A Falling World: Chapter 4 Part 1: Paths Crossing

Adam and Sarah stood staring before the gates as the dragon loomed in the distance “Is that a real dragon?” Sarah asked in almost a whisper.

Virtus chuckled “Yes, that is a dragon. You should know, it’s mating season so it’s aggressive right now. Usually he’s sleeping off to the side and the trial is about stealth – but not now. You should think this through, it’s most certainly suicide to go out there.”

Adam interjected, he was hysterical “This isn’t fair. You want us to face something that demigods avoid? I can barely walk I literally can’t complete this! Give me a different challenge, something that isn’t insane something that’s possible!”

“Heh,” Virtus said judgmentally “so you aren’t even going to try then? You should know it’s only going to get harder after this. That feeling of despair, that understanding you can’t succeed, it is only going to grow – but if you want to continue and become a god you’ll have to find a way to win.” when Adam didn’t answer she continued “And here I was thinking that you’d be rejoicing. You got what you wanted. You managed to lure some naïve girl in here with you. Someone you can use and discard. And now you’re hesitating? I can’t tell if you’re vile or stupid. At least the vile have the resolve to do what they need to. I can respect that. You don’t even have that do you?”

Adam didn’t have a response, or if he did he was keeping it to himself. He looked back at the stage studying it before opening his pack rummaging through it looking for something.

“What about you, Sarah? You’re so new to magic that you couldn’t see the grimm in front of you and now you’re standing in front a trial that as you can see has already taken the lives of so many hopeful young men and women. You can still turn back and exit. The grimm will take your memories and you’ll return to the world you came from. Is what you want really worth all this trouble? Is it worth dying for?”

…………………….

Celeste was sitting outside Virtus’s domain, bored. Decree’s from the king were rare and kept away from prying eyes but Celeste was able to find out that one of them was for Virtus. Curious, Celeste made her way to speak with her about what was happening but she found herself being ignored. As such, Celeste decided to wait outside until some chosen brat came along to test themselves. Once a crack appeared in Virtus’s domain Celeste would break in.

A crack did appear, but there was no one at the entrance. Someone from outside was entering, with that Celeste entered quietly and hid off to the side to watch what happened. Virtus has always hated outsiders.

…………………….

Sarah was silent as she thought about her options “All I have to do is get that gem and I’ll be a god? I’ll be able to deal with them outside?” She turned to Virtus and asked her directly “What about raising the dead? I asked Henry and he told me that had challenges. Will I be able to do that if I get that?”

“This is only the first test of seven hundred and seventy seven trials. If you complete this trial and continue on you will surely find what you’re looking for– after all you don’t have to be a god to pull someone from the afterlife. As for dealing with those waiting for you outside, surely if you can best a dragon you can best one third rate magician and a grimm.”

Sarah took a few steps forward before stopping, then continued until she was about fifty steps from the gates. Her heart was racing again and she could see the stage more clearly than ever. The paths were thin, when looked at from the side they all had an underside which hovered over a black pit. The paths in the middle made their way directly to the large gem. They were also a half as wide and spaced farther apart from each other than the paths to either side. The farther left or right Sarah looked she could see the paths become wider and more intertwined until a hundred yards off they all merged into a single solid form.

Adam was beside her now “Are you really going to do this? This isn’t a normal test, she wants us to fail.”

“Yeah, I’m doing it” Sarah responded.

“Then let’s make a deal. I’ll help you out if you bring back two gems. One for each of us.”

“No. I’m not going to be used by you. Besides, there’s only one gem.” Sarah pointed at the gem with her eyes and tilting her head.

Adam’s face was grim, he knew every word he said mattered and if he said something wrong there was no way to start fresh “You’re human so I can’t blame you for not noticing, but that’s not the gem you need to grab. Look how large it is, I bet it’s also fastened in place. You won’t be able to break it off let alone lift it. Virtus also said to bring a gem, not the gem, so there are more than one. That one right there is just a distraction. Also I came prepared to handle these trials, not fight a damn dragon prepared but still – I’m useful.”

Sarah looked at Adam and said flatly “I’ll pass. There’s a trick to this there has to be.” Casting him aside she moved forward again rushing towards the gates. She was about to cross the threshold when she saw black and felt fire across her face. Sarah clutched her face on the ground. Once the pain subsided from a sharp sting she looked around to see what happened and saw a woman, who wasn’t present earlier, wearing red and black clothes shouting at someone.

When Sarah stood up it felt like she was coming into the middle of a conversation she had no context for. It only took her a few seconds to reorient herself but even that amount of time was enough to lose any context she may have had.

