by I H Laking
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The ruins of the Great Eastern Temple of Light stood atop the tallest hill in the valley. At once awe-inspiring and terrifying, the Great Temple was a masterful feat of engineering and beauty when it stood in its fullness. Standing fifty metres tall at the top of its three mighty domes, it was built from grey stones hewn in the depths of the western mountain ranges. Once its domes had been coloured sky blue, and its Great Hall of Light filled with the sound of worshippers and speakers, seekers and believers. Now it stood as a monument to days gone by, and a testament to the callousness of the current rulers of the Empire.
Qan stopped to admire the structure. He had ventured into the entrance halls of the temple many times during his youngest years – the local boys would often play a game to see who could go the furthest into the temple without getting scared. Qan had always been excellent at this game, for he chose to put out of his mind all thoughts of the rumoured beasts and ghosts that lurked within, and to venture forth with false courage. Inevitably, the game would end when someone made a loud noise and everyone turned tail and ran outside again. There was a joy in not knowing the realities of the temple and its history, and a mystery as to what might lie within.
Today, however, Qan knew exactly what was waiting for him. Scouts had returned to the town last night with reports of a Greater Bear making its den within the Great Hall. When Qan had heard the reports, his stomach had dropped, knowing that he would surely be tasked with confronting the creature – he could not believe his rotten luck. Tradition dictated that each boy, on his sixteenth birthday, must assist in the safeguarding of the town by confronting the first reported enemy that was spotted on his birthday. This was the ceremony known as The Ageing. Qan had been sitting by the fire in the guardhouse with his father and brothers waiting for the day to begin when the scouts burst in, most excited to deliver the news. Although he had smiled when he heard of the challenge, Qan was sure that more than a few people had noticed the blood drain from his face as he began to think of what lay in wait.
How could my luck have been so poor? Qan thought to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the Great Temple. Other boys have received far easier targets. Ali-Kuar Tisho hunted down a marauding fox that had been harassing chickens, and Adir-Muar Kahli beat up a bunch of drunken bandits who had been harassing highway travellers. How did I end up challenging a Greater Bear? Qan cursed his poor luck at having to face such a beast and dismounted his horse. Before him stood the steps to the temple – seven long, gradual steps leading up to the once-grand temple entrance. Qan pulled his staff from his saddle, and held it up to the sun. The wood seemed to glow in the morning light, and he tapped it on the ground before looking up at the building towering above him.
The sun was halfway up the side of the temple, but it did little to warm the appearance of the place. Qan stood staring up at the main entrance, which stood three times a man’s height. Charred doors hung on ancient hinges, ajar and seeming ready to fall off with an appropriate shove. Debris lay on the ground to the left and the right, remnants of the storming of the temple many ages ago, which had also left the doors in such a terrible state. The outer walls were burnt and stained, and where once tall and proud windows had stood, now only empty shells looked out at the world through the grey stone. No living thing came near this place, and only the courageous dared to venture within, or so the local people said. Qan, at this moment, felt the furthest from courageous that he had ever felt. He was nearly trembling, and had to tell himself to calm down. As Qan slowly focused his attention again, a roar erupted from deep within the temple, causing the doors to rattle.
“Calm down.” Qan muttered to himself, taking a step towards the entrance. He approached as quietly as he could, until he stood right beneath the archway that held the broken doors. Suddenly, a burst of activity exploded out of the darkness inside. Qan let out a yell as he jumped backwards, losing both his footing and his staff. Hundreds of bats flew overheard, scattering out into the sky above. Qan’s heart was beating in his ears; he could feel the blood rushing through his veins as adrenaline surged around his body. He stood, picked up his staff, and attempted to regain his composure.
“Calm. Down.” Qan repeated. And without further hesitation, he stepped into the gloom of the entrance hall to face his foe.
