Eye of Voltare

"There weren't always dragons in the valley." The eye slot slammed closed enshrouding the young man in the alleyway in darkness. A mechanism cranked as the door slowly opened emitting a soft light into the alley. The man slid into the doorway as it slammed shut behind him.

In the light of the room the young man could see the room was full of people hunched over their tables hiding their conversations from the ears of others. The young man caught the eye of the barkeep as he walked in, his black cloak wrapped around him.

"You're looking for Varis?" The barkeep asked. The young man looked at him quickly.

"I am." The man said, his voice soft and musical.

"Then you must be Aldric." The barkeep said. Aldric looked around the bar to see people turning their attention to the conversation between the new guy and the barkeep.

"The very one." Aldric said, wrapping the cloak around him tighter as if it was providing him security. The barkeep pointed to the hallway.

"Last door on the right." The barkeep said. Aldric nodded and began his walk down the hallway. The people in the bar eyed him cautiously. Aldric noticed the paintings of the village in the hallway. He approached the last door on the right, the door opening before he could knock.

"Come in." A male Elf said. Aldric eyed the Elf up and down, noticing his red robes. Aldric walked through the door as the man shut the door behind him.

Aldric threw his cloak from around his body, revealing blue robes. Long pointy ears flashed briefly as his hair moved back into place, covering his ears. Aldric turned to face the man. A smile shone brightly on his face in the light of the fire.

"I was surprised to get your letter." The man said, walking across the room.

"I was surprised to find myself writing to you, Varis." Aldric said as Varis stood directly in front of him. Aldric's violet eyes met Varis's red eyes.

"Your letter said it was urgent." Varis said, looking Aldric up and down.

"It was, well it is." Aldric said. Varis walked past him to the table in the corner. He poured two glasses of wine as he sat down at the table.

"Come, have a seat and let two friends converse." Varis said, waving his hand at the empty chair in front of him. Aldric crossed the room.

"I have something to show you." Aldric said, taking a seat in front of Varis.

"You said that once before." Varis said with a smile. Aldric sighed as he pulled something out of his robes.

"I need you to see this." Aldric said, placing an orb on the table. Vari's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Is that what I think it is?" Varis asked not taking his eyes off the orb.

"It is." Aldric said. "The Eye of Voltare."

Varis sat back in this chair, mesmerized by the beauty of the orb sitting on the table. A soft blue and green hue swirled around inside the orb. Varis slowly raised his hand to touch the orb. As his hand got closer to the orb the color swirled faster, causing the swirl to seem like a storm. Varis felt an immense power being released from the orb. The swirling storm slowed as he pulled his hand away.

"Where did you find this?" Varis asked, concern in his voice. He refused to take his eyes off the orb.

"A few months ago, some friends and I were exploring Harbinger Island." Aldric said.

"See, right there in the name, that would be enough to stop me from exploring such a place." Varis said, his eyes flickered momentarily to Aldric before returning to the orb. Aldric rolled his eyes.

"We were exploring the island and we came across some ruins. I felt this immense power pulling me in, I couldn't explain it then and I can't explain it now. The place felt comfortable as if I had been there before. I felt this rush of energy pulling me to the large ruins in the middle of what seemed like a once vast city. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been there before then, and I can't shake the feeling now talking about it." Aldric said. Varis listened intensely.

"The large ruins were long past decay when we approached. Nonetheless I felt this strong power calling me in. I saw a small crack in the sealed door that was large enough for one person to enter at a time. So, I did what any sensible person would do and I squeezed through the collapsed pillars and through the small opening in the hole." Aldric said.

"I hate to break it to you, but sensible people don't enter buildings that have fallen into ruins when their civilization collapsed. Especially when there is a strong power calling them into the building, on an island named Harbinger. It was sheer stupidity on your part." Varis said, finally turning his attention away from the orb and back to Aldric.

"My group joined me one by one into the darkness of the ruins. The only light we had was the light of the sun that crept in through the holes in the ceiling. As we took a step forward the torches on the wall lit themselves. In the dead center of a circular room, this orb stood emitting its own soft light. I followed the power that had called me into the room to the orb. I gently placed my hand upon the orb, next thing I knew my entire group was outside the ruins, the orb in my hand. All of us were confused as to what happened and how we got there." Aldric said.

"And at what point did you question that none of that happens on a normal basis?" Varis asked.

"You are the one that specialized in Magical Artifacts at the Academy. I thought this orb would interest you." Aldric said.

"I need you to listen to your own story. I am not touching that orb, not now, not ever. The power I felt just placing my hand near it was immense and slightly terrifying. And yet you, without hesitation, touched an orb in the middle of ruins after a power was calling you to it. I have no idea how you are alive and sitting in front of me." Varis said.

"What do you know about the Eye of Voltare?' Aldric asked, ignoring Varis.

"Not much, there's not a lot of people that know much about it. It was created hundreds of years ago by the Sorcerer of the same name. Voltare was a powerful Sorcerer, and one of the founders of the Magi Circle. He believed Magi would become too powerful without proper leadership to guide them and keep them disciplined. He disappeared from his tower one night and all that was left was this orb. Nobody knows where he went or what became of him. He was just, gone." Varis said. The fire in the fireplace flickered ferociously.

