Cilion Volus bent over his workbench, chisel in one hand and hammer in the other. He swept away the dust and inspected the symbols carved into the stone circle. The edges were rough but the glyph was recognisable. It always looked close to being finished at this stage. But the tue would struggle to flow unless the channels were smooth. He placed his chisel in the groove and continued to hammer away again.
Masonry was one of the many new skills Cilion had been forced to learn over the last year. At first he had hired a team of skilled masons but explaining the phy symbols had confused them and led to many failed attempts and wasted stone. If the size or proportions of the symbol were off by even a fraction of an inch they would fail to work.
Cilion had grown stronger as he had learned the skills of masonry. He hadn't noticed the change until he overpowered his brother, Lyrll, in a duel. He smiled at the thought. As the youngest he was always looked down upon. Adrenalin surged through his veins as he relived the duel and the joy as he held his sword against Lyrll's neck. He burned the sweet image of Lyrll's shocked expression into his mind.
Cilion kept chiselling away at the stone. He smoothed out the exterior edge then began working on the centre. It was crucial the lines overlapped at the right depths to ensure the tue flowed in the right direction.
He looked up at the clock on the wall. It was small and out of place hanging between the great stone archways. But it served as his singular connection to the outside. With no windows it was easy to spend a few minutes working only to realise it had been hours.
The inner sanctum of the royal library was created centuries ago to hide the Enfir family secrets. Since the White Enfir's fall it had been relegated as a storage room for inappropriate books and royal records. But below the shelves was the chamber he had made his work space.
Cilion wiped away the sweat from his brow. White dust coated his hands and face making his red untamed hair look grey. He took a step back and admired his work. The round hunk of volcanic stone had nine different symbols carved onto its exterior. He grabbed a rag from the table and wiped his face. He was finished. Well presuming it worked. If not he would have to start again.
The white light before him started to dim. The lamp was made of the same volcanic stone as the skrlith key he had been carving. It was a round column of stone with a flat top. A tunnel in the centre had been removed with a curved well. Phy symbols with the tue shining through them were carved into the top and bottom. The tue reflected off the sap in the centre and amplified the light. It was the first Phy-Tue device Cilion had been able to restore and it was his favourite. A cup of giltree sap and a bit of Tue was all it needed to produce light for over eight hours. He'd make a fortune selling these devices if only his father would allow it. One day he would wear him down.
The light finally faded. Cilion walked over to the end of the room. He passed a table with a hunk of melted volcanic rock. The centre had melted away. The glyphs on its surface were stretched out of shape. He brushed his fingers over the surface. It was the original key to the ancient door and the very item he was trying to recreate. The White Enfir had gone out of her way to melt the key.
What had she wanted to bury? He thought.
The arches gradually rose higher and higher. Against the back wall of the chamber the final arch rose to a hundred feet tall. The stone high above was warped and coated in layers of black soot. A section of wall, the height of a person, had been scrubbed clean but over time the soot had seeped into the once white stone staining it grey. A round section of the wall was missing. Phy marks joined together in looping lines that curled out from the missing centre.
Cilion looked back at the circular stone on his workbench and the hole in the wall.
"Father's before and after please let this work." He prayed.
The lamp had been the beginning of his fascination with these ancient devices. But the hours he spent in this dark room grated on his mind. He saw the dingy archways when he closed his eyes. Some days he couldn't tell if he was dreaming or awake. But he knew he would be unable to stop till he opened this door.
Cilion walked past his workbench towards the stairs. He had figured out how much tue to infuse the lamp with for specific amounts of time. The lamp had died after exactly seven hours; leaving him forty five minutes to bathe and dress before the test.
*****
A small crowd had gathered in a semi circle before the cavern's back wall. Illrune Volus had invited a few lords and officials to watch today's test. He stood in the centre of the group talking to Sir Silnan Dustel, a distant relation of the King and the Royal Chamberlain. Ilrune had to look up at SiIinan as they conversed. Cilion always thought of Silnan as a short rotund man but he stood a head taller than everyone gathered. He was usually seen sitting, hunched over a plate of food or a bottle of whisky. Even the low light of the chamber couldn't hide the large circles under his eyes nor the hollows of his cheeks.
