Chapter Three
Most days, Carmaz Korva was certain that the gods hated him. Of course, his grandfather had always told him that it was his own foolishness that got him into all of the trouble that he did, that he should take more responsibility for his own actions and should stop blaming the gods for everything wrong in his life. It was arrogance, his grandfather had said, to think that the gods would single out a poor young man on the even poorer island of Ruwa in the Friana Archipelago just to torment him.
Carmaz was no mage, so he supposed that grandfather was probably right about that. Still, that didn't explain why Carmaz now found himself captured by a tribe of humanoid crustaceans, inside a wooden bamboo cell, with his right arm broken and the side of his head bleeding. It didn't help that the sun in the sky was burning hot, as it always was on the island of Riuja, making him feel even more miserable than he usually was.
But it wasn't like there was literally no explanation for how Carmaz got here. Earlier in the day, one of his friends, Saia, had been swimming in the waters on the northern beaches of Ruwa, when he was suddenly kidnapped by the crustaceans—a tribe of humanoid crab-like aquarians known for their tastes in human flesh—who dragged him to Riuja in the north. Carmaz had then taken his grandfather's old raft and rowed all the way out to that tiny island, despite knowing the bloody and violent reputation of the crustaceans who lived here. Due to his poverty, Carmaz had few physical possessions to his name, and so he relied on his friends such as Saia for support and help more often than not.
Unfortunately, when Carmaz arrived on Riuja, his grandfather's old raft—which had been such a reliable and sturdy sea craft for decades—had sprung a leak he couldn't fix, thus stranding Carmaz on the island. Carmaz was sure that the gods must have done that to him, because grandfather's raft had never sprung a leak before, especially not under dangerous situations like this.
Even so, Carmaz decided to save his friend anyway, despite the lack of a ready means of escape. Of course, no sooner had Carmaz taken a few steps onto the beach was he ambushed and captured by the crustaceans (how was he supposed to know that a handful of them would bury themselves in the sand and pop out to attack anyone who stepped on them?).
The crustaceans had then transported Carmaz to what was most likely the only settlement on the tiny island of Riuja. It might have at one point been a human village, as the rundown huts looked like the ones back on Ruwa, but Carmaz saw no sign of any non-crustaceans around, aside from clean human bones scattered everywhere. He didn't even see Saia, though he assumed that the crustaceans were probably hiding him in one of the huts somewhere.
As Carmaz sat there, he watched the crustaceans below start a fire with which to cook him and Saia upon. There were forty or fifty crustaceans in all. Not a large number by any means, but they were such a vicious tribe that even the armies of major nations like Carnag and Shika avoided them when possible. None of the crustaceans wore any clothing and he wasn't sure that they could even speak. All they ever seemed to do was growl and snarl at each other and at anyone else they didn't like. The most notable thing about them was the painted-on markings on their exoskeletons, which resembled stylized flames, but Carmaz had no idea what those meant or if they meant anything at all.
Nor was he much interested in finding out. Carmaz had heard horror stories about these crustaceans and how they ate pretty much anyone or anything that washed up on their shores. No doubt they were planning to eat him and Saia, though the crustaceans must have been smarter than he thought if they were first preparing a fire for the two of them.
I need to get out of here somehow, Carmaz thought. And save Saia as well.
Carmaz shook the bars of his cage. They were quite firm, although he wondered how these crustaceans had managed to construct something like this, considering how none of them had fingers with which to construct even the simplest of objects. The cage looked quite old, so perhaps it had been created by the original inhabitants of the island before the crustaceans came and killed everyone off.
In any case, Carmaz was used to getting out of these sorts of situations on his own. Once, as a teenager, he had been kidnapped by a group of pirates whose captain had a taste for boy flesh, and he had escaped using his wits and the captain's own lust against him. In another situation, Carmaz had been chased up a tree in the Swamp of Light by a large toothed lizard, which he had only escaped after pouring salt on the creature, which had burned its skin and forced it to retreat, which allowed him to safely return to his home village of Conewood.
Carmaz kicked the door to the cage, but it was locked tight and his kick only succeeded in causing the cage to sway. Of course, due to the injuries he had sustained earlier, his kicks were not as strong as they could be, but that didn't give Carmaz an excuse to give up.
