"Cass..."

"Are you awake Cass...?"

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was someone calling my name. I struggled to open my eyes and saw Elise kneeling beside me with a look on her face that was hard to explain.

Elise has always been cautious, she doesn't change her expression, and most of the time when we're together she's just suspicious of the people around us. The only person she would change her expression around, like smiling, laughing or making a face of irritation, was mostly me. And I was glad, I didn't really know why, but it was a similar feeling to when you have a secret with someone that only the two of you can talk about.

But the face she had now was a face I hadn't seen on her in a long time now. It was a look of sheer glee, not just joy, but glee as if some wish of hers had just come true, with her eyes full of that glee too, and somewhere behind that delight was a look of relief, the reason for which I could only imagine. After a moment of watching, I couldn't help but ask.

"Did something good happen?"

Elise shook her head slightly, answering my question with one of her own.

"How did you sleep?"

The smile still on her face and especially in her eyes. What had my sleep to do with her being happy? But one look and I knew I wouldn't get an answer to my question anyway.

Instead of mindlessly pondering the reason for Elise's good mood, I pulled myself together, knowing that Elise had probably already examined the dragon to her satisfaction, so there was no reason to spend any more time in this cave. But before I could set a course for the exit, Elise stopped me.

"Cass, wait just a moment, there's something rather interesting here."

I turned to see Elise pointing at the dragon.

"I don't see anything interesting."

I shot back. I understand that the dragon is probably a curiosity for Elise, but not for me, so I can't see any reason to pay attention to it.

"It's not what you think."

"No? I think it's exactly what I think it is. It's a dragon and you want to show it to me, don't you?"

But Elise didn't back down. She drew her dagger, walked over to the dragon's body and stabbed it.

"What the...!"

It was so sudden that I almost screamed 'what the fuck are you doing' when... instead of red blood, sand came out of the dragon.

"This is what I wanted to show you. While you were asleep, I looked over the dragon's corpse and found this. All the blood had turned to sand. And before you ask, I have no idea what could have caused it. There are creatures that can turn you into a stone, a pile of dust, but I've never heard of anything that can turn blood into sand."

These were Elisa's words.

Once out of the cave, we stuck to the stream at the bottom of the canyon and continued south.

The canyon ended in a high waterfall with a crystal clear lake below. At the first sight of the place, my heartbeat quickened for a moment with sudden excitement. The place looked like an oasis. The beautiful waterfall plunging into the lake, where you could see all the way to the bottom, formed a small rainbow whose ends were melting somewhere near the opposite shores, the surface of the lake just sagging under the force of the waterfall, which formed a light layer of white vapour that stayed just above the surface. And in the lake, which stretched across the entire width of the gorge, fish of all colours swam contentedly, making their way downstream here and there. Watching them filled me with a hunger that only an aquatic creature could satisfy.

It was morning, the Solus was not yet heating up with such intensity, and we had plenty of time. So I stripped off my boots, trousers, corset and shirts and cautiously stepped into the water. The water was surprisingly cold, but not too cold. Of course, I didn't have to undress like this for the hunt, but this was the first and only time in so many days that I'd had a chance to wash myself and my clothes.

Remembering the river we had walked along, I cursed myself again for not being able to swim. For all that I can do on land, I am completely incapable in the water. If our creators had wanted us to swim, they would have given us fins and gills, and the same goes for flying. If we were meant to fly, we'd have wings. We don't have wings or flippers, just a pair of slender legs for walking and running, so why should we swim?

Here, in this lake, there was not much depth, just waist deep where I was, and the current through which the water moved was also very gentle, which made bathing all the easier and more pleasant.

After washing myself and my clothes, Elise and I spent the rest of the day at the lake with practising unarmed combat and meditation. And even though my body still hadn't fully recovered, the meditation helped me regain the strength to continue my journey.

It had been a pleasant day, but now it was time to move on. I lifted my head to the top of the gorge to see the challenge ahead. As we had been mindlessly walking further and further along the river, none of us had thought that we would have to get out of this canyon, or rather I had, since Elise can use Mana to get there in a matter of seconds. The reason for this was probably the ease with which I got down into it, so I assumed the way back up would be similarly easy.

But the opposite was true, the surrounding walls were smooth and high, with almost no places to get a foothold. Elise couldn't carry me up either, so there were only two options. Go back to where it was easier to climb, or climb along the waterfall.

After some consideration I decided to climb along the waterfall as I didn't want to waste any more time on the way back, which could take up to a couple of days.

But the opposite was true, the surrounding walls were smooth and high, and there were almost no handholds. Elise can't carry me out either, so there are only two options. Go back to where it was easier to climb, or climb along the waterfall.

