Eli reeled back in shock and terror as the massive creature loomed over him. A thousand eyes and a million appendages stretching out in hideous fleshy tangles, towering over him at least thirty feet into the air, blocking out the light of the sun and dwarfing him in its immense shadow.

"Wait! Wait! Relax!" Something grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him before he could go running in the opposite direction, "it isn't going to hurt you." Eli looked up at Jonah like he was insane, to find Peter in a similar state of shock and horror though he had a hand around both of their upper arms, "Please just calm down!" he insisted, "It can't move."

Indeed, as he paused and looked upon the creature, Eli could see that it was not, in fact, moving. He took a tentative step closer unsure but curious looking down at its roots which were still and unmoving against the black marbled floor. It sat inside a shallow depression of sorts ringed with decorative black tiles which trapped its roots in a rictus of stone. Eli squinted, and on closer examination, he came to the realization that from a foot up the tree and downward, instead of skin, the tree was covered in bark.

Average, regular, boring bark.

He took a step closer, but Jonah tightened his grip, "You won't want to get too close, Twisted can be dangerous to newcomers."

Eli froze but continued to stare at the tree, watching as one of the students approached the base of the trunk, kneeling down with, what to Eli, appeared to be a sampling kit of some sort. Another student was trying to accomplish the same task but higher up. The upper student used a needle and drew blood when it prodded at the Dread. The second student used a scraper to chip the bark from the base of the tree.

Eli stood back in awe, lifting his head to look at the towering branches, upon which he was surprised to find people sat. Someone had even tied a makeshift swing to one of the lower branches and a small, one-legged girl was swinging to and fro, back and forth. Just above her a man was leaning against the trunk reading, and still more sat within the branches talking or reading.

The oozing eye blinked slowly once, and then closed only for another eye to open up on the trunk further up.

No one seemed to notice or care.

Eli took another step back and as he did, he noticed something.

He wouldn't have seen it at any other angle, but as he stepped backwards, the branches of the tree lined up with the circling arches overhead, and the intricate tilework below that so that it appeared as if the tree was encased inside a perfect circle.

Eli felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and the world around him spun. Looming before him as an image created by the glow of a backlit dread, he saw the inspiration for the little pendant that hung around Peter's neck.

This was it.

The place the order of Hope had originated. The place with the greatest connection to his father's disappearance.

Head still spinning, Eli glanced towards his companion, who, like Eli, had not failed to notice the looming symbol above them, and now held the tiny silver pendant in the cupped palms of his hands, staring between it and the three with equal measures of fascination and horror.

Jonah smiled, "I see you have met one of our branches." Desmond shot Jonah a scathing look at his horrific pun, but Jonah seemed quite pleased with himself. "Unfortunately for those further out, bringing them knowledge is a little harder , so all we can do is spread the hope that our University provides." He motioned them forward, "Please come this way. But make sure to keep well clear of the tree."

Eli hesitated before following dumbstruck, craning his neck up at the dormant dread with its still branches and roots. Looking at the thing, Eli could only imagine what it looked like when it moved: the great roots churning through soil and puddles of stagnant water as its limbs waved madly, seeing with a thousand eyes and blinking with a thousand eyelids.

Jonah gestured towards the tree, "Twisted has been dormant for almost ten years." he waved up at the surrounding balconies, "All you see here was built after the tree was already rooted." he walked closer to the base of the Trunk though Eli and Peter held back as they had been instructed,"We use the tree as a sort of.... Barometer you understand. Dreads run on our fear like fuel, and the less fear there is, the less energy they have."He motioned to the base of the tree, "We keep an eye on the levels here. The bark appears when fear decreases, that way we are able to keep track of the faith." He stepped back towards them, "Of course, we can't petrify the entire tree as much as we would like to. Others outside of Twisted still fear the warped and unnatural, so this is.... Well this is as good as we have ever managed."

He turned and continued towards one of the doors leading from the atrium.

Eli kept his eyes on the base of the tree.

He wasn't sure what to think.

He doubted that the man's explanation of faith was the entire story. He was sure there had to be some natural explanation causing this phenomenon, though for the life of him, he couldn't imagine what. He had never heard of such a thing before.

Or there was always a third possibility....

This was a trap.

An illusion of paradise meant to draw them in, a likelihood that Eli was leaning towards with every second. Faith and hope were too easy of explanations to explain this place, and what was going on here.

Life didn't have easy answers like that.

You had to work hard and suffer for anything that mattered in this world. Eli knew that from experience.

Hope helped nothing.

He knew that from experience too.

Despite his concerns, he followed Peter, reaching into his bag and keeping a tight grip around the grip of his compact, ready for any sign of trouble as Jonah gave them a tour through the massive building "There are ten stories all together, each one growing smaller as they reach towards the top. We use the tenth story as a lookout, and sometimes for astronomy lessons. As the Prophet always says, the stars are the only things that fear cannot change. Each level has multiple classrooms and worship halls, though we do conduct weekly mass right here in the main atrium."