But even if I do escape, how far will I get before the crustaceans catch me again? Carmaz thought. And I don't even know where Saia is. This situation seems hopeless.
But Carmaz banished that thought from his mind. He was well acquainted with feelings of hopelessness—it was impossible to grow up on Ruwa and not feel that way—but right now he could not afford to dwell on it. He would instead focus on how to get out of here, which was within his ability.
Still, his broken right arm made it hard to think, because the pain from it was so awful that it distracted his mind from everything else. With a supreme force of will, however, Carmaz forced himself to forget about it long enough to do what he needed to do to escape.
Then Carmaz jammed his hand on his unbroken arm into his pants pocket and drew out the lock-pick that he had been given by his grandfather many years ago. As quietly as he could, he stuck it into the cage's lock and began fiddling with it. Every now and then he'd stop and watch the crustaceans to make sure they weren't coming to get him for dinner, but most of the crustaceans were either busy preparing the fire or watching two younger-looking crustaceans fighting each other, trying to use their claws to tear each other apart in a frenzy of loud combat.
They're crustaceans, Carmaz thought as he resumed picking the lock. I doubt even they know why they're fighting. At least it's distracting them from me.
Then Carmaz heard the lock click, causing him to smile for the first time in several hours. As carefully as Carmaz could, he pushed the cage door open; its hinge, thankfully, did not creak. Once it was open wide enough, Carmaz stepped out of it, though he did so bent over and without making a sound.
Again, the crustaceans were too distracted by the fight and the fire to notice him, so Carmaz made his way around the cage to the thick jungle that surrounded the village. Once he was deep enough in the jungle that he was sure that the crustaceans would not be able to find him if they came after him, Carmaz walked through the muddy ground and thick undergrowth, his eyes on the tiny village itself as he walked.
The question now was where to find Saia. Carmaz's first guess was the somewhat larger hut near the west side of the village. He had seen one of the crustaceans who had captured Saia step out from that hut, and because he didn't see Saia anywhere else, he assumed that that was where his friend was being held. The only problem now was entering the village and freeing Saia, which was currently impossible due to the amount of crustaceans located there.
At least it was impossible until one of the crustaceans looked toward Carmaz's cage and noticed that it was empty. Without warning, the crustacean shrieked and pointed at the empty cage, even hitting one of its friends on the head to draw its attention to Carmaz's empty cage.
All of the crustaceans dropped what they were doing and ran toward the cage. They stopped by the cage briefly to inspect it, before they tore it apart in rage. Then all fifty of of them ran into the jungle behind it, which they seemed to have deduced was where Carmaz had fled.
Maybe my luck isn't so bad after all, Carmaz thought. But they could be back any minute. Riuja isn't a huge island, so it won't take them long to search it all and realize that they can't find me. Gotta find Saia and then find a way off this
cursed island before our 'hosts' return.
So Carmaz dashed out from the jungle toward the large hut, though he almost tripped over the bones scattered around the village's streets. Soon Carmaz reached the hut door, which was locked, but he broke the rusty old lock off with one kick and then opened the door.
“Saia?” said Carmaz as he stuck his head into the dark hut. He wrinkled his nose at the stink of the hut's interior, which was like a combination of excrement and mud. “Saia, are you there? It's me, Carmaz.”
Carmaz spotted his friend immediately. Saia was lying on the dirt floor of the hut, still almost completely naked from his swim, his only piece of clothing the pants with rolled up leggings. Deep, bloody claw marks on his arms and legs marked where the crustaceans had grabbed him, and his dark, curly hair was matted slightly with blood. Still, Saia had enough strength to raise his head high enough to look at Carmaz, his eyes full of both fear and relief.
“Carmaz?” said Saia, whose voice sounded dangerously weak. “Oh, thank the gods. I thought I was a goner for sure.”
“Don't thank the gods for what they didn't do,” said Carmaz. “Anyway, I am glad to see that you are alive. We need to get out of here before the crustaceans return. They seem to think I'm in the jungle, but it won't be long before they figure out the truth and come back. Then they'll probably skip the fire and just eat us raw.”
