Keeper (continued)

Three

"Hush, my children," came the voice of the great light, "We have a visitor."
Nyma sat, breathless, upon the saddle as thousands of tiny lights circled around her. Their leader, as Nyma assumed, spoke again.
"So, what brings you here, daughter of Fyran?"
"Um.. I-I-I'm Nyma, and I came because my father is dead."
A ripple of high-pitched gasps of horror swept throughout the hollow. Nyma began again.
"And, um, as he is dead, um, I-I-I am now the Keeper of Somaile."
Another round of shocked responses erupted from the cloud of piksies.
"And what have you come to us for, Keeper?" replied the Grand Piksy.
"Grand Piksy, I seek your wisdom. Please provide me the answers to my questions. I am young. I don't know what to do. I need your help to save Somaile in the next two days!" Nyma exclaimed, not realizing how loud she had been.
"I see. All right. I agree to help you. the piksies' knowledge is at your hand."
"So do you have an idea of how to stop the Light Ones?" Nyma asked, full of excitement.
"Oh no, of course not. Not yet, anyways. Give us until noon and we may have some answers."
With that, every light in the hollow rushed into the hole in the tree and all was dark.

~

The sun rose higher into the sky, and Nyma woke to the songs of birds and the whistle of the wind. She waited for the sun to appear above her head. Time grew slower and slower, and the day grew hotter and hotter as the winds died down.

Finally, after what seemed like days of waiting, the piksies emerged from the knothole.

"We may have an answer, but it is very risky."

"Well, what is it?" Nyma eagerly awaited her solution.

"We will attempt to summon the many flying creatures of this land, so that they can hide the full moon from view on the night of the attack. It may weaken the Light Ones' powers."

"Of course!" Nyma exclaimed joyfully, "The full moon is their greatest source of power! If it is hidden, it will be as though it is the night of a new moon! Then, the Dark Ones will have the advantage over them, and Somaile will be peaceful once again!"

The other piksies chattered excitedly, but the Grand Piksy remained silent for a few moments. Then she spoke.

"Nyma, it is not as simple as it seems. The moon is much larger than even all of the fliers put together, and the creatures here cannot breathe in outer space."

"Oh. Right." Nyma was discouraged by this news.

"But," continued the queen, "There are enough to cover the island."

~

To be continued....

Keeper (continued)

Two

Nyma felt knowledge and powerful energies swarm through her. She began sobbing, for she knew what that meant. Her mother burst into the room.
"Nyma, what's wrong?" she cried.
"He's dead." Nyma exclaimed, choked with tears, "I'm the Keeper."
Her mother stared at her, both in astonishment and in grief.
"You felt it?" she asked, worried as ever.
"Yes," Nyma replied. She gulped. "And I know what happened. I had a vision. The orks, they tore off his limbs."
She resumed crying. She had always known that her father would die one day. She had imagined it. Though the thought made her sad, she learned to accept it. But not like this. Never like this.
"Nala, what am I to do?" Nyma couldn't bear the thought of saving Somaile in only two days.
"I wouldn't know," her mother replied, hoping that her daughter would understand. "But you will, when the time comes to act. Your heart will tell you."
"But what if I fail?" Nyma exclaimed.
"You won't. The universe would not let that happen," Nala told her.
"Well, will you help me then?" Nyma asked, hopeful.
"No, I am much too old. A woman of fifty-five cannot save the Dark Lands. But you , a strong, brave young woman, can."
They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Nyma embraced her mother, breaking into tears once again. She knew that she would have to journey away from home, and that she may never see Nala again.
"Nyma," Nala began, sniffling, "At dawn, you must travel to Piksy's Knothole. The piksies may have the answers to your questions."
Nyma nodded, squeezing her mother tighter.
"I'll miss you, mum."
"I'll miss you, too."

~

Nyma awoke from her nightmares and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was dawn, meaning she would have to leave now. She gathered her things in a large bag, all of the necessities: food, water, clothes, and a sleeping mat.

She was about to walk out the door when she turned around and went to her mother's bedroom. Nyma bent over the bed and kissed Nala's forehead, then rushed out the front door before she could start crying.

Nyma was attaching her bag to Capricorn's saddle when she saw some-thing move in the shadows. Deciding it was nothing, she hopped on the horse and began her journey, unaware of the eyes peering at her through the bushes.

The stars continued to shine as the edges of the sun began to creep over the horizon, and Nyma rode on. She had never been out at this time of day, and her heart warmed at the sounds echoing all around. Crickets chirped, birds sang, and the leaves of the bushes and trees rustled in the gentle breeze.

