Post by lawrenceliberty on Jul 21, 2020 23:11:55 GMT
Facets: A Tale of the Gemworld
September 1985
1
Lord Moonstone was a troubled young man. He still thought of himself as Prince Moonstone and his father’s sudden death was still a source of pain and confusion to him. The elder Lord Moonstone had been a hot tempered man with fierce emotions of every kind. The balding warrior had been loyal to the House of Amethyst and had felt a burning hatred for the House of Opal. He had loved and hated with equal passion.
Perhaps, it was this very quality that led to his abrupt death following an encounter with Dark Opal. The evil Dark Opal had arranged a marriage for himself to a powerful other-dimensional immortal known as Dark Majistra. While the whole wedding had in fact been nothing more than a plot on his part to acquire power and to unleash dark magic upon the realm, he had insisted upon having an audience and had transported Lord Moonstone and the other rulers of the royal households of Gemworld into a mystical realm known as Darkworld. Eventually, all of them had returned to Gemworld and Dark Majistra had been destroyed by her heroic son Arion, Lord High Mage of Atlantis. Dark Opal had viewed the whole series of events as just one more attempt to alter the rules of magic that governed Gemworld. He had failed for the most part but he had learned from the process and in some way benefited from the way evil energy had saturated the realm. Not all of his “guests” had been as fortunate. While the aged Lord Ruby had been fully rejuvenated by his distant connection Arion, Lord Moonstone had abruptly sickened and died from something to do with exposure to the unknown mystical energies of Darkworld. Even Dark Opal’s lackey the wily Lord Sardonyx had suffered from a sudden if fleeting debilitation.
“Why did Sardonyx recover while father died? Why didn’t any of the rest of us have any ill effects!” thought the new Lord Moonstone as he gazed across his domain from a balcony high atop the House of Moonstone. The red haired royal was handsome if mild mannered and his sensitive demeanor marked him as being very different than his late sire. He brooded on his own flaws real or imagined and he felt once more than he was unequal to the task he was facing.
“I’ve had proper training in statesmanship and political matters. I have toured my realm and met my people of all classes and backgrounds. I have been trained as a warrior and fought against the forces of darkness but I feel so inadequate!” he thought.
“I tried to court the Lady Turquoise only to approach her too late. She was already in love with Prince Topaz. I couldn’t have made her forget him in any case. He always knows what to say and has such noted charm. I get tongue tied. He is also a better warrior although his future bride Lady Turquoise is better than either of us!” he thought.
He frowned as he thought of his own fiancé the silky and sultry Lady Sapphire. He liked her well enough but he also realized that in their relationship she was the one giving the orders. He accepted this for the most part. He didn’t really enjoy making hard decisions. Perhaps, her strength would be good for him. Perhaps, their marriage would be good enough as marriages go. He shook his head and turned away from the beautiful vista of the Realm of Moonstone.
“The wedding is in one week. If I am to do anything I must act now!” he said softly.
He swept his long straight red hair away from his eyes and he nodded in determination.
“Before I settle down, I will find myself or try to make peace with the man I am!” he said.
He walked deeper into the palace and waved away his approaching servants. This was something he had to do on his own.
The House of Sardonyx
“I cannot do this alone! I cannot be both mother and father to our children! The twins are growing rapidly and Princess Sardonyx will soon be ready for marriage!” shouted a pretty if severe looking woman with black hair and flashing eyes as she paced back and forth in a huge tent within the domain known as the Burning Sands!
Lady Sardonyx looked at her husband the oily Lord Sardonyx as he sat on a plush divan and toyed with a serpent. He listened to his wife and he loved his wife but he was incapable of changing and they had had this argument many times before
“I love our family. I would die for you all but I also have to live and that requires me to attend to Dark Opal as needed. He is not an easy master!” said Sardonyx in a pleading tone of voice. He truly did love his family but he feared Dark Opal even more.
“He is the shadow that has ever blighted our union! He is the ghost in our private rooms and he haunts our most personal moments together! I suggest you give yourself and this House to the House of Amethyst! We could serve her like most of the others. She is a forgiving young woman. I mean she took in Dark Opal’s scheming adopted son Carnelian! Look how the foolish child treats her own servants! She is naïve and overly kind but she has power and powerful allies like the mighty Lord Ruby and Lord Garnet!” she said as she waved her arms for emphasis.
Sardonyx sighed. How many times had they had this same argument?
“Beloved, I understand what you are saying and why you speak in this way. It does credit to your familial feelings and your role as wife and mother but I can never again rebel against …against him!” he said as he nervously glanced left and right.
“The man sees and hears everything. He has supernatural allies drawn from multiple weird dimensions. Who truly knows the limits of his power and his evil?” he said as he stood up and took her in his arms.
She kissed him and seemed to calm down but her flashing eyes told a different story.
“I know the limits of my own patience!” she thought.
Later as Lord Moonstone entered a tavern known as the Happy Hearth he looked around the cozy room and noticed the rows of neat benches and well-placed booths. The few customers seemed content and the environment was one of serenity. This was appropriate since the owners were a happily married if oddly matched couple. Hortyns was an attractive dwarf with braided silvery hair and a pleasing face. While her hulking husband Norish was a half-ogre with normal human intellect and regular facial features but the massive body and hands and feet of his monstrous father. They ran a popular tavern and they each brought their unique strengths to the business and their devoted union.
As Lord Moonstone gave a drink order to a pleasantly dull waitress, he spotted a customer that immediately caught his attention although he had missed seeing her at first since she was sitting in the shadows in one corner. She was strikingly beautiful with black hair marked by one lock that stood out because of its bluish hue. Her eyes matched the color of the stray lock of hair and her features were lovely and delicate although her attire marked her as someone more comfortable on the battlefield than in a domestic setting. She wore a brief blue and black tunic crisscrossed by weapon pouches and a sword hung by one hip while a crossbow rested across her back. She looked up at him and as their eyes briefly met he noticed her obvious intelligence. She certainly gave him the impression of being a keen observer and no man’s fool or pawn. There was a cold certainty in her gaze that intimidated Lord Moonstone at the same time it attracted him.
“She is a remarkable woman! I’ve never seen her like! She would make Lady Turquoise herself have second thoughts about a fight or so I assume from the looks of her!” he thought.
He wondered who she was but then his thoughts were interrupted as four newcomers entered the tavern. They wore rough clothing and carried various weapons. They didn’t belong to any of the guard units of the Royal Houses since none of them seemed to be wearing the same colors or any identifying emblems.
Before the owners could approach them, the men moved closer to the woman Moonstone had been watching. Should he intervene?
“Maybe she needs my help! They look like trouble but then so does she. Perhaps, they are her friends?” he thought.
The woman watched the men with a casual manner although Moonstone noticed her hand drift easily to the hilt of her sword.
“Cerulean, you have led us on a long pursuit but you should have known distance would not make us forget your crimes!” said a burly man in a dirty white vest.
She said, “My crimes are my own business. I will bear their burden and I will attempt to atone for them. Do not presume to judge me!”
He scowled and started to raise his arm and a heavy mace that he gripped with one hand.
“You always were haughty! Too good for your own men. You may have been the Queen of Death but you were not royal born!” he hissed.
