Golm

Golm - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The sun had set and I woke up. I got off George and dressed in my same clothes. I had sown the many, many rips in them, but I was pretty bad at sewing. It had been nearly a month since Elesia left. So I’ve been training for almost a month with Maurna, Pias, Rorden, Vion, Utof and Chen-glok. I had started to become friends with Pias, he was one of the smaller ones and I guess the easiest to work with of the other warriors. The other warriors and I respected each other and would save each other’s life if we had the chance, but there was no bond like Pias and I. He always asked questions about my world and its wars. He was very interested in how my world always had wars and his didn’t. He said that in many warriors’ lifetime, they wouldn’t even see one battle.
The warriors were there, because Runar needed more power. He could never get people to obey him if he had to do all the bloody work. I’ve asked him if he had ever seen a battle and he shook his head. He said most warriors see no battles or they see one huge battle and they die in it. They never got a steady flow. But he guessed it was better to have peace rather than war, but he’d like a battle. Though he told me that he really wished he were in this one colossal war, that took place at the very birth of Golm. The war dragged on for one hundred years, but finally one day one man…one man won the war. It sounded like it was an intense war, but I don’t think that I’d ever want to be in a war like that. I made up a lie, to cheer him up. He would see a war really soon.
And my friendship with Maurna grew as well. Some of her healing skills completely healed my wounds from the tournament and from training. She was a little easier to joke and get along with then Pias, but her natural behavior and appearance still had some getting used to. She would always be encouraging me to work harder; she believed in me. I also encouraged her to keep going. Her whole race, her body structure, were not meant to be fighters. She always had a hard time keeping solid and frequently needed some water poured on her. Her kind was perfectly able to walk on land for very long periods of time, but weren’t supposed to fight until they collapsed.
Today I suggested we have a holiday and maybe explore around Solwashi or talk to some other Aquasians. The other six agreed with out debate. Vion wanted to meditate for the day. Utof and Chen-glok wanted to explore a few km radius of the pyramid. Pias, Rorden and I wanted to meet some Aquasians. Maurna decided to use this time to catch up on a lot of well needed rest.
I talked to a few people and they were all like Maurna, they had a lot of hope for that one day their suffering would end. The sun started to rise and we began to go inside. I found Maurna inside and I asked if I could get some her limbs, so I could go under water. She asked why and I answered, “I feel relaxed and I want to just swim around freely and think. That’s an opportunity that would be terrible to miss. So Maurna agreed and gave me a copy of her arms, feet, fin, breathing tentacle and some strips of scales to put over my torso to help keep me warm. I thanked her, made a trip to the diving area and dropped in the sphere lake.
The water was a perfect temperature for swimming. Maybe it was just the scales or it was the rejuvenating sun. Its perfect position, just above the horizon, made the entire land a golden red, and from the very high view; it looked breath taking. Though after an hour, curiosity had made me want to check something out. When I left the castle, in the aquifer, there were some hieroglyphics that I wanted to see. So I swam down the long bridge or tunnel of water down to the aquifer. It was lots easier swimming downwards oppose to upwards.
When I finally got down to the cave and reached the beautifully carved tunnel, I saw the hieroglyphics. I treaded the water and carefully scanned the pictures. It amazed me that some of these were thousands of years old and had not been removed by the flowing water. I figured it must have been a special paint or magic that caused it to stay there. The pictures were also very well drawn, despite they being so old. Perhaps the Aquasians were a creative race?
I started from the left. I saw some sort of messed up mass of four colours, red, yellow, blue and green. Then, working my way to the right, I saw four groupings of people, all with blood underneath them. They were all facing some sort of diamond shaped symbol, composed of again, red, blue, yellow, and green, with all colours of equal size and value. Then moving along, it seemed to tell me that there was some sort of massive war amongst these four groups. The war seemed to have taken hundreds of years, because of so many battles and an endless supply of soldiers. Finally it seemed that red had won. The diamond had shaped into some sort of Palm and Claws, with the red being the palm and the small claw being yellow and the two sides being blue and green. These colours and symbols seemed familiar to me…some how.
After this war, I saw despair, but then some dragon like being ended most of the suffering and controlled and organized the chaos that the land and four colours were in, into one functioning society. The dragon seemed to have made a seal of some sort to block the evil and chaos from returning again. The world was in great prosperity.
