City of Light part 1 (finished rewrite)

The City of Light Jacob Suarez



Dr. Stellar and his pupil James walked through the ancient ruins of Hoth. Circular minarets with golden arches beautified domes, towers, and pyramids. Thin spires of blue diamond rose into the air. They were crowned with crystals of different shapes that glistened like stars in the bright summer sun. The companions walked along the path that was articulately fitted with strange clear stones with silver specks. They came across an old broken fountain that was cracked and made of jade. There they rested briefly and put their packs and supplies on the ground.

“Man, we‘ve been walking for hours ever since we found the ruins on top of this plateau,” said James.

“It has to be here nonetheless,” said Dr. Stellar. “It may take days to find it, but when we do, it will be worth the walking. Time to move on,” finished Stellar.

They left the fountain and trudged on. Soon they saw a grassy grove with lovely daisies, tulips, roses and some flowers they had never seen before. Then in large circular granite paving, was a smaller stone circle. They found what they had been looking for.

“I see the obelisk in the center of that stone circle!” exclaimed James.

“Yes, and I think I see a place for the orb as well,” Stellar put forth.

Both of them ran for the grove with the obelisk in the center. They stepped onto the border of the large circling granite and a burst of green light exploded. Then a wind with the force of a hurricane raged against them.



Dr. Stellar covered both eyes with his arm to shield them from the bright emerald light that obscured most of what was before him. The terrible wind raged violently so that he slid backwards as the sound of it surged into his eardrums. He fell to his knees and his young companion several feet behind him cried out to where he was.

“Dr. Stellar, you have to get to the obelisk before time runs out!” he yelled.

“I’m trying James! I’m afraid the orb will get blown out of my arms! I can barely see the obelisk!”

The light and the wind that came from the obelisk continued to beat down on Stellar and James with harsh vehemence. The wind made it sound as if they were whispering.

“You’ll have to carry the orb to it. I’m carrying too much in my pack and my grip is slipping!”

James inched forward slowly as he slightly lowered his arms at times to peek ahead where Stellar was.

When he reached him, Dr. Stellar passed the orb carefully to James who put it in a large satchel. The young man strove on as he glanced down and felt his way forward. Then the green light and the wind increased just as he was near his objective. James got out a pick with a rope from his light back pack and Dr. Stellar called out to him. “It won’t work! It’s solid granite!”

“I Know, I intend to use the pick on the stone bed around the obelisk just a little further in,” he said. Hear goes nothing he thought. With all his strength, James trudged on. “Just a little further.”

Then with great force, he struck the stone as the pick stuck hard into the ground. He released the long rope that was attached and it blew back to Dr. Stellar.

“Grab on!”

His friend grabbed the rope tightly.

James pulled himself completely onto the rock bed.

“The wind has ceased and the light has vanished! It’s like an eye of a storm.”

Yet Dr. Stellar still seemed to be struggling against both forces as he covered his eyes and pulled hardly on the rope. James took the orb and approached the base of the obelisk where there was a spherical indentation. He placed it within the impression and the light and the wind that was being blasted at Dr. Stellar stopped instantly.

A spiraling portal of soft blue and white haze materialized where the object was inserted. They had completed phase one of the journey. The next stage was simply to pass through the portal. They were at the foot of the obelisk and the last thing they would do before entering, was admire the lush beautiful garden grove. Stellar and James saw that the sun was setting with a wonderful orange red. Their next step would start an exploration into a mysterious place full of wonder.

“That’s okay, I insist. You go first,” Stellar said with a slight tremble in his voice as he stepped back and motioned with his hand for James to go through.

“I’m sure it’s safe,” James said.

Dr. Stellar shook his head as sweat dripped down his right temple. He took a deep breath and ran his hand down his face. “You’re like a child sometimes James. What if we are transported into a dangerous situation?”

“It’s either that or we waste all our effort to find the orb and the obelisk,” answered James.

Dr. Stellar nodded and admitted James’ reason. “Right you are. We’ll have to take the risk.” The doctor closed his eyes, held his breath and went through the portal.

