Aldric sat in the center of his room on the floor with his eyes closed. He felt the warm sensation in his chest as he focused his anger. He felt the warmth of his ears and the burning of his heart. Then, with a sudden burst within his body, he felt the pulse of the energy coursing through him. He opened his eyes slowly and peeled the chalk from his pocket.
He slowly and precisely drew the craftman's rune between two of his drawn lines on the floor. He stood, quickly walked over to the opposite wall, and drew a smaller version of the same rune there as well. He placed a few more in various spaces, all varying in size. A few were situated between his portraits, while others painted vacant sections of the wall and floor.
When he finished, he glanced around to ensure proper placement for all of them. He counted in his head, muttering a few of the numbers out loud as he pointed at the runes. When his count was confirmed, he sat back in his place on the floor and placed his palms on the stone.
He focused more of his anger and centralized the energy. His sternum widened with pressure, like a balloon was being inflated in his chest. The peaks of his ears burned red hot, and his sealed eyes constricted tightly. His palms grew clammy against the cool stone floor, and the runes around him began to glow.
First, the one on the floor in front of him, then another across from them, flickered and puffed. A few more brightened, leading all around the room like holiday lights. Then, the final rune flickered, flashed, and burst with light. The room around him was now solely lit by their red glow.
Each of the symbols puffed with smoke and began to contort and convert. In front of him, the stone floor stacked and extended into a standing chess table. The stone looked odd; it was black and grey in color and looked almost burned, but the structure was solid and nearly perfectly made.
All along the wall, paintings and pin-ups appeared behind clouds of white smoke. Abstract pieces as well as portraits. A few statues and house plants popped into the room as well. Each item was perfect in its own way, aside from looking like it was covered in soot.
When the red glow faded, his room was decorated more to his liking. His walls were no longer poorly decorated stone, and his echo didn't travel as far. The blue carpet had been rolled tightly and rested near the base of the wall. When he rose to his feet, he felt himself stumble and sway a bit. Though he felt the energy replenish shortly after, he knew he had overexerted himself.
He grabbed the stone table in front of him for balance and inspected the cloudy crystal pieces resting on top of it. He breathed deeply before grinning widely.
"I did it," he whispered to himself, his voice filled with excitement. His heart thumped heavily in his chest, and his brow accumulated a buildup of sweat. His gaze wandered along the walls of his room, still lined with faded chalk lines.
He felt a sense of achievement deep in himself as he saw what he was able to create. His world had opened even more than he'd hoped, and his skill had only just started to grow.
His eyes made their way back to his chessboard. He slowly lifted his hands from the top and stood straight. He bared his own weight cautiously for a moment, smiled, and scooted one of the pawns forward on the board.
Across from him, the opposing side released its own pawn. He chuckled to himself before moving another pawn, putting it in position to be captured. Without hesitation, the black pawn captured his, and it was removed from the board.
The game continued for no longer than fifteen minutes. Aldric had sacrificed every piece with very little thought, while the board returned with calculated and intentional counterattacks. By the end, Aldric had lost most of his pawns, both knights, a rook, his queen, and a bishop.
The table had maintained nearly all of its pieces and lined up its queen for a direct diagonal strike. With the game in check, Aldric moved his rook three spaces and ended his turn. The opposing queen made its move and ended the game. Aldric cackled to himself again as the pieces repositioned themselves.
He smiled and made his way toward the wall where he could closely inspect his artwork. The abstract canvas was painted straight black and covered in translucent, colorful prisms. If he cocked his head to the left and squinted, it sort of resembled a rabbit.
The portrait was of a woman with pale white skin, short black hair, and almond-shaped brown eyes. Her lips were painted a soft pink and curled into a soft, delicate smile. He didn't know her, but she seemed so familiar to him nonetheless. Two statues decorated opposite ends of one wall.
One of them was a tall, slender man dressed in a tall top hat. Goggles sat secured to his eyes as long ratted hair grew down past his shoulders. He wore a long coat and had his arm extended with a cane clutched in his hand; it was the architect, but not how Aldric had ever seen him.
The other was a shrouded figure, hunched beside a sort of machine. The figure's face was covered fully by what looked like a blanket. A single hand protruded from a crevice in the blanket and gripped a wrench as it worked on the machine. Aldric inspected the artwork closely with an interested look on his face. He wasn't familiar with any of the work, but it all felt personal.
He filtered thoughts through his head and wondered about the work for a moment longer when he felt something odd. A sense of calming stillness washed over him. He became very aware of the room around him, and his senses sharpened.
Instinctually, he spun around. When he did, the red door of the room slowly scrolled along the stone wall and stopped in front of him. The sudden rush of stillness vanished as quickly as it came, and his senses returned to normal. He glanced down at his hands and then around the room, confusedly.
Then, the door opened and revealed the main entryway. Aldric cautiously approached the door and stepped into the entryway. The cold stone seared his foot as he peeked out and glanced around. At his feet, small droplets of blood stained the stone. He glanced around the hall intently, but there was nobody in sight.
"Hello?" He called out. No response.