1 Prologue: Lost

I can't believe it, I'm lost! Whoever originally thought of the idea of taking an extended backpacking trip across South America after graduating from college should never have been born.

I've been trudging through this damn rain forest for the past week. My trip was going great and would have been over in another two weeks if I hadn't dropped my GPS/Sat phone into the water. This wouldn't have been an issue if I had not dropped it directly onto an electric eel. To this day I still don't know which one of us was more scared at that moment, but the eel did get the last laugh. The roughly 600 volts of electricity the eel produced completely fried my GPS. And before you try and tell me about how I am an idiot for not bringing a traditional map, well I did in fact bring more than one...The only problem was I am not the best with a map and a compass. Which quickly led to my current situation.

Growing up we never really had time to go out camping. I would go out hiking every once in a while, during my college days, but those trails were pretty clearly marked. I did graduate with a bachelor's degree in biology, so I knew what could kill me out here. I also knew what could be eaten and what could not. I wasn't helpless out here, I just didn't know where I was.

After packing up my camp on my eighth day of being lost, I continued my slow and stumbling trek through the thick forest. It was around mid morning when I tripped over a vine and opened up a gash on my calf just above my boot. Cursing out loud at my idiocy I kept going until I got to a spot I could stop and clean the wound. Luckily the wound wasn't too deep, I had a full medical bag with me but I would still be risking a deadly infection if I can't find civilization soon. After cleaning the wound and bandaging it as best as I could, I continued on.

It was two hours before dark and I was looking for a safe spot to setup camp when I spotted a stone structure 200 yards to my left through the trees and underbrush. Making my way over to it, it looked like an old stone temple. The jungle had reclaimed all the area surrounding the temple but, the temple itself, still seemed to be in one piece. It was roughly 20 feet high, 40 feet wide, and walking to the side of it, 60 feet long. I made a complete circuit around the temple not seeing any other buildings or ruins around it. It looked like no one had been here in a very long time. The odd thing was the temples walls where just blank stone, a few vines grew up it, but the stone itself was undamaged. Also, there were no windows and only one entrance way with steps leading down into the temple.

I stopped and listened but couldn't hear any sounds, the jungle was eerily quiet. I carefully looked at the steps leading down into the temple and pulled out my flashlight. They had dust and plant debris strewn across the steps. I didn't see anything that showed anyone, or anything had been down these steps in many years. I clenched the flashlight tighter in my fist and slowly descended the steps. My stress and excitement level increasing with each step taken. This could be a lost temple, unknown to man for who knows how long! I felt like I was playing one of my old video games, exploring lost tombs and temples. Luckily I don't have to fight any Nazi's while exploring this temple. But maybe I could find some lost treasure, would surely help me pay off my student loans and help my mom. All these thoughts and more kept racing through my head as I finally made it to the bottom of the steps. When I was finally able to see what was inside the temple itself my jaw and my flashlight fell at the same time.

There was only one room inside the temple. It was just bright enough inside to see everything clearly as if we were outside in a clearing. I couldn't tell where the light was coming from, the stairs had been really dark. And outside in the forest wasn't bright either. Oddly it wasn't glaring but was actually comforting to my eyes in a way. But what really shocked me was what sat in the center of the giant room. On a raised central stone platform was a large 20 foot wide and 40 foot tall, intricately carved white archway. In front of the archway was a black pedestal, it stood roughly 4 feet high and was about 5 feet in front of the archway itself.

All manner of creatures and humanoids where carved into the archway, both real and fantasy type creatures. There were dragons both western and eastern, one of my close friends for the past 8 years had given many a lecture about the mythical beasts known as dragons, elves, humans, what appeared to be orcs, and elves. There where also horrors on the arch that would make H.P. Lovecraft have nightmares. It looked like an archway ripped out of the latest VRMMORPG and thrown into in the middle of the Amazon rain forest. I should know, I played plenty of them in my lifetime. When the shock wore off enough for me to be able to walk again, I walked up to the pedestal and looked at what was on top of it.

Strangely it appeared like black marble with white veins running through it, the veins even appeared to be glowing. On top of the pedestal was the imprint of a right hand. Surrounding the hand was hundreds of what I can only describe as glowing white glyphs. I hesitantly reached out a finger and poked one of the symbols before jerking my hand back in fear. If I could go back I would slap myself for being an such a moron for poking an unknown active glyph with your finger. But luckily for me it didn't do anything. It was cool to the touch and didn't react to my touch. Another odd detail kind of set me on edge, there was no dust or plants or any kind of debris in the temple itself. Taking a closer look at the hand print, it looked extremely realistic. I could see the swirls and lines of the skin of the hand. It was so detailed I unthinkingly reached out and placed my hand inside the imprint.

I felt six pricks to my hand, one on each finger and one to the center of my palm. I tried to pull my hand away and scream but my hand was stuck to the pedestal. And my voice failed me. At that instant the center of the archway came alive with a black portal. The portal swirled with purple and blue lights throughout the inky blackness. At the same time, I heard a voice,

<Oath Given, and Oath Accepted>

And before I could scream, cry, or question my sanity I lost consciousness.