Tower of silence - Contest(Golden Typewriter Excerpt)

787 I.C, December 25, Everwinter: Central Tower, Evening

The path to the central tower consisted of a long and wide tunnel with a floor so polished that it looked like a mirror. Even from a distance the large door to the tower seemed like a looming portal to a world beyond this one.

Every step echoed and my own shadow shifted like a serpent in the light cast by the light fixtures.

The eerie atmosphere and the shifting shadows made it feel as if something was moving at the edge of my vision, yet each time I turned to look there was nothing to be seen.

An old memory rose to the surface, Raymond and I had visited this place. We found it exciting and our parent's warnings had fallen on deaf ears.

A slight smile crept into my face as I remembered the beating that had followed, mother had been furious and father had been so angry that his fur had stood on end like a porcupine.

The lesson had been harsh but it was not rooted in cruelty but rather desperation to keep us from harm. It made me wonder how much contact the wulfkins had with the master, did they know him? Had they felt his power? Did they love him? Fear him? Or was the master just a gigantic boogeyman?

I guess that's what I'm here to find out...

The massive door consisted of polished rock and massive girders of shaped steel. Weaving patterns were carved into the rock and while beautiful to look at they served little purpose. In the very center of the door was a large obsidian plate with a keyhole.

I fetched the key and aligned it with the obsidian keyhole, in an instant something snatched hold of it and pulled it in with a powerful click as if it had been a magnet.

My heart picked up pace and I glanced around to make sure I was alone. The place was desolated, strange, eerily silent. It unnerved me as I grabbed hold of the key and started to turn it.

Click click click clack!

The key hit a notch and made intricate runes on the plate lit to life, moments later the key slid out and was dropped into my hand while the door groaned and began to open.

I stepped back and pocketed the key as the massive door split in two and slid into the walls.

A cold draft of air wafted over me and my breath turned to fog as I looked ahead and saw a big staircase leading upwards into pure darkness.

"Rastlin wasn't kidding," I murmured while fetching the matches from my pocket.

I stepped inside and felt the temperature drop further, it bit into my cheeks and made me shudder as I began to wonder if the tower had any heating at all.

The massive door began to close as I pulled out a match and lit it just in time as the door slammed shut.

A flare could be seen as the match lit to life, moments later it weakened and seemed to pull together until it illuminated little more than my hands.

Faulty matches... typical...

I pulled out another match and lit it by the first, once more it flared but then weakened.

An unsettling shiver ran through my spine as I looked around and realized that I couldn't even see the walls. Instead it felt like I was stuck in some kind of pocket surrounded by a darkness that ate at light itself.

It's not the matches... It's this place...

I started to ascend and heard my steps echo as I moved to the side in an attempt to find the wall. A few steps later I caught sight of the wall but it didn't seem made out of rock, instead it was dark, polished and covered in what looked like runes.

It looks like pure obsidian... how strange...

Minutes passed before the staircase ended and I found myself standing on what felt like a platform surrounded by pure darkness. The disorienting effect was enough to make me woozy as I looked down and tried to focus on the floor as a point of reference.

What am I doing here?

Everwinter was known for its cold and chilly winds that could freeze people solid. But the cold inhabiting this tower felt unearthly and was starting creep inside me as my teeth began to chatter.

I followed Rastlin's orders and walked straight ahead, it didn't take more than a few steps for the stairs to disappear as I was lost in what felt like an eternal abyss.

The edge of another wall took me by surprise and I almost bumped into it as I froze in place.

I lit another match and moved it along the wall as I noticed a curvature, I followed it and realized that I must have veered off my path and ended up by the edge of an arched gate.

If I were to guess... then this would one of the assembly halls where the blessings take place...

The arch was made out of the same obsidian as the walls and its surface was etched with interconnected arcane runes. It made me hope it was nothing more than an outrageous form of decoration as the only alternative in my mind seemed insane.

I moved to center myself inside the arch and then started walking as I took a moment to focus on my inner self and the aether that surrounded me.

The aether felt strangely structured, like layers upon layers tuned in a way that reminded me of the transporter crystals. It could have been a side-effect created by the large amount of obsidian but it reminded me once more of the insane idea bubbling in the back of my mind.

What if the whole tower is one gigantic arcane construct?

Another wall emerged from the darkness and almost made me stumble as I came to a stop once more.

More obsidian, more carved runes, but these ones differed from the rest. I lit another match and moved it along the surface as I tried to interpret the runes.

Aetheric transmutation and energy manipulation...

It was impossible to see the large picture but the isolated runes I could understand made it clear that this place was some kind of gigantic siphon or tool used to manipulate the aether.

But for what purpose?

A drained and tired sensation began to envelop me as I noticed that the runes came to abrupt end along the upper parts of the wall. I raised the match and noticed some kind of structure jutting out of the wall.

