The Last Mage

⥳Chapter 3⥴

Alex opened his eyes just as morning light began filtering into the strange structure. He was in a different place than where he had been when he fell asleep, and instantly his guard went up. He was lying on a bed in a room, the walls decorated with the same mysterious carvings he had seen last night. Vases of exotic flowers stood at the corners of the chamber. "Not last night. You've been asleep for four days." someone was leaning over Alex. Their face was blurry, but their voice was clearly female. "Were you reading my mind?" Alex demanded. The girl laughed. "Well, of course. Don't you remember this place?" "I don't remember anything about this island! Nearly everything I meet asks me that, but I've never been here before!" "You have. Why can't you recall it? We were in this very same room. You've even met the Lady before." Their hand reached toward Alex, and he slapped it away.The girl frowned. "Why are you fighting me?" She sounded genuinely confused. "I thought we were friends." "When will anyone get that I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about?! I've never seen this place before, and I don't want to see it again!" He tried to stand, but his feet hit something hard, and his eyes blinked open to see himself kicking at the floor. He realized he had been dreaming, and was glad. The girl hadn't been real. But then why had she seemed so real? Alex abandoned the question after pondering it for a few minutes. As he sat up, he noticed his arms and legs didn't ache anymore. His head did, though. "Well, it's your fault! You're the one who wouldn't let me finish healing you!" The girl's voice seemed to whisper in his mind. Alex shook his head to clear it, then stood. He looked around, wondering if there was anything edible in the mysterious place. He walked farther into the building, down a long hallway. He paused at the end of the hallway, before two huge wooden doors. They were made of some tropical wood, and as Alex pushed on them, they swung open on golden hinges, revealing... Alex gasped, and stared at the grand room behind the doors. The room was shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners. The walls were marble, covered with the odd carvings he had seen everywhere else in the building. Unlike the other carvings, these carvings were traced and inlaid with gold and gems. Small but majestic sets of stairs led up to equally majestic balconies along the walls. An even grander, spiraling staircase twirled up and up, twisting through the ceiling. The ceiling itself was marble like the rest of the building. It arched high above the room, decorated with colorful paintings of magical creatures, magical objects, and magical humans. Suddenly a weird chill ran down his spine. Alex shook it off and gazed around again. In the center of the room, there was a table, made of the same tropical wood as the doors. Alex stepped closer to look at the two golden objects on it. One of them appeared to be a book, it cover shining leather inlaid with rubies, amethysts, emeralds, and sapphires. Alex had never seen so many jewels in his life. He opened the book gently, holding it away from him just in case it decided to explode on him. At first the book seemed normal. The title was "Araelyenne Raeleglyphes". That was strange, but so was everything else on the island. The table of contents was covered in the odd designs Alex had seen everywhere in the building. He flipped to the first page, and began to read.

Raeleglyphe Elantae: Mtyeria laedonam: Silence~ meaning peace

Below the text, there was a picture of a circle with lines twisting out of it in all directions.

Raeleglyphe Ateaerina: Mtyeria jaedonam: Nature~ meaning life

Below the words, there was a picture of a complicated latticework of spirals.

As many more of the carvings he had seen on the walls were defined, Alex realized he might be able to decode the "Raeleglyphes", as the book called them. He started right by the doors, examining the carvings and matching them to a picture in the book. After about half an hour, Alex had discovered that most of the Raeleglyphes kept repeating the same pattern: Malaegen, alkaenm, rraemita, ateaerina, which meant night, power, sun, life. After another half hour, he had finally realized that these Raeleglyphes told the creation story of the people who had built this place. If their creation story was displayed here, this place might be some kind of temple... Alex thought, glancing around at the walls. He felt that weird chill again, and wondered if someone was watching him. Had the strange girl shown up again? She was nowhere in sight, and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up at the stained-glass windows again, and realized what was wrong with the temple.There was no dust on the floor, or cobwebs in the corners. The pages of the book Alex held looked freshly printed, even though clearly no one had been there for years. Not one of the stairs was broken or missing, and the stained-glass windows gleamed, without even the tiniest crack. None of the gold or jewels had been stolen, and they were practically glowing, as if they had just been polished. Alex frowned, suddenly uneasy. He tried to ignore it and continue deciphering the Raeleglyphes. But every few minutes he would stare around the room, watching for anything else out of the ordinary. And he was right to worry. A creaking sound echoed through the temple, and Alex tensed. Footsteps tapped across the floor. "Oh, yes. This is the place." A voice murmured. Something rustled, and Alex heard a scraping sound. Something began to hiss. Suddenly a cloud of smoke billowed around Alex, and he coughed and choked. Something struck him across his head, and Alex struggled, but finally blacked out- again.

