Evermoore: Chapter 15, pt 2

Continued from part 1

The others stood still, the fierce looks wiped clean from Shay and Corindra, and replaced with nervous eyes, and straight postures. Sirius sat stiffly on his hind legs, his head hunched between his shoulders as Jorumangar’s fiery eyes fell upon him.

“It is good to see you again, Sirius,” Jorumangar said. “Especially in your proper state.”

Sirius’s head shot up from between his shoulders, his eyes wide and his ears pointed straight up. “My proper…” he said with a stammer and a stutter. “You mean…”

“He’s the one who took us to Earth,” Fayth said, first to Sirius. Then to Jorumangar, “I’ve seen you in my dreams, but you were a Dragon…”

“And a Dragon I still am,” Jorumangar said. “I choose this form hoping to turn you away. But you have not been deceived, therefore I shall no longer hold this deception for you.”

As he finished, the whites of his fiery eyes disappeared behind an ominous glow. Turning bright red, they stood against the swirling souls of blue like fiery rubies. It spread from his eyes throughout the rest of him, until he shined brightly enough to cast away the blue. The old man who had approached them faded into a dark shape, then began to grow.

The lost souls drifting aimlessly throughout the blue scattered like minnows as stranger began to take shape. He towered over them; his garments tore away, revealing a coat of shinning golden scales which covered his massive body. His legs grew long and thick, with three sharp claws protruding from the ends of his feet. His torso wretched and twisted, shaping itself into a long thick mass which rested upon his four legs. His neck rose high above them before coming into his head, which had become a long snout and fierce maw, lined with thousands of white teeth, and a slithering forked tongue.

As his transformation neared its end, he lifted himself onto his hind legs and bellowed. Flame spouted forth from his maw, scattering the souls drifting above him. Fayth and Shay both covered their ears and turned away to shield their eyes. Corindra and Sirius buried their head beneath them. Then, they heard the sounds of great wings flapping, followed by a cool burst of wind.

Slowly, Fayth uncovered her ears, and opened her eyes. Turning, she saw Jorumangar’s transformation had completed. As he landed on squarely on his front two legs, she show smoke curl from his nostrils resting atop his maw, and his fiery eyes gazing upon them once more.

Her heart raced, both in awe and fear, as she recognized him as the dragon from her dreams.

Sirius stepped up beside her. “Now that is what one expects when they think of a Dragon.”

Shay and Corindra stood back. Fayth could hear their slow and shaking breathing as they were unable to take their eyes off him. Remembering her dream, Fayth slowly stepped forward. Slowly and carefully, trying with great effort to still her shaking arm, she reached towards the Great Dragon, as she had seen her mother do in her dream.

Jorumangar lowered his maw to meet her hand, his fiery eyes turning soft as he did. Her chest loosened, and her arm became still, as she placed her hand upon his cheek. He closed his eyes and breathed softly, and she embraced him as her mother had.

“You have grown into a gentle and caring being, young Fayth,” Jorumangar said, smiling as she performed the familiar gesture. “Your mother’s spirit shines brightly within you.”

“So you are the Dragon from my dreams,” she said. “The one who took Sirius and I to Earth.”

He nodded. “When I last saw you, you were but a babe, and your mother had entrusted you to me. She asked that I take you someplace safe, where you could be free from the threat of the Darkness. Your dreams are not dreams at all, but memories. Memories which buried themselves deep within you, as the world I brought you too has long forgotten the old stories of Dragons, Elves, and Unicorns.” He smiled then, warmly, erasing the fierce image he had wore and replacing it with something gentle and kind. “Though I notice you always took an interest in old stories. Perhaps the heart does not forget as easily as the mind.”

Fayth found herself smiling then, too, as if her were an old friend. There had been several dreams where Jorumangar had appeared. A loyal and stout friend to her mother and father, he never seemed fierce when he was in their presence.

Yet here, though he was the same as in her dreams, he appeared differently not. Beneath his fiery eyes hung dark and heavy circles, causing his eyes too appear long and weary. Streaks of silver and grey lined his crimson and gold mane. And his legs, though thick and powerful, had patches of scales hanging from them. These told Fayth how much time had passed since she and Sirius had been taken from Evermoore. But there were other differences as well.

Scars, large and small, thick and thin, were spread throughout his scales. She could see them running along his chest and back. These appeared to be made from deep gashes and wounds. There were other scars as well, running along his legs and tale. However, these were flat surfaces where his scales could no longer grow, caused by burns.

These did not cause Fayth to feel much sorrow, as they were the markings of battles and war, of which she was sure even the Dragon would not seek pity. However, there was one aspect of his self which was maimed so badly, she could hardly bring herself to look upon them.

His wings.

The Great Golden Dragon from her dreams had a wingspan as wide as he was tall; capable of creating harsh winds with a single flap, and carrying himself across great distances as speeds faster than the winds. But his wings now were nothing of the sort. They appeared haggard, ripped, and torn. Scars were scattered across them, from both wounds and burns. They hung against his sides awkwardly, as if they had been broken once, and not healed properly. He opened them slightly once he and Fayth finished their embrace, and Fayth could see they were discolored beneath as well.

