Not far beyond the cavern of the statue they come to the bridge that was depicted upon the cliff face—a shaft of stone arching across the great rift that descends into blackness in the inestimable depths below. Here the ceiling of the cavern ceases and the open, late afternoon sky is visible above them, mostly … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.6 – Velstadeä” »
Keeping the impassable mountain slope to their left, they continue northeastward, and a wide plain opens before them, dotted with trees and speckled with shrubs, with rocks littered about as if tossed aside from the mountain peaks above by the hand of some giant in ages past. At this point, as the way opens before … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.5 – The Luminous Passage” »
Golden light, warm and rich, pours in through a window facing east, and the particles in the air, caught by the light, glisten and glow as they dance. Awakened by the warmth of this light falling upon her face, Tilliána opens her eyes and rolls onto her side toward the light, watching as the particles … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.4 – Relihim on the Road” »
With the coming of dawn, the symbélyia return to their silent repose in the hidden places of the forest, and the star-laden vigil of the night gives way to the light-bathed radiance of the day. And this night, for the first time since their departure from Ristfánd, was one of complete rest and security, and … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.3 – A Hamlet at the Edge of Night” »
Morning dawns still and quiet yet drenched in white, as both the earth and the sky are covered in a thick sheet of colorless moisture: the earth in snow and the sky in low-hanging clouds. Were the sun not veiled by the clouds, the morning would be blindingly bright, its light reflecting off the snow … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.2 – Symbelyia” »
A great city overlooks the sea, its massive stone walls built into the very cliffs that rise above the crashing waves, as if seeking to extend them still further in the conjoining of the glories of nature and the feats of man. The streets are paved with stone, a maze of lanes crisscrossing this way … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.1 – Snow in the Mountains” »
Dawn comes with no sign of their companions. But with the coming of light, Cirien and Elmáriyë descend the slope of the mountain and draw near to the castle, though not within a hundred yards. For a while they debate entering, for both of their hearts are sick with worry and uncertainty, and to sit … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 2.18 – The Crystal Pillar” »
Eldárien stands before the narrow bridge of stones, hesitantly looking out across the lake of fire. Even if the pain was not real bodily pain, he still remembers the dream-pain that he had felt when the Lord of Mæres had cast him into the other lake of fire, the one of the mind and spirit. … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 2.17 – The Squire of the Knight” »
The chamber in which Eldárien finds himself is ornate, the stone on the pillars and archways carved in various shapes, though none of them beautiful to the eye. This is not because they are crude or poorly made, but rather because the stone is not carved in elegant shapes but in sharp and jagged edges, … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 2.16 – The Forge” »
At the coming of morning light, the company rises and prepares to depart. The night was dry and thus more pleasant than the preceding nights with their drenching precipitation; even the wind blew in no more than a gentle breeze throughout the nocturnal hours. And though the wind picks up now, as if stirred into … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 2.15 – Descent” »