Author Games: Ragnarok

Task Five Entries: Best Not To Ask

Amaterasu

DID NOT HAND IN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jade

The spinning starts again. For a moment, I feel like I am about to fall out of the roc’s nest, but then I steady myself, and am somehow on solid ground once again. My legs aren’t steady, so I collapse and feel a slight prick on the tip of my finger from a nearby thornbush. I stand back up, and am shocked to see red blood welling up on the wound. Fuck. Why isn’t it gold? It has to be gold. My powers were restored. What is happening?

I stagger around the forest in a confused haze, terrified. I must not be immortal. Why hasn’t it healed? Something is seriously wrong with me. And I don’t know how to fix it. So I keep stumbling around, hoping to find something that can help me. And that’s when the springs appear.

One is golden and shiny, with words in Latin carved over the source of the water. Another prominent color is purple, seen in the beautiful obsidian stones inlaid in the basin. The entire thing is gorgeous, and the water is crystal clear, amber sunlight glinting off its surface. The structure has a certain allure to it, and it is perched in a field of gorgeous flowers, in the shade of royal purple you rarely see anymore. So purple it’s almost black. It smells sweet, like the water is perfumed with something reminiscent of a scent from another era. If there were ever a word for it, beautiful would be the one. But it is more than that. Everything about the fountain draws you in. I feel like I must drink from that fountain, but then I look to its right and see that there is another exactly like it.

They are identical almost down to the very last detail. The only difference I notice is the fact that the other one has a solitary pink flower floating at the very back of the basin, and the inscription is different. So small that one might miss it. But I did not. And I know then that it must be important.

It is then that Loki and Eros, two gods whom I know very well, come strolling into the clearing. They see the fountains, and know that they face the exact same dilemma as me. But I know what I must do. I must stand back and observe, for they have not seen me yet. So I shrink into the treeline and watch.

Loki sees the two fountains, and seems to know exactly what he is doing. He reads out the Latin, which reads “life and death.” on the first one. “The choice must be made,” says the second. And he thinks he knows the answer as soon as he reads that. “The answer is quite, simple, Eros. The one on the right is the fountain of life.”

And without hesitation, for Eros may not be the smartest, he runs over to that fountain and takes a gulp. And even as he does so, I see the gleam in Loki’s eyes and realize the Eros has been tricked. He walks over to the other fountain as Eros doubles over in excruciating pain and triumphantly takes a sip. As he does so, I walk back into the clearing.

“Yes. I was right. My powers are returning!” Loki calls out as he stands up. He seems overly confident. Then again, I suppose that is what he’s known for. Confidence and trickery. And he’s just proven how good he is at both of those. But just as he says this, his face turns dark. “What’s happening? I was so sure…” He seems nauseous, like something in the water has gotten to him. And that something very well may be poison.

He collapses, falling to the ground hard. His breath is slowing, and I turn behind me to see Eros standing proudly. He must have gotten his powers back. Quickly, while he doesn’t yet see me, I run behind his back and slurp up some of the other water. As it goes down my throat, I feel a burning pain in my abdomen. And then, just as quickly as it came, it is gone. And Loki, one of the smartest gods I have ever met, is dead. For the first time, his trickery has backfired.