But her thoughts were taken from his wings and Sirius stepped forward then. He looked at the great Dragon as Fayth had, a mix of awe and hope. “So you were there,” he said. “When the Silver City fell?”

Jorumangar nodded. “I was, old friend, as were you. Though as you know, you were wounded, and made to forget that which led to the fall of the Silver City.”

“Yes,” Sirius said, lowering his head. “I know that now.” Absently, he looked into the distance, before turning back abruptly. “When you decided to take us to Earth, did you know I would be reduced to a mere cat?”

Jorumangar shook his head, slowly. “The Lady Abatha trusted you would follow and watch over Fayth wherever she may journey. She knew of your love for her, and for Fayth. She did not choose the destination for me, for I believed she did not want to know less she be made to tell. I choose Earth, for I knew Fayth could hide amongst the other humans.

“But I did not foresee the state both of you would be reduced to until I brought you through the Crossroads,” he continued. “For Earth is a mortal world, and as such, only the echoes of your true selves would be reflected within it.

“There are many worlds where Humans can be found, both real and imagined, but Earth is hidden in a far corner of the cosmos, forgotten by many of the celestials. It was paradise, much like Evermoore, long ago. But the taint of the Darkness can be found everywhere now, growing from the inside out. As is it’s way, it slowly seeped into the hearts and minds of those on Earth, and now it has become filled with mongrels and barbarians; neighbor often pitted against neighbor, brother against brother, son against father.”

“Then why did you choose to bring her to a place of such wretchedness?” Corindra asked.

Jorumangar lifted himself and stood tall, causing Fayth to take a few steps back as he towered over them. “Because she has been hunted her ever since the Silver City fell. I took her to Earth because she would be hidden well in a world so far away from Evermoore, and already touched by Darkness. Amongst the echoes of her own kind, I knew she would be safe; safe from those who hunt her, and with the light to shield her from Darkness growing within her.”

“And…you watched me?” Fayth asked.

He nodded solemnly. “I am the Watcher and the Keeper now. Like those who held the Tome before I, I watch over all that happens in the cosmos. Though I kept a closer watch on you. I often thought of my decision with regret, especially while you endured your most difficult times. Yet the Darkness could not find you, nor do I believe you would have ever fallen to it.”

He turned to Shay then, rising his upper lip and showing a long row of white jagged teeth. “And Lady Abatha‘s wish would have been fulfilled,” he said. Anger seeped into his voice then, and smoke began to curl from his nostrils.

Shay‘s cat like eyes narrowed. “You speak as though I brought her here out of folly,” he said sharply. “You watched as I searched for her…”

“Hoping you would never find her!”

“Yet it was I who saved her from the Darkness…”

“You led it to her!” Jorumangar roared, lifting himself onto his hind legs. Shay and Fayth had to cover their ears, while Sirius and Corindra winced and hunched their shoulders. “It was her mother’s dying wish that her child be spared and allowed to live a full life,” Jorumangar continued, towering over Shay and aiming his fiery red eyes at him. “Too see Fayth taken away from this folly, this madness.”

Corindra stamped her hooves and snorted loudly. “What folly?!” she shouted. “What madness?!”

Shay joined the shouting. “The Darkness would have found her one way or another. I brought her home, where she could best face the Darkness.”

“You forget your place, elfling. Her own mother gave her to me! To hide her, to let her life a normal life. Do you presume to take the place of her mother?”

“No, but he presumes to save Evermoore, and all of us,” Corindra said.

The shouting continued. It was as if she were on Earth again. There were many times when Fayth was forced to sit in an old and musty waiting room, while adults spoke to each other behind closed doors. They would speak on her behalf, deciding what was good for her and thinking they knew best. If there were disagreements, the talking would turn to shouting. On and on it would go, until one finally relented, giving the other their way. The one who relented was usually just tired of arguing, and the who did not was usually just more stubborn. Never once did anyone bother to ask what she thought.

She had grown up on Earth, among humans just like herself. Yet throughout all the years, she had always sensed she was different. She could never place it, exactly, often settling the matter in her mind on a day to day basis on the obvious; she was an orphan, she was plain, she had violet eyes. Never once had she felt apart of their world, never once felt she had a part to play in Earth’s story. And so with each argument made over her future, each decision made for her, she would hoped a path would finally be revealed for her.

Her fists suddenly clenched. Staring out into the blue, the shouting of the three still echoing in her mind, she narrowed her eyes, tensed her jaw.

“My intentions were nothing but noble,” Shay shouted.

“Your intentions were mired in nothing but self interested,” Jorumangar retorted.

“Oh yes, saving our world, as well as yours,” Corindra snorted. “Such a selfish creature he is. I’m sure he clung to that selfishness when everyone was scorning and laughing at him.”

