The air was still and heavy with anticipation. The wizard looked around as he passed the gateway and the great antechamber revealed itself to him.

The circular stone gallery elevated itself in a dome shape to the very top, where the ceiling meshed with the surface ground tiles. The walls were decorated with strange and worn symbols and runes, their meaning lost to time. Blue crystals adorned the gaps in the walls as they lightly illuminated the dark entrance. Further ahead, the wizard saw another archway that opened even deeper into the earth.

The god of knowledge stood by his side as he gazed to the old temple's decay. He stepped forward to the center of the chamber where a large well stood, an opening to the heart stream of the world.

“What is this place?” the wizard asked as the faint blue light of the crystals flickered ever so slightly in the darkness.

The lord of knowledge leaned to the well, and as he reached his hand to it, the wizard saw a viscous purple-red liquid dripping from where he had submerged his arm.

He turned to the wizard as he reached further down to the well. “An old temple. A very, very old temple.” The wizard heard a clicking sound and as the god took his arm from the well. The viscous liquid began to pour out from the well. It raced down on small indentures in the ground and quickly surrounded the circular room, climbing the walls to fill the inscribed runes. With a snap of his fingers, the god set the liquid ablaze and the room was illuminated by the glowing stream in the floor and the walls.

Various colors dominated the temple as the runes emitted different colors with thousands of different hues, all brightly illuminated by the liquid coursing through them.

“Pretty,” the wizard mused over the colors dancing around him.

The god let out a small smile at the wonder in the wizard's eyes. Then, he took off both his gloves and began to expertly manipulate the light. At his command, the once vague patterns of geometric shapes in their thousands of hues morphed together as the god of knowledge built a clearer picture from the shapes in the antechamber.

“Do you still remember what you saw in the book, Thalon?” the god asked. Before him, the god was slowly changing reality as he manipulated the light.

“How could I forget? I saw how the gods created all the kin. That they gave us part of their essence and that of the void so that when we die, they can absorb our souls and become stronger,” the wizard said as despair dominated his entire being.

“You know only half of it, my child,” the god said. Suddenly, the chamber itself changed. The light overwhelmed the chamber walls, ceiling, and floor as the god used the light to bring a visage of an older world to life in the chamber.

The vast infinity of space, stars, and the planets stretched out and revealed themselves to the wizard. The two beings floated high above the clouds. Below them was the primordial world of Vaelia, still nothing but a formless lump of rock, floating aimlessly through the galaxy.

“When the gods came here, they didn't come of their own volition.”

A large explosion took place far off in the unfathomable depths of space. Reality seemed to break apart as an extremely fast beam of light broke through the vacuous darkness. Something was off though. Even in the illusion, Thalon could hear something, a voice cackling as it crashed down into the world of Vaelia.

“What was that?” the wizard asked as he looked for the impact in Vaelia below. Its aftershock shifted and changed the rock.

“That was her,” the god said as a stern expression took hold of him.

“You mean . . .”

“Yes.”

Time began to speed up and the world became engulfed in a black and white aura before it was broken through as a multitude of various colored orbs left a trail of light in their wake as they crashed against Vaelia.

“And that was?”

“The Children of Materies, the Elemental Gods exiled to Fortuna's world. Our world.”

“Why did they come here?” the wizard asked.

The god flicked his hand and the duo descended to the world. In the forming molten rock, a giant towering Lady Fortuna stood watch over her domain. She dwarfed the mountains, her dark hair flowing on its own accord. Her black and white-checkered robe protected the goddess from prying eyes. On her back, Thalon saw her infamous wheel of luck, an ever-spinning, ever-changing disc that signified one’s luck and curse.

She noticed the crashed orbs of light and the goddess changed her size as she approached the colorful orbs. They reeled in fear and let out high-pitched droning noises as they gazed upon her. However, there was nothing they could do in that molten hellscape. The goddess took hold of the Elemental Gods and began to change them.

“What is she doing?!” the wizard asked as the struggling orbs fought against their entire essence being altered.

“She's shaping them.”

A great blast of light followed and Fortuna ended her work, having changed the Elemental Gods from their original sphere shape to that of humans, same as she was. Now the Elemental Gods resembled child-like versions of their traditional forms.

The Lady of Luck and Regent of Vaelia stood over the frightened children. As she increased her own size she said with an imposing voice, “Such cute little ones. Don't worry, I'll take care of you now.”

“We are not afraid of you!” the defiant Ignis, lord of fire, said as his siblings stood behind him.

“You should be,” the goddess said. Volcanoes began to erupt, and lightning struck around her. She approached the children and grabbed them. As she held them in her hands she warned them, “You are not in the Fortress anymore. Your father is gone and uncle Gravitas, Tempus and Industria are not here to help you.”

She squeezed the gods of the elements in her hands and they struggled. A younger Lady Flora dared to speak. “The One will help us, it's still here.”

“Yes, it's everywhere!” a younger Lutum added.

“The One? Ha!” the goddess of luck let out. “Oh, you poor little children. This is my domain. The One gifted it to me. It may have eyes everywhere but scream, pray, and call for it all you want. It's not coming to help you. It wouldn't dare, not after everything I sacrificed for it.”

The goddess firmly closed her hands and the Children of Materies slipped through the gaps between her fingers, crashing back into the world, their elements spilling onto the barren rock where they landed.

“Just think of me as your loving adoptive grandmother. The planet is yours too, children. Play, build, do whatever you want. I will not stop you as long as you keep respecting my authority and right to rule over this place.” She then clapped her hands and to the surprise of the wizard and the children, a great angelic orb revealed itself.

“Structor Chief Mikhel,” Fortuna said to the orb, who resembled Structor Uriel in everything except for feathers. He had what looked like peacock feathers surrounding his entire being. “Keep an eye on the children but let them run free. The structors are at their command as well.”

“Are you certain, your Eminence?” the angelic orb asked as he looked at the rebellious children.

“Of course. It's their playground too,” the goddess uttered with a sly smile.

“Very well, your Eminence.”

The goddess disappeared as she blinked in a flash of darkness and the Children of Materies were left alone with the structors as the angelic orbs revealed themselves. The children recoiled, but as they did they saw the Orbs descend down. As they prostrated themselves to their lords and ladies, Structor Chief Mikhel said, “How may we serve you, your Holinesses?”

Suddenly, a flash of white light overtook the wizard. Next to him, the god of knowledge commanded the light again and he saw as the vision of the past began to change.

“Fortuna brought them here. But why? why does she want to rule over our world?” the wizard asked.

