Young Writers Society

Evripidis wondered what being the deity of undercooked pastries would be like. Surely, they were an excellent candidate for it. Most people hadn't accepted their pastries, except that one colorful deity. What was their name? Hm. Either the pastry-eater hadn't told Ev, or Ev had succeeded in forgetting. That second one would be a rare event! How delightful it'd be if they had managed to forget something today.

Ev hummed a little and kicked their feet as they lay on the carpet of their room. They hadn't bothered to move after falling in and faceplanting.

Eventually, time passed. Ev passed into dreamland as well. They remembered every detail when they woke up, though they tried hard to forget.

A letter shimmered between Ev's face and the floor. Ev squinted at it. Too close. Ev dropped their face and smushed the letter into the carpet. Eh, if it was important, something would happen.

A little voice read out the message into Ev's ear. Something about a rulebook (rules were boring), and a mentor assignment ceremony (mentors were also boring, as they just repeated what you already knew), and formal glamour. Ev giggled. How about informal glamour? Oh, wait! How about informal nonglamour? Forms of clamor...

In the end, Ev didn't change from their current outfit of a plain chiton and a lazy ponytail with hair matted to the side of their head where they'd dozed off on the carpet. They entered the big place with lots of people and leaned against the wall. Ev scanned the various faces, noting that the pastry eater was nowhere to be seen. Then they spaced out until their name was called.

Daedalus. Ev made a face. One of Athena's faves. That probably meant he would blabber on about intelligence and inventions and then yell at Ev when they pretended not to pay attention. Well, at least they'd enjoy the look on his face when he grew fed up with Ev.



Of course, Daedalus showed flickers of annoyance. He did better than Ev's previous tutors at hiding it, though. Even when Ev pretended to nap on a nearby bench, Daedalus only sighed once and rapped the bench with a metal rod. That was a new record! Ev's previous tutors had all sighed at least ten times in the first five minutes. Daedalus had only sighed once.

To celebrate that record, Ev actually paid attention. For two minutes, at least. Then they dozed off again and didn't wake up until Daedalus produced a rock out of nowhere and used it as a pivot and the metal rod as a lever to tilt the bench to a forty-five degree angle. Even then, Ev might have continued to nap, until Daedalus finally snapped.

"Child, our lives are at stake. I am not certain whether you were napping or simply not listening when they announced it, but if you fail or perish during the trials, I perish as well." His eyes flashed angrily. "Do you understand? I could die." He pushed the lever furiously, tilting the bench even farther.

"Hmm." Ev sat up warily, draping an arm across one of the armrests to keep from sliding. "You've escaped from places before. Surely you could manage it again. But use wood instead of wax this time."

Daedalus stood stiff, as if stricken. Abruptly, he released the lever and the bench thumped back to the ground. He stalked off wordlessly.

Ev hummed. Perhaps that had been too far. They forgot sometimes that people were more fragile than memories.



Was Ev becoming an overcooked pastry? They didn't particularly care. They opened bleary eyes, looked at the uninteresting landscape of sand dotted with uninteresting lumps of people, then went back to sleep.

Finally, their head felt like it was burning as it absorbed sunlight, and Ev realized they didn't actually particularly want to become a burnt mushroom, so they decided they ought to do something about the rope binding their hands. The rope was soon taken care of, and Ev heard someone speak.

"You know, you could have just asked me to untie you."

They blinked at the person, trying to place them. "You are..." Then their lavender eyes cleared up. "Ah, yes! The colorful one who ate my pastries!" And how funny, an offer to help. Well, they supposed that was indeed a nice thing to do.

The deity looked down at themself, and looked back to Ev. "Yes, that appears to be me. And you were, uh...."

"The deity of undercooked pastries. I mean, not yet. I'm debating between that and the deity of stupidity disguised as arrogance, if that's not taken already. Does being the deity of something give me the power to smite those who fall under that category?" They smiled.

"I think it does, and thank the god of the gods that I don't fall under your category."

Yes, that was probably a good thing. Ev might just smite people if given the power to do so. Not necessarily on purpose, but perhaps just while they were swatting a gnat and there happened to be someone in the way. "I see. If you say so." Ev looked around again.

It was an excellent place to try to forget. Perhaps the sun could simply boil the memories out of their brain. Ah, Ev could hope.

The Trial of Fire

Collaboration with: @KateHardy and @WeepingWisteria

Josephine opened her heavy eyes, realizing she was no longer in the Grande Hall. People spoke around her, but her hearing was buffed. Other's voices echoed, whereas some cut off. She felt the sting of heat on her body, she could feel the rays as they burned and tanned her skin.

The Desert?

Josephine lifted her body off the sand, sheilding the sun with her eyes. She soon realized that she knew nobody here-- but recongized two people from the Mentor Ceremony. Her eyes followed the two, who were talking indestictively to eachother a few feet from here. Josephine needed allies, especially if this was the first Trial. Her father would be ashamed if he found out she was asking for help: but she inherited only gifts from her mother. She needed reinforcements, just in case, and these two looked strong and connected already as a team. It wouldn't hurt to try and make allies.

