Journey to CotoPaxy

Summary: A wizard lands on the most beautiful planet in the galaxy. A planet that has the secret to all magic.

But first, he must face seven challenges and temptations.

And he must survive being tricked and murdered.

Genre: A steampunk fantasy set in space

Note: May contain NSFW material

I opened my eyes. The mountain was glowing like gold in front of the dying red sun. My helmet spoke in my ear and told me it was safe to look now.

CotoPaxy truly was one of the most beautiful places in the universe. Beautiful, but deadly.

The planet circled very close to a dying red sun and was so hot even metal melted like ice here. The place was only safe for a two week period every ten years when the planet’s moon came between it and the sun. The moon burnt up every time it did so and our scientists estimated it only had a few more years left. And then the move would turn into molten lava and crash into the planet.

 CotoPaxy would then be dead as far as humans were concerned.

Under the shadow of the golden mountain, a thousand flowers had bloomed. A million different colours and smells, some of which had no alternative on Earth. I was hit with the smells of what could be a mixture of rose and jasmine; but with that was mixed the smell of raw manure. Revolting and pleasing at the same time.

I suppose I couldn’t complain. The flowers knew they had weeks to blossom as much as they could. And then they would be burnt to a crisp.

My handheld beeped. It was time. I had to move.

I walked through the valley of flowers. They were so thick it was like walking through a stream of fast flowing river. The often raging wind made the flowers dance like the waves of an ocean. If I hadn’t been wearing my special suit I would have been blown off.

The valley was beautiful. What I wouldn’t have given to grow up in a place like this? Growing up, I had spent my whole childhood on level 837 on the moon. The same grey bunker, away from everyone else, the same grey paint and grey scenery every day, the same grey slop to eat. Still, I was grateful. At least I had survived the magic purge on Earth. I couldn’t even remember Earth. I knew it had wide open fields like this. Fields with millions of flowers. Maybe I would go to Earth one day.

My spaceship sent me a message. The temperature was increasing. In another hour or so, this place would be as hot as the surface of the red sun it circled. I ignored the message. The spaceship would keep circling the planet until I called it, or until it realised I was in danger, at which point it would fly in to pick me up. I had enough coal and magic to power the ship for years, so I wasn’t scared of running out of fuel.

Nor was I really worried about the heat. Worse come to worse, I would use my magic to protect me. I only needed to survive for a few minutes.

The golden mountain shone brightly. I don’t know if it was made of pure gold but it sure shone like it.

As I neared the mountain I saw the entrance. With a sign in the ancient Earth language. Which didn’t make sense. This mountain wasn’t made by humans. It had been here for at least a billion years, back when we were still swimming in the oceans. So how did it have an sign written in a now dead language?

Sankatam Dwaram. Iti Bhayawah

Roughly translated: This door leads to danger. Go forward if you wish to face mortal danger.

I took out my sword. Sure, there was danger on the planet. The heat, the changing weather, the moon that could crash anytime.  But there are different types of danger. The type I was going to face needed a sword.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the door.

#

I was hit by darkness.

But I was expecting it.

Gingerly I put a foot forward. Yes, there were stairs.

One foot down. Then another. And another.

Why the hell wasn’t there any light? We were so close to the sun the place was literally burning to death every second. So why was this place so dark and cold? Why was the air so cool and fresh as it flowed through my nose?

I knew the answer, of course. Magic.

Magic was cursed. People who practiced it were cursed. Though that was only my opinion. Everyone else loved magic.

I hated it. It was unreliable, untrustworthy and twisted people in different ways. But ever since magic had appeared, twenty years ago, it had destroyed technology. So magic was all people used now.

Magic had also destroyed my life. It was the reason I had grown up on the grey and ugly moon base rather than on Earth.

All I could hear was the reverberation of my own footsteps; and yet, I knew I wasn’t alone. Magic told me there were at least two more people here. Including one with a weak life force, like it was dying. I knew why she was there, of course.

I finally reached the bottom of the stairs. There was another door in the darkness. And a man waiting there.

“Hello, master,” I said.

“Hello, student. Why the sword? Are you expecting any enemies today?”

“Maybe, master.”

“But there is just me here.”

“I know, master,” and sheathed the sword.

“Come. Our journey is not over.”

