Too many suitors...
Not mine. This is just a rough draft, and the finished form will be posted on my site, and maybe sent to a few others.
/Thoughts/
Long-sleep = like the druid sleep in the Shannara books. For her life to be extended, the Sorceress has to sleep for an extended time. This is the moral way to extend your life. Obviously, there are other, less savoury methods in existance.
The young prince sighed. /Being paraded around like a piece of meat is far from fun, whatever the bards say./ He rose to his feet. /The ordeal will start again, as soon as the first of those suitors walks through the door. I want to marry for love. Not because I have to be married by sixteen./ He wondered briefly if he could hide. /I can't do that to Father. He only want's to see me safe. After my mother died.../ He looked up at the doo as it began to open. /I wonder which one it will be today. The old man Dekim? Maybe that freak, Quinze, Maybe even the scolar, Gilon.../ he frowned as a woman came sailing through the door as though she was already Queen. /Oh no. that damned sorceress./
Hilde smiled triumphantly. /Good, I am first here today, now my perfect prince will have to accept me for his bride. Ooh, Queen Hilde of Midgar has a nice ring to it. As soon as I get rid of daddy-in-law./ She walked towards Duo with a predatory expression. He frowned. She smiled.
"So Prince Duo, what say you to my suit?" /This will be the start. Midgar is mine!/
Duo frowned. /I have had enough of this. She is the worst choice. I can feel it. I wish I had more of forseeing than a vague sense that something is wrong with her./ Mind made up, the prince spoke aloud.
"I'm afraid I must decline lady." Hilde stared at the prince in shock. /That brat should have accepted! I gave him that potion, didn't I? He should have gone along with everything I said!/ She managed a pleasant enough farewell, and left, fuming. /He will pay./
The Sorceress stood at her window, thinking of revenge on the prince who had single handedly cut off her path to power. /There must be something I can do./ She went further into her tower, and flicked through her spell book. /Hmm... this sounds good, but... maybe if I add a little something to the mix./ She rose, and went back to the window.
"Show me Prince Duo." The window changed, showing the prince, looking bored as yet another of those freaky men tried to win the prince's hand in marriage. /He should have chosen me! I was the only woman there!/ She rose her hands. /Ah well, you should have remembered, sweet prince, never anger a sorceress./ She rested her left palm over the image of the prince, and cast her spell. /Let's see the kingdom survive with no heir./
Gilon spoke extensively, trying to win the prince's heart. He glanced at his four brothers who glared daggers at him, for monopolising the prince's attention. Then he stared at the prince in growing horror.
"Your Highness!" the boy blinked, then followed the man's gaze.
"By Ifrit's Hellfire!" his legs were almost entirely made of Amethyst. "How?" Then he knew. "I knew she was no good for the kingdom." He whispered, as the crystal covered his torso. /So this will be it. Smothered. Or will I? Maybe she's just planning to keep me like this until she is the only one of my suitors to survive./ He lifted his head, and looked straight at his father, as the crystal crept up his neck. "The Sorceress Hilde did thi-" he was cut off, as it covered his mouth, and crept further up. King Maxwell nodded. Even as his heart broke to see his only child dieing - as he thought - in front of him, he gave orders.
"Bring me the head of the Sorceress Hilde!" the suitors ran to do as the king bade them. Even as the prince's head was covered completely.
Noin stood, watching through her mirror, as her sister was dragged down by the soldiers of Midgar. The ancient sorceress, sighed. /Hilde, you never did learn that getting involved with the mortals was a recipe for disaster./ She held a hand towards the image of the crystalised prince. /He is alive. So she was planning to take him later. I think I had better tell the king. It will take some time for me to get to Midgar, and I dare not use magic this close to my long-sleep./ She turned, only to see one of the prince's suitors standing behind her. /How did he get in without my knowing?/ She saw four others behind him.
"What do you wish?" the priestess mage asked them.
"You serve Shiva, yes?" one with a mushroom shaped head asked
"That is my chosen path, yes. Why do you ask?"
"The king asked us to bring you to the palace. The sorceress that serves Lady Shiva, that lives in Fort Condor." The bald one stated.
"That coincides with what I was about to do. I will go with you peacefully."
"What do you see sorceress?" the king asked. She thought for a moment. Then decided.
"Your son is the crystal. It is not a coating, he has been transformed completely. However, he is still alive." The king looked startled.
"How can crystal be alive?"
"I do not know how Hilde did it exactly, but he still lives. Possibly she was planning to take him later, after you dismissed him as dead, and keep him for herself." The king nodded.
