Bryan Perro - The Mask wearer

Medusa had not lied to Beorf when she told him that Karmakas was in control of her snake-hairs through his magic. When a gorgon did not obey the sorcerer’s orders, the reptiles bit the gorgon’s face and shoulders pitilessly. The pain was so intense that it destroyed any desire for revolt or independence.

When Karmakas had realized that the humanimal refused to talk in spite of his hunger, he had decided to ensnare him. Karmakas ordered Medusa to free Beorf and make him believe that she was his friend. He then listened to every conversation that the gorgon and man-bear had in the cavern through the intermediary of the golden snakes of the gorgon’s hair. The heart of a beorite was as big as its stomach. The sorcerer’s ruse had proven successful.

Now Karmakas had the pendant, and he remained locked inside Bratel-la-Grande’s castle. He had decreed that no one was to leave the capital. But Medusa knew Beorf’s secret passage and refused to obey the sorcerer. Every day, she slipped out of the city through the secret tunnel and went to be with the young humanimal.

There was something fascinating about this boy. Looking at him, the young gorgon felt a new feeling grow inside of her-a sense of emptiness that she had never known before. She wanted to take him in her arms, to watch him stuff himself with nuts, to listen to his chatter, and to feel the warmth of his back against hers. The feeling that was growing slowly within her gave her increasing pain. It wasn’t like the pain from a snakebite or a wound received in battle. It was more acute, deeper and more serious.

With her hand, she caressed Beorf’s stone face as she remembered his good humor and innocence. He would never again be alive by her side. To break a gorgon’s spell, the gorgon had to be killed by seeing her own reflection. This was the only way to bring a stone statue back to life, the only way to reverse the curse. She would never see Beorf alive again. For the first time ever, she missed someone. She caught herself laughing at the thought of Beorf’s silliness and cried to see him prisoner of her curse. She had betrayed her only friend and felt horribly guilty.

As she caressed Beorf’s face one last time before going back to Bratel-la-Grande, a puff of wind entered the cavern. It went around the space carefully, brushing each object, whirling against the cavern walls. It seemed to be looking for something. The wind surrounded Medusa, then Beorf. It gathered in front of Beorf’s face, forming a translucent sphere that tried to enter into Beorf’s ears but could not penetrate the stone. Unable to deliver its message, the sphere broke in pieces and Medusa heard a boy’s voice.

“Beorf, it’s me, Amos. I am well and will come as soon as possible with an army of four hundred knights. Hold tight, I’ll be there soon.”

Medusa remembered that Beorf had mentioned that his friend Amos Daragon had left to go to the woods of Tarkasis. But he had never said that Amos was so powerful. Now Amos was coming with an army to take back Bratel-la-Grande. The young gorgon left the cavern in a hurry to go and warn Karmakas. Midway, she changed her mind.

If I tell the sorcerer, she thought, I’ll betray Beorf a second time. But if I keep quiet, the knights will launch a surprise attack and take back the city. My fellow gorgons will be destroyed. I might lose my life too.

Faced with this dilemma, Medusa sat down to think. She did not want to hurt anyone again. Her heart had discovered the importance of friendship. The fate of humans and that of gorgons was in her hands. She had to make a decision and take a side once and for all. She hurried back to the cavern. As she stood in front of Beorf, she looked at him from head to toe.

“You too have the most beautiful eyes, my friend,” she whispered.

Once he had the skull pendant in his hands, Karmakas had rushed to the castle of Bratel-la-Grande. Installed in his new quarters, he had told his gorgon servants that he was on no account to be disturbed. The naga spent hours at a time looking at the pendant. He fondled it between his long fingers, smiling with contentment. At last the sorcerer had gotten his property back. After he had searched so many years for Yaune the Purifier, his efforts had been fully rewarded. His enemies, the Knights of Light, were now just harmless statues. He would be able to give life to his basilisk.

Karmakas felt a renewed strength, a courage fueled by a desire for revenge. He was going to create a living weapon capable of destroying humans, a weapon that would assure his reign on earth. He would start by extending his power from city to city, from realm to realm, and then take control of all of this part of the world. His armies of gorgons would go north to attack barbarians, then south to seize the rich and prosperous countries located on the other side of the ocean. Nothing could derail his plan. The gods of darkness would thank him and grant him infinite power. He might even be elevated to the rank of demigod!

Karmakas came from a faraway country close to Hyperborea, where humanimals like him were considered devils. He lived in a large city cut into the stone face of arid mountains. From an early age, he had shown a special talent for magic. He knew better than anyone else how to control snakes. Having noticed this gift, his parents had entrusted him to a sect that worshipped Seth-a snake-headed god. Karmakas became a powerful sorcerer, quickly outshining his teachers. He easily inspired respect and fear.

As soon as he had been proclaimed king and master of the city, Karmakas had encouraged the dwellers to revolt against humans. His arrogance and his unbridled ambition had driven him to wage a merciless war against all the surrounding kingdoms. Hordes of snake-men had attacked and ransacked cities and villages, leaving only misery and desolation in their wake. Tired of these incessant wars, several humanimals of his own species had decided to get rid of him. They wanted another leader. Karmakas didn’t care. He used his powers to form an army of gorgons that he led against his own people. To punish them for their treason, he had all the inhabitants killed. The snake-headed god, Seth, took notice and appeared to him; he offered Karmakas a rooster’s egg.

The sorcerer never had time to create his basilisk. The Knights of Light had been called to help the humans fight against evil and Karmakas. He had hidden his precious egg in the pendant that Yaune the Purifier managed to steal. During the battle, a spear went through Karmakas’s body. He hovered between life and death for several months and had to rest for many long years before recovering his strength and his powers. Then he began his search for Yaune the Purifier and for the pendant. Now his search was over. He was finally going to create a basilisk that could single-handedly destroy entire armies and cities.

For several days Karmakas spent time alone in his castle, looking at and caressing the pendant. He had gotten it back physically, but he needed to repossess it mentally-to reinvest it with his power. When he felt ready, the sorcerer went to his bedroom. He opened the lid of a gold box and took out a black vial. Two diamond snake fangs decorated the vial’s cork. The sorcerer lifted the vial toward the sky and pronounced some magic words. Then he uncorked the vial and drank some of the liquid. Right away he lost consciousness and fell to the ground, hitting his head. The sorcerer felt his soul leave his body.

Karmakas was now walking along a corridor with grimy walls. He reached a temple built entirely of human bones. The columns that supported the roof were made of skulls. Tibia and femur bones were set into the walls, creating a morbid and frightening mosaic. In the center of the temple, a snake-headed man sat on a golden throne. His skin was light red in color and his hands resembled strong eagle talons.