The Forging Map
The vast auditorium was bare, aside from a singular display case at its center. The building, like the rest of the royal palace, consisted completely of marble. The emperor stood next to me as I gawked into the room. The regal centaur smiled as he witnessed my dumbfounded expression. I wouldn’t have dreamed that my emperor would allow me, slowly archaeologist to see one the most prized artifacts of all time.
“You may have a closer look, my friend.” The emperor said in a regal tone that carried both compassion and authority. My legs worked before my brain registered the words. I reached the display case in mere seconds, immediately reaching for my pen and paper
I finally got to behold the Forging map, the last known map of the old world. It was beautiful. Eight continents spanned across the globe, each several times larger than the one we call home. Mesmerizing drawings and well-written notes covered the page in dead languages. It detailed every mountain, stream, and forest to an impossible level. All this paled compared to the way-line marks. The lines of power that had been used to forge the broken pieces of the world together. They glowed on the map in shifting colors, smoke like wisps reaching up from them.
I wept, backing away from the map. It was brilliant. Words could not do it justice. The glory of Invctus’s work emitted palpable perfection. I almost stumbled over when the emperor’s reassuring hand rest on my shoulder. “Your reaction leaves little doubt that you are truly in love with your work. It seems i have picked the right man for the job.” The emperor said in his regal voice. The regal half man half horse strode around me towards the map, elegant imperial silks flowing as a river around his hooves. “Go north, find the second way-line’s source. Complete this task for me, and you will become one of the most famous archaeologists and history. I have complete faith in you, my servant. Now go gather what you need and spare no expense.” I needed no further explanation or coaxing.
“You may have a closer look, my friend.” The emperor said in a regal tone that carried both compassion and authority. My legs worked before my brain registered the words. I reached the display case in mere seconds, immediately reaching for my pen and paper
I finally got to behold the Forging map, the last known map of the old world. It was beautiful. Eight continents spanned across the globe, each several times larger than the one we call home. Mesmerizing drawings and well-written notes covered the page in dead languages. It detailed every mountain, stream, and forest to an impossible level. All this paled compared to the way-line marks. The lines of power that had been used to forge the broken pieces of the world together. They glowed on the map in shifting colors, smoke like wisps reaching up from them.
I wept, backing away from the map. It was brilliant. Words could not do it justice. The glory of Invctus’s work emitted palpable perfection. I almost stumbled over when the emperor’s reassuring hand rest on my shoulder. “Your reaction leaves little doubt that you are truly in love with your work. It seems i have picked the right man for the job.” The emperor said in his regal voice. The regal half man half horse strode around me towards the map, elegant imperial silks flowing as a river around his hooves. “Go north, find the second way-line’s source. Complete this task for me, and you will become one of the most famous archaeologists and history. I have complete faith in you, my servant. Now go gather what you need and spare no expense.” I needed no further explanation or coaxing.
Item type
Book / Document
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