by Ryan Hodgson
Elunduil looked at Tim who shrugged and they stepped forward to examine the door. Tim held up a hand and attempted to move the door with magic but nothing happened. “Hrm, I don’t know how this door is supposed to work so just trying to open it without understanding it’s mechanism won’t do anything.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. Elunduil wondered if the door even had power going to it. If it had been here since before Cerra was a child it must be ancient, despite its outward appearance. If they could analyze the door’s inner structure they could probably figure out how to make it move.
He focused his senses on the door. “Hm?” Hold on. He detected something just at the edge of his senses. It was so faint that he almost didn’t notice. He narrowed his senses and concentrated towards the signature and after several moments of intense staring he could tell there was something like magical energy here. It felt ancient and battered.
He held up a finger towards the spot and sent a small pulse of energy at the energy in the door. Almost immediately there was some kind of feedback and his arm was knocked away as the energy raced through him. He fell to the ground with a loud thud and was momentarily dazed. “Are you okay? Mathias asked with a concerned look on his face. Elunduil nodded and looked up to the door. “Well that wasn’t there before,” he said and the others turned to look. They were a bit confused since the door hadn’t changed at all. “Uh, you sure you’re alright Elunduil?” Tim asked. Elunduil looked at Tim and was surprised to see that his friend was lit up with blue energy flowing inside of his body. He looked back to the door and saw a pale blue energy flowing throughout the door.
He scratched his head for a moment and then snapped his fingers. “Oh I get it! I’m seeing the magical energy in the door,” he said excitedly at his realization. Tim was baffled for a moment and looked at the door then at Elunduil who stood up. “Ah, I get it. The feedback from the door must’ve trigged something in your mind. I’ve heard of this kind of Sensing Magic but haven’t trained to use it yet.” Tim said. Elunduil motioned towards the door and Tim looked at him in confusion for a moment before understanding what he wanted him to do. Tim put a finger to the door and Elunduil directed him to the same spot he had been at. Then Tim followed what his friend had done and shot a pulse of energy into that spot. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and after shaking his head he looked at the door and saw intricate lines of pale-blue on the door.
He looked back to the others and except for Elunduil and the knights he could see blue energy flowing throughout them. When he gazed at Tanis he saw Light gleaming within him “Okay so it’s a seal probably,” Tim said now that he’d gathered his senses. “I’m not sure how we’re going to crack this but at least we can see it.”
“Well if it works like a lock then we just have to figure out the shape of the key and make it,” Tanis said. Tim frowned. It was a sound hypothesis but the door may not be meant to be unlocked in the first place. Elunduil and Tim spent the next several minutes looking over the door.
Tim had read about seals before but not about actually dispelling them. From what he remembered you could simply try to erase the seal with magical energy but that would mean having a higher concentration of magical energy than the ‘walls’ of the seal itself. Even if it was ancient this seal seemed designed to shock people who didn’t unlock it correctly, and it was so complex that he doubted even with everyone helping that they had enough energy to break all of the walls simultaneously. Brute force would not work here.
Beyond that he wasn’t sure what else to do other than to try and see if he could find a path that they could use to unlock it by making their own key. Of course if they messed up they would get zapped by the door. Tim had a feeling that at one point it had probably been fatal but the passage of time had weakened it. For how many thousands of years had this building been here? He and Elunduil spent a few more minutes staring at the door before taking a break. “Well I don’t think we’ll be able to pick this lock,” he said as he rubbed his eyes. Elunduil was wrapped up in his own thoughts. He’d noticed that the part of the door that he’d touched was right on one of the seals lines and told Tim. They thought about it some more until Elunduil decided to pick a spot and see what he could do.
He went up to the door and closed his eyes. He could still see the seal. The image wasn’t something he had been seeing with his eyes. It was his senses combined with his mind’s eye that let him see it. If that was the case then maybe… he zoomed in on the structure of the seal in his mind and examined it more closely. He could see that it had multiple layers to it but looking at it more closely he could see that some of the walls on the seal were thinner in spots. Actually there were multiple spots that were weakened. Some were almost non-existant. He went over the rest of the seal and saw the same thing everywhere else. What if they destroyed a bunch of this at once? Would it jeopardize the rest of the seal?
Elunduil came out of his trance. “Alicia,” he called out. She stepped forward in response. “Uh, yeah?” Elunduil explained his idea to her and Tim. Tim nodded his head and grinned. “This could work. Let’s give it a try.” The trio turned to the door. They waited until Alicia was able to form a picture of the seal in her mind using her senses and Elunduil pointed out various weak spots to her. After a few minutes everything was in place. “On three. One, two, three!” Tim said. The trio flooded the seal with magical energy and within a couple of seconds the seals collapsed. To their surprise a slit appeared in the middle of the trapezoid door and it began to open. “Well that worked out. Good thing Alicia was here. She probably took out almost double the spots we did,” Tim said.
