Chapter 12: Restoration Card
.They forced themselves to walk forward and kneeled at the bottom of the stairs, trying not to stare at the spirits. "My Lord," Gareth said, his voice full of awe.
"Rise, Gareth," Elias commanded, his voice strong and echoing in the big room. "Tell me about the eastern island."
Gareth stood up. "It's empty, Lord Elias. No people, no animals. The ruins are huge – much bigger than our main area here. Buildings are made of black stone, cracked and falling down. Towers are broken. The streets are choked with giant thorns." He pointed east. "The harbor is deep and safe, but the entrance is blocked by mud and collapsed rocks. The docks are gone. We saw signs of a huge fire long ago and marks from powerful weapons. It's a dead place, Lord – buildings look ready to fall."
Elias nodded. It sounded ruined, but the big harbor was good. Perfect for his **Restoration Card**. "Good work. We go to see it ourselves at dawn. Get ready, I will go there personally tomorrow morning to myself."
He turned to Sir Edward. The knight held out a thick book. "The list is done, Lord Elias. All 300 farmers and families are written down."
"Sir Edward," Elias said firmly. "Tomorrow, before sunrise, gather everyone. Farmers, wives, children, grandparents. Tell them to pack their important things – tools, seeds, family treasures, food. They are leaving their old farms here."
Sir Edward looked surprised. "Leaving, my Lord? For where?"
"For the eastern island," Elias announced, looking towards the east. "That broken land will become our new farmland. Once it's fixed, its soil will grow ten times more food . Tell them they are going to a new home, to better fields under the sun. Prepare them for a fresh start."
Understanding lit up Sir Edward's face. "Yes, Lord Elias! Immediately!" He bowed low.
"Gareth," Elias added, "make sure your knights rest *and train their inner energy* tonight. We might need their strength tomorrow. We sail at dawn. Go."
Both knights saluted, fist to chest, the sound sharp in the quiet hall. As they left, Gareth couldn't help one last look back at the shining angels, the glowing lions, the dancing spirits, and Elias on the powerful throne. His eyes showed deep respect and loyalty before the doors closed.
...:
Elias stood alone on the golden steps of the throne. In his hand, he held one of the shimmering **Restoration Cards**. He knew fixing the this place was going to be loud and scary for the people outside. He couldn't have them panicking.
He sat down on the throne. Its power hummed under him. He raised his voice, strong and clear.
**"Knight! Attend me!"**
Almost instantly, the heavy doors opened a crack. A young knight in polished armor stepped inside, knelt quickly at the foot of the stairs, and bowed his head. "My Lord commands?"
Elias looked down at him. "Go. quickly. Tell all the knights guarding the palace, and tell the people in the settlement – tell *everyone* – that something big is about to happen. Something loud, maybe even shaking the ground. Tell them **do not be afraid.** It is me, their Lord Elias, making it happen. It is a good thing. A miracle. Spread the word fast!"
The knight didn't hesitate. "By your command, Lord Elias!" He sprang to his feet, saluted fist-to-chest, spun around, and rushed out the doors, his boots echoing down the hall.
The knight ran out of the palace into the fading daylight. He saw other knights on patrol. "Hear the Lord's word!" he shouted as he ran past them towards the cluster of huts and tents where the people lived. "No fear! Big change coming! The Lord's work!"
People heard the commotion , mothers looked up from cooking fires, children stopped playing. They saw the knight running towards them, his face serious but not scared.
"Lord Knight?" an old woman called out nervously. "What's happening?"
The knight stopped, catching his breath. He gave the people a kind, reassuring smile. "The Lord Elias sends a message! Soon, something miraculous will happen! It might shake the ground, it might be loud, it might look strange. But **do not be afraid!** It is our Lord working for us! For *you*! Trust him! Go about your tasks, but know it's him!" He repeated the message to groups as he moved swiftly through the settlement, making sure as many heard as possible. People exchanged nervous but hopeful glances. If the Lord Knight said it was okay, and it was Lord Elias... maybe it was?
...
Back in the throne room
Elias waited just a few minutes, trusting the knight was spreading the word. He focused hard on the card, thinking, *Fix this place.* He crushed the card.
A tsunami of soft, golden light erupted from the throne room. It shattered through windows, blasted open doors, and flooded every corridor, hall, stairwell, and forgotten chamber of the colossal, decaying fortress. It rolled outward like the first, impossible dawn after an endless night, bathing the entire structure in its radiance.
Deep cracks in the very foundations *zipped* shut like colossal wounds healing. Leaning towers groaned and straightened with resonant shudders. Crumbling battlements flowed like molten metal, knitting together seamlessly. Shattered stonework dissolved and reformed, not into the bright gold of before, but into seamless, majestic walls of deep, imposing **obsidian-black stone, shot through with veins of dark, molten gold**. Centuries of grime, dust, and decay vanished utterly. The entire fortress, once a decaying ruin, was reborn as a titanic citadel of **dark grandeur**, resembling a colossal, impossibly intricate **thorn** thrust defiantly towards the sky. Its lines were sharp, severe, and powerful, radiating ancient strength and somber majesty.
Within the heart of the storm, pillars snapped whole, their surfaces now gleaming black stone with gold veins. The shattered ceiling rebuilt itself overhead, revealing intricate, shadowed vaults. The statues of angels and lions straightened, their forms now carved from the same dark, veined stone, their ruby eyes igniting with a fierce, deep crimson light. Tarnished silver accents now gleamed like captured starlight against the dark backdrop. Faded murals of dragons, phoenixes, and kings blazed back to life with vibrant, yet somehow deeper, richer colors. The throne under Elias, now a massive construct of dark stone and gold veins, hummed with potent approval, its carvings sharp and menacingly beautiful. The little nature spirits swirled around him, their chimes bright against the profound transformation.
Outside, the settlement gasped as one. The decaying mountain palace vanished, replaced in an instant by a towering citadel of **dark gold-veined obsidian**, glowing with an inner golden light against the twilight sky. It looked like a mountain peak reforged into a fortress of shadow and fire. Remembering the knight's words, understanding crashed over them. Farmers dropped tools, mothers sank to their knees holding children, all eyes fixed on the impossible, darkly glorious sight.
"Lord Elias!" The whisper became a murmur, then swelled into a reverent chorus.
"Praise the Lord!" They knelt, hundreds of faces turned towards the reborn thorn-p
alace.