The Trial of the Bow

by ElvenWhovian

A retelling of the Portal and Portal 2 story set as a Medieval fairytale. Written by ElvenWhovian with contributions by Starry-Nightengale. All Valve characters belong to Valve. All Blue Sky influences are inspired by Waffles' excellent work.

I. The Kingdom

Many years ago, in a far distant realm, lay the shining kingdom of Aperture.

This land was ruled over by the stern yet ambitious King Cave, son of John the Great, and with him ruled Queen Caroline the Fair. Together they governed the surrounding lands and brought order and prosperity to the people of Aperture.

Yet ever was it spoken by the wise of that land that the hearts of men who value knowledge more than life and peace are more easily drawn into darkness. Such was the path of the King, for Cave valued knowledge above all things that are fair and beautiful. This brought the kingdom great wealth, but it was only a matter of time before it took hold of his heart.

In the center of this Kingdom stood Castle Aperture, a great white structure that was nearly the size of a small town. Indeed, many of the servants never left its walls for everything was contained within them, including living quarters, vast gardens, and a library that rivaled those of greater, distant kingdoms. King Cave had also gathered the most learned and skilled to reside in Castle Aperture. There were those skilled in metal craft and the forging of great machines, as well as those learned in knowledge of magical arts, though there was little magic in that realm. Most magic only existed in the legends and tales of old, but King Cave wished to possess all knowledge in order to build his great Kingdom.

II. The Bow

This tale truly begins on one particular night when the sky was clear and the stars shone brightest. That night a great stone fell from the heavens. It landed with great destruction just outside the gates of the Castle. Though the exact origin of the stone was unclear, many thought that it had fallen from the moon. The King had it brought within the Castle wall and instructed his wisest and most knowledgeable servants to study the stone. Through vigorous investigation they observed that it was made of a strange and unnatural metal. The smithies forged part of it into a great shaft and the King's servants fashioned the shaft into a great Bow, the like of which had never been seen in that Kingdom or any other.

The Bow had a most fascinating ability. It glowed with a strange orange light. An arrow fired from it would glow as well and the surface upon which it would strike would suddenly become an opening ringed with fire of the same orange color. When this happened, the Bow would then glow blue and a second arrow fired would produce the same result as the first, but with a blue fire around this second opening. Even more incredible were the attributes of the two openings. Though in appearance they had distance between them, the openings created by the Bow were separated by no distance at all. The bearer of the Bow could fire an arrow at the ground where he stood, shoot the second arrow a mile away, and then step through the nearer opening only to emerge from the second opening in an instant.

This of course fascinated the King beyond measure. The Bow was magical indeed, for though no one could possibly fathom or discover all the potential it possessed, the King foolishly vowed that he would know all its secrets.

And thus began the trial of the Bow.

III. The Labyrinth

The King called for all the great stonemasons and miners to come to Castle Aperture. Beneath it, over long years, they dug a vast Labyrinth, of which the depths were immeasurable. The King set his most clever and crafty designers to creating obstacles and puzzles within the Labyrinth to challenge the skill and wit of those who wielded the Bow.

They built walls that, through great mechanical art, could move about at the will of the designer. This would allow no one part of the trial to ever remain the same no matter how many times the Bow wielder completed it. The concept was simple: there was a locked doorway in each chamber of the Labyrinth and the door could only be opened by specific means. Most often this was accomplished by setting a large block upon the single red stone set in the floor of each chamber. Many times the block was set on a high ledge and the Bow wielder would have to utilize the abilities of the Bow to create openings to reach the block. Other times there were flames that shot out of places in the walls and the wielder would use the Bow to direct the flames away so that the block could be reached without harm.

Challenging, dangerous, and unpredictable was the King's Labyrinth. He called for all the strong, brave, and determined of the Kingdom who were willing to come to Castle Aperture and take part in the trial. At the beginning there was many a champion, and they were rewarded handsomely. But eventually, they found the King's challenge too complicated and vast for their efforts, and the strong and brave soon left. The King's efforts to quickly learn the secrets of the Bow had pushed his learned craftsmen to continually add to the trial's difficulty. They found that through the aligning of certain rare gems, they could create light that was as hard as glass and could be walked upon to reach various items within a chamber. They also created various potions that, when applied to a surface, enabled the Bow wielder to jump higher or run faster. They also increased the number of flames that shot from the walls. These various devices added to the complexity of the trial, but this only discouraged interest and made fewer and fewer of the people want to volunteer.

