"By the gods!" the wizard exclaimed. "I have found it! I have finally found the gate to paradise!" The decrepit old mage threw down his spellbook and did a joyous little dance around his desk.

He picked up his leather-bound magic book and scuffled over to a basin of water. "After all these decades," he thought, staring into the clear, still water. "I've discovered the words that will open the door to ecstasy." The magician began to recite strange words from his tome. He closed his eyes and touched the water with his fingertip.

A ripple went through the basin and grew in size as the mage spoke. When the old man finished his chanting, the water began to churn and radiate with white light. A chill went up the mage's arm and for a second he wanted to withdraw his arm. "No...," he thought, "I've waited too long!"

And he had. For 121 years he had studied. He had tried to create a portal to the celestial plane several times, but he always had the equation wrong. The failures had caused him unimaginable pain and the loss of his left hand, but it was a small price to pay for paradise.

Now, he stood over the water basin-portal and prepared to enter. He could fell the power emanating from the gateway. In his mind, he could almost see the wonderful place.

The mage put his arms into the water. Though the basin was once only three inches deep, the water now came up to his elbows. The old wizard reached farther into the portal and placed his face in the radiant pool. The old man felt himself being pulled through. Disorientated but still fully conscious, he traveled the planar pathway.

The mage opened his eyes. He saw only darkness. He groped the ground. It was dusty, sandy, and rock-covered. "Hello??" he called into the darkness. "Is this paradise?"

Two yellow, glowing eyes appeared before him. The mage stumbled backwards. "Yessss, this is paradise," said a deep, bestial voice.

"Thank the gods!" the mage sighed. "I thought I had failed again and ended up dead."

"No," said the voice. "You are quite alive and just in time to be my dinner."

The mage looked fearfully at the bright eyes. "But I thought...but you said..."

"Oh," said the guttural voice, "this is paradise."

The mage could now see rows of glinting teeth.

"But mine, not yours."

Pretty clever, eh? And you thought that all a bard could do was sing! Anyway, please click here to go back to my main page, here to go back to my menu of literature, or here to go to GeoCities.