One of them reminded her of Hera, with the unforgivably beauty that was almost comparable to her mother. She'd never seen someone look so elegant in their pajamas, but this girl did. And if she was going to team with anyone, it was going to be someone with style. The other person with her looked unique as well, muscular and ripped. If she didn't know all of her siblings, she'd be convinced she was a daughter of Ares. She slowly approached, hesitating before speaking, "I like your pajamas. Josephine, Daughter of Aphrodite and Ares," she held out a slightly shaky hand.

"Your pajamas are immaculate as well," the elegant one took her hand. "Really compliments your eyes." She gave her hand a firm shake, a smile spreading across her features. "Stefania."

"I appreciate that," Josephine looked Stefania's partner, "And you, I love your hair! Suits you very well. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, too?"

Stefania's partner nodded, giving her a warm smile. "Deianria."

"Nice to meet the both of you. I uh... I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I could be of help. I can transform objects and... I have amazing stamina. Would you mind if I stuck with you guys?" Josephine asked, bracing herself.

Deinaria looked to Stefania.

"Why of course. What use is there in fighting amongst us when the clear enemy is.." She bent down and picked up a handful of sand. "All around us."

Josephine chuckled and pointed towards the hills yonder, "I say we head that way. Forget the others, we can hope that we find something that way. Is there anything that I should know about you two, gift wise? Is there anyway one of you could... I don't know, help us with this heat?" she fanned herself, already sweating immensely through her nightgown.

"Stefania is perfect for that. We shouldn't say it... here. But trust us. We'll be fine."

"Sounds good," Josephine looked around her, the others already forming groups as well. Some of them looked slightly intimidating, but not as intimidating as Deianria. They would be fine.

"And don't sell yourself so short. A simple hand fan could be of immense use and if I understood you correctly, that rock over there could become on in your hands. And stamina is quite important in a desert."

Josephine blushed, "I'd have to admit, I don't have much control over what I turn things into. I try, but sometimes I'll aim for a bunny and get a goat, or I'll try to change water into a gas but instead get a fire. It get's pretty dangerous, especially when under stress, so maybe I'll take my chances right now with my physical fan."

"I see. Well at the very least it should be entertaining should we end up getting to that point. Morale is another important factor. Who knows, you might just conjure up a camel."

"And if it gets too dangerous... we can take care of that too."

Others started to disperse, heading in different directions. Josephine glanced around, still covering her eyes with her hand for shade, "Shall we start walking?"

"Sounds good."

Deianria took the lead and started heading for the dunes. As they walked, the sun seemed to be growing hotter, so much so that even Josephine had to take a break a couple times. Her spirits rose when she spotted a small shed located about a mile from them-- its wooden exterior shining amongst all the bright tan sand.

She smiled, reaching for it, "Do you guys see that, or am I already hallucinating?"

"If you're referring to the suspicious wooden shed, I do believe it's actually present, or we're both hallucinating. Deianria?"

"Shared hallucination, or it's there. I see it."

"Hopefully they have a nice cold cooler with some water in it," Josephine groaned as she tried to tread the sand, "Also, it can't be this easy. They couldn't have just left us here to see who would survive the heat. There must be a shed here for a reason."

Deianria shrugged. "Could be a trap."

Josephine just nodded, "I'll take my chances."

They reached the shed in a matter of twenty minutes, desperation driving their every move. Josephine wondered if there were other sheds for the other groups located in the desert to utilize, "So, who wants to go in first?"

Deianria stepped towards the shed. "I'll go in. Stand back just in case." She lifted up her arm, shielding most of her neck as she slowly pressed her foot against the door. When nothing happened, she slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Josephine could hear that sound of footsteps on a rickety wooden floor, until Deianria stepped out. "It's safe."

"Thank Gods," Josephine finally let out a breath and stepped in next, studying her surroundings.

Weaponry Shed. Just like at the Grande Hall.

"I don't know whether to take this as a: 'danger, run' sign or 'here's some protection' sign. But I'll accept the help regardless," she scanned the walls, finding numerous weapons such as bow and arrows, swords, axes, javelins, sheilds, and flails. The bow and arrows were calling to her, so she grabbed the dark bronze one.

"Take it as a 'your parents will riot if we don't give you some weapons' sign." Deianria immediately grabbed a hoplon and spear.

Stefania chuckled. "I can already imagine mother's reaction. To say nothing of father." She picked out a javelin, running a finger down the shaft of it and giving it an experimental sniff.

"A crude weapon... for a barbaric brawl. Appropriate."

"Grab a few, then." Deianria sighed.

Josephine searched the shed for any sign of drinking water, "Ah, but the greatest weapon of them all is yet to be found. No water. That's unfortunate."

