The Fire Gem (3)
"Be an easy meal." So the Sagorns took Richard and Joey and Nick, ready for a meal. Nicks obvious plan was to slip away while the Sagorns got ready for their meal. But he did not realise that Sagorns weren’t quite as unintelligent as they looked. And now Nicks dream came true, except for a few slight differences. "C’mon, get movin’ " "When they go and get ready" whispered Nick to Joey "Run for it. Oh, I wonder if they’ve already killed Kilovin" "Do we stand a chance" whispered Joey, terror in his eyes, although they were both (and Richard) doing a good play dead. There heads were slung back over a holder, which they were surely to be toasted on, if they did not act fast. "Hey, whats ‘at around that fellers neck?" "Eh, look, it’s the- oh my evil, its ‘at boy who ‘ad ‘at that Medal of the Sacred Order." "We can not eat ‘im when he’s got that round his neck" "And will you dare to take it off ‘im" There was a silence among the Sagorns, for they despised and hated all people of the Sacred Order, and wished them dead, but had a great fear of them also. "I will" said the one who had spotted the cave "Eh" said another. "I will." The Sagorn slowly walked up, and drew breath. "By evil this is hard" he said. Then he went up and touched the Medal. Instantly Nick was surprised to feel an electric force coming through his body. It went through into the Medal. The howl of the Sagorn was not something you would like to hear. "The boy is alive" shouted one and instantly, several Sagorns came charging down on Nick. An arrow went strait for his face. And yet again saw its gleam, heard it call, and felt its power. But it was the Sword of Gilovin or Xagane- it was the Medal of the Sacred Order. It showered a golden protection over Nick and the others. And they stood up, and walked , as many spears were thrown at them accurately, and they simply rebounded off them, and arrows shot strait at them, but it made no difference. They were protected. And behind them Kilovin ran, and made place in the protection of light- the protection, of the Medal of the Sacred Order. "Were you prisoner too?" asked Nick "Yes, I was" answered Kilovin. "But I live- thanks to the Medal of Honour!" Chapter Five The second Waterfall Now, you might be wondering, does Deasater come into the story any more? Well I can not tell you that, but I will tell you what she has been doing since she left. Deasater went back to her fathers grave, and prayed. And there she heard rumours of terrible things. "Father, what is coming?" she asked "Spirits, my daughter, spirits." Called an echo out of the ground. "Spirits of Evil" "Zaconard is stronger than even I thought. He killed you father, but he will not kill your Grand son. How am I supposed to warn Nick? He refuses to speak to me." "Use a message of the Wind, daughter, of the wind." "But spirits can stop that. You are a spirit, and although you are not evil, you can stop that, so evil spirits must be able too!" "Not if it was a message sent by yet another spirit. I, will help you." "But your spirit is not set free." "That is why you will set me free" "Father I can not. To hear your voice is a painful memory, but seeing your face, a ghostly image or not, would be too painful reminder." "You must! You wish to save my Grandson, Jaesane the second, do you not?" "Do not call him that! His name is Nick! Fine, I will set you free, but do not expect me to look at you all the time" "I expect not that, but to be set free" "Xenmaseor mutmento Zoco Saebane hert mogon holo honlonger fo Karoma!" In the most common tongue of Karoma, Deasater said: Xenmaseor the great, set Saebane free from the Earth of Karoma!" A ghostly steam came out of Saebanes grave, and a ghostly image of Saebane came out of the Earth. And Deasater felt what Nick had felt twice. Deasater saw its gleam, heard its call, and felt its power. The it was the spirit of Saebane. You would imagine a spirit as whats inside a person, what gives there personality. But a real spirit is much much more than that. A spirit is a light, a light, among the darkness. Or maybe a darkness, among the light. A spirit is a feeling, a feeling of hope, among the hopeless. Or maybe a spirit is the hopeless, among the hope. A spirit is a wisdom, among the unknown. Or maybe a spirit is the unknown, among the wisdom. A spirit is good among the evil. Or maybe a spirit is the evil among the good. A spirit is a power, among the powerless. Or maybe, if this spirit fails its owner, a spirit is the powerless, among the powerful. "Hello father" said Deasater. "Send the message." A great wind rushed down from. The moon, travelling many miles. At last it hit the earth, and passed through Saebane as he said these words: " Spirits