Chronicle of the Golden Orb: Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Midas was a good king and he ruled justly over all the people and lands of his domain. He dwelt in a well-wrought castle of white stone, with spires and high towers that could be seen for miles. Midas was wise and he was just, his rule took place in a time of peace and prosperity, and he was well loved by his subjects. Midas had three daughters, each more precious and beautiful than the last. The eldest was a shining beauty tall and slim with long brown hair, princess Fairheart. The middle child was short of stature, but petite and alluring with dark raven hair, princess Ebony. The youngest was so beautiful she outshone the daughters of the nobles of the city, and there was no maid fairer than she in all the land; she was perfectly proportioned with hair the color of the finest straw. Now for some, this would be a source of worry, for jealous are the hearts that behold such beauty. Who knows what green-eyed monsters a being of such virtue and grace could inspire in the hearts of those of lower virtue? Yet all loved this young princess and she sparkled among the people like a bright star. It was for this reason that she was called princess Splendor.
It was rumored among the town's people that princess Splendor was a special favorite of the gods, for why else had she been blessed with such beauty, virtue, and grace? Some, indeed, spoke of moonlit walks that the princess was rumored to take. Along the banks of the sacred river, where water sprites and nymphs would come to her and braid her hair as she bathed in the sparkling clear waters.
The sacred river was home to a powerful demigod named Vaide. Vaide was the god of riverbeds and had dominion over all the things that sank into the muck and mire alongside the waters he flowed through. One day while princess Splendor was bathing beneath the sparkling moonlight, Vaide happened to come to the stretch of river where she waded.
"By my beard and the nails of my toes," said he. "Never have I seen a creature of such surpassing beauty. She must be mine."
But as Vaide approached, the Naiads that were the princess’s friends warned her to flee, for they did not want to lose her company. The princess fled from the water dripping and naked. She grabbed her clothes from the tree she had laid them at and ran through the forest until she reached the safety of home.
To revenge himself on the Naiads and to force the king to bargain with him for the hand of his daughter, Vaide caused the waters of the sacred river to flow back up their course, leaving the kingdom in a severe drought, bereft of water and leaving the Naiads homeless. King Midas consulted all his astrologers, wise men and sorcerers, to discover the cause of the drought. Princess Splendor did not tell him of her encounter, but the wise men knew that the answer to the problem lay at the feet of the watery demigod. So on a certain night he went out, bedecked in his finest raiment, to bargain with the river god.
Midas had one failing and Vaide knew it. Midas loved gold above all else, more than the jewels of his crown or the fruits of his fields, more than the sun in the sky or the earth beneath his feet. And Vaide had come into possession of a certain mystical Orb that possessed the magical property that with certain incantations it could change any object that it touched into gold. The tale of how Vaide came to posses the ball is lost to history. Perhaps some careless god dropped it in his river one day, or a fleeing soldier lost that which he was charged to protect when a well-aimed spear pierced his side. Either possibility is likely, for arrogant gods are often careless, and much blood has flowed through the waters of Vaide’s domain.
When Midas came before him, Vaide told him of the trials his heart had undergone when he saw the young woman. If he had been more cruel he would have already taken her for his own, but he respected the rule of the people of this land and was bound by certain oaths made ages hence; therefore, he would only cause the land to dry up if he did not receive what he desired. If Midas would bargain true with him, then Vaide would return the river to its course and give him a thing he desired more than any other.
So saying, he produced the golden ball. He turned it in the moonlight so Midas could see its beauty. Muttering under his breath he touched a large, nearby oak turning its boughs and leaves, its bark and roots into pure gold, the purest gold Midas had ever seen, yet strong as an oak.
"I have no quarrel with the peoples of the water; ask of me a boon in return for that gift and if it be in my power to give you shall have it." Midas swore, forgetting in his wonder how much Vaide desired his daughter.
"Only do I ask for the hand of your daughter, the princess Splendor, so that she might be my bride. Marry her to me and forever will your land run with clean waters and your crops will flourish.”
Midas was sorrowful, for he loved his youngest daughter very much. But his love for gold was even greater. He told himself that his duty to his subjects overrode his duty to family, and the country would soon die without the favor of the river god. He told himself that it was this reason above all others. But the light of greed shone in his eye, and so he agreed to Vaide's request. On the day of the summer solstice, woman and demigod were wed and the father of the bride was given the ball and the alchemaic incantation releasing its golden power.
For a time Midas was content. He transformed his castle into a castle of gold and his city into a city of gold. Moving through the streets, he would stop and change whatever caught his fancy, until the very air shone with golden dust. But Midas grew unhappy. One day he went to visit his daughter. He came to the sacred river and called out to her, "Splendor, Splendor, if you have any love yet for your poor father come to me and tell me if I did what was truly best for you."
From the center of the river bubbles rose and ripples extended in ever-widening circles. Suddenly, princess Splendor emerged from the water, rising straight up until she stood on the flowing surface.
"Father," she said. "I am wet."
"Father," she said. "I am cold."
"Father," she said. "I am alone and afraid among the people of the water."
"Father," she said. "If ever you did love me, free me. Free me. It is not to my liking to be married to a river. I breathe him and move within him and he covers me. Yet I do not love him.”
"Oh my daughter," King Midas sobbed. "Would that I could free you from your wedding ties. But I have given my word and I cannot break it. Yet if there is aught else I can do for you, ask it of me."
"Father," she said. "There is one thing you can do for me."
"Ask it."
"Use the magic ball my husband the devil Vaide has given you."
"I do not understand." King Midas shook his head and took a step back from the edge of the water.
"Father," she said. "I know by your manner that you do. Say the incantation and touch me with the ball, so that I may cease to be wet flesh all alone. Say the incantation and touch me with the ball. End my torment by changing my form and taking away my knowledge of pain."
King Midas wept great tears, for he had given his word and was bound to do what she had asked of him. In those days a king’s word was bond, and when he was crowned had sworn an oath to his subjects to always uphold the honor of his vows. It struck him deep in the heart to follow through on his promise, but he drew comfort that with this act her suffering would end. He removed the ball from the pouch he kept at his side and murmuring the alchemaic incantation waded into the water until he touched the hem of his daughter's garment. Immediately the transmutation began. First her toes, then her feet and legs, and then her torso and arms; one part after another became solid gold. At last her face took on the luster of gold and she began to sink beneath the water. All that remained was her fine golden hair floating on the surface. Midas reached out and drew it to him, long strands of pure gold, the river had taken the rest.
Vaide’s waters carried her away. His tears flooded the land. Midas returned home and never used the power of the ball again. His riches could not make up for what he had lost. He soon died from the weight of his grief.
For a time the Orb and its magic was lost to the pages of history. Those who had heard of its power sought in vain for the Orb. Across vast expanses of countryside they combed, in dark dungeons and hidden palaces they searched, yet it was hidden from them. It was almost as if the Orb was bidding its time until conditions were ripe for its reemergence in the annals of world events.