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The land is changing, Doci thought and received a nod from Kyra.  They’d been traveling constantly for the last two days, resting only at night under a tree, or around a bush that didn’t stick them with spines.  As for food, this had not been so easy.  Occasionally there were trees or bushes with some sort of fruit or vegetable, fortunately Doci was able to tell, with his farming experience, what looked edible and what looked bitter or even poisonous.  They also had supplies in their packs, but they were decreasing. 
    
There was another change happening: Kyra’s memory was starting to come back, and was improving more as time passed.  Every morning she woke with another part of her mind freed and remembering, though she still couldn’t remember anything about her family.  If she really though about it, she couldn’t actually prove that she’d ever had a family.  Kyra wasn’t too worried, because she figured eventually the memories would come back.
    
So she could remember nothing about family or home, but she could remember everything out of that personal sphere, like the United States, what people were like, what the way of life was like living in Southern California.  She could also remember, much to her happiness, lying on the sand in Huntingdon Beach that day when she’d first met Marie.  She could also remember all the details of flying with Marie high up into the sky and then through that purple cloud to Aisis Lip.
    
Look, Doci thought.
    
Kyra looked to where he was pointing, on the left by the side of the dirt road they’d been walking.  It was another boundary stone, though there was no smoke of any sort coming from it, but she wasn’t expecting any.  It was how the stone looked that was interesting.
    
The boundary stone was about twice the size of the other, not so much in height, but in girth.  It also looked about a million years older than the other one, and Kyra was pretty sure that a million years was a relatively accurate figure.  The stone just looked really old.  Its surfaces were rounded and worn, as if someone had been slowly filing away at it with another rock.  It was gray, covered in a light brown dust.
    
Kyra walked up to the stone, looked down at it, and then made a slow complete turn, searching the land as far as her eyes could see all around her.  She could see no one about and no sign of any sort of habitation or human life.  Even the occasional hamlets or homes were nowhere to be seen; now there was truly nothing, just dead lifeless rock that didn’t do anything except erode over time.
    
But they had food in their sacks and bladders of water, and from now on would start rationing everything. 
As Kyra looked out at the empty desert, she was reminded of the Grand Canyon in Arizona – she assumed she’d gone there with her family, though she couldn’t remember what any of them looked like, just being there with somebody else.  She wasn’t sure how old she’d been at the time, but she could still see it in her mind: leaning against the fence at the very edge and looking into the giant chasm below, where a ribbon-thin river meandered.  As Kyra relived this memory, she got an idea.  When she looked into the canyon, she could feel her family beside her, also looking.  Her brother was to her left and her parents to her right.  She turned her head right and saw the bodies of a man and woman, but where faces should have been there was a hole in each of their heads.  She could see the brown rocky landscape through the holes.  She quickly turned her head to the left, expecting the same thing with her brother, but saw the face of Jolus the Malignant looking at her.  She opened her eyes quickly, feeling them burn with the bright light, wanting to get rid of the image of Jolus the Malignant.
    
This boundary stone was the last sign of human civilization and settlement.  After this she didn’t know what they would find until they reached Jolus the Malignant’s lair, maybe nothing.  She hoped not.
    
She touched the stone and wiped the dirt away from the center, revealing a message carved beneath:

HEAR YE TRAVELER, FROM DISTANT UNKNOWN LANDS.  YOU NOW APPROACH THE CIVILIZATION AND PEOPLE OF ENCHANTUS.  WE ARE ALL FRIEND.  IF YOU ARE FOE, TURN BACK AND NEVER RETURN.

FARE THE WELL, TRAVELER, WHETHER YOU BE HEADED INTO ENCHANTUS, OR HEADED OUT INTO THE WASTE LANDS.

Kyra found something very eerie and ominous with this message, as if it had been left specifically for her, the Chosen One, but she knew that couldn’t be.  Then she thought about the Scriptures and wondered.  The message might well have been left for her; she would never know.  But at least she knew that Doci had led them in the right direction, and they were getting closer.

It was quite amazing how clear the writing was, almost as if . . . yes, the carved letters had to be enchanted in some way, for while the rough hewn stone had become worn and eroded, the letters remained as clear as the day they had been carved.

This made Kyra feel a little better with the knowledge that even in these deserted wastelands magic was still powerful.

Okay Doci, let’s continue into this new land.  Though I’m not looking forward to what we might find. I hope there’ll be food and water at some point, I’m not sure how long our supplies will last, Kyra thought.

Me neither, but it’s what we’re here to do.  So let’s go, Doci thought

Kyra smiled at him.

