by Mario Routi
Suddenly, through the dark trees, only half-illuminated by their lamps, they saw Euryale and Stheno, the two huge Gorgons, charging towards them, emitting blood curdling screams as the snakes writhed angrily on their heads - a thousand tiny eyes in search of prey.
“The Gorgons!” Samantha screamed. “Don’t look at them!”
“Run!” Rebecca cried. “Don’t look back!”
The girls all turned and fled into the trees, but the boys became entangled in their sleeping bags and didn’t look away quickly enough. All their eyes fell upon the eyes of the attacking Gorgons and they were instantly turned to stone.
It was a few minutes before the girls felt safe enough to pause and catch their breath. The dense undergrowth had whipped and scratched their legs, arms and faces and they were all panting from a mixture of shock and exertion.
“Where are the boys? Rebecca asked. “Didn’t they run?”
“Field Marshal Foster didn’t say anything about the Gorgons attacking us,” Samantha said.
“Yeah - I thought they were neutral,” Tamina agreed. “Have they got the boys?”
“We need to choose a leader,” Samantha suggested. “Rebecca?”
“I second that,” said Tamina and the other girls nodded their assent.
“OK,” Rebecca accepted the responsibility without question. “Thanks guys. Look, why don’t I carefully creep back to see what’s happened. Then we can go and get help if we need to. You all stay together.”
“I’ll come with you,” Samantha said. “Shall we say if we’re not back in twenty minutes, the others should run back to Utopia and get help?”
“Okay,” Rebecca agreed and the other girls nodded.
Five minutes later, Rebecca and Samantha were creeping through the undergrowth to the edge of the clearing. The lanterns were still burning, showing a desolate and abandoned scene. Both the Gorgons and the boys had vanished. Without exchanging a word, the two girls ran forward and started gathering up all the scattered sleeping bags and equipment.
“Look,” Rebecca whispered, pointing to a path of broken foliage leading into the forest. “They went that way. Let’s follow!”
Samantha nodded and they left as silently as they could manage. It wasn’t long before they heard voices. Drawing closer, they peeked through the branches and saw the Gorgons squatting outside their cave. Lined up beside them were the stone statues of the boys.
“We must find the girls, too,” Stheno was saying. “They were all there, exactly where we were told they would be, but those girls were so fast! We promised to deliver all fifteen of them.”
The girls exchanged shocked looks.
“I’m not sure we should be involved in this affair at all,” Euryale grumbled. “They say Turgoth will reward us well when he’s presented with this group of young Orizons in stone - but what good is that? The whole of Utopia will soon be hounding us in this forest.”
Stheno was rocking to and fro on her haunches, sulking. “Well, I’m tired of being neutral. Thousands of years of nothing! Day in, day out, eating and sleeping - nothing! I’m thirsty for some action!”
Rebecca lifted her arm and Samantha understood. As one, they rose up, with spears in the air and shields over their eyes, and charged. In one smooth throw, Samantha sent her spear through Euryale’s throat. The wounded Gorgon’s scream came out as no more than a bloody gurgle as she writhed, her arms thrashing. Rebecca let her spear fly but it was too late. Her shield dropped and Stheno stared her into stone.
Euryale’s snakes twisted and turned in a furious final dance as she gurgled her last breath and fell dead, releasing half the Orizon boys from her spell and returning them to life.
Within seconds they had taken in the scene and realised what had happened. Stheno was bearing down on Samantha, shrieking in a mixture of grief and anger. She grabbed her as the boys drew their swords and charged. Turning at the last moment, Stheno saw the boys and reared up to her full height, catching Bill with a blow that brought him to the ground. Samantha struggled free, ducking the weaving, hissing snakes.
Before Stheno’s snakes could sink their deadly venom into Bill, he stared the Gorgon directly in the eyes and was turned to stone once more.
Sergei, meanwhile, dragged Samantha’s spear out of Euryale’s throat, closed his eyes and blindly charged at the howling Stheno.
