J?kob and the others stood in total darkness. He was unable to see anything or anyone. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes, trying to see. Nothing happened. It was still dark. “What happened? Where is he?” asked J?kob in a panic. No one answered. He reached into the darkness trying to feel anything. His hand brushed something. He heard a girl shriek with fear. “Nìa, was that you?” he asked. “No,” said Jessie, “It was me.” “Where did he go? Where is everyone?” Matáo asked. “Is everyone here? Is everyone alright?” he asked with concern in his voice. J?kob heard as everyone sounded off. Then he heard Matáo tell everyone to try and feel around and to try and find a way out. J?kob reached behind himself and felt the cold, damp wall that was behind him. He started to feel around the wall. “J?kob, did you bring any of your candles with you?” asked Jonah. “No. I didn’t know I was leaving. We left everything back there,” he replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Where are we J?kob?” asked Nìa. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been in that cave lots of times, but this has never happened before.”

  The group started to move forward slowly. They each had one hand feeling their way along the wall with the other hand feeling the air in front of them to make sure they didn’t bump into someone or something. J?kob was feeling his way along the right side of what seemed to be a tunnel with Jessie and Nìa. Matáo, Joel and Jonah took the left. They had been traveling for quite some time, slowly inching their way forward. None of them knew where they were going, but they all wanted to find a way out of the darkness. Every drip of water, every step they took, every sound they heard, was repeated over and over. It echoed down the tunnel into the unknown.

  Every so often, one of the older ones would ask one of the younger ones, if they were doing or feeling alright. The tunnel wall was wet and smooth. J?kob had felt no jagged or sharp edges. It was slippery in spots, as if there was moss growing on it. It had bumps and holes like a cave wall, but it seemed to be going in a straight line. After what seemed like the tenth time to J?kob, his hand brushed against something on the wall that was slimy and he let out a yelp of disgust. “Yuck,” he exclaimed. “I think I just put my hand on a slug,” he said as everyone began laughing at him. He began trying to wipe it off on his pants. He felt his compass that the twins had given him for his birthday in his pocket. In the darkness, he had no sense of which way he was going. “The compass could help. If only we had some light," he thought to himself. “I NEED LIGHT!” he yelled. Just as fast as he said it, an orb of light formed in front of him and hovered just below the top of the tunnel.

  Everyone gasped and stared at the orb. They began looking around. Their eyes burned from the brightness of the orb after being in the dark for so long. Their eyes began to adjust and Matáo asked, “Where did that come from?” “I don’t know,” said J?kob along with everyone else. Matáo tried to grab it. It floated away from his hand before he could touch it. Matáo and Jonah began walking around it, trying to figure out anything about it. Then J?kob said, “at least we aren’t still in the dark.” The orb vanished and it was dark again.

  “J?kob, say light again,” said Matáo in a curious tone. J?kob waited a few seconds and said, “Light.” The orb reappeared in front of him again. “Now, say dark,” requested Jessie and Joel at the same time. J?kob did, and the orb vanished once again. “Are you magic?” asked the twins with curious amazement. “I… I don’t… think so,” he said sheepishly and almost questioning himself.

  Even though it was dark, J?kob could feel everyone staring at him. He was uncertain what to say next. They stared at him in the darkness with a gaze that made him feel uncomfortable. They were not staring with fear or disgust. They stared with awe and amazement towards him. “How long have you had magic?” asked Jonah. “I don’t know,” he replied with a tone that suggested that he didn’t want to talk about it. “This is scaring me a little,” he continued. “This is new to me, and I’m not even sure it is me.” “I think it is,” said Nìa trying to comfort her brother. “Try it again, but this time, try saying something, like, brighter,” she suggested. J?kob took a deep breath, sighed, and then said, “Light," the orb reappeared, and then after a short pause he said, "Brighter.” The orb began to grow in size and intensity. It became blinding to everyone, including J?kob. Everyone tried to shield their eyes from the glow emanating from the orb. Then in an instance, it vanished. As the light started to fade, Matáo saw J?kob begin to sway back and forth and he fell to the floor with blood running from his nose. Everything was dark, again.

