Dawn of Twilights Past

Chapter VI

They traveled parallel to the city, cutting from the far side, avoiding the evening traffic and those finished trading for the day. They were making good progress, quickly this way, then back, ever towards the city center. They passed a couple walking the sandy streets, dust floating up from every step, just to sink back down moments later.

“Wow, what’s that,” asked Karish, pointing directly ahead at the maze of waist-high brown stone walls running in every direction, all in varying forms of decay. Sand cascaded over the walls like a waterfall collecting at the base, battling winds shifting the sand from one base to another.

“The builders of this temple knew what they were doing when they created this maze leading to the temple. We believe it was created at the beginning of time, thousands of years ago. The walls would have been high, well over two men in height. Only those dedicated to the worship would be able to transverse the maze to reach the temple in the middle,” said Deiondre in a lecturing-type voice. He started forward through the maze, turning and twisting at just the right moment to continue his route toward the domed building in the center, opaque white stones mirroring the sun’s rays, washing the sand in a rosy glow.

Valia, passing through the entrance to the maze, looked behind her at what must have been a statue. There were several more stones similar to that one, but they had even less sign of what might have been on them. “Was that a statue of a woman or man? I can see the base and what is left of the feet, but the sand and sun have eroded the rest away.”

“Yes. She was known as the creator,” Deiondre commented back, “the only true maker and destroyer of this world.”

Karish knew she would never have been able to ride Whispering Wind through this maze and reach the middle. It took them half an hour of turning left, turning right, twisting completely back around again to reach the center. Karish looked astounded, Valia and Saeran at her elbow, all staring at the large domed opaque white stone structure before them. Two men, very muscular and well armed, stood in the doorway to keep thieves and desecraters out. They dismounted and took the horses over to a large space between the walls.

Deiondre lead them into the temple, stopping in the doorway, his eyes taking in the same sight he had seen a thousand times before; except the last few, now a door stood in the center of the floor, guarded, stairs leading down into the bowels of the earth gaping like a mouth ready to devour all who tried to enter. The inside looked twice the size of the outside. Was it a trick of light or magic? It was lighted by a prismatic white glow. This glow had not been there before, this was new, it had started to glow once the entrance had opened. He knew how it had been opened; he had been there.

Valia touched the walls, withdrawing her hand abruptly, a disturbed look on her face. She knew this feeling; she felt it all the time when she was outside. Her mind ran through the possibilities. In the end only one thought came: It’s alive. How could a building be alive? Stone was not an item that grew or nourished its young. Earth was alive, animals were alive, but nothing else gave off this type of aura; definitely not stone.

Deiondre continued into the building, stopped before the guards, placed his hand on his forehead, pulling it down quickly in a short gesture, “May the creator be with you.” The guards never moved. They were like so many of the stone statues that had once guarded these grounds.

They made their way down the first flight of steps. Looking past Deiondre, they noticed the stairs kept falling like a bottomless pit, devoid, infinite. The walls glowed, an undulating pulse of white. Valia felt the life of the building all around her, awed at its exhilarating and terrifying power. Karish touched the wall; it was smooth and cold to the touch. Only magic could create a glow without light in a place this dark. The only magic that existed in her world was magic inherently built into a species. Valia had magic. but she couldn’t use it on people. She could sense things and change her own physical appearance.

What seemed like hours of travel finally brought them to a long, white pulsating hallway, doors devoid of handles, staggered on both sides.

“The last time I was here there were too many people. I didn’t have a chance to really look at the place, or to try to decipher any of the writings,” Deiondre said as he continued walking. “See this writing, it’s the old tongue, no longer spoken or written and few can read it either. Because of my education, I can pick out an impression or two.”

He reached the first door and stopped, pointing, “This door is the entrance to the assembly room.” Reaching over, he pressed a small invisible panel to the left of the door. Silently it swung inward, fresh air pouring out of the room like a spring morning, smelling of flowers in full bloom, warm, as if the sun had risen off the wall in the distance.

“Shouldn’t this place be decrepit and musty? It’s been sitting uninhabited since the dawn of twilights past,” asked Karish, in awe at the lofty vaulted ceiling, archaic language written in pulsating blue down the columns of each wall.

“You said you could read this language, what do the door and walls say?”

“Yes and no, it’s more of a picture than a word. This writing here on the door shows me a room with a table and chair, two men in the room, one sitting in the chair, the other facing the table in front of him, and nothing else. I have interpreted this room to be a meeting of the creator.” He walked further into the room, over to one of the columns with writing etched into its surface. Placing his hand on the column, he closed his eyes. The book was not here; he couldn’t feel its power, dark and forbidding.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the writing. “This writing outlines the thoughts of knowledge,” he rambled on, moving over to the next column.

