Post by tiffany on Oct 11, 2010 19:47:19 GMT -6
Pandora’s Key
Prologue:
Lightning flashed and thunder rent the landscape, threatening to tear the world to pieces right then and there. Rain pelted the ground with relentless fury, leaving small potholes in the mud. Chaos reeked havoc on the world.
Amidst the storm and the terror, four cloaked visages, their eyes set dead ahead, made their way across an open field. Streams of water poured down their bodies, dripping from any protruding point. The hooded cloaks they wore did little to protect them from the merciless elements rampant in the world.
At last they came to their destination: a transparent wall of twisting color. This was the border of the Aetherlands: a land of immortals, a separation between their world and worlds they had never seen. The lead figure drew a sword from a sheath hidden beneath the cloak he wore and, with a roar like a battle cry, he thrust the blade into the wall. Sparks of light flew in all directions as the man shouted, “Zeus, we need to talk to you!”
Instantly there came a clap of thunder and the next thing the four knew they were standing in a white marble hall. All was silent.
For a moment the group stood motionless. Then, without a word, the leader turned to one ascending hall and began to wind his way upward, his companions following at his heels. The walls were high; the path seemingly endless.
Then, all of a sudden, they came to a wide antechamber. The room was entirely empty, save for a pair of doors across from the group. These doors, crafted from pure gold, rose so high that they disappeared into a black abyss above and were so wide that the four travelers could have lain head to toe and still not have made up the width of one door. No one could see the ceiling.
A determined light burning in the leader’s eyes, he boldly crossed the threshold and approached the doors. Then, standing on the tips of his toes, the man reached up, took hold of the enormous door handle with both of his massive, calloused hands and threw all of his strength backwards in an attempt to open the door. Nothing happened.
“Zeus!” he bellowed, stepping back. “Open these doors!”
Instantly a great rumbling caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble. The four men backed up a little further as the enormous doors slowly swung open. Then, when the doors had come to a stop, the little group stepped forward and into the chamber beyond.
The room into which they entered was enormous, made of glass and suspended in a sea of clouds. And there at the far end was a giant of a man. He was seated in a golden throne, raised up on a dais of rainbow light. His age was indiscernible, but he had a full head and beard of snow white.
“Who are you, demanding mortal?” the great being inquired.
“My name is Kalzar,” the leader replied. “I am the prince of Galei.”
With that he and his companions removed the hoods of their sodden cloaks. Kalzar, a dark-headed, broad-shouldered man, appeared to be in his early-to-mid thirties, and yet he was by far the youngest of the four. Freshly healed wounds could be seen above his tattered shirt collar, suggesting that his travel had not been easy.
“I am impressed, young mortal,” the giant replied. “Galei is a long way off.”
“Yes, Great Zeus, it is. We have been through much. And because of that I now would have you hear our petition.”
“I am listening.”
“A great chaos has enveloped our world,” the prince explained. “Terrible things are happening to our people. And so I, along with three of my loyal knights, have traveled long and hard to beseech your majesty to rescue us from this evil.”
“I am afraid I cannot do as you ask,” Zeus replied with great remorse.
“And why not?” one of the knights, named Balen, inquired angrily.
“Because Pandora has opened the Box of Chaos. Hope is trapped inside. There is no hope for your world or the world in which Pandora resides.”
“Funny,” a tall, lanky knight named Halence smirked. “No one told me that. And how else would we have gotten here if we had no hope at all?”
Zeus remained silent for a time, then said, “There is only one way that I can remove the chaos from your land.”
“And what’s that?” Kalzar questioned.
“I will need a powerful heart. With that I can go so far as to trap most of the chaos in the box that Pandora opened. However, in order to keep it there and release hope at the same time, I must destroy the box and turn it into another relic.”
“What kind of relic?”
“One that will be used as a symbol of appointment. If ever there is something that must be done to repel the chaos I cannot trap in the box, this relic will be delivered to one who must deal with that evil.”
Kalzar drew in a deep breath, then inquired, “What happens to the one with the powerful heart?”
“He will become stone. He will act as my emissary when the new relic must be delivered to someone in your world.”
“Very well,” Balen spoke up. “Is my heart strong enough?”
“It is not,” Zeus replied.
“What of mine?” Halence asked.
“Yours is still not powerful enough.”
“And I?” added the third knight, called Falcon.
“You haven’t the power.”
“What about me?” Kalzar inquired. “I’ve lead my men through all kinds of danger in order to come here. Are you now going to tell me that my heart is not powerful enough?”
“It is as you say,” Zeus nodded. “No one mortal heart is powerful enough to complete the task.”
“What about all four of us?” the prince prodded. “Can we combine our hearts in order to complete this task?”
“Barely, but yes.”
With that Kalzar turned to his three loyal knights and said, “This is the only way. Are you willing to join me, or shall I find others?”
“We will go wherever you go and do whatever you do, My Lord,” Balen responded, placing his right fist over his heart. The others nodded their consent.