are coming, Jaesane the second, evil spirits-for you" Kilovin, Joey, and Richard were resting. Nick was on the look out. Nick looked through a crack in the wall-and saw the moon. Nick thought about what had happened since Deasater had come in too his room only two months and a half ago (exactly). His Father had died, Nick was the course of a forest fire (he had led the Fire humans into the forest. He had entered a dark, dark tunnel, in which he had been attacked by live skeletons and Sagorns, found out who he really was, banished Deasater, been captured by Sagorns, and escaped. The following morning, they set off, hoping to leave the dreaded dark tunnel, and pass out through the next entrance, through the second waterfall of the Ocean. They woke early, for they wished of course to go as far as possible, if they were to get to the second waterfall. But Nick was starting to get a feeling growing on him that some thing was coming, something far worse than ever before. "A long time I searched for my father" said Kilovin unexpectedly "but when I found him, he did not bring good news to me" "what news was that?" said Nick, knowing the answer. "That I would never see him again" said Kilovin . Nick looked surprised. " And also of course, of what he had done." "I knew that that would be your answer." "And maybe it would have been better if I had never met you." "Why is that?" "For you, Nick told me of your fathers death. It has saddened me greatly." "Yes, I feel the same. Grief has been set upon me ever since Gilovin the great, died. That will be what I name him. Gilovin the Great!" "But that is not the his real name" There was silence. Then Nick heard something. Nick heard an echo of the Wind. "Evil spirits are coming Jaesane the Second. Evil spirits-for you." "What is it?" asked Richard curously. Nick simply stared. "What?" said Joey. "I heard something" whispered Nick. "I heard an echo?" "What echo" said Kilovin. He looked worried. "An echo of a voice. It told me that Evil spirits are coming." "We must move" said Kilovin urgently "Fast. We must reach the second Waterfall before night. We must!" They started to run. They did not like the tone of Kilovin's voice at all. They ran for three hours, when they were too tired, so they went and walked very quickly. They did this for one hour when, they found that there were several different passage ways to go. "What to do now, except wait for these ‘evil spirits’ to come" groaned Joey. "Look for signs on the ground" said Kilovin. " I would not go down there" said Nick, pointing down a long passage "There are some tracks of Sagorns" "Nor down there" said Richard "There are several skeletons, and I do not like to think of how they died." "There is a huge bottomless pit down that one" pointed out Joey " And not even a great Honone like Kilovin could jump it." "Whats this" said Nick "It’s a map!" It appears thaaaaat we have to go down that one" "You do not realise Nick, that the map will only lead you the wrong way" said Kilovin. "I know. That one leads us to the Sagorns, that one has a bottomless pit, that one leads us to a load of skeletons, and we will probably be one of them too, and the map tells us too go that way, which is obviously a trick, so that one" ( Nick pointed at the one at the far right) "must be it". Kilovin looked at Nick "You are right" he said simply. They had rested for a while, while they were searching for clues, so they ran again, as fast as they could, scared that these ‘evil spirits’ would take them to Zaconard, for he was most lightly to be there master, or else be taken to the world of the dead. But eventually, after half an hour or so, they came to a dead end. "We must turn back!" said Joey "we have gone down the wrong place. Maybe the map was right!" "No!" said Kilovin "Look at the words on the wall!" "What does it say?" asked Nick. It was obviously some Oemona tongue. "I will read it out" said Kilovin "But we must be quick, and this is also a long riddle." It is a power, beyond your imagination. But it can only be set free, by an incantation. It could be good, with glory which is leveless. It could be evil, and it would be perilous. It was once dead, yet now alive! Although it did not survive! It is an echo, of what it once was. But it does not come as what it was, because: It is now much greater, than I can explain. The greatest one could control Ice, fire and rain. To a different form it came After its life and death, when it was great! For it had to earn what it became. It could not have done it, if it had been lame. In this form, it is not the same As what it once was, but a shining glory, is what it became. It had to be as worthy, as one of the Sacred Order. To them, it could