Chapter 7: The Keeper lives

In a faraway land, hundreds of miles away from Lunaria, a white haired man jerked awake from a trance.

He was within a cave, sitting cross-legged, whispering incoherently. His eyes were closed, a slight frown marring his white brows. There was a black book opened before him, the pages flipping wildly.

He had gone into a trance minutes ago, whispering dark spells, drawing dark matter from the book before him.

Behind him were his servants, watching him, dressed in identical black cloaks. Occasionally, they would whisper among themselves, while stealing furtive glances at their leader.

Around the interior of the cave was a shallow pool of water, flowing in an endless circle. The walls of the cave were carved with intricate designs and ancient drawings.

The floor was littered with what looked like human bones, and a part of the cave was stained with something red and faded, something which looked like blood.

"Master has been in that trance for almost an hour." One of the servants whispered to his partner. "Do you think we should awaken him, Thad?"

"That would be a bad idea, Cinred." The second man, Thad, shook his head, equally whispering. "This is the only chance he might get to find the location of the Moonstone. Besides, you know how furious he gets when we disturb him."

"But I thought the Moonstone was destroyed years ago." Cinred argued. "After the battle master had with the Blackthorn twins, the Moonstone was destroyed, never to be found again."

"That's not entirely true." Thad replied. "The Moonstone is extremely powerful. It can't be destroyed so easily. There's a prophecy that says the Moonstone will be reborn, and someone will be chosen to find it."

"Who?"

"I don't know. But the prophecy says the person shall bear a very special mark, and this mark would lead him to the location of the Moonstone. It has been years, and no one has heard of such a person. So this is the only chance master has. To try to find the Moonstone using dark magic."

"What if the Moonstone hasn't been reborn?"

"I think it has, and master knows this. Which is why he has to find out where it is before someone else does."

The two servants continued their discussion in low tones when suddenly, the water from the pool began to ripple. A bright glow shot out from it, brightening up the cave. The ripples became stronger until it rose in a large wave.

An eerie groan sounded from the cave and the walls shook. Debris clattered to the ground, and the light glowed brighter.

Suddenly the water from the cave erupted in a massive wave, and at the same time, the white haired man snapped out of his trance.

"The Keeper lives." He whispered, his eyes wide opened.

The chaos in the cave heightened as he whispered those words. The light glowed brighter, the wave of water crashed violently against the cave walls. The eerie groaning echoed all around, until it seemed the cave would collapsed on them.

And then, just as quickly as it started, it ceased. The water subsided and became calm. The light dimmed out and the cave ceased its trembling.

The man shot to his feet and glared at the black book in front of him. His eyes, a striking shade of blue, were filled with disbelief and bewilderment.

Cinred and Thad who had cowered away during the chaos, moved forward tentatively.

"Master Cedric, did you find the location of the Moonstone?" Cinred asked.

The master, Cedric, raked his gaze over him. "I found something more disturbing." He uttered, his voice raspy and hoarse, like it came from the depths of the earth. "I found the Keeper."

"The Keeper?" Thad exclaimed. "Master, I thought the Keepers went extinct years ago."

"One of the Keeper's descendant has been born. She has the mark on her palm." Cedric growled. "I saw it. This is the key we've been missing. She is the key."

"The Keeper is... a girl?" Cinred uttered, exchanging shocked looks with Thad.

Cedric whirled around and glared at the pool

Then he lifted his hands, shut his eyes and breathed in. When he opened his eyes again, the pupils had gone totally dark.

He began to chant loudly, strange ancient words which grew louder with each utterance. The water from the pool began to swirl and suddenly, an image appeared on it.

He stared at her intently, his eyes slowly turning furious. Because now that he knew she had the mark of the Keeper, he would have to find her and use her to find the Moonstone.

He had searched for the artifact for hundreds of years, and now he was so close. He couldn't afford to fail.

As he glared at the girl, two other figures suddenly appeared beside her. He couldn't make out their faces, but he could tell they exuded raw power and dominance.

He frowned, wondering why they stood beside her that way. Unless...

Realization suddenly dawned on Cedric. These men were... protecting her. They were protecting the Keeper. He wished he could see the face of the girl clearly, but even with his dark magic, it was impossible.

He could only conjure up images from his visions or dreams, and the girl's face had been hidden even in his vision.

Trust the universe to send a protector to the Keeper, the only one who would lead him to the Moonstone. But this didn't deter him. He would find her, and find the Moonstone, and destroy whoever dared to stand in his way.

The water rippled again, and the image disappeared. Turning around slowly, he scowled at his servants.

"We have a lead." He said. "As long as the Keeper has been born, the location of the Moonstone will remain hidden. She alone can find out where it is."

"What do we do now, master Cedric?" Thad asked.

"Find her." Cedric snarled. "Search every pack and every town. Turn the entire realm over if you have to, but find this girl before anyone else does."

"Yes master." Cinred and Thad nodded and bowed.

"The time we have been waiting for has come." Cedric continued. "With the Moonstone in my possession, I will finally have my revenge on the ones who cursed me to be this way. This realm will be mine, and I will wreak a terrible havoc on every single soul."

He turned away from the pool suddenly and made his way to the deeper part of the cave, where a large hole had been carved out from the ground. Below were piles of dead bodies, decayed and rotted beyond recognition.

"Soon my army of the undead will rise." He continued, his eyes gleaming with malice. "And I will take over this realm, beginning from the kingdom of Lunaria."