Dawn's Light

Chapter 30: Interlude

Sparkles like stars shimmered and swirled inside of a glowing glass sphere. A figure studied the shimmering shapes. Her gaze was so strong and focused it seemed as if only she could see beyond the glittering exterior and into the secrets held within the sparkling orb.

She squinted and focused on the fuzzy dark shapes inside the sphere. Futilely, she tried to decipher the blurred greyscale images. After a few more seconds, her eyes widened as a tiny flicker of light briefly graced the vision. In response, the one watching the orb caught her breath and her eyes widened.

"Is this thing finally hinting at the return after so many decades?" The owner of the gentle feminine voice tore her focus away from the silver sphere and up to the golden lamp in the center of the room. Both the light source and the metal structure supporting it silently stood in place and did not react to her glance. 

"Generations, generations," she sighed, then returned her focus to the crystal ball, "generations have passed since the light vanished, but soon the land will recover." She glanced back to the starry shapes in the sphere and tried to once again pick out the spark of yellow she noted in her earlier viewing. However, this time she saw nothing of interest and sighed as she looked at the object instead of into it, "maybe then you will better with the power of the full sun instead of just a tiny piece."

She briefly glanced back to the ray of light, then returned her focus to the sphere, "then I'll actually be able to see and hear and communicate with other people and places like my ancestors were able to far int the past. It would definitely be an improvement instead of staring into vague dark greyscale shapes for hours on end."

She paused, then rubbed her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. "I am talking to the Scientia Sphere of Lihana again," she released a soft groan. "It is bad enough that I talk to myself, I do not need to talk to inanimate magical heirlooms even if I do not have anyone to talk to."

After a moment of silence, she opened her eyes and looked at the exit of the room. "I need to go out and try to find whoever has found another piece of light. Then I may have a chance to restore everything." She gently picked up the glowing ray of light and cradled it in her arms. Once she was sure she would not drop the precious object, she walked over to the other side of the room and exited the room.

She walked down a set of stairs and descended into a cellar carved out of the frozen ground. A barrier decided the massive room into two sections, one full of produce and other small plants in magically-warmed soil, and the other side full of sod crates which contained various objects.

She glanced around the growing plants as she approached a hollow glass hemisphere hanging from a length of magic unbreakable rope attached to a pulley system on the ceiling. Once she placed the glowing object into the holder, she lifted her hand and snapped. In response to the order, the pulls and wench moved and the sphere lifted into the air and illuminated the plants with life-giving light.

She paused and glanced to the plants around her, "I might as well take some trade items to some of the nomadic tribes and Iece since I have to go out anyway. They will appreciate some of the vegetables and fruits, and maybe I can get some more potion ingredients or pelts in the barter."

She waved her hands, and a few pieces of ripe produce uprooted or picked itself and floated over the woman as she summoned a sack into her hands. Once the floating fruits and vegetables placed themselves into the bag, she placed the bag by the entrance to the room and focused on the items on the other half of the room.

The woman paused and surveyed the boxes, and with a flick of her wrist, several hide-wrapped items rose out of their sod containers and hovered in front of her face as she chose the items she desired to take with her on my journey.

"Some charmed weapons definitely, they are very popular," a few of the desired items floated to her and rested on the ground as she continued magically riffling through the inventory. "some furs, and I can't forget some food rations for my trip. I can't exactly eat snow and ice for nourishment."

Once her supply was to her liking, she dismissed the rest of the objects and they returned to their proper places. "Now," she gathered up the items into a large sack and carried the mass upstairs, then placed it by her front door, "to finish preparing." She gathered her coat and placed it onto her person, then wrapped a scarf around her face and slid gloves around her hands.

She glanced back to the room with the lamp after sliding her protective eyewear over her face, then paused. After she released yet another sigh, she reentered the room and approached the magic sphere again. "I know you do not show the future anymore, only the present, but could you please muster enough power to try to show me where I will meet the person that has the ray of light from earlier?"

She stared into the sphere once again but became exasperated as the black image inside of the sphere remained unchanged. "Of course not." She rubbed her temples again, then turned her back on the sphere and left the room.

"The thing keeps getting weaker and weaker," she released a sigh of dismay, "even with the light it has now, the Scientia Sphere of Lihana may soon lose it's magic anyway. It would be another loss to the magical world." She glanced to a frayed tapestry with eleven people on it in robes of different colors.

"Most light-based magic and their users died or lost their magic long ago. It's hard not to dream about the old ways of life before the darkening." 

As she opened the door and faced the darkness of the cold eternal night, she exhaled a plume of breath. "I am just glad my magic does not rely on the power of the sun."With that statement made, she exited to the room and took the first step on what she believed would be a long search.

Author Notes:

So, someone else has their eyes on the rays of light.

But, is she friend or foe?

Feel free to comment and vote on the story!

I also will answer questions if you have them!