Sometimes it's good to have a totally random post that has nothing, and I mean nothing to do with AIO. But since this is an Adventures in Odyssey blog, there must be some of it in here. So I must add something. Or should I? Because just above I wrote out AIO. Does that make this post AIO-related? So I won't be sued, here is some AIO news: Album 52 airs in just a few days!!
This is part of a new story I'm working on. This is a section of it, and it starts right after...well, you don't need to know. But, 'I' knows there are other worlds...or that they should exist.
As I walked around, my heart started beating faster. I felt like something was going to happen.
Now, in the books, people normally vanish with music and it’s so dramatic. Or they’re pulled away or everything shifts. This was different.
I had seen this tree before. Quite often in fact. But this time, because my mind was whirling with the facts that Claudia and the rest had told me, it seemed like I was drawn to the tree. And strangely, I’d been here only in my dreams. I found myself walking towards it. This tree was a huge oak tree, around 400 years old, it was said. The roots were massive, and there were several branches. On occasion, I would sit on the lowest branch, but now, I reached it and started climbing all the way to the top. Up, up, up I went.
Soon I was on the highest branch, and I could see to the highway. I smiled, but that strange feeling made me look in a hollow of the tree. It was like magic. It sounds funny unless you’ve experienced it. It feels like something’s calling you oh so softly, yet you can’t hear or see it. And as you walk, you seem to know where you need to go, even if you’ve never been there before.
Suddenly, I found a parchment that was in there. It was old and musty and yellow. It was probably hundreds of years old. Some of the letters were changed, like the f’s and the s’s. I read it out loud slowly, and this is what it said:
If thou art reading this parchment which I hast taken great measures to experience and hide it, it means that thou art one of the chosen to enter this world. What thou art holding is the first and only written documentation, which runs by magic so that those which see it shall be taken to the world of Imaginus. Thou art holding the key to enter this world. The key is in thy hands!
First the birds stopped tweeting, and everything grew quiet and froze. I stopped walking too. But then, it was just like I was watching a photo slideshow, and the ‘forest’ was the picture. It changed to a fancy looking stable, and everything resumed.
There wasn’t much noise now: some wind whistling, an occasional bird cry (which sounded rather different), and trees brushing against other trees. But what caught my eye was the magnificent stable in front of me.
It looked like a castle, but it wasn’t one. There was one huge ground level made out of bricks. The bricks weren’t a sort of red, but a dull yellow that faintly shimmered. Every several yards, there was a tower sticking out of the stable. At the top of each of them stood strange creatures which looked like they had a bird’s head, but the body of a huge feline. Yet somehow, they had a humanoid appearance to them.
My gaze shifted back down to the stable itself. It stretched over a hundred yards, with many, many towers. In fact, I couldn’t see the end! However, there was only one door in sight. And I felt drawn towards it, just like I’d been drawn to the tree. For a moment I hesitated; would the guards come after me? Shrugging, I entered the place.
Inside the stable was much different than the outside. For one, it looked bigger from the inside than it did from the outside. Also, it was even brighter in there than it was when I’d first arrived to...wherever I was. There was nobody in the room to my front, but there were mirrors, tables, closets, and such. It was regal. Very regal. Everything looked like it was made out of gold. And it stretched on and on. There appeared to be nothing in there but all sorts of the things I mentioned.
“Welcome, stranger,” a voice said.
I jumped and turned around, then gasped.
In front of me stood a strange creature. It had a human head, but its body was a stallion. A black stallion with a tail and hooves and everything a normal stallion would have. It was powerful, sleek, and handsome. There were wings that were a pale yellow on the animal’s sides, but they were now folded. My attention was then drawn back to the face. The face was that of a beardless man who appeared to be in his mid-30s, but how could I tell? He looked stern, but at the same time, not angry. Its tail flicked, and I was unsure whether to call this...thing a human or an animal. He or it?
“I am Cylanius one of the few Yertilites still alive,” the Yertilite said with a toss of its head. Because it looked also like a horse, it looked as if Cylanius was tossing his mane.
I nodded. “And I’m Joshua, stranger to this world.”
“I already knew that,” Cylanius told me. “You see, I knew you were coming.”
OK...am I going to play a role here? Because this is so Passages like. Clichéd. Puh-leeze don’t let this happen to me.
The Yertilite smiled, “No, you don’t have to ‘fill in anyone’s shoes’ or do something here.”
He can read my thoughts?!
“Yes, I can read some of your thoughts. Not all though. If it is needed for me to know, The One will let me know what you are thinking.”
Scary. Positively scary. I wonder who The One is.
“Don’t worry; you will get used to it,” Cylanius said. “Please, take a seat.” He gestured with his hoof to behind me.”
Turning around, I saw nothing. For a moment. Suddenly, there was a whiz, and a chair appeared. Interesting...I wonder why he said nothing about who The One is. I bet The One—whoever he or that is—didn’t think he needed to know. Good to know some of my thoughts are still private.
“Are you hungry?” the alien creature asked.
I shook my head; I was still full from eating in my world.
