gasped.
The assassin awoke suddenly, struggling for breath. His heart pounded rapidly. The meaning of the dream escaped him, and its participants, though familiar, were unknown to him. He slowly rose, gathering his thoughts and attempting to reach the Great Mother.
“Who is she?” he asked.
The Great Mother was silent; but, in his heart, Garret knew that she had heard him.
Chapter Five
The edge of the western plateau came into view by early evening. Farouk had made the journey quickly, having used his magic to quicken his pace and make small leaps within his field of view. Belo buzzed after him happily, curious at the condition of the landscape and the complete lack of any life upon it. The Druid had gotten accustomed to his presence, and he had to admit, he enjoyed his company.
Fully expecting the unexpected, Farouk made no attempts to slow his pace as he reached the cliffs. He knew the sea would not look as it should; there would be no blue surface, no foaming white surf, and no seagulls pecking crabs out of the sand. What he saw, however, was completely shocking.
The sea was gone.
A massive, unfathomably deep canyon was in its place, dropping off at the edge of the island’s shelf to the darkness below. As far as his eyes could see, the empty canyon stretched on; deep, deathly, and devoid of any semblance of Earth. It was as if he had reached the end of the world itself. Farouk could only look down in awe; he was speechless.
Where had the water gone? What had caused it to dry up?
He wondered if the sea was dry all the way to the sea bed, or if there were, by any chance, small pockets of muddy, salty sludge remaining in the deepest basins.
“Belo,” he said finally. The homunculus fluttered over to him.
“Fly out as far as you can,” the Druid said. “See if there is any water anywhere.”
Belo buzzed about in acknowledgement, then zipped away over the edge.
The Druid had noticed a ravine a hundred yards away that sloped down to a lagoon. The lagoon itself was dry, of course, and the surrounding slope was covered with the skeletal remains of once beautiful willow-like trees. But what caught his attention as he made his way over to it were the tops of white towers that poked up through the dried canopy. This was the first sign of civilization he had seen since his arrival.
Though he knew there would be no bustling city around the lagoon, perhaps the remains would give him some clue as to what had happened. He hoped that Belo would find some answers as well.
The tiny homunculus glided down into the canyon effortlessly. He followed the slope downward until it reached a sharp drop off. There, on the edge, he perched, gazing down into the frightening, dusty void. In the distance, a rumbling sound caught his attention. He dove off his perch, following the rumbling farther down into the dimness. The dust became thicker as he descended, threatening to choke him and obscure his vision completely.
Hovering at the top of the dust layer, Belo peered into the gloom. He could see nothing, but still heard and felt the rumbling below. It seemed to stretch in a horizontal line back to the distant shore. Hurriedly, he followed.
As he reached the shelf, he saw the source of the rumbling. A large fissure was slowly opening, its edges crumbling away and falling into the darkness below. Belo flew closer to the shore, seeing the skeletal trees sliding down into the empty sea with an endless amount of dust and rock. The rumbling of the Earth was claiming more of the former shoreline, and what remained was an eroded, stark cliff face.
Frightened, Belo turned around and started back to find his friend.
The white towers came into full view as Farouk crested the edge of the ravine. It was larger than he thought; large enough to hold a city the size of Morduin. Along the sloped sides, hundreds of ruined, yet beautiful buildings were nestled. They were all made of the same white stone, cracked and ruined, and
The assassin awoke suddenly, struggling for breath. His heart pounded rapidly. The meaning of the dream escaped him, and its participants, though familiar, were unknown to him. He slowly rose, gathering his thoughts and attempting to reach the Great Mother.
“Who is she?” he asked.
The Great Mother was silent; but, in his heart, Garret knew that she had heard him.
Chapter Five
The edge of the western plateau came into view by early evening. Farouk had made the journey quickly, having used his magic to quicken his pace and make small leaps within his field of view. Belo buzzed after him happily, curious at the condition of the landscape and the complete lack of any life upon it. The Druid had gotten accustomed to his presence, and he had to admit, he enjoyed his company.
Fully expecting the unexpected, Farouk made no attempts to slow his pace as he reached the cliffs. He knew the sea would not look as it should; there would be no blue surface, no foaming white surf, and no seagulls pecking crabs out of the sand. What he saw, however, was completely shocking.
The sea was gone.
A massive, unfathomably deep canyon was in its place, dropping off at the edge of the island’s shelf to the darkness below. As far as his eyes could see, the empty canyon stretched on; deep, deathly, and devoid of any semblance of Earth. It was as if he had reached the end of the world itself. Farouk could only look down in awe; he was speechless.
Where had the water gone? What had caused it to dry up?
He wondered if the sea was dry all the way to the sea bed, or if there were, by any chance, small pockets of muddy, salty sludge remaining in the deepest basins.
“Belo,” he said finally. The homunculus fluttered over to him.
“Fly out as far as you can,” the Druid said. “See if there is any water anywhere.”
Belo buzzed about in acknowledgement, then zipped away over the edge.
The Druid had noticed a ravine a hundred yards away that sloped down to a lagoon. The lagoon itself was dry, of course, and the surrounding slope was covered with the skeletal remains of once beautiful willow-like trees. But what caught his attention as he made his way over to it were the tops of white towers that poked up through the dried canopy. This was the first sign of civilization he had seen since his arrival.
Though he knew there would be no bustling city around the lagoon, perhaps the remains would give him some clue as to what had happened. He hoped that Belo would find some answers as well.
The tiny homunculus glided down into the canyon effortlessly. He followed the slope downward until it reached a sharp drop off. There, on the edge, he perched, gazing down into the frightening, dusty void. In the distance, a rumbling sound caught his attention. He dove off his perch, following the rumbling farther down into the dimness. The dust became thicker as he descended, threatening to choke him and obscure his vision completely.
Hovering at the top of the dust layer, Belo peered into the gloom. He could see nothing, but still heard and felt the rumbling below. It seemed to stretch in a horizontal line back to the distant shore. Hurriedly, he followed.
As he reached the shelf, he saw the source of the rumbling. A large fissure was slowly opening, its edges crumbling away and falling into the darkness below. Belo flew closer to the shore, seeing the skeletal trees sliding down into the empty sea with an endless amount of dust and rock. The rumbling of the Earth was claiming more of the former shoreline, and what remained was an eroded, stark cliff face.
Frightened, Belo turned around and started back to find his friend.
The white towers came into full view as Farouk crested the edge of the ravine. It was larger than he thought; large enough to hold a city the size of Morduin. Along the sloped sides, hundreds of ruined, yet beautiful buildings were nestled. They were all made of the same white stone, cracked and ruined, and
Similar Books
