Cosmic Twists 1 (Old Version)

Part Three - Lara - Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

I have a dream that I’m flying on the lupion again, but this time, it’s like I’ve always done so, and it is the best feeling in the world. I soar higher and higher.

Suddenly I’m shaking, or being shook.

My eyes open abruptly, and all I can see is the white outline of a person leaning over me. I go to cry out but a hand muffles the sound before it is audible to anyone else.

“Lara, I need you to follow me.” I open my eyes properly. It’s Jenna. I realise it is still night time, and the only light I see is the gentle touch of moonlight on the pale leaves and bark, like frost.

“Where are we going?” I ask, but there is no reply. Only silence.

We reach the palladium and walk through the winding labyrinth of corridors until we reach what I assume is the most the most central part of the Paladium. It is a large hall with an arching ceiling that reaches miles high. There are twelve different corridors branching out from this room, one being where we just came from. She points at the floor and I notice some strange network of dots painted on the ground. It takes me a moment to realise it is a map of the sky, with every constellation drawn.

“You see this one here? Look where it lies. And this one. Now look up” she says.

I crane my neck towards the ceiling, only to realise that there is no ceiling. It is an open top, exposing a full view of the night sky. Something is wrong, it doesn’t match up. I look at Jenna, confused.

“This has never happened before,” she said, “and it is from the stars that we acquire the ability to lead the fate of those we watch over”. I wait for her to explain further. “We’ve had some… complications, in the past. But this must be corrected. You see, the Van Maanen's star, part of the Pisces constellation, the star that flickers, has been accelerated into its next evolutionary stage, and the material in a star of this stage no longer undergoes fusion reactions, so the star has no source of energy, thus, our ability to use its energy has faltered. What happened between you and Eirah that night you placed your necklaces together, appears to be what caused this cosmic change. With the Millenium turn in just a day’s time, this could be fatal to our existence.”

“What? But how?”

“The union of your souls after all this time has caused a cosmic twist, a cosmic imbalance. The interference of having a mortal in Halneon is too destructive to maintain. To have the guardian spirit’s mortal here, it is essentially straining the energy that we have to fulfil our purpose.” She speaks with conviction. “Follow me.”

Without another word, I walk behind her to the centre of the room, where the sun is painted at the centre of the map. Jenna kneels to the ground, brushing the floor with her fingertips until something gives. She grasps a small handle and pulls upwards to reveal a passageway. She gestures for me to climb down. I do so and she follows, closing the door above us which closes us into darkness. She takes me down several flights of stairs in the dark until we come to a large, wooden double door, which is extravagantly painted in bright colours. Two strips of tapestry fall beside the door, decorated in gold thread. There is something written into the tapestry, but it is in a language I do not recognise.

Jenna produces a large, golden key from her pocket, and places it into the keyhole before us. A series of clanks and clunks sound from behind the door until it swings open slowly, and what I see before me takes my breath away.

I step into the large room, filled with nothing but lit candles. Under each candle I see a small plaque. There are hundreds and thousands of candles.