Author's Note: Hello. I'd rather note babble on thingamajigs, so I'll get right on what I need to say.

There will be two versions of this story, one with character pairing and one that sticks to the canon pairings.

This story is with ships, alright? No, not the wooden ships that float over the sea (a.k.a poison water for Dothraki). I mean character pairing shippings. Actually. not ships, but ship, only one. That would be Jon x Ruby. Originally, I wasn't going to do this, but it just sorta happened while writing the timeline for this. But don't worry, I'll make another version of the same story that will stick to friendships instead, for all those who don't ship it. Also, this won't be a main thing, just like a side effect of the main plot. It's not going to be an instant thing either. Consequently it means that Jon would still fall for his other canon love interests. But— You know what? I think I'd rather you read, than I tell, you'll find out soon enough, and I think I've spoiled enough.

Also, if you're going to wait for the Ship-free one, you can go ahead and read this chapter, it will practically be the same as the alternate version, the changes start at chapter two, and this is just the prologue.

One more thing. I have read through pages and pages of Wikia and watched and re-watched scenes, but if I get any lore or whatever wrong, feel free to tell me so I can change it. That also goes with my writing for improvement.

Now, without further ado. . .

PROLOGUE: THE LEGEND OF THE CAVE

"Is it here?"
"Aye, it's here."

Two men stood before the mouth of a cave.

"You sure?"

The other man had an aged face, lines etched across his head from worry, anger or maybe stress. "As sure as I can possibly be about this place."

"And that means you're not sure at all?" The other man was a thin man, cheekbones visible under skin with an accompanying strands of mustache that made him look like a rat.

"Rumors are rumors until we prove them true."

The thin one snorted. "Rumors. Are the' still considered rumors a'ter being thousands of years old?"

"Legends then." The old one answered simply.

"D'you reckon we'd find an'thin' here?" He looked inside of the opening. It wasn't a big cave, quite small actually. You would easily pass it without giving it a glance.

"No."

His son-in-law looked at him with an incredulous expression.

"Why even bot'er comin' 'ere then?"

The older man returned the gaze with an expression that said 'Why not?'.

"We found something that is incredibly similar to the cave in the legend. A cave that was said to have crystals and gems that light up even in the dark." He said bluntly, "I believe it's worth a shot to see."

The older man bent down and started working on a makeshift torch. The younger one watched in silence.
Were they seriously going in there? Anything could be hiding in the darkness. Possibly and most likely prepared to murder them.
He broke that train of thought, deciding that if they were going in there either way, it would be better if he wasn't shaking in his boots. He distracted himself with another question that came with the legend, connecting it with another one.

"If those turn ou' to be real. D'you think they're real too?"

"Maybe or maybe not." The older man replied, stood up, readied torch in hand. "Sometimes only one of two connected legends are true."

He wasted no time and went in the mouth of the cave. His son followed suit, speeding up a bit behind him.

"If they're real, where d'you think 'hey are?"

The old man huffed, turning on his daughter's husband, annoyance clear in his face. "Don't you ever shut up?"

"I-"

"You know what, just shut your pie hole." He turned walking further down the opening. Darkness started to dominate more. "And if they are real, where d'ya think they are now? Highly doubt people that powerful would go unnoticed in Westeros."

The man said nothing as he followed his father-by-marriage further down, not wanting to be left in the darkness that he was completely sure the older man would do if he's not quick enough.

But a question still plagued his mind.

If by any chance they are real, where are they now?

"Hyaaaa!"

Normally, birds would have flown out of trees, away to nowhere in particular as long as it's away from the murder zone. In short, somewhere safe. But they were long gone by now. They had flew as the first shot rang around their place, and it had been a while since that was fired.

Ruby retracted her blade from the shattered armor of the Nevermore, finishing up the last one. She watched with satisfaction as the body started to smoke as it evaporated. Looking up to examine her surrounding, dead bodies of the Grimm birds lay scattered around her, all in different phases of vanishing.

That seems about it. What's left was to head back to Haven and collect her pay. But first she had to make sure. After all, sometimes, some Grimm are left alive after the altercation. And the next time these surviving Grimm are spotted, they are more power. Sometimes to an incredibly huge degree.

Closing her eyes, she let let her Aura scan here surroundings, stretching over the trees and plants, noting the absence of wildlife. As usual, whatever animals that lived here had temporarily evacuated. They'll probably come back later. Well, they would if Ruby hadn't accidentally knocked down their home in the process.