I'm standing underneath something...

I stepped back and raised the match as a gust of chilled air brushed by me, the match was snuffed out in an instant leaving me cloaked in darkness.

The silence that surrounded me had an oppressive pressure to it and it made my own life all the more noticeable. My breath was like the wind and the beat of my heart was like a thump in my head.

I'm scared...

I gulped and reached into the matchbox, my fingers were chilled and it made it difficult to get a good grip as I fetched another match and pulled it against the rough edge.

The match flared and it illuminated the structure overhead, goosebumps rose all over my body as my lungs refused to draw breath. It looked like the skeleton of a large beast that was neither human nor wulfkin.

It had a wide chest and the skeletal arms hugged its own shoulders while the skull had rows of sharp fangs set in a short muzzle.

Feline? Bear? A transforming wulfkin?

The flare of the match died down as I drew a careful breath and noticed that the skeleton was dark and reflective like the obsidian it was fused to.

Oh... Art... Not a real skeleton...

A slight if nervous smile formed on my lips as I sighed in relief and stepped back.

Bump!

My foot hit something and it shifted with a crackle like bones. A shiver washed over me and it made my skin crawl as I glanced down and saw something slumped on the floor, it was a body, a big one.

I did not dare breathe as I moved the match and saw a big wulfkin clad in tatters.

A dead wulfkin... why would there be a dead wulfkin here... I don't understand!

I eased my foot from the body and drew a deep breath through my nose, the cold dimmed the scents but I caught a hint of something... death, frozen... but not decayed.

My curiosity made me inch closer as I illuminated the legs of the wulfkin. Black claws jutted from the paws but the pelt looked loose and wrinkled as if the flesh had dried and shrunk.

I crouched and reached out with the match as I focused on the large rounded chest of the wulfkin. It was intact but the fur was flattened and the ribs were quite visible.

My focus shifted to the arms and hands where I discovered something weird. The hands were frayed to the point where the fur and skin had been stripped off. Instead one could see the mutated skeletal remains that was a blend of hand and paw.

Something glimmered along the skeletal remains and it made me lean closer for a better look. Some kind of blue crystal was growing along the bones.

I shut my eyes for a moment, I felt strange, empty, drained, I wanted to sleep.

This place is death itself... A grand aetheric siphon for the master...

My daze shattered as I blinked and shook my head with the realization that I had almost fallen asleep.

I shifted a little and leaned in for a close look at the head of the wulfkin.

My eyes widened in surprise as I saw something atrocious, a large shard of pure glimmering crystal had been forced into the frontal bone of the skull. Blue crystal had grown from the entry point and had spread like a disease to cover both face and muzzle. Even the eyes had been affected which now looked like frozen marbles with a dusting of blue crystal.

The muzzle caught my eye and made me cock my head as I glimpsed inside the large ribbed maw. The tongue was intact and so were the teeth and most of the flesh, it just looked gray and dried.

Who were you? Why were you here? Did you fight against the master?

A sudden burning sensation touched my fingers and made me gasp as I let go of the match that had seared my fingers. The match fell and bounced off the dead wulfkin before settling on the obsidian floor. Moments later the flame perished and darkness enveloped the room once more.

Dammit...

Something akin to a sigh could be heard in the darkness, it was close to me, right in front of me, and it made my heart freeze while I did not dare draw breath or move a muscle.

The darkness itself was scary because it was the very essence of nothing, the only thing worse is the discovery that something is hiding within that darkness.

It started as a simple flicker of blue light, it ebbed and grew for a few moments before catching hold as the crystal inside the wulfkin's head began to glow. A crack was heard as bone shifted while the blue glow grew in strength and crept into the marble eyes.

No... oh no... please don't wake up... you're supposed to be dead!

I stared at the blue glow and readied myself to run. The thought of escape caught in my throat as more lights began to flicker in the room.

There were loads of them, 10... 20... 30... and the lights kept growing until the large room pulsated with the presence of dead wulfkins.

I crept together and hugged myself as I tried not to breathe or make the slightest sound.

Please go back to sleep... Please do not wake up...

I could no longer feel my fingers or my feet, the cold had spread too deep and it was becoming difficult to stay awake despite the fear and adrenaline rushing through my body.

The glowing marble eyes of the dead wulfkin rotated in its sockets as if looking around, the bones inside its body creaked and cracked while its chest moved as if trying to draw breath.

Please don't see me...

The blue glow began to dim once more while the ghastly whispers around the room began to fade.

Seconds ticked by like a slow eternity as the wulfkins grew still and the room was enveloped in darkness once more.

Relief like never before enveloped me as I dared draw a careful and slow breath through my nose.

I have seen all I need to see...