opening of the maze behind now, nearing its heart. All was well. Until they felt. They felt the
walls closing in on them agonisingly slowly, sometimes not moving at all, but sometimes it
seemed to be falling upon them suffocating them. The air became grey and opaque. Opaque
enough to form a shadow of a cold, grey hand wringing their necks.
Wanderer saw grey, like a layer of mist veiling his eyes, pushing him to the brink of
consciousness. There were distant cries.
No! Fight them!
They are mere illusions to trick you into killing yourself!
They are not here!
Not here… It’s just your mind…
“…Fight them!” Oh, that is Astari, Wanderer managed to recognise, I must go back to the light…
He pulled himself up from the bottomless abyss just in time to hear a howl that froze his blood.
“Aarrrhh! Wolves! He-” Astari screamed. He ran towards the circle of wolves and
miraculously, the wolves gave way as they saw him. He took the place beside Astari, taking her
smaller hand, perhaps to ensure her.
“Away with your foul breathes.” A sense of calmness and authority flowed through his veins
as he ordered, “I’m the rightful heir to what you guard.” He took out his one possession beside
his bow and quiver—a sheet of vellum bearing the prophetic song he had hummed and a seal, the
mark of his house. The head wolf sniffed the vellum, bowed its head and turned away.
The maze suddenly cleared. Shadow and mist dispersed and the bright green glow filled the
air. The source of light was just ahead of them.
“The Emerald Hall.” Wanderer breathed, “Why? They’re trees…”
The barks formed the great columns of the hall, and their crowns formed the arches, all
glowing a transparent and glittering green light. The marble walls were adorned by mosaics
illustrating the tale of Elro and Sarangerel, the ceiling is millions of stars, the floor is sand. All
were unworn even by time.
Everlasting between sky and earth.
A box sat solemnly in the middle of the hall. They tentatively opened the heavy lid.
Two necklaces. Two halves of a circle: one half is the starry sky, the other the endless sand. A
volume of book lay underneath, at the bottom of the box, narrating the full legend.
“…there are nothing like the bond between us, except the sky and the earth who forever behold
each other. So though now we have to part, like the sky and the earth, we pray the land keeps our
promise undimmed, for this has no end although our flesh has.
By Elro Eldar and Sarangerel Naransetseg”
“The rock maze was of nature’s making after all…” Wanderer thought aloud. He turned around
to see Astari’s face full of shock.
“Naransetseg…” Astari stared at the last page as if in trance, “but that’s my last name…”
She looked up at Wanderer, and saw the reflection of the warm sand in his eyes.
She did not know, Wanderer saw countless stars in her eyes.
They sat in silence for eternity, they did not remember what happened afterwards. But
somehow, Golden Eagle must have led them out with the heirloom.
“I…err…I need to go back, to my homeland, you know…To carry this back…” He carried the
heirloom, bow and quiver at his back, ragged clothes still draping over him.
“I know. I’ve been wondering when you’re leaving actually.” Astari Naransetseg forced a smile.
