-Year 993, New Fuuhzan Calendar-

-East Fuuhzan-

Though the night was clear, the smell of a brewing storm was heavy in the air. The moon was nowhere to be seen either; it was truly dark on the temple grounds.

Two robed clergymen ran as quietly as they could, each holding a paper lantern that did very little to illuminate their way. They were running along the long wide walkways, past all the student quarters straight to the High Monk’s chambers.

“My Lord,” They said in unison as they knelt before the door, “Our apologies for the intrusion.”

“What is it,” A deep calm voice responded quickly, “You may enter, I am not asleep.”

“Thank you, My Lord.” They said in unison, again, before sliding open the door, entering and sliding it shut behind them.

They knelt at the foot-side of the bed and watched as an elderly man sat himself up. The small amounts of illumination coming from their lanterns made the wrinkles in his skin seem cavernous. It also drew all the attention away from the strong piercing gaze coming from his luminous eyes, which were particularly impossible to miss in the darkness.

He nodded their way.

“Yes, My Lord,” One of the two men began, “The seal is breaking.”

The old man’s expression turned stern before throwing off the covers, getting up out of bed surprisingly quickly and in one swift motion. He effortlessly moved towards his robe that had been hung on a hanger against the wall to the left side his bed.

“Then, fetch the girl,” He began as he dressed himself rapidly, “And tell Elrond it is time.”

He fastened the rope around his waist before turning back to his visitors, “How long do we have?”

“Day break, My Lord,” Responded the other man, “At best!”

“Then we must go at once.” The old man said as he finished adjusting his robe.

The old man waved to dismiss the clergymen, waited for them to leave the room before walking over to the furthest corner from the door and opening a sliding cupboard.

He ruffled aside a few things while looking for a very long leather sleeve that stood about as tall as he was.

So the time has come at last! He thought to himself as he carefully pulled it out of the cupboard. He didn’t take any time to admire it, however, before searching for his slippers and running out of the room himself.

He made his way quickly around the corners and quietly passed the prayer halls towards the gardens. Unlike the men who had come to warn him, he no longer needed light to wander the grounds of the Shoi Ni Temple, which had been his home for many years now.

His destination was far to the back of the gardens, beyond the sheds and into a series of underground tunnels they called the Caverns of Talismans.

As he traveled through the gardens the air began to feel heavy and above him clouds seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere from one moment to the next.

Deep inside the Caverns of Talismans was a series of small chambers, several of which had restricted access. The deepest of the forbidden chamber was where he needed to be and he got there before anyone else.

As he reached the deepest chamber, he walked into a very dimly lit space. It was a dark and reasonably cramped room.

His destination stood before him as he walked through the archway that served as a doorway. It was a giant stone wall.

Though all four sides around him were made of stone, the other three sides were rough, overgrown and seemed naturally formed. The stone wall he was looking at, however, was none of those.

It was large, smooth, square and wasn’t likely to appear naturally. It was also highly reflective, and though it looked like a solid wall, upon closer inspection a single tiny groove could be seen down the middle. The small veins went from top to bottom along the full height of the wall, with only one paper charm interrupting its perfectly straight path. The paper was perfectly centred on the vein about, halfway down, and also seemed itself ripped.

This wall was, in fact, a door; and a magically sealed one at that.

The old man looked upon the paper only to witness the individual fibres of the dense paper being ripped apart, one by one, under some intense pressure coming from deep within the wall.

The old man tried to put his hand gently on the wall but couldn’t make contact. Before his hand would touch the wall an intense force would push against him, keeping him away.

“My Lord-“ A voice interrupted him, “We have brought them.”

The two clergymen, both still carrying a lantern each, were escorting a younger man and a very young girl.

“My thanks.” The old man said as he dismissed the two clergymen.

One of the two handed a lantern to the younger man before both clergymen left the way they had come.

“Now, come my child,” The old man said as he repeatedly motioned her over, progressively less patiently, ’We have little time.”

“Yes, Master!” The young girl responded as she walked up to the wall standing beside him.

“Elrond,” The old man began, “Are you ready to cast?”

“Yes, Master.” he responded as he got closer, put the lantern on the ground to the side and joined them in front of the wall.

Elrond began to chant while he brought his left arm up to his chest, revealing a thick ornate gauntlet covering his arm. It looked like it was made of thick metal with circular grooves. The lines started at the forearm, weaving intricately towards the fingers through a small circular diversion on the back of the palm.