“I can't stand on my own,” said Saia. He gestured at his legs, which were even bloodier and more cut up than his arms. “The crustaceans tore up my legs. You'll have to support me.”
Carmaz scowled. Just what I needed. More bad luck.
But Carmaz said aloud, “Fine. I'll help you and we'll see how far a couple of cripples can go.”
Carmaz dashed into the hut and helped Saia onto his feet. Saia certainly wasn't joking when he said he couldn't stand. He had to lean heavily on Carmaz. In fact, to Carmaz, it felt more like he was carrying Saia with one arm, rather than merely supporting Saia so he could walk on his own.
Saia looked at Carmaz's broken arm that hung limply at his side. “You don't look like you're in much better shape than me.”
Carmaz rolled his eyes. “It's fine. Nothing to worry about. You just focus on your wounds, all right?”
Thankfully, Saia was not a very heavy person, so Carmaz managed to get them both out of the hut quickly. A cursory view of the village revealed that the crustaceans still had not returned, but Carmaz wasn't going to press their luck.
“All right, Saia,” said Carmaz, breathing hard due to his fatigue starting to catch up to him. He also winced when he felt his broken arm again, although he tried to ignore it. “We head to the beach and then try to swim back to Ruwa.”
“Swim?” Saia repeated, looking at Carmaz in confusion. “I assumed you took your grandfather's raft to get here.”
“I did,” said Carmaz. “But then it sprang a leak and sank.”
“I guess the gods really do have it out for you, don't they?” said Saia.
“Shut up,” Carmaz said. “Anyway, swimming is our best bet. If the crustaceans stay distracted long enough, then by the time they return here, we ought to be back on Ruwa well before they even realize we're gone.”
“Just how do you intend to swim across the freezing waters between Riuja and Ruwa with a broken arm?” said Saia, pointing at Carmaz's broken arm. “That's not even counting myself. I don't think I can swim at all in my current condition.”
“We'll figure something out,” said Carmaz as he led Saia around the hut to the surrounding jungle. “We always do.”
“That sounds an awful lot like what Grandma always said,” said Saia. “You know, about how the gods will provide and all that?”
“I said we'll figure something out,” Carmaz said, putting as much emphasis on 'we'll' as he could, though his fatigue and broken arm made that difficult. “I rely on the gods for nothing, and neither does any proud Ruwan.”
“Okay, okay,” said Saia. “Just saying that that is what Grandma would always say before we went hungry for a week and had to hunt swamp rats for breakfast.”
Carmaz rolled his eyes, but before he could respond, he heard the shrieks of the crustaceans behind them. Alarmed, Carmaz looked over his shoulder, as did Saia, to see the crustaceans burst out of the jungle. The crustaceans spotted Carmaz and Saia immediately, causing the lead crustacean to point at them and shriek what might have been an order to its fellow villagers to catch the two of them. Then the entire village stampeded toward them, shrieking and snapping their claws as they did so.
Carmaz tried to run, but Saia could not do much more than limp. The two of them tripped over a bone anyway and fell onto the ground rather ungracefully. The impact wasn't very hard, but falling down for even a moment sealed their fate.
Still, Carmaz rolled over onto his back, despite the pain in his broken arm, and rolled to a crouch. He then drew the rusty, broken knife from his pouch that his grandfather had given him when he was a kid and he held it out in an offensive position, although he knew that there was no way he could fend off so many crustaceans at once with such a puny weapon.
Better go down fighting and defending my best friend than to go down cowering like a scared puppy, Carmaz thought, gritting his teeth as he prepared for the pain of the crustaceans' claws tearing him apart.
But when the mob of crustaceans were not more than ten feet away from Carmaz and Saia, a massive, blinding light suddenly shone between the two groups. The light was so bright that Carmaz had to cover his eyes with his good arm to protect them, but he still heard the startled cries and shrieks of the crustaceans, along with a loud whoomp sound that sounded unlike anything Carmaz had heard in his life.
The light, however, lasted only a second. In the next instant, it was gone, making it safe enough for Carmaz to lower his arm to see what in the world had happened.
Standing between him and Saia and the crustaceans was an elderly, robed man who Carmaz had never seen before. The man was bald and leaned on a tall staff topped with a clock, with clock patterns stitched into his robes.
