Pieces of Time

Ch 4: Conditioning

A tremor tore through the earth below the rising structure. Slowly, bit by bit, the ancient stones took on a newer form. The form of the old temple from ages ago, and then after that, into something more of an aged castle.

Dark creatures lurked in the surrounding forests whose trees were rapidly withering away as the dark lord's power spread to form a barrier around his land. He peered down from the tallest tower to watch his work unfold, his form nearly rejuvenated from what was once a rotting corpse.

He smirked as he felt another rumble rip through the land as his tower rose a bit more. The hairs rose on the back of his neck and he turned towards his door where two dark figures were kneeling in his direction.

"I hope you bear good news," said the dark lord, his poisonous green eyes expecting.

The two raise their heads to him with solemn expressions. Their faces were identical, as the lord intended them to be when they were created just a day before. Born of his renewed power.

"Lord Pallas," they said together in greeting.

Pallas gestured his hand for them to rise. They did.

"You found the other," Pallas said, folding his hands behind his back.

They nodded, "Yes, we did. A girl."

One of them looked away from his master, hesitant.

"Go on Styx." Pallas commanded, his eyes narrowed.

Styx sighed, "She got away from us, and after some additional scouting...we have a problem."

The other twin shook his head with frustration, grimacing as he spat, "I wish we could have just brought her here, but he meddled."

Pallas held out his hand to stop them both, his stony expression unreadable at the news, "Bia, what problem is there? She shouldn't have any power after just crossing into this world."

The frustrated twin peered up at his master and smoothed out his ruffled hair before he continued, "A boy stopped us from interrogating her further. After further scouting, he appears to be a warrior of some kind. Many people seem to have high respect for him anyway. And he appears to be some sort of companion to the girl."

Pallas's eyebrows knit together, puzzled. He contemplated the information for a moment, trying to determine the next best move. He turned towards the window to watch the slowly rotting land again. The twins shifted their weight awkwardly at his silence, clearly nervous that their lord is displeased with them about this.

After a long silence they both dared to speak, "My Lord?"

At this Pallas closed his eyes for a few moments, then opened them as he released a long-held breath, "It has been too long Bia...Styx. The world has continued to turn without us, and there are things that perhaps we should brush up on....observe more thoroughly."

He whirled towards them again, his expression grimly determined now, "Find me any books, scrolls, tomes, or sources of information you can find about what this world is now. Their legends...and especially folklore on their warriors of myth."

They both nodded and knelt before their master again before vanishing into the shadows, as if made of nothing at all.

▼

Kali's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, throwing her blanket off of her half-awake body. Her clothes stuck to her skin with sweat and she focused to steady her breathing.

The dream she had wasn't so much frightening as it was just...distressing. It was like seeing through someone else's eyes, feeling their feelings, thinking their thoughts. Her skin crawled and she rubbed at her arms as if to brush off the creeping worms of unease.