Memories

He ran his hands across its dusty surface, once with his gloved hands, and then he decided he should like to feel it with his own fingertips. And so each glove came off, laid on top of each other in a neat pile. Sylvius told him this piece had been found in the wreckage, inside the Mechlas's fiery tomb. Delicately, he used a thumb to brush the dust from its surface, and a spot of its glossy golden film was revealed. His stomach lurched, his breath halted. It had been so long since then, so long he had been in this building. It felt like a vague, long-forgotten dream. Now it flared in his mind, memories burning and uncovering themselves from the recesses of his mind as he stared at the relic. He fingered it, turning it so the light reflected off of every point. Dare he even put it on his head? ...No. He closed his eyes, and there stood his friend. The red sun dipped below the horizon, illuminating the crystal-like moons above, sending fractals of sunlight scattered upon the ground. Trees swayed and creatures chirped in harmony with the rest of nature, all of it surrounding the towering glowing spires of the castle. If only.. He opened his eyes, and it was gone.