The Keeper of the Sword

by James Tierney

  Gleep Prepares for WAR

  Meanwhile, as Seamus and his colleagues continued their quest, Mot, the new self-proclaimed King of the Wombats, plotted in the Dark castle of Gleep, in the tower where the Black Crystal originated. He drew plans for flying machines that would keep the blue light from harming others. They knew that the smallest amount of blue light could cause them to dissolve into dust if it hit them. The Wombats had just liked to hunt in the caves and never roam too far from their castle at night. But Mot was evil. He had big plans for war and conquest and wanted to be supreme ruler over the entire Land of Ack.

  The machines he worked on were vertical, disc-shaped, with wings and mechanical arms ending in claws at the front. Fire came out from the back of the machines, which made a terrifying sound as they flew through the air looking like giant bats on fire.

  Because the machines had black windows made to keep out the destructive blue light, they made the pilots less effective. During the first tests of the flying machines, many pilots crashed and turned to dust. But Mot didn't care how many died. He ordered the Wombats to make hundreds of the machines.

  * * *

  One day, as the Acks worked in the fields, a great noise erupted from the Black Castle of Gleep. As the workers stared in wonder, a black cloud of the machines swarmed toward them. They ran for the safety of the walls of Isnack, but not all made it to safety. The very old and the men that stood their ground to fight so others might be saved all became victims. They were captured and taken as slaves to Gleep. In the end, they counted nearly seven hundred people missing.

  They hoped that was the end of it, but as the day wore on, all they could see was the sky turning turning even blacker with Wombats, going in all directions like black clouds. Each day this repeated itself. The Acks stayed in the caves and tunnels they had prepared for when the dark time would come. They had stored food and water in the caves, but it could not last forever.

  Outside they had arranged mirrors and lenses to reflect the blue crystals of the windows to shine on the Wombats. They called them Blue Crystal Beamers.

  They were well-prepared, but they relied more on the return of Seamus, The Keeper of the Sword of Zierns. If he perished while on his quest, all would be lost.

  * * *

  When Seamus and the others reached the dock at El Ehcim, they lost no time in racing to get inside the city walls as Wombats hovered in their killing machines.

  The great Wombat army of Mot began marching their way toward El Ehcim now. Scout spies must have heard of the heroes' movement, but the fairies had them at a stand-still on the other side of the forest. The Wombats were now flanking them, however, and going around them closer to the city of El Ehcim.

  As the city gates closed, they looked back at what once had been a glorious green landscape leading to the river, but which now revealed only flames scorching the ground. The sky was now almost all black.

  Mij led them through the city streets. “Follow me. The entrance to the secret hall is just ahead.”

  Seamus stayed close. “Where’s the army?” he called to Mij. "There aren’t any guards on the walls. Nothing but chaos in the streets.”

  “Where is the king to lead the people?” Brendan wanted to know.

  They found the secret door, entered and climbed the stairs to the long hallway hall leading to the king’s quarters. They stepped through a small door to the sound of music playing. The entire congregation looked at Mij with worry in their eyes.

  “What is this?” Mij shouted.

  Seamus gaped at the king and prince lounging smugly on their thrones as if they had not a care in the world.

  Unafraid of their majesties, Mij marched right up to the feet of the king and demanded, “You must release Willow the Pink immediately.”

  King Louis and Prince Castmin laughed. The king puffed out his chest and growled, “Who are you to demand anything in my court?” At this, the king's guards formed a wall between the king and Mij and Seamus.

  Mij replied, “I am Mij the Wise from the council of Elders in Isnack.”

  Humming with whispers, the people in the hall crowded closer to hear what was going on.

  “I have been sent by the Elders to retrieve the Sword of Zierns and have been given the power to do what is necessary to achieve this goal,” Mij continued in a strong voice. “Now, release Willow the Pink, and get out there and lead your kingdom against the Wombats. Be the king your people need. Lead, man. Lead!”

