Waldo Oleander patted me on the shoulder.

“I’m glad to see you again, my friend,” he said, “but what on Desilia’s green plane are you doing here? I didn’t think it was possible for anyone who wasn’t Appointed to arrive at this… Alm… en… gala?”

“Almagest,” Luciferi said sternly, “and don’t think that just because you have already passed the Challenge means that you can get lazy. As long as the Challenge continues, I can still dismiss you.”

Waldo beamed back at her, and it seemed as though this tenacious Ilfin was undeterred by her aggressive demeanor. To the contrary, he pointed at her, and winked.

“I’ll crack that hard shell of yours, Commander, don’t you worry,” he boasted confidently.

Luciferi stomped forward, practically nose-to-nose with Waldo, though she was a little taller than he.

“You will not be cracking anything, Novice Oleander,” she warned, “unless it’s that thick skull of yours beneath my fist. Now, before I slice you to ribbons, tell me what I missed.”

Waldo seemed to only be encouraged by her threats of violence, but he turned in place and pointed to a section of the wall above. There, produced by some magical means, was an iridescent display separated into six columns.

“We got one more pass,” Waldo said enthusiastically, “and Aries and Capricorn have one additional dismissal each. I must say, this is one of the most exciting events I have ever been privy to.”

I studied the display. It was divided into six columns that had names in each of them, at the top were the words “Challenge Allocation”.

CHALLENGE ALLOCATION

[ VIRGO ] Svijneld Feruccia - Lotus Pangaea - Caribou Veldt - Shiva Anhelgr

[ SAGITTARIUS ] Zoe Leonidus - Sero Ylfgar

[ SCORPIUS ]

[ CAPRICORN ] Elk Veldt - Cornell Icarus - Quintus Mephisto

[ LIBRA ] Alder Carthage - Waldo Oleander - Aquila Erling - Zall Picador

[ ARIES ] Zeus Hyperion - Fenris Andromeda - Calliope Xer - Pol Chevron

[ DISMISSED ] Edgar Dulce - Lonal Wulger - Ieolus Jormundr - Jet Phaedra

“Ah,” Luciferi said, pleased, “I see, that interesting fellow passed.”

“Yes indeed,” Waldo agreed, nodding, “seems we have a good group.”

Luciferi slapped the back of Waldo’s head and he jumped.

“No, I, have a good group,” she hissed, “you have ten seconds to get out of my sight before I find you a pyre to receive the afterlife on.”

“The Ilfin are given to the trees when they expire,” Waldo informed, smiling, “no one burns us.”

“Then you’d be the first,” Luciferi threatened.

“I love our nonchalant repartee, Commander,” Waldo said, and dodged another swipe from his commander.

I couldn’t stop staring at the display though.

“My father has passed?” I asked, cautiously, “does that mean he’s officially a member of Nightsign Libra?”

“It does indeed, brother!” Waldo exclaimed, referring to me as I suppose some Ilfin might, “and if you can believe the reaction in there, no one has ever succeeded so quickly.”

My heart soared with pride.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Waldo enthused, “as I said to you before, your father is quite an impressive man… for a human.”

“He’s impressive by any metric,” Luciferi said, “human or other. But that’s to be expected of the son of Cassander Carthage.”

I nodded, agreeing, though for entirely different reasons. Now the world would know what I already knew my whole life, that Father was special. The way everyone went on about him, I could only assume my grandfather was just as powerful, if not more so. Though, that idea was hard to imagine.

Stemming from such a storied lineage was a bit distasteful however. I felt like a fraud, having not even passed the Appointment ceremony of my own accord. I wondered if Petra or Grenn would have fared any better. Both had been extraordinary in their own right. My sister had had a perfect memory for anything she’d seen or read, and there hadn’t been a book she’d gazed at, or a conversation heard, that she couldn’t recall with exact clarity.

My younger brother had been gifted with what my father had called “Ilfin luck”. He could always find what he was looking for, or guess the correct answers, or find himself into a fortunate situation. It still warmed my heart to remember him catching a falling robin’s egg, just as he’d stepped under the branches. We’d watched that bird hatch, and he’d named him Del, and the bird was always returning to him to eat seed or bread crumbs out of his palm. Grenn had always had a way with animals,, and Father had said that was part of Ilfin luck as well.

Neither gift had saved them though, in the end. Perhaps if they’d have lived, they’d be here in my place. Nothing would have made me happier than to see that come to pass. Instead, it was me, fighting against the decree of the Harbinger Arch in a fool’s attempt to forge my own way into the ranks of a Nightsign that didn’t want me.

I sighed.

“Don’t worry, brother,” Waldo said, “you won’t miss all the action, though you might be sore that you didn’t get to see your father dominate his portion of the Challenge.”

He had misinterpreted my disappointment, but that couldn’t be helped. I put on a fake smile and looked around.

“So, why were the doors just now closing?” I asked.

“Eh?” Luciferi asked, “what do you mean?”

“Well, if everyone has been here for a while, and the Challenge had already begun, why were the doors still open until we were approaching. Was it some sort of test?”

Luciferi shook her head.