“Who knows why she does what she does. She's Fortuna — she's chaotic like that. Trust me, Thalon, I have spent many, many nights trying to understand her motives and it’s exhausting. You are better off not thinking too hard about it.”

The wizard let out a sigh as he reflected on the vision. “All this time, I wasn't even sure the One was real or not. It was only absent because it couldn't come here? Because this is Fortuna's domain?”

Sigurd let out an equally frustrated sigh. “Seems like that, but I don't know. I have only been allowed to know about our world. The higher machinations, the other gods that Fortuna mentions, even Materies himself, the Elementals’ father . . . I know almost nothing. Even though I am a god here, to Fortuna I'm no different than a mortal. I know nothing about the higher realms where Fortuna and the Elementals originally come from and where the One is.”

The wizard let out deep sigh and stared at the light beginning to take shape again. “Seems we still have much to learn.”

“Always,” the god of wisdom responded with a cheeky smile as the wizard accompanied him with an amused grunt.

The light changed yet again, and the wizard saw that the world of Vaelia had changed. He stood by the shore of a great lake and as the mountains towered over him. In the distance, flying structors worked tirelessly to erect and build the Holy Palace. The earth shook by the shores of the lake as the Elemental Gods emerged and met together by its shores.

“Aqua!” a teenage Lady Flora called out as she moved to hug her aquatic-based sister.

“Flora, it’s been a while,” she replied as the siblings all joined together to greet one another.

“You all have been busy it seems,” the lord of earth and mud, Lutum, said as he surveyed his tired looking elemental siblings.

“Yes. It's not easy to rule away from Fortuna's eye,” the battered and bloodied Ignis, lord of fire said as he placed his great axe down onto the floor and sat by the edge of the water.

“So, Ignis. Why did you call us here?” Ventus, lord of air and most reserved of all the siblings asked to his fiery brother.

“What? I didn't call you here. I thought Lutum did.”

“No, I didn’t. It was you, Ignem.”

“Actually, it was me.”

“Well, it was also me.”

Two voices called from behind them. The sibling deities felt the air grow colder and more erratic. As they turned to face the voices, they saw nothing.

“Who's there?” Ignem called out, standing to grab his axe.

“Such aggression, you sure we can trust them, sis?” An invisible voice called out as the siblings all began to huddle together against the mysterious hosts.

“I don't think we have a choice. Will they trust us though?”

“We would trust you a lot more if you stopped hiding and revealed yourselves,” Aqua called out as Flora cowered behind her sister.

“So be it.” To the shock of the elemental siblings, two strange entities materialized in front of their eyes. They had the same form as they did, the one that Fortuna molded them to be, a human shape. But their auras were . . . strange. One presented himself with a male form and he emanated nothing but darkness as shadows surrounded him. The other had a more female body. She radiated a strange, almost blinding light. But it was not a steady, organized stream of light — like her darker brother, it was erratic and chaotic.

“Who are you?” Lutum asked as he gazed to the strangers presenting themselves before them.

“I am Lux.”

“And I am Nox,” the sister and brother said respectively they gave a small courteous bow to the Elementals.

“Are you . . . Structors?” Flora asked, wondering why they took a human form.

“Mere servants? Oh stars, no.”

“We are gods, like you. We have been invited by Lady Fortuna.” As the two strange twins spoke up, the siblings’ spirits almost trampled each other as they raced to ask the same question echoing in their minds.

“You are gods?”

“Are you from the Fortress?”

“Can you help us?”

“We want to get back home.”

The elemental siblings each cried out as they looked at the mysterious strangers in their midst. Only Ignis remained quiet as he stared toward their erratic and strange light.

“Not exactly from that blinding lighthouse, no,” Lux said as her bright light radiated and blessed the elemental siblings.

“We are voidlings . . . like Fortuna.”

The elementals all stepped back in horror as they heard their words. Ignem blinked and moved his axe close to Lux's neck.

“Lux and Nox are . . . voidlings?” Thalon said with a surprised look as he continued to stare at the memory of ages past.

“We are not here to fight you, if that's what you think.”

“If you want our help to get out of this rock, you need to listen to us.”

“Why are you here?” Lutum asked as Ignem kept them at blade length.

“We may come from different essence's, yours from the One, and we from the Null.”

“But we want the same thing,” The Twins said as Nox gently began to push the blade away from his sister's neck.

“Which is?” Lady Flora asked with an eager tone.

“To overthrow Fortuna.” The siblings fell silent at the words, the fallout of such an idea still being considered.

The silence was broken as Ventus spoke up. “We can't do that. She's too powerful.”

“She's too powerful for you, because she's a daughter of the Null, a voidling.”

“Like us.”

-Nox and Lux spoke in turn to the siblings.

“If you think you can take her, why don't you march to her right now then?” Aqua asked, glancing around for a hint of Fortuna's careful watch.

“Don't be stupid, water girl.”

“Fortuna may come from the same chaotic shapeless Void that we do but when she left and swore loyalty to the One . . .”

“When she turned back on the Null and swore an oath to the One . . .” The air around the twins darkened.

“The moment she took your father and your uncles and aunts from the One's soul, it was the moment reality began again.”

“But when it did, she took a drop of the One's power for herself. She is more than just a voidling like us or a pureling like you.” The words echoed in their mind, the true terror and extent of her power revealed to the young gods.

“No . . . it can't be.”

“It is. She has both the chaotic and limitless reach and grasp of the Null, with the omnipowerful orderly strength of the One.”

“No one, save for the One and the Null themselves can stop her,” the twins said as Ignem finally fell back and let them go.

He looked back to the twins and with an annoyed grunt he said, ”If only the One or . . . one forbid, the Null, can defeat her, I don't see how you coming here is gonna help you.”

The twins let out a devious smile as they heard the lord of fire. “Oh, we can't even come close now. But if we take the right precautions and prepare ourselves, we can overcome her.”

“And when we do, we will go back to the Void triumphantly and conquer our brethren who dwell there.”

“And you will get to leave this rock and return back home to your uncles and aunts. Or maybe even go look for your father.”

Their eyes widened as they heard the twins. Suddenly, Flora spoke up. “Our father is dead. Fortuna killed him when she absorbed his soul and separated it into us.”

A smile erupted from Nox as he revealed, “Oh no, she didn't take his soul. She took his power. She created you with the power she harvested from him. Your father is still alive, albeit as a mortal.”

“Where he is though, we are not sure. Fortuna didn't reveal that much to us when we got her tipsy.”