"That sounds right. How do I get my son back?" Noin frowned. /If only they hadn't been so eager to kill my sister, I could have gotten the answer from her. I can still get it from her spirit, but it will drain me for several centuries. Better to say I don't know./
"I'm not sure. I can tell he lives, but there is no way that I can see to release him. Perhaps if my sister had lived, I could have forced her to tell how she did it..." the king just nodded again. He had known when he called for her, that she was sister to Hilde, but he knew there was little love lost between the pair.
"Then what do I do?" Noin thought for a moment.
"Find a room, in the castle, with a lock. He will have no need for sleep or sustenance in this form, thus it is far better to simply keep him in a secure place. I will take the five young men who came to me, and teach them enough sorcery to protect the boy. The kingdom will have to keep him safe from outsiders, until I can come up with an answer to how to free him. I will not lie Majesty. It could well take centuries. I have a way to take the answer from Hilde's spirit, but it will send me to sleep for several centuries, so my using that spell will serve no purpose in your lifetime."
"I understand Holiness." Noin smiled at him bleakly.
"Do not mistake me, if I do not find an answer in the next year, I will take that last resort, but it will not help us now." The king frowned, but simply answered her.
"I will not keep you from your studies any longer Lady. All my hopes go with you." The Sorceress gave a perfunctory farewell, and left, taking Gilon and his four brothers, Jareth, Oleander, Herne, and Samweiss.
And so the Legend was born. After the first year, Noin still had no answer for the king. In despair, he faded away, and finally died. The Priestess-Mage of Shiva tried her last resort, and got the answer. But as she had known, her spell drained her almost to the point of death, and she fell into a deep sleep, for one thousand years. In these thousand years, the five young men Noin had trained kept watch over Midgar, and waited for their young prince to awaken. The people spoke of the Crystal Prince, and the legend spread. Many wanted to be the one who freed him, some wanted to add him to their collections of curiosities, but always, the five sorcerers guarded the locked room in the palace. Although, in time, they performed their duties from other cities in the world. And many forgot that Prince Duo had once been a real person.
[1]On to part 2
[2]Back
References
1. http://uk.geocities.com/kenderlyn_burrfoot/Crystal/part2.htm
2. http://uk.geocities.com/kenderlyn_burrfoot/Crystal/index.htm
Not mine. This is just a rough draft, and the finished form will be posted on my site, and maybe sent to a few others.
/Thoughts/
Long-sleep = like the druid sleep in the Shannara books. For her life to be extended, the Sorceress has to sleep for an extended time. This is the moral way to extend your life. Obviously, there are other, less savoury methods in existance.
The young prince sighed. /Being paraded around like a piece of meat is far from fun, whatever the bards say./ He rose to his feet. /The ordeal will start again, as soon as the first of those suitors walks through the door. I want to marry for love. Not because I have to be married by sixteen./ He wondered briefly if he could hide. /I can't do that to Father. He only want's to see me safe. After my mother died.../ He looked up at the doo as it began to open. /I wonder which one it will be today. The old man Dekim? Maybe that freak, Quinze, Maybe even the scolar, Gilon.../ he frowned as a woman came sailing through the door as though she was already Queen. /Oh no. that damned sorceress./
Hilde smiled triumphantly. /Good, I am first here today, now my perfect prince will have to accept me for his bride. Ooh, Queen Hilde of Midgar has a nice ring to it. As soon as I get rid of daddy-in-law./ She walked towards Duo with a predatory expression. He frowned. She smiled.
"So Prince Duo, what say you to my suit?" /This will be the start. Midgar is mine!/
Duo frowned. /I have had enough of this. She is the worst choice. I can feel it. I wish I had more of forseeing than a vague sense that something is wrong with her./ Mind made up, the prince spoke aloud.
"I'm afraid I must decline lady." Hilde stared at the prince in shock. /That brat should have accepted! I gave him that potion, didn't I? He should have gone along with everything I said!/ She managed a pleasant enough farewell, and left, fuming. /He will pay./
The Sorceress stood at her window, thinking of revenge on the prince who had single handedly cut off her path to power. /There must be something I can do./ She went further into her tower, and flicked through her spell book. /Hmm... this sounds good, but... maybe if I add a little something to the mix./ She rose, and went back to the window.
"Show me Prince Duo." The window changed, showing the prince, looking bored as yet another of those freaky men tried to win the prince's hand in marriage. /He should have chosen me! I was the only woman there!/ She rose her hands. /Ah well, you should have remembered, sweet prince, never anger a sorceress./ She rested her left palm over the image of the prince, and cast her spell. /Let's see the kingdom survive with no heir./
Gilon spoke extensively, trying to win the prince's heart. He glanced at his four brothers who glared daggers at him, for monopolising the prince's attention. Then he stared at the prince in growing horror.