  *****

  J?kob opened his eyes and saw his sister kneeling beside him, holding his hand. He looked around wondering how he was able to see now. He saw a torch sticking out of a hole in the cave wall. “What happened?” asked J?kob, feeling weaker than he’d felt in a very long time. “You fell over and passed out,” said Nìa. “Where did that come from?” he asked, pointing at the torch on the wall. “Jonah saw it just before you passed out.” explained Joel. “Lucky for us, I had a flint in my pocket and your brother still had his hunting knife,” he continued. J?kob could see farther down the tunnel as well. He saw that they had lit several torches while he was unconscious. “You were out for quite a spell, little brother,” said Matáo. “We were worried you wouldn’t come out if it. We decided to check the tunnel while we waited. We also went back the way we had come to see if we missed anything else. We were surprised that we had missed the torches all along the walls. If you look closely, you can see where our hands passed just below where they were mounted,” said Matáo.

  Jonah and Jessie had gone ahead of them to see what was up the tunnel and on their return, they saw J?kob sitting up and they ran the rest of the way to tell everyone what they had found. “The tunnel splits in two up the passage always,” said Jessie, slightly out of breath. We lit all the torches that we found along the way as you asked, Matáo,” said Jonah. “How are you feeling J?kob?” asked Jessie. “I think I’m okay,” he replied, trying to stand. “We should get going if you feel up to it,” said Matáo. “I think we are close to the exit,” said Jonah encouragingly. “We heard what sounded like music coming from one of the tunnels,” exclaimed Jessie excitedly. “We should go then,” said J?kob, feeling optimistic.

  The group set out, down the long tunnel that was no longer dark. J?kob could see a dozen or more torches ahead of them, lighting their way. J?kob looked back the way they had come and was disappointed to see that there were only four torches on the walls behind him.

  They continued on into the unknown. They were happy in the hope of getting out of the tunnels. Now that they could see, their pace was much quicker and they arrived at the split in the tunnel much quicker than it took for J?kob to discover his magic in the dark.

  “Can you hear it?” asked Jessie excitedly, pointing down the tunnel that turned to the left. “Yes, I hear it,” said J?kob, “but I don’t think we should go that way," he continued. “Why not?” asked Jessie, “Music means people, doesn’t it.” J?kob saw something down the tunnel. It terrified him. “Do you see what is down there?” he asked shakily pointing at what appeared to be a translucent green skull floating in the distance. “See what?” asked Jessie. “That green skull that is floating,” he replied. "It's moving back and forth, like it's marching from side to side," said J?kob nervously.

  They all looked down the tunnel, peering into the distance. "I don't see anything," said Matáo. "All I see is more darkness," said Jonah, "but I can still hear music." "I think it's a trap," said J?kob. He turned towards the other tunnel and looked. He focused into the distance and saw glowing footprints on the floor leading down the passageway. "I think that we are supposed to go this way," he said cautiously. J?kob grabbed the torch hanging on the wall and said, "This way," and started down the tunnel and the others followed.

  They followed the passage to another split, and again J?kob saw glowing footprints down one of the dark tunnels and a glowing green skull in the other. He continued to follow the footprints through three or four more sections. Some turning to the left while others lead to the right. Eventually the group came to a split that had three openings. J?kob peered down the passages and couldn’t see anything that told him which way to go. He looked deep into the tunnel on the left. He closed his eyes and focused all of his attention to it. He pushed aside all of the sounds from around him. He opened his eyes and gazed deeply into the darkness. He saw something. It was too far away to tell what it was. From the distance, it appeared as a dot at the back of the tunnel. He went to the next tunnel and did the same as before. Again he saw a dot in the distance. He went to the last one and looked as hard as he could. He saw another dot far away, but this one was different. It was bright blue like the footprints he’d been following. He turned to the others and said, “Follow me.”

  As they ventured further down the passage Matáo asked, “How do you know where you are going, J?kob?” “I am just following the footprints on the ground,” he said. “What footprints?” asked Nìa and Jessie. “The blue ones that we’ve been following to get us here,” stated J?kob, “Did you not see them?” he asked. “No!” exclaimed everyone. “Well they were there. Trust me,” said J?kob. “What do you mean ‘were?’ asked Matáo. “I don’t see them now,” he said, “There is a blue light this way, it’s getting bigger the closer we get to it,” he continued. “I believe we are getting close. I can almost make out words written down there,” he said as he pointed to the far end of the tunnel.