“It’s settled, then,” the prince said, turning back to the giant being. “However, I have one final request.”
Prologue:
Lightning flashed and thunder rent the landscape, threatening to tear the world to pieces right then and there. Rain pelted the ground with relentless fury, leaving small potholes in the mud. Chaos reeked havoc on the world.
Amidst the storm and the terror, four cloaked visages, their eyes set dead ahead, made their way across an open field. Streams of water poured down their bodies, dripping from any protruding point. The hooded cloaks they wore did little to protect them from the merciless elements rampant in the world.
At last they came to their destination: a transparent wall of twisting color. This was the border of the Aetherlands: a land of immortals, a separation between their world and worlds they had never seen. The lead figure drew a sword from a sheath hidden beneath the cloak he wore and, with a roar like a battle cry, he thrust the blade into the wall. Sparks of light flew in all directions as the man shouted, “Zeus, we need to talk to you!”
Instantly there came a clap of thunder and the next thing the four knew they were standing in a white marble hall. All was silent.
For a moment the group stood motionless. Then, without a word, the leader turned to one ascending hall and began to wind his way upward, his companions following at his heels. The walls were high; the path seemingly endless.
Then, all of a sudden, they came to a wide antechamber. The room was entirely empty, save for a pair of doors across from the group. These doors, crafted from pure gold, rose so high that they disappeared into a black abyss above and were so wide that the four travelers could have lain head to toe and still not have made up the width of one door. No one could see the ceiling.
A determined light burning in the leader’s eyes, he boldly crossed the threshold and approached the doors. Then, standing on the tips of his toes, the man reached up, took hold of the enormous door handle with both of his massive, calloused hands and threw all of his strength backwards in an attempt to open the door. Nothing happened.
“Zeus!” he bellowed, stepping back. “Open these doors!”
Instantly a great rumbling caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble. The four men backed up a little further as the enormous doors slowly swung open. Then, when the doors had come to a stop, the little group stepped forward and into the chamber beyond.
The room into which they entered was enormous, made of glass and suspended in a sea of clouds. And there at the far end was a giant of a man. He was seated in a golden throne, raised up on a dais of rainbow light. His age was indiscernible, but he had a full head and beard of snow white.
“Who are you, demanding mortal?” the great being inquired.
“My name is Kalzar,” the leader replied. “I am the prince of Galei.”
With that he and his companions removed the hoods of their sodden cloaks. Kalzar, a dark-headed, broad-shouldered man, appeared to be in his early-to-mid thirties, and yet he was by far the youngest of the four. Freshly healed wounds could be seen above his tattered shirt collar, suggesting that his travel had not been easy.
“I am impressed, young mortal,” the giant replied. “Galei is a long way off.”
“Yes, Great Zeus, it is. We have been through much. And because of that I now would have you hear our petition.”
“I am listening.”
“A great chaos has enveloped our world,” the prince explained. “Terrible things are happening to our people. And so I, along with three of my loyal knights, have traveled long and hard to beseech your majesty to rescue us from this evil.”
“I am afraid I cannot do as you ask,” Zeus replied with great remorse.
“And why not?” one of the knights, named Balen, inquired angrily.
“Because Pandora has opened the Box of Chaos. Hope is trapped inside. There is no hope for your world or the world in which Pandora resides.”
“Funny,” a tall, lanky knight named Halence smirked. “No one told me that. And how else would we have gotten here if we had no hope at all?”
Zeus remained silent for a time, then said, “There is only one way that I can remove the chaos from your land.”
“And what’s that?” Kalzar questioned.
“I will need a powerful heart. With that I can go so far as to trap most of the chaos in the box that Pandora opened. However, in order to keep it there and release hope at the same time, I must destroy the box and turn it into another relic.”
“What kind of relic?”
“One that will be used as a symbol of appointment. If ever there is something that must be done to repel the chaos I cannot trap in the box, this relic will be delivered to one who must deal with that evil.”
Kalzar drew in a deep breath, then inquired, “What happens to the one with the powerful heart?”
“He will become stone. He will act as my emissary when the new relic must be delivered to someone in your world.”
“Very well,” Balen spoke up. “Is my heart strong enough?”
“It is not,” Zeus replied.
“What of mine?” Halence asked.
“Yours is still not powerful enough.”
“And I?” added the third knight, called Falcon.
“You haven’t the power.”
“What about me?” Kalzar inquired. “I’ve lead my men through all kinds of danger in order to come here. Are you now going to tell me that my heart is not powerful enough?”
“It is as you say,” Zeus nodded. “No one mortal heart is powerful enough to complete the task.”
“What about all four of us?” the prince prodded. “Can we combine our hearts in order to complete this task?”
“Barely, but yes.”
With that Kalzar turned to his three loyal knights and said, “This is the only way. Are you willing to join me, or shall I find others?”
“We will go wherever you go and do whatever you do, My Lord,” Balen responded, placing his right fist over his heart. The others nodded their consent.
“It’s settled, then,” the prince said, turning back to the giant being. “However, I have one final request.”