Questions abounded, as the words Arlie had uttered continued to echo in their minds. Rose spoke, “That...”

  She trailed off, Aurora grinned, “Well in light of that prophecy, it seems to me that Arlie should take the Trial of the Five Temples. Summoning a god would be no easy feat, but if someone could conquer all five temples they would be able to do just that.”

  The three girls shared a look, “What do you mean: summon a god!?”

  “The Last First Lord is another title given to one of the oldest gods and I’m not talking about the Dragon Gods worshiped to the south. I’m talking about the Skylords that are worshipped here in Kamisoli. If you seek to learn more, I would recommend looking up the temples in the Contrey family library. There is more information avaible in the Great Mage’s Archive as well.”

  “Library?” Lily gnced over at the shelves, “I mean Arlie has a few books, but that’s not much of a library, the titles don’t scream temple either.”

  Aurora walked over to one of the shelves, and to Arlie’s shock proceeded to unlock the hidden door. All eight switches in perfect order were activated. The shelves slid back and to the side to reveal a passageway into the earth. The stairs were old stone worn from many years of use, yet they still looked solid, several magical torches lit up to reveal the passage.” “This Library.”

  Rose and Lily looked at Arlie, “Did you know you had a basement!?”

  Glumly she nodded, that wasn’t cool. She’d told no one about it, Ria had sworn her to secrecy about it, and here a dragon just casually unveiled it. The hidden door and the wards doing nothing to stop her. She needed to distract people about it, right clothes! They were all fucking naked thanks to that whole puppet incident. “Why don’t we leave that be, and get dressed?”

  “Oh nonsense. You three will be fine.”

  Lily however spoke up, “I’d like some clothes too!”

  Aurora sighed, “Voting against me are we?”

  Rose gulped, “I’ll be fine!!”

  Aurora smiled, “Great, let's go!”

  The Dragon vanished down the stairs, leaving the three girls behind. Arlie gred at Rose, “Way to fold.”

  Rose grinned, then pyed with her bust a little, “Oh I know you like me naked, don’t you?”

  Arlie flushed, “That’s not fair!”

  Lily sighed, “Rose, stop teasing her.”

  “Aw! I was having fun!”

  Lily gave her a look, “Why don’t we get moving before she gets impatient and puppets us?”

  Rose shuddered, “Right, good idea.”

  Rose practically ran to the stairs, Arlie watched her. The way she was moving, her small breasts bouncing just right with each bound... It was so delightfully sexy. Part of her just wanted to rub against those boobs, feel that skin against hers. Lily was just so cute too!

  Lily sighed and pulled her along, “Come on, you can lust after us ter.”

  Arlie turned red, “I was not!”

  In unison, they replied, “You were!”

  Choosing not to argue, she took the steps. The twins followed along a moment ter and they descended down the curved stairwell and into the family basement. The steps soon opened up into the upper level of the basement.

  Exiting into the first room, there were several doors leading to various storerooms and the workshop where she would make her potions. There were several other workshops down here suited for other magical pursuits like the one for enchanting. She ignored them all and headed for the rge double doors that Aurora was standing next to. The carpet beneath her feet kept them warm and off the cold stone.

  “So why are you dragging us down to the library? Better yet, why show my friends!? Ria swore me to secrecy over it. By the infernal pnes! She even forbid me from telling them!”

  Aurora pushed the heavy double doors open, revealing the room beyond as she replied, “I’m quite well aware, but I feel it best that you three do some research.”

  “You knew!?”

  “Of course I did, I am your guardian.”

  “You keep saying that, but what does that mean?”

  “Means I’m responsible for you, much like a parent is responsible for her pups. I’ve been watching over you for years, and keeping you safe from those that would harm you.”

  Arlie blinked, but it was Rose who inquired, “Then why haven’t we met you before?”

  Aurora chuckled, “Actually you have, you two were so cute back then, just barely able to walk and so curious about the world, especially you Rose.”

  “Huh?”

  Rose frowned, “What are you talking about?”