He picked up a little child lying on the floor. Maybe ten years old, she was deep asleep. Which was for the best, seeing as what was coming for her.

Master was a huge man, almost six foot two, and built like a wrestler. He put the child over his shoulder like it was a doll. I knew that even carrying the child he could wrestle and defeat most men.

“There are seven doors we must pass through. Each will tempt or scare us. We must remain steadfast and courageous in the face of temptation. Are you ready, student?”

“Yes, master.”

He smiled at me. “You look doubtful, student.”

“Not at your skills or magic, master.”

He was satisfied with my answer. “Come then.”

#

Room One

We entered the first door. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I didn’t expect medieval hell.

The sky was red and I could see great fires in the distance. The air was black and heavy. Breathing was a chore. I tried to breathe from my mouth but the burning sulphuric acid taste made my tongue and throat burn. So I closed my mouth.

I was disappointed.

Sure the place was noxious, but come on. The planet upstairs was a million times more dangerous. Even non-magic folk could survive here.

My teacher, without even looking at me, realised what I was thinking. “Careful, student. The danger is not where you think it is.”

“Is it not, master?”

“Certainly not, child.” He often called me child, but never with contempt. “I would step carefully. The ground is not stable.”

I looked down and wondered how I could have missed it. We were walking on bodies. Human bodies. Thousands of them.

They were mixed with dirt and mud which is why it looked like a smooth surface.

And that was when I got my second shock.

The eyes.

The bodies were alive. And looking at me.

Strange eyes that never blinked. Like they were accusing me. But accusing me of what?

A little uncentered, I looked away.

And that was when I saw my parents. Their backs broken and twisted in a weird way. Exactly like they had died when the magic earthquake had hit. The one that had started all this mess.

My father opened his eyes. He looked at me and raised his hand. His lips moved in an invisible prayer. I couldn’t hear him but I knew exactly what he was saying.

Help me, son. Don’t leave me in this hell.

I looked away but the voice continued.

Don’t you love me, son? Come. Your mother and I have been waiting for you. Please don’t leave us here.

I continued walking. That wasn't my father.

When the magic earthquake had hit, my father had helped not just us but anyone else old or disabled. His last action had been to throw a little girl towards us, in an effort to save her. Of course that meant he himself was swallowed by the earthquake.

I still remember his eyes twenty years later. They were resigned to fate, but not the eyes of a loser. He knew what he had done, knew he had scarified his life, and had accepted it. The eyes haunted me to now because of their courage in the face of death.

The eyes I saw now were pleading. Pathetic and weary.

My father wasn’t that pathetic. That was just an illusion.

My teacher stopped walking, his foot on the eyes of a man. “Well done. You have conquered your attachment to the dead. Like I knew you would.”

“What would have happened if I had taken my father?” I asked.

“You would have carried his wraith for the rest of your life. And guess whose life the wraith would be sucking? But come on. Since you have mastered this room, we can move on.”

I stopped.

He turned to look at me with a questioning gaze.

“You have been here before, master. You weren’t surprised.”

“Yes, I have. I have crossed five of seven rooms. I can never cross the sixth alone, which is why I needed your help. But enough questions. Let’s move on. The door should appear soon.”

And it did, right on cue. An ordinary door, like we were walking into a council office, and not out of hell.

As I stepped out, I blocked my mind as best as I could so my master couldn’t read it.

And how many other students did you lose before you could cross the five gates? I thought to myself and entered the door.

#

Room 2

No death this time. Now we were in heaven.

We were walking on a cloud. The sky was pink and the air smelled of roses and jasmine. It was such an intoxicating smell I wanted to sit down and smell it forever. And I would have if I hadn’t seen my master keep walking.

A few steps of walking and I saw dozens of people. All engaged in sex.

They made the Kamasutra look like a kindergarten biology book.

One woman was being pleasured by three men. She winked at me and asked me to join her.

I looked away.

Ahead of me, two men invited me to their sexual game.

Again, the danger looked minor. My teacher had taught me to control the sexual desire and practice celibacy. Besides, the people here weren’t that attractive. I had seen prettier women on Earth. If this was a trap, it was a weak one.

Master read my mind again. “Careful, student. Like I told you in the last room, the danger is not where you think it is.”

I heard a scream and looked to my right.

It was my mother.

Two men had her pinned down while a third was trying to strip her. All three had a very lewd and disgusting smile on their faces.