Cilion helped the group of guards and servants lift the circular stone from his workbench over to the wall. They heaved it up and slotted it into place.
Cillion turned to address the group. "Thank you all for joining us today." The idle chatter died away. "I have been working for months to recreate this skrlith and uncover the secrets of the Enfir family. This is the first test of our latest prototype and a demonstration of how Phy symbols can be used in inanimate objects." A few members of the crowd whispered to each other.
Cilion turned his back to the group and faced the device. He pulled out a pouch of gems from his jacket and placed them into the skrlith key. Nine gems; an inch in diameter, and each a different colour. He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and placed his palm in the centre. Cilion reached for the Tue and dragged it from his chest, down his arm, and out of his palm. He stayed connected to it; the same strand entered the stone through his palm. The tue curled around each carved valley. It shone white as it travelled through the first circle of symbols. It collided with the gems. Light refracted out in a multitude of colours. The Tue continued outwards onto the walls. A hum vibrated through his body. The entire room was bathed in iridescent colours.
The officials were shocked into silence. Ilrune smiled at their stunned reaction.
This was it. Months of work had led up to this moment. Cilion pressed his palm forward. The stone circle shifted backwards into the wall. The tue hummed louder. He pushed upwards with his palm. The stone wouldn't budge. He bent his elbow and used his shoulder push on the stone. No movement. He pushed again with all his strength. The stone refused to turn. Doubt pricked at the back of his mind. It should have turned easily. His breathing was ragged. Cilion refused to give up. He reached deeper inside his chest but the tue flowed to a trickle. He was drained. The light spluttered out.
Cilion fell forwards against the wall. He breathed deep trying to calm his raging heart. He clenched his jaw to keep the torrent of curses trapped behind his teeth. His rage slowly dispersed with each breath. Disappointment swelled in his gut, followed by a tiredness that seeped into his bones. He looked into the wall. To get the skrlith out it would need to be broken to pieces. Months of work and hundreds of hours would be destroyed in a couple minutes.
Cilion turned to the sound of low whispers. His disappointment doubled as he looked at his father. He quickly glanced away. He felt exposed and naked; his flaws laid bare and in need of defence. He focused his gaze on the Chamberlain as he addressed the group.
"I apologise, my lords. It would seem we will be unable to uncover the Enfir family's secrets today. As you can see," he waved towards the original hunk of melted stone, "the White Enfir wanted these secrets to remain buried. It seems we still have some time before we uncover the mechanism of these ancient devices."
Satisfied with his answer, many of the officials began walking towards the exit. The chamberlain said one last thing to Ilrune and joined them. Ilrune waited till the footsteps faded before walking over to his son.
"I'm so…" Cilion started.
Ilrune silenced him with the flick of his fingers. "I hate unsolicited apologies. And you hate giving them."
Cilion cracked a slight smile. "I failed." His smile faded.
Ilrune cocked his head to the side. "You failed to open the door. But the chamberlain was most impressed." He placed his hand on Cilion's shoulder. "Which means we didn't lose and that's what counts." Cilion nodded but his heart wasn't in it. "Get some rest and start again in a day or two."
Cilion broke away from his father and turned to the wall. "No. Something is wrong with the back of the device. Something I can't see. We need to get the key out before the wall reverts back so I can have a look on the inside."
Ilrune laughed. "Your determination never fails to surprise me. I look forward to seeing you succeed."
"Do you ever doubt whether I can do it?" Cilion blurted out. He looked away in shock, no idea where the question had come from.
Ilrune considered the question for a second. "My son, most men after failing something that took months of hard work would take a break and reassess. A few may walk away entirely. But not you. The problem gnaws away at your mind until you have to know the answer." Ilrune paused.
"You were always a curious child. There was one time, you would have been around six, when you wanted to know where bread came from. No answer about flour would suffice. One day you snuck into the kitchens and begged the chefs to let you watch them make it. Your mother turned the house upside down trying to find you." His eyes were distant. "Once you got the lamp working I saw that same spark you had as a child." He shook his head. "I will never doubt your abilities to figure this out because I know you will never let yourself walk away without an answer."