Chapter 7

chapter Seven

When her vision came back to her, and the smoke settled, Volencia was still in the arms of Damion. Or Damion's body? She had no idea who he was if not the elf who'd introduced himself earlier. They were in the middle of an old ruin of a room, a large dead tree sat in the center. Rays of sunshine filtered down through the broken ceiling. It smelled of death and decaying leather. The floor was slick, covered in moss and a never-ending wetness seemed to cover everything.

Damion sucked in a breath, "I can't believe it's gone."

He finally lowered her feet to the ground, making a beeline for the tree, and placing his hand on the trunk, looking down at his feet. He looked so upset over the death of the thing, but it looking like it had been this way for centuries. "Where are we?" Volencia asked, noticing that the books lining the walls were all covered in growth. Many looked to be rotting, most of them weren't even on the shelves anymore, but rather scattered all over the room, mixed in with the debris of the crumbling walls.

"This was once the Temple of Ephira." He looked completely distraught over the ruins, but it had been over a century since its destruction. Those silver eyes tracing over the walls, and room at large. He bent to trace a hole in the ground around the tree, there were five in fact, circling all around. "So, this is what you did. Fool that you are, Locke. Though it does make everything harder from here. Do you know the story they tell? I wonder if he's honest in this, or if he's trying to hide things and make it look like someone else is doing his dirty work."

"It was him. We all know it. Lock and the Council waged war against Claglion. They wanted the city for themselves. When the Samanthians refused to give in to them, they decided to take it. Lock believed with the power of the Temple, he could turn it into a flying city, but it fell. They say they took whatever magic was left here in order to build a new temple, but they have yet to erect one. This happened over a hundred years ago, when it fell, I was just newly born. It had to do with ruling over who could and couldn't teach magic, and that a lowly race such as the Samanthians should not have access to every important magical item hidden inside the Temple of Ephira."

"What happened to the folk?" He looked at her in horror.

"Very few of them survived. I think they were hidden away by my parents. But I don't know where, or how many." Volencia looked at the overgrowth surrounding them. Some of the flowers still grew wildly around the garden, but most weren't meant to survive like this or in such a climate. It was cold here, and she was glad she still had his cloak to wrap herself in. "I'm going to change into my dress over this way." She dressed as quickly as possible. The dress was dirty, but they hadn't ripped it apart when they forced her out of it, so it would do for now. "Thank you, I'm finished."

"I'm sorry." He looked around the room, clearly upset. "If I had known I wouldn't have brought you here. This must look, awkward."

"The Temple has been gone for a century, how have you not heard of this?"

"I don't get out much." He circled the tree, pushing his hands deep into his pockets. "I don't even have my own body that's why I had to borrow one."

"So, what are you then? What's your name, and could you really have done those things you told Lock you were going to do?"

"I just am, I don't have a race. Not really. I have had many names throughout time but, none I can say myself, so pick something and go with it. We'll just add it to the ever-growing list. And yes. I would have done everything I said if Lock had refused me again. Mostly because I'm tired and he does this to everything I love." His hands waived at the room at large, his eyes settling on the tree.

"Couldn't we just heal the tree? I thought plants never really die." She put her own hand against the white bark. "And how do you not have a race?"

"How can I have a race without a body? I suppose, in this moment, I would be considered and elf of the dark hive." He put his hand on hers, "And we cannot bring the tree back. It's a special tree, the only one of its kind. When this one died, it chose a new home where in this new life it will be loved. Considering, it has already started growing new roots, I would hate for it to die, so that I could make this one come back to this lonely, desolate place." He looked sad, his eyes still lingering on the tree.

"How do you have the power to do what you say you could, but you need to borrow a body?"

Rubbing his face, he seemed to have a hard time reconciling the question. "Because I am? I can't many of these questions cannot be answered. Though, in my experience, someone knew enough to see how you and Damion fit into the larger picture and planned this meeting. Possibly even for the sheer purpose of saving you from the Council."

"Why wouldn't they have told us? And what about the armistice and sacrifice you and Lock were talking about?" Volencia went to the wall where the books were, thumbing through them in hopes of finding one that may be salvageable. Considering the fader of their conversation, she knew she should be afraid. But she wasn't. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, though she had no idea how.

Waving a hand over an old, crumbled chair, it pieced itself together seamlessly. He sat watching her. "I'm guessing, like me, maybe they couldn't. Or there's a reason they wouldn't. I'm just not sure all the needed elements could be there without intervention. There's always the possibility I'm wrong too. We've had some pretty interesting meetings with no intervention so" She lifted a book that looked to have promise, but the pages had all turned to a large brick. "The armistice is like a truce with rules and a set time frame. In this case, one year from today. The basic rule is, they cannot interfere with your search for the truth. If your search leads you to the heart of Belodia for a book, and you have just cause, they have to give it to you. They also have no ability to harm you or your folk. Not unless you were to harm them first, anyway. As far as the sacrifice-"

"Wait." Volencia stopped, putting her hands on her hips. "We'll get back to that bit. What happens if they deny us?"

"Then I can come back and force them to give you the item or access to whatever it is you need. I can promise, Locke isn't going to want to see me again, so he'll not deny you if it means I'll come back. However, if he does, and I don't show, that means it has nothing to do with our issue, and that they don't need to assist per the armistice." He sat back, crossing one foot over the other, his silver eyes following her.

"Okay, great. That is important information to have. See?" He chuckled, smiling at her. The recognition was simple but made her feel better. "Now, before we move on, what do Damion and I have to do with any of this?"

"Everything. You're the keys. The entire puzzle will revolve around the two of you. For each piece you find, the better your understanding of it will be. The ultimate goal would be to assist in my rescue and make it possible for Ephira to come back."

"Where has she gone?" Volencia asked, she supposed the Goddess wouldn't be here, otherwise she wouldn't have allowed the destruction of the Temple or the harm to those she had left in charge of it.

"She's not really gone, just mostly trapped, like me." His head cocked at her. She wondered if he could read her, because she couldn't tell in any way shape or form what he was thinking. "Though I am trapped in a physical space, and she is not."