“The phase-in of Kalapsis was a success.” The Council transmitted to its superiors. The change was now registered with the Cosmic Federation, and inter-galactic travel clearance was again approved. The new millennium of a thousand years, had begun. Underground mountains broke through the surface and rose in the valleys and waters surrounding the Kingdom. The ancient Treptalonian castle appeared in a cornfield right-side up. On its north side stood a watchtower that held a shining plaque with the name “Clarenette” inscribed on it in an ancient script. It was the tower that Rutland told Clarenette he was building on that fateful evening, under the influence of his Master. Since time was now different than before, memories from the old millennium were growing dimmer.
***
On the afternoon following the next full moon, the Captain crossed his balcony and picked up the empty water dish. There were no visiting birds. He grabbed the railing, which no longer lit up to his touch. He strained to cast a final gaze over the countryside. His stared passed over Clarenette’s once flourishing gardens, now burnt to a crisp from the intensity of the sun. Clarenette’s favorite gushberry bushes were wilted. Black despair fell across the Captain’s face.
The Captain focused on a remarkable mountaintop that had risen in the distance. “My stargazers were accurate about the shifting tides and shuffling of land masses with this particular new moon,” he thought, “but a peak so spectacular was unexpected, and many glistening stars also appeared in our skies.”
Once again he pondered Clarenette’s whereabouts, longing for her. He turned to enter the palace when unexpectedly he heard “Daltoid! Daltoid!” Only Clarenette ever called him by that name. His heart leapt, and he spun around. But instead of Clarenette, a huge parrot stilled its wings as it landed on the railing. Its eyes were framed with orange-tipped feathers. The sun reflected off of its smooth beak, which curved at the tip.
“Aaawk! Daltoid! Aaawk!” it cried.
“Well, who is this that graces my balcony? I thought I heard you say my name!” Intrigued by this unannounced visitor, he said, “I am Daltoid, and clearly you are not my Clarenette. If you were, you would be bringing me my breakfast crumplets. I like them sprinkled with extra spice, you know. Clarenette would haven taken you under her wing to care for.” Feeling a strong connection, he pointed out to sea. “Join me, parrot, and discover a life beyond your regular routine.” He laughed at himself for talking to a bird. His ship’s crew, the finest possible, had been chosen, and awaited his orders to sail to uncharted lands.
The Captain didn’t know it, but the parrot remembered all too well what had happened the night his life changed forever.
***
The Captain strode through the palace hall on his way to meet with McFee. He did not notice McFee’s portrait, which now hung beside his own. Unlike the others, it was in a cage.
McFee waited on a stone-studded bench in the foyer. His eyebrows lifted as he saw the Captain approaching with a parrot on his shoulder. The Captain gestured for McFee to follow. They passed through an archway into his study, with guards standing at attention on each side. The Captain sat, motioning McFee to sit opposite him. As he eased into a chair, McFee locked eyes with the bird. The parrot flew off to perch on a bookcase.
The Captain cleared his throat.
“Master McFee. You have been a reliable and dedicated servant to the Kingdom. I am sure you understand the commitment necessary to reign. I have seen that you possess the leadership skills necessary to be a strong ruler.
“Not only Kavalon, but our entire planet has undergone incredible change. The global geography has been altered, new continents have probably emerged, creating huge uncharted waterways that may have an impact on the security of the land.” A thought crossed his mind, “We have never really known if other continents were colonized, and suddenly realized no delivery ship ever made it back, or sailed. How were our exports delivered?” He realized he did not remember, and quickly changed the subject.
“Your first meeting has been arranged,” he said, handing McFee the record book. “You will meet with the mapmakers to make the necessary changes for our official records. Our citizens have begun to acclimatize after our sun settled its flares. See to it that proper funds are allocated to develop new farmlands. Advisors have already been appointed to replace you and Rutland Ratkin.”
Uttering this traitor’s name, the Captain momentarily became silent, then continued. “The decision has been made. Master McFee, please stand.”
The Captain picked up the gushberry colored Scepter that lay next to him, and extended it. “I appoint you Ruler of Kavalon,” he announced, and handed McFee the Scepter. He stepped aside and removed his eye patch, replacing it with a tattered one he had bought in a second-hand shop, which now occupied the space that had been condemned for pest control issues after a certain shop owner had chased Rutty through the streets.
***
The time came for the Captain to take his leave. Citizens gathered from every corner of the Kingdom to watch the launch of the most majestic ship ever built. Its planks were sheets of finely pounded meteorite held together by diamond nails. The ship shone in the sunlight and hummed with an electric current that would allow it to glide through water by moonlight. Large gemstones were set into the bow, complementing a figurehead of Clarenette Clare that faced out to sea. A replica of her crystal hairpin glistened from its head.
“All aboard. Pull up the anchors! We are setting sail,” the Captain shouted from the crow’s nest. He crumpled up the outdated navigation maps and threw them to the wind. “The emerging waterways will take us on a dangerous expedition into uncharted waters. We will only be able to rely on our compass, the sun and directions from the prevailing winds. Prepare yourselves for anything.”
