NEW WORLD

Tant did not consider himself a sinner, but he was afraid of the wrath of the creator; even in his sleep, when he was visited by visions of the world fire. Rolling over on his side, he twitched his whole body and, without opening his eyelids, hit his forehead against the wall. The pain finally brought him to his senses. He lay in a warm mantle under a canopy, among the ruins, safe. He again had a terrible dream and again on a full moon. Everything is as usual, but not in Equitaine. He left his native island fourteen years ago.

Coming out of the abandoned manor, Tant went down to the ledge and looked around at the ruins below. Darkness reigned here day and night. The ancient city at the bottom of the gorge seemed to be deliberately hidden from the sun.

There was a heavy snoring behind him. Turning, he saw a shaggy head in the garden behind the stone fence.

“ Don't forget the rules, Kord. Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth, ”Tant said with a smile. Do you meditate or do something else?

The boy stopped sniffling, but did not open his eyes.

Wrapped in a scarlet robe, Tant looked up at the moon. Its light gradually began to seep into the rock cavity, illuminating the ruins of the city. Many houses built of slate blocks turned white before our eyes. Only two-story manors and temples with figured windows remained black. They were carved into the slopes at different heights, and the approaches to them were connected by arched bridges.

The people who built this city were called “creators” for a reason. The ancients knew how to build luxurious buildings and did not spare the stone. It is not known only for what reason they decided to settle in such an ominous place. His closest associate Wistan believed that this policy was sacred. Perhaps that is why there were seven temples at once.

According to Wistan, six or eight similar cities were built on Mirkhold. This one looked small but rich, at least until the expedition of Baron Rainier found it three centuries ago. Their travel diaries said that the temples were bursting with gold and jade jewelry. Rainier, as befits any far-sighted Magore, rid the city of these riches.

“ Can't sleep, Tant? A strong voice came from behind.

Another far-sighted Magorian approached him. Wearing a worn brown purpuen over a woolen shirt, he looked like a rich man beaten up in the slums. Old man Ravian lived in a nearby manor, along with the rest of the squad. Tantus nodded, wrapping a corduroy hood around his neck.

“ I wonder how they lived here?”

“ Just like we do in Kenovia,” Tunt said. “Maybe even better. There is no wind. Floods are excluded. Dozens of water passages stretch into the abyss behind the wall. There is a mountain spring two miles to the east.

- And in winter?

Tant shuddered involuntarily, remembering the snow-covered plain from his dream.

“ The archives say that the empire of the creators disappeared a thousand years ago. At that time, it was hot here in winter. He paused for a moment and added, “Why do you think it snows in the south?”

– How do I know. You are the learned man, Tant. The stooping old man just waved his hand. - It's coming, so what? It's always cold in winter.

“ Ravian, buddy, I've been studying Mirkhold for three years. The island has always been warm. At the beginning of the Cycle, the Westmarians harvested a double crop here. It's such a rarity now. Alchemists cannot find some plants that used to be found everywhere. I think it's because of the cold. Maybe the time will come when the snow will not melt at all.

Did you have a dream again? Ravian looked at the moon. “Did you see the skull door?”

- No more. Probably because we found it. It's the second full moon since we've been out camping.

- All that remains is to open it. Maybe you'll stop dreaming about the firestorm too when...

- When will it be a short time before him?

The day of the last light he dreamed of for the third year in a row, and with this dream came another. He first saw him as a child, after a trip to the mines of Livercol. Then, in the ruins of the Welinkron Fort, he found a box with a double bottom, in which, in addition to coins, there was a golden disk.

Tant reached under the leather sash and pulled out an old find from the folds of his robe. Clamped in the center of the disk was a polished piece of amber, which became the death dungeon for the firewing beetle.

The door doesn't bother me. She is under our feet. But what happens when we open it? Why Mirai brought me here.

He turned the amulet towards the moon and it shone with an orange light. Like other magical things, this artifact endowed the owner with power. With him, he was given a lot of knowledge. He quickly wised up and achieved success in literacy. Parents in those years joked, they say, like a mouse, he bites into any page, and the amulet was called the “Letter Gnaw”.