Tiara & Tempest

by Jeremy Dwyer

  He had been studying ancient cultures since the age of seventeen (17), and spent his days and nights in the halls of Emeth. He never had any personal romantic relationships that lasted, as his commitment was to the collection of knowledge rather than personal ties. The few women he knew quickly realized that he was less interested in them than he was in the antiquities, and they moved on to more committed partners.

  Anan’s knowledge of the legends and lore about the mythical city of Thalkalana led him to the Glivoran Trail. This was a mostly mountainous land bridge connecting the southeastern portion of the continent of Revod to the northeastern portion of the continent of Ihalik, and serving as a trade route. Travel through here was challenging by foot, and the high mountains offered few low areas through which an airship could fly easily. Despite these difficulties, it was a highly populated area, with an estimated thirty-three million (33000000) people living in and around the mountains. It offered lucrative trade opportunities between the empires on the two continents and usually made the effort worthwhile, especially since the Kazofen Ocean was to the west, and the crystal-bending powers of its waters were essential to the precious gems trade.

  Anan knew the current culture of the area, being a scholar of many subjects, although primarily archaeology and anthropology. He was also studied in its ancient culture, and aware of the cult religions associated with the worship of stone idols. These finely carved small relics – perhaps two (2) feet in diameter and weighing over five hundred (500) pounds – could be found sitting on seven (7) foot high stone walls that ran for hundreds (100) of miles. The walls, which were both high up in the mountains and low down by the coast, were for defense against bandits raiding them for their livestock and land and other resources.

  However, the lower walls were of little use at the moment. Anan saw the terrifying waves of water crash right over them from the southeastern coast facing the Trerada Ocean, and he was alarmed at the approaching danger. He was both frightened and angry at the destruction and death caused by the high waters that swept what seemed like hundreds of thousands (100000) of people out to sea. Anan avoided this by remaining on the higher ground, but many people lived near the coast to facilitate trade and travel by sea as well as by land. He had chosen a dangerous time, unfortunately, to explore this region – the time during the tempest brought on by Victoria in the Trerada Ocean.

  Anan was no longer a young man – at sixty-one (61) years – but he was in excellent health and in no hurry to part with his own life or health by getting closer to the raging waters below. He drank the Medathero Ocean waters, which sharpened his mind and allowed him to maintain his calm, focus and balance on the uneven ground, despite the danger that he saw. He reasoned that, since he could see the peril of the high waves crashing on the ground, his safest course of action was to remain high up and inland, and not let fear overtake him. Logic overrode any panic within him. He felt some compassion for those who lost their lives, but he was in no position to save them, and no good could be achieved by adding himself to the fatalities. Therefore, he did not move any closer to the stormy seas.

  He looked at the stone idols on the walls and saw, once again, another instance where the eyes of the idols were positioned to point in various directions that at first seemed random to a casual observer. In his own past experience, he found that the directions of the eyes triangulated toward the positions of the former sites of temples. During a past excursion here, fifteen (15) years prior, he had found more than one instance where the idols’ eyes were gazing toward the ruins and rubble of old temples, and he followed them to ruins that were located in caves in the mountains. He had documented his findings and brought them to Emeth. At the time, Chroniclers had requested that he personally take them to the idols, and to the indicated caves and ruins, and he did this, pointing out precisely what he saw. The Chroniclers observed for themselves and found the report to be accurate, recording it in their books and submitting the reports to the Verifiers.

  Now, Anan believed that the idols did not all point to temple ruins, but that some would point to temples that were still standing. He came here because he knew that, in the ancient culture, stone was worshipped. To the west was the Kazofen Ocean, whose waters gave the power of manipulating stone and crystal to those who drank of them, which meant that anyone who had a high potential for using that power would be regarded in high esteem. They would be able to mold stone idols of any form, thereby commanding immense respect and having access to the upper social strata. The very best became priests of one of these cults. All of these religions and cults existed as recently as nine thousand three hundred (9300) years ago. Then, suddenly, many of them died out. Why that happened was a mystery he would have liked to pursue.

