By, Eli DiPaolo
The tall elf stood facing a large stained glass window. It depicted a forest containing a multitude of creatures hiding in the shadows, both chilling and beautiful. Some grinned with a maniacal pleasure behind their evil eyes, and some peered out from behind leaves with sharp teeth, and very few appeared to move across the forest scene very slowly, as if they were a pebble moving through water. Several students moved through the room around him, never coming too close to him. Not out of fear, but out of respect. The sound of quills scratching quickly and pages flipping filled the air. Some students laughed and chattered about the strange things their professors had said, all of them knowing that any information could be found on one of the thousands of shelves all across the campus. The elf turned and looked at the tall shelves containing multitudes of knowledge. This was the Old Library, and it contained the knowledge of centuries. Knowledge hidden from the world until recently. Some think it should still be hidden. He had done this many times, following the same footsteps he had always taken, to a shelf far out of the way. On this shelf sat a dark book bound in leather darker than a moonless night. The elf had tried to discern the origins of the book, but had found nothing. He moved to a desk in front of him and sat down with the evil book. He read in silence though he had already memorized the book. He was reading it to be sure.
“Professor,” a younger elf called from the main study room. A library assistant, not anybody of importance. “Professor, I have been asked to remind you the library is being closed for the evening, but you may return when the sun rises next morning.” The library was indeed getting darker, the large sun was setting over the ocean and shining through the multicolored glass, painting the library in thousands of colors. Yet Myrin stood in a circle of pure light, shining through the only uncovered part of the window, a great sea creature’s mouth. The assistant rushed out of the great library, passing the knowledge that could grant him exactly what he wished, but he wouldn’t notice it. That was how this old library worked, changing its own shelves at night and hiding books away. Not many find what they are looking for in here. A pity, not every creature appreciates knowledge as much as Myrin.
Myrin said nothing, only picked up his flute and staff and left the room. He walked through the tall hallways of the Sanctuary, passing theaters and libraries. Nowhere in the world is so much knowledge kept in a single place and that was beautiful. The Sanctuary had been established as a hidden place to protect the elves from the terrible creatures of stupidity that roamed this dark world. Myrin walked out of the main school and onto the great lawn. A few students and professors lingered, having had long days full of education and knowledge gathering. Myrin observed their long moseying routes, they had so much knowledge, yet none of them knew the secrets he did. Well, most of them didn’t.
He walked to a tall building with a rounded building and an open roof. Myrin did not enjoy this building, for it was a dangerous place and he did not know all that it contained. He looked at the ornately carved wooden doors before him. They depicted a sun and a moon with an eye between them.
The eye outshone the sun and moon and contained a map of the world within its pupil. It seemed to watch and know Myrin, know him in a way he had never been known to anyone. It knew him and it feared him, for it saw a great darkness. An impenetrable darkness that blanketed his future. The eye looked out upon the world and saw the darkness scattered among many. We looked and though the moon shown in the bright night, we saw only darkness. We pitied them.
Many enter here looking for answers and leave broken and afraid, their spirits shattered. He opened the door to a large room, absolutely stunning during the day, with tall pillars and an elaborate fountain, but it was dark and foreboding at night. This was the astronomy tower. Open to the public, but under strict control. Myrin ascended the multitude of stairs, in no rush, for what he had to say was not something he wanted to hear.
As he reached the top of the stairs, the world opened up around him. Once the Sanctuary was opened as a place of learning to more than elves, this room had been a destination. For more reasons than one. Stars lit up the sky like candles in a dark room. They shone on the ground below, exposing the secrets only those who knew what to look for could find. Myrin knew what to look for, as did all those up in this lofty tower. Standing in the center of the room stood an old elf. He was lecturing his students about how the stars can be a signal of coming trouble, and they were that night. Though not Myrin’s specialty, he could see it too. If he looked closely he could see a redness in the stars, like blood. He knew most of the students in the room could not detect this subtle change at all. A few could, though none of their sight compared to that of Khemed, the old professor.
Known as the last true diviner, Khemed was intimidating. He knew all that was to come, and he tried to find others that could aid him in his quest for the logical solution to the problems coming. Myrin knew Khemed was what he needed on his quest, so he walked to the edge of the room and watched Khemed teach. It was a wondrous knowledge and Myrin respected him.
“Students,” Khemed said suddenly. “Please take some time to ponder the meaning of the placements of the stars on this night, return tomorrow with three pages on the messages you find there.” Khemed crossed the room to Myrin. “Is it finally time?”
“I am afraid so,” replied Myrin.
“Then we must depart with haste, for our time is short and we must collect the others.” The old man said with a passion in his eyes.
“They do not know their destiny, we must convince them our cause is just.”
“They will not be convinced, we must keep it from them.”
Myrin was not hesitant about lying, he had done it many times previously in order to gain the knowledge he desired. “Gather what you need, but you must be able to carry all of it, as we are leaving through the wilds on foot.”
“The wilds!” Cried Kehmed, “I knew this was dangerous, but I didn’t think we’d be hiking through the wilds! Why don’t we take a boat?”
“If we use a boat, people will see us leave, they will know that we have begun our journey,” Myrin replied in a sharp tone.
“Fine,” Kehmed said after a long silence “Fine, we will depart tonight through the wilds and will head north from there. Eventually we will come across those we need to find.”
“Gather your things old friends, I have already found one of the ones we are searching for, we must arrive at the Mountains of the Dwarves and Gnomes by sundown in two days.”
Kehmed and Myrin packed lightly and met in front of the massive forest known as “the wilds”. They did not intend to return, under Myrin’s long robe, the dark book sat in a bag, continuing on its infinite campaign of terror.