This blog is a daily post from my trilogy The Phoenix & The Golden Egg. To all the kind readers who have kept this energy alive by reading and sharing it, even in it's infantile stages, thank you, because it's a blog with a cause and your energy helped keep mine going in my darkest days. It's been blogged over and over since it's conception in 2013, every time edited and improved along the way, it's now in book format, and in need of improving; it is and always has been a work in progress for therapeutic and educational reasons, which is why the old version is still available online.
If you aren't following the daily posts on Twitter @GoldHardShell you'll need to use the navigator bar to locate the beginning, because it's posted backwards on the blog.
Thank you for stopping by!
3.86 It's Never The End
For
the first time since the holocaust, the fire in the Crystal Temple had gone
out, it's glowing embers and ashes completely blown out of the hearth by the
sparkling tornado that had engulfed them all. Neter got up and gathered some
combustibles from the floor, stacked them on the hearth, reached into his
pocket, pulled out the lighter and sparked a flame.
"What's that?"
Zara quizzed, noticing it, he had somehow acquired some merchant's lighter?
"It's
some kind of fire lighting device" he replied, examining the lighter in
his hand. "I found it on the ground at the Farewell Celebration." He
read the script on the side. "It belonged to Nolan... God of Desire."
"What?"
Zara walked over to see, reaching out her hand. "Let me see!" Neter
handed her the device, still warm from the flame. "Nolan's the god
of Design, not Desire!" She examined the writing
again and gasped. "Oh my god! It says Desire."
"It
saved my life" he added. "You know him?"
"Wow…" She studied the lighter in
utter wonder, how could it be? It
really was Nolan's lighter! Had his title been changed? Had she
misread it? She was sure he was the god of Design... She
had always wondered how and why... Was it just a coincidence? It
didn't matter anymore, it was almost comical to look back at it now,
remembering how much she had desired him, how lush he had made her feel.
"No…"
she replied, finally realizing the truth. "I didn't even know his real
name. Look!" Zara handed the lighter to Bria.
Bria
had secretly desired Nolan, too. "Nolan went to Ebar."
"Maybe
he knew what was going to happen" Neter offered, noticing the flames in
the fireplace were burning bright now. But as he pulled another log from the
wood pile, the pile shifted and something shiny beneath the pile caught Bria's
eye. She reached down to pull it out, it was a broken Emerald Tile. She rubbed
the surface of the tile to see the image.
"Awww…" A wave of nostalgia surged
within, tears filled her eyes, like a time capsule it brought back memories of
good times.
"Look!"
She passed it to Zara. "It's the Fool tile! We were looking at it
on the last night! Remember?"
Suddenly
from outside, a wild howl pierced the night. Everyone heard it this time.
"AQUILLA!"
"AQUILLA!" Nolan froze, his worst fears were now confirmed. Aquilla was still alive! Like a vice, fear seized his throat as the deadly howl pierced the night sky. Suddenly the skeletal remains and lingering odours of death inside Kergal offered terrifying possibilities, this was what had become of the gods? WAS HE WAS STANDING INSIDE AQUILLA'S NEW LAIR? WAS THAT WHY ALL THE WINE WAS STILL THERE?
The
thought was absolutely terrifying. Facing the famed beast was the last thing he wanted to face
in this life! Panicked, he paced the plateau, butterflies in his chest beat so
hard now from the poisoned wine, so much for his peaceful ending. He
had no choice but to flee the cave for safety. Without any good ideas
of where to go, he hurried back down the only way he knew, the trail towards
the harbor. Perhaps he would find a nice shelter along the way, even the shoreline
offered a safer place to rest rather than the Aquillan feeding platter of
Kergal.
Feeling
the poison in his blood now, Nolan heaved a sigh of relief as he reached the
foot of the trail before either Aquilla found him or the fatal effects had
kicked in; he really just wanted to end his life in peace, nestled in a bush
was fine. Fed up and ready to die, he sat down on the rocks at the edge of the
water pondering the irony of his ill fate.
The
stillness of the night, the lapping waves on the rocks, illuminated by the
glowing moon were hypnotic together, aiding his final request, to rest in
peace. He sipped more of the wine, feeling relieved by his decision to end it
his way, when suddely, a sharp pain shot through his stomach.