“I can't believe this,” Thalon said to himself as he saw the elemental siblings look at one another with concern and wonder.

“It's why I had to show you, Thalon,” Sigurd said.

Finally, the silence and pensive air of the siblings was broken, as Ignis stepped forward and said, “What do you need us to do?”

“Hold up a second, Ignis!” Ventus held out as he addressed the twins. “Don't you all think this is a bit suspicious? How can we be sure they aren't Fortuna's agents? What if this is just some twisted game of hers?”

Lux set herself in a regal posture. “We were invited here by Fortuna. She used to dwell close to us. She wanted to show us how great she has become.”

“She has grown too complacent with her power, thinks nothing can topple her. But together, we'll show her she's still nothing but a lowly reaction borne from the depths of the Void.”

“So are you in or not?”

The siblings looked to one another one last time and finally relented as they stepped close to the twins and joined their fiery brother.

“Good,” Nox said with a devious smile as Lux let out a blinding flash of light and began to construct something out of it.

“Just like you purelings cannot interact or use voidling power, we voidlings can't use your magic, for if we do, they will cancel out and destroy each other,” Lux said.

“Fortuna can do it, because the split moment she interacted with the One and created reality. For a short moment, the essence of the One and the Null were united and she was able to take a drop of his power for herself.”

“Since we can't do that, we'll need to find another method to unite our power,” Lux said as she finished creating her replica of a human made entirely of light. We'll create vessels. We'll shape them and put both our essences into them.” Lux gestured and placed two distinct lights inside the human vessel.

“These creatures will be blessed with both voidling and pureling power, and when their life comes to an end and their souls escape from their body, we'll absorb them and become stronger.”

Suddenly, the siblings began to protest. “You can't be serious . . . that's gonna take eons. We can't wait around that long slowly absorbing animal souls.”

“They are not going to be animals,” Flora said with a heavy tone.

“Indeed,” said Lux. “Since we will be giving them part of our essence, these creatures will be smart. They will have the ability to reason, to think, and to have even greater souls than that of a beast.”

“They will also have the ability to defeat us and possibly kill us. Then we don’t have to worry about Fortuna, but millions of these tiny creatures prodding and trying to attack us.” Ventum lord of air and wind, the reserved younger brother said as the siblings began to wonder if this was indeed the right choice. “You are giving them both our powers after all,”

Meanwhile, slightly above them, Thalon could only clench his hands down in anger as he heard the disdain and truth from the gods yet again.

“We have a plan for that,” Nox said with a devious smile. “It’s a simple matter, really, once these creatures have spread and made a mark on the land, we'll reveal ourselves to them. We'll guide and instruct them. Then, just as they begin to realize the extent of their true power, we'll put a lock on it and prevent them from ever manifesting our magic.”

“And how are we gonna do that?” Aqua asked from the side of the party.

“I'm glad you asked,” Nox and Lux said in tandem. As they did, Sigurd flicked his wrist and, again, light flooded his being and the scenery began to change.

Thalon gave a slight look to Sigurd. Under his breath he tried to stop himself as he said, “Bastards.”

The god of knowledge sighed and added to the wizard's remark. “Yeah . . . I know.”

The mirage of ages past began to solidify into an ancient vision of a peaceful human village.

Sound and noise, the signal and booming of life, echoed throughout the Human Heartlands and the loud plains. In the fields and throughout the quaint wooden and thatch settlement, human tribesmen set about in their work and daily chores. After a moment, a distinct noise broke through to the skies.

The wizard followed the noise through the vision to find a hammer striking at metal. Holding it was a human girl no older than Thalon himself.

“How’s your work going, Ili?” an older blacksmith with a greying beard asked his apprentice while examining her work.

“Just about done for now, dad,” the girl said as she stepped back and let her long blond air flow in the wind as the blacksmith stepped forward to inspect the metal axe head.

“Good work, Ili. You are growing up to be quite a blacksmith,” The old metal master said with fatherly pride.

“I learned from the best after all.” The old man smiled as he gave his daughter a light tap of approval on her shoulder. But as she smiled back, she saw the joy disappeared from his eyes.

“Dad? What's wrong?” She pulled her father to a nearby chair.

“It’s just . . . I have been having those dreams again,” he said with a noticeable tone of concern.

“Dad those are just dreams. They don't mean anything. Look,” she said as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal a muscular arm. “I'm strong. I can face anything.”

The blacksmith let out a small chuckle at his daughters prowess. “That you are, could probably even beat my sorry ass up.”

“I would never do that dad. Only whooping I give is to the metal.”

“Alright, alright. You have a point, it’s probably nothing. Just a bad feeling, I guess.”

“It's been such a beautiful and peaceful season this year, what could possibly go wrong?”

The sun’s rays blessed the quaint village. Birds sang in the firmament above and in the distance, high up in the sky, a great trumpet sounded to herald a new age.

The human peasants fell to the ground, taken aback by the deafening sound. As it died down, the blacksmith and his daughter looked upward. “What was that?” she asked her father.

Then, a hole opened in the clouds. As the god rays signaled and blessed his descent, the peasants of the village saw a human, glowing with a grey aura, sitting atop a great winged white steed as he flew down to meet with the mortal kin. The horse neighed and galloped down the flowing air currents. With a resounding thump, he landed on the earth and the world shook itself as he abruptly stopped and stood on his hind legs.

Atop the horse, the glowing rider with his short, white hair and explorer clothes, held the reigns of his steed with his right hand. In his left was a three-pronged brass staff, the key to the new age.

The peasants gathered around the celestial messenger. As he calmed down his steed, he grabbed a rolled scroll from his pack and unfurled it before the mortals below him. Light emanated from it and blinded the peasants as they tried to look away.

He proclaimed with a loud and booming voice, “I am Wendal, son of Ventus, lord of wind and air and Structor Ariel.”

“What do you wish from us, oh lord?” one of the peasants called out, as they squinted to the glowing document.

“I have come with a quest for a youth here. Iliza Blackhammer, stand forth,” the god of explorers, hunters and scouts cried out as the young blacksmith apprentice stood up from the crowd.

“You have called me, lord?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“I have. Please come forward,” he said, leaping down from his steed.

Her friends and neighbors looked on, curious as to what the gods would want with her. Her father, though, paled with shock and wondered if this was really what he thought it was.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

In the back, the wizard accompanied the girl and paid close attention to what was transpiring.

The girl stood in front of the god. As she looked into his eyes, she prepared herself to kneel before him, but she was stopped as Wendal touched her shoulder and said, “No, please allow me.”

