Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

T wisting his head, Solomon stared at the deep emerald vines. /What fa?ade?/

::There is a shell around the temple.::

/Temple?/

::Does no one remember the original building? May we tear down this fa?ade?::

/Preserve the inside. There could be paperwork and evidence./

::We can sense where they gathered and collected. Lingering essence of their magic on items. All will be preserve. But we must remove the fa?ade. To bring back what once was to the realm. To remind all who walk here what this place was. What we almost forgot due to the destruction. The others reminded us about the memories we lost. Forgotten.::

/Forgotten about what?/

::You shall see. All of you. ::

“Umm… Finlay… Andre…” Solomon said.

Andre turned away from Finlay, who looked around when there was a rumbling noise. “Solomon, what is happening?”

“I’m not sure. The Meltosse?—”

A strange crunching noise rustled across the field and circling around the building. Then something like heavy material shifted around causing another unusual noise they couldn’t quite explain.

The ground shifted underneath their feet.

“Earthquake?” Finlay asked.

“I don’t believe that’s…” Andre’s words fell to the side.

Solomon felt his jaw drop when a massive amount of vines shot up through the ground around the building. He studied all the vines and recognized that there were vines from across the realms. Like their attack against the Prime, now they rose again for a different purpose.

“What is happening?” Andre asked.

Someone else screamed.

Another shouted something else.

Punching into the marble and bricks, the vines wiggled up the length and width of the building. They curled and pulled back, tearing down the walls with each yank.

“Holy flames,” Andre said.

“Tearing down the fa?ade,” Solomon said.

“What?”

“The vines. They wanted to tear down the fa?ade. To remember what was lost. Where…” Solomon looked around.

“What?”

“Where is my…” Solomon paused. “Ewen. Where is he?”

“I don’t know where the elder mages went. I lost sight of them after they entered the bubble,” Andre said.

“They… I…” Solomon trailed off when the last outer walls were reduced to rubble.

The cracked white marble building remained standing. Then it was completely covered in a brilliant white light.

“What in the flames—” Finlay lifted an arm to protect his gaze.

Solomon did the same. “Arcane. Pure arcane. Some kind of ancient spell was activated.”

::Only when the building was revealed by us. When we knew it was safe once again to reveal the truth of the Temple.::

/What truth?/

::You shall see.::

“What’s happening?” Andre asked.

“What’d they say?” Finlay asked.

“The Meltosse. They activated a spell.” Solomon held out an arm and pushed them backward. Yanking power out of his exhausted body, he threw up a shield to protect their vision.

The brilliant white arcane light glimmered and shimmered under the growing sunlight as the long night turned into day. In a feat of ancient arcane architectural magic, the cracks and damage completely disappeared to restore a natural gold, silver, and white marble while the building spiraled high toward the sky and dominated the skyline of the metropolitan capital. Against the dazzling ornate edifice, there were perfect sculptural representations of twelve different arcane mages that served as pillars holding up the six different floors of this temple. An arched opening appeared on each side with double blackthorn wooden doors. Near each door was a flatten plaque with carvings.

Lowering the shield, Solomon bent over and tried to draw in breath.

“What in the flames…” Andre said.

“Don’t know…” Solomon said while he straightened slower than the last time.

“How close to burnout?” Finlay asked in a lower tone.

“Close. Real close.”

“Can you hold on?”

“No choice on that.”

“Sol—”

“This is meant for me, Finlay. Could you help with something?”

Finlay didn’t hesitated and asked, “What do you need?”

“Reach out to Lady Fionnuala and Lord Ewen. I need them here along with the historian, Percival. They should know what is happening with this building. This… Temple. That’s what the Meltosse called it.”

“Got it,” Finlay said and created multiple message mageballs that he shaped into a series of leaves to float on the wind. “Messages on their way. Got any more of those storage gemstones?”

“No. I used the last ones I carried.”

Finlay waved Andre closer.

“That’s… That’s…” Andre tried to say.

“Yes, yes, it’s insane. Do you have any of those power storage gemstones?” Finlay asked.

Andre studied Finlay and shifted his gaze to Solomon. “You look like you stepped out of the Grim Empire.”

“Thank you oh so much for that compliment,” Solomon said. “Got any gems?”

“Used the last one I had. The doctors have the majority of the gems.”