The crew pushed the massive ship away from the docks and raised the sails, which filled with the morning breeze. “Farewell! Farewell!” Echoed throughout the land. Daltoid turned and waved goodbye to the crowd, feeling in his heart that he would not return. The ship moved swiftly out to sea and the shoreline soon disappeared in the distance. With the parrot clinging to his shoulder, he peered over the side at the surface of the rippling water.
Tenderly, he touched Clarenette’s hairpin that was inserted on the front of his jacket. “I will not be defeated ever again, anywhere, on land or sea,” he vowed. The parrot squawked and took flight, circling the ship. Its wings cast a shadow over the crew.
Daltoid peered through his telescope at the mountain looming ahead. He turned around, and an identical mountain stood in Kavalon in the distance. As he stood at the helm, confused, the parrot flew onto the wheel and tried to change the ship’s course. “So, you would like to sail the other way, far from that mountain? And who are you to give an order to the Captain?” Daltoid said.
“Aaawk! Aaawk! Zelzo! Aaawk!” the parrot squawked, its beak opening wide.
“So, your name will be Zelzo,” he said. “Everyone needs a name. You are an unusual bird.”
***
The next morning Daltoid held the compass steady, but it would not magnetize in these uncharted waters. With his sleeve he wiped its crystal face, which had salted over from the strong winds that skimmed across the water and sprayed onto the deck. He turned to the crew. “Yesterday evening a mountain that I have never seen before appeared not far in the distance.We should have reached it by now.” He lowered his cap to the sunrise.
“How is it possible for such a peak to have simply vanished? We must have shifted course with the moon in the night. Steer the ship right around. We will have to navigate by instinct.” He touched the hairpin for comfort and squinted into the distance. “From the position of the sun I’d say we are proceeding straight towards the northern hemisphere, and that mountain should soon come back in view.”
He hollered to Kerten, one of his most trusted crew members. “Keep a good watch up there. It might emerge again with the shifting of the tides.” He turned around. For some strange reason the Kingdom of Kavalon was still
in view.
“The winds are getting strong, Captain,” Kerten answered. He swayed and held on tight while being whipped around in the watch post. “Looks like a storm is fast approaching.”
Daltoid shook his head watching the compass needle spin around and around. He was overcome by a feeling that the ship was not moving. He accidently dropped the compass, shattering it into pieces.
At that moment, he recalled something. “The compass was a new-moon gift from Clarenette. How did I forget? It was Clarenette who sent me away, back to sea. She gave me the compass before she went with Rutland. She must have known this was all going to happen, and she wants me to find her.” A spark of hope kindled in his heart.
The sun slid over to the other side of the horizon. Daltoid leaned over looking for his reflection in the sea, but the skies had darkened so much that not even a shadow appeared. “These are not the waters that I remember sailing before I reigned in Kavalon.” He gazed hard into the distance and saw the beginnings of a swirling vortex of water.
“Secure the mast!” he called to the crew below. These winds are coming from all directions. They are forcing the bow to dive. Kerten, straighten the stern and lock it in. Steady.”
The skies opened with a rush of hail that beat against the deck. Lightning bolts struck the rising waters. “Lower the center sail and fasten it on the deck, and ...” Before he could finish his sentence, ice stones shredded the sail and carried it away in the updraft. “Secure the hatches and take cover!” he hollered. Thunder clapped repeatedly, as though applauding the courage of those who dared to find themselves at sea.
Balls of fire bounced off the deck and the hull. Lightning struck the waters all around them, sending an electrical charge into the planks. The diamond nails glowed. The propellers began to turn from the charge, then just as abruptly, they jammed. A strong undercurrent grabbed the stern. “It’s shaking the ship apart,” a crewmember shouted.
“Keep low!” Daltoid ordered. “Keep low!”
“Keep low! Aaawk! Zelzo! Aaawk!” the parrot mimicked from its post under the spokes of the ship’s wheel.
“I’ve never seen a storm quite so ferocious,” he confided in the parrot. “You know, Zelzo, I have only a vague memory of sailing across the great waters that separate our world from others. Imagine that! And here I am talking to a parrot. It’s our little secret, my friend.”
“I must get the ship moving and steer it away from the eye of the storm, and away from that whirlpool ahead.” He tugged on the wheel but it would not budge. “Nothing will sink my ship. I will not be defeated again,” he vowed, shaking a fist at the skies. But then the light of the striking lightning bolts became so harsh that he had to shade his face.
The frightened crew turned their eyes upward, as the Starrings streaked across the skies. The bright points of light formed themselves into patterns, creating constellations to help navigate the ship out of danger.
Chapter 22
Deep beneath the disturbed waters’ surface, McFee’s hidden chamber trembled from a banging noise coming from somewhere outside. Maximojo rubbed his eyes, and tried to get his bearings. He was spinning round and round in some sort of goo. Every once in a while something came into view that looked like glass. He stretched out his paws and felt walls. He pressed against them to stop spinning. Maximojo was trapped in the viewer-box.
