At World's End; Resurrection

Clark stuck his tongue to his cheek when the crystal melted away, still unable to make sense of anything that was happening. "Okay, was this supposed to be some kind of candy or- grAAACK-" His body fell to the floor, writhing from the numbing sensations that were resonating through him. His wrists and ankles began seeping a cement-colored substance and Clark's eyes widened at the sight. "How?" Slowly, he pulled himself together back onto his feet, and the stone ouija board of a table would give him another message.

"'Inheritance?'" he read aloud. "What did I inherit, wrist rabies?! Well... I'm still alive at least. Chalk up 'spooky rock candy' on the board of things that failed to kill me. What am I even supposed to give a name to something like this?"

A single word came to mind, for utterly no reason at all - as though it were being placed into his head by some higher power beyond his level of comprehension.

"Calanais," Clark spoke the word.

In an instant, hard stone covered his arms and formed sharp points that extended past his knuckles. This time, his encased arms and fingers could move freely with the stone as if it weren't even there. With a clench of his fists, the sharp edges shot out further like a weapon.

"The plot thickens."

Julie watched as the monkeys above grew more irritated as she drew Inheritance forth and opened them. They somehow seemed to multiply, but that couldn't have been right; the branches of the trees the monkeys sat in seemed a bit bowed with the weight. She was scared to make any sudden movement that would tip the balance. If she could just stay quietly and watch the village from afar like she had been, everything would be okay, right?

Then one monkey threw a stone at her. It hit Julie square in the forehead as she wasn't expecting for the animals to do much of anything other than stare at her angrily. "Ow!" There wasn't much time before the rest of the band of monkeys began throwing all manners of things at her in response. "Ach, get away from me!" Julie screamed and swept her fans in an arc above her. Clouds similar to the ones she woke up on formed above her, shielding her from the fire... but not for long.

It didn't take much time before various ammunition from more rocks to poop started to pelt through the wall of cloud that she had put up above her. Julie didn't want to expose herself just yet, but at this point, she had no choice, She glided out of the forest wall and into the clearing that held the village buildings. From what she could tell, there was still no one to be seen or heard. "Mother Niah, help me..." she cried to herself as all that ran through her head was getting away from those god awful monkeys. Wait a minute, you're on your own. She is keeping the dragons at bay, and here you are crying about a bunch of monkeys. You need to focus on finding the Architect... whoever that is.

Julie was out in the open now, and likely caused enough commotion to alarm even the heaviest of sleepers. She was at anyone's mercy.

~Sara & Julia~

The village was as lively in the mornings as it was during the day. Sara couldn't believe how dark everything was though, the sun had barely risen and didn't even show through the trees and yet these villagers were so active. The sky was a bright blue, though, so perhaps that is how they knew. Guru Euron waited for Sara, Moira, and the other fresh warriors near the bridge spanning the gap between jungle and village.

"What's that over there?" Sara asked aloud while the others saluted Euron. She received glares from the four men but her attention was on something in the jungle.

"A stranger has entered the forest," Euron said. "They were foolish to come here, so the guardians are expunging them."

"Can't they see the village? Why don't they come over the bridge?"

"The village is protected by a barrier," Moira explained. "Though they might be able to see the village, they can't see the people walking around inside the village."

"Then we should go help them!" Sara said. When no one responded and only stared at her, she shook her head and ran past them and over the bridge.

As Julie tried to escape from the monkeys out into the open, they launched at her, grabbing her in the air and started pulling her back using their own bodies like a rope. She was flung back into the forest and onto the ground, where the monkey gathered and made their temper known. After a few seconds of rage, the monkeys lunged at her.

A wave of fire rushed through the trees, crashing down around Julie. It swarmed around the girl and rose up, catching the monkeys in the air and tossing them back, but not burning them. The monkeys screeched and quickly fled, leaving only Julie and the fire behind.

"Are you okay?" A voice came from the fire. It converged on itself, collecting in a singular place before revealing a young girl, wearing red and gold armor. "You're not hurt?" She asked again, looking concernedly at Julie.

