The Gift From Poseidon: When Gods Walked Among Us (Volume 2)

by Ginegaw, J. A.

  Fellow historians invited as well, Penelope, Viracocha, and Zarathustra stood together behind the audience. Komnena chuckled as she watched Penelope cleverly wiggle closer to Viracocha – perhaps the pipe he puffed on kept him too busy to notice.

  *****

  At the southern side of the sundrenched audience, Komnena waited in the flickering shadows cast by the Golden Clepsydra. Dressed all in white, she was in charge of telling the crowd when to cheer, gasp, or stay quiet. The actors now appeared – Komnena held up a large, yet easy to hold sign of thin bamboo – and those gathered unleashed a round of thunderous applause.

  “Welcome one and all,” Queen Marseea announced with a strong voice, “to a grand performance many weeks in the making. The four of us assigned the role of a long dead, but infamous another,” she motioned to those standing next to her, “it is time for introductions.”

  Achaemenes stood to the right of Marseea and to her left sat Judiascar and Hezekiah. The males all wore colorful, handsome cloaks and the queen was dressed in a blue stola. A deep purple palla covered her head. Sandals visible only when she walked gleamed as if gold. Because Gryphon jewelsmiths had crafted the Heart of Terra Australis years after the turbulent time this performance would whisk them all back to, she did not wear it around her neck.

  “Our regal kings will, of course, play themselves,” Marseea continued, “but twenty-four centuries in the past. Hezekiah will play the part of Evenshai,” she pointed in his direction, “the master jewelsmith who lived during the fascinating age we are about to enter. I must apologize that no Mermaids or Centaurs will be a part of today’s performance. As neither kind yet existed,” her voice turned playful as she wiggled her fingers, “my hands are tied!” Marseea took in the polite clapping and sucked in a deep breath. Her tone then turned more serious.

  “Every Sapien alive today stares down the edge of a cliff from which our race will soon fall. Two great wars across the centuries have led us here. Both fought atop the open plains of Lapith Fields, both led by natural leaders fighting the unyielding grip of a cruel regent, both were stunning defeats. The first of these ruinous wars was the Gryphon Exodus in year 1,399. The noble Gryphon Semitius the hero, King Nowzar his brave sidekick, Orestes the youngling in the middle of it all … a most loathed queen, the villain.”

  A dark shadow crept over Marseea and her face turned near wicked.

  “As for who this villain is, prepare yourselves, Gryphons! A name that causes every spine to shudder, a name that bathes my tongue in bitterness as I prepare to speak it: the infamous royal wretch herself – Queen Gorgynna!”

  “Arachna hated the hag too!” Persepolis called out amongst the flurry of boos. These boos suddenly nothing but echoes, even some Gryphons allowed themselves to laugh at the prince’s quip.

  With a smirk as if an order, the shadow about Marseea turned to bathing light. She reached down and picked up a small object covered in cloth. In grand fashion, Marseea then pulled away the black silk shroud and let it flutter to the ground. Stunned gasps followed and continued long after the cloth settled onto the grass.

  “Zacharias, future king – what do you see?” All eyes followed those of Marseea’s and landed on the proud prince.

  “It is of Semitius, Headmistress.” His voice was firm, but Komnena could see his beak shake and those silver diamonds for eyes swell with pride. “A wooden toy carved and painted by the little boy needed to free us … Orestes.”

  “And who was this young boy the grandson of?”

  “Q-Queen G-G-Gorgynna,” Zacharias stuttered back in little more than a whisper.

  The colorful toy carved in the shape of a Gryphon sat atop a pillow of silk inside the glass treasure box. The toy was small enough to fit into a pocket and the chest light enough for Marseea to hold easily. Its base, corners, and lid were made of a rich redwood that only grew at the steppes of the Guardian Mountains. Frosted etchings decorated the glass on every side but the front. The petite chest was a stunning work of art, yet still not worthy to carry such treasure. At least not until one considered the magic that kept it safe. This tiny treasure passed around, a good bit of time went by before it finally wound up in Zacharias’ talons.

