It had been awhile. The dampness and moss of the cave, illuminated by a singular hole in the cave’s roof, created an ethereal vibe. It was like walking into a fairytale book, and Hy-Brasil, felt herself being taken away by the atmosphere. A stone pathway, overgrown with more moss, clover, weeds and whatever else could grow in the very-low light conditions could make the trek to her destination slippery. The fact that she had been whisked to the location upon arrival on her Wonder, saved her the possible ankle-turning path.

The sunlight filtering into the cave was just off of a pedestal where an integral part of her Wonder was housed. The small Code-piece hoovered there, unassuming. Hy walked over to it, the heat of the sun warming her back as she situated herself under it’s glow. Meditating had been a difficult thing for her for years. Even now she worried at her ability to quiet her mind enough for the task. But, it needed to be done. So she settled herself on the cave floor, the moss and dirt, likely carried down through the hole above over the centuries, made a soft seat.

She took a deep breath. In. Out. Eyes closed softly as she settled in.

In. Out. Clear her mind.

In. Focus on the code piece. Out. Her Wonder. In. Her body. Out.

A young woman, probably just stepping out of her teenage years, hair a reddish brown, eyes a bright blue, and petite frame held a familiar staff and incense burner. The green skirts moved against her legs as she entered the cave. The room was well maintained. Oil lanterns sat on stone pedestals along the pathway and around the large cavern. The hole was still above, she glanced up at it to see only darkness and the faint light of a few stars.

She paused in front of the code-piece, a soft smile on her young face as she removed a trinket from her wrist. She held it within her hands, looking at the bronze material. It was a solid hoop with intricate designs etched into it. Not a single clasp was to be found, but her hand and wrist were plenty small enough to accommodate the piece of jewelery.

“I am exhausted.” She said quietly to herself, a heavy lilt to her voice, as she knelt down. With her legs tucked under her.a heavy sigh escaped and the young woman finally let the weariness show. “It’s been a mess. There’s been a large influx of people coming here to seek healing. I’ve been doing what I can to assist, but even witht his I can only do so much.” The metal ring danced slowly between her fingers and she fiddled with it. “It’s hard to find a calm place to even think.

“Leaning so heavily on a trinket to augment my powers doesn’t sit well. It feels like I am cheating even if it was gifted to me from my predecessor.” It was hard to say if she was talking to the code-piece or to herself, but she sat there content enough to be in a place not over riden by rushing medics and moaning patients. It allowed her to just be. “I’ve always done everything with my own strength. No one elses…” Her voice was soft as she looked at the bracelet.

She twirled it in her fingers a few more times before reaching forward to place the trinket on a stone in front of the code-piece’s pedestal. It wasn’t an alter of any sort, just one of the many rocks that had fallen when the cave roof collapsed. The rubble had been left to stay as it had fallen, at least that was what her mentor told her. Apparently, it had occurred during his time as Hy-Brasil’s protector. He never did tell her how it had happened, though she had secretly guessed it was of his own doing. Why else would he ignore her prodding about it?

“I can always come back for it.” She said placatingly to herself. The location meant the article would be safe. Only a Knight of Hy-Brasil could come to the cave considering what was so carefully hidden there.

Rising to her feet, the woman brushed off her skirts and took a deep breath. “I can do this.”

Turning on a booted heel the sound of her footsteps could be heard on the stone paved pathway. A Pathway not encrusted with moss and other flora, but well maintained. She didn’t stop. She didn’t look back.”

Hy sucked in a deep breath through her nose as she came back in awareness of herself. It was a bit jarring to see the room as it was now as opposed to what she’d just seen. “I should turn my focus here next.” She declared. Her eyes shifted from the moss walls, to the broken pedestals that she now knew held oil lamps at some point, and then the code piece.

But her eyes slip lower. The same rock sat there, but the bracelet did not. Her brows furrowed as she leaned forward to brush a hand on the stone that was obviously worn from time. A thick cropping of weeds grew around the pedestals bottom and the rocks there. Obviously this section was close enough to the light source from the hole to grow vibrantly. Hy ran her hands around the area. While it seemed impossible that something like a bracelet could be here after centuries, she couldn’t help but wonder why else she had seen that vision.

As the thought crossed her mind she felt her fingers brush along the coldness of metal. It was wedged between it’s original location and several smaller stones behind. The grass and weeds had done a good job of hiding it. Dislodging it was easy enough, and Hy was greeted by a dirty, crusty solid bangle bracelet. The engravings on it was unmistakable. It was the same one.

“She said it augmented her power. I wonder how.” Running her fingers over the piece didn’t do much for cleaning. The dirt was well embedded. Amazingly though, Hy saw no signs of corrosion. A sign that the metal was more than just that. “Guess there’s only one way to find out, but first…” She rose to her feet, dusting off her own skirts much like her predecessor did in the vision. “It deserves a good cleaning.”

To the code piece, she offered a smile. Hy didn’t care if the piece could see her. “I’ll be back.” She needed to fix this place up next. It was mentally added to her large to-do list.

Being a Knight and a regular human being was exhausting in a way that she doubted her predecessors could really understand. Her life was more than the Wonder, even if she wished that wasn’t the case. Things would be much more simple if all she needed to do was upkeep and tend to Hy-Brasil. A wistful sigh escaped her. Indeed she at least wouldn’t feel as if she was being pulled in so many different directions. Unfortunately, life wasn’t always easy, and if the vision she had just seen was anything to go off of, her predecessors had their own problems. Probably ones that Hy couldn’t understand herself.

With that sobering thought, the Knight turned and made her way out of the cave. Her new posession held tightly between her fingers. She was eager to see it at least returned to what it had once looked like sooner rather than later.