Aeryn took a step onto the rocky ground just outside the temple of time. He gazed out over the vast riverbanks that made up the realm of time. To the apprentice, it all seemed infinite. The river of time stretched into multiple rivers that ran into an endless amount of streams. It was enough to give any mortal man a pulsating headache upon first sight of it. “Mortals were never meant to see the river of time for themselves. The mere thought of so many lives connected in such an infinite body of water would be way too much for any mortal to handle. It would simply just overload their brain. To step in the River of Time would cause anyone to lose themselves and become lost in time. Even the Keepers weren’t immune to that. The Land of Time is by all Means A dangerous place.

  Jaron stopped in the middle of the staircase once he’d spotted the other Apprentice. He tilted his head as curiosity set in. What could Aeryn be doing outside the temple. He slowed himself down and decided to remain more quiet. He followed the other apprentice closely, watching as he crept out over the river. As soon as Jaron reached the doorway, he took off in a quiet run to try to catch Aeryn by surprise. Jaron was stopped by the snap of two fingers. Frozen in the moment and unable to move.

  “Did you not pay attention to what Kronos Said?” Aeryn shouted, gesturing to the water just below Jaron’s feet. “This isn’t a good place to run.”

  Jaron managed to free his fingers from the spell just enough to snap his own fingers. “Why did you stop me for that?” He asked, extending his leg over the river and onto the rocky shore.

  “Because.” He replied, continuing to tiptoe over each water vein. “I don’t want you to get lost in time. Kronos told us that if anyone were to set foot in the river, they would become lost in time. The current is too powerful.”

  “What does that even mean though?” Jaron asked, scurrying along to try to catch up. “Wouldn’t I just get dragged into the river and hit my head on several rocks? I mean, I can take the pain if that’s what you’re getting at?”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t pay attention.” Aeryn replied as he dug his hand into the pockets of his robe. “To become lost in time is to drift along the river. Even if I could pull you, you would fall into a deep depression. A depression that most people wouldn’t come out of.”

  “So?” Jaron replied, stopping on the bank across from his competition. “We’re competing to become one of the Keepers. If I were to become lost in time, this would only get easier for you.”

  “Well I’m not satisfied with the easy way out.” Aeryn said, turning his head toward Jaron. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I need to find this vein.”

  “Which vein are you looking for?” Jaron asked with a confused look on his face. ”There are literally billions and billions of River veins out here. Good luck finding one specific water vein.”

  Aeryn took a small hourglass from his pocket and stopped at the river bank, popping open the top and pouring it into his hand. With a wave of his hand he scattered a little sand into the River of Time. “This one!” he replied as the waves illuminated along the river. He stuffed the hourglass back into his robes and pulled out another one, repeating the same action. Two streams lit up below the two apprentices. Aeryn focused on the lights, following them as carefully as he could, making sure not to touch any of the waves.

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  Jaron followed him closely, but stopped from time to time to look around. He tiptoed along each bank before coming to a stop in front of a large pocket of water. “Do you remember about these?” Jaron asked, focusing on the sight of what looked like a very deep pocket of water in front of him.

  “About what?” Aeryn replied, withdrawing his focus from the illuminated veins. He hopped from one bank to another to try to catch up to Jaron. “Oh these.” Aeeryn proclaimed once he saw it. He stopped for a second and pondered, trying to recall Kronos’s words. “I think he said something about the pockets happening when a person comes to a stand still in their lifetime. The currents create pockets where the water just moves in a circle. Until one of the currents manages to form a vein, the stream won’t continue beyond this point. For some people the river never breaks off.”

  “And they stay trapped in that pocket for the rest of their lives?” Jaron asked, turning to face the other apprentice. ”It’s a scary thing to think about. That someone could just stop living.”

  “Spoken like a true adventurer.” Aeryn replied, letting out a sigh and turning to focus on the illuminated river veins. “But some people are happy with that. In their eyes, they’re right where they want to be.”

  “I guess I should envy those people a little.” Jaron replied, glancing back at the temple in the distance. “I’m gonna head back. I’ll see you around the temple.” Just as he turned around his foot came in contact with a small rock that rolled off into the River of Time. Jaron just brushed it off and took off toward the golden temple.

  “I’ll see you around the Temple.” Aeryn shouted with a wave. He watched as the rock rolled into the river and pondered the consequences. “You just made someone’s life a little more difficult.” He whispered to himself, turning to follow the two veins. “Kronos isn’t going to like that.” Aeryn hopped along between the veins following the two streams until he found them meeting. A sigh of relief washed over him. He was almost done. After what felt like an hour he reached a part of the illuminated river that broke off into two veins. He removed two bottles from his other pocket and knelt down by each vein, opening them both. The stream flooded the bottle and filled in in just a few seconds. As he replace the caps on each bottle the flow of water came to a halt. The water vein began to dry up.

  Aeryn held the bottle above his head and stared into the bottom of it. A scene began to play out at the bottom of the bottle. The scene that showed Brent’s face as he looked out over the small California town. Before his eyes, the water morphed in front of him. Taking the form of several capsules, much like the ones he’d given to Katie and Brent. Aeryn collected the water from each of the illuminated veins, stuffing the bottles back in his pocket before heading back toward the temple.

  It would feel like another hour before Aeryn finally reached the Temple of Time. “What did you get?” Jaron asked, the second the other Apprentice came through the doorway. Without warning, Jaron reached into the Pocket of Aeryn’s robe and removed one of the bottles. “Aha! You messed with the river time! Kronos is going to be sooo angry at you. We’re not supposed to mess with the River of Time. I’m gonna go tell him and you’ll lose this competition.”

  Aeryn panicked and snapped his fingers again, squinting as He looked over Jaron. He was halted where he stood holding the bottle. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you do that. Jaron grumbled in place, unable to move his lips or any of his body. Though Jaron tried, the spell from his fellow Apprentice was too powerful. Jaron could hear and he could watch, but that was all he could do. And that’s what he did as Aeryn stuffed the bottle back into his pocket and vanished.

  Jaron stumbled over as soon as Aeryn left the room. His curiosity peaked and he managed to regain his footing, taking off through the temple in search of the Father of Time. Whatever Aeryn was planning on doing with the water from the river, Jaron didn’t think it would be good. Plus, if Jaron could get his fellow Apprentice in trouble, It would eliminate his competition and He would gain the title of a Keeper. That’s all Jaron could think about as he ran up the stairs.