City of IF

[Key]

Last decision: Move toward the light. (click for a summary of the story so far).

You're wet and cold in a strange place. Light suggests warmth. You follow the light.

You creep down the narrow passage cautiously. It's as rocky and slippery here as in the room above, but it is slightly warmer. Eventually the passage bottoms out and opens into a large cavern where you can see the source of the light: a candle held by a young boy.

The boy is beautiful - so beautiful that the sight of him hits you like a wave. With angelic golden curls falling upon his shoulders, soft creamy skin that glows with health, and red lips drawn upward in a gentle smile, he seems to light up the dark cave with his innocence and purity. You ache to hold him, to love him, to keep him safe from all the bad things in the world. But you hold yourself back, still cautious.

The boy sets his candle on a nearby rock, and regards you with curiosity. He couldn't be more than seven, but his eyes are deep, the eyes of someone much older.

"Welcome," he says, with a smile.

"Where am I?" you ask. "How did I get here?" Unconsciously, you reach up and feel the back of your neck where the Virivoi King impaled you. Still no scar, no sign of a wound.

"You are in the Coils of the Serpent," says the boy. "This is a shadowland, a place between life and death."

"Am I...dead?"

"Far above us on the Wheel, your body lies in a delicate balance between life and death amid a hurricane of battle. If it lives, you will return to it."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then you will go...somewhere else."

The boy turns his head toward a wide pool to his side. In the pool's still water are thousands of stars and the blue-white jewel of the Wheel's sky, the Earth. You look up, but above is only a rock ceiling. The lights are no reflection - they seem to exist only inside the pool.

"Is that where I go if I die?"

"Yes," answers the boy. "That is the Void. A vast emptiness of all things. Oblivion."

"But there are stars in it. And the Earth."

"They're too far away. You could never reach them."

"A witch once told me she had sent her dragon-form to Earth. Her name was Merope."

"Merope is a fool!" snaps the boy angrily. "And even if an Elder's dragon-form could make it through the Void, it would be impossible for a Maker like you."

Maker. You haven't heard that word before, but you know that you're different from your people, born without the eight legs, segmented body, pincers, and stinger of a normal Scorpion. Before now, you've met only one other who looked like you - the witch Merope. But this boy also has a similar form.

"So who are you?" you ask.

The boy seems pleased by the question. "My name is Venus," he says.

The name sounds familiar, but you can't place it. Still, he looks like you and Merope. "Are you a witch?"

"A witch!" Venus spits out the word. "Elder is a better name. When I was alive, we were called Gods."

Now you remember. "You were one of the Imperial gods. The goddess of love, wasn't it?"

Venus seems flattered and favors you with a smile. "That's right. But I was more than that. For a time, I was Queen."

A far-off look comes into Venus's eyes. "It was a glorious time. Mars was my husband and our son, Marcus, was Emperor. Mars had his wars to keep him happy, and I had the love of millions. Millions!" Venus sighs. "Oh, how the sweet scent of spices filled the air! How the lovers played in the apple trees, drunk on wine and the taste of each other's bodies! I could feel them, feel their love - so many worshipping me, adoring me, begging for my touch."

Venus's face darkens. "Then, he took it all away. My own son, Aeneas. He stormed the city with his Makerite troops, killed his own half-brother, and chained and muzzled his stepfather like a dog. And how did he treat his own mother, who gave him life, who bore him and nursed him as a young babe? He stabbed me with a spear, cut off my head, and dragged my body through the streets of the Capital."

For an instant an image flashes through your mind - an achingly beautiful young woman, her long dark hair askew, her golden dress bloody, pierced through the midsection with a metal spear. Venus continues bitterly, "So I came to the Coils. I couldn't live because I had been killed, but I couldn't die because I am an Elder. So for two thousand years I have been trapped in this dark cave, bereft of my most beautiful form, nearly forgotten in the Wheel above. And it's all because of Aeneas.

"He sent you here, too," says Venus. "Oh, not him personally, I know he's dead now, but it's the same Empire. They've never liked the Scorpion People - you've always been too close to nature for them. I'm sure the Empire sent the machines, the Zigots, to Mount Olympus. And they probably bribed the Virivoi to betray you.

"There's been a lot of betrayal in this Age, and a lot of rape and murder and brutality. There's a price to it all, and the bill is coming due. More Elders are here in the Coils than anyone realizes, and we're growing more awake and more powerful. You've got no love for the Empire. Why don't you help us?"

"What do you want me to do?" you ask.

"Stay in the Coils with us. There's much to do underground. Battles if you want them."

"But you said I was going to go back to my body if it lives, or into the Void if it doesn't. How could I stay here?"

Venus frowns. "It's sometimes hard to understand the correspondence between this place and the Wheel. Events are not always predictable from one side. For example, if some Virivoi on the Wheel were to give a deathblow to your body right now, the impact might send you spinning into the Void. But maybe you could resist and stay here even if your body was killed. Or if you jumped into the Void here and now, your body on the Wheel might suddenly pass away, but maybe it would find a way to survive. There are no certainties. But there are paths and decisions and actions.