In a flash two things happened so swiftly Moonstone missed them both! The woman called Cerulean hurled a wickedly pointed throwing star and kicked a chair into the air. The star struck the man in the white vest and the chair tripped up his closest ally as the other two men moved forward. Cerulean dived across the table and sent dinnerware crashing to the floor. She flipped acrobatically into the group and with three swift blows with the flat of her sword and a spinning kick, she left all of them stunned and battered at her feet.
She looked at Hortyns. “I am sorry about the noise. They can pay for any problem it has caused you!” She reached into her first attacker’s vest and tossed a money pouch to the startled dwarf! Hortyns nodded as if this kind of thing happened every day while her husband opened his mouth as if to speak but said nothing.
As Cerulean started to leave the tavern, a veiled woman approached her with open and raised hands. She stood defiantly with both hands placed on her hips and she said, “Well, what is your wish? Do you also want to bring me to some accounting for past crimes?”
The veiled figure shook her head and whispered something to the other woman.
“I wish to hire you! You are the infamous Cerulean of the Darksun Assassins are you not? Well, I wish to hire you!”
Cerulean said, “That is my name but I am no longer a member of that guild. I am also not the woman I once was. I don’t kill for jilted lovers.”
The veiled woman said, “There is no love involved only the blackest of hates. I wish you to kill Dark Opal!”
Lord Moonstone did not sleep well that night. He had returned to his palace and thought about the woman called Cerulean. He had heard of her as a notorious assassin who had led her own army and killed men, mages, and monsters in her time. She was said to be fearless and invincible. She was a legendary warrior in spite of her youth. He had indeed heard of her but now he could not forget her. Something about her preoccupied him and kept sleep at bay. He understood part of her appeal. She was beautiful and dynamic and exciting and…and he was a Royal engaged to another fiery woman and he was utterly miserable and confused by the whole arrangement.
“She did not need my help but I was no help in any case. I just stood there and watched it all. I was a spectator not a participant. I feel like that is all I am in my own life as well!” he sighed.
He rose the next morning and felt tired and discontented. He was kind to his servants but he was habitually kind and he went through his duties with a diligence that lacked any true enthusiasm. He finally felt some pleasure at the letter he received that indicated his closest childhood friend Eodare would be coming to the wedding.
“I have missed Eodare since he departed on his quest for inspiration. I wish I had joined him all those years ago. He understood me but then with his magical powers and his thirst for knowledge he knew so much more than anyone else I ever met!” he thought.
At that moment a few servants approached and presented him with several colorful packages.
“More wedding gifts, Lord Moonstone!” said his faithful retainer Cadmus.
“Thank you. Place them on the long table with the others. Perhaps, the Lady Sapphire with go through them with me later today!” he said.
“Very good, sir!” said Cadmus as he obeyed the command and directed the other servants to do so as well.
A dark haired beauty came in their wake and gently bowed to him as she placed one final gift on the table. He thanked her and she smiled broadly and then walked away. There was something about her that made him hesitate for a moment. He didn’t know every servant but he thought for a moment he had seen this one in some other environment.
Moments later as she turned a corner a faint shimmer enveloped her body and while she remained a raven haired beauty her facial features and general posture altered and she was revealed as Fawna a former servant of the House of Amethyst who had departed to become one of Sardonyx’s maidens before eventually deserting his household to work for Dark Opal himself. She had not possessed powerful magic of her own except for a certainly craftiness and a seductive nature. Apparently, her new master had enabled her to use a glamour spell to briefly conceal her identity. In any event having placed the wrapped gift in the room, she hurriedly departed the desert kingdom to go back to her new domain.
Days later, as a still conflicted Lord Moonstone and his bride to be Lady Sapphire looked over their latest gifts, Moonstone stared vacantly into space as Lady Sapphire talked on and on about small details of their upcoming ceremony. She would of course become Lady Moonstone and her brother the closest heir to her title would become the new ruler of the House of Sapphire.
She stopped speaking as she opened the box the mysterious Fawna had left behind. She removed a gleaming amulet with a row of moonstones around the center.
‘This is lovely! You must wear this to the ceremony!” she said.
Moonstone nodded and said, “As you wish, my dear. Sapphire, do you know much about the Darksun Assassins?”
She frowned and pursed her pretty lips and then said, “What? I have heard of them. They are a secretive cult dedicated to perfecting methods of murder. They are rumored to be older than the founding of Gemworld itself. Some say they are a myth or a mere rumor used to scare bad children! My brother Palin would know more. I mean he belongs to the Order of the Rose and that knightly assembly has a legendary library. I have always found him to be excessively pure of heart and serious to a fault. If he had been the oldest, our late father would have gladly had ignored me completely. Why do you ask?”
Moonstone said, “I was just curious. I saw …or I mean I saw in a book something about that group. It sounded rather interesting!”
She smiled and caressed his cheek. “You must forget such morbid musings. We will be wed tomorrow and this future Lady Moonstone will make you so happy you won’t have time to daydream about gloomy old legends!”
He smiled weakly and kissed her. “I suppose you are right. I mean what would a man like me have to do with killers?”
Nearby, the lovely but lethal Cerulean camped out under a moonlit sky and made her plans. She remembered a happy childhood in a small village within the Turquoise domain. She had lost her brother to a brutal warlord who came to recruit fighters from their peaceful village. She had joined another band of killers to learn how to avenge his death. In time she began to kill for hire as part of the elusive Darksun Assassins guild. She rose through their ranks to become their leader but when a young girl died trying to emulate her, she renounced the guild and vowed to become a better woman. Her efforts had met with skepticism or fear on the part of those she met who recognized her or recalled her bloody past. She refused to give up her quest for redemption and killing the evil Dark Opal might be the way to cleanse herself of so much bloodshed and sorrow. She had all the skills of the legendary assassins and she was certain that even with those skills her best chance of killing the powerful magician would come when he was distracted by the upcoming wedding ceremony of Moonstone and Sapphire. She would gain entrance to the palace and time her strike carefully. It was not a pretty plan but hers was not a pretty story.
The day of the wedding dawned bright and beautiful but Lord Moonstone’s features were clouded by troubling thoughts.
He swallowed his worries and prepared to take his vows before his assembled guests. It was a smaller gathering than would have normally been the case since several of the Royals were away on pressing matters. Moonstone wore the royal colors and the wedding gift amulet hung around his neck.
The Poet-Philosopher Eodare stood by his best friend. The two men had talked for hours the day before and Moonstone gained some perspective from his childhood pal’s wise words.
“It is only human nature to feel doubtful at these times but if you truly wish to make her the lady of your life and if she walks in your dreams every night, the union will be the right thing to do. If not, you must be true to yourself although it causes pain!” he cautioned.
Lady Sapphire was dressed in the colors of the House of Moonstone. She was lovely and whatever had initially drawn her to Moonstone, she appeared devoted to him and his happiness. Next to her stood her brother Palin the soon to be Lord Sapphire. He was a handsome man with long dark hair and the gleaming armor of a decorated Knight of the Rose. He had been a hero and champion of more than one epic battle across the Gemworld and beyond for his Order had stationed him in another magical realm for the last few years. He had returned to Gemworld to honor his sister and assume the rule of the House of Sapphire when she became Lady Moonstone. He gazed at the couple with warmth and affection and Lady Sapphire thought once more with regret that she had been a bit too hard on her brother in making fun of his chivalrous and selfless demeanor. How could she resent her brother for simply being what he was: a hero!