~Clark~

Clark would find his new powers helpful for the future, but a sudden fatigue washed over him. The night was late, and there were no signs of Stonehart coming back anytime soon, so he would have to sleep where he was.

Th night finally passed for Clark, and he was awoken by a strange feeling of being dragged across a rough, stone floor. Stonehart was there, he was the one dragging him across the floor, even though he could easily heft the boy up off the ground. It didn't take long for the big guy to notice Clark was awake. "You've awoken, good. You walk on your own feet now." To prove the earlier point, Stonehart hoised Clark up by his wrist and set him on his feet. Here he would notice his Inheritance had not vanished overnight.

"You have many things to explain, boy," Stonehart said. "But the mountain has given you this gift for a reason. You must not abuse it. Is that understood?"

Regardless of Clark's answer, he would notice a set of very large stone doors before him. Unlike most of the other walls and doors in the city, this one was decorated and adorned with jewels. The red paint wrote in a language he couldn't decipher, and it may just be gibberish anyway with how the rest of this strange new world worked. As Clark looked upon the doors, they split open, light flooding into the dark hallway.

Within stood a mountain of gold. It sparkled and shone brightly from the sunlight pouring in through the windows. A bitter cold swept into the hall, the air was light here, but not uncomfortably so. Before the gold sat a throne made of the stuff, with her Royal Highness's butt firmly planted between two red cushions.

"Thank you for bringing him to me, Stonehart," Queen Edna said. She was more authoritative with her voice somehow. Perhaps it was the throne making her feel so intimidating. "Tell me, boy, what was your name again?"

It wouldn't take long for Clark to awaken at Stonehart, dragging him through the stone. "Yeah, just keep scraping my face against the rock. I don't mind at all, no really," his sarcasm spouted. Stonehart claimed Clark owed an explanation, but the young Scotsman was already getting fed up. "I'd like to think that goes both ways." Clark dusted himself off when brought to his feet, and caught sight of the doors before him. He was ushered through and saw Queen Edna upon a throne of gold. It looked like he was in trouble for eating the mountain's spooky candy.

"Clark. Clark Halvorsen," Clark reintroduced when Queen Edna prompted him. "Stonehart said something about the mountain's gift. I'm assuming I'm here because of that."

Julie didn't succeed in getting very far into the sleeping village. Through brute force, the monkeys held her back, thrusting her back into the forest and into the ground. There was nothing she could do as the creatures closed in on her. She curled up defensively as best as she could while she waited for impending doom... only for her world to burst into flame. She screamed, and the monkeys also screamed, footsteps receding among the sounds of the crackling flame. Surprisingly enough, Julie wasn't burned alive, and the flames that burned around her calmed down, retreated dissipated.

In their wake was a girl clad in red and gold armor, asking if she was okay. She was likely the source of the flames. Julie stood and brushed herself off, sheepishly looking at the girl in more detail. "I'm alright, thank you..." She sheathed Inheritance and looked away. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't expect for the animals here to be so violent. Looking at the village, I didn't expect for anyone to be awake quite yet, either. I hope the commotion here didn't bother anyone..." Julie turned red with chagrin and began anxiously twiddling her thumbs.

~Clark~

Queen Edna seemed to wriggle her nose at Clark. It was a tiny thing, the gesture, but it made a huge impact on her otherwise stone-like stillness. She made another gesture, this time a little, tight nod of her head. The stone doors behind Clark and Stonehart collapsed, shutting tight and making the room shake with a resounding echo.

"You are here," Queen Edna said, her voice much softer now than it had been before. "You are here to determine if you are a spy sent by one of the other nations. However, as I have been told, you now possess the Mountain-Gift. The Mountain has put its trust in you and even saw fit to gift you with its strength. This is most unusual, but given the circumstances it seems I am the one who owes you an apology, and an explanation. Guards, give us the room."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guards moved to leave, walking towards the walls. The mountain gave way just as they were about to crash into it, instead morphing around them like liquid.