"There are three paths out of this room. One leads back the way you came. If you return to the upper cavern and dive into the pool there, you might make it back to your body on the Wheel.

"The second path leads into the Void. Take one step into the pool in this room and you will be lost in oblivion." You peer into the pool. The stars and Earth look bright and inviting. Still, you know nothing of this strange magic, and even Merope thought that the journey to Earth was dangerous.

"The third path is to take one of the many tunnels leading out of this room or the one above. These lead to the Coils of the Serpent, where my brothers and sisters wait to welcome you as part of our family. This is the path I ask you to take.

"We are the rejected, Masakati. We have been violated and beaten and spat upon. We have been locked away, and a nail has been driven through our Mother's heart. But we will sit in the dark no longer. Each day we are stronger. Soon we will be strong enough to push the nail out of our Mother's heart, strong enough to free Her. And when we do, when She rises and Her anger is made manifest, the Wheel will be destroyed. And unless you join us, on that day your life will be forfeit too."

Venus looks at you, his ancient eyes blazing in his angelic face.

What do you do?

(Anyone is welcome to post a suggestion).

[kenshin himura]

Well i think that you should go back into the room that you came from becouse it sounds like this boy is very crazy and you have a chance that you could get back to your body( as the boy said).[/b]

[Onate]

go back and get REVENGE, MUWAHAHAHAHAHA! :twisted:

[Araex]

i think we shud probably go + join them, build up a massive army, and then go get revenge. it is a risk goin up 2 the pool as the boy isn't sure if it will return u 2 ur body, we dont kno what wud happen.

[NinjaBread]

something is amis in the coils and that desision is a wrong one. jumping into the void will solve nothing so return back to the realm you know best the one where your army needs you.

[Mother Goose]

How do we know this boy is who he says he is? Maybe he's really Venus's son Eros; he hates Aeneas (sibling rivalry?) and Masakati is of the race of Aeneas so he may not wish her well. He certainly wants to release the dragon and destroy the world.
Masakati should go back toward the pool in the upper cavern and try to get back to her body. Now would be a good time for Taremto, the god of the mountain and Masakati's father, to intervene in the war against the desecrators!

[Guest]

Yet the boy seems to be hiding something..a secret perhapse? or is he playing with you?

[whatub6ib9]

there's people that depend on her if she turns her back on them she would be a terrible leader. Do the right thing and go back to the people that need her. If she doesn't go back to her people, and she has a chance to, she would be a failure.

[Rodrigo Resende]

I think the only way is to join the other Makers..

[Guest]

Go back to the people that need you I say. I wouldn't want to aid in the destruction of millions.

[DJ_Psymon009]

I second that, destruction only leads to more destruction so go

[Mother Goose]

That last line sounds like the classic bad guy temptation/threat - "Join us or when we take over the world you will be destoyed!"

[DJ_Psymon009]

Fine we will join you when I mean we I mean me and my little friend..... bolt shock dragon. All of a sudden a black shadow appears behind Psymon and made a huge roar that shook the heavens.

[Guest]

i say that she should help the boy and get ultimate revenge on the guys that killed her, killing them and there family! It does seem as though the boy is hiding something, but i do think that "he" is the goddess venus. there just seems to be some important facter that he is hiding from her, something that would make her definetly want to go back to life. jumping into the void would be plain stupid, as that would be exepting death. i just think that there is something she isnt getting out of the boy........ :?

[catlin]

hi my name is catlin and i want to know how to get posts.

[catlin]

i need more posets

[catlin]

hi it's me catlin

[catlin]

can i have 999999 postes

[ishmael]

hiya im am new to this site it seem realy net i am from HK just wanted to hay hello laaa

[Aestraea]

I would take the third path and become part of the family cause i am always up for adventures and who knows you may never want to go back to your body after all.

[Athena_Love]

Id say you confront him, he seems a little shady to me and I would want to know what, if anything, he is hiding :evil:

[Pyro2K4]

Confront him it sounds like he is keeping something back

[Key]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the great postings.

A lot of you have voted for confronting the boy to see if he's hiding something. How would you confront him? Are there any weaknesses in his story that you want to bring up to see how he reacts? What would you push him on?

Thanks,
Mark Keavney
Interfable Webmaster

[Destiny marie Sena]

When you confront him. ask him why he has a male body when he had a female body when alive.

[Araex]

gd idea, i hadn't thought of that one

[disco]

:twisted: I FEEL THE SAME I DO HATE EVERYONE THE SAME.

[Jerraine]

I think u shld... go back to the room. I think u can even find out that u need to keep the world u presently was in alive... I think the boy is too full of vengeance...

[Guest]

The void is the easy way out.... oblivion... then all you cared about perishes. remaining in the coils is almost as bad... you live on, but you help distroy those you care about... the only course is a temporary alliance, asking for help to return to your body in exchange for your "assistance" from the other side. until they try to unravel existence their powers could be helpful

[Orestes]

We must help and join them in battle I have read a lot of Greek mythologie and it is logical that we help them.

Then we can return to the Wheel after defeating evil.