04-19-2019, 06:07 PM
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Abel|Lora" rel="stylesheet"><style> #tenstars{ width:564px; border:1px solid #a7afc4; box-shadow:0px 0px 10px #a7afc4; background:url('https://i.postimg.cc/pLK6wVwj/TenBG.jpg'); padding-top:23px;} #tenstarstext{ width:480px; position:relative; z-index:1; background:#000000; color:#ffffff; font-size:13px; font-family: 'Lora', serif; border:1px dotted #ffffff; box-shadow:0px 0px 5px #ffffff; opacity:0.5; padding:15px; margin-bottom:200px;} #tenstarsimg{ position:relative; z-index:0;} #tenstarsname{ color:#ffffff; position:relative; z-index:2; opacity:0.3; font-size:60px; font-family: 'Abel', sans-serif; margin-bottom:-780px; letter-spacing:30px; margin-left:40px;}</style><center><div id="tenstars"><div id="tenstarstext" align="justify"><center><i>- do you stare into the void or does it stare into you? -</i></center>
Unfortunately for the exhausted and bedraggled Ten, this journey is still not over. Not even close. Were he more experienced, he might have realized a simple trip up a winding mountain path could not be all they would require of him. But alas, he is merely a boy, with a child’s innocent naivete. So as the mountain rumbles and shivers beneath him, he realizes that the sickly, awful fog was just the beginning.
He stands on trembling legs, eyes following the cracks as they begin to yawn open, rock crumbling as the earth splits before him, revealing the deepest, most forbidden parts of Beqanna. It would only make sense then, that the path to her heart would be narrow and treacherous. For a moment he can only stare, wondering in awe at the incredible power - such wild, tempestuous energy - that pulses from within. He should be afraid. Terrified, even. Instead he gapes in reverent fascination.
But then, we have already established that Ten may not be the most sensible of boys.
Another rumbling shock, one that sends a cough bursting raggedly from his chest, recalls him to his purpose here. Reminds him that he must reach that feverish heart before his own body remembers it’s mortality and gives out on him.
Stumbling forward, he eases cautiously onto the narrow, unsteady path that spirals ever downwards. It’s impossible to say how long he descends into the mountainous pit, but for a young boy, it feels like an eternity. In reality, it does not take quite so long as his trek <i>up</i> the mountain, but with the echoes of falling rock around them and the stony path threatening to give way beneath each footstep, it feels as though each moment may be the very last.
His heart beats a wild tattoo inside his chest, his skin itchy with sweat and dust, his breath ragged inside his lungs as he takes those last few anxious steps onto more stable ground. His body aches, his bloodied knees throbbing, but for a moment he knows only the elation of success. The euphoria of having reached the pinnacle (or depth, as it were) of his true goal here in the heart of the mountain.
With childish eagerness, he stumbles forward, squinting into the brightness of the heart. The pulse of energy that emanates towards him is nearly overwhelming, but it’s pull is undeniable. With determination in those pale features, he presses closer, until he can offer the gifts he had brought. He feeds the small collection of items into the heart before frowning with consternation as he realizes it requires one more thing from him. One final, deceptively simple gift. After a moment of thought, he stretches one leg forward, but the scrapes he’d received during his clumsy dash up the mountain are clotted and caked in dirt now. Entirely unsuitable to the task at hand.
Brows furrowing, he glances around him, eyes darting to and fro until they land upon a particularly jagged rock jutting from the side of the pit. He stares at it for a moment, but stubborn resolve quickly overwhelms whatever misgivings he might have had. He could not <i>(would not)</i> fail at such a simple task.
With a deep breath (or at least, an attempted breath, for the inhale only brings forth a hacking cough), he steps grimly towards it. Closing his eyes, he rams his shoulder into the sharp edge, wincing as it roughly bruises and tears sensitive flesh. Gritting his teeth, he opens his eyes, gaze dropping to the fresh trickle of blood escaping his pale skin.
With unsteady steps, he returns to the pulsing heart before dragging his lips along the wound and shaking several precious drops into the hungry, powerful heart of Beqanna. </div><div id="tenstarsname">TEN</div><div id="tenstarsimg"><img src="https://i.postimg.cc/BQrz7PVs/Ten.png" width="564px"/></div></div></center>
Unfortunately for the exhausted and bedraggled Ten, this journey is still not over. Not even close. Were he more experienced, he might have realized a simple trip up a winding mountain path could not be all they would require of him. But alas, he is merely a boy, with a child’s innocent naivete. So as the mountain rumbles and shivers beneath him, he realizes that the sickly, awful fog was just the beginning.
He stands on trembling legs, eyes following the cracks as they begin to yawn open, rock crumbling as the earth splits before him, revealing the deepest, most forbidden parts of Beqanna. It would only make sense then, that the path to her heart would be narrow and treacherous. For a moment he can only stare, wondering in awe at the incredible power - such wild, tempestuous energy - that pulses from within. He should be afraid. Terrified, even. Instead he gapes in reverent fascination.
But then, we have already established that Ten may not be the most sensible of boys.
Another rumbling shock, one that sends a cough bursting raggedly from his chest, recalls him to his purpose here. Reminds him that he must reach that feverish heart before his own body remembers it’s mortality and gives out on him.
Stumbling forward, he eases cautiously onto the narrow, unsteady path that spirals ever downwards. It’s impossible to say how long he descends into the mountainous pit, but for a young boy, it feels like an eternity. In reality, it does not take quite so long as his trek <i>up</i> the mountain, but with the echoes of falling rock around them and the stony path threatening to give way beneath each footstep, it feels as though each moment may be the very last.
His heart beats a wild tattoo inside his chest, his skin itchy with sweat and dust, his breath ragged inside his lungs as he takes those last few anxious steps onto more stable ground. His body aches, his bloodied knees throbbing, but for a moment he knows only the elation of success. The euphoria of having reached the pinnacle (or depth, as it were) of his true goal here in the heart of the mountain.
With childish eagerness, he stumbles forward, squinting into the brightness of the heart. The pulse of energy that emanates towards him is nearly overwhelming, but it’s pull is undeniable. With determination in those pale features, he presses closer, until he can offer the gifts he had brought. He feeds the small collection of items into the heart before frowning with consternation as he realizes it requires one more thing from him. One final, deceptively simple gift. After a moment of thought, he stretches one leg forward, but the scrapes he’d received during his clumsy dash up the mountain are clotted and caked in dirt now. Entirely unsuitable to the task at hand.
Brows furrowing, he glances around him, eyes darting to and fro until they land upon a particularly jagged rock jutting from the side of the pit. He stares at it for a moment, but stubborn resolve quickly overwhelms whatever misgivings he might have had. He could not <i>(would not)</i> fail at such a simple task.
With a deep breath (or at least, an attempted breath, for the inhale only brings forth a hacking cough), he steps grimly towards it. Closing his eyes, he rams his shoulder into the sharp edge, wincing as it roughly bruises and tears sensitive flesh. Gritting his teeth, he opens his eyes, gaze dropping to the fresh trickle of blood escaping his pale skin.
With unsteady steps, he returns to the pulsing heart before dragging his lips along the wound and shaking several precious drops into the hungry, powerful heart of Beqanna. </div><div id="tenstarsname">TEN</div><div id="tenstarsimg"><img src="https://i.postimg.cc/BQrz7PVs/Ten.png" width="564px"/></div></div></center>