Riddles

Thus it is that I, though barely into my manhood, have been exiled from the class of the brave, the warriors, to live a life that has always been one of derision and usually poverty. My lot is with those not brave enough to be hunters, and are therefore considered women. It's not that I am full of fear, for I fear nothing. It's only that I don't find interest in the hunt, or feats of strength that only serve to inflate the ego of the man that performs it.

Alas, I am cursed with a body lacking in muscle, and a mind overflowing with the need to learn more. Thus, I have been placed as a pariah among my people, an outcast that deserves less than nothing. I have shamed my father, who no longer claims me as his son. I have broken the heart of my dear, sweet mother, who, though having to turn her back to me and deny me everything in public, still sneaks me food or the clothing she makes for me.

Being freshly excommunicated from the circle of the "normal people" of the village, and therefore, as yet, not crushed into the sense of hopelessness that outcasts such as I eventually fall prey to, I decided to follow my true nature to its fullest. I decided on a course that nearly all would consider folly and sure death. But of these things, I cared not. For, as I have said, I am a man who is inquisitive, and my need to satisfy my curiosity great. I went to visit my parents for probably the last time.

My father turned his back to me as I entered, acting as if I didn't exist. He was fletching some arrows, and kept turning so that his back was always to me as I moved across the room to where my mother was cutting some vegetables for their supper. My mother kept herself turned toward the table to make it appear as if she didn't notice me, but I saw her cast a quick, tear-eyed glance my way.

"Mother and Father," I said, "I know your disappointment in me is beyond great, but I can't alter my nature, nor would I if I could." Their activity went on uninterrupted, as if I hadn't said anything at all. It phased me not at all, for that is the way of my people. I continued on, "So now I go to follow my nature, and do the one thing that I have always dreamed of doing. I leave now to venture to Kirn's Pass to face the challenge of the Sphinx."

I could not have done anything else that would have caused as great a reaction as I did with that one declaration. My mother cried out in surprise and dismay, dropping the cucumber she had been cutting. Her eyes were wide with fear for me, and filled with the horror that she'd lose her son forever.

My father stopped putting the feathers on the slender shafts, and turned to look me full in the face, a reaction I had not counted on. His eyes had been full of sadness since my public degradation, but now were full of curiosity and wonder. He stared right through me, trying to figure why I would say such a thing.

"Are you tired of living already, the life of an outcast being so unbearable?" he asked. His face was unreadable.

"No, Father. Rather, I go to do that which I have dreamed of attempting since I was a small child. If I fail the challenge, then I will die. But my death will not be in vain, for even should I fail, at least I will have died doing that which I have always desired."

"No!" my mother wailed. Her tears flowed as a river. She hugged me, and only with the sternest resolve was I able to escape her nurturing embrace. I turned to my father, and our eyes met in farewell. He had a fierce pride burning in them, happy that I should go to my death so bravely, as only a true warrior could do. He reached to his hip, pulled off his knife belt and sheathed hunting knife, and slipped them into my hand. I thanked him, put the belt into my pack, and left the village that had always been my home.

Once I was several miles from the village, I pulled out the gift my father had given me. It was the last thing I expected him to do, so therefore I treasured it all the more highly. I strapped on the gift that a warrior gives only to one who he considers his equal, and walked toward my destiny, light of heart, and happy in spirit.

Thoughts of the danger of the trial I had placed ahead of me were far from me. Death is not a thing that the young feel can truly claim them, even though I have known several of the boys I had grown up with that had been slain either on a hunt, in a battle, or from a fever. Visions of the meeting with the sphinx were made more glamorous both because I am young, and also because of the traveling bards that occasionally stopped by our poor village, swapping a tale for some food and a place to spend the night.

There were tales of great kings that sought to take by force the vast treasures that the sphinx was said to guard. Even though the kings had massive armies, the sphinx couldn't be taken. Great thinkers and scholars were said to have tried and failed, all to be devoured by the great creature. Now I, an outcast among my own people, was going to take his chances with the great sphinx.

Several hours into the march westward, I brought down a rabbit with my bow. I may not like to hunt, but the hungrier one gets, the more one enjoys to bag their supper. Night would be falling soon, and I needed to find a place to camp. Brigands were known to prowl these partially forested areas at night.

