Finding Me.

The Heartstone

EpiPrologue

Lo held her grandmothers necklace tightly in the palm of her hand. Her fingers were cramped, but she couldn't let go. Her knuckles were white, and a lesser woman would have crumpled over in a sobbing mess over the severe gash in her side.

Instead, all she could do was stare intently at what was in her other hand. It was an amazing jewel the size of a coconut, weighing at least seven or eight pounds. It was transparent with a beautiful red hue. Lumps of mud, vegetation and slime covered much of it, but despite the layer of filth, there was no doubting the truly glorious gem she held.

It seemed wrong, a sin, to have it covered in such a disgusting mess. She closed her eyes, at last she had what she came for. So many others had tried, but their intentions were less than admirable. The nearly impregnable fortress, the truly frightening guardians. Thinking about it reminded her that she had just been through a lot.

As she held the stone in her hand, the throbbing in her side stopped, and she felt suddenly lighter. She wasn't sure what it was, but it felt good, it felt...right.

She opened her eyes and looked about to find that she was still standing in the fortress. She peered at the trail of bodies she had left behind. They were not human, perhaps, but it certainly seemed a waste. After her discussions with each of the guardians, she had realized that they were only doing what they thought was best. They protected the gem at all costs. Most of them were obsessive, thinking only of the stone at all times. It was a sad fate for all in the fortress, but now the stone could be put to good use. She didn't know how exactly, but she could tell it would all work out now, that was just one of the many things she simply knew.

She knelt down on the ground and wiped the stone cleanly on the thick, green grass which had engulfed the entire platform where she was standing. No doubt some of Sententia's work. She hadn't noticed in her previous battle that the entire chamber was surrounded by a near endless grove of trees. It had been so bright in the area that she wouldn't have noticed them. She supposed that each tree likely meant something to poor Sententia. It was likely not best to dwell on him. Killing him had to be done, She would leave the grove as it was, and hopefully it would flourish even without it's protector.

Lo finally let go of the pendant. Her hand strained to return to grasping the air, the fresh indentations from gripping the pendant still worn into her fingers. She quickly placed the stone into her leather pouch. It was a tight fit, as she had estimated the stone to be much smaller, but at least it didn't look like it would fall out, it would be a tragedy to lose it due to clumsiness after all of this work.

Lo picked herself off her knees and took one last glance around the platform. It was an amazing feet of engineering or magic, or whatever. The forest around her, the white stone steps and entrance leading down. The intricate carvings on the stones seemed to tell a story of the stone, but she didn't bother trying to figure it out. She might feel better, (much, much better, even) but she still had several small wound and one very large wound that all needed treatments. The Blind Tree of Occulum stood in the center of the platform. All of the stories about the tree were right, which is surprising, considering no one had ever made it this far.

She speculated briefly to herself, wondering if perhaps...one of the guardians had told someone about the tree. It didn't matter she supposed. She looked at the white stones again, running her hand across them one last time before she descended back down the stairs. It was time to return home.