⥳⧫⥴

Alex's sight finally began to clear. He looked around, wondering where he was. As his surroundings came into focus, he saw that he was in a neat little camp, consisting of a circle of tents surrounding a central firepit. He was in one of the tents, but his tent was considerably smaller than the others. He could also see people strolling among the tents, carrying supplies between to the firepit or out of camp. They were dressed strangely, in long tunics and baggy trousers. The tunics were white, decorated with black spirals, and their pants were olive green. One of them turned toward Alex's tent and sauntered over. "Hello." He sneered. "I hope you're enjoying your stay." It was clear he meant the opposite. Alex was confused. "How did I get here?" He asked. "We brought you here." His voice was scornful. "What? Why?" The man laughed. "I can't believe it. You pretend to be all innocent. You know what you've done." "I- what?" Alex said, but the man was walking away already. He sighed and stared around the tent. There was only one flap, that everyone in the camp could easily see. The only light came from a few small torches spaced around the sides of the tent. The only furnishings he could see was a rickety chair in a corner, a small table missing a leg in another, and the pile of mats he was sitting on. Alex gazed up at a hole in the roof, wishing he were small enough to fit through it. But of course, wishing did nothing. So he simply waited for something to happen.

That "something" happened late that night. Sounds out in the clearing roused Alex from his sleep, and he peeked outside to see three of the strange people hauling two girls into the camp. They looked about the age of his sisters, and were fighting the men fiercely. They weren't strong enough to stop the men, though, and were dragged to Alex's tent. The men shoved them roughly through the flap, and they tumbled into the tent. They scrambled into the corner opposite from Alex, and huddled together, whispering and shivering. Alex tried to smile at them, but they turned away from him, and Alex went back to sleep.

⥳⧫⥴

Early the next morning, Alex heard rustling sounds. He jerked awake, and glanced around the tent. Everything seemed normal at first. Then he remembered. The girls! He couldn't see them at first, as the tent was completely dark, but then he noticed movement in a corner. The girls were crouched together, their backs to Alex. He walked over. "What are you doing?" Alex asked.The girls spun around. "Something that's none of your business!" One of them snapped, her tone reminding Alex of Alaria when she got frustrated. "Actually, I think it is my business!" "Why? Are you going to report us?" "Why would I report you?" Alex said, glaring at the girl. Leaning past her he saw what the other girl was doing. She had found a dagger somewhere, and was slicing a hole in the back of the tent. "Hey!" The girl shoved Alex away, and pulled another dagger seemingly out of thin air. "Wha-" Alex began, but the dagger was instantly at his throat. "Not. A. Word." The girl whispered, "Ariana, you done yet?" "Ariana?" Alex gasped. "That's-" "I said, not a word." The girl pressed the dagger harder. "Ariana-" "I want to ask him something." Ariana interrupted. "Fine, then." The girl grumbled. "I'll keep working on the escape route." She and Ariana traded daggers. Ariana stood up and walked over to Alex. "I have a question for you. Remember, if you try to escape..." She motioned to the dagger. "You understand what will happen, don't you?" "Yes..." Alex mumbled. "Good." Ariana moved the dagger farther away from Alex. "Now, would you by any chance know a boy named Alex?"Alex gasped again, as he realized what Ariana had just said. "I- I am Alex."