Three days into the journey, and I'm starting to worry whether I made an error in judgement. I traveled for two days with a man out of Gerin to the south. He was a nice fellow, easy to talk with, intelligent, and outgoing. At least he was until he asked me where my destination lie. He closed up quite a lot from that point on, remaining with me only for the added protection one doesn't get when one travels alone. As soon as the road forked, my companion left me to travel alone.

I'm only four more days away from the Pass, and the road is falling more and more into disrepair. It is rumored that the very road on which my sandals now trod was built by the mythical Pandonian Empire, itself, and that after the sphinx arrived, nobody traveled the road. Still, for the road to be as travelable as it was after over two thousand years, what a testimony to the greatness of the Pandonian engineers! Whatever happened to their greatness, and what the link between them and the sphinx is, nobody knows.

Two more days to the Great Confrontation! I've named it that for my own benefit, as I'm sure the great sphinx has had many such encounters. I'm starting to feel the edge of apprehension about what I'm purposing to do, but know that if I don't, I'll never be able to do anything without doubt. I'll always wonder the age old mind-teasing question that haunts the elderly that didn't do what they knew in their hearts was right, and that now is too late for them to try. That question----- "What if..."

Nay! Not for me! I must go boldly forward to my destiny, for is it not better to try for what you know you must, than to cower, and wonder what could have been? After all, what do I have to return home to? Life as a social leper! And all because people can't see past the outer man, and into the inner man, which is indeed the true being within the fleshly shell. How ironic, that of all the people in life I have met, the only ones capable of seeing the true being are those who were outcasts, themselves.

It's almost the evening before the Great Confrontation. I'll be lucky to live until then. The sword cut on my left side feels as if it's on fire, and several of my ribs can be touched with my fingers. The makeshift bandage I made out of the dead bandit's shirt has stopped the bleeding, but infection is the danger now. I'm so close! I've got to make it, for it would be better if I died trying ask the sphinx the riddle he can't answer, than to die like a wounded dog on an abandoned road.

The wound my attacker made on me is obviously grievous, but not so much as the one he received from my blade, the knife my father gave me. He lies on the road with his eyes looking into the sky, yet seeing nothing ever again. Why would a bandit be so far out this way to begin with? Unless he was trying to steal the treasure from under the sphinx's nose. He was raving, to say the least! And it was fortunate for me that he was. He made no effort to conceal himself as he charged me, screaming for my treasure and money. Ha!

The pain in my side increases grievously from the mirth I receive from his assumption of my wealth. But it's worth the pain, for the fact that I can still laugh at something is evidence that I still have life within me. To not laugh at something at this moment would be to ring my death knell. Another humorous thing is the fact that the crutch I now use to move inexorably toward my goal is the bandit's sword, which is by far the most exotic weapon I have ever seen! The jewels in the pommel have to be worth a king's ransom on their own! I'm now richer than ever before in my life!

The amazing thing to me at this time, is the fact that I'm still able to walk at all. To have the strength to walk with a wound such as this is a marvel in itself. But I've been walking for three hours! If I wasn't so close to delirium, I would swear to the fact that I'm actually feeling stronger with each mile. I must be getting a second wind shortly before I die. The only regret I have in my life is not reaching my goal. But as long as I have life in me, I'll walk.

It's about two hours before midnight. I'm still walking! And I wasn't in delirium, for I am getting stronger, but by what means I do not know. I'm barely using my improvised crutch any longer. The only problem I have, now, is the fire of the infection that I'm sure has set in. Though I'm stronger than I was, I don't think I'm better. I feel that I'm on borrowed time, that some force is granting me my desire to meet the great sphinx, so that I may at least try to beat it. And when I don't, at least I can die with more dignity than I could ever have had in the village.

Another item worth noting: I haven't hungered since the bandit kindly gave me his sword after the unfortunate "accidental" impaling of his throat on my knife. Thirst hasn't been a problem, either, but I still drank at several small streams that trickled off the side of the road. I have lost a copious amount of blood, and I'm sure the loss will affect me later. The bleeding, itself, quit shortly after sundown. Whether to some mystical power, or from my meager skill as a healer, it matters not.