The woman was shouting at Virtus, apparently Adam wasn’t the only person who thought this trial was bogus. From what Sarah was making out Virtus failed to give them some tools. Virtus replied that she must have forgotten before suggesting that if Celeste cared so much she could loan them hers – a suggestion that Celeste scoffed at.

“Tell me Celeste, to what do I owe the honor of hosting a princess?” Virtus asked.

“Don’t give me that!” Celeste yelled, “I’ve been outside for days trying to get your attention!”

Virtus scratched her chin under the mask “Oh, have you? I must not have heard you.”

“You’ve been ignoring me for five straight days you artless rump-fed scut! I know you’ve been given orders by the king. What is going on?”

“Princess or not you should watch your tongue when speaking with a goddess at least until after your apotheosis.”

“You were at my celebration after I finished the trials!” Celeste shouted with veins starting to bulge.

“Was I? It must have been a boring celebration then.” Virtus replied, “Oh well, can we at least discuss the matter of your spying after this trial? I do have guests.”

Celeste looked incredulous at what she was hearing, her black hair was disheveled and covering half her face “You mean the box of certain death you’ve created for them?”

“All I did was create a test on par with what they want. They’re outsiders, if they can’t face a challenge like this then they’ll never be able to achieve their dreams.” It was evident from her voice that Virtus was enjoying herself.

Celeste was frustrated when she responded and evidently mad, “If you want to proceed with this trial I’ll judge it alongside you then.” Celeste turned to Sarah, “You half-witted varlot. If you actually think there’s some hidden trick that will manifest and save your sorry ass you’re already dead. The two of you are working together. If one of you succeeds you both do, if one of you fails you both fail.”

Celeste walked over to Virtus as Sarah and Adam regrouped. Adam looked distant and suspicious as he responded, half expecting Sarah to ignore him again “I don’t have a lot of options right now so I’m still willing to work with you, but I’m also happy to watch you run in there and die if that’s what you want. There’s only two of them now outside and I might have a chance if I end up evicted. So you’re call really.” 

Taking another look at the field Sarah relented. They agreed that she would carry go out and collect the gem while Adam would stay back. In return Adam would provide as much support as he could from the back.

The two of them traveled the width of the gate just a few feet from the entry point trying to get all the information they could before they started. Adam pointed out that whatever happens Sarah absolutely could not look back, not even out of the corner of her eyes until she had a gem. He pointed at all of the statues and in every case they were looking behind them in one direction or another. Also, none of them had a gem so until she had one in her hands she absolutely had to keep her eyes forward, which meant that if the dragon went behind her she should bolt it as fast as possible without looking back – at least she stood a chance that way.

The next thing he pointed out was a sound hidden under the noises made by the dragon. It sounded like something slithering, and it’s a noise he didn’t like. He told Sarah that if something changes with that noise he’d let her know immediately – but that she still shouldn’t look back. During this planning phase the last thing he told her was that when she made it to the other side she should try the large gem just to see if it will come loose but not to waste a second more than she had to. Instead, she should be looking for something hidden, either a latch, or a hidden door, or anything else sparkly.

The path Sarah would be taken was further to the left. The distance to the gem was longer but with the dragon active she would be able to hop paths and change direction without risk of falling into the pit. Before she crossed the threshold however, Adam pulled out a shield that fit snuggly on her arm – a shield that caught Celeste’s attention. “Be careful with this.” Adam said, “It will protect you, but it will drain your magic and then your life if you aren’t careful. So don’t let that thing claw you.”

Sarah crossed the threshold at a near sprint. She was halfway to the gem before the dragon was over head breathing fire down on her. She lifted the shield above her and the fire cast off to the side over a white translucent barrier that extended past the limits of the shield. Not even the heat caught her, but she did feel out of breath now. Her pace slow and thirty feet from her destination the dragon landed in front of her blocking her path.

The heat radiated off the beast even from this distance and Sarah could see the shine coming from it’s black scales. She instinctively took steps back, with adrenaline coursing through her she could feel her heart beating in her chest and in her throat. She was about to turn face and run before she stopped herself.

The dragon breathed in, which at this distance was enough to extinguish all other sound, and unleashed a torrent of fire onto Sarah. Then it released another one for good measure. When it finished it’s second breath Sarah was still uncharred but visibly exhausted behind her shield.

Before the dragon could draw a third breath Sarah ran to the right. Hopping and then jumping ever greater distances between paths to get away from the dragon. If it wasn’t for the beast losing it’s footing at one point it may have gotten her with it’s claw.