"Aaa-a-a-hhh.."
He leaned forward, clutching his abdomen, lights flashed before his eyes... Or were they lights? As the pain ebbed
away, he got back up onto his feet and looked more closely into the water...
They weren't lights... Illuminated by the moonlight he could see a glint
of something shiny beneath the waves…. There was another... And another…. A golden goblet? Heart
pounding, he looked wider, he could make out the bow of a ship...
"NO-O-O-O-o-o-o-o!" He fell to his
knees, clutching his heart in agony. There it was! Right before his eyes
beneath the waves lay the ruins of Vikkar's ship... Loaded with all the
gold!
~ It’s never The
End ~
3.85 The Truth
Nolan
shuddered at the sight of the Barren Wasteland before him. The chance to escape
the tower in Ebar and the fantasy of a Lemurian Hero Quest had lost it's glossy
appeal as the reality of Hellias presented itself. Unarmed, packed with barely
enough to survive, the incinerated coastline promised of hardship.
"This
is good! Don’t go any closer, we have no idea how deep this water is now."
Orius made the command to drop anchor a short distance from the tattered remains
of the docks, poking out of the water; Nolan would have to row to shore.
White
knuckled and hair whipping his face, Nolan braved his fate and climbed down the
side of the ship.
"We'll
pick you up tomorrow, once you have all the gold" Seton assured with a
smile, leaning over the ship railing.
Nolan
glanced down at the dinghy, tossing below him in the maddened waters... It
didn't look too safe... Having to row to shore did little to help prepare him
for the challenge he faced.
"Be
careful over there... Watch out for the dogons!"
The
window inside the Crystal Temple was narrow and the sunlight only cast it’s
magical spell upon the Golden Egg for a few minutes. Once the light slipped
away, the wind died down and the survivors were left in silent reflection,
watching the dust settle around them in peaceful hush.
"Are
you okay?" Neter put his arm on Zara’s shoulder.
"I
know I will be now... " she
replied, feeling herself like she had just hatched out of her own Gold Hard
Shell. "Why did we survive inside the Crystal Temple? Why
has this pyramid survived all the cataclysms and wars? Was it because
of that egg?"
He
took a seat beside her. "Not exactly…The pyramid has it's own protective
forces around it, it was these energy fields which protected us."
"There's
three ‘indestructible’ pyramids below the sea" Zara reminded.
"Those
weren't real pyramids" he explained, "they just looked like
pyramids."
"How
can you say that! Their pyramid shape made them
pyramids!"
"Their
shape is only a mortal manifestation" he explained. "It takes
more than a mortal manifestation for a pyramid to have an energy field strong
enough to protect us. Those pyramids weren't built on the Ley Lines... They
weren't made of quartz crystal or aligned to the stars, they weren't channeling
any energy from above or below... They were made of lousy mortar and sandstone,
they weren't even built on solid rock! They're just cheap replicas, nothing
more than control monuments!"
"Control monuments?"
"Sure"
he replied. "What did Atalon call them? War Bunkers? Ha! He
built them to control you, not to protect you."
"Control us?" Zara was shocked
by the suggestion. "How?"
"How
did it make you feel when Atalon told you he wanted to build those great war
bunkers?"
"I
dunno…" Zara pondered the moment she first saw the plans.
"Protected?"
"Protected
from who or what?"
Now
she caught drift of where he was heading. "Aquilla… The Coming
War..."
"That's
right. The Coming War against Aquilla! Atalon wanted everyone to know that he
loved them so much he would protect you all from her 'fiery wrath' like no one
else could. He made sure everyone perceived his love by making the war bunkers
really, really big, that way everyone had to see them every time they stepped
outside, then they had to work really, really hard to build them... Everyone
had to sacrifice for them, Everyone's terrified... Everyone wants to
work hard... Do you see the Great Machine working?" Zara's mind was
suddenly spinning and freezing like it used to do. "For
god's sake!" He hadn't even realized how angry it made him until now.
"He had you begging for mercy, he made you all so afraid you sacrificed your own children to his ridiculous clay
statue!!"
Like
a barbed spear stabbing her heart in slow motion, the truth hurt so bad. The
moment Zara felt the urge to run across the celebration grounds to rescue Orien
returned instantly, in high resolution images. Why hadn't she?
