The Syker Key by Aaron Martin Fransen Page B

insight he had come to understand things about the world that had changed his life, more so than even his training had shown him.
    His interest in the stars themselves had grown since his encounter. He didn't fully understand it yet, but he knew there were linkages between the arrangements of the planets, the Sun, the Moon. The crystal had shown him that much.
    So he had arrived with a purpose, to see the imminent solar eclipse. Not his first, to be sure, but still a sight rare enough to be captivating.
    The Key, as he had come to call it, had promised the secrets of the universe, but had nare delivered. It was waiting for something, he could sense that. He had always been fascinated with solar eclipses, but this time he could feel the Key pushing him, guiding him, as though it was the most important thing in the world to see.
    So several months he spent making his way back, to the lush forest where he had first found it.
    Many locals considered him a mystic, bordering on being a warlock, a wizard, but he knew better. There were many practicing this elusive art, much as Pan had even before finding the Key. Of course, no others had been shown that understanding from a crystal from the heavens, and did not have the benefit of it’s insight. What Pan thought he knew before finding it, and what he knew after, were worlds apart.
    He looked at the sky. Just past noon, and the moon approaching the sun. Watching the eclipse was a way to extend that understanding, so he hoped. He did not consider it to be the evil omen many of his peers did.
    The land started to darken around him.
    He didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t to have the Key in his pocket suddenly begin to grow warm. He looked down to see it begin to glow through the material of his pocket. He removed it, holding it gently in his hand, mesmerized as the rhythm of the flashing light increased. Was it his imagination, or was it becoming brighter as the eclipse darkened the land?
    He dismounted. Pan knew enough not to look directly at the eclipse. He’d gone so far as to build a kit so he could watch the transition of the moon across the surface of the sun, but it sat on his horse, now forgotten.
    He could feel the Key singing to him again, after all these years. Even with all he had learned, it reminded him that he still knew almost nothing. And it was showing him more. Like a veil slowly lifting, as the Moon crossed the path of the Sun, the fog slowly began to clear in his mind. The Key was opening it’s memories to Pan.
    It knew the future but would not share it. It would not interfere in free will, but could and did show him the past. It hinted at worlds beyond, at civilizations great and small, carefree and dangerous, but ensured his focus was on the world of his birth.
    And nothing was in stone. Both past and future were variable, he could see. He wasn't sure if he was even capable of understanding all of the intricacies of time, or who all the players were, but he was certainly gaining a better insight.
    He knew part of him was being overtaken so completely by the crystal that he was losing touch with reality, but a tiny sliver recognized that the eclipse was almost at its peak.
    As the moon crossed the sun and the corona glowed, the Key exploded with light. Pan was completely overwhelmed with the knowledge and power being pushed into him, through him. He almost felt like he was drowning in an avalanche of information, threatening to push his mind to the breaking point. Images, memories, scents, sounds, all those things that the crystal had evidently recorded over the millennia streamed into his mind. He was unable to breathe while the crystal passed along its memories. It was like trying to hold onto a lightning bolt with his bare hand, and he could not let go.
    In a moment, it was over.
    The Key stopped, and Pan looked at the powerful device in his hand. He was changed again. This time he knew how to control it, and through it, he could control much, much