Carmaz's first thought was that this man must have been a mage of some kind. There weren't too many mages on Ruwa, aside from Herune the Swamp Hermit, the madman said to live deep in the Swamp of Light all by himself. Carmaz didn't know if this man was as crazy as Herune was said to be, but if he was, then that meant that things were going to get much worse before it was all over.
But despite his lack of magical ability, Carmaz sensed that this man was no mere mage, perhaps not even a mortal. The man radiated almost as much energy as the sun, despite his frail and old appearance. The man standing before him and Saia could destroy the entire island and every living thing on it if he wanted, and then remake it to his liking.
Then Carmaz noticed the crustaceans. All of them were where they had been before the old man's appearance, but they looked frozen now. Not frozen with ice. It was more like they had simply stopped, like a man standing still for a painter to do his portrait. They didn't move even one inch. Even their eyes were as still as tree branches on a windless day.
Before Carmaz could wonder aloud what was going on, the man said, “So you want to kill a godling, do you? What arrogance. Let the sand of time consume you, as you rightfully deserve.”
The man raised his hand. The crustaceans suddenly began to age so fast that Carmaz's eyes could barely keep up. Their shells became grayer and grayer, until soon they dissolved into dust, leaving their naked bodies before those, too, rapidly dissolved. Soon there was nothing left to suggest the presence of the once-terrifying crustaceans of Riuja save for dozen of piles of dust, but even those aged so rapidly that they vanished as if they had never existed at all.
All of this took place in roughly ten seconds. In fact, it happened so fast that Carmaz was not even sure that it actually had happened at all. It might have been his eyes playing tricks on him or maybe even an illusion cast by the man before him, although with no sign of the crustaceans anywhere, Carmaz had no choice but to
believe it.
The man then turned to face Carmaz and Saia. As soon as Carmaz looked into the man's eyes, he knew that this was indeed no man, but a god. He just knew it somehow, despite having never seen a god before. The man's eyes were ancient and authoritative, just as the legends described the eyes of the gods.
“Carmaz Korva,” the man said. “Your destiny is at last at hand. The time has come for me to take you away, where you will start the long and difficult journey ahead of you that even I do not know.”
“How do you know my name?” asked Carmaz, though he found the words difficult to speak in the presence of such a powerful deity. “I never introduced myself.”
“I know the names of all who are destined to ascend,” said the man, “for I am Tinkar, the God of Fate and Time. And it is your fate to ascend to godhood. Or it may be, if you work for it.”
Carmaz didn't understand what Tinkar meant, but he managed to find enough strength to stand up straight, doing his best to ignore his broken arm. He then looked Tinkar straight in the eye and said, “Are you going to help Ruwa?”
Tinkar looked confused at the question. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you and your fellow gods,” said Carmaz. He gestured all around them with his good hand, even though they weren't on Ruwa. “For years, Ruwa has been a desolate land full of despair and poverty and disease. Why have you gods forsaken us?”
“When was it our job to ensure wealth and health for you humans?” Tinkar said. “Anyway, you are changing the subject. The Tournament of the Gods is starting and you have been chosen to participate in it.”
“Tournament of the Gods?” Carmaz said. He looked down at Saia, who looked just as mystified as he felt. “Saia, have you heard of the Tournament of the Gods before?”
“N-No,” said Saia, who seemed far more intimidated by Tinkar than Carmaz was. “Never heard of it.”
“The Tournament of the Gods is a competition in which the five winning mortals will ascend to godhood and take on the roles of the gods that were slain by Uron not long ago,” said Tinkar. “It is my job to gather up the godlings that are destined to ascend at some point, which includes you, my heathen friend.”
Carmaz looked at Tinkar again. “You must have me mistaken for someone else. I care not for the gods that abandoned my people. You can take your offer and choke on it.”
“You mortals are very good at acting like you have any choice in matters as important as this,” Tinkar said. “What makes you think you can reject my offer? It is your destiny to accept it.”
“Why should I enter a competition to join a group of beings who have treated my people as if they do not exist?” asked Carmaz. He gestured at Saia. “Besides, my friend here is injured, as am I. We have to return to Ruwa to assure our friends and family that we are still alive.”
