John was standing, still as stone, his arms at his side, eyes closed. As he opened them, they glowed like diamonds, and his stare was terrifyingly hard. What substance he was now, he did not know, but he was at once more knowing, and at the same time less alive. Stone by name and stone by nature. What lo's had remained now fled – after all Ataxios and Gnath had already disappeared and they were now leaderless. Their chittering could be heard as they hurried along the tunnels away from the temple and the crystal trove.
Tyloren, now forgotten by the lo's, had moved closer to the altar and his joy was unbounded. "The Trove! We have the trove!" But then he spotted Jazlyn lying still, encased in crystal, and he gasped her name and closed his eyes in an effort to reach her. The way was barred, and Tyloren could not penetrate the barrier. John was rooted to the spot, unable to speak; changed and sombre. He turned his glittering eyes left and right slowly and became aware, first of Tyloren, who was busily using his temple skills to reach him and then of Jazlyn, where he had placed her in her crystal shield to keep her safe from Ataxios. With a jolt, he was pulled back from wherever he had been, and took a long, deep breath.
"Wandmaster, you must help Jazlyn!" spoke Tyloren's voice in his head. John raised his wand and passed it across the crystal cocoon in which she was encased, and like ice it started to melt away. As it dissolved around her, she opened her eyes, trying to see where she was and moved her head from side to side.
"Help!" she whimpered as her limbs and body were still bound by the gradually diminishing crystal, and the dark tethers of Ataxios. Tyloren was at her side at once and laid his hand on her forehead telling her to be still and that all was well.
"Hurry Wandmaster," urged Tyloren, "We have to take the trove from here and get out as soon as we can!"
John finally began to be lucid. His head cleared and he was back in charge of his legs again and his thoughts now centred on his quest. The crystal trove was within his grasp and Jazlyn was unharmed, if a little dazed.
He gave her a brief smile, and then approached the crystal trove, running his hands over the surfaces of each individual, as though stroking a beloved and favourite pet. He was calm and serene, and both Jazlyn and Tyloren also calmed and felt strengthened. Then the attraction of the trove beckoned to him again, and John Stone, Wandmaster was enticed by their essence, leading him to wish to taste the union with them again. His wand was with him, he could come to no harm there; he could choose to stay, maybe forever. They were calling him and as he struggled with the temptation, he was once again lost to those around him.
The powerfully built Lo Captain, Gnath, after pulling himself upright and seeing Ataxios gibbering on the floor of the temple chamber, had picked him up in his arms and carried him out along the corridors that led to his master's wing of the underground world. His master could safely conjure up some defence, some magic from there, he thought. The extra head lolling on his chest objected to being so cramped by the body in Gnath's arms and started to gargle and dribble.
"Silence head!" said Gnath, and would have given it a hearty slap if he had a hand free, "We must aid Ataxios."
Suddenly, in the tunnel ahead of Gnath and Ataxios, there appeared the small but intrepid group of Mahoo, Loman, and Lenora rushing towards the temple. Seeing and hearing Gnath and Ataxios in the dim light, they drew to a halt, and Loman stepped forward, barring the way. He was almost equal in height to Gnath and he was incensed with rage, having almost lost his beloved wife and his own life. His children's faces came to the forefront of his mind, giving him determination and a strong motive to defend himself and attack the root of all his problems as it stood before him. He remembered Gnath of old when he had served as a lo in Athrak.
