The Search For Nomeias

1. The Door In The Mountain

A large rocky mountain looms in the distance, its base surrounded by copses of trees. A bolt of lightning flickers across the bluish-purple sky and shoots toward the ground. My eyes widen as I watch it land inches from my feet. Electricity crackles through the air and dissipates seconds later. Thunder rumbles and the sky darkens further as the clouds prepare to unleash their heavy loads.

I rush forward to find shelter beneath a lumbering oak, watching the sky above me. Lightning continues to flicker all around me, the thunder growing louder. For a moment, I wonder as to what I’m doing here. This place is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

Though it’s now dark, my eyes have adjusted and I’m able to see what’s around me. The wind whips the trees’ leaves about, plucking several off their branches. Rain drops seep through the canopy above me, several sliding down my forehead. I swipe the beads away, aware of the fact that there’s no sound at all around me. The silence thickens, though I’m not afraid of it.

“Griedea . . .” a voice whispers.

I turn around, facing the direction from which it came. Nothing but darkness stands before me.

“Who’s there?”

Silence descends upon me once more. Part of me says I should be afraid. That I should try to make my way home. But . . . where is home?

“Don’t be afraid!”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. My senses are now on high alert. I scan my surroundings, detesting the darkness that clings to the entire area.

“Where are you?” The person remains quiet. “Where am I?”

A burst of lightning lights up my surroundings. My heart begins to race as I catch sight of glowing yellow eyes in the distance. The light fades and darkness wraps itself around me once more.

“Come home.”

I wrap my arms around my chest as a slight shiver courses down my spine. “Where is home?”

A slight giggle sounds to the left of me. I turn to face it as a slight breeze ruffles my dark curls.

“Hello?”

Something tugs on my hair, yanking my head back in the process. Lightning flashes once more as the being shifts my body around so that I’m facing the mountain. The outline of a door shines in the distance. Curiosity ripples through my entire body before the darkness descends yet again.

“Home . . .” the voice says.

The winds picks up, whipping my skirt around my legs. My teeth chatter and find myself rubbing my hands across my forearms. Rain begins to fall in earnest now, drenching me completely. Thunder booms above me as several of bolts of lightning land nearby, illuminating the door etched deep into the earth once more.

“Come home!”

My mouth grows dry as I allow my senses to guide me. Utilizing the flashes of lightning coming from above, I move toward the mountainside. The thunder grows louder with every step I take. Various scents assail my nostrils the closer I get to my destination. Rose, jasmine, the earthen smell of the wet soil, and sulfur. That one I can’t make sense of. Still, I prevail and soon find myself standing before a massive stone doorway.

Lightning flickers all around me, though I can barely make out the runes etched into the stone. Shuffling closer to the door, I’m able to see a set of iron torches embedded deep into the ground on each side of the door. Though, I don’t see any means of being able to light them. No tinder or flint. Not even gasoline.

The thunder grows louder, the sound almost deafening. Rain pelts every inch of my body as I stand before a door that I’ve no clue on how to open. Something clicks in the vicinity. A startled cry is rent from my lips as fire rushes out of the torch’s depths, forcing me to take several steps back.

Stone scrapes against stone as the door begins to slide to the left. The smell of musty earth and decay assails my senses. Fear courses through my veins as the opening grows larger by the second. The flashes of lightning illuminate the beginnings of a tunnel. My mouth grows dry as I realize what comes next.

“Griedea,” the disembodied voice says once more. “Come home!”

I lick my lips, afraid of what’s waiting for me in the darkness. Taking several deep breaths, I move toward the opening. Something scurries in the distance, though I’m not sure of its exact location. Step by step, I inch into the tunnel.

I whirl about with surprise as the stone door slides back into place. A profound darkness now surrounds me. Deep inside, I know I’ve been led here for a reason. Though I’m not sure as to what I’ll find once I get to the end of the tunnel, I’m willing to see things through. This place has a hidden meaning and I aim to find it. Gathering a hold of my composure, I move forward as the darkness envelopes me completely.