by Matt Taylor
“Us?” Sylas responded dumbfoundedly. He exchanged glances with Samara and Torren and found their expressions of confusion just as visible as his own.
“Yes,” Uthren continued, the amulet that you hold is not just a pretty trinket. It’s really not even jewelry at all. It is, in fact, a key.”
“A key? You mean like, to a door?” Samara asked.
“Yes,” Uthren responded. “A key to the Vault of Kings to be exact.”
Sylas thought that the name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember why.
“Wait, the Vault of Kings? Like the same one that the original six mages constructed?” Samara asked in amazement.
“Nah, no way.” Torren piped in. “That’s just a myth, it’s not actually real.”
“It is indeed real, Torren.” Uthren continued, “The original ‘Kings’ as we call them, were the first to unlock the knowledge of using Magick. Six of them, each one dedicated to a different basic element, Light, Nature, Air, Fire, Darkness, and Water. They each focused on their own respective elements, mastering them until they felt they had learned all that was to be known about that element. Then they taught each other what they had learned, continuing to master the art as they taught. Later they discovered the secret of combinations and how to combine different elements together at the same time to produce different results. They showed many of their successors how to use Magick, and even taught the more skilled how to do combinations, which has all been passed down from generation to generation. However, some things were not taught, and those secrets have been sealed away in the vault. Secrets hidden from the world, which are said to give the one who knows them extensive knowledge and power. No one truly knows what mystery lies in the vault, not even the royal bloodlines from the original Kings.”
He paused for a moment, pondering something, then shook his head and continued, “If Maelos were able to get the six stones and unite them with the amulet to forge the key to the Vault of Kings, If he were the one to gain knowledge of whatever it is that’s hidden inside, it would truly be the end of Evendreil as we know it.”
“So, what are we supposed to do about that?” Sylas asked in astonishment, “We’re just kids, there’s no way we could be of any help.”
“That’s what we need to discuss with your families and my trusted friend Geode.” Uthren continued. “I think you are more capable than you give yourself credit for. And now that you three have found the amulet, there needs to be something done about it. We can’t just simply wait for Maelos to find out and come take it by force, that would be sentencing the world to an imminent doom.”
A slightly awkward silence overcame the group as they continued their way to the cart. It didn’t take long to get back to the place where they had dropped it off with their hurried pace, but all the while, their minds were spinning, regretting having come out to the crypt at all.
Sylas was especially worried, thoughts of him having to do something, anything that involved Maelos put a knot in his stomach. Uthren thinks that because I saw that vision, that I’m going to be important in solving all of this… but I can hardly even remember what I saw! I can’t do this, I’m just a kid…
They eventually made it back to the cart, where Uthren gave them instructions to pack everything up and follow him. They all agreed and gathered their things and started pulling the cart home. Worried thoughts continued to dance through their minds as they walked, no one brave enough to break the silence. Once they got almost within sight of the guards at the town gates, Torren finally broke the silence with a question, “So… you did have a plan for getting back into the town, right, Sylas?”
Sylas stopped walking, then sheepishly responded, “Umm, I guess I forgot about that part…”
“Are you serious?” Samara said, shooting him a glare. “Don’t you think that’s a little important?”
“I’m sorry” he responded, “I guess I was so excited about being able to go back into the crypt and having the possibility of helping out my family, I forgot about coming up with an idea to get back in.”
“Not to worry, I can get us back in the same way that I got out.” Uthren chimed in. “You three had better think about your actions a little more carefully in the future, though. You must think things through, lest you find yourself in inescapable situations.”
His words worried Sylas. Did Uthren really expect him to go on some grand adventure? To save the day? He wasn’t up to the task; he was just Sylas! Nothing extraordinary, not skilled, not anything. Why me?
Uthren instructed them to leave the cart somewhere they could either come back and get later or send an adult to go and get later. Finding a large boulder, they hid the wagon as best as they could.
