The Stonekeeper...

18

Trellis's P.O.V
"TRELLIS!" I woke up with a start and sat up. I noticed that I was bandaged up, around my chest and arm. I hopped out of bed, confused of where I was. I walked out of the house and saw a kid fishing in the lake. I walked up to him, curiously. "Why are you following me?" I asked the boy elf. I knew he was following me for some reason but I didn't know what. "My brother told me not to talk to you. You'll want ti speak with uncle Virgil. He's the one who found you and mended your arm." The boy replied. "His house is on the other side of the pond. You won't have to knock. He is already expecting you." The boy pointed to the other side of the pond.

I started to walk around the pond and looked around the place. I arrived at the house and walked up the stairs. I approached the front door and was about to knock when an old elf answered the door. "Ah, you're awake." He said. "Let me get you a shirt. You must be freezing." Uncle Virgil said and let me inside. "I looked up and saw you fall out of the sky. It's a true miracle that you were able to survive. I thought you died." He said while I was looking around the place. "Where is everyone?" I asked. "Poor boy, you must be delirious. When you fell, you were quite alone." Virgil replied. 'That voice that I woke up from...' I thought.

"Here. Try this on." Virgil gave me a robe and I put it on. "My father's robe. He was the village healer, a doctor. Would you like to gear a funny story about him?" Virgil asked. "No thanks. I should really be going." I replied. "But where are you going?" Virgil asked me. "I have to go and find my friends and girlfriend. They need my help." I replied. "I swear no one was with you." Virgil said. "I still need to see for myself. Thank you...for everything." I said and left the house. I walked down the stairs and heard someone call my name.

"Lugar?" I mumbled. Another elf walked past me and waljed to the young elf. 'What?' I thought. "What did I tell you, Trellis?People will come and ask questions about dad. You must not talk to them." Lugar said. "Don't worry, Lugar. I wasn't talking to him. He wasn't asking about dad, anyway." The younger elf said. "Who are you? We know everyone on this island. And I have never seen you here before." Lugar said. I was a little nervous when Uncle Virgil came down. "Leave him alone, Lugar. He's with me." He said.

"Am I not allowed to have friends on this island?" He asked Lugar. "You don't know this elf, Uncle Virgil. Don't think I won't report you just because you're family." Lugar said with a annoyed expression. "How very noble of you. Come along now. I need your help sorting some books." Virgil said and lead me away. "Stay away from Uncle Virgil. Father will deal with him later." Lugar said and walked away with the young elf. Virgil and I walked away from the village.

"Don't mind my nephew Lugar. He's under a lot of pressure now that his father is the king." Virgil explained. "Why are you helping me?" I asked. "Something tells me that it's my duty to help. And unlike many of the elves on this island, I have a very good sense of who I need to trust." Virgil replied. We arrived at another lake and a dock with a boat. "You mentioned you wanted me to help you sort some books. I would like to repay you somehow." I said. "Good! Hop in the boat and we'll be on pir way." Virgil replied. I hopped in and sat down.

"The library is located in the middle of the lake. I think you'll like it there. With so many elves being drafted for the war, it's been heard to find good help. You came at a good time." Virgil said and I saw a library being stuck ontop of a statue that looked like the elf king. "Virgil, was this built recently?" I asked. "The library is one of the first gulfen structures." Virgil replied. "Then why is the king shown holding it up?" I asked. "I see someone hasn't been studying their history. That is the Erlking." Virgil replied. "The Erlking?" I asked. "Every time a new king is crowned, they must take the village of the Erlking. He was our first leader." Virgil explained. We walked inside and walked up he stairs.

"By wearing his mask, the king is sworn to carry the weight of our past on his shoulders. This library was built to honor that tradition. The books contained within these walls document the many lives who have dedicated themselves to furthering the advancement of Evlking. It is how we have progressed faster than all other settlers on Alledian soil. It's most unfortunate for this current generation that my brother is not an avid reader of history. If he was, he would see all the warning signs." Virgil explained. "Warning signs?" I asked. I was confused by the last part about the warning signs. "History has a tendency to repeat itself." Virgil replied. "Can I get anything for you, master Virgil?" Another elf asked. He looked like Logi that always served my father.

"Thank you, Logi. But we'd rather be left to ourselves." Virgil replied to the elf. "Yes, of course." Logi replied. We walked thrpugh the library, Virgil was looking for someone thta was in the library. "I've been very concerned with the direction this war is headed. With just a quick glance at our history, I began to understand why. I recently found something very interesting in a book about our past kings. Ah, good. It's still here." Virgil said and took a big book from the shelf. "Levitas. The fourth king. He became an enduring historical figure for two reasons. The first was his penchant for conflict that sent us into a civil war. His rule marks the deadliest period in elf history. The second reason was that many people claimed he was possessed by his stone
They say he spoke to it." Virgil explained. "Do stones not have voices?" I asked.

"The ston is a medium, not a messager. Let me show you something. Ah, good. I hid this one well." Virgil put the first book back and got another one. "I searched every wing in this library for another mention of the voice, and I came up empty...until I found this book. The author is human and he believes that the stone-shard amulets qere created to provide the stoneskeeper with three things: power, communication, and travel. The amulet grants its keeper the ability to wield the kinetic energy of the mother stone. But it also grants them the ability to communicate and travel using a plane of existence parallel to our own. When they do, stonekeepers may find themselves under the influence of a dark, governing spirit...A voice." Virgil explained.

"Why does this interest you, Virgil?" I asked lokking at the books pages. "Because my brother speaks ti his stone." Virgil replied. "And you believe he is speaking to this dark spirit?" I asked. "Look at this." Virgil said. "The voice appears every time the elves enter a time of war and strife. This is followed by 500 yearsof peace before the cycle begins anew. My brother was born exactly 500 years from the death of king Levitas. Make of that what you will, but I find the patterns alarming." Virgil said. I flipped through the pages and saw something I wasn't expecting. "Virgil...where did you get this?" I asked. "If the king finds this book he will have you executed! Why are you trusting me with this information?" I asked.

"I'm trusting you because need to know all of this. You need to take this knowledge back with you." Virgil said. "You know who I am?" I asked. "I raised you, Trellis. I would recognize you no matter how old or young you were." Virgil replied with a small smile. "I came back to try and fix things." I said to Virgil. "It's better that you focus on doing what's right for the future." Virgil replied. We then heard something and I growled. "He's going to come after you now. You better leave." Virgil lead me outside to a balcony with a nice tree. "How do I get back?" I asked. "You arrived in the willow grove on that bank. Take the boat back to that spot." Virgil replied. "What's going happen to you, Virgil?" I asked. "Best not to worry about me. Whatever happens is supposed to happen to bring you here. Just promise me you will remember all of this. Remember that you came from a good family. And the shortcomings of my generation do not have to extend onto yours. Make us proud, Trellis." Virgil said.

We turned around and saw a black creature with crystal eyes. "Get out of here. Go now!" Virgil said and I ran to the end of the balcony and jumped into the water.