LITMIR.BIZ

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looked up and saw the rock wall coming at them in a blur, and she knew that in moments, they would all be dead from the impact, their bodies crushed, and that whatever survived of them would plummet down to the depths of the earth.

      “Rock, give way! I COMMAND YOU!” shouted a voice filled with ancient primordial authority, a voice unlike any Gwen had ever heard.

      She glanced over to see Alistair, clutching the rope, holding out one palm, fixated fearlessly on the cliff they were about to hit. From Alistair’s palm there emanated a yellow light, and as they sped closer to the Canyon wall, as Gwendolyn braced herself for impact, she was shocked at what happened next.

      Before her eyes, the solid rock face of the Canyon changed to snow – as they all impacted, Gwendolyn did not feel the crack of bones she had expected to. Instead, she felt her entire body immersed in a wall of light, fluffy snow. It was freezing, and it covered her completely, entering her eyes and nose and ears – but it did not hurt her.

      She was alive.

      They all dangled there, the rope hanging from the top of the Canyon, immersed in the wall of snow, and Gwendolyn felt a strong hand grab her wrist. Alistair. Her hand was strangely warm, despite the freezing cold. Alistair had already somehow grabbed the others, too, and soon they were all, including Krohn, yanked up by her, as she climbed the rope as if it were nothing.

      Finally, they reached the top, and Gwen collapsed on solid ground, on the far side of the Canyon. The second they did, the remaining ropes snapped, and what was left of the bridge plummeted down, hurling into the mist, into the depths of the Canyon.

      Gwendolyn lay there, breathing hard, so grateful to be on solid ground again, wondering what just happened. The ground was freezing, covered in ice and snow, but nonetheless it was solid ground. She was off the bridge, and she was alive. They had made it. Thanks to Alistair.

      Gwendolyn turned and looked over at Alistair with a new sense of wonder and respect. She was beyond grateful to have her by her side. She truly felt like the sister she’d never had, and Gwen had a feeling that she had not even begun to see the depth of Alistair’s power.

      Gwen had no idea how they would make it back to the mainland of the Ring when they were done here – if they were ever done, if they ever even found Argon and made it back. And as she peered into the wall of blinding snow ahead of her, the entry to the Netherworld, she had a sinking feeling that the hardest obstacles still lay before them.

      Chapter Two

      Reece stood on the Eastern Crossing of the Canyon, clutching onto the stone railing of the bridge, and looking down over the precipice in horror. He could hardly breathe. He still could not believe what he had just witnessed: the Destiny Sword, lodged in a boulder, plummeting over the edge, tumbling end over end, and being swallowed by the mist.

      He had waited and waited, expecting to hear the crash, to feel the tremor beneath his feet. But to his shock, the noise never came. Was the Canyon indeed bottomless? Were the rumors true?

      Finally, Reece let go of the railing, his knuckles white, released his breath, and turned and looked at his fellow Legion. They all stood there – O’Connor, Elden, Conven, Indra, Serna, and Krog – also looking over, aghast. The seven of them stood frozen in place, none able to comprehend what had just happened. The Destiny Sword; the legend they had all grown up with; the most important weapon in the world; the property of kings. And the only thing left keeping the Shield up.

      It had just slipped from their grasp, descended into oblivion.

      Reece felt he had failed. He felt he had let down not just Thor, but the entire Ring. Why couldn’t they have gotten there just a few minutes sooner? Just a few more feet, and he would have saved it.

      Reece turned and looked at the far side of the Canyon, the Empire side, and braced himself. With the Sword gone, he expected the Shield to lower, expected all the Empire soldiers lined up on the other side to suddenly stampede and cross into the Ring. But a curious thing happened: as he watched, none of them entered the bridge. One of them tried, and was eviscerated.

      Somehow, the Shield was still up. He did not understand.

      “It makes no sense,” Reece said to the others. “The Sword has left the Ring. How can the Shield still be up?”

      “The Sword has not left the Ring,” O’Connor suggested. “It has not crossed yet to the other side of the Ring. It has fallen straight down. It is stuck between two worlds.”

      “Then what becomes of the Shield if the Sword is neither here nor there?” Elden asked.

      They all looked at each other in wonder. No one held the answer; this was unexplored territory.

      “We can’t just walk away,” Reece said. “The Ring is safe with the Sword on our side – but we don’t know what will happen if the Sword lingers below.”

      “As long as it is not in our grasp, we don’t know if it can end up on the other side,” Elden added, agreeing.

      “It is not a chance we can take,” Reece said. “The fate of the Ring rests on it. We cannot return empty-handed, as failures.”

      Reece turned and looked at the others, decided.

      “We must retrieve it,” he concluded. “Before someone else does.”

      “Retrieve it?” Krog asked, aghast. “Are you a fool? How exactly do you plan to do that?”

      Reece turned and stared down Krog, who stared back, defiant as always. Krog had become a real thorn in Reece’s side, defying his command at every turn, challenging him for power at every corner. Reece was losing patience with him.

      “We will do it,” Reece insisted, “by descending to the bottom of the Canyon.”

      The others gasped, and Krog raised his hands to his hips, grimacing.

      “You are mad,” he said. “No one has ever descended to the bottom of the Canyon.”

      “Nobody knows if there even is a bottom,” Serna chimed in. “For all we know the Sword descended into a cloud, and is still descending as we speak.”

      “Nonsense,” Reece countered. “Everything must have a floor. Even the sea.”

      “Well, even if the bottom does exist,” Krog retorted, “what good does it do us if it so far down that we can neither see nor hear it? It could take us days to reach it – weeks.”

      “Not to mention, it’s hardly a leisurely hike,” Serna said. “Have you not seen the cliffs?”

      Reece turned and surveyed the cliffs, the ancient rock walls of the canyon, partially concealed in the swirling mists. They were straight, vertical. He knew they were right; it would not be easy. Yet he also knew that they had no choice.

      “It gets worse,” Reece retorted. “Those walls are also slick with mist. And even if we do reach the bottom, we might not ever get back up.”

      They all stared at him, puzzled.

      “Then you yourself agree that it is madness to try,” Krog said.

      “I agree it is madness,” Reece said, his voice booming with authority and confidence. “But madness is what we were born for. We are not mere men; we are not mere citizens of the Ring. We are a special breed: we are soldiers. We are warriors. We are men of the Legion. We took a vow, an oath. We vowed never to shy from a quest because it is too difficult or dangerous, never to hesitate though an endeavor may cause personal harm. It is for the weak to hide and cower – not for us. That is what makes us warriors. That is the very essence of valor: you embark on a cause bigger than yourself because it is the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do, even if it may be impossible. After all, it is not the achievement that makes something valorous, but the attempt of it. It is bigger than us. It is who we are.”

      There came a heavy silence, as the wind whipped through and the others contemplated his words.

      Finally, Indra stepped forward.

      “I am with Reece,”

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