Trines

Prologue

The grassy plain was left soaking wet after the recent rainstorm that raged over eastern England the last few days. The heavy weight of the water left muddy banks all over the giant space. The soil underneath was soaked as the water dripped down from the surface and down, deep down into the earths center. Only a few of the water droplets kept running down in a steady stream, taking its own way down.

It was like they were drawn from an invisible force. Not long after their part from the main river, the water droplets met the end of the soil, in a small hollow cave hundreds of feet under the surface. It was no bigger than a small shed, with barely enough room for someone to stand on their knees, and just long enough to hold a tall man lying down.

The water droplets dripped from the ceiling of the cave and down, hitting a wooden casket that occupied the room. The small drip, drip coming from the water as it hit the casket was the only sound in the peaceful moment. Nothing else moved, not under or over the ground. And then the silence was broken by a slight rumble in the ground. It wasn't big enough to be noticed above the ground, but underneath, it shook the roof of the cave so the rain skewed and hit the soil instead.

Another rumble followed, this one much bigger. The casket shook with movement. A third rumble, followed by a loud bang against the casket.

And then shallow breathing was heard from inside the casket. It was a fast-paced sound, as if someone had just run a marathon and couldn't quite catch his breath afterwards. The silence egged on for another few minutes until the breathing died down and the casket exploded, followed by a cloud of black smoke.

The casket disappeared completely from the cave, not a single trace of wood left. The explosion hadn't been noticed on the surface. The rain had returned at full force, and the seemingly peaceful morning was disturbed by the sudden appearance of a lump of unrecognizable black material surrounded by small pieces of wood.

A gasp was heard in the silence as the lump breathed in fresh air for the first time in five hundred years. The creature continued to drink in the oxygen, feeling refreshed as its energy was slowly returned.

It fluttered its eyelids, trying to completely open its small, beady eyes, though it failed as the bright light from the gray sky blinded it. Once again, it slowly opened its eyes taking in its surroundings.

A disappointed sigh escaped its lips as it saw exactly the same picture it had last seen before the world had turned black on it five centuries ago. The familiar stones placed in a circle in the middle of the green field, was not the sight it wanted to see.

As slow as its other movements, the creature sat up slightly. Its eyes were now completely open, its breathing normal, like it hadn't been asleep for as long as it had. An almost human-like groan escaped its lips as it stretched its arms above its head. On the way down, it let the hands feel its face.

The once-smooth skin had definitely felt better before. Now it was all wrinkled and old. In its side-sight it could see the remaining hair hanging in gray lumps around its face. A frown took over its lips. He had definably looked better.

Feeling more of his powers return to him, the creature stood up on its two feet, and began to walk. Slowly but surely it got a more human-like form, until it were completely transformed into the man he used to be.

He could feel his skin tighten just a little bit. It was still wrinkled, but now it, resembled that of a ninety year old, instead of the few hundred years he was supposed to be. He still felt weak, at least weaker than he had ever been and he knew he needed to restore it somehow. Waiting around for it surely wouldn't make his magic reappear. But maybe he had just enough power to get himself home and away from this dreaded place.