Amethyst of the Gods

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "There," shouted Tanya as she sent a powerful wind spell towards the demon across the small room.

  King Arik opened his eyes and saw the demon pinned against the far wall. He hesitated only a second before charging across the room, the Sword of Heavens held before him. As the king got between Tanya and the demon, he felt the strong wind at his back. The wind carried him across the room towards the demon, but the demon now appeared to be free because the king was blocking the spell.

  The demon leaped to one side as King Arik was driven towards it. The wind halted immediately, and King Arik barely managed to avoid colliding into the wall. The demon struck immediately, the tip of its wing reaching out and striking the king in the chest. The demon wailed in pain as it recoiled away from the king. King Arik turned swiftly and swung the Sword of Heavens into the demon's torso, cutting the creature in two.

  "That was close," sighed Tanya as she saw the creature's body drop to the floor.

  "Too close," swallowed the king. "I thought I was going to go through that wall."

  "We need to work on our method of attack," nodded Tanya. "You cannot get between me and the demon. Next time, attack it from an angle while I hold it against the wall."

  "Next time?" chuckled the king. "I don't think so. I have had enough of demons for one trip."

  "You have little to fear with the Breastplate of Alcea and the Sword of Heavens," remarked Tanya. "Both artifacts appear to be your protection against demons."

  "If they work, you mean," fretted the king "While you were blowing me across the room, I was wondering if the Sword of Heavens would still work as it had before. Remember that it no longer points to the Amethyst of the Gods. What if it had lost all of its magical properties?"

  "Well it did work," Tanya bit her lip as she realized the king had a valid point.

  "There is nothing in this room," the king changed the subject as he looked around the small chamber. "No doorway out. It was just a holding place for a demon. Why?"

  "They are here for a reason," puzzled Tanya. "I cannot believe that this one will be the last, either. We must be careful. Let me lead so I can magically attack the demons while you move towards them."

  "Careful or dead," mused the king as he followed Tanya back into the great hall. "I think I prefer being careful. Lead the way."

  Tanya led the way back through the great hall. She turned left at the intersection of the cross and stopped before another door.

  "Alright," Tanya whispered, "we will do this the same way with just a couple of changes. You stay behind me as I cast the spell to illuminate the room. When I move into the room, I will step to the left, locate the demon, and cast my wind at it. You go to the right and attack it without passing between the creature and me."

  "What if the demon is to your left?" asked the king. "I would not be able to get close to it."

  "Don't come between the demon and me," repeated Tanya. "If it is not possible for you to attack, I will move away from the wall so that you can get around behind me. Speed is not that important here. I can hold the wind spell for some time before I tire, so take it slowly and surely."

  "Alright," nodded King Arik. "That plan sounds like it will work. Open the door."

  Tanya pushed the door, but nothing happened. She pushed harder and still nothing happened.

  "You try," suggested Tanya. "Maybe the doors only open for the holder of the Sword of Heavens."

  King Arik nodded and pushed against the door. It refused to budge. He pushed harder and finally gave up. He stepped back and examined the door.

  "There is no lock that I can see," he sighed. "I can find no release mechanism. I think it is just stuck. There is one more door that we haven't tried yet. Let's try the other wing."

  Tanya nodded and led the way to the door at the end of the last wing. She waited until King Arik was prepared behind her and then pushed on the door. A loud click echoed off the stone as the door slid open. Tanya immediate cast a spell to create a brilliant light within the room. Seconds later, the king felt Tanya move into the room. He opened his eyes and followed her in.

  As in the other small room, a demon waited for them. Tanya smoothly cast a spell of wind and pinned the demon to the far wall. King Arik walked slowly to the right and headed towards the demon. He looked back at Tanya several times to make sure that he was not getting in the way of her spell. He walked as close to the demon as he could without getting in the way.

  "Drop the spell now," the king called to Tanya as he raised the Sword of Heavens to strike.

