Ben laughed. “Yeah, that’s everybody’s first impression. Ashley, I know I told you that you don’t have to join us if you don’t want to, and I stand by that, but if you do, this lifestyle could be yours.”
“Good selling point, Ben. I’m still not interested in converting to a new religion, but if I were, I’d have to say that’s one darn good selling point.”
We turned left, walking around the bottom of the grand staircase, which was a wide, extravagant affair. Its steps were covered with the same thick, lush carpeting as the second floor hallway but its handrails were carved far more elaborately than the railing from which they flowed. The massive stairway curved slightly inward at the center and then widened, skirt-like, at the bottom, flaring itself into a majestic and beguiling entrance at the ground floor. The banisters ended, or rather began, as two carved mirror-image jaguars.
There was so much to see in this room that I didn’t know where to begin. The marble floor marked just the beginning of the visual feast, for as the room’s columns and support beams rose, they lead my gaze upward, toward an incredibly high ceiling filled with frescoes of youthful, vigorous naked men and women frolicking and laughing merrily as they ran, danced and played. This composition further lead my eye toward a larger fresco displaying yet more naked men and women, this time swimming through the air, bearing offerings of food and treasure upon golden platters to a portrait of a woman in the center. This large, circular fresco dominated the ceiling and the figure to whom they were paying homage was that of an impossibly beautiful young woman with lilac colored eyes and flowing black hair. She looked incredibly familiar to me. Again a little voice inside of me whispered that it was important that I remember who she was. Try as I might, though, I still could not place her.
“That’s Arrosha,” Ben told me.
“She really is gorgeous,” I said absentmindedly, not really listening, intent upon remembering where I’d seen her before.
Eventually I gave up, hoping it would come to me later. My eyes traveled again down to floor level, where I scanned the room, trying to take in what it offered, at least superficially. It was filled largely with sculptures from varying periods in history, interspersed with sofas, loveseats and lounges. I didn’t know if these seats were part of the exhibit or simply set out for visitors to linger and muse as they enjoyed the room. The large central piece that I’d admired from the balcony, the crystal sculpture, was done in a strange style I was sure that I’d never seen before. It was so enormous that I couldn’t comprehend how it could possibly have been moved in, because it was larger by far than any entry that I could see.
Ben gave me a few minutes to soak in the view, then said, “C’mon, let’s walk around. Time’s running short, so as much as I’d love it, I promise not to go into full curator mode this time. I’ll torment you with that another day.”
We walked past the stairs and for the first time, I saw the view of the inner wall, not visible to me before, as it was recessed underneath the second floor gallery and then had been hidden behind the large staircase. Taking up more than half of the wall was most massive fireplace that I’d ever seen. It was stone, ornately carved with facing griffins on either side and a man’s large, fierce, open-mouthed scowl graven directly into its center, his wild hair flowing freely within the design, uniting its elements.
“I know I’m repeating myself,” I said, “but once again, ‘wow’. I have never seen anything that even comes close to this room before. At least not in real life. It’s so lavish it’s eerie.”
“Yeah, I felt like that too when I first arrived here. Eventually, you get used to it, believe it or not.”
“This has to be the largest fireplace I’ve ever seen.”
“I absolutely adore it,” Ben said. “It’s generally ablaze when we have parties and it’s always the place that people like to gather around.”
“It’s a working fireplace? A wood-burning fireplace?”
“Of course.”
“Where’s the chimney? I don’t remember seeing a place for it upstairs.”
“You noticed, huh?” Ben remarked. “To tell you the truth, I honestly don’t know. It was like I told you earlier, Ashley. This house can be very tricky. It often doesn’t make any sense at all, so don’t even try to figure it out. I’ve been looking for the chimney since I got here and I still haven’t been able to find so much as a flue.” He just shrugged and we moved on with our tour as I was left to wonder how a raging fire in such an immense fireplace could possibly work without a flue or a chimney, with no avenue for the smoke to escape.
We next moved on to the corner at the other side of the fireplace near the outer wall, where a realistic, life-size sculpture of a man stood. He was set upon a short, stocky pedestal shaped like stony ground and dressed in Roman garb.
“Now we come to this fine fellow,” Ben said, returning his attention to the corner piece, “Can you guess who he is?”
“No, I can’t say that I’ve actually ever met him,” I answered.
“This is an actual portrait in stone of Caligula. The statue has quite a story behind it. It was presented to Arrosha personally by the emperor himself.”
“Personally?”
“Yes. Like I said, immortality does have its perks,” he answered, smiling. “To have such an important historical figure made only two degrees of separation from me still impresses the hell out of me, I suppose more than it should. Caligula fell hopelessly in love with Arrosha after meeting her only once. On his second visit, he presented her with this statue of himself.” Ben sighed, wistfully. “The romantic in me is so drawn to the notion that he gave her this to remember him by always. She is, after all, so very, very beautiful and extraordinary in so many ways.”
“Did she ever reciprocate his feelings? “
“Oh, no, not at all. He was far beneath her. As a true Goddess, she could not lower herself to join with a mere emperor whose godhood was only a matter of ego and edict.”
