He looked up at Selena. “How long have I been out here?”
“I’m not sure,” Selena replied, averting her eyes from her nearly nude apprentice. “No one else is out, don’t worry, but, Corin…. Why are you out here?”
“I must’ve sleepwalked. I was having the weirdest dream,” he explained.
“What happened?” Selena asked, before quickly turning to an apprentice wandering over to see the commotion. “Go grab him some clothes.”
“Thank you,” Corin murmured, before staring at the ground. “We have to dig here,”he suddenly declared.
Selena’s eyes widened. “Why?” She asked.
“There’s a temple down there!” he exclaimed. “I saw it in my dream… Llubla’s temple, it sank a thousand years ago. We have to dig it out!”
Selena placed a hand on Corin’s shoulder. “What happened? Who’s Llubla?” she asked again, pushing him down. “We have to wait for your clothes, anyway, but we can’t go off digging around the monastery without a good reason, Corin.”
“In my dream, I saw a version of the monastery…. It was so similar, yet so different,” he explained. “I met a girl there, she brought me to see Llubla’s temple—”
“Who’s Llubla?” Selena asked.
“Llubla is the spirit of love, the sixth element!” he exclaimed. “I know this sounds crazy but—”
“Corin,” Selena interrupted, “you had a dream. Was there anything in your dream that made it seem true?”
“Faye mentioned Zephyr,” he answered.
“Faye?”
“She was the Guardian of Llubla a thousand years ago,”Corin answered. “She greeted me as his guardian, too…. It was too normal to be a dream.”
Selena rubbed her temples. “Corin, are you sure your mind wasn’t playing tricks on you?” she asked, the student she had seen earlier finally running out with a change of clothes in his hands.
“It felt so real,” Corin commented, frowning.
Selena passed the clothing to Corin. She turned around. “I know it did, Corin, but we can’t dig up the monastery without a really good reason.”
“But Master—” Corin complained, sliding the borrowed clothes on, pausing. “Faye mentioned a spirit named Ubel, too…. Have you ever heard of him?”
“How do you know that name?” Selena asked. “Alvah was corrupted from Ubel throughout the years. My old master taught me that. How did you know that?”
“I told you, Faye mentioned it,”Corin replied, pulling his shirt over his shoulders and passing Selena’s cape back to her.
Selena refastened her cloak. “The girl from the dream? We’ll have to speak to Cyril first, but—”
“Ah, you two are here already.” Cyril greeted cheerfully, clutching a large scroll in his hands.
Four Scribes of Petra followed him closely, murmuring amongst themselves, “Surprising, but pleasant.”
“Master Cyril,” Corin greeted, giving a small bow.
Selena stood up, dusting off the bottom of her dress. “What brings you here?”
Cyril gestured for the scribes to wait, stepping forward and passing Corin a large scroll. “It took us all night, but we found a map from about one thousand years back. What about you two?”
“I had a dream last night. I saw a temple here sink, Master Cyril, and a sixth element! I just… I woke up here after that,” he explained.
“A sixth element?” he asked, opening the map and taking another glance. “Well… that would explain something, I’m sure. On this map it says there was another temple right where we’re standing.”
Selena’s eyes widened. “You have to be joking.”
“I most certainly am not, Selena,” Cyril commented. “We actually came out here to remove the soil and see if we could find any remains. You said you dreamed of a temple being here, Corin?”
“A girl approached me in the barracks. Her name was Faye, she claimed to be the Guardian of Llubla.” he explained. “She took me here and entered the temple, and then it began sinking.”
“You said she was the Guardian of Llubla?” he asked. “Llubla is the name of the spirit who was supposedly destroyed though, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Corin confirmed, “Faye said he worked in weird ways, but she took me to this temple in the dream.”
“Well, it’s clear what our next move will be,” he insisted, stepping closer to the gate. He gestured for Selena and Corin to stand beside him. “Dig until you find something.”
“Wait!” Selena exclaimed. “How can we be sure we’ll find anything? It won’t help to ruin the monastery. How can we be sure this will help?”
“It’s all we have to go on, Selena,” Cyril insisted. “If you want Piers and Kateline to ever have a chance at living a normal life, you’ll let this happen.”
Selena sat back, leaning against the fence and closing her eyes. “Corin said Faye thought he was a guardian in his dream. Does that help at all?”
Cyril turned to Corin. “Is that true?”
“She kept referring to me as ‘Guardian of Llubla’,” he confirmed, “but then she wouldn’t let me into the temple. She said she had to show me it, though.”
Cyril stroked his chin. “At this point, I’m ready to give anything a shot,” he began, gesturing for the Scribes of Petra to begin tearing the ground apart. “I thought Llubla was nothing but a myth.”
The ground was thrown to the side wildly, dirt flying to either side. It was transfixing to Corin. If it wasn’t Llubla’s temple, whose could it be? How did an entire temple sink, anyway? It was surreal; he didn’t understand how that sort of event could have even happened—especially when the other temples were still there.
After a few minutes of digging, Corin finally noticed a stone roof beginning to appear, much to his amazement. Corinstepped slightly closer to the hole, blinking in disbelief.