Taking his aim from the sound of her screams, he let fly - SLASH! - and the spear stabbed Stheno’s neck. Her eyes bulged as she grasped the spear with both hands and pulled it out, allowing the blood to spurt free. As the last gurgling, bloody breath left her body, Bill, Rebecca, and the rest of the boys came back to life.
Rebecca looked around her in dazed wonder, just in time to see Samantha hugging Bill with surprising enthusiasm.
“Welcome back!” Samantha said, disentangling herself from Bill’s embrace and grinning sheepishly.
24
When the trainees finally made it to Lord Life’s house, Leiko was waiting for them at the entrance to the courtyard. His muscles were clearly defined in the diffused light of the sunset and he gleamed like a bronze statue.
He watched as the young Orizons approached down the lane. With his arms outstretched to envelop them, he guided them into the house, where Lord Life and Lady Danae were waiting, both of them happy to see them there.
“It’s a miracle you escaped the Gorgons,” Lord Life said as soon as he heard what happened, his voice upset. “Something is terribly wrong. First Rebecca’s abduction and now this attack. The situation in the Land of the White Sun is deteriorating; the rules are being violated. We need to inform Felicia at once and I will then need to go and see the Gods.”
“Well, you’re safe now,” Lady Danae said, “that’s what matters most. Go, relax and get ready. Then we shall dine. And tomorrow, before dawn, Pegasus, who you will meet as part of your training, will fly to inform Felicia of what has happened and tell her to immediately stop the War Games and not to send another group of trainees for the time being. Then, we will see what’s to be done.”
***
The following morning, having rested well, the casually dressed young Orizons were gathered around Lady Danae in her lovely flower garden, listening to her talk.
“So you see,” she explained, “roots are the most important part of the plant. They can exist even without the beauty of the flowers and succulence of the fruit. You must always feed the roots of any living thing. It is the same in your own lives - so make sure you build strong roots!”
Lord Life, also dressed casually, and Leiko, more formally attired in riding gear, walked up to the group.
“OK everyone,” Lord Life said, “Pegasus has now returned and been tended to. It is time for you to meet him.”
They all walked to an open area with a large crystal lake, where the huge, beautiful, mythical winged horse stood waiting for them.
“Are you up for some new riders, my friend?” asked Lord Life.
Pegasus whinnied gently and Lord Life smiled.
One by one, the excited children climbed onto his broad back and soared into the sky, while the others, filled with the joy of being alive and immortal, flew on their own over the lake, soaring and swooping around their new friend.
When it was Rebecca’s turn to ride, she leaned close to Pegasus’s face as his wings sliced through the air. Her hair streamed behind her in the wind like a war banner and suddenly she heard Pegasus’s voice inside her head.
“I’ve heard about what you’ve been through Rebecca, so it’s even more of an honour to have you on my back. We have to be tough and ready when something difficult happens, if we are to endure. You have gone from your school desk to another world that not even the most vivid imagination could have conjured up. You were held captive and you fought, wounded and killed others. You were turned to stone. You kept being sent
back and forth between life and death, like a wrongly addressed letter. It has been a lot for someone of your age and, even with the Flame, I wonder at the way in which you have coped with everything. However, this almost makes me wish for Lomani!”
“But why, Pegasus?” she asked, shocked by his words. “Surely peace is everything?”
“Indeed, but I sometimes miss those days of fighting, with Lord Life on my back. It was better than nothing. War is one of the worst things in the world, but at least it’s an emotional outlet. Even the worst things are sometimes better than nothing at all. I look back fondly on the good old days, when heroes made use of me for various exploits - like Bellerophon who killed the Chimera with me. I tell you - I need action, adventure, excitement. I never have enough to do nowadays, and I miss the company. There’s no mate for me. Luckily, the Orizon trainees come here and I take them on rides. If only you knew how much I looked forward to your visit!”
Rebecca hugged his neck and allowed her thoughts to roam as they flew up together towards the clouds.