The goddess bit was now beginning to wear more than a little thin with me, but Ben was sweet and I was just a guest, so I remained polite.
“It’s just as well, I suppose,” I simply answered. “From everything I’ve ever heard, the only one Caligula was ever really in love with was himself.”
“True,” Ben sighed, smiling pensively. “I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic, though, despite my many years. No matter what, I still try to find the happy ending, even where there is none.”
We moved around the Great Room rather quickly now, Ben commenting only briefly upon the histories of the treasures that surrounded us, which included but was not limited to, long sections of Greek temple friezes depicting scantily clad women frolicking with cupids, satyrs and centaurs, medieval sarcophagi upon which rested stone knights clutching their stone swords tightly in death, and elaborate display cases in which weapons, armor and jewels, from ancient to antique, rested comfortably upon backdrops of thick, lush black velvet.
Ben slowed down for a moment when we reached a large statue in the corner, set high upon its pedestal. More imposing, even, than its famous counterpart in the Metropolitan Museum, the sculpture was of Perseus, averting his eyes whilst extending the hand in which he held the severed, bleeding head of Medusa. The gorgon stared with great menace outward toward the center of the Great Room, commanding all that dared come into her presence to hazard a gaze upon her face.
“Every time I look at her, I’m convinced she’s going to turn me into stone,” Ben said. “I suppose all the statues seem alive to me in their own unique way.”
It was then that I noticed something strange about the eyes of these statues. While I expected it from Medusa, all the rest also looked either tortured or angry or both. As in the paintings upstairs, that seemed to be the universal theme. Only the “Saints” upstairs did not seem tormented. Perhaps, I thought, that was what had earned them their nickname.
We turned toward the front wall, the wall opposite the balcony and fireplace, to face the gigan
tic sculpture that had so piqued my curiosity since I first spotted it from the second floor. It was massive in both breadth and height; larger by far then even the fireplace opposite, it dominated the tremendous wall in almost its entirety.
“Of all the marvels you’ve seen so far,” he continued, “this is the piéce de résistance, by far the most valuable and important object in Arrosha’s entire collection. I was saving it for last. It’s my very favorite, so I rushed everything else so we could have more time to spend on this.”
Reaching almost to the ceiling, as clear as an ice sculpture, the enormous polymorphic piece loomed over the entire Great Room, as if holding court. The figure began as a beautiful woman, her breasts, shoulders and arms bare, her shoulder blades sprouting large dragonfly wings. Beneath her abdomen she was covered in scales, which ran from the tops of her hip bones at her sides to a “V” shape just above her crotch. The scales continued downward through her legs, which were similar in shape to those of an antelope, ending, however, not in hooves, but in an extra set of elegant hands, each of which held a water lily. Her hair floated, as if immersed in water, turning, near shoulder length, into flowing, blossoming vines that entwined into a rich, intricate pattern. She held her arms out low and her palms turned up, her fingers not ending as they should but turning into the same thick vines as did her hair. It would have been an impressive piece had it been small; at its present size, the impact was staggering. The woman’s mouth was partially open, her eyes half closed, looking downward. It was a strange expression she held, for it was at once incredibly seductive, judgmental and dangerous. I recognized her as the same woman portrayed in the floor mosaic and the center fresco on the ceiling. More importantly, I once again got the sensation that I’d seen her somewhere else, but as before, I drew a complete blank.
Ben stared at the piece with such awe that it seemed almost as if he were viewing the crystal sculpture for the very first time. “I never get tired of studying this,” he whispered reverently. “It’s so incredibly unusual. I’ve only ever seen one other piece that’s even reminded me of this art style in my life.”
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“Your raised tattoo,” he answered. “I think it’s why she wants you to take essence with us and probably wants you to join us. She hasn’t formally announced it yet, but still I’m almost sure of it. When I saw your tattoo, I realized from the very beginning that you were a blessing from Arrosha herself and that you were meant to be one of us.”
“That’s very flattering,” I said, “but I’d still like to think of myself as just visiting, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. I made a promise to you. I always keep my promises, Ashley. Of that you can trust.”
“This is the most unusual sculpture I’ve ever seen,” I said, steering the conversation back to the artwork. I remained uncomfortable with the subject of joining their group.
“It’s entirely unique,” Ben said. I could tell by the tone of his voice that despite his awe, he had gone back into curator mode. “There’s absolutely nothing else like it in the entire world. For all of its enormous size, it is still carved out of only one perfect piece of crystal.”
“I didn’t think that was possible, not on such a scale.”
“Neither did I,” he continued. “but here it is. It’s Arrosha’s favorite piece as well, for it was created as an homage to her. She tells me also that it is one of the very few remnants left of her homeland. It was a miracle that it even survived; that it remained intact was an even greater miracle.”
“Her homeland,” I asked. “Where is that?”
“The one place so beautiful that it brought her to Earth to live and to rule, a country once known as Illeaocea. She named Illea after it.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” I said.
“That’s because it doesn’t exist any longer. It hasn’t for eons. It was a very large country, comprising most of the eastern coast of the continent of Pangea.”