The tall and regal Diamond Priest began the ceremony as the guests became silent and a nervous Lord Moonstone stood next to Lady Sapphire. The Diamond Priest was the last of his order except for a small number of acolytes in training including a handsome blond man named Kalibur. Kalibur held a pillow upon which rested a prismatic gem that was a symbolic representation of the Gemworld itself.
As the Diamond Priest united the couple in matrimony and Lord Moonstone kissed his elegantly dressed bride, the guests cheered.
Moonstone seemed resigned to his fate. Whatever had attracted him to Cerulean and dreams of another life had faded or been repressed. After all he had his duty to think of. For the sake of his late father’s honor and for the good of his people the hesitant Moonstone did his duty.
Princess Amethyst, a beautiful blonde in a lavish lilac gown and heels, smiled happily as she gazed around the luxurious ball room of castle Moonstone.
“This is exciting like the wedding of Princess Di and Prince Charles from when I was a little kid! I don’t really know Prince Moonstone well and always thought Lady Sapphire was kinda of stuck up but this was still an awesome wedding!” she thought. Amethyst was unique among the royals of Gemwold in that she had been raised on Earth and in that dimension she was in fact a teen girl named Amy Winston. She enjoyed the best of both her worlds and being transformed into a magically powerful adult on Gemworld was just one of the many advantages she enjoyed while in the realm of mystical beings.
A handsome young man with a mustache and curly dark hair stood next to her. He was dressed all in red as befitted his nickname of the Crimson Rogue. Carnelian was also originally from Earth and he had feelings for Princess Amethyst that he found hard to reconcile at times. He had been the adopted son of the evil Dark Opal and had grown up in Gemworld as a villainous youth who lashed out at the world out of a resentment of the fact that he alone in Gemworld possessed no magical powers. He had broken away from Dark Opal and attempted to kill the evil Royal but his attempt failed and now he was a castaway of sorts living at Castle Amethyst and finding himself increasingly attracted to Amethyst and considering a possible reformation.
He placed his arm around her shoulders and said, “I always hated old Moonstone but his son was always a bit of a loser. I didn’t find him worth hating. I almost pitied the poor geek!”
Amethyst elbowed him in the ribs and said, “Be nice! I can’t take you anywhere!”
They greeted Lady Emerald a delicate platinum blonde whose little sister Emmy lived with Amethyst’s earthly family out of a desire to experience a normal home life following a tragedy that concerned her mother.
She smiled warmly and exuded happiness. Her own recent marriage was clearly a happy one. Lord Emerald (formerly known as Erros the Ranger) was a handsome, dashing man clad all in green He smiled broadly and bowed low as he took Amethyst’s hand and kissed it briefly.
“You are looking lovely Princess Amethyst! Be careful you don’t outshine the bride!” he said.
Carnelian rolled his eyes as Amethyst smiled back and thought, “Robin Hood! Lord Emerald looks just like Robin Hood from that old movie Dad and I always watch together on cable!”
Lord Emerald was rumored to have an especially potent magic for talking to and controlling animal life. It was a nice compliment to his wife’s control of plant life.
“How is Emmy? I feared her time with us at our own wedding tired her out after her recent cold!” asked Lady Emerald.
Amethyst nodded and said, “Yes, she is okay but still having a bad cough. She’ll be fine but she is sad about not being here for another wedding!”
After a few more moments of conversation, Amethyst was greeted by rugged Lord Garnet a powerfully built and stocky black man from the
Stormy Peakes who could control the weather to an extent.
Lord Garnet’s son disappeared years old and while Amethyst knew the young man was alive and secretly in service to the enigmatic Ancient Ones who technically owned Gemworld and leased it to the Royal Households, she was unable to reveal the truth to the hardy old warrior because of magical vows she had taken.
Still, Garnet was not alone. His nephew the current Prince Garnet was accompanying him which was fitting since the rugged young man was heir to the Garnet domain. Prince Garnet was a handsome man with the muscles and grace of a true warrior. He wore a silvery helmet and he reminded Amethyst of a Viking hero from one of her books of mythology.
“Well met, Little Princess!” said Lord Garnet in his booming voice.
Prince Garnet grinned and said, “Speak louder, Uncle, they can’t hear you across the Shining Seas!”
As they laughed and made small talk, the remaining guests mingled as well. Enigmatic Lady Aquamarine said little but seemed all knowing.
She was accompanied by a handsome young man who shared what Amethyst called her vaguely Asian features. He was kind looking yet his eyes missed nothing and he moved like a cat.
“Lady Aquamarine’s boy toy is a fisherman! What would her big headed late husband think of his child bride making out with Bruce Lee jr. there!” sneered Carnelian.
As Lord Moonstone and Lady Moonstone greeted their guests Amethyst thought about the missing Royals. Lord Ruby and his allies Prince Topaz and Lady Turquoise had departed on some type of private quest. It was suspected that the now young and powerful Lord Ruby had plans to restore his badly damaged realm to its former splendor and perhaps sought a bride and eventually an heir! Lady Turquoise was addicted to danger and relished any type of quest. Her fiancé Prince Topaz also fought well and carried himself nobly in battle and he obeyed the fiery redhead in most matters. His decidedly slinky sister the evil Lady Topaz was a firm ally to Dark Opal and she stood close to Lord Sardonyx and his wife Lady Sardonyx as their mutual master Dark Opal grinned fiendishly and approached Lord Moonstone
Dark Opal looked over at Eodare as the slender black man with longish hair and striking eyes met his gaze.
“My! The celebrated Poet-Philosopher has returned from his journey of inspiration! Perhaps, I may have you compose an epic about my return from the realm of the dead! Your creative skills would be capable of that I dare say!” Dark Opal said with an evil grin. Dark Opal was a powerful warrior with scarred bluish skin and flashing eyes that were matched by his lupine smile.
Eodare pushed back the hood of his white cloak and said, “I am capable of almost anything, Dark Opal but you know that!”
Dark Opal scowled for a moment and then gestured to Lord Moonstone. “I tried to find a proper husband for your fair lady but my efforts failed.
She could not win Prince Topaz and my magical efforts only created a walking corpse as a groom. It seems she has managed to do at least as well on her own though!”
Moonstone started to reply but the words would not come and he felt rather ill. His wife clutched his arm and said, “We are very happy, Dark Opal. We must be happy indeed to allow you here after your rather unfortunate attempt of a marriage not long ago! One might think you were cursed in love!”
Amethyst glanced at Eodare and thought, “He speaks so softly but his has so much personality. He reminds me of Marlon Monroe from Music TV! I bet he could even moonwalk!”
She frowned as Dark Opal managed to bring a chill to the otherwise happy ceremony.
“That creep is up to something!” she whispered.
Carnelian replied, “My father is always scheming. I’d swear he would plot against himself had he no other enemies!”
