Daedalian Fury: The Labyrinth (Ayrik's Acolyte Test)

[Quibby]

This would not be the first time that Michael Daemeau had made this walk. It wasn't even the one hundredth. It was one of a select few, though, whom he had escorted after being the one to teach them how to seize saidin. Ayrik Drayven had been a relatively quick learner, finishing his Acolyte training in about three and a half years. He hadn't set any speed records, but he hadn't been slow about it, either. As he approached the man's room, a flow of Air solidified, pushing the door open.

 

The sudden weave of Fire and Spirit that slashed through his weave was not unexpected. Ayrik was known for being a bit forceful in his defenses. As the weaves of Air sprung back into him, Michael grunted, then said, "Don't make actually fight you, Ayrik. Come out." The door opened the rest of the way, and Ayrik stepped into the hall. He was dressed the way he always dressed, white wool shirt, the laces half-undone, black breeches, and boots.

 

"Ayrik Drayven, you are to come with me. Ask no questions, do not touch the Source," Michael spun on his heel, listening long enough to tell that Ayrik was following him. Through the corridors of the Fortress the two walked, neither speaking. They came to the first set of stairs, and descended. The first cellars would have been a common place for Ayrik to have been. Most of his classes would have been here. Another set of stairs, and the two were in the second cellar. A few other classes were held down here, and the Traveling rooms used by the Mae'shadar were here, too. Another turn, and they were descending to the third cellar. At the base of the stair, the two came to a door.

 

"Every Dreadlord in the service of the Shadow has passed through this door. Many more have gone in, but they don't come back out alive." Ayrik hardly even blinked; Michael found himself wishing that the man wouldn't bottle himself up so tightly. It could lead to a mental breakdown. "To go any further in the ranks, you must make it through the trial on the other side of this door. Great Lord's luck with you, should you choose to go in." With that, Michael stepped back and waited. Many couldn't make themselves go through that door. If they didn't, they died. There was no room in the Shadow for cowards.

**********************

 

Michael's words still rang in Ayrik's ears as he stood facing the door. Only the time he had spent schooling his emotions had kept his face smooth when Michael had told him of his task. If Ayrik had any fear, it was the fear of the unknown. Not knowing what was in store for him made him uneasy. Now is not the time, nor the place for this. Ayrik looked again at Michael. He was standing there, waiting... With a sudden realization, Ayrik knew that to refuse to go through these doors was instant death. His hand reached for the door handle, paused... and pulled the door open, stepped through, and closed it behind him all in one motion.

 

Blackness closed around Ayrik the moment the door closed. Seizing saidin, Ayrik woke Air and Fire into a floating ball of light. The glimmering light revealed that he was in a narrow corridor of some sort. With a sinking feeling, Ayrik realized what was going on. He was in a maze. And it wasn't likely to be a small one. Saidin was still in him. Putting his hand against the left wall, Ayrik wove Air into the stone, melting it around his palm. There. He'd have some way of identifying where he'd been.

 

As he walked away, Ayrik didn't see the flows of saidar that smoothed the stone back over again. The only sign that it had happened to him was the sudden chill that he felt. Curiously, he looked around. Suddenly, this game was not nearly as fun as it had started out to be. Which wasn't saying a lot.

*************

 

If Ayrik was judging the time correctly, it had been about an hour since he had entered the labyrinth, and thus far, nothing. He had had to force the fear of being lost out of his system quickly. There was nothing for it but to keep moving. Turning a corner, Ayrik nearly ran into the carved wall that stood between him and his target. Taking a step back, Ayrik examined the strange stone slab. It was entirely unlike the rest of the stone in the maze. The carving on it was of a weeping woman, her tears forming a river at the base of the stone.