  Tanya immediately dropped the spell. King Arik swung the Sword of Heavens as soon as he saw the demon react to the lack of the magical spell. With a single swing, the king decapitated the creature. As he did, a distant click reverberated through the great hall.

  "I like this method much better," smiled the king.

  "Alex always taught us not to act in haste, but to plan a methodical approach," nodded Tanya. "Did you hear that distant noise when the creature died?"

  "Like a door unlocking?" nodded the king. "I did hear it. Perhaps another demon is coming after us instead of waiting to be killed."

  "Perhaps," frowned Tanya. "Or maybe killing the demons was the key to unlocking the last door. Let's go find out."

  "Carefully," warned the king. "I am not fond of surprises."

  Tanya led the way back through the great hall to the final door. She pushed gently on the door and it swung open. Once again she cast a brilliant light, but she did not move for several moments. King Arik opened his eyes and saw a long corridor stretched out before him.

  "Well, it is different," shrugged Tanya. "It appears to be rather long as well. I cannot see an end to it."

  "Let's find out where it goes," the king said nervously. "We have little choice in any event. This is the last exit from the hall."

  The corridor was extremely long and dark. The light from the two magical rings illuminated the walkway well enough, but the trip through the narrow corridor was still foreboding enough to keep the king and Tanya on edge. After walking for over half an hour, the king halted.

  "There is light ahead," he said softly to Tanya. "If there are more demons there, they will hear us coming easily enough."

  "Let me go first," suggested Tanya. "I will erect a minimal shield before me. It will give us enough time to react to whatever awaits us."

  The king nodded and let Tanya pass him. They moved forward cautiously and quietly, their eyes fixed on the end of the tunnel, waiting for any sign of movement. Eventually, they emerged into a rectangular room of solid white stone. The walls sparkled with an eerie phosphorescence that illuminated the room. Tanya and Arik entered the room and looked all around before relaxing their stance. The only significant features in the room were a pair of golden gates across from them and a square of green marble set in the center of the floor.

  "What is this place?" asked Tanya.

  "I am not sure," puzzled the king, "but it reminds me slightly of another place that I have been."

  "Where was that?" inquired Tanya.

  "On the Island of Storms," King Arik replied distractedly. "It is not exactly the same, but this whole journey inside this mountain reminds me strongly of the Tomb of the King where we found the Breastplate of Alcea. The sarcophagus that held Auric's body sat right where that green marble is."

  "Then what is beyond the golden gates?" asked Tanya.

  "The gods," frowned King Arik. "At least in the Tomb of the King that is where the statues of the gods were found. There were no golden gates there, just a short flight of steps up."

  "Well," decided Tanya as she approached the gates, "let us see if you are correct."

  Tanya tried to open the gates, but they would not budge. She looked around for a sign of a mechanism, but she found nothing.

  "We are stuck again," sighed Tanya. "Do we have to kill another demon to move onward?"

  The king approached the gates and tried to open them, but he also failed in the attempt. He tried holding the Swor
d of Heavens to the gates, but nothing happened. With a sigh of frustration, King Arik paced the room. He stared at every block in the walls of the room looking for some anomaly, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  "We're stuck," the king finally admitted. "I am out of ideas."

  "I could try to destroy the gates with magic," offered Tanya. "Do you think the gods would take offense?"

  "The only gods I have ever seen were statues," shrugged King Arik. "How can stone statues take offense at anything?"

  "Alright," nodded Tanya, "I don't believe in the gods, either. Move away in case you get hit with flying pieces of metal."

  King Arik backed cautiously away from the gates. As his feet landed on the green marble square, a loud click echoed through the room. Tanya jumped backwards as the golden gates swung open.

  "How did you do that?" Tanya asked.

  "I am not sure," puzzled the king as he stared down at his feet. "I think it was because I stepped on the green square."

  "Step off," commanded Tanya as she watched the gates closely. "I do not want to be trapped on the other side if the gates close again."