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As the chant continued wind began to rise from outside and a draft could be felt. The weather outside was beginning to turn densely cloudy and windy and turbulent. The draft could be felt coming in from behind them filling the chamber with the scent of the brewing storm. The ever increasing breeze was converging on Elrond, and most specifically, the gauntlet.

The grooves began to glow, starting at the forearm, slowly creeping towards the back of the hand, before flowing in rapid erratic motions along the fingers.

This is when Elrond stopped chanting and with a lot of effort, turned his gauntlet towards the girl.

Slowly a stream of mist dissipated from the finger tips of the gauntlet, elegantly washing over the girl like a fog. It hung on her for a moment before seeming to vanish.

“It’s done,” Elrond then said as he lowered his arm, then slowly sat down, panting, exhausted, “She’s protected.”

“Wonderful!” The old man said with the faintest hint of glee.

“Now, my child,” He said as he started to unwrap a cord on the leather sleeve he had taken, “Do you remember our lessons?”

“Yes, Master,” she responded, “I am ready.”

“And, you remember what you must do?” He added, with a condescending tone.

“Fight any spirits that may be present,” She replied, “Then try to bind the beast back to slumber with the artefact that’s inside.”

The old man nodded with closed eyes and faded smile.

“You will need this also,” The old man began as he finished unwrapping the content of the sleeve, which he then handed to her, “Once the seal breaks and the wall opens, you must go alone.”

She extended her arm to accept the staff, then, as soon as she had a good grip on it, the air in the room seemed to shift slightly before the air in the room swirl around her, filling the room with a short but sudden gust.

The old man tried to hide a smile that grew the moment he could feel the wind change around him.

“What you’ve been practicing with up till now,” The old man began as he pointed vaguely at the staff, “Will seem like a common tree branch compared to this one.”

The girl inspected the staff a little more closely. She felt how despite its size and clearly made of metal, it felt light. When she tried to move it about, the motions felt smooth as though the air itself moved politely to make way.

At that exact moment the last fibres of the paper seal ripped apart and a small but sharp shockwave emanated from the wall which engulfed the room.

The wall was beginning to vibrate, opening slowly and as it did shockwaves continued to knock everyone except the young girl back until they were thrown out of the room entirely.

Elrond got up quickly and tried to enter the room again, but a gust of wind blew him back down to the ground.

From a distance Elrond and the High Monk could only watch as the young girl averted her gaze away from them and towards the opening door.

She seemed slightly surprised but this didn’t deter her from stepping forwards, ready to enter into the opening in the wall.

From this distance it was difficult to see exactly where she was going, but Elrond could get a glimpse of the inner chamber wall, it was ominously filled with a dark smoke that slowly dissipated while the girl walked forward.

As soon as the girl had entered far enough, a loud roar of thunder rumbled through all the cavern chambers, echoing into an overpowering cacophony followed by a flash of light.

In that instance the wall slammed shut.

By now the night had turned wet and violent, the ground above the caverns were struck by lightning, shaking everything, including the ground beneath both Elrond and the High Monk as they exited the caverns towards the gardens.

The two of them ran some ways into the clearing before being greeted by other members of the temple.

The entire ground of the Shoi Ni temple had started to shake when the wall first opened, which woke everyone up. As the shaking didn’t let up, everyone had come outside.

All had gathered in the gardens to witness the divinely violent dance of the night; and to pray for the girl to succeed. It was not long before the entire temple was sitting and praying together in the grass and wind and rain.

Throughout the remainder of the night all the residents of the Shoi Ni temple would continue to pray without cease, all the while caverns would be struck by lightning two more times before the morning broke. The whole night the winds would blare violently across the the cavern grounds, barring access to anyone who dare would try; but no one did.

All awaited patiently. Sitting, praying, hoping. Both in spite of, as well as resulting to, the wind and rain above and the shaking of the ground below.

All were terrified, all were hopeful, all would remain throughout the night, undeterred by nature itself, unwavering in the face of the danger, unsure what the day would bring.

When finally the dawn did break, the storm immediately calmed. The torrents and winds dissipated almost as quickly as they had come on. The ground, too, seemed at rest once more; satiated at last.

In this moment everything was quiet. Deep within the caverns the wall opened one last time, smoothly and quietly this time.

As it did, a small but satisfied sigh escaped from within the inner chambers which travelled and echoed through the halls.

All who had now stopped praying, now huddled together, bore witness to the deafening transforming of the sigh into a growl upon exiting the caverns.

Everyone froze, the world held its breath in solitude, waiting in anticipation.

No one knew how to react, and the silence held.

The girl exited the caverns but she was not alone.