Lord Life lay down on the grass and stared up into the sky, watching the young Orizons enjoy themselves as they flew round the lake, dipping and diving - free as birds. He felt proud of the training they had received from his daughter and her team.
Leiko, the son of Hercules, walked towards him carrying a large club. “They’re wonderful,” he said. “If the rest of the groups are like them, then a bright future awaits us!”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Lord Life said, pulling himself back to his feet. “It is a shame to interrupt their play, but this lesson is one of the most important.”
He clapped his hands and waved to the trainees, who landed and gathered around him and Leiko.
“Leiko is here to teach you how to use the club,” Lord Life announced.
“Let us begin,” Leiko said. “So far, you’ve trained with a variety of weapons and you’ve learned both how to attack with them and how to defend yourselves from them. Now, you’ll learn how to deal with Cyclopes and their terrible clubs. This will be the last course of lessons for the time being. The club is a dangerous weapon and is deadly in the hands of those who know how to use it. Cyclopes definitely know how to use it effectively, as did my father and all the Heraclids. You know that Cyclopes are gigantic, immensely strong, and have only one eye in the middle of their foreheads. This is their weak point. They cannot see what’s going on to their left and right very well. We will work on how to capitalise on their disadvantage - how to attack from angles where they can’t easily see you coming. You’ll learn how to use your shields to defend yourselves against their formidable blows. You shall have swords as well, and you’ll also learn how to attack. First of all, though, I’ll give you a practical demonstration of how dangerous a club can be, even from a distance. This will be something that you won’t be putting into practice yourselves because the club is never going to be one of your weapons.”
Leiko pointed to a pole driven into the grass with a basketball balanced on top of it. The pole was six and a half feet high and stood about ninety feet away. He flung the club, which whirled through the air, hit the ball squarely and sent it flying off the pole. Leiko did not waste a single second. He ran, picked up the club and the ball, and returned to the astonished children.
“As you can see, anybody standing there would no longer be alive. The club would have brained him! His skull would have been split open like a watermelon and his brains would have splattered on the ground like scrambled eggs. All right, let’s start the lesson.”
The training was arduous but they were enthralled by Leiko, a true demigod. Soon, he had them practicing in pairs. All of them were earnest and diligent as they ducked and dived, practicing swings with each other to the extreme left and right. The lesson went on for nearly two hours, and after that, exhausted, they returned to the house.
***
They all sat around the large dinner table that evening, the youngsters complementing Lady Danae on her cooking.
“Ah, you’re going soon,” she said, “so I wanted to cook my favourite dishes for you all. Leiko, tell them the tale of the thunderbolts from your impetuous and reckless youth.”
Leiko blushed a little and seemed momentarily at a loss. One of the many virtues his father had instilled in him was modesty.
“Oh come on, Leiko, don’t be shy!” Danae teased. “It’s good for the children to learn about important events from the past... All right, then, children, I’ll tell you the story myself: As you know, the goddess Hera hated Hercules and his children because Zeus had fallen in love with Alcmene and Hercules was their son. One day, Hera purloined one of Zeus’s thunderbolts and hurled it down into the Forest of Mysteries, where all the Heraclids, Hercules’s descendents, lived. Hera wanted to kill them to get her revenge on Hercules. Leiko was then fifteen years old. He happened to be the only one who saw the thunderbolt falling. He ran and caught it in mid-air, like a lightning conductor, before it could touch the ground and incinerate the forest and the Heraclids.”
Leiko blushed a deeper shade of red while the young Orizons gazed at him admiringly.
Lord Life raised his glass and they all fell silent.
“The experiences you’ve had in this dimension have changed you,” he said. “You’ll now find yourselves looking deeper into things. The Flame and the training have given you that - all to help humanity. You may go and rest now. Have a good sleep.”
