Quin Daedal sat in the darkness of the surface world.

Or to be more precise, he sat within a reconstruction of the darkness of the surface world. It was a piece of magic that allowed those that sat within it to experience the same oppressive silence and darkness that was up on the surface of the world. The reason that Quin sat within this piece of magic was because soon he would be heading up to the surface and everyone that did so needed to pass tests to make sure that they could survive the infinite darkness waiting up there. Even if they had gone before.

Letting the endless ticking of time pass, Quin forced himself to remain calm, for in the absolute silence he could feel and even hear the beating of his own heart. A beating that seemed to grow louder and more erratic the longer he listened, although in truth anyone would have that happen to them if not properly trained.

This was why Quin smiled as he forced himself back into a state of calm and tranquillity, for he had long ago managed to best the oppressive darkness of the surface world and now it was something that he could do with ease. What’s more Quin had managed to find a way to help sharpen his mind so that the gnawing nothingness of the world above would not be able to erode his sanity.

Opening his brown eyes, Quin could not tell the difference between having his eyes opened or closed, but that didn’t matter as the spell he needed to cast now would be the deciding factor for whether he would be able to go.

Whispering the words on the smallest amount of breath he could get away with, Quin cast his magic and then he felt a stinging from his eyes as the magic settled into his open eyes. And with a few blinks Quin could now see through the darkness that swirled about him as thick as steel and just as unyielding. Looking down at his own hands, Quin saw the world as a blue image, as if everything was tinged with a blue flame that coated the outside of an object.

Checking to make sure that it was functioning properly, Quin flexed his hands into various different shapes, all in a set sequence. Confirming the spell worked, Quin looked up at the board of wizards, sorcerers, and cleric that were in the room looking back at him, each one evaluating his actions to make sure that he would survive the trip.

Bobbing his head, Quin focused in on a particular member of the board, Xenedra Owling who stared back with a furrow creasing her elven face.

Seeing this, Quin wanted to reassure Xenedra that he would be ok and that she was worrying for nothing. Yet to do so here and now in the middle of the test would render him invalid so Quin waited for the board to pass him.

A decision that was soon reached much to Quin’s delight and Xenedra’s growing dread.

“Are you sure that you want to go up to the surface,” said Xenedra, her voice laced with fear at the foreboding doom that she had for what awaited Quin upon the surface world.

“Of course I do. They have need for my skills,” said Quin as he quickly and routinely went over the various provisions and other items that he would need upon the surface.

“They can find other wizards to help them recover the statues,” said Xenedra, not really believing she would change Quin’s mind but still wanting to try even at this late a point in the process.

Hearing the worry in Xenedra’s voice, Quin paused as he fiddled with his backpack and turned to look at Xenedra. Seeing the dread hidden behind her elven training, Quin walked over and sat on his bed next to her. The two of them were facing each other and were so close that it would take only moving a few centimetres for them to kiss.

“What’s wrong?” asked Quin as he gripped Xenedra’s hands in his own, as he desperately tried to see what it was that worried her.

“I’m sensing something,” said Xenedra. “I think that if you go, you won’t return.”

“I’ve been three times before,” said Quin as he tried to reassure Xenedra that he would be able to return from the world above. “And I’ve always come back unharmed, mind and soul intact.”

“I know, but I feel it in my bones,” said Xenedra as she tried to convince Quin what she felt was not idle worry.

“I understand,” said Quin slowly, “but if I don’t go, the likelihood that the rest of my group doesn’t return is so much greater, than if I was present. I can’t force them to bear that risk alone, especially after training with them for so long.”

“I know,” said Xenedra, her voice filled with resignation at the fact that even if Quin changed his mind now he might still be forced to accompany the rest of his team up to the surface. “I just hate to see you throw away a promising wizarding career, especially for a human who has managed to outpace centuries old elves.”

“You’re not over a century old,” said Quin with a smile as he looked at Xenedra with amusement in his eyes, and something else.

“Our teachers were, and you made them look like fools,” said Xenedra as she remembered the class when they had first met some ten years ago.

“I’ll make them all look like fools again with a brand new piece of magic. I promise,” said Quin with a smile, his promise making Xenedra smile in turn as her blue eyes seemed to swim with emotions that had never been acted upon.

“Come on help me get everything ready,” said Quin as he stood up quickly before he too could act upon the emotions welling up within him. “I don’t have much time to get ready before I need to be at the Waygate.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Xenedra got up and helped Quin find everything he needed, including his spellbook, before the two of them walked from Quin’s room to the Waygate.

Bathed in the light of the Luminous Nimbus, underground clouds that created golden light during the day, Quin surveyed those present in the marshalling grounds next to the Waygate. He looked from the heads of the various different faculties that existed in the underground world to his fellow teammates to others that had come to see the party off. The last being a rarity as no one celebrated adventurers leaving for the surface. They only celebrated when the adventurers returned.

Shifting his attention away from the throng of curious observers that had come to see the latest group to be sent on what many considered to be a suicide mission, Quin turned his mind toward his teammates.

First up there was Rathe Wargen, a tall, hulking, human barbarian that had come from the edges of the known underground. A place where Rathe had made a living slaying any monsters or other creatures that sought to invade the dominions of Underaes. Rathe’s blond hair and blue eyes marked him out as a descendent of the Mountainfolk, the same Mountainfolk that had come to hate the enclosed spaces of the underground. This fact alone explained why Rathe was willing to come to the surface. However from the conversations Quin had had with the man, he knew that Rathe had other reasons.

Next was Jade Goldwing, a five foot tall, auburn haired, green eyed dwarf cleric that worshipped the Goddess of Metal, Aes. The same god that had given her name to the world that they all currently lived within. Yet despite being literally the source for the name of the world, many were suspicious of the goddess due to the fact that the surface world had been turned to nothing but pure metal, with many wondering if Aes was the actual reason that they all lived underground. This knowledge alone was enough to make the reason that Jade had decided to come on this voyage obvious. The cleric sought to make sure that the name of her goddess was not sullied with rumour and conspiracy.