Stefania rolled her eyes as she grabbed two more. "I honestly wouldn't drink any water they provided us."

"Good point," Josephine murmered, gathering more arrows and stuffing them in her bra, back first. She didn't have anything to carry them in-- as they didn't provide bags or weapon casings, "So, what now? Do we just walk until we come across something interesting, or should we just wait in here? Atleast here, we're covered from the sun."

"This feels like a potential choke point. Many people would want what's in here. I suggest we attempt to find a sheltered spot a little ways away where can keep this in sight but probably not remain right inside. One point of entry and exit is a little bit tenous. We could easily be trapped."

Deianria hummed thoughtfully. "How many storms do you have in you, Stefania?"

"I suspect the answer is going to go down with every minute we spend in here, but I'd assume a couple at this point if we plan on saving energy for more walking."

"Okay so let's only use that if we deperately need it. We don't know how long we're going to be out here for," Josephine looked outside the shed, no shade or flora in sight, "If we keep walking, like Stefania said, we could have a chance of securing a more secure shelter. I say we get going."

"Yes. We could build one if we must. If we find a stick perhaps, we could turn our tops into some sort of shelter from the sun."

"Sticks from what? There is nothing out here. Like... nothing. I don't see how anything could live out here, honestly," Josephine asked, "But there must be something out here if they dropped us in the desert in the first place, we may just have to walk all day to find it."

"That was my thinking. There's likely to be at least a few environmental hazards out here, namely a snake or two. And they have some wonderfully long spines."

"Let's get going then, before nightfall. Hopefully, Apollo will decide not to be a jackass and give us a moon for a night," Josephine groaned. She dreaded the act of stepping back into the sand, but she knew it was necessary.

"Knowing my brother, its quite unlikely."

"Your brother is embarrassing."

Josephine stepped outside. The sun was almost worse than when they stepped in the shed. Josephine sheilded her eyes once again, "Curse Apollo. Next time you see him, tell him he and I need to have a little chat."

Stefania giggled. "I'll let him know. Do try to keep him alive."

"If I don't burn to death first, I got you."

She nodded. "Thank you. Although." She winked. "I only said try. Sometimes people fail and that's okay."

Deianria let out a little snort at that.

They walked along the sand once again, the heat starting to seep through Josephine's shoes. There's no way that the sand was that hot, but it seemed like it. If someone were to accidently fall, they'd have fourth degree burns.

Deianria looked around. "We should find some shade and stay there until nightfall. The sand will be cooler."

Stefania nodded. "Yes. And I believe the sun is currently annoying enough that we must cover our heads and shield our eyes." She took off her robe, and started to rip it up. It didn't take her long to fashion three reasonably equal sized sections.

"Wrap that around your head so that it shields your eyes. It'll keep you from going blind. And if we can find water, soaking these will also help tremendously."

"Thank you," Josephine sighed from relief and tightened the fabric around her eyes so that she no longer had to hold her hand up like an idiot. She studied her hand, glancing down, and noticed that her skin was already starting to blister, "We need to find shade. Fast."

"At least it's not snow. My father dropped me in this ice desert once... you go blind quickly."

"Some days I don't blame mother for what she did to your father."

Deianria shrugged. "He only brutally slaughtered his first family. No biggie."

"Regular Thursday, just ask uncle Hades."

Josephine chuckled and sighed, "Wow. Who are your parents, both of you?"

Deianria sighed. "Good old Heracles. Fortunately, my mother, Soteria balances him out."

"Hm. Soteria. Doesn't ring a bell, but I'm sure she's magnificent. Tell me about her," Josephine pondered.

"She's a minor goddess. Focuses on safety, deliverance, and preservation. If we're about to get ourselves killed, she'll usually tell me. Like a... motherly sixth sense."

"No wonder I felt that safe when I started talking to you guys," Josephine raised her eyebrows, skin crunching because of the sunburn, "And you, Stefania? Who are your parents?"

"Well. You've possibly heard of them. They're reasonably well known. The cranky man child of the heavens as my mom calls him or Zeus. That mom being Hera. I could um. Get her to officiate your marriage? No protective sixth sense on that one. She does work well with cows though."

Josephine laughed, "So you're royalty. It's very kind of you to take me in, Stefania. Thank you. You're nothing like your mother, or what I've heard of her. You are very kind."

"Why thank you. I prefer to take my mother's message of a good strong family and long lasting bonds and just keep the revenge fuelled backstabbing out of it. I find that it creates more peace in the long run. Radical idea I know."

"As long as your mom doesn't make me do a Hera-fueled backstabbing, right?'

"I made her promise. Fun fact. The queen of the heavens. Easily bribed with candy. And a few promises but the candy part is surprisingly important."

Josephine giggled at that.

They kept walking for what seemed like hours, the wind not budging. Josephine wished for just an ounce of wind, something.