The god kneeled before the blacksmith's apprentice as the peasants gasped and wondered what the meaning was. He presented the brass staff to the blacksmith's daughter and said, “Iliza Blackhammer, the gods of the Celestial Pantheon call upon you. You must take this staff to the Temple of Hopefield and fashion a celestial key for the gods.”

The blacksmith's daughter was exasperated as she reached for the brass staff. “I-I don't know. I'm just an apprentice. Why me?”

Wendal then looked up and said as she inspected the brass rod. “You dare to question the gods?”

“No, no of course not. I'm just curious why they would pick me. I'm not that great of a blacksmith really,” Iliza tried to appease the god as his red eyes pierced her soul.

“You do not need to know why. The gods have called upon you and you must answer, Iliza Blackhammer,” the god said as he too stood up.

“O-Of course. I humbly accept the quest from the gods. I shall fashion a key,” the girl said as she looked to the brass rod and wondered why, or what for, the gods wanted such a thing, and why they needed her.

“Good, come with me. I shall take you to the temple henceforth,” Lord Wendal said as he immediately returned to his steed.

“Wait!” Iliza's father called out as he broke through the crowd of villagers. “Iliza, don't go. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Dad —” she said, sounding frightened.

“You dare to stop this divine quest?” Wendal cried out as he turned his steed to face the blacksmith.

“You didn't even give her a choice! I'm not letting you take her,” the old blacksmith cried. The peasants began to run away and distance themselves from the mad old man.

“This is insolence.” Clouds gathered behind Wendal and the wind increased speed. “Perhaps even . . . heresy,” he said as he took off his gloves.

“It's love. If caring for my daughter is heresy then I want nothing to do with your pantheon,” the blacksmith said as he defiantly stood against the great lord.

“Foolish mortal.” The god brought his hand forward and prepared to snap them. But before he did, a voice cried out.

“Wait! As the key maker, I demand you let him go. I’ll go with you. But let him go. If you kill him, you'll have to kill me too,” the apprentice said as she stood between the god and her father. Her gaze pierced the lord of scouts and hunters and Thalon noticed something strange behind her gaze.

A strange jolt seemed to course through her entire body. Behind her eyes, in her soul, Thalon saw the inner fire of Parhon, and as her hand firmly still held to the brass staff, minuscule sparks sprouted from it.

The god seemed to notice it too as, for just a moment, he recoiled in fear and relented. “Fine. Come along then, the gods are eager to receive the key.”

He turned back to wait for the apprentice to join him. She hugged her dad. “I promise I'll be back before sundown, dad.”

“Ili, please be careful,” the dad pleaded as she kissed him on the cheek.

“It's just a key, how hard can it be?” She then sat behind the lord of hunters. She turned and waved to her father and her village as her father cried out, “I love you, honey! Be safe.”

“Keep the furnace going. I'm not done with the axe yet!” she cried as the god galloped away and flew into the sky. As she disappeared, the blacksmith's heart sank and he wondered what the gods would do to his daughter.

The light blinded the wizard as it began to change again. He turned to Sigurd. “Where was that, and when?”

The lord of knowledge continued to flicker the light and maneuvered his hand as he said, “That was here, in the Silent Plains. And when it was . . . I believe back when that happened, I was one hundred and ten old and currently scouting the Bluefields.”

The wizard's eyes widened. “That was …”

“A few decades after I became a god myself, yes. I was at the very beginning of my tenure as God and little did I know what was happening on the other side of the world. Reality is a strange place, my child.”

The light changed and revealed a vision of the old surface of the Hopefield Temple, a great stone complex complete with a basilica and uniform pillars in its perimeter. The god landed his steed by the entrance of the secluded temple. Thick foliage still covered much of the ancient world and the temple lay hidden deep in the dark forest.

He stepped off and helped the blacksmith's daughter to the ground. As she did, he returned to his saddle and instructed her. “You will have everything you need to make the key in there. Good luck.”

He turned around to leave as Iliza tried to call out, “You still didn't tell me what you need the key for or what it should look like. I need more instructions!” She tried to call out, but it was no use as the god ignored her and took off high above the canopy and beyond the sky.

The blacksmith's daughter was left alone. She stared at the ancient ruins and temple in the dark forest, sighing to herself. “Well, let's get to work then.” She steeled herself and entered the temple of Hopefield.

The vision of the past faded and the antechamber appeared again. The light concentrated itself and danced as it recreated the figure of Iliza, the blacksmith's daughter, as she entered the chamber.

“Follow her,” Sigurd instructed signaling for the wizard to follow the ancient specter.

As he did, he saw Iliza looking in awe at the once above-ground chamber. “Hello?” she cried out. “Is anyone here?”

Silence followed as her voice echoed deeper into the temple. But as she began her descent down the cramped stairs, an echo greeted her back. “Hello! Down here!”

A faint smile emerged from her as she heard the voice and she rushed down the stairs to meet the source of the voice. Behind her the wizard tried to keep up with the eager ghost.

As the stairs ended and the apprentice emerged into a great long and circular hallway, she saw a small group of kin camping by the edge of an underground stream.

“You must be the mysterious echo. Hello,” A bearded, old etla, dressed in pilgrim’s clothes and a tall pointy hat, not too dissimilar from Thalon's, said as he greeted the human apprentice.

Camped out by the campfire, a male cind, dressed in poor shepherd clothes, nervously waited, accompanied by a more determined minar sporting a dueling sword and simple reinforced leather armor. Behind the etla, a jeru holding a pack with all manner of fungi silently ate his meal.

“Hi, who are you people?” Iliza asked and approached the camping kin.

Then the etla stood up as he politely introduced himself. “I am Thorvald. I'm the leader and guide of our small pilgrim group here. That nervous-looking fella is Brandon.”

Brandon sheepishly raised his hand as to greet the stranger in their midst, to which Iliza politely waved back.

“The one with the sword is Eçabel, she's our guard.”

“Don't try anything funny,” the minar called out as she reached for the sword in her scabbard.

“Oh, I guarantee you, I am not funny” Iliza answered with a devious grin.

“Next to me here is Ali,” the etla said as he gestured to the jeru eating.

“Hello, want some shrooms? I grew them myself,” he asked as he offered his container filled with home dirt from the Free Mountains.

“Huh, maybe later. I'm good for now,” Iliza answered as Ali simply shrugged her off.