As servants moved through the crowd a pretty woman drew closer to the guests. She was in fact Cerulean in disguise! The former Darksun Assassin from the tavern had disguised herself in order get close to her latest target. She had been hired to kill Dark Opal and this was her chance to do so while he was away from his fortress and possibly off his guard.
Moonstone recognized her as his eyes met hers by chance. He staggered and felt oddly uncomfortable. As his friend Eodare and Lady
Moonstone tried to come to his aid he collapsed and started to gasp for breath.
Dark Opal’s smile grew broader as his white teeth flashed and his plot reached fruition. He had sent Fawna with the cursed amulet as a wedding gift and its infernal magic was now threatening to destroy Moonstone!
“What ails you, beloved?” cried Lady Moonstone as her brother bent over the stricken Moonstone and Eodare touched his friend gently.
“I’m not here…and yet I am! I’m fighting the serpent men in Valusia! No! It’s the city of Thieves in Lemuria all over again! Where is Graylin! I need her! My name is Wulf? No! No! I am Moonstone, aren’t I?”
“What’s wrong?” asked Amethyst as she struggled with a desire to help her friend and a wish to fight Dark Opal who was clearly behind it.
Eodare said, “Moonstone is a special being. You come from earth and are aware that there are many different dimensions. Moonstone is a unique being in that he lives in all of them as a kind of eternal spirit! I have long known this and in fact journeyed with other aspects of him in other worlds during my time away. He was unware of his status in the multiverse. Something has forced an awareness of his many different counterparts upon his mind and souls at once and it is driving him mad!”
Carnelian said, “I know of such things. If he dies he will be merely be reborn! We just need to put him out of his misery for the moment!”
He drew his gun and aimed it at Moonstone as Amethyst slapped the gun out of his hand and said, “No, you jerk!”
The disguised Cerulean hesitated for a moment as she drew closer to Dark Opal with a dagger in one hand. She saw Moonstone’s peril and she saw her chance to kill Dark Opal and she chose life. She leaped forward and touched Moonstone on his forehead. He stopped breathing for a moment and then she pressed her fingers against him once more. He gasped for air and opened his eyes.
“He should be fine. I stopped his heart for a moment. The spell upon him ceased with the thought that he was dead!” she said as Lady Moonstone looked at her in shock.
Palin, Lord Sapphire, had been still and his eyes were closed. He opened them wide and said, “I detect evil magic within that amulet!”
Eodare ripped the amulet off his friend and hurled it across the room. It struck young Diamond Acolyte Kalibur and shattered along with the prism he held.
He shuddered as the weird magical energy surged through his body and he was transformed into a gleaming crystalline humanoid.
“My skin has become hard like a diamond!” he gasped as the Diamond Priest and Lady Emerald rushed to his side.
“Palin was right! The amulet triggered moonstone’s attack!” cried Eodare..
As the Poet-Philosopher and the Knight of the Rose helped their friend, Dark Opal scowled in disgust. He had hoped to destroy Moonstone and his plan had failed. He was a brilliant man in spite of his dark ways and he had noticed Cerulean seconds before she had decided to help
Moonstone instead of attempting to kill him. He had realized her intentions and had casually raised a magical force field moments before she abandoned her plan to strike at him and instead turned to face Lord and Lady Sardonyx. He had also noticed that the Lady Sardonyx did not look overly surprised by the appearance of the assassin.
“You brought an added guest to this happy occasion, did you not, My Lady? You paid the former Darksun Assassin to end my life. She foolishly passed up her opportunity out of some misguided feeling of mercy for that doltish Moonstone. I shall repay her kindness in time and I shall repay you now!” he said.
He touched Lady Sardonyx and she collapsed in her husband’s arms.
“What have you done?” cried Sardonyx.
Dark Opal said, “She sleeps the sleep of the guilty. Perhaps, I will revive her should you serve me well!”
He marched out of the room laughing as a stricken Sardonyx held his still wife.
“Help her! Someone please help her!” he cried.
Lord Garnet and Prince Garnet drew their swords and the agile Lord Emerald stood ready for a fight. The silent but sincere looking man with
Lady Aquamarine also raised his fists and assumed a battle stance.
The heroic assembly had no remaining foe to fight. Dark Opal had departed. Cerulean had slipped away and vowed to ready herself for a future encounter with Dark Opal What better way would she redeem herself than to end the life of the tyrant?
As Moonstone regained is footing Eodare gasped as if he had been struck by a blow.
“Residual magic is flooding his body! Something or someone is materializing” he said.
Indeed, a second humanoid figure enveloped Moonstone for a moment and then stood next to him. It was a second version of Moonstone from some alternate dimension but this manifestation was very different from the diffident Lord! He had the same flowing red hair but it was a bit shaggy and his chin had a cleft in it. He wore a simple animal fur and his stature was enormous. His arms and legs rippled with muscles and wore a broadsword that he clearly knew how to use! He towered over the much smaller Moonstone who looked at him with shocked but identical eyes.
“He’s one of your other realm counterparts! Somehow breaking the amulet broke him here!” said Eodare.
“By Tulgonia, what madness is this?” bellowed the newcomer. He sounded like Lord Moonstone but his voice was much louder.
Eodare said, “You were brought here by magic. This realm is called Gemworld. We mean you no harm!”
Moonstone stammered, “He’s me? I’m him?”
The big warrior said, “I am Adular! I am tired of being the pawn and plaything of one mage after another! I would gladly slay every one of them had I the chance!”
He frowned as he looked at Moonstone and realized they were indeed alternate versions of the same being.
“This sorcery leaves me dazed. We must talk. I would learn the truth of this bizarre occurrence!” he said.
Moonstone nodded and said, “I think I have much to learn too!”
Lady Moonstone took his hand and said, “We shall face it all together!”
Eodare said, “I will help all I can!”
Palin added, “So will I. I do so vow to serve you kinsman!”
Amethyst approached them and said, “I stand with you too!”
The Diamond Priest and the now crystalline Kalbir slowly came closer too.
“This wedding day has been one of great joy and terrible magic!” he said.
Sardonyx held his stricken wife as a tear trickled down his face.
“Will no one help me?” he said.
Carnelian scowled and then he said, “Come, Lord of the Snakes! We will find answers too. We know my father’s evil ways all too well, do we not?”
Sardonyx nodded and said, “My thanks, Crimson Rogue! I have wronged you in the past, boy, and I see that now!”
As Amethyst looked around the room, she struggled to find the right thing to do.
“I’ll stay here and do all I can to help my friends!” she thought.
Epilogue
Days later after the transformed Kalibur had been examined and realized he was unharmed although transformed and nothing more could be done to revive Lady Sardonyx, Moonstone and his counterpart Adular had formed an odd friendship.
“I am no noble. I am merely a swordsman. I will find my own way in this odd realm but should you need me, I will come to your side! We are brothers of a kind and I thought myself the last of my people!” he said.
Moonstone smiled and said, “So be it!”
If Moonstone thought any more about Cerulean he did not mention her even to Eodare who decided to accompany Adular on his journey through the Gemworld.
As for Cerulean she had ridden away from the Realm of Moonstone and renewed her own pledge to make up for her past role as an assassin.
The members of the Darksun Assassins would never stop hunting her down for quitting their guild but she was determined to make a new life for herself somewhere in the wondrous Gemworld!
