Entry 1 [ROUGH]

Gelalak

Gelalak hated patrol duty.

Well worn tunnels and trenches cut through a field of boulders. *Boulders?* Gelalak took a moment to appreciate the stones. Now coated with months of crem, the sedimentary build up caused by the frequent highstorms in this region of the world, the boulders were no more noticeable than the area surrounding them.

But he knew they were there. He wondered how they did it. Colossal stone slabs removed from the ground with no evidence of excavation. *Some kind of Soulcasting?*

The moon Nomon cast a pale blue light over the plain. Even on the darkest night, the cratered and tunneled texture cast shadows. Gelalak hated that, but also found the varying texture to be a pleasant change from the usual barren and bleak landscape of the Shattered Plains.

With a start, the patrolman continued down the path. How long had he been staring at the stones? *Seconds? Minutes?* He would be late. Gelalak hated to be late to finish a patrol, as it meant he had wasted time on a patrol when he could have been doing something else. Anything else.

Gelalak dragged his feet as he walked, his soldier’s boots hitting the sanded steps with a scuffle each time. He welcomed the unnecessary noise it made.

He held a small, glass sphere for light, the diamond chip inside glowing with stormlight, illuminating the path ahead. A few cremlings scuttled their tiny, crab like bodies into crevices to avoid the light.

**”YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR DESTINY!”**

 A shout echoed across the barren plain, shaking the earth itself. Startled, Gelalak darted beneath an overhang of crem-encrusted rock. Fearspren oozed from the ground below, glowing purple orbs attracted to the frightened whimpers of the young soldier. His sphere suddenly grew dark.

*A dun sphere? I just charged these yesterday!*

With trembling hands Gelalak reached for the pouch at his waste and pulled the drawstring, revealing a soft blue glow. He dipped his fingers into the pack and withdrew a sphere identical to the first, this one still useful to illuminate his surroundings.

He cast the light about, and stepped forward.

A head-sized stone flipped itself loose from a crevice above, striking the path before the young man, dust flying everywhere. The crack of stone on stone like thunder, pushing Gelalak backwards.

The once gray stone now shimmered with light and slowly cast itself into the shape of a mask.

More fearspren appeared at the feet of the Alethi, but he did not move. Frozen in terror, he tried desperately to remember his last prayer to the Almighty.

The mask, still softly glowing with a faint white light, rises to make eye contact with Gelalak.

**”CHILD OF HONOR, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN. ACCEPT YOUR DESITNY.”**

The fearspren darted back into the ground as quickly as they appeared.

*Child of Honor? Hadn’t his sister said something like that…right before she died?*

>”Blessed be the Almighty!” Drop to your knees in reverence. You are DEVOUT.

>”What are you? Am I insane?” You rub your eyes and blink hard. You are QUESTIONING.

>”MAYBE I WOULD IF YOU’D STOP SHOUTING AND TELL ME WHAT IT IS!” You bark, almost dropping your sphere. You are AGGRESSIVE.