“Wee!” James said as he cannonballed through after Stellar.

The first thing James and Dr. Stellar reacted to was the unbelievable architecture and other details of the realm they were in. The buildings were so tall that they literally rose into the clouds. The clouds were silvery white with sparkling gold dust like specks of precious metal through a glistening river.

“This has to be the fabled City of Light. Just look at everything: it’s just like the descriptions on the temple reliefs,” said Stellar. “But no one is here,” he finished.

“I know, it is strange. Perhaps we will find out why as we explore,” answered James.

The buildings were made of pure precious stones and metals for miles. They walked on searching for a clue of any sort. They strolled into what appeared to be a city square with a circle of fountains.

“Remarkable! The street around the fountains is like glass!” exclaimed James.

“Yes, and it looks like it is at least twenty feet thick,” said Dr. Stellar.

“Doctor, look at the door over there at the base of that tower, it’s glowing. I think it is worth investigating,” said James.

“I agree, perhaps we’ll find some clues to this place,” the doctor answered.

They approached the glowing door. It resonated with the color of amber and was warm as James touched it.

“There is no keyhole, but just a single handle,” said James.

He pulled on the door. It opened easily and within they saw a circular room with a ceiling so high, they could barely see it. There against the wall was a glyph made of purple glass in the shape of a winged being.

“I imagine they used teleportation technology of some sort,” Dr. Stellar answered. “This glass statue must operate the teleporting process.”

James approached the architectural wonder and felt a whim to touch it. Suddenly small spheres of purple light began to revolve around him until he was obscured in them. They coalesced into James body that turned into a single sphere that shot upwards.

“James!”

Dr. Stellar’s eyes were wide and his jaw open.

“It must be safe. Here goes,” said Stellar as he stroked the glyph. Just as James was covered in light and was carried up rapidly, so was the doctor.

Stellar found himself looking at James who had an elated expression. Both were on a balcony overlooking the overwhelming beauty of the City of Light.

“I had no idea the city was so immense!” said James.

“Yes. I still wonder; where are the inhabitants?” mused the doctor.

Both of them noticed another winged statue on the balcony.

“Well, at least we know how to get down,” said James as he and the doctor looked at it.

“Let’s circle around to the other side of the balcony,” said James.

James led the way around and found a long bridge that met a floating island that seemed to be a city all its own.

“That has to have significance. We should investigate this too,” said James.

The bridge was long and it took ten minutes to make it to an archway of white stone with vines wrapped around it. Then Dr. Stellar saw a familiar sight.

“Another obelisk, just like the one on earth.” He said.

“You’re right! Let’s go!”

The doctor caught his arm and cautioned him. “We should proceed with care. Remember what happened when we got near the other obelisk?”

“Good thinking,” said James. “I’m so excited is all.”

They crept inch by inch towards the tall structure. At the slow pace it took half an hour to reach the distance of fifteen yards from the obelisk.

“I believe it is safe to go near it,” said Stellar.

Finally they came to the obelisk. The only difference from the one on Earth, was there was no orb indentation but just writing. James heard the sound of water from behind the obelisk and walked around to find another fountain much taller than the previous one.

“Doctor, you have to see this beautiful fountain,” said James.

James walked back around and saw the doctor breathe heavily with fear glossed eyes as he read the writing.

“The city, the reason for the absence of inhabitants, it’s all explained here! It says that beings called Nepheseers created the city where all higher dimensional beings could congregate. They and their city were perfect and there was no war or suffering. It was a utopia. Then it was tainted when evil beings from a dark realm entered it and waged war on the city. The inhabitants fought back and won but the malevolent presence on the utopia made it impure. It was decided that the city would be destroyed and the beings would be given a new place to gather.”

“When is the city supposed to be destroyed?”

“Three days after the dwellers left,” answered Stellar grimly.

“The city could be demolished at any time!” said James.