“It is not the fate of the elves or the unicorns to decide the fate of the Humans,” Jorumangar retorted.

They continued on, with Sirius sitting in the middle beside Fayth, his eyes moving awkwardly to each one as they spoke.

Fayth felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Once again, there were people shouting and arguing over what was best for her. Shay brought her to Evermoore in hopes she could restore the Light of Love. Now, Jorumangar was saying he should have left her be on Earth. She thought back on her journey so far, and cursed herself upon realizing she had stepped into the same pattern.

She had taken Shay’s hand, in the Library, to escape the Darkness. She did not know where he intended to take her, so why did she follow? The answer stung. I was hoping yet again, that a path would reveal itself to me.

With each leg of their journey, she had followed without protest or question. She had allowed herself to be led, trusting the others knew the destination, and hoping a path would reveal itself. Hoping she‘d find a place where she belonged, a part in the story. But they’re just figuring this out as they go.

It was all she could take.

She turned to face them once more. Their arguing continued, and none had even paused to see she had turned away. Taking a slow, deliberate, deep breath, she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Stop it!”

Silence suddenly rang through the blue. They had each stopped, Shay hanging his mouth open since he was in disentrance. Corindra peeked at her from the corner of her eyes, and Jorumangar shifted his fiery eyes towards her. Sirius seemed the only one not alarmed, as he merely shifted his eyes from the others to her.

She stepped forward, and took a turn to glare at each of them, her eyes falling upon Jorumangar last. “You know why we came here,” she said. “You also said you know the questions we want answered. Right?”

His lips flapped at first, but then with a shake of his main he regained his composure. “Indeed, Lady Fayth. But as I have said, they are not the answers you…”

“I don’t care if you think I want to hear them or not! I want to know the truth, all of it. I want to know why my mother sent me away to another world, and not to live with another race on Evermoore. I want to know how the Darkness came to be. I want to know how you became the Watcher and the Keeper. But most of all, I want to know how the Silver City fell, and what happened to my people!”

She finished speaking, but her eyes remained firmly upon him. The companions all looked to Jorumangar as well, but none looked as though they wished to speak. Jorumangar looked from Fayth to each of the companions, before coming back to her, and sighing regretfully.

“Very well,” he said. “I will show you where to find the answers you seek. All of the answers, even to ones you have not thought to ask yet.”

His cast his fiery eyes down at Fayth, and nodded slightly.

“The Tome of the Watcher and the Keeper,” he said. “You will find your answers there, for all that has happened has been recorded in the Tome, as it has been witnessed and observed.”

Fayth titled her head. “What tome…” but she stopped as something suddenly appeared in her arms. Looking down, she was startled to see it was the Tome Jorumangar had carried when he appeared to them as a man. It was thick, bound in black leather, and appeared old and ancient, yet still light in her hands. Without thinking, her right hand gently caressed the black leather cover.

Her hand drifted lightly over the old worn leather cover. It was as black as the Muse’s from the Tower of the Avatars, and easily as old. It had a distinct smell, the smell that accompanies and old and well worn book. It was a scent familiar to her, as it often accompanied the books where her favorite stories were contained. Normally, she would feel a childish giddiness whenever she was about to open an old and worn book. But this isn’t normal. Or perhaps it is, and I’m taking it too seriously. Awkwardly she asked, “Which page?”

“The beginning,” Jorumangar replied.

Lifting the cover, it revealed an empty page. To her curiosity, Fayth was not surprised. But as binding settled, revealing the page in full, the River of Souls suddenly parted, and the cosmos became a blur of light. The suns extinguished like a flame blown out. The pale light of moons faded into nothing. Shadows descending upon the surface of the worlds. And the stars became one with the blackness of space.

Startled, the companions all spun around. Looking in every direction, only to find nothing. “What happened?” Shay demanded.

“Indeed, where did it all go?” Sirius added.

“An illusion or trick,” Corindra spat. “Just as their appearance was in the first place. Tell us, Dragon, where are we, and what is your intention with us?”

The Dragon eyed her ominously, his forked tongue flickering lightly between his sharp teeth. “You are at the beginning,” he replied simply. “Before the first words were scrawled into the Tome. Before the sun and the moons. Before the planets and the stars. Before the worlds, both real and imagined, took their places upon the celestial canvas.

“This is the time before Evermoore. Before the everlasting war began. Before the Light and the Darkness began their constant struggle, creating the force which swings the Pendulum. This is the time before change marked the passage of time.”

Fayth gazed out into the distance. The souls had vanished, as well as their voices. In fact, everything had vanished. There was nothing to be heard, nothing to be seen, or felt, or smelt. There was simply nothing.

“It’s so, empty,” Fayth said, airily. The nothing was vast, and it seemed to stretch on into eternity. “Yet kind of, I don‘t know, peaceful, I guess.”

The others gazed into the distance as well, their tensions, fear, and wariness fading.

“I say, is this that primordial chaos everyone has been going on about?” Sirius asked.

Jorumangar nodded.