Deianria sighed. "Please tell me your brother isn't just parked in the sky. He doesn't look like he's moved."

"I have a feeling he is. I only hope Artemis hasn't been told to take a day off. If the sun never sets...I shudder to think of it."

"Knowing the Gods, she's definitely on vacation," Josephine groaned. There wasn't much to look at besides sand, and her eyes were getting incredibly tired, despite the cloth that wrapped around her head. She was coming to her threshold. Suddenly, as if the Gods answered her prayers, she spotted a cactus a couple dunes down.

"Look! Life!" Josephine celebrated, "if it's a good cactus, we could drink water from it! They're an excellent source for survivalists."

Deianria stopped. "Something's... not quite right. Proceed with caution."

Stefania froze. "Well that's comforting. Let's keep our eyes peeled, as much as we can in this heat anyway. I would prefer staring at one of Apollo's strobe light displays than be in this desert another hour."

"Don't say that out loud. He'll never let you forget it."

She clasped a hand over her mouth. "Thank you for the reminder Ria."

"Proud to be of service." Stefania patted her shoulder.

They reached the cactus, Josephine dropping down in a comfortable squat, leaning her thighs on her ankles. The cactus was growing with red berries, but Josephine knew better. She looked at Deianria, "Can I borrow that spear real quick?"

Deianria nodded and slowly handed it to her. "Don't get close."

Josephine nodded and stayed a few feet away, carving out a small chunk of the cacti's skin before the flesh fell into the sand. Water poured out, but so did the head of an insanely frightening snake, "Holy shit!" Josephine jumped back, and the snake slithered onto the sand. A king cobra. It didn't break eye contact with them, its tongue hissing in challenge.

The cobra lunged. In a blink of an eye, Deianria was in front of Josephine, blocking the snake with her hoplon and shoving it to the side. She slammed the hoplon on its neck, killing it instantly. She stood up. "Water?"

"W-Water," Josephine sighed in relief, walking towards the cactus again. The spot she cut was completely out of water, it was all spilled in the sand, so she moved to the backside. She did the same thing and cut the cactus with the spear, this time carving a bigger piece. Water poured out again, this time a much bigger amount. Josephine moved so her head was underneath it, and allowed herself to drink. Gods, that tasted good. She moved after a few seconds, "Okay guys, get your share before it runs out."

"Go ahead Deianria. You need it more."

Deianria sighed and manuvered Stefania under the water stream, gently tilting her head up. She was clearly much strong than Stefania, so there was no way for her to protest.

Stefania huffed and followed along.

Deianria stepped back just a bit, making sure Stefania got her fill. Properly.

Josephine studied the berries growing on the cactus, "If I'm not mistaken, these are Perilberries. Insanely toxic, and kill within seconds if ingested. I say we take some of these for good measure. We never know if well need to use them."

"Good eye. And an equally good idea. I say we take a few handfuls."

"Where are we going to keep them? I don't have pockets," Josephine thought about it. They could hold them, but she didn't want to risk it. If for whatever reason it irritated skin, she couldn't risk it. Her hands were already blistering.

"I got it." Deianria knelt down and ripped off a strip of her sleep pants. With a nice strip of cloth, she started carefully picking berries.

Josephine nodded in gratitude and glanced around them again, "Lets get back to walking. There has to be some shelter somewhere around here. Maybe we could even find a waterhole. If there are other animals out here, they must have a central location for necessities."

"I would imagine so. I think we pick a direction and keep going."

"Hopefully we don't run into any other groups. I don't feel like fighting for a spot today," Josephine mentioned and pointed west, "I have a good feeling about that way."

"We can bribe them with berries. But yes we definitely aren't in any condition for an all out fight. Let's see how lucky that way is feeling today."

They started walking, again. It seemed like the right time for the sun to be lowering, but it wasn't. It just kept getting hotter. After around two more hours of groaning and treading, they finally approached an area with a few more cacti, "Okay, I think this is the most shade we've seen all day. I say we stop here, plus theres water sources. Anyone agree?"

Stefania nodded. "I think we can possibly try and string some cloth between these cacti and pull something off. It doesn't look like it'll get much better."

"Lets get to it then."

Unfortunately, the sun did not boil the memories out of Ev's brain. After seventy one seconds of sitting futilely, they decided they ought to at least try to make sure Daedalus wasn't forced to kick the bucket. Or not. What if they just forgot to? ...No, they might be cruel sometimes, but only sometimes.

Ev glanced at the other deity again. "So. Are you more of a cool cucumber or a hot pepper, in terms of powers?"

The pastry eater looked over from where he stood with his arms crossed, squinting. "What?"

"If you were a cucumber, that would make surviving here easier. I, unfortunately, am cursed with intelligence and memory instead of physical abilities." Ev stood up and brushed themself off. Sand. Glass, potentially? The heat wasn't quite that strong, though.

