The champions and their guides formed a line and waited to pass through the gates that had opened for them. An angelic figure stood at the head of the procession. The first champion stepped up to her with his guide at his heel.
"Augustus, Champion of War, pick your weapon," the angel said.
Augustus raised a hand, his face grim, and a scythe took shape in it. The blade was a deep, ugly red, and a heavy hammer was mounted on its back. "I choose the Blood Scythe."
The angel nodded, then glanced at the man beside him. "Now choose a weapon for your guide."
Augustus thought for a moment. "For Demitry, the War God's Battle Blades." As he said it, two vicious blood-red blades formed in Demitry's hands, their edges giving off a crimson shimmer.
"You may pass," the angel said. "Your other weapons will be sealed for the trial. Take the first tunnel on the left, marked by the War banner."
Weapons in hand, Augustus and Demitry walked into the dark and were gone.
The second champion came forward, and the angel began again. "Darlyn, Champion of Love, pick your weapon."
Darlyn grinned like she was up to something and held out both hands. A pair of dark gloves appeared on them. "I'll use these Succubus Gloves to charm them all!"
Behind her, her guide shook his head, mildly disappointed.
"Now choose a weapon for your guide," the angel said.
Darlyn paused. "Hmm. This one should carry the Love Trident."
"Please call me by my name, miss," Anthrax said, politely. At his word, a red trident formed, shaped like a heart with three arrow-tipped prongs.
"Very well," said the angel. "You're cleared to pass. Take the second tunnel on the left, marked by the Love banner."
Darlyn and Anthrax followed the path into the dark and vanished the same way the others had.
The rest made their choices in turn. Chrys, Champion of Wisdom, took the Wisdom Orb for himself and gave the Daggers of Mercy to his guide, Apollo. Iggaunt, Champion of Earth, chose the Quake Gauntlets and handed his guide, Darth, a sandglass. Sitra, Champion of Water, took the Staff of Aqua and picked the Mermaid Helm for her guide, Quarius. Blaire, Champion of Flame, chose the Burning Wisp, and her guide, Agni, received the Soul Blazing Guns.
Then it was Sephir's turn, and she had made up her mind long before. She took the Tempest Vase for herself, and the Death Scythe for Sraptor.
As they walked toward the last remaining tunnel, Sephir wondered whether the number of tunnels had been cut to match the number of champions exactly. The dark closed over them, and unease began to build in her. She looked back and found that the entrance was no longer there at all. Sealed off, maybe. She could not tell.
That was enough to worry her. She called up her Wind Step and shot back the way they had come, Sraptor following. Five minutes later she reached a gate and murmured to herself, "So the entrance really is closed."
Then she watched it, and understood. The gate was moving toward her, and moving fast. It should have taken her fifteen minutes to run back to the original entrance. This gate was covering that ground in a fraction of the time.
Sephir drew on the Tempest Vase and conjured two small wind tempests. She rode them deeper into the tunnel, hunting for the far end, with Sraptor keeping pace beside her. They reached a fork and she pulled up to wait for him, searching the walls and the floor for anything that might tell her which way to go. There was nothing.
As Sraptor caught up, she felt it: a faint breeze coming out of one of the two tunnels. She trusted it, leaned into her tempests, and took that path. It opened suddenly into a clearing.
Sraptor let out a breath. "Well done, my lady. Your judgement served us. The other path was a dead end, and it would have cost you this trial." He glanced ahead. "You still have three more to conquer."
Something in her lifted at that. The trials in front of her were dangerous and she barely understood any of them, but her own choices had carried her this far. As they went deeper into that strange place, Sephir found herself wondering what else was waiting. One thing she was sure of: she would meet it head-on, with her guide at her side, one challenge at a time.