Eli glanced behind him as a rolling sense of unease trailed up his back. There was that mention again, the prophet "So, is this a church then?"

Jonah turned back to look at him, "Well yes."

"So then it isn't a university."

Jonah paused, casting his eyes over Eli with a thoughtful expression, his voice growing soothing as if he were speaking to an argumentative child, "These things are not mutually exclusive. We provide what our prisoners need. If they require knowledge, then we give them knowledge. If they are seeking faith, then we give them faith. Most of those who find their home here do both. I attend the masses at week's end, but I am also an avid student of cartography."

Eli took a deep breath.

There were some issues with this model that he could see.

Dogma often got in the way of pure truth staining and warping the lens of knowledge to the point where science was no better than the religious scope that it was looked through. Perhaps they would see glimpses of the truth, but they would not see the whole truth.

Then again, it seemed like the perfect sort of manipulation.

"This is the library, and just behind it is the archive."

Eli paused in the doorway looking in on the circular room and its rows and rows of books stretching on into what seemed like infinity. The shelves stretched towards the ceiling high above and balconies many stories up only led to more and more stacks of shelving. Craning his neck back, he had to take a step back in order to keep his balance. Up above the moon glowed bright and white at the center of the circular skylight.

He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Thousands upon thousands of books, why, he could spend years here and still know nothing, still have read only a fraction. Beside him, Peter leaned forward just as Eager as Eli when he saw the rows of manuscripts bound in lather, tied in scrolls, embossed and embroidered with golden thread on their covers.

"This library contains most of the collected knowledge of the world as far as we have been able to collect it. Right now we have over 500,000 volumes, and that number is steadily growing. Of course that is only the books, If you count our manuscripts in the archive and that number is closer to 1 million."

If Eli's jaw had not been attached firmly to his skull, then it might have hit the floor and rolled under one of the shelves. His father's small library back at the tower had only contained around 125 books, to imagine 500,000 was so far beyond what he could picture that he didn't even bother trying to think what a million looked like.

"And they are just.... Free?" Peter said, eyes wide in wonderment

Jonah smiled, "Why of course, though we do have a checkout and catalog system we require guests to use, though if you chose to sit in the library you could read for the rest of your life for free if you wanted.'

He could hardly imagine.

Information, for free.

Jonah motioned them forward again , walking out of the library and back up one of the hallways, "Here at the university, we give men and women the opportunity to better themselves. Fear is a state of mind that tends to freeze a person in place, not allowing them to move forward. But here, we give people the knowledge and safety to better themselves and their circumstances." he paused in another doorway letting them look in.

Peering through the door, they could see a woman sitting in a chair next to a low table. All around the room lay strange contraptions and small bits of glittering metal. The woman was missing a leg, but, as they watched, she pulled a strange device across the floor attaching it to her stump with a set of leather straps. Then, slowly she stood.

Jonah clapped politely as the woman took her first few hobbling steps. Peter clapped as well, smiling from ear to ear as he watched.

The woman looked up and waved at them.

"It is very difficult to invent when you are trapped in fear, but these people have been given an opportunity. The more knowledge we give them, the more ability they have to combat the difficulties of everyday life that lead to fear in the first place. He leaned in conspiratorially, "I have even heard talk that some students have had success in preventing deadly illnesses brought about by the Outbreak."

"Prevent!" Peter was even more engaged than he had been a moment ago, he had taken the man by the wrist, "Where, how? How could they prevent it? Do you think they would show me?"

Jonah smiled gently, taking his hand and patting it, "If that is the knowledge you seek, then that is the knowledge you will be provided."

Eli frowned. A part of him did not like the idea of staying here. Something about it just seemed strangely wrong, too perfect almost. Too good to be real as if it was some sort of trap. Then of course there was that library. How could he pass up an opportunity to get his hands on something like that. And if it was for free?

But no, he still couldn't believe it. If it was too good to be true then it probably wasn't.

He had lived in this world long enough to understand that bit of knowledge as fact.

He struggled through those questions throughout the rest of their tour, seeing classrooms and chapels upon even more classrooms. He saw wonderful and strange inventions, he saw even more books. He saw people teaching, and students sitting at their desks and listening. He saw families, together for the first time, smiling and laughing with each other like he had seen no other family smile or laugh before.

Eli wanted so badly to join them, and despite every fiber of his body begging his mind to follow that desire, the stronger part of him knew it for what it was.

His father had been involved with these people and vanished, so there was no way he could believe there were no sinister intentions lurking under the surface.

What was the price? What was the catch?

