1 Trapped In Time

The sounds of heavy breathing echoed within the stone walls of the castle tower. A man who could only be described as a scholar with his robes and thick, round glasses was hurrying down a flight of stone steps, cracked and shifting with age. His only source of light was the wooden torch he had in his hand, the light of the fire on top of it lighting his way as he fled deeper into the bowels of the castle.

"I must hurry! I must hurry! The tomes.." the anxious scholar muttered under his breath as a tremor shook the castle. Dust and loose rock fragments fell from the ceiling like fine powder, lingering in the air and causing the torch to sputter once almost causing it to go completely out. Tiny embers coming off the dimming remains of the torch however, lit the oil-soaked rag aflame once more. It was not more than ten minutes before when the castle had come under siege. His brothers were outside buying him as much time as possible with their own lives, though why anyone would want to assault his order was beyond him. Perhaps the time for which they had all spent their lives pouring over numerous texts and memorizing many tomes had come, but in order to verify that he needed to access the vault and find the tomes left by his predecessors.

It was not more than another ten minutes from when he started descending when he had finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs. The tremors and booms from the outside had either stopped because he was too deep to feel or hear them, or his brothers of the order had already been overrun. The thought of them being overwhelmed in a mere twenty minutes did not bode well for his state of mind. Nevertheless he hurried forward, time was running out for both him and his brethren. The passage had long changed from chiseled stone to ancient rock. The brothers of old preferred a more natural environment for the vault, so they never inlaid stone brick and just built the vault into the existing cavern. Unlit torches lined the walls of the cavern, his flame illuminating the centuries old cobwebs coating them.

After a few minutes, he arrived in front of the vault door which was exquisitely carved with designs made by both the long-lost races of the Elves and Dwarves in conjunction with the first of his order. Spiral patterns like tree branches lined the sides of the vault door extending to the top and branching out like a tree canopy, whilst runic-like symbols ran through the middle of the door from top to bottom and side to side. Along the middle of the door horizontally were inlaid sockets which, when given the proper gemstones would open the door. The scholar had heard from the previous head of the order when he came down here for the first time that the door was made with magic, which has long been lost to the human race after centuries of warfare and witch-hunts.

He quickly took out four intricately carved gems from his robes, they glowed with a gentle light that illuminated the dark around him even better than his torch. Each was a different shape and matched one of the sockets on the door. One was shaped as the sun, the other the moon, the third was of a tree, and the fourth and final was of a hammer. Each symbolized the four dominant races of the world, though no one had heard from the Beast-kin, of which their symbol was the moon, in centuries longer than the Elves and Dwarves. It was thought that they perished in the Age of Darkness when the Gods and the world were at war with each other. That is to say it was God against God and Kingdom against Kingdom.

As soon as he inserted the four gems into their proper spots, the entire door lit up. The Elvish carvings lit up with a gentle blue hue and the Dwarven runes lit up with a fiery red glow. The entire door rumbled, shaking the cavern and causing the ground to tremble. A booming voice echoed out into the cavern.

"ARCH MAGUS RENNER OF THE ORDER OF THE TOME, THE VAULT OF THE SCHOLAR WELCOMES YOU AND ENTREATS YOU TO TAKE SHELTER IN THIS TIME OF WAR!"

The gemstones in the door disappeared and in the middle of the door an oval-shaped portal three meters high appeared. From the other end of the cavern torchlight appeared and men in chain-mail and full-plate armor appeared. They were led by a knight in full-plate with a crest in the shape of a Falcon on his breastplate who shouted at his men, "Stop him! He must never enter the vault! Archers, bows at the ready and fire at will!"

However, it was too late, Arch Magus Renner had already hurried into the portal, which closed after him leaving just a blank stone wall. Soon after, the cavern shook and with intense rumbling started to collapse, the knight and his men were quickly buried amidst a flurry of alarmed shouts and screams. Everything started to sink inward for miles under and around the castle burying not only the remaining defenders, but the entire army assaulting the castle. After a few minutes the land stopped shaking and there was nothing left but a valley where the castle once stood and the door to the vault was buried along with it all.

Arch Magus Renner opened his eyes and found himself sitting at a beautifully crafted desk in a well-lit library. The book cases were full and neatly arranged and there were scrolls inlaid in racks along the walls. For a vault that was supposedly centuries old, it looked as if this library was well-kept as not a single speck of dust could be seen anywhere, nor were there any cobwebs in any of the corners. A letter on the desk in front of him grabbed his attention after he finished looking around, it was impossibly addressed to him.

