By Eli DiPaolo
The room was bathed in a golden light from the lamps around it, and a gnome stood in front of the intricate mirror, studying his posture. His purple robe cascaded from his shoulders to the ground, and the rubies in the crown upon his head sparkled brightly. He sighed and took off the royal garments, wondering if he would ever be able to follow in his father's footsteps. He walked to his window and put out the candles sitting on its frame. Looking out into the massive cave, he saw other gnomes scurrying to and fro, closing up shop for the night and lowering the lamps. One day, this kingdom and everything in it would be his, if he could manage to keep his secrets.
As he walked towards the mirror, its glass spiraled away to expose the stairs hidden behind. He descended them quickly and entered his bedroom. The walls were adorned with wrenches and gears. This kingdom prided itself on its technological advancements, setting them far ahead of most of the world.
Not far from this cave was another, one containing dwarves instead of gnomes. They worked hard day and night to create works of art and weapons of war, ignoring the finer things, such as machines. The dwarves and gnomes worked in tandem, allowing them to control and maintain their territory.
Eldron, the Prince of Gnomes, looked around his room and began to worry. He had never been good with machines, no matter how much time he spent in the workshops. Something inside him would lash out and cause his works to fail. The only time he had ever made something that functioned was a mistake.
He had spent the night working his fingers to the bone and only produced a two-inch-tall sculpture of a man. The machine did not function as intended, and Eldron threw all of his tools on the ground around him in a fit of rage. He felt something building inside of him and let it out. White fire flew from his fingertips and struck his small metal man. The tiny metal man sprung to life and pointed a scrap of metal at Eldron.
“Who are you?” The little man demanded. Eldron was stunned at the intricate machine before him. “I said, " Who are you!?”
“I am Eldron, Prince of the Gnomes, and you are?” The gnome prince squeaked after a moment.
“I am not quite sure, to be honest,” the little man replied. He lowered his metal scrap. “I suddenly just... existed. It was very bright, and then I saw your giant face in front of me and panicked.”
“What a strange machine,” Eldron said as he lifted the little metal man into the air.
“Put me down!” The tiny man cried.
“You are going to need a name,” Eldron stated.
“Do I, though?” The little metal man replied.
“How about…” Eldron considered “Bery?”
“No.”
“Why, it’s perfectly fine.”
“No, it is not!” The little man dashed off the counter and into the shadows.
For months after, Eldron tried to replicate the effects of his magic burst but never could. Berry told him it might never happen again and that it was just a fluke.
After the creation of Bery, Eldron gained lots of knowledge. Bery was small enough to sneak into the library and return with knowledge. Eldron learned about the outside world, from neighboring countries and their beliefs to rumors of great beings hidden under ice. He absorbed this knowledge in secret for many days. His knowledge of the world expanded far beyond most, though he had never seen the sun.
Eldron was visiting a mushroom cavern to speak to the villagers when the magic struck again. Accompanying him was his instructor, Taren. Bery rode along silently in Eldron’s pocket. He saw the farmers in their mushroom fields, lit by the eerie red glow-lichen. Rows of mushrooms stretched far into the distance, out of the Gnome Prince’s line of sight. Their small carriage, glowing with electric light, pulled up in front of a large purple mushroom. The two gnomes got out and walked inside.
That night, Eldron gave a speech about crop production and population growth. Someone in the audience began to yell something about restrictions and the royal family. Eldron had heard murmurs of dissent among the people, but he had never seen it in person. He was listening carefully to try and find the solution to the problem when he was struck across the face with a rock. Immediately, a team of dwarves was dispatched to handle the perpetrator. They pulled him to the front of the crowd, and one of them lifted their battle axe to behead the criminal. It was an old gnome man. His shoulders were hunched from carrying loads of equipment and food his whole life. Just as the dwarf lifted his ax, Eldron swung out his hand and commanded the dwarf to stop. The ax swung down, moving impossibly slow. Eldron’s hand, still held up, cast out a gray light. The light hung in the air for a moment, blinding the crowd in front of him.