Finally there was Helena Darksome, a black haired, blue eyed half-elf that was to be their guide for the surface world. The rumour about her was that she had started life as a thief and a rogue, seeking only money so that she could live a comfortable life. A life she never managed to find, so she had ended up here as a guide and a survivor of the surface with a reported seven successful runs upon the surface. Although some rumours said she had survived more.

Finishing scrutinising his fellow adventurers, Quin turned to look at the heads of the various organisations that dotted the Underaes, a mixture of elves, dwarves, men and halflings. Some were old having lived to the maximum age of their elfish lives, over one thousand years. Others were young and spry, as they had earned their positions not through experience but by great deeds. This was not the only discrepancies between the various groups, as some were masters of magic, either arcane or divine, while others were warriors that sought conquest and glory.

Each group sought their own goals, each seeking to achieve things through their own means. They would often jostle with each other for positions of power and influence, yet they were all here united by a single desire.

The desire to reclaim the world above.

Focusing in on the head of the Adventurer’s Guild, a grey haired human with a recorded 49 successful runs upon the surface world, Quin saw that Oswald Redmar was looking back with the same level of scrutiny. Not able to match the intense gaze of the man that managed to single handily reinvigorate the Adventurer’s Guild, Quin turned his gaze away allowing his messy, black hair to partially obscure his face.

Seeing him shift his head about, Jade looked up at the slender human to her left and with a sharp nudge from her elbow made Quin stand up straight once again.

Seeing the exchange between the two different adventurers before him, a ghost of a smile split across Oswald’s face, yet it was gone just as soon as it formed, because something else drew the master’s attention. Standing up straight so that he was at his full height, Oswald was aware of the time and with a wave of his hand signalled for the crowd of various different forces to quiet down so that he could commence his farewell speech.

As soon as the crowd quieted, everyone turned their attention to Oswald as he began to speak his words echoing out for all to hear, and each word ringing with strength that belied his age.

“We are gathered here today to see off these four, brave adventurers who will head up to the world above seeking to bring back lost treasures, forgotten records and even the remains of those that had come before them,” said Oswald, his voice commanding such authority that none so much as breathed let alone made a single sound.

“Thousands of years ago, we lived upon the surface of this world. We were the undisputed rulers of everything that was beneath the skies of our beloved world of Aesean,” said Oswald as he launched into a history lesson that everyone here knew, yet none dared to interrupt as they knew what he said still carried weight to it. “Then the calamity happened. The sun, moon and stars fell into darkness and we lost the skies above. We had to retreat into the caverns beneath the surface of Aesean, these great and vast sprawling caverns that we call Underaes. More have been created thanks in part to Dwarf and Halfling endeavours, but we are not cowards and we are not defeatists. We will not accept that the surface world is beyond our reach. We will return to reclaim it. And these four brave souls are a part of this endeavour, this crusade. Let their names be etched into the walls of Mythril and let it be known forever more they dared to reclaim the sky and CHALLENGE THE IMPOSSIBLE!”

Seeing that Oswald had finished his speech, the others present started to applaud, yet there was a distinct lack of joy to it, or even real enthusiasm to the clapping. It was done out of tradition and because Oswald was glaring at everyone present to make sure that they at least attempted to cheer on the assembled adventurers.

Seeing Xenedra looking at him with concern and fear in her eyes, Quinn nodded his head at her and smiled trying to get her to see that he would return just like his previous trips. Yet when that didn’t seem to sway her, Quin looked about at the others present, especially at his companions.

Each of them had the same steely eyed expression that he had. Each one of them knew it in their bones that they would return. And each of his companions looked out at those that were concerned for them, if only because of professional responsibility, and each one of them was trying to reassure those present that they would return.

Seeing that he was not the only one that had people concerned for him, Quin turned his gaze towards Oswald and saw a look of pride upon his face as he began to walk over to them. His steps even and measured as he came to stand before Quin and the others.

“I trust that you will return, and when you do, bring back with you something, anything that will help us,” said Oswald, his voice commanding, but beneath the level tone there was a note of pleading. “We have toiled for far too long beneath the world and we need to reclaim what lies above. Or else we will lose ourselves down here and succumb to the darkness of the Underaes.”

“I understand,” said Quin as he made sure that his voice was filled with both stoic resolution and aspiration, an emotion that would allow Oswald to know that he would intend to fulfil his request.

“I will be waiting,” said Oswald as he turned to look at the rest of those present, “for you all.”

“Don’t worry,” said Rathe with a harsh laugh, “we will return. Because there is nothing above that can threaten us. No beast, no man, no curse.”

“I agree,” said Jade Goldwing, her thick accent making her sound much harsher than she probably intended.

“Very well then,” said Oswald as he walked back to the podium from which he had addressed the party. “We will await your return in four weeks. And we wish you a safe and profitable journey.”

Raising his hand into the air, Oswald held in his hand one of nine golden keys that were used to open the Waygate to the path that would lead them up to the surface. And as he raised his key to the sky, eight others also raised their own keys skyward. And once all the keys were held aloft they each began to glow with golden light.

Streaking through the air, golden rays of light reached out from the keys and struck the Waygate, a giant golden double gate that was carved with all manner of symbols. A golden gate that was fashioned in the shape of a tree with symbols appearing on each of the tree’s leaves. Between the branches of the tree were gaps through which the path they would need to take could be seen.

Watching the gate open outward, Quin breathed in as he saw the iron pathway that led up and out of sight. Breathing out, Quin gave a half glance at Xenedra that was filled with confidence before he walked forward, the rest of his party walking in step with him. Although considering the height difference between them Jade was scurrying along, while Rathe was trying to walk slowly so that they could stay abreast of each other.

Continuing to walk forward, the party walked out of sight from the leaders of the Underaes and as soon as they were out of sight the gates closed behind them. And as they closed none but Oswald himself heard the words he said in a half whisper.

“May you not find the horror that waits above. Godspeed.”

The path that Quin and his compatriots took was truly a breathtaking one.

To reach the surface of the world of Aesean the party would be taking a path that led upward, however unlike what most believed, it wasn’t a path that led through a tunnel in the earth. It was something much more visual. It was a winding staircase that wound around one of the giant pillars that supported the ceiling of the giant caverns that comprised the Underaes.