not come before. But its glory, might not be glory, but an evil thing. It would how, a most terrible howl, instead of sing. It had to of been gifted By Xenmaseor And then be lifted And enter a higher level. Or if evil, It would be lowered Beneath Karoma. Into dark places. And its race Would be placed As an evil thing What I am talking about, would either be peril, or a thing of a much higher, and better level. But both could only be summoned by an incantation. And both are things beyond your imagination. "What is it?" said Joey, as though expecting someone to know. "I know not" said Kilovin. "I do" said Nick. Everyone looked at him. "A spirit" There was a crack. And a rumble. "I’m not to sure it was a good idea to say the answer. The dead end revealed a hidden door, as a screech of such terribleness that Nick felt the ground shake. They ran, as fast as they could. "What is that light in the distance!" yelled Nick "That is the light of day though the second waterfall!" cried Kilovin. Rocks started to fall all around them, and there seemed one little chance of survival, until they saw what had made the screech. "Run!" shouted Kilovin. Nick looked around and saw a spirit in the air. It looked like a ghostly image of a terrible human, which was made of a electrical storm. All of a sudden Nick realised that he shouldn’t have looked, for he saw that the spirit suddenly went very fast- strait for him. But all of a sudden Nick saw a blinding light, echo this: "Diiieeeee, spirit of Evil" The spirit did not die, but stopped, and stayed for five seconds, for it was in great pain. Then the same voice said " Join hands" This they all did, for taking this persons advice, seemed a very good idea, if this well, what ever it was could stop a evil spirit. "Let us fly y y y" the voice echoed, and they rose off the ground. Nick was sure he had heard the words that had just been said. They kept on going, through the second waterfall, up the stairs, and out into the open sea. There they hovered. Then they saw the spirit of evil flying up the stairs, in a tunnel, where the walls were made of water. "We must move!" shouted Nick. "No" said the shined body of light. "Let her come. The spirit came. But as soon as the spirit came out in the sun, it melted into dust. Then the shining body was not shining any more. Nick looked up, and saw a witch by the name of Deasater. Chapter Six The Walls of Xagane "Hello, Nick. I had foreseen this happening, so I saw that I was the only one who could help you." "Okay, you can go now. We need not you as a guide, Kilovin has now taken up that job" "But why you banish me?" "You lied to me about everything, for eighteen years. You have saved my life, and I thank you for that, but that does not change what you did." "But what does that have to do with the quest?" "Everything. I could not go on the whole way through with someone that lies to me. It would be unbearable" "Nick-" "That is not my name. Look, listen, yes that is my name, it has been for eighteen years, but what about the day when the festivle of Jaesane comes. They have hoped for years, that Xaesane, or his son Jaesane the second, would come back, on that day. And we were there every time, every four years! But if we had known, Gilovin ( or Xasane rather) wouldn’t be dead, and there would actually, be a King of the Sacred Order. I thought that the Queen of Karoma, would be rueful. That’s you, that’s you! And I will the overall King of Karoma. Ever thought of it like that? I thought I was lucky, to know the Queen of this Planet! Me and you, and my father are related! Yet I only found that out two months ago! And you’ve known from since my father was born, when you were two! For thirty-six dam years. What on Karoma were you thinking of? Why did you lie to Xasane, and Jaesane the second, me!" "Because I promised the spirit of my father not to until the end of this quest. We knew that you had to take up this quest, and my father thought it better not to tell you until you had completed it, or perished" Nick looked at Deasater, and realised what a fool he had been. He did not even let her tell her explanation. "I realise you could not have refused to make a promise to the only memory of your father. To you except my apology" "I do" "Kilovin will be yet another companion, and a deputy guide, when you can not guide us" "Okay" said Deasater "We will rest here now, for you tired from the attack from the spirit of evil, and night is nearly upon us. Kilovin, can you keep the watch? I will take over in an hour or so" Kilovin stood watch, as the moon appeared from behind the clouds, as the stars appeared in the darkening sky. He longed to go home, to the North, in the forests, for that as where they