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Aeärwen's Little Bits - 45. Once Treasured
It sat, as it always had – as it would until the walls crumbled and the world ended.
Covered with dust that long ago used to be a fine silk cloth, it nestled into the depression carved into the pedestal. It had once sat upon another pedestal, known another home. It no longer mattered; that place no longer existed, just as this place no longer mattered to anyone.
Once treasured, it had been a well-kept secret from all but those who had ruled the land, or those who had long ago left these shores. Ages it had now been since anyone had braved the narrow spiral stairs to the tiny, circular room. Ages since the narrow casement windows had let in fresh, clean air.
In the depths of the polished stone, visions of places and times and peoples long vanished from this world swirled without purpose. From time to time, echoes of a long-extinguished fire would erupt, but the perfect sphere was merely an agent, unaffected by either the echo or anything else it demonstrated. Visions of beauty, cruelty, war and happiness danced in its dark depths.
But it had always been the fate of the last palantir to be forgotten.