IV. The Mirror

Over time the people of Aperture lost interest, and the trial revealed less and less about the Bow. This disheartened the King. His thirst for knowledge had never been stronger and he became grave and desperate. He offered greater rewards and more came, but they soon found that the difficulty of the Labyrinth was not worth what the King offered. And thus did it seem that the trial of the Bow would soon end.

In an effort to redeem themselves from the folly they created by having one too many obstacles in the trial, the craftsmen and learned men of the King turned their attention to reexamining the "Moon" stone for any other potential abilities that might prove useful. They fashioned part of what was left of the stone into a large Mirror, precisely the same shape as the openings that the Bow created: a long, tall oval. Though it too had a strange air about it, the Mirror did not show any signs of great ability or value. It was hung in the throne room of the King, but quickly forgotten by all in Castle Aperture.

V. The Crown

In the legends of that realm, many a tale had been told of an ancient kingdom that had ruled with a dark, unknown power. Within that ancient land, it was said that a sorcerer had forged a Crown that would have granted the wearer immortality. This was only a tale, of course, but many believed that if that crown were ever to be found, it would bring back that ancient evil. It was also said that the reward of the Crown was also its price; for immortality forged from darkness is worse than death itself.

In his search for knowledge, the King had heard this tale, yet he had been wise enough at the time to not seek after items of magic forged by evil. He knew that some legends were true enough to be feared. Yet at the waning of the trial of the Bow, his obsession with power drove him to seek immortality. If one lived forever, he could possess all knowledge forever.

The King sent forth his scholars and historians to seek out information about where the legendary Crown might be found. He also commissioned great warriors to serve in the quest, and after many adventures, they came to the center of the ruins of that ancient kingdom. And it was there they at last found the Crown.

Yet even as they began the return journey to Castle Aperture, the King became deathly ill. Ever at his side, Queen Caroline cared for him, driven by her love and loyalty for the King. But all her care was for naught, and in the King's dying decree his lust for knowledge surpassed all thought and he proclaimed that Queen Caroline should wear the crown in his stead and carry on the trial of the Bow forever.

And thus the King died.

VI. The Queen

When the mighty warriors returned with the Crown, the servants and counselors of the King took it to place upon the Queen's head. However, Queen Caroline did not want immortality. Her wish was to live the rest of her days in peace and then die and go to be with her love, the King. But the King's servants had become just as corrupt as the King, if not more so, in their lust for knowledge. They were determined to continue the King's legacy and the trial of the Bow.

Already was the Crown working its decay on their hearts as they took hold of the Queen and forced its cold metal upon her head. She gripped its black metal circle with all her strength, yet could not remove it from her brow, its magical curse of never-ending life having taken hold. For it was said that any wearer of the Crown could not remove it in their own strength - a reminder to all that those blinded by power often lose the ability to see their own peril without the help of another.

It was in this moment that the complete power of the Crown was revealed as well as how that ancient kingdom of old had earned the fear of all who knew it. With the power of immortality also came dark magical power, corrupted and cruel.

So great was the Queen's grief that she would never again see the King that, in a blast of sorcery, she slew all of King's servants who stood before her. She ascended to the Throne room and decreed that if she could not be with the King, then all would forget his reign, including herself. She changed her name to Glados the Cruel, for with the power of the crown her fairness had fallen away. She became sickly pale, unnatural black lines covered her face and her hair turned white as death. Darkness fell upon the land, and all who were not within the castle fled. With the memory of the King now gone from her fallen and power-crazed mind, the trial of the Bow, the passion and obsession of the previous ruler of Aperture, became hers as well. Thus, in cruel irony and to the despair of all, she took up the task that the servants of the King had forced upon her. The power of the Crown intensified this obsession even more, her mind adding to the poison within its cold metal.

