Sunday Excerpt, "Crucible"

Never had a room containing so many people been so silent. Linvin’s heart raced as he approached the chest. The organ’s beating was so loud he believed everyone in the room could hear the sound. His steps were short but purposeful. At last he was close enough to touch the chest. The unfamiliar carvings on the box were beautiful in their mystery. They had not been chiseled in the stone. What he presumed to be letters or words had been burned into the rock with such precision the stone around them had been unchanged.

Peering at the throne he saw both Mandrean and Necromancer leaning forward in their seats, awaiting the outcome of Linvin’s effort. The image angered the great warrior but his temper was held in check as he looked back and saw the dire position of his uncle. Feeling the most helpless he had been in his life, Linvin reluctantly inserted the key into the keyhole of the right side of the chest. It fit perfectly. He turned the key and the lock made a grinding sound as it moved to the open position. Linvin took a deep breath and opened the lid.

The compartment inside held a fine red powder. Linvin’s curiosity outweighed his desire for caution. He placed his finger in the sand-like powder and felt for anything solid. When his skin touched it, the dust began to glow. The crimson light intensified with such speed that Linvin was forced to shield his eyes. Then the aura filled the room and made it impossible for anyone to see. An immeasurable vortex of wind emanated from the chest and blew like a tornado through the room. All the furniture was caught in the wind and the people clung to the ground or anything the air could not lift.

Only Linvin stood unaffected by the storm. He looked at the chaos around him and then back at the chest. The powder in the compartment was gone. Lifting his eyes to the red storm around him, he felt no fear. It was not bravery or ignorance that inspired his calmness. Something about what was happening simply felt right to him. He marveled at the majesty before his eyes and never even stopped to consider why the wind did not so much as ruffle his shirt.

A deep, resonating voice reaching deafening tones echoed through the room. “I am the Red Sapphire, dislodged from the Prism of the Cosmos after the great Diffusion of Magic. My purpose is to prove that one person with great ability can make a great difference. Through the Path of the Red Sapphire I will give fantastic power to this person. It will be his charge to use the power to do the greatest good. My Master and I shall once again prove one can stand against many, that evil is not stronger than righteousness and my power in the right hands can change the course of history.

“My power is meant to fight for those who cannot do so. We shall prove a single person can save many and tyranny and oppression will not be allowed to go unchecked. Through me, one person can create positive change. That person must be true of heart and character. Their own skills must compliment my power. I knew from the day he entered the world my next master would be Linvin Grithinshield. I am to serve him until his death and no other. Together we shall perform works greater than any seen in this age. We will make the difference no one else can make. Linvin, hold out your hands with the palms up and together.”

The vortex centered over his hands and contracted at a rate equal to that at which it had grown. In a matter of moments the spectacle was over and Linvin held the grandest gem he could ever have imagined.