Serena took a deep breath as she stared at the gap in the rock face before her.

The task she had been given was simple, more a formality then anything else, but as her first solo mission it was still daunting.

At least it's underground, she contemplated, stretching her wings, before stiffly folding them against her back with a flinch. The flight here has been long, even if the task at hand was a simple retrieval mission; they had even provided a map on how to find it.

That doesn't make being alone any less stressful.

And she hasn't been, alone that is, almost from the time she was born. When her parents had seen her snow white wings they had brought her to the Hammers of Light immediately. The paladin order had taken her under their wing and taught her from the time she could speak. It was always assumed that she would become a full member the trial for which she was undertaking right now.

Still nerve-racking though.

Taking another deep breath Serena checked her gear. A shield over her left shoulder. A short sword in the same hip. A bandolier with potions across her chest. Leather with the edges reinforced with steel for armor across her torso and the top of her wings. A sling bag, enchanted to hold more then it should, hung on her right hip with her tent and two weeks supplies. More then enough, but she was trained to be prepared. Everything was enchanted to be as light as possible so she could fly with it, a gift from the chapter house master for her sixteenth birthday. She glanced at wings as she sighed. Nothing tangled or snagged. Just like the last six times she checked.

I'm procrastinating aren't I?

Looking in front of her she looked at the entrance to her test. A simple wooden door, covered in moss and rotten from age. Serena strode forward and pushed it open, reveling a dark room.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"LIGHT", she intoned while twisting her magic into the requisite knot. A softly glowing orb appeared over her shoulder, revealing the dusty room.

Several passages left the room, winding out of view. In it's center sat an ancient golem, and as the light fell on it the decrepit thing began to move.

Very slowly.

Quickly drawing her sword Serena dashed forward and gave a sharp blow to the edge of the core in the center of its chest, the crystal that powered it easily falling from it's socket.

Letting out a short sigh of relief that the fight was so simple Serena wondered if everything else was going to be as old. It would certainly make her job easier, and the job of whoever would be coming to re-secure the place that much harder.

Slipping down the corridor marked on the map, she paused as she reached a place where a pitfall was marked, but found the trap rusted into unusability, even when she put her full weight on it. A mark went on the map noting the issue.

Moving past it she came to a section of wall that the map said held a hidden door. Pressing on the bricks she found one that depressed. A crack appeared in the wall and began to spread, before a loud shriek sounded and it stopped moving. Serena felt her eye twitch.

With growing frustration, she bent her power and stretched out her hand, exclaiming,"SMITE", causing a blast of light to slam the door open.

Inside was a small chest with a strangely shimmering golden orb. Nobody in the order knew what its purpose was anymore, it had been there for longer than the current record library existed. There were no apparent power emanations coming from it, and the magic in the area wasn't twined into any spell forms, and so had been deemed acceptable for a new graduate to acquire. The Archbishop of the order hoped they might figure out it's original purpose, and maybe put it to use.

Serena grabbed the orb and turned back to the entrance. There were other treasures here, but none were so cryptic as the orb she was holding now. They would stay here well hidden until needed.

As she stepped toward the entrance she heard the screech of metal giving way. Serena yelped and flared her wings a moment too slow, as the pitfall trap did the job it was designed for, so many hundreds of years ago, before resetting with a scream of abused metal.