Uthren then instructed that they once again join hands. Excited at seeing another display of Magick, the three joined hands with Uthren, and he again conjured a yellow light in his hands that spread across the group. Once entirely engulfed in the light, another bright pillar of light descended from above before engulfing them and teleporting them into the town. Once inside, Uthren told them that they needed to get their parents and meet him back at the town center building.
“Tell them it’s quite urgent, and that I sent you to do so.” He instructed, “I’ll get Geode, and we’ll figure out the best course of action.”
Sylas, Torren, and Samara did as they were told and went their separate ways.
Sylas arrived at his home just as the sun was setting. A deep orange glow of sunlight filled the sky, several thin clouds glowed bright pink as they floated just above the mountains. Sunbeams radiated out from behind the mountains covering the setting sun and reflected off the window of the front door to his home. Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, Sylas took in a deep breath and walked in the door.
“Cutting it a bit close there, eh, Sylas?” He heard the stern voice of his father say.
“Sorry, Dad,” Sylas said, looking towards his father. He was sitting in a chair near the kitchen and had that look on his face. The look he always had when Sylas got into trouble, but this time, he looked a bit troubled himself.
“Your mom and I have something to discuss with you.” He continued.
“Actually Dad,” Sylas said hesitantly, “I have something that I need to discuss with you and Mom. We need to go to the town center building. Uthren will be waiting for us there.”
“Are you in trouble, son?” Thren said, raising his eyebrows.
“No, not really… but it’s important. Can I eat something really quick, and then we can all go?”
Sylas just realized that along with his stomach being twisted with the thought of having to be a part of whatever it was Uthren was planning, he was also starving. Thren looked at Sylas a little longer, then stood up.
“Sure thing. Dinner is on the table, go ahead and eat and I’ll get your mother.” He then went into the other room to find Iriana.
Sylas went into the kitchen and tried to calm his nerves with a bit of food. Potatoes again, this time with only butter as a topping. After eating, he walked into the main room of the house and saw his mother and father sitting together on their old sofa. His mother looked at him and with concern in her voice, asked, “What’s this all about Sylas? Did you get yourself into trouble? Where were you all day?”
Reluctantly, Sylas told his parents what he Torren, and Samara had been up to. He spared them of some of the details of what happened inside the crypt, especially his little tour through the darkness or whatever that was. Then he told them about how Uthren had come and helped them to get out and a little about what he had told them about the amulet he had found. Sylas then pulled the amulet out his pocket, where he had it concealed.
“This is the amulet. Uthren thinks that because I found it, I should be the one to help figure out what we should do with it, that’s why we need to go to the town center building and meet him.”
Thren stood up and took the amulet from Sylas. He turned it over several times in his hands and looked into the blac
k stone in the center. The purple misty substance slowly swam within the dark void of the stone in its eternal circle.
“I’ve heard several stories about these stones… but never thought they were actually true. We used to talk about them while I worked in the king’s guard. I’ve never heard of this amulet, though… the Vault of Kings rings a bell, but just faintly.”
Sensing the worry and anxiety that swelled within his son, he handed the amulet back to Sylas and looked at Iriana. “Let’s go see what this is all about then.”
Turning back to Sylas and with a stern but loving fatherly voice, he continued, “everything is going to be okay, Sylas. Let’s go figure this out.” Then to Sylas’s relief, his father embraced him in a hug.
Sylas approached the town center building with his parents. The sun had set entirely now, so they relied on the light of the streetlamps to direct them. The town center building was a large stone building that sat in roughly the center of the town. It was used all the time in the past for meetings led by the King of Shilvrst about what needed to get done to help the town grow, as well as for when criminals were required to have their sentences given. It no longer served much of a purpose, the government was run entirely by Maelos and his minions now, so the need to discuss what was best for the town was no longer needed because Maelos obviously had all of that under his control.