I could barely keep my mouth closed while figuring out the story. I continued panning across the wall. Hundreds of years had passed and new rulers continued the law, the order and the happiness. Then it seemed like Runar came into the picture and destroyed the happiness, but kept the law and order. Runar stood for the red and tried to weaken the other colours. He sent tail men to the bottom. He enslaved the yellow. He destroyed the blue in one attack, (maybe Runar killed most of the Aquasians). Then all that was drawn was darkness with hope of an approaching light.
I had guessed what these meant and pieced them together. This was some sort of time capsule illustrating really important events. Though I still needed some things answered. Maybe if I got some sleep, I could ask around tomorrow. I swam back and took the bridge to my room. I took off Maurna’s body parts and then my clothes. I got on George and went to sleep.
The next evening I was awakened by a Maurna, knocking on my door. I got out of bed, put on my half damp clothes and answered her call. “Yes I’m here, what do you want?”
Maurna yelled, “Usually you’d be up by now. You must have had a hard time sleeping.”
I scratched my head, looked down and half lied, “Yes. I did have a little trouble. So what’s going on?”
She answered, “Some one has been captured, but the prisoner claims he knows you. He looks familiar, but we can’t seem to get the name. Come and see.” So I finished getting my tail through the hole and I got downstairs. There was a huge crowd surrounding him. I pushed a few people aside and looked. I was filled with joy; it was Channdis!
“Let him go! He’s Channdis!” The Aquasians realized their mistake and quickly released Channdis. They all apologized and Channdis explained that they were just trying to be safe, so he forgave them. I turned to him and told him, “I’m so glad to see you! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
He laughed, “Ah, Herridan my friend. I didn’t need to worry about you. I know that you’ll find your way.” We gave each other a hug and he patted my back. The King Libben came into the room and noticed Channdis.
Libben shouted, “Master Channdis, what an honour having you here with us, what an unexpected surprise. Here I thought the six were to go outside and get to work again, but now we have a guest. We must have a feast!”
Everyone was excited, but seconds after the first cheer, Channdis frowned and turned to me. He gave me stern look and a deep tone to everyone else, “No.” Silence fell over the crowd. “Herridan,” he continued, “We don’t have much time.”
I asked, “For what?”
He answered, “Runar is returning from his search for you. In his travels he has burned down many villages and slaughtered many people in search for you. His impatience, anger and frustration are driving him mad. The worst of Runar has surfaced, his sword is never clean, it’s always dripping with blood.”
“So what is the big hurry?” I asked.
He shook his head and answered, “He’s gone too far this time. He’s killed so many people just looking for you. We have to get to his Castle before he gets there.” I asked why. He explained, “The sword, Herridan. The sword that your supposed mother had crafted to defeat Runar is in his castle. If we sneak in, take it back and you train with it a little, you can end this whole thing.”
I knew that it was the only opportunity I’d get in a long time, so I said, “Yes that sounds like a good idea. We’ll go and get the sword.”
Channdis clapped his hands and shouted, “Great! We leave tomorrow.”
As Channdis walked over to King Libben to talk, every one heard what I said to myself “It’s a shame it has to end so soon really. There are so many missing pieces to this puzzle. It would be a waste to see the picture, but not put it together.” Channdis scratched his head.
Then King Libben suggested something, “Why don’t you see the Grey Sages?” We all snapped and looked at Libben. He explained, “Nearly no one, not even Runar knows the existence or location of the Grey Sages. I know of them from the hundreds of passed down stories, but I still know little. They are sages and they know everything. They say they hear and are every where all the time and pick up everything and piece them together as you just said, Herridan. If you found them and proved to be pure hearted, they could answer all your questions. Even the ones Master Channdis or Dulahin can’t answer.”
I exclaimed, “So all of my life’s questions could be answered just like that?” He nodded. Excitement built up inside of me. My tail curled, coiled and wagged like never before. I settled and I thought what the answers could be with out thinking.
Channdis asked King Libben, “So where can we find these Grey Sages?”
Libben paused and thought. He then said, “If memory serves me right, they can be found in an impossibly shaped structure at the bottom of a hill. This hill I believe is along the Harun Mountains on the side of the Satrun River.”