  Anan followed these particular idols’ in their gaze toward one of the caves in these mountains which was unfamiliar to him. He made his way toward the cave, and away from the crashing waters and death on the coast below. When he entered, holding a small torch, he saw that the inside of the cave had a number of stone idols that were considerably larger – perhaps ten (10) feet in diameter. These were an extraordinary find, and he was excited to see them. He would have seen them in the past, except that he had been assigned to many other research efforts and those kept him from returning to this area as often as he would have liked.

  He inspected the idols to see if they were different in any way other than their sheer size. Since they were five (5) times the diameter of the two (2) foot idols, they should be one hundred twenty-five (125) times the weight, because weight is proportional to volume, and the ratio of volumes is the cube of the ratio of the diameters: one hundred twenty-five (125) equals five (5) times five (5) times (5). This much mathematics he had to know just to appreciate the architecture and mechanics of ancient cultures – and to know what he could carry by himself, or with the help of his occasional young assistants.

  The larger idols were, in fact, not of the same design. These idols had much more angular features – their faces were polygonal rather than curved. This suggested more than one possibility: they could be of a different culture altogether, or they could be regarded as more important, as curves were seen as soft and weak compared to angles which were regarded as hard and strong. This geometric bias was the opposite of that of some other cultures, but it did exist. Anan didn’t judge it, but attempted to infer useful information from it. Cultures which held angles in greater esteem than curves were generally patriarchal and concerned with the amassing of opulent forms of wealth – such as diamond, ruby, and other of the precious gems – and some of that was used in sacrificial offerings to deities. In contrast, cultures which held curved designs in higher esteem were generally concerned with the amassing of large areas of land, livestock and produce.

  Cultures that sought opulence were generally more likely to pursue unknown territories – such as lost cities – in search of more opulence. They were driven by both greed and curiosity more than they were by practicality. He suspected that at least some of the stone worshipping cultures would have a link to the lost city based on this tendency. However, he had only recently had the opportunity to test the hypothesis that the culture that made the stone idols on the Glivoran Trail land bridge fell into that category. They were likely to have some knowledge of the lost city of Thalkalana, because the rumors about it came and went over the ages.

  There was a trench in the ground on the cave floor, perhaps five (5) feet wide, eight (8) feet deep, and eighteen (18) feet long. A small set of stone stairs led down into it. Looking down at the floor he saw a series of paving stones, each shaped like a square with quarter circles cut out of its corners. They were arranged with two (2) such stones across from left to right and twelve (12) stones long from the foot of the staircase to the back wall of the trench. The first pair of stones was numbered one (1) and two (2); the next pair was numbered (3) and four (4) all the way to twenty-three (23) and twenty-four (24). The mystery below intrigued him, but he was not prepared to enter into it
just yet.

  He then looked across the room the large idols’ eyes and followed their gaze carefully. This led him to look closely at the cave wall which had markings on it. He dusted off the markings with a small piece of cloth that he carried and saw that there were actually written inscriptions, which read as follows: “Only one can ever divide. Only one can ever increase. Only one can see inside. Only one can make the sky cease.”

  Though he was no mathematician, Anan’s knowledge of mathematics was broader than that of some archeologists or anthropologists, because he knew that math was the language of patterns and logic. Numeric patterns occurred throughout history and in cultures all over the world – numbers had an almost mystical significance for many of them. In fact, the later sentences of the inscription may very well have been mystical references to other religions: he knew that stone-worshippers were often enemies of sun-worshippers, and the notion of making the sky cease may have been a reference to their animosity and intent to put an end to what was an enemy deity.