A giant pillar that stretched hundreds, if not thousands of metres upward, a pillar that was made from the same stone as the rest of the underground. A pillar that dotted the landscape of the Underaes, making it look like it was holding up the false sky that covered the Underaes’ ceiling.

Yet despite the fact that the pillar was enormous enough to dwarf even the largest of cities in the Underaes, the path and the way up to the surface was a smooth enough trip that most would only take a day to reach the top. For an experienced party like the one that Quin was in, it would take even less.

Quin stood at the edge of a landing platform looking out at the vast world that lay below his feet. The platform was so high up that even the greatest of the birds would fly this far up, a fact that made Quin feel he was truly above everything else within the Underaes.

“Stop standing by the edge, Quin. You’re going to fall one of these days,” said Helena Darksome, her voice musical and enchanting just like any other elf’s voice despite the fact that she was part human.

“I won’t fall, after all I know the flying spell,” said Quin as he looked away from the dazzling sight of the sweeping and rolling green land and a golden burning cloud-sky.

“I know Quin, but why risk yourself on something silly,” countered Helena, her voice making it clear that she would not accept any further arguments.

“Come on Quin, get some lunch while we still have time,” said Jade as she called over from the makeshift camp that the four of them had set up for their meal.

“I’m coming,” said Quin as he turned his back on the impossibly beautiful view that was before him.

“Don’t worry Quin,” said Rathe with a smile from where he sat, a small hunk of meat in his hand that he was eating with delight, as he looked out at the golden light that came from above. “I don’t get tired of seeing this either, they’re just so used to being at the bottom of the Underaes that being so high is making their bones quiver.”

“My bones aren’t quivering,” said Helena with a glare as she looked at the tall human with disdain. “I simply have no desire to wait for Quin to get back up here if he falls. Let alone wait for another wizard to be chosen to replace him should he fail to land safely.”

“It’s not like that would take too long,” said Quin as he sat down to eat the going away meal that they had prepared for the trip. For this would most likely be their last hot meal before they would be forced to live on all manner of stale rations and cold meals for the next four weeks.

“I think you over estimate your fellow wizard’s desire to go on adventures,” said Jade as she gave Quin a sad look, one that conveyed the belief that Quin was sadly naïve about the truth of his fellow wizards.

“Maybe, but I bet that a lot of them would go merely on the idea of besting me,” said Quin as he began to eat his meal.

“Not everyone seeks fame or greatness,” said Helena as she looked out over the vast underworld of Underaes. “That goes for your fellow wizards; most only want knowledge and/or money.”

“Like you?” asked Rathe with humour in his voice as he teased Helena as the entire party knew enough of their collective history to know that was what Helena was always after.

“Of course,” said Helena without a hint of shame, and as she spoke she sat upon the ground cross legged and started to wolf down her food, all the while speaking between bites of her food. “I just admit the truth to the rest of the world, when most others would simply hide it away.”

“I can’t fault you for that,” said Jade as she gripped a small token of her faith. An icon in the shape of a hammer that had a shield embedded in it. A symbol of the Goddess Aes and how she was said to guard all those that worked with and shaped the metals of the world, both above and below. “The world is filled with enough lies that even the smallest speck of honesty is to be commended.”

“Don’t worry dwarf,” said Rathe as he flexed his arms to warm them up for their continued ascent up the winding path. “None of us here are stupid enough to believe the lies about your goddess.”

“Thank you, but I would rather have proof one way or another,” said Jade as she looked upward with determined eyes.

“Then let us find it,” said Quin with a wide smile that conveyed his desire to change what the world thought of so many things.

“No one’s found any evidence in either direction yet,” said Helena as she made sure to rein in what she considered to be Quin’s childish impulses to solve all the world’s problems.

“That just means the mystery has yet to be solved, not that it can’t be solved,” said Quin with unwavering conviction, despite the fact that no one had found any evidence for millennia.

“Regardless of the truth we can’t find it here, we need to get to the surface first, and we’re only two thirds of the way there,” said Rathe as he cut into the conversation. Hearing his words and understanding the wisdom found there, Quin and the rest of the group all nodded their heads before continuing to eat on in contemplative silence.

A silence that was soon broken when Quin started speaking after he had spent some time studying the Luminous Nimbus that floated and glowed up above.

“Jade, you wouldn’t happen to know how the artificial skies are going?” asked Quin as he continued to study the boiling sky.

Sighing at the question as both Rathe and Helena turned to look at her, Jade stopped eating for a moment. Yet instead of answering, she took another bite out of her steaming food, and only once she had finished what she had bitten off did she answer Quin’s question.

“I’ve heard that the expanded caves are being fitted with crystal tiles that have the illusion of sky woven through them. A sky that is based off of history books stating what the sky used to be,” said Jade as she glanced at the Luminous Nimbus. “I haven’t seen the project myself but some of my fellow clerics are in attendance and they have told me that it is progressing smoothly.”

“Then it’s true that they could reproduce the Nimbus,” said Quin as he glanced at the source of light that washed over the Underaes.

“Yes,” said Jade simply as she stared up at the glowing sky, “we haven’t been able to reproduce the sky. But if we’re even the tiniest bit lucky on our mission, then they won’t need to.”

“That’s the spirit,” said Quin with a grin as he resumed eating.

Seeing that everyone’s spirits, even her own, had been lifted by this small conversation, Jade smiled and chose not to continue on with her speech, lest she say something that would get them distracted for another hour or two.

Finally finishing off their meal, the party of adventurers got to their feet and packed up their makeshift camp before heading off.

Ascending up the vast pillar the team of adventurers worked together to make the passage up the pillar effortless.

Quin used his arcane magic to make them light as a feather so that they could jump up from one section of the pillar to another. This allowed them to skip entire sections of the pillar making their journey a nearly vertical path, instead of a winding one that hugged the pillar the entire way up to the ceiling of the Underaes.

Jade on the other hand used her clerical magic to heal the party when needed and to restore their stamina so that the journey would not tire them out. What’s more, Jade’s goddess governed over metal, which granted Jade the power to create footholds and stairs up the pillar, even if they would rust away in a mere hour. On top of this, Jade’s innate, dwarven nature meant she knew which stones to use to attach her metal constructs to, especially if she wanted to maximise efficiency and safety. All of which compounded to allow Jade to make the passage to the surface even easier.

