44 An Altar

As I neared the doors into the next chamber I noticed that they were different to any door I had ever seen. They were made out of the same black material that the hallway behind me had used but the door itself was covered in carvings.

The cravings seemed to depict a scene of someone who fought dragons and seemed to kill them, then absorbed something from them. As it went on, the person seemed to change and stopped killing the dragons and instead began to help them. In the end it showed the figure leading a load of people through what looked like a kind of portal.

Finally getting through the door, I entered a massive chamber, which was at least five times the size of the previous one. Though unlike the artistic drawings in the previous chamber this one seemed to be empty.

Looking around, I quickly walked over to the old man. Who was standing in front of an altar. The altar itself was made of.the same material as everything else I had seen. It was a small carving of a dragon, this dragon was chained up. There seemed to be something dripping down from its neck. Following the dripping liquid I noticed a blow l where it would have the floor. In that bowl was a black liquid.

The old man seemed to be waiting for something. After a few more seconds, the eyes of this dragon lit up. They were a pale grey colour though. The liquid that had been coming out of the altar turned the same pale grey as well.

"Adoh, I am about to offer you a choice. You may take the bowl and drink the liquid and join the knight order of the shadows. Alternatively you may leave and you will forget everything you have seen and become an ordinary ranger. This decision is up to you. I will be waiting outside." After he finished what he had to say. He turned around and left the room. With a massive boom. The doors closed after him, leaving me alone with this grey liquid.

I looked at the liquid for a few minutes. The colour seemed so bright in contrast to the rest of the room. Making it seem like it was glowing.

'Do I drink this or not. They are obviously strong or at least well respected. They must have a strong connection with the rangers as well. In terms of combat power, the old man, I don't know much about, but he feels dangerous and Erebus well he is definitely strong. The old man at least seems to know a lot and the aura ability. What I don't know about them is a lot. It could be a cult. I might as well. I can always try to escape later on.'

Bending down, as I grabbed the bowl so that I could drink the liquid. The liquid flowing out of the altar stopped. Seeing this I froze for a second before carrying on. I then brought it fo my lips and drank all of the liquid in one go. Feeling nothing happening I put the bowl back.

After I had done that, the pale grey eyes began to glow even brighter. I then felt my body cool down abruptly. I felt like I was frozen. After a few minutes I warmed back up and felt normal. Looking around nothing had changed and after inspecting my body I had not changed as well.

Then I heard the noise of the door opening. Looking back I saw the old man walking towards me. Smiling. "I think you made a great choice. Follow me now adept. It's time for you to truly meet the order."

I followed him off into the dark, it turned out that there were more corridors and chambers. We walked through so many, I couldn't count them all. By the time we stopped I was in what looked like a kitchen.

"What are you looking at? Food will not cook itself you know. You will need to eat where you are going. The tower's are wondrous places but deadly. The competition there is nasty."

I went to work getting some food and cutting it up. Then cooked it quickly. It didn't take me long to produce two sizzling meals.

I sat down with the old man, giving him.the portion of food I had made him. He took a few bites before looking at me in surprise. "You are a good cook." He said, astonished. As a reward I will give you a little tip. "The towers are places to learn magic. They are also a place of knowledge. Use the libraries they have. Learn about the past and the world. It will be more useful to you than you know."

Once I had finished my food. I went into one of the rooms connecting to the kitchen. In it were some fine clothes to wear and a bed. There was also an area to clean myself up.

After cleaning myself fully as I couldn't remember the last time I had a wash. I hoped to go to bed. Falling asleep quickly.

The next morning I had a quick wash and then got changed into the fine clothes that had been left out for me. Once I was ready I left the room and had a little bite to eat before following the old man off again.

This time I was led out of the mountain which was where the training camp was located. Here they were just a stable, in it were a few horses near an immaculately crafted carriage. Going near it, I noticed numerous carvings of dragons as well as magic scenes of fire and frost being used in battles between mages.

I looked once more at the old man, who scolded me, telling me to get into the carriage and be on my way to the tower. In his words, "You have a lot to learn."

The carriage inside was just as luxuries as the outside. It had a dark oak wood which made up most of the frame. The cushions and pillows were covered in a black fabric which felt like silk. Sitting down inside of it, I felt as if I was royalty. The old man stood at the door and I thought I saw a smile as I turned to look at him, if I did though it disappeared as fast as it appeared. He muttered good luck as he closed the door and sent me off.

The carriage itself had no driver and the horses seemed to know where they were going so I layed back and enjoyed the comfort of the journey. Due to there being no windows I couldn't see outside though, the only source of light I had was a lamb, which seemed to be powered magically.

The ride itself was about a couple of hours long. I was starting to go a bit bored until I heard a yell to open a gate. Following that I had the rattle of chains and a creaking noise as this gate I assumed was opened. A few minutes later the carriage stopped, knowing it was time for me to get off I moved towards the door.