When it began to fade away, the cheers began. Eldron looked to see what had happened. He had turned all of his dangerous guards into motionless stone. The people in the village surrounded him, and the air was filled with cheers. The old gnome man who Eldron had saved rose from his knees to stare up at the gnome prince with wonder in his eyes. When the citizens of the village lowered Eldron to the ground, the old man invited him to stay at his house for the night. They feasted on all the food the old man had. That night, Eldron switched his royal robes for the clothes of a field worker. He spent the day plucking mushrooms and maintaining the fields.
“You should start getting back to the main cave,” Bery advised.
“Not yet,” said Eldron. “I need to spend some more time here.”
Two days later, Eldron arrived at the Gnome Palace. Moments after he walked inside, he was summoned to the throne room. He entered the vast chamber.
Considered one of the great wonders of the world, the Gnome Palace was breathtaking. Even more astonishing was the throne room. Lit by glowing crystals, tall brass pillars holding the ceiling up disappeared above you. Balconies carved out of the cave itself spiral around the room so spectators could observe court proceedings. At the end of the room were two chairs, carved out of thousands of precious stones and fused together with gold. The chandelier that descended from the ceiling on command contained the most artificial lights in all the physical planes of existence. Hundreds of small mechanical flying creatures, both natural and unnatural, zip across the room, recording every word said in the hall onto giant banners dangling from the ceiling. Four glass spheres stay suspended mechanically in midair, giving rooms to those awaiting trial.
Eldron walked into this room, fearful of the judgment his father and his court might give. Immediately he knew something was wrong because all of the scribbling machines looked at him as he walked down the center aisle. His father stood as tall as his two-foot frame would allow and held in his hand a large copper staff with a lightbulb on top. To his left stood the king of the dwarves, taller than the gnome king at four feet tall. He held in his hand a large sword, known throughout the land as Ols Mor, or Sun Death. They stood in front of their respective thrones, and Eldron’s father cleared his throat.
“Prince Eldron of the Gnomes, convicted of treason, you have one minute to plead your case,” the Gnome King announced.
“What?” Eldron questioned.
“You stand accused of inciting a rebellion in order to claim the throne in the horrible name of magic,” the dwarf king grumbled.
“I have done nothing of the sort.” Eldron stood a bit taller as he said this.
“Really. Does this sound familiar to you? King Eldron, Savior of the Convicted, Prince of Magic,” Eldron’s father said angrily.
“No,” Eldron defended.
“That is what is written on the flyers we have found strewn around the city,” the dwarf king stated. At this point, the thousands of citizens on the balconies above began to yell and throw stones at the two kings.
“You are to leave the kingdom immediately, before you can disrupt the peace anymore than you already have.” The gnome king commanded.
A gnome woman leaped from the balcony and halted her fall midair. Gasps spread across the room as the woman flew to the ground next to Eldron.
“I don’t understand these gifts I have been given, but I believe the only way to gain knowledge of this magic is to use it. So if the Prince of Magic is leaving, I will go with him.” The room grew silent.
“Leave, now.” The dwarf king snarled, reaching for Ols Mor. Eldron walked out of the chamber, ashamed, but his new companion stood tall. As he left, two dwarves joined him from the hall. He marched through the entire kingdom on his way to the cave's exit, gathering hundreds of followers.
After he had traveled several days, the hundreds of dwarves and gnomes reached the doorway to the outside. Eldron was blinded; he had never seen anything as bright as the sun before, and it blinded him. He knew he risked being blinded by traveling out of the underground, so he turned to his followers and asked that only those willing to give their entire lives to blindly obey somebody they barely knew. Only the gnome woman, who had exposed her magic to the entire kingdom, decided to go out with him. They tied black cloth around their eyes in order to block the sun. Bery climbed onto Eldron’s shoulder. He was to be their leading force. The Peasant Witch, the Prince of Magic, and the King of Machines stood at the entrance to the world, two blinded and the third fearful of responsibility. Eldron took a deep breath and stepped out onto the grass. He heard many sounds around him and smelled many new scents. He walked forward, listening to the directions coming from his shoulders, and left all that he had ever known.