VII. The Prophesy

The Castle gates were shut and Glados hunted down all the learned men of the King, those who had aided him in seeking the Crown. These men she slew without a thought. One such learned man was called Douglas. He was a pale, nervous, dark-haired man whose eyes were always wide open and darting about, so people called him "The Rat Man." He knew the calamity that the Crown would bring, and on the day of the King's death, he fled in haste into the depths of the Labyrinth to escape the deadly wrath of Queen Glados.

In the hidden passages and secret spaces within the walls of the Labyrinth, Douglas stumbled upon a curious creature. Perhaps she was one of the less fortunate subjects in the King's trials who had gotten lost in the Labyrinth. Perhaps she was some unknown creature that had crawled from the depths when the tunneling began many years ago. Douglas could not tell. She was a small, squat, elven creature with bright red eyes. She spoke cryptic riddles to Douglas in an airy, childlike voice, and after long hours of listening to her words, he found that she was an Oracle, possessing knowledge of what was yet to come.

And thus did the Oracle speak:

The monochrome Queen

Shall deathless be,

And reign in trial

And cruelty.

From sleeping twilight

Shall rise the flame

The archer, the hunter,

The Crown's true bane

Beware the fool

Who leads the way

The wayward knight

Should darkness sway

Destined portal

Of exile's shame

The King's forgotten

The trial shall claim

VIII. The Trial

After slaying all the learned servants of the King that she could find, Queen Glados began again the trial of the Bow. All the knights of the Castle she put under a spell, that they should serve the wearer of the Crown without question. All others in the Castle were put into a deep sleep as they tried to escape, only to be awakened when it was their turn to traverse the Labyrinth.

Whereas before the trial of the Bow had been in the pursuit of knowledge, now the Queen used it as horrible cruel sport. Those sent to the Labyrinth were sent to their death, either to die in the trial, or to perish at the hand of the Queen if they made it to the end. Many a poor soul, in anticipation of the reward that the Queen promised, found themselves thrown into a pit of fire. So twisted was she that the Queen had no remorse left in her heart. Her once tender soul was emptied by her own bitterness mixed with the evil power of the Crown, and she cared nothing for the lives of others.

Soon Aperture was regarded as a place of woe, and many said that the evil kingdom of old had returned to plague the land once more.

IX. The Lady

Long years passed and fewer and fewer remained in Castle Aperture who had not died in the Labyrinth or by the Queen's hand. At last the day came when in her choosing of the next poor sleeper to take up the trial, the Queen awoke a former servant girl named Chell. Though she had been but a simple cook in the King's court in former happier days, she was strong of will and did not give up easily. She held her head high and only spoke at the greatest of need. This appearance of putting on airs, led to the other servants mockingly referring to her as "The Lady Chell," though she was like them, of lowly lineage.

She was given the Bow and put into the Labyrinth. She solved the first chamber with ease, yet over time, as it had been for those Bow wielders in the early days of the King, the trial became more complex. In one particular chamber, where the red stone to open the door was on a high ledge and it's block even higher, the Lady Chell did something that none of the the other wielders had ever done. While most had used the Bow to allow them to reach the block and then take them, carrying the block, to the red stone, the Lady Chell used the Bow to bring the block to the red stone in one movement. By firing an arrow at the base of the block and a second arrow above the red stone, the block would fall through, and the trial was completed without her taking a single step.

These unconventional ways of thinking and puzzle solving skills increased in Chell as she passed from one chamber to another. At times she would use the Bow's opening and a fall from a great height into a second opening to launch herself into the air to reach the various objects she needed. Her orange cloak, a type of garment worn by all those put into the trial, streamed behind her as she flew. And thus did the Oracle prophesy truly to Douglas when she had spoken of "the flame."

With such ease and tenacity did Lady Chell navigate the Labyrinth that the Queen grew angry and sought to throw her into the pit of fire, where all others had met their doom. But even as she fell, Chell used the powers of the Bow to escape.