“That's everyone, except for Manuel. He went out swimming and hasn't come back yet,” the pilgrim called out as suddenly, from the depths of the water stream, a male gurel emerged.

Dressed in his people's traditional sailor clothing, the squid-like person raised himself from the water. As he leaned on his tentacle arms and legs, he said with a distinct guttural gurel accent. “Ay the water goes nowhere. We really be stuck here . . . who's that?” he asked as he eyed the human apprentice.

“Hi. I'm Iliza. Pleasure to meet you,” she said as she reached for Manuel's tentacles and began to shake them.

“Manuel, pleasure to meet you lass.” His voice was cheerful, his smile obstructed only by his tentacles and his physiology.

“That's everyone,” the pilgrim said, helping his gurel companion back to his feet.

“So, what are you doing here?” Iliza said as she joined the party by its campfire.

“We-we we were going to the p-palace,” Brandon the cind said with a slight stutter before Eçabel cut him.

“We got lost, decided to camp here and then, slam!” she said and slammed fist for emphasis.

“Slam?” the apprentice asked, leaning on her brass staff.

“The door closed,” Ali, the jeru, said as he continued to gorge himself on his meal.

“Ay, we can't get it open. Been stuck here for a few hours now,” the gurel added as he dried himself by the fire.

“How did you get in?” the Pilgrim asked the human apprentice as the eyes of the party raised to meet her.

The air was heavy with anticipation as the flames of the campfire crackled and illuminated the dark and damp stone hallway. The wizard patiently stood behind the apprentice. “I was sent here. Apparently, the gods want me to turn this staff into a key of some sort.”

As the party debated on her words, the gurel spoke up. “Wrong place, wrong time maybe?”

The old etla then added, “Maybe perhaps we just stumbled into a holy task by accident and now can't leave until it’s done.”

“Or maybe the right place.”

“And the planned time.” A mysterious voice echoed from deeper in the hallway as the party looked up to meet it.

The minar immediately stood up and as she brandished her sword she cried out, “Who's there? Show yourselves!”

From the darkness, two figures emerged into the light. Two human women, one older than the other, ominously spoke to the party. “Such vigor.”

“Such fire.”

“ Who are you?” Iliza called out.

“I am Maria,” the older woman said with a slight bow. She was dressed in radiant whites and beiges.

“And I am Lucinda,” the younger woman replied. She was dressed in heavy black fabrics.

“Are you trapped too?” the Pilgrim asked with an empathetic if naive tone, as the sisters approached and defiantly stood against the sword of the minar guard.

“You could say that,” the younger sister replied.

“We were sent here by the gods to stand watch and wait until the blacksmith would arrive to make the key,” the elder sister revealed as Thorvald signaled for Eçabel to lower her weapon.

“You are gonna be my assistants?” Iliza asked, raising her brow and wondering what two clerics could possibly know about smithing.

“We all are. All of us are here for a reason. We are to help the blacksmith with her key,” the younger sister warned as she approached and joined the party.

“B-b-but I, I don-n't know how to s-s-smith,” Brandon stuttered from the back as Thorvald approached him.

He patted him on the back. “Don't worry, Brandon. I'm sure Iliza can explain to us what to do. A task from the gods, a holy chore, is the greatest blessing we pilgrims could hope for,” the old etla said with a great cheerful smile.

“Aye, the faster we get this done with, the faster we get out here,” Manuel the gurel completed as the party began looking to the human smith apprentice and waited for her response.

She let out an awkward laugh. “Well, sure. It's just a key, it shouldn't be too complicated. I'm sure we can get it done before sundown even.”

“Wonderful!” Thorvald cried out. “Let's get going then! We should not leave the gods waiting!” He instructed the party to clean up the camp and prepared to journey further into the temple.

Iliza helped out too and as the party prepared themselves, the two sisters joined behind the apprentice and followed her as she ventured deeper into the hallway.

The steps of the party echoed against the stone floor as the hallway extended itself into the darkness, lit only by the thin trail of the viscous flaming substance in the edges of the walls.

“So, how long have you two been here?” Thorvald asked the two sisters.

“Arrived yesterday.”

“The gods were very clear for us to come here and help.”

“Why do the gods need a key? What do they want us to do anyway?” Ali the jeru asked. In the darkness, the hallway was crystal clear to him.

The sisters looked at him as the air became heavier. “We don't know.”

“They just said it would become clear once we came here.”

“And has it?” Iliza asked.

“Not yet,” they answered at the same time.

The hallway led into the darkness. Roots and vines covered the walls, obscuring ancient runes and symbols. The air was stiff and damp and the only sound was the party’s footsteps as they ventured deeper and deeper into it. Finally, they arrived in an octagonal chamber. The chamber was adorned with smooth panels each with a unique unknown rune on each corner. Above them, a great dome let a single ray of light fall onto the central pedestal, revealing a slot of some sort.

The apprentice looked all around her, searching for tools or a place to craft this key. Instead, she only found a great octagonal table with colored cloths adorning each corner of the central pedestal. The table served as a giant step to the pedestal itself.

On the ground, a small indentation ran from each of the pedestal corners into the walls beyond it.

Suddenly, a breeze of air flooded the chamber as one of the walls opened to reveal a small room where a pedestal stood with a brown colored glowing orb.

The floor was filled to the brim with dirt, mud, and sand. As the party stared at it, something spoke to the jeru.

“What is that?” Iliza called out as she looked in wonder at the glowing orb.

“Fascinating,” Thorvald cried out as he felt a push behind him.

A jolt of electricity coursed through Ali's central neural web as he stared at the inviting orb. It reminded him of something . . . something far away; a strong rock that held his life together. It reminded him of home.

Without thinking, the jeru dropped his pack and shoved away the apprentice and his companions on his way to the room.

He felt the mud welcome him and as he raised his hand to touch the orb. “Home,” he whispered.

“Ali!” the gurel cried out as he tried to grab his companion. But it was useless, for as soon as the orb touched the jeru’s hand, the chamber door violently closed itself, locking the party away from the jeru.

“Ali, no!” the etla cried out and began banging on the closed wall of the chamber.

Then to the horror of the party, they heard sand begin to shift on the other side of the wall, followed by a quick grunt from the jeru, a muffled scream, and finally silence.

“Ali?” The minar called out. “Ali?!”

No one answered back. “Dammit, you!” Eçabel cried out as she took out her sword and turned to face the sisters. “What happened to him?”

“We swear we don't know anything.”

“This is the first time we see the walls open,” the sisters tried to reason as they inched away from the sword.