Adam stood by the gates watching this unfold in front of him. Celeste and Virtus were beside him now speaking amongst themselves. The paths Sarah stepped on began to crumble slowly, dissolving on their way to the other side. This started almost immediately but Adam kept this to himself in fear of distracting Sarah. He wasn’t expecting this and as he saw Sarah hop from one path to another he watched as escape routes slowly vanished.

He messed up, he made a mistake and his body twisted into knots on the inside as he thought about what this meant. They should have started from the middle and used the sides to return. He heard a clang and when he looked down Adam saw a spear with glyphs etched into the side. He could feel a power radiating from inside it and when he looked up Celeste was back at him “Just in case be sure not to miss.”

Virtus chuckled to herself, in a way that deeply annoyed Adam, and said “You’re giving them quite a lot for a simple test like this.”

Sarah screamed and when Adam looked back up he saw Sarah on a middle path. She jumped but wasn’t able to make it all the way and was now holding onto the side as best she could. The dragon regained his footing and moved between her and the gem. It was above her and with an exhale unleased a blue blaze directly from above.

Sarah felt her strength begin to fail as she slid further off the side of the path. She wasn’t burning but the ledge she was holding onto was getting hot. Her weight pulled her down as the shield sapped her strength until only her fingers kept her from falling. When her head dipped below the path she could see them, the gems she needed to collect. There were thousands strewn on the undersides of the paths but she couldn’t grab any of them. Tears began to form and drop as what she needed was so close, but if she let loose even one hand she knew she would fall. She was going to fall regardless so why not just grab one she thought. But before she could try she heard a scream come from her side as the blue light above her vanished and the shield stopped sapping her strength.

Sarah felt a strong push of air come down on her as the dragon took to the air and with all her strength manage to pull her way up on top of the path. Before the dragon could return she made her way to the pedestal holding the gem as quickly as she could. Taking cover behind the stone she held herself with her legs pinned to her chest, making herself as small as possible. Her mouth felt like there was acid in it and her throat burned. Sarah wouldn’t be able to do that again and she was surprised her legs carried her as far as they did.

The dragon still sounded like it was far away but Sarah didn’t dare look. Instead she looked above her and saw the gem she needed. She tried lifting it to no avail and then looked around to see any spare gems or hidden latches and saw nothing. The only gems available were the ones under the path but a statue in front of her reminded Sarah that she couldn’t look back, only forward.

On the other side of the platform there were two paths left, that were angled in a way so they weren’t visible from the gate, which traversed down under the other paths. Sarah listened to the sounds and the dragon was still a ways off, so she moved keeping close to the ground. Almost crawling down to the underside.

When she was below the platform the first thing she saw were three walls that extended below the platform about fifteen feet, all illuminated by the sparkling gems adorning the ceiling. At this point her arms were exhausted but she grabbed onto a gem and pulled. Easily enough it came undone and for good measure she pulled a second one as well.

She stood where she was for a long moment her eyes closed before turning around and seeing the path she came from dissolving.Fear took hold again and she returned above using the second path to see every path she touched almost completely eroded.

Along the sides of the gate, extending for as far as the eye could see Sarah saw the wall swarmed with snakes carved to look like they were twisting and writhing over themselves. The stone was a marvelous white, but there wasn’t any movement aside from the dragon in front of the gate which was roaring, clawing, and breathing gusts of fire trying to penetrate the entry way but unable to cause any damage.

Most of Adam’s view was that of the dragon trying to kill him. The spear he threw dislodged itself from it’s hide during it assault against the gate. From behind the dragon he saw Sarah rise above the platform and not turn to stone as she looked at the entrance. He shouted for her to hurry while the dragon was distracted and ran off to the left most area of the gate in hopes that she would be able to use the remaining paths on the right to make it back.

Sarah heard Adam but couldn’t see him. However, she saw the dragon move to the other side of the gate. She had to get back quickly and started down the shortest path remaining, but before she realized what was happening it started dissolving like the rest. Sarah tried to speed up but by the time she reached the end of the path the distance was too great to jump and given her strength she also wouldn’t be able to reach an adjacent one. “Adam!” Sarah shouted “give this to them!” as she chucked the gem to the gate watching in horror as it bounced off the barrier onto the ledge in front of it.

The dragon heard Sarah yell, and seeing it’s efforts to char and gut the humans in front of it have no effect turned it’s attention back to where it was before. It took off catching up to the girl that was now running away again.

Adam exited the gate and ran to pick up the gem before returning and handing it to Virtus and Celeste to which Celeste called the trial complete – They passed to what Adam suspected was Virtus’s disappointment.