“Pangea?” I questioned. Surely, I must have misheard him. “Do you mean Pangea, the prehistoric super continent?”
“Yes, that’s it, one and the same. But it was not prehistoric; it just got lost to time. The history of the continent and the cultures that lived there were completely eradicated by a cataclysm of Biblical proportions, so intense that it fragmented the entire continent, breaking it up into the smaller continents that we have today. The human race is a species suffering with amnesia, Ashley. So much of our very distant past has been lost that we’re completely severed from it. It’s hard to believe, I know, because before I came to live here, like most people I really felt that history so ancient was an interesting concept but no more than fantasy. I was very wrong, however. Arrosha opened my eyes to the fact that the ancient Pangean civilizations were very real indeed.”
“Civilizations? So there were more than just Illotia?”
“Illeaocea,” he corrected me. “It was an independent nation, and just as today, there were many, of different sizes and importance. All of Pangea’s civilizations were incredibly advanced. Even taking into account the strides that we’ve made in the last few decades and the technology which is increasing exponentially in our world today, it is still nothing compared to that which Pangea had to offer; they were incredibly, extraordinarily advanced compared to us. It’s truly a shame that none of the technology or science of Pangaea survived, but then, neither did any of their music or art, except for this one piece, which is what makes it so incredibly special.”
“How do you know all of this?” I asked.
“Arrosha told me. And she should know, because she was there.”
“So the whole continent was wiped out?”
“Yeah, pretty much. While a few species did survive, most everything else was lost and the landscape of the earth was changed forever.”
“When did this all happen?” I asked, spellbound.
“It happened many eons ago, but exactly how many, I don’t know. I have only that information which Arrosha has chosen to share with me and she says that it was so long ago that the exact time is not important. But I do know how it happened.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. The continental break up was caused by the use of an abominable weapon of war, a doomsday device, you might even say. Would you like to hear the whole tale?”
“Oh, yes,” I replied with as much enthusiasm as a child waiting for a bedtime story.
“Well,” Ben began, “as I’ve already mentioned, before civilization as we now know it began, almost all of the Pangaean societies were, to one extent or another, so technologically advanced that they made our modern science seem stone aged in comparison. Humankind’s amnesia runs so very deep that we think of our past as being primitive, but the truth is that were once so much more than we are now. Arrosha has told me that of all of these advanced peoples, the Illeaoceans were, by far, the most highly developed race upon the entire planet in every way. Their technology and spirituality, studies that were not considered separate as they are today, were what could be described as the gold standard of Pangaean civilization.
“Illeaocea was a beautiful country, larger than the United States and China combined, and was one of the two most powerful nations in existence, both in size and in power. Its capital, Illeaote, was an incredible city that sat upon the shore of a tranquil ocean, for the world was stable then and devoid of such natural violence as hurricanes and earthquakes. Illeaote was the country’s center of government, industry and technology. The Illeaoceans were extraordinarily beautiful and elegant, the most beautiful in all of Pangea. They were a very peaceful, noble and spiritual people, forced into an unwanted cold war with their neighboring country, Malitiua, whose technology was almost as advanced as their own. Unlike the Illeaoceans, however, their foes’ was a dark technology, for they were, by nature, extremely violent and warlike. While Malitiua was nearly as large in size as Illeaocea, they espoused the concept of manifest destiny and vowed not to rest until th
ey ruled the entire continent, an insane ambition that placed Pangea into grave danger. Illeaocea vowed to protect not only themselves, but also the lesser nations from this Malitiuan madness. Both sides possessed weapons of such power that each was loathe to use them, even though the vast majority of Illeaocea’s weapons were defensive while Malitiua’s were offensive.
“This bitter cold war lasted for several centuries, during which time the Malitiuans perfected more deadly and terrible weapons and the Illeaoceans perfected stronger and stronger shields and anti-weaponry devices. One horrible day, however, the Malitiuans accidentally set off one of their own devices within their own borders and they were wiped off the face of the Earth by the blast forever. It was so terrible that even the strongest of the Illeaocians’ defensive shields could not help them, for even though most of the country was protected from the blast itself, their shields could not protect Illeaocea from the destruction of the very earth upon which it stood. The chain reaction this weapon caused was catastrophic, for the shock waves it sent out were so enormously profound that, as they surged throughout the continent, they began the greatest earthquake this world has ever seen. Pangea was broken into pieces by this earthquake and Illeaocea, its foundation now ripped asunder, was plunged either into the ocean or into the hellish molten chasms that opened where the ground once stood just seconds before. The ancient world was destroyed by the slew of earthquakes, volcanoes and lava flows that ensued en masse. All of Pangea’s civilizations were utterly fragmented, quite literally, in only a matter of hours. Everything that was left of the surviving land, all of which was far from ground zero, was split into disparate chunks that began a sudden, rapid separation which eventually slowed down to the crawl we now call continental drift. Conditions afterward were so harsh for those relatively few survivors that it was not long before all former cultures became completely forgotten. New societies, however primitive, were formed and many of Pangaea’s disparate peoples intermarried.”
The Nightmare Game Page 26