by Ivory Autumn
He stared at his shining fingers in amazement. Then he stared at his friends, then up at the brilliant sun, then at Orion, all the while smiling. The light radiated from his being was powerful and stirring. It was the kind of light that reflected heat and warmth, and showered those within his gaze to feel with peace. Ivory reached out her hand and touched Andrew’s glowing face. It was smooth as glass, like silver snow that was warm when it touched her skin.
“Andrew,” she breathed, pointing to the illuminated world filled with light. “Look.”
Andrew looked all around him, his face alight with wonder. He reached out and caught her hand, and pressed it to his lips. Her hand felt so cold in his, he wanted to warm it.
Orion’s face gleamed like a proud parent. “It is time Andrew. You cannot linger here any longer. You are summoned into the sky.”
“Now?” Andrew asked, his eyes saddening. He wanted to see and rejoice with his friends. He had no desire to leave. Not yet. “Must I go?”
“You have completed your quest. You have passed through the flame, ice, wind, fire, shadow, darkness, all which have molded you for the heavens.”
Andrew looked to his friends. His heart swelled. He wanted to stay with them. Was he to be forever alone? There was so much he wanted to say, but he could not find the words.
Orion placed his hands on Andrew’s shoulder, then pointed to the sky. “The dawn awakens a world lost in years of shadows. Oh, and how it awakens. Look, do you not see how brilliantly it shines? Like it, you were born to give light. You have outgrown this world, for a better one. Where I take you, your light will continue to grace the earth. You need not worry about being alone. Light is never alone. You have proven that you can shine in the darkness.”
Andrew smiled looking around him at a world that welcomed the sun with open arms. The sun danced in Andrew’s shining hair, and caressed his skin, making him glow even brighter. He looked out over the hills at Lancedon’s army that came together under the rising sun. Their swords and armor glimmered in the light of dawn. A thunderous shout of joy rang throughout the ranks of the army as Lancedon spotted them from atop the tower. The black sea of ice had melted away. In its place was solid, grassy ground, covered in thousand of glittering starflowers.
“We must go,” Orion said, urging Andrew towards the shining chariot.
Andrew looked around him at his friends. An overwhelming feeling of sadness fell over him. “Can’t I stay just a while longer?”
Orion’s face grew stern, then softened. Then he smiled, and nodded. “Alright. You have until tonight. No longer. Then you must come with me.
Chapter Fifty-three
A New Star
Peace hovered over the land, wrapping the people left on the earth with comfort and a bright hope for the future. The sun shone freely down upon the earth, not too hot and not too cold, but gentle and giving, warm and balmy.
All who were left alive to witness that new day, called it the most perfect day in history. For there was nothing amiss. The lost and dead, on the battlefield, whose souls were full of light, revived as soon as the sun hit their faces, giving them new life. No darkness lingered anywhere, in man, beast, nature, above the earth or beneath. It was cast out, banished from the hearts of men.
The age of The Fallen had passed away like a vapor of smoke, a dark ink spot on the pages of history that was now wiped clean.
Winter was no more, for it, too, had passed a way in a single night. Light floated and hovered, lingered, and caressed the land, flooding every space that had been desecrated by blood, fire, and darkness, with newness. The air smelled crisp, clean, beautiful, like flowers, grass, and fertile earth. The great fiery pits of The Fallen had filled up with clear, green water, reflecting the light of the sun. The castle of The Fallen had melted under the new light. In its place was a massive, pure, crystal glass structure that gleamed far brighter than the previous castle ever had.
All old things that had been, had passed in the night. The cities and countries of the world had been emptied of entire populations of darkness. Those remaining were those who had let their hearts be changed by the light. No dark thing remained. The sun rose purer and brighter than any day in recorded history. No days that followed that day could, or would ever compare to that perfect day.
The rein of The Fallen had ended, his life cycle discharged, and destroyed. Freedom was free at last, all could now live and breathe, and do, and be, and allowed others the same if they chose.
It was as if the earth itself had burst into song, a song that was felt more than heard. The song was warm and vivid, and wonderful. Its heartbeat was the throb of renewed life, the singing birds that flitted through living trees, the laughter of children, the hum of bees, the stillness of peace. In this new light, all was transformed, vivid, colorful, striking. The sun was a rich yellow, doubled in size, tripled in brightness and glory. Because of the change that had overtaken the people of the earth, they welcomed this new light. The sky was a vibrant blue. The grass an intense green.
That day was a day filled with rejoicing, and renewed friendships. Croffin, too, had been restored to life, expelled from the darkened lung of The Fallen, changed from his old self, to a bright and brilliant, coon, at long last. He now had two perfect eyes and a coon tail to match his coonliness---dignified, uncomplaining, and very humbled. Lancedon, Sterling, Andrew, Ivory, Talic, Freddie, Croffin, Gogindy, Coral, Page, and many others lingered together, telling of their struggles, of their adventures, and their hope for the future.
All had been changed in some way.
All were not the same people or creatures they had once been.
They had grown strong through the darkness.