With
a heavy sigh, she pondered her career, her devotion to the Great Machine, how
hard she had tried to be that Great Cog! Neter was right. She could see it all
so clearly now. She could see it then, too, she had just refused to acknowledge
it. She had been constantly accusing herself of malfunctioning! She wasn't
malfunctioning at all! She was trying to acknowledge the Truth!!!
Nothing made any sense, so many of the things she never believed, so many
things she was told weren’t true, were true after all.
"The
dogons turned out to be real!"
"Real fake,
and you all believed the tabloid stories because there was enough
coincidental evidence to sell the lie. That's how they controlled
you, by controlling your beliefs. Would you have stayed in Atlan
if you had known the truth about Lemuria?"
"No…"
Zara chuckled at the thought as thoughts returned to the day she dared to look
over the wall.
"Exactly.
You were so afraid you didn't even dare climb over the wall to go see!"
"It's
a miracle that I came to Lemuria at all!"
"Had
the sign read 'Lemuria' instead of 'Hellias' would it have made the decision
any easier?"
She
pondered the moment of decision, feeling so foolish now.
"I
really don’t know…"
Jasun picked up his harp and sat down on the edge of the stage. He plucked a few random notes, strummed a few chords... As if the music had been recorded, the harmonies and vocals of the Love Song still resonated inside Zara's mind, harmonizing with him, just like it had sounded that night, before so much was lost.
Jasun picked up his harp and sat down on the edge of the stage. He plucked a few random notes, strummed a few chords... As if the music had been recorded, the harmonies and vocals of the Love Song still resonated inside Zara's mind, harmonizing with him, just like it had sounded that night, before so much was lost.
"It's
simple science, really" Neter continued. "As Above, So Below."
"Other
way around" Zara corrected. "As Below, So Above!"
"Whatever!"
He chuckled. "Atalon's sign is like the pyramids, a cheap replica of the
real thing, meanwhile, he has absolutely no interest in understanding the
concept any farther. It doesn't matter if it's one way or the other, what counts
is what Above and Below are. To
Atalon, Above and Below was about power and control, about taking control of
Gaia so that he could control the Universe... Rule some planet."
"Elon."
"Gaia,
actually. The truth is, I don't think Atalon was in charge at all, he
just thought he was."
"Who
was?" Zara knew it wasn't Medel, but she had wondered about one of the
characters in their story. "Vina?"
"No…"
Neter chuckled. Theories of whether Vina was still alive or not were ancient
folklore, they had never been proven. "To this day there hasn't been any
signs she survived, but who knows? Maybe she did? To be honest, I don't know
who was pulling the strings over there" he admitted. "But I can
guess." He gestured to the crime scene. "Think about
it. What did they take? The one in charge takes what they need."
Exhausted
from the hike up the hill, Nolan couldn't imagine anyone having carried all the
gold up to Kergal. The plateau was deserted, odors of death and the stench of
charred wilderness still lingered inside the cave. Unable to light a fire
without his lighter, unable to see any signs or clues as to the whereabouts of
the gold, things looked fairly bleak. Regardless, there were clear signs that
Kergal had hosted the gods on their way to Fomora... They left the vats of wine
behind… "Three MoonWine and one BloodWine…"
He
studied the scene, there were skeletal remains…. They did drink the wine? What
had become of all that gold? Of the gods? Was he in fact alone here? Were
they just hiding deeper inside the cave? Paranoia was setting in as quickly as
the questions arose. He peered into the depths of the cave, into the black.
Once upon a time, Nolan could see very well in the dark, but those days had
long gone. Now he was blinded by it, how would he ever find the gold if he
didn't have a light to see?
The
Quest for the Lost Gold was off to a dismal start. Lost for answers and
agonized by inevitable defeat, he sat down in front of the fire pit, pondering
his fate. How would he ever face the gods if he couldn't find the gold?
Centuries and centuries of Solarian magic rocks and golden artifacts gone, just
like that? All because he didn't check the fucking cargo? Deliberately?
He
couldn't even think about the bomb or Orius's work, washed down the
drain. It was an unbearable embarrassment, the whole thing, the shame
was too unreal, his name would be famed for all the wrong reasons,
for ever. The tap and bolts on the keg of BloodWine made it look like it
was staring at him from across the cave, as if mocking him.
