– Separator –
1: The Chosen One
"I had no knowledge of what was to come. Nor did I care. How the knowledge changed me. It will also change you. As you read this, you will come to learn fear as I have. You too will come to understand, or you will parish.
To think that once I could not see beyond the veil of our reality. To see those who dwell behind. My life now has purpose. For I have learned the frailty of flesh and bone.
I was once a fool."
Jasmine found herself following a soldier as he separated from his fellow soldiers, following a trio of voices.
"Come to us, Pious Agustusssss."
`So this soldier must be Pious. I don't remember anything about a Pious in my history classes. I wonder what this is all about.`
Jasmine followed Pious across the desert toward a circle of stones.
`They almost look like Stonehenge.`
Jasmine followed Pious into the circle of stones, and found herself transported to a new location. She was now in a small square room vastly decorated with all kinds of gems, as well as golden designs on the walls. Jasmine and Pious were standing on a platform made from sparkling gems. There was a ladder in the center of the room leading down. Jasmine followed Pious as he explored the room. He seemed to be looking for something. At last he climbed down the ladder, and Jaz followed him down.
Jasmine found herself in a long corridor. Like the room above the walls were covered in decorations. Some of these decorations were in fact torches that provided light. The floor was made up of perfectly shaped blocks. Jaz reached the bottom of the ladder before Pious, and noticed a headless body lying in the corridor. At the end she saw a stone block with some strange sigil on 1 side. Near the block laid a body. Jaz examined it, and realized this was a zombie.
"I thought zombies were just a myth."
As Pious noticed the block at the end of the corridor, the zombie dressed in purple rose from the floor, and stood in front of the block as if guarding it. Pious drew his gladius and walked toward the zombie. Jasmine watched as Pious cut off the zombie's head. Then the arms, and finally stabbed his gladius into the zombie's back. As the zombie fell, two more appeared out of the shadows. Pious slashed at the other two zombies. First taking off their heads, then their arms, and finally stabbing both in the back with his sword. After both zombies were dead, Pious picked up the stone block, and walked toward the door at the end of the corridor, with Jasmine following him.
Jasmine found herself in a small oval-shaped room. Just inside the door to the room stood two more of those purple zombies. In the center of the room stood a table with another stone block. This 1 had a green sigil on 1 side. As Pious dispatched the 2 zombies, Jaz looked over the block Pious had picked up in the previous room. She noticed the sigil on the first block was colored red. She wondered what the significance of the different colored sigils were. Having killed the 2 zombies, `How do you kill something that is already dead?`, Pious picked up the stone block from the table, and walked over to a door to the right of the door he and Jasmine came through.
Jasmine found herself along with Pious in a small corridor. This time there were 5 of those purple zombies. As they tried to swarm Pious, Jaz looked around. At the end of the corridor was a third stone block. This 1 had a blue sigil on 1 side. Other than that though, there didn't seem to be another exit. She followed Pious as he moved around the corridor slashing each zombie. It was while Jasmine was hiding in a small cove near the door she and Pious had enter through that she noticed the hole leading down. She waited near this hole for Pious to pick up the blue block, and join her in the cove. Pious examined the hole, and noticed a ladder leading down. Pious started climbing down, and Jasmine followed him.
Jasmine and Pious found themselves in a large t-shaped room. The ladder was in a narrow dead-end, and Jaz could hear the sound of zombies up ahead. As Pious took on the zombies guarding a split in the path, Jaz examined the path split itself. The path to the left lead to a barred gate like door. The right-hand path lead to another door. When Pious was finished with the zombies, he looked at the barred door, and then turned to the other path. Jasmine followed him through the door at the end of the path.
Jaz followed Pious into a large hexagon-shaped room. In the center sat a pedestal with a fourth stone block. This 1 had a purple sigil on 1 side. In each corner of the room stood a purple zombie. The zombies started converging on Pious as soon as he entered the room. While Pious was killing the zombies, Jaz looked around the room. On each of the four walls was a picture of the sigils that Jasmine had seen on each of the blocks that Pious had been collecting. Under each picture was a hole the same size and shape of the blocks Pious had been picking up.
As Pious dispatched the last zombie, he started examining the pictures on the walls, and the holes under them. After a few minutes Pious placed the first block he had picked up in the hole under the picture of the red sigil. This caused the wall to light up. Then the second block in the hole under the picture of the green sigil. As the block slid into place the wall lit up like the first one. Then the third in the hole under the picture of the blue sigil. This caused the wall to light up like the others. Jasmine noticed there was still 1 empty hole. Pious must have noticed this as well, because he looked around the room looking for another block. He finally noticed the block on the pedestal, and walked over to pick it up. At once he walked over to the picture of the purple sigil, and placed the block in the only empty hole. As the wall lit up like the first three, Jaz and Pious both heard what sounded like bars dropping in the previous room. After making sure the blocks would not come loose, Pious headed for the previous room, with Jaz following him. Neither stopped, but just walked across the room to the previously barred door. Now with the bars removed, Pious and Jasmine walked through it.
Jasmine followed Pious into a small circular room. It look like it came from the Gryffindor tower with all the red and gold scattered around. In the center stood a life-sized statue of Pious himself. Behind the statue was another door, but like the door leading into this room, it was barred. As Pious approached the statue he and Jasmine heard those voices again.
"Pious Augustus, you must prove your worth buy destroying this statue."
Jasmine was alarmed on hearing this. Why would Pious need to prove himself even more than he already had? He had already faced numerus zombies to collect the stone blocks. What purpose did this serve? Jasmine watched as Pious destroyed the statue's head. Then the statue's left arm. Next the statue's right arm. Finally Pious slashed the statue's torso apart. As the last part of the statue fell to the floor, the bars on the door behind where the statue once stood, disappeared. Pious looked excided as he approached and entered the door. With a sinking feeling Jasmine followed him.
Jasmine and Pious found themselves in a small dark room, along with three purple zombies. As Pious killed off the 3 zombies, Jasmine took note of the yellow circle on the wall to the left of where she and Pious had entered. After dispatching the zombies Pious walked over to the circle on the wall, and after examining it for a minute pressed a hidden button in the center of the circle. This caused 3 pillars similar to the ones in the desert to rise from the floor. A strange yellow energy flowed from a circle between the pillars. Pious and Jaz approached the circle, and stepping into it were transported to another room.
Jasmine and Pious appeared in a long room with 3 artifacts each floating above their own pedestal. The left most artifact was colored red. The middle artifact was colored blue. The right most artifact was colored green. The ground was covered in a fast moving fog.
Jasmine was now really scared for Pious. Each of the artifacts was giving off a very strong aura of evil. Jasmine looked around franticly, trying to find a way out for Pious. Before she could try to interfere, Pious walked up to the pedestal containing the...
– Separator –
An: This is where chapter 1 ends. I thought I would give my readers a chance to effect Pious', and by extension Jasmine's fate. So witch artifact did Pious pick up? Was it the red artifact, the blue artifact, or the green artifact? I will wait until Saturday September fifth to give people a chance to make their choice. Please make your choice by either leaving a comment, or sending me a pm. Please note, if I receive no suggestions I will pick 1 at random next Saturday. Looking forward to hearing what you all think.