"Arch Magus Renner, if you are reading this letter then the worst has indeed come to pass. We,the first of the Order of the Tome have long seen this day coming, though we have made some preparations against it. It may not be enough, the Void closes in on the hearts of man-kind and if it is not stopped in time the world nay, the universe as we know it will vanish forever. With the ancient magics and the blessings of the Gods we have crafted this vault and put all of our knowledge within it. You may have found the vault to be too well-kept have you not? This is because with our lives we have cast a spell to ensure that time has stopped within. You will not age, you will not hunger, and you will not thirst. We don't know how long you will be trapped in time, just know that when you return to the flow, one of two things will have happened. You will either meet the child of prophecy, or be swallowed up by the Void. I'm sorry that none of your brothers remain alive to help you in this final task we bestow upon you, but we have the utmost faith in your abilities. Please try to commit the knowledge of this vault to memory. Magic has been cast upon the books in here. Every book you memorize and understand will disappear forever. This knowledge is too precious to land in the hands of the Void-Touched. With everlasting sorrow, Arch Magus Kynleth, First of the Order of the Tome."

The exhausted Arch Magus Renner finished reading the letter with tears in his eyes, then he leaned back and digested everything he just read. Realizing that the founder of his order didn't merely disappear centuries ago filled him with relief, but the fact that he along with the long lost creators of this vault had sacrificed their lives to ensure that the Void would never win, seems to be a bit out of fantasy doesn't it? Everyone knew that the Void was a myth, no one has seen a Void-Touched for centuries. The Child of Prophecy too was a myth wasn't it? It was said on the day the child is born, the Star of Yllesian, God of Prophecies, would streak across the night sky, visible to all no matter where they might be. No one has seen the so-called Child of Prophecy either.

"It's all myth! How could any of this be true!" Renner shouted to no one in particular as he sat in disbelief. He grew up being taught that the Elves and Dwarves and other races were all just a myth, and the Child of Prophecy was just made up to give people hope in a time where the lands were at war with each other.

"Magic isn't real.." he muttered under his breath. Then he stood up and stretched as he took a look around the vault. He walked over to one of the bookshelves and one of the books caught his eye. It was titled, "A Brief Overview of the History of the World and the Races of Lore." He picked the book up and examine it's cover. The front of it was lined in intertwining gold forming a picture frame that seemed to be made of lattice-like leaf patterns. In the center were the same symbols used to open the vault, plus one more. The new symbol was that of a scale for weighing things, but he didn't understand what the symbol stood for. The book itself intrigued him, so he took it back with him to the desk and sat down.

He opened the book carefully, afraid that it would start to crumble with how old it is, but to his surprise it felt like the book was just written. The pages were crisp and they turned easily. Perhaps there was something to this "magic" that the letter talked about. He turned to the title page, then he noticed that the book wasn't written by a human at all. It was written by Lore Keeper Silvar, First of the Order of the Swan, of the High Elven Kingdom of Eldenmare.

"As if, Elves are just myth!" Renner said to himself. He didn't believe any of this at all. It didn't conform with anything he had ever been taught. He turned the first page of the book. It took him only a minute before he threw the book across the room!

"Childish fantasies made by a fanciful lad who had his head in the clouds!" He thundered angrily as he paced around the room. "Delusions of a fool who can't face reality! I bet there is some way out of this accursed place!"

Renner spent some time searching around the library and he did find a door on the third floor, he grew excited. Finally! A way out of this place. He opened the door and was pleased to find himself in a hallway. The floor was marbled with an exquisite stone he had never seen before. He felt unfit to walk upon the floor, it seemed as if it was made for royalty with the way it gleamed in the torchlight. He started to walk down the hallway as torches magically lit up to guide his way. Upon the walls were carved colorful reliefs of different scenes. One of the reliefs was of many different glowing people with different shapes going to war against each other. It was a bloody scene filled with violence, he felt like everyone in the relief was fighting for something. Looking at the relief gave him a sense of blood thirst and made him feel like smashing something. He tore his eyes away, he shouldn't look at them, they were cursed as well.