The temple was surprisingly bright as Qan made his way into the entrance hall. He had been in this part of the temple before, when he and the other children used to play here. Below his feet, Qan felt the crunch of broken paving stones and rubble as the sound of his footsteps quietly bounced off the walls. Above him, three great beams of wood crossed over between the walls, breaking the view of the blue sky. Qan found himself wondering how the people who had been in this room when the temple was stormed must have felt; trapped in a small room as death rained down around them. For a moment it felt to Qan as if the silent screams of the dying rang throughout the room. A shiver ran up his spine, and he continued on to his right and into a winding outer passage.
As he walked, Qan continued to hear noises rolling out from the centre of the temple. He could feel the tension in his body as each muscle readied itself for the moment when he would come face to face with the Greater Bear. The passage was surprisingly bright, as there were no windows of gaslights to light the way. In fact, with each step, it seemed as if the stones in the wall and floor would light up. The building felt like it was sitting in brooding anticipation, waiting for a coming storm of some sort. Qan swallowed loudly as he attempted to shake the feeling that this building was in fact watching him. Roars, growling and shuffling noises echoed louder as he pushed on through the slowly winding passage. The atmosphere brightened significantly as Qan approached the entrance to the Great Hall, and soon he found himself stepping into a tall chamber. Light flooded through a huge gap in the domed ceiling high above him, and Qan squinted in the light. Though it was still early, the inner chambers seemed to capture the light and emanate heat. Qan was still adjusting his eyes to the light as yet another roar tore through the chamber. Trying to mentally prepare himself, Qan moved to his left, towards the gap where the doors to the Great Hall had once stood. Peering around the corner, he took in the scene before him.
The Great Hall was an enormous circular chamber that shot up steeply to its full height of forty metres. Smooth marble lined the walls, though it was chipped and scarred by centuries of inclement weather and the antics of various creatures that had made their homes in the building over the years. Many ages ago, three beautiful blue marble domes had sat atop the hall – now only shards remained where invaders had hewn away at the roof and scattered marble shards and stones around the ground, to lie forever as remnants of an ancient battle. Thousands of people had once flooded across the room, coming to worship and to pledge their allegiance to The Way; now weeds and grass covered the uneven ground in many places, amongst boulders and small glimpses of the giant mosaic that had covered the entire chamber floor – a floor that measured sixty metres across at its widest point. Yes, the full majesty of this room was easy to imagine, but for now Qan was more intent on the room’s uninvited guest.
In the centre of the floor, prowling back and forth, was the Greater Bear – one of the strongest and largest of all the bear species in the Empire. A full-grown Greater Bear could measure up to four metres at the shoulders, but Qan was relieved to see that this bear was only a cub (though this wasn’t saying much, as it still appeared enormous, even in the middle of a room the size of the Great Hall). Unlike most bears, Greater Bears possess a strong, scale-like skin that runs from the top of their head and down their back. On this particular bear, the scales gleamed green, contrasted against the brown of the bear’s fur. The bear was roaring and growling, walking between the bones of freshly killed livestock from around the area, and looking intently across at the far end of the hall, where the Speaker’s Stand was positioned. Built into the wall at a height of three metres, the stand was designed to enable the speaker to project t
heir voice over the crowds. Qan thought he glimpsed some movement in the stand, but brushed it off as his nerves getting the better of him. Suddenly, the bear stopped prowling. It lifted its nose up towards the ceiling and began to sniff the air curiously.
Qan realised that he needed to move quickly. The bear had most likely sensed his arrival, and it was only a matter of time before it realised it was not alone. Moving as quickly as he could, Qan ducked into the hall. Keeping low to the ground, he made his way behind several tall grassy mounds and stopped behind a large pile of stone. To his left was a large section of one of the domes, still lying where it had fallen so long ago. A plan began to form in Qan’s mind, and he peeked around the corner at the bear, which was now sitting up with its head to one side, listening. It growled gently to itself and began to amble off towards the main entrance. Qan knew it would pick up his scent soon – he only had a narrow window of opportunity before the bear was aware of his intrusion. He immediately put his plan into action.