Gnath was unafraid but hampered as he held Ataxios in his arms and he hesitated as if looking for a way to get past the problem without the need to abandon his master. Indeed it confused him to see a lo in guard uniform with a spindly and a strange personage in company together. And where was help? He threw back his head and uttered a series of ear-splitting clicks and whistles that were answered in the distance by the few lo's remaining somewhere in the tunnels. Loman heard the responses and knew he didn't have long to act. Gnath turned and gently laid a limp, barely breathing Ataxios on the ground and stood to face Loman, who was struggling to stand upright and control the head on his shoulders, which wanted to overpower its host. The two lo's faced each other like two bears, arms outstretched, and warily swaying, each waiting for the other to make the first move. As Gnath's attention was fully on Loman, he did not see the quick movement that came from behind him. In a flash, Lenora had drawn her sword and sprung forward, pushing the blade into the side of the Lo, and withdrawing it swiftly. With a shrill whistle, Gnath responded to the searing pain that had taken him so completely by surprise and he lashed out with a heavy arm in her direction, at the same time clutching at his wounded side. Lenora was too quick and had darted back behind Loman again, well out of reach, giving her husband a chance to react to the new situation and launch his own attack on Gnath. As the giant Lo lunged forward after Lenora, Loman followed up with a swipe to the back of Gnath's lo-head that sent him sprawling to the stony tunnel floor and winded him totally. Swiftly, he drew his own sword and put an end to the great Lo with one thrust, and then stood back. The cloak around his shoulders and lo-head had slipped off and the agitated face of his alter-ego chittered and foamed at the mouth in fury, bringing to the fore a strange combination of reactions that caused Loman to rant and lash out at the rocks around him. With each exposure, the lo part of Loman was becoming stronger. Lenora swept up the cloak and attempted to replace it, but Loman caught her with a cuff of his fist and she cried out in pain as she was sent sprawling. Mahoo, though wiry and small was familiar with Loman and had been one of the first to help the escaped Lo when he arrived in Nithrania. He jumped into the space around Loman, swept up the cloak and nimbly covered the lo-head, chanting all the time in a monotonous humming voice, which seemed to calm the agitated atmosphere which held sway till that moment. Mahoo , though small, stood poised to strike him if necessary.
"No!" cried Lenora, "Don't hurt him, he can't help himself when the lo takes over! He'll be alright! Just leave him alone!" and she rushed into the arms of her husband, hugging him as he groaned and thrashed around. Gradually and slowly, Loman calmed down and Lenora spoke to him in a soft soothing voice. Mahoo in the meantime, had kept his wits about him and had crouched beside Ataxios, lying on the tunnel floor. The insectivorous mask and leathery covering on his body made him even more fearsome, but Mahoo was intent of assessing the condition of this living nightmare. Ataxios was alive and starting to chant some incantation that chilled Mahoo to the bone and the three allies were now faced with the problem of what to do with the grovelling form of Ataxios. They could feel the sickening, insane hatred and wild anger contained in this being, and it chilled them. It was so strong, so intent on destroying their sanity, so wild and so ruthless that it took all their efforts to remain constant. But John's hold on the trove in the temple and the loss of the wand to Nya had weakened him considerably.
They heard the heavy footsteps of the Lo patrol heading towards them in the tunnels.
"We can"t let them have him!" yelled Lenora, and she again raised her own sword and brought it down on Ataxios. But the sword did not penetrate the leathery outer skin of his clothing, his special insectivorous protection was as tough as steel, and the sword rebounded so hard that pain shot up her arm and into her shoulder, so that she dropped her weapon and cried out.
"Leave him to me!" shouted Loman, and he roughly grabbed the prostrate form, throwing it over his shoulder. "Go for the Trove!" Mahoo needed no second bidding. They were doing no good where they were and their mission was as yet unfulfilled. "The Wandmaster is here – I can feel him – we must go now to the crystal trove! He is with the Trove and we must help him!"
He was drawn towards the underground Temple, and with the Lo party approaching from another tunnel, he set off a
t a fast pace, magnetised by the crystals somewhere deep in the cavernous depths of Athrak.
"Good Luck!" shouted Mahoo back behind him, but there was no reply because the big Lo had picked up Ataxios in his strong arms and was running with him, Lenora fast on his heels, away from the oncoming company of lo's, that emerged from their tunnel to find only the body of Gnath sprawled out in front of them on the rocky floor. Leaderless, they hesitated but then split into two groups and followed in the two available directions, one after Mahoo and the other hot on the scent of Loman and Lenora, abandoning there Gnath's great body, lying in a pool of blood.
Where was the Wandmaster? What was he now? Linked to the Crystal Trove, he was joyously indeterminate, knowing the crystals and communing with their lightless peace. The threat of Ataxios had been temporarily removed, though his essence permeated the Trove like a scent that John knew and riled against, but...there was also for John an attraction, a union with these crystals that held him and he felt no urge to leave. He was aware that his body was somehow now part of this collection of crystals and that although he was somewhere, he was also nowhere.
