Author's Note: Hi, thanks for taking the interest to read this. I just wanted to make a quick note that I use the name, Krivna, in this chapter. I pulled it out of my mind and if it has anything to do w/anything outside of this story, then I honestly had no idea or forgot I knew. And of course, the Scrolls of Binsars aren't real, but you already knew that. And please, don't be scared by the addition of more characters in this chapter, I promise that it all has a point. This story is far from over, so if it seems that if there are dropped plotlines or lines of thought, even within this chapter alone; I assure you that they haven't been dropped, just not time to fully address them again/yet. This is a much lighter chapter and hopefully much less confusing chapter than the ones that precede it. Thanks again, and as always, if there are any questions, concerns, nit picks, ect. about the direction of the story or what exactly is going on, feel free to email me. It should be in my profile. Enjoy.
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Paige snapped out of her confusion enough to collect her thoughts and entered the offices. She walked into the front lobby which had such a low ceiling even she had to duck. She turned her neck to see a man with jet black curls standing about 6 feet tall behind the front desk dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a faded green t-shirt. She rolled her eyes and he rolled his eyes right back at her. The exchange made her giggle, especially since she hadn't noticed him noticing her until that moment. The man made his way smoothly around the desk to properly greet Paige at the door.
"Whoa, feeling low today are we?" He had to sit down since he was not flexible enough to bend that far down. Paige sat down as well.
"What's the deal here? You were standing up over there just fine."
"Back there? Oh, yeah, that's because I'm feeling pretty good today. You on the other hand don't seem to be in the vicinity of happy."
"Well, no. I—"
He raised his hand to interject, "No, no. No need to explain, I have been informed of your situation, been expecting you."
"Wipe that smile off your face mister. I don't know you and this isn't funny. My sisters…"
"Calm down Lady Halliwell. I meant no harm by it. Look you need to stand up straight and I can help you find the information you need."
"Uh, hello, the ceiling?"
"Well, that is a problem isn't it?"
"It wasn't a problem for you when you were behind the desk. What gives mister?"
"I don't know. What gives? You tell me."
"Look I don't have time for this. Could you please take me to Exiptus' office? Thanks."
"Well, I would love to, but having a bit of trouble getting around here."
"Well, then we can just crawl over to the desk area and get this mess straightened up. Ok?"
"Sure, lead the way, Paige."
The two started to crawl toward the desk, but the closer they got the closer the ceiling seemed to get as well. Paige was about to speak, but her thoughts interrupted her mouth: Wait. This seems a lot like magic to me.
"No, it's not," offered the man.
"It's not what?"
"Magic. It's not magic. It is how magic exists. It is the doings of your mind. This place--"
"Whoa! Hold on a minute here buddy. You just read my mind, didn't you? That is terribly invasive."
"You don't seem shocked."
"Not much to be shocked about these days. Anyway, what you were saying doesn't make any sense. And by the way, I haven't caught your name."
The man stared at her for a bit. Once he collected his thoughts he began to speak, "My name is Ozzie. And no, what I said doesn't make much sense, does it? But that doesn't make it any less true. You can't say something's not possible just because you don't want to believe it is. And the truth…? The truth is just a string of words. So, I won't tell you the truth, I'll just tell you to look around and see what it is that you can't see, simply because you're not allowing yourself to see it."
As he spoke, Paige soaked in his every word. She had a terrible time making any sense out of them, but figured him wiser than she. Rather than questioning his logic, seeing as he offered no new information, she went ahead and said nothing. She did look around though. As she did this, she saw that the two of them were at least able to sit down on the floor, but the ceiling was still too low for them to stand up. Then she realized what Ozzie had been hinting at all along. She had to feel and know that she could find her way back to her sisters. At that moment, Paige felt a sudden burst of energy and she jumped to her feet. She looked around and saw an awesome display of knowledge surrounding her. There were shelves and shelves of books, new and old. There were ancient paintings and various wall hangings covering the surface of crimson walls. She wanted to read all of the books and explore all that the place had to offer.
"Seductive, isn't it? This here is Exiptus's office. There are other offices, but none as magnificent as this. She is the only Elder to build an office though. Most of them prefer to walk aimlessly or convene for meetings in their meeting place out there."
Paige was half-listening to Ozzie as her eyes continued to look about in wonderment. Then she said breathily half to herself and half to him, "Wow, this must be Heaven."