I feel the need to rest after all this walking, but part of me is afraid that if I do, I'll die. Another part of me is most reassuring that I'll be fine, that the contest won't happen until sunrise. I'll keep moving.

The legends are accurate. My journey's almost over! The crystal monolith stands before me as the storytellers have said, letting me know that I'm almost at the end of my trek. It's still a long way from daybreak, and since the instant I sighted the obelisk a moment ago, refracting the moon's light in a spectacular spectral display, the weakness has returned and my wound has reopened. The inflammation was worse than I thought, and my need to lean on the sword is greater than ever. I hope it isn't much farther than over the next hillock, for my strength is almost at its final end; my life just about spent.

I'm almost there. My God! The pain is more than I can bear! Yet I focus on one objective only, and that's to put one foot in front of the other until I meet the sphinx, or die trying!

The hillock! I've reached the apex! I see the temple! And the sphinx!! I've........ made........ it.........tooooo

"Sleep now, oh foolish child of men. For in a few scant hours shalt we see the depths of thine knowledge, and the depths of thy folly. Yes, child of dust, thou shalt live until thy reckoning. For it is given unto me that I should be able to doest this thing. Sleep in peace, as it mayest be thy final rest before thy doom."

"Awaken, mortal!" The command boomed in my head like the roaring of many thunders booming at the same instant, yet without the pain that such a phenomenon would incur. I opened my eyes to a bright, sunny morning with a cool breeze blowing softly over the land. "I must be dead," for there is no more pain or even a wound.

"Nay, mortal child. Thou art surely alive. At least for the moment." The sphinx sat calmly before a bridge, the only gateway before the legendary city to which I had heard so much. He's magnificent! The very size of it is worth the journey, even if I don't make a single riddle, which until now, I hadn't even given any thought to. I always figured it would come to me, or I'd figure one out before getting here, but now I think I've sealed my fate.

"Where, then, Lord Sphinx, are my wounds which were grievous enough to kill men larger than I?" Look at those magnificent wings! That incredible mane! How could anybody seek to harm this wonderful creature?

"I have healed thee, oh man, since the time when thou first started on thy journey here to return that which a thief had thought to takest away from me. I permitted him to go as far as he did only to see what thou wouldst do."

"Pardon my gross ignorance, Lord Sphinx. But he could have killed me, and almost did! And I don't remember seeing you at all. I would remember seeing you, for truly you are the most magnificent creature I have ever beheld, worth the trip even if I hadn't come to answer your challenge."

"Thou art kindly with thy speech, child. Yet full of ignorance as well. I shall tell thee of thy folly in coming here, oh man, and give thee a chance to depart if thou wouldst only leave the sword that thou hast used as a crutch. Very good, son of dust. Now listen to what I will tell thee."

"I am the oldest, and the last, of my kind to have lived in the material plane. I was created before even the firmament, and the earth which lieth below its great arch. I have watched with interest the emergence of Man from the simple farmer to the builder of great cities. I have witnessed him grow in intellect, yet shrink in mercy and compassion. His strength he was so proud of then, yet it was nothing as it would be."

"I watched the rise of the great empires of the Pandonians, the Lamikanders before them, the Jelkish before them. I've watched the ancient kingdoms of the Dragonmen, Kirish-threndor, and Tarash- giliad become dust long after I watched their rise and prideful, corrupt reign."

"Mighty armies have I, even I, laid to waste. Those foolish and vain mortals that had thought to destroy me, only to meet their own destruction. How I laughed at their foolishness---- how I cried at their fall."

"Mortal! Behold thy fate! See my wings of burnished bronze, my mane of finest silk! My claws of iron which have rent kingdoms to mere hovels, reduced the mighty to lowliness. Mine eyes are hottest burning fire, and my breath sucks the life out of entire planets!"

"All these things saith I to thee, that thou mayest know what thou shalt face. All these things have I shown thee, and all these things have I truly done, for, though I a creature also be, yet did my creator grant unto me all that I have revealed unto thee. Thy doom is at hand, oh mortal, and I must do that which I have been chosen to do."

"Yet will I grant thee favor, oh man! I thank thee for thy willingness to give yon sword back into my possession, for there are those who fail that test, even as thou hast seen the few days past. Thou wouldst not have died, for I secured thee unto me. If thou wouldst go free, my blessing be upon thee, and thy health shall remain restored, even as I have already restored it unto thee.

