Tormay made his way around the cavern room. He could hear the Crystals singing as he wandered around, looking for someone. Tormay knew he had to be here, otherwise the Crystals wouldn?t have brought him here. Once he came to the central room, still sealed as it had been for years, his heart dropped. Perhaps he was brought here by mistake after all.
As he turned to leave, the Crystal?s song rose in volume, and he swore he could here a voice from inside the sealed chamber. Looking cautiously over his shoulder back at the wall, he calls out ?Arky? Arky, you in there??
A small smile forms on his lips, feeling childish at using the nickname he had given Krollon years ago. While he wasn?t confident that it would work, he decided to see if the room would open up for him, and reached out his hand to touch the Crystals that formed the last wall. It was smooth, and cool to the touch. Now that he was in contact with the wall, he could feel the vibrations the Crystals made to make their song. The song abruptly changed, jumping octaves as fast as it increased volume, and no longer following any harmony.
Stepping back from the wall to cover his ears did not help block out the sound. To make matters worse, his back began to burn. The Crystals were now so high in pitch that he could not hear them anymore, but the vibrations still racked his mind. The burning on his back had grown to the point where he felt as if his wings had caught fire, and as he dropped a hand from his ears to check, he singed himself on them.
When it seemed he could take no more, the Crystals reached the end of their peal, and the whole cavern shattered, leaving Tormay floating in empty blackness. Pain coursed through him as the wings smoldered, the fire dying off and ashes floating away.
Just as he was drifting into unconsciousness, a figure glided over to him. While he could not make out the face, he could feel the reassuring presence of his old friend, ?Arky??
The figure reaches out and puts a soothing hand on his head, -Be calm Tormay. Everything is ok now. Return to your home and try again. You will do better as you learn more.-
?But, I don?t know what to do. I want to keep my family safe and everybody happy, how am I supposed to do that if I keep messing up??
-Learn from your mistakes. If you need guidance, find my book in the library, it will teach much about life. Do not fret Tormay, you will do well.-
At this, the pain leaves him slowly and he drifts off into blissful sleep.
--------------------------
Tormay snaps from his daydream, staring at the book that he had been translating for weeks now. The first time he had the vision was after the fight with the vampire Sergei. Since then, he had experienced the same dream four times, and always when he was working on the book he had found described by Krollon. While it was mostly full of detailed descriptions of sword fighting styles that Tormay had never heard of, it also contained the stories of heroes who overcame great odds to do the right thing. There were even a few stories of romance and one of a comedic nature.
Tormay was sure that Krollon knew what he was doing when he guided Tormay to this book, so he would study it for a long time to come.
As he turned to leave, the Crystal?s song rose in volume, and he swore he could here a voice from inside the sealed chamber. Looking cautiously over his shoulder back at the wall, he calls out ?Arky? Arky, you in there??
A small smile forms on his lips, feeling childish at using the nickname he had given Krollon years ago. While he wasn?t confident that it would work, he decided to see if the room would open up for him, and reached out his hand to touch the Crystals that formed the last wall. It was smooth, and cool to the touch. Now that he was in contact with the wall, he could feel the vibrations the Crystals made to make their song. The song abruptly changed, jumping octaves as fast as it increased volume, and no longer following any harmony.
Stepping back from the wall to cover his ears did not help block out the sound. To make matters worse, his back began to burn. The Crystals were now so high in pitch that he could not hear them anymore, but the vibrations still racked his mind. The burning on his back had grown to the point where he felt as if his wings had caught fire, and as he dropped a hand from his ears to check, he singed himself on them.
When it seemed he could take no more, the Crystals reached the end of their peal, and the whole cavern shattered, leaving Tormay floating in empty blackness. Pain coursed through him as the wings smoldered, the fire dying off and ashes floating away.
Just as he was drifting into unconsciousness, a figure glided over to him. While he could not make out the face, he could feel the reassuring presence of his old friend, ?Arky??
The figure reaches out and puts a soothing hand on his head, -Be calm Tormay. Everything is ok now. Return to your home and try again. You will do better as you learn more.-
?But, I don?t know what to do. I want to keep my family safe and everybody happy, how am I supposed to do that if I keep messing up??
-Learn from your mistakes. If you need guidance, find my book in the library, it will teach much about life. Do not fret Tormay, you will do well.-
At this, the pain leaves him slowly and he drifts off into blissful sleep.
--------------------------
Tormay snaps from his daydream, staring at the book that he had been translating for weeks now. The first time he had the vision was after the fight with the vampire Sergei. Since then, he had experienced the same dream four times, and always when he was working on the book he had found described by Krollon. While it was mostly full of detailed descriptions of sword fighting styles that Tormay had never heard of, it also contained the stories of heroes who overcame great odds to do the right thing. There were even a few stories of romance and one of a comedic nature.
Tormay was sure that Krollon knew what he was doing when he guided Tormay to this book, so he would study it for a long time to come.