After some consideration I decided to climb along the waterfall, as I didn't want to waste any more time on the way back, which could take up to a couple of days.

Knowing that the path along the waterfall would not be easy, I grabbed onto the first ledge I could find. The water was splashing all around me and the slippery surface of the stones made any easy progress impossible. I had to rely on the strength and agility I had developed during our training sessions on the lake. Every step was a struggle, but with every metre I felt more confident.

Elise watched me from her position above, ready to intervene if I was in danger. Her presence made me feel safe, even though I knew she couldn't physically help me. Instead, I concentrated on the rhythm of my breathing and every little hold I could find on these ancient rocks.

When I finally reached the top, I felt like a winner. The water from the waterfall was running down my face, but instead of being a nuisance, it felt refreshing after all the effort. Elise congratulated me with a smile that reminded me that whatever obstacles the journey would bring, we would overcome them together.

It took me a while to catch my breath, but once I did, we made our way back into the depths of the forest, through dense foliage, tall trees, and trees desperately trying to catch as much of Solus' light as they could. Immediately upon entering their massive shadows, the temperature around us dropped to a comfortable level where it was easy to walk. As this area was still deep within the forest, the huge trunks of the giant trees took over in a matter of moments, displacing the smaller stands that clustered around the edges. Our goal, however, was once again to find some kind of water source. But this time it ended before it began when Elise spotted some sort of road.

The road she found was some kind of old stone road. Its full width was hard to make out, with tree trunks growing out from underneath it and thick moss clinging to the large chunks of stone that made it up. Despite its current desolation, however, it was possible to tell that in its day it was a road that could have been used by armies or large caravans.

The road ran from somewhere in the east to the south, where it disappeared into a sea of green.

But the very existence of this road became an extraordinary source of excitement. I was delighted, for the road meant intelligent life, and regardless of the fact that this road was obviously long abandoned, I took it.

The road led us along a fairly straight path, closer and closer to the mountains, until we reached its end at sunset of the Solus.

Here stood a monumental fortress, a wall the likes of which I had never seen before. A wall so huge and magnificent that the walls of the Imperial City of Olsted, the capital of the entire Empire and the place where the Emperor himself sat on his bloody throne, were nothing compared to it.

Its height exceeded even the tallest trees in this forest. I would say with certainty that it alone was over three hundred feet high, its entire height covered with vines, branches growing through the entire wall, or even whole trees, which was the reason why the wall could not be seen from afar.

The wall had a total of four levels, divided by battlements on terraces that served as individual floors. It was clear at first glance that its builders must have been extraordinary.

Elise told me about a time when forts like this were built. It was the end of the first Dark Age, when humans and non-humans built such structures. Though this information is known only to a few, it relates to the very origins of humanity, contradicting all the established deities of both human and non-human peoples.

So I gazed at the wall in amazement, pondering many things at once, wondering if the inhabitants of this place had built another similar structures, or if it looked anything like Antarian fortresses.

Stolen story; please report.

"Cass, this wall goes on for who knows how long, so if we want to continue in this direction, we'll have to cross it."

Just then, Elise appeared beside me, as silent and unpresentable as ever. I turned and looked into Elise's eyes, feeling a slight relief in my heart. I always felt better, or rather safer, when Elise was somewhere I could see her.

I have never liked archaeology or history unless it has to do with war. But now I can understand why some people devote their whole lives to these things, even if it doesn't make any sense to me. But it's like the dagger, for everyone else it's just an old dagger, but for me it's something more and it doesn't have to be the same for others.

However, we didn't have time to waste looking around at a stunning piece of art. Solus had almost set, and visibility was diminishing with each passing moment, and the surroundings had once again fallen into that unnerving silence of the forest. I glanced around the wall to see if I could, by any chance, catch a glimpse of light,

My hopes hadn't been high to begin with, so I wasn't disappointed to find that there was no light anywhere. But that didn't mean I wasn't a little disappointed.

Since it was almost dark, I made my way into the bowels of the wall to find a place to spend the night.

Elise created a small flame of white fire that illuminated the passageways we passed through. The passageways were low and not wide enough for two soldiers to pass. It wasn't long before we entered the first room. Looking around, I saw dozens of weapon racks. Every single one of them was covered in a thick veil of cobwebs. Elise was the first to speak:

"Looks like we found the armoury. Even though it looks like the weapons in here have served their time, there might be one or two usable ones."

She said and without waiting for my answer she went to the next shelf.

"Cass, you should probably take a look for yourself, it's a weapon for you after all."

