Chapter 4: Knock Knock

The tower stood proudly higher than any building Aromir thought existed. It stood in defiance of nature with its shape consisting of a perfect cylinder that was wider on the top and bottom than in the very middle tapering in the ends. Where most would put a conical roof at the top of the tower was nothing. At the apparent front of the tower stood double doors, twice as tall as Aromir. All these things were exceptionally nonexistent in Moc Arden, but none of these things registered first with Aromir. Instead, the materials that made up the exterior of the tower plagued all of his senses.

Aromir had spent his entire life around people who knew more than most of the rest of the world about metal. He had seen all sorts of steel, iron, bronze you could imagine but that could compare with what made up the tower. It was silver in color, and held a sheen that seemed at first glance to be polished enough to act as a mirror, yet it reflected nothing. Aromir put his hand on the door and it felt warm, even through the leather glove he wore. Aromir looked closely at the doors and noticed that in the middle at chest height was a broken circle with the same proportions as the brace.

Aromir approached the doors timidly at first, but felt the same peace he had when he fought the Nocturnes on the road. It stilled his nerves and focused his mind: it was welcome. When he was about five feet away from the gate he realized that it was engraved with markings he had never seen. They seemed to have come from the center between the two gates and work all the way around the walls. The markings point of origin came from an incomplete circle that mimicked the one on Aromir's brace. When he touched the center to examine the markings the doors they came to life with light. The markings rearranged themselves and began flashing in sets of three or four and then in sets of twenties and thirties. Faster and faster the characters began to flash until the doors violently swung open and all the air of the world seemed to suck onto the place. Aromir was thrown into the central chamber of the tower and forced to his knees by the fury of the wind.

When Aromir braved to look up his saw that a great metal ball hung from the very centre of the ceiling and glowed immensely as though it was a second sun, he knew that this unearthly object was the source of power for the tower. Just as the doors to the tower the chamber Aromir was in was lined with the flashing markings from the floor to the wall and the ceiling. As the great metal ball started to pulse it's light the characters in the walls started to light in chorus with each other like a wave that ran around the circle of the tower. Without reprieve the wave of light sped increasingly until Aromir felt as though his consciousness was being removed from his head.

Again, white.

And the smell of jasmine.

Cold and warm together.

Smooth white.

Aromir found himself again in Elysium

When he stood, Aromir saw the shape of a man coming his way. By instinct he began to shape the brace, and moved to a fighting stance.

"Twin tigers to fight an unarmed man? Do I look like a woman, boy!? Even then you can't get it right; your left arm is too far from your center."

As though it was his father that said it to him Aromir moved to correct his arm but found his arm an insubordinate limb. In his panic he tried to move his whole body, but to no avail. He could only breathe and move his eyes. When he looked to the brace the man laughed.