Oh Doci, you have a way of making everything seem so hopeful, she thought.

The two began walking into the arid land, keeping to a barely discernible path.  It looked like the Great Continental Road hadn’t been used in a very long time.

After two days of solid walking, where they had laid their eyes on nothing but rocks, dirt and more rocks, they were both starting to wonder if they would ever make it out of this desert alive.  Was there an end to it?  Kyra wasn’t sure if they were still going the right way. There’d been so much of the same thing for so long; she was completely lost.  Surely they would’ve come upon a change in scenery if they were getting any closer to Jolus the Malignant’s lair. 

They slept where they could during the night, finding the most comfortable rock to rest their heads upon and resting their tired bodies on gravel and sand.  It tended to get pretty cold in this desert wasteland at night, so they had thrown formality aside and spent the last two nights wrapped around each other, sharing warmth. 

Their supplies were still holding out.  Everything was pretty much holding out okay, except for their stamina.  Kyra thought she would see mirages soon: oases in the distance with ponds of fresh water, and trees pregnant with fruit.  It was late in the afternoon when she did see something, though she really couldn’t make it out at first.

They’d given up telepathically chatting with each other to save on energy and because they didn’t really have anything to say, at least not something that couldn’t wait until they were nourished.

So Kyra hadn’t thought anything in Doci’s direction to alert him to what she thought she was seeing.  She just lifted her arm and pointed.  His eyes followed her arm, then he looked at her, then he looked ahead again.

The two of them hadn’t seen anything over a couple of yards in height since they’d left the boundary stone.  Even the rocks and stones here were pathetic, never stretching any higher than a couple of feet.  But if Kyra’s senses weren’t deceiving her, there was something big ahead.  It just looked like a whole load of more rock, but it was definitely the biggest thing she’d seen in a while.

Is it something real? she thought.

Well, I can see it, and you can see it, so it must be something, Doci thought.

They didn’t say or think anything more, continuing to walk in the direction of the thing ahead.  It was on the path that Doci was still sticking to and leading Kyra along, so they would pass by it.

Some time later – Kyra had no idea how long or how short, for she’d given up on telling time a long ago – they both stopped.  The big rock they’d seen from a distance was now blocking their path.  The sun was on its downward turn, and the rock provided a comforting shade that they both greatly appreciated. 

It was an outcropping of solid rock, just like all the other rocks spread around the desert as far as the eye could see, except it was about twenty times larger.  There was no noticeable shape, and Kyra just stood there, leaning against its solid surface, basking in the cool shade.  Her legs weakened and then slowly slid from under her through the sand and she settled down, closed her eyes and was soon asleep.

Doci felt the same.  He slid down next to her, took one look around - more out of habit as the Guide - and then also fell asleep.

Kyra awoke to the cold and darkness.  At first she had no idea where she was, and then wondered what the big thing she was leaning against was.  She looked up and saw some of the stars of the night sky blocked by a black shape.  The rock.  She looked around and waited for her eyes to pick out anything in the darkness.  They didn’t.  Then she heard movement off to her right.

Doci? she thought.

Yes, it’s me.  I’m just getting out some food.  You hungry? he thought.

Kyra felt something warm reaching out towards her.  She reached out and found Doci’s forearm.  She trailed her fingers to the hand and Doci handed her a mushy apple.  She was hungry and didn’t care that these apples were pretty rotten; she ate the whole thing.

It’s late enough, so we can just sleep now.  We’ll check out the rock in the morning, and then if we don’t find anything interesting, we’ll just continue on, Doci thought.

Yeah, like we’re going to find anything.  Goodnight, Kyra thought.

Goodnight, Doci thought.

The desert was soon in complete silence, a silence like that of a vacuum, just the burning silent stars above, and the cold sand below, then the silence was broken by two snores.

The blazing sun woke them like the other mornings, and as the heat began, they soon wished for more shade. 

Doci made a quick examination of this side of the rock and found its surface to be continuous and just plain old rock.  He signaled to Kyra and they began walking around it.  On the other side they found the welcoming shade that they’d been yearning for.

It was amazing what a large rock could do to one’s morale.  They were both starting to feel hopeful about the rest of their journey, even though there was nothing but more endless desert on the other side of the rock.  But the coolness and this change in scenery had revitalized their senses. 

After five minutes of resting in the shade, Doci stood up and began an examination of this shady side of the rock.  He saw it, and couldn’t believe his eyes.