“Perhaps it would be useful for you to know some of our history. Thousands of years ago, there was a Being named The One. He has existed since before time began. He existed before the stars were used to guide us. He was there before the trees grew and the Light came forth. He was always there. The One was, is, and is to come.”
Nice speech about The One. Back to the story?
“Humans are impatient creatures, are they not?”
I made a face.
“Then one day The One decided to make our world—the Imaginus—be created. He created the whole world by molding it into existence. In a matter of minutes it was complete. Everything was good. Then he created the races—Yertilites, Tinfins, See-dians, the blasted Geolarks, and all the others.”
Geolarks?
“You will know soon. Many years have passed since that day. Thousands to be more exact. Bur one day, everything that was good changed, and life was never the same again. There was a group of people from the race Voortmixlla who—”
“Voortmixlla? How come they weren’t banned for having such a weird name?”
Cylanius frowned and paused. When I didn’t speak again, he continued right where he was left off, a peculiar habit. Most people would restart their sentence. “—turned out to cause the most trouble ever. About 1,500 years ago, when the world was over 4,000 years, a Winsloj, a creature with eight legs and one eye, named Dormin was angry with the way The One ran the world.”
“Isn’t Dormin Nimrod spelled backwards?” I queried.
“Yes, it is. Why?”
“Because I know that Nimrod was in the Bible, and Nimrod means rebel. Interesting.”
“Very. What is the Bible?”
“The Bible? Oh. It’s a book written by God through men and was written over a long period of time. It tells us how the world was created, how people lived, and what we should live by. It’s awesome.”
The Yertilite nodded. “I see. As I was saying, Dormin did not like the way The One ran the world. The One made the decisions, and we could talk to him. Dormin revolted and grouped together several people who agreed with him. Demanding a showdown with The One, The One decided to agree to it. He appeared and killed Dormin, but the rest of his groups fled. They vanished for several years, but we heard that they called themselves Geolarks. They have been trying to take over Imaginus for as long as I can remember. And as long as my father, his father, his father can also...even longer.” Shaking his head, he continued, “It’s a pity. We all are truly from one race. We are all Imaginates.” His way of pronouncing the words sounded close to “imagination”.
“Wait, Mr. Cylanius, I was—”
“Cylanius only.”
“OK, Mr.—I mean, Cylanius. Why was your race chosen to be the leader? I mean, you don’t even have any weapons. No offense, I hope.”
“None taken.” He paused for a second. “This may seem like a bit of bragging, but it’s true. Our race was the most looked upon back then. We were the ones who were agreed on unanimously to rule Imaginus. And as for weapons, look.” The Yertilite shut his eyes.
Suddenly, he started to grow. Barely. But he was still growing. His muscles expanded and became firmer, and his eyes started moving to give him 360o view. After that bizarre change, his neck elongated a little bit, then grew out. He was a much bigger Yertilite now. His now-elongated tail grew a spike which could easily impale any human; it was to be feared. His human forehead started to harden, and then a horn started working its way out. At over a foot, it also was very deadly. Finally, the Yertilite’s hooves became much harder, providing extra kick. Suddenly, I felt very...weak.
“Impressive?” the super-creature asked.
“Very. Could you change back?” I said hopefully.
Shrinking rapidly, the hooves became softer, the spike on the tail fell to the ground and vanished, the eyes started moving, the neck de-elongated, the horn just vanished, and you’d have never known the difference. It only took ten seconds max.
“Now, we’re in the midst of another battle. I told you that you’d no part to play. That is still true. However, as we speak, the Geolarks have convinced a few races to help them fight. Namely, Fortesians, Poelvians, and the Markjips.”
More weird names.
“Your earth names are strange. Baker, Johnson, Smith. Very strange. Take your last name. Asmah.”
I stiffened. He smiled.
“The Geolarks, along with the three races, are fighting against the Imaginates, or as you may prefer so that you aren’t confused, all the other races. The Geolarks want control of the world, and while you may think that four races are nothing compared to all of us, that is not true. The Geolarks have invented a new poison which spreads through the camp, weakening the forces. The Fortesians are fast and are almost invisible, allowing them to fly in on us and attack from the air. The Markjips are huge and made up of bulk, and there are over a million different ones of them, fighting us.
“I have been sent here to my royal stable to stay here because of the danger of being killed. The Yertilites are numbered; very few of us remain. In fact, there is a 100 to 1 chance that in two hundred years, Yertilites will be no more.” He paused for a second.
I shuddered. Even though in battle form Cylanius was deadly looking, I still liked him. He was very good.
“As I was saying, I think we need to go and boost the morale of the army, and then leave to go the headquarters of the Geolarks, where the poison is kept. If we—er, I can take it, there will be a chance for us to survive. Are you willing to come with me?”
“Um...I—I guess so,” I stammered.
Instead of him speaking, he was silent.
“Cylanius? Hey, Cyl.” Nothing. Then everything changed and I was back in the forest, on the ground.
Vroom. Claudia drove up and parked her carTVer. Grinning, she got off. “Well, it’s been 10 minutes; did anything happen?”
My mind was still reeling. Would I ever see Cylanius again? Would I return there? What had just happened? “Oh yes, and have I got a story to tell you.”
If anybody made it all the way through...great. Comment, if you wish to.