"Uhhhhh-huh." She looked away.

Ev pondered their best next step, did a little eenie-meenie-miney-moe, then made a decision. "Alright then. I am off to find that substance we would die from having both too much and too little of." Ev waved a halfhearted goodbye and trudged off through the sand.

"Sayonara." The other deity grunted, not moving.

A few minutes away was a cactus with spherical red berries. Ev squinted at them. The dumb thing to do would be to eat them. But while Ev was fond of acting dumb, they didn't actually want to die. They walked in circles around the cactus, first clockwise, then counterclockwise. Finally, they picked a few berries and wrapped them in a corner of their chiton.

Soon after, they were back in front of the pastry-eater. "Here. Not undercooked pastries, and they may or may not be edible. Also, may or may not be poisonous." They held out the red berries. The pastry eater flinched and then took the berries and threw them away.

"Hey, alright. I'm not that stupid." He cleaned off his hands.

Ev gasped. "What a waste of berries!" They quickly picked them up from the sand again and wrapped them in their chiton, glaring daggers at the pastry eater. Wait no, swords. No, no, glaring spears. Spears were longer.

The pastry eater just eyed the berries. "Just don't eat those, yeah?"

Ev made a motion as if to pop a berry into their mouth. The pastry eater flinched. Then Ev laughed uproariously and put the berry back with the others. They leaned in as if sharing a secret. "I'm not actually that crazy. Just 99.99%." Then Ev started juggling the berries.

Suddenly, Ev caught the berries and tucked them away again. "Okay, we have access to that dangerous substance that is necessary for life now. Innnnnnn that direction." They pointed to where they'd wandered off. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to try the berries as we walk there?" They took it for granted that the pastry-eater would tag along. In these trials, surely everyone knew that allies could be valuable. Although Ev was uncertain whether they were a good ally or not, considering their instability that they worked so hard to achieve.

"Tempting offer, but I'll pass." The pastry eater replied sarcastically.

Ev nodded, then led the way to the cactus. "Would you happen to have the ability to create containers to store water in? If not, I'll have to--" Ev gave a dramatic sigh-- "actually think and invent something."

The pastry eater did indeed follow. "Well, if I had a blade of some sort, I could magic something into existence."

"So your ability has to do with blades? Do cactus spines count?" Ev wrapped a length of cloth around their hand and plucked a spine from the cactus. They offered it to the pastry eater as if they were offering a crown to royalty.

"Not even close, unfortunately." The pastry eater took the spine, testing the pricklyness with the tip of her index finger.

"Fortunately, I have sharp nails." Ev carefully de-spined a small section of the cactus, at around eye level. "And I believe I can make this work. Or not. Only the cactus knows." Ev punctured the cactus with their nails and carved out a roughly circular shape, little by little. It was slow going, but eventually they reached the inside of the cactus and pulled away a section of cactus... skin? shell? No, not shell. Cactus coat? Ev hollowed out the bit of cactus into a shallow bowl, while the pastry eater simply just watched.

Finally, Ev reached into the cactus and dipped the bowl into the water. They offered it to the pastry eater.

"Thanks." She took it, and hesitantly took a sip of water from the edge, then handed it back.

Okay, no signs of foaming or other distress. Probably not a poisoned cactus. Ev refilled the bowl and gulped down the water. "Ah. For something that frequently causes the death of mortals, it sure tastes good." They bowed to the cactus. "Thank you, dear cactus. Now, pastry eater, let's go find you some weapons."

"Very good idea undercooked pastry maker." The pastry eater replied, stretching.

Arpeggio didn't know why she was sticking with this absolutely insane, undercooked pastry baker. Maybe it was for kicks n giggles. Maybe it was just because there wasn't any other visible options for him. Arpe looked around, hoping to find a weapon. Like would it be just lying around or what?

Pastry baker sighed. "Looks like it's not weapon growing season here. Nothing but heat and sand and misery are in season right now. Oh, and maybe insanity. That's always growing." They trudged onwards. Arpe looked at them, gaping before following reluctantly. Check that, very reluctantly. Yes, weapons absolutely just sprout out of the ground like a beanstalk.

The pastry baker hummed, off-key again. "I wonder whether these berries would make a nice red paint?"

Arpe hummed thoughtfully at that. That did bring ideas into his mind. He did take art lessons before. But no, now wasn't the time to think about art and drawing on a cactus.

The pastry baker squinted at a berry. "Do let me know if you see any wildlife around here. Perhaps we can have them taste test this." Then they skipped off towards another sand dune. Arpe stared off after them, not following. She continued to question how sane the pastry baker was. But then again, after a couple hundred thousands of years and you'll wish you were mortal.

After a couple hundred seconds, the pastry baker returned, hopping every few steps. They stopped in front of Arpe and declared, "A weapons shed there is, cactus water does not fizz, and will you follow me pliz?"

Arpe blink. What in the good heavens? "......What?"