Channdis though about where it was and pointed out, “That would only be a few hours east of the path to Runar’s castle. Hmm… The sidetrack is a little long, but it’s on the way and it’s certainly worth it. I’m very curious myself. Well Herridan, do you want to want to see the Grey Sages?”
I bounced up and down and answered with a loud, anxious, “YES!”
Channdis told me, “Well if we have to see them, then we must leave now. Grab anything you’ll need and bring your sword, we will encounter some combat at the castle.” As soon as Channdis finished the main door swung open. The five warriors finished a quick scout and were ready to eat, but finished the conversation.
Rorden shouted out, “Well if there’s going to be combat I want to be there!”
Vion added, “Even when Runar isn’t there his Castle is very well guarded, I’ve seen it before.”
Utof yelled, “Yes, I want to see if this training has made me a better fighter.”
Chen-glok and Pias said, “If you’re there Herridan, we might as well be there too.”
Maurna beside me said, “I’m coming too.”
Channdis shook his head, “I know this will be the death of me, but we’ll have to move quickly if we are to beat Runar to his castle.” He clutched his hips and complained, “Oh the day long walk over here was very bad for my old age. Please could some one carry me?”
King Libben suggested, “Why don’t you take my carriage? It can hold ten, so you’ll get there much faster.”
Channdis liked the idea, but pointed out. “No. I appreciate the suggestion King Libben, but there are only so many cleared paths and it would take us longer to get there in the long run. So we’ll have to walk. But maybe I can take one of the horses until we get the rough terrain.” It seemed like a plan to us all. I asked Channdis how long the walk would be. He estimated one day.
In one hour we were ready to go. I got a backpack and filled it with some food and George’s blanket. The others packed along the same lines, but we also brought some bandages and gausses. Channdis brought some GC, but we didn’t see the value of that. Maurna, the five warriors and I also brought our sharpened weapons. Channdis packed the horse with additional supplies. He mounted his horse and walked forward; we followed.
The walk was long and the terrain was tough. We crossed a few streams and we climbed many hills. It began to lightly drizzle rain and we were forced to slosh through some mud. Maurna was having great difficulty traveling with us, but the rain gave her strength to continue. The warriors discussed amongst themselves the high defenses around Runar’s Castle. I talked to Channdis about my experiences with Maurna and at Solwashi. He told me about some of the research he had been doing over the past few days. I really tried to understand what he was talking about, but I really couldn’t get it.
The Harun Mountains were in our sights, but we decided to take a quick break. The spot we picked wasn’t affected too much by the rain and had some fallen trees for us to sit on. I reached out of my backpack and pulled out… a fish and luckily it was already cooked and was preserved, so I ate it right there.
Maurna complained, “Aww… this voyage is unbearable. I’m sure if I had bones, nerves and muscles like you I would have passed out. It’s so hard for me to keep myself solid.”
Utof laughed, “You shouldn’t even bother complaining.” He poured out the rest of the water in his canteen. He said, “If something happens, I’ll just put you in here.” He laughed again.
Chen-glok stood up and told everybody, “I’ll be back. I have to go.” We excused him and he left into a near by patch of trees. He went deeper inside as so no one could see him as he did his business. As he was going, he heard a twig snap. He turned his head to the sound, but saw nothing. He continued, but then he heard some rustling in the pine trees. He turned to the sound again, still nothing. He picked up his sword and buttoned his pants. He took a few steps, each one hearing the crunch of the leaves beneath him. He stopped walking, but he heard one more crunch. He turned back to the trees, but before he could get his massive sword ready, something leaped out of the trees and attacked him.
The beast had already brought the big man down and was biting his neck. Chen-glok’s sword was flung meters from his reach and all he could do was try and fight the fiend and cry for help. The cries were useless. Chen-glok was too far away for them to hear him. The monster was tearing away at his neck. The beast snarled, shrieked and growled and it feasted on Chen-glok. The monster had long razor sharp claws, in a triangular form, completely jammed into his flesh. He tried to grab the creature and pull it off, but the ripping of his body from the claws hurt too much and the beast had another set of arms strictly used for pushing the victim’s dying hands away. He just kept trying to push the fiend’s teeth out of his neck.
Rorden at our grouping pointed out to us, “He’s been gone for a while. I’m sure it doesn’t take that long for him to piss.”
Vion replied, “He’s probably going the other way, knowing how much he eats.”