Glancing over at Peter, he could see that the other man had already been taken in. There was no doubt in his open and honest face. He was ready and willing to believe what they told him, to become a member of this strange university.

Their guide was cut off mid sentence just then, by an older man who beckoned Jonah away "Jonah, may I steal you away for a moment."

He gave them an apologetic smile and stepped away for a moment leaving them on the outskirts of the main atrium and one of the lecture halls.

Peter turned to look at Eli, "Can you believe it." He raised his arms wide and spun in place gesturing to everything around him, "Can you believe it! There's so much here, Eli. And did you hear, they are working to prevent disease and the outbreak.... This could change everything!. This is just what we are looking for!"

Eli paused hemming and hawing a bit as he tried to decide how best to approach Peter with his concerns, "Well.... Yes I know it Looks nice-"

Peter paused, his face falling and his eyes narrowing, "You can't be serious."

"What?"

Peter thrust his hand back towards the library, "All of this knowledge, all of this offered to us free of charge, and you are just going to drop it? What, because it's a 'religious' institution. Would that ruin your pride or something."

Eli straightened up, "No, that is not why! I've been around long enough to know that information doesn't come for free. I don't trust this palace, I don't trust it because I have no idea what they want from us, and you DO understand that these people might have something to do with my father."

"Been around long enough! Eli, you're barely older than I am, and besides, Would it be so hard to believe that they actually want to help us?"

"Yes, Peter, yes it would! Everyone is only out for themselves in a world like this. No one is just going to give up a lifetime of knowledge just to be nice."

"Maybe YOU wouldn't."

They stood glowering at each other from a few inches away, their fists balled their heads leaning in.

"Woah.... Maybe we should just relax." They turned their heads in unison towards where Jonah now stood, having returned from his little errand. He looked concerned, both of his arms raised in a pleading gesture towards them.

Eli straightened up and turned his back on Peter walking to the side of the hallway where he leaned against the wall grumbling angrily to himself. After a while, he took a deep breath and sighed leaning his head back against the cold stone and closing his eyes. He needed to play it cool. If they really were something sinister, then it was best not to let them know he was onto them, otherwise the same fate that befell his father might happen to him.

"And so you see, faith without action is meaningless. To simply abide by hope is to abide in inaction. Action can be done without faith, but faith and hope are the catalyst to making the actions easier, and smarter. With hope we are better able to maintain ourselves and our minds so our actions have more meaning. Couple that together with knowledge, and not only do you have the faith to keep going and the strength to begin action, but you also have the knowledge to make your action mean something."

Eli cracked an eye open, turning his head towards the sound of the voice.

There was something about it, something about the man's voice or.... Or maybe his words that seemed familiar though Eli couldn't place it.

As far as arguments went it seemed sound enough he supposed. It would have been hard to argue with, though perhaps it was the way the man delivered the words. His voice was strong and confident, and.... Familiar in a way that he just couldn't palace.

Eli pushed himself off the wall and headed for the room from which the voice was emanating. His footsteps were soft over the tile, and the door was open. He listened outside for a moment.

"This is the tennent you must abide by when you go out into the world. What you are doing is dangerous, but it is necessary, collecting and gathering information, making contacts, spreading the word, and hopefully, slowly dismantling the system by which we are kept in place."

Eli leaned forward glancing inside the room to where a large auditorium of students was sitting and listening to the professor as he spoke. The man was faced away just then, drawing, in chalk, against the flat stone wall. He was tall, and thin, with dark hair and wore a rather rumpled white cotton shirt.

With his back turned, Eli slipped inside and placed himself in the back row, in one of the remaining seats.

A scuffle in the doorway behind him alerted him to the presence of Peter, who sidled in through the door and positioned himself against the back wall.

Looking around himself, he noted that these particular students were not dressed in the gray and maroon robes so common on the others, but in eclectic black and red, built for function in the real world rather than for comfort in this dark tower

"You must understand the basic rules of our world before you begin with the work. There are three major classifications of dread, Physical, Social, and Existential, each one of them abides by a different set of rules, which will be important if you are to navigate them. Physical fears must abide by physical laws. Bugs cannot appear out of nowhere, and sickness cannot spontaneously erupt without prior contact. On the other hand, social and existential fears do not follow these rules, and may manipulate reality in ways that resemble magic" The man turned around to face the class.

"While information drives you, Hope should act as the structure upon which you build this information."

Eli was rocked to his core.

His heart stopped, his lungs spontaneously quit working. He felt dizzy and almost fell out of his chair onto the hard stone floor beneath him. His eyes could not believe what he was seeing, and didn't entirely want to believe it either. He opened his eyes and then closed them again and then opened them. He felt sick and nauseous gripping on to the edge of his chair fearing that he would be rocked from his seat.

Standing at the very front of the room, in a rumbled white button up with rolled up sleeves, was Eli's father.

Adrian.