She said and faster than I could notice she was back in the doorway shining the light on me. A huge grin appeared on my face. Because Elise really hates it when something sticks to her. Not that she's afraid of spiders, but she hates their webs. Before she noticed my grin, I walked over to the weapons and started rummaging through them.

My first impression was that this place was even older than it seemed. The weapons stored here were only bronze or inferior metals that had deteriorated to the state they were in now. All the weapons found here were already rusted or otherwise damaged by time. There were no shields either. There was not a single shield in the entire armoury, nor were there any coats of arms, standards or other markings to indicate to whom this place belonged.

The second thing was the fact that I had not seen any skeletons or signs of battle. Everything here was crumbling, but I put that down more to erosion and other environmental influences.

Going through dozens of different weapons had taken much more time than I had originally planned. And just as I was thinking of breaking in, I found a separate room behind a locked door.

The hinges were so rusted that they didn't even make a sound when I pressed against the door, nothing, the door didn't even move. So I tried to lean all my weight against it, not that it was dizzying at all, this time the door echoed with a creak and a dry slide across the floor. When I looked, I could see a small gap between the door leaf and the frame, just blackness. For reasons I could not explain, however, I had a feeling that something worth the effort would be just beyond this door. Once again I leaned against the door and braced myself with all my might.

The settled dust began to pour down on me and with a hollow, scratching sound the door slowly opened. With each passing millimetre I gained a stronger foothold and the door opened faster and faster. After another moment of effort, a gap between the door and the wall was large enough for me to fit through.

"Elise, come shine some light in here, I may have found something."

A moment later, a brilliant ball of white light appeared above me, its diameter undetectable to the naked eye, shining brighter than any torch. And along with the ball of light, Elise was suddenly with me.

"What have you found?"

Instead of answering, I stepped into the doorway - the sphere of light illuminated the inside of the room, revealing an armoury, most likely that of commanders or other senior officers. All the weapons were neatly organised and in their sheaths, so if I wanted to find a weapon, it would almost certainly be here.

I walked over to the first sword, which was hanging from a copper hook just inside the door. I pulled it down, exposing the blade hidden within its scabbard. The material was almost identical to that of the weapons next to it, the only difference being that this one had been cared for at some point. But the truth was that it was the only usable weapon I'd found so far.

I went through the whole room and of the twenty swords, barely three were usable. Two were one and a half handed and one was two handed. When I was done looking, I strapped two swords to my belt and slung one on my back. The next goal was to explore this fortress, but I didn't want to spend too much time on it, as I wanted to get to the mountains as soon as possible.

That changed when Elise noticed something that shouldn't be there.

"Cass, look at this."

Elise stopped me, pointing to a sign above a stone portal. As I looked at it, I realised that this sign shouldn't be here. This was one of the demonic emblems of the supreme rulers of all of Quintar and the realms beyond. This is the emblem that dates back to the demon reign and the War of the Titans.

Then what was it doing in a human structure? Unless it all dates back to that time. The War of the Titans ended about two thousand years ago, and the war against the demonic rulers of Quintar began over a thousand years ago. If that were the case, this fortress would have been built between the two great wars, and it would also explain the lack of coats of arms and other markings, since there was no such thing as human nobility with their own emblems at that time. If that was the case, it might be worth exploring the place a little further.

"What do you think, Elise?"

Elise didn't even need to ask what I meant. With her eyes still fixed on the sign, thinking about who knows what, she replied:

"Cass... you know I'll follow you anywhere, but are you sure it's a good idea to go in there in the state you're in?"

Then she turned to look at me. Illuminated only by her magic, in the cool white light, Elise resembled a ghost from the children's stories that parents used to haunt their offspring at bedtime. Perhaps because of Elise, ghosts had always seemed to me more misunderstood than malevolent or outright hostile. Maybe they were just trying to make friends, they just didn't know how. After all, their habits might be very different from ours.

My response was unequivocal.

"Yes, but I don't expect anyone to be here. I just want to look around a bit more and maybe find something better than what I found there."

I tapped the scabbard of one of the swords at my waist.

"This is a unique opportunity that may never come again.

To explore something like this place, perhaps built in the Dark Ages. I thought you'd be curious to see what we might find here."

Elisa's eyes flashed, and it was almost as if she wanted to look straight into my soul.

"What do you expect to find here, Cassandra?"

Elisa's voice was firm and cold. And I knew that any lie would be immediately exposed.

But I didn't answer; if she knew what I was after, she would try to talk me out of it.

The corridor was much longer than I had expected, full of curves and stairs. It was also quite different from the rest of the fortress. It was much darker and had an almost claustrophobic feel to it. After many stairs and hundreds of metres of passageways, a hall appeared at the end of the route.