"Weapons shed. Over there." The pastry baker took on a pose as that of a statue, pointing dramatically on one direction and shading their eyes from the sun, casting an imperial gaze into the distance.

"Great. Let's weapon up. I'd like something nice and sharp."

"Hooray! Me as well. Preferably something long, too, so I can poke people without them poking me."

"Yay." She said without enthusiasm. "Let's get ourselves some stabby stabbies."

~~~

The weapons shed was made of wood and was fairly small. There was an assortment of weapons hung up on the walls, ranging from axes to bows and arrows.

The pastry baker attempted to stroll through the cramped space. "Hmm... Would it be too much to take them all?" They picked up a spear and examined it, then put it back. They squinted at the tips of some arrows.

"Yes, I would think so." Arpe inspected the bow n arrows. Why not? It was one of the things she least sucked at. Ah, hair is getting shorter.

"In that case, perhaps we should take this shed." The pastry baker thumped the walls. "With enough force, we could break it apart and take some wood. Never know when you might need to start a fire! Oh, and we should look into getting a container to store water. Perhaps this quiver." The pastry baker held up an ornately decorated quiver.

"Are you kidding? Starting a fire is a ridiculous idea. One, we are in the middle of a DESERT. Two, the smoke would reveal our location.

The pastry baker grinned unsettlingly. "What if we want to draw the other competitors to us, like moths to a flame?"

"And why exactly would we do that unless we wanted to get ourselves killed?"

"Well, what a pity moths are flammable." The pastry baker hummed enthusiastically and painfully off-key again. "And technically, my mentor did create the Labyrinth, home to deadly traps." The pastry baker took another quiver and started filling it with spears. The spears were, of course, too long for the quiver, but the pastry baker simply ripped a length of cloth from their chiton and used it to tie the spears together, as well as to create another handle to balance the weight.

"How lovely." Arpe replied dryly. "Do you have a plan? One that doesn't get me killed?"

"A plan? Of course. Unless I manage to forget it. Not getting you killed?" The pastry baker looked as if they were deep in thought. "Well, there is one other plan that only has a twenty percent chance of you dying."

"Fantastico. I suppose the other one has a 100% chance of me dying?"

"Nah, nothing's ever a hundred percent. But yes, over ninety percent. It involves leaving you as bait."

Arpe's gaze narrowed. "Do that and I'll skin you alive."

The pastry baker laughed. "Oh, that'd be fun! I've never been skinned alive before."

"I'd be concerned if you had."

"Yes, you're right to be concerned." The pastry baker started knocking on various parts of the shed. "Do you think this side is weaker, or the other side?"

Arpe just groaned and collapsed onto the floor.shed. Then the baker dusted off their hands and turned to the next wall.

They kept humming very off-key as they freed that wall from the roof then continued to kick the wooden boards outwards. The quiver of spears they were wearing jostled back and forth, though thankfully, the sharp tips were pointed outwards and away from the two of them. Cheery. Arpe continued to lay where he was.

The second wall was almost freed of wooden boards when the roof groaned. It scraped against the tops of the other walls as it tilted towards the new gaps in the shed. In the space of a few moments, the roof crashed down, corner-first, impaling Arpe's thigh. Naturally, Arpe screamed in agony. Arpe squeezed his eyes shut, as they burned from the dust that had managed to get in.

The pastry baker coughed. "That wasn't supposed to happen. I suppose I should've predicted it, but ehhhh who cares about actually knowing things about architecture?"

The dust settled down a bit, revealing the baker simply staring down at Arpe. "Oh. You're injured."

Arpe did the next thing one naturally does when a piece of roof has impaled you and the person you're with acts like it's no big deal when everything in that area is on fire feeling wise and physically bleeding golden Ichor: cursing. Very colorful cursing.

"That bad?" The baker squatted down, finally at least making an effort to pretend to help. They looked at the wound. "That's bleeding. Quite a bit. Hm. It does look painful." Their face made a strange expression.

"What do you think?!" Arpe spat. He started to try to sit up.

"I-I don't think you should do that." Was that... something other than nonchalance on the other deity's face? Something almost akin to fear. "Just stay still and I'll, I'll try to stop the bleeding." They struggled to lift the corner of the roof off of Arpe's leg, which only increased the bleeding and caused the other deity's face to blanch. Then they ripped a piece of cloth from their chiton, which was starting to look rather bedraggled.

Arpe had to lay back down anyways, and pain shot up through the rest of his body. Ow. Hello darkness of unconsciousness, threatening to take me away from the overwhelming pain. If it didn't just keep lurking at the edges.

The pastry baker hurriedly pressed the cloth against the wound, wrapping the cloth around Arpe's leg and tying it. Ichor soaked through quickly, and the baker gagged before ripping another piece of cloth and trying again, this time attempting a tourniquet. "Y-you wouldn't happen to be able to heal yourself, would you? What abilities do you have?"

"I can move fast and that's pretty much it." Arpe hissed.

"Useless," the pastry baker muttered. "Especially when you're bleeding out like this."

"Tell me about it." He muttered.

"Better than a perfect memory, I suppose. You don't go crazy as quickly."

He looked at them, doing his best to focus. "That's your ability?"

"And intelligence, if that counts. I try not to count it, though. I try not to remember, either," they rambled as they tightened the makeshift tourniquet. "I think that's enough. Maybe. Oh gods, where are Apollo or Asclepius when you need them? You're not going to die, are you?" Their lavender eyes narrowed, as if saying, "How dare you die before I can use you as bait."

He laughed weakly, not fond of the sight of his own blood. "I'm not that easy to get rid of."

"Well, neither am I. Okay. Can you walk?" The pastry baker fixed their gaze firmly on a point a little above Arpe's head, far away from the wound.