X. The Defeat

Out of the evil clutches of the Queen, Lady Chell made her way upward through back passages and hidden doorways. Along the way, she discovered a series of signs and symbols drawn on the walls. Though she was unaware that Douglas, still in hiding from the Queen, was the artist behind these shakily painted symbols, she learned to trust them since they were always helpful. The signs led Lady Chell higher and higher, until she found herself in the very throne room of Queen Glados.

The Queen was furious, and through the dark power of the crown, she hurled a great ball of fire towards the young woman before her. Yet, so cunning was Lady Chell that she again used the Bow to quickly make an opening behind her and then an opening behind the Queen. Just as the ball of fire threatened to destroy her, Lady Chell stepped aside and the fiery projectile passed through the first opening and came out of the second behind the Queen. It smote Queen Glados violently in the back, and she fell to the floor unmoving. And thus was Glados the Cruel defeated.

Lady Chell rejoiced in her freedom and ran to the castle gate to leave Castle Aperture. Yet as she took her first step across the threshold, she suddenly fell into a deep sleep. For indeed, Glados, though dead, still wore the crown and her spell of sleep still kept all her subjects trapped inside. The knights of the Queen, also still under Glados' spell, carried Chell to her bed were she had slept all those many years before. And thus did Chell sleep while the servants of the Queen walked in twilight of mind, awaiting orders from a mistress who now lay dead.

XI. The Fool

Years passed and the Kingdom lay in twilight, unchanging save for the weeds and vines that covered its walls. The castle was thought to be abandoned, yet a keen observer could perhaps catch the slow moving shapes of the knights as they walked the halls of the Castle under the spell of the Queen.

One such knight was, in times past, called Sir Wheatley. He had no fancy titles and lacked the usual skill required for knighthood. He was tall, gangly, and not very strong. Many had called him a fool and said that he was more suited to be a court jester than a bearer of arms. It was perhaps this quality that caused the spell originally placed upon him to fade away with time. With his previous loyalty not being particularly strong and the forced devotion weakening, he came to realize that he was the only one in the Castle who was aware of himself.

Wheatley approached the other knights, trying to tell them that they need not serve the Queen any longer because she was dead. Despite his efforts, they continued to walk the Castle as if unaware of his presence, the spell still strong on their minds. The gates were shut tight and the vines and decay that lay upon them made it impossible for Wheatley to open them on his own. Wheatley realized that if he was to escape from Castle Aperture, he would need the help of another.

After days of wandering through the Castle, he came upon the room where the knights had put the sleeping form of Lady Chell. At first he feared that she too suffered from an ailment of mind as the other knights did, but upon waking, she appeared to be as attentive as on the day that the Queen was defeated. Wheatley led the way through the Castle and Lady Chell followed him.

At last they came to a strange and forgotten chamber. On a hastily made stone pedestal lay the Bow. Behind it, on the furthest wall of the room, was a magnificent painting of a figure clad in bright orange. It had been made with swift purposeful brush strokes. Indeed it was Douglas' last work and record of the Oracle's words to him.

As Lady Chell and Wheatley approached the pedestal, they saw the Oracle sitting beside the painting. The small elven creature approached the Lady Chell and thus did the Oracle whisper to her:

A web of regret anger doth spin

Forget not Her name was Caroline

Before Chell or Wheatley could inquire further, the Oracle fled the chamber, her small form vanishing into the shadows. Chell took up the Bow once more and they continued their journey. They both hoped to use its unique abilities to escape the enchanted Castle.

XII. The Mistake

In order to reach the Castle gate, Wheatley and the Lady Chell would have to pass through the throne room of the Queen. As they entered, they found that it had also fallen into a terrible state of decay and had become covered with an overgrowth of vines. And there, lying in the center of the room, lay the form of the fallen Queen. Vines had grown over her, yet her body remained unchanged. And she still wore the Crown on her head.