He rubbed the sticky glass and peered through the small clear space his paw had made. He could barely make anything out, but it appeared to be the chamber where only moments ago he had been standing listening to McFee. He tried to woof, but only a gurgling sound came out, as goo filled his mouth.
“Cosmolicious!” he bubbled. “That tasted almost as good as the lava-cream filling in spacecakes.”
He squinted again and was able to make out the dim outlines of Clarenette and the rat. He couldn’t see Glitta.
Meanwhile Glitta, twisted and turned until she finally freed her hair from the spider’s charged web. She puttered around the room, circling the box that had appeared on the table in the center of the chamber. She flittered up to the clear side of the box and saw Maximojo’s face peering back at her from inside. His nose was flattened against the inside of the glass.
“Can you hear me?” she sparked.
Maximojo nodded, signaling her to do her stellar beamer moves. She flitted back a little way and aimed at the glass. The beam just bounced off. She revved up again and tried to emit a gamma ray, but nothing happened.
“Mojo, I am depleted ... I need sunshine!” She floated to the floor of the chamber and folded her wings. She gathered her last charge and sent out another signal for help.
Clarenette stepped over to the box and looked inside, but Maximojo’s image began to distort. His face became concave, then elongated, then morphed into a most hideous sight. McFee’s face. His grin stretched from one side of the screen to the other. His voice permeated the chamber.
“Clarenette, I am so glad you are going to witness the demise of the great Maximojo!” Clarenette stared at the distorting image.
“Surely you recognize me!” McFee’s voice said. “We’ve crossed spaceways many light years ago. I’ve seen the powers your hairpin beholds. I want that activator disguised as a hairpin! Where is it?”
Clarenette continued to stare blankly.
“Ah well, traveling between galaxies can cause memory lapses during the time change,” the figure said. “I knew we would cross spaceways again. You must have lost your memory when you slipped in the gardens. Rutland should have been more careful with you. Such a careless rat. He used to carry out my orders without question, but since this heroic pair arrived, that appears to have changed.
“I have heard of this ‘Mojo Effect’ in which everybody begins to feel things like compassion, and begin making their own decisions. The members of my little gang have been acting independent of their statuettes. Someone is interfering, and I have a good idea who!” McFee’s hideous image leered at Clarenette. Your tower will look grand in my Kingdom under the sun,” he said.
She stepped back from the box as the glass became blurred with static. McFee swirled his cape over his face and exploded out the box. He hovered over Clarenette. He raised his voice, holding out his hand. “Give me that hairpin. It will be mine for eternity. I have waited a long time for this moment together.”
Clarenette began to pull at a lock of loose hair, and realized that her hairpin was gone. “I’ve never been without it. Daltoid gave it to me when we first met,” she thought, alarmed. “It must have fallen out in the gardens.” That was the last place she had remembered.
“You would never lose the crystal activator!” McFee demanded. “Now where is it!”
All at once the banging sounds grew louder. All eyes scanned the room and discovered a large gaping hole that had appeared in the chamber wall.
***
In the palace gardens, Meowlen heard a soft whistling noise coming from the bushes. “I knew we should never have left the forest,” she said, shivering in her faux-fur wrap, “It sounds like swarms of flies performing their cleansing rituals.” She rolled down the bug net in her visor, and handed Whinny a swatter.
“Not to worry,” Whinniston said, as he began batting the air with the swatter. “It seems to be bug-free now. Those pests must have seen me coming!”
“Do you hear that?” Woofster’s sniffer went wild.
Mannie covered his head with his paws. He was still in shock from his run-in with Rutland. When he had ambushed Rutland with the unconscious Clarenette, he attacked him from behind, but that ruthless rat grew to an enormous size and with one kick, sent Mannie flying through the air over Whinniston’s head and into some bushes. Afterward, he was almost too embarrassed to speak with the others, especially Woofster.
The whistles grew louder. Then, “Hey, it’s me. Down here,” a voice said. Mannie tilted his head to one side and peered into the grass under his nose.
“It’s me, Kelcius. I don’t believe we’ve met. Kelcius
-Kol, that’s my name, the leader of the underworld miners movement, and proud of it. Who might you be?” He parted the grass and then saw his friend Meowlen.
“Kelcius! What are you doing here?” She was surprised.
“Glad I found you. Everything was different when I returned to our rest caves with the search team. When Rutty and his gang weren’t around we all became fearless. We went out and gathered coal from behind the castle, and struck two rocks together until they sparked and then lit the coals like I had seen Rutty do,” he sighed, “Imagine, our own fire. Our rest caves lit up with incredible colors. They just kind of came to life. That’s the way we all feel now. We now remember we are Treptalonians, and even had a naming ceremony for all of us. Our world of slavery is over,” he said. “Kol is back, and at your service!”
“Now listen. You all have to follow me. I need everyone of you. We don’t have much time. Maximojo and Glitta are in real trouble. Big trouble! We must save them. I shouldn’t have left them back in that shaft alone with that spider.”
Maximojo and the Wand of Light Page 19