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28. The ring

Aeithalis, as soon as Fharan stood up, waved his hand.
The space around them started to shift.
Suddenly he was standing ankle deep in snow and it didn't just look the part.
Fharan could feel the cold biting into his bare feet and was able to make out snowflakes just before they melted on his skin.
He lifted an eyebrow on the new scenery.
"Beautiful, no?", asked Aeithalis.

Their surroundings were completely covered with snow. You could still see parts of the ruins poking out here and there, their soot covered stones a stark contrast to the everlasting white.
The scene seemed to be oddly familiar to Fharan although he was sure that he had never even seen snow before, apart from the one he was able to conjure himself. There was no snow in Ratcar, none in underground prisons and even less in Sian Dun.
He unconsciously stretched out his hand and watched as a few of the snowflakes landed on his palm. As he did so he suddenly felt how his body temperature rapidly fell beyond normal human standards.
It didn't feel like when his power went rampant. He didn't even feel the cold surrounding him anymore and the white specks around him stopped melting. Even the water drops that had gathered in his palm started to freeze again.
It felt almost natural,... safe.

Aeithalis chuckle brought him back to reality.
"Why did you bring me... here?", Fharan asked.
The blue haired man just chuckled once more and started to slowly walk towards one of the ruins. Fharan noticed that he barely left any footprints in the deep snow.
As he started to follow he realized that his own prints, except for the first few, were even shallower.

They moved silently forward, neither uttering a single word, until they reached the skeletal remains of a once about 15 meter high tower. It dangerously tilted to one side and Fharan could make out at least three big holes gaping in its walls.
Aeithalis stopped just before what might once have been the entrance of the building and turned back towards him.
"Any idea what this might have been?", he asked, finally breaking the eerie silence surrounding them.
Fharan, who had once seen a similar structure in one of the royal library's books studied the burned remains closer.
"An observatory if I'm not mistaken."
Aeithalis nodded in agreement.

"These ruins are centuries old. This place once belonged to the last believers of the old ways.
Not many really remember the reason that brought their downfall, even less the location of their last resting place."
Aeithalis drifted over the structure before him.
"These towers were once built in every town, even in some of the larger villages.
No one really remembers what they are for, but based on their structure many concluded that they had been used to observe the stars. Not completely wrong, I would say, but quite a bit off track."
"What purpose did they have then?", Fharan inquired.
The older paused for a few seconds more before continuing:
"They are graves."
"Graves?"
"Yes.
A grave in every town for every soul that ever lived in them. Nothing more and nothing less.
It took generations to create them and none of them were ever truly completed. After all, humans never stop dying.
Under each one of them are huge caverns, holding thousands of faded souls, or at least their vessels.
Each a believer of the old ways. Outsiders were seldomly buried with them."

"Well, I suppose it would explain how they were able to simply disappear from the surface of the earth. They literally did."
"Yes.
That is the reason why so many armies were met with empty settlements upon their arrival.
Whole cities had simply moved into the halls of their dead and no one saw them ever again."
"But was it not their oldest believers that guided the people under the new gods. That means that not all of them can have disappeared.
That also means that their hideouts couldn't have possibly stayed secret for long."

Aeithalis stayed quiet and silently stared at the burned remains around them.
Fharan mentally sighed. He was mildly confused on why Aeithalis had taken him away in the first place. This game of cat and mouse was getting a bit tiresome.
With each passing minute he was able to perceive his surroundings more and more clearly. His magic was slowly returning as well, seeping through the cracks of the wards surrounding him.
There was not much time left.

All of the sudden a ring floated in front of Fharans face. He reflexedly took a step back and blinked a few times. The ring was still there.
He narrowed his eyes and examined the faintly glowing metal band closely.

"You are right. There were quite a few that knew of the secret, but many chose to keep quiet and the reason for the others failure is floating in front of your eyes.
There was only one ring for each tower. A rather risky decision, but effective.
There were strong wards placed around the crypts which made them as good as impenetrable. Only the key, the ring could open the door to the underworld.
It was said that these caverns were blessed by the stars themselves to keep outsiders away.
That is also the reason of why almost every last one of the old settlements were burned down, destroyed. The people were furious."
Fharan was still cautiously staring at the ring.

"Take it.", Aeithalis encouraged him. "You will need it when we go down."
The fallen prince moved his gaze away from the key and towards his companion.
"Why would you not take it yourself?", he asked.
From one moment to another Aeithalis broke into carefree laughter.

"You are remarkably sharp.", he said breathlessly as he started to calm down again.
"The reason is rather simple!
It may lead to the dead, but it does not obey them. It can only be wielded by the living."
As if to demonstrate he reached for the ring, but his hand simply went right through it.
"You could naturally simply decide to return and I would bring you back but what fun would that be.
As soon as we pass the gates I will be unable to harm you, force you to do anything. But it is your choice to make."