Chapter Twenty-Six: The Hour Glass
"Not all those who wander are lost." –J.R.R. Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring
"Eddie, it's just you," Nina said with relief in her voice to the boy with the light brown hair.
"Well, it's good that I know who I'm with. It would also be nice to know where we are!" Eddie shouted at the ceiling of the dark and vast room.
A woman dressed in all white came through a door. She had a long white gown with puffy white sleeves that had gold accents. She had long, dark hair and really dark skin. She had dark almond shaped eyes that were filled with knowledge. "Hello, Paragon. Hello, Osirian," she said in a light sing-song voice.
"Hello, Alexandra," Eddie and Nina said at the same time.
"Where are we?" Nina asked.
"You guys needed help with the symbols so I have brought you to the libraries of Alexandria. You may search and search for all that you need. No one will interrupt you because this is just a dream. You have a few hours to find what you need; you best be going."
Alexandra walked off after her last words, leaving the Paragon and the Osirian to search by themselves. "How are we supposed to do this? I don't have a copy of the pamphlet," Nina asked, her voice filled with worry.
Eddie shrugged his shoulders, "I guess we better just look and find anything we can." Nina sighed and they set off to different sections of the library. Eddie went to the right and Nina went to the left. They spent an hour finding different books they could use and met back in the middle and started to search through them. They found quite a few things, but were worried that they wouldn't find enough so they put the ones that had information they could use in a pile and went on to the next book. After three hours they had a stack of about fifteen books that they could use. They were worn out but they kept looking. They searched for another hour and found a few more things they could use.
They were about to go back to the shelves and get more books when a figure began to walk toward them. "Nefuru is that you?" Nina asked.
"Houlith is that you?" Eddie asked when the figure didn't respond.
The figure didn't answer. "Alexandra?" Nina and Eddie asked at the same time. Still there was no answer. The figure wore a long black cloak that covered every part of them; even their face was indistinguishable. The figure got closer and closer and Nina and Eddie got very tense; someone had invaded their dream.
After a moment of silence Nina gathered up the courage to speak. "Who are you?" she asked in a low whisper.
A voice that was neither a man nor a woman's responded, "I am who you search for."
"You are the Knowledgeable One?" Eddie asked. His voice was filled with hope; maybe he could convince him… or her, to reveal their face.
"I am the Knowledgeable One of this generation. Hurry, you now have three days. If you don't figure this out, I surely will die. Please help me!" the figure shouted in distress.
"Can you help us?" Nina asked. "Can you tell us what the pamphlet says?"
"Alas, I cannot. I don't know what it says. If you were to ask me about this dream tomorrow, I will remember not. I know nothing yet. All will be revealed in three days' time. Hurry Paragon. Hurry Orisian. The Adanitio needs you," the figure turned and went back to where he/she came from.
"Wait!" Eddie called. "What does Adagnitio mean?!"
The figure turned around and said, "It's one of many Latin words for Knowledge. It is the proper Egyptian name for the Knowledgeable One. Just like the Chosen One is the Paragon and the Protector is the Osirian. The Knowledgeable One is the Adagnitio." The figure turned and disappeared.
Eddie and Nina looked at each other one last time and the library slipped away. Their time in Alexandria was done and their time to find the Adagnitio was almost out; the hour glass had little sand left to give to them for their mission.