“By Zephyr….” Cyril muttered, stepping closer to Corin.
With each passing moment more and more of the temple was revealed, causing the three to stare in absolute disbelief. Eventually an entire temple was revealed a few feet below the ground, just like the ones representing the other spirits.
“I can’t believe it,” Selena murmured, stepping forward and reaching her hand down, feeling the top of the temple’s roof. “There’s a temple there.”
“Create a path for us to travel down,” he commanded, pulling Selena and Corin back.
The scribes complied, raising their hands and creating a steep ramp down to the door.
Corin felt something pulling him toward the temple, and he instantly rushed forward, tracing the familiar design of the door. It was exactly like his dream and he felt a deep connection to the building, despite having only seen it the night before.
He turned around to face Selena and Cyril. “I want to go inside.” Corin said, feeling the door under his fingers.
“Of course,” Cyril assured, stepping beside the door. “It’s crucial for us all to investigate.”
“No, I want to go in alone,” he said.
“What?” Cyril asked, exchanging a confused look with Selena.
“It feels like it’s my temple,” he explained, touching the door. “I promise we can all investigate after…. But for now, please let me do this on my own.”
Selena smiled, placing a hand on Corin’s shoulder. “Go on.”
“Selena?” Cyril asked, turning to the other guardian in confusion.
“It’s a fair request, isn’t it?” she asked. “If Corin finds nothing, he’ll come out and we can go in.”
“We should be taking advantage of every moment we get,” Cyril argued. “We shouldn’t waste any time, this is amazing progress—”
“And what if it isn’t?” she asked. “If Corin feels a connection to this temple, we should let him try.”
“All right, Selena,” he reluctantly agreed. “Corin, you must tell us everything you find down there. Do not leave out any details—this very well could be the difference between us solving this
or succumbing to madness.”
“Thank you, Master Selena,” he said, turning back to the door. “I’ll tell you if there’s anything worth mentioning.” Corin opened the door and slowly stepped in, closing the door behind him.
Cyril walked back up the ramp. He turned to Selena. “You started out so hesitant. What changed?”
“I feel the same way around Alvah’s temple,” Selena replied, following Cyril, giving another glance toward the formerly buried temple, “and I don’t really know what’s going on at all, and I don’t think you do, either. Corin seems to get it, though…. More than I do.”
“When this is all over you’re taking Alvah into your body. I’ve had just about enough of that bastard. You have no idea how disruptive he is,” Cyril explained.
“I hope I can. It’s been my life’s dream,” she replied, “but—”
“Master Selena!” a clan member called out, panting as he exited the main temple, almost falling into the hole in the ground. “You must come quick! I-I….”
“What is it?” Selena asked, rushing over to the nervous scribe.
The student took a deep breath, shaking. “It’s…. Inside the temple….”
She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I want to help you,” she declared, “but you have to tell me what’s happening.”
“I-it’s Master Serac,” he stuttered. “He flooded the basement. I… I think his restraints broke.”
Selena’s eyes widened. She exchanged a glance with Cyril. “I have to go deal with this.”
“I understand,” Cyril replied, offering a worried frown. “Are you capable of handling this on your own? I can come along, if you wish….”
“No… I should be okay. I can handle Aless by myself, I’m sure,” she assured. “If things go bad it’d be better if you were still here. You know more about the issue than I do.”
Cyril sighed. “Good luck, don’t get yourself hurt.”
“I’ll do my best, though I make no promises,” she replied, quickly rushing inside the main temple.
Chapter 25
LLUBLA’S temple wasn’t exactly what Corin expected.
The only other temple he had seen was the Water Temple, but somehow Corin felt this one had to be unusual. He bit his lip, wandering around the perimeter, running his hands across the walls. To his knowledge no one had been in the temple for quite some time, and though he had no idea the true date of the temple sinking, he had a suspicion it had taken place around a thousand years in the past, at least if his dream had been anything to go off of. Though there really wasn’t any dust to show for this, he noticed, and that was unnerving, especially considering the temple’s location.
It followed a similar layout as the Water Temple did, but without the decorations that adorned the walls. There was no podium either. Corin walked over to the center of the room and leaned over, dragging his fingers along the floor with a frown. There were still markings there, seeming to have been burned or painted on, but none of the decorations and extravagances that had filled the Water Temple. Farthest away from the temple door there was a staff propped against the wall, not even an altar holding it up. He frowned; Llubla was a spirit too; he deserved the same amount of respect as the others.
Corin walked forward, almost moving purely out of instinct, approaching the staff propped against the wall. He sighed, remembering Aless’s show in the Water Temple—was he to do the same? He had no idea. He’d never been taught that sort of dance. He grabbed the staff from the wall.
Nothing had ever felt so natural in his hands. His feet pulled him to the center of the room. Despite the situation, he felt himself feeling surprisingly calm. It felt like he belonged here and as though he had been born for this position.
He moved his arms above his head, the staff held parallel to the floor. He felt his legs moving, beginning to step onto the various symbols, walking around the pattern. His body was moving against his will, he noted in amazement, swinging the staff in the air and leaning forward, trailing the top against the ground.