Helena on the other hand, due to her nimble nature was the one at the head of the group making sure that their progress was both fast and secure, as no one wanted to be remembered as the fool who fell off the pillar, regardless if they lived or died. In fact, her light weight meant that when combined with Quin’s magic, Rathe could pick up Helena with one hand and throw her up dozens of metres. And once Helena reached the zenith of her ascent, she would secure herself as an anchor to allow Jade to create her pseudo-metal constructs, usually along the rope that Helena had tied to her body.

Finally Rathe, other than occasionally throwing his party members, was mostly on the lookout for any wayward monster that might have snuck in or somehow was descending from above. And while it was so unlikely to happen that many considered it an impossibility, Rathe still looked for he had seen what assumptions led to, especially on the battlefield or when fighting against monsters.

Racing up the pillar, the four of them finally began to slow down as they neared the point that would take them up through the stone ceiling they constantly lived beneath.

For while the pillar did reach all the way up to the ceiling, the Luminous Nimbus engulfed the top of the pillar and if the party tried to travel through the cloud of golden fire and light they would be reduced to charred skeletons.

“Alright from here on out we need to go through the stone tunnels,” said Quin as he looked up at the close by Luminous Nimbus, the crackling energy contained within causing him to squint against the light the clouds were generating.

“I’ll take the lead and create a light,” said Jade as she moved to the front of the party where Helena had been positioned.

“Not a very bright one,” warned Helena aware that having their eyes adjusted for the dark would be beneficial for the group, especially in the tunnels to come.

“It won’t be too bright,” said Jade heeding Helena’s warning and at the same time trying to reassure her. “I’m just doing this to conserve Quin’s magic.”

“Which we will need,” said Rathe as he weighed in as he glared up into the light of the Luminous Nimbus. A glare born from the knowledge it would be the last light he would see before they entered into a world of true darkness, possibly forever.

“I just don’t want light on the surface if we can help it,” said Helena as she gave a nervous glance up at the tunnel that was filled with an encroaching menacing darkness. “Plenty of parties without access to magical sight bring lots of light with them, and most are never seen or heard from again.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“We know,” said Quin solemnly to make sure that Helena understood that everyone shared her concerns and that she was not alone in fearing the world above. Yet Quin also said those two words to reinforce that they were all experienced and that none of them would make a foolhardy mistake.

Giving Quin a quick scrutinising glance, Helena eventually nodded her head and allowed Jade to lead them up into the stone tunnels that would take them to the surface. All the while the dwarf clutched in her hand a small orb of light that pulsed ever so softly as if she was holding a flame and not a solid sphere of light.

Trudging up the stairs all of them ready for anything, even a monster burrowing out of the stone walls to eat them, the party headed up and up. And as they continued higher and higher, the sound of the Underaes faded away until there was true silence.

A true silence that gnawed at their minds.

For the only thing that they could hear, other than their footsteps, was the beating of their own hearts. A phenomenon which incited panic into even the most steadfast of beings, yet with training the panic was not squashed but ridden like a boat on water.

Standing in the centre of the party, Quin felt the oppressive silence descend on him. And yet instead of breaking under it, he allowed himself to find a thought and moment to centre himself so that he could float to the top of the panic and no longer allow it to have control over him. For to fight panic was to engage it and therefore be bound to it, and once bound Quin would have to remain ever vigilant and even a single mistake could see him consumed by fear.

Which was why when the sound of his footfalls changed, he didn’t start or feel even a momentary spike of fear; instead he simply knew what it meant.

The stone beneath their feet had changed. It had gone from being the same stone that the pillar had been made into a substance that was still being debated to this day. A substance many had come to call Eir. A substance that looked like bronze but at the same time had all of the best properties of all the known and unknown metals in the world.

Eir didn’t rust, it didn’t deform and most importantly it did not conduct magic. All of which meant that it was beyond the understanding of the Underaes. Eir was therefore a substance that was sought after for its protection against magic.

But there was something even more sinister about it that made many fear to bring it down to the Underaes. A fear that was well founded in Quin’s opinion, especially since he had seen what lay up on the surface and what shape Eir sometimes took.

“Prepare your keys,” said Quin as he knew that they were getting closer to the Eldritch Gates. Gates that were supposedly meant to keep things from the surface from coming down into the Underaes, but in Quin’s mind they served a much more deadly purpose. They prevented those that went up from returning should things go truly awry.

The Eldritch Gates were strange things. They would only open if each and every living thing within a certain distance of them had a key upon their person. A key that would scan the living and tell the gates that they could be brought down into the Underaes, that they were not contaminated. What’s more many said that the Eldritch Gates had been made by Aes herself and seeing them up close Quin was inclined to agree.

The gate looked like a gnarly thing made of a black metal that made it stand out in stark contrast to the bronze-like Eir that surrounded them. However the moment that the four of them presented their keys, the gate warped. Changing from a black, iron-like substance, the gate turned into mercury and flowed into the shape of an arch. And the moment that the four of them were through this impossible mercury arch it flowed back and became black iron again.

Staring at the back of the Eldritch Gate, Quin had to admit to himself in the privacy of his mind that he hated how the gates sounded when they closed. It sounded too much like an executioner’s blade falling down. A sentiment that Quin could half see in the faces of those that were present with him.

“Quin cast your magic,” said Helena softly as she distrustfully eyed the light that was still in Jade’s hand.

Nodding in acceptance, Quin quickly set about casting his spell, first touching Helena on the forehead and then Rathe, then Jade and finally himself.

The magic seeped down from the foreheads and worked its way into the eyes of those that had been afflicted by it. And once it had taken root in the eyes of the party, they were granted a new way to see the world.

They saw a world that was coated in blue flame, a flame that was not truly present. And within this new form of sight, they could see the contours and surfaces of everything within two hundred metres.

“I’ll never get used to seeing the world like this,” said Rathe as he waved his hand in front of his face, before turning to look up the length of tunnel before them.

“Better than not being able to see anything,” said Jade as she extinguished her light the moment she could see that the spell had worked and that she had been granted the ability to see in perfect darkness.

“Yes it is wonderful,” said Helena, more relieved that the light was gone than because she could see through the use of magic.

