Kiera's Moon

Two warriors stood hidden in the dark on either side of the doorway. She jumped when one moved, her heart flipping. The warrior opened the door wider and motioned her in. She entered a narrow, well-lit hall and followed it through smoothly hewn walls. Several more warriors stood at intersections like gargoyles, moving only to point in the direction she needed to go.

She caught up to Mansr at long last. He stood outside a closed door down a short hallway lined with warriors. Her heart quickened as she paced through the silent warriors and joined him. He motioned to a glowing access pad.

"I cannot enter. Only the dhjan and dhjan nishani."

She hesitated again, not sure she was ready for another trial.

"Inside is one of three temples on Anshan where the heart of the planet and its people is. While I've never seen what lies within, legend says it's the key to the planet's survival."

She wanted to tell him she wasn't ready for this, that she hadn't even decided to stay yet. Her words died on her lips as she took in the deep worry lines and gaunt features of the man before her. After all he'd been through fighting for his home, how could she refuse?

With a nod, she prepared herself for the worst. He stepped aside and she waved her band in front of the access door. She couldn't help but feel surprised when it opened. Inside was another small chamber. She looked at Mansr, who nodded in encouragement, then stepped into the chamber.

The thick stone door behind her slid closed, and there was a pause before another door opened in front of her. She expected another similar chamber with a low ceiling and plain walls and was stunned at the massive cave before her.

The walls were covered with colorful pictographs of couples and Anshan's geometric writing, telling her a story she couldn't read. The tiled floor depicted Anshan and its moons, with the planet at the chamber's center. Two thrones of stone sat opposite her, awaiting their masters. In the center of the chamber was a small fountain whose waters had long gone dry. She walked into the chamber, awed by the drawings and writings on the walls. They were in different hands from different times, the top of the chamber rimmed with drawings of couples holding hands and standing on a ball she took to be Anshan.

She didn't understand the significance of the pictures or writing and frowned, wondering how such a simple place was considered sacred. She crossed the stone tiles to the center of the chamber and circled the plain fountain. More pictographs were carved in the rim, and she circled the fountain twice before finding what she thought was the beginning, marked by pictures larger than the rest.