“Then we really are at the beginning,” Shay said. “The beginning of…everything.”

“In a way,” Jorumangar said. “Though we are here merely as observers, and we shall watch what unfolds as it happened. For everything that has happened is recorded in the Tome of the Watchers and Keepers.” He craned his neck behind him, then squared his massive body in the same direction. “Look now,” he said, “for here comes the moment where it all began.”

Their eyes were met with a burst of light. It came from the nothing, bursting forth with brilliant light, but without a sound. It was bright, so bright she had to cover her eyes and look away as it filled her view. The others did the same; all but Jorumangar, whose eyes never left the place where the light had burst forth.

The light faded moments later, or so it seemed. Uncovered her eyes, Fayth squinted and stared into the light which had subsided, and pulsed steadily. She was looked for the source of the light, and as her eyes adjusted, it revealed itself to her. A large mass appeared in the middle of the nothing, the light pulsing forth from it. Its rays expanded as far as she could see out into the nothing.

“Evermoore,” she said.

Sirius, standing beside her, stared at the mass with his mouth hung slightly open. “I say it is. Look there, it looks so…so...”

“Young,” Shay said.

“Beautiful,” Corindra added.

“Evermoore it is,” Jorumangar said. “The birthplace of the light, and life itself. But we mustn’t linger long,” he said. He lifted his neck, and his tattered wings spread. “There is much more yet to see, and to understand.”

He flapped his wings. The sound echoed far into the nothing, startling Fayth slightly. But she recovered quickly as they began to drift. They drifted across the nothing of the cosmos, drifting closer to the mass, closer to Evermoore. As they drew near, the light grew brighter and the warmth warmer. Faint scents filled her nose, becoming more potent as they drew near. Then there came songs, songs without words, but only emotions, singing sweetly in praise and innocence. Fayth closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh scents of Evermoore, and listening to the song which had no words.

When she opened her eyes a moment later, they were drifting over the surface. This time, she was surprised, as the surface was shapeless, bare, and could perhaps even be described as desolate. Yet as the light continued to pulse, stretching its rays far into the nothing, Fayth could feel an energy surrounding her, and growing by the moment.

“Where are we?” Corindra said. “This is not the Evermoore we know…”

“Evermoore did not always exist as you know it,” Jorumangar said. “Every story has a beginning, a middle, and perhaps one day even an end. We are at the beginning, in the first pages of the Tome, and too see more of the story, we must turn the page.”

Fayth ran her fingers along the edges of the pages. They felt soft, brittle, and ancient. Gently, she lifted the page, and turned it. A ball of light leapt out from beneath the horizon in the east. It began to sail, westward leading, over the land. The surface became a blur of light, and the empty and desolate land began to take shape.

Mountains rose, tall and small, the tallest stretching upwards until they nearly touched the blackness of space. Water began to snake its way through the land, creating rivers in their path. Forests and jungles sprouted forth, littering the land with green. Water collected to form lakes. The light of the shined together with the light of Evermoore, until it settled beneath the horizon in the west, and a pale light arose in the same fashion in the south. The pale light crossed the surface in the same manner as the ball of light, and settled in the north, when the ball of light arose in the east once more.

“Lady Sun and her sister, Lady Moon,” Jorumangar said. “The first beings too appear out of the light. Together, they bring the day and the night. Together, they set the pattern for which the light and the dark follows. For with the dawn comes life, birthing new lives and ages. And with the night comes death.”

Just as the landscaped seemed to settle in its new shape, it was abruptly destroyed. The mountains fell, the plains turned to deserts, the rivers and lakes ran dry, and the forests and jungles burned. The companions gasped at the horror they witnessed. But then became still, as life began to take shape anew.

As Fayth watched the land take shape again, her senses became filled. It danced before her eyes and filled her senses. Her nose with scents, some familiar, others not, but all fresh and pure as a cool breeze flowed through her hair. The warmth of Lady Sun prickled against her skin, and the coolness of Lady Moon made her flesh pimple. And the songs without words continued to play throughout the winds. A peaceful bliss settled over her, and every dark thought or feeling was pushed from her mind.

“I don’t think I know of words that can describe it,” Sirius said. “It seems so…”

“Innocent,” Fayth said.

“Yes, yes,“ he said. “Innocent. But yet, so much more than that too.”

They passed over plains and mountains, peaks and valleys, deserts and forests. Jorumangar flapping his wings each time they changed course.

“But why is it so different,” Shay said. “Where is the Mountain of Courage, the Lake of Compassion, and the Great Tree. The Weirwood and the Northwood. The Andule Jungle. I know this is Evermoore, but this is not Evermoore as we knew it.”

Jorumangar lifted his head high, extending his golden scaled neck far above them. “As I said before, Evermoore was not always as you knew it. We are still at the beginning, watching the Light take shape. Evermoore is its child, its reflection, the manifestation of all the Light is. The motions of change have been put in place, and time is passing before your eyes. We see it all because it was written in the Tome of the Watchers and the Keepers. And now we have come to the end of this page, which told of Evermoore in its earliest days. With the turning of the page shall come more of the story, and perhaps the answers you seek.”