Sylas entered the building through its large wooden doors, his shoes echoed across the smooth polished stone as he stepped through its corridors.
Several intricately designed stone pillars with carvings that depicted the story of Shilvrst its history and founders, as well as the history of Evendreil, rose from the stone floor up to the ceiling to help support the roof. The top of the ceiling was painted with murals showing the original six mages, all glowing in the color of their respective elements. Spiral staircases sat at the edges of the room, each leading to an indoor balcony. Chairs were set along each balcony so the people seated there could easily see who was talking in the middle.
Sylas looked back down to see Uthren standing in front of him.
“Come, Sylas, the others are waiting.”
Uthren led Sylas and his parents towards one of the rooms on the main floor of the building, just to the side of one of the staircases.
This must have been used as an office at some point. Sylas thought to himself as they entered the smaller room. He saw Samara and Torren sitting with their parents, as well as one other person that he did not recognize. He was wearing a robe that looked very similar to the one that Uthren wore. Sylas could tell that it was a battle mage robe, but the colors weren’t yellow with gold trim like that of Uthren’s. Instead, his robes were a deep forest green, and instead of the golden trim, it was a woody brown color. The symbol in the middle of his chest was different too, instead of the four-pointed star, there was a symbol of a tree inside of a circle. The tree trunk was not entirely straight but more of a slightly curved, almost flowing trunk. It started at the bottom of the circle and then came up to about the halfway mark before branching off into four branches. Each of the branches was covered in leaves, making the tree look as if the top was a silhouette of a cloud.
Uthren shut the door behind them and asked them politely to have a seat. Sylas sat down next to Samara in nervous anticipation, wishing that he could be anywhere rather than here. He would rather be back in the plane of darkness that he found himself in while at the crypt than here. Regretting his choices of the past day, his train of thought was broken by the voice of Uthren, who sat down at the desk in the middle of the room.
“I’m sure you are all wondering why I’ve gathered you here this evening. I don’t want you to worry, your children are not in trouble. For any of you that don’t know who I am, my name is Uthren, I served on the High Council of Light under King Barathorn. This is my colleague Geode.” Geode nodded his head in acknowledgment.
“He is my dear friend and served for many years in the Council of Nature in our neighboring city of Gelendor.”
A Nature mage? Sylas thought, I wonder what kind of crazy things he can do with Magick…
Standing up, Uthren walked over to Sylas and asked, “May I see the amulet that you found Sylas?”
Sylas reached into his pocket and pulled out the amulet. As he did, his fingers brushed against the black stone in the middle, it still felt abnormally cold even though it had been in his warm pocket for some time now.
“Does anyone know what this is?” Uthren said as he returned to his seat and held the amulet in the air.
Thren spoke up first, “I’m not sure what the amulet is… but I believe that the black stone in the middle is called the Stone of Darkness.”
Uthren nodded his head and looked towards the others. “Does anyone know anything else?”
Torrens dad spoke this time; he had long brown hair like Torren did and the same muscular build.
“If Thren is correct, then that means that the Elemental Stones are not a myth or legend. And that would mean that somewhere in the world there exists the stones of Nature, Water, Fire, Air, and Light as well.”
“That’s correct,” Uthren responded.
He then looked at Samara and her parents, “Do you know anything of these stones?”
Samara’s parents looked at each other and shook their heads, then her father spoke up, “Unfortunately I’ve never been very knowledgeable about Magick, I’ve always just focused on my own trade and raising my family. So, they are quite unfamiliar to me.”
“I know a little bit,” Samara added in. “I know that the original six mages, the same that were depicted in the painting on the ceiling of the main room in this building, were the ones that discovered the secret behind Magick. Eventually, the stones were supposed to be hidden… but I don’t know why.”