Talic and Gogindy sat together, no longer rivals, but true friends that had much more in common than they had before. Though the old Talic was back, he too had changed. He no longer regarded Gogindy with irritation, even though he had every right in the world to dislike him for what he had done to him. Instead, there was a common bond. For all had been brought together and refined by adversity.
Then, ever so slowly, ever so humbly, the sun slowly set in the east, leaving behind it a brilliant display of golden clouds braided together in webs of colorful fire. In its departure, the night stole over the land---a night unlike any night that had ever been or would be. The stars lay strewn across the sky, their light burning holes in the dark spaces that separated them, making them look even brighter. Their light extended far, in long shafts, as if reaching out to those left on earth, ready to grasp them and pull them into their arms. Where the day had given way to the cycle of night, the night, too, was renewed, and brilliant in its own silvery sphere. For in this night, there was no real darkness, no real fear, no real despair. The darkness that existed in this night was pliable and obedient, giving way to the light of the gleaming stars, doing its only job, making them stand out. The quiet throb of peace and contentment saturated the air, where one could sleep and be fully at rest.
All was stillness, quietude. A distant hum of music rose from the multitudes of people rejoicing together around lusty campfires that were all too eager to do what they were made for, doing what fire did best---giving light unreservedly as if it was the first fire ever created. It might well have been, for these fires were the first real fires since The Fallen had fallen.
For once in thousands of years, all was right where it should be. All was in perfect harmony. The world was at peace.
Andrew, and his friends sat and ate, and drank, and laughed together. Though they were miles and miles away from their homes---they were home. Andrew finally felt at peace. He felt happy, he felt at home. As the night waned, and his friends grew tired, and in need of rest, Andrew began to feel more and more changed, and less of the person he had once been. Where he could blend in with the light of day, here he stood out. Here in the night, he was looked upon with curiosity. Many who had sought his companionship during the day, hesitated before him in the darkness. His skin burned brighter and brighter
with each second, so bright and so intensely that those who wished to save their eyesight were provoked to look elsewhere.
Where Andrew’s friends grew tired and hungry, he no longer felt those things. He had a vague sense of what they felt like, what it was to be hungry, or to feel pain. Oh, he ate and drank, but not with the same enjoyment that it had once given him. Yes, he remembered the pleasure those things had given him, but they had passed away like a dream.
He was not the same Andrew he once was, and those who knew him, felt it, as well. It was not that he was so changed from the person he used to be, but that he had become more of himself than he had been before---an Andrew that had existed long before the world began. He was a being whose time on earth was beginning to wane. He felt a strange longing to be alone, to get away from all the eyes that looked at him curiously. His friends had tried to act as if he were the same, and they treated him with little difference. Yet, he could see it in their eyes, he could hear it in their voice. Something had changed.
He stood up from his place by the fire, and moved out into a great, grassy field of starflowers, where once legions of shadows and darkened beings had waged war on an icy field, battling the army of light. He turned his eyes to the sky, and breathed in. The light from his skin burned brighter as he stared up at the stars. He could hear their call. The heavens whispered to him, urged him to their embrace. In their voices he could hear the voices of souls that had gone on before him. People who loved him. How he wanted to go. Yet, he wanted to stay. How he wanted to see his parents he had never known, how he wanted to see his earthly parents, and tell him of all that he had seen. Something inside him, told him that he would.
As if summoned by Andrew himself, a light smeared across the sky, a flaming chariot drawn by Orion. It ushered itself through the host of stars, with flaming wheels of fire, bursting into the field in front of Andrew. Wafts of heat and light floated off the luminous chariot as Orion stepped from flames.
“It is time,” Orion said. His voice was strong, and abrupt. He motioned with his gleaming hand, beckoning Andrew towards his chariot. “There are many waiting to see you.”
Andrew stepped towards Orion, then quickly glanced back. He could hear the music, the laughter, the voices of his friends---people he had grown to love and respect, and who loved and respected him. People he would give his live for if he still had one to give. But that too had passed away. Life, he thought, how fleeting it was. Yet with death, he had awakened to a new life, one where he could see things so much clearer than before, where he could feel things in a different, keener way, without the heaviness of his body weighing him down. He felt weightless, and without limit, as if he could leap off into the sky, and glide where he wished. The sky called to him, louder and louder, like a choir welcoming his return. He felt torn in two.
How could he leave his friends, now that they had finally been reunited. There were still more stories to tell, still more journeys to be had. Why did he have to go? Why did he want to go? It didn’t make any sense.
He took a step into the chariot, a shiver of exhilaration beating in his gleaming heart, but a voice called him back.
“Andrew!” Ivory cried. “ANDREW!” She ran through the darkness up to him. “Don’t go.” Tears trailed down her cheeks. “Please, stay. STAY!” She buried her head in his arms. “I’ve lost you so many times, Andrew. I don’t want to lose you again. I would rather die, than be left here alone, without you.”
Andrew held her close, looking into her green, shining eyes. His heart filled with longing and sadness. “I want to…”
“Then stay!”
“He can’t,” Orion cut in.
The color drained from Ivory’s face. “But why? It’s not fair.”