The End
September 1985
1
Lord Moonstone was a troubled young man. He still thought of himself as Prince Moonstone and his father’s sudden death was still a source of pain and confusion to him. The elder Lord Moonstone had been a hot tempered man with fierce emotions of every kind. The balding warrior had been loyal to the House of Amethyst and had felt a burning hatred for the House of Opal. He had loved and hated with equal passion.
Perhaps, it was this very quality that led to his abrupt death following an encounter with Dark Opal. The evil Dark Opal had arranged a marriage for himself to a powerful other-dimensional immortal known as Dark Majistra. While the whole wedding had in fact been nothing more than a plot on his part to acquire power and to unleash dark magic upon the realm, he had insisted upon having an audience and had transported Lord Moonstone and the other rulers of the royal households of Gemworld into a mystical realm known as Darkworld. Eventually, all of them had returned to Gemworld and Dark Majistra had been destroyed by her heroic son Arion, Lord High Mage of Atlantis. Dark Opal had viewed the whole series of events as just one more attempt to alter the rules of magic that governed Gemworld. He had failed for the most part but he had learned from the process and in some way benefited from the way evil energy had saturated the realm. Not all of his “guests” had been as fortunate. While the aged Lord Ruby had been fully rejuvenated by his distant connection Arion, Lord Moonstone had abruptly sickened and died from something to do with exposure to the unknown mystical energies of Darkworld. Even Dark Opal’s lackey the wily Lord Sardonyx had suffered from a sudden if fleeting debilitation.
“Why did Sardonyx recover while father died? Why didn’t any of the rest of us have any ill effects!” thought the new Lord Moonstone as he gazed across his domain from a balcony high atop the House of Moonstone. The red haired royal was handsome if mild mannered and his sensitive demeanor marked him as being very different than his late sire. He brooded on his own flaws real or imagined and he felt once more than he was unequal to the task he was facing.
“I’ve had proper training in statesmanship and political matters. I have toured my realm and met my people of all classes and backgrounds. I have been trained as a warrior and fought against the forces of darkness but I feel so inadequate!” he thought.
“I tried to court the Lady Turquoise only to approach her too late. She was already in love with Prince Topaz. I couldn’t have made her forget him in any case. He always knows what to say and has such noted charm. I get tongue tied. He is also a better warrior although his future bride Lady Turquoise is better than either of us!” he thought.
He frowned as he thought of his own fiancé the silky and sultry Lady Sapphire. He liked her well enough but he also realized that in their relationship she was the one giving the orders. He accepted this for the most part. He didn’t really enjoy making hard decisions. Perhaps, her strength would be good for him. Perhaps, their marriage would be good enough as marriages go. He shook his head and turned away from the beautiful vista of the Realm of Moonstone.
“The wedding is in one week. If I am to do anything I must act now!” he said softly.
He swept his long straight red hair away from his eyes and he nodded in determination.
“Before I settle down, I will find myself or try to make peace with the man I am!” he said.
He walked deeper into the palace and waved away his approaching servants. This was something he had to do on his own.
The House of Sardonyx
“I cannot do this alone! I cannot be both mother and father to our children! The twins are growing rapidly and Princess Sardonyx will soon be ready for marriage!” shouted a pretty if severe looking woman with black hair and flashing eyes as she paced back and forth in a huge tent within the domain known as the Burning Sands!
Lady Sardonyx looked at her husband the oily Lord Sardonyx as he sat on a plush divan and toyed with a serpent. He listened to his wife and he loved his wife but he was incapable of changing and they had had this argument many times before
“I love our family. I would die for you all but I also have to live and that requires me to attend to Dark Opal as needed. He is not an easy master!” said Sardonyx in a pleading tone of voice. He truly did love his family but he feared Dark Opal even more.
“He is the shadow that has ever blighted our union! He is the ghost in our private rooms and he haunts our most personal moments together! I suggest you give yourself and this House to the House of Amethyst! We could serve her like most of the others. She is a forgiving young woman. I mean she took in Dark Opal’s scheming adopted son Carnelian! Look how the foolish child treats her own servants! She is naïve and overly kind but she has power and powerful allies like the mighty Lord Ruby and Lord Garnet!” she said as she waved her arms for emphasis.
Sardonyx sighed. How many times had they had this same argument?
“Beloved, I understand what you are saying and why you speak in this way. It does credit to your familial feelings and your role as wife and mother but I can never again rebel against …against him!” he said as he nervously glanced left and right.
“The man sees and hears everything. He has supernatural allies drawn from multiple weird dimensions. Who truly knows the limits of his power and his evil?” he said as he stood up and took her in his arms.
She kissed him and seemed to calm down but her flashing eyes told a different story.
“I know the limits of my own patience!” she thought.
Later as Lord Moonstone entered a tavern known as the Happy Hearth he looked around the cozy room and noticed the rows of neat benches and well-placed booths. The few customers seemed content and the environment was one of serenity. This was appropriate since the owners were a happily married if oddly matched couple. Hortyns was an attractive dwarf with braided silvery hair and a pleasing face. While her hulking husband Norish was a half-ogre with normal human intellect and regular facial features but the massive body and hands and feet of his monstrous father. They ran a popular tavern and they each brought their unique strengths to the business and their devoted union.
As Lord Moonstone gave a drink order to a pleasantly dull waitress, he spotted a customer that immediately caught his attention although he had missed seeing her at first since she was sitting in the shadows in one corner. She was strikingly beautiful with black hair marked by one lock that stood out because of its bluish hue. Her eyes matched the color of the stray lock of hair and her features were lovely and delicate although her attire marked her as someone more comfortable on the battlefield than in a domestic setting. She wore a brief blue and black tunic crisscrossed by weapon pouches and a sword hung by one hip while a crossbow rested across her back. She looked up at him and as their eyes briefly met he noticed her obvious intelligence. She certainly gave him the impression of being a keen observer and no man’s fool or pawn. There was a cold certainty in her gaze that intimidated Lord Moonstone at the same time it attracted him.
“She is a remarkable woman! I’ve never seen her like! She would make Lady Turquoise herself have second thoughts about a fight or so I assume from the looks of her!” he thought.
He wondered who she was but then his thoughts were interrupted as four newcomers entered the tavern. They wore rough clothing and carried various weapons. They didn’t belong to any of the guard units of the Royal Houses since none of them seemed to be wearing the same colors or any identifying emblems.
Before the owners could approach them, the men moved closer to the woman Moonstone had been watching. Should he intervene?
“Maybe she needs my help! They look like trouble but then so does she. Perhaps, they are her friends?” he thought.
The woman watched the men with a casual manner although Moonstone noticed her hand drift easily to the hilt of her sword.
“Cerulean, you have led us on a long pursuit but you should have known distance would not make us forget your crimes!” said a burly man in a dirty white vest.
She said, “My crimes are my own business. I will bear their burden and I will attempt to atone for them. Do not presume to judge me!”
He scowled and started to raise his arm and a heavy mace that he gripped with one hand.
“You always were haughty! Too good for your own men. You may have been the Queen of Death but you were not royal born!” he hissed.