The creature continued to eat away at his neck, but started to move down to his beefy chest. Chen-glok looked for his sword and spotted it. He endured the pain and pushed himself towards his sword. The demon saw his plan and acted quickly, so he could continue its meal. It had a snake-like tail with a razor tip, which it jabbed right into Chen-glok’s left thigh. He let out a huge cry of pain as the blood literally spewed from his leg.
I stood up and said, “I think I heard something. No one could take that long. He’s probably in trouble.” I put on my holster with my sword in it and began to walk in the direction Chen-glok left.
Vion said to me as I left, “He probably has a lot of gas, get back here!”
I ignored him. Vion was just an old fool. Only after a short distance, I saw down a hill and in the trees, I faintly saw something attacking Chen-glok. I did what my instincts told me, I turned around a shouted at the top of my lungs, “Get over here! He’s being attacked!”
I ran to the scene. The monster that was attacking him was at least four feet long and had fuzzy orange hair. It might have been cute if it wasn’t killing him. I pulled out my sword and swiped the dirty thing’s head off. Chen-glok let out a scream as he pulled out the attached claws and tail. He was a bloody mess. His body armor had been completely eaten through and I could see many parts of his muscle and bone.
The others arrived at the scene and we helped Chen-glok to his feet. Pias soon asked, “What the hell happened here?” Chen-glok tried to catch his breath, but he could barely breathe. He tried to talk, but every word he tried to speak, some blood oozed from his throat. It wasn’t a pretty sight. He was a tough man, but with all his wounds, he probably had a few hours to live. Though our only hope was that the bandages could keep him alive long enough by the time we get to the Grey Sages, perhaps they could help.
I asked Channdis, “The Grey Sages can heal him right?”
Channdis shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine, Herridan.”
I tried to ask him, “Can you walk Chen-glok? Nod your head if you think you can walk.” It was no use. He was out cold. We guessed that we’d have to put him on the horse and two people would have to balance him. Rorden and Pias took him to our resting point, but the rest of us stayed and looked at the creature for a few seconds. Then right out of the green, another one leapt out right at me! In the panic, I swung my sword and chopped it in two. All it’s insides blasted in my face. We made a mental note… those things traveled in pairs.
We were soon on our way. Now to be safe, some of us were ready for any attack against us. We continued walking at a much quicker pace than before. We didn’t want to loose our ally and friend. We occasionally stopped to see if he was ok. Since I was the only one who knew about pulse points, I had to check them. His pulse was getting weaker, but he just had to hang on a few more hours. All we could do was walk and keep pressure on his bandages.
Over four hours had passed since his accident. His face had become pale and his breathing was next to nothing. Then we saw it, the hill beside the mountain with an impossibly shaped structure underneath. The structure had with and could hold people inside, but the shape, sides, edges, vertices, angles did not make any sense! I couldn’t even describe it; don’t bother asking.
When we came closer to the door a voice echoed in our heads. It said, “Who seeks us?”
I stepped forward and answered, “Um… Herridan, the uh… magical tail man guy.”
It replied, “Ah, yes! The one named Herridan. Please, step closer to the door.” We all began to walk to the door, but the voice boomed, “Only one shall enter!” Every one looked at me, knowing I was the one who should enter. I walked forward a bit, but turned back and remembered Chen-glok.
I said to the voice, “Please, before I go, our friend is critically wounded and he will die any minute now. Can you please help him!”
“You must first complete your first task, before you complete another.” It answered.
I complained, “He’s going to die! Please help him!”
It asked, “Well then. What is more important, your friend or the many questions you seek to get answered?”
That was an unfair question, so asked, “Why can’t we have both?”
The voice answered, “In order for both tasks to be complete, your main quest would result in failure.”
I saw the problem. I asked, “Would you happen to have anything that could heal him quickly?”
There was a pause. “Yes we would.” It answered, “The tonic will only kill the pain and seal the wounds. Anything else is up to the user.”
I sprang from my desperate sate, “PLEASE give it to me!”
“Only when your first task is complete.”
I shook my first, but I accepted the deal. I turned to everybody. Pias told me, “Don’t be too long. Just imagine it was me hurt.”
