GA Writing Prompts - 47. # 300 The Ring

The Ring

The ring looked very old.

"The ring has a history," the merchant said.

He showed me the small symbols that were engraved in the ring.

"Perfect," I said. "I'm fascinated by ancient things. Do you know what the symbols mean?"

The man looked me deep in the eyes. I shied away from his intent look and eyed the ring more closely.

"Beginning and end are one," the man said.

I looked up.

"Isn't a ring a perfect symbol of it?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied. "Quite naturally. Is this what the symbols say?"

"Maybe," he said. "Every beginning holds its own magic." He smiled mysteriously, then took the ring from my hand and held it up. "Have you heard of Doggerland?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Doggerland is the name given by archaeologists to a former landmass in the North Sea that connected the island of Great Britain to the mainland during the Ice Age until about 6,500 BC. It then was gradually flooded by the rising sea levels," he said.

I looked at him curiously. He gave me another strange smile.

"But surely you have heard of Stonehenge?" he asked.

"Certainly," I replied. "It is a prehistoric monument in England, north of Salisbury. It was built 5,000 years ago."

"The original site was built much earlier, before the sea levels rose," the man said.

"You mean the ring was made in Doggerland nearly 9,000 years ago?" I asked doubtingly.

He gave me the ring and I held it in front of my eyes. It looked indeed very old, but I couldn't imagine the ring was actually 9,000 years old.

"How would you know?" I asked, turning my eyes to the man.

His black eyes mustered me and he smiled again. "The land was lost as was the ring. The ancient kingdom faded into non-existence. There are no written records, yet the ancient realm is not entirely forgotten. The guardians have guarded the knowledge ever since."

I was intrigued. Should I believe him? The story sounded totally made up. I looked at him.

"But then why do you reveal this secret to me?" I asked.

"Because the time has finally come to unleash the ring's power once more," he said.

His smiled faded and he made a gesture with his hand to someone behind me. I turned around and saw two men ushering my friends out of the store. The men closed the door and locked it. I turned back to the merchant.

"What...?" I started, fear seizing me.

The man's look was grim. "The powers of the ring want a human sacrifice. A man must be killed to evoke the ancient magic. I've just decided that your blood will be shed on the altar. May I introduce myself. I'm Garwain, guardian and keeper of the ring and the ancient magic of fire."

He made a gesture with his hand. The two men seized me and before I could yell, a cloth was stuffed into my mouth and my hands were tied on my back. Garwain opened a door to a staircase. They dragged me down the stairs and locked me up in a basement room.