Cold air whistled as they walked through the door into a new world. David turned around to look at Arya, but she wasn’t there. The door was folding in on itself, squeezing until there was nothing left in there space where it had been. He shivered slightly, feeling the cold slip into him like a rush of fear. The others were trembling too, either from the wind or fear.

This place stretched endlessly and white. Even the grass was snow white. Above them, mountains floated. Those too were white peaked, but on the side, David could see they had veins of red. He didn’t have to guess what those were. He could sense the heat in them.

Then why are we cold?

Welcome to the first floor—Home of Ziel and her offspring

Ziel conquered the first floor by destroying Carax the Wild. Within the carcass of Carax, you will find insights and hone your understanding of essence. You will face the tribulations of Amareth, the rage of the dragon, Ziel and the hunger of her offspring.

Time Limit: None

“A dragon!” Elisha said, excited. Then, as if reading David’s thoughts, he frowned. “How are we supposed to face a dragon?”

David wasn’t sure either. He had expected the first floor to be easier, but then Ifyr had not been a simple trial either. This being, Amareth, or whatever it was, was cruel. David stared into the distance, the landscape lit up for as far as he could see. There was no darkness, no nook to hide, except the floating mountains. He hadn’t noticed before but the mountains were linked by something. From up here, he couldn’t tell if those were bridges.

“Do you think we will have to go up there?” Chloe asked. Her hands were folded around her as she shivered. Zoey shook her head.

“I hope not.”

David knew they would have to. There was no way the dragon they had to defeat would be on the ground. Dragons loved to lord it over other species, and what better way to rule than to look down on your subject. Except, there was no one here to rule. The place was like a snow wasteland, except without snow. Everything had been bleached white by something and he felt he could sense a high amount of essence here.

“Is it me or do you all feel like we are being watched?” Elisha asked as David walked forward. There was no need to stand and mope. They had to find a way to get up on one of those mountains. The cold would kill them if they lingered. It was not oppressive, but it grew—as if they were in a freezer and it was being ramped up by the minute.

“I feel it too,” Zoey said. David ignored the chatter. His eyes wandered around, searching. There must be something, some way to go up there.

Chloe walked beside him, her new lute strung up behind her. This one was made of something she called Vyrn wood. She didn’t understand it yet, but she will. She was lazy, but sometimes she caught on fast. David hoped it would be fast enough to help them.

“Why don’t you study those scripts while we find what we are looking for?” David whispered. Chloe nodded. A sheet appeared in her hand a moment later and she whispered some words.

David felt a stir, as if something was roaring out of him, a void he couldn’t understand. He turned to Chloe, his heart thudding fast.

“How about you study them silently?” He asked, his face tight with worry. She frowned up at him, but then nodded again. When she stopped, the sensation of being opened from the inside stopped. He tried to steady his breathing, making sure Chloe didn’t notice what happened.

David went back to checking the landscape. They were getting close to one of the floating mountains. He’d expected it to be larger. It looked as if it had been pulled up from an existing mountain, but there was none below. The veins stood out now, and the lave flowing within it glowed red and hot yellow.

He was still thinking about how they would get up there when he heard the grunt. It sounded like whatever was up there was disgusted by them.

“So, they have sent you,” a voice said. It came from everywhere. From the distance beyond them, and from up above the floating mountains, eight of them, David counted. Some were smaller and others larger. He wondered what it represented.

“Who are you?” Zoey asked. There was a grunt again and then a cackle, like cracks in boulders. It echoed throughout the expanse, as if the sound came from every wind that howled. The wind’s whistling had reduced, almost unnoticeable, but the cold stayed.

“Your kind are rude,” the voice said. It was slow or patient, as if it had all the time in existence to speak. David guessed it was Ziel herself. The voice sounded neither male nor female in his mind, it simply was a voice. “Yet, I have been asked to give you a chance.”

“You are to give us Amareth’s tribulations?” David asked.

“Correct.” A moment passed before the voice continued, “Each of my offspring holds a trial. A suffering, if you will. One you will have to go through for you to come to me. Here, I will show you the beginning of hell, the untainted void that chills the bones of everyone who has come before you.”

The floating mountains pulsed with energy and it spread everywhere, making the wind whip harsher. Yet, it didn’t touch them. When the pulsing stopped and the wind settled, David saw something flying down from above. It was a bird, large and spotlessly white. As it got closer, it shrieked, like a command. It was large, like David imagined a dragon would be.

“Arg will be your guide. It will take you to Hilga, who holds the first trial. I wish you suffering, humans, nothing more.”

Arg looked down at them, its eyes were milky white and the rest of it could have been chips of snow. It was beautiful. Its large legs folded under it as it settled for them to climb on it. It spread its wings down for them to climb on. David felt awkward about staining the pristine feathers, but he didn’t waste time thinking about it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Its back was large and soft. Comfortable to sit. Chloe danced around, chuckling as she buried her hands in its feathers. The bird made no show of displeasure. When they were all safely on its back, it stood straight, flapped its wings slowly and then leapt into the air.

Its wings caught the wind and pushed upward until they were soaring toward the mountains. It was wide and jagged. Sharp ends glistened black. David wondered how far a drop would be from the top and when he looked down from atop Arg, his chest tightened. He’d never been scared of height, but then he’d never flown atop a bird before. Nor seen magically flying mountains.

“Chains,” Elisha said, pointing to the links between mountains. They were large chains and the mountains formed a heptagon with one larger mountain in the middle.

Arg circled one of the smaller ones and then soared above it and shrieked. The sound was deafening, but David was distracted by what he was looking at below. He had expected to see a cave, but there was a large building on the surface of the mountain, like a palace. There were green yards and paths paved with flowers.