But my mother was smiling. Like she was enjoying it.

Anger and hate rose in me, rage like I had never felt before. There was acid in my throat and my face as hot as the sun I had just left. My chest was heavy and constricted.

 I unsheathed my sword, preparing to cut them down. I would kill all of them. Including my mother.

Luckily, I saw my teacher’s face before I did anything stupid. He was smiling a cunning smile.

I sheathed my sword again. My mother, or what looked like her, was disappointed. “Come on, son. Join us. You know you’ve always wanted to. Let’s show Oedipus what real motherly love is.”

Now that I knew it was an illusion I could walk away. But my hands were shaking and my breath was shallow. The things here had got to me. Death and sex. Two rooms and I was already half spent. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this.

“To answer the question you didn’t ask,” said my teacher. “Yes, the sex is real. It lasts for thousands of years. So literally the best sex you would have.”

“And what is the catch, master?”

I knew the rules of magic. You couldn’t gain unlimited joy without sacrificing something big.

“Excellent question, and well done for asking it. My last seven students didn’t. The answer is: You would be stuck here forever. Until the red sun exploded and took this planet with it. And then you would have your final orgasm.”

He laughed loudly at his own joke.

He stopped when he realised I wasn’t laughing with him.

“Go on, ask it. There is only so much you can hide from me.”

“How many students have you lost here, master?”

“Twenty seven, child. Ten in the first room, seven here. The remaining three in the next three rooms. But don’t worry. You are my best student, which is why I saved you for last. Together, we will get to the end of this journey.”

“And what lies at the end, master?”

A door appeared. Another boring one. “Come and see,” he said as he vanished through it.

#

Room 3

It was an ordinary room now. More like a big shop with hundreds and hundreds of shelves.

All filled with gold and diamonds. The most sparkly and shiny type.

Again, I wasn’t tempted. But this time I was wary. I had learnt not to underestimate the danger here.

Master read my thoughts again. He made a silver sigil in the air in front of him. It was the sigil of truth; he couldn’t lie now. At least, not while the sigil lasted.

“The room won’t let us pass until you know the truth and are willing to go beyond it. There is no risk from this room on. You cannot be trapped here anymore. These jewels and gold are magical. You spend it, it comes back to you. You will literally never run out of money. There are several vases here, as you can see. Take one and fill it with anything you want. The gold will never run out. Go on, take it. You can be rich beyond desires. You were right to reject the sex in the other room. With this gold, you can buy as many women as you want. As many times as you want.”

I smiled. “Now I am intrigued. Each room has better treasures than the last. And each has a catch. What is the catch here?”

Master threw away a huge vase filled with diamonds. It smashed with a loud crash and the diamonds rolled on the floor. “There is no catch. Until you reject the wealth the door won’t open. Well, there is a catch.”

Of course there was. Nothing in magic was free.

“Only one of my student was tempted with the gold. I was very disappointed by him. I thought he was better than that. Anyway, he returned to his home planet and quickly became the richest man there. Magic can explain a lot of things but even magic can’t create unlimited wealth. People got suspicious. They found out his secret and killed him to steal his magic vase. Of course, the vase vanished. As with all the gold it had created. The planet went into a recession.”

I knew this tale. It was Mars. The Mars economy had crashed when billions of credits had just vanished, leading to a civil war and millions dead.

As always, magic created trouble. It gave you quick solutions but led to death and destruction.

“If you have really gone beyond attraction to wealth, the fourth door will be appearing. But you can’t fool magic. If you secretly desire anything from here, the door won’t appear. So let’s see how real you are, student.”

And the door appeared. We stepped through it.

#

Room 4

This room was full of weapons. They all looked magical. A sword made of gold that I just knew (as if by magic) could cut any living thing down. You could kill the  equivalent of a dinosaur in one slash.

A bow and arrow that would never miss. Another bow that could fire a dozen shots at once.

A whip made of burning fire. A torture device, to be sure.

And finally, the thing that caught my eye. A real live thunderbolt. It was glowing in a silvery light. As I touched it, it crackled with electricity. Like it was having an orgasm. Like it wanted me to touch it, to make it mine. To be with me forever.

“Yes, it’s the one used by Zeus. We believe he got it from here. All those gods got their weapons from here. That’s what allowed them to rule earth for thousands of years. Tempted, student?”