"Well, no, not quite. This is but a level, but not "The Heaven", not by a long shot. And boy, would I love to see the offices there. You see, Paige, the only way to get there is to earn it to accept all that there is to accept. You still have time left for you yet. Your journey is not yet ended. Just think of Elderland as the second line of defense. You and your sisters being the first line, of course."
She responded, hands on hips, "Well, all right then, mister, let's get to work then. I have sisters to save!"
"I'll leave you to your own devices then. Feel free to look around. I'll be at the desk in the lobby if you need anything."
"But wait, how do I get back to the lobby? I don't remember walking from there to here. And how do I search? There is so much here to look through."
"Things are what they are Paige, you can't change that. The Eyes can only see what is there; nothing more, and nothing less. And all things and shades exist, even if you can't see they're there." And at that, Ozzie disappeared, leaving no time for Paige to ask for clarification.
She decided not to think too much about what he had just said and made her way into the maze of shelves. She climbed ladders and staircases. She didn't know what it was she was looking for, exactly, but figured she'd know when she found it. And that's when it hit her. A tome for no apparent reason fell from on high and smacked her right on the forehead. She nearly lost hold of the ladder, but was able to maintain her grasp as she dizzily made her way down. Once she reached the bottom, there it was. The very thing she wanted, no, the very thing she needed. She lugged the book to a nearby table and sat down to read it.
It wasn't in English. Figures. Now, hmm. Think. Think. Think. Ah. Well, it's worth a shot. "This book is in English. I can read this book." At that, the book started translating itself. Cleaning the dust from the pages and reprinting in fresh ink. Obviously the English translation of the book was one that wasn't read as often as whatever language had been used last. Interesting. How is that not magic again? Once the new translation filled the first page, the witch began to read it silently to herself.
Before the Age of Man, Monsters walked the Earth. Not Monster of Fairy Tales and Folklore, but Monsters of Sin. For the word, 'Monster' is nothing. It is just that, a word.
And lacking a better one, in any language known by this Old Soul, or any language known by even the Monsters of Today, the word 'Monster' will have to suit. For the true name of such Great Beasts have since been erased by the Passage of Time and none live that ever saw one face to face. Once thought to be extinct, are now found in the closing of One's eyes. A green Towering Beast of Fire and Eyes protects what once roamed free, setting aflame those who dare to enter its Playground. Only then will it find Perfect Shelter in the Imperfect Vessel.
The end is near for all who fear the Darkness. Those who take Its side will know no limits. For the Supremacy of Night over the Weakness of the Day will eclipse all Light for the Protection of Destruction.
-The Scrolls of Binsars as Recorded by Krivna Before the Age of Man
"Whaddya got there?!!"
"Oh, Prue, you scared me," said Paige with a jerk and a hand to her heart.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya. I was saying your name with an inside voice and got no response. You must have been really concentrating. Trouble translating that funny writing?"
"No, actually, it's in English. Look." Paige tilted the book a little so that Prue good get a better look at it.
"Um, no, still a little funny looking. Not English. Are you all right?" Paige looked down at the book and saw what it was Prue saw. The book was no longer translated.
"Well, it was before. You should have seen it. It translated itself, Prue. It was in English. Here, just think real hard, really wanna see it in English. And bam!"
"That's weird. I thought there was a power outage." Prue started to get angry and was about to go give the Elders a piece of her mind when Paige stopped her…
"No, Prue. Wait, it's not magic. I can't really explain it now, but this is more important at the moment."
"You're right. We should just be happy that we can read it. Now let me read it." Prue read the passage. "This doesn't make any sense. This down here says the passage was written 'Before the age of man.' How is that possible?"
"Oh, and look at this sentence here: 'Only then will it find perfect shelter in the Imperfect vessel.' What will and what vessel? There's no mention of it elsewhere in this particular passage. And then there's the sentence to sentences before it." Paige ran her index finger, along the page to point the sentences in question out to Prue.
"I don't think this is the whole passage, Paige. There seems to be pieces missing."