“We can heal you,” said Tinkar. He nodded at Carmaz's broken arm. “I am not a healer like my sister Atikos, but I know some basic healing spells.”
Tinkar waved his staff at Carmaz's arm. In a second, the pain in Carmaz's broken arm was gone, causing Carmaz to twist it experimentally just to make sure that it was indeed healed. While it was somewhat stiff, there was no sharp pain anymore.
“I … thank you,” said Carmaz, rubbing his arm. “I—”
“You do not need to thank me anymore than you already have,” Tinkar said. “Anyway, I could even take you two back to your friends and family on Ruwa. Under the condition, of course, that you agree to come with me to World's End, where the Tournament will begin, afterward.”
Carmaz was about to tell Tinkar to shove off when Saia, who now seemed to be getting over his initial fear of Tinkar, asked, “Uh, Lord Tinkar, you said the winners of the Tournament are supposed to become gods, right?”
“Correct,” said Tinkar.
“And one of the open positions is the position as the God of Martir, right?” Saia continued.
“Of course,” said Tinkar. “With Skimif dead, the position needs to be filled by someone worthy of the job.”
Saia nodded, then gestured for Carmaz to come closer to him. Frowning, Carmaz got onto his knees and leaned close to Saia, wondering what his friend would have to say.
“Carmaz, I got a great idea,” Saia whispered, probably to keep Tinkar from hearing. “You should enter the Tournament.”
“Why?” Carmaz asked, keeping his voice as low as Saia's. “Didn't you hear what I said to Tinkar about taking his offer and choking on it?”
“Yes, but think about it,” said Saia, the excitement in his voice mixed in with the pain he was probably experiencing in his legs. “One of the open positions is the position of God of Martir. If you win the Tournament, you could become the God of Martir, and then use your power to restore Ruwa to its original greatness again.”
“Really?” said Carmaz in surprise. He scratched his chin. “Hmm. That never occurred to me.”
“Yeah, but it makes sense,” said Saia. “I mean, this is the best opportunity to save Ruwa that anyone back home has ever gotten. Even if it means joining the gods, I say you should take it, for Ruwa's sake.”
“Saving Ruwa would be great,” Carmaz said, nodding. “But the gods—”
“Who cares?” Saia interrupted. “Don't you care enough about Ruwa to make some sacrifices? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Carmaz, so I suggest that you don't let it pass.”
Carmaz didn't want to admit it, but Saia was correct. This did seem to be the best opportunity that Carmaz would ever have to actually help Ruwa return to its original glory. Even though Carmaz didn't want anything to do with the gods, if it was indeed his destiny to join them, even rule them, then maybe he should go ahead and do it. He couldn't really see any reason not to. After all, Tinkar hadn't said that he would die if he lost the Tournament, so he had nothing to lose by trying.
So Carmaz stood back up and turned to face Tinkar. “All right, Tinkar, I accept your offer. But only on a couple of conditions.”
Tinkar sighed. “I should have seen this coming, but the fate of you godlings is always denser to my eyes than the fates of normal mortals.”
“First, Saia and I want to return to Ruwa to say goodbye to our friends and family there,” said Carmaz. “We also need to gather our belongings for the journey to World's End. Second, we want you to heal us. After that, then we'll be more than happy to go with you.”
Tinkar raised an eyebrow. “'We'? Your friend is not destined to ascend. Only you are.”
“I'm not going if Saia isn't allowed to go,” said Carmaz, crossing his arms over his chest. “We're friends. Friends stick together, no matter what.”
Tinkar sighed again. “Fine. But he cannot participate in or interfere with the Tournament, and if he does, then we will send him back to Ruwa right away. Do you agree to that condition?”
“Yes,” said Carmaz. He looked down at Saia. “What about you, Saia?”
“Sounds reasonable,” said Saia, nodding. “I'll support you every step of the way, Carmaz, even if I can't actually participate in the Tournament myself.”
“Very well, then,” said Tinkar. He held out a hand. “Now, let us go. The Tournament is starting in a month, so we do not have very much time to waste.”
***
Gathering of the Chosen Page 3