Valia walked over to the wall. She didn’t have to touch the walls here, she felt the essence of life radiating like heat from the sand, caressing her skin, encompassing her mind. It was an exhilarating feeling. I could stay in this one spot forever, she thought. Saeran was looking at her strangely, concern written on her face. Valia moved away from the wall towards Saeran, the warmth dimming as she moved. The two women now sat patiently waiting for the other two to finish so they could move on and see more of the temple.
Karish and Deiondre completed their circle of the room. Just as Deiondre had said, one table and one chair sat in the middle of an open domed room, the floor covered in granite tiles ranging from light gray to black in a triangular concentric pattern starting from the center of the room and running out.

“You ready to continue? I saw a couple of the other rooms before the guards kicked us out for the evening. I met you guys before I had a chance to come back and look around,” Deiondre continued in his smooth silk-like voice. He had tried to avoid the guards when they cleared the temple by slipping through a door, but he’d been caught. They almost tossed him into confinement, but his laid-back, naive mannerism saved him. He wouldn’t be so lucky next time.

He walked out the door and turned down the hall, waited momentarily for the three women to clear the door before he continued. Saeran was the last to exit, watching the door close eerily behind her; she had not helped it. She turned and continued walking. She watched Deiondre closely. As he read the inscription of the door, he caressed it as if it were a lover, never stopping long enough to show them the hidden wonders inside. What was he looking for?

“Valia,” Saeran nudged her arm, “he could show us some of these rooms.” Saeran reached over, tapping Karish on the back. She turned, eyes sparkling over the ancient building. “Is he going to stop and show us some of these rooms? He sure seems to know a lot about them for having been here only once. Look at the way he looks at the door, he already knows what’s in them. Let’s split. You keep him occupied, Valia and I will go check out some of these other doors.” Karish nodded.

They cut down one of the numerous hallways leading out from the central corridor, also lit by pulsing white light. They tallied which hallway they’d taken. This one was the first on the right. They followed it down to the first door on the right side. Saeran looked at Valia, neither understood the archaic language carved into the door. Valia laid her hand on the door, she felt the living warmth of the building pulsate through her body, caressing her skin. She closed her eyes, enjoying the interaction. Saeran tapped her shoulder. She opened her eyes and quickly pulled back.

Voice low, “It’s similar to the room we saw earlier, high domed ceiling, floor riddled with large holes filled with water. It’s a bathroom,” she exclaimed, reaching over and tapping the same place Deiondre had tapped to open the last door. Silently it slid open. Fresh spring air gushed out. The room was beautiful, floors tiled with every exotic flower known to man. Three large square basins were filled with crystal clear water.

“How in the world could there still be fresh water here? Where is the water source?”

Both women, astounded, turned to check out the next treasure. The door was on the left-hand side, same type of carvings. Valia laid her hand on this one. The same overwhelming euphoric sense came to her, but she didn’t let it take over her mind this time. She needed to keep her senses around her; this place made her vulnerable.

“It’s a domed ceiling like the last two, also very large. This one seems to be,” she paused, “a bedroom.” She pressed the spot next to the door, it slid open silently, air gushing out. The room smelled like fresh cedar incense. “Look at that bed.” The canopy was held in place by four silver intertwining tree-like pillars reaching to and intertwining with the ceiling. Plush feather pillows and covers lay lightly across the bed, fresh picked flowers laid gently across the covers.

“This is not possible. The water might be possible if it was a source from underground filtered through the sand. Fresh flowers are not possible,” Saeran stated matter of factly, walking over and picking up one of the flowers. It was fresh and silky smooth to the touch, the smell superb. She hid the small flower in her shirt. This one was coming with. She turned to Valia, standing there mouth agape, looking at the room in wonder.

“Let’s check out a few more before he discovers we’re gone.”

They exited, moving swiftly to the next door, Valia repeating her gesture. This room was another bedroom, even more extravagant than the last, fresh flowers in a vase sitting on one of the dressers. They moved on, swiftly now, they knew that some of the items here would be worth a tremendous amount of money if they were able to remove it without being caught. They reached the last door in the hallway almost at a run; they could hear Deiondre and Karish’s voices down the other hallway, his voice raised.

“Where are they? This is a dangerous place. They should not be running around here on their own. What were they thinking?” He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Karish, footsteps moving faster. Once those two reached the hallway their fun would be over.

Valia reached over, placing her hand on the last door. Suddenly she gasped, pulling her hand back so violently she slammed her back into the wall next to the door.

“Valia, are you all right?” Saeran grabbed her shoulders in both hands, steadying her.

Karish and Deiondre ran down the hallway toward them.

“What happened?” yelled Deiondre, “Are you a fool? What do you think you’re doing?” Anger slathered off his tongue. He grabbed Valia roughly, shoving Saeran out of the way, “What did you see?” He was livid with anger.