“Where are they?”

“Pulling in the clinics and going through all the wounded on our side. Another set will care for the Carmine goons,” Andre said.

“We need to get a doctor here with those gems. Now,” Finlay said. “Is there anything else you need?”

Sol studied the area and felt a longing for someone. He turned to Andre. “Find Mac, please. I could… I need him.”

Andre placed his hand on Sol’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll send a message to him.” Whipping up a message spell, he sent it on fluttering wings across the chaotic battlefield. “Now what about that?” He pointed at the exposed building. “That’s what was underneath. All this time? What kind of a spell was that?”

“Some kind of ancient arcane architectural spell. Had to be.” Moving closer, he noticed the ancient script carved into the plaque. “It’s old script. Ancient.”

“Can you read it?” Andre said.

Solomon moved his lips while he worked through the script. “Arcane. Temple. Circle. Memory.” He picked out a few words while he continued to translate.

“You said the Meltosse called it that. A temple,” Finlay said.

“Temple. What kind…” Andre looked at Solomon. “Can you figure out the name?”

“The Temple of the Elysium. I can’t figure out the rest of it,” Solomon said. “If Percival?—”

“My flames, I can’t believe that it’s still standing. All this time. Underneath the Carmine center. My flames, the arrogance of them,” Percival said while he walked up to the magnificent building with Victoria and Ewen Spencer.

“Just the man I needed,” Solomon said. “Percival, over here. There’s a dedication plaque of sorts. I can only read the name. The?—”

“Temple of the Elysium. Yes, I recognize it well from an ancient document. Though I never thought I would see it,” Percival said. Moving closer, he studied the plaque and translated, “The Temple of the Elysium. Dedicated to the Circle of Elysium, the ancient arcane mages that created all the realms. This temple stands in honor of their memory and contains all the histories of the Circle, their magic, and an entire library of original manuscripts, documents, and histories from before the creation and since the creation of the realms.”

“Why is it here? There’s no mention of it in the history books,” Finlay said.

“These gardens are here to mark the place where the Circle combined their arcane gifts and created the realms beyond the Central five,” Percival said.

“It wasn’t only the realms. They created the magical gemstones to act as the bedrock and protection while the sentient vines were their connection to the outer world,” Victoria said.

“There is little mention of them except for the creation,” Andre said.

“Some historians believe they surrendered their lives to build all the realms because of the immense amount of power that was required,” Percival said. “While the power flowed, their bodies immolated and drifted into the realms and sank into the very ground.”

“There were other darker societies that tried to alter and hide the Circle and their skills. The Carmine was only the latest in the long dark line. Over generations, the entire story has been altered until the current version that all students are taught remains. Perhaps now, the Temple can assist with righting the wrong and restore the Circle,” Ewen continued the story.

“There is another inscription. Here we are. Ah, yes—” Percival pointed to a different section. “‘The Truth will appear to the Arcane who Enters. Stand on the Circle and be judged. Heart. Mind. Magic.’”

“There must be another spell to finish the revelation,” Ewen said.

The three elders turned to Solomon.

“No way. He’s in no condition to mess with some ancient magic,” Finlay said while he moved between the elders and Solomon.

“I second Finlay,” Andre said while he moved next to Finlay. “Besides, we need to remove the rest of the Carmine from the field and gather our team together. The Carmine don’t deserve to witness what happens in this sacred place. Especially the Prime.”

“We need to discover everything about the Temple. That means activating the spell. He is the only one who can do that,” Percival said.

“And not until he has a few moments to rest and recharge. He’s been going nonstop with his magic since we reached the edges of the city,” Andre said. “The Temple isn’t going anywhere.”

“Exactly. Give him a few moments,” Finlay said.

“Solomon?” Victoria asked. “What do you need?”

“Time. Like they said. I’m close to burnout,” Solomon admitted.

“Very well. We’ll continue our study of the Temple while you recharge,” Percival said.

The elders moved away.

“Thank the flames,” Finlay said.

“Thank you—” The fatigue hit hard and stopped Solomon from finishing anything. He swayed on his feet while dizziness overwhelmed him.

“Hold up a moment. I got you,” Finlay said while catching Solomon and guided him to the temple. “Easy. Easy. Sit on the steps.”