The thirteen broke their backs and wet the earth with their sweat as they toiled, month after month, to finally bring the Old Masters to the resting place of the elder evil. But as tough as the strain on their bodies was, the strain on their minds was much greater. They were forced to observe the Old Masters for only the briefest of moments at a time, and then to take those brief glimpses and to learn from them in secret. And all of this required thinking in new and abstract ways, ways in which the thirteen had never thought before.
While the Old Masters commanded the spirits to do their bidding, acting as the masters of all they touched and saw, the thirteen spoke quietly to the spirits as equals. They bonded with the spirits over their mutual tie to the land and though the spirits were reluctant to dally with the thirteen, they came to be steadfast friends and allies.
“But if the elder evil consumed the spirits around it then who were the spirits that the thirteen talked to?” William asked.
Gerard had to stop to think about the question. It was another new thought in his boy’s repertoire and he was forced to admit that his boy was growing up. He found it was quite a bittersweet concept. Still, the question was a good one, one that he’d never himself thought to ask when his own father had told the story to Gerard. He’d never thought to ask where the thirteen’s friendly spirits had come from. It was just the way that the story had always been told.
“I suppose they were the spirits that the Old Masters brought with them. If their magic could protect the thirteen then it must have been able to protect a handful of spirits,” Gerard said hesitantly. Despite this, William nodded in satisfaction and settled back to continue listening. After all, a father’s word was law.
“Anyways,” Gerard coughed feeling slightly embarrassed at having to make something up for William on the spot.
Even with the aid of the spirits the thirteen found their progress to be slow. The influence of the elder evil’s touch had twisted the very rocks of the earth and the clouds in the sky until up was down and down was up. But eventually the twisted land gave way beneath the will of the thirteen and the people of the land at last brought the Old Masters to the resting place of the elder evil.