In a flash two things happened so swiftly Moonstone missed them both! The woman called Cerulean hurled a wickedly pointed throwing star and kicked a chair into the air. The star struck the man in the white vest and the chair tripped up his closest ally as the other two men moved forward. Cerulean dived across the table and sent dinnerware crashing to the floor. She flipped acrobatically into the group and with three swift blows with the flat of her sword and a spinning kick, she left all of them stunned and battered at her feet.
She looked at Hortyns. “I am sorry about the noise. They can pay for any problem it has caused you!” She reached into her first attacker’s vest and tossed a money pouch to the startled dwarf! Hortyns nodded as if this kind of thing happened every day while her husband opened his mouth as if to speak but said nothing.
As Cerulean started to leave the tavern, a veiled woman approached her with open and raised hands. She stood defiantly with both hands placed on her hips and she said, “Well, what is your wish? Do you also want to bring me to some accounting for past crimes?”
The veiled figure shook her head and whispered something to the other woman.
“I wish to hire you! You are the infamous Cerulean of the Darksun Assassins are you not? Well, I wish to hire you!”
Cerulean said, “That is my name but I am no longer a member of that guild. I am also not the woman I once was. I don’t kill for jilted lovers.”
The veiled woman said, “There is no love involved only the blackest of hates. I wish you to kill Dark Opal!”
Lord Moonstone did not sleep well that night. He had returned to his palace and thought about the woman called Cerulean. He had heard of her as a notorious assassin who had led her own army and killed men, mages, and monsters in her time. She was said to be fearless and invincible. She was a legendary warrior in spite of her youth. He had indeed heard of her but now he could not forget her. Something about her preoccupied him and kept sleep at bay. He understood part of her appeal. She was beautiful and dynamic and exciting and…and he was a Royal engaged to another fiery woman and he was utterly miserable and confused by the whole arrangement.
“She did not need my help but I was no help in any case. I just stood there and watched it all. I was a spectator not a participant. I feel like that is all I am in my own life as well!” he sighed.
He rose the next morning and felt tired and discontented. He was kind to his servants but he was habitually kind and he went through his duties with a diligence that lacked any true enthusiasm. He finally felt some pleasure at the letter he received that indicated his closest childhood friend Eodare would be coming to the wedding.
“I have missed Eodare since he departed on his quest for inspiration. I wish I had joined him all those years ago. He understood me but then with his magical powers and his thirst for knowledge he knew so much more than anyone else I ever met!” he thought.
At that moment a few servants approached and presented him with several colorful packages.
“More wedding gifts, Lord Moonstone!” said his faithful retainer Cadmus.
“Thank you. Place them on the long table with the others. Perhaps, the Lady Sapphire with go through them with me later today!” he said.
“Very good, sir!” said Cadmus as he obeyed the command and directed the other servants to do so as well.
A dark haired beauty came in their wake and gently bowed to him as she placed one final gift on the table. He thanked her and she smiled broadly and then walked away. There was something about her that made him hesitate for a moment. He didn’t know every servant but he thought for a moment he had seen this one in some other environment.
Moments later as she turned a corner a faint shimmer enveloped her body and while she remained a raven haired beauty her facial features and general posture altered and she was revealed as Fawna a former servant of the House of Amethyst who had departed to become one of Sardonyx’s maidens before eventually deserting his household to work for Dark Opal himself. She had not possessed powerful magic of her own except for a certainly craftiness and a seductive nature. Apparently, her new master had enabled her to use a glamour spell to briefly conceal her identity. In any event having placed the wrapped gift in the room, she hurriedly departed the desert kingdom to go back to her new domain.
Days later, as a still conflicted Lord Moonstone and his bride to be Lady Sapphire looked over their latest gifts, Moonstone stared vacantly into space as Lady Sapphire talked on and on about small details of their upcoming ceremony. She would of course become Lady Moonstone and her brother the closest heir to her title would become the new ruler of the House of Sapphire.
She stopped speaking as she opened the box the mysterious Fawna had left behind. She removed a gleaming amulet with a row of moonstones around the center.
‘This is lovely! You must wear this to the ceremony!” she said.
Moonstone nodded and said, “As you wish, my dear. Sapphire, do you know much about the Darksun Assassins?”
She frowned and pursed her pretty lips and then said, “What? I have heard of them. They are a secretive cult dedicated to perfecting methods of murder. They are rumored to be older than the founding of Gemworld itself. Some say they are a myth or a mere rumor used to scare bad children! My brother Palin would know more. I mean he belongs to the Order of the Rose and that knightly assembly has a legendary library. I have always found him to be excessively pure of heart and serious to a fault. If he had been the oldest, our late father would have gladly had ignored me completely. Why do you ask?”
Moonstone said, “I was just curious. I saw …or I mean I saw in a book something about that group. It sounded rather interesting!”
She smiled and caressed his cheek. “You must forget such morbid musings. We will be wed tomorrow and this future Lady Moonstone will make you so happy you won’t have time to daydream about gloomy old legends!”
He smiled weakly and kissed her. “I suppose you are right. I mean what would a man like me have to do with killers?”
Nearby, the lovely but lethal Cerulean camped out under a moonlit sky and made her plans. She remembered a happy childhood in a small village within the Turquoise domain. She had lost her brother to a brutal warlord who came to recruit fighters from their peaceful village. She had joined another band of killers to learn how to avenge his death. In time she began to kill for hire as part of the elusive Darksun Assassins guild. She rose through their ranks to become their leader but when a young girl died trying to emulate her, she renounced the guild and vowed to become a better woman. Her efforts had met with skepticism or fear on the part of those she met who recognized her or recalled her bloody past. She refused to give up her quest for redemption and killing the evil Dark Opal might be the way to cleanse herself of so much bloodshed and sorrow. She had all the skills of the legendary assassins and she was certain that even with those skills her best chance of killing the powerful magician would come when he was distracted by the upcoming wedding ceremony of Moonstone and Sapphire. She would gain entrance to the palace and time her strike carefully. It was not a pretty plan but hers was not a pretty story.
The day of the wedding dawned bright and beautiful but Lord Moonstone’s features were clouded by troubling thoughts.
He swallowed his worries and prepared to take his vows before his assembled guests. It was a smaller gathering than would have normally been the case since several of the Royals were away on pressing matters. Moonstone wore the royal colors and the wedding gift amulet hung around his neck.
The Poet-Philosopher Eodare stood by his best friend. The two men had talked for hours the day before and Moonstone gained some perspective from his childhood pal’s wise words.
“It is only human nature to feel doubtful at these times but if you truly wish to make her the lady of your life and if she walks in your dreams every night, the union will be the right thing to do. If not, you must be true to yourself although it causes pain!” he cautioned.
Lady Sapphire was dressed in the colors of the House of Moonstone. She was lovely and whatever had initially drawn her to Moonstone, she appeared devoted to him and his happiness. Next to her stood her brother Palin the soon to be Lord Sapphire. He was a handsome man with long dark hair and the gleaming armor of a decorated Knight of the Rose. He had been a hero and champion of more than one epic battle across the Gemworld and beyond for his Order had stationed him in another magical realm for the last few years. He had returned to Gemworld to honor his sister and assume the rule of the House of Sapphire when she became Lady Moonstone. He gazed at the couple with warmth and affection and Lady Sapphire thought once more with regret that she had been a bit too hard on her brother in making fun of his chivalrous and selfless demeanor. How could she resent her brother for simply being what he was: a hero!
