-Rollor’s Reach: Citadel- -Jed Corruich- He stepped into the dungeon, one hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. More than one Knight had been led to a trap down here; the Faith might be gone, but not everyone on Okoto was a fan of theirs. The Battle for the Dawn had been largely forgotten, in the aftermath of the War of Five Kings. In the flickering light of the torches, he could make out two familiar faces. “Ehks,” he said, nodding to the Protector of Ice on the left, before turning to the Protector of Jungle on the right. “Piruk.” “Kingslayer,” Piruk said, his voice raspy from disuse. Ehks merely nodded. “Why are we meeting down here?” Jed asked. “I thought you were decoding the histories.” The two Protectors shared an uncomfortable glance. Ehks shifted in place, before seeming to realize that Piruk was content to let her explain. “We… were. We’re not sure we should continue.” “Don’t be ridiculous.” “I’m not, I’m being serious,” she said. “What we’ve been reading about… it’s fragments of fragments, Jed. I think most of it was lost before the Mask Makers came to Okoto, or maybe during their war. Early enough that I’m beginning to suspect even Voltex’s notes on them are barely enough to give us an outline.” “Continue decoding them until the task is completed,” Jed said, turning away. “Until then, there’s nothing for us to do.” “You’re wrong, Kingslayer.” Jed sighed at the sound of Piruk’s voice, glancing over his shoulder. “Why?” “What we have decoded,” Ehks said, pausing to draw in a shuddering breath that had Jed turning back to face them properly. “It… there’s no time. There’s too many signs, and that’s just what we’ve translated so far. We need the rest of the information, and we need it now.” “I need more detail than that. Don’t be cryptic.” “As best we can tell, there is a war on the horizon,” Piruk said. “The texts refer to it as the ‘Great War’. They say it is the only war that will ever matter.” “There’s been references to endless death,” Ehks continued. “Prophecies upon prophecies. But it’s all in bits and pieces, and all we know for certain is that it will be here soon.” Jed opened his mouth to reply, but Piruk cut across him: “the texts do refer to one location very clearly. A ‘Temple of Histories’, located in the south of the Barren.” “There aren’t any temples there,” Jed said slowly. “We’d know if there were… and they weren’t there before the War of Five Kings or Voxumo’s Rebellion, either.” “We believe it’s been gone for a long time,” Ehks said, frowning. “Lost before the Long Night, possibly even before Ekimu.” Scowling, Jed rubbed at his temples. He sighed, and shook his head. “I’m too old for this. Gods. I still remember the War for the Throne. Simpler times... just a small war, with none of this world-ending, weird mystical stuff. Except for….” “…the Temple of Time,” Piruk said, completing the unspoken thought as Jed trailed off. “That is my suggestion. We need to access this Temple of Histories. I suggest we find a way to recreate Khan Nato’s journey into the past, using the completed Mask of Time.” “The Mask of Time is missing. It has been for years.” “Then we find it,” Piruk growled, “or we die.”
