~Chapter 14~
The Journey Begins
A showdown between the Lords of Light and Darkness was once again, set in motion. The cycle of light and dark: it is the in-between time of light before dawn and darkness before dusk.
The great battle would take place as it has in the past and will again, once more in the future. In the Valley of the Kings under the celestial darkness of a full eclipse of the moon across the face of the earth, in less than four weeks time, the cycle will continue.
For there is no beginning...nor is there an end.
Louis spent the better part of the next two days up in his room alone lost in the Sworn Book, The Good Book of Honorius of Thebes. After reading and rereading it again, Louis felt he was ultimately on the right path, towards solving his riddles.
Another meeting was now in order with Mr. Beamer, Panthera, Charlie and Junior before the epic journey was to begin. Mr. Beamer once again took charge and called for it to be held on the following day. All will meet back in Mr. Beamer's barn.
It was a cool night as Mr. Beamer closed the barn doors.
"Louis did you get a chance to read from the Sworn Book anymore?"
"Yes Mr. Beamer, I spent more than two days and nights locked up in my bedroom. Heck, I hardly slept at all."
"Do you feel you understand the depth, and breadth of the quest set before us?"
"So far so good, but some of the foreign language, writings, pictures and quotes, I did not understand. Can you explain the quest we will take in more detail?"
"That is understood to be a given Louis that you do not understand all that is before you. For you are still young, and your lack of training and experience in many of these matters has not been completed yet. Your journey last year to the North Pole did wizen you in the ways of Petar and his fellow Under World spies.
"Yes, I feel I understand some of his devious ways."
"Good Louis. That is very good, said Junior, for you will meet Petar again and soon."
"Also the time you spent, sitting in the Tree of Knowledge, your passage through the lair of Growlar the Cave Bear, your battles with Raff the Red Wolf, and your meeting with Black-Elk, were all pre-foretold and written about. You have already been in training for your next undertaking, and most likely you did not even realize that it was happening", said Mr. Beamer.
"Yes you are right Mr. Beamer. Louis has been in training for over two years now but his training is not complete. We must have him reach Shambhala, the High Place. We must take him back to the ancient times, to Tibet for the final, fine-tuning of his skills. He must become the warrior he was destined to be. He must enlighten his mind to the ways of the Kalachakra teachings. Within his mind, he must reach Nirvana. He must find the true place of tranquility, peace, and happiness, to be able to destroy all evil, and full-fill his destiny," said Panthera as he scanned Louis's face for signs of strength and courage.
"I will go where ever I am needed, for if my training is not complete as you say Panthera, then I will surely fail in the end. Then all will be lost."
"I am glad you agree Louis. The Book of Honorius can only tell, or show you how to become the man you need to be, to win your battles and defeat your enemies, but if deep inside you do not have truthfulness, and the ability to carry courage and faith within yourself, then you can truly never win. So it is told, so it will be.
You will not be able to defeat this scourge upon us, if this happens, darkness will swallow the light, and all will be lost for good," said Panthera as he motioned for Mr. Beamer to reinforce his position.
"Panther is correct again. You have been the victor so far in all of your battles but for this last great struggle between good and evil, you must have the upper hand, and the only way to assure this, is to take you to the Kingdom of Shambhala in the holy city of Tibet, which is found high up in the Himalayan Mountains.
"I once crossed the Ingnok Mountains, the dark mountains in the heart of the North Pole, as you have. I am no stranger to this type of travel or harsh terrain. My experience there will surely pay off."
"This is true Louis. All of your past adventures were meant to help you on your future journey. Now when you reach the great city you will find friends and shelter. Then you will need to study the ancient texts of the Zhang Zhung culture. In this culture and in this famous city, all who live there are said to be enlightened: the women and men are all beautiful, all dwell in magnificent abodes.
You will be welcomed there for they know of your coming. I have sent word in advance. King Kulika who reigns upon the Lion Throne rules this city. He is a benevolent monarch. He has been the ruler since the "Golden Age of Men".
Inside of his teachings, you will learn the meaning of the outer, the inner, and the secret meanings of life; only through knowing these things will you be able to conquer your fears in your time of need. For Louis, the evil that you are to fight is growing rapidly as we speak," said Mr. Beamer with a stern look on his face.
"I have seen the evil grow. Remember Molly, Chug, Sammy, and Harry, they are all under an evil spell as we speak. We must not forget about then," said Louis.
"We have not forgotten about them Louis. They will be safe for the time being. We know where they are. I flew over the Saint Louis prison just yesterday and saw that they are well. Keep in mind, that when your task is done, their minds will be free once more and then we shall go to their rescue. It will be our first priority, trust me" said Charlie.
"Now, we must leave in two days time. Louis please find your dependable bear-skin overcoat that I gave you last year, your trusted walking staff and outer-gear, your backpack and all of the other belongings that you will need for your quest. I as well will pack things that we will need for this long and dangerous trek. And with the help of Junior, and Charlie as our guides and transportation, we will fly towards the Himalayan Mountains; due east soon."
"I regretfully will not be able to fly with you", said Panthera?"for I am too heavy and awkward to be carried aloft. I would have to go back the way I came overland back through Asia. Since time is of the essence, and by the time, I would make the journey, to the Tibetan plateau and into the Holy City, the eclipse of the moon and your looming epic battle will have already been settled.
All I can do now is offer you support, and wish you the best of luck. I have done all I can by bringing you news of Petar. I will stay here in Centerville and stand guard in case any of Petar's dark, ungodly followers decide to throw their evil over your town again. I will not let this happen. I will guard the children: your friends and family Louis" said Panthera in his low growling voice.
"Thank you Panthera. I knew we could count on you, and your courage, and you are right, you would not have time to travel that far by land, in time to help our cause.
That is why I have spoken the magic incantations and splattered the blood of "Medusa" over our Charlie when he arrived last week. You see the Pegasus's were brought into this world when Peruses killed Medusa in ancient Greece. I happened to have a vile of that blood, and have had it in my possession for thousands of years. I hate to brag about my handy-work, but I just wanted you to know that you do have a bona fide conjurer as well as a ancient Librarian. Santa Claus is not the only wizard in this world."
"Man oh, man I was wondering what happened to my Charlie. When I saw him in Saint Louis flying overhead, with that morning sun in my eyes, I was not sure what had happened to him, or if it was even him to begin with, but it did occur to me that you were behind it Mr. Beamer."
"Well now you know Louis, plus I might be called upon again before this is all over, to cast another spell upon Charlie and Junior, our resident Arions, once more. For now their strength and stamina in flight is what we need most, to get us to our destinations in the Far East. That is why I called on them both to change to this bred of horse."
Juni
or ruffled his wings, letting out a low whiny to show the strength that lies in his wings.
"I now call this meeting adjourned. Let us all prepare now for our journey. Pack lightly Louis, as will I. Let your parents know of our plans. Panthera can you go to the parents of the missing children, and let them know of our plans as well because we are all in this together."
"Yes I will Tut-Ankh-Amon...I mean Mr. Beamer. The meeting is adjourned. Let us all now rest and prepare as Mr. Beamer just said," exclaimed Panthera as he motioned for all to head towards the barn doors.
Charlie the Great White Horse and the Journey to Egypt Page 30