The tall and regal Diamond Priest began the ceremony as the guests became silent and a nervous Lord Moonstone stood next to Lady Sapphire. The Diamond Priest was the last of his order except for a small number of acolytes in training including a handsome blond man named Kalibur. Kalibur held a pillow upon which rested a prismatic gem that was a symbolic representation of the Gemworld itself.
As the Diamond Priest united the couple in matrimony and Lord Moonstone kissed his elegantly dressed bride, the guests cheered.
Moonstone seemed resigned to his fate. Whatever had attracted him to Cerulean and dreams of another life had faded or been repressed. After all he had his duty to think of. For the sake of his late father’s honor and for the good of his people the hesitant Moonstone did his duty.
Princess Amethyst, a beautiful blonde in a lavish lilac gown and heels, smiled happily as she gazed around the luxurious ball room of castle Moonstone.
“This is exciting like the wedding of Princess Di and Prince Charles from when I was a little kid! I don’t really know Prince Moonstone well and always thought Lady Sapphire was kinda of stuck up but this was still an awesome wedding!” she thought. Amethyst was unique among the royals of Gemwold in that she had been raised on Earth and in that dimension she was in fact a teen girl named Amy Winston. She enjoyed the best of both her worlds and being transformed into a magically powerful adult on Gemworld was just one of the many advantages she enjoyed while in the realm of mystical beings.
A handsome young man with a mustache and curly dark hair stood next to her. He was dressed all in red as befitted his nickname of the Crimson Rogue. Carnelian was also originally from Earth and he had feelings for Princess Amethyst that he found hard to reconcile at times. He had been the adopted son of the evil Dark Opal and had grown up in Gemworld as a villainous youth who lashed out at the world out of a resentment of the fact that he alone in Gemworld possessed no magical powers. He had broken away from Dark Opal and attempted to kill the evil Royal but his attempt failed and now he was a castaway of sorts living at Castle Amethyst and finding himself increasingly attracted to Amethyst and considering a possible reformation.
He placed his arm around her shoulders and said, “I always hated old Moonstone but his son was always a bit of a loser. I didn’t find him worth hating. I almost pitied the poor geek!”
Amethyst elbowed him in the ribs and said, “Be nice! I can’t take you anywhere!”
They greeted Lady Emerald a delicate platinum blonde whose little sister Emmy lived with Amethyst’s earthly family out of a desire to experience a normal home life following a tragedy that concerned her mother.
She smiled warmly and exuded happiness. Her own recent marriage was clearly a happy one. Lord Emerald (formerly known as Erros the Ranger) was a handsome, dashing man clad all in green He smiled broadly and bowed low as he took Amethyst’s hand and kissed it briefly.
“You are looking lovely Princess Amethyst! Be careful you don’t outshine the bride!” he said.
Carnelian rolled his eyes as Amethyst smiled back and thought, “Robin Hood! Lord Emerald looks just like Robin Hood from that old movie Dad and I always watch together on cable!”
Lord Emerald was rumored to have an especially potent magic for talking to and controlling animal life. It was a nice compliment to his wife’s control of plant life.
“How is Emmy? I feared her time with us at our own wedding tired her out after her recent cold!” asked Lady Emerald.
Amethyst nodded and said, “Yes, she is okay but still having a bad cough. She’ll be fine but she is sad about not being here for another wedding!”
After a few more moments of conversation, Amethyst was greeted by rugged Lord Garnet a powerfully built and stocky black man from the
Stormy Peakes who could control the weather to an extent.
Lord Garnet’s son disappeared years old and while Amethyst knew the young man was alive and secretly in service to the enigmatic Ancient Ones who technically owned Gemworld and leased it to the Royal Households, she was unable to reveal the truth to the hardy old warrior because of magical vows she had taken.
Still, Garnet was not alone. His nephew the current Prince Garnet was accompanying him which was fitting since the rugged young man was heir to the Garnet domain. Prince Garnet was a handsome man with the muscles and grace of a true warrior. He wore a silvery helmet and he reminded Amethyst of a Viking hero from one of her books of mythology.
“Well met, Little Princess!” said Lord Garnet in his booming voice.
Prince Garnet grinned and said, “Speak louder, Uncle, they can’t hear you across the Shining Seas!”
As they laughed and made small talk, the remaining guests mingled as well. Enigmatic Lady Aquamarine said little but seemed all knowing.
She was accompanied by a handsome young man who shared what Amethyst called her vaguely Asian features. He was kind looking yet his eyes missed nothing and he moved like a cat.
“Lady Aquamarine’s boy toy is a fisherman! What would her big headed late husband think of his child bride making out with Bruce Lee jr. there!” sneered Carnelian.
As Lord Moonstone and Lady Moonstone greeted their guests Amethyst thought about the missing Royals. Lord Ruby and his allies Prince Topaz and Lady Turquoise had departed on some type of private quest. It was suspected that the now young and powerful Lord Ruby had plans to restore his badly damaged realm to its former splendor and perhaps sought a bride and eventually an heir! Lady Turquoise was addicted to danger and relished any type of quest. Her fiancé Prince Topaz also fought well and carried himself nobly in battle and he obeyed the fiery redhead in most matters. His decidedly slinky sister the evil Lady Topaz was a firm ally to Dark Opal and she stood close to Lord Sardonyx and his wife Lady Sardonyx as their mutual master Dark Opal grinned fiendishly and approached Lord Moonstone
Dark Opal looked over at Eodare as the slender black man with longish hair and striking eyes met his gaze.
“My! The celebrated Poet-Philosopher has returned from his journey of inspiration! Perhaps, I may have you compose an epic about my return from the realm of the dead! Your creative skills would be capable of that I dare say!” Dark Opal said with an evil grin. Dark Opal was a powerful warrior with scarred bluish skin and flashing eyes that were matched by his lupine smile.
Eodare pushed back the hood of his white cloak and said, “I am capable of almost anything, Dark Opal but you know that!”
Dark Opal scowled for a moment and then gestured to Lord Moonstone. “I tried to find a proper husband for your fair lady but my efforts failed.
She could not win Prince Topaz and my magical efforts only created a walking corpse as a groom. It seems she has managed to do at least as well on her own though!”
Moonstone started to reply but the words would not come and he felt rather ill. His wife clutched his arm and said, “We are very happy, Dark Opal. We must be happy indeed to allow you here after your rather unfortunate attempt of a marriage not long ago! One might think you were cursed in love!”
Amethyst glanced at Eodare and thought, “He speaks so softly but his has so much personality. He reminds me of Marlon Monroe from Music TV! I bet he could even moonwalk!”
She frowned as Dark Opal managed to bring a chill to the otherwise happy ceremony.
“That creep is up to something!” she whispered.
Carnelian replied, “My father is always scheming. I’d swear he would plot against himself had he no other enemies!”
As servants moved through the crowd a pretty woman drew closer to the guests. She was in fact Cerulean in disguise! The former Darksun Assassin from the tavern had disguised herself in order get close to her latest target. She had been hired to kill Dark Opal and this was her chance to do so while he was away from his fortress and possibly off his guard.
