Ruins In The End (We Three Mages, Book Two)

Chapter Twenty Five: Answers(Part One)

When Calvin found himself waking up, he was surrounded by tall, dark trees. The canopy blocked out any source of light, yet he could see everything that was around him; even those who weren't.

"Mari! Jared!" Calvin shouted. "Nadia! Devin!!" There was no response in the quiet forest he was in. Soon, everything came flooding back to him at once, the Temple, the Books acting haywire, and then, nothing. He spun around to get a better feel for wherever he was. The trees reached higher than Calvin could see and the ground was covered in moss and roots. He was utterly alone without a clue where he was. He tried to take a few steps forward only to use a tree to steady himself.

Careful young one, rest until you are able to stand without assistance. A voice echoed.

"Who...who are you? Where are my friends?" Calvin shouted into the air.

Ah, someone who values others over their own wellbeing, The voice said.

"Where are you?" Calvin shouted again.

I am speaking with you in the same manner the Three speak to one another, It answered.

"You mean you're speaking inside my head," Calvin calmed down a little. "Where can I find you?"

Why do you seek me?

"So I can kick your ass, find my friends, and get ourselves back to the Temple of Creation."

Young one, you are here.

"Here?"

You, my dear boy, are inside the Temple.

"Last I checked temples aren't supposed to house a forest!" Calvin started to move. He felt a strong magical presence to the left of him and followed it. After sometime, he came across an old, decaying, stone statue. Half of the head was missing and some chunks of the body laid scattered around the base. "I know this thing."

Indeed you do.

"Am I home? Is that it?" Calvin asked.

You are in the Temple of Creation.

"This thing is from Eestri! You can't trick me," Calvin thought for a moment, "Well you can, but not about this!"

Forward Young one.

Calvin kept going. Soon a well-worn path appeared before he and he followed it on instinct. Piles and pieces of the same stone that made up the statue were along the way.

"This can't be real," Calvin shook his head. He sucked in a breath when he reached the end of the path. A dilapidated altar looking structure was before him. The old pillars barely held up the broken circle above them. The aged, yellow steps still looked like they were ready to give out. What it all lead up to was a small, rectangular pyramid. The markings had long since faded, but could still be seen if he swept this fingers over them.

"Oh, but it is Young one," A bright orb shot up from the center of the pyramid and gave shape to a person. It was an old man with shining silver hair. It was hard to tell what was beard and what was his hair. He had tired kind green eyes and a well-used smile on his face. His robe over lapped itself with purples and blues. He gently floated down until he was in front of the pyramid.

"Who?" Calvin ad his barrier guards up and ready for a fight.

"Be calm Young one, I am Aftemath." His voice was commanding, but soft.

"Like, the Aftemath? The dude who made those books and stuff?" Calvin lowered his fists, but not his barriers.

"Yes, I am he."

"Hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're a long way from your time line pal," Calvin stood up straighter.

"I am a mere echo of my own magic flow at this point. I passed away long, long ago."

"Why are here in Eestri?" Calvin asked.

"As I have told you, you are in the Temple of Creation." Aftemath sighed.

"As I have told you, you can't trick me about this," Calvin defended. "This place exists in Eestri. It's where...where..."

"Where you taught yourself magic," Aftemath finished for him.

"How did you know that? I haven't told anyone that, not even my own family." Calvin sounded less angry than he had intended.

"It is all a part of everything. This is a space created for you and you alone." Aftemath explained.

"I've seen Nadia do some pretty awesome stuff with her illusion magic, but recreating an exact memory, I don't know..."

"You are forgetting that I am the one who first wielded her magic."

"Right...talking to a dead person is still a new thing for me."

"I doubt it is something that anyone is familiar with."

"True," Calvin lowered his barriers and took a small step forward. "So, you really are Aftemath huh?"

"Yes I am, or at least what's left," the man nodded.

"Why did you separate us? Where did you send the others? Where do I fall in with those other three? Why aren't I able to use offensive magic? Is it because I tried to train myself?" Calvin kept asking one question after another as they popped into his head.

"Ha...some Hero..." Aftemath mumbles.

"Hero?" Calvin stopped talking.

"You are not yet aware?" Aftemath asked in return.

"Aware of what?"

"You, Young one, are a Hero and should be called as such."

"Hero? Me?" Calvin felt his heart rate increase. "I'm not the hero here, it's the other three. They're the Mages of Legend. I'm just their shield."

"Legend?" Aftemath quietly whispered to himself.

"What?" Calvin asked. After a moment of thought, Aftemath spoke again.

"Ah yes, Legend. You boy are a Hero. It is your title as well as your role in this Legend,"

"I'm supposed to be a hero?" Calvin laughed. "Yeah right, dragons will sooner fly through the skies alongside griffins."

"The moment your friends were chosen was the same moment you were. It is your duty as the Hero of Legend to protect and fight for your Mages and defend what is true and just."

"Hero of Legend..." Calvin repeated the phrase several times and each time he did his smile grew wider and wider. "Oh, I really like the sound of that."

"So you accept it?"

"As you have said, I was chosen for it the moment Jared, Mari, and Nadia were chosen in that library of theirs."

"Boy," Aftemath furrowed his brow in confusion, "Those three had been chosen long before they found their Books."

"I'm sorry, what?" Calvin asked quickly.

"Before that, there is a warning I must give that goes along with your title," Aftemath cleared his throat. "There are many more hardships that you and your friends are to face and they are not something that should be faced with half heartness. You must steel yourself and decide where it is that you must be and who needs you more. For that, you must trust those that deem worthy of the, uh, Legend. All who you come across are not all worthy to travel along with your great mission. Trust the few who prove themselves to you."

"I always have."Calvin felt a tad bit insulted. "I would never, ever let my friends, no, myfamily come into any sort of danger."