“Storgen!” a woman screamed nearby, pumping her fist into the air, “who slew the Lion of Chrysafénios and wears his impenetrable hide as armor.”
“Wait, what?”
“Storgen!” a man hollered, pumping his fist, “who threw the skulls of the Hydra of Athánatos and the Crab of Terástios into the sky, where they became constellations for all to see.”
“Skulls?”
“Storgen!” a young man yelled, holding up his fist, “who tamed the isle of the Amazons, stole their queen’s girdle, and drank their rivers dry!”
“Okay, this is getting out of hand.”
“Storgen!” an old woman called out, “who lifted the Ierós Shipyards from the depths of the sea and tamed the three-headed beasts of the underworld!”
“I’ve never even been to Ierós!”
His protests were drowned out by a spreading change in the crowd.
“Storgen!” a few of them screamed, pumping their fists into the air.
“Storgen! Storgen!” more joined in, raising their fists.
It spread until the entire arena began to chant as one. Both sides, even the followers, of Lichas got caught up in the moment, pumping their fists in unison. Women threw flowers and men raised their goblets in salute. It was all so strange Storgen didn’t know what to do.
“Storgen! Storgen! Storgen!” they shouted.
The three gods looked at one another in disbelief. “Are they…cheering for a champion?” Ambera asked aloud, looking around in horror.
“Oh, this has to end immediately,” Lichas fumed. “We cannot allow humans to cheer for one of their own.”
Sirend looked at Ambera venomously. “Just what is going on here?”
Ambera laughed nervously.
The announcer tugged on her scarf anxiously and spun her staff around. “Lichas, Godfather of Sky and Storms, with what weapon will you fight?”
Lichas took a dissatisfied puff on his cigar. “I fight with my Daggers.”
Agaprei stepped out through the doors, performing a traditional siren war dance. Her grace was like water transformed by music, her daggers spinning, her legs flowing in graceful arcs, her arms in constant motion. She painted a picture with motion, the sunlight caught in her beautiful lavender hair, shimmering before the crowd.
Ambera squinted her eyes. “Wait a minute…”
High priestess Acantha stood up in her chair. “Is that…?”
Storgen stood there, spellbound as Agaprei danced. “It’s her…”
He began to walk forward, slowly at first, but with increasing speed. “It’s really her…”
He pulled off his brass knuckles and let them fall to the earth. “It’s you…”
He tilted into a full sprint, yanking free the wax over his ears and casting it aside. “I FOUND YOU!”
Agaprei backed up and he approached. “Wait, what are you doing? The duel hasn’t started yet. We haven’t even had our ambrosia!”
The announcer tried to interject herself. “Now see here…”
Storgen bowled her over, running past the podium with manic joy. “I FINALLY FOUND YOU!"
Agaprei retreated as far back as the closed doors, but then had nowhere left to go. Storgen nearly tackled her, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up in a powerful embrace, his voice calling out joyously over the stuporous murmurs of the crowd.
“I knew I’d find you! I knew it! I just knew it!”
“What are you doing?” Agaprei called out, trying to squirm free. “Let go of me, you pervert! The duel hasn’t even started yet! Didn’t you learn anything about dueling etiquette?!”
Storgen jumped up and down for joy, spinning around while Agaprei fought helplessly against his bear-hug. “I kept my promise,” he squealed. “I searched every town, every street, every house till I found you! And now here you are! I can barely believe it!”
Ambera fell back out of her chair. “This can’t be!”
Sirend stood up from his throne, the waters surrounding the island darkening and growing violent. “Ambera, what is this farce? Explain yourself immediately!”
Ambera threw out her hand in panic. “Human, I order you to kill that siren immediately.”
Storgen stopped and looked back. “What? Are you crazy? I’m not going to kill her.”
“Put me down!”
Lichas threw down his cigar. “What is this mockery? I demand a mistrial right now!”
Ambera waved away their protests. “You’re my champion and I order you to kill her!”
“I said, LET ME GO!”
Agaprei managed to work an arm free, and brought her hilt down hard, thumping Storgen on the skull.
He ignored the wound entirely. “I refuse, Ambera.”
His words sent a shockwave through the arena.
“No champion may refuse the command of their god,” the announcer whispered numbly.
“Then I surrender.”
“What?!” Ambera screamed.
“What?” the announcer blurted.
“What?” Agaprei exclaimed.
“What?” Lichas babbled.
“What?!” Sirend roared.
“I relinquish the duel. The Knives of Lichas is the winner, and I will be her prisoner.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I just did.”
The announcer fainted.
Ambera roared in rage, her eyes glowing bright red as she took out her nearly empty flask and fought to shake a drop loose.
“You are completely insane!” Agaprei finally managed to get her foot wedged onto Storgen’s hip, and with a push form her powerful legs, she forcefully broke free and flipped away.
A single drop of ambrosia landed on Ambera’s tongue, and her hand glowed brightly. The discarded brass knuckles rose up as if held with invisible strings, and zoomed across the arena at the siren.
Agaprei managed to cartwheel away as the first one impaled itself into the stone behind her, but the second shot right at her face.