She mumbled a small apology, knowing that would probably do nothing to restore their homes, nor could they understand it, but it did make her feel better. In hindsight, that apology was a bit selfish seeing as it was relieve her feelings of guilt.

Home. . .

As much as she wants to, she can't come back now. Or at least now. But part of her fears that maybe not ever.

Not when there's a target painted across her back for Salem's people to look out for, and from what she had seen her people weren't like any grunt or member of the White Fang that she take care of easily. She had seen what they had managed to do to her Uncle Qrow when he wouldn't let them take her, the remain of Team JNPR did too, and they would still refuse to let them just take her. And she was sure as heck that her father and sister wouldn't give her up without a fight.

There.

She sensed two things at almost the same time.

'One' was a leftover Grimm. A Nevemore, probably. A small one, she assumes it's slightly bigger than a crow.

'Two' was a more peculiar thing. A feeling of contained power threatening to burst. It only needed a little twitch of Aura. A little twitch of power. Dust. But what this one so strange is that she had never felt Dust like this before.

Carefully noting where the little Grimm was, she made her way over to the strange object.

Grass made a crunching sound under her feet as she walked towards the treeline.

As she expected, the Grimm followed her, keeping itself well-hidden in the little shadows it has left to hide in during the blazing sun of noon. It probably used it's size, or the lack of it to quickly and swiftly dash from one dark spot to another. Stalking her like a predator watching prey. It wasn't much of a threat, if anything it made it more convenient for Ruby that she doesn't have to chase after it anymore.

She felt the strange Dust come closer as she got deeper into he woods, the Grimm not far behind.

She let her thoughts wander a bit from there.

Her uncle Qrow was currently recovering. They share a room back in Haven. Though, she wouldn't be surprised if she got back and her uncle was gone from the bed, and it will certainly not be a surprise if she finds him in a bar. Although she prefers that he wouldn't move around so much, the thought was a comforting one. It would be a solid reminder that her uncle Qrow was still. . . Well, uncle Qrow, the uncle that's always drunk but always sober enough to make good decisions. Or at least, decisions that he still would have made if he was not drunk. Speaking of which, sometimes she had wondered whether a Grimm would become drunk if it manages to accidentally consume some of her uncle's blood. If it manages to do that, which seems a bit like a long shot. She had also wondered whether her uncle would burst into flames if an open wound of his was exposed to fire. And she had certainly wondered how much of his Aura is used to keep his kidney healthy.

In a cave somewhere, two men argued.

"I'm tellin' yah. Not'in's 'ere." the younger one complained.

"I also think so, but we won't really know for sure unless we look now, would we?" The older man retaliated. "Stop being such a whiny bitch. Move those legs. The quicker we are, the sooner we're getting out of here."

"But we've been walking for half an hour now, and we still 'aven't found a'nthing." The younger one said as if the older one hasn't realized that.

"Half an hour is barely that much time." The older one huffed. "And if you don't move quicker, I'm leaving you in the dark."

He turned a corner, moving in a quicker pace, clearly keen on leaving his daughter's husband behind.

" 'Old on. Wait for me!"

Ruby stopped abruptly as she felt the Dust go right past her. The Grimm also stopped.

She took a few brisk steps backwards, and after feeling it pass by her, she walked forwards, then backwards again until she was sure it was right next to her.

She turned to face the trunk of a tree, a trunk with marks and scars here and there, earned in withstanding against many odds across time. Placing her palm on it, the surface was uneven under her touch. A power lay hidden within it. Captured, concentrated so much it solidified.

She ran her fingers against the rough bark, tracing the power, following it, until she found herself on the other side of the tree.

Her hand stopped on something. . . smoother. With valleys cutting deeper and more precise with smooth edges, it felt like something that someone made to be there and not just something that was a side-effect of something else. Around her hand, there were pointed shapes of triangles made from part of the bark carved off. She raised her hand for a better look.

It didn't look like much. It just looked like part of a tree where the darker outermost part have come off, revealing a lighter shade inside it. Dirt had pushed itself in its edges, like they would underneath your nail, and also stuck everywhere else, making it look as if it still had the rougher exterior. But the defined lines and similar depth said otherwise, so Ruby looked closer and tried to visualize just what shape they made.

Oddly enough, it looked like her own emblem at first glance. . .

Pfft, nah. Probably not.

But the more she mentally traced a line on the edges, the more familiar it became. She connected the final lines and finished the drawing, and sure enough. It looked like it. No, that would be an understatement. It looked exactly like it.

She felt her jaw slacken.

