He sat a while longer as the sun tipped toward the horizon and the evening grew increasingly pleasant. The spring bubbled and flowed out through the trees unceasingly, the pleasant sound nearly lulling him to sleep. Finally, as the sun grazed the rim of the mountain, he got up and re-entered the house, going past the dining hall and kitchen and into the northeast quadrant, the only part of the house as yet unexplored.
This part of the house, beyond the kitchen, appeared to have been altered recently. The smooth plastered walls had been invaded here and there and there were new openings that led to locked rooms on either side of the main passage. Aram could not tell for sure how recently the work had been done but it appeared that it was relatively new. At the end of the main passage there was another opening leading due east that was not locked, in fact it had no door.
Aram turned into this passage and followed it. It went east for a good distance and then turned left at a right angle, going north, finally coming out into a room that had walls on only three sides; the north, west, and south where the entrance was. And there was no ceiling; it was open to the sky. On the east it was bounded by the sheer rock of the mountain but this had been hollowed out at the point where the east wall of the room would have been.
A smooth, rounded tube led straight into and through the rock. Aram walked to the opening and looked into it. The round tube went perfectly straight and unchanging completely through the wall of the mountain. Two hundred feet or so from the room where Aram stood, it opened into space. The sun had set on the opposite side of the mountain and through the opening Aram could see a small, clear field of stars.
In the center of the room, taking up almost the entire space of the floor, about fourteen feet or so, there was a round disc of yellowish-white metal eight or ten inches thick. Aram stepped up onto it and examined it but there were no markings on it anywhere that suggested what its purpose might be. Other than its size there was nothing particularly remarkable about it but it seemed obvious that it was the reason for the room’s existence.
He gazed up through the open ceiling into the clear night sky but could discern nothing that would explain the disc’s use or purpose. This room was on the extreme northeastern corner of Kelven’s enormous house and it was getting late so he made his way back through the passages to the dining hall where he found supper prepared and laid out with his earlier choices. Again, however, there was no one else there. He dined alone.
The next few days passed uneventfully. Always his meals were ready for him but only twice did he converse with Sera. Several times he went back to the room with the disc but could make nothing of it. He gazed at Manon’s tower again one morning but had the uncomfortable feeling that he also was being watched so he never went back into the room with the looking glass.
Three times, out of boredom, he went out through the dead valley to the gap in the southern wall of the crater and gazed down upon the world. The first time there were thick clouds below him, hiding the earth in all directions. The second time, it was clearer, with just wisps of cloud here and there but the world was white as far as he could see to the south, southeast, and southwest.
The third time there were clouds again but when he returned to the courtyard by the spring, early in the afternoon, Kelven was sitting on his bench, waiting. He looked up as Aram walked out of the trees.
“They have come.” He said.
Five
Aram stopped and looked at the god as a sudden thrill coursed through him. “My lord –?”
“The Astra. Those mighty ones that will aid you in your quest. They have come.” Kelven stood and turned toward the house. “Come with me if you will, Aram.”
Aram followed him across the pavement through the ornate archway and into the interior courtyard where he stopped and gazed in amazement. Four shadowy figures stood talking together near the fountain. Though large and imposing, their presence was nonetheless somewhat tenuous; he could see through the shadowed edges of their figures and the interior portions of their bodies were dark in color and seemed translucent, like heavy water or thickened air, and were filled with shimmering points of light. Two of them he recognized instinctively though he’d never seen them clearly and even here their bodies were vague and indistinct. They were the Guardians, Ligurian and Tiberion.
The four turned and looked at him. Eight blazing eyes, amber jewels filled with fire, gazed upon him and studied him as he cautiously approached. Though he could not make out clearly defined, hard outlines of their bodies, the central portions of which seemed deep, the tiny lights in them shimmering as if contained at different depths – like a night sky filled with stars – he nonetheless could make out their general shapes.
They were tall, taller even than Kelven, by two feet or so, and they were slender in build, with long arms and legs. And they were winged. Aram had not seen this the first time he’d glimpsed them inside the pyramid at Rigar Pyrannis. The four of them had long wings, substantial in size, and apparently feathered, although he couldn’t tell for certain. The elbow joints of each creature’s wings extended several feet above their backs while the tips nearly brushed the floor.
Kelven bowed to them and spoke to them briefly in an unknown tongue and then turned to Aram. “These great lords you know, Aram, or at least have been in their company. Ligurian and her spouse, Tiberion. These great lords are Firezza and her spouse, Terro. They will go with you to acquire the sword of Humber. Rather, they will take you there for you cannot go without them.”
Aram bowed low. When he straightened up he looked at Ligurian and Tiberion. “I am grateful for the opportunity to thank you in person, my lords. You have spared my life many times.”
They acknowledged this with a slight movement of their heads but did not answer. Firezza and Terro, however, did speak and their voices, like echoed thunder, reverberated across the courtyard.
“What will you do with the sword of heaven, Aram?”
