Pinnacle Of Veritas

Part Two: Chapter One- Mirosou

"We found him." 

At first glance, it was just a statue of a man, terror and rage forever trapped in his stone face. Jagged angles and smooth motion makes up this man, eternally frozen in time, his sword, an enchanted weapon, a glowing teardrop shaped crystal hitched into the hilt of the blade, clutched tightly in his fist held high over his head, he was in combat with something. Or perhaps someone. Regardless, it was clear which of the two had been victorious in that battle. 

I did not know this man, but I knew of him. His story was recorded in a twine bound book inside the temple's library. Or at least I thought this was true. I still had no way of knowing for sure if this was, in fact, him who I suspected it to be. I placed my hand on his chest. Stone though he may be, he was not cold. A faint warmth reached out to me from somewhere deep inside this old stone body. His spirit was still intact. 

There was still something which escaped my understanding. How had he even gotten down here? This was a long forgotten place. A deep underground ruin long lost to time. Surely he had not merely stumbled upon it. He must have been seeking out this place for some reason. Most likely it was confront whatever vile being it was that had reduced him to his current condition. 

I removed my silver gauntlet from my hand and placed the now bare skin of my palm against his forehead, and instantly my eyes cast forth their orange glow as I attempted both to scan his mind for clues as to his fate and to break this unsightly spell he was under. However, almost immediately upon activating my magic, I was forced to withdraw my hand as a shock of pain traveled down my fingers. Whatever creature had laid this curse, it had also warded him against those like myself who might try to undo his folly. 

I had my suspicions about the identity of this creature, but for the time being I held my judgement. Any number of witches or monsters could hold the magic necessary to perform this curse. I was not yet willing to rest on any particular assumption, lest I find it to be false and that falsehood bring me to a similar fate as this man.