"Yeah, I'll be able to walk just fine." He started to get up. He managed to stand up. Pain. Ow. Well, that's an accomplishment. Surely if he could stand he could walk. He took one step with the injured leg, and his leg buckled. He fell, his hands stopping him from eating sand.

"That's not good." The pastry deity paced back and forth among the ruins of the shed. The roof was in pieces on one side, and weapons were scattered across the ground.

Arpe did not respond, standing up again. He looked around, trying to use his brain.

The other deity stopped. "Wood. Crutches."

He nodded, getting onto his knees, and pushing pieces of wood around to find an adequate one.

The deity hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Stop doing stuff. As the non-injured one, I feel semi-responsible for doing the things." They started hunting for a piece of wood that was a decent length, and eventually broke a board from a wall in half.

"I can still do things." Arpe snapped. The last thing he wanted was to be useless, dead weight.

"No, don't." The baker waved him off. "I'm actually being semi-responsible for once. Don't rob me of my character growth. Save your energy for if we're attacked, because I won't be able to do many things then." They used more cloth to tie the longer wood pieces together with shorter pieces of wood, eventually forming a crude crutch.

"Don't rob me of my usefulness." Arpe replied, but took the crutch. "I don't have much of that."

"If you want to be useful, you can help me find some good pieces of wood to use to create a sled. After all, we'll need some way to transport the weapons and water we collect."

He muttered, but did as asked. What usefulness did he have? Nothing really now. Beside limping around and looking for pieces of wood. He couldn't run, which was basically one of the most important things in his life. Yeah, Chiron talked about what he could do if something happened, but in full honestly he didn't really pay attention.

The pastry baker looked critically at the pieces of wood that Arpe had gathered, then nodded brusquely. "Those'll do." They started using more strips of cloth to keep the boards of wood together.

Arpe did his best with a smile. "See, I can do work that doesn't involve running."

"Indeed." The pastry baker lightened up, seeming more like their previous whimsical self. "Who needs running? The only running I do is running from my problems. Or running from sentient olive branches. Those are terrifying."

"Sentient olive branches?" Arpe made a face, trying to be cheerful. Trying to not be pitted. It distracted him too, for the most part. "That sounds like something out of my nightmares."

"Oh, I get nightmares too! In the last one, I was in front of Zeus, and I was the lightning bolt and I was smiting someone. It was very..." The deity sniffed. "Well, suffice it to say I don't like being electricity. I felt burnt for days. Here's a piece of advice: if someone offers to turn you into a lightning bolt, politely refuse the offer." The sled (well, pieces of wood tied together into an approximation of a rectangle) slowly took shape.

Arpe laughed. "I'll be sure to remember that."

"Now then. We need to minimize the contact area so it can slide with minimal friction... Perhaps two thinner pieces of wood..."

"Great." Arpe replied. "Which way? Vis vay? Or vhat vhay?""

"Vack voo vuh vactus!" The baker sighed dramatically. "I hate to say this, but I might have to use my memory to get us back to that supply of dangerous yet life-sustaining liquid." They stacked a few boards of wood together in two rows on the sled, knotting more cloth around the wood and the cloth already in place to keep the rickety contraption together.

"Just don't lead us in the completely opposite direction." Arpe replied, wincing as he shifted to get the crutch in a more comfortable position, while carrying a quiver full of arrows and a bow.

"Ah, I'll be sure to remember where the cactus was, then walk away from it!" The baker laughed. "That sure would be a silly thing to do. Fortunately for you, my silliness does subside a little in the face of severe injuries. Just a little." They peered at the sled. "Say, would you mind tearing some cloth from your shirt or pants? I'd like to at least save half of my chiton to wear."

Arpe sighed. Of course. She didn't feel like struggling to rip a bit of her pants, so she took the bottom of her shirt, and carefully tore it into a long strip. There was just enough shirt left to cover her upper torso. Nonetheless, Arpe still felt weird. She held out the strip of cloth to the baker.

"Perfect." The baker used the cloth to create a handle for pulling the sled, then flipped it over. Arpe just watched. The baker slid the sled back and forth experimentally, then nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't have the strength to drag you around on this. But I can drag some weapons! So, which of these fine specimens would you like to choose?"

"That's fine, I don't need to be dragged around. I am fully capable of walking." Arpe replied. "As for weapons I'll carry what I have right now, but it would be nice to have a spear if we need it."

"Mhm mhmm!" The pasty baker twirled around and selected a few more spears along with the ones already in their enhanced quiver. "Some more wood would be good too, if we could. And we would." They piled some wood onto the sled. "And quivers for water." They added quivers to the heap.

"Don't take too much. Just what we need." Arpe eyed the stuff being added. Wow. That was a lot.

The baker pouted. "But we neeeeeeeed all this." They started to pull the sled, clearly finding it slightly difficult. Still, they persisted. Arpe started grabbing things off of the sled, careful to not overexert herself. He grabbed a good amount of the spears, until there were only two left. Then left only one quiver. And then a few pieces of wood he deemed unusable.

The baker made a halfhearted protest. Then they said, "Fine. That spear was looking at me funny, and I suspect that piece of wood was going to betray us eventually."

"Yeah see? We don't need those. They'd probably stab us in the back." Arpe rolled his eyes. Man, he couldn't tell whether the baker was smart, stupid, or both.

"Now that the future betrayers have been exiled from the Grand Land of Sled, let us be off!" And so the baker skipped out of the ruins of the shed, pulling a rickety wooden sled piled with a reasonable amount of weapons and supplies. Arpe walked after them. Well, not really walk. Limp? However one walks with a crutch after the person your with brings the sharp-edged roof of a shack down on your leg.

