The Trials of Amundi

The Trials of Amundi is a legend about a member of the Second Swords, Elias Rayan, who in the year 645 E.G. travelled to the city of Helfell to investigate the myths surrounding the sleeping Ice God Amundi underneath the city.

According to the citizens of Helfell, the awakening of Amundi will herald the end of the world, making the city one of the quietest places in the realm where people live. Intrigued by this, Elias decided to search for the place where Amundi might reside. Having had no luck inside the city's walls, he combed the lands around the city and eventually stumbled upon a well-hidden cave. His suspicions that he might have found Amundi's cave were confirmed when he spotted warding runes marked across the walls inside the cave. Elias, being a Dovra'Sha with the talents of Enhancement and Sealing, knew that the runes were an old way for Sealers to place certain seals. The runes were old though and he knew they would no longer be effective in keeping people out.

After descending into the cave for several hours and navigating through narrow crevices and holes, Elias eventually arrived at a enormous,mysteriously bright room where he found Amundi, sleeping on a bed made of ice. As he laid eyes upon the Ice God, he was surprised to see how normal he looked. If he had passed him by in a tavern, he would never have guessed the man was a god.

It was quite the shock for Elias when Amundi suddenly awoke, stared Elias in the eye and welcomed him.

*"It's been a long time since I had a visitor,"* the god spoke. *"It must have been over a hundred years since I had the pleasure of entertaining guests."* It was then that Amundi pointed towards a pile of bones in the corner of the room. *"I don't think they much enjoyed my entertainment though."* The god smirked. *"Perhaps you might proof to be a more suitable candidate?"*

*"And what does your entertainment entail?"* Elias asked.

*"Three challenges,"* Amundi smiled. *"Conquer at least two of them, and I will go back to sleep. Lose more than one and the world will know the consequences."* His smiled faded into anger. *"But trick me after losing,"* he continued. *"And you will end up like your predecesors over there."* He gave a quick, furious look at the pile of bones. *"They sealed me in the moment they realized they lost, I won't give you the chance to do the same."*

This made Elias realize that Amundi had not yet realized the seals containing him had faded out and died long ago and Amundi had just gone back to sleep. The same trick wouldn't work twice though, he reflected.

*"Give me your challenges, Amundi,"* he said confidently.

Amundi smiled. *"So eager to die. I like you. Very well. The first challenge is a simple one."* He held out both his arms, fists clenched. *"In which hand do I hold the fate of the world?"*

Elias reflected on this, no doubt it was a riddle. In Amundi's eyes, the fate of the world was him being asleep or awake. All he had to do was find the link between this and his closed fists. After thinking it over for a few moments, Elias enhanced his eyesight and focused on Amundi's hands. At first glance, there seemed no difference between the two, but once Elias looked at both hands closer, the rights hand seemed to blur out a bit.

*"In your right hand,"* Elias answered. He knew what the blur meant, Amundi was performing a seal, blocking his enhanced view. No doubt the seal had something to do with the god's idea of the fate of the world.

The ice god seemed impressed. He opened his hands and released the seal, which errupted with sound for a good second. *"Very good, very good. Silence is what keeps me at bay. Very observant of you, you must have some skill with this magic."* He held out his arms again, fists once again closed. *"Time for the second challenge. In which hand do I hold the fate of the world?*" He smirked at Elias.

Elias once again enhanced his vision and noticed that, just as before, one of the hands seemed blurred out. Sensing some kind of trap, Elias refrained from answering immediatly. No doubt Amundi realized that he could see the seals in his hand, even if he didn't know what seals were. This was a tricky one, Elias knew. He was certain the god expected him to answer differently this time after showing him the same hands. Or he anticipated Elias' train of thought and had not changed anything about the seal.

After contemplating for a while, Elias decided to give in to luck. *"In your left hand,"* he answered.

Amundi laughed as he opened his hands and the seal in his right hand once again errupted with loud noise. *"Unfortunately for you, I haven't changed anything about my hands. One win, one loss. Are you ready for the last challenge?"*

Elias regained his composure and nodded.

For the third time, Amundi stretched out his arms with closed fists. *"Which hand contains the fate of the world?"*. The grin that appeared on his face was a clear enough indication of how he thought this would play out.

Enhancing his vision for a third time, Elias focused on Amundi's hands and saw that none of them held a seal. Once again, Elias thought things over. Neither of Amundi's hands held a seal, meaning both were silent. So how could he know which hand to choose? He scratched his beard. And then realized something. There was something about Amundi's words. Two times he had asked in which hand *he* held the fate of the world. The third time however, he had simply asked which hand held the fate of the world.

Elias held out his own right hand and formed a seal. A loud bang went off as he released the seal. *"In my hand,"* he whispered.

Amundi's grin faded into a simple smile. *"Impressive,"* he said. "Very impressive. Of all the people that could have come and visited me over the years, it had to be someone who held the magic. Well, a deal is a deal. I bid you goodnight."

And without uttering anymore words, Amundi laid back onto his bed of ice and went to sleep.

Elias left the cave the way he came and sealed the entrance in a proper way, blocking its entrance completely with rocks and making it blend into its surroundings. Nobody would ever find Amundi again.