by Jack Challis
Blodwyn closed the front door quietly behind her, disappearing into the soft June night; the town was still in darkness, perfect conditions to walk unnoticed. She hurried past the dark house that once belonged to the Jenkins and her best friend, Myfanwy. The Silky was standing in the front garden like a pale, graceful marble statue, gazing out to sea: the grey stone house looked sad and empty.
Bright stars, a sickle moon and lifelong knowledge of the path guided her to the ford. As she climbed the stony mountain path she was breathless with excitement: she was leaving Earth for the near and distant past! If given a choice she knew exactly what periods she would visit.
She would love to walk on Earth during the Cretaceous period, the real Age of the dinosaurs; visit Earth when it was just one great land mass, called Pangaea. Next to Africa and witness the struggle of the different species: all trying to become us.
And finally to return to her small village of Tala Pandy seventy years ago and see if the beautiful girl that approached her in True Arcadia with detached affection was indeed her Grandmother, who died before Blodwyn got to know her.
She reached the enchanted glade; her friend Myfanwy the Fairy Queen Grunwalde Angharad was waiting.
‘Look,’ says Myfanwy, a jar of Barium sea-slugs sent by the King of the Cilla who has fallen in love with me.’
Blodwyn noticed that the sea-slugs were about the size of a large courgette and looked like giant maggots: they were still very much alive and were glaring back at Myfanwy with hostile suspicion.
‘Fallen in love with me, you mean,’ corrects Blodwyn, ‘when I impersonated you and all your bad manners at the alien banquet. I bet you have not even seen a Cilla?’
‘Noooo,’ replies Myfanwy, ‘but I know what a Quall looks like.’
‘Pray-tell,’ says Blodwyn, she had a feeling Myfanwy was lying.
‘Galla Qualls look like… raving mad kinkajous… and have the body of a pregnant slow-worm with two wiggly little tails on an enormous bum…oh and their breath stinks like dog’s poo simply because…’ Myfanwy has to think…because they can only eat dog’s poo.’
‘Just tell me where they are?’ says Blodwyn.
‘They are coming to pay their respects to me,’ answers the Fairy Queen giggling nervously. Blodwyn realized the new Queen of the Fairies had never met any alien before and was rather agitated.
A robust reptilian Ida Jaade Centurion appears out of the night, his natural red crest at half-mast. The Ida Jaade was carrying Sebus, the Galla Quall in his arms – like a baby, the big reptilian alien gently laid the aquatic alien on his feet, or what ever Sebus used as feet.
Thin blue robes always covered a Galla Quall’s means of locomotion. Myfanwy giggled, hand over cherry-pie mouth as she began inspecting the Quall without greeting, like someone who might inspect a new unusual present; looking him up, down and occasionally underneath his pale blue flimsy robe!
‘Spooky… spooky…gross!’ repeats the Fairy Queen. Now isn’t that the queerest thing.’ was all the Fairy Queen could keep saying; her emerald green eyes sparkling. The alien watched Myfanwy circling him; with his own inner thoughts.
Blodwyn felt embarrassed for this very intelligent, respected and sensitive alien. Admiral Sebus the oldest and wisest of the Qualls had never seen the beautiful Queen of the Lings before in the flesh but had good knowledge of her reputation, power and of course inexcusable bad manners. Sneaking one more quick look, Myfanwy exclaims again:
‘Now isn’t it the queerest thing! Do you know he hasn’t got any what-sits or thingy’s?’
Blodwyn, now fed up with the blatant bad manners of the Fairy Queen shouts,
‘Shut up you rude little cow Myfanwy, or I will give you a good hard punch in the gob and pinch a handful of your belly fat!’
‘I find this uneven terrain difficult to negotiate,’ says Admiral Sebus,’ breaking the awkward silence following Myfanwy’s gawking inspection.
While Blodwyn quickly rechecked the contents of her rucksack; she heard Myfanwy say to the Galla Quall:
‘Of course, I have known Blodwyn Jones for ages – she is my best friend… It was I that sent her to find the Alter Dom you know. But she can also be a nasty spiteful little bitch… do you know she tried to murder me twice with an axe….and then strangle me to death…I have lost count of the times she has bitten me.’