When Mahoo reached the entrance to the Temple, Tyloren was comforting a dazed Jazlyn, and the Trove was on the dark altar in the centre of the chamber. When Mahoo arrived, he and Tyloren approached the altar, their breathing coming fast with excitement at finally reaching their goal. Jazlyn, meanwhile, called in a soft voice, "John?"
"He is here?" whispered Mahoo, and Tyloren nodded. The cavern was dark now and brooding, and John was unwilling to separate himself from the crystals that held him so seductively in their grasp. He hovered in between states – part man, part mineral. Safe. So must Ataxios have felt all these years, held in their dark power. Though he was standing amongst his comrades, it was as if he had truly been turned to stone, petrified.
Tyloren found a torch, managed to light it, and the shadows played around the Trove in the flickering light. Jazlyn searched around and found several others so that there was a level of light enabling them to see their surroundings better, and the eeriness subsided a little.
"Jazlyn," said Tyloren, "We must join minds to bring him back from where he is lodged." Nodding, Jazlyn came to stand beside him and Mahoo and she tried to still her mind. She saw herself in a cave with a tree in its centre, the tree dripped with crystal fruit and there were candles in alcoves all around. Mahoo sat at the far side of the cave and she was with Tyloren admiring the tree, when she felt another familiar presence at her side and silently greeted her mother, who had joined the mind-group from some other place. There was a strong resonance around them and Tyloren's voice thought for them, calling on the Wandmaster.
"Wandmaster, your task is complete. You must return now."
John wanted so much to join the mind-group, but he also wished to stay forever part of this new crystal form. He was at peace, with no fear, no anxiety, whatever the world did now, he would not be affected by it. He would just 'be'. He could stay forever in the tunnels of Athrak, untouched, unassailable, becoming one with the crystal trove in the darkness. No Ataxios, No Jazlyn, no John Stone, only permanence.
In the cave, Mahoo sprinkled some aromatic herbs from a pouch at his belt onto the flames of a torch before him and chanted, calling on the Wandmaster to give up the crystals and for the crystals to give up the Wandmaster. His voice rose and fell in a hypnotic drone that caused the other members of the mind-group to grow stronger.
Vilma also contributed, but the Trove held on to its willing captive easily.
Then Jazlyn spoke to him.
"Remember us!" she said "Remember and return!" There was a slight flicker of colour on the dark crystal surfaces. "John, come back!" In the midst of calm and emptiness, suddenly John felt emotion, need and longing. He faught against his desire to remain in the dark quiet of forgetfulness and with a raging voice, roared his way out of the Trove to find himself staring at three faces startled out of their meditations. Vilma's essence disappeared.
The Trove, meantime, sent a myriad of colour scintillating around the cavern in the torchlight, making such a beautiful light show that they all gasped. Then they quietened and Tyloren and Mahoo stepped forward to the Altar, and hurriedly placed the crystals one by one in the folds of their robes, removing them from the place they had been hidden in darkness for so long and at the same time removing the temptation from their Wandmaster. Jazlyn fell into John's arms, but they had no time to exchange words as a long grumbling sound was heard throughout the cavern and the walls and floor shook violently, throwing them off their feet. They clutched one another and John spoke, "It is Daridus, the mountain, speaking to Athrak! Quickly, we must leave!" And as the earth shook a second time, they ran as fast as they could from the cavern.
"Follow me," said John, and he set off with the sure knowledge that the rocks would lead him to safety.
Meantime, Lenora and Loman were caught deep within the mountain when the ground started to shake, and Loman was still carrying Ataxios, so he was unable to move fast.
"We have to get out of here, now!" shouted Lenora. "Dump him if you have to! Think of our children, Loman!"
"Children?" came the cracked but cackling voice of Ataxios, "You two have children? A lo and a spindly, ha, ha, ha! What children you must have brought into the Realm!"
"Don"t speak of them with your foul tongue!" shouted Loman, and his anger blazed.