"What?" she mumbled a bit under her breath.

That couldn't be right, so she tried to forget the image and retrace it again. But every time she looked at it, it became clearer and clearer. It's like looking at an optical illusion where there are two images in one. Once you see the other, it's hard to stop seeing it. Or when somebody tells you that they misheard the lyrics of a certain song, then you start to actually hear the song say the misheard lyrics, even though it really wasn't.

She ran her fingers over the rather smoother parts of it, dust and dirt collected at the tips. Her movement stopped as she noticed a change in the portion that got wiped.

A lighter color, way lighter than the brown dirt of the bark. Way lighter. She pulled her cloak from behind her. To heck with hygiene. She wrapped the cloth over her index finger then spat at it, proceeding to rub it over. The dirt spread and smeared at first, but cleared.

The motion slowed as the brown came off, revealing a metallic color on a smooth surface Somewhere in the back of her head, a voiced called out "Silver!". She quickened again to finish cleaning the rest. And like the mental imagery that she couldn't stop seeing, it truly was that emblem. Her emblem. Their emblem.

What was this?

Never had she ever ran into her mark anywhere, or even see it anywhere other than her mother and herself. Ruby had considered more than once that the mark went beyond herself and her mother, but seeing it right before her here. . . Well, it's either her mom placed it there or it was like that was before she did. Either way, her uncle Qrow had a lot more explaining to do once he gets better. Well, assuming that he even knows anything about this. But it's her uncle Qrow. Who knows the length of the secrets he knows?

"T'is is a waste o' time."

"That's it!" The older man whirled towards the less enthusiastic one. Yes they had been walking for some time, and in that time he had heard nothing but complaints and whining. If were to choose between company like this or no company at all, he would choose silence. "Fuck you and your fear of the dark! Wander in the darkness, see if I care!"

Wasting no time, he stalked forward.

"Wa-wait!"

As if some powerful deity meant it, the younger man tripped over uneven ground, landing on his face. His face stung but that mattered less to him right now. Ignoring the stinging, he looked up to try and convince the older man not to leave his grasping in the dark, most possibly beg at his feet. Pride be damned, he'd rather face humiliation than be mauled. Who knows what lurks in the dark, waiting for it's opportunity to sink its jaws on his neck? But the only thing he managed to catch when he looked up was the last bits of light disappear down a turn. And soon, he was engulfed in darkness.

It almost felt like it was calling to Ruby. Calling to her touch now that there was no dirt to separate them. And she complied, reaching out to it.

It felt like a weapon. Not in a way that you can use it to slash and hack, but in a fashion where you just feel that you are meant to use your Aura on it. And it called to her. Called to her soul, calling to her power. As much as a clutz as she is, she would have let her Aura on it, but she would rather go through a list of pros and cons of what might happen. Pros, she would find out what it does. Cons, what it does may cause some serious damage.

"SQUAK!"

Oh right, that was still there, she thought passively.

Her Aura pulsed in reflex, covering herself and turning items into weapons at the touch.

"Shi'ty old man." He grumbled under his breath. Hi hand rested against the walls of the cave, using it to guide himself while he walked. Luckily for him, there was no sudden movements so far or breathing sound or any other sounds than the ones he made. He was already jumpy enough-

He touched something. Something warm.

"AIEE!"

Two things happened at once, in two different places.

Whipping her head behind her, Beowolves seemed to be suspended midair, claws extended, arms outstretched, aiming at her, but before she could make a move for counter attack, a bright light flashed right behind her, engulfing them in blinding bright.

The man stumbled backwards, falling on his back. He ignored the pain that shot up, and scrambled away from where he was earlier. He had no idea where he was heading, but as long as it was away from whatever that was, he was good with it.

She shut her eyes, and pulled Crescent Rose at the ready.

Her other senses went high on alert. She used her Aura, directing it towards the Grimm, keeping track of them to make sure they wouldn't gain on her.

She felt herself start to sink, like she was on a soft pile of mud, minus the squishy mud under her feet. What's more is that she felt as if her Semblance was in effect, moving her, yet not at the same time.

His back hit the opposite cavern wall. The jagged parts pressed against him, but he ignored it as pushed himself harder towards it. It may sound stupid but maybe if he sticks enough to it, whatever bear or what that is, may not see him.

She descended slowly, the quicker. Ruby scrambled her feet, trying to gain footing or some balance, but the ground seemed to be gone altogether.

His heart hammered against his ribs. He mentally willed it hush, fearing that the beast may hear it.