  “Ask your mother,” replied Aurora as she gestured at the library. A rge table was in the middle of the room with a number of cozy chairs set around it, a rge chandelier hung from the ceiling. Shelves lined every wall, and rows of bookcases filled the space between the walls and the round little reading nook in the center. All of them were filled with countless books.

  Lily frowned, “So how do you keep this clean?”

  “Enchantments, no other way, each shelf has enchantments to preserve the books and to repel dust and insects.”

  “That’s pretty neat.”

  Arlie sighed, “So why are we here?”

  “To prepare for the Trial of the Five Temples.”

  “I’m not allowed to really tell you much, but there is material in here that will help you.”

  Rose and Lily looked around, “This pce is huge! There must be hundreds of books in here!”

  “Thousands,” corrected Arlie, “My family has collected their knowledge here for generations.”

  “How will we ever find what we need in here?”

  “There are enchantments in the library to help with that, just let the spirit of the library guide you and you will find what you need.”

  As Aurora sat at the reading table, Arlie moved off into the shelves. Rose and Lily shared a look, then went different ways.

  Rose walked along the shelves gncing at the bindings, the books were stacked high with titles in every style of script she could imagine. It seemed hard to imagine you could find anything in here, she wasn’t even sure how the library was organized. Reaching up she grabbed an old leather bound book, it felt heavy in her hand. Carefully bancing it, she took it back to the reading nook and sat down, her hand ran along the engraved title. The title looked old, written in a style she wasn’t that familiar with but it was legible.

  The Third Volume of the Diaries of Archmage Asami of Cn Contrey

  The Thirty-Seventh Year of the Third Century of the Second Great Age of Dragons

  To the Forty-Second Year of the Third Century of the Second Great Age of Dragons

  “That’s a rather wordy title,” commented Rose.

  Aurora looked over her shoulder, “That was the style of the day, we use a more condensed form these days, but the key information is all there. The first line tells you whose diary this is, in this case Asami Contrey, her mage rank and what volume. The other two lines are dates.”

  “Second Great Age of Dragons? Um, isn’t it currently the Third Age of Man?”

  “Yup, year eight hundred and seven of the Third Age of Man.”

  “How old is this book?”

  “About four thousand years.”

  She took another look at the book, it was far older than she thought. Curious, she flipped it open. The pages fell neatly upon a random entry.

  This Thirteenth day of the Third Moons of the Thirty-Ninth year of the Third Century of the Second Great Age of Dragons.

  Today the Great Dragon came to visit me. It has been many years since I st saw her, but her power still terrifies me. It boggles the mind to think there is a being so powerful that even an Archmage is but a child before it. She spoke of many things and told me if I sought further answers on the dreams that have troubled me st, I should seek the Red Temple.

  I fear she might be right, the trial of the temple may do me good, the portents to the south speak ill. The queen gave me little heed, but I fear the cns to the south may seek war. Yet as terrible as that might be, I can’t help but worry over the prophecy she helped me give. Darkness shall fall upon the nd, heralding the drums of war. Monsters driven by the fires of war will fall upon the ranks of man, evil chafing against its chains shall invade the domains of mortals. The Masters of the Sky Beyond the Stars shall return bringing with them champions to do battle against the false one and his heralds but they shall surely fall lest the Last First Lord return to defend his tomb amongst the stars.

  I have pondered the meaning of it, my gifts tell me it won’t be for many years, yet I haven’t been able to decipher it either. The portents it speaks of sound rather dire, I fear what it will mean for my kin not yet born for I will surely be long gone by the time this comes to pass. That leaves me with a conundrum: how do I prepare my kin for a battle yet to come, when I don’t yet know what shape it will take?

  Part of me fears that I may have mistransted the prophecy as I gave it in the ancient tongue of the gods. The word tomb raises many questions, as it implies that the Last First Lord is already dead, yet the prophecy speaks of him returning to do battle. How a dead god could possibly do battle eludes me. Tomb may not be the right meaning, the actual word ‘Erukinsa’ has several meanings but the other seven meanings fit even worse. Perhaps if I used the gift of knowledge I’d be able to decipher it, but that particur family blessing is a fickle one.