“Alright it worked for everyone,” said Quin as he checked one last time before looking in the same direction that Rathe was. “Let’s head on out.”

Nodding collectively, the group set forth this time making sure that their footsteps were just as silent as the world around them.

For here in the absolute darkness and silence of the surface world anything that drew attention to you, was inviting doom upon yourself.

Travelling up the tunnel, the party finally reached the surface and stepped out under the infinite abyss that was the sky.

The magic the party was using would allow them to see the ground, and any object that had physical characteristics, but this meant nothing when the magic was turned towards the sky. For there was nothing up in the sky to see.

If one looked up one only saw darkness; no light, no stars, no moon, no sun. The sky was a void that would consume everything and anyone that got lost staring into it. It was an absence of matter that had caused many to go insane simply from looking up.

Breathing in for a moment to let himself feel the world around him, Quin turned his gaze down from the empty heavens and surveyed the land before him, a world made of Eir. A world that had once been living and vibrant but was now nothing more than a metalized nightmare.

Everything up here upon the surface was made from Eir, even the trees, even the plants, even the animals, even the people.

This was the true horror of Aesean.

Somehow, someway, long ago, everything and everyone upon the surface of the world of Aesean had been turned into Eir. And that was why Quin and his party had come to the surface. They were here to find even the smallest most basic of hints about why or what had caused this cataclysm to come to pass.

It didn’t matter that nothing had been found before, or that hundreds had gone to their doom trying to find the reason why the world was the way it was. All that mattered was that there was a chance to reclaim the world above, no matter how remote.

And while many said that this chance was an impossibility, the truth was that the cataclysm had not yet ended.

Sometimes those that were sent above ground and never returned were found again. Except these adventurers were not found as corpses or still living beings, instead they had been turned to Eir, frozen forever in fear and terror. Many of the statues of adventurers that were found had been turned to Eir midstride, all of them clearly running from something or someone.

Finishing his surveillance of the world of Aesean, Quin signalled that he saw nothing out of place to the rest of the party. A report that he received in turn from the rest of the group, saying that everything was as it should be.

Nodding his head in an exaggerated manner so that the rest of the party could see, Quin consulted some documents that were written in code only those sent out by Oswald could decipher. Then he pointed in the direction they needed to go, a direction that the four of them turned to walk along.

And as they marched along in silence, their footsteps muffled by Jade’s magic, the party continued to scour the world around them in the hopes that just maybe they might find what they were looking for.

And so Quin’s party walked forth, under a sky of infinite darkness, wreathed in silence, seeking anything that would tell them the truth of the world that they lived in.

Quin and his group sat in a semi-circle around a makeshift heat source that emulated a fireplace. And atop the metal that was now red hot and providing the barest amount of actual light to the world of Aesean, was dinner.

“It will almost be done,” said Jade as she looked at the cooking rations that were before them.

“Good,” said Helena in response, her voice strained with fear as she continued to look out into the darkness of the world afraid that something might attack them due to the light. “We’ve survived two weeks up here; I don’t want that to all be for nothing.”

“Don’t worry so much,” said Rathe in response as he glanced about their accommodations. “We’re perfectly shielded. No one will see the light.”

“I’m sure that’s what many said before they met their maker,” said Helena in response as she glanced out of a distant door that led outside of the metalized theatre they were currently living in.

“Helena’s right we need to be smart about what we do,” said Quin as he chimed in from where he sat, his location on the far end of the semi-circle the group made. “Believing that you are perfect is the fastest way to fail.”

“I take it you speak from experience,” said Rathe, a smile stretching across his face, a smile that invited Quin to tell them all a tale.

“Sort of,” replied Quin as he closed his book and looked at the rest of his party.

“Food’s ready,” cut in Jade before Quin could start talking in any more depth.

“Finally,” said Helena as she used her dagger skills to cut the cooked rations apart and distribute them in only a matter of seconds. And once she was done, she gave Jade a look that half commanded and half implored Jade to neutralise the heated iron that Jade had been using to cook.

Seeing that Helena was unusually on edge, Jade quickly used her magic over iron to reduce its heat to that of the room, making the iron perfectly safe to touch and no longer glowing red light.

Sighing in relief, Helena’s almost audible voice made the rest of the party’s eyebrows perk up at the fact that Helena had made a physical sound, instead of talking through the mental network that Quin had created for them.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jade as she made sure that her mental voice carried with it as much compassion as possible.

“Nothing that I can put my finger on,” said Helena as she looked about with concern. “I just can’t shake this feeling of dread.”

Sitting in silence for a few moments as they ate their food, all of them thought of what Helena had just said. The party descended in a moment of solemn contemplation at the idea that something sinister was coming their way, before Rathe spoke up.

“Quin, tell us about your brush with perfection,” said Rathe, his voice containing within it forced mirth.

“What?” asked Quin back, unsure about what Rathe was speaking about.

“Thing you were going to mention before,” explained Rathe as he somehow managed to mentally talk all the while physically eating as if it was the naturalist thing in the world, something the other party members envied him for.

“Oh that,” said Quin with a chuckle. “Oh this is a good story. Although it is a bit long, do you want to hear it?”

“Yes,” said Helena quickly, “I need something to take my mind off of this world, anything that will help with that and make it easier to sleep is welcome.”

“Alright here it goes,” said Quin before he launched into his story.

“I am something of a prodigal genius. In fact many assumed that I would be too wild and untamed with my magic to make it as a wizard, but in the end I succeeded. And for a very good reason, I was able to think outside of the stuffy confines to magic that the long lived creatures had imposed on magic. ‘Magic must be done this way and no other’ that’s what they always would say. But I liked to challenge their ways of thinking so I would try to alter or enhance spells. Sometimes I succeeded, sometimes I failed and sometimes I made the old way of doing things look obsolete if not archaic.”

“How?” asked Rathe, clearly thrilled with the idea of someone besting others, even if it was simply in the field of magic.

“There’s this very basic spell that many a wizard can cast. In fact, it’s so simple some can do it even in their sleep, as purely a reflex. This spell creates a barrier that is woven around the wizard and acts like armour that is skin tight. It repels all things, be it fire or iron or stone, nothing breaks through it. Or more specifically nothing is meant to. However even the most sturdy of walls breaks if you hit it just right, so too with armour, so too with this spell. There is always a threshold beyond which the destructive power of an attack can overturn this spell.”