"Your Highness!" the boy blinked, then followed the man's gaze.
"By Ifrit's Hellfire!" his legs were almost entirely made of Amethyst. "How?" Then he knew. "I knew she was no good for the kingdom." He whispered, as the crystal covered his torso. /So this will be it. Smothered. Or will I? Maybe she's just planning to keep me like this until she is the only one of my suitors to survive./ He lifted his head, and looked straight at his father, as the crystal crept up his neck. "The Sorceress Hilde did thi-" he was cut off, as it covered his mouth, and crept further up. King Maxwell nodded. Even as his heart broke to see his only child dieing - as he thought - in front of him, he gave orders.
"Bring me the head of the Sorceress Hilde!" the suitors ran to do as the king bade them. Even as the prince's head was covered completely.
Noin stood, watching through her mirror, as her sister was dragged down by the soldiers of Midgar. The ancient sorceress, sighed. /Hilde, you never did learn that getting involved with the mortals was a recipe for disaster./ She held a hand towards the image of the crystalised prince. /He is alive. So she was planning to take him later. I think I had better tell the king. It will take some time for me to get to Midgar, and I dare not use magic this close to my long-sleep./ She turned, only to see one of the prince's suitors standing behind her. /How did he get in without my knowing?/ She saw four others behind him.
"What do you wish?" the priestess mage asked them.
"You serve Shiva, yes?" one with a mushroom shaped head asked
"That is my chosen path, yes. Why do you ask?"
"The king asked us to bring you to the palace. The sorceress that serves Lady Shiva, that lives in Fort Condor." The bald one stated.
"That coincides with what I was about to do. I will go with you peacefully."
"What do you see sorceress?" the king asked. She thought for a moment. Then decided.
"Your son is the crystal. It is not a coating, he has been transformed completely. However, he is still alive." The king looked startled.
"How can crystal be alive?"
"I do not know how Hilde did it exactly, but he still lives. Possibly she was planning to take him later, after you dismissed him as dead, and keep him for herself." The king nodded.
"That sounds right. How do I get my son back?" Noin frowned. /If only they hadn't been so eager to kill my sister, I could have gotten the answer from her. I can still get it from her spirit, but it will drain me for several centuries. Better to say I don't know./
"I'm not sure. I can tell he lives, but there is no way that I can see to release him. Perhaps if my sister had lived, I could have forced her to tell how she did it..." the king just nodded again. He had known when he called for her, that she was sister to Hilde, but he knew there was little love lost between the pair.
"Then what do I do?" Noin thought for a moment.
"Find a room, in the castle, with a lock. He will have no need for sleep or sustenance in this form, thus it is far better to simply keep him in a secure place. I will take the five young men who came to me, and teach them enough sorcery to protect the boy. The kingdom will have to keep him safe from outsiders, until I can come up with an answer to how to free him. I will not lie Majesty. It could well take centuries. I have a way to take the answer from Hilde's spirit, but it will send me to sleep for several centuries, so my using that spell will serve no purpose in your lifetime."
"I understand Holiness." Noin smiled at him bleakly.
"Do not mistake me, if I do not find an answer in the next year, I will take that last resort, but it will not help us now." The king frowned, but simply answered her.
"I will not keep you from your studies any longer Lady. All my hopes go with you." The Sorceress gave a perfunctory farewell, and left, taking Gilon and his four brothers, Jareth, Oleander, Herne, and Samweiss.
And so the Legend was born. After the first year, Noin still had no answer for the king. In despair, he faded away, and finally died. The Priestess-Mage of Shiva tried her last resort, and got the answer. But as she had known, her spell drained her almost to the point of death, and she fell into a deep sleep, for one thousand years. In these thousand years, the five young men Noin had trained kept watch over Midgar, and waited for their young prince to awaken. The people spoke of the Crystal Prince, and the legend spread. Many wanted to be the one who freed him, some wanted to add him to their collections of curiosities, but always, the five sorcerers guarded the locked room in the palace. Although, in time, they performed their duties from other cities in the world. And many forgot that Prince Duo had once been a real person.
[1]On to part 2
[2]Back
References
1. http://uk.geocities.com/kenderlyn_burrfoot/Crystal/part2.htm
2. http://uk.geocities.com/kenderlyn_burrfoot/Crystal/index.htm