He roamed the hall looking at the floor, he felt like he had been walking for hours. Eventually he came across another door, which made him excited again. Perhaps it was the door he was looking for! He opened it and was outraged, frustration could be seen in his eyes as he looked upon the first floor of the library!

"Confound it all! I don't believe I can't find a way out, magic doesn't exist!" Renner huffed as he slammed the door shut and walked back down the hallway, the same way he came. Yet what seems like hours later the next door he opened was into the library! Tears of frustration flowed from his eyes as he sank to the floor.

"All I wanted was a way out, now even a place to lay my head would do." He bemoaned to the air. Yet no sooner had he said those words than the scenery in the door changed. It became a grand bedchamber fit for a king. His eyes widened as he walked inside. Everything was made of exquisitely carved white wood. The likes of which he had never seen before. He touched the bedding and was surprised to find that it felt even better than silk, it was light and airy, cool to the touch. Even a sheet made of the finest spider silk wouldn't compare! There was a dresser in one corner of the room carved of the same wood and shaped like a wave, but inlaid with gold on the edges and the handles. It was a masterpiece! He opened the drawers and found the same exact outfits in each drawer, but they were much finer than he was wearing. He tried to take one out, but found that his dirt encrusted hand couldn't even lay one finger on the clothes. Then he noticed a washing tub in the corner of the room.

He walked over to it and noticed that it was made of a strange kind of bronze and there was clear water in it. He touched the water and quickly snatched his hand back. It was hot! How could this be? Water would naturally cool over time! Intrigued he examined the tub from top to bottom and couldn't really place how it stayed heated. Perhaps it had to do with the materials it was made of. He touched the outside of the tub, it was cold to the touch. Then he touched the inside of the tub, ouch! It was the same temperature as the water, what a marvel!

"This is something I could wrap my head around at least! I'm no blacksmith, but at least there's no magic involved with this tub! Just unknown metals!" He arrogantly remarked. "He quickly stripped his dirty and torn clothes before climbing into the tub.

"Ah! Why is it so cold now!" He screamed, the water was colder than ice now. He then shouted at the air, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please make it warm again!" As if the air heard his plea, the water gradually warmed up until a few minutes later it was at a comfortably warm temperature. He sighed in pleasure. "Magic or not, this temperature is so perfect."

In the warm embrace of the tub, his exhaustion caught up with him and he dozed off. Sometime later he awoke in one of those shiny robes from the drawer underneath the covers of the bed. They were comfortably heavy and felt pleasant against his skin. Perhaps he could get used to this life of luxury, but he still wasn't willing to believe in magic, no one has practiced in in hundreds of years anyways due to the heavy persecution that wizards and sorceresses receive. In the empire, any one who practices magic gets burned at the stake, or tired to a rock and drowned, and any other torturous execution they can come up with.

Renner slowly got up off the bed, he wasn't hungry which is strange. Would not one be hungry after sleeping awhile? Wait, how long did he sleep for anyways? The letter mentioned that he wouldn't hunger or thirst, nor would time affect him, but it wasn't literal was it? Maybe he should go back to the library and see if there was any knowledge of the vault he was in. He stood in front of the door and loudly announced, "I would like to go to the library please."

Sure enough when he opened the door he found the library in front of himself. It was convenient for sure, but he still didn't like it. Magic was heresy, it could have him executed. He walked into the library and tried to search the shelves, he gave up his fruitless attempt and decided to see if he could ask for the book. "Would you kindly pass me a book on the history of this place?"

Sure enough, a book flew to the desk he sat at yesterday, wait, could it even be called yesterday, or was it still today? "Time really has no meaning in this place without windows," Renner murmured to himself. Suddenly there were windows to the outside in the library and sunlight filtered into the room, lighting up the entire library as the torches put themselves out.

"Well, I'll be." Renner marveled to himself, "It seems that this place would conform to my thoughts to make it more comfortable for me. A prison is still a prison, comfortable though it may be."

He of course, tried to climb through the window, to no avail. He tried all sorts of ways to climb through it, as the sunlight in the window slowly dwindled. He was about to punch the window to see if it would shatter when a voice squeaked behind him.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Renner turned around, screamed at what he saw, and then he ungraciously fainted, crumbling to the floor as if he was a puppet whose strings were just cut.

"Oops, maybe I shouldn't have done that. Oh well, he'll wake up soon I suppose. Humans, so easily terrified these days."