The council stood silent in wonder before the Master Elder finally spoke.
“What is it you have to show us, child?”
David slowly lifted his arm and stretched out his hand for the Elders to see. The orb slowly pulsed, shining faintly in his skin.
The elders all gasped, eyes wide at what they were seeing, each shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
“So, you are the one spoken of in the prophecy,” the Master Elder remarked after what felt an eternity of silence.
“I don’t know about any prophecy. But if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is this?” David asked, looking at his outstretched hand with the orb pulsing gently within.
“That is the ancient Orb of Power, crafted by the Mystics themselves in a time and age long since passed. It is an ancient artifact that holds extraordinary powers for the one who wields it, though I am not quite sure how it is that you have bonded with it. Anyone who has ever tried to take it from its resting place has not lived to tell the tale!
“There is much prophecy regarding the orb and its chosen master, too much to go over at this time. But know this, David… you have been given a great gift, but use it wrongly, and it will bring us all great destruction! Tell me… how is it that you came about wielding this orb?”
David shuffled his feet for a moment while he considered how to proceed. He had told Erin that he was kidnapped and knocked unconscious. Part of that was the truth, but not the whole truth. He never mentioned to her that it was a glowing glob of goo that had done the kidnapping, or that it had transported him into a completely different world!
He looked over at Erin and gave her a small smile. He knew she would feel betrayed if he told them the truth now, but he felt he had no other choice – no one else would know more about what he was going through than these men he now stood before.
So, David swallowed his pride and his guilt, and told them how he had unintentionally found the portal in his own world, and how he was pulled through it into the world he was in now. He told them of his flight from the wolf-like beast and his trek through the forest up to where he had found the Forgotten Temple.
“And as I walked in, something overcame me. A feeling of sorts…urging me to go inside, to go toward the pedestal. It was like I had no control over my body. And there was this voice in my head, telling me to reach out and take it. I grabbed the orb and then, when I realized what was happening, I couldn’t let go. Next thing I knew I was laying on the floor and it was stuck in my hand. Then you came.” David said, looking at Erin who quickly turned away, a hard look in her eyes.
“But…while I was unconscious, I had this vision.” he continued.
Erin looked back at David, curious to hear what came next, forgetting her anger temporarily.
“I was in a field full of men that were armed for battle, a field like the one I woke up in before. Two armies stood before me, one of light and one surrounded by darkness, they were ready to go to war. And in the middle of the field a man stood laughing. He had this extraordinary power. He tore open these large fissures in the earth with a single strike of his hand…it was terrifying. The darkness…it consumed the army of light. Then…from the depths, this eerie light started to grow brighter and brighter…the man looked at me, and I woke up” David finished.
“And this man, have you seen him before?” asked the Master Elder, a look of concern growing on his face.
“Yes…once before.” said David. “The man in my vision was the man leading the patrol that came to the Temple.”
The Master Elder’s eyes opened wide in disbelief as he quickly rose from his seat. The look on his face filled David with the same fear that now filled Erin.
“But Master, that man was General Krauss!” she cried.
Chapter V
Tyrius Vanderbolt led General Krauss and the company of soldiers through the bustling city streets of Eldergate. The sun was high in the sky still but had already reached its peak and was now starting its long journey towards the horizon. The crowds parted as they approached, leaving ample room for the men to pass with ease. A vibrant murmur ensued as the citizens whispered to each other, quietly speculating what the sense of urgency was all about.
The company walked past the marketplace and down the main boulevard some ways before reaching the palace gate. It was bordered by a wall of ten foot high snow-white stone running East and West as far as the eye could see, with large bronze basins spaced evenly down the walls, each eternal flame providing light along the wall and the surrounding area.
The gate itself was comprised of a collection of thick, twisted iron bars staggering in increasing height and culminating at the highest bar in the middle. There was a large ornate, gold-plated “E” in the center, representing the great city of Eldergate. To each side of the gate stood large black obsidian gargoyles, the ancient guardians of the city, standing as silent sentries against any potential threat that approached the gates. It is said that if the city ever came under siege, the gargoyles would spring to life and defend the palace