  “Now, because of the actions of Semitius,” Marseea told glazed, bewildered eyes, “Orestes grew up despising the Gryphons he once adored. This fury, however, would not last. As happened with many Sapiens once Gorgynna’s wickedness faded from memory, he awakened to the sinful nature of keeping such regal beings as slaves. As for me, I will play Orestes’ daughter: Queen Medea. Our performance ready to begin, but first a little test of sorts!”

  Moans and whiny groans from students lazily made their way from one side of the audience to the other. Komnena ready to raise the ‘Quiet’ sign – she did not have to. A stern glare from their headmistress shut every young mouth and beak at once. Marseea then pointed in Zacharias’ direction.

  “Orestes’ carved toy no ordinary keepsake,” Marseea said excitedly, “what keeps it safe is likewise no ordinary chest. Not even close – it is unbreakable!”

  Gasps, not groans, followed these words. With a single talon, Zacharias gently tapped the glass. Each tap a little harder than the last, he then did so a few more times.

  “Don’t be shy, Good Prince! Break the chest!” Marseea commanded.

  An unsure look swiftly became one of resolve and a smirk grew wide across his beak. In a swift motion, he lay down the chest upon the grass, withdrew with his right claw a mace from under his cloak, and stood tall. Ready to strike true, Marseea sprung at Zacharias with arms raised and stopped him just before he could.

  “Any other day is fine, of course,” she giggled nervously, “but no fatalities in front of our gathered kings, queens, and Chiron today, Zacharias.” She swooped down and scooped up the chest.

  Marseea led Zacharias to the rear of the entranced audience; he still carried the mace as if it were a light twig. After a short walk, she then set the chest on the grass a few pike lengths away from the closest of the two fountains that guarded the Golden Clepsydra. Marseea positioned Zacharias so that the chest sat between him and the fountain. She then stood behind him and a bit to the side.

  “Now,” the tricky queen proclaimed in a loud voice, “unleash your destructive tendencies!”

  With a confident chuckle, Zacharias raised his mace and swung it straight for the chest that would cry out in terror if only it could….

  Or would it?

  No matter, the crowd behind them did so in its place. Slammed flush against the frosted glass, the head of the mace shattered into many sharp pieces. These shards of bronze flew away from Zacharias and in the direction of the fountain.

  The sudden applause near deafening – had others ever cheered so loudly upon seeing another fail so spectacularly?

  Komnena let out a deep breath as relief swept over her. She knew of the protective spell, of course, but this test of it still made her tremble. If the spell failed and the mace had crushed the chest and the carved toy along with it ––

  Who knew what the shredded result might be?

  Zacharias tossed the sheared handle of the splintered mace to the ground, shook his stunned head, and made his way back to his mother’s side. A sly smile across her face, Marseea followed him back with the unscathed treasure chest in hand. And as she did so, Komnena kept a keen stare in the fountain’s direction.

  Owning the eyes of a Gryphon and the ears of a fox – she was a historian after all – Komnena caught sight of the sneaking child. Two of the palest blue eyes set just below a tangled mop of hair more dirty than blonde had been peeking over the far side of the fountain’s lip. Despite that she appeared as if always in dire need of a soapy scrubbing, the hiding orphan girl owned eyes that sparkled as if stars in the night. Even during the day. But one other in their world owned such eyes: Evagoria.

  As shattered bronze from Zacharias’ wrecked mace hurtled toward her, Scutaria had ducked and now hid her wispy form behind the fountain. This
last Sapien ever born was no doubt interested in the two caged balls of fluff currently hidden from all.

  Komnena looked about and at once realized no others had seen the naughty child. She then motioned for her twins to approach. After a few whispers, she sent them to escort the little one from the gardens. Penthesilea more than eager to, Melanippe appeared sad to have to do so.

  Queen Marseea now standing once again before the audience, the Gift from Poseidon simply could not resist.

  “Headmistress!” Evagoria called out in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. This voice not how her mother spoke, the princess cleared her throat. She then raised her chin high, a gleam of wonder glimmered in those sparkling eyes, and her voice morphed into a deeper tone. “If you can make a spell to make something unbreakable, why not do this to armor and weapons and, well, everything?”