Fayth did, and there was an explosion of light. It caused her to gasp, as her senses were nearly overwhelmed. Not in alarm, but in delight, as it was not an explosion of destruction, but one of life, of emotion.

Below, the surface had suddenly become teeming with life. They could see creatures of every kind roaming throughout the lands. Beasts took to the plains, primates to the trees, horses to the rivers, fish in the lakes, and birds to the sky. Fayth believed she saw a creature of every kind she knew, and many she die not. They roamed throughout Evermoore, sharing the land peacefully, and enjoying its many gifts.

A sense of joy filled the air, and each of the companions began to smile. It radiated from the surface, pressing against Fayth’s heart and soul, and lifting her spirits. She could feel their joys and delights, their laughter and their songs. And each of these sensations grew stronger, as more and more creatures appeared below.

With a flap of his wings, Jorumangar changed their course to veer east. They crossed over rolling plains, watching as many beasts, both large and small, roamed throughout them without much care or worry. Then in the distance, a forest came into view. It appeared a stark mesh of green against the blue of the sky above. Heading towards the forest was a cloud of dust, but as they drew near they saw it was not a cloud of dust at all. A slight gasp escaped Corindra, as her eye’s widened.

“My…kin,” she said, breathlessly.

Following her gaze, the sight of the herd made Fayth’s insides life. They appeared just as she had seen them before; with gleaming coats, shinning manes, and glistening horns. They rode with the same strength and pride as Casper’s herd in the Weirwood.

“This was the time when the races appeared,” Jorumangar said. “Given birth by the Light, and filled with its essence. They each were given a will, and freedom to direct their will wherever they choose. They lived in harmony with Evermoore, and with each other, for they were ruled by the Light, and the Light lives in the heart.”

He flapped his wings again, and they veered to the south, before circling around and heading west. Ice capped mountains littered the lands to the far south, and dry deserts towards the west. But as they continued west, the air became cool and damp, and spots of green began to litter the deserts. Several small rivers and streams appeared, and Fayth followed them to their source, a vast green jungle which she was sure she’d seen before.

“Is this the Andule Jungle?” she asked. Sirius cocked and ear.

Jorumangar nodded. “In its earliest days. When the seeds had just burst forth, the roots had not run so deep, and the trees did not cast such dark shadows.”

Sirius moved forward, peering eagerly ahead. His eyes darted along the canopy as they crossed the threshold separating the deserts and the jungle. Back and forth, his eyes searched, hungrily. He examined each bird, primate, or any other of the numerous creatures to occupy the Jungle, until finally stopping upon a cluster of tree‘s growing by a cliff side which contained a waterfall.

He smiled gleefully. “There,” he said, extending his paw towards the cliff. “Look, look, look,!” he cried. Within the shade, enjoying the coolness of the waterfall, sat a pack of creatures. They each had familiar purple fur and orange stripes, and they were either resting peacefully, or playing wildly.

“Sirius,” Fayth said, smiling for her friend. “It’s your people.”

They swooped by overhead, and Sirius lifted himself onto his hind legs. He roared in delight, a triumphant roar which echoed across the jungle, becoming another voice to the wordless songs. He settled down a moment later as the Tigers grew smaller as they floated on. By then, his smile had begun to subside, and the joy in his was replaced by longing.

“Yes, my people,” he said, thoughtfully. “Before…everything I suppose.”

Fayth knelt to his side and wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a big squeeze. Shay stood on the other side, and scratched him behind his ears.

“They look happy,” Shay said.

Sirius smiled briefly once more. “Yes, they do indeed. Playing like children, such a sight. I’m glad to know they were happy…at least at one point.”

Jorumangar flapped his wings once more, and they veered North. The western lands were rich with many rivers and lakes nourishing the green grass of the rolling plains between the Andule Jungle and the northlands.

Fayth followed many of them as they twisted and turned throughout the landscape, but her eyes came to stop as they passed over a large lake. Its waters were calm and blue, and it was bordered by a vast forest on its northern side. Shay became still, and stood himself taller at the sight of the forest. He stared forward, his cat-like eyes fixed on the distance.

The wordless songs returned, playing in Fayth’s ears as she looked to the forest herself, and smiled. She could see agile creatures amongst the trees. They ran along thick branches, swinging from limbs and vines, and jumping between the leaves. They moved with such grace, seeming to know where each limb began and ended. And from the forest, and these creatures, Fayth could feel a sense of harmony; a harmony between the trees, and all the creatures who dwelt among them.

Fayth looked to Shay then. He had remained still, watching his kin silently. Like the Andule tigers, they seemed to be spending this day without much worry, playing like children as Lady Sun passed over head.

As they passed over the heart of the forest, leaving his kin behind him, Shay turned, and crossed his arms and laid his palms across chest, then closing his eyes and bowing.