“Cut it! I think you know exactly what happened to them.” A fire burned within the swordswoman's eyes as she prepared to stab the women. Before she did, something else spoke within her.

Another wall opened up to the party and they saw another orb on a pedestal. This one glowed bright orange with a fiery intensity that rivaled her anger. She looked at it, and it awoke something within her.

“Damn you!” she leaped and ran toward the chamber, a burning rage propelling her as she raised her sword in the air and prepared to strike the burning orb.

“Eçabel, wait!” the etla tried to call out, but it was too late.

As soon as she entered and the blade met the orb, the wall closed itself. Behind it, the party heard the minar's screams of pain mixed with the clanking of the metal against the wall. And then silence, yet again.

“What is happening?” the human apprentice called out to the party as they huddled together, wondering what the purpose of it all was.

“I … I don't know,” the etla pilgrim uttered as he stared at the immensity of the chamber.

“Lass, maybe we should make that key and leave,” the gurel sailor urged as he tried to look for any hint of an anvil, forge, or even tools.

“B-b-but w-what about, A-Ali and E-E-Eçebal?” the cind shepherd tried to call out but his companions only lowered their heads. The pilgrim said in a saddened tone, “I . . . I don't think we can do anything, Brandon.”

“B-but, we were g-going to the palace tog-together.”

The chamber filled with an anxious air as each wondered what the walls would reveal next. The party stuck together, trying their best to protect each other.

Two walls opened themselves.

Next to one another, both had the same pedestal and an orb on top of it, but one was glowing bright like the sun, while the other was dark and seemed to eat the light of its domain itself.

The sisters looked to one another. They felt themselves being pulled towards the chambers. As they started walking towards them, the party tried to hold them in place, but as they looked back, Maria said, “It's alright, we have to do this.”

“You'll understand soon enough.”

They violently jerked themselves free of the party’s grip and as they ran to their respective chambers, they said to one another, “I love you, sis.”

“I know.”

With joyous laughter from the elder sister and a foreboding cackle from the younger sister, the walls closed themselves. The party heard their laughter echo in the temple. And then silence.

“Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not waiting to fall in whatever Siren spell is in here. Where's the exit?” the gurel sailor cried out as he frantically looked for a way out, only to realize the entrance to the hallway had been blocked. But then another exit revealed itself to him.

Another wall opened itself and the party saw a room with another pedestal and a blue, liquid-like orb.

Water flowed slightly in the floor of the room. The gurel stared at it. “Ah, would you look at that . . . the ocean is right there.”

“Manuel! No, that's a trap!” the Pilgrim called out.

“ A trap?! Now, baldie, I'm a gurel and a sailor at that. I know the sea when I see it. C'mon everyone, the freedom of sea is right there,” the gurel said as he stepped into the chamber. Almost as soon as he did, the wall closed itself again.

Yet again, to the party's horror, they heard as the room became flooded with water, followed by the sound of struggling that ended in silence.

“F-f-father T-Thorvald, I'm scared,” the young cind shepherd said as he moved behind the etla pilgrim to take his hand.

“Me too, Brandon . . . me too.” Behind both of them, the blacksmith's daughter looked in shocked silence as the party slowly disappeared behind the walls of the temple.

Another wall opened up and a great transparent orb stood atop a pedestal. A fresh breeze flooded the entire chamber as the wall opened. As the etla stared at the orb, something spoke to him.

A feeling of sadness flooded over his entire being. Looking defeated, he said in a disappointed voice, “Oh. So that's how it is? I see.”

He walked to the door, fixing his pointy pilgrim hat as he looked back. “I'm sorry Brandon. I guess we aren't going to the palace after all.” He smiled, but tears ran down his face. “Nice to meet you too, Miss Iliza. Farewell.” He turned around and as he walked to the chamber, he raised his hand one last time as if to say goodbye. The wall slammed and silence followed.

The apprentice firmly held onto the staff. She felt it was the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground as the strangers slowly disappeared, one by one. Then, to her dismay, the last wall opened to reveal a chamber covered in all manner of plants, a pedestal like the others, and on top of it, a great green orb that called to the cind shepherd.

He looked to it, and as he turned to face the blacksmith's daughter, he said, “I don't wanna go.”

She held his hand. “Don't go. Stay.”

“I-I have to . . . I'm-m sorry.”

The cind shepherd walked towards the wall. Before he entered, he turned back one last time and said to the blacksmith's daughter, “N-Nice to m-meet you.”

He entered and, as the walls closed behind him, the apprentice heard the cind struggle, let out a muted scream, and then silence.

The blacksmith's daughter was alone in the great octagonal chamber. She tried to hold onto the brass staff, but as the silence of the temple overwhelmed her, she cracked and fell to the floor. The echo of the brass hitting stone tile reverberated in the chamber. She wondered what the gods truly wanted her to do. Her mind raced with her instructions.

The key . . . she looked to the brass staff and then to the ray of light illuminating the central pedestal where the open slot was. Then it hit her.

Something spoke within her; an ancient feeling, an ancient word urging her to stand against the oppression and the despair of the temple, to have hope and stand tall against the encroaching doubt and darkness. She stood up and grabbed the brass staff. As she walked over to the colored tables, she saw the staff’s slot in the pedestal and forced it in it.

As she did though, she heard a clicking sound and saw as the same strange magenta liquid sprouted from the pedestal and raced down the indentations in the floor.

As it reached the walls, they opened to reveal the sacrifices to the gods. All of them, immortalized in stone.

The jeru, lifting the orb over his head as a peaceful smile adorned him.

The minar, angrily fighting back against the flames enveloping her, her sword blessed by the fire.

The elder sister, in the ground, reaching her hand toward the sun above.

The younger sister, maniacally holding herself as she lost her mind to the darkness around her.

The gurel sailor, forever swimming on an ocean that would never end, forever seeking his freedom and liberty.

The etla pilgrim with tears racing down his face as he realized the truth that had been hidden from him all his life.

And the cind shepherd, enveloped by the roots and plants, the only thing that had ever given him safety in his life.

As she saw the stone figures, a laugh escaped from the blacksmith as she wondered why the gods had done such a horrible thing to the kin.

Then the statues broke apart, freeing the crystallized souls still within. The liquid essence mixed with the magenta liquid on the floor and raced back to the altar in the center.

The elemental mixture flowed into the altar, propelled forth by an unknown mechanism. As the souls fused together below the three-pronged staff, a pool of colors and light manifested itself by the staff.

She thought back to the words of the gods. “You will have all the tools you need there.”