She was falling. Or at least it felt like that. But at the same time, she felt like she did when she used her Semblance, like she had burst into rose petals. It felt like both of those at the same time. It was confusing but not entirely unpleasant.

The older man huffed in annoyance after hearing the "definitely man-like" scream up where he came from. Do men even scream? Or do they just yell? Seven Hells should he know. But he knows for sure that that was neither manly or a yell.

He turned on his heel, cursing under his breath as to why his daughter decided to marry such an incompetent fool. Well, she didn't want to, but she got pregnant, not unless she wanted a bastard, she married the man— if that person was even considered one.

He stopped in his track when two dim dots lit up in the dark before him. Red. Green.

The aged man took a cautious step back.
In the corner of his eyes, an orange dot of lit beside him. In his surprise, he jumped sideways, away from it.

What in Seven Hells?!

The rat-faced man tried to take calming breaths. Emphasis on tried. Every time he tried to take a deep breath, he ended up feeling the need to breath more, leaving him breathless.

The two specks of light started growing brighter. He realized the things at that moment. They were not specks but stone, and that there was not merely two. They were spread all over the cavern walls like decorations.

They grew gradually brighter and brighter, then as if fire spreading on alcohol, they lit up at once in a bright shade. He squinted, one hand used to shield his eyes. But even so, he left a little space between his fingers as he looked through them.

As quickly as the light came, it was gone.

Her feet met hard ground with a soft crushing sound, and she felt as she was, no using Semblance whatsoever. The only difference was that she didn't feel like she was where she was before, which doesn't make sense, but she knew that her gut feelings can be correct despite facts.

She slowly opened her eyes, squinting first while letting them adjust.

There were lots of things that was notable. Notable changes to be more specific, but those could wait. Black blurs came towards her at an alarming rate.

Ruby wasted no time as she pulled her scythe behind her. The cold handle pressed against the side of her wrist with the blade forming an arc around her back. In one swift motion, she pulled it from behind her in a smooth slash.

Red revealed itself between the black after her scythe broke through the tough exterior, cutting through it like a hot knife on butter.

Her vision was a bit back by now. Blurs of color were starting to form shapes, and these shapes were starting to have more defined lines.

More dark shapes rushed after her. She tossed Crescent Rose up slightly in the air, switching her grip to catch it with. Landing on her right, she held the right side of where her hand was with her left, making her arms crossed in front of her. Uncrossing her arms, the scythe spun. In an instant, the Grimm that jumped from behind her was beheaded and the one that came from upfront was in half. Using the momentum of that swing, she let go with one hand and caught it again behind her, the shaft diagonally across her back with the sniper aimed at an angle to the ground.

She unloaded a round, sending her spinning upwards so quickly that she looked nothing more than a red blur. In the same motion, she spun down like a wheel of death, and traveled across bodies of black. She jumped and did a swift twirl to slow herself.

Now her vision was back.

And now she was sure of a speculation she had ever since the light went out. She was no longer where she was before. It was some sort of gut-Aura instinct but she just knew that she was no longer the same place. Sure, it doesn't make any sense, but here she was.

The only thing she anticipated to see was the vanishing bodies of black, the rest was left to fate.

She stood on a platform of sorts. It's probably made of stone, but grass and little weeds have taken over the surface. Pillars rose around her in a circular arrangement, pointing skyward with vines entangled around them. They look as if they've long collapsed. Bits of the roof was left being held up, but most are in shards and fragments. Upwards was the mouth of a hole. It wasn't that big in size. Probably about twenty meters in diameter. Jagged edged of rocks protruded at the edges. In a few sides, clear liquid fell down in a small water fall, it collected and flowed in a stream at the side, ending in a small opening in the wall. The place was shaded in green with streams of light sneaking in through the shade of leaves above them. She probably wouldn't spot this place in an Bullhead.

The entire place looked ancient. Pieces of carved rock scattered on the floor, once belonging on the walls of the hole or the pillars.

It kind of reminded her of the ruins in the Emerald Forest back in initiation. The one where they got the relics, not the one where they took a Nevermore down at.

Another platform just like the one she stood in now was not far from her, one the other half of the place. They looked like they were once identical, but they had changed shaped as parts of them chipped of. Like twins where you scar one on one cheek and the other one on the other, different but still very much the same.

Right between them was a tree that somewhat reminded Ruby of the trees at Forever Fall, save for the pale trunk.

"Huh." She mused to herself.

