Eboni had sat on her windowsill long after the second sun had set, lighting candles so she could read the pages until there were no pages left to be read.
Hastily throwing on her day cloak as the first sun had risen from the ocean, she made her way, books in hand, to the temple. The courtyard empty and silent as everyone else was yet to be woken from their sleep.
Sitting on the front row, staring at the elements from the evening before, still in their copper bowls, she began to pray.
The books had shaken her to the core. Their content confusing, frightening. She had been taught long ago that Light had overcome the Darkness, just as Elementi had deemed it so. The Darkness was something told to young children to keep them well behaved. Stories. Just Stories. They had always been just stories.
Reaching for the first book, she turned to the first page. Reading it again to prove to herself that she was not going mad.
Before the creator departed this world for the next, he wrote the sacred scroll. He had watched for many years as his creations had grown and developed, some pleased him and others did not.
Yet he held to his word and he had made a vow at the beginning of time itself to not undo anything that had been done. Yet, he realised that one day those who had not pleased him would turn forever from the Light.
As he had predicted, the land we know at Tozaro became consumed by Darkness, vowing that one day they would take the world for their master. Elementi knew that he had to find a way to stop them from destroying the Light once he had moved on.
He threw into the future elements of himself, knowing that when the time came only those who had the power to match the Dark Ones could defeat them and claim the lands for Light once more.
The door to the temple opened, a familiar presence sitting down by Eboni's side as her mind tried to make sense of what was in front of her.
"Is any of what you taught me true?" She whispered, setting down the book, no longer able to look at it for fear the tears she had been holding would finally fall.
"Yes, my child." The High Priestess. "All but this. I could not tell you about this, not until we were sure." She replied.
"What does it all mean? What does any of it mean?"
"You have read all of the books?" She asked.
"Yes." Eboni replied.
"Then you have read about the sacred scroll?" The High Priestess asked, standing and walking to the copper bowls in front of them.
"Yes." Eboni replied again, this time in a whisper.
"The sacred scroll, is a prophecy. Bound by time to come true when all is aligned. When the Darkness is rising and the elements reborn. The High Priests and Priestess's of Gods Land, since the beginning of time, have tried to decipher the prophecy. Infer its meanings. But it was all in vain. We could but guess. Until you were brought to the temple and left on the doorstep."
"So, you knew. You knew my gift was given by Elementi- and for what? So I can be thrown into a battle between Light and Darkness? What exactly am I supposed to do!?" Eboni too stood from her chair, her confusion turning to hurt as she realised she had been living a lie her entire life.
"I am sorry, my child. For keeping this from you. But we did not know when- if- anything would happen. I did not want to burden you." High Priestess Elena dipped her hand into the water before waving her hand over the still burning flames.
"You should have told me." Eboni said, walking to the bowl of fire, she could feel her hurt turning to anger. "Is there anything else you are hiding from me?"
"No, everything that I know, you will soon know. I will not hide anything more from you. Not now." She continued to the next bowl caressing the air around the glass globe.
"What do you mean? Now?" Fear began to bite at Eboni's mind. They were keeping this from her until they knew whether anything would happen or not. "Something has happened hasn't it?"
The High Priestess sighed sadly. Resting her palm on the warm glow of light still emanating from the bowl.
"The prophecy has begun."
Before Eboni could ask what exactly the prophecy contained, the door to the temple was opened, Bren peering around, smiling as he saw her.
"You weren't at breakfast! Is everything ok?" He asked, looking between her and The High Priestess.
"Come on in, Brother Bren. Shut the door behind you." High Priestess Elena said, gesturing for him to walk forward.
"What's going on? Eboni, are you ok?" Bren asked as he stopped by her side, looking her up and down before wiping a stray tear she had not even realised she had shed, from her cheek.
"You are, and have always been inseparable. Am I correct in thinking that you would have told him everything anyway?" High Priestess Elena asked, looking to Eboni, who nodded in reply.
"Then I have something to show you both." She walked over to a large statue of the First High Priest in the corner of the temple, pushing down on the book in his hand.
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Bren asked, confused.
The stone statue began to move backwards, revealing a stone staircase below that spiralled down below the temple ground.
"Follow me." High Priestess Elena began to climb down the stairs.
"What's going on?" Bren whispered, his eyes wide with wonder as they followed after her, the statue sliding shut above them as they began to descend. "No one is going to mention the spooky secret statue doorway?"
"The books which the High Priestess gave me to read, they are the writings of past High Priests and Priestess's. Elementi left a sacred scroll before he left this world, prophesising the rise of The Darkness and the rebirth of his elements." Eboni replied, wanting him, for just this moment, to realise the seriousness of the situation.
"Well. That's interesting." Bren said.
Eboni looked over her shoulder, bewildered at his response. "Interesting?"
Bren stayed silent, looking ahead, his face now stony and expressionless.
They entered an underground room, the walls were lined with books and scrolls and a table in the middle of the room was piled high with artefacts and fresh paper, ready to be written upon.