The theatrics of Aless’s show didn’t appear during his, Corin noted. There was a light pink, dim glow flashing wherever he stood, but nothing rained from the ceiling and no lights appeared on the walls. It felt rather drab, in Corin’s opinion, but somehow so right at the same time.
He suddenly spun his staff above his head, drawing his legs together and slamming it onto the ground, smiling. The lights grew brighter, almost blinding, and Corin fell over from the stress, feeling warmth suddenly surge through his entire body.
“You’ve finally come, my child,”a voice purred.
Corin opened his eyes fully. “Aless?”
“I can take whatever form you’d like,” the spirit offered, smiling and switching his form, now sitting as Selena, “but I felt you’d be most comfortable with your lover.”
“I want to see you as you are,” Corin declared, “not under a fake shield. You’re… you’re Llubla, aren’t you?” He felt oddly comfortable, not as nervous as he expected to be.
“You’re right,”Llubla replied. “I can’t retrieve my spiritual form, I apologize.”
Corin stared with wide eyes. “Furon Unia og Mair… the tale was true, wasn’t it? The other spirits killed you.”
“That isn’t entirely true,”he answered, shifting himself into his mortal form, staring at Corin with a smile on his face. “They made me mortal.”
“They caused your death, then,” Corin answered, frowning.
“That’s not entirely fair,”Llubla countered. “I went willingly.”
Corin’s jaw dropped. “You chose to give up your powers?”
“The other spirits didn’t enjoy my relationship with a mortal…. They threatened to kill her if I stayed with her, it was a compromise,”he explained.
“You willingly gave up your power for a woman?” Corin asked, frowning. “Surely she couldn’t have been worth that.”
“Her name was Farah. She was the most beautiful woman imaginable,”Llubla said, smiling at the memory. “She was a common peasant, but she might as well have been a queen. She looked like one, at least. I’ve never seen a woman as gorgeous as she was. And filled with such kindness, such gentleness….”
“But she’s gone now, isn’t she?” Corin mentioned, pausing. “I don’t mean to offend you, Llubla, but your name isn’t even known around the monastery anymore. It couldn’t have been worth it.”
“I’m sitting here now. I still maintain some power.”
“But you became mortal,” Corin countered.“How can you even sit here?”
“The spirits underestimated how difficult it would be to destroy one of their own. I sacrificed a lot of power that day, but I’d do it all again. It takes a lot of effort to even sit in front of you,”Llubla confessed.
“You sacrificed it all for a girl,” Corin repeated.
“It’s the curse love has to follow,”Llubla replied.“To sacrifice your own happiness for another is to truly be my avatar.”
“I don’t understand.”
“All elements have benefits and drawbacks,”Llubla explained. “Fire, for instance, allows for numerous spells, but causes the user to be far more at his emotion’s whims. For love, people flock to us easily, but we always will be forced to sacrifice ourselves in the end. It’s the burden we carry.”
“Sacrifice?” Corin asked, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“All of my children must do it,”Llubla replied. “I only choose a guardian when my fellow spirits get unruly.”
“So what does this have to do with me?”
“You are my child,”he explained, “and it will be your destiny.”
Corin stared, mouth hanging agape. “To sacrifice myself?” he asked. “What about Faye? She showed me this temple last night. Well, in my dream, but I woke up around here, so….”
Llubla laughed. “I was wondering when she’d get impatient. Faye is my vessel.”
“Why couldn’t I cast spells?”
“You always
had powers,”Llubla replied. “You could always draw people in and always make friends who could protect you. You’ve always been able to cast spells, but only verbally, I’m afraid to say. Those sorts of spells are very outdated, and I apologize for this, but my strength isn’t what it used to be, so I focused my energy on making sure you’d never get hurt.”
“You protected me….” Corin muttered, thinking back to his childhood. It was true. None of the children in his village had ever teased him, despite his unique appearance and mother’s occupation, and when he came here all the guardians had been instantly drawn to him, always ensuring he’d be out of harm’s way.
“I did the best I could,”Llubla confirmed.
“And what of Faye, now?” he asked. “You said she is your vessel…. Where does that leave me?”
“Faye is still around, though she’s almost at the end of her life,”Llubla explained.
“She’s still around?” he asked.
“Yes,”he replied, “but she’ll be gone soon enough. When she’s dead you may take her place.”
“I’ll be replacing Faye?” he asked.
“Yes,”Llubla replied.
“Why me?” he asked, flushing. “Why did you choose me?”
Llubla laughed. “Because you are the child of Iason and Faye, their rightful son, at least. The only one who’d be able to take Faye’s place.”
“What?” Corin asked. “I thought guardians weren’t able to have children….”
“Their brothers and sisters can,”Llubla replied.
“So what…. What am I supposed to do? To replace Faye, I mean—”
“I’ve already told you as much as you’re ready to know. I’ll be off now. You’ll know when to seek me out.”
“Wait!” Corin called, reaching for Llubla. “W-what happened to Adelle? Why, when she read your tale, did it hurt her so much?”
Llubla turned around. “Those words were meant for you only. Faye wrote them for you. Adelle would’ve been able to read them had I not placed an enchantment.”
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