Andrew took Ivory’s trembling hands in his. His throat tightened, and gleaming tears of light spilled down his face. “I want to stay, Ivory. I really do. More than anything. But…”
“But what?” Ivory asked. “Stay with me, with us…” She pointed to his friends gathering behind him.
Andrew tried to back away from Ivory, feeling the strong pull of something greater than he could understand, towards the chariot. “You will never be alone, Ivory. Never. I promise.”
“Take me with you Andrew, please,” Ivory cried, yanking him back to her.
Andrew looked at Orion with pleading eyes.
“No, she cannot come,” Orion said. “You already know this. She still as a work to accomplish. But, yours, Andrew is finished.”
Andrew cringed at his words. How true they were. Still, he did not want to hear them.
“Oh Ivory…” he wiped a tear from her eyes. “Don’t cry, Ivory. I will take you with me. But not today. You have a work that only you can do.” He opened her closed palms and traced the strange diamond marks---the scars that had been burned into her hand when she had pulled Freddie up from the tower wall. “Don’t you see? You bear the mark now. You now hold the flame. You have a gift, Ivory. And you must use it. It is up to you to smite darkness where and when it ventures in.”
“What gift? I don’t understand.” Ivory pulled her hands away from Andrews. “You speak in riddles. Why can’t I go with you now?”
“Because,” Andrew whispered, “the world still needs you.”
Ivory pulled back, her face fierce and angry. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Oh, but it does, Ivory,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “Believe me, it does. If there was anything I could do to change fate…if I would take you with me.”
Ivory folded her arms and glowered at Andrew. “Don’t you need me?”
Andrew pulled her close, and hugged her tightly. “Of course. I always have, and always will need you. That’s why I’ll always be watching, always waiting for you. You do have a work to do, Ivory. I can’t tell you what it is. Only that it is important.”
“More important than us being together?”
Andrew held her shoulders and stared at her sincere, loving face, wishing more than anything that he could take her with him. “We will be together, Ivory. Just not now.”
Ivory’s eyes filled with tears, and she began to sob. “Go then, but I’m not going to wait for you until I’m a hundred. I’ll marry Freddie, or Talic. Yes. That’s what I’ll do.”
“You will?” Freddie called behind her. He stepped up to the chariot, Talic, Freddie, Lancedon, Gogindy, Croffin and the rest of Andrew’s friends watching behind him.
“Looks like I’m the lucky one,” Freddie laughed, weakly, trying to lighten the mood, but doing a poor job of it. His eyes grew serious, and his face was soft with emotion. “You’re leaving already…Andrew?”
Andrew took Freddie by the shoulders, and stared deeply into his eyes. “I have to.”
Freddie nodded, trying to hide his tears. “Sure. Go, then if you must. Just when things were getting back to normal. Go, take off. Fly away in your flaming chariot. I don’t care. Right, Talic, Ivory, Gogindy? We don’t care do we?”
“He’s right,” Talic chirruped, jerking his head from under a rock, bringing out a large white worm. He chewed on it, nodding. “Yes. Go…Andrew. It’ll be your own fault, missing out on so many wonderful things…” He absently scratched his neck as if he had fleas.
“Like worms…” Andrew answered.
“Yes…like worms…er, wait, uh…” Talic’s face filled with embarrassment realizing what he had just said.
“Tut, tut,” Croffin chimed. “Still looks like you have some unhealthy habits to get over.”
“They’re not bad,” Gogindy scoffed, coming to Talic’s defense. “It’s perfectly healthy. Bugs have lots of protein in them. They're very, very healthy. All Twisker girls like it when you collect bugs and give them a box for special occasions. It’s deemed very, very admirable. I do think he should try it sometime.”
Talic nodded, listening with great interest as if this piece of advice was priceless, and worth remembering.
“I don’t think Gogindy’s the one you should be listeni
ng to for advice,” Andrew said, giving Talic a worried look. “He may lead you astray.”
“What?” Gogindy screeched. “Me? Never. After all I’ve done for this planet, after all I did? After ringing that bell and risking my neck, after losing my whiskers, after saving practically everybody from extinction and this is the praise I get? This is the thanks? There should be crowds groveling before me, licking up my every word. I am a hero.”
“Yes,” Andrew agreed, placing a gentle hand full of strength and light on Gogindy’s shoulder. His voice filled with power and sincerity. “You are a great hero, Gogindy. You gave the world hope, in the darkness. You gave me hope. You are stronger than you look. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. ”
At those words Gogindy’s face gleamed with pride. He beamed with gratitude, and nobility. He bowed before Andrew, “No. It is you, Andrew who is the real hero.”
Andrew shook his head and stared at the great gathering of people surrounding him. “You, all of you, are heroes!”
“It is time, Andrew” Orion murmured, nudging Andrew to him. “We can wait no longer.” Andrew’s heart lurched when he heard those words. He had been preparing for this moment all day. Yet, he could not bring himself to leave. Here were the people he loved and cared for most, in all the world. Here, standing before him were the souls he owed so much more than his life to. What words could he say? What thanks could he give? What gratitude could he show? Anything he had to say seemed small, and unworthy of those he called his friends. His throat tightened, his vision blurred with tears, his brilliant frame trembled with emotion.