After some hours of moving due south and occasionally glancing east to look for any sign of the Hollow, Nyma saw lights in the distance. She began to move toward them, and as they drew nearer, she heard noises. They were almost like shrill laughter. The sounds rang in her ears, louder and louder, until Nyma came upon an immense tree with the lights buzzing all around.

She didn't even have to wonder. She had arrived at Piksy's Knothole. At the sight of her, the piksies froze and their lights went out. All was pitch-dark until a greater light emerged form the hole in the tree.

Cycles

A cycle 

Within a cycle

Happens

And happens again.

They and we change cycles

But they and we do not know

That everything is its own separate cycle

Which puzzles out one.

The cycle of the universe.

This cycle remains unchanged.

We may think we can change everything

But even we

Are part of the universe's cycle.

Unchanging,

Yet changing all the time.

Keeper

One

She walked, and the shadows strode alongside, murmuring their reassurance. She had her wits about her, but even she was unsure of how this came to be.

"Your Highness, your worry shakes the mountains. We still have hope."

She began to cry.

"But with the Keeper imprisoned, the people of the Dark Lands will surely become slaves."

A silence followed, but suddenly a deafening screech erupted from the depths of Stohn Woods. Figures in bright white apparel leaped from the the darkness of the trees and tossed a tightly-woven net over the Dark Queen's head. She squirmed, and the worm-like bag uttered muffled screams. The shadows hissed at the men as the queen was dragged away.

The now lonely shadows panicked. They zipped in and out of the thorny bushes and trees, and much of the land surrounding the forest trembled in sadness and anger.

~

He moved north, alert for any sign of the men in white. He could not let himself be discovered. Not again. He needed to be back at the border before the full moon, but being sixty-seven years old, his joints were weary. He lay in the bright, cold grass and watched the sky grow progressively darker. The moon, it shall be full in only three days' time. he thought to himself. He worried that his old, frail bones wouldn't get to the river before the Light Ones brought down the final blow on the Dark.

His duty was to keep balance between the people of Somaile, to make sure neither side took the other. He had never anticipated the difficulty of being the Keeper; the Somaili people nearly never fought. But unfortunately for him, he happened to be the one hope for those of the Dark Lands.

It seemed only a moment later when the sun reflected off of the magenta sky. His legs trembled as he arose, not only because of the crisp dawn air, but also of the fear he now felt each waking moment.

He wondered how far he was from the Light Palace, and when he would turn east toward the Fort. Thoughts of his family clouded his head, but he kept moving north, farther and farther still, until he saw large mounds in the distance.

The Hills of the Orks. He knew instantly that he had gone too far. With only little more than two days before the full moon arrived, he would have to get going back south, and soon.

But his ever thin stomach growled with urgency; first he needed to eat.

His previous visits to these hills had been friendly and pleasant, but after a year of war, the orks might not be so hospitable. The Keeper cautiously edged through the hedges, leading to the valley where the orks would be eating at this time. He heard a loud crack, looking down on a broken twig. Multiple heads turned, and after a brief silence, a larger head emerged and spoke.

"Ah, Fyran. The Keeper," a sly voice said, "What brings you to our hills?"

"Well, Vernar, I am traveling, you see, and I am in great need of something to eat." Fyran replied, unsure of the orks' reaction.

"Fyran, being as we're old friends, usually, I would give you more than you need." Vernar chuckled, "However, as you are the one hindrance to our increase in land, I'm afraid that I cannot help you."

He yelled something in a strange dialect, and the throng of orks instantly ran toward the Keeper at their usually slow pace. Although their legs moved like snails, it seemed like Fyran had just begun running when he felt large hands close around each of his limbs, and with another command from Vernar, they were stretched to their maximum and beyond.

The Keeper's cries of pain echoed through hills and were heard throughout the island, and after hours of of various beatings and torturings, the trees grew deaf. The shrill sound reached the Light Palace, beckoning the guards toward the hills. The guards, darned in white, came crashing through the undergrowth with a large sack. Looking over his shoulder with strain, Fyran knew what was coming next.

But the orks would not let the Keeper be captured again. He would only escape as he did last time. Vernar let out a roar, and the light slowly faded from Fyran's eyes as he felt a sudden yank and his limbs became numb.

The evil in the air rang with excitement, and, though some were surprised, so did the people standing in the valley as they watched the grass turn crimson.

To be continued.....

Da Life You're Livin

Lovin life never cry

Watchin time fly

Lookin at myself sayin new day new play

Lookin at life a whole new way and now i say

Good day to you good friend and

Never be forgettin

That no matter what ya do

This be the life youre livin.

Deep

Why can't it all

Fly away

So everyone else

Can see the light

In the deepest cavern

Of the deepest sea

With the deepest understanding

Of how it came to be.

what to say

dont know

what to say

how to say it

or why

all i know

is i cant go

without saying

something.