  “If only we could,” Marseea answered. “This spell, enchanted dust, and potions needed are so complex that even I have trouble getting them right. Found only in the rocks that every now and then fall from the sky,” she shot Judiascar a frosty glare, “the ferrum needed is very rare. The many times I have tried the spell, I have been successful in but a handful of attempts and only with objects made of wood or glass.” Marseea smiled mischievously. “Would you wear a wooden helmet, Princess?”

  “Yes!” Evagoria said excitedly. “If it meant armor no weapon could pierce.”

  Marseea strolled close to the princess and Queen Diedrika. Komnena watching as the queens matched intrigued stares, smoky greys then moved from glowing greens to baby blues. The words to come next were a tad mocking, but for the most part reverent.

  “Gift from Poseidon, only daughter of the greatest Mermaid queen to ever live, owner of a destiny so grand only the gods dare discuss it – you have enough help, child. Leave some for the rest of us.”

  Laughs all around, Evagoria smiled kindly. She was probably somewhat embarrassed by this, but did not show it.

  “Headmistress!” a Gryphon student called out. “The chest and Unity Tablet pieces aside, are there any other objects you know of that have this spell?”

  His look quite telling, this one’s father appeared ready to smack the young Gryphon for asking a question he should have already known the answer to, but he wisely held back. Marseea set her gaze on Komnena.

  “Not counting the weapon the most cursed creature in our world wields,” Komnena chimed in, “there is but one other: Queen Diedrika’s bow.”

  Diedrika smiled wide. She wore a deep purple corset made of Arachna silk and trimmed with bronze. Diedrika swung her bow sling around from behind her back, unhitched the bow from its holder, and proudly held it high for all to see. Although made of mammoth tusk and wood, the sun’s rays bounced off the bow as if it were brightly polished gold.

  “This was her gift,” Komnena continued, “from Queen Marseea on the day of her coronation. Same as with this chest, none can break it with any weapon or means we know of.”

  “I suppose,” Marseea added as she held up the handsome chest, “we now know where I got the idea!”

  A hundred gaped mouths ready to ask the same question, Marseea asked it for them.

  “Now, how is it possible that the three Unity Tablet pieces, made not of wood or glass, but of pure gold, could hold the same spell?” She then answered it. “I wish I could say something more endearing of my kind, but I cannot. Spells to make gold – and probably any other metal – indestructible, these were learned and then lost in the blink of an eye. You see, a spell is as if a being. It can do what others would consider near impossible when given the inspiration to do so. And the creation of the Unity Tablet was inspiration our world had never seen before,” the queen let out a deep sigh, “nor since.”

  Marseea’s face turned hard and silence swept over the audience. Her tone grim, bitterness stung each next word as if she herself had somehow seen these events through a mist of greatness swallowed up by fog made thick with shame.

  “Sadly, the ordered slaughter of the most gifted mystics of that age came just a few years after the Unity Tablet was created. The Elites and Triumvirate murdered, the Magic Guild of the Sapien Realm but a memory … this secret and many others died with them. Brief flashes and spurts across the centuries aside, witches and wizards to come since those dark days have given our spells little reason to be so inspired.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  THE GOLDEN CLEPSYDRA

  No matter your age or lot in life, no matter if your first glimpse upon it or your last, as if engaging the wonder of a spellbound youngling gazing up at his or her keeper, the towering splendor that is the Golden Clepsydra gazes back. No heart can stay steady when looking upon it nor can any mind ever forget the first time it does so.

  – Marseea, Sapien Queen

  – Late Spring, Year 4,253 KT[21]

  Marseea felt as if the words she last spoke had sent her off to another world. Barely still in this one – for the moment at least – she nodded to Komnena to continue. The historian knew where the story was going, of course, and picked up where Marseea had left off.

  “Gryphons had won the war for their freedom,” Komnena started slowly, “but then suffered a series of defeats in lesser battles. These conflicts were not of sword or shield, but of weapons far greater – cowardice, mistrust, and the loss of one whom these ancient Gryphons could ill afford to lose.”

  A number of whispers leapt from one Gryphon to another as mothers and fathers spoke the name of this ‘one’ to their curious cubs.

