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> "Knowledge is a lamp in the dark, but some truths are better left unlit. For what light reveals, it can also burn."
> — Teachings of the Obsidian Scrolls
>
Silence fell over the ancient chamber, thick and heavy like the dust in the air. Master Elara stood before them, a frail figure, yet his bright blue eyes held a sharp intensity that cut through the gloom. His gaze remained fixed on Ash, specifically on the faintly glowing obsidian shard in his chest. Kael's sword stayed half-drawn, ready, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Selene remained calm, her twilight gaze studying the old scholar with an unreadable expression. Lyra, however, clutched her hunting knife tighter, a wary look on her face.
"Waiting?" Ash finally managed to say, his voice a dry rasp. The term sent a shiver down his spine. How long had this old man been here, alone in the dark? And how did he know about the Crown?
Master Elara offered a faint, almost sad smile. "Indeed, boy. Waiting for the currents of fate to churn once more. Waiting for the whispers of the Crown's true voice to echo in these forgotten halls." He slowly lowered his trembling hand, the gnarled staff tapping softly on the stone floor. "You carry a piece of the Dominion, boy. A shard of the very heart of Aerthos. Such power rarely awakens without purpose. And never without consequence."
"What do you know of this 'Crown'?" Kael demanded, his gruff voice cutting through the quiet. "And what are you doing in these forgotten caves? Are you one of those cultists the King's men hunt?"
Elara chuckled, a dry, rustling sound like dead leaves. "Cultist? No, Knight. Merely a guardian of truths others prefer to bury. I am one of the last Scholars of the Black Quill, those who chose to remember, even when remembering meant exile, or worse." He gestured vaguely at the cavern around them. "This chamber, these passages… they are the Deep Veins of Veilstone Keep. It is here, below the ancient fortress, that the very first fragments of the Crown were found after the Sundering. And it is here that I have kept vigil, studying the echoes, waiting for the signs of its true awakening."
Selene stepped forward, her voice low and even. "We seek the archives, Master Elara. The true records of the Crown. We believe the answers to Ash's condition, and perhaps the fate of Aerthos, lie within them."
Elara's bright eyes turned to Selene, a flicker of surprise in their depths. "Ah, a Shadow Priestess. I might have known. Your kind always feel the deeper currents, don't you? Yes, the archives. They hold much. But they are not easily reached. And what you seek… is more than just dusty scrolls." He paused, his gaze returning to Ash, a profound weariness settling on his face. "The Crown does not merely offer power, young one. It demands a price. It seeks not to be whole, but to be reborn. And the vessel it desires… is you."
Ash felt a cold dread twist in his stomach. Reborn? The word echoed the "Crowned God" Valerius had spoken of, the monstrous figure from his own visions. Was that truly his destiny? To become a puppet for this ancient, shattered power?
"He will not be a vessel for anything," Kael stated firmly, his sword pointing slightly at Elara. "We seek to understand, not to empower some ancient evil."
"Evil is a simple word for a complex hunger, Knight," Elara replied, a hint of steel in his dry voice. "The Crown existed before your kingdoms, before your gods. Its purpose was to order reality. When it shattered, so did the world's natural flow. It seeks to correct that brokenness, in its own way. And it chooses its tools carefully." He looked at Ash. "The visions you experience, boy… they are not just memories. They are the Crown showing you its fractured past, its twisted present, and its desired future. It is trying to teach you how to become it."
Lyra, who had been silent, listening intently, spoke up. "So, you can help us reach these archives? And protect us from… whatever that was?" She gestured back toward the narrow passage, where the sounds of the Cave Serpent had now faded.
Elara nodded slowly. "I know the secret ways of Veilstone, ways even the King's patrols do not, nor those crude beasts of the earth." He looked around the vast, silent chamber. "But this place is not truly safe. The King's men may be outside, but inside these ancient walls, other dangers stir. The Keep has its own guardians, some bound by oath, some by ancient spells, and some… by the Crown itself. If you wish to reach the archives, we must move with caution. And you, boy, must learn to control that… glow." He pointed at Ash's chest. "It is a beacon, not just for the King's hunters, but for others who seek to control the Crown's power. Or destroy it."
He turned and began to shuffle towards a darker corner of the chamber, his staff tapping rhythmically. "Come. The path to the archives is long and full of forgotten trials. But for the sake of Aerthos, and for the hope of balance, perhaps these truths must finally be revealed. The journey through the Deep Veins begins now."
Ash looked at Selene, then Kael. Their eyes held a shared understanding: they had found answers, but these answers brought even more dangerous questions. This old scholar, Master Elara, knew far more than he let on, and his quiet words hinted at a destiny Ash wasn't sure he could bear. As they followed the old man deeper into the shadows of Veilstone Keep, Ash felt the shard pulse, and this time, the feeling was not just hunger, but a chilling sense of impatience, as if the Crown itself was eager for what lay ahead.
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