Moonstone recognized her as his eyes met hers by chance. He staggered and felt oddly uncomfortable. As his friend Eodare and Lady
Moonstone tried to come to his aid he collapsed and started to gasp for breath.
Dark Opal’s smile grew broader as his white teeth flashed and his plot reached fruition. He had sent Fawna with the cursed amulet as a wedding gift and its infernal magic was now threatening to destroy Moonstone!
“What ails you, beloved?” cried Lady Moonstone as her brother bent over the stricken Moonstone and Eodare touched his friend gently.
“I’m not here…and yet I am! I’m fighting the serpent men in Valusia! No! It’s the city of Thieves in Lemuria all over again! Where is Graylin! I need her! My name is Wulf? No! No! I am Moonstone, aren’t I?”
“What’s wrong?” asked Amethyst as she struggled with a desire to help her friend and a wish to fight Dark Opal who was clearly behind it.
Eodare said, “Moonstone is a special being. You come from earth and are aware that there are many different dimensions. Moonstone is a unique being in that he lives in all of them as a kind of eternal spirit! I have long known this and in fact journeyed with other aspects of him in other worlds during my time away. He was unware of his status in the multiverse. Something has forced an awareness of his many different counterparts upon his mind and souls at once and it is driving him mad!”
Carnelian said, “I know of such things. If he dies he will be merely be reborn! We just need to put him out of his misery for the moment!”
He drew his gun and aimed it at Moonstone as Amethyst slapped the gun out of his hand and said, “No, you jerk!”
The disguised Cerulean hesitated for a moment as she drew closer to Dark Opal with a dagger in one hand. She saw Moonstone’s peril and she saw her chance to kill Dark Opal and she chose life. She leaped forward and touched Moonstone on his forehead. He stopped breathing for a moment and then she pressed her fingers against him once more. He gasped for air and opened his eyes.
“He should be fine. I stopped his heart for a moment. The spell upon him ceased with the thought that he was dead!” she said as Lady Moonstone looked at her in shock.
Palin, Lord Sapphire, had been still and his eyes were closed. He opened them wide and said, “I detect evil magic within that amulet!”
Eodare ripped the amulet off his friend and hurled it across the room. It struck young Diamond Acolyte Kalibur and shattered along with the prism he held.
He shuddered as the weird magical energy surged through his body and he was transformed into a gleaming crystalline humanoid.
“My skin has become hard like a diamond!” he gasped as the Diamond Priest and Lady Emerald rushed to his side.
“Palin was right! The amulet triggered moonstone’s attack!” cried Eodare..
As the Poet-Philosopher and the Knight of the Rose helped their friend, Dark Opal scowled in disgust. He had hoped to destroy Moonstone and his plan had failed. He was a brilliant man in spite of his dark ways and he had noticed Cerulean seconds before she had decided to help
Moonstone instead of attempting to kill him. He had realized her intentions and had casually raised a magical force field moments before she abandoned her plan to strike at him and instead turned to face Lord and Lady Sardonyx. He had also noticed that the Lady Sardonyx did not look overly surprised by the appearance of the assassin.
“You brought an added guest to this happy occasion, did you not, My Lady? You paid the former Darksun Assassin to end my life. She foolishly passed up her opportunity out of some misguided feeling of mercy for that doltish Moonstone. I shall repay her kindness in time and I shall repay you now!” he said.
He touched Lady Sardonyx and she collapsed in her husband’s arms.
“What have you done?” cried Sardonyx.
Dark Opal said, “She sleeps the sleep of the guilty. Perhaps, I will revive her should you serve me well!”
He marched out of the room laughing as a stricken Sardonyx held his still wife.
“Help her! Someone please help her!” he cried.
Lord Garnet and Prince Garnet drew their swords and the agile Lord Emerald stood ready for a fight. The silent but sincere looking man with
Lady Aquamarine also raised his fists and assumed a battle stance.
The heroic assembly had no remaining foe to fight. Dark Opal had departed. Cerulean had slipped away and vowed to ready herself for a future encounter with Dark Opal What better way would she redeem herself than to end the life of the tyrant?
As Moonstone regained is footing Eodare gasped as if he had been struck by a blow.
“Residual magic is flooding his body! Something or someone is materializing” he said.
Indeed, a second humanoid figure enveloped Moonstone for a moment and then stood next to him. It was a second version of Moonstone from some alternate dimension but this manifestation was very different from the diffident Lord! He had the same flowing red hair but it was a bit shaggy and his chin had a cleft in it. He wore a simple animal fur and his stature was enormous. His arms and legs rippled with muscles and wore a broadsword that he clearly knew how to use! He towered over the much smaller Moonstone who looked at him with shocked but identical eyes.
“He’s one of your other realm counterparts! Somehow breaking the amulet broke him here!” said Eodare.
“By Tulgonia, what madness is this?” bellowed the newcomer. He sounded like Lord Moonstone but his voice was much louder.
Eodare said, “You were brought here by magic. This realm is called Gemworld. We mean you no harm!”
Moonstone stammered, “He’s me? I’m him?”
The big warrior said, “I am Adular! I am tired of being the pawn and plaything of one mage after another! I would gladly slay every one of them had I the chance!”
He frowned as he looked at Moonstone and realized they were indeed alternate versions of the same being.
“This sorcery leaves me dazed. We must talk. I would learn the truth of this bizarre occurrence!” he said.
Moonstone nodded and said, “I think I have much to learn too!”
Lady Moonstone took his hand and said, “We shall face it all together!”
Eodare said, “I will help all I can!”
Palin added, “So will I. I do so vow to serve you kinsman!”
Amethyst approached them and said, “I stand with you too!”
The Diamond Priest and the now crystalline Kalbir slowly came closer too.
“This wedding day has been one of great joy and terrible magic!” he said.
Sardonyx held his stricken wife as a tear trickled down his face.
“Will no one help me?” he said.
Carnelian scowled and then he said, “Come, Lord of the Snakes! We will find answers too. We know my father’s evil ways all too well, do we not?”
Sardonyx nodded and said, “My thanks, Crimson Rogue! I have wronged you in the past, boy, and I see that now!”
As Amethyst looked around the room, she struggled to find the right thing to do.
“I’ll stay here and do all I can to help my friends!” she thought.
Epilogue
Days later after the transformed Kalibur had been examined and realized he was unharmed although transformed and nothing more could be done to revive Lady Sardonyx, Moonstone and his counterpart Adular had formed an odd friendship.
“I am no noble. I am merely a swordsman. I will find my own way in this odd realm but should you need me, I will come to your side! We are brothers of a kind and I thought myself the last of my people!” he said.
Moonstone smiled and said, “So be it!”
If Moonstone thought any more about Cerulean he did not mention her even to Eodare who decided to accompany Adular on his journey through the Gemworld.
As for Cerulean she had ridden away from the Realm of Moonstone and renewed her own pledge to make up for her past role as an assassin.
The members of the Darksun Assassins would never stop hunting her down for quitting their guild but she was determined to make a new life for herself somewhere in the wondrous Gemworld!
The End