Channdis wished me luck. Every one else waited patiently. I walked to the door and I touched it. I then, some how, got transported to some dark room. I took a more thorough look around. Then it hit me. I was in the same room I was in, in my dream! The dream I had in my coma, about six years ago. The tables, the doors, the windows, that bucket and the rack that I was placed on. The remembrance of the pain sent chills down my spine.
I said, “hello?”
Surely enough the voice returned my call, “Greetings.” It was still a voice in my head still, but I knew that the thing creating the voice was in this room. The room was still dark, but I heard a candle being lit. Again I freaked, the shadowy figure of the thing, was the same person who was in my dream. He actually spoke and came closer. He said, in his deep, soul shattering voice, “Would you like some Coke?” I wouldn’t have believed him if he hadn’t of handed me, an ice cold Coca-Cola, 355 ml of course. My mouth dropped as he also flicked a light switch and light bulbs turned on. There were leather couches, a glass coffee table and a colour TV.
I asked, “How could you get this stuff?”
He came closer into the light and I got a clear picture of him. He told me, “Try and guess.” So I tried to think, but once I saw what he looked like, I became clearer.
I stuttered it out and pointed to him, “You’re a ‘Grey’!” It was obvious. The large black eyes pointing downwards, the grey skin, the large upside down drop shaped head, the small, narrow mouth; it was clearly a Grey. I asked him, “You’re a Grey, but aren’t you aliens from Mars or something?”
He shook his head. He explained to me, “The fewer questions you ask, the better the chances of your friends survival. Please sit down and I will invite my comrades and we will discuss your dilemma.”
He left and I sat down on a recliner La-Z-boy chair. I opened my Coke and I took a sip. The fizz and the sugary taste was so powerful from what I had gotten used to, I spit it out. My eyes watered and I gasped. I looked at it again and I took another gulp. I smiled; it had been so long since I had one of these. I put it in the cup holder slot in my chair. I pulled back the lever and I lay back in great comfort, but not as comfy as George.
He returned with two of his friends and they sat down. The one that I first met said to me, “You may call me B. My friends here are C and D.”
I told him, “Well I guess you already know, that I am seeking answers about my past. I really have no idea where to start, there’s just so many answers I have to know.”
C raised his small, little hand to silence me. He said, “If you don’t know where to begin, then I shall start at the beginning.” This was my story through his words…
“Most of that ancient prophecy about you is true, but it’s not complete. When Kridden went through the Tolken door she was transported 500 years into the future and into your world. The gate is not only a door to a new world, but a time travelling device. Backwards 500 years from there to here and forwards 500 years from here to there. That’s why everything is medieval to you. Anyway when she entered your world, she was on an island in the middle of a huge lake. She waited for days, but the island had no food on it. She starved to death, but she breast fed the baby to keep it alive. A few hours pasted after her death and a native group on a canoe paddled to the sound of the crying baby. They took the baby, from the dead mother and nursed it at their tribe.
“The baby had become a young man of 17. He was a destructive man. He was always into fights with the natives, he would never do any of the ancient rituals, and he would sit there always, with a tortured face. One day he grew a tail and with the tail, he saw messages and questions infest his thoughts. He didn’t know what they meant, but he knew he had to leave. So he left one day and the natives didn’t even notice.
“He traveled for months and finally reached a pioneer village. He stayed there and got married. He liked it better, because he could drink alcohol and use guns. He had a son and that son grew a tail and left the town and traveled again. The process continued two more times and then the tail never grew on the off springs.
“Then in the fall of 1959, your father was born. His name was Frank. He grew up in a very poor district of a large city. He spent his free time doing crime, getting into fights and sitting at home, smoking his life away. When he was 24 he married a rich, Hungarian immigrant woman, named Sheena. She couldn’t speak English very well and neither could your father. He would sit in their thrift home, with two rooms, all day, while she worked. Though Sheena had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, Frank couldn’t stand the rich living and Sheena did what he wanted. So they lived alone, earning all this money that the didn’t use.
“Then the parents you know, John and Fiona moved into the neighborhood and they struggled to get food on the table. They were always trying to get your parent’s money. One day, a fall afternoon, in 1985, Frank, and Sheena (who was 9 months pregnant) took a walk along a city sidewalk. John was walking the same path to go and buy some cigarettes at a corner store. While your parents were walking, a drunken man, speeding in his car was driving recklessly behind them. They heard the swerving and screeching behind them, so they walked closer to the buildings and away from the street, as they continued to walk. Though it was to no prevail. The man had a pistol and was picking off the odd person along the road as he drove. He shot your father in the head twice and got your mother in the thigh and her chest. Your father died instantly, but your mother was still alive.