Karish, lightning fast, pulled her dagger, placing the razor sharp blade to his lifeblood. “You will calm down, NOW! If you ever touch her again, it will be your life,” Karish hissed in his ear.

He slowly backed away, regaining his composure. Saeran was holding Valia now, caressing her hair, singing quietly in her ear, like a lullaby sung to calm a frightened child. She looked frightened, shivering in the warm air of the temple. The guards, hearing the commotion, were moving down the steps at an alarming rate. Karish grabbed Saeran and Valia, moving them back towards the main hallway. Deiondre, bringing up the rear, was keeping a good distance between himself and the women. He needed to know what had happened to her. This was probably the item he had been looking for. They would tell him nothing if they didn’t trust him.

Moments later they were moving up the main hallway towards the stairs leading out, chatting idly amongst each other. The guards exited the steps, seeing the four that had entered earlier and according to their count were the only people down here, “What was all the commotion?”

“I’m sorry, my friend Valia tripped and hurt herself. She is not very good with pain. I’m sorry about the noise, we promise to be quieter next time,” Karish said in her most stunning voice, holding Valia up on one side, Saeran on the other.

The guards took the story at face value, “You must leave. The temple is no longer open for viewing.”

The four exited past the guards, moving quickly up the steps out into the cool moonlit night. Stars flickered like fireflies across the vast cavernous sky. The guards were closing the entrance to the temple. The four mounted, heading out the way they had come, Deiondre in the lead, Karish on Whispering Wind, Valia mounted in front of Saeran riding Paladine. Gray Ghost ran smoothly behind, riderless, through the maze.

Valia’s eyes ghosted in the night. She hadn’t said a word since the temple, making Karish very anxious. Out of the maze they flew hawk-like, hunting prey through the moonlit night, hooves pounding the sand, in rhythm to an unheard drum. Deiondre’s mount strained to keep pace, lungs bellowing smoothly, body covered in sweat. Heart alone allowed him to keep pace. They finally exited the city, they could now move.

“Make haste, Whispering Wind, it’s important,” Karish urged Whispering Wind on with her voice, Paladine and Gray Ghost off her shoulder. They opened up, flying over the desert in tremendous strides. It would take only minutes for them to return to the tents and tend their friend. The desert flashed by at an incredible rate. The low squat white tents rushed up on them; they would be there in moments. Whispering Wind slid to a halt, throwing sand high into the air, just before the tent.

Karish dismounted instantly, running over to Paladine to take Valia from Saeran’s arms. Saeran dismounted, taking all three mounts to the corral. Deiondre was left to himself, forgotten for the moment.

Karish carried Valia into the tent, undressed her and inspected her for any physical injuries; she was okay there. Whatever had harmed her was internal in nature, and for someone not of her race, there would be no instantaneous diagnosis. They could only wait for her to fix herself and come back. Valia’s eyes were still ghosted. She would not be able to be woken, ghosting was a kind of shock changelings went into when they ran into something that was far too strong for them to handle.

Saeran, came through the tent door, concern written on her features. “The mounts are taken care of. How is Valia?” she asked.

”She’s not well,” trailed off Karish, sadness in her voice. “We just wait.”
Saeran sat there, doubt twisting blackly in her mind like a snake hunting mice through a burrow. Valia had only contacted the door for a moment, how could this much have happened to her? I wish I hadn’t taken her with me, I could have handled this by myself and she would never have been hurt.

“Wait a minute,” said Saeran to herself, just a little too loud.

“What?”

“We were going through the rooms. There was astonishing things in each room, things that should not have been in the shape they were in; fresh water for baths, flowers laid out on beds and in vases. The whole place was obviously magic of some type. Every time Valia touched the building she seemed to disappear inside herself. I know she could sense it; it was like a drug to her, you could see it in her face. I didn’t think much of it after I figured out that she wasn’t being hurt by it. I took one of the flowers.’’ Saeran was stumbling over her words, not able to get them out fast enough.

“You brought something out with you?”

“Yes.” She reached inside her blouse and pulled forth a perfect pink baby rose.

“That’s impossible, no wilt, almost like it was clipped just a minute ago, not something that has been sitting in a room for thousands of years.” Karish looked at the flower in amazement, taking it from Saeran’s hands for closer inspection.

“You know, if the building was magic and it nurtured Valia and the life in it, do you think this flower might have enough magic in it to help her through her pain?” asked Saeran, hope etched into her face.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try,” said Karish as she placed the flower into Valia’s deathly pale, cold hands. They watched for several minutes, but nothing happened.

“Maybe it’s not instantaneous!” Saeran said sounding hopeful.

They were both tired. They needed sleep. Tomorrow would be another long day. They settled in for the night, both engaging thoughts that kept sleep at bay. Eventually they slept, pure and simple exhaustion taking them.