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[...He'd never actually been in here before, Ienzo realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach. How long has it been since he learned of the Realm of Darkness' existence? How long has it been since he threw a man in here and left him to die? ... No. Now was not the time for these kinds of thoughts, Ienzo reminded himself; he needed to focus on the task at hand.]
[The apprentices had spent a long, long time researching the inner workings of Darkness and its effect on people and things in the Realm of Light. After regaining their hearts, it was agreed that they would continue the research -- with a much keener eye to the effects of Darkness on the unprotected mind. Mistakes were inevitable, they knew, a part of the cycle of discovery. This particular mistake just happened to have very far-reaching consequences. But humanity has survived this long due to a knack for studying their mistakes and adjusting future behaviours accordingly.]
[Eventually, they realized that they were pointedly avoiding the source of the problem, which was the mass of Darkness in the worlds on the other side of the In-Between. Several test runs have been conducted thus far, though Ienzo never went on any of them; he usually monitored Aeleus or Dilan to the best of his ability from the Realm of Light. Thanks to them, relatively stable transport between Realms had been achieved. And it was then, only then, that Aeleus permitted Ienzo to enter the Realm of Darkness. In some ways, it was aggravating, as though he was still seen as 'lesser' than the rest -- he couldn't go ahead until the area was completely safe, since no one thought he could blaze the trail. ...But as much as that stung, Ienzo realized now that Aeleus was only doing it out of concern for him. Not his perceived lack of ability.]
[This world was strange indeed. At one point, the locale might have been a forest or even a jungle; now, dead branches had been twisted and warped in ways beyond comprehension. There was nothing on this planet that still lived, save perhaps for the Darkness itself. And Ienzo.]
[...And someone else, a truth which he pointedly refused to dwell on too long.]
[The apprentices had spent a long, long time researching the inner workings of Darkness and its effect on people and things in the Realm of Light. After regaining their hearts, it was agreed that they would continue the research -- with a much keener eye to the effects of Darkness on the unprotected mind. Mistakes were inevitable, they knew, a part of the cycle of discovery. This particular mistake just happened to have very far-reaching consequences. But humanity has survived this long due to a knack for studying their mistakes and adjusting future behaviours accordingly.]
[Eventually, they realized that they were pointedly avoiding the source of the problem, which was the mass of Darkness in the worlds on the other side of the In-Between. Several test runs have been conducted thus far, though Ienzo never went on any of them; he usually monitored Aeleus or Dilan to the best of his ability from the Realm of Light. Thanks to them, relatively stable transport between Realms had been achieved. And it was then, only then, that Aeleus permitted Ienzo to enter the Realm of Darkness. In some ways, it was aggravating, as though he was still seen as 'lesser' than the rest -- he couldn't go ahead until the area was completely safe, since no one thought he could blaze the trail. ...But as much as that stung, Ienzo realized now that Aeleus was only doing it out of concern for him. Not his perceived lack of ability.]
[This world was strange indeed. At one point, the locale might have been a forest or even a jungle; now, dead branches had been twisted and warped in ways beyond comprehension. There was nothing on this planet that still lived, save perhaps for the Darkness itself. And Ienzo.]
[...And someone else, a truth which he pointedly refused to dwell on too long.]
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