A big black hole in the side of the rock, darker than the shade.  He rubbed his eyes, took a quick drink of water from one of the two remaining bladders, and walked up to the area that was darker than the shade.  Even as he got close to it, and could clearly see that it was a hole in the side of the rock, he didn’t believe his senses.  He looked to Kyra and saw she was still enjoying the shade, not actually asleep, but just sucking up the coolness. 

He sent her a quick thought: Look over here!

She opened her eyes and then looked in his direction with annoyance.  Why had he disturbed her precious time in the shade?  Then she noticed the darkness next to him.

Is it real? she thought.

Doci looked at her and instead of continuing this line of pointless questioning, he stepped forward and put his hand through the hole.

His hand was not vaporized by magic or a spell.  There was no zap of power or crack of noise.  His hand didn’t disappear forever, never to be seen by anyone again.  It just passed into the hole and that was it.  It was still visible.

It’s cooler inside, Doci thought.

The two looked at each other and probably for the first time not only was no verbal action necessary, but no mental communication was necessary either.  They both stepped into the hole.

As soon as they were inside, they both looked back, expecting the hole to close up behind them, but it didn’t.  The hole remained, while the heat of the warming day stayed outside and the coolness enveloped them.

They turned and walked down a passage that started leading steeply downwards, making the air cooler.  Kyra was in front, but before she took another step, she turned and looked at Doci with her forehead wrinkled in question. 

Kyra wasn’t quite sure about taking the plunge into the darkness, so she was checking with Doci, who was her Guide after all, and perhaps knew if this was right at all, or whether they were walking into danger.  He nodded to her, and she continued on.

Kyra reached out her hands on either side and felt for the walls in the confined space, using them for balance and direction.  There was still plenty of room for movement.  She stepped carefully at first, not sure, with the steepness of the ground, whether her feet would slip out from under her.  After a few steps, the steepness didn’t increase and Kyra could tell that the ground was just right for walking downhill without slipping. 

Kyra continued into the depths, wondering where exactly this unknown pathway was taking them.  The temperature was perfectly cool, but not too cold.  After about ten steps, Kyra couldn’t see anything ahead of her, and she couldn’t see anything behind her, not even Doci who was just one step behind. 

It was all darkness and no light.  They couldn’t continue in this way, Kyra thought.  Then she held out her left hand, extending her index finger.  In her mind she sent an idea and an image that she could feel travel out of the bottom of her brain, through her head and neck, across her shoulder, down her arm, to her hand, and then up to her finger.  A sparkle of light began at the very tip of her finger, like a distant star.  The light grew brighter until it lit up the passageway. 

She looked back at Doci who was impressed.  She was impressed with herself too.  She hadn’t really tried any important magic on her own yet, and this had worked just fine.

Doci gave her a light mental poke with a telekinetic thought.  She couldn’t spend the rest of their lives marveling at her magic abilities.

Kyra went down deeper, wondering if there was an end to this passage, or if they were going to continue going until they came out the other side of the world, like something in a Jules Verne novel.  Then she saw the tunnel widen out, with an opening about twenty feet ahead.  She looked back to make sure Doci had seen it – he had – and then quickened her step.  She wasn’t really claustrophobic, but one couldn’t help but get the feeling of being crushed or at least pressed upon by rock in this tight enclosure.

Near the end the two of them could actually walk abreast of one another, which they did, so they both saw the giant throne when they stepped through the passageway into the wide and high cavern.  Kyra couldn’t tell how high the cavern stretched, because the light didn’t reach that far, but she supposed if she wanted to, she could force the light out of her finger until she could see the ceiling, wherever it was.  But looking up, she was sure she wanted to find out if there was anything up there.

Doci was looking at the large throne.  It was like any regular king or queen’s throne - much like Queen Anita’s he thought, which he’d seen at her coronation.  The strange thing was there was an average-sized human being sitting on the throne.  Of course the man - if he was a man, Doci couldn’t tell what sex it was - was long, long dead.  Just a skeleton staying upright somehow.

Kyra was searching the rest of the room and, apart from the big throne, saw nothing else, except for in the far corner in line with the entranceway.  It looked to be some kind of rock, specifically shaped, with something long and thin sticking out of it.  Kyra headed over to the rock to get a better look.

Doci reached the foot of the throne, with the armrest reaching his chest.  But the person’s feet, if he’d been a king, were about half a foot off the floor.  He studied the throne, looking closely at it and was able to tell that it was carved from a very strong stone, for it had kept it’s shape for so long, and apart from being covered in dust, the throne was still in amazing condition.  Its great size conveyed to Doci a time so very long past, perhaps one that no one knew anything about – not even Jolus the Malignant or Demto.  The size spoke of a race of beings before the Enchantans and possibly even before the Mesolans, when there’d been a different kind of people of a great height.  There was a headrest at the top of the back of the throne, and judging from its size, these unknown giants had large heads to match their staggering size.  How Doci wished he could see one of these people of the past and see just what they were like; to see what life had been like in Aisis Lip way back then.