Lady Chell and Wheatley stepped warily through the throne room, but Wheatley was not as dexterous as the Lady Chell. He tripped, as he was prone to do, on the fallen form of the Queen and suddenly she awoke as if she had only been sleeping. Her eyes fell upon them both, but the weight of her anger was toward the Lady Chell. Without a thought, she reached out and took hold of Sir Wheatley by the neck and choked him until his body fell lifeless to the floor. Lady Chell tried to escape, but it was too late. The Queen's knights had already been summoned and at the Queen's command they took Lady Chell and the Bow and cast them into the Labyrinth. The Queen's wrath had cooled, but her thirst for revenge upon the woman who had murdered her had never been stronger. She decreed that Lady Chell would not have the fortune of dying in the fire when she completed the trial of the Bow. She would be doomed to continue the trial for the rest of her life.

XIII. The Escape

The trial of the Bow continued. Ever did the Lady Chell use her skill to escape the Queen's traps and solve her puzzles, and ever did the Queen gloat over Lady Chell's doom. Yet just as Lady Chell began to despair, high on a rafter above the Labyrinth, Sir Wheatley appeared. So unimportant had he seemed to the Queen, that she had not even checked to see that she had slain him properly. He called down to Lady Chell saying, that he would find a way to free her.

The trial continued but at last Sir Wheatley was able to open a secret door in a wall of the Labyrinth, and they both fled. The Queen called for her knights to hunt them down, but, unbeknownst to the Queen, Sir Wheatley had locked them up when the Queen wasn't looking. So it was that Sir Wheatley and Lady Chell made their way up to the throne room once again, but this time with a different plan. They were going to take the Crown and end the Queen's reign once and for all.

XIV. The Betrayal

Upon reaching the throne room, they found the Queen waiting for them. She laughed at their ambition and called for her knights. Upon finding that her knights would not come, the Queen was angry once again. As she sought to slay them both, the Lady Chell distracted her and Sir Wheatley leapt up behind the Queen. He reached out and pulled the Crown from her head. So shocked was the Queen that she fell at his feet and cowered, fearful and shrunken without the power of the Crown.

To the Queen's dismay, Wheatley placed the Crown upon his own head, ignorant of the terrible curse that lay upon it. At first his motive had been to free all from her dreadful curse, yet now the power of the Crown worked on his mind and suddenly he too became obsessed with its gift of immortality, power, and the insatiable need for the trial of the Bow to continue.

The Lady Chell looked on in horror as her friend succumbed to the Crown's terrifying influence. She ran to the Queen's side and saw that Glados, once her greatest enemy, was now only a simple, powerless woman and not to be feared. They both looked on as Sir Wheatley decreed that they would continue the trial of the Bow, that he would observe them, and that all would be as it should under his control.

Still angry, the Queen berated Wheatley. She called him a fool and said that he had never had any place in the Castle, had only been made a knight on a whim, and was a hindrance to all. Maddened by the power of the Crown, Wheatley called the knights, who were now under his control, and bid them cast the Queen and Lady Chell into the deepest, oldest, and darkest level of the Labyrinth. So flippant was Wheatley in his certainty over their fate, that he cast the Bow in after them, saying that they would surely die regardless of Chell's famed skill. And thus did evil continue to rule in Castle Aperture.

XV. The Portrait

Down, down fell Lady Chell and the Queen until they reached the very bottom of the vast Labyrinth. Unbeknownst to Wheatley, this part of the Labyrinth was the very first place the King had begun the trial of the Bow. The walls were covered with the designs and colors of that happy time, and in the center of one wall was a portrait of the King, framed in gold. The Queen beheld it and suddenly the memory of her lost love returned. Next to the King was the image of the long forgotten Caroline the Fair, her smile and beauty like a burning brand on the Queen's mind. She wept, grieving for the pain that her husband's path had led her on. Yet, even away from the crown, the curse of immortality still worked on her mind and she still desired its power.

She beseeched Lady Chell to help her escape from the vast Labyrinth and get her Crown back. The Queen swore and oath that in return she would set lady Chell free and never trouble her again. Lady Chell agreed, knowing that if Wheatley remained in power over the Castle, they would both die and all her efforts to escape would be in vain.

XVI. The Confrontation

Chell and the Queen began to make their way through the Labyrinth, the skills which Chell had gained in the trial of the Bow proving to be of worth beyond measure. At last, they made their way to the uppermost level of the Labyrinth, but alas, Wheatley was waiting for them. He had regretted his decision to throw them in, and now that they had made their way up, he was overjoyed that they would now continue the trial of the Bow.