“You managed to make it better?” asked Rathe in anticipation of the idea that Quin had succeeded where thousand year old beings had failed.

“Initially they said it couldn’t be done. Then I managed to increase the threshold of the maximum damage that could be negated. Then I altered the ward so that it was immune to damage from a set type of phenomenon. They called me mad, liar, fraud even. But eventually I was able to prove to them that I was able to make the magic stronger, that I had improved upon perfection. And when my good friend Xenedra was able to cast the spell as well it sealed their defeat. Thousands of years that spell had existed but because of tradition, and misplaced belief in perfection it never changed. Not until I came along,” said Quin boastfully. “I proved perfection is merely stagnation in disguise.”

“Then why are you here?” asked Jade as she clearly knew that creating a better version of a spell would allow Quin to choose any form of life he wanted and everyone would cater to him.

“Because, I want to use this new magic to help Aeseans. Because I want to claim back the lost skies,” said Quin with such intensity that the rest of the party leaned away from him reflexively at the sheer intensity they saw through the telepathic network.

“Good man,” said Rathe with a wide proud grin, as he saw Quin’s desire to keep improving himself and his magic as something to be respected, especially when Quin’s other options was a life of mindless self indulgence.

Seeing this interaction, both Jade and Helena seemed at a little lost for words about how to react to this one titbit of Quin’s past that changed how they saw him. Yet before they could react, Rathe stood up and spun to face the doors leading outside of the theatre.

“What?” asked Rathe’s three companions, each of them aware that something monumental had just happened if Rathe was reacting to it.

“Wind,” replied Rathe as he picked up his axe and walked forward to investigate what had caused his senses to react.

“But there is no wind here,” said Jade as she stood up to follow after Rathe.

Glancing at each other, Quin saw the look of foreboding in Helena’s eyes and knew that if he went with Rathe he might meet a fate worse than death, but in the end it did not matter. For to Quin finding that one clue to unravel everything was worth the risk.

Striding after Rathe and Jade, Quin and then Helena followed the tall, muscular man out onto an outdoor stage, an amphitheatre that was spread out under the infinite darkness of the sky.

Standing on the stage, Quin looked about as his magic strained to find anything or anyone, yet all it did was return nothing. Yet despite this negative result, Quin could feel it upon his body, a small gust of wind. Something that tugged at his clothing and dared to try and pull him along, a wind that was growing stronger and stronger.

Shocked, horrified and amazed at what he w as feeling and seeing, Quin barely even noticed that he was no longer looking through magic to see the world around him. That a new source of light was emerging into the world, a blue light that was revealing things in the distance that Quin had only seen in picture books, something called mountains.

“By Aes what is that,” screamed out Jade as she looked up at the sky and clutched her religious symbol to her breast.

Finally looking up, Quin saw it in all of its horrific glory. He saw what had stolen the sky from the world below and it left him too hollowed out to say or move or even think.

He saw that the sky was filled with EYES.

Eyes that were not natural, eyes that glowed and were the size of cities, eyes that contained within them eldritch mysteries. Blue eyes that were so brilliant that the glow they emitted cause the world beneath them to be drenched in light illuminating it for all to see.

But the horror of what they were seeing didn’t stop there. As the multitude of eyes opened and bathed the world in their light, they also revealed what the eyes were attached to. And it broke the minds of those that saw and understood.

The eyes were placed on tentacles that were even vaster than the eyes themselves, the tentacles were darker than black and seemed to eat the light that fell upon them, but to Quin and his party it was clear. The sky was filled with millions of tentacles, some huge, some small, all of them impossible.

The tentacles were not just covered with eyes. Some had mouths on them, mouths that revealed huge and vast white teeth, mouths that were large enough to eat cities and mountains. And what’s worse these mouths opened and closed and seemed to be breathing. Their breath was the very wind that had alerted Quin and his party to the truth of the horror that encircled the world and filled the heavens.

Staring in horror as he realised the truth of the sky and took in the enormity of what he was seeing, Quin’s breath came in ragged bursts as he started to lose control over himself as the rising desire to flee tore through him. Yet his training kicked in and soon a calmness spread across Quin’s mind, a calmness that granted Quin a moment of clarity.

‘This is the beast that stole the sky. This is what we need to defeat to reclaim the world.’

Realising that this was the one moment that Quin would get to understand his foe, Quin tried to study what the Eldritch Beast above him was. Yet for all of Quin’s desire to understand what he was looking at, he failed to even begin to comprehend it. It was too alien, too vast, and too impossible for his mind to truly take in, and that was before Quin realised that the tentacles stretched beyond the horizon.

Gasping aloud, Quin’s mind seized upon the one fact that the tentacles above told him. The tentacles were all straight and parallel with each other, they all flowed in from a single point, and all of these tentacles were from one single being. This meant that they only had one enemy to fight, and if they could win they could remove the blockade between Aesean and the Sun and Moon.

Hearing the footfalls of someone running, Quin turned to look at his party and see what had become of them.

Rathe had his axe in hand and was growling in rage and hate at the thing above them, clearly trying desperately to figure out an idea of how to kill the beast before him.

Jade had sunk to her knees and was praying to Aes, while at the same time begging for the Eldritch Beast to not be the goddess’ true form.

Helena on the other hand had given in to her desire to flee and was attempting to run away by charging up the amphitheatre’s spectators’ seats.

Regardless of what each member of the party had done, however, was all in vain, as the vast and terrible eyes in the sky seemed to contract as if they had just shifted into focus. And the moment they seemed to fix upon those below it, the eye began to hum with unknowable energy.

Cursing with all of his might and in as many tongues as he knew, Quin realised that these eyes were the reason everything had been turned to Eir. And so he desperately started to cast his enhanced magical ward. The same one that had helped him earn the friendship of Xenedra Owling.

Chanting and casting the spells as loud as he could, Quin hoped that he would be able to finish before the eyes’ power struck. For while Quin knew that he would not be able to deflect the power, he hoped that he would at least mitigate it in some manner or another.