The man now occupying the throne was significantly smaller.  He was in fact the same size as Doci.  The man wasn’t wearing a crown, but a band of metal that may have been silver, now tarnished.  There was no other apparent jewelry on this him, except for what his hand was holding.  The man’s hand held . . .

Kyra was now touching the stone, her finger providing ample light to see the rock and for Doci to see the throne and its occupant.  With her other hand she touched the large rock and felt the carvings that had been made within the rock, tracing the lines and trying to recognize the shape.  The carving was all over the rock and it was of a head, a human head, about five times larger than a normal human head.  Kyra kneeled down and looked into the large face of the carving.  Then she gasped.

The carving was of her.

As much as she didn’t want to accept the carving, it couldn’t be anyone else but her.  The way the hair fell over the forehead, the shape of the eyes, nose and mouth, the cheekbones at a specific level.  It was almost like looking into a mirror – a mirror that made your head many times larger and made of stone.

This was just another sign of her destiny.  She stood up and studied the object sticking out of the head of the rock.  How she was standing now, the end of the object was parallel to her head.  She reached out to touch the . . .

. . . Sword.  The king held a sword in his hand.  Doci had never actually held one before, but had seen pictures of them.  It was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.  Of course, it was covered in dust and grime, like everything else here, but it was still magnificent: the blade long, more than the length of his arm and perfectly straight, double-edged and waiting to be cleaned and sharpened.  The hilt had a thick rope design wrapping around it up to the sword guard, where he saw the head of a snake.  The guard was as thick as the hilt, at right angles to it, curving up into points at the end.  He reached up, lifted the king’s hand from the pommel and took the sword by the . . .

. . . Handle of the sword and felt the power come up from the sword and pass through into her, as if it had been waiting to be released into someone for millennia, like tiny electric shocks running through her.  She could also sense something similar was happening with Doci, and she turned and saw he had the sword of the king in his hand.

They looked at each other and then synchronously pulled the swords from the holdings and held them high.  Light formed around the edges of each sword – purple for Kyra and green for Doci – revealing an unlocked power that was now coursing through the bodies of the Guide and the Chosen One.

As the light began to fade, they could both sense a deep rumbling beginning somewhere down deep in the rock, like it was coming from the center of the earth reaching up to the rock outcropping.  Then they actually heard the rumbling, which increased in sound, and caused the room shake.  It was an earthquake.  Rocks began falling from the ceiling and from the walls.

They both took the hint and headed for the hole that was beginning to fill up with rock.  A pair of thoughts clicked together, as they realized that if this hole was starting to block up, then the outer one must be too.

Kyra led the way, sword held tightly to her, through the passageway at a swift pace.  She wasn’t supplying any light now, for it was not needed.  She knew the way.  Doci followed quickly in tow, and as he passed through the hole, he looked back once and saw the skeleton of the king that had held the sword – now held tightly to him – tipping over, falling to the floor, breaking apart into a pile of bones.  He looked at the magnificent throne and regretted that it would never be seen again.  He turned and chased Kyra.

She could see the hole which had already filled up a third of the way.  Putting on speed, she reached it and flung herself through it and into the outside air.  She landed and rolled, making sure not to get caught up with the sword and cut her arm off or something.  She stopped and sensed Doci doing the same thing.  She rolled to the side, and then Doci landed next to her.

They were a safe distance from the rock outcropping, and sat up, looking around, to see it sink and collapse into the desert, like a doomed ship.  It disappeared quickly, and within a minute was gone.  There was a great cloud of brown dust that obscured the area, and the two waited for the cloud to dissipate.  As it slowly did, a shadow formed within it, a darker form, that became clearer as the dust settled and cleared.  Then they saw the throne of stone still standing, tall, proud and defiant.  Graceful.  An artifact of a lost and long forgotten generation and time.

Doci smiled and picked himself up, using his sword as a support.  He helped Kyra to her feet.  They both looked at their own swords and then at each other’s and noticed that they were pretty similar, Though both were extremely dirty. 

Doci and Kyra looked at each other and knew that they needed to get going.  They had already wasted enough time.

They took hold of their swords at a spot along the blade just above the handle, where it seemed the sword could be held comfortably, with its weight balanced for carrying.