The first thing you would notice was a large door at the end of the hall. The room felt more like a corridor or a larger hallway. The place was lined with dozens of columns, each with its own design. One was dedicated to plants and their blossoms, another to weapons, and then there was a column with motifs of mere shapes that blended into each other in all sorts of ways.

As I entered the hall, I couldn't help but notice one thing - the ceiling above my head was made entirely of coloured glass, assembled into an impressive mosaic depicting the war with the Titans.

Clap. Clap. Clack. The sound of footsteps on the ornate floor echoed off the columns and walls in the silence of the fortress. Giving me a moment of peace in the monotony of my own walk.

I came to the end of the hall, to a door more ornate than any jewel, any dress. I had not seen a more magnificent door in all my life. Ten feet high and eight feet wide, it consisted of two wings of unearthly decoration. The whole depiction was of some sort of battle from the First War, with human armies on the lower half and demonic rulers at their head. In the upper half were the inhuman armies of elves, angels and others - led by the Titans themselves.

The entire battle was carved into the wood of the door with many metal accessories in the shape of the main characters of the act. On closer inspection, perhaps the most elaborate figure was the demon at the head of the army, with his famous whip made from a giant snake.

The door began to slide open slowly, and when I managed to open it enough to fit comfortably inside, Elise made a small flame on her right palm, which we used as a light source as we entered. The corridor beyond the door was exactly the same size as the door, the walls and everything around it made of black stone with no lighting whatsoever.

As we continued down the dark corridor, lit only by Elisa's small flame, I noticed how the temperature dropped in this area. Outside this corridor it was quite warm, but as soon as I entered here, a shiver ran down my spine. In the glow of the white light, I noticed how wet the walls were. Looking down at the floor, there were no puddles or anything. After a few more minutes of walking, we finally got somewhere.

We came out of the corridor into a large circular room supported by four narrow pillars. All along the wall were all sorts of shapes, symbols and signs. At first glance we couldn't make them out, but on closer inspection they were symbols of demons. But this time there were a lot more. Elise just looked at them and couldn't believe her eyes.

Then suddenly the magical door I had read about appeared. It's a door that's not carved, but solid, with symbols and shapes carved into the rock by magic, so that they make up the door. They can also only be opened under certain conditions, such as standing in front of it at a certain time of day or solving a riddle. At a similar time, a throne appeared in the centre of the room and fires were lit around it.

I went closer and looked at the inscription on the throne.

"Only the king, queen, princess and prince make a kingdom." I read it out loud.

"Any ideas?" I asked Elise to see if she had any ideas at all. "We probably need to find the signs or symbols of the king, queen, princess and prince. But demons don't use those terms, so why would there be symbols of them everywhere?"

"Only a king, queen, princess and prince make up a kingdom." I chanted the inscription on the throne again. "Isn't the symbol of a demon a crown or something?" I asked Elise.

"You might be right, there is one... Cass, here. It's the symbol of the higher demon, Oroborus." Elise walked over to the symbol that looked like a crown.

When I touched it, it turned blue. After a moment, however, the symbol changed colour to red, and the corridor we came through closed with another magical door.

From then on it became dangerous. The fires that were burning consumed too much oxygen and I didn't have much time.

Think, I said to myself. King, queen, princess, prince, kingdom. I repeated over and over, hoping something would come to mind.

Meanwhile, Elise tried in vain to get the door open again, using magic, brute force and all sorts of incantations in the language of demons. All in vain. Personally, I didn't expect anything different, even if this test was just a riddle, we were still in a dungeon where death lurked around every corner.

I thought of each word as a puzzle, wondering if it was some kind of riddle or if it was literal, but nothing worked.

The only thing we came up with was that the first symbol was a sword. It was the only symbol that didn't turn red, it stayed blue. But as soon as I touched the other wrong symbol, the sword went out too.

It was already hard to breathe in the room, the smoke from the fires filled the room and made it hard to even move, let alone think.

But suddenly it dawned on me, the word king is also the word for sword in the old language, the queen's basket, the princess's mace and the prince's sceptre. And these are the signs of the four ancient demons of fire, water, earth and air that formed the kingdom, or in the old language, the earth.

I immediately began to search for the rest of the symbols. Cup here, coin here, I couldn't breathe. Only the last one, the sceptre, was missing. I fell to my knees, then rolled onto my side. I couldn't move a finger. Is this how it ends? I said to myself. After all I've done, after all the suicidal things I've done, and this is how it ends? No... not like this! My eyes slowly closed until I ended up in a complete void.