As she stared at the pool of light and colors, something spoke to her. Like all the others, she knew what she had to do. She let out a laugh and began to cry as she realized what fate awaited her. Under her breath, she said, “Sorry dad . . . guess I won't be home for dinner.”

She dipped her hand in the glowing pool below her, feeling a physical orb forming in it. She grasped it and brought it forward. The light blessed her. As she took out her arm the stone began to spread throughout her arm.

In the blessing of the gods, by the rays of the sun, an orb in her petrified hand glowed and pulsated with a beautiful and fluorescent golden color. With a rageful heart, she violently brought it up and placed it on top of the three-pronged brass staff. The small golden orb immediately spread its energy through the staff. As it reached down to the mix of elements where it was formed, they dissipated and vanished.

Her arm now turned completely to stone and as the petrification continued to spread to the rest of her body the blacksmith's daughter spat to her side, cursed the name of the gods and gave one final strike against the key to bind the kin to eternal servitude.

Her hand struck the orb as it was firmly set in place in the staff. As she did, a great golden pulse emerged from it and it spread to the entire world of Vaelia.

All throughout the world, the kin felt something was taken away from them, something they had only begun to learn about. That feeling quickly vanished as they returned to their work.

In the dark depths of the temple, as the key was put in place, it only accelerated her petrification. As her body slowly morphed, she gave one last laugh and said as she turned to stone, “Enjoy it while it lasts. Every lock must one day open.”

With those last words, she turned to stone and she too disintegrated into dust as her soul was absorbed by the great key in the altar that held the kin bound.

Below the stairs in the chamber, the wizard stood silently next to the god of knowledge as he saw the past play out. He wanted to speak out, but the god urged him to wait as something else played out.

The Elemental Gods blinked into existence, now in their full adult forms. As they coalesced around the key, Nox rose up.

“Here it is. After millions of years, the concentrated power of the kin, their parhon. Ours for the taking.” With those words, he placed his hand on the staff and as he grasped it, a small golden essence flowed into him.

“Our power will be limitless,” Lux said as she too approached the staff and took a small amount of essence from it.

“Go on then, brothers and sisters. Claim your right,” Nox urged the elemental siblings forward as he descended.

The siblings all looked to one another, wondering if this was the right thing to do. Then Ignis broke the silence as he too stepped forward and took the essence from the staff.

Then was Aqua, as she looked to Lux and asked, “So now we can increase our power by absorbing the kin we created?”

“Yes. Soon we will rival Fortuna and be able to take her down!” Lux called out as the essence of parhon coursed through her entire being.

“I see . . .”

Next was Ventum. But as he stood next to the staff, he hesitated.

Flora spoke up. “I can't believe you are actually doing this! Ventum, get out of there!”

“Flora! What are you saying?!”Ignis called out as he saw his brother hesitating.

“What am I saying? Ignis you are married for the One's sake,” Flora called out as Lutum began to question the ordeal.

“To Lux, not a mortal.”

“I mean, we have roots here now. These are our children we are taking from. We created them, so what? Now we have a right to take them too? To make them a part of us?”

Nox rose up as he heard the lady of the woods. “They wouldn't exist without us. They owe us their lives.”

Flora snapped back, “They didn't ask to be born. We have no right to be doing this. Let's just forget about it. Let's go back. Back home. I wanna go back to my children and actually help them, not destroy them.”

“What about our home?” Ventum asked as he looked back to Flora.

With a heavy heart and a humble smile, she said to him, “This is our home now. Ventum, think about them. You love them, I know you do. Don't do this.”

The lord of wind stared down to the staff of the kin's power. As the god's rays blessed him, he thought back to his children, thought back to the etla, their love of the steppe and open plains, of traveling and freedom. He thought about how they had set themselves, heart and soul, to his virtues and ideals and a tear began to race down his cheek. He stepped down and joined Flora.

“Ventum, are you serious?” Nox cried out in rage as he saw the lord of wind joining Flora.

“I am not doing it either. Didn't think this was the right thing from day one,” Lutum added as he stood behind his sister and brother.

“You lot have gone insane,” Aqua added.

“We can't face off against Fortuna unless we all do this!” Lux called out as she stood behind her husband. “Ignis, honey, they are your brothers. Tell them this is wrong!”

“We promised ourselves that we would go back. We were gonna save our father! I protected you and now this is how you three repay me?” Ignis cried out as he reached for his axe behind him.

“We owe you nothing, little brother. While you were out destroying everything in your seasonal rage, we were here trying to build the kin and educating them,” Lutum called out.

“If anything, we have more of a right to the kin than you do,” Ventum added. “We want nothing to do with your plan anymore.”

Flora stood. “If you even think of going and touching our kin, we are going straight to Fortuna and tell her of your plot. Ventum, Lutum . . . let's get out of here.” She finished as the three siblings banded together.

As they materialized themselves away from the cursed temple, Aqua cried out, “You are gonna regret it!”

The gods of fire, water, light and darkness were left alone and as they stared at the key on top of the pedestal. After some time, Lux spoke up. “Well, we won't overthrow Fortuna like this anymore.”

“What are we gonna do, sis?”

“We'll have to find another way to overthrow her. More conventional means.”

Ignem raised his head. “What do you mean, honey?”

“I mean, we will try to get as many of the New Gods as we can to our cause, be it from sons and daughters of structors or even by ascending mortal kin ourselves. We’ll get as many allies as we can and overwhelm Fortuna with numbers.”

“You think that's gonna work?” Aqua asked with a shaky tone, fearing for her safety from the Lady of Luck and Chaos.

“It's our last option. Let's go. And one last thing: this place has never existed. We will never speak of it again,” the goddess of light said and the remaining gods nodded in agreement. One by one they all materialized away back to their homes, until finally Lux was left alone. As she reached for her pocket, she took out a small orb of light.

She whispered to it and as she infused it with a minuscule part of her own essence, it came alive and she said, “Structor Uriel, keep watch over this temple. You are not to allow, under any circumstance, anyone or anything to come here. You have permission to dispose of them as you see fit.”

“Yes, my lady,” the small, white orb said with a courteous bow. As he finished, the goddess materialized away. Finally, the vision of the past ended, and the wizard was left alone in the chamber with the god of knowledge. In front of them, he saw the staff of the kin's power.

“So that's how it happened.” A single orange sunray pierced through the temple’s dome and illuminated the staff. The lord of wisdom continued, “This world was a prison to them. But I guess they grew too accustomed to it.”

