Skull's Tale

The stone corridor went deeper and deeper. Torches lined the ancient walls of the temple. A small six year old boy carefully stepped down the old stone steps. Inctricate carvings covered each step depicting a battle or a great individual from years past. This was the Red temple. A place where people with particular talents lived. Talents that the outside world refused to believe in.

The boy took each step carefully. The steps were not made for children and he almost had to climb down the steps. From what the adults had said he was one of the few that didn’t actually need to climb down each step.

That made him one of the tall ones. He liked that.

He was wearing a set of dark coloured clothing, black jeans and a shirt, although made for a child they were very well made and would not tear easily regardless of what he did. He knew that well, he had tried burning them and cutting them. It never worked. As he contemplated how durable his tiny sets of clothes were he stumbled, he only just managed to grab the previous step to stop him from falling down the solid stone steps. That would have at best broken most of his bones. He hadn’t ever been in this part of the temple, the young children weren’t allowed below the ground floor where the real magic happened.

He paused for a moment, slightly shaken by his near brush with death, he looked down at the stone step he was standing on, the runes were old but he could read some of them. It depicted a prophecy were a powerful magic user would defeat some giants or just some very tall and mean people. It was called the World Breaker prophecy, or it could just been the world person prophecy. He couldn’t tell.

Eventually it got boring and the boy continued his slow descent into the Temple. He was getting near the second “underfloor” the temple had up to twenty, but very few people were allowed past the sixth floor. But that was okay, the Temple was a massive labyrinth and there was plenty of space for everyone, especially since most of the temples inhabitants had more room in their underground houses then the people on the surface did. Plus it was warmer down here with all of the flame torches mounted everywhere. The land the temple was in… Iceland, the boy recalled, was a very cold place and he was glad to be in the warm stone passage.

Eventually the young boy reached the bottom of the steps. From where he stood the end of the corridor was only a few meters away. The door was a huge stone which looked like a giant wheel. Glowing markings covered its dark face and either side of it stood two almost statue like individuals who were covered in a stone coloured robe with a hood which the two of them had both pulled up to hide their faces.

Behind the two guardians two braziers burned coal and wood. The smell felt almost intoxicating to the young boy.

“Initiate,” the first guardian spoke.

“You have passed the first test,” the second continued.

“You did not fall,”

“You showed strength and skill,”

“You will need this for the coming days,”

“However the next spell will be more difficult, you must look deep within yourself and cast ‘Eldur’ with more force then you have ever done upon this door,”

“If you manage to hit the center with the spell hard enough then it will open,”

“What if I can’t do it then my elders?” the young boy asked.

“Ah, an inquisitive one, keep that skill child it shall serve you as well as your skill,” the first guardian replied.

“If you do not manage to do it then you will try again until you are able to,”