"Sit down, please." The High Priestess said, walking over to one of the bookshelves and extracting an old wooden box.
Joining them at the table, she opened the box and took out the oldest scroll Eboni had ever laid her eyes on.
"Is that our creators own hand?" Eboni asked amazed as she looked over the writing as the High Priestess unfurled it.
Bren leaned forward, matching her own gaze of awe.
"You may read it aloud." High Priestess Elena said, setting it out in front of Eboni.
"The Prophecy?" She asked, her fingertips lightly skimming where the ink had dented the page.
The High Priestess nodded in reply.
Eboni began to read aloud.
Dawn begins as Fire rises,
Joining with the spirit of light.
This is when Darkness will come.
That which holds the bond between brothers shall fall,
Bringing all Elements together.
Spirit
Earth
Wind
Fire
Water
Darkness
ONE WILL FALL
The only sound in the silence that followed was the noise of Bren's chair squeaking as he sat back to absorb the information.
"Spirit. That's Eboni, isn't it?" Bren asked, taking the scroll from Eboni's hands so he could read it again.
"Of course it's me." Eboni replied sighing, resting her elbows on the table as she cradled her head in her hands.
"And Fire? It says that everything begins when they meet?" Bren asked.
"That is why High Priest Jon and I decided to tell you now, Eboni. We believe, if the stories are true, that you will be meeting each other very soon." High Priestess Elena replied.
"You're both taking this awfully calmly!" Eboni said, the chair scraping back across the floor as she stood. "Where is High Priest Jon anyway? Surely a conversation as life changing as this should be had in his presence?!" She began to pace the room, the realisation of everything that was about to happen making her feel sick.
"High Priest Jon is with the others, making sure the preparations for King Gregor's arrival tomorrow goes to plan, as well as stopping anyone who asks about our whereabouts at this moment in time. I understand this is a lot to take in but-."
"A lot to take in?" Eboni laughed dryly. "What am I going to do? I don't know anything about the Darkness, or how to defeat it! Whatever 'it' is. I didn't even know that the Darkness still even existed!"
"You aren't in this alone, Eboni. I am by your side. As long as you need me I will be there." Bren said, standing and setting his hands on her shoulders to stop her from her continued pacing.
"How are you so calm?" She whispered.
Bren smiled down at her sadly, squeezing her shoulders. "I have to be."
He wrapped her arms around her, holding her close as she shook from the mix of emotions that were coursing through her.
"Who is she going to meet? Who is fire?" He asked the High Priestess again.
"It's the Princess. She is fire." She replied, her face changing from concern to a sourness Eboni or Bren had never seen before.
Eboni pulled out of Bren's embrace with a gasp. Her eyes growing wide her mouth agape as she realised what this meant.
"The Princess?" She said, shocked.
"The King of Rolezal had been bragging about his daughter for a while now, of course we were unable to decide whether the bragging warranted any merit because that is all King Gregor seems to do." The High Priestess replied with a disappointed sigh. "It is rumoured however that she can control Fire."
"He's bragging about it? You made sure that no one knew about me." Eboni frowned, confused.
"Let's just say where the Princess is concerned the Kind doesn't hold back" The Priestess said bitterly, shaking her head in disapproval.
"The prophecy says 'Dawn begins as Fire rises, joining with the spirit of light.' You said that the Rolezal convoy is arriving tomorrow. What is going to happen?" Bren asked.
"It is impossible to say. For now, I can only share with you the ideas and information we have on Tozaro and the Dark Ones that inhabit the island."
Eboni walked over to the book shelf, running her fingers over the spines of the books as flicking through the scrolls.
"There is a lot of information here. But none of it is certain, is it? It's all just guess work." She asked.
"That is correct. It was all we could do- until you of course. Even then, I could not know for certain." The High Priestess replied.
"And what of the others? Do we tell them? They have a right to know as well." She said, sitting down again.
"We will. First though we need to actually establish whether the Princess does hold an element of our creator."
"What happens if the King is telling the truth and the Princess starts showing off her gift?" Bren asked.
"Then we play it smart. We can't know for certain what is going to happen."
"This is really happening, isn't it?" Eboni whispered.
"I'm sorry Eboni. I really am. I know this is so sudden. Stay down here and learn what you can for the rest of the day. The others will be wondering where I am. I will return with some food and drink."
High Priestess Elena said, walking over to Eboni, patting her soothingly on the shoulder before climbing the stairs and pressing a leaver, the statue above shifting.
Eboni stayed silent, staring at the table in front of her. Her headache returning with a vengeance as the silence around her settled heavily on her shoulders.
"I can't do this Bren. I don't know anything apart from life in this temple. I'm weak."
"We're in this together, Eboni. I'm not going anywhere." Bren replied, setting a pile of books down in front of her.
"You'll even read books for me?" Eboni said, smiling ruefully up at him.
"Drastic times call for drastic measures." He laughed, sitting down next to her with his own stack of books.
They were in for a long day.