 

Something wasn't right. Reaching out, he ran his hand against the rough-cut stone. It wasn't as gritty as it should have been. Striking it produced the same results he would have expected from striking stone, but touching it... It was then that Ayrik noticed the tingling of his skin. With a growl, Ayrik wove Fire and Spirit and slashed the stone. It disappeared, revealing... water. Lots of water. "Ooookay... where's the floor?" There was motion below the surface. Leaning out over the water, Ayrik peered into the depths trying to identify-

 

The creature that lunged out of the water at him was unlike anything that Ayrik had ever seen. It was some kind of small fish, maybe as long as his hand and a bit wider. Upon further inspection, Ayrik saw more lurking in the depths. A lot more. And the specimen that had jumped at him had teeth. Big teeth. If they all swarmed together... "So much for swimming," Ayrik muttered as he drew upon saidin again and channeled Air and Water. The surface of the water began to freeze up and away from him, the long corridor gradually becoming a sheet of ice. Gingerly, Ayrik stepped out onto it. It held. He stepped a bit further. It still held. He bounced. It held. "Good."

 

He was about halfway over the ice when Ayrik felt the familiar tingle in his skin. And then the ice shattered, leaving a few floating platforms, which were gradually shrinking. "Damn," Ayrik muttered quietly as he leapt to the nearest ice chunk, then the next, and the next. He had plenty of motivation to stay out of the water; those fish would make a leap at him every time he came into view. At the end, a quick platform of all five elements sprung into existance as he leapt the final chasm, sliding across the smooth surface and back onto stone. A damp stone floor had never felt so good.

************

 

thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthud... That sound had been driving Ayrik for the past five minutes. It had been three hours since the incident with the water, and Ayrik was starting to get sick of this maze. thudthudthudthudTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD... Stepping around a corner, Ayrik found the source of the thudding: a series of stone pillars pounding into the path below them. "Oh." This one was going to be fun. Only four, but they were definitely not going to be fun. Fifteen minutes, Ayrik sat and memorized the pattern. The first stone would fall once and raise, then the second would fall twice and raise. As the second ones were raising, the first would fall again. He would have to move immediately after the second crash. The stone after that fell once and raised, and the final stone fell three times in the space of that one. Stop thinking about it and go.

 

With a deep breath, Ayrik stood as close as he could to the ascending rock. Go! Hastily, Ayrik crossed under the rising rock to the next one. As it rose, he jumped beneath it, feeling the air displaced by the first falling rock at his back. Again, the rock ascended, and Ayrik scrambled underneath it. THUDTHUDTHUD! The rock rose, and Ayrik ran to the other side and sank down against the wall, breathing heavily. If he never had to go through anything like that again, it would be too soon.

***********

 

One final corner, and Ayrik found himself facing a stone door. Approaching it hesitantly, Ayrik examined the stone. It was real. Oddly enough, it seemed to be set into the stone as if it could be raised. Hmm... what's this? Words carved into the stone grabbed Ayrik's attention, looking closely, he read them aloud.

 

"This stone portal is the end

One last challenge to upend

Raise the stone above your head

Or you shall join the failed dead."

 

At the word 'dead', a rumbling sound caused Ayrik to turn sharply on his heel. The wall behind him was moving forward, and it wasn't moving slowly. Saidin was there as fast as thought, and flows of Air crept beneath the heavy block. Up! The weaves strained, and the block moved up. Slowly. Infinitely slowly. At waist-level, Ayrik was sweating heavily from the exertion. At neck level, he was ready to collapse from exhaustion. It was nearly too much to handle. Ayrik hurled himself through the open portal as the stone wall brushed his back, allowing the weaves to dissolve as he passed under the stone. And there, Ayrik lay, breathing heavily from the exertion.

 

"Ten hours, all told." The voice made Ayrik jump to his feet unsteadily. He couldn't have seized saidin if it had meant his life. Michael was there, looking at him with something that almost resembled a smile. "It wasn't a record, but you got out alive. That was the test. Congratulations, Ayrik Drayven, Adept of the Fortress."

 

Adept of the Fortress. It had a nice ring to it...

 

 

-Ayrik Drayven

Adept