Free Book - Prequel of The Chronicles of Canes Venatici

Boreas Planet 2 (Part 8.2)

Part 8.2 – The Unseen Forces

The Icebound Gate grinds open with a sound like the cracking of mountains, the ancient mechanisms hidden within the glacier groaning in protest as they are forced into motion for the first time in millennia. Beyond the gate lies darkness—an impenetrable void that swallows the light from their torches and lamps, offering no hint of what lies beyond. The air that rushes out from the opening is cold, impossibly cold, even by Boreasian standards, and it carries with it a strange, metallic tang that lingers on the tongue.

Kael stands at the threshold, his heart pounding in his chest. This is what he has been waiting for—what he has dedicated his life to discovering. The lost city beneath the ice, the answer to the mysteries that have plagued the scholars of Frosthold for centuries. And now, standing on the edge of the unknown, he feels both exhilarated and terrified.

The excavation team gathers at the entrance, their breath visible in the freezing air. The silence is oppressive, the wind outside momentarily forgotten as they peer into the blackness beyond the gate. For a long moment, no one moves. The enormity of what they are about to do weighs heavily on them all.

Finally, Kael speaks. "We go in," he says, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. "We have to know what's down there."

With a nod from Kael, the team begins to descend into the darkness, their footsteps echoing on the smooth, ice-covered stone beneath them. The path ahead slopes downward, a long, spiraling descent that seems to go on forever. The walls of the passage are lined with more of the glowing glyphs, their light faint but constant, guiding the way deeper into the abyss. The air grows colder with each step, the chill seeping into their bones despite the thermal suits they wear.

As they descend, the atmosphere grows heavier, the silence broken only by the occasional creaking of the glacier above them. The glyphs on the walls pulse in time with the hum of the wind above, creating a strange, rhythmic sound that reverberates through the tunnel. It is as though the very walls are alive, pulsing with some ancient energy that has lain dormant for millennia.

Galen lingers at the back of the group, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he listens to the wind that follows them down the tunnel. The voices are fainter here, but they are still present, whispering warnings that only he can hear. "We're going too far," he mutters under his breath. "There's something down here that shouldn't be disturbed."

But Kael is undeterred. His eyes are fixed on the path ahead, his mind racing with thoughts of what they might find. The deeper they go, the more certain he becomes that they are on the verge of a monumental discovery—something that will change the history of Boreas forever.

After what feels like hours of descending, the tunnel finally opens up into a vast, cavernous chamber. The team halts at the entrance, their eyes widening in awe at the sight before them. The chamber is immense, its walls disappearing into the shadows above, and the floor is covered in a layer of frost so thick it crunches underfoot. In the center of the chamber stands an enormous, towering structure—an obelisk of black stone, covered in the same glowing glyphs that line the walls.

The obelisk hums with a low, resonant energy, its surface vibrating slightly as though alive. The glyphs glow brighter as they approach, casting eerie, shifting shadows across the chamber. The air around the obelisk is thick with power, a tangible force that makes the hair on the back of their necks stand on end.

Kael steps forward, his breath shallow as he reaches out to touch the obelisk. "This is it," he says, his voice barely a whisper. "The heart of the city. The key to everything."

But as his fingers brush against the surface of the obelisk, the chamber shudders violently, the ground beneath their feet shaking with a force that nearly knocks them off balance. The glyphs on the obelisk flare to life, their light blinding, and the hum of energy grows louder, vibrating through the air with a sound that seems to come from deep within the earth.

Galen stumbles back, his eyes wide with fear. "We have to leave!" he shouts, his voice rising above the roar of the vibrating obelisk. "We've awakened something—something that should have stayed buried!"

But it's too late. The ground cracks beneath them, and the obelisk pulses with a bright, searing light. A deep, rumbling sound echoes through the chamber, as though the very planet is groaning in pain.

And from the shadows, something stirs.

Future Glimpse!
The planet's magnetic fields will soon become unstable, affecting the Whispering Winds, the geothermal activity, and the very fabric of life on Boreas. A group of scientists will discover that this instability is the work of unseen forces—remnants of an ancient civilization that manipulated Boreas for their own purposes. Now, these forces are reawakening.

Olav J. Insight:
"Some forces remain unseen not because they are hidden, but because we are not yet ready to see them. Boreas holds more than just cold and storms—it holds echoes of those who came before, who thought they could bend nature to their will. In their failure lies our warning: the greatest power is often the one we least understand."