“John was still walking to the store when he came across your mother, a bloody mess, and your father, dead. He ran up to Sheena and saw that she was dying and he also heard that she was due to give birth any day. He thought for a second and saw the golden opportunity of saving and rich woman’s life and her unborn child’s life. He picked her up and ran to the nearest payphone. After he phoned the ambulance, they were over and carrying him and your mother. At the hospital they treated her wounds, but she was too infected to live very long. She was in bed when she told the doctor, that she was ready for the baby. John, your mother, a news reporter and a few doctors were in the delivery room. You were born that day, from a bloody mother who had been a widow for only a few hours. The strength that it took to give birth to you, put your mother in a critical state.
“One of the doctors asked, ‘who’s going to have the baby?’ She rose from her bed and spoke as well as English as she could, ‘Peeze take me cheld John. You were so brave to heelp me, when me little one was still to be bern. Peeze wite dis down. Fer every monf you have him, duh bank vill give you a fousind dollar ($1 000). Peeze not make him go, he special, peeze take good care.’ The doctor handed the baby to John and he asked, ‘What is his name?’ She closed her eyes and sank back in her bed. She whispered, “Herridan.” She died. John looked at you and smiled. He saw a big sack of money in his hands. After all the legal registrations were made, he left and went home.”
I leapt from my chair and shook my fist, “That piece of shit! He didn’t like me, I knew that, but he kept me for a thousand dollar check every month! What a greedy shit!” I turned to one of the Greys and asked, “What did Fiona say about me?”
D answered, “She saw a cute money sack.”
I asked them, “Did they ever love me?”
B answered, “We can only tell what’s on the outside. In John’s case it was obvious, but usually the mind is not our business.”
I started to get suspicious of these guys, so I asked a question to prove them, “I don’t buy it. If you know everything, then prove it. What was my 2nd grade, 3rd substitute teacher’s son’s girlfriend’s middle name?” I knew the answer, because I remember asking that to the teacher to annoy her. She always made a funny donkey like sound whenever she was annoyed, so Chuck and I always annoyed her. She was only teaching our class for a week before she left.
B easily answered, “Marina. First name Kathy, last name Hepburn. She married Ms. Lawson’s son, Trevor in 1997. She graduated at Waterloo University with a 75.245% average in Family Resources. She is now 6 months pregnant and is living in an apartment building in Windsor. Her bed is blue. Is that proof enough?” I nodded slowly, thinking that knowing this much could be bad for your health.
I regained my faith in their abilities and I relaxed again in my chair. B asked me, “Is that all you’ve come for? Are all your questions answered or are there more?”
He snapped me awake from my thoughts and I answered, “Oh no! There’s many more!” I sat up, “Ok then, do you know anything about my coma?”
They nodded. C explained, “Your coma that you had after your snowboarding crash? The shadowy figure in your dream was B here and you were in this room.”
I asked, “If all my ancestors lost their tails and wills to be heroes by the third generation, how come I have a tail? How come Kridden’s magic worked on me and not my father or my grandfather and so on?”
B answered again, “Genetics are a fabulous thing in my opinion. DNA is the thing that separates or brings every thing together. You do know that the human body has billions of neuclioties and many of those ties aren’t used?” I didn’t go to many of my science classes, but I somewhat knew what he was talking about. So I urged him to explain.
He took a deep breath and told me, “You are not a human.” I didn’t really believe him at first, but he continued. “Not genetically I mean. See you’re not really human, you’re more of a Golan. But still you aren’t a Golan either.” I was getting confused. He explained further, “Your family began with two, strong and brave Golans. They were as Golan as you could get. As your family tree branched you became more and more human, it distorted things.” I said to him, “I see that, but really why did I have to go through all that pain?”
D told me, “We knew this time was coming. Runar had to be stopped and the only one left to stop him was your family tree. Though your families weren’t living up to what they could be and they were becoming more human. If someone didn’t stand out soon, Runar could destroy both worlds! Though finally you came into the situation. You were raised in a family of struggle, which we’re experiencing now. You also were raised in a family and age of violence, so much that it started to awaken your dormant genes in your blood. With a coma and a rebellion, the fit seemed perfect. We came into your dream and awakened your sleeping genes. The pain, as you might have guessed, was a drastic mutation which changed your entire specie.”