Finishing his incantation before the eye could unleash its energy, Quin smiled up at the Eldritch Beast in a single last act of defiance before his body began to turn to Eir. And as Quin’s body metalized as did the rest of his party, Quin could feel that his mind would somehow remain.

Not sure if that was normal or simply the outcome from his spell, Quin tried to organise his mind together so that someone could find useful information in it. So that he could pass on what he had learnt and keep his promise with Xenedra.

And in but a single moment later a statue of Quin smiling up at the sky in contempt remained, fixed and immobile as the Eldritch beast closed its eyes filling the world with darkness, silence and stillness once again.

And deep within the statue of Quin Daedal, Quin’s mind couldn’t help but think on the blue eye that he had seen, an eye that had granted him a moment of beauty before it had enclosed him away in a true void of senses forever more.

Yet Quin’s mind refused to bow in defeat and it continued on and on and on and on and on…

~~~

Xenedra sat at her desk and idly played with the diagrams before her, diagrams that had been submitted by her students. Students that were seeking to become the newest generation of wizards.

Yet none of them were seemingly getting the right answers that she had hoped they would, as all of their responses were flawed. Some showing that they lacked understanding of the subject matter, others showing that their numerical skills still needed work, others still were trying to overachieve and thereby failing to get the basics right.

Although all things considered, the fact that they had made any form of progress was achievement in Xenedra’s eyes, as one could spend a lifetime studying magic and die of old age without gaining even the smallest of speck of an understanding of its true nature and power. This went double for the art of transmutation.

Changing one form of matter into another was something that was extraordinarily hard, and that was on pure substances like iron or gold, or even lead. Trying to change things like salt into sugar, might as well as be like trying to breathe water without magic, a physical impossibility.

Leaning back in her chair, Xenedra looked up at the ceiling of her room and sighed at the fact that she was still so caught up in her work that she had failed to recognise the time. Getting up from her chair, Xenedra was about to change from her teaching clothes into her night attire when a rap came from her door.

Glancing at the timepiece she had in her room and then at the door, Xenedra frowned but decided to answer it. For anyone that would disturb her rest at this late an hour would undoubtedly be bringing her important news. Either in the form of something good or something bad.

Opening the door to see a Paladin standing before her, Xenedra frowned at the man, who looked back with an unblinking demeanour.

“What can I do for you, Elric Skiarune?” asked Xenedra of the Paladin she had worked on and off with across the last few decades.

“We found something that I think you will want to see,” said Elric as he glanced past her to look at a portrait of a man Xenedra had once cherished.

Glancing at the picture of the man that had gone above ground never to return, Xenedra frowned before looking back at Elric.

“Can’t this wait until tomorrow?” asked Xenedra as she had long ago given up hope that anything about Quin’s fate would be discovered.

“No,” said Elric, his voice serious and deadly, his gaze one of immovable determination that would brook no excuses.

“Alright then, lead the way,” said Xenedra as she gestured for Elric to lead on while she followed.

Turning on his heel, Elric strode down the corridor and up several flights of stairs before leading Xenedra to a storage room that was used to examine and experiment on items and objects that were brought down from the surface.

A room Xenedra knew intimately as she and several of her colleagues worked there when not tutoring the future wizards of the Underaes.

Standing out front of the door to the room was a dwarf that Xenedra had met several times before. Fenix Goldforge was a wizard that studied transmutation just like her, but unlike her he would venture up to the surface to compare the properties of Eir above and below ground. What’s more Fenix had in hand his trusty warhammer that acted as a magical focus, a weapon that many dwarves found fascinating and had recreated in imitation of Fenix’s original work. However Xenedra saw it as nothing more than a gaudy trinket that detracted away from magic’s innate mystery.

“I’m sorry lass to disturb you, but ye needed to see this,” said Fenix, his accent making some of the words sound odd to Xenedra’s elfish ear.

“What have you discovered?” asked Xenedra as she pushed open the doors expecting to see a miracle beyond the door only to find four statues that were in various states. One was praying, one looked like he was ready to do battle and another looked like they were running. But the fourth and last looked to be smiling in triumph.

“Four statues were retrieved by my party from the surface,” explained Elric as he came to stand beside Xenedra not at all hesitant to explain things as bluntly as possible.

“We managed to retrieve them several days ago and we were able to confirm them as adventurers we sent out,” said Fenix solemnly before sighing as if he didn’t know how to break it to Xenedra. “We discovered that the laddie with the smirk there is someone ye used to know.”

“I’ve known many adventurers that head up above ground,” said Xenedra as her eyes fixed upon the Eir statue of Quin.

“Tis one ye used to know intimately,” said Fenix as he tried to be gentle about what was clear for all to see.

“I knew Quin Daedal over fifty years ago,” said Xenedra as she looked at the statue with recognition.

“Ye and I both know that we both don’t treat that sorta time the same way as humans,” said Fenix as he gave a concerned look to Elric who gave a look back asking if Fenix had expected anything different.

“And what do you expect me to do Fenix?” asked Xenedra harshly as she tried to contain her emotions. “I knew this day would come years ago, and I have been prepared to wait centuries before his statue was found. So what if it was found only after fifty years!”

“I thought it would give ye closure,” said Fenix with a sigh before looking at Elric with a pleading look.

“We have yet to attempt the various concoctions of transmutation,” said Elric calmly, not at all bothered by the drama before him. “If you want you can stay here and watch.”

“Do you think that this time we’ll get it right?” asked Xenedra of both Fenix and Elric, as she was already resigned to the fate of the group before her.

“We can but hope lass,” said Fenix as he made a motion for her to settle in while they began testing the various methods to change people from Eir back into flesh and blood and bone. Methods that had never once proven to be effective before.

Moving off to the side of the room, Xenedra watched on dispassionately as both Elric and Fenix began to apply the various different concoctions to the statues that had once been. For she knew the truth in her heart, that Quin Daedal had died fifty years ago and all they had managed to do now was reclaim his petrified corpse.

A corpse that Fenix was applying only small amounts of liquid to see if he could change that small part of Quin back into living breathing flesh and blood. Fenix was applying the liquids mainly to the same hand over and over in an attempt to see if the compounded effects of the potions and lotions were enough to reverse whatever had been done to him.