The question was delivered calmly, without any telltale inflections in the echoed voices, but Aram understood that his answer would be extensively – albeit quickly – examined and deciphered. Despite his trepidation in the presence of such mighty creatures, he felt a twinge of exasperation also. The universe seemed to be filled with doubts about his character and his motives. But these were powerful beings, higher, probably – though he wasn’t certain of it – than the gods and had ample right to ask such things. He stood respectfully still and spoke carefully.
“I will defend my people, my lords.”
“It is a mighty weapon.”
“I will bear it carefully and use it cautiously, my lords.”
Again the soft thunder rolled across the courtyard but this time it was Ligurian and Tiberion. “It was created to destroy Manon. Not simply to defeat him but to destroy him. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, I think so, my lords.”
The thunder came again. “Only the hand that removes it from the heavens can wield it. When it is not in use it must ever be sheathed.”
He suddenly realized that he was being instructed so he stood silent and gave no answer.
“It must never touch the earth. If it is plunged into the skin of this world and allowed to remain too long there, it will destroy the planet.”
Aram felt his eyes go wide at this stunning statement.
“It has remained where Lord Humber forged it in the presence of the Astra and there it is safe. None but our kind may enter there. Beside the Maker Himself, any who desire entrance to that place must travel in the company of Astra. When we retrieve the sword from its place of origin, it must remain in your possession only, none other may possess it, and Ligurian and Tiberion will guard you and it. There are others, Aram, who covet it.”
There was a silence that stretched out, but it seemed to Aram that they were not waiting for him to answer but rather to digest what they had told him, so he did not speak. After a moment, the echoed voices came again.
“It will be difficult to wield for it wi
ll always seek to return to the place of its origin. Only the strongest of men may wield it. Are you strong enough, Aram?” This came from Firezza and Terro. Before he could respond, Ligurian and Tiberion answered for him.
“He is strong enough.”
After this statement by Ligurian and Tiberion, it seemed to Aram that the two pairs of Astra regarded each other in silent contemplation for a moment.
Then the four turned to Kelven, who’d stood silently to one side, and Firezza and Terro spoke. “We have brought armor, Lord Kelven, suited to fit this man as per your instructions. Prepare him into it and bring him to the carrier. We will journey this night and return before the dawn.”
Aram’s heart leapt in him. They would journey this night. Tonight he would see the weapon at last. Kelven glanced at him, motioned with his hand, and led him into the front of the house to his own room. Laid out on the bed was what appeared to be a suit of clothes made of thin, gleaming metal. The fabric was silver with yellow and gold undertones, similar to the metal that made up the disc in the odd room at the northeast corner of the house.
Aram picked up the tunic and examined it. The material was very thin and light but was, in fact, a metallic fabric of some sort. At Kelven’s instruction, he pulled on the trousers and slipped the tunic over his head and was instantly surprised when the two articles of clothing melded together upon contact. Wherever a piece of the armor touched another it became one, seamless, as if it had always been so.
When he pulled on the boots, the legs of the trousers adhered to them and melded together with them. There was a thin, flexible helmet also, rather like unto a hood. In the front of the hood there were two almond-shaped portions of a darker, almost black material where his eyes would be. These areas appeared to be absolutely opaque, but when he pulled the hood over his head he found that he could see out through them very clearly. Except for a very slight darkening of the light, it was as if there was nothing at all in front of his eyes.
Lastly there were gauntlets for his hands. These were made of the same material and reacted with the rest of his armor as everything else had done. The palms of the gauntlets, however, were covered with a rough, gritty substance, evidently to facilitate grip. The soles of the boots were also clad with this same substance.
When he was fully clothed, Kelven looked him over with a critical eye and nodded. “Come, Aram,” he said, “there is quite a long journey before you and no time to waste. Come.”
They went through the house beyond the dining hall and into the altered areas. Kelven led him to the odd room at the northeast corner of the house that had only three walls and no ceiling. The Four were waiting, their tenuous outlines shimmering with silver light. They were standing on the metal disc, positioned at each edge, equidistant from one other; one on the east, one on the north, one on the west, and the other on the south.
Soft thunder sounded in the small room. “Step to the middle of the carrier, Aram.”
Aram glanced at Kelven, who said nothing, and then complied. His heart was pounding with excitement. The armored boots gripped the surface of the disc as the sticky substance on the soles came into contact with it, but came away easily when he lifted his feet. He moved to the middle and stood waiting, looking around at the four lords.
“Give him the sheath, Lord Kelven.”
Kelven walked to the middle of the south wall of the room and opened a compartment, sliding a hidden door to one side. He removed a sword sheath that was slightly longer than a meter in length with a wide shoulder strap and made of the same material as Aram’s armor. He stepped up onto the disc and handed it to Aram. The god gave him a slight smile.
“The decision has been made, Aram. You are to be given the weapon of the ages. You will be taken to it this night. We will talk more when you return. Go carefully and obey all that you are told.”
Aram took the sheath and slung it over his shoulder. He bowed. “Thank you, my lord.”