"The orb has always had many legends behind it, including teleportation. Many things around the orb seem to remain the same though all of the legends. The orb has sentience just like you and I. The orb claims a master, someone the orb will serve and allow no others to touch it. And once its chosen master has died the orb vanishes once more. I never believed the orb to be real, thought I had always hoped it was. And now that I see it with my own two eyes, I wish it wasn't." Varis said, looking at the orb cautiously.

"I don't know why it called to me." Aldric said, picking the orb up. The colors in the orb continued to swirl peacefully as Aldric held it in his hands.

"I couldn't tell you either. There is the theory that the orb sees all, past, present, and future. And since it sees all and is sentient, the orb chooses its master for a purpose. It seems you would be burdened with finding out what that purpose is my friend." Varis said, pouring himself more wine.

"Is there anything more you can tell me about the orb?" Aldric asked.

"Unfortunately my knowledge of the Eye of Voltare is limited to what I told you. Mostly legends and myths. The truth is the orb hasn't been in seen in hundred of years, so most of those stories are just that." Varis said. Aldric looked at him with pleading eyes. Varis sighed.

"I have a friend a few days travel from here. She knows more about the orb than I do. She has studied it for years and took over the research when her father passed. She would be more able to help you than I am." Varis said. Aldric looked at him disheartened. The orb began to emit a soft white glow.

The bright light flashed around the room, temporarily blinding Varis and Aldric. Varis dropped his glass hearing it shatter against the concrete floor. The two of them rubbed their eyes trying to restore their vision. As the two of them looked around them, they realized the room had changed from its former decor.

The two of them looked around their new location in shock. The room had become larger. The walls were lined with family portraits. They remained seated at the same table from the inn, but knew definitively they were no longer there. The two of them turned to the side to see a woman dressed in white robes with long brown hair, standing a few feet from them, the same look of horror and confusion on her face.

"Can I possibly help you?" The woman asked, confused.

"Uh." Aldric said, looking back around the room.

"I don't even know what happened." Varis said, looking at the orb in confusion.

"You're in my home, in the middle of my living room, sitting at a table I do not own." The woman said, shaking her head.

"Esmerelda?" Varis asked with confusion in his eyes adjusting as he looked at her again.

"Varis?" Esmerelda asked with the same confusion in her voice.

"What just happened?" Aldric asked, looking at the orb.

"Well, this would be my friend I was telling you about just a second ago. Esmerelda, this is my friend from the Academy, Aldric." Varis said.

"Can I ask what is going on?" Esmerelda asked. Aldric moved his hand slightly to reveal the full orb resting in his palm. Esmerelda's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I seem to have stumbled upon the Eye of Voltare, and I was talking to Varis about it at the inn in Stonebrook, and he mentioned you and next thing we know we are in your home." Aldric said.

"I'm going to have to pay for this table no longer being in the room." Varis said. "My stuff is in that room."

A bright light began to emit from the orb again. Everyone closed their eyes as the light got instantly brighter. Varis and Aldric felt their bodies hit the concrete floor. They slowly opened their eyes as the light withdrew. Aldric and Varis were laying on the floor, the table and chairs had disappeared. Between them, where the table once lay was Varis's stuff in a neat pile.

"I want that orb far away from me." Varis said sternly. A light began to emit from the orb.

"I mean, thank you for my stuff and not making me pay for the table." Varis said quickly. The light from the orb disappeared. Varis let out a sigh of relief.

"That might have transported you to another dimension." Esmerelda said, standing over the two of them.

"I didn't want to risk where it was going to send me." Varis said, eyeing Aldric and the orb.

"Certain things are very clear. The Eye of Voltare has been found, you have no idea what to do with it, and it seems to have chosen more than one Master." Esmerelda said.

"Varis told me he had a friend that could explain more about the orb a few days from where we were staying and next thing we know we are in your house. You are that friend for sure?" Aldric asked.

"That would be me." Esmerelda said, holding her hands out to help the two of them up from the floor. Aldric and Varis took her hands and rose up to their feet. "Tell me where you found the orb." She demanded.

"I was exploring Harbinger Island with some friends." Aldric said.

"Who explores a place with that kind of name for fun?" Esmerelda asked. Varis looked at her.

"The same question I asked." Varis said.

"I felt something pulling me to the ruins in the middle of the island. So we found a way in. The orb was sitting in the middle of the room, I touched it. When I did so we were transported outside of the ruins with the orb in my hands. I sent a letter to Varis stating I needed to see him and the matter was urgent." Aldric said. Esmerelda looked at him like a concerned mother.

"Who hurt you?" She asked. Varis laughed. Aldric was not amused. "Seriously, who does any of that stuff?"

"Anyway, I have the orb and I know nothing about it. I was hoping Varis could help me, but his knowledge was much more limited than I thought." Aldric said, ignoring the blatant judgement in the room.

