The Gods of Garran by Meredith Skye Page A

she remembered. It made no sense.
    Quickly Asta packed up, eager to be out of the place, find the water and get back to town to manipulate the townspeople into appointing her to the Clan Conclave. The sooner she did that, the sooner she could get off this rock called Garran.
    The water had to be blocked up somewhere. Once her gear was packed, Asta examined the room more closely. There was nothing in it, only the pillars, the runes carved on the floor and the sky above. But the wall on the far side held a doorway made of moonstone, which was shut. Asta pushed it to no avail. It would not open.
    For a long while, Asta troubled about the door, pushing it, looking for a way to open it. She sat and stared at it but could not think of how to get past. She ate now and then from the rations in her pack, which didn't need to be cooked, fortunately.
    Before long she was surprised to see that the sun was setting again. Perhaps she should be more worried about getting out, but the whole experience had begun to feel somewhat surreal.
    The day had passed quickly and still she'd learned nothing about the water or how to release it. She thought of returning to the city or leaving the mountain to travel further but she felt compelled to get through the door, as though somehow the answer were on the other side.
    ^ ^ ^ ^ *
    Fire came from the sky, the world was enveloped in flames. People scattered, trying to escape destruction. There was anger, a deep festering anger at the Enemy from the Sky.
    Balance was lost. Dizzying. Little parts were dying. Plans had failed and now the earth had no protections.
    The winds broke loose and tore across the earth, breaking down everything in their path.
    They would die, nothing could stop that. But they could hide the gods.
    A triangular structure, made of moonstone, on the top of a mountain. Seven of them gathered. They rebuilt the song, only to silence it again.
    Then everything went to darkness.
    Waiting.
    ^ ^ ^ ^ *
    Once again Asta awoke and it was morning. She felt disoriented. For a moment she didn't remember where she was. The sun was beginning to shine down through the dome. Asta wanted to get up but she felt tired and there was something about the dream--she wanted to remember it--something important. She lay back down to sleep.
    ^ ^ ^ ^ *
    Her dreams were jumbled, long, and elusive. Asta followed them deeper and deeper into sleep to try and understand them. Parts of the dream was dark, parts of it accused her. But the dream kept slipping away--she couldn't quite grasp it. Dark surrounded her and she woke suddenly. The pale light of the pillars showed her the shadowy shape of the room and she remembered where she was. She had slept overly long.
    Quickly Asta got to her feet--too quickly--as she felt a sudden dizziness that soon passed. She tried her light but still it didn't work. In the dim light, she packed up her gear again, determined this time not to sleep another night in this chamber--as deeply refreshed as she might feel.
    Again Asta went over to the moonstone door. After staring at it for a long while, she reached her hand out and touched it. A wave of dizziness passed over her and she felt her consciousness slip for a moment. When it returned, she heard a sound as the door began to open. She wasn’t sure how she did it, which was disturbing—but at least it was opening.
    Inside, moonstone pillars illuminated the dark hall. Asta took her gear and went through the door. She made her way down the hall, startled a few minutes later when she heard the door shut again. Quickly she went back and found the door locked again. She’d have to go forward.
    Now the path wound down deeper into the mountain without any doorways or turns. Hours passed. Asta wasn’t sure how many, as there was no way to tell time in this place.
    The walls whispered, during her dreamlike journey. She looked around, but she was alone. The villagers had believed the place to be haunted—now she understood how they felt.