“If only the challenges were about timeliness,” she said, “then there’d be quite a few less fools I’d have to corral. No, the Almagest closes its doors exactly one full day from the time the first Appointment is made.”

I nodded.

“That’s a long time.”

She shrugged.

“Some individuals take longer than others to find their way here,” she said, “not everyone has the privilege of riding a magical transport.”

Waldo’s eyes widened.

“You propelled yourself here by magic, Hutch?!” he exclaimed,”you are truly powerful indeed!”

“It wasn’t me,” I said, nodding towards the now closed doorway, “Sir Garth was the one who used those spells. I just took advantage of it.”

Waldo nodded, and then scowled.

“Sir Garth,” he said carefully, “you wouldn’t mean Dahlia Garth, would you?”

I nodded.

Waldo spit on the floor.

“What a sorry excuse for an Ilfin,” he hissed, “that beetle-eaten, slime-covered, bent eared, boasting dirt soul. I hope he’s crushed under the weight of his precious books.”

I was taken aback. Not only was that the most strangely strung-together cluster of insults I’d ever heard, but it was also the first time since meeting him that I’d seen Waldo less than irritatingly friendly. He must have hated Sir Garth fiercely to allow himself to drop his congenial attitude.

I get it.

I wasn’t Garth’s biggest fan either, but he had allowed us to make it to the Almagest swiftly, and seemed to genuinely care for Nox’s well being. But he was an insufferable… dirt soul, to use Waldo’s words.

I chuckled.

“That’s definitely him,” I said, “what did he do to you though, bind you to a chair in his room?”

Waldo scoffed.

“Hardly,” he said, “he abandoned our village for his visions of grandeur, and took the Oath of Exodus.”

“That sounds very serious,” the Herald interrupted, speaking for the first time since we’d arrived, “but we must deliver Hutch inside so that he can partake in the Challenge, or this will all have been for naught.”

Waldo nodded, and his smile returned.

“Well, there’s no point in dallying then, is there?” he asked, “right this way!”

The five of us moved down the passage, with Waldo leading the way. As we walked, I took the opportunity to speak with Nox.

“Isn’t this absolutely bizarre?” he asked excitedly. I got the impression that he was looking forward to this far more than I was.

“It is,” I confirmed, “but I'm confused by most of this. Chiefly, why did you come with, Nox?”

Nox just shrugged in his childlike way.

“The Herald asked me to come,” he said, “maybe he thought you needed the moral support.”

I smirked.

“That was probably it,” I said, “you’ve become my mascot at this point. Maybe he knew that you owed me for saving your life in the fight against the Giant?”

Nox cracked his own grin.

“Yes,” he said, “that must be it. I don’t know what I would have done were you not there to whisk me away from the danger.”

“Likely been eaten,” I said, matter of factly.

“I would have then received the opportunity to showcase my ability to destroy a Giant from the inside,” Nox said, “and what a show it would have been. They’d have given me a nickname, perhaps. Giant Buster, or something to that effect. But you robbed me of that.”

I kept smiling.

“My apologies oh supreme prince,” I said, “please don’t send me to the dungeons.”

“Nah,” Nox said, “I’m saving that for Sir Garth.”

We reached another large doorway, partly open, and Waldo slipped inside the opening and pushed it open to allow us entry. As the door swung wide, I was able to see inside.

Another gigantic chamber greeted us, and I felt I was beginning to learn a little about the design preferences of the First Lords. The ceiling arced high, possibly eighty feet, and the chamber itself was at least thrice that length across. I realized we were at a higher elevation than the rest of it, for the majority of the space was far below. We appeared to be on some sort of mezzanine, and I could see that the whole area was encircled by it.

But the section of the chamber that lay beneath us was alive with activity.

Tall hedges zagged around the area, some twenty feet tall or more, and I could tell that it was intended as a maze. There were raised platforms, and granite statues, partially destroyed fortifications, and giant daggers of rock. Inside the labyrinthine structure, dozens of figures moved, each engaging in some wild display of showy athleticism.

I saw a man with no hair climb one of the fortifications, and then leap off, a blazing fireball floating above his open hand as he launched himself at something beneath him. A silver-haired woman with a bow fired arrow after arrow at a target, finally striking the center point, and I watched as the wall behind it shifted, allowing her access to the next section. Another man spun a spear in his hands, his long, black hair flowing with his movements as he engaged a featureless, grey-skinned beast in deadly combat. The creature was an unsettling sight to behold as it had no face, and almost appeared to be crafted similarly to the statues that dotted the area.

It was absolute chaos.

“What are those things?” I asked Waldo, and pointed as a pair of the stony-looking creatures chased after a speedy, black-cowled form that leaped over a downed statue and raced around a corner.

“Those are the Belua,” he said, his eyes trained on the fray below, “they attack on sight.”

I slumped.

I had expected the Challenge to be difficult, but this seemed a bit too much.

“Have you gotten a chance to use your Talisman, yet?” Waldo asked.

I shook my head.

“No, is that like the thing that Luciferi used to open the door?”

“Probably,” Waldo said, “and they are mighty helpful down there.”