She walked towards the edge of the platform and hopped off and landed on a stone pathways with the once even rocks elevated, cracked or missing altogether.
"Where am I?" she mumbled to no one in particular.

She took another glance around decided to check out the opposite platform. Walking towards it, she passed by a face carved in the pale bark of the tree.

Wait, what?

She whipped around so quick that she nearly would've gotten whiplash if her Aura was deactivated.

There, two eyes stared right back at her. Well, not exactly eyes but gaps in the trunk resembling eyes, possibly meant to represent it. Though that's less creepy than actual eyes, it's still unsettling to some degree for her, especially the blood-like tear stains. Like eyes, there was also a mouth carved below it. She tilted her head, trying to make sense of it in a different angle, but it didn't, so she straightened up again.

She debated whether to touch it or not. Pros, it might do something cool. Cons, it might do something horribly wrong. No offense, but it looked pretty creepy. But she gave it the benefit of the doubt and curiosity won over. How bad could it be?

The second her hand touched the wood, the world shifted. It all happened in a flash. One moment, she stared into the eyes of tree. Next, she found herself looking at a pair of boots. The boots stood on even ground. On the ground, was walls. Walls that built a castle. And in one of their yards, she stood, watching the boots that belonged to a young boy. He was probably about nine, perhaps ten. He held a bow, the string brought back and an arrow notched.

Ruby watched as he shot, missing the target by at least four feet.

He grumbled a bit under his breath then pulled another one from behind him. Notch. Pull. Aim. Fire.

Miss.

He sighed, reaching for one more arrow behind him, only there are none. He sighed once more.

Then, he froze.

As if feeling her presence, he turned slowly towards her. His face met her corset, then slowly trailed up, landing on the rose sigil that clipped a cloak redder than blood on. Then finally, his deep blue eyes landed against eyes so silver, he could clearly see his reflection in them. And along with his reflection was something else. Dark wings flapped as they landed on one of the crates.

The girl took notice too as her eyes drifted over there. He turned, looking at the raven that looked directly at both of them. One eye was felt like it was trained on him, the other at her, but what bothered him was the third one—

The world moved around her again. And in an instant, she was where she was before.

She blinked once, twice.

Her hand rested between the the carved eyes. The wood was was rough but kind of smooth at the same time, oddly enough. Removing her hand from it, she half-expected a third eye just under her palm.

She doesn't know whether she regretted that or not, but one thing was for sure. Weird trees does weird stuff.

Who was that kid? Where was that place? Was that a place here? Is it near here? Does she have some sort of bond with that kid now? Is it like one of those Aura-combination thing? Does it have something to do with the whole silver-eyed thing? Does any of this have anything to do with the whole silver-eyed thing?

One question just leads to more questions, and that question branches out to more questions, and more, forming some sort of question tree. Maybe that's what that was, a question tree. It plants one seed of mystery, then that seed is watered by curiosity, next thing you know, the first sprout of question appears, then it will branch out to more, and those to more.

Still drifting in her sea of thought, she wandered over to the opposite platform.

It was pretty much the same the other one. Her eyes trailed up a pillar, looking at the delicate carvings. She pulled some vines out of the way to see them better. They were designed with stone roses with vines, like the current and green ones wrapped around it, encircled it in decorative arc, twisting, merging, splitting with thorns. Intricate stone petals decorated all over it, arranged as if a gentle breeze was blowing them away. She doesn't really know how to tell if it was gentle or harsh wind, but it looked soft, so she assumed it was a gentle breeze.

She let her eyes trail around the platform, landing on the surface she stood on. She hasn't realized it earlier, but it also had a design on it. Her emblem, Scatter, was carved into it. Well, not in, it was standing out and above the flat surface enough to be visible, but not enough to trip someone. Its corners were gently curved. Over all, it looked like a giant stone coin with Scatter as the design. There was an additional detail though. Between each pillar, a triangle was also carved, pointing outwards. Glancing over at the other platform, sure enough, the same design was there, the only difference was that the triangles pointed inwards.

If her speculation was correct (it is kinda obvious), the inwards one was for going to, and the outwards one was going fro. Seeing as she found herself on the one pointing inwards should be evidence for that. Looks like she can get back if that's the case, but she wanted to explore a bit more. Again, she hopped of the platform.

This time, she took interest in the stone staircase that led upwards out the hole. An arch with a similar design of intertwining roses covered was at the base, and at upper end was a tree. The tree was grand. Its roots trailed at the rim of the hole, and at the top of the staircase the tree had an archway right in the middle of it. What's more enchanting was that it doesn't look like somebody had forcibly sliced that part off, but like the tree itself had decided to grow that way to give entry. Another magical-looking tree, what does this one have in store for her now?

