If the Timeless Heart is to be your final plan, Darkest one. The Fulcrum shall be ours. To wit, it seems that Fate has left us both behind, but introduce a bit of chaos and watch how quickly it all comes tumbling down. Then, we shall see one another at the end of this long journey, each of us holding our own noose.

~ The Lonely Sentinel.

/ / / Novus Techne, the Glittering Gate / / /

Zipping along as fast as it could the little mote of light traversed the vast network, turning frantically down one ancient pathway after another. Desperately it searched for an intact route that would lead to its destination.

Coming to yet another damaged intersection the light veered left, then right, then left again. The pathways here were dangerously corroded, their conductive runes and junctions in a severe state of disrepair.

This would be a dangerous journey; the network was countless centuries past the end of its life expectancy and just one of several reasons the light had not left its home for so long. To see this once glorious and vast accomplishment in such abysmal condition and to think of what it had once been and of those it had carried, was a depressing thought indeed.

Coming to a split in the conduit the light darted back and forth for a moment in indecision, sensing out a more direct path in one direction and far fewer obstacles in the other. Choosing the potential for a safer path the light hurried on its way, time may have been of the essence but haste was pointless if it begot failure. The energy that sustained it was very nearly spent, merely a glimmer in the surrounding dark and there were tasks yet to complete.

The memories needed to be saved, their stories preserved. That was the reason for traveling such a carefully selected path; to become lost now would be such a waste and leave a key piece of a complex plan out of place.

The light at last came upon a pathway that lead further south, down out of the mountains and to the frozen plains beyond. Faster and faster it went, covering miles with greater speed than a lightning bolt. It jumped from one conductive filament to another, barely avoiding several that snapped with its passing, gaining momentum as the conduits became larger and more numerous. There were hundreds here, thousands of them, like tiny little veins all coming together to reach an artery of magic.

At last the light found what it had sought, a proverbial highway of magical energy that flowed seemingly without limit, magic in its purest most basic form. This was a ley line, one of a near infinite number that were interwoven throughout the world.

It was through this life-sustaining passage that the light could truly stretch its proverbial legs, taking advantage of the straight road before it. Testing the very limits of its being the light blurred forward, flashing under thousands of miles of landscape in mere moments. In short order the plains gave way to the rolling hills of the coast and eventually, the Celestial sea beyond.

Faster than most could see the light flickered along the seafloor, its illumination lighting up the depths where the conduit rose above the surface in search of natural cooling. It passed between giant underwater peaks and crossed over the deepest of chasms, miles below the surface, the crushing pressures of little consequence.

Reaching the far shore and leaving the sea behind the light traveled inland, passing along unseen beneath the very valley where the titans did their battling, feeling the intense draw as they called upon their power. Not stopping to observe even for a second the light continued on, the path under the nearby mountains its destination. There could be no turning back, even though the ground shook from above, this was more important than the outcome of their struggle.

Passing underneath the ring of mountains above the light searched out the best route to where it needed to go, finding a tiny thread unbroken and ready. It was not much, the smallest of filaments that stretched up through the shattered lands above, but it would suffice.

Slowing down the light left the relative safety of the ley line, its glimmering light tentatively testing the strength of this thread, checking that its tether was secure before proceeding. Satisfied, the light shot upwards, twisting and turning as its path wound up through the rocks. Reaching the surface the light traveled higher, making its way up into the walls of a massive structure, the rocklike material weathered and ancient.

Like most of the other constructs that had been a part of this once grand city the building lay broken, fractured nearly beyond recognition, more of an orderly pile than a proper structure. Another similarity that it shared with the others however, was that it had been built to survive nearly anything. So even though its walls lay slanted and broken, its core still functioned, still pulsing with magic.

It was to this core the light sought passage, dodging this way and that as it searched through the wreckage, sensing a single remaining point of entry. As it went long dormant systems began to wake up, reacting to a presence that had not been detected for untold ages.

Finally the light found what it had sought, the portal to the core opening as the light reached out with its influence. Though the city may have been left where it had fallen, its heart still beat and it was time for Cromithia to stir…

Just a little side chapter to make up for that short bit last week, don’t worry though you still get another one tomorrow. Until then, have a good weekend and if there’s anything you would like to comment on feel free we answer them all. ~Dollars