Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)

Chapter XXVI: The First Trial

Deep within the Labyrinth of Time, further than anyone has made it before, the Bringers keep descending to the far end. The only image they have seen has been of Leon, whom appears to be around middle-aged in appearance. The images of Leon only flash for very brief moments. The Bringers of Hope have been using these as a guide to ensure they are heading in the right direction for weeks.

"Drayk?" Roku mutters.

"You alright?" Drayk asks.

"I'm fine, yes. How far do you think that gate is?"

"Who knows. This place is remarkably huge. This labyrinth is a world in its own right. It could be thousands of miles. We don't even know how big that gate actually is. It could be taller than any skyscraper."

"True.... hey, do you see that?"

Roku stops walking and points off to the right side of the trail they've been on. An ancient dialect is carved into the side of flat faced rock. Drayk steps up to it and lightly runs his fingers over the writing. This language looks familiar to him as he thinks back to his vision from Parocaav. Suddenly, the words become clear to him.

"The Trials of the Labyrinth of Time," Drayk begins to read out loud, "Up ahead lies sights unseen by mortal eyes. A test of purity of the wanderer. The Trials are broken into three parts. The first is just up ahead. Be cautious when entering the first chamber."

"Is that all?" Roku asks.

"Yes. That's the entire message. I'm sure we'll find another one along the way through these.... Trials."

"At least there's only three!"

"These trials must have been designed by Lord Bahemyth. This is his lair after all. We should be careful."

"That's true. We don't know what kind of tricks the Keeper of Time is capable of."

The Bringers of Hope continue to walk into the unknown depths of the labyrinth. Neither one of them knowing what to expect here. Bahemyth, the Keeper of Time, can manipulate time like a Fire Mage wields fire. Drayk recalls back to stories he heard from his mother; Bahemyth is time itself. After several more hours of walking, the Bringers find themselves back at the sign warning them of the trials.

Confused, Drayk walks over to the sign. He touches the sign, feeling the engraved writing. Once he's convinced, he walks back over to Roku. His face is written with confusion and is silent.

"We're back where.... or when we started the trials," Drayk sighs, "This must be the first trial."

"Where along the trail did we wind back up here?" Roku asks.

"I dunno. Must have been around before we reached this spot. It's hard to tell though, the whole trail looks the same."

"Only one thing to do. Let's try again and see if we notice anything that might help us figure out when we came back."

"Sounds like our only course of action."

A few hours later ~

The Bringers of Hope find the stone with the warning for the trials yet again. Roku looks around, extremely confused.

"I didn't see anything!" Roku exclaims.

"I think I felt something around two hours in," Drayk mentions, "It's hard to describe it, but for a moment it felt like deja vu. It has happened both times."

"That could be when it happens, but how are we to combat time?"

"There must be some clues around here.... let's look around here, see if there's any other writings around here."