Elric on the other hand was applying his allotment to the other three statues in various different places to see if they would respond or if the individual effects would work without being compounded.

Both of them also were using the concoctions based on when they had been created and were working their way backwards from the most recent to the oldest. The hope being that the new concoctions would be able to find that one flaw in the process that would allow those bound in Eir to return, safe and sound.

Chewing through the different concoctions until there was only one left, Fenix and Elric shared a look of remorse. For this was the oldest concoction known to the Underaes. It had been made centuries if not millennia ago, the nameless recipe found in shrines and hidden mage dungeons all over the Underaes. This alone made it clear that someone had once believed that this concoction would be able to save those turned to Eir, but it had never worked.

Until now.

Placing the concoction on the hand before them, both Fenix and Elric stopped dead as they saw the hand they had applied it to flex. It was an involuntary movement, a simple twitch of the fingers, but it was enough to bring a moment of hope and shock to the room.

Swearing, Fenix stepped back and stared at the hand of Quin Daedal that was now trying to clench itself into a fist, and as Fenix swore in joy, hope and sheer happiness, he grabbed the concoction and poured it over Quin. Fenix tried to make the concoction cover the entire statue before him, but it looked like he would not be able to due in part to the fact that he had a limited amount.

Elric on the other hand had been staring at Jade Goldwing bug-eyed, an act that spoke so much louder than words, especially to those that knew of his stoic demeanour and his personal history. He had remained unflappable when family tragedy occurred, and he had remained untouched by the horrors of the battlefield. Yet here and now in this one moment he was overcome with emotion.

“Elric git your butt in gear and give me yer concoction. We can revive Quin,” said Fenix, his accent seeming to waver into and out of existence with each word.

Blinking before seeming to return to the moment, Elric grabbed his allotment of the ancient concoction and poured it onto Quin and slowly but surely Quin began to turn back from Eir into a living, breathing person.

Checking him over with as much magic as he possibly could, Elric looked up at Fenix in shock before nodding his head. There were no more traces of Eir within or upon Quin. In fact, Quin had been returned to normal. He was seemingly asleep but clearly breathing.

“Fenix go get more of this stuff, and get a cleric as well we’ll need them,” said Elric, a note of awe within his voice.

Not having to be told twice, Fenix seemed to blip out of existence only to reappear outside the room, as the dwarven wizard had just teleported and was now casting magic that would allow him to fly. Taking off from the ground, Fenix soared into the air, his voice ringing out for all to hear as he flew towards the storage yard where the concoctions were kept.

“WE HAVE A SUCCESS IN CLEANSING ROOM 108. We have a success in Cleansing Room 108. Send a healer there immediately,” screamed out Fenix as he flew towards his goal.

Standing still as stone, Xenedra looked on at the now living figure of Quin and tears began to form in the corners of her eyes as she slowly walked forward to stand beside the figure of Quin who was breathing faster and faster as if he were about to wake from a nightmare.

Unable to believe what she was seeing and not able to comprehend her feelings, she took Quin’s left hand and felt the warmth of life within, a warmth that made her realise truly and fully that Quin was alive and that his promise from over fifty years ago had been kept.

“How is this real?” asked Xenedra as she looked at Quin and then at the hand that was interlaced with her own.

“I don’t know,” replied Elric as he stared down at Quin while standing at the head of the bed that Quin was lying on. “But we must make sure that we can replicate what has happened here or this will be just a one off miracle.”

“I know,” said Xenedra as she looked on with concern for Quin who seemed to at last wake from his metal induced coma.

Snapping his eyes open, as they had fallen shut when he had returned to flesh and blood, Quin’s eyes remained unfocused like the mind that was in control of them wasn’t really understanding what it was seeing. Pausing to wait and see what Quin would do next, Xenedra did not expect that Quin would sit up straight and start creaming a chant that made Xenedra draw back in fear.

Eyes Unknown

Turn to Stone

Flesh and Bone

Eyes Unknown

Turn to Stone

Flesh and Bone

Eyes Unknown

Turn to Stone

Flesh and Bone

Staring at the now screaming Quin, Xenedra realised that Quin’s mind had most likely been active the entire fifty years he had been bound in Eir and whatever was left of his mind had been worn down into almost nothing.

Yet before she could truly process what this all meant, Elric stepped forward and covered Quin’s eyes with his hand and with a few short words sent the wizard into a magically induced sleep.

“His mind broke,” said Xenedra in horror at the idea of this miracle being poisoned by such a terrible fact.

“No,” said Elric with a smile that was born out of hope and joy. “Minds can be fixed, souls can be mended, with enough time and patience. And after what he has brought back to us, he will get all the care that he needs.”

“You mean that he was able to return to flesh and blood?” asked Xenedra as she saw the sheer joy and drive within Elric’s eyes.

“No. Didn’t you hear what he was saying… Eyes unknown, turn to stone, flesh and bone,” said Elric as he repeated what Quin had said. “Something with strange and unknowable eyes turned him and the rest of his group to stone or more precisely Eir. Something did this to him. It’s not a random phenomenon that we have to put up with, it has a source, it has eyes, and most likely it can be defeated. He has brought us back the truth of our world. We have an enemy to defeat, and there is nothing mortals are better at than defeating enemies.”

Realising the truth of what Elric said, Xenedra looked at Quin, her tears flowing freely and as she leaned closer to silently weep against Quin’s living body she didn’t realise that others had come pouring into the room. They came because they had heard Quin’s screams or heard Fenix as he flew about. They came and when they saw a living breathing being, they in turn spread the word, until like a living flame of thought and knowledge it engulfed all the minds of the Underaes.

Yet in amidst the screaming and the cheering and the hope that was building up, Xenedra was just grateful that Quin had managed to keep his promise. A promise to both to return alive and to bring with him salvation for the world.

She would worry about what had done this to him later; instead she simply basked in the joy she was feeling.

And as Xenedra celebrated, so too did the Underaes, so too did the world itself. And even the gods that watched on unable to help those that they cherished celebrated. For in this moment the path that would led the mortals and divine back to the surface had been set.

Now all that they needed to do was reclaim the lost skies of Aesean from the Eldritch Beast that had stolen it.