  “No! screamed Castmin. “Willow is mine. We will be married today.”

  Mij swept his arm in a large circle around his head and leaned his head forward, raising his voice. “Don’t you see that the Land of Ack is falling? Gather up your army. Defend your city and its people. Man the Beamers in the towers.”

  The king continued sitting with one leg draped over the arm of his throne. He sipped nonchalantly from his gold cup.

  Mij tried to step closer to make his point, but the guards rattled their swords and took one step forward. “Do you not care?” he said in a softer voice, trying to reason with the king and his son. “Your people need you.”

  King Louis hiccupped and said, “I don't care about them. If they do not like the way I rule, then they can move on to another kingdom, maybe Isnack.” He lifted his hand to command his army to kill Mij.

  Outraged by the king’s complete lack of regard for his people, Mij drew his sword, jumped up, flipped over the heads of the guards and cut off the king's head as he came down. Then he turned to the open-mouthed Castmin and did the same to him.

  He whirled around toward the guards and saw that not one of them had raised his own sword. The crowd cheered. When the cheering died down, they stood mute, looking at one another like lost children.

  Seamus, who was equally stunned by Mij’s sudden action, also remained still.

  Mij raised a hand to get everyone’s attention and then said in a loud, commanding voice, “The Council of Elders will now appoint a new senate to rule in the place of the deposed king.”

  He stepped closer to Seamus and the others and said softly, “This, of course, all depends on whether or not we live until tomorrow.”

  He then paced before the people in the hall, shouting out, “Good people of El Ehcim, you need to seal the gates to the city. Every available Ack must arm himself or herself in order to save this city from destruction. You must hold them back for as long as you can. This will give us time to find the Sword of Zierns and free The Land of Ack from this darkness.”

  He then turned to the Captain of the King's Guard and said, “You are now the leader of these fine people. Kneel." Mij took his sword, touched it on the man's head and said, "Rise and defend your city of El Ehcim.”

  Spurred on to action, the crowd cheered and ran, opening the doors to the armory and handing out swords, crossbows and spears to all that could hold them. The guards ran to the towers and began to use the Beamers on the Wombats in the fields marching to the city. The flying machines were crashing into the towers, collapsing them.

  "Now take us to Willow the Pink," Mij demanded. They ran with two guards to get her from the tower. From the tower windows, they could see the Land of Ack. The fires were everywhere, and screams filled the streets below that once had music and children playing. The Forest of the Fairies was now under a dome of rainbow light protecting it from the flying machines that crashed into it hoping to destroy it. But no more fighting was present.

  The heroes could see the advancing army of Wombats now free to walk the dark land. All was lost. Theonly light came from the dome of the fairies and from the wastelands behind the mountains.

  When the door opened to the prison cell that held Willow the Pink, they rushed into the room and broke the mirrors. As they did this, a faint pink light beamed out through the dark. Willow had been afraid to let her light glow dring her imprisonment, for then she would have turned into a tree.

  Seamus caught his first sight of Willow the Pink. “She is beautiful.”

  Willo
w walked up to him and kissed him. “Thank you for saving me, Keeper of the Sword.”

  Brendan said, “I helped too.”

  Brudie, who stood guard at the door, suddenly yelled, “Mij the sky is turning dark at the front gate. If we are to leave, we better do it now.”

  They ran to the balcony of the tower. Mij said to Seamus, “Blow the Chise horn now.”

  Seamus blew it long and hard. The Wombats all stopped for a second and looked up at them, then returned to the attack on El Ehcim.

  Jennifer and two other Chise arrived. "Quick. Jump on to my back,” Jennifer said.

  There were armor-plated baskets, two on each side of her, and a saddle in the front for Mij to guide Jennifer. Along the sides were bows and arrows and shields.

  Jennifer said, “There is a suit of armor in the basket for Willow. Put it on quickly!”