"Now, mortal! What wouldst thou have? Is thy mind still bent on self-destruction, or will thou reconsider, and leave this place? Think carefully, child of children, for I care not which way that thou choose, for I have sat here for one thousand-thousand years, and may sit for another. Think carefully what thine answer will be."

"Oh great and mighty sphinx, but I know already that which I must now do. I must play this grim game which will in all likelihood end in my destruction. Yet I have nothing left in life but this very moment. If I am to die from such a noble and wonderful creature as yourself, it would be an honor. For never have I seen your like, nor shall. My destiny lies here, as it has ever since I was in my mother's womb. I have always had the desire, ......no the need, to live for this very moment. I'm ready to face what my destiny has given to me."

"Very well, then. Be made aware the rules for which we must abide. They are but two. First, I must give thee a riddle, which thou must answer correctly. If thou should fail in this, the first task, thy life is forfeit. If thou shall succeed, then shalt thou ask me a riddle. If I am correct at guessing the answer, then thy life is forfeit. If thou should both guess my riddle, and confound me with thine, then shalt thou be allowed to pass this bridge, and enter into the city beyond. All that which is in the city shall belong to thee to do with as thou would desire."

"After I ask the first riddle, thou shalt have twenty-four hours by which to give the correct answer. Thou shalt neither require sleep nor sustenance nor shall the weather be unpleasant, for no distraction or hindrance shall interfere lest any should say that the contest be unfair, and thou win by default. For this reason were your wounds erased."

"If thou art indeed fortunate, then thou shalt have one hour in which to ask me a riddle. I shall be allowed one full day to answer, as did thee. Are the rules clear, mortal?"

"They are."

"Then listen to your riddle, and be dismayed. The riddle is this."

"There are two things in which a man may be in possession, but many there are that have them not. They are of much value, yet gold and silver and finest jewels can buy them not. A man may have one and not the other, but if he be in possession of the other, then the one shall he have also. With the one, a man may be king, yet if he have not the other, or if he has not a friend who's in possession of it, then surely shall his kingdom fall, and mighty be the fall of it. With the one shall a man be noted, yet with the other shall he be revered and truly loved. The one commands respect, while the other earns it. A king may have not either, yet the poorest wretch may own both. A man in possession of these need never have want of gold, yet if he has, that and much more shall be added. A man without these, though he be in possession of all gold and silver and all manner of jewels, he shall be poor and destitute, and all that he has shall surely be taken away. What are these two precious things?"

I have sat in silence and thought for the past twenty hours pondering the riddle the sphinx had given me. As he had said, I have not needed any food or drink, rest or any other thing. The weather has been so perfect as to induce thought. Yet I have not found an answer! The sphinx lets me know the end of each hour, and sits by, patiently awaiting an answer. He puts no pressure on me other than telling the time. What could it be? If I only had...

"Wait! That's it! I have your answer."

"Tell me what the objects are, oh man."

"The one is honor by which a man may be respected. A man may be made king because his honor may be so great as to win the respect of the people. All men of honor tend to be noted for the virtue they display."

"The other is wisdom. A king may have honor, but without the wisdom to rule, or without an advisor that has it, his rule will be weak, and destined for a great fall. If a man says he is wise, yet goes against his neighbor in a manner devoid of honor, then the man is not wise, but a fool, for he has made an enemy where he could have had a friend. If a man has wisdom, then he has honor also. Wisdom does not command anything of itself, yet people love and revere the man who has it. A man may have earthly wealth, but without wisdom, he will foolishly lose it. A wise man without riches is content with what he has, yet if he has wealth will he manage it well, increasing it, yet not at the expense of others."

"Thou art wise, oh mortal. For indeed hast thou solved my riddle. Now must thou give me mine within the space of one hour."

"Lord Sphinx, I have your riddle."

"Then speak it, child."

"What man is he that is foolish, yet may in the end gain wisdom; is weak as a kitten, yet may grow strong; is lowly, yet has the mightiest king bow down and serve him; has neither riches or possessions, yet can be happy; is dependent on others in the morning, yet will stand alone by midday; loves others totally and unconditionally; may lie to you, and still expect the truth from you, and will believe what you want him to believe?"