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  They cautiously approached the darkness. J?kob, the only one seeing the writing, led the way. When they finally reached the end of the tunnel, there was a large wooden door that was carved with intricate details. There were three, expertly detailed, carved and painted door knockers. One was an almost realistic head of an eagle grasping a knocker handle in its beak and it had sapphires for eyes. There was a lion craved with an enormous mane and sharp teeth with emeralds for eyes clutching the handle in its maw. The one that drew J?kob’s attention was the elaborately carved dragon’s head. It had dark scales glistening with gold inlay. The teeth, made of ivory, looked as if they were dripping blood. It had dark red rubies for eyes that flickered in the torch light and seemed to blink with the dancing of the flames. Each knocker had a hole beneath it just big enough to place a hand.

  The writing that was glowing bright and drew him there, was inscribed into the door. J?kob was the only one that could see the writing. “Do you still think it’s writing? asked Jonah. “Yes.” said J?kob. “Well, what does it say?” asked everyone there. “It’s hard to make out, but I will try,” replied J?kob. Then he read it aloud.

  “One may hear a lion’s roar, an eagle’s screech, or a dragon’s voice,

  Knock but once on every face, then one must make a choice.

  Place one’s hand upon its heart, with firm grip, turn it twice.

  Listen close and heed the call, choose it wrong, it will turn to ice.”

  “What do you think it means?” asked Jonah. J?kob handed him the torch and gave each of the knockers a single rap and then took a step back. They began to hear a hum emanating from the door. Each of the figure heads began to move around. Their eyes glowed and their mouths clamped shut. Then smoke began to flow from the nostrils of the dragon. J?kob then heard a small voice in his head telling him to place his hand inside the dragon hole. His hand began to rise up as if being pulled to the hole in the door. His hand went inside the hole and he felt a handle inside and he placed his fingers around it and turned it once with all he had. The group began to hear clicking and popping sounds coming from the door. J?kob turned the handle once more and they heard more clicking followed by a creaking sounds. The door began to open inward as J?kob felt a wave of energy leave his body. He felt weakened.

  J?kob pushed the door open and stumbled inside the room. There were shelves filled with scrolls, books, and other such items wrapped around a large table in the center with an old man seated at it. He had a short gray beard that still had some of the once deep brown of his youth. His face was beginning to wrinkle from years of work and worry. He looked familiar to J?kob. He stared at the man as he read over the parchment he was holding. The man looked up and saw everyone standing there and welcomed them all by name.

  “Wilhelm?” Matáo said quizzically. Everyone gasped recognizing the man from the many times he had come into Echo. “What are you doing here?” asked Jonah. “I live here,” replied Wilhelm, “but the question should be, what are you all doing here?” Matáo then explained the events leading up to them somehow getting into the tunnels that led them there. When he had finished telling him, Wilhelm said, “The time has come. We must make haste. We need to inform the others.” “What is going on?” asked J?kob sternly.

  “I will try and keep this short child, for time is crucial. You all know me as Wilhelm, a hermit in the woods that periodically came into Echo to buy and sell things. In truth, I am Wilhelm of the Light, a wizard of the Tribune of Magi. I live here acting as Watcher; like others that came before me. We report anything out of the ordinary to the Consul of Elders. We have been watching all of Tenroha from our posts scattered across the land for more than a millennia. It appears, that if what you say is true, the time has come to pass that we have been watching for all these centuries,” said Wilhelm, placing a finger on J?kob ‘s mouth interrupting him, then he continued, “I understand that you all have questions, and I promise you will get your answers in time, but for now we must get you away from here and report what you have seen.”

  Wilhelm went to an empty spot on the wall. He reached into a pocket a pulled out something small. He drew a large archway on the wall. J?kob watched as Wilhelm started to draw small glyphs that he didn’t recognize. When it was finished it began to glow faintly like the footprints and the door inscription. Wilhelm placed his hand on the wall and began chanting something in a language that J?kob couldn’t understand. The images began to glow brighter and everyone in the room could see in now. The light became blinding for an instance and then, when it faded away, where the drawing had been, now stood a doorway with a misty fog suspended inside it.

