"Before there was anything there were dragons. They ruled over oblivion, a gaping void where nothing exists but everything lives."
The war had raged for decades. And in it's wake all that had been left was a broken expanse of a fire burnt wasteland...
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I let go of the ladder, my feet hitting the floor with a thump. Turning around, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a crumbling old room, made of carved stone blocks depicting scenes I could not make out. Moss created along the cracks in the walls, adding life to what would have been a dull grey room. Lit torches burned in holders along the walls, casting shadows that danced along the floor.
Odd. How would the torches be lit? This place looks like it hasn't been disturbed for thousands of years.
Curiously getting the best of me, I pulled one of the torches from its holder and swept it slowly across the wall, trying to see the carving more clearly. I stumbled back in shock: wherever the torch passed the carving glowed like the hot embers of a dying fire. Heat pounding, I looked closer once more. The heat made it look like the carving was moving.
It's just a trick, Kelsie. I told myself.
But it wasn't. The images writhed and danced before me. creatures rising and dying in the embers. Dragon fire scorching the earth. The world is reduced to cinders. Slowly the pictures grew larger, spinning around me until they flashed a bright blue, outlining a rectangular shape on the wall. A hidden door. I pushed and it gave. I fell after it, falling down into a room of swirling mist that seemed to have no bottom.
I seemed to fall for an eternity. At first I screamed, flailing through the air, but slowly, ever so slowly, I calmed. I wasn't falling now, but soaring, gliding through the mist. Twisting my head around, I saw leathery, scaly wings start to grow from my back. I opened the and started to glide. Stretching out my arms, I let my fingers slip through the mist.
I felt free of all burdens.
Then the white mist turned dark. I soared through it and all I could see was black. I didn't have time to scream. I felt a cold stone pressing in my cheek and side, and opened my eyes. I was in a stone room again, but this one was different: The floor around me was covered in stone plates, and the walls in eerie statues with hollowed out eyes. Staring into the blackness I saw a glint of steel.
This was not good.
Creeping forwards, I pushed the closest plate with the tip of my boot and lent back. An arrow whizzed past my face, wind stirring loose strands of my hair. The arrow was buried halfway up it's shaft in the stone wall. I studied the walls again, seeing the doorway opposite me and the uneven height of the statues. I could not simply just walk under them: there were ones too close to the wall. I just had to run and pray to whichever god might be watching over me.
I ran, the feeling of the plates slightly sinking beneath my feet making me stumble and slow. Fear gripped my chest, cutting off my breath.
Just a few more feet. Just a few more.
I heard the rip before I felt the pain. The bolt grazed my calf, and I felt blood ooze out of the wound. Then my feet hit solid stone. I had made it.
The room around me slowly started rocking beneath me. I slowly twisted to look at my leg. There was a green tint to the gash. Poison. Acting on the last bit of sense that still remained while panic clawed at me, I took out my knife, and began scraping the poison out of the wound. I gritted my teeth as the cold metal stung. But I kept going. Then the spinning gradually receded. Slumping to the floor in exhaustion, I wished I could rest. But I knew I couldn't: the force tugged at me once again. I had to keep going.
I pulled myself to my feet and staggered through the doorway. The sight that greeted me was not what I had expected. Not what I expected at all.
A partially ruined pavilion stood in the centre of a glade. Vines climbed up the crumbling bricks and moss encroached on the floor. On the ground at my feet grew lush grass, thick and green. Trees sprang from the ground, towering above me, their branches spreading out in a large canopy, letting golden light through in thin streams. I heard the whir of insect wings and faint birdsong. Tree branches creaked and leaves rustled in the slight, warm breeze.
In the centre of the ruins stood a large ornate cage in the shape of an egg.
And there, in the middle of the glade before me, stood a ghostly white figure. Well, she wasn't standing, she was floating. My eyes widened as she began to speak, her voice echoing endlessly. She was a memory - a remnant of someone's mind.
"Sweet brave child, you have done well to make it this far. My time here is short and I have many things to tell you. I have brought you here for a reason. This glade is one of the few sacred places of this world that is still here. Everyone houses a life about to begin. You need to find every one before the darkness creeping throughout this world consumes them. If that happens, humanity will fall for good. The fate of the world rests in your hand, Kelsie. Choose wisely.
"If you choose to take this burden, step forward, and I will bless you with the sign of the ancient's power."
I thought about what could happen if I took this oath. But then again, If I didn't, the world would fall to the darkness. I stepped forwards on weak legs. The moss was soft underfoot, fallen leaves crinkled as I put my weight on them. The woman put her hand on my forehead, tracing a symbol. I felt the heat as it glowed, then power washed over me. It pressed down, then lifted. It had been done. There was no going back now.
The spirit started to fade.
"Remember us and all who paved the way before you. Remember so we did not die in vain. Remember the innocent." Then with a flash of white light, she melted away into the afterworld.
What did you think? What are your theories to who the woman was and why she was there? What do you think will happen next? As always, feel free to comment, and If you liked it please give it a vote!