"This is the riddle I give to you, Lord Sphinx." * * * * * * * *

For the space of seven hours have I watched the sphinx ponder. I don't really feel he's having a difficult time, as much as he just wants to go through every option he can think of. The riddle I gave him was one that came to me at the last instant. From the answer to his riddle, did mine take root, so I'm positive he'll figure it out.

"My answer, human. What man is it that is all these things? The answer is....... No Man. For no man can be so contradictory. I have seen the history of Man, and have yet to meet this person. I'm sorry, mortal, but your time on this plane of existence is finished."

"Lord Sphinx, but you are wrong. The answer is not 'No Man', but is 'All Men'."

"How so, Mortal?" the great sphinx asked, truly perplexed. I feel an exhilaration unlike any I have ever known!

"The answer, my Lord, is all men, but only when they are children. For what king can look at his child and not bend down before him and give him the love the child demands of him? Yet the child is small and meek, truly the owner of nothing, but the borrower of much. Who but a child is utterly foolish, yet still may grow to be wise? Who but a child is weak as a kitten, but may grow strong? Is dependant, but grows to independence? Who but a child can love so unconditionally, or be a liar without guilt, yet expect everything you say to be the absolute truth?"

"So, it is finished. Thou shalt pass me into the city, and possess it. My ward shall be over you, and all you possess, even after I am dead. My life is in your hands."

"Why, noble sir, would I choose to slay such a magnificent being as you?"

"For the reason that I was more than content with the fact that I was going to have to kill thee."

"Well, you did as you were compelled to do. You were true to your nature, just as my arrival here was my obedience to mine. Your life is yours, and yours alone."

"And as for the riches in the city, I have no need. I have done that which I had set out to do, and the fact that I'm still alive is more than riches enough. Give them to others more deserving. I also have this memory, which no man can take from me, and which will be with me always. I thank you, Your Lordship. You have let me do what I have always wanted, and I can walk away a better man for it. Bye."

I have left the city of the sphinx but a scant few hours ago, yet I'm almost home. Mysteriously, a chariot was left abandoned on the old road. I looked for its owner, but there was nobody anywhere. I took it into the nearest town, and tried to find the owner, but everybody was so insistent that I keep it.

I will admit that this most assuredly beats walking by far! I've also felt no hunger as of yet, but feel strength still coursing throughout my body. My trek home was not to tell them what it is that I have done, but rather to go home and live my life as it can be lived. I have done all that I had ever dreamed of doing, and I have survived it. The opportunity to do it at all was more than I could have hoped.

Wait! Is that smoke coming from my village? I must make haste! It's severe to be blotting out even the sun in that spot!

I found out that there was no fire. At least not the kind that consumes wood, just the kind that consumes the time of the tongue. I entered the village in the chariot, frantically looking for the cause of the smoke. But as soon as I had arrived, the darkness lifted, and I was in the center of the village. Every person in the village was there, all bowing down toward me. I even saw many who were from neighboring villages, all bowing to me. Not being comfortable with this unusual development, I got out of the chariot.

"What's going on, here?" I had asked. Only my father had stood up, and looked at me. Fierce pride, and much love, shone from his eyes. He walked up to me, bear-hugged me, which though it usually hurt me, didn't feel like anything at all. I looked at my father in my confusion for an explanation.

"It's not for me to tell you."

"Who, then?" I had asked. He stepped back and gestured behind him. There, seated on the top step of the crystal palace, was the sphinx. It smiled benevolently at me, kindness in its eyes deeper than any I have ever seen a being possess. I looked at the palace which I had left behind, that now sat where my home had been.

"Greetings, again, Mortal," it had said. "Be not alarmed. Thou hast shown above and beyond all I could have hoped for that thou art even more humble than thou even realize! Thy wisdom is exceeding what most men could ever see in two or three life times. The treasure, and all in this castle, are thine. I can not take the responsibility of doing anything with it but one thing only. Nobody will have the ability to steal, or touch any part of the treasure without feeling my wrath, without permission from thee. One other thing, Mortal, before I leave for now. Thou art the high king of this land. All villages west of the Calebad Mountains are thine. I shall return frequently, but for now, I wish to fly free a while. Take care, Your Majesty." And with that, the mighty sphinx flew heavenward.