Dean nods. "This must have been some kind of temple. Someplace to honor the Wild Ones. Look here behind them." I follow Dean up a wide set of stairs to a giant wall completely covered in ancient text. "Can you read it?"
I run my hand over the glyphs and cast the incantation to translate languages. Most of the words change, but not all. "It seems to be written in a form of Fae, but I don’t recognize all the characters. This language must be ancient. More ancient than anything I've seen."
Dean smiles with glee. "Can you make anything out?"
"Yes," I say, studying the markings. "It’s the tale of the Primal One. It’s well known amongst the Fae, but this version is longer. There are details I've never heard." I’d heard children sing the tale of the Primal One back in Avakiri, but it was never this. I focus on the wall and continue reading.
"The Primal One was first of our kind. When he came to this world, he found it ravaged by the elements, in a state of constant chaos. At first he sought to fight them, but even he could not conquer nature. So the Primal One tamed the elements, taking their power within him and brining balance to the world.
"But it was so empty.
"So the Primal One used his power and created others in his image. The Fae.
"He told them how to live, how to be happy. And they listened. So powerful was the Primal One, that his words, his thoughts, became theirs.
"And the world was happy, and yet it was sad. It was full, and yet it was hollow.
"As the years went by, despite all the people around him, the Primal One grew more and more lonely. And in his despair, he drew something else to this world.
"Darkness." I shiver before continuing.
"A being that preyed upon weak worlds. It attacked Avakiri and Inferna, consuming all in its path. The Primal One fought the beast as best he could, using the Fae as an extension of his arm when needed, but he couldn't stop the Darkness.
"Though he was everywhere, a part of everyone, he could not focus on all things at once. It was then that the Primal One realized, by making everything a part of himself, he had created nothing. He had made the world empty.
"And it was then that the Primal One gave up the elements. He did not set them free as before, but instead gave each element to a keeper, creating the four Wild Ones.
"With the powers broken apart, the Primal One felt his connection with the Fae fade away, but what he saw was incredible. They began to develop thoughts and ideas of their own.
"They were given free will.
"Now, they did not fight as one mind, but hundreds of thousands, and together…
"They defeated the Darkness.
"It was then that they realized it could not be destroyed, only beaten, and so the Primal One tamed the Darkness like he did the elements, and bestowed it upon a new Wild One, creating the first High Fae.
"The Druids were linked, so that the power of the elements could keep the Darkness at bay. And the Darkness would keep the elements in control, keep them from consuming the world in chaos.
"Years of peace followed, and happiness, and sorrow. But it was happiness and sorrow created by free will. And after many, many ages past, the Primal One gave up his rule, and left the world, leaving his children to be truly free."
I pull my hand away from the wall, the story finished.
Dean frowns. "How is this different from the original?"
I turn to him. "In the common tale, the Primal One grows lonely, yes, and he divides up the elements creating free will, yes. However, he retains a connection to them all, and thus manifests Yami, who is all. And thus, the Primal One becomes the first High Fae. Eventually, he leaves, and his children, the next High Fae, continue to rule."
Dean raises an eyebrow. "So if this tale is true, then…"
I look at the dragon on my shoulder, his scales gleaming with stars. "Then there is a darkness within me. A darkness that can consume the world."
Dean notices my grim face and chuckles. "Don’t give yourself too much credit, Princess. I, for one, have already destroyed a world. Well. I helped. There is no way to know if this story is true. If any of them are true."
"You’re right," I say, sighing, letting tension escape me. "These tales were probably just created to explain creation and the beginning of life. In my world, there are many old religions that used stories to explain what can now be explained by science."
"Exactly." He snaps his fingers, and for a moment we don't say anything. Then Dean smiles devilishly. "I have a confession to make. I'm the one who let Lopsi out."
I throw my hands up in shock. "You freed that creature! Why?"
He shrugs. "I needed a way to get you to my realm. It was the only real solution."
I groan, rubbing my temples. "People got hurt. Someone could have been killed."
"But they weren't, were they? Hey, how about we focus on something else? Like that. What's that?" Dean points to something in the wall. A handprint covered in spikes.
I step forward. "I know what that is. I’ve seen its kind before."
"Well, what—"