.

The Dragon's head arose revealing these words on its chest.

"These Seven Dragon Saints shared their power with Seven Humans and around them, families were born. The families became clans and the clans came to be referred to by all as the Ryu"

Ryu and Reis walked to the next Dragon in the formation and pushed its head. Its head arose and a path of earth flowed to the centre of the circle.

"Terranica" Ryu called.

On the chest of this Dragon were printed the words;

"These Ryu are Seven Great Clans each wielding the power of a Dragon Saint, hence the Dragon Saints are said to represent Seven Clans, Seven Ryu, as well as Seven Elements"

Ryu and Reis walked to the next Dragon Statue.

"Tornado" Ryu called and pushed its head.

Its head arose and a path of wind directed by vents flowed to the centre of the circle. On the Dragon's chest were written the words;

"Each of the Dragon Saints has a corresponding Human Saint, so they also represent Seven Humans"

Ryu and Reis walked to the sixth Dragon Statue.

"Melody" Ryu called as he pushed its head. Its head arose and a path revealing a stream of musical notes flowed towards the centre of the circle and when each note disappeared into the centre of the circle, a sound was heard, thus forming music. On the chest of this Dragon were written the words;

"There are three types of Ryu in all. The Known Ryu and the Hidden Ryu are the first two types. The Known Ryu as the name implies refers to the Ryu we know about and can easily find. The Hidden Ryu however are said to be masked within folds of reality. Then there is the third type of Ryu considered an anomaly. This is because they either lack a Dragon or Human Saint. The Dark Ryu for instance lacks both a Dragon and Human Saint since their Dragon Saint who was supposed to be Tristran forsook them ages ago and plans even their demise. The Light Ryu has no particular Dragon Saint since their Dragon Saint Ryuujinn is Dragon Saint over all the Ryu and the Ryu of Destiny has no Human Saints"

Ryu and Reis walked to the seventh statue.

"Torpedo" Ryu called and pushed its head.

A path of ice appeared between the Dragon and the centre of the circle and as the path appeared and the words on this Dragon's heart were slowly being revealed, the ground began to tremble.

"What's happening?!" Reis asked worriedly.

The ground slowly opened up and an Eighth Dragon Statue slowly arose to the surface. This Dragon Statue glowed with all the colours of the elements. Reis and Ryu stared at it in awe. Then they read the words on the chest of the seventh Dragon Statue. The words spoke thus;

"The Code Of Heart And Hate is a Sacred Celestial Code governing the world of Kolmnid. It speaks of two mysterious Dragons. The first is 'Ryuujinn', he represents the 'Heart' in the Code. The second is 'Tristran', he represents the 'Hate' in the Code. Both Ryuujinn and Tristran are said to have manifested ages ago in our world however the Tale has long been shrouded in mystery. Including Tristran, there would have been nine Dragon Saints however Tristran is a demon hellbent on the destruction of all Creation. Ryuujinn instituted Three Laws governing how Dragons should interact with Humans. The First Law was that Dragons must love their Creation and price them above all else. The Second Law was that no Dragon was allowed to directly interfere with a human's fate and the Third Law was that no Dragon could reveal truths that could alter a human's destiny"

Ryu and Reis walked to the mysterious Eighth Dragon Statue that had suddenly appeared in the centre of the circle formed by the Seven Dragon Statues. On this Dragon Statue that glowed with all the colours of the elements that flowed from the other Dragon Statues was imprinted the name 'Ryuujinn'. Ryu pushed its head and as its head arose, these words were revealed on its chest.

"Above all else, the one thing that is most confounding is that the Eighth and Final Saint was both Human and Dragon. It is incomprehensible that Ryuujinn, the ruler of the cosmos and Saint Of All Creation and the Dragon Zone would manifest as a Human".

"Ryu" Reis called.

"Yeah Reis, I see it too" Ryu said.

Reis nodded.

"The Tales written on these Statues Of The Dragon Saints is synonymous with the Tales we heard in the Cave Of The Jo-lan Masters" Reis said.

"Seven Canons, Seven Masters, Seven Stones, Three Great Clans, Seven Jo-lan Masters, History interpreted from two perspectives and a mythical Eighth Jo-lan Master who triumphed over Death and is considered an anomaly" Reis said.

"Seven Dragons, Seven Elements, Seven Humans, Seven Clans, the Code Of Heart And Hate signifying two mysterious Dragons and an Eighth and Final Saint…the Rainbow Dragon…Ryuujinn" Ryu said.

"Wait a sec…wait a sec Ryu, are you trying to imply that all these things somehow form an image of Benedict?" Reis asked.

"Ryuujinn…Benedict represents the Heart. He is in fact the Heart. The Dragon that rules over all Seven Elements, the Dragon that is all Seven Elements. You recall the Heart that Destroys Darkness right?" Ryu asked.

"Yes, it speaks of paradoxes that form a whole. A whole made up of contradictory parts" Reis said.

"I see what you're getting at Ryu. It may be possible" Reis said.

"For now, let us return to Zan and report our findings" Ryu said.

Reis agreed.