Chapter 35
The light in the tunnel faded away as Tal walke3d deeper into the tunnel. Ramellean naturally lead the way although to Tal's disappointment.
"It is my trial shouldn't I lead the way?" Tal said nonchalantly as Ramellean came to a fork in the road.
The former emperor sighed and turned to face Tal his face void of all causality. Tal noticed the look and for the first time while inside his trial Tal felt his courage slip and give way to the pent up doubt and fear he tried hard to bottle up.
"If that is what you want Tal, here is your chance to lead us out of here," Ramellean replied.
"What...what do you mean by 'us'? Tal stammered as he tried to understand what Ramellean was saying.
"Tal I have tried my best to help you but either my memory fails me or ancient magic is at work and this tunnel has changed itself. Tal I don't remember ever coming this way when I took the trial," Ramellean said with a hint of regret in his voice.
Tal processed what Ramellean said and slowly the wheels in his head started to turn again, picking up pace until Tal's mind was racing with questions. Tal knew he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself because Ramellean would simply read them so Tal voiced his fevered thoughts instead.
"You've taken the trial and you've said it was different then to how it is now. Therefore this trial must be mine alone...am I right so far?" Tal asked propping a fist under his chin.
"Yes..."
Tal was about to open his mouth to say something but let it drop and moved to the middle of the fork in the road.
"I choose to go into the right tunnel," Tal said and started walking into the tunnel.
Ramellean followed behind Tal in a thick cloud of silence wafting about him. Tal could feel the old Emperor's regret emanating off of him and bouncing off of Tal causing an equal shield of disconcertion to well up around the trial taker. The two Emperor's silently trudged on. Their respective shields of emotions created a strong tension but before any of them could snap under it they came to a doorway that lead into a pitch dark room. Tal put a foot through the doorway warily and judging from the echo of his footfall, Tal could safely say that it was a very large room.
The darkness started to become a problem that even Ramellean's luminance couldn't fix so Tal summoned forth the purest white light from his sunstone and let it flood the room. What Tal saw made him gape in awe. Before him was a large cavern of stone statues. They all looked real but the thing that grabbed Tal's attention the most was the fact that these statues were twice as large as he was.
Ramellean had similar feelings and decided to walk amongst the statues, brushing them with his hand as he past them to see if they were real. Tal watched his ancestor caress the poised stone figures and saw his face flicker through different emotions.
"These are only statues aren't they Ramellean?" Tal asked walking amongst the frozen figures.
"I hope so," Ramellean replied stopping in front of a particularly large statue.
Tal walked up beside him after making sure these stone figures were just as they seemed. Tal's light had dimmed unconsciously to reserve it's energy so the statues face was covered in darkness. Tal held his arm up further and brightened the light but just as soon as he did, Tal dropped his hand and recoiled in shock. Staring right at Tal with jaws wide open was the one and only Sharakor.
The light in the tunnel faded away as Tal walke3d deeper into the tunnel. Ramellean naturally lead the way although to Tal's disappointment.
"It is my trial shouldn't I lead the way?" Tal said nonchalantly as Ramellean came to a fork in the road.
The former emperor sighed and turned to face Tal his face void of all causality. Tal noticed the look and for the first time while inside his trial Tal felt his courage slip and give way to the pent up doubt and fear he tried hard to bottle up.
"If that is what you want Tal, here is your chance to lead us out of here," Ramellean replied.
"What...what do you mean by 'us'? Tal stammered as he tried to understand what Ramellean was saying.
"Tal I have tried my best to help you but either my memory fails me or ancient magic is at work and this tunnel has changed itself. Tal I don't remember ever coming this way when I took the trial," Ramellean said with a hint of regret in his voice.
Tal processed what Ramellean said and slowly the wheels in his head started to turn again, picking up pace until Tal's mind was racing with questions. Tal knew he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself because Ramellean would simply read them so Tal voiced his fevered thoughts instead.
"You've taken the trial and you've said it was different then to how it is now. Therefore this trial must be mine alone...am I right so far?" Tal asked propping a fist under his chin.
"Yes..."
Tal was about to open his mouth to say something but let it drop and moved to the middle of the fork in the road.
"I choose to go into the right tunnel," Tal said and started walking into the tunnel.
Ramellean followed behind Tal in a thick cloud of silence wafting about him. Tal could feel the old Emperor's regret emanating off of him and bouncing off of Tal causing an equal shield of disconcertion to well up around the trial taker. The two Emperor's silently trudged on. Their respective shields of emotions created a strong tension but before any of them could snap under it they came to a doorway that lead into a pitch dark room. Tal put a foot through the doorway warily and judging from the echo of his footfall, Tal could safely say that it was a very large room.
The darkness started to become a problem that even Ramellean's luminance couldn't fix so Tal summoned forth the purest white light from his sunstone and let it flood the room. What Tal saw made him gape in awe. Before him was a large cavern of stone statues. They all looked real but the thing that grabbed Tal's attention the most was the fact that these statues were twice as large as he was.
Ramellean had similar feelings and decided to walk amongst the statues, brushing them with his hand as he past them to see if they were real. Tal watched his ancestor caress the poised stone figures and saw his face flicker through different emotions.
"These are only statues aren't they Ramellean?" Tal asked walking amongst the frozen figures.
"I hope so," Ramellean replied stopping in front of a particularly large statue.
Tal walked up beside him after making sure these stone figures were just as they seemed. Tal's light had dimmed unconsciously to reserve it's energy so the statues face was covered in darkness. Tal held his arm up further and brightened the light but just as soon as he did, Tal dropped his hand and recoiled in shock. Staring right at Tal with jaws wide open was the one and only Sharakor.