I nodded.

“Okay, how do I get one?”

Waldo frowned at me.

“You should already have received one in the Libra sanctuary.”

I felt my heart drop. I was dismissed by the Harbinger Arch, so did that mean…?

“You don’t have one?” Waldo asked, and lifted a necklace out from under his shirt. I could see the shimmering blue lapis in its center.

“No,” I said, “we had to use Luciferi’s to get here. I assumed I’d get one once I became a full-fledged member of the Nightsign.”

Waldo whistled disapprovingly.

“That’s unfortunate,” he said, then slapped me on the back, “I’ll pick a good tree out for you. Maybe plant some nice flowers around its roots in your memory.”

I sighed, looking back down into the maze. Another Belua had the bald man cornered, and I watched as it tackled him, and the man screamed from beneath its mass.

A loud, disembodied voice rang out just then, and startled me.

“Orpheus Kai has been dismissed.”

“You were able to get past them?” I asked, watching as the creature leaped up and ran down another path of the maze.

“Of course,” he said, “we Ilfin aren’t going to be taken down by such measly brutes. Besides, they are just a deterrent from the first Trial.”

“First trial?” I asked, bewildered. I glanced down, and saw two men shoving each other out of the way as they reached the center of the maze, both trying to get to what I could now see was a doorway.

“Yes,” Waldo said, still not looking away from the battle, “this is just the first stage of the Challenge.”

“What? How many are there?” I demanded.

“There’s--”

“There’s more than one,” Luciferi said, cutting Waldo off. The Ilfin boy seemed to be embarrassed, and didn’t finish what he’d been about to reveal.

“You’re already too knowledgeable about this as it is, let’s leave some mystery for the Challenge,” Luciferi said, sliding her arm behind my shoulder and nudging me to the right.

“Cheaters are immediately dismissed,” she continued, “besides, you’re about to be announced.”

“Announc--” I began to ask, but was cut off as the same voice from before rang out again.

“Hutch Carthage is entering the Labyrinth.”

“That’s your cue,” Waldo said, and I let Luciferi usher me to a ramp that led from the catwalk to what appeared to be the entrance to the maze fifty feet below. I looked back at Nox and the Herald. The former waved back at me, and then raised his fist in encouragement, the latter was busy speaking quietly to Luciferi. Waldo beamed at me.

“Good luck, Carthage Hutch!” he shouted.

I stomped down the path toward the maze, and when I reached bottom, I felt the immensity of its size. The hedges were so much taller than me, there would be no way I’d be able to find my way around once inside. I wished very strongly for Petra’s gift of memorization at that moment as I tried to conjure up the details of the inside of the labyrinth. But, it was useless.

I slowly stepped toward the entrance. An iron door depicting a maze pattern was wedged into the doorway of hedges, and as I drew closer, the door split open in the middle, and I could suddenly see the featureless green of the hedge walls inside. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Here goes nothing.

“HUTCH!” I heard a voice yell, and I wheeled around to stare back up at the mezzanine. Waldo was calling to me, and as I spotted him, I saw him rear his arm back and throw something at me.

“CATCH!”

A glittering silver object flew through the air, and I caught it roughly and looked down into my palm. A seven-pointed star with a blue gem in the center.

Waldo’s Talisman!

I looked up at him again and he held the Ilfin salute high: an open, forward-facing palm with the pinky pointed down. Shocked, I slowly returned the signal. Luciferi stormed over to Waldo, and jabbed a finger down at me, and then back at Waldo, thumping against his chest and saying something I couldn’t hear.

But I could hear Waldo’s response.

“It’s not cheating if we’re all meant to have one!” he exclaimed, and then looked back at me and shrugged.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Somehow, I was starting to warm up to the irritating Ilfin. I took another look at the Talisman and then slipped it over my head, letting it bounce against my chest. I didn’t notice any change, so I spoke the words of the Libra Nightsign.

“Iustus anguis.”

Suddenly, something ignited.

A magical display erupted in front of me, words scrawled inside. I studied it.

HUTCH CARTHAGE

ADVENTURE CLASS: GIANT EATER

LEVEL: 0

--

POWER: 20

DEXTERITY: 20

SPIRIT: 20

BEARING: 20

--

HEALTH: 100 / 100

MANA: 100 / 100

STAMINA: 100 / 100

--

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

DEVOUR [ LVL. 1 ]

What was this?

I didn’t understand exactly what was happening, but knew now that this Talisman had the ability to read my… soul? I spoke the words again, and the display disappeared. Then I turned to face the doorway to the Labyrinth.

My father’s words followed me wherever I went, and this time was no different. He always said them before we did battle with the beasts, and anytime he did, I’d feel suddenly much more capable. Our duty, and our sworn oath of vengeance that had begun a year ago. I thought that in this moment too, they might give me courage. So I said them aloud.

“Let’s go kill this Giant."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all! Thanks for continuing to read Giant Eater. It means a lot to me that so many of you have kept up with it. Just wanted to give a brief thank you, and hope you enjoy this most recent chapter. If you're enjoying this story, please consider rating or reviewing it. Thanks again!

-Sig