The entire arena gasped in stunned silence.
Storgen jumped before Agaprei, allowing the weapon to bury itself into his forearm, where he held it tightly. “I will not let you hurt her, Ambera!”
Agaprei looked around in utter confusion. “What is going on?!”
“This is an outrage!” Lichas screamed, the skies growing dark and stormy. “No god may attack a combatant directly during a duel.”
Ambera held up her hand to strike again, her eyes hysterical. “You don’t understand. She has to die!”
“It’s against every law we have!”
Ambera brought her hand down and released a bolt of blinding energy, tearing up the arena, rock dirt and air melting away to slag as the wave of destruction struck out towards Agaprei.
“Ambera, STOP!”
The energy evaporated just inches from its targets. Sirend stood before his throne with his hand outstretched, his body rippling like the deep blue sea. Slowly, he closed his fist, and the air was rent, two enormous Cyclops appearing beside the goddess. Mighty glowing shackles appeared around Ambera’s hands and neck, and the Cyclops’ dragged her down by the chains until she fell to her knees.
The goddess struggled like a mad woman, sweaty strands of hair clinging to her face as she grunted and groaned. “Scythe!” she called out. “The human refuses to fight, kill the siren immediately!”
The doors opened again, revealing Erolina standing coolly in her armor.
Every eye was upon her as she walked out into the confusion. Everyone was breathlessly silent, yet the amazon moved as if she were strolling through a park, without a care in the world.
When she reached Storgen and Agaprei, she drew her scythe, the weapon humming to life with arcing crimson energies. Storgen stood between them, his blood dripping down his injured arm.
For a moment, her ruby red eyes met Storgen’s. “Step aside.”
“Not a chance.”
“You know you can’t beat me.”
Storgen stood u
p straight, standing fearlessly before her. “I’ve come too far to die now.”
A tight little smile spread across her face, crinkling her scar. “There is nothing sexier than the eyes of a man who knows he can’t win, but has chosen to fight nonetheless.”
“Is that what you see?”
She studied his eyes carefully. “No, your eyes are different. You don’t care what the odds are, you only know that you have to win. I’ve never known a man like you before.”
She bit her lip passionately. “I would love to see you go full out against me, but I’m afraid other plans must take precedence for now.”
With a clank that echoed throughout the entire arena, her scythe fell to the ground.
Erolina turned around, facing the elder god. “Sirend, Lord of the Seas. When I became champion to Ambera, Goddess of Fertility and the Harvest, I made a solemn oath, and up until this time I have kept my oath, but she has repeatedly broken her oath to me. She has given me unlawful commands, the most recent of which you just saw with your own eyes and heard with your own ears.”
She reached into her collar and took out her golden talisman, holding it out for all to see. “Pursuant to the Articles of Duelist Court, I invoke the Rite of Sunderance. If I were to follow her commands I would be committing a crime and tarnishing my honor. Therefore, the oath between us is now null and void.”
The talisman cracked and shattered into thousands of tiny fragments.
Ambera screamed like a banshee, jumping and straining against her shackles, spitting and foaming at the mouth like a mad woman. “You blunt plume-plucked wretch! You bootless pox-marked ratsbane! I made you. I scooped you up from the gutter when your people threw you away like trash. How dare you defy me, you dankish folly-fallen moldwarp!”
The audience shrunk in fear at her display.
“I invoke Sunderance as well,” came another voice. All eyes turned to high priestess Acantha, who stood up and held out her talisman.
“As do I,” Markus added.
“Me too,” another priestess stated.
Everyone watched in silent disbelief as one by one, all of Ambera’s priestesses and guards stood up, taking out their talismans and throwing them to the ground. The shards of the talismans scattered like pieces of glass along the arena floor.
Sirend and Lichas looked at one another in shock. “This is unheard of.”
“And it’s not over yet,” came a feline voice as Paliágáta stepped into the arena with other high ranking ailuros. “We were going to announce this tomorrow, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.”
He reached into his brightly colored vest and took out a glowing contract, which floated in the air before him. “Due to the fact that the option for renewal was not applied for by the specified deadline, I regret to inform you that the servitude of my people to the Empire of Erotan is officially ended as of midnight last night.”
“WHAT?” Sirend yelled, the oceans around Kólasi slamming against the shores, shaking the whole island.
The golden contract burned away to ash.
“Your tribe would betray me a second time, ailuros?”
“Not at all, I simply failed to remind your office to file the proper motion to renew.”
“You cannot do that. Bureaucracy exists to use against the people, not for the people to use against us.”
“We are under no legal obligation to remind you of your options.”
“You cannot abandon your posts. Where will you go?”
With a victorious smirk, Paliágáta turned around. “I’m certain that is no business of yours.”
Everyone watched in suspense as the ailuros walked out of the colosseum.
Sirend reared back and roared, a torrid breath scattering the clouds as the lands and waters shook as if to tear themselves apart. Humans began to flee in terror as the concrete cracked and the benches warped from the quaking.
