THE TRANSITION: The Lost Maximus

2. THE DISCOVERY

Daryl woke up and the first thing he heard was a high pitched continuous ringing in his head. He tried to open his eyes but it proved to be a hard task. Only a weak groan was able to leave his mouth making him to sigh in defeat. Then without warning, he fell into another deep slumber.

"Easy now, or you'll hurt yourself"

That was the first thing Daryl was able to reckon, after sleeping for what seemed like ages. Opening his eyes with difficulty he found himself facing a strawberry blonde girl with deep green eyes staring at him with the softest hint of a smile. He looked quizzically around himself, noticed there were oddly glass shaped vials littered around him. Apparently, he was lying on a soft animal skin with a wet piece of cloth draped over his forehead.

The room itself was some kind of dome with a high ceiling. At the very center was a chandelier with a glowing glass orb that emitted a faint yellow incandescent light. The dome had practically no windows and seemed to depend on the chandelier for light. The place had a dense smell of old scrolls, historical parchments, a light tingling scent of herbs, associated medical ornaments and regalia.

"Where am I?" he said while removing the cloth from his forehead.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. The Preceptor will see you shortly," The girl replied in kind.

"Whom or what is a preceptor, and what day is it?"

"It's on a Tuesday and all will become known in a few moments time, first have a bite and the Preceptor will be with you shortly," She gave him a soothing smile while leaving the room. All Daryl could manage was an inaudible "Oh." He noticed the bowl beside him with numerous fruits and another platter with pieces of white meat. Beside all that was a wooden mug filled to the brim with what he perceived to be grape juice. Daryl ravished himself and stayed in wait for the said mysterious Preceptor to show up, explain to him what was going on and where he was.

"Hello young man," came a deep cold voice from above him, Daryl almost jumped from his sickbed due to the unexpected and unannounced presence. The Preceptor was a fairly old man who seemed very upright for his old age, he had a long flowing white beard with black streaks at its very end. The man had steely gray eyes which had a piercing look to them. He wore a marching jungle green robe and had a walking stick that was slightly crooked at its center. The stick had a small jewel at its tip but Daryl couldn't make out the name of the jewel.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or introduce yourself?" That immediately brought Daryl back to reality.

"My name is Daryl Carter, and may I ask where I am?" he hurriedly coughed up. The old man considered him for a few moments then suddenly asked him to follow him out. Daryl swung out his weary legs to the side of the sickbed and tried to see if he could stand and walk. After assuring himself all was well, he started to follow the old man, who even for his age was way too agile. They left the dome through a large curved door and appeared in a large corridor with carvings all over the wall. The place was really odd. One side of the corridor was open and one could see outside. Weird animals and plants like he had never seen before were roaming around the place. Boys and girls of around his age were walking with the animals without fear as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Some tended to the plants whilst other were picking out flowers and leaves from the plants, and once in a while he could hear the kids talking to the animals.

Daryl really thought he was out of his mind or it was all a really bad dream. He was jolted back to reality when the old man came to a halt in front of a large mahogany door. He rapped on it twice before muttering a word and the door swung open with a boy about his age appearing at the doorstep, he first bowed and stepped aside. The boy then considered Daryl for a while before disregarding him and returning his focus to the Preceptor.