"What if the orb was cursed and killed you the moment you touched it? What if it was a vessel for a Lich, or any other number of demons? What if you would have unleashed a cataclysmic event resulting in the end of the world?" Esmerelda asked.

"But it didn't." Aldric said confidently. Esmerelda threw her hands up in exasperation. Varis shrugged.

"There's still a lot unknown about this orb. It was created by Voltare, that much is true. Everything after that has been legends and myths. However, you can pull the truth out of those stories by looking at historical documents that date around the same time." Esmerelda said, walking toward a large collection of books.

"The orb was found in Voltare's tower after his disappearance. Anytime someone tried to touch the orb they would find themselves gravely injured. Many of the Magi who first discovered it, unfortunately died. The orb was left there in the tower with Magi coming and going to study it. Then one day, a few months after it was discovered, the orb disappeared too." Esmerelda said, rummaging through her books.

"The orb was definitively discovered a hundred years later by a Magi named Lennox. Lennox recorded his time with the orb stating he believed the orb served Masters of it's own choosing. It was during the time with Lennox the fact of the orbs sentience became known. However, it was also during this time that Lennox wrote he was able to utilize the orb and see the past, present, and future. He was going to use the orb to find out what happened to Voltare. His notes end there, and Lennox also disappeared." Esmerelda said, pulling a book out of her pile.

"The orb disappeared once Lennox did. The orb was discovered again, historically, twenty years later. An unknown Magi was seen with an orb that followed them around. The orb had a bluish green mist inside of it. Following the information of that time period, and doing a lot of digging, I discovered the unknown Magi was none other than Rose. The very same Rose who founded the Academy. Her large portrait that hangs in the main hall above the Grand Staircase, the same one we walked past all the time when we were students there, has an orb that is floating beside her. However we all assumed the orb was like some sort of globe because of the blue and the green. But we were wrong, it was the Eye of Voltare. Which makes sense because she always said she built the Academy out of a necessity of what was to come." Esmerelda said, flipping through a couple of page. She brought the open book to Aldric and Varis.

"She saw the future with the Eye?" Varis asked, looking at the painting of a beautiful woman in white robes. The orb floating next to her head.

"I would believe she did. In fact the records of those who knew her said she was always thinking about the future." Esmerelda said.

"Didn't Rose also disappear? I thought we were taught about her disappearance at the Academy." Aldric asked. Esmerelda smiled before running back to her collection of books.

"She did!" Esmerelda said with excitement.

"She sure is excited about missing Magi." Aldric said, looking at Varis. Varis shrugged once again.

"I found that to be odd as well. So did a lot of digging on missing Magi since the orb was found. In total there were ten Magi who went missing from then to today. Missing without a trace, just disappeared into the unknown. So I looked for their records, their personal records. That took many years to do, and I was successful in doing so. Every single one of those Magi have records of possessing this same orb, Eye of Voltare." Esmerelda said. Aldric gulped looking at the orb in his hands.

"So I'm going to disappear too?" Aldric asked.

"Yes!" Esmerelda said excitedly. Varis shot Esmerelda an angry look.

"No, you're not. Not if I have anything to say about it." Varis said, looking at Aldric tenderly.

"There's more." Esmerelda said with a smile. Aldric and Varis turned their attention to her.

"All of the Magi that disappeared were Elven Magi. They were not of any other race. And all of them can trace their family lineage back to Voltare himself, as direct descendants. I have come to call these Magi the Heirs of Voltare." Esmerelda said.

"This is a lot to take in." Aldric said, looking around him. "A few minutes ago I was in an inn talking to Varis. Then I was transported here. And now I'm being told I might not only disappear into the unknown and any given time, but that I might also be a descendant of Voltare."

An eerie silence fell over the room as the three of them looked at each other, trying to grasp everything that had happened. Aldric placed the orb back into the pouch in his robe. He looked at Esmerelda who was looking back at him with a wild look on her face. He turned his attention to Varis who was looking at him with compassion in his red eyes.

"You said the orb seemed to have chosen two Masters?" Varis asked, looking at Esmerelda. "What does that mean?"

"Well it was a theory I had. It would seem the orb was going to transport you away from it when you said you wanted to get away. The orb doesn't react to those it has not chosen as a Master." Esmerelda said.

"Has the orb ever had two Masters before?" Aldric asked.

"Not that I am aware." Esmerelda said.

"When I placed my hand toward the orb, it reacted as if it was angry at me. I didn't touch it because the color inside was swirling like a storm, and I felt the immense power. I don't do stupid things unlike others." Varis said, shooting a look at Aldric.

"Then it may not have chosen you as a Master, as I said it seemed like a logical explanation given the circumstances. There is still much to learn about the orb. Some of these documents talk about how the orb works, but it's mostly just being in tune with each other. The orb already knows you, it's up to you to learn the orb and understand it." Esmerelda said, looking at a white light starting to shine from inside Aldric's robe.

"Does it normally do that?" Esmerelda asked. Aldric and Varis look at Aldric's robes.

"Oh no." Varis said as a white light surrounded the three of them. When the light faded, Esmerelda's house stood empty. Not a trace of the three of them to be found.