  “After years of wandering,” Komnena continued, “fate finally smiled upon them and gifted the finding of endless precious metals and gems. Great wealth suddenly theirs, Gryphons founded Hakleddamm soon after. That it was Sapiens, their former masters, who built much of the capital city in return for a share of these riches made their newfound fortune beyond sweet. Closer to deliciously divine!

  “After a few centuries, Gryphons finally felt safe. Both winners and losers alike wrote of the Gryphon Exodus. Although their accounts differ slightly, most came to the same conclusion: The Gryphons had been more lucky than good. Semitius beyond clever, Nowzar’s disregard for his own life inspiring all, nearly 2,000 Arachna Majora and Gryphons who fought bravely; despite this, Sapiens were their own worst enemy. Gorgynna’s haughty desires and the weak advisors who failed to challenge her their undoing, not to tempt fate a second time was indeed the smart choice. To grow close again with Sapiens not as master and slave, but as equals – this was the wise path taken.”

  The symphonic chimes of the Golden Clepsydra awoke Marseea from her dreamy daze. As the fifteenth turn of the day rang out strong and clear, all hushed as it did so. The echoes of these chimes lazily climbing the garden walls and leaving its creator behind, the first act beckoned.

  “These events bring us to where our performance can now begin,” Marseea announced strongly. “The when was year 1,881 of the Knowing Time. The why was to celebrate the coronation of Queen Medea. Still many years before we Sapiens abandoned it – the where was Elkabydos.

  “Although we now dwell in our cozy district and not the old city, we are quite fortunate. You see, when the Centaurs planned Antediluvium, my kind demanded but one thing: That the Sapien palace, its walls, connecting buildings, and gardens be remade in the exact same manner as at Elkabydos. Brick by brick if need be. And the builders did just as asked. This included the palace, the Great Repository of Knowledge, the fountains on each end of the garden, and the moving of the Golden Clepsydra. As we look upon these structures today, they appear no different to our eyes than they would to one who dwelled in Elkabydos twenty-four centuries ago.

  “Her father, Orestes, already dead and the end of her Queen Mother’s reign coming into ever sharper focus, Princess Medea’s queenship beckoned. The withering queen had openly welcomed a budding friendship with Gryphons, but not all cared for such happy thoughts or warm embraces. Many Sapiens still saw them as little more than subjects who just happened to live outside of Elkabydos. Lik
e her mother, Medea harbored none of the ill will of her long dead great-grandmother, Gorgynna, and she craved to prove it. The greedy missteps of Sapiens who pillaged the West growing louder, Medea seized her chance.

  “Rogue bands of armed warriors in league with talented mystics had long made a habit of raiding Gryphon lands. Their former whip masters still treacherous and flush with magic, precious gems ready for the taking were just too hard to resist. For a while, Gryphon leaders resisted the growing whispers from their subjects who demanded a harsh response to clashes now more numerous and violent than any could remember. This could only last for so long, of course. The majority soon warned that, if their leaders did not crush the raging lawlessness outside their city, then they would face disorder inside it. Gryphon generals began to prepare for war, but their warriors would not have the chance to raise even a single mace or shield.

  “A veteran legion led by Medea swept into southwestern Terra Australis. The result was stunning, swift, and brutal. Medea’s actions were in fact so sudden, so crushing that what should have led to controversy brought barely an outcry. In eight short days, her soldiers rounded up nearly twice as many as she commanded, rushed those arrested to Elkabydos, held show trials, and sentenced them once found guilty. Most imprisoned; more than a few executed; one a controversial heroine; none willing to contest openly these deeds in her presence – fondness and adoration came next. Queen Medea’s coronation completed but moments ago, the time has come to recreate the receiving of the grand gift that continues to awe us all.”

  With a flick of her hand, six Gryphons gathered behind Marseea. From the audience’s right side, Judiascar and Hezekiah approached and stood next to her. The actors now in their roles, the two Gryphons escorted Marseea to the audience’s far left. There they joined the Arachna king who stood next to two carriages; a rich cloth, each of a different solid color, covered each. The foursome giving way to Komnena, it was now her turn to stand by the Golden Clepsydra and narrate.