The Gathering of Masters: The Bond Once Severed Book 1

17. Beginnings

"I am sorry about that, young master." Diddero handed the horses' reins to a brown-clad man and walked to Raja. "He must have expended great strength to speak to you, your Lukas. I will work with my wife to make him a special hole in the barrier." Diddero rubbed his smooth chin and looked to the sky as if seeing something. Natalia followed the petite man's gaze and thought she saw an unnatural shimmer near the edge of her sight.

"Diddero is one of the best barrier builders I have ever met. His wife is a shield Master; together, they have kept the Vale safe for many years," Paulo declared as he clapped his hand over Diddero's shoulder and squeezed him companionably. Diddero smiled, then frowned.

"Oh, my wife!" Diddero cried as he looked towards the cottage. The placid man's frown tightened, and he bounced on his feet nervously. "You should go in; she is preparing dinner. We must not be late." The Master laughed at Diddero's urgent tone, but they walked quickly towards the deceptively small main door.

Natalia wondered at the size of the Master's home. She had expected a castle or at least a fortress, not a tiny cottage. Natalia wasn't sure how it would accommodate all of them. "There must be more to this space." She thought absently as the door opened. Raja turned to her and winked. The playfulness of the gesture surprised her.

"Just wait," Raja recommended. She could feel his excitement, so she tried to hide her frustration. Natalia was not yet comfortable with how easily Raja could read her thoughts. She had not yet learned how to block the bond this much. Wonder replaced unease as Natalia caught her first glimpses inside the cottage.

"How?" The house was much larger than it appeared on the outside. She could feel Raja's excitement rise as they walked into the fantastic space.

"He has used the Elements to create an illusion that can stand without manipulating the mindspace. I have not seen this magic since I was a child."

"This hall is as large as the grand entrance of the Earth Temple." Natalia allowed herself the pleasure of looking at the magical space.

Light streamed into the circular hall from an enormous crystal dome at the far end. The rainbows of light then showered down on an ornate wooden staircase that curved beneath and around it. Its circuitous path stopped twice, once at a large glass door at the first landing and then to a dark archway. The polished wooden underside of the second section of stairs was visible, but this only enhanced the beauty. The wooden walls of the ground floor blended into the staircase, and scattered throughout were the hints of several more doors.

Though the sunlight lighted the entire space, Natalia noted ornate sconces were holding lighted torches scattered liberally along the walls of the whole atrium. The wood of the walls contrasted the polished blue stone of the floor that led from the entryway to a small water fountain resting underneath the dome and then faded into the back wall. The stone and wood should have clashed but blended like a cliff along the ocean's edge.

With that thought, Natalia realized that the entire room flowed like water. Each curve hinted at a ripple or wave. This awareness allowed her to finally understand what had pushed against her mind since they walked into the space.

"I feel all the Elements," Natalia proclaimed and felt Raja touch the sensations in her mind, trying to perceive what she could. The Elements were alive in this hall as much as they were in the Elemental Temples, or more so. Air was rushing through the windows, Fire burning in the torches, Earth lying beneath their feet, and everywhere there was Water.

"Min! You have grown so tall!" Paulo's declaration interrupted her thoughts as a spindly young man appeared in front of them. Paulo smiled at the man and ruffled his curly black hair affectionately.