Faye had to wait for six more people to go through the door before it was her turn. She had no one to say farewell to, and it was likely that most of the people in the hall were glad to see her go. She didn't even spare them a glance. Faye never really felt like one of them anyway.

  She took a steadying breath and squared her shoulders at the precipice of the cave. She glanced at Nordus. He would be the last she saw of her old world. She was surprised to see a kind smile on his aged face. He gave her a small nod of encouragement and she stepped into the darkness.

  Once the door shut Faye was completely engulfed in the dark. Waiting only a moment to get a small sense of her surroundings and unable to stay still any longer, she made her way along the damp wall, her fingers sliding along wet stone and breathing in the caves stale air.

  Faye had never encountered magic before, but she had read about it. The heavy air had the hair on her arms on end and made her believe that she was in the presence of it now. Something here seemed to be ancient and powerful.

  Every step took echoed off walls she could not see and brought her closer to this power, and further from the dreary life of her past.

  She had no information about what would happen in the cave. People speculated that there were tests or a magic encounters that would change her for ever. But those that went through the Awakening never returned to the village, and those charged with escorting them were forbidden from telling the others what they knew. I guess tradition wouldn't be tradition if it made sense.

  She continued to walk for another ten minutes through the dark tunnel till a fierce orange light erupted from the dead space in front of her. Faye flinched back in surprise, but the light blinked out as fast as it had appeared. A few seconds later it was back again, briefly illuminating the tunnel she stood frozen within.

  She took the chance to take in her surroundings. Faye had come to a small opening made of a dark grey stone on all but one side. The wall directly in front of Faye was black, and at its center was a tin dark tunnel opening that she would have to go on all fours to get through. The real interesting thing about the black wall was the orange light that shone from some sort of gem that the little tunnel was carved out of.

  So curious about the glowing gem Faye almost missed something truly terrifying. On the ground at the mouth of the mysterious tunnel was a large puddle of smeared blood.

  Faye's own blood ran cold.

  Then her mind was filled with a rumbling growl. Shaken, she tore her eyes away from the gore and spun her head, trying to locate the source of the noise.

  Not being able to find anything that would growl, Faye became confused. She was still afraid, but there was curiosity there as well. She knew that that was odd. She was in a bloody cave with a strange light and an unidentifiable beast near by!

  Another rumbling filled her head. That's when she realized that she wasn't hearing the sound with her ears but directly within her mind. Magic!

  "Of a sort..." said the gravelly voice in her head.

  "Who are you?" she asked out loud, her voice causing an echo.

  Another rumble echoed around her told her that, now, the sound wasn't just in her head.

  "Interesting." The voice growled in her mind "Most Searx that enter my domain panic, or ask what is happening. Yet your instinct is to ask who I am?" the next growl made the ground shake a little. Faye realized that the voice was laughing.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Well, out of all the crazy thoughts that had entered her mind about the Awakening, a talking and laughing cave hadn't even occurred to her. She supposed that her first encounter with magic could have been far deadlier.

  "Oh," said the voice "I can be plenty deadly..."

  Startled, Faye spoke to the voice "You can read my mind?" she asked.

  "You aren't exactly making it difficult for me." Came the reply. "Mind you, the Searx aren't exactly known for anything other than there Awakenings. I can't say I've ever come across one that could keep me out of their heads."

  "So..." Faye began hesitantly "are you a part of the awakening or ... well, I don't know what else you would be."

  "Yes. I am here to assist with the Awakening."

  "Well then you wouldn't be able to tell me what I'm supposed to do then would you? We aren't told anything before coming in here."

  "If everyone knew exactly what happens in here then nobody would come." The voice said ominously.

  Feeling the beginning tingle of dread, Faye glance down at the blood again. She knew that many did not survive the Awakening, but she never imagined it to be a bloody end.

  As she looked, the black wall seemed to slam shut, throwing Faye into blackness once again. But just as fast as the cave opening had closed over the gem wall, it opened again, bathing her in its orange light. That's when the small tunnel seemed to move. It expanded and then contracted.

  Faye's heart stopped for two beats.

  Not a wall, or a tunnel, or a gem. No. It was an eye! An impossibly enormous eye, orange in color, and the pupil was what she had thought was a tunnel!

  "You are afraid now." The eye observed.

  "Yes." She answered breathlessly.

  "Good."

  "S- since when can mountains talk? Or have eyes for that matter?" Her voice had become rather shrill, but she did her best not to shake.

  That's when its rumbling laughter erupted all around her, shaking the very ground she stood on. "And who ever said I was a mountain?"

  Well, that was true. She was panicked and jumping to conclusions. Sure, with magic she supposed a mountain could see or talk... but that sounded like it would be an outrageously complicated spell. Who would waste such magic on a Searx Awakening ceremony? So the logical thing would be that this eye was connected to a body... a very big body. But what beast grew to such an enormous size?!

  Of course! As far as she knew there was only one creature who could grow that big and still be intelligent enough to hold a conversation. One of the most ancient races of Gia, a dragon!

  "Yes" said the dragon, clearly reading her mind once again.

  "But, how? Why?" she spluttered. Dragons never stopped growing. The growth slowed once they reach breading age, but they never stopped. It was entirely possible that this dragon had been in this mountain for centuries!

  "I don't know my age anymore." The dragon answered the unasked question. "One of your ancestors brought me here when I was just coming of breading age, and I've since grown here. I carve out the mountain when I must. When dragons get to my size we spend most of our time hibernating. I awake one day a year to eat and help you Searx along, then I go back to my dreams."

  "So, the Awakening...?" she almost couldn't believe it. "So, you wake up and just- EAT some of us?"

  "No. I do eat some of you yes, but I do not kill them. I feed on the ones who do not survive the Awakening. And, perhaps some who are rude..."

  "What is it you do in here? Besides clearing up corpses that is."

  "I am a gifted telepath. Perhaps the best. I have not come across anyone who could keep me out for long. My gift allows me to guide a Searx mind where it needs to go, to both start the Awakening process, and walk them through to the end. Before I was brought here the mortality rate for Searx going through this was eighty percent. With my help, its now closer to forty."

  Faye did her best to avoid looking at the gore on the stone floor. "I take it you've already had a few people for a snack?"

  "Yes. Even though I am enjoying this change of pace, talking with you and all, you really must start the Awakening before the next Searx arrives..."

  "Right..." she attempted to settle her nerves "What do I have to do?"

  "You are an interesting creature. " he- Faye was quite certain now that the dragon was a male- mused. "All you need to do is survive. In ages past your people would meditate for days, but now I can do all the work for you in a matter of minutes. This will be painful, however. More painful than you can possibly imagine. Many die within seconds. Do you understand?"

  "Yes." Faye said with conviction. She had come in here resolved to die if that was what fate decided.