Uthren smiled. “Very nice Samara, I see that the books I’ve given you have not gone to waste. Samara is correct, and to make this a lot easier for everyone, I think I’ll go ahead and just start from the beginning, that way everyone will be on the same page when we start to discuss the decisions to be made now and in the near future. Back when the world was still young, a very religious man named Zephyr climbed to the tallest peak of the Kandarin mountains and prayed to the gods. He asked them to bestow upon him knowledge that would allow him to be more than a man, but still less than a god. The gods found favor in Zephyr and blessed him with knowledge on what we refer to as Elemental Magick today. Zephyr became the first of the original six mages and the first to learn Air Magick. He returned to his people and taught them what information he was given and some of his more devout followers asked him if there was more knowledge to be gained. Curious, he climbed back to the top of the Kandarin mountains and petitioned the gods for more knowledge. They told him to bring back five other worthy followers, and then they would grant additional instruction.”
Uthren paused for a moment to make sure everyone was still following, then continued.
“Zephyr returned to his home and gathered five of his most devout followers: Magnar, Nymphara, Amphilia, Freyr, and Chemosh. Together they ascended the mountain and petitioned the gods for further knowledge. It’s said that the gods themselves came down and bestowed upon each one of them individually the knowledge of the separate Elemental Magick techniques. Fire to Magnar, Nature to Nymphara, Water to Amphilia, Light to Freyr, and Darkness to Chemosh. They then returned to their village and taught others on the use of the Elemental Magick techniques they had been taught, including teaching each other how to use the other elements.”
“Eventually, Zephyr, the first of the six, was able to learn how to combine different elements together for surprising and wild results. This opened up a plethora of new possibilities. They again taught the very most elite the techniques of Magick Combinations. Eventually, the original six got together, and using their combined powers constructed the Vault of Kings and in it, hid a secret, a secret that’s said to give the possessor an immeasurable amount of power. The story is vague on how they obtain
ed the stones and how the vault was actually constructed, but each elemental stone is said to contain a secret to the element that it represents. By studying the stone, you can learn the deeper and more powerful techniques of that element and have additional power in that respective branch of Magick. Believing the secret needed to be hidden away from the world, they sealed the vault and constructed a key that could only be activated when the bearer of that key had collected all six of the Elemental Stones and placed them into the key. The stones were then taken to far away lands, or hidden throughout Evendreil.”
Uthren paused and looked around the group noting their expressions. “This amulet you found Sylas,” Uthren held up the amulet again, “is indeed the unpowered key to the Vault of Kings. And the stone that sits in the middle of it is the Stone of Darkness. If this were to fall into the wrong hands and with it, the other Elemental Stones… Our world, as we know it, would be destroyed. If Maelos discovers that this amulet has been found, he will do anything in his power to obtain it.”
Sylas gulped and scrunched deeper into his chair. Sweat was dripping down his back now, leaving a cold trail of regret.
“So, what do our children have to do with all of this?” Samara’s mother asked. “Shouldn’t we give that to someone in one of the High Councils and have them figure out what to do with it? Or better yet try and destroy it?”
“It cannot be destroyed.” Uthren responded, “Not by any means that we have available anyway. The way I see it, and I believe my colleague here agrees with me…” Geode gave another nod. “The only correct course of action now that the amulet has been found is to try and locate the other five Elemental Stones, forge them into the key, and unlock the Vault of Kings before Maelos can. Then we’ll be able to use whatever is inside the vault against him, ridding us of his dark power and oppression.”
He then looked at Samara, Torren, and finally, Sylas and said, “And I believe these young people are the ones to take on that quest.”
Sylas felt like he had just turned into a pile of pudding. He couldn’t feel any of his limbs and had sunk so far into his chair that he almost fell out. He saw the mouths of Uthren, Geode, and the other adults moving, obviously arguing about the subject but couldn’t hear anything they said. Shock had entered into his body and was swimming around his innards along with fear, regret, and a million other depressing emotions. They clouded his senses and sent his reality spinning. Eventually, he was awakened from the trance by his father’s voice.