  Rose looked up, “Well this is interesting. She mentioned the red temple even.”

  Arlie, a book in hand commented, “Gd you found something.”

  “Right, she speaks of a prophecy that sounds kinda like yours and mentions a gift of knowledge.”

  “Ancestral Knowledge, I know that one. It lets us learn what our ancestors knew.”

  “Guess that expins why she called it a fickle blessing.”

  “Yeah and delving for the knowledge isn’t free, it costs a lot of mana to seek that wisdom. Even a small tidbit would use up most of my pool, it’s like casting an advanced spell.”

  “Ouch, I’ve seen how drained you get, no wonder Asami didn’t just use it.”

  “Yeah Auntie Ria was pretty clear that I should be careful with the gift and not to use it until I was an Archmage like her. However it does sometimes activate on its own.”

  “Huh, interesting,” then she gestured at the book Arlie had, “What do you have?”

  Arlie showed her the title, “A Primer on the Five Temples.”

  Together they leaned over the table as Arlie flipped it open.

  The five great temples, the Red Temple of Varixiyies, the Blue Temple of Ukova, the Yellow Temple of Southern Dragonsreach, The Green Temple of Dragon’s Rock Isle, and the White Temple of Nykova each one holds a trial set by the gods.

  To my dear descendants, what you will need to know about these trials is that each one holds a theme, meant to test you, to push you to greatness and determine you’re worthy of the powers they seal. If one can pass all five trials they will be granted the power of the gods themselves and be able to cast any magic. Even passing a single trial will allow one to stand above mere mortal mages.

  The First of the Trials is the Trial of the Red Temple, the Trial of the Labyrinth is one many of us have passed before, so I can tell you some of what you will face within. You will face many traps, trials of combat, and tests of the mind. You may take no weapons with you, nor any armor, even your clothes are forfeit. The guardian of the temple will provide you with something to wear but that is all you will get. Thankfully you may take up to five companions with you, but that is small comfort for the challenge within. The guardian will tell you more when you speak with him.

  The Second of the Trials, The Trial of the Blue Temple, the Trial of Water. This one is an exploration of the soul and a test of magic. The Guardian shall test you to your limits. Like before the Guardian will tell you more, I am allowed to write no more about what this trial entails.

  The Third Trial, The Trial of the Yellow Temple, the Trial of Heavenly Storms. I’m afraid I’m ill-prepared to inform you of what this one entails, what I can tell you is that I failed this one. Perhaps descendants of mine shall fare better?

  Fourth is the Trial of the Green Temple, the Trial of Growth. Few are those that have taken this one, the Guardian can prepare you better than I.

  As for the Fifth Trial, none have passed it. If you so dare to take it be prepared for the greatest challenge of your life.

  The two shared a look, “Aurora wants me to take this?”

  Aurora smiled, “Well, it will prepare you for what is to come. As I said before if you pass, you could summon the one god who can avert that dark portent you just warned us of. One your ancestor also warned us of. I fear the time of it is near, portents of darkness and monsters stirring in their dens can already be felt.”

  “I’m not sure, but I guess I’ll talk with Auntie Ria about this. I was pnning to visit anyway.”

  Lily came in, “Um? Arlie? Have you read this?”

  Arlie frowned and looked at the page Lily was showing her.

  Day twelve of the third month of the year three hundred twelve, Third Era of Man.

  I can’t believe it, that dragon interfered with my life, again! I didn’t even have a prophecy this time. She just showed up without warning, while I was out in the forest with my apprentice collecting ingredients. The st time she controlled me and took me out into the woods. I let it slip that I was annoyed that she interrupted my courting of my apprentice. She decided to make up for it by forcibly ‘bonding us together’ as she put it. Tomorrow morning is going to be so awkward after what happened. I don’t know what I’m going to say to her. Especially given the fact the dragon said she blessed us. So I have no doubt that both of us are pregnant. My Mom warned me to be careful of what I say around that dragon and to pay extra attention so I know when she is watching. Now I kind of wish I had listened to her.

  The two girls shared a look, Aurora was more dangerous than they thought.