  They jumped into the baskets. The Chise all wore suits of armor for protection—yellow with red camouflaged to hide them in the fires as they flew low over the troops below.

  “Can you handle all of us?” Mij asked.

  “Don’t be silly. I have trained for this for centuries.”

  Then off they flew into the dark fire-filled skies, shooting arrows down at the army advancing on the city.

  The Air Battle

  “My fellow Chise will block the flying machines from getting too close to us!" Jennifer screamed. "Where to?"“

  "To Tiffany Falls and the cave of Ba,” Mij replied. “I know it well," said Chise. "I played there as a child.”

  As they left, a swarm of Wombat flying machines came at them. The other two Chise flew back and forth, burning them and hitting them out of the sky with their tails and talons.

  Seamus screamed, “Aim for the wings where the wing enters the body. This will jam the mechanism."

  They did so, and it worked.

  The design of the machines looked very much like a model Thomas had made a few months earlier of a Leonardo De Vinci flying machine, but this was more advanced.

  From the ground came boulders from catapults. One hit one of the Chise in the wing, and she fell out of the sky. The Wombats looked like ants covering a bug after she hit the ground.

  “One is down!” Mij yelled to Jennifer.

  “Hold on!” she screamed.

  They turned and dove to the ground at the Wombats attacking the other Chise. “What are you doing? Our mission!” Mij screamed

  “I know, but we have a promise we have all made to our fellow Chise. I must keep this promise.”

  As she dove, she inhaled, and as she flew over the area that the other Chise had fallen she let go a large ball of fire that raged over the entire area. It was a fire-ball that had never and probably should never be seen again. Jennifer then flew straight up then turned around toward

  the falls again.

  No one said a word. The flying machines turned around, heading for El Ehcim. Jennifer told them, “I promised that the fire of a Chise will never be captured and used for evil against the Acks, and no Chise will suffer at the hands of the Wombats if they fall.”

  Mij asked “Did all that come from you, or from the other that had fallen?"

  She answered, “A Chise will turn to flames as it dies. She was not dead yet. I could not see her suffering at the hands of the Wombats slowly killing her with their dull swords and spears."

  “I see," said Mij. "I do not blame you. I would have done the same.”

  “There it is. Tiffany Falls,” Brendan said as he pointed to the falls.

  It was beautiful. It was lit up with a pink and blue light turning purple now and then. The water came out of the cliff wall that sloped to the ceiling of the Land of Ack. Below the cliff were sharp, jagged, spiked rocks protecting the falls. Along the side of the cliff ancient steps rose to the top, but a large area of the steps was gone. It had been broken off by an earthquake. They landed on a large platform just above the broken area on the side of the cliff. The spray from the falls made every thing wet and damp.

  The Cave of Ba

  Seamus jumped off Jennifer, put his hand on her neck and slowly walked up to her eye. He smiled and said,

  “Thanks to you and the rest of the Chise for helping. We never would have made it up to this cave in time without the Chise help." Then he whispered softly, ”Once upon a father's tear.”

  He then turned to all of them. "I never would have come this far without all of your inspiration and bravery. Every Ack will remember your sacrifices and bravery on this quest." Raising he sword, he gave a great cry, "Once upon a father's tear!”

  “It was written that an earthquake would come to prevent anyone from retrieving the sword from its slumber. It is time now for the great awakening of the Sword of Zierns,” Mij proclaimed.

  They all looked over the land that was now in ruins. El Ehcim had fallen to the Wombats and was burning. The fairies were fighting for their lives at the Tree of Life in the forest. The dome had fallen.

  “They are falling back to the Tree of Life to protect it with their lives!” said Mij

  “Do not worry about the fairies. They will all enter the tree and turn it into a crystal, sealing them in until the coming of The Zierns. Only if they feel all is lost will they do so. Do not worry. They still have more magic that has never been used before,” said Mij.