  The king stepped away from the green square, but the gates remained open. He shook his head and marched through the golden gates. Tanya followed him up a short flight of steps and into a great rotunda. The floor of the great round room was a brilliant blood-red marble. The walls were a serene sky-blue and the dome ceiling was black with a million twinkling stars. In the very center of the room was a green marble platform raised one step above the floor. In a ring around the platform stood the statues of the gods.

  "You were right!" exclaimed Tanya. "How could you know?"

  "It is not exactly the same," King Arik said as his head swiveled to take in the entire room, "but it is close. I suspect that King Auric came here during his lifetime, and tried to copy it for his own place of worship on the Island of Storms. Either that or he had a vision of this place. The similarities are too striking to be coincidence."

  "What is different about it?" Tanya asked curiously.

  "The statues were on pedestals," explained the king, "and the ceiling was as white as the fluffy clouds that we have seen since the Darkness was banished. In the center of the room was a green pedestal, not unlike what we see here, but only large enough for one person to stand upon."

  "Is that it?" probed Tanya.

  "And the statues were in poor upkeep," nodded the king. "These statues are flawless. I remember distinctly that Abuud had a crack in his head and a large chunk missing from his torso. I guess that was not the real statue of Abuud after all. I bet these are the real statues."

  "So we have the real statues of the gods," sighed Tanya. "Do you know what else we found?"

  "No, what?" asked the king.

  "Nothing," frowned Tanya. "No Amethyst of the Gods, but more importantly, no exit. We have traversed the entire complex inside this mountain, Arik. There is no way out."

  "I hadn't thought about that," nodded the king as he held out the Sword of Heavens before himself and rotated. "Nothing. The Sword of Heavens is dead. We really are at a dead end."

  "Perhaps we missed something in that long dark corridor?" posed Tanya.

  "I checked it thoroughly," the king shook his head. "There was not so much as a rat hole in those stone walls. The only purpose of the corridor was to come here."

  "Then we are missing something," pondered Tanya. "The demons were meant to stop us from getting this far. The slot in the black door was meant solely for the Sword of Heavens, and I am sure that I walked over the green square in the white room. That means it was keyed to either you or the Sword of Heavens before it would open the golden gates. This is where we are meant to end up. We are just failing to see the answer to our riddle."

  "The green square did open the gates," shrugged the king. "Why not try this green platform?"

  "Why not?" agreed Tanya as she took the king's hand and stepped onto the green platform with him.

  As they stepped onto the platform, the walls of the chamber lost their sky-blue color. The room spun dizzyingly in a spray of flowing colors. King Arik and Tanya held each other as they tried to maintain their balance. As the spinning slowed down, it appeared that they were standing in a luxurious garden. The grass was greener than any the king had ever seen. Majestic snow-capped mountains ringed the garden in the distance. Towering waterfalls cascaded down the mountains, the resulting streams flowing into a large lake nearby. Trees and flowers of every imaginable color flourished in the garden.

  "Where are we?" asked Tanya.

  "In the chamber of the gods," bellowed one of the statues as flames instantly rose up around the platform on all sides. "Who dares to enter where man does not belong?"

  "We are Arik and Tanya," the king declared as he turned and faced the statue of Char, the god of fire.

  "I knew it was Auric," scolded the statue of Risa, goddess of water, as a torrential downpour extinguished the flames. "I felt the presence of the Breastplate of Alcea. You have been long gone from here, Auric. Why have you returned?"

  "He is not Auric," the statue of Dora shook her head. "Auric rests under my soil many years time. He is an imposter."

  "But he wears the Breastplate of Alcea," the goddess Aara said with a voice that floated on the air. "Of that there can be no doubt."

  "Perhaps he has acquired it through a stroke of luck?" offered Mya, the goddess of luck.

  "Impossible," thundered the god of war. "Only a warrior of Auric's line could wear the Breastplate of Alcea. There is no luck involved."

  "He is of royal blood," affirmed Leda, the goddess of fertility. "He has the right to wear it. The question is why has he come?"

