Losing our Sanctuary

Exam Page
The Sanctum Isles

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Night falls and darkness looms over the Sanctum Isles. Other than the radiant light of the ethernanos-abundant tower of crystal, street lights and ceiling lights were lit up to help illuminate the area. Though in this time of the night, most of the unnecessary lights were shut off to conserve power, one of the things Ozwald is very adamant about. He believes that every resource at your disposal should be used efficiently. Instead of brightly lit hallways, dim blue light radiates from the walls. It’s not bright enough to waste a lot of energy, and it's also not dim enough to prevent anyone from seeing through the darkness. It makes for a calmer and serene environment, especially with the big potted plants placed beside the doors.

His room in the Sanctuary was almost always at its cleanest. Various plants like succulents and cacti lay growing around the room and decorating it with some greens to help with his eyes, though he can just go outside the balcony to admire the trees standing tall around Sanctuary. The doors were made of glass, and were built so he could see the outside of his room when he’s inside, and provide him with privacy with a mirror on the outside. Dark wooden planks make up his room’s flooring, and rugs of black and white lay below his bed and nightstand. The walls were composed of circuity and hard metal. Ozwald sits by his desk with his grimoire in hand, his eyes focused on the content of the pages. Only the light of the moon and his desk lamp illuminate the interior.

Ozwald had just finished poring over the grimoire Alexander had entrusted him with. He stopped by the chapter that details the inner workings of Dave’s Turntables, a brass artifact which allows for quicker access to his magic AND a capable tool for when Ozwald is in the mood to DJ. It also allowed his spells to travel further and faster, as described on the inked papyrus page. He can’t make heads or tails of the diagram inscribed on it, detailing the parts and principles behind the magical relic of eld. He has no knowledge of the engineering of these artifacts, and it would prove useful for him to study these… if only he had spare artifacts he could disassemble, and that he could. It’s a hobby of his to disassemble, reassemble, and study machines of the olden days, and one of his spells would be useful in reversing any damages done to it, or just simply bring it back to its original form.

Ozwald yawns, feeling quite tired from his reading. He never gets tired of marvelling at the creations of the Brass Seraphs. Their innovative machinery was what inspired him to take up a bit of engineering in the first place. He would read more from the grimoire and study the diagrams of the brass artifact, but it was getting late for him. And he’s tired, his eyes heavy from staying up later than usual. “I should postpone this activity for tomorrow.” He muttered to himself as he stood up and went to his bed, but not before turning off his desk lamp. As minutes come by, he swiftly drifts to sleep.

Ⅰ  Exam Word Count - 541 / 1000  Ⅰ

He opens his eyes to find himself surrounded by a familiar darkness. He looks up to find the moon shining in the middle of the night sky, surrounded by bright twinkling stars in the heavens. In the middle of it all is the very same crystal tower from Sanctuary, however, something is amiss. This crystal tower isn’t connected to anything, hells, there’s nothing around it. He found no evidence of life, implying that the scholars are absent in the isles. He found this strange but came to a conclusion that this is merely a lucid dream, and that all changed when he was visited by a man.

The man was wearing a black robe with golden trims and designs, and an emerald green sash was worn across his torso. The hood conceals the face underneath, with only the mouth and stubs visible. His left arm looks crystallized with a turquoise color, and strips of leather and gold are coiled somewhat around it. It doesn’t look debilitating enough, and the movement of his crystalized fingers prove it. His legs could not be seen in the midst of all the articles of clothing and robes worn. He brandished a crystal staff on his right hand with the similar turquoise color of his arm. He looked familiar, but at the same time, he is a stranger. “Ozwald Emeraude Morgan, you who inherited the grimoire of time and owner of the crystal tower.” The stranger said as he pointed his crystalline finger to him, “I will relieve you of the latter temporarily. See to it that everyone leaves this island… in 2 hours.”

Oswald had a puzzled look on his face. How did he come to know him? And why is he here? And most importantly, is this a dream no more? “Fulfill your duty as their leader. Fare thee well.” With a snap of his fingers, Oswald stopped flying, and was now falling to the ground. Just as his face meets the ground…

...he awoke abruptly just from the falling sensation. He looked around and it was still night time, but something was amiss. He was quick to notice a spec of light falling from above him gently. He looked up the ceiling, and found it in the first few seconds of disintegration. He quickly got up from bed and dashed to the balcony where he found everyone else wide awake, observing the strange phenomena. “That wasn’t a dream.” He mumbled to himself, “That wasn’t a DREAM!” He ran as fast as he could towards central command where the intercoms were located, and he immediately grabbed the mic and spoke towards every member of the scholasticate, but not before ringing the alarms. He pressed a red button with an exclamation mark printed on it. Wailing sirens and red lights emerge from the walls and lamp posts of Sanctuary. “Emergency! This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill. This is a Code Black. The island will completely vanish in 2 hours. Commence Operation “Desolate Sanctuary”, immediately!” The scholars, archaeologists, and the rest of the staff acknowledged the order, and have started loading crates and boxes with ancient relics, tomes, and important documents. The motherlode was in the process of being disassembled and quickly transported to the docks.

Oswald made sure to pack up everything in his room and in his storage area, including his tools and spare parts. He made quick work of it and transported his items to the docks along with the other crates. As he went to it, he noticed the docks area wasn’t subjected to the phenomenon, and had theorized that only the crystal tower as well as everything within its perimeter were affected. This proved to be true as the 2 hours were up. By then, everything would have been packed up, leaving behind a desolate structure void of tools and devices. A beam of light engulfs Sanctuary. The light fades, and nothing could be seen except for a massive crater being filled with seawater.

And thus, Sanctuary is lost.

Ⅰ  Exam Word Count - 1217 / 1000  Ⅰ