Series: The Mountain: Book 1: The Awakening

The Mountain

As the barrier fell before his eyes, Liam's ability to keep his mouth closed failed him completely as his jaw dropped at the magnificent sight in front of him. Standing impossibly taller than anything he'd ever seen were several, steeply sloping mounds of earth, each taller than any mountainous terrain he'd ever seen. Compared to the one his earlier Trials were held on, these were truly enormous. Alongside the rugged hills were separate clumps of trees and other bits of vegetation, all matching the mountains' size, sporadically lining its otherwise bare surface. Falling heavily off to one side was an intimidatingly large waterfall, battering a deep basin below before splitting into multiple tributaries. Staring upwards in the hopes of catching a glimpse of its crest, Liam let out an involuntary gasp as misty blobs of clouds impeded his vision. 

As he stood firmly planted in place, mind still lost in awe from the monstrosity that stood before him, a hearty slap erupted on his back, followed by a joyfully smiling Xavier. 

"I know what you're going through," Xavier said, eyes flickering to the mountainous terrain, "It's quite the sight to say the least."

"I-I've never seen anything like this," Liam replied after a lengthy pause, mind struggling to find the appropriate words, "How is this even possible?"

Giggling lightly as she witnessed his disbelieving reaction, Isabelle stepped forward, grandiosely waving her arms at the incredible view before them, "Welcome to The Mountain!" she said with a smile before adding, "What? Did you really think this little mound of earth was all there was to our Mountain?" 

"Honestly," Liam said staring back, plateaued peak looking even more pathetic than he'd already thought its appearance to be, "I was a bit disappointed when I first saw this place, especially after everything I'd heard on the journey over."

"And now?" Isabelle questioned, eyebrows raised. 

"It's certainly something," Xavier said answering in his stead. 

"More like overwhelming," Liam corrected, still staring at the inconceivably, gargantuan stretch of land in front of him. 

"Well," Isabelle replied, "As much as I'd like to stay here and admire the view and indulge in idle chit chat, we do have somewhere we need to be!" 

"Aren't the trials over?" Liam questioned, view momentarily causing him to forget his earlier conversation. 

"No silly," Helen replied, in an almost embarrassed tone, "She's taking you to get settled, remember?"

"Sorry," Liam replied, too enamored by the incredible sight to care about appearances, "I forgot!"

"It's fine," Isabelle replied, beauty even more defined as a genuine smile continuously plastered her face, "Let him have this for a few moments longer."

Following her suggestion, they backtracked a bit as Liam continued to stare, mind lost deeply in its well detailed features.

Scanning the terrain closely, his excitement grew even further as he spotted multiple grand buildings jutting awkwardly out from in between various pockets of vegetation. Although he was unable to make out its occupants, he was however able to discern the buildings' odd style of architecture. From where he stood, the foundations he gazed upon were by no means capable of supporting the enormous buildings' weight. However, despite this seemingly obvious fact, they remained upright and unfazed as a strong wind swept over the mountain's surface. 

Snapping out of his stupor as the breeze, now relatively tamer than it appeared to be at higher altitudes, blew across his face, Liam looked at his companions sheepishly as he apologized, "Sorry for the wait, I just-"

"There's no need for apologies," Helen said, cutting him off as he spoke, "When we first saw it in all its magnificence, we too were so shocked that it took us a while to recover. Even now I still find myself in awe of it's unmatched beauty," Helen replied gently.