~~~

The pastry baker was alarmingly excited at the prospect of setting up traps. They danced around the cactus (which they'd reached after a journey that seemed significantly longer than when they'd been going from the cactus to the shed), cackling maniacally. "Traps, traps, terrific traps! Some sharp wood here, a tripwire there, stabby stabbies everywhere!"

He did his best to help, slowly and carefully as not to take of his fingers. It was easier to just sit down and do it, The more she did, the more his fingers trembled. Eventually she stopped in all, and just laid down. The sand didn't feel burning hot, but a comfortable warm. He just closed his eyes, and drifted off.

While I was finishing up the song, I saw a pristine cream colored envelope be slid under my door. I played the last few notes as the vines slowly dissipated. I picked it up and slowly pried it open.

Lord Hymnn, Son of Hestia and Dionysus,

Welcome to the Grande Hall, the sleeping place of many victors and God-renowned warriors before you. You are here because you, or your parent/s, believe that you could successfully complete the five Trials of the Elements. In the drawer inside your bedside table, there should be a Trial Guideline and Rulebook. Study this book, as it will be helpful throughout the Trials. At exactly 14:00 (2:00PM), you shall report to the ballroom for the Mentor Assignment Ceremony, where your chosen Mentor will be soul-linked to you.

Dress attire is formal glamour.

This year, the Gods have made a last-minute change to the Mentor Alliance program due to the nature of this year’s Champions. More will be explained at the Ceremony.

Remember, someone is always watching.

Lord Hermes, Game Master

I paused, then quickly looked at the time. 1:55. I took a deep breath and looked into the mirror of the bathroom. I felt my clothes change into a deep green dress with gold accents, and my grape earrings stayed the same.

I picked up the lyre and walked into the hallway, seeing people walk around me. For a second, I swore one of them had fast-forwarded himself. As I entered the ballroom, I settled into my seat, hearing the murmur of conversation around me. I held my lyre close and looked around. Gods and Godesses were having cheerful banter together, but a hush fell around the room as soon as Hermes entered.

I wasn't fully paying attention, but I heard something about Mentors dying. Yeesh. I'm glad Orpheus isn't here, because I wouldn't want him to die.

Hermes then started saying something about matching Mentors and Champions. He suddenly read off my name. "Hymnn, Son of Hestia and Dionysus, your Mentor is Orpheus."

I felt my jaw drop, and I poofed into a rabbit. This couldn't be happening. I know I'm going to die, but I don't want to take Orpheus down with me! I started unknowingly shaking, but took a long deep breath. I composed myself, picked up my lyre and walked out with Orpheus.

The next few moments flew by me. I couldn't help but feel guilty for dragging him into this. While he did teach me how to use my vines to block and attack people, I just couldn't stop going back to the thought that I could end up ending him.

I went back to my room and took a deep breath, as I put on my pajamas. I sat down and started to play my harp for comfort, eating some of the grapes growing off the vines. My eyes started to lull closed, and I felt myself drift asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The air felt dry, and the sun hit my eyes as I woke up. I felt the grit of something under me and then I realized I was in a desert. I coughed slightly, looking at all of the other champions around me. This must be the trial of fire.