  Anan considered the first sentence of the inscription and thought that it might be referring to prime numbers, which were only divisible by themselves and by one (1). The next sentence suggested that a number should be added to a prime to increase it, or that some other number be increased to reach a prime number. Then, he thought that these numeric clues could be related to the numbered paving stones in the trench. He considered the primes themselves as far as the numbering on those stones went: two (2), three (3), five (5), seven (7), eleven (11), thirteen (13), seventeen (17), nineteen (19), twenty-three (23). Depending on the interpretation of the second sentence, the numbers that needed to be increased by one (1) to reach the primes were: one (1), two (2), four (4), six (6), ten (10), twelve (12), sixteen (16), eighteen (18), twenty-two (22). He then walked down the steps into the trench and stopped abruptly before standing on even the first paving stone. He looked at the stones more carefully and saw what he was afraid of: there were small slits in them, which almost certainly meant that they were triggers for traps. Having encountered old traps on doors, floor, walls, benches and other artifacts more than once in his career, he was not going to take any unnecessary chances.

  Anan went back up the stairs and found a rock – about ten (10) pounds in weight – near the entrance to the cave and brought it with him. He went to the bottom of the stairs and placed the rock on the paving stone with the number one (1). The paving stone descended suddenly and a metal blade two feet (2) long sprung up from it, pushing the rock out of the way. The blade then retracted just as quickly.

  That would have been debilitating, if not deadly, he realized. He then inferred that the path along the paving stones corresponding to the sequence of numbers that were one (1) less than the prime numbers was likely not the correct path. The alternative interpretation of the inscription was that he was looking for numbers that were one (1) more than the prime numbers, hence: three (3), four (4), six (6), eight (8), twelve (12), fourteen (14), eighteen (18), twenty (20), twenty-four (24). He also recognized that the number three (3) was still a prime number as well as being one (1) more than another prime number. He then carefully took the rock, reached over carefully and placed it onto the paving stone with the number (3). The paving stone descended suddenly, yet no blade sprung from it. Seeing that it was probably safe, he stepped on it. He followed this logic, carefully, and made careful leaps toward the end, as the paving stones were eighteen (18) inches long, and the numbers were further apart at the end. His old ankles were beginning to sting from the landings on the stones. He was healthy, but not without wear-and-tear.

  When Anon stepped onto the paving stone with the number twenty-four (24), it descended quickly, much more than the others, until he was over twenty (20) feet below the cave floor.

  The area opened into an arch-shaped chamber above him that he estimated to be thirty (30) feet higher than the trench floor. Before he entered it, he realized that he was still in a trench and there were still more of those paving stones with numbers ahead of him, followed by a set of stairs leading up.

  The next paving stones were numbered: twenty-five (25), twenty-six (26), twenty-seven (27), twenty-eight (28), twenty-nine (29), thirty (30), thirty-one (31), thirty-two (32), thirty-three (33), thirty-four (34), thirty-five (35), thirty-six (36), thirty-seven (37), thirty-eight (38). He continued the sequence, leaping over the pair numbered twenty-five (25) and twenty-six (26) and the pair numbered twenty-seven (27) and twenty-eight (28) and landing on the paving stone numbered thirty (30). This last was one (1) higher than the prime number twenty-nine (29). His ankles stung him even worse on this last landing. Then, he leaped to the paving stone numbered thirty-two (32) and then to the one numbered thirty-eight (38). His ankles were bothering him much more now, and he wavered for a moment, almost falling, but caught himself. Had he fallen onto one of the other stones, he knew that he would have triggered a deadly trap. After stabilizing himself – and feeling great relief as a result – he reached another set of stairs. He went up these stairs and was out of the trench.

  At this point, he found himself on the bank of an underground river that led off into the darkness. The ceiling of the chamber he was in was perhaps twenty-feet (20) above the ground. On that river was a small sailboat, and he walked over to it and inspected it, finding it to have what looked like a tattered sail whose seaworthiness he questioned.

  Anan saw that the hull of the sailboat did, in fact, have its integrity, and was not taking on any water. However, a sail that was damaged could leave him stranded somewhere when it could no longer catch the wind. He then corrected his own thinking by having a simple realization: there was no wind to begin with in this chamber, so it wasn’t likely that the sail mattered at all. Curious to find or see anything that would lead him to Thalkalana, he boarded the sailboat.

