Mars Underneath The Sceptre of Eternity

Firephenys

The pitch black Martian sky was obscured by blue smoke; Emereon could not figure out whether it was evening or already night. He realised that the terrain beneath his feet was rugged; hilly land had already started; but the problem was that he could not see what was waiting for him in the close proximity. He could not figure out from where this smoke was coming out.

With a great difficulty, Emereon started climbing up the hill; he brought out the layout map of the track from his trousers' pocket; it was very difficult to see the map, within the dense smoke, but he still managed to read it. He was on the right way. He had to climb up the eastern hill and to reach to a cave which was actually a catacomb used to bury Eagle Guards after their death and he seemed to pay tribute to the former Eagle Guards with flowers and candles kept within the cave. At the end, he had to lit a torch with the Eternal Flame burning there day and night.

After walking some time, Emereon realised that his eyes were burning; he was facing difficulty in breathing; he could not understand how to avoid this hurdle. There might be some other alternate way of climbing the hill; he thought. He started trekking downhill and at the foothill he realised that the bluish flame was no more disturbing him. He tried to figure out what was actually going on and how he could reach to his destination; because all the hurdles set here were for testing the physical strength of the contestants. The Fire Mountain's environment was not an easy place; they were expected to face many unknown as well as mysterious obstacles.

There was no sign of the other contestants; especially his brothers. Though he was not expecting to see Blazerrick in a good mood; but he was missing Zephyr and his wise counsels. He was walking slowly searching for an alternate way of climbing up the hill and found another way at the western side of the cliff; but the path was more difficult than the first one. It was a steep cliff and Emereon caught a rock with his both hands to put a step on a small flat terrain. He brought out a rope from his sack and made a noose. He threw it towards a sharp edged rock and the noose tied around the stone. He had no bolts to use as an anchor and there was a risk of stone displacement or rope damage; but still he took the risk. The wall was not smooth; it had some flat stones where one could keep his one foot; but not sufficient for keeping two steps together.

Luck favoured him; Emereon reached to the hill top, without breaking his neck. He stood up on the hill top and looked down below. The Sun had already disappeared from the sky, but a fade violet light was enough to see the world below; it was not night yet. He saw the red fields, the redwood forest and the picturesque reddish Martian landscape in the fading sunlight. The Scarlet Palace was also visible from the top; especially the Eagle Tower, where the King's Apartment was located. He once thought about Oeilna; she might be living there now; or somewhere near the tower, waiting eagerly for her marriage. Emereon too was waiting for that wedding. He thought, if he got selected for the Eagle Guard; he could stay in the palace. He smiled a bit; he had to cross many more hurdles before that.

Emereon tried to locate other contestants and suddenly saw two of his brothers were crossing the forest; but there was another man with them. To his surprise, he realised that the man was no other than that Earthian alien. The man who called himself Amerik had only one set of garments; so, he was wearing the same clothes. He suddenly felt surprised to think that how Blazerrick agreed to take him in his group or he wanted to sabotage? Emereon felt sorry for that alien man; he had lost his identity in an alien planet where he had no kith and kin. He had no chance to return back. He required a work to sustain himself; so, the man was taking such a great risk at this old age. However, Amerik looked stronger than his age. Emereon tried to guess Amerik's age; twenty or thirty? The Earth had different aging cycle.