I had been walking the moors for three days when I first saw it. It was a great big tower, situated on a little knoll, with a creek running under a small stone bridge that led to the great oaken door at its front. It was so picturesque. It was too small to belong to a Robber Knight, no; they liked to act as if they were kings.
I was much farther north than any of the reavers, and the local clans were not currently at war. At least, not with each other. I decided to have a peek inside. I crossed the bridge easily enough, but the door was a different beast. The door seemed as though it been built for a non-human hand. It was a cylinder protruding from the middle of the door, black as night, yet very bright, as if it was giving off light.
The cylinder felt almost slick to the touch, and I could not get a hold on it until my fingers found a series of small holes on the bottom. I stuck my fingers in these, and pulled out. I had expected to fell a bit of pain as I pulled out what I had expected to be a large heavy door, but no tug came. The door was gone. I walked into the main room of the tower, to find that instead of the staircase going up, as I had thought it would, it went down.
I noticed that there was no light source in the room, the door had closed behind me, yet there was light. I considered turning back at this point, but something kept me from turning my heel.
I seemed to receive a shove down the stairs from some invisible entity. Needless to say, I kept walking. I had studied anthropology briefly in University, but I had never heard or seen anything near what was at the bottom of the stairs. It was a statue, albeit a rough one, and made of clay, but it was still a statue. It sat in the middle of an octagonal room, with a door on the opposite side. It was modeled after what appeared to be a very hairy creature, standing on two legs. I noticed there were no arms.
I realized that I was looking at it from behind, and moved to see the view from the front. The head was just a gaping maw. There were carvings in many languages on the six other walls. Savage, ancient dialects littered the walls, many of which I had never seen before. I found the English translation written on the second closest wall on my left. It read; “Knowledge is a weapon. It is best to arm yourself only with what you can handle.” I found that extremely vague, and decided to open the door behind me.
The door opened when I touched the handle, and I found myself falling into a pit. I was then suddenly on solid ground, stone with a thin white dust covering every inch. That was when I heard it. It was a deep tone at first, then a series of tones. I say tones as there is no way to describe what I heard, nay, felt, when the creature turned to face me. It was just a mouth, just like the statue depicted. I have begun to call it The Thought Eater. It spoke: “I have a test for you. This is not a request, it is an order.” I heard a thousand different voices at once, pounding at my soft eardrums. I knew I shouldn’t argue, but I did anyway.
“What authority allows you give me such orders?”
It responded the second I stopped speaking.
“Because I created you. I own you. I am your master, whichever you prefer, it does not matter. Simply, you are mine.”It seemed to sigh, and out of its mouth and down its tongue came a bookcase, with four books.
“I assume you know what knowledge is?” It asked.
“Pick a book. Read it. Try to comprehend it and try to keep a hold of your sanity.” It tried its best to chuckle. The first book read; “Knowledge of The Gods.” The second read; “Knowledge of Beasts.” The third; “Knowledge of The Stars.” And the fourth; “A Complete and Concise listing of All Life.” I chose the third hoping for some sort of astronomy.
But it was knowledge to be learned about the stars, The Thought Eater said, but instead the knowledge that the stars have themselves. It chuckled again, and I began reading. I cannot comprehend. I cannot learn. And therefore, I cannot be. “What awaits me?” Someone reading this may ask. I’ll tell you this; The Thought Eater wanted my knowledge. He created it. But we lose more every day. The World Eater is trying to help us to preserve our knowledge. He just wants to help. So go to your front door. Just unlock it, don’t make him take you by force. And maybe, if you fed him as much knowledge as I did, he’ll keep you. Just like me.”