They others watched silently, as they began to head to the east. Their course only brought them slightly east, for they were still drifting north at the same time. The forest continued on, but soon dissipated into large roaming mountains. Snow caked the branches, and frost blanketed the leaves. The air grew cold and crisp, and reminded Fayth of the early mornings after a snowfall on earth.

She used to go outside when the snow was fresh would glisten like diamonds in the early morning sun. The cold would pierce through her clothes almost instantly, and give her a chill, but it was easy to ignore. The air would be crisp and clean, and she would always go outside and take a slow, deep, breath. She could feel the cold air flow through her, chilling her lungs. And as she exhaled, her breath turning into a cloud of frost, her senses would awaken.

But those thoughts were pushed from her as they continued north. Above, the sky had begun to dance with bright colors. Brightly colored lights reflected of the snowy peaks of the northern mountains, causing the stars to shimmer above. They all gazed above as the dance continued on. But Fayth’s eyes were drawn away soon, as a small light began to creep over a tall peak.

At the sight of the light, Jorumangar flapped his wings again, and they began to rise. They rose higher than the peak before being brought over a clearing below. And as Fayth looked into the clearing below, she gasped.

Below her was a place she had seen before, but only remembered it from her dreams. It was a the Silver City. With Ivory towers, and golden streets shining brightly against the night time darkness, the wordless songs sung loudest here, echoing from the beings who roamed the streets and dwelled in the towers. They were beings who looked like Fayth, with one glaring exception. They have the wings of Angels.

They flew about the city, and walked amongst the streets. The city was surrounded by walls of marble, with a stone bridge connecting the mountain passes to a large Silver Gate.

The others gazed intently on the Silver City along with Fayth. Sirius came beside Fayth, his eyes as wide as hers.

“I curse the wound which made me forget,” he said listlessly. “For in all my memories, brief and broken as they are, the city never appears as this.”

“I’ve heard every tale of the Silver City,” Shay said. “But the stories are not nearly adequate in describing her.”

They veered towards the tallest spire of the mountains, before Jorumangar flapped his wings once more. They settled on the flat expanse a moment later, a clear view of the Silver City beneath them.

Fayth looked down upon the city, wrapping herself in her arms even though she could not feel the chill in the air. Many thoughts ran through her mind. They were mostly inspired by the dreams she could remember. The dreams she had had most of her life. Dreams she had learned were not dreams at all, but actually memories. She could not decide if she was happier knowing they were memories, and not merely happy dreams. For a dream is never real, but only something you can hope for, while a memory is a fragment of the past, a past which can never be returned too.

“That was where you came for us, isn’t it,” Fayth said to Jorumangar, motioning to the rocky surface just outside the Silver Gates.

Nodding slowly, Jorumangar folded his tattered wings against his golden scaled body. “Indeed,” he said. “This was where the Humans dwelled, in the dawn of time.”

“It feels so pure,” Fayth said. “There isn‘t any anger, or jealously, spite, fear….hate,” she said. “It’s like it just doesn‘t exist.” She pressed her lips together, struggling to find the right word, and blurt out the first that came to her. “Innocent.”

The companions all turned to her, then back to the city. Their faces became blank, then distant. “Innocent,” Sirius echoed airily, looking over his shoulder to the south in the direction of the Andule Jungle.

“Yes,” Shay said, turning towards the Northwood. “Like children.”

“That is because in the cosmic sense, they are children,” Jorumangar said. “The shadows of the Darkness have not been cast yet, so they know nothing of it. They know only of the Light, for they were born from it. And while they lived within the Light, the Light flourished, and shined brightly across the cosmos.”

He spread his wings, spanning them as wide as he could before lifting himself to his hind legs. “Look now,” he bellowed. “For now you will see what strengthens the Light, as more allow it within their hearts and minds.”

He flapped his wings and turned to the south. The companions followed and looked down across Evermoore from the Northern perch where they sat. The surface had begun to glow, and rays of the light stretched farther into the cosmos beyond Evermoore. The colors of the world grew richer, more vibrant, and the sensation that filled Fayth’s senses grew stronger and more potent.

Three bright lights burst from the surface then. From west, came a blue light, from the South a red, and from the East a green light.

“The Lights of Compassion, Courage, and Hope,” Jorumangar said. The lights poured forth across Evermoore, and into the dark sky above. They reached out into the cosmos, blanketing the nothing of space with their aspect. “As the Light grew stronger, it began to take a shape of its own. These aspects define the light, and it filled every creature who communed with the light. Separately they emerged, and fought for supremacy amongst the beings of free will. Then, one more light emerged. Thought it was the last, it proved to be the strongest, uniting and strengthening all other lights as their foundation, for from this aspect, all others are inspired. This is the Light of Love, the greatest of them all.”

Behind then, another blinding light suddenly burst forth. Though she had turned away from the Silver City, Fayth had to cover her eyes, for it shined more brilliantly and pure than the others. The light came from the tallest of the Ivory Towers, and reached far into the cosmos. It radiated with a soothing warmth, casting away the shadows in its path.

