Episode 11
The Descent
Minerva and Rudolph stood before a massive door carved from obsidian and bones of creatures long extinct. The sigil etched on it pulsed faintly: a spiral turning inward, encased in flames.
“This is where it started,” she said. “Before the Foundry. Before even the Lantern.”
Kito sniffed. “Smells like guilt in there.”
Rudolph touched the door. His veins glowed gold.
The door opened, not with a groan, but a sigh.
The Origins
In the catacombs were murals, tens of thousands of years old. They danced under torchlight, moving when not directly looked at.
Rudolph watched. And learned.
The Makers were not human.
Not at first.
They were flesh-born concepts, half-soul, half-element, summoned into existence by Earth itself during a time of fracture between spirit and stone.
They came not to rule… but to heal.
Each Maker embodied a different domain:
- The Flamebearer – who lit the first sun from inside a volcano
- The Threadbinder – who sewed time back together
- The Wordforger – who spoke stars into song
- The Mourner – who taught life how to grieve, and death how to rest
They lived as creators, never kings.
Until one Maker broke the pact.
The Betrayer
One mural—darker than the rest—showed a figure wrapped in shadow-fire.
Eryx the Refuser.
He was once the Stonefather, builder of sanctuaries and fortresses. But he wanted to reshape the Veil itself, bend it into a blade.
He called it “The Foundry.”
He seduced a quarter of the Makers into abandoning creation for conquest.
They became the Fallen Makers—and for the first time, Maker fought Maker.
The God Tools were forged in that war, artifacts so powerful they could crack the world like glass.
They were not weapons of aggression.
They were keys of restraint.
Built to seal the Fallen away.
And they worked… for a time.
The Secret of Rudolph’s Line
In the center of the final chamber was a statue.
A woman with one hand in flame, the other in clay. Her face was sharp, noble. Familiar.
Minerva stepped forward. “This is Elana of the Spark. Your ancestor.”
Rudolph stared. “The first Flamebearer?”
“She helped forge the first God Tools. But after the war… she hid them. Even from the other Makers. She knew someone would try to use them again.”
“And I’m her blood.”
Minerva nodded. “That’s why the forge sings to you. That’s why the Veil listened. You don’t just come from Makers. You come from the one who said no to power.”
A New Revelation
As they left the chamber, one last vision rose from the floor—unbidden.
A flame.
And in it: Sunny.
Singing a song not yet written.
Behind her: another figure.
Rudolph gasped. It looked like… him. But older. Eyes bright with starlight. A Maker reborn.
Minerva gripped his arm. “You’re not just a guardian now. You’re becoming something new. A fusion. A bridge.”
To be continued…
Brufay 
Leave a comment