belonged, the Honones. That is where they were created, they were the woodland Oemonas: Honones. The forest suited them greatly, for there tall trees, gave perfect wood for a Honone, for Honones were taller than most creatures, about an average nine foot, and it was quite hard to get a home, with every room where the ceiling is at least nine foot. He planed to, of course go back to the North, and into the woods, where his father had once lived, and where most Honones live anyway. Kilovin was a great Oemona, for although he had the wisdom of a Honone, (for he was one) he also had the skills of the Sodacers, and the bravery of a Rarker. Yet he did not get any gratitude for it, so he wished to return to a quiet home in the woods of the North. Suddenly he looked. In the far distance, there was a light. And suddenly the whole of the great forest of Xagane was alight. "Deasater!" he whispered loudly, not wanting to let the Fire humans let them no where they were. "Deasater, wake up!" They quickly were all up, looking around anxiously for a good hide out place. "What ever we must do we must be quiet!" whispered Deasater. "quickly, Nick Joey, Richard, hide in that hollow log. Now!" Nick was tired, and did not want to have to stay in a burning log, while the fire humans search the area rather that to being the same as his father, a black shrivelled body. He ran, as the flame grew ever nearer. Grabbing Joey and , they dived behind a very tall amount of grass, just as the Fire Humans burst through. They quietly crawled into the log, but suddenly Joey sneezed, Nick tried to block the noise with his sleeve, making a fast move in the log, bumped his head, and they started to roll, as instantly the log burst into flames, which could only mean one thing. "We must get out!" yelled Nick "Will be killed by those damn bodies of fire!" cried Joey. "Which would you rather, that, or being slowly suffocated to death, while rolling around constantly, really, really fast!" shouted Nick, although barely being heard, because of all the noise the fire humans were making. But Joey refused to get out, so all they could do was try to roll even faster, so they might just get away from the Fire humans. This was not at all pleasant, for all three of them were getting extremely dizzy, and they came on knocking into things, then slowly sliding off them, gave a chance for the fire humans to catch up. Then suddenly they knocked into something, but did not slide off to the side. They stayed there, so Richard and Nick got out, but Joey wouldn’t come out, so they quickly pushed the log to the side. They looked around, and saw they were facing a huge gate. "Please open, please open" whispered Richard. The Fire Humans drew ever nearer. "Open!" cried Nick "Damn open!" he yelled, clutching his medal. And suddenly, it opened, shining a bright light. He and Richard ran through it, more anxious than ever to get through. In the gate closed as they passed through it, but it still shone. The Fire Humans were about to pass through, for they were made of fire, and could pass through anything, but they were held back, by the shining light. Suddenly there was silence. But it was a creaking of a hollow log rolling over. It was Joey. The Fire humans were about to rush for Joey, But suddenly Deasater came flying through the air, holding Kilovin, and Joey. They came over the gate, and landed smoothly on the ground. And suddenly Deasater took out her own Medal of the sacred order, and said "Solocorarckerata!" and that was the end of the Fire Humans. "What is the writing on this gate, Deasater?" asked Nick curously. "It is a song of the gate, and the land we are now in." "Tell us it." "Okay. But only people of the Sacred Order can read this, you can Nick, but only if you are given the gift by your Medal, which will happen on the day when you were born twenty years ago, so all , make this moment a wise moment. None know this writing, except the Sacred Order. What you are you know, if you read this now: A person of Wisdom and you can pass this border. To pass through the gate, only you, and your relatives are allowed. You have passed through into Hotoa, the land dominated by Dwarves. There is merry feasting, and merry dancing. And this is the cause. Once a spell was cast upon the land by Raesane, for he loved the land, and the spell made every thing merry, and the spell was everlasting. "At last!" said Nick. "We have entered Hotoa!" Chapter 7 A bit of News, a bit of joy beyond your imagination, and a bit of a lift. They walked for an hour, until they came to a little house, in the middle of a field, with no surrounding houses. It was an odd looking house, not suited for Karoma.
Copyright © 2002 Hamish Roberts |