“They’re so strong,” Shay said, holding his hand up to shield his cat-like eyes as he gazed into the Light of Love.

“They are like all things you have seen within these pages of the Tome,” Jorumangar said. “Young, bright, pure, and innocent, all of which give strength to the Lights. For the Darkness has not yet left its taint, and the eternal war between the Light and Dark had not reached Evermoore yet.”

“How did it begin though?” Sirius asked.

Jorumangar looked solemnly at Sirius. “Begin?” he said.

Sirius cocked his head. “Yes begin,” he said. “All wars must have a beginning don’t they? I suppose you’ll be showing us that next right?”

“I have already shown you,” Jorumangar replied. All of the companions looked at Jorumangar, confused.

“How could it have already begun?” Shay asked. “What you have shown us so far, the creation of our world and the lights, says nothing of the Darkness.”

“But you have seen the beginning,” Jorumangar replied. “For the war between the Light and Dark has always been waged, ever since the Light first burst forth out of Primordial chaos, giving shape to the cosmos, when time began.”

Now Sirius cocked his head, and Fayth saw Shay’s eyes narrow. Even Corindra raised one of her eyebrows, showing she was unsure what the Dragon meant as well.

“Speak clearly,” Corindra said. “We did not come all this way to hear riddles, and while this tale has been amusing, and perhaps insightful, it has left me wanting. None of our questions have been answered, and I am beginning to wonder if you even intend to answer them.”

Jorumangar eyed Corindra intently. “I said I would show you the answers to your questions. But I did not say they would be answers you would like.”

“But you have answers?” Shay asked.

“I have the writings of the Tome,” he replied. “Within these pages are your answers, if you have the eye to recognize them.”

Fayth narrowed her eyes, and stepped forward boldly. “Then what does the Tome say of the Darkness?” she asked. The Dragon turned to her, as did the others. Clutching the tome tightly to her chest, she met the Dragon’s gaze. Behind him, the Light of Love continued to shine brilliantly. Below it, the people of the Silver City continued to go about their lives. They seemed so peaceful, so pure. It caused her chest to tighten, and a determination grew within her. These were her people below, her kin, and they had been destroyed by the Darkness.

She met the dragons eyes and said boldly, “How can this fall to the Darkness,” she said, motioning towards the Silver City, then to all of Evermoore behind her. What you have showed us, what has been written in the first pages of the Tome, is what many people would call paradise, or heaven. There’s no pain, no suffering. There’s nothing but joy and happiness, with Love holding itself strong in everyone’s heart.

“So what happened?” she demanded. “Where did the Darkness come from? How did it even come too Evermoore? How did my people fall to it?” Her throat had grown thick, and her jaw tense. Her last question was difficult to ask, but she knew she must. The Silver City had awaken something inside her. This was her home, or was, long ago. This is where she would have grown up, raised by a mother and father who loved. Amongst her own people, who lived their lives with love in their hearts.

But the Darkness had that from her. Robbed her of the child hood she should have had, and left her with the she had. Compared to the humans she watched below, the humans of earth seemed like shallow imitations, with the light of love just a faint flicker within them.

Loneliness descended upon her. Her teeth clenched and eyes began to water as she asked her last question. “Tell me how my father died!”

They each looked at her intently as silence swept over them. Fayth kept her eyes on Jorumangar, clutching the tome even tighter. Their pity soon turned to curiosity, and they turned to Jorumangar, whose hard and stoic gazed had softened.

“Your father,” he began, solemnly. “I considered him a true friend. His death was truly tragic, and I must apologize.“

“Apologize for what?” Fayth asked, feeling her chest tighten again.

“Apologize that I cannot tell you much of his death, for there is still much I do not understand. It is recorded in the Tome, but beyond my understanding.”

“Then what of her first question,” Shay said. “What does the Tome say of the Darkness? Where did it come from, and how can we destroy it?”

The hard and stoic look returned, and he squared himself to Shay.

“This is the folly I spoke of,” he said. “And the answer you do not seek. For you cannot destroy the Darkness. It will always exist, until the moment when the last change occurs in the cosmos, and time has ceased.”

Shay’s cat like eyes widened, and his mouth hung open slightly. “What…” he said, unable to finish.

Corindra stepped forward. “How can you say this?” she said.

“I say this because it is the nature and design of the Cosmos,” he said. “We can turn the page and see. For while the Light from Evermoore is bright, and can illuminate even the blackest areas, all lights cast a shadow.”

Fayth turned the page, and Jorumangar flapped his wings once more. A great gale of wind swept through the air, sweeping them of the perch they had landed, and into the sky above. Lady Sun had settled in west, but above them Fayth noticed the blackness of space was empty.

“Time has begun,” Jorumangar said. “The Light is extending its reach, and now the cosmos has begun to take shape.”

He flapped his wings and they were carried from the surface high above the mountains and the clouds, past the blue sky, and into the nothingness of the night time sky. The sensations Fayth had felt before faded as they were carried farther and farther into the nothing.

