The Earth House - CH 10

Chapter 10 - Necromancy

Balor stood wide-eyed and somewhat downhearted as he stared at the sweet little girl before him.  She was the image of the perfect child and perhaps what his own little girl could have one day been.  It caused him to falter and gave him much pain to think about.  He wanted to fall to his knees and break down crying, but there was more to her than met the eye.  He knew that and he knew he must go forward.
“Why are you so quiet?” asked Caridwen, cocking her head to the side.  “I’m sure you have come here with much on your mind.  Why don’t you start by telling me what’s wrong?  You look so sad, gunslinger…”
Balor thought for a good moment before answering her in as few words as possible.  He was not quite sure what to say or how he was going to get his point across, but the words flew into his head nonetheless.  “I…don’t know anymore,” he started, trying not to stammer. “I have lost all feeling inside me.  I am cold and heartless.  There is nothing more for me here…or is there?  Could you tell me, Lady Caridwen, where shall I go from here?”
“You are sad over nothing,” laughed Caridwen, in a matter-of-fact tone.  “What have you done to become so ‘cold’?  Nothing!  Nothing at all.  There is no reason for you to fret.  You just aren’t sure what to do with yourself now that life as thrown more obstacles at you than necessary.  I trust you can deal with them though.  It’s just you who holds the doubt.”
“But I have done wrong!” mourned Balor.  His voice rose in sadness, not anger.  “I have killed the Warrior!  I disrespected the Blind Woman.  I have slain the Phantom!  I shed tears in your house.  I shed blood in your courtyard!  I-”
“-You have not hurt anyone!” she retorted, becoming frustrated with him.  Caridwen got to her feet, as Balor began to kneel.  He felt sorry for raising his voice to the little girl and even sorrier when he discovered how much he had doubted her abilities.  “I have been trying to show you, but your eyes just will not see what you want them to.  Your ears do not hear the whispers of the Goddess at your side.  You had to be taught to feel again, yet you do not recognize the signs of a healing heart.  Behind you lies the answer.”
Balor was now wearier than ever.  He had not slept in over twenty-four hours and the sun was surely rising.  Caridwen approached him with an expressionless face and put one of her small, delicate hands upon his shoulder.  Without a word, Balor placed his hand on top of hers.  
Caridwen whispered, “Get up, gunslinger.  Turn to face the truth.”  Balor obeyed.  Once Caridwen pulled her hand back, he chambered to his shaky feet.  His legs felt numb from the temperature of the room, but he turned anyway.  Behind him was more than just the old door he had entered through.
There, standing side-by-side, were the inhabitants of the house.  Midir Gaunt took a slight bow and smiled, wrinkling the scar that was still visible across his aged face.  The hulking figure next to him was none other than Argos the Warrior, decked out in new armor plating more lavishly decorated than his last set.  Beside Argos was the blind maiden named Coventina.  She stood still and indifferent than the rest.  To her right was Ixion the Phantom, seeming quite delighted to see the gunslinger again.  He gave a quick nod and nudged the next man in line.  Lir van Griet’s gaze was fixated on his little brother Lug.  He quickly looked up and grasped the young boy’s soft hand.  His eyes stared coldly at Balor, but Lug at his side waved with a new prosthetic arm.  
Now that Balor looked back on the members of the House of Philosophers, he wondered how some of them were still alive.  They had defied death itself.  Once he turned back to Caridwen, he could see the grave look upon her innocent face.
“You have not hurt anyone except yourself,” she said, solemnly.  “Amenti has been watching you along the way.  She has told us all about your past situation and Midir confirmed your view point in the memory chamber.  Your family no longer walks the earth with us, but they are still alive and well inside you.  The wishes, hopes, and dreams of your wife and daughter have brought you here so you would live on…for them.  Live with them in mind!”
Balor couldn’t stop himself from interrupting. Choking down tears, he asked, “But who is this Amenti?  I have heard her before.”  
Caridwen sat back down in her little chair and chuckled.  When Balor looked back to see if the philosophers were still behind him, he was quite surprised to find that each and every one of them had left in an instant.  He felt alone again.
Turning his attention to Caridwen once more, she answered his question.  “Gunslinger.  She is who has come to give you a new purpose in this life.  To succeed in your life, you must not only live for the loved ones you have lost.  You must also forgive yourself.  Your new task will involve more pain and anguish than ever thought possible, but no matter the circumstance, you must live.”  She paused for a moment.  To Balor, the room suddenly felt as if it was disconnected from the rest of the house.  It was as if time had stopped and was waiting to begin again.  A sudden green glow enveloped the room.  
“Welcome the goddess of death.  Welcome Amenti,” whispered Caridwen holding out her hands.  Suddenly her small fingers began to tremble.  The green glow throughout the room channeled itself to the palms of her hands.  Balor looked on in shock as the glow accumulated to the size of an apple.  
Without warning the room grew pitch-black.  Everything was dark except for a faint green glow coming from the stone that now sat in Caridwen’s capable hands.  It was the exact stone Balor had thrown in the courtyard.
“Here is your treasure.  Balor the Lost Gunslinger has come at last.”  A voice hissed in Balor’s ears, reminding him of every near death experience he had dealt with. Taking a step back, Balor could feel the sword at his side becoming heavier.  Shifting his gaze to the artifact, he could see it glowing green as well.
When Caridwen began to speak again, Balor nearly jumped from her tone. “You will guard this stone with your life,” she sang, her voice becoming melodic and airy.  “There are many bounty hunters after it, since she holds great power inside.  Should she shatter in the hands of another man, humanity will be extinct.  Should she shatter in your hands again, you will find yourself back where you started.”
“Let me get this straight,” sighed Balor, wondering what he was supposed to do. “I have to guard the stone for the rest of my life?  It has a high value and many men are after it… Doesn’t that seem a little…farfetched?  Haven’t I been through enough?”
“You will one day understand the significance of your journey, but until then you must live on.  You will be a great philosopher one day, but not without the help of Amenti.”  Caridwen closed her eyes and bowed her head, still holding out the bright green gem that illuminated the darkness.  It shined and wavered in her hand before bursting into millions of sparkling shards.  They swirled about the room, suspended by some unseen force Balor had never encountered before.  Once they began to settle, they collected themselves in front of him in the shape of a human.  Finally, he could see what was going on.
The shape of a woman appeared in the pieces.  Her body stood out against the plain walls and dimness of the room.  Her hair remained the florescent color of the stone that had once been, but her skin took on a tawny shade.  “I trust my life to the hands of the Lost Gunslinger,” said Amenti, facing Balor with extended arms.  The woman before him was far from clothed.  Balor had to force himself not to stare at her goddess-like body.  “Please do as you will with my current form, but all I ask is that you keep me from the hands of evil.  The hunters are on their way as we speak, to tear down the house of philosophers to find the stone:  Materia a Fallen.  You must protect me and in return I will give you a purpose.  Should you not accept your duty, then you would have let your loved ones down.  Will you help me, gunslinger?”
With all of this thrown at Balor, he had no time to consider his options.  Should he accept a mission from a hot, naked woman claiming to be the Goddess of Death?  Or go back to his burnt down home?  However, as if someone was making the decision for him, he opened his mouth and voiced his thoughts.  “I will help you in return.  You have saved my life more than once inside this house, it is the least I can do to repay you…I have forgiven myself, by taking on the burden you shall no longer bare alone.”