Stonehart also went to leave, but Edna called out to him. "You stay, Stonehart."

"Ah, yes a'course."

"I will begin with my apology, Clark Halvorsen," Queen Edna said. "We have given you quite the unfair treatment, but that will all change now that the Mountain has spoken. The power you have been granted is not unique, there are other nations who hold similar powers to ours, though they are different. It is called Inheritance, and upon calling upon it with a name, it will manifest in a form suited to the person."

Edna stood and took a few steps from her throne. She held out her hands and with a single, powerful word, she spoke. "Diarmuid!" The rock reacted immediately, springing up from the ground and coming to rest in her hands. It morphed and took shape until she held two long spears in her hands. "It is simple, it is easy, it is also very dangerous." She threw one of her spears at the wall, where it smashed into the rock and blew out a chunk of it twice the size and weight of Stonehard.

"Like so," Edna said, the other spear molding back into the stone. The hole she made also started to patch itself up. "I would like to see yours, Clark Halvorsen. Go and call upon your Inheritance, then I will answer any questions you may have of it."

~Sara & Julia~

"Oh thank goodness," Sara said, sighing with relief. Now that she calmed down, she saw the girl was a lot prettier than she first expected. Then she remembered the warriors she left behind and started to worry. Her face went pale and she stole a glance over her shoulder before turning back to the girl and pushing her into the bushes. "Shh," Sara said, her finger to her lips. "I think I messed up real bad. Stay here, okay? I'll try and-"

"Sara?" Sara's face went red. "Sara! There you are!"

"Oh, hi Moira!" Sara said and jumped to her feet.

Moira glanced around Sara and saw Julia in the bushes. She tilted her head a little. "So this is the girl you saved? The old man isn't happy, you know. We're not supposed to allow outsiders to see us, let alone interfere with the monkeys."

"Sorry."

"But all of that is total hogwash, ya know? You've got a big heart, Sara. I like that about you. Why don't you and I bring her back to the village and we can have her healed up a bit? I'll let Euron know and we'll be good to go."

"That's great, thanks Moira." Sara turned back to Julia as Moira ran off. She gave her a smile and held out her hand. "Sorry for pushing you like that. My name's Sara, by the way. What's yours?"

"Calanais," Clark called, wasting no time. Just like before, the stone formed around his arms and formed sharp points at the end of his fists. Clark had begun to catch on, and made his own assumptions of what was going on. "I am to understand that the mountain has given me a weapon. You also claim there are other nations with abilities like this, and you worry about spies. Would I be correct to say you are currently at war, possibly with one of these nations?

Clark tensed his hands, and his "Inheritance" as the queen called it, dissolved into sand and retreated away. If Clark was in fact right about there being a war, then he would also assumed that he would be expected to take part of it. He was starting to miss studying for exams as the only thing he had to worry about. He had hoped he would have woken up back at the university when he went to sleep, and yet here he was in Rock Land with all the Rock People. The Flintstones were right on the money other than of course using prehistoric animals.

Julie was taken aback as the crimson-clad girl shoved her into the bushes for no apparent reason. She stayed quiet as the girl asked, and not too much time passed before another similarly dressed girl game in the first's wake. Apparently, the girl that shoved Julie to the ground was named Sara, and the second girl was Moira. Julie frowned at the mention of an old man. Would this person know what Niah meant by this Architect? Were either of these girls what she was looking for?

Moira ran off to let this old man know what had happened here. Sara offered her hand to Julie, and she accepted, pulling herself. up. "No worries, it's fine. My name's Julie. I came here because I was told to go, but not where." She took a look around the jungle, still seeing no sign of anyone else, let alone whatever it was that Sara had been afraid of. She considered asking Sara about the Architect, but chose to stay quiet. Instead, she chose to ask about the seemingly empty village. "So, I suppose we'll head back to the village? From what I had seen beyond the trees, it looked like everyone was still asleep. I hope I didn't cause too much commotion out here." She blushed with chagrin and couldn't look Sara in the eye.