Amidst the breathtakingly beautiful architecture of the city, on a hill not too far, they saw a white pillar of light rising into the air. It came from what looked like a Roman Catholic cathedral and was arrayed like a large expansive castle with multiple steeples, high arching entrances and towers.

“Look at that! A beam of light! It just shot up from that castle structure!”

“That can’t mean well. We have to find a way back home,” said Dr. Stellar.

“But how?” asked James.

Then Dr. Stellar tilted his head and veered his eyes.

“I think we’re supposed to get to the source of the light. I just have this strong feeling. It’s like some intuition is speaking to me.”

“I don’t have any objections. But how do we get there?” asked James.

“There must be a glyph like the one we saw at the bottom of the tower.”

James pointed as he exclaimed. “There! I see another statue!-across that other bridge!”

Just as Dr. Stellar was about to speak, there was a slight rumbling beneath them.

“It feels like a tremor,” said James.

The tremor became more powerful. Within minutes it became a quake that knocked them down. The buildings of precious stones began to totter and crack. The crystal surface under them began to fragment and fall in on itself because of the quake. The companions stumbled up and broke out into a full run as the earthquake completely affected the beautiful city. Dr. Stellar and James were being bombarded by falling debris as the buildings crumbled and toppled onto each other causing a domino effect. The cracking and shattering split the air with a resonating sound wreaking havoc on the two human’s ears. They crossed over the bridge that stretched over raging waters.

They made it to the glass statue and touched it simultaneously and they were engulfed in a green ball that shot down to the ground of the city, but they were much closer to the pillar of light and the structure that emitted it. They dropped their packs and supplies and made a mad dash to the castle structure shooting the beam into the air.

“We’re almost there!” Dr. Stellar yelled as shards of metal and jewels fell.

A minute later, they ran through an arched entrance and they saw the source of the light- a circular raised altar with golden fountains around it.

The companions sprinted for the light but were stopped by a fiery whirlwind that appeared between them and the light. The fire faded revealing a shining man with wings. The being spoke in an echoing voice.

“You are forbidden to enter the light for you are flawed and your heart is not yet pure before God.”

Both were speechless in a surreal experience. Greater fear seized them as they pleaded with the glorious creature.

“Forgive us great being, but the city is crumbling and there is no way to get back to Earth. Can you help us?” asked Dr. Stellar.

“I can return you to Earth but you must promise one thing,” said the being as he gave him a silver hammer made with articulate designs, shapes and jewels. “When you return to Earth, destroy the orb with this so none will enter the portal and get trapped in the ruins of the city.”

“We will,” said Stellar as he accepted the golden hammer from the winged being.

The shining creature waved his hand and another spiraling, hazy portal appeared in front of them. They were about to enter, then the doctor asked a curious question. “Will we ever be able to enter this new realm where everyone escaped?”

“You must find the source of the three oracles that exist in your world; the way, the truth, and the life.”

“I don’t understand, what does that mean?”

“Search and you shall find.” With those last words, the shining being disappeared through a whirling flame.

“We have to go doctor! The whole place is caving in!”

He took one last look, and then followed James into the portal.

Immediately they were on Earth at the foot of the obelisk. Dr. Stellar and James saw the orb on the ground under the indentation. The sky was dark-blue and it was now evening. The two friends were recuperating from their dangerous but exhilarating experience.

“What will we do now? The City of Light was your life’s research,” James asked.

“I don’t know. The knowledge of the greatest archaeological discovery will die with us.”

Both looked at the orb and then at the hammer Stellar was holding.

“How unfortunate, I would have hoped to have at least kept the orb as a relic.”

“Me too,” James added. “Let’s get this is over with.”

Stellar, knelt and felt the orb then admired its beauty for the last time. He raised the hammer and prepared to shatter the magnificent object. With one swift down-motion he broke the orb. A dazzling display of sparkles exploded into the air from the scattered orb shards.

“What did he mean?-three oracles?”

“I’m not sure. At least we know there is a way to the new realm that the beings from the City of Light escaped to. Perhaps our adventure is not over after all.”