I looked at my teacher. “If my history serves me right, all those god were eventually killed. By humans carrying stone axes and arrows made of wood. So no thanks. Where’s the next door?”

The door appeared. This time, it looked like a fire exit.

#

Room 5

I couldn’t make sense of the things in this room. A blank white room with a table full of small trinkets. The sort the tourists would buy when they visited the planet of Arabia.

But magic told me these weren’t trinkets.

“You are right, of course,” said my master, reading my mind. “These are magical items of immense powers. You can read human minds, fly in the sky, speak a hundred languages, mind control any living thing, see the past and future. But you can only do one of these things, depending on which of these items you choose. So what will it be, student?”

I picked up a tiny hookah, so small it fit in my palm. It told me I could seduce any woman I wanted with it.

I threw it away.

“We can do all this with our own magic, master.”

“We can, but these items are more powerful. They are limitless. Take the hookah you just had. You could seduce not just human women, but demons and goddesses too. Make them fall in love with you, make them dance to your tune. Take this seashell. You can not only learn human languages, but the languages of any animal or even alien species we might meet. Like I said, this magic is limitless.”

“All very interesting, master, but also useless. Maybe if I had come here when I was fifteen years old and couldn’t get a girlfriend.”

“Hahaha. You are right. They are useless for someone like us. And look, the last door has appeared.”

#

Room 6

It was an empty room. Dark and dimly lit with wood burning torches. Small. The two of us barely fit in there. In front of us was an empty wall.

I looked at my master with raised eyebrows. “And where is the temptation here, master?”

“There is none. I don’t believe any of the old wizards ever came here. If they could, they wouldn’t have been stupid enough to be satisfied with thunderbolts and gold coins. No, it’s only a few elite who can come here. I believe this is the last room. Beyond it lies the secret to all magic.”

“All magic?”

“All magic!” said my teacher, excited like a child. “Why settle for small magic when you can get to the source and control all magic? This is the final solution, the elixir of life, the philosopher’s stone all wizards have been looking for since eternity. And we reached it, you and I!”

“Yes, master.”

“Come on, child. Act a little more excited.”

“All I see is a dark wall, master.”

Master raised his hand and the wall began to lift. But only a little.

“This is the final test. A test of power. No weakling can cross this barrier. You need pure magical strength. Help me, child.”

I lent him my power and the wall began to lift. Slowly but surely.

“I lost one student here,” said my teacher. “He was a weakling and couldn’t keep the wall up while I carried out the sacrifice. For his cowardice, he was crushed beneath to death.”

“Sacrifice, master?”

“Yes, give me a minute.”

The wall was as high as our chests now. By bending a little, I could see beneath it. Ahead of us was a small dark passage. And a door at the end. Glowing in a weak purple light.

We could walk to the door but the wall, which I now realised was a huge block of stone at least three hundred tons in weight, hovered menacingly over us. If we slipped for a second, we would be crushed under it. Like the last student.

“This is the final test. A true wizard must be willing to do anything for power. Including sacrificing an innocent. That is the only way the final door will open.”

“The child is innocent?”

“Who knows what the wall thinks is innocent? To be safe, I found this child. She had jumped in a wild river to save her friend, almost drowning herself. She was going to win the brave child of the year contest. I stole her from the hospital that night. She will be more useful to us here.”

He put the girl down. I saw she was a gentle creature, her skin soft and smooth, slow breath flowing out of her tiny nose. Her expression was one of calmness. She was sleep, but I knew she would be this calm and gentle even when awake. If there was an innocent child, she was it.

We had to kill her.

“You are not going weak on me, are you child?”

I straightened. “No, master. But I sense some danger near the door. Maybe there are more traps. Since you are the stronger of us, you should investigate. I will keep the wall up. Leave the child, she will only slow you.”

“Good point. Let me check. It would be stupid to come all this way and die now.”

Master put the girl on the cold hard rock and went in. Since he was so tall he had to bend a lot, but he finally reached the other door.

“No danger, student. The evil energy is coming from this door. It doesn’t want us to enter.”

I finally let go of the secret I had been holding until now. It had been hard to hide my thoughts from my master, but I had done it for this long.

Master realised it immediately, of course.

“Careful, student.”

“I will be very careful, master,” I said.