"No, I don't think so. I think this Krivna guy or whatever spelled everything out. He just didn't spell everything out the way we would have like him to. Thoughts, Prue? Prue?" Paige got no response and turned to see where Prue had gone. It seemed as if her elder sister had just vanished. Paige stood up and began to walk back into the maze of bookshelves when something caught the corner of her eye. Now, I know that door wasn't there before. She walked over and opened it. The door opened into a room about the size of Piper's closet. Inside the room Paige saw Prue, Ozzie and a woman in Elder garments, and a three headed dog. They were inside in suspended animation. Ozzie?
"Well, not quite," said a voice that sounded like Ozzie's. Before Paige could turn around and question the moment she felt a quick and sharp pain in her back. She looked down to see blood seeping through her clothing. "His name was Brad or some such silly name. I thought you might prefer talking to someone named Ozzie, is all. Thought it might be fun." Paige fell to her knees, clutching her stomach, still unable to gather the strength to turn around, leaving her to listen to a faceless and now nameless voice. "Well, with those four nuisances out of the way, I am able to have you all to myself. Silly Leo. Silly Elders and Whitelighters, all around, really. Not helping their charges because of silly rules. Riddle me this Paige! If they aren't allowed to help you, then what is their purpose? Poofs. Now, these four, they're not so easily fooled. Oh, I'll be needing that athame back now. Thank you." Paige felt new pain as the knife exited her body. She fell forward partly into the room where her sister, the two strangers and the dog were. "Nuh-uh-uh. I need you out here." The man grabbed Paige by the ankles and pulled her out of the doorway so that he could close the door. Paige could feel herself dying along with the pain. "I punctured your kidney. You should die slower that way, or so I'm told. Just in case I needed it, I went ahead and tipped the athame with a little poison from a darklighter friend of mine."
Paige managed to get out a few sounds, but nothing in the form of actual words, although they were words in her head. She still hadn't been able to see who the perpetrator was and tried to lift herself up. She could not though, for she was unable to gather strength in her arms enough to actually move them. "Need some help there Paige?" The voice sounded even more disgusted by her now and started spitting out more words, "Every time you close your eyes, there I'll be." I can't even see you. How will I know it's you I'm seeing? "Getting smart now, aren't we Paige? Not wise, but I all ready have the upper hand. You can't change what is. Are you ready to see Paige?!" His voice then became a haunting, sinister whisper and Paige could feel it's breath on her ear, "Are you ready to see what nightmares are really made of?" At that, talons dug into her arms and she was roughly turned to face her tormenter. She stared right into his crimson eyes and then saw that he was no longer a man, but a beast. A beast, red with the texture of rusted metal and about 17 feet tall she had only seen when she closed her eyes. But how…Oh, God. "No," growlingly whispered the monstrous mouth, "Kriiiiivvnaaaaaaaaaa!"
The blood loss, the poison, the pain, the sight of the Beast, it all finally caught up to Piage and she fainted. Her eyes now closed, she began to dream. No, it was nightmares. The first images that entered her mind weren't familiar ones. They were of three men, boys really, battling as a strange looking man and the Seer watched with wicked interest. She didn't get to see much of what was going on since the scene quickly morphed into various images of what could only be the past, before it settled on the only image familiar to Paige up to this point. All of what she had seen had now morphed into, the Manor.
Inside the Manor, she saw everything that Piper had seen that fateful morning. She saw what had driven Piper mad. The bodies, all of the bodies from every time one of them died. She saw that she and Phoebe had tripped over Piper's body that morning. She saw the reason that there would be a body there, but Piper's body shouldn't have been there. It should have been in the sunroom. She saw herself being taken out of the situation and the Seer in her form taking her place. Then, she saw why Piper's body was where it shouldn't have been. There was a hairy figure running around the manor, changing the position of the bodies. Then she saw it attack Piper from behind and disappear with her. But she couldn't understand why Piper wouldn't pay the creature any mind. She made demands of Leo and she let her guard down, but never really put it up anyway. Paige's mind then moved on to Phoebe at the stairs. She saw Phoebe pledge allegiance to the Seer and lose the Power of Three. That moment immediately knocked her mind to where Piper had ended up, all alone. She saw her elder sister run from the Beast and then she saw her sister's defeat. She saw the ashes rise in to the Eyes of the Beast. Then she saw the ashes reform into Piper, except, Piper wasn't in the darkness anymore. Piper was walking down the sidewalk of Prescott Street, heading toward the Manor, all covered in soot. Only this time Piper wasn't alone. She was being followed. Paige's mind whispered in long drawn out breaths, Piper. Cole.