While my mouth was dropped and I was accepting every thing, the others added, “That’s why you’re so different from the rest of us. You are the first ever mix of the species; you have the physical and mental instincts of a great Golan warrior, but at the same time have the unpredictable and rebellious personality of a human. You are Herridan, the savior!”
After I heard that, I stared at the natural gas fireplace with glazed over eyes. My entire life was a mystery. Despite all my attempts to solve it, I only added to it. But now in mere minutes, it became so clear. My whole life I was a walking alien. My whole life John and Fiona were saving Golm, the heroes! My whole life… was the final chapter of a book, which should have ended long ago. I knew what I had must do. I had to take back my ancestor’s sword and finish her husband’s job. I had to save Golm. But from what? Not just Runar…
I asked, “I might have figured it out, but Runar is up to something. I don’t know what it is, but why should I stop him? What do I have to fix?”
B slowed me down and explained, “I can’t really tell. We can only speak of the past and of only your world, so we are useless in that field. Our guess is that he is preparing an attack on your world some how. But he can only do that if that War of the Elements occurred again, but that’s foolishness. If you want it explained further, we can only recommend your friend Channdis. He’s almost as wise about Golm as we are about Earth.”
I stood up and said, “I don’t have anymore questions, but can you help our friend Chen-glok?”
D nodded, “Yes, I forgot. Here take these to him. I hope you know how to use them.” He reached into a bag and pulled out a small First-Aid container. He threw it to me. I caught the supplies.
I stretched and a nasty crick in a couple of disks in my tail hurt, because there was no hole for me to put it through. I remembered a question I wondered, when I lived on the streets after my escape from the hospital. I asked them, “How long is my tail supposed to keep growing? I mean it’s been growing at a millimeter a day for almost six years now and it’s getting too long. The extra length is better than less length, but do you know how much it hurts getting stepped on or crushed in a door?”
They huddled for a while and explained, “That is the question we didn’t want to hear… or was it the answer we didn’t want to give? Any way, your tail could be the tail of Golm I guess, but there is supposed to be some sort of sign.”
“Sign?”
“Yes, some sort of trigger will stop the growth and give you the strength to defeat Runar.”
I grabbed my empty Coke can with my tail and crushed it. I thought to myself, “I always knew it was special.”
The Greys said to me, “We don’t think you have the tail for the job.”
I hurled the crushed can across the room. I shouted, “What do you mean I don’t have the tail for the job?”
B answered, “We think the sword that was crafted by Kridden is a tail sword and its true power can only be unleashed if it’s on the right tail.” I began to get angry. They finished, “We don’t see the sign on you or your tail any where, so you aren’t the Hero, you’re just another attempt to stop Runar.”
I got furious. “Attempt!” I shouted. “Attempt you say! I’ll show you an attempt.” I walked to the door and I said, “Thanks for the medicine and just you watch me kill that Runar freak!” I stepped into the transporter and returned to my friends.
They were all sitting down, waiting for me. I smiled and said to them, “Now I know who I am. It was a good idea to come here.”
Channdis rose and asked, “Do you have the healing items?”
I nodded and assured them that I had them. I showed them the container and I opened it. Inside was a bottle of aspirin, rubbing alcohol, some healing ointment and a few bandages. I popped my eyebrows and muttered to myself, “Chen-glok is going to have to really want to live.” I walked over to Chen-glok and I rubbed the alcohol on his many wounds. The sudden explosion of pain awoken him and he was screaming.
Utof yelled at me, “I thought this was to ease the pain, not make more.”
I yelled back while I rubbed it in, “This is to clean his wounds! The thing that kills the most, is infected wounds, not just wounds.”
After I cleaned his injuries, I rubbed the healing ointments and those hurt him more. Then I put on the bandages. Finally I told him to swallow and not to chew four pills. (He needed four because he was in lots of pain and he sort of weighed 400lbs of brute muscle.) He thanked me for the treatment I gave him, because lots of the pain had gone away. He stood up and grabbed his sword.
He said, “I thank you for your deed, but we must be on our way.” We all agreed and we headed towards more mountains.