✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆
Scanthia no longer looked like the Scanthia Asling once knew and loved. The upside down had long since taken over the once lush green lands of her home and now everything in sight was overgrown with thick dark vines. The sun seemed to no longer shine in the sky and darkness was abundant. Flakes of white danced in the air and every breath that Asling took seemed to burn her throat all the way down to her lungs. A cough ripped through her chest and Asling raised her arm to cover her mouth as she hacked a practical lung into the cloth of her sleeve.
"Here,"
Steve said as he handed her a spare cloth bandana that he brought.
"The air is toxic."
He added, he knew from experience, and he already wore a matching bandana over his mouth and nose. Asling tied the garment around the back of her head and her breathing grew heavier through the added layer between her and the air. Her eyes focused on the corrupt land before her.
"There!"
She shouted, her hand pointing to a large castle that was silhouetted in the low lighting.
"That's where we need to go."
She added.
"What is that?"
Steve asked.
"The castle. There we'll find the library which will hopefully have the answers we will need."
✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆
Asling had to use one of her swords to cut the vines off of the large wooden doors of the castle. After one final slice she and Steve were able to push the double oak doors open. They creaked with their weight as they swung inward and darkness stared back at the two. Steve took out a flashlight and shined it into the dark interior of the castle. Asling used her magick to conjure a ball of white light in her hand which illuminated the space around her and she led the way into the castle of darkness. Steve followed her dutifully, looking around him and observing the foreign place around him. The castle seemed to be built of large gray stones which were now overgrown with slimy vines of the upside down. Old windows that lined the entrance had been shattered and a cold wind blew threw them now sending a chill up Steve's back.
"So where exactly is this library you were talking about?"
Steve asked as they walked.
"It's the first left we will come across."
Asling replied.
"Not far."
She added, walking fearlessly deeper into the castle. The two passed under a stone arch as they walked which supported the stone ceiling and also led into a forking of other hallways. Asling took to the left as she said she would and Steve followed. Tapestries lined the walls as they walked. Symbols that Steve hadn't seen before which Asling knew represented the guardians. At the end of the corridor was another pair of double wooden doors, smaller than the first pair they had run into. There were a few vines beginning to grow onto the door but not enough so that they would have trouble opening it. But what steve noticed the most about these doors was that there was no door knob, no way of opening it.
"Uh-"
he began but Asling was quick to act before he could ask her about it.
"Aperata."
She whispered, sending a wave of wispy white magick towards the door. As soon as the magick hit the wood, the double doors swung open and Asling walked inside.
✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆
The library in the castle of Scanthia was unlike the library back in Hawkins, not that Steve ever went to it much. This library had tall arching walls that extended to a ceiling dotted with what looked like crystals that glowed softly giving the large room an eerie yet serene lighting. Large windows lined the walls allowing dim blue light into the room. Statues lined the floor by each window, the statues seemed to be people of importance. Steve, of course, had no idea who they were but he was certain Asling knew. She seemed to eye them as they walked down the center of the library, which was lined with rows and rows of books on either side.
"So where do we start looking?"
Steve asked as they walked.
"I have an idea."
Asling replied.
"Growing up, there was a section of the library that was forbidden to everyone who wasn't a guardian."
She began to explain.
"One day it was sealed off by my master, Kierran himself."
She added.
"We're going to start there. Whatever Kierran is hiding about the past, I am certain that place will give us many answers we need to find the truth."
✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆
"Locked of course."
Asling said with a sigh as her hand gently grazed the magickal binding chains that held the doors to the restricted section of the library closed. She sighed as she mulled over what to do. Her magick wouldn't work against a magickal lock.
"Let me see."
Steve said and Asling stepped aside, allowing the brunette to get a look at the lock that had managed to stump her.
"Oh this is easy."
He said as he looked to her with a grin.
"Stand back."
He added and took his bat in his hand and took one great swing at the magickal lock. It cracked under the pressure of the bat's swing and the nails that protruded the wood. With two more swings from Steve's bat, the lock shattered like glass and fell to the ground.
"Huh."
Asling said as she watched it all.
"Not bad, Steven."
"Steve."
He corrected her again, but this time he could only smile as he shook his head at her.
"I know."
She replied, giving him a smile in return before she swung the doors open into the deeper part of the library and began her descent into the unknown. Steve followed her, bat in hand and ready to strike if he needed to. He had one goal now, protect Asling. Asling looked up as they entered a part of the library she had not seen before. Large stone statues of the first guardians stood in a circle in the center of the room. The ceiling, like much of the rest of the library was dotted with glistening crystals that shined like stars and even seemed to form constellations. The molding around the walls where the met the ceiling seemed to be inscribed with symbols and markings that Steve couldn't understand but Asling was almost drawn to the markings.
"What is that?"
Steve asked, pointing to the inscription.
"The prophecy."
Asling said as she read it to herself.
"But it's wrong."
She added.
"This is not the prophecy I was taught. This is different. It's the original."