  "And what are we to do with him?" frowned Mya. "He should not be here."

  "They should both be consumed by fire," threatened Char. "I will do the honors."

  "You shall not," countered Risa. "At least not until I am satisfied that they must be destroyed. Then we shall discuss the means of their removal."

  King Arik and Tanya glanced at one another with fear and puzzlement. Both realized that their lives were in peril. The king released Tanya's hand and held the Sword of Heavens with both hands. He turned to face the statue of Abuud, the god of peace and harmony.

  "Does Abuud not have a tongue?" King Arik asked boldly. "You are the god of peace and harmony, are you not?"

  Thun, the god of war, chuckled, but Dora scowled at the king, "How dare you address a god without leave? Why have you not bowed low before us?"

  King Arik ignored the goddess of soil and stared at Abuud. He held the Sword of Heavens vertically before the statue of Abuud.

  "Is not this the Diamond of Edona that once adorned your eye?" asked the king. "Do you not understand why I am here?"

  Abuud blinked his single eye as he stared at the diamond in the Sword of Heavens. "I know not what you speak of," Abuud finally said. "No gem has ever adorned my eye."

  "Nice try, Arik," whispered Tanya. "Maybe we should run?"

  King Arik felt suddenly foolish holding the Sword of Heavens up before the gods. He lowered the sword and bit his lower lip as his mind raced to understand what was happening.

  "If we come here in peace," posed the king, "are we not to be protected by the god of peace and harmony?"

  Thun chuckled again, but Abuud turned and glared at the god of war. "If you have indeed come in peace," Abuud said slowly, "and if you truly have the right to wear the Breastplate of Alcea, then you should be free to speak your piece before judgment is decided."

  "Perhaps you will get lucky," giggled Mya. "Although, I do not think that has ever happened here."

  "I have come in search of the Amethyst of the Gods," King Arik said nervously.

  The gods' faces turned cold and their eyes burned into the king. Tanya leaped off of the platform, dragging the king with her. Lightning, flames, hail, and wind tore into the space on the green platform they had just occupied. As they tumbled to the ground, the room spun once again. King A
rik shook his head and looked up at the sky-blue walls and the unmoving statues.

  "That did not go well," frowned Tanya as she rose and stared at the statues.

  "No, it didn't," agreed the king.

  "Why did you get angry with them?" questioned Tanya. "Have you no fear?"

  "Fear?" echoed the king. "How can you ask if I am afraid of gods that you didn't even believe existed a few minutes ago?"

  "Maybe I was wrong," frowned Tanya. "They sure seemed real enough in there just now."

  "Maybe we were half right," countered the king. "Don't you find it curious that they have no knowledge of what is going on in the world today? It appears that they are ignorant of anything since the days of Auric the Conqueror."

  "Like they have been sleeping?" posed Tanya. "Is it possible that they are only awake when someone stands before them?"

  "And that hasn't happened in a long long time," nodded the king.

  "Of course," agreed Tanya. "The demons were meant to keep people away from the gods."

  "So that they remain asleep," said the king.

  "What do we do now?" asked Tanya.

  "We try to figure out how to get the Amethyst of the Gods from gods that are sleeping," shrugged the king. "It is obvious from their reaction that they know of its existence."

  "And that they are rather reluctant to give it away," added Tanya. "Do you think if we get back on the green platform that they will remember us?"

  "I am not sure," answered King Arik. "In a way, I hope that they do not. I did not please them with my words the last time."

  "We need to be careful here, Arik," fretted Tanya. "We may only get one more chance to speak to them."

  "Char, Thun, and Dora seem to be the most belligerent," nodded the king. "If I can avoid offending them, maybe we can get some information on where the Amethyst of the Gods is located."

  "That will not be easy," sighed Tanya. "They appeared belligerent when they woke up. I thought Char would burn us before we had a chance to talk."

  "Can your magic match the power of the gods?" asked King Arik.

  "Match the gods?" echoed Tanya. "You can't be serious."