THE SECOND CRADLE - BOOK TWO OF THE IRON CRADLE SAGA Chapter 15: CHAPTER FIFTEEN - The Return of the gods

Read chapter 15 of THE SECOND CRADLE - BOOK TWO OF THE IRON CRADLE SAGA by JE PAYNE on NovelPedia.

CHAPTER FIFTTEEN The Return of the gods Melune Temple complex - Adaea The little kobold raised her hand. She was a curious one. "Miss, why did the champions leave us?" She asked. The temple interior was dimly lit, with light filtering down through narrow apertures in the vaulted ceiling above. The thin shafts cut through the darkness, an intentional design that cast the massive bronze statue in shifting shadows. The statue seemed to breathe with the movement. The air hung thick with the scent of incense, something floral and ancient, and it curled through the space in barely visible wisps. Tony stood near one of the bronze pillars that held up the vaulted expanse. She watched the young kobolds with patient eyes as they waited for her response. The metal beneath her hand was cool and smooth. It reflected the firelight from the braziers that burned at regular intervals along the walls. Every surface that could be polished had been brought to a mirror shine, and the bronze work gleamed with an almost supernatural quality. It all accented engravings that depicted scenes from the champions' arrival, their battles, and their departure. "That's a good question, little one," Tony replied as she walked around to the front of the statue and sat on the ledge. The stone beneath her was cool, and it was worn smooth by centuries of visitors. She settled herself with the ease of someone who had sat in this exact spot hundreds of times before. She raised her hand, palm up, and with her other hand seemingly reached at nothing, yet pinched a shadowy substance from her palm and stretched it forward and out in front of her. The class of young kobolds awed and leaned back, startled by the sudden display. The smoke seemed to swirl around her fingers, and it responded to her movements. "There are many things in this universe that hide in the dark," Tony explained in a soft voice. The stone walls seemed to absorb her words and hold them, and that created an echo that made even the smallest statement feel profound. "Secrets that linger just beyond what we can see, or understand." She waved her hand through the black shadow, scattering it. "But when we remove the shadow, we find what has always been there waiting for us." "The truth." "The truth that we live here on this world because those who came before you, and Earth's champions safeguarded this place. They saved our people from extinction." "But sometimes things can hide within a truth. A lie." "In fact the best lies always live within a truth. And these are the most dangerous." Although it feels safe here and we consider ourselves saved as a people, that feeling of safety is an illusion. A lie meant to build complacency." She thought for a moment, letting her words trail off. "This is an important lesson for all of you," she said, standing up and looking across wide eyes and little faces. "Our world is contested. There are others out among the stars who wish to destroy us and take this world for their own." "But our world…" She waved her hand in front of her again. This time, the murky dark substance formed into a semi-translucent sphere in the shape of a planet. Holding out her other hand, a second planet formed. The wisps of dark material swam and swirled in the shapes. Giving them a dark ethereal quality. "…and Earth are forever bound, both by our recent history and the ancient past. From time to time, the champions must return to Earth. When one travels via a cradle, such as the champions did, time passes very differently for them than it does for us." "I do not understand," another little kobold said. Tony held her hand up. The brazier light caught the bronze rings she wore on her fingers, and they threw small dancing lights across the young faces turned up toward her. "This is Adaia, our world." She expanded the shadowy substance in her hand so that all of them could see. "When the champions are on Earth, when they experience a day, many years pass here." "And when they come back, many y