And sent the three hundred ton stone crashing on him.

#

The room went silent. And dark.

I could hear the little girl breathing slowly. She was dying, I could feel it. Could I save her?

“You can’t, you fool. Now let me out.”

It was my master. He was still alive. He truly was magnificent. To hold up a stone like that by himself. But he couldn’t keep it up forever. The magic was too strong here.

“Student! Stop playing games. Don’t you want to know the secret of magic?”

“No, master. Magic only corrupts. It ruins and destroys. Look at you. You killed twenty seven of your students to come here.”

“Twenty seven? You idiot! More like five hundred. Who do you think created that moon so we could land on this planet once every ten years? I lost almost two hundred students trying to enter it with the sun still burning, until I realised we needed another path.  Another two hundred lost trying to build the damn moon so near the sun. I have killed so many, I won’t stop now!”

“And there you go, proving my point, master.”

I picked up the little child. She was still alive. I could save her.

“Student! I trained you. Have you forgotten? You would have rotten in that moon facility. I turned you into a man. I taught you all you know. How can you forget?”

“You turned me into a murderer like you, master. No more. I won’t let you ruin any more lives. Magic is corrupt.”

My master laughed, his breath coming heavy. “Fool. Magic is not good or bad. It just is. It is just us humans who are corrupt. Zeus could have used his thunderbolt to provide free energy to his people and turn Greece into a utopia. He used it to kill his rivals. That’s not magic’s fault.”

“Maybe. And yet, I’ve seen magic corrupt even the noblest of people.”

The door was still there. I picked up the girl and prepared to leave.

My master’s tone turned threatening. “I will get out of here. And I will come for you. Remember that.”

“No you won’t, master. This time you have gone too far.”

I left and started walking back. Back through the doors, back to the surface.

The rooms no longer tempted me. I walked out of them as fast as I could.

In the sex room, a woman tried to block my way. I cut her head off and everyone else ran screaming. No one tried to stop me after that.

Out the death room and back into the mountain.

I ran up the stairs. If I could get to my ship, I could save the girl.

I left the mountain.

It was boiling hot. The flowers were starting to burn. There were fires all around the once lush fields. My suit was beeping with danger. Evidently I had stayed too long. The planet was about to burn. But I could still save the girl. I had time.

I used my remaining magic to force the moon back. As the moon covered the sun again, it became cool once more. But I only had minutes.

I heard my master’s voice. “You cannot save her. This is my last curse on you. I poisoned her before we started. Goodbye, student. I curse you, you will always be haunted by this child. And others you cannot save.”

He was right. I should have realised it.

Her veins were blue with poison now. She would wake up soon, screaming in pain. She would only live for five minutes, but it would be minutes of torture.

The temperature started to increase. My time was running out.

I put the child down. Down on the last remaining strands of grass. I put her in a deep magic sleep. She would never wake. But at least she would die peacefully.

She smiled at me in her sleep and I felt a stab in my heart. Master was right, this smile would follow me everywhere. My failure would follow me everywhere.

A scalding hot wave of air hit me, forcing me down to my knees, screaming in pain.

I had underestimated my time. Clearly, my magic was weak. The moon was starting to move. Wait, no; it was breaking apart. If my master had created it, his death would lead to its death too.

But I had no magic left. No strength left. Not even to call my ship. I lay by the girl and prepared to die.

All I could see was the hot red sun blinding my eyes. All I could feel was the lava like air burning by lungs with every breath. I had failed in every sense of the word.

Except, I hadn’t.

My spaceship, like a loyal dog, swooped down to pick me up.

It left the child. Because I hadn’t programmed it to pick up anyone else.  And so, it left the child to die.

The child was dead anyway. At least, I hoped she was by the time the planet burnt up. Another question that would haunt me to the end of days.

“Where to?” asked my spaceship.

“Anywhere but here. Anywhere but CotoPaxy.”

The End

Thanks for reading so far! This is one of the stories I wrote some time ago. Back when I was still trying to find a trad publisher. I sent it to many sci-fi magazines and 2 editors gave me personal feedback (which only happens 0.01% of the time!). But though they liked the story, they didn’t want to buy it.

I self published it, then took it offline. I’m now putting it back online as I’m planning to write more stories in this series. A steampunk fantasy set in space? Whats’s not to like?

Keep watching this space for more!