Blodwyn whispers to Myfanwy,
‘You just wait you lying little cow…!’
Sebus diplomatically interrupts,
‘A great deal of time has passed since I last walked on Tarrea-two, Greetings Blodwyn…Jones, I hope you are ready for this great adventure?’
‘Thank you for keeping your promise… yes, I can’t wait.’ Answers Blodwyn.
‘I presume this is the lovely Queen of the Lings?’
Immediately Lings appear, all their little mouths were stuffed and sticky with pollen toffee: they were chewing like demented woodworms. Sislings flew around the new arrivals inspecting and scrutinizing just like their queen had just done.
Some Lings gently touched the moist skin of the Galla Quall and the rough scales of the Ida Jaade; they remembered him from when he first visited Venus in the distant past; he had given them their first taste of the Lings’ favorite food; pollen toffee. Inspection over, the Fairy Queen held up the jar of sea slugs for a closer look.
‘Do these ugly little maggots bite?’ she asks, returning the invertebrate’s hostile stares.
‘Yes… both ends bite!’ answers Admiral Sebus.
‘Now isn’t that the queerest thing,’ answers the Fairy Queen. ‘Then, I will bite both ends off first!’ the Fairy Queen exposes her gleaming white teeth and chomps them threateningly at the watching alien sea-slugs.
‘They should be eaten whole… as the Cilla eat them,’ says Sebus.
‘Ooookay …now look at me,’ exclaims the Fairy Queen. ‘See if I can swallow one of these squirming little sea-squirts whole!’
‘Act with some grace and decorum – like a Queen!’ hisses Blodwyn quietly at her friend.
‘Myfanwy ignores her advice, ‘this little wiggling *** will disappear into my beautiful little pudding-hole – with lots of grace and decorum… watch everyone!’
Blodwyn gave up; Myfanwy had to be the centre of attention. As she checked that all her subjects were watching, Blodwyn turned to the Galla Quall.
‘Are they safe to eat?’ she asks.
‘Yes,’ answers Admiral Sebus, ‘but they are extremely tenacious.’
‘How tenacious?’ she asks.
‘They will take at least two earth weeks to die and be digested,’ says the Quall, ‘… that is if they don’t escape first! You see we Qualls do have a sense of humor.’
Blodwyn giggled. Myfanwy held up a wiggling sea slug, which was determined to keep out of her sweet little cherry-pie mouth. Nevertheless she managed to force the struggling creature into her ‘pudding-hole’ and began the swallowing process; managing several giggles and a few hops while doing so. She looked like some kind of greedy snake swallowing a large toad. Myfanwy’s eyes bulged; she wiggled her fingers at her side, and did a little jig to help the squirming creature down. The large sea slug slipped out of sight down the Fairy Queen’s, milky white, delicate throat!
‘Amazing!’ says Sebus the Galla Quall, ‘even Serpentils who swallow their food whole, would be impressed.’ (Serpentils swallow rabbit sized rodents)
‘Ug…uggg… gross!’ exclaims Myfanwy, ‘I think it pooed in my gob. The little sea-squirt feels as if is trying to leave my stomach and go somewhere else – shall I swallow another?’
‘No thanks!’ Replies Blodwyn, ignoring Myfanwy’s face pulling and theatricals as the Barium sea slug tried to escape. ‘Where are you taking the Sillian?’ Blodwyn asks Sebus.
‘To one of the moons of Jupiter, it will find peace there,’ answers Sebus.
‘Are you afraid of a web-spinning Sillian?’ asks Blodwyn.
‘We accept all life-forms have a right to exist,’ a
nswers Sebus. Now we must leave… disruption from our Ty-cal generators is causing concern on Tarrea-two.’
The small group climbed upwards through the woods to the waiting Galla Quall frigate.
‘Bye, bye my dearest sweetest cariad,’ says Myfanwy, ‘I hope you don’t get killed by something horrible! If you don’t – get killed that is, bring me back something nice…something to eat…and something to wear…oh and… something else as well… but not another jar of sea-slugs…I can feel the little ****** crawling around in my guts.’
‘Typical,’ thought Blodwyn, me – me – me!’ Boochi the little Sisling arrived and hovered close to Blodwyn’s face, grinning, eyebrows raised over black button eyes, showing small sharp teeth. She was happy to see this brave and naughty little Sisling again. Boochi would be Blodwyn’s personal bodyguard on her coming adventures.
