Silence fell between Gerard and William, broken only by the pop of the firewood and the sound of Shar cleaning up the next room over. They watched each other for a moment, their faces both locked in a mask of stern silence. Then they both broke out in laughter, deep and rich. When they had composed themselves enough, Gerard continued.
With the elder evil bound the land returned to normal, no longer twisted by its corrupting evil. The thirteen returned to their people and brought with them the knowledge of spirit magic and that Bardin had sacrificed themselves for him. The shattered land where the elder evil fell became the Stryoss Mountains, and the trail that the thirteen had forged through them became the Gates of Bardin which separates eastern and western Amra. And legend tells that somewhere in the Stryoss Mountains, near the Gates of Bardin lies an immense black stone, the remains of Nhullus, the Hungerer, bound in eternal sleep my the spirit of Bardin himself, who keeps all travelers away from the unholy site so that his sacrifice can never be undone.
“And what about the Old Masters?” William asked. “The ones who fled?”
Gerard thought for a moment. “Story tells that only two of the Old Masters escaped, a sorcerer and his bodyguard. They fled the land, never to return. Some say they’re waiting outside, kept at bay by the fear that Nhullus will wake again should they return. Others say they destroyed themselves with their pursuit of a way to control Nhullus, victims of their own pride.”
“But what if they do come back?” William asked.
“I don’t really think that’s likely,” Gerard laughed. “I told you that this all happened thousands of years ago, before Amra was even an empire. Wherever the Old Masters went, we needn’t fear them.”
Gerard yawned and stretched his back with a sigh. “Besides, it’s time for you to go to bed.”
William frowned and started to voice a complaint but Gerard stopped him with a warning grunt and a stern look. William let out a frustrated sigh of his own and got up, shuffling toward the cubby where his linens were kept. He settled in and watched the shadows of the fire burn low across the outside his sealed little world. In no time at all he was drifting off, and in his pre-slumber dreams he watched the figure of a hero stand against a terrible beast in the shadows.