  In the distance, barely visible through the smoke, was Isnack. All that was left was a small blue glow coming from the ramparts as fire balls came up and blue beams of light fell down upon the Wombat hoards. A tear slid down Mij’s face.

  “The walls will hold," he said. "We must hurry. The time is getting thin. Brendan and Brudie, you stay here and keep the flying machines away from the cave and the Wombats from making it across the break in the steps,” Mij ordered." Willow, Seamus, follow me to the cave."

  They climbed up the steps to a smaller ledge just above the falls. There was a blue crystal just above a small cave. Mij and Seamus entered. Willow stood on the edge of the ledge, held her hands up above her head, and muttered some strange words until a dome of pink light appeared. The dome covered the entire ledge and the entrance to the cave.

  “The last of the Chise are retreating now from the battle into the Chasms of Chise," Willow informed them.

  “They have paid a large toll slowing down the Wombat hoards,” Mij whispered.

  “I will keep the flying machines from destroying the cave with you in it,” Willow said. Just as the words left her lips, they came—hundreds of them shooting at the dome.

  “Go ! Go! I can hold this dome for only a few minutes at a time.”

  “No!" Mij said. "You can do it. Pull the power from the blue crystal above the cave door. It will assist in your magic.”

  When they entered the cave, carvings like those in the Caves of Epod flowed toward the interior. At the far end, where the lines converged, a large crystal glowed green. Embedded in the crystal was a sword—“The Sword of Zierns”— a double-edged sword too large for Acks but not for a human. Celtic knots were carved into the wooden handle. It has a large brass cross-guard with four circles at each end, just like on the Scottish claymores Seamus had seen in Scotland.

  “Amazing,” Seamus said.

  “Yes,” Mij replied.

  Just to the right of the crystal was a hand print carved into the wall. “Put your hand in it, Seamus,” Mij said anxiously.

  As Seamus did, the crystal glowed, and then a large flash of green light exploded from it. Seamus pulled his hand away. The crystal shimmied like Jell-O. He poked it with his finger, and it wiggled.

  “Just grab it already!” Mij screamed

  With that said, he stabbed his hand into the green crystal and took out the sword. The ground shook, and all of The Land of Ack stood still. An eerie silence covered the land. Seamus walked out of the cave holding the sword high above his head.

  * * *

  Mot stood on the destroyed tower of El Ehcim looking through a red crystal ball at a battle that raged on. He saw the glowing gr
een sword in Seamus’s hands and his eyes grew big. He screamed in pain as the green light shot out of the crystal ball and burned his face.

  He pointed toward the falls and shouted at his hoards of Wombats, “I want that sword destroyed. They will regret this day. Let go the fury!”

  A Wombat on the stairs signaled the others there and below the cliff where Seamus and the group were held up.

  The Wombats then shot thousands of flaming arrows at the dome and the cliff. Brendan and Brudie, seeing a wall of flames coming at them, ran and dove through the dome just as the arrows hit the dome.

  What they didn't realize as they ran into it was that it made an opening, and an arrow followed them in. Unfortunately, it hit Willow. Because she was holding her arms up, the arrow struck her just under her arm, a vulnerable spot because no armor protected her.

  Now wounded, Willow weakened as more and more flying machines and more Wombats came to help lay long planks across the broken steps on the cliff. She cried out, “I cannot hold this for too much longer! Hurry please! Please!”

  A large fire ball hit the dome.

  “Now! Now!" Willow screamed. "I must release it now, or I will be too weak.”

  “What is she talking about?” Seamus asked Mij.

  "The Lights Path. This is what you must follow to get out,” Mij said.

  Jennifer appeared and grasped the ledge, clinging to it as she bowed her head to allow Seamus to climb on.

  “Go! Now!" Mij commanded. "Do not worry about us. Save the sword!”

  As Seamus climbed on, Willow let her arms drop and she burst into a bright light that flew across the sky lighting a pink path across all of Ack.