But Ataxios laughed even louder, and Loman found himself out of control. Lenora was leading the way, having grown up herself in the darkness of Athrak, and she was now sure they had reached the cavern they had encountered on their way in to Athrak; they could hear the deep voice of the tumbling water and feel its spray on their faces. "Be careful, Loman, keep to the outer edge." Ataxios's laughter was now hysterical and it echoed around the cavern mockingly, so that it penetrated their ears and their hearts. Loman suddenly halted, and said "No soul should ever be forced to carry you!" And with a decisive move, he threw the insectivorous form away from him towards the centre of the cavern. The laugh became a long scream and then became silence. Loman heaved with effort and emotion as he stood to recover his senses, while Lenora could find nothing to say, but a tremendous feeling of relief swept through them at ridding themselves of their baggage. Still there was no time to exchange words as the ground beneath their feet began once again to tremble and shake, and there was a sound of grinding and breaking of rock all around. Lenora, at first shocked, then afraid, tugged at Loman's cloak and said "Come on now, what's done is done. Let's get out before there is a rock fall and we get trapped. I remember the way out from here!"
In the lower reaches of Athrak, the earth shook, moved, reformed and took many lives; lo's and spindlies – victims all in their way.
Also running from the grumbling mountains of Athrak, Mahoo, Tyloren, Jazlyn and John eased their way out of the dark tunnel and into the geode cave full of beautiful crystals that Tyloren had found on his escape from the Dark Box. It looked down on Nithrania, and John and Jazlyn, seeing it for the first time were struck by its wild majesty, even in their desperation to escape the grumbling mountain. Mahoo went to the mouth of the cave and gave a shrill whistle, which was answered in the distance by a similar one. It was daylight, so they started their descent, and when they reached the bottom, they were met by a party of slints, who greeted them hastily and then led them off through the trees.
Jazlyn glanced furtively at John every so often. He had not spoken much since his calling from out of the Trove and she was concerned about him. He was different. For one thing, his eyes had changed colour, from the brown she was familiar with and now they appeared to glint with hidden lights and to shimmer blue and green within their depths. His face was etched with new lines that made him look wise and somehow knowing, and his smile which she loved for its permanent hovering around his lips, had been replaced with a new solemnity. The ground shook again, and she instinctively clung to him feeling safe as his familiar scent reached her, and he held her close till the tr
embling stopped, but then released her and moved off alone, deep in thought.
In a matter of an hour or two, they reached the hidden valley, and the slints were anxiously waiting for guidance and news concerning the earth quakes and Athrak, so Mahoo was soon talking to a crowd gathered around him. The tremors were even then becoming quieter.
Tyloren and Mahoo had positioned the crystals from the Trove in Mahoo's cavern, in a place where they caught the light and there was a feeling of great power from within that all could feel. John did not enter the cave, but viewed them from a safe distance, not wishing to expose himself to temptation. The call he felt to become one with them was still strong. While Tyloren was busying himself with the exact positioning of the crystals, he turned to see Braedon, the eldest son of Loman and Lenora standing at the cave entrance.
"My parents?" he questioned, with trembling voice. Tyloren stood up from his work and looked at the youngster. "I'm afraid I have no news for you. We became separated and I lost track of them."
"What shall I tell my brothers?" he asked
"That there is hope they escaped, and until we know differently, you must believe in that hope".
Dejectedly, the young man turned and moved off towards the home that was missing two loving parents.
Chapter 31
Loose Ends
Daylight in the Dark Crystal Realm was a shade brighter, it seemed to John, not as bright as he remembered when the sun shone in through the window in his home back in England, but definitely a bit more cheerful. He knew his time in the Realm was coming to an end, and that he would have to leave. On one level he was deeply relieved that he was still in one piece and that he would be able to return, but it was such an anti-climax to suddenly see that the great adventure was over and also to realise that he had changed so much as a person that readjusting would be a hard task. Then there was Jazlyn. He would have to leave her behind. He wandered through the woods and down to the waterfall in the valley contemplating the coming end of his time in the realm, wondering how long he still had left, and sat on a rock to watch the water falling heavily and roaring down the cliff. The earth had stopped shaking and so there was a kind of stillness and peace to the Realm that he hadn't known since setting foot in it. It had been a hectic time of training, testing and Crystal Questing, and now it was over – if it had ever happened at all.
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