“What about the New Gods? Where did they come from?” Thalon asked, gazing upwards to where the elementals and the sacrifices once stood.

“The Elementals married, had affairs, the works . . . mostly with structors. Those offspring became gods. But also some of the new gods came from the Void. A few even came of their own volition from ‘the Fort,’ whatever it is. And others, like yours truly, were one of the kin before we were chosen for godhood.”

The silence of the temple punctuated itself. A soft breeze echoed through the gaps as the wizard said, “I can't believe they would do this. Somehow it still shocks me.”

“What about the gods who did not go through with it? Does that shock you too?” Sigurd asked as the wizard began to walk towards the altar.

He looked back to the God, a serene and stoic expression permeating him, and he said as the orange glow shone behind him, “Yes . . . even more so.”

The staff glowed with power as it beckoned the wizard forward, the dying wish of the blacksmith urging him to unlock the key. “I still don't know how to use Parhon,” he said as he continued to gaze to the three-pronged brass staff. The golden orb sat steadily at its top.

“That's because all this time you have been peering at Parhon from its keyhole. Reach for it, open the lock, unleash the power of the kin. Once you do, you will know what to do,” the lord of wisdom said as he stood below and watched as the wizard stepped ever closer to the staff in the central pedestal.

The wizard climbed the steps, knocking over the ancient-colored cloths. As the light of the setting sun shone behind him from the top of the dome, he adjusted his hat and reached for the staff. But something repelled him. An ancient wall, a last resort from the gods to protect their hold on the kin. A golden light fought back against the wizard as he threw himself at it again.

He tried to push, tried to break through it. But no matter what, the wall held strong against him.

“Close your eyes, Thalon, focus!” Sigurd called out as the wizard closed his eyes and focused his mind.

The wall became clear in his mind as he pushed his body against it.

“Break it!” His mind called out as he pulled all of his body's weight into it. “Servant! Slave! Heretic!” The words echoed in his mind as he was reminded of his past at the palace and the monastery. It did not stop him though, and his hand broke through the golden veil.

“Insolent vermin, let me show you how powerless you are!” The words of the structor echoed in him, constant reminder of his powerlessness. But he did not falter. He pushed on and his arm and leg broke through.

“I don't know if it’s the right thing to do.” His own words flashed before him as he saw his self-doubt and wondered if his quest was just. But it did not matter anymore — he was too committed. Both his arms broke through.

“The herald of a new age, sent by the One itself.” He wondered if he had been truly free, if this was his own choice. It did not matter, for it was the right thing to do. Both his legs broke through the veil.

“Not strong enough, not smart enough!” The echoes from the gods rang in his mind. He needed no strength or wit. Only the will to see it through. His body itself began to cross over.

“Thalon!

Pointy Hat!

Master Thalon!

Thal!” He saw the images of his friends, those who had come to trust him, to rely on him. He would not fail them. Not now, not after everything.

His body crossed over the golden veil.

One last thought barred him from the freedom of the kin. A primal thought, the most important of all of them, as it floated in his mind it asked, “Should I really do this?”

Then parhon spoke to him. In the noise of the veil and the wall, the wizard heard the voice of the Blacksmith's apprentice speak to him. It said with a vengeful and determined tone, “Do it. For all of us.”

His entire body broke through the veil. It pushed against the primal wall of magic and broke through it; nothing could stop him now.

He looked back as he stood next to the brass staff. Below him, the lord of knowledge looked at him with a smile. As he nodded his head, the wizard turned to face the key.

The light shone the temple as ancient stone stood in attention, anticipating the long-awaited moment. His hand reached for the staff. He turned the key and opened the lock and as he removed it and raised it to the heavens, he said with a triumphant cry, “Parhon!”

A golden pulse emerged from the staff. It raced across the world and awakened something that had long been dormant. After centuries of exploitation, the kin were finally in control of their souls again.

A jolt of electricity went up the wizard's spine as he realized the world would never be the same again. He felt power surging through his body as he held the brass staff. He could see the elements that made up the magic and the world clearly.

He saw that his soul was an extension of parhon, a conduit of it, and he realized it could manipulate the elements as long as they were properly arranged. He had no idea what the limitless combination of elements with his soul’s power would cause, but now at least he knew how it worked and how to arrange the elements to bring his magic, his parhon, to affect the reality around him.

The wizard stood triumphantly above the pedestal. As he saw the power he held, he did not gloat. It did not feel right. The words of Val the peasant through in his mind. ”When everyone can use that power, we will be free of abuse from it.“ He had true power now. He swore to himself he would not abuse it and he would not gloat with it. He had a duty to fulfill and a responsibility to uphold. It was the beginning of a new era, so it would be the beginning of a new Thalon too.

“Well done, Thalon Parhon,” the god of knowledge said.

“Thalon Parhon?”

“Yes.” He smiled to his foundling. “You have freed the kin now. Seems fitting you finally got yourself a name. You like it?”

A warm feeling flooded his entire being as the wizard finally earned himself a last name. He said with a blush, “Yeah. It feels right.”

“I'm happy you like it. Well, that's it for me, I should be leaving myself. This new age you are making is not gonna have enough space for an old fossil like me,” the lord of knowledge said as he commanded his magic and prepared to leave.

As he realized the god’s meaning, the wizard frowned. “You don't have to leave. You are a kin too, after all.”

“Was, Thalon Parhon. Was a kin,” he said with a resigned smile as he climbed to the pedestal. “How I wish I could stay to help you and accompany you on your adventure. There's still so much to be done, so much to see and learn. But, no. My time has come to an end. Yours though . . . Yours is only starting.”

Sigurd the adventurer raised his hand and the wizard shook it. He said with a warm smile, “Take care, Thalon the wizard. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

The wizard smiled back and with a teary tone, he said. “I'm glad I followed you, Sigurd. Thank you.”

With one last smile and a sign, the lord of wisdom created a portal above him. Just like Flora and Lutum before him, he disappeared, and the world changed again.

As the lord of knowledge disappeared from the mortal realm, the world felt wilder, more unknown, and unpredictable. But somewhere deep within the souls of the kin, a curious feeling awakened, and a desire to understand and to learn began to seed itself in their being.

The wizard was left alone in the temple. In his hands, he held the key to his magic, the conduit for his soul’s power, his Parhon.

As the light faded from the temple he adjusted his hat, looked back upward towards the surface, and prepared himself for the long work ahead. To free the kin of the tyranny of the gods who refused to let go of their grip on a world that no longer belonged to them.