Meadow Whisp's Arc

Chapter 9 of 10

Meadow closed the book. The torn pages told him no more. His foot ached less now, but the word CONFIDENTIAL still burned in his mind. He sat alone in the old villager house, its gray walls bowing with age. One shutter hung loose. Dust floated in the last light through a cracked window. The lizard slept in its basket, its burned scales dim. He decided to search for clues the book had hidden. He limped from room to room. He checked under the table where he had read. He opened a chest by the cold hearth and found only folded maps, the same cloth as the old man's robe. He ran his hands along the walls. He pried at loose boards. Nothing new. The house kept its secrets as tightly as the torn pages. The light faded fast. Shadows swallowed the corners. Meadow could barely see his own hands. He knew the tree creature moved fast at night, and the thought chilled him. But his eyes were heavy, and his thoughts were tangled. Trees that walked. A power inside him, torn out of the book. He needed rest to make sense of it all. "Sleep helps," he told the lizard. He lay on the thin cot and pulled a blanket over his broken foot. His mind spun, then slowed. He slept. He woke to warmth and light. A bird stood at the foot of the cot. It was made of fire. Orange flames shaped its wings and curling tail. Its feathers crackled like a small hearth, yet nothing around it burned. A pheasant, but alive with flame. Meadow sat up fast, hand reaching for his sword. "No need for that," the bird said. Its voice popped like sparks. "The old man sent me. It is my job to watch Aldric Ashe." Meadow lowered his hand. "Aldric? He left days ago." "He is far from here now," the bird said. "I check on him. Then I come back and report to you. That is the task I was given." It tilted its burning head. "He is alive. He is working. You will know what he learns." Before Meadow could ask more, the bird spread its flaming wings and vanished through the cracked window. The room went dark again. But Meadow was not afraid now. He had a messenger. A link to the one man who believed him. Far away, Aldric Ashe knelt among tall stone pillars. Snow crusted their carved faces. Weathered symbols covered every slab, blue and gold and red. He brushed frost from one pillar and traced a mark with his thumb. It matched a symbol from his book. He pulled out a scrap of paper and copied it, hands shaking in the cold. The ancient camp held the rest of the answer. Aldric rose, stared at the great stone arch, and began to read the oldest stone of all. Aldric hmm perhaps this, said aldric, eh no thats not it, oh whats this? Ah yes no nevermind, ah perhaps, yes thats it, eh no, Aha finally here we are if i view the relic on the stone, then, aldric ran over to a pillar he held one of the scales of the Komoto Dragon, which he had taken. he crushed it in his hand, flaming embers came from it, then he sprinkled it around at each pillar, each pillar glowed a different color, Gold Silver Maroon and finally White, each stone pillar had a different relic and each glowed for a special reason, finally he walked to the middle, and he put down blood that he harvested from Meadows wound, the blood glowed white and all the pillars erupted in magical colors then the heavens came down, the northern lights above touched the earth and all spirit animals deers bears wolfs antelopes squirrel lions tigers all danced together as spirits then a lion spoke, Have you come to learn or Meadows Destiny? Of he whos blood glows white as the moon of he who had riddles in his mind and of he who has lost many memories in his life forbidden and lost to time. Of he who gave his life to prevent hurting others due to his unique Universal Power. Aldric spoke yes it is him. Aldric then say the Pheasant, He then gave instructions to tell meadow about everything Except what the spirit lion had spoke of, he must not learn the truth not yet he isnt ready. This is very important shield this truth from him my friend. Then the Lion spirit came down and gave a single flower the flower of life and eccense of eternity to Aldric, then he said his farewells then aldric said to the pheasant, You can give meadow some hints but speak in riddles complex riddles that are mysterious and beautiful.