Pulling his staff from the sheathe on his back, Qan let out a quiet tap on the floor near where he stood. tap. Not loud enough – he could still hear the bear moving. He tried again, a little harder. Tap. The bear had its back to him and was ambling towards the entrance. Qan stepped quickly around to the other side of the mound in order to stay out of sight. Nothing for it now; soon the bear would know he was here anyway. He lifted his staff high off the ground and bought it down swiftly onto a nearby piece of marble. TAP Tap tap… tap… tap. The noise echoed around the hall, far louder than Qan had intended. All sounds of movement stopped. Qan waited for any sign that the bear had heard him, but silence reigned in the Great Hall. Sunlight was now streaming in as the mid-morning sun began its ascent. The fight was about to be upon Qan – the fight that he had waited his whole young life for. He had never imagined he would be this fearful however, as his heart beat hard in his chest. Now was the time to be brave.
Keep the faith.
Qan remembered the words he had heard so often. Here, in the temple of his ancestors, he would prove himself a man. Still no noise from the bear. What was it waiting for? Qan quietly raised his staff up again to strike the floor, and began leaning around the corner in order to catch a glimpse of the beast. His body was tense, and sweat was beading on his brow. Every part of Qan’s body wanted to leap up and shout, to begin the contest in earnest – but he disciplined himself to move like the wind; swiftly and silently sweeping himself up towards a good spot from which to see his nemesis. He quickly moved into position.
And looked up to find himself staring straight into the face of the Greater Bear.
There was no time to think about how the bear had moved so quietly. In fact, Qan found he was unable to think clearly at all as the bear roared in rage at being disturbed. Qan immediately scrambled up the pile of stones to his left, as the bear’s paw flew down towards him. As Qan crossed the top of the pile and slid down the other side, he could hear the bear clambering around to catch him as he landed. Fear was ruling Qan’s mind now, and he was fighting to clear his thoughts and figure out a new way to take the creature down. He hit the ground and rolled up, but was knocked from his feet as the bear barrelled into his hips, throwing him sideways. Qan rolled over and over from the force of the blow, and was breathing heavily as he regained his feet. The bear was now slowly moving in, snarling and breathing heavily.
Qan finally found his centre in that moment, as the giant bear came toward him for the kill. The size of the beast was both its greatest asset and its greatest weakness – Qan only had to find a way to exploit it. He waited until the bear was close enough, and with a swift swing of his staff, he rapped the bear across its nose. Screaming in pain, the bear lashed out at him, but Qan was already sprinting away as fast as he could. As Qan ran across the room, dodging rocks and rubble, the bear gave chase. Qan trusted that his sharp turns would always outpace the bulky bear’s pivots, so he nipped around a corner behind one of the fallen domes. The bear swung around, claws and paws scratching at the ground as it tried to keep up. This scenario repeated itself three times, with Qan putting more distance between them with each turn.
As he rounded a fourth pile of rubble, Qan saw the original dome he had been planning to utilise. He charged for it, and ducked inside its wall as the bear turned the corner. Qan stood there for a breathless second as the bear charged ahead, unable to see its prey behind the marble. The thundering noise of the huge creature’s body was growing louder and louder. Wait. Qan told himself. He only had one chance to do this. Wait. It was almost at the dome. Now! Qan thrust his staff out at the ground, just in time to catch the bear’s front paws. The bear stumbled for a second, and then rolled head over heels into the far side of the dome, stopping with an immense crash as it collided with the marble. It looked up at Qan, dazed and enraged, and as it opened its mouth to roar, Qan saw his opportunity. He threw his staff straight at the curve of the marble dome above the bear’s head, and as the staff hit the dome, a huge chunk of marble fell straight down onto the bear, crushing it into the ground. A cloud of dust rushed up from the dirt and surrounded Qan as he sunk to his knees in relief, still panting hard as an enormous sense of relief rushed over him. Silence reigned once again in the Great Hall, broken only by the sound of Qan’s breathing, along with the occasional twitching of the Greater Bear’s paw.
And the sound of a slow clap coming from the Speaker’s Stand in the far wall.