"Fuck
you!" He threw a handful of dirt at the vat. Seton knew him way too well. Inconsolable and burdened
with shame he began to realize that drinking the wine wouldn't be such a bad
way to go, he would spend his last moments drunk, too high to care anymore or
even know what was going on...
The
idea grew quickly, this way the truth could die with him, in secret. Perhaps
Seton had done him a favor? He stared at the keg, contemplating the grave
debate. Was he really ready
to give up?
Envy
wasn't something Dena expected to feel in Lemuria. Like an old forgotten
sidekick it tormented her once again as she watched the slaves being led down
the cliff towards the row boat. Why did Bella get to go to Ebar? Bella wasn't
so beautiful, her hair wasn't even a real blonde! She would never be a
redhead or a blonde! It
wasn't fair, but at the same time, she didn't want to be a breeder anyway,
and that was the trade-off she had to remind herself of.
Nevertheless,
it was agony to watch the lucky few, chosen to live a lifestyle they once all
took for granted, head off to Paradise without her. She knew what it
was. It was all about the hair... All of the red heads were
heading to the ship… As were the Dogons… And the Platinum blondes.
"Torus
cut us loose. For now." Bell broke the news as he joined her at the
lookout, handing her a scroll.
"What's
this?" Dena took the scroll and tugged at the red ribbon.
"Your
First Assignment. You're moving too. Go pack up, we're out of here."
"We're leaving?"
Dena unfurled the scroll, it was good news?
"We're
going to Kergal, at least for now" Bell informed. "Torus is going to
employ us to rebuild the harbor. Once we rebuild the harbor we can build some
ships, once we build some ships we can…"
"…go
to Fina…" Dena scanned the document, wide eyed. "…build a Tribe?" Never mind the multiple
pregnancies required, taking care of things like food, making clothing, cooking
and child care were things that hadn't been discussed, she couldn't do these things! "I can't do
these things!"
"You
don't have to do it all by yourself" he winked.
Dena
scanned the scroll a little farther. "Why do we have to go to
Kergal?" She protested. "It's so far away!"
"It's
got plumbing. Torus doesn't want us around, he only wants the Nefilim."
Dena
glanced back inside the cave, Malodon hadn't taken all the slaves, there were
still over a dozen panthers and Dogons left behind. "What about the rest
of them?"
"Read
the scroll." Dena unfurled the scroll farther…
"Oh…"
The news wasn't so bad, after all.
"Congratulations"
Bell grinned. "I can see the tabloids already... Dena, Queen of the
New Panthers!"
"What?" She read farther, now white
as a ghost.
"Yep!
We get to keep all the rejects, Malodon's Quality Seconds are ours, baby! Torus
seems to think you can turn them into gold!"
"They’re
all mine?" Dena went into shock.
"Ours."
Bell corrected. "Think of it as... Your Initiation Challenge."
"Initiation Challenge…"
The idea was sprouting roots quickly.
"Don't
you worry, we can make Kergal work for us, it's just going to be a bit tough
until we get onto our feet."
"Well…
We can't keep calling it Kergal, that's for
sure!"
Overwhelmed by hopelessness and shame Nolan stumbled over to the keg of BloodWine, he could see it had been opened. Who drank it? Thoughts returned to the exodus, to Josh, to all the aribu that fled the Farewell Celebration.... Where did they go? He glanced around the cave, in the dim light, from what he could see, it didn't seem like they were here long... Did they even survive? Would he really find his friends here or were they all dead? Neither scenario gave any real hope at all. Freezing and sweating at the same time, he stumbled out to the plateau and scanned the foggy coastline. Nothing but a charred and barren wasteland spanned before him for as far as he could see. Lemuria had become the very Hellias it had always been described to be, any kind of promising future was hardly imaginable. The Lunies would blame him… The Aribu would blame him... Even Josh would... How could any of them forgive him for this? Perhaps they had decided to drink the wine to save themselves from this misery he had caused them all… They were already in Hellias anyway... The truth was, he didn’t deserve to survive.
With
a heavy heart, he returned to the keg, filled up his flask and raised it to his
lips, pausing for a moment to reconsider his decision one last time...
There
was no other way. With a deep breath, he raised the flask for a toast.
"Hail Medel!"
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