Jano examined his arm, the sleeve of his shirt was charred and black but otherwise he was unharmed. Each of the group seemed to conduct a similar inspection and all were equally impressed to see that they were no fresh injuries.
They lingered for a moment in the quiet side of the garden. It was blissful, with lush streams of drinking water and plump fruits hanging limp on nearby bushes. Dariea had signaled it was likely these were okay to eat and sup from, as these tests were designed for those seeking the Relics. At some point, those who had designed them had envisioned their ancestors venturing here. Not everything was a test.
But the pitch black portal before them undoubtedly was. The chaos trial. It was over a ledge of sorts, but there was nothing there. Just a portal lingering. It was obvious that they needed to enter to pass the test and yet entirely opaque as to what the test might be.
“Is this the last one?” Jano asked.
Dariea held her chin in her hands with her arms crossed and stared at it. “I assume so, though we have no true way of knowing. We just have to keep going and pass whatever trials are before us. Even as ill prepared as we may be.”
“I hope it is. I don’t think I can take much more.” Robin laughed.
That pulled Dariea out of her concentration. Her sardonic smile painted a picture. “I think it’s best if you stay out of this. Chaos is more our specialty anyway, and if you get any more injured, I would have to answer to your mother. That is a prospect I don’t relish.”
Robin gave a nonchalant shrug, as though she could give or take it. Her arm was still strapped to her and she looked happy in her surroundings, nestled on a long bench which lay next to one of the ponds and surrounded by the silver trees. It would be idyllic if Jano hadn’t known the effort it had taken to get to this point, or anticipated the troubles which still lay ahead. “Fine by me. But if you give me a day or so, my arm feels a little better. Might be healed by then and I could help retrieve the relics.”
Dariea went back to staring. Robin looked at him and shrugged once more, before she lay on her bench and looked toward the nearby trees. It seemed odd to Jano that such treasures were locked away, but his master had explained it quite simply. They were the bedrock of the Molinia Alliance. Something which could enhance their strength tenfold. If they were just laying about, it would be a constant source of strife. This way, only those who had mastered those specific essences could retrieve them and only with agreement from the other clans. It was therefore simple to put a barrier that each settlement could beat with some effort so that when Molinia experienced good times and peace, they had no need of the relics. If they were at war, it would be extremely difficult for any one settlement to make their way through the obstacles and to the relics. Even then, the relics only gave the settlements extra power, and allowed them to draw from an echo of a pure source of essence. It did not entirely gain any of the clans such a significant upper hand as to be able to single handedly destroy all others should they gang up in defence, which common sense dictates that they would. Each clan had their own, which was also a convincing deterrent. The fact that the relics location had been hidden from them over the years, was an entirely different problem. Their ancestors had known the issues caused by the relics. They hid them to protect their clans. To protect their hard won peace. Many didn’t believe that they were even real, despite the stories. So Dariea had only had clues. Snippets of information to work with. That had led them here.
He pondered her words as he looked back at the circle of darkness which lay before them. It seemed like a portal and an advanced technique all rolled into one. It gave out no noise and it did not seem to pose any threat other than its inevitability. Either side of the fuligin essence, lay a sheer drop. Dariea had been the only one to brave the edge, and she had explained that there was no bottom. The only way to the relics was through. Therein lay the terrifying prospect.
Dariea attempted all sorts of advanced manipulation techniques on the thing, which not even Robin had heard of. It was useless. It was inevitable. It was a portal to somewhere, and they had absolutely no clue as to where it might lead. But it was clear that the nature of the portal meant they would return, the relics were in the cave.
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“It’s just typical of Chaos-Shapers. Everything else was fairly in your face about the challenge we faced. You know, killing monsters here, stopping the Raging Darkness there. But this is so… so typical.” Robin said.
“I know.” Dariea said.
Robin looked suspiciously at Jano. She was being quiet. Jano gave a nod of acknowledgement.
“What do we think it is?” Jano offered, hoping it would spark further conversation. If only for his own peace of mind.
“Who knows where these portals go? That’s why I hate them. Nasty things.” Robin said. “The idea of control within them is just an illusion so my mother says.”
“I don’t know. I could take a few guesses, but that’s all they would be. What I do know is that keeping one open for this long would take a tremendous amount of power. I suspect it is drawing from the relic itself. So it could truly go anywhere. The test could be anything.” Dariea said, not breaking concentration.
“That makes me feel loads better.” Robin said.
“You’re not doing it remember.” Jano replied.
“Yes, but if either of you disappear, I have to make my way out of here on my own don’t I?” Robin laughed. Then she jerked her head back toward where Dariea had been a moment ago. Jano followed her eyes.
She started to pull on the portal. Jano could feel her using her strength in his spirit. He wasn’t sure what exactly she was doing, but it seemed simple compared to the techniques she had been using to try and dispel it. The portal swayed and jerked, but nothing more happened. Dariea looked a little dismayed. As though she couldn’t entirely accept that there was no alternative. Whatever they had planned as a test, they would have to face.
“What happens if we stay here? If we try to wait it out?” Jano asked. “Maybe it will go away on its own.”
Dariea kept playing with the portal. “Do you really think that’s likely?”
“I suppose not. Not really no.” He said, feeling a little foolish.
“No I suppose we would just stay here, getting weaker and more hungry until something else tracked us down. Or perhaps the cave itself would spit us out.” Dariea sighed, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “No, this is the last test and we need to go through it.”
Dariea stopped closer to the obstacle and for a moment Jano thought she was just conducting further tests. Prodding it some more.
“Alright then, let me get my scythes.” He said, trying to sound upbeat.
He turned his back and didn’t pay any further attention until Robin gasped. He spun around, almost catching his leg with his blade. If he had time, he might have stopped to wonder what would happen if he did nick himself with Eradin’s Bane. But there was no time.
“Wait!” Robin pleaded, but Jano had already missed it. He turned in time to see the last of Dariea’s cloak had passed through. Jano stood up and Robin looked up at him exasperated. He moved toward the portal, which started to shrink slowly after Dariea had passed through.
“What are you doing?” She demanded.
Jano had no clue. He looked at the circular essence and back to Robin. “I don’t know what is worse. The idea of Dariea in there by herself, or us sitting out here without her.”
“So you’re going to leave me here by myself?” She shouted.
“We don’t know what’s in there. We know what’s out here. A nice lush garden. I’m going in there, she might need help.”
His words seemed to strike a chord. Or at least; the gobsmacked expression left Robin’s face for a moment. The birds seemed to stop chirping. With that tacit agreement, Jano ran towards the circle keeping his scythes pointing away lest he hurt himself in some sort of fall. In a moment in which he could swear he heard a brief shout of despair from Robin, he was swallowed up by the darkness.