Chapter VII: Adelia

Blackheart stood staring out into the dark recesses of the rocky lands of Azurat. The dark sun had risen into the sky, casting a pale white light on everything, making the world look like it was covered in a light dusting of snow. He leaned against the rough trunk of one of the few small trees that had sprung from the oasis, staring out towards the dark horizon. He looked back through the vegetation towards the crackling fire where Adelia slumbered silently. Kiki, too, was deep in sleep, though her snorting could be heard even from where Blackheart stood. He smiled uneasily. All of this was right, he knew he couldn’t have made the wrong decision in taking her with him. He had never been steered wrong before and why would it start now? Yet, there was something not right about the young Seph that he seemed to be stuck with. He wandered back to the fire, not feeling completely in control of things. For some reason, time’s stream seemed to be ebbing and rushing rather than flowing in a continuous pace. He laid down slowly, feeling almost sick from the sudden strange movements of time. “Perhaps some sleep will help me out and my dreams will sort things out,” Blackheart whispered closing his eyes. He was soon asleep.

A few steps away, Adelia was already dreaming……

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~~The crashing of Palamare’s* hooves~~

“What an honor,” they had said. “To be selected at such a young age. To decline the offer would be foolish and insulting.” They had beamed and bragged for the few weeks before, and then they were no longer a part of her.

~~Ten….no twenty…crashing closer~~

The halls were tiled with white-marble, great pillars on each side of every oak door. Room after room of hundreds of books lined the hallways, and there were young and old inside, reading frantically. “Each room contains a certain theme for the tomes housed within,” it was explained. “You will study in here,” they had said. The room was like all the others: an expansive room made of marble tile, with pillars decoratively placed throughout the room. Stairways led up and down the rows upon rows of books. Only two were sitting in this room reading, one a very old man who seemed on the cusp of death and the other an elf reading through a small book quite rapidly. “You will have no trouble,” they had said.

~~Is there danger in them? There is urgency~~

“What am I studying?” She had asked, half fearful of the response.

“You are studying Time’s Stream,” they had said. “There are many secrets and powers to be discovered within this room.” They had guided her in and introduced her to the old man, an elder who had long forgotten his name due to the knowledge now spilling constantly out of his mind. “He has taxed his mind, he knows too much,” they had said. He smiled at her and patted her compassionately, a worn smile of pain and sorrow crossing his face. And she knew that this was not an honor, this was a burden.

~~They are curious…..and cautious…..and afraid~~

Across the way was another room, for the doors were always left open in case one had to get a breath of fresh air. The room was filled with many people, far more than the room she stood in with dread and anger. There was a man amongst them, a man of middle age, a man who caught her eye from the very beginning. His hair was a worn grey and his face seemed gnarled, like the rest of his body. Yet, there were his eyes. They sparkled a brilliant orange and despite his entire appearance, she knew he was not as old as he seemed. He was surrounded by various creatures of other races and distinctions, but there were no other humans in the entire room. He was special, like her…..

~~There is danger there, too. They will fight, they are ready~~

“Fantastic,” they had said as she sat at her table day in, day out. Rows of books had already been devoured, she knew all that they had to hold, but already she could feel the pain in her head. She could already feel the need to stop, but they had urged her on.

And then one day, she had stepped outside for rest, and wandered into the room across the way. “It is forbidden to read the books held within the other rooms,” they had said. She didn’t want to read them, she just wanted to talk to the man who continued to stare at her. He stared as the pages turned, his eyes crackling with the knowledge that spilled across them. He was reading without looking, he was reading without seeing, he was knowing something he had never been taught, had never seen. There was a power in him, it intrigued her.