Kelven turned and stepped down off the disc and entered the hallway where he pivoted and watched with his hands folded behind him. There was a slight noise that erupted all around Aram, like the whisper of a small, cold wind. A sharp chill went through him.
The Four spread their enormous wings until they curved around the edge of the disc and their wingtips touched one another. Outside the circumference of the disc, everything shimmered for a moment as if the atmosphere shuddered under sudden strain. For a minute or so, the walls of Kelven’s house appeared to ripple like water, and then stabilized.
Aram felt the nausea of building pressure, then that, too, passed. Afterward, sight and sound seemed to go back to normal, but he knew that a physical change had occurred in the atmosphere within the circle of the disc.
“Aram, check your armor,” the thunderous voices commanded. “Make certain that it has cleaved unto itself fully and that there are no seams.”
Aram complied, running his hands over every inch of his suit. It had melded together everywhere.
“It is fine, my lords.”
“Good. Know that it will protect you for a time from great changes in temperature and pressure, both of which you will be subjected to during the next few hours, though we must protect you from the worst of it. The armor will suffice to shield you from but a fraction of what must be endured. Our strength will guard you from the greatest of the dangers – and they will be severe. You will see sights such as no man has ever seen. They may very well terrify you. Be strong and courageous.”
The disc lifted up from the floor and hovered.
“Know that our strength will protect you from harm, Aram. There is no power in heaven or earth that can penetrate the shield we have created for you. At one point your hand will leave the bubble of protected space for a moment, but only for a moment and we will stretch the shield to cover even the tips of your fingers for that moment.”
The disc began to move effortlessly, silently, and smoothly into the tube cut through the mountain to the east. Kelven and his house were left quickly behind. The disc began to accelerate through the tunnel toward the field of stars that filled the black sky beyond.
“As soon as the weapon is in your hand and pulled inside the shield, you must sheath it immediately, for you will not have the strength to hold it long there. And it will require all your strength to pull it inside the shield. Remember – when it is in your hand, sheath it quickly and then we will return to the house of Kelven. Behold, our journey begins.”
The disc shot from the end of the tube as fast as a star falls from heaven and went straight out into the sky, pulling away from the curve of the earth and into the blackness beyond the world. Aram cringed at the immense acceleration but found that in fact he was physically unaffected by it. The shield created by the Four protected him completely from the sensation of speed even as his eyes told him that they were hurtling through the night sky at an incredible rate that was increasing exponentially, moment by moment.
Beneath the disc, a vast deep ocean of firmament began to open up between him and the surface of the world. He was sailing into the heavens, flying away from the earth like an arrow shot at the stars. An inability to fathom the wonder of the event even as it transpired numbed him.
Then came a muted rushing sound as outside the protected bubble of the disc flames erupted that piled up at the front like water before the prow of a ship and trailed out behind them like the fiery wake created by the passing of that same ship. Again, Aram recoiled, but the fire could not penetrate to touch him. The rushing fire lasted for several minutes and even through the shield he heard its terrific roaring; then it abruptly ceased just as a brilliant light broke upon him; the sun, visible in the blackness, rising beyond the circle of the world.
Aram turned away from the intense light and gazed behind him. The body of the earth was falling away from him like an immense black stone, plummeting into the star riddled sky beneath it, growing rapidly smaller by the moment, a crescent of illumination along its sunward edge. He turned and looked to
the front, at the brilliant disc of the sun, and he realized – they were tracing an arc in the blackness of the heavens that would lead them toward it.
“Yes, Aram,” the thunderous voices announced. “You have surmised correctly. We are going into the star that lights your world. The sword is there, at its very heart.”
He was astounded and terrified by this revelation. How could they travel into the heart of a star? Aram knew very little of the vast universe of wonders that existed above and beyond the world but he had labored beneath a vicious summer sun many times in his life. He knew instinctively that the bright globe that traveled the sky above his world was a great furnace of some kind and must be stupendously hot. How could he enter such a cauldron of heat and flame and survive? Surely, when exposed to the fires of such a furnace, he – and they – would be reduced to cinder.
But the Four had told him that he would see things that frightened and even terrified him, and that their protection against such things was sure. He swallowed his fear and remained silent, and simply stared at the incredibly brilliant hot disc of the sun, growing terrifyingly larger moment by moment. The disc had reached such a speed that the sun seemed to explode across his horizon until its edges were lost to view.
“Brace yourself, Aram. Though we will allow no harm to come to you, the next several minutes will be turbulent.”
He spread his legs wide and held out his arms to either side.
The face of the sun now filled all his field of vision, rising far over his head and away beneath his feet and beyond sight in both directions. He was staring into an enormous seething ocean of fire.
As he watched in astonishment, he began to discern differences in texture in the sea of flame to his front. There were spots that were brighter than the rest, where yellow flame roiled and surged across the vast brilliant face of the sun. Huge columns of fire rose from the depths, twisting and turning, folding and unfolding like ribbons in a wind. There were darker spots as well that seemed to suck fire from the regions around them and swallow it into the depths.
Kelven's Riddle Book Two Page 7