Amid the screams and tremors, Storgen turned around excitedly to face Agaprei. “Hi, we haven’t been formally introduced. My name is…”
She reeled back and punched him square in the face, his unconscious body collapsing to the ground.
Chapter Twenty Four
The Labyrinth of Glass is an enormous cube on the western plains of Garralos, one kilometer across on every side, transparent enough that the golden fortress at its center can be viewed when the light is right, tempting all those who see it, daring them to traverse its endless corridors. No sentries or soldiers guard its passages; the labyrinth itself provides sufficient defense, and countless armies and bands of treasure hunters have become lost within.
The passages extend in all three dimensions, forcing those brave or foolish enough to enter to ascend and descend long vertical shafts. The few who have emerged report piles of bones at the bottom of such passages, scavenged by carrion creatures made of living glass that scuttle and roam the corridors. Whether these began as animals who became trapped and lost, or whether they are portions of the glassy walls that have gained sentience and animation is a subject hotly debated amongst the few scholars willing the verse themselves in labyrinthian lore.
The polished glass walls themselves beguile and deceive once one is inside, occasionally showing clearly a path to the fortress of gold at the center, as if to taunt those trapped within, but normally the view is distorted and fluctuating, revealing twisted reflections and disturbing images. Some explorers report seeing nightmarish visions of their own futures, or tormented beings shown their moment of greatest shame over and over again until madness takes them.
All attempts to navigate by compass, measurement, or external beacons become inexplicably less accurate as one approaches the center. The famous alchemic explorer Hoice the Dauntless boasted that since the passages were all of uniform height and width, there exists a maximum finite distance within the labyrinth, yet his expedition, which brought with them an immensely long chord to mark their path, used up three times that distance before being forced to return, having never probed deeper than the outer layers of the maze. Only one member of Hoice’s team emerged, mewing wildly that the others were doomed to wander eternally as hollow shells of their former selves.
- The Book of Cerebus, Chapter 75, Verse 31
Agaprei reluctantly carried the tray of food down the steps into the dungeon. The minute Storgen saw her, he ran up to the bars, ecstatic to see her.
“Here’s your breakfast, pervert,” she said, tossing the tray through the food grate.
“Thank you so much,” he said brightly.
She watched him in irritation as he giddily began munching on the contents. “What’s with that stupid grin on your face?”
“I’m smiling because I’m happy, of course.”
“Why would you be happy? You disobeyed your goddess, lost a critical duel for your pantheon, and humiliated yourself in front of hundreds of thousands of people. No god will ever take you on as a champion now.”
Storgen shrugged. “Truth be told, I never really cared about being Ambera’s champion.”
Her face pinched in disgust. “How can you say that? Being a champion is the most esteemed position a mortal can aspire to. It’s everything, and you threw it away like it was nothing. You should be miserable.”
He looked up at her honestly. “But, I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The girl of my dreams just gave me a home cooked meal.”
“I am not the girl of your dreams, don’t say that.”
“But it’s true.”
“No, it’s disgusting. And speaking of disgusting, I didn’t make your food, either, it’s just a bowl of slop from the commissary.”
He took a bite as if it were the finest thing he had ever tasted. “It doesn’t matter. The fact that you brought it to me makes it special.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you are the human everyone has been talking about. You know, I was actually terrified when I found out I’d be matched up against you. I couldn’
t sleep for days, and now I find out you are just some whacko. Why did you become a champion if you never cared?”
“To keep my promise to you. I wasn’t getting anywhere on my own, Ambera said she’d help me find you if I became her champion.”
“What promise? Look, you pervert, I don’t know you. I’ve never even seen you before.”
“Well then, let’s fix that.” He stood up and gave a friendly smile, offering his hand through the bars. “My name is Storgen. May I have yours?”
She refused to take his hand in return. “You’re my prisoner, I don’t have to give you my name. And what was with that stunt you pulled back at the arena? Refusing to fight me. Standing before me like I’m some sort of invalid that needs protecting.”
“I’d never do anything to hurt you,” he said honestly.
“Why? Because I’m not worth your time or something? Is this some kind of male dishonoring tactic?”
“What? No. Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I don’t want to argue with you. I’m just happy to see you.”
She looked at his deep blue eyes, confused at the honest adoration she found in them. “Well, you shouldn’t be. You are my enemy and our nations are about to go to war. I expect this will be your last meal.”
She turned and walked away, but as she turned the corner, a noise made her pause. Heartfelt whispers of gratitude, though she could quite make out the words. Leaning back, she peeked back around the corner and found him on his knees, offering private prayer.
“…Fates above, I don’t know if you can hear me. But if you can, I want to thank you. I am so very grateful that I finally got to meet her. I’ve been waiting for this for so long. Thank you. Please watch over her, keep her safe. Protect her from all harm. I just…I want her to be happy.”
Agaprei shook her head and climbed back up the stairs. “This guy is completely insane.”
* * *
“ORDER! ORDER!”
Ouranos, god of philosophy, tapped the gavel against his divine podium, the noise completely lost amid the conclave of squabbling gods.
Ambrosia Page 60