Once aboard, the armed frigate quietly rose vertically up into the star speckled sky and then took off gathering speed slowly, entering high cloud. A surge of power and the frigate was at the rendezvous with the gleaming new Galla Quall Typhon war-hawk Time-ship, three thousand miles above Earth. This battleship was capable of reaching the speed of Time; three times faster than the speed of light; increase the speed to five times the speed of light and you begin to enter the past!
Tarrea-two was now far below; a speck the size of a marble with twirls of cloud on blue seas. Blodwyn sat at the plush bridge of the warship, manned by Ida Jaade warriors – intent on their control procedures. The little Sisling, Boochi, buzzed around the bridge studying everything, still stuffing her mouth with pollen toffee, her small sticky hands everywhere.
‘Firstly,’ announces Admiral Sebus, ‘according to our ancient Quilleian chronicles… in order to save our species we must revisit the Fourth Quadrent to seek a rare tree… known as the Tarmirian Paradise tree… a plant that is intelligent, tactile and seeks affection and loving care. Then find a shy, rare life-form… a Calara-Simmering. Lastly we must locate a mysterious race known as ‘The Worm-eaters.’ All these life-forms somehow hold the key to our survival as a species.’
‘Are any of these life-forms dangerous Admiral?’ An Ida Jaade warrior asks.
‘Yes… the Worm-eaters,’ answers Admiral Sebus, ‘…those who find their planet never return… for reasons unknown… they are a total mystery. Are you still willing to accompany us young Terasil?’
Blodwyn was never one to answer a question without due consideration. The name ‘Worm-eaters’ did not fire her imagination, after all, what could be more frightening than a blind Tamasic or an Orb-eyed, Oga Koya, or even a web-spinning Sillian? Time would prove Blodwyn wrong; there were many life-forms just as frightening awaiting her acquaintance.
‘I won’t change my mind,’ Blodwyn answers, ‘what will you do Admiral when you find the planet of the Worm-eaters?
‘Conduct our final Time trials… then gradually go back in Time, in stages to a planet you know well… Quilla Prime. To meet our distant ancestors. We intend to bring some of our ancestors back to our home… the lake in Quilla Prime!’
‘But surely your ancestors will take millions of years to evolve into Galla Qualls,’ answers Blodwyn. Sebus nodded sadly.
‘Unless…’ the Galla Quall did not finish the sentence.
‘Come,’ concludes Admiral Sebus, ‘I will show you to your special quarters; the little Sisling followed. Blodwyn found her living area delightful. It was as if this alien had studied human good taste and their needs.
‘Sleep when you are ready,’ says the Galla Quall.
She lay on a soft deep blue bed; she trusted the Galla Qualls. With a delicate wave of his three-digit tentacle, an appliance that looked like a large adjustable table light appeared from the wall and stopped over her head. When you are ready to sleep turn this light on,’ says Sebus.
‘How long will I sleep for?’ asks Blodwyn Jones knowing the blue was no ordinary light.
‘A very long time.’ answers the Galla Quall.
‘I won’t wake up a dry and wrinkled old hag will I?’ she replies remembering the words of the Fairy Queen.
‘No… you will be younger in fact.’
‘I don’t want to be crawling around on the floor either or having my milk teeth back… or even re-entering puberty,’ she responds.
‘Just take only two Earth months off your biological clock,’ says Sebus.
‘May I ask two more questions?’ asks Blodwyn.
Sebus nods.
‘First, what will happen to my food…it will go off!’
‘Place it in that blue receptor,’ says Sebus, ‘It will remain fresh.’
‘Second, there is only one Time-ship…what if something happens?’
‘Then… we will all be lost in distant Time! Sleep now,’ says Sebus, ‘you will have a long dream… you will witness how we first found the first Queen of the Lings… the deadly Nemesis, a very long time ago… you will actually be there!’
‘Will you be able to see me?’ Blodwyn asks.
‘No,’ answers Sebus…or consider your safety… it will be a real dream… a reality dream… you must be careful… not to be left behind!’
‘But my body will be in bed here,’ says Blodwyn.