The Queen beseeched him to let her take the Crown, telling him of it's dark effects and terrible price, but Wheatley was not only mad with the power of the Crown, he was also still a fool. The words of the Queen meant nothing to him and he forced them to continue the trial.

Chell and the Queen continued the trial of the Bow, but in solving the various obstacles and booby traps Wheatley put before them, the Queen mocked him at every turn. So angered was he that he sought to crush them in a part of the Labyrinth that he had designed himself. But just as she had done all those long years ago, the Lady Chell used the Bow to escape.

The Queen and Chell fled the wrath of Wheatley and made their way up to the throne room for the last time. When they arrived they found that Wheatley had his knights guarding the throne room. These particular knights were Sir Richard the Adventurer, Sir Kevin the Astronomer, and Sir Frederick the Enlightened. These three were the least formidable of all the knights in the Castle, further proving Wheatley's lack of intelligence. The Queen and Chell fought the knights and pushed past them and into the throne room. Wheatley cast a ball of fire at the Lady Chell just as the Queen had done years before, yet Chell did exactly as she had done all that time ago, and with the help of the Bow, the fiery projectile smote Wheatley in the back.

With Wheatley's power temporarily cast down, the spell laid upon the knights fell from them. Seeing the great battle that was taking place, they overcame Wheatley and took the Crown from his head. They placed it on the brow of the Queen and thus were her powers reestablished.

Wheatley was furious and drew his sword to slay the Lady Chell. She fired the bow at his feet and then drew back to shoot at a high tower so that he should fall through, but she tripped, fell backward, and her second arrow flew askew.

And thus, as if guided by a destined purpose, Chell's second arrow struck the Mirror made by the King's craftsmen long ago when the trial of the Bow had waned. Though it had been forgotten for all those years that it had hung on the wall of the throne room, at long last, in the midst of the fight for the Crown, the mirror revealed the final secret of the Bow. The Bow could not create an opening upon the material by which it was made. The first opening had no exit to connect to and the fiery ring at Wheatley's feet opened into nothingness, a void that none could tell the nature of.

Wheatley raised his sword to strike the Lady Chell, but was suddenly pulled through the opening with great force. She and Sir Kevin took hold of his arms, but the force with which the opening pulled was too great. Wheatley and Sir Kevin were pulled into the nothingness, never to be seen again. Lady Chell would have met her doom as well if it had not been for the Queen, who reached out and took hold of her arm.

But what became of Wheatley and Sir Kevin? Many said that they met their end in the nothingness that the Bow opened. Others believed that they were taken to the Moon where the strange stone fell from all those years ago. Still more believed that they were trapped within the mirror. Yet for all the words and speculation of others, this can be known in full, that Sir Wheatley and Sir Kevin lived many years in that unknown place in contemplation and in grief. Sir Wheatley, being freed at last from the Crown's grasp, vowed that if he were ever to return to the land he had so irrationally desired to command, that he would beg the forgiveness of Lady Chell whom he had betrayed. For true friendship and love is worth more than all the power in all the world.

XVII. The Farewell

With her reign reestablished, the Queen was now obligated to carry out her oath that she had sworn in the deep parts of the Labyrinth. Although the Queen was again beginning to lose herself to the Crown, what was left of Caroline the Fair had compassion on Lady Chell and set her free. Though it must be noted that in the end it was with more loathing than thoughtfulness that the Queen gave Chell her freedom. Indeed, she desired for the former servant girl to leave and never return. The Queen's most loyal servants, Sir Atlas and the Lady Peabody, escorted Chell to the gates of the Castle. When the Lady Chell stepped outside into the bright sun, the gate was shut and locked. The darkness had lifted from the land around, yet inside the Queen still remained.

None in that realm know what became of Queen Glados. Some say that she still rules, brooding over the past that she lost. Some say that she laid another spell of forgetfulness upon herself. None know for sure. Yet there is one thing that all know without question: Stay far away from Castle Aperture lest you find yourself in the clutches of Glados the Cruel and spend the rest of your weary days in the trial of the Bow.