  “We must hurry, young ones,” said Wilhelm in a hurried tone. “This door will only hold a few moments,” he said ushering the others through the doorway. J?kob paused and looked around wondering if this was right. “Can we trust you?” he asked hesitantly. Wilhelm stopped and turned to J?kob and said, “You can if you wish, but for now it’s me or the ones outside.” He took J?kob by the arm and said, “I want you to know that I am proud of all of you kids, especially you, my grandson,” and then pulled him through the doorway and it closed behind them.

  J?kob was led into a large hallway filled with columns that reached the height of six grown men. J?kob stopped and pulled his arm away from Wilhelm’s grasp. “Grandson?” he asked. “What are you talking about?” “I will explain everything in time, J?kob. For now though, let me show you to your rooms and I will explain what I can after I meet with the elders.,” replied Wilhelm. He led them down the hallway to another, smaller corridor lined with doors. They made their way to the end and he said, “For now, young ones, you may take these two rooms here,” pointing to the last two rooms in the hall. “Boys on the left, girls on the right if you please. Inside you will find many things. Food, clothing, a place to wash if like, and a bed to rest. I must go and report what has happened, but I will return as soon as I can to help get you all settled in. Matáo, since you seem to have seen and heard more than the rest, would you please come with me to see the elders?” asked Wilhelm. He turned, and he and Matáo walked away.

  *****

  J?kob entered his room and found all sorts of items. There was a table filled with fruits, cheeses, and dried meats. There were several beds along the wall, a basin with water and a mirror. He went to the basin and began to wash his face. He hadn’t realized that it had gotten so dirty. There was still blood on it from when he killed his deer. He thought about how long ago it seemed to him that he had shot it. Barely more than a day had passed and yet it seemed forever ago with everything happening at once. When he finished, he went to the table and picked out some grapes and a hunk of cheese. He then walked over to one of the beds and sat there eating and thinking about what they had been through.

  The one thought that his mind kept circling back to was Wilhelm calling him grandson. The more he thought about it, the more curious he became. He thought about his family. He thought about his parents, trying to remember them mentioning anything about it. He thought of his brother and his sister, trying to remember any mentioning of it. He couldn’t think of anything. He began to get frustrated and the more he thought about it, the more he began to get angry.

  He finished his food and went to his door and opened it. Jessie and Nìa were standing there about to knock. “I was on my way to ask you something, sister.” said J?kob. “I was coming to check on you, J?kob,” said Nìa. “I also wanted to talk to you about something that we have never told you before,” she continued. He let them in and walked over to one of the beds and he sat down.

  Nìa sat beside him and grabbed hold of his hand. “Little brother. The story that I am about to tell you is something I promised our parents that I would never tell you and I’m not even sure Matáo knows it. But, I believe, with everything that has happened, that it is time for you to hear it,” she said in a tone of sadness. “Years ago, before you were born, mother had become pregnant and she and father were very happy. One day, while they were working, mother had a sharp pain in her belly and she began to bleed. Later that day, the baby came, it was too soon, and it wasn’t breathing. She and father went to the clearing by the giant tree to bury the babe. Mother sat by the tree while father dug. When he was finished burying the child, he went and sat beside mother and they both cried. They never said how long they sat there, but after some time they began to leave. Mother began to hear a baby crying. She frantically ran to the spot and began to dig trying to get to the babe. When she did, it was still lying motionless, and she began to cry again. As she stood, she could still hear the crying. They began to search around for the crying baby.”

  “They found it lying in the hole at the base of the tree. It was a newborn babe less than a week old. That child in the tree was you. They brought you home and made you part of their family. Father named you after his father welcoming you as one of their own,” Nìa said as she continued. J?kob sat there trying to take it all in. His mind was overflowing with questions, questions that he didn’t know who to ask or where to find the answers.

  “I have known this story since the day you came into our lives, little brother.” she continued, “I just wanted you to know after what has happened. Wilhelm may be able to answer some of the questions going through your head right now. But know this, J?kob, you are still my brother and nothing will ever change that. I love you and I always will. Our mother and father believed you to be a gift from The Creator, and so do I.”