‘Yes your body might be… but your body will be without a thinking mind.’ The Galla Quall then leaves. This sounded serious. But Blodwyn decided nevertheless that she just had to continue with it: just seeing Nemesis would make it worth the risk. As usual she had brought everything she needed in her backpack, including provisions.
She placed all her food in the blue cabinet; four homemade pork pies with lots of jelly; four homemade lamb pies in thick gravy; home-cured ham, roast chicken legs, a loaf of bread, cheese and pickle, chocolates, crisps, barley-sugars and water. She also carried other useful items like a penknife, a length of rope, some matches and a few other odds and ends.
Blodwyn closed her eyes; she knew there would be risks in this adventure; if she was somehow left behind then she would just become another missing person. She also knew the Fourth Quadrent was seldom visited because of its many dangers; but she trusted the wise judgment of Admiral Sebus.
By the bedside table was a large tray of pollen toffee – the only food she could see. All her other needs were catered for except for food she observed; Galla Qualls it seems, were not acquainted with the daily dietary needs of Terasils. Did they think Terasils only ate pollen toffee day and night?
The little Sisling quickly settled on the tray of toffee and began stuffing its face again.
‘That’s enough,’ says Blodwyn, emptying the toffee into a paper bag, ‘you must learn to save food. Now let’s go to sleep, we will need all our energy for the adventures ahead.’
She turned on the light. A soothing pale ray of blue light appeared; the rays seemed to be gently penetrating her mind and she took off her NHS jam-jar spectacles and closed her eyes. She felt something alive moving on her arm and quickly opened them again.
The Sisling was wiping its little sticky mouth and hands on her sleeve. Blodwyn jumped out of bed.
‘You dirty little beast! You are not sleeping with me – all sticky with pollen toffee. Go and wash.’ She filled a bowl and made sure the little Ling washed thoroughly.
Once clean, the Sisling lay on her bed and burped – bad manners picked up from the Fairy Queen no doubt.
‘That’s rude,’ scolds Blodwyn. ‘Now go to sleep.’
Instead of sleeping the Sisling flew to the arm of the light and hung upside down, grinning at her. Blodwyn knew what would happen next and watched in fascination as the little Ling began to turn into a chrysalis. What Blodwyn did not know was that Lings should not eat pollen toffee before entering the chrysalis stage.
The chrysalis wiggled a few times then remained still.
‘Well that’s great, now I don’t have a bodyguard. That little scheming cow Myfanwy – she knew this would happen - with friends like her who need enemies.’
Blodwyn closed her eyes, sleep came q
uickly.
Chapter Fourteen
Nemesis: The First Queen of the Lings
With chewed wood and mud;
their high towers grew like sentinel spires.
The alien nocturnal toilers waited patently;
waited for the first cold light.
Waited for the three rising suns to dry their nights’ labors:
in their fiery bright.
When Europe was in the frozen grip of the last Ice Age, the only occasional squat footprint to be seen belonged to the Neanderthal.
At this time three sleek, silver Typhon War-hawk battleships belonging to the Galla Qualls, cautiously approached a Super-Time speed Wormhole, known as the Kisandra Prism. Blodwyn found herself standing on the bridge of the Flag-ship commanded by Admiral Sebus: she herself felt invisible, only her thinking mind was present. She could not see her own body; only feel it. People seemed to walk straight through her.
Any space ship that entered The Kisandra Prism would travel millions of miles, at just the speed of Time exiting at the exact time of entry; providing their ship did not disintegrate from the Wormhole’s strong gravitational pull.
The Flag-ship was commanded by Admiral Sebus, the oldest and wisest of a delicate race of land adapted aquatics known as the Galla Qualls. This was the first quest to find the extremely rare Tarmirian Paradise tree, a Calara Shimmering and a mysterious race known as the ‘Worm-eaters. According to the chronicles of the Galla Qualls, finding all three legends held the secret that would save the Galla Qualls from extinction.
The three Typhon War-hawk battleships cautiously approach the dying Planet Nemesa in the Sirus Nine sector of the Fourth Quadrent: they went into orbit and cloaked.
The warships began monitoring the dim planet below, searching for life-forms or signs of danger; they were after all, still at war with the Cold-bloods.