School ate my life
They walked on, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves echoing against the stone walls as Jonu led it through the darkness.
But after a time Keta realized that Rokedet had been right - they were coming to an end, or at least it seemed to be getting lighter. Keta could almost see her fingers running along the cold walls of the cave to guide her way.
A few beats later Dillany exclaimed, “Hey! I can see! As if there’s anything to look at,” she added wryly.
In the growing light Keta saw grey stone, occasionally flecked with reds, blues, or silver, curving around the passage. The source of the light itself, however, was yet to be seen as the passage meandered along its way, curving before the light was revealed.
“It’s not flickering,” Keta murmured. “So it can’t be torches.”
“It could be craft-lights, though,” said Dillany.
“True…” sighed Keta. “But the only way to find out is to get there.”
They quickened their pace, anticipation warring with uncertainty; but somehow uncertainty couldn’t manage to gain a foothold. There was something about the cave that felt comforting, and the colors on the walls exuded safety as they shone in the growing light.
Staring at the walls, Keta realized that the colors were spreading, no longer mere flecks in the grey they blossomed into swirls and ripples, rivers of rainbow. Even further, the light seemed to be almost coming from the colors themselves.
They turned the last bend, and froze.
In front of them was a cavern glowing with light twined through with colors seeming pulled from the very essence of life. Blues the pale azure of a summer sky, or the deep sapphire of a stormy ocean, mixed with the rich color of red wine and the fresh green of new grass. Oranges, purples, yellows, and browns spilled through the blues, reds, and greens filling the cavern and shining off the walls.
The colors flowing along the walls of the passage had changed as well. Instead of forming part of the grey stone or seeming to be painted on top, they grew out from the walls, jewels the likes of which none of the friends had seen before. These jewels patterned the walls of the cavern, shining with the colorful light.
Dillany was the first to break from her shock. She scrambled off the horse, exclaiming, “It’s a kanerekh! A place of power!”
The others followed more slowly, gazing at the walls in awe. Even the floor was colored, although it gave off no light, and no gems
“It feels almost like the crown,” Keta whispered. She headed towards the only obstruction in the cave, a short pedestal of stone growing out of the floor. Unlike the walls and floor, it was plain grey stone with no swirls or flecks of color spreading across the surface.
Keta knelt down in front of it, laying her hands on the flat top surface, now even with her chest.
“This must be where the crown is formed,” she murmured, “from the maered inherent in the land. Oh!” She glanced up at the walls and the rainbows streaming through the cavern. “And these are the colors of mage-craft! Because magic and maered are always connected, and one always has bits of the other, the only difference being whether we can touch it. And maered comes from the land,” she repeated, running her hands lovingly over the stone surface. She wanted to call out to her friends to tell them her discovery about the colors, but her head seemed too heavy to lift. And she didn’t really feel like talking. All she wanted to do was lay her head down on the cool stone and let the living colors dance through her mind.
As the world faded to black she heard someone screech “Keta!” and then everything dissolved.
But after a time Keta realized that Rokedet had been right - they were coming to an end, or at least it seemed to be getting lighter. Keta could almost see her fingers running along the cold walls of the cave to guide her way.
A few beats later Dillany exclaimed, “Hey! I can see! As if there’s anything to look at,” she added wryly.
In the growing light Keta saw grey stone, occasionally flecked with reds, blues, or silver, curving around the passage. The source of the light itself, however, was yet to be seen as the passage meandered along its way, curving before the light was revealed.
“It’s not flickering,” Keta murmured. “So it can’t be torches.”
“It could be craft-lights, though,” said Dillany.
“True…” sighed Keta. “But the only way to find out is to get there.”
They quickened their pace, anticipation warring with uncertainty; but somehow uncertainty couldn’t manage to gain a foothold. There was something about the cave that felt comforting, and the colors on the walls exuded safety as they shone in the growing light.
Staring at the walls, Keta realized that the colors were spreading, no longer mere flecks in the grey they blossomed into swirls and ripples, rivers of rainbow. Even further, the light seemed to be almost coming from the colors themselves.
They turned the last bend, and froze.
In front of them was a cavern glowing with light twined through with colors seeming pulled from the very essence of life. Blues the pale azure of a summer sky, or the deep sapphire of a stormy ocean, mixed with the rich color of red wine and the fresh green of new grass. Oranges, purples, yellows, and browns spilled through the blues, reds, and greens filling the cavern and shining off the walls.
The colors flowing along the walls of the passage had changed as well. Instead of forming part of the grey stone or seeming to be painted on top, they grew out from the walls, jewels the likes of which none of the friends had seen before. These jewels patterned the walls of the cavern, shining with the colorful light.
Dillany was the first to break from her shock. She scrambled off the horse, exclaiming, “It’s a kanerekh! A place of power!”
The others followed more slowly, gazing at the walls in awe. Even the floor was colored, although it gave off no light, and no gems
“It feels almost like the crown,” Keta whispered. She headed towards the only obstruction in the cave, a short pedestal of stone growing out of the floor. Unlike the walls and floor, it was plain grey stone with no swirls or flecks of color spreading across the surface.
Keta knelt down in front of it, laying her hands on the flat top surface, now even with her chest.
“This must be where the crown is formed,” she murmured, “from the maered inherent in the land. Oh!” She glanced up at the walls and the rainbows streaming through the cavern. “And these are the colors of mage-craft! Because magic and maered are always connected, and one always has bits of the other, the only difference being whether we can touch it. And maered comes from the land,” she repeated, running her hands lovingly over the stone surface. She wanted to call out to her friends to tell them her discovery about the colors, but her head seemed too heavy to lift. And she didn’t really feel like talking. All she wanted to do was lay her head down on the cool stone and let the living colors dance through her mind.
As the world faded to black she heard someone screech “Keta!” and then everything dissolved.