***
In the girls’ dormitory, Rebecca jerked awake from a dream. She knew she had dreamed of Turgoth again, but couldn’t remember the details, which made her feel unaccountably sad and alone. The rest of the girls were sleeping and she decided to take a walk outside. She slid quietly from her bed and was wandering down to the lake, deep in thought, when she heard distant voices. Instantly alert, she walked silently towards the sound.
A hundred yards away, outlined against the starry sky, she saw Leiko and some of the boys. She joined them, pleased to have a distraction from her loneliness.
“Hey, you guys! I’m so glad you’re up too!” she said.
“Welcome Rebecca - please join us!” Leiko said, gesturing for her to sit with them as they talked.
After a while, she found her attention wandering again and stood up. “Leiko,” she said, “is it OK to go see Pegasus?”
“Of course,” Leiko replied. “We’ll still be here for a while longer.”
***
She opened the door to Lord Life’s stables softly and entered, her eyes taking a moment to get used to the darkness, before she tiptoed towards Pegasus’s stall. As she got closer, she felt her senses prickle. Something was not as it should be. She could hear laboured breathing instead of the gentle sounds of sleep. For a second, she couldn’t see where he was, but then she saw him lying on the floor, struggling to breathe. Dropping to her knees beside him, she could see that his eyes were open but they were not moving. His lolling tongue was blue and his wings lay flat and lifeless.
“Oh my God,” she cried, “you’ve been poisoned! Who could do such a thing? Hold on! I’ll bring help.”
She was shaking as she stood, but found herself filling up with an inner strength as she ran back out to the lake.
“What’s wrong?” Leiko asked, jumping to his feet.
“It’s Pegasus - he’s been poisoned!”
Sergei pointed to Leiko’s house. “Look!”
They all turned to see smoke rising into the night sky.
“The others!” Leiko shouted, already running back. “We must wake them before it’s too late!”
As they exploded into the house, Leiko headed for Lord Life and Lady Danae’s room, while Rebecca ran to the girls’ dormitory.
“Wake up! WAKE UP!” she shouted. “Take only your shields and swords! Get out right now!”
Everyone stumbled into the kitchen from t
heir sleeping quarters, barely dressed and carrying their swords.
“What’s happening, Leiko?” Lord Life demanded.
“They have poisoned Pegasus and burned my house! We don’t know who or how many.”
“Let’s head for the lake,” Lord Life said, but as he opened the back door, five Cyclopes and five Porth, all armed to the teeth with swords, clubs and flaming torches, charged in from each side of the courtyard.
“Treachery!” Lord Life roared. “Stand firm, Orizons!”
The young Orizons fell back into the kitchen as Leiko lifted his club and Lady Danae automatically adopted a warrior stance.
CRASH! The Porth and Cyclopes were hurling flaming torches through the windows, with the flames licking up wherever they landed. As the kitchen door exploded open, Lady Danae and Lord Life, both armed with swords and shields, and Leiko, armed with his club, charged fearlessly into the attackers.
Three of the marauders fell instantly to their weapons while the others attempted to overcome them with sheer numbers, as wave after wave of Porth and Cyclopes had to be fought back amidst the fires.
Leiko’s club smashed into heads and bodies, crushing them like paper, while the swords of Lord Life and Lady Danae flew faster than any eye could follow - every blow drawing blood, killing, or maiming.
Lord Life ordered the children to run to the trees and regroup. Once there, they saw six Porth and three Cyclopes skulking in the shadows, preparing for a second wave of attacks on the house.
“Look,” Rebecca hissed to the others. “More of them. To arms! We must intercept them!”
As the fresh enemy forces ran out of the trees towards the flames and smoke of the courtyard, hoping to swamp Lord Life with sheer weight of numbers, the young Orizons, spearheaded by Rebecca, swooped down on them from the side.
Lord Life watched proudly from the corner of his eye as the young Orizons ran fearlessly forward and let out an involuntary cry as he saw a Cyclops deliver a massive crack with his club to Lady Danae’s head. He watched her fall to the ground but was unable to get to her until he had laid low every last foe.