When the door opened all the way Mathias and Trailblazer entered first to scout out any danger before letting the rest of them enter. The first thing that Elunduil noticed when they crossed the threshold was that it was strangely clean in the building. He saw two large monitors in the back of the building with a terminal in front of each of them. On either side there are also rows of shelves with books in them. To his left and right were shut doors that led to some other rooms in the building. Mathias and Trailblazer investigated the rooms and determined that they appeared to have been a small living area. There was even a bathroom! Aside from the books, this place was completely empty of everything else. “It’s almost like it was abandoned,” Trailblazer said. Mathias nodded in agreement. “Ooo! Cerra said as she looked inside a panel she’d managed to open up. “This crystal is like the ones that we use! Except this one’s light is dim…” Tim was pushing buttons at random on one of the terminals while Elunduil opened one of the books. A wall of unknown symbols assailed Elunduil’s vision. He flipped through it but didn’t find any pictures.
A flicker of light from one of the monitor’s turning on caught everyone’s attention and they looked over to see what was happening. A fragmented picture came up on the monitor that caught everyone’s breath. They saw a group of humanoid figures standing on what could’ve been a hill staring up into the sky. The sky was in the midst of twilight as a bright shining object fell from the sky in the distance. The rest of the picture was fragmented beyond recognition. “That meteor looks like it’s going to hit the ground,” Trailblazer said. “It’s incredible how sharp the image is. Minus the fragmented portion.” Elunduil wondered why this image was here. He had the feeling that it was important to this civilization’s past but couldn’t place why he felt that.
They didn’t really find anything after the picture appeared and eventually gave up. “Well we can at least take these books back. Maybe we can figure out what they say,” Mathias said and pulled out an APL device. After he and Trailblazer had digitized all the books they gathered the group and made to return to town. When they stepped outside of the building they wondered how they would close the door but as soon as they stepped a few feet away the door slid shut solving the problem. With a hearty laugh Mathias eagerly led the way around the building and back towards the transport.
It appeared from the brush without a sound. The only thing th
at they registered was a flash of white fluff and then they were ensnared by the creature’s gaze. They stared into the depths of the pitiless abyss that was the Syth’s eyes. They couldn’t think. They could only stare back. Except… he felt overwhelming terror. He didn’t like it. He wanted to turn from it. No. Elunduil struggled to think, struggled to move. The Syth took one slow step forward, and another. No. He struggled harder, his thoughts become clearer as the Syth came closer inch by inch. No. No. His head began to turn to the right. His thoughts were moving again. The creature paused and warily watched him. “NO!” he shouted and jerked his head away. The Syth’s ears folded back and it took a half-step away. “Go away!!!” Elunduil shouted as he turned back to the creature and stepped forward. The Syth squeaked and disappeared into the forest.
Elunduil was shaking. He did it. He’d managed to break free. He took several breaths as the others regained their composure. He looked around and noticed that Cerra seemed particularly pale. “Is everyone alright?” Mathias asked and looked around. Everyone nodded but Alicia seemed to have also noticed Cerra’s pale face. “Are you ok?” she asked and the elf looked up slowly as if in shock. “I…” she looked away her eyes betraying some inner anguish. She clutched her side tightly and Alicia was at a loss for words. “Let’s hurry back to the transport!” Mathias said as cheerfully as he could muster. Everyone nodded and they resumed their trek. Thankfully nothing else happened and they were able to make it to the transport without issue.
Within twenty minutes they shot out around the tree line and the transport floated to the heart of Ellicia. Elunduil and the others stepped out of the transport and made to leave but Mathias stopped him. “If I could have a word for a moment,” he said. Elunduil nodded and the others left with Cerra. Mathias loosed a drawn out sigh and leaned back against the hull of the transport. Elunduil noted that his cheerful demeanor was gone. A moment later it returned as the knight turned to him. “I must say that was quite impressive back there. I’m ashamed that we were caught off guard so easily.” The knight had a soft smile on his face. “I know about the Syth. They say it takes incredible willpower to break free of their mind-freezing ability. I’m glad that there are kids like you around. I’m sure your will is the reason you defeated our Leader. As for me… well I guess I’m not that strong. I smile so that others can feel at ease even in trying times.” Elunduil wasn’t sure how to respond. It’s not like he was willful all the time. He preferred being laid-back unless he really needed to.
The man was smiling but his eyes were distant. “It’s not always easy to smile,” he responded. Mathias looked a bit surprised then his grin broadened. “Yeah, that’s true! Anyway I held you back to thank you not to talk about difficult things. You should probably make sure your elf friend is alright.” His grin was back and Elunduil nodded and took off after the others. Mathias watched Elunduil for a moment as he hurried along and then went back into the transport.
When Elunduil reached Mr. Elden and Cerra’s home the others had long since made it there. He was concerned about the way Cerra had been acting and opened the door after a moment’s hesitation. Once inside he found everyone else was gathered in the living room. “There you are. I was starting to wonder if Mathias was giving you a speech or something,” Tim said as he entered the room. “It could’ve gone that way,” Elunduil remarked. He looked over at Cerra who was clearly shaken. There were tears streaming down her beautiful face and Alicia had a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. He’d never seen an elf cry before and had the feeling that whatever it was that was making her cry was some kind of past trauma. Cerra wiped her face with her arm and brushed aside a strand of chestnut hair. She looked up at the concerned faces in the room and took a breath.