Arg descended, plunging down toward the mountain. As they got close, it softened the fall, flapping its great wings until it seemed like they were simply drifting down on slow wind.

The roof was made of brown, thick tiles that seemed joined together. The pillars were wide and round and the ground was paved in black stone. Everything shone as if polished moments before their arrival. The trees were many, with thick branches and fruits they had never seen before.

Arg crouched for them to climb off. Up the paved path were three people. They wore soft, patterned robes and colorful animal masks. They bowed as David and his siblings got closer. One was female, from her posture and hair, but they didn’t seem human. Yet, they sounded so when they spoke.

“Welcome,” the one in the middle said. “I am Yi.”

“And I am Er,” the woman said. She was bent slightly and on the right of Yi.

“The dragon named me San,” the shortest of the three said. “You are welcome. We will lead you to the dragon.”

They turned at the same time, each having different colors of tails, but each as furry as a fox’s. They led David and the others up wide, white stairs to the tall door that was guarded by other masked figures. Once the door opened, David’s heart sank and his breathing became labored. Zoey cursed, falling to her knees. Chloe passed out and Elisha covered himself in shadow.

Then the pressure vanished.

Air rushed into David’s lungs and he blinked the black motes away from his sight. He picked Chloe up, turned to see that Zoey and Elisha were alright and then followed the three masked figures down a long hallway. The inside was warm, but David had expected that. They reached a door that was unguarded and plain. The masked creatures turned to David and the others as if to warn them.

Then the door opened and the force of power came again, but they were ready. Chloe was already out, so she wasn’t affected. Elisha gritted his teeth, pushing through the storm of power that threatened to crush him. The masked figures walked as if untouched in front of them, leading them to where a woman sat on a wide throne. It was made of gold and red.

She was veiled, but she was completely human. Her red robe flowed everywhere, like sheets covering the whole platform. She didn’t look up, she didn’t lift the veil either. Her hair was lush and long. And she didn’t stop the force, she pushed harder in fact, attempting to crush them.

“Do you know why you are here?” She asked. In the middle of this suffering, David heard her voice as a whisper in his ears. It was soft, kind, and almost polite. A strange contrast to the woman he was looking at. Where she spread over everything as if she ruled. He couldn’t speak. Any attempt to speak would end up in him collapsing. The others were holding on by sheer will too.

“The trials come in different forms. For me, I test your will. I try to break you, your mind and then your soul. Like a forger, I put you between anvil and hammer and I re-forge you, removing the weakness that paralyzes you. Your form,” she said, stretching her hand out. It was scaly, but clear, as if she was recently created and with passion.

“Your form is weak, humans. You will see that soon.”

The pressure increased and David cursed, raging against the dragon. In his mind everything was warped. He couldn’t feel Chloe’s weight anymore, nor his own. His body, his shell, was shattered. The force intensified. Zoey wailed somewhere and David wanted to turn to see if she had fallen under pressure, or if Elisha had been crushed.

“I see why you got here,” Hilga said.

In Zoey’s ears the words came with spite, anger and rage. There was no kindness or warmth. The dragon hated them, wanted to ruin them. And she fought against it, she pushed, shoved and swore. She wouldn’t let the dragon win, she wouldn’t be crushed on the first floor.

In Elisha’s mind the voice came to him from an absolute darkness. He was stranded in the chaos of it, almost as if he was the chaos himself. And the dragon’s voice came in little whispers, telling him why he couldn’t make it. Why he wasn’t chosen.

He was nothing like David, nor was he as strong as Zoey even though he was older than her. What was he doing here? He had reached here because of David and Zoey. What was he doing here?

“If your body holds, what about your mind?” Hilga asked, increasing the force of her will. This was her palace, her domain. She ruled here, she was absolute here. Not even her elder siblings could best her here. She was the youngest, but she was the strongest here. Their mother had made them unique in such a way that they were independent of her and anyone else.

David opened his eyes, he’d been battling the voices too, but now he could see the dragon clearly. His vision was better. Then it struck him that what she said was true. This was their tribulation, but it was also some form of remaking. They were being strengthened through endurance. He turned his head with some difficulty to see that the others were still standing. Blood was dripping down from Elisha’s nose through, but he was on his feet.

“If your mind holds,” the dragon said and David finished it for her…what about your soul?

The pain that came from those words were overwhelming and terrifying. It struck like a lance of lightning, shredding whatever made up David’s being. He felt himself unspool and panic stretched through him, making him stretch forward only for him to realize that it wasn’t physical. He could do nothing. Everything that was happening was beyond him.

He was in the hands of a being largely above him. And it seemed like there was no end to it.

A bell gong sounded somewhere distant, but it reached him. It started clear, with rhythm, but then it became a scattered spread of sound. David heard Hilga irritated hiss and then the force vanished. David sucked in air to quickly and almost choke himself.

His body trembled, and behind him Elisha collapsed. David held his ground though, resolved to show the dragon that he wasn’t weak. He felt so stupid for it, but he wouldn’t give in. There was silence for a moment and then Hilga laughed.

“Except the child, the rest of you are quite the characters,” Hilga said.

David swallowed. He’d been wondering about something and now he was really curious.

“Why did you use that form?” He asked. “Why human?”

“Why not?” She asked. Then she shrugged. “Because I can.”

David grunted, finding, again, that pride he’d expected.

“You will now go to my brother. His tests are different from mine, but entertaining all the same. You will need all of your wits about you. Rest well, before you meet him.”

David nodded and picked Chloe where he’d dropped her. He checked to see if she was injured and then turned to follow the masked figure. More questions rushed up his mind, but he knew she wouldn’t give him a straight answer. There was no need to ask.

Arg was waiting for them outside, legs folded and wings spread.