They continued on, until Evermoore seemed the size of a rock Fayth could hold in her hands. However, it still shined brightly, its rays stretching far into the depths of the nothingness of space. Then, within its rays, stars began to fall like tiny raindrops across the black canvass. They shimmered in the Lights from Evermoore, and were soon joined by larger celestial bodies; planets, and suns, and moons. “Here you see the birth of the all heavens and the earths, both real and imagined,” Jorumangar said. “Reflections of the light, and the life it nourishes.

“But all lights cast a shadow.”

Out in the far distance of the cosmos, beyond the planets farthest from Evermoore, a dark shadow emerged. It pushed against the Light, and the Light pushed back. Back and the forth, the light and shadows flickered against each other, one gaining the upper hand, before receding to the other.

Fayth watched as the cosmic dance unfolded before her, the truth becoming clear. Battling across the reaches of the cosmos, the Light radiating from Evermoore, and the Darkness from the infinity beyond the worlds. There was no space between the Light and the Dark, leaving the worlds either covered in one or the other.

“This is where the Darkness comes from,” Fayth said, her gaze fixed upon the dance.

Jorumangar nodded beside her. “Just as every coin has two sides, and the morning cannot exist without the evening, so too, can the Light not exist without the Darkness. They always in conflict, for they cannot dwell together. Whatever does not stand in the light, is in the darkness, and whatever has fled the darkness resides in the light. Their battle extends over all things, both real and imagined, and began the moment the light emerged and took shape. Their struggle is constant and never ending, the force which pushes the Cosmic Pendulum.”

Jorumangar flapped his wings, and they were swiftly swept farther into the distance. They settled along the far edges of the cosmos; Evermoore appearing as nothing more than a spec. Beyond the farthest star was nothing but darkness, and Fayth’s skin turned to goose flesh. She shivered, and held the Tome tightly to her chest. The darkness seemed to stretch on into infinity, and like the nothing of Primordial chaos, she felt nothing but a deep emptiness.

“The light does not reach here,” Jorumangar said. “Here is where the shadow is cast, and the Darkness lies. Away from the light, away from life, the shadows grow long as the light dwindles.”

A black mass leapt forth from the shadows. Sweeping past them, Fayth’s heart leapt to her throat as an ice cold chill swept through her. Her mind filled with dark thoughts; thoughts of sadness, thoughts of loss, thoughts of loneliness, despair, and death.

The shadow swarmed over the stars and planets, driving away the Light, and covering them in Darkness. Further and further the shadow pushed, causing the Light to recede farther and farther back to Evermoore. But the light pushed back. Surging forth with a wild ferocity, it drove the darkness back, illuminating the worlds which had been left in the shadows.

The Darkness was driven out beyond the farthest stars and planets; back into the infinite nothing beyond. Fayth felt the warmth return, and the dark thoughts became silent.

“The Pendulum has swung,” Jorumangar said. “Once in favor of the Darkness, then again in favor of the Light. But as the light grows in brilliance and strength, its shadow grows long and deep.”

Once again, the Darkness raced forth from beyond the stars, sweeping past the companions, over the worlds on the outer rims, and back towards Evermoore. The dark thoughts and coldness returned to Fayth, but this time they were stronger, more potent.

“Just as the Light took shape as it grew stronger, so does the Darkness,” Jorumangar said. “It is the other side of the coin, the world behind the surface of the mirror, a reflection of the light in all things.”

Fayth shivered as familiar sensations swept over her.

“Fear to oppose Courage, Despair to oppose Hope, Malice to oppose Compassion, and Hate to oppose Love.”

The Light and the Shadows began pushing against each other furiously. Neither stayed triumphant or subdued for long, even when one seemed to be defeated entirely, it pushed back, stronger than before.

Fayth blinked, feeling the aspects of the Light and Darkness war within her. She was filled with Darkness one moment, then with Light in next. The Darkness made her feel cold and wretched, bringing forth dark memories, and hateful thoughts. But the Light lifted her spirits, giving her the strength to be feel hope, compassion, courage and love.

“The battle between the Light and the Dark resides in the hearts and minds of all those who have the freedom and will to forge their own paths,” Jorumangar said. “They are the pulling of your heart strings, the whispers in your mind. Yet you choose your thoughts, you choose your actions, you choose your nature. From day to day, hour to hour, moment to moment, the struggle continues. The Light and the Darkness grows stronger within you with each thought you make, each action you take.”

His words fell on her ears, but she could not make sense of them. She gasped as her mind began to spin furiously, her thoughts running back and forth between the Light and the Dark. She tried to regain control. To think her own thoughts. But they were too strong, too loud, and could do nothing but helpless listen as they fought over her.

The world began to spin. Vaguely, she felt herself fall to her knees. Her arms reached forward desperately to hold her still, but her hands felt nothing. A mesh of colors swirled before her eyes; light and darkness. She could not stand, she didn’t even know how she remained still.

Continued in part 3