“Elunduil,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Remember how I told you about my parents? How they found the crystals?” Elunduil nodded. A sense of dread rose up in him as he remembered that night. She’d told him her parents had died. “Let me tell you about my final trip with them.” The pained expression in her eyes told him that it was a bad memory. Given her reaction to the Syth he felt it had something to do with them and that would not be a happy story.
Cerra had been very young, she was ten years old at the time. Before she had come along, her parents took expeditions out into the wilds looking for rare and interesting things. On one of these trips they had discovered a strange valley filled with crystals that generated magical energy. They took several samples back to Ellicia and eventual created the Crystal Energy Dispenser’s (CED’s) that the elves used today to power their homes. When Cerra had been born they stopped going on these expeditions to until they felt she was old enough to come with them. This time they brought a larger expedition force. There were several warriors that came with them to protect the group from wild beasts. Cerra’s parents had never encountered anything at the crystal valley before but the elves wanted to make certain that they safely secured the crystals.
Cerra and her parents went exploring off away from the main group near the edge of the crystal valley. Cerra had run down towards the crystals and heard her father calling her back as they were going to return to the group. Cerra looked up and trotted back up the hill to where her parents where. As she had drawn near, her parents turned to walk back towards the camp when they froze in place. She hadn’t sensed anything wrong. She remembered being eager to explore and that she was a bit hungry. As she came up behind her parents she froze in place. Three white, cat-like creatures filled her vision. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. She was completely helpless as two of the creatures slowly trotted towards her parents and then attacked. Her parents didn’t make a sound as they fell to the ground and the Syth dug into their chests. Cerra could only watch in her frozen state of mind but a part of her was screaming. Blood splattered the grass as the creatures feasted on her parents. The third one slowly walked towards her keeping its gaze with hers.
A horrible wailing rose up from the direction of the crystal valley. Cerra couldn’t remember what had happened next but when she came to she was with the other elves who had been watching over her while she had slept. They were horrified after Cerra recounted what had happened and made mention that they had run over to investigate when they had heard the wailing. They hadn’t found the Syth or whatever had saved Cerra by the time they’d arrived. While she had slept they had covered her parent’s bodies and prepared them for the journey home so that they may be joined with the trees around Ellicia. Cerra had asked to see their faces before they left and the elves mournfully obliged. She cried for a long time. Not one elf moved to pull her away. They watched dutifully until Cerra was ready to go.
The sight of the Syth would haunt her dreams for many years after and she had hoped she’d never had to face them again. When she’d heard that the Syth had been spotted in the forest several days ago the memories of what had happened resurfaced. However the fact that a Malthay had appeared and driven them off left her with some comfort so she hadn’t been expecting one to appear today. Cerra took a deep breath. No one in the room was sure what to say. Elunduil understood now why she hadn’t wanted to talk about it when she’d brought her parents up when he first came to this world. The wound it had left in her cut deep. Encountering the Syth had torn that wound wide open again.
Cerra stood and walked over to Elunduil. Her eyes were still teary but she also looked like she had something to say. “Thank you. Had you not been there, had you not had the will to break their gaze I would have had to witness that horror again! I- thank you!” Tears rolled down her face and suddenly she embraced Elunduil. Unsure of what to do he settled on loosely hugging her back. She seemed so fragile in that moment. Yet her arms gripped him so tightly he was actually having a hard time breathing. “I do need to breathe at some point,” he finally said after trying to hang on for several moments. Cerra pulled back apologetically. Her deep green eyes still filled with grief.
After that the group wasn’t sure what to
do, so they spent the rest of their time with Cerra. She tried to tell them that she would be fine but after they insisted and watching over her she gave in. They tried to talk about other things. Tanis brought up how Galimere sometimes seemed amused when Tanis thought he was about to get a hit, only to meet the blunt end (blunt with magic anyway) of the elf’s blade. Alicia told stories about Cooper and how he often pretended to be senile with her.
Cerra seemed to slowly be in a better mood and by the time they left she at least had her composure together. “Thank you for staying with me today everyone,” she said as they made to leave. “It means a lot to mean. I feel blessed I’ve found such good companions.” Everyone agreed with the sentiment and said they would be back the next day. Elunduil knew that deep down Cerra was still hurting but there was nothing they could do. She would have to figure out how to deal with her past on her own terms.
While they were on the transport to Ragnarok Alicia brought up something she’d been wondering. “Cerra said that she’d told you about her parents before. When was that?” she asked Elunduil. He looked to the side at Felras. “It was… awhile back,” he replied. Alicia understood by his glance to Felras that it was something from their first time in this world. “Anyway she didn’t go into detail back then. She mostly talked about the CED’s.” Alicia nodded. The rest of the trip back was silent as everyone was wrapped in their own thoughts about the day. When they did return to earth they parted ways without their usual rapport. What had happened to Cerra and her parents and the way she’d looked was so real. If this was somehow supposed to be virtual reality then it was decades ahead of it’s time. His thoughts turned back to the elf that night as he lay in bed. He didn’t like that he couldn’t do anything for her and thought about it until he drifted to sleep.