The Cycle

of Discovery

I looked down at my neck and realized that the necklace had attached itself to me. I tried to remove it, but it was implanted into my chest. The rest of the class looked at me in astonishment, but the elder who introduced the necklace simply smiled. The whole class was silent for a few moments until a student asked:

"Elder, w-what happens now? Is Wu okay?"

He chuckled. "He's much more than okay. The necklace has chosen him. Wu is able to wield its power however he chooses."

Still looking down, the necklace seemed to glint in various colors rapidly. There was a newfound sparkle in my eyes as the elder revealed what the event had meant. I was able to wield a rare magic that only a select few could hold. What was this magic, I wonder?

The class went on and my memory of its teachings is fuzzy. I simply thought about the mass power that was in my chest, fused within my body. A gong rang in the distance, signifying the end of the session. I walked to the elder, and asked what I should do with the necklace.

"Elder, is there something that I must do? Why was I chosen?" I questioned.

"Child, it is not what you must do, it is what you wish to do. These Jyns do not have a purpose other than to serve its wielder. It chooses based on the souls and vitality it senses. Follow the necklace and it will guide you, but be careful. Many people wish to hold magic for themselves, and they stop at nothing to wield it. Evil exists even here, Wu. We are no exception. They lurk in the shadows and strike the unknowing. But if you are knowing, you will be safeguarded." the Elder smiled.

"Is there anything that I must know?" I interrogated further.

"Everything, child. Knowledge is the key to these artifacts, and the world we live in itself. To know is to be strong. Kin is a mystery, even to some elders. But the elders who unlock the mysterious are the guardians of it."

The elder was vague and confusing, but I felt solace in my chest. I had to trust the elder, whether I liked it or not.

I decided to make my way to the library, to learn about Kin's history, as well as uncover some secrets of the Jyns. There are numerous amounts of these knowledge bases in Kin, and there never fails to be people inside. Research is quite common amongst the people, for better or for worse. Libraries are extremely vast and ancient, and felt as if they had been the first things to be created. They had an aura of enlightenment that enticed the people of Kin. Large pillars held up the libraries, and the roof's borders depicted nature or characters. The marble was slightly worn, but was still marvelous to gaze at. It felt as if each library was significant in its own way. Even the land around the library changes. The normally open fields of Kin suddenly stop as the surrounding land of the building is empty. The dirt is soft to the touch, and nice to look at. It shows a stark difference from Kin's natural meadows, and it is beautiful in its own way.

I clutched my shirt tightly so that no one would see the fused necklace in the center of my torso. As I made my way around the library, I began to feel my heart beat faster. The thumps resonated stronger and stronger as I took steps forward, left, right, forward. My heart had begun to literally guide me on my path in the library.

The resonance echoed and dissolved as I stood in front of an aisle. Greek Mythology, it read. From what I recall, ancient Greece was the most similar to Kin, albeit without much incest and murder. I traced my fingers across the novels, wanting to read each and every one. But one novel stopped me in my tracks. I took the book from its shelf and read the title: Curse of Hephaestus.

Suddenly, my necklace beamed and let out a gust of wind, flurrying through the pages until it stopped three-fourths of the way in.

"Hephaestus laughed. His newfound creation was sure to destroy Aphrodite's daughter, Harmonia. He wanted to give it to her as a wedding gift, but more so as a form of revenge. Aphrodite may have left him for Ares, but he ensured himself that he would get the last laugh.

'Harmonia! My dear, I am so glad that you have finally become a woman and married a magnificent man!' Hephaestus said cheerfully.

'Why thank you, Uncle! I hope to spend a good life with him.' She naively replied.

Harmonia would spend a life with her husband, but not a good one. Hephaestus presented his gift to the child of his sinful ex-wife. He beamed as she was immediately charmed by its beauty.

'This necklace will grant you eternal beauty and everlasting youth!' the blacksmith exclaimed.

Harmonia was fascinated and thanked him gleefully, but Hephaestus smiled with a gleam of mischief. Though the gift granted eternal beauty and youth, it had a secret.

The necklace cursed anyone in its possession with endless misfortune."

My heart dropped to my stomach as my pendant glowed red. Warped ribbons began to encircle me, growing larger as they enveloped a sphere around me. It tipped the shelves and pushed them outward. The ribbons fluttered around and whipped books out from their places. I tried to touch them, but to no avail. The sphere grew bigger, the ribbons wrapping tighter. As I saw the ribbons wrapping more and more, my throat grew tighter and tighter. My vision began to be obscured by red, then white. I could see only white with ribbons of red, until a gong sounded. Everything stopped and the ribbons went away, the sphere along with it. The library shelves were back in their original place, the books snug in as well.

I looked down at my chest as the glowing slowly went away, leaving the necklaces initial peach-white color in its place. My body quaked with fear as the elder's words began to echo in my head.

"Knowledge is the key to these artifacts, and the world we live in itself. To know is to be strong."