"Woah. . ." She walked upwards. Her boots tapped on the stone steps, hopping over a step covered in dandelions once in a while.

The tree looked more enchanting up close with roots that intertwined with one another. Turning around, she took in the view of the hole, and it was like something you pulled out of an adventure game.

She pulled her scroll out and took a picture, more than excited to show this to the rest when she gets back. She then took a photo of the tree.

Over at the other side of the trunk were. . . trees. Just trees. Like a forest. No wait. Ruby walked through. It is a forest. Huh.

Curious what the grand tree looked like from the other side, she turned around to come face to face with the bark with her insignia on it. Jumping backwards in surprise, her head whipped up, expecting to see a different tree, but it was still very much the same tree, minus the twisting and twirling roots, but more importantly, minus the passage through.

Almost instinctively, she was sure that this was 'what the tree had in store for her. Right on the bark was, yet again, her ins— their, she corrected. Their insignia. It was, like the other one, dirty. She reached out to wipe it, only to have her hand pass straight through.

Saw that one coming, she thought.

Walking towards it, she passed straight through, like expected, and the same temple-like place was still there.

She walked back out and looked around the thick trunk, only to find a round pond in the shape of the excavation in the ground where she was earlier. The surface was calm enough that she can see the reflection of the gentle swaying of the leaves that grows on trees that went around it.

She snapped a picture with her Scroll, and examined it in the gallery. Satisfied with the quality, she placed it back her pocket. She can't put into words how excited she was to both tell her friends about this and try to get some answer out of Uncle Qrow if he had any clue about this.

But first things, first. Where was she? After all, she can't exactly go back if she doesn't know where 'back' is. And the cherry topping that ice cream problem was the Dust that brought her here.

She had never felt Dust like the one she felt in the tree. She had probably accidentally set it of when those Grimm popped up. But the main issue was it's purpose. If that Dust was, in fact, made for travelling, chances are, it isn't for short distance expenditures. Not unless, that was for experimental reasons which would only take you a few meters from where you were. But if it isn't experimental, then she might be days or even weeks away from Haven! She could be anywhere, maybe as far as back to Vale. Or even to Vacuo!

Or Atlas, she thought as a cold breeze blew through.

That was too cold to be somewhere generally down the map at this season of the year. It's either it transported her up the map or moved her position it time (as ridiculous as is sounds, Ruby had always wondered about a type of Dust that can do that) or maybe both.

Well, either way. Her gut-Aura has a nudge that she is very far from home— Okay, not home, but where she should be.

But again, first things, first. She had to find out just where she was.

With a burst of Semblance, she jumped out and through the tree leaves.

Below her, rose petals seemed to evaporate into air, some sooner than the rest, but all happening instantly. One single petal was last to disappear, landing on where she was earlier along with some leaves that were knocked out of their branches. Then just like the rest, it vanished.

And just when in seemed like the only noise that would be left there was the gentle sway of leaves and the occasional chippers of birds, a small noise broke through.

"Squak." It said in a small voice as if fearing that the Huntress would return to end it.

It came out of the pillar it hid behind, and after flapping its wing a couple of times. It took flight, into the sky, into Westeros.

The old man looked up in awe at the ceiling cave that was decorated with illuminating crystals. The torch in his hand was long forgotten.

If someone had told him he would find something like this, he would have called him bat-shit crazy, but now that he is seeing it with his own eyes. . .

"Old man!"

He barely took a glance at the other man turning around the corner. He turned his eyes to him for a second before gazing back up the ceiling.

"Are you seein' this?" The younger one said, not quite believing his eyes.

For once, the older one did not retaliate, but gave a simple nod.

They just stood there in silence for a while.

"They're beaut'ful, ain't they?" The other one said.

The old man gave a long sigh. The quiet was good while it lasted. "Yes. They're beautifull. And that moment would continue to be beautiful if you have decided to shut that big sh-"

He didn't even bother letting him finish his sentence. "What now?"

Resisting the child-like urge to roll his eyes, he looked over his son-in-law.

"We mine it."

Author's Note: Woo! Prologue done! This is still up for editing (When were my works not up for editing? Hmmm. Never). Anyways, the other one would probably be out in a week or two, but for now, I hope you enjoyed this. As always, comment for any ways I can improve my writing, etcetera, etcetera. See ya'.