The Revered Stone

Prologue

Giselle hiked up the mountain, a painful cramp in her side. She stepped aside and bent over, heaving and gasping for breath. Liam, her fiancé, had suggested they go for a hike since the weather was good. That was a rare occurrence where they lived, the country of Calmitate. It had been named after its peaceful reign of a hundred years.

However, she had neglected to tell him that she was not at all athletic. Her mother disapproved (she could barely fit into the smallest corset available) but sports and her just didn't go together.

Now, staying cooped in her room all day reading books sounded much more appealing... Giselle chuckled as she thought of what her mother would say if she ever found out. Every day, when she was supposed to be on her "daily exercise break", she would go far enough from the castle to appease her mother's prying eyes. Then she'd loop around and reenter through the servants' entrance, grabbing a snack from the kitchen on the way.

A big rock in her way drew her out of her musings as she stumbled and caught herself. Looking back, she saw Liam hiking up behind her. His long, well-built legs (so unlike hers) easily carried him over the gravel-covered path. Giselle sighed and continued onward.

She emerged into a relatively open clearing, bedded with pine needles and surrounded by a thicket of lush evergreens.

Giselle glimpsed a cavelike opening and walked closer to it. It had a curious carving surrounded by symbols that spoke of mysteries. Putting her palm face down on it, she muttered, "Reveal your secrets," and leaped back as the stones creaked open.

She cautiously walked into the room and looked around. "Liam! Come here!" she shouted over her shoulder and turned back to examine the room. A peculiar glow came from the center of the room, where a carved stone pedestal stood. Intricate detailing of flowers and vines twined up the sides and bloomed out into a cradle-like shape.

She squinted at the pedestal and saw something inside the cradle. She stepped closer to examine it and found a stone glowing with blue light and pulsating with an oddly hypnotic rhythm. "What in the world?" she whispered hoarsely. In all her lifetime, she had never seen such a curious phenomenon.

"Gia! Don't touch it!" Liam called from behind her, using her childhood nickname. She turned around as Liam drew his sword and gingerly poked at the stone. "We don't know if it's dangerous." Liam admonished her.

"Liam! I wasn't going to do anything without you. After all, you'd miss out on the fun." Giselle said with a big grin. Liam arched his eyebrow but didn't say anything. She quietly came forward and hugged him tightly, knocking him backward onto the stone. "Noooooo!" Liam cried, but it was too late. The stone's blue light filled her eyes as she was flung back into the depths of space and time, clutching Liam for dear life.