  Once he got in the sailboat, it began moving along the river on its own. His torch was still with him, so that he could see a short distance ahead. The sailboat began to pick up speed, and he felt himself going down a slope, along with the uneasy feeling in his stomach that was no longer thrilling at his age. It was uncomfortable, but he had no option at this point other than to see where it led him.

  CHAPTER 16: Hidden by the Sea of Darkness

  A portal opened and the Tidal Sovereign appeared on the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean, and Victoria looked out upon the infamous dark waters.

  The voice of the demon, Matatirot, spoke to her, saying: “In the darkness, call the cold. Chill them with the wind of old. Let them see no living things. Death is what the tempest brings.”

  Victoria was filled with utter delight at this command from the demon, and was eager to obey.

  She held out her arms toward the seas and the blue diamonds in the tiara, dark now from having expended energy in the prior assault in the Trerada Ocean, began to glow warmly.

  The waters, which were calm before the Tidal Sovereign arrived, were now perturbed and became choppy. The air had been still as well, but now a slight breeze was blowing.

  “The air was still before. Now, I can feel a breeze. The tempest is slowly approaching,” one of the dark scouts said.

  Victoria focused her mind, and the perturbations spread out further and further away from the ship.

  “The waters are stirring a great distance toward the south – heading toward Revod. I can see it,” one of her light scouts reported.

  “The waters are stirring a great distance toward the north – heading toward Javanda,” a second light scout reported.

  “Toward the east, the waters are rising slightly against the Dark Platinum Road,” a third light scout said.

  “In the west, the waters are heading toward the Wandering of Shadows,” a fourth light scout said.

  Victoria was becoming impatient and troubled that the powers of the tiara did not reach their fullness immediately. “Where is this tempest?! Where is the power?! Where is the death?!” she screamed. At this, her concentration broke. Then, the waters calmed and the
breeze ended. The blue diamonds in the tiara stopped glowing.

  “The waters have calmed toward the south,” one of the light scouts said, surprised and disappointed. She liked the storms and was hoping for the death of the Jenadlej Empire in Revod.

  “The breeze has died down,” the dark scout said.

  Victoria was furious now and turned toward her, and her violet eyes glowed. She screamed at the dark scout: “How dare you say that to me! I am the bringer of death! Now, death to you!” At this, Victoria raised a dagger to the dark scout, who was terrified, but also unable to move as she was under the spell of the violet eyes.

  The voice of Matatirot spoke to Victoria, angrily, and those around her could hear his anger: “Like the tides, its powers fall. Yet, the crown is master of them all. Like the tides its powers rise. Bring, in time, the great demise.”

  The demon, Matatirot, knew that the tiara had its limits, and wanted Victoria to see them for herself, so that she would not become arrogant in her power, or forget her dependence on him. This is why he allowed her to experience the failure.

  Victoria lowered the dagger and hid her violet eyes. The dark scout, spared for the moment, was greatly relieved. She wished to be a living servant of the great power rather than a victim of Victoria’s impatience and wrath.

  Victoria reached out her arms, once again, and concentrated. The blue diamonds in the tiara glowed warmly. Slowly, the waters in all directions changed from being calm to being perturbed once again. The air was still, but then a mild breeze returned.

  “The waters are stirring again,” a light scout said.

  “The breeze has returned,” a light scout said.

  Victoria said nothing and continued concentrating.

  ~~~

  Prince Jalvin’s Crossroads was the land bridge that separated the continent of Revod to its west from the continent of Baradaxa to its east. Its southern end extended into the Medathero Ocean and its northern end reached into the Ikkith Tar Ocean. On its northern edge, Renato stood upon a hilltop, and saw the ripples in the water approach, then die down, then return. At the same time, he felt the breeze arrive, then leave and then return.