David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb

by T. C. Crawford

  “You know more about what I’m going through than even I do, possibly even more than anyone, so I thought maybe you could help me. How am I supposed to get control over these powers? All of this happened so fast and none of it makes any sense to me. I need answers.” said David with a frown.

  The old man stood in silence for a moment, thinking of the best way to answer David’s question. At last he spoke, “I believe that the orb is now an extension of your mind. You are bound to it now, and it to you; however, until you accept it as a part of who you are, who you truly are, you will never be able to harness its incredible powers.”

  “I don’t know how to do that….” replied David, confused at Orin’s logic.

  “Think about it, child. When have you felt it’s presence the most?” asked Orin.

  “Well…the first time I really felt its power was when we were ambushed by those soldiers the first night. Then again when we were fighting outside your cabin.” replied David, thinking back on the two encounters.

  “Precisely.” said Orin, smiling.

  “So…in order for me to access the orb, I have to be in danger?” asked David, confused once again.

  “No, well, not exactly,” countered Orin, “I think the reason you were able to access its powers is because you let go of your own sense of control, thereby giving in to your innate connection to the orb, allowing its powers to flow freely and naturally.”

  “Yeah…that does make sense, but how do I do that on my own, you know, at will?” asked David eagerly.

  “That, my boy, is up for you to determine. When the time has come you will figure out what to do, that much I do know.” He smiled and patted David gently on the back, signaling that the conversation was over. He continued with his preparations for the alarms and David walked back towards the camp lost deep in thought, wondering what exactly this destiny of his would bring next.

  When he reached the camp, he saw Erin sitting down on the fallen tree they had been using as a bench. She was prodding the dwindling fire with a small branch lost in thought, so lost in fact that she didn’t even see David come up and sit beside her.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  Startled, she looked up and saw her friend sitting next to her, a warm smile on his face. She returned the smile sincerely.

  “Nothing…I just can’t believe all that has happened. I don’t understand what’s going on let alone how we are going to make a difference.” She released an overly large sigh, dwelling on the weight of the task at hand.

  “I know how you feel…but at least for tonight, try not to think about it,” David said, trying to be strong for Erin, “whatever it is that we must do, we can do it together. You have to trust that no problem is without a solution and that no matter how dark the path may seem, there is always a guiding light. You just have to find it. That’s what I was taught back home, to trust that there was a greater force watching over us, guiding us to the right path. We called that force God.”

  She smiled at his reassuring words. At this moment, she felt safe, and she reveled in the level of comfort it brought her, knowing it may be short lived.

  “Tell me about your home world?” she asked, looking over at David.

  They sat for what seemed like hours exchanging stories about their youth and different worlds. David spoke of the world he knew and came from, one filled with cars and massive steel buildings towering like mountains into the skies. He told her about the varied beliefs and religions, the different nations and cultures, and of the accomplishments he knew of each.

  “And we have these machines that allow us to fly all over the world in hours, we call them airplanes.” Erin stood in amazement at the descriptions David spoke of, imagining the wonders of this world he spoke of so casually.

  “That must be amazing!” she whispered, barely able to comprehend the sights that David was describing.

  “Yeah, it is pretty amazing, but it’s not all good.” he continued. “You see, instead of focusing on all of our similarities, we focus on our differences and it has caused countless wars and battles. We use our great technologies to destroy one another, in hopes that one of us will come out victorious and overcome the other’s beliefs and values.

  “We are almost always at war…there is always killing and fighting going on somewhere in the world, even in our own country. We do terrible things to each other….” He grew quiet and started prodding the burning coals with a small stick he found nearby.

  “David, just because your people may be like that, doesn’t mean that you are” she said, looking deep into his eyes. “I have only known you for a brief time, but what I have seen is not betrayal or blind hatred. I see compassion, honesty, faith, strength...”

  With the last words, she lifted David’s chin up so that he could see in her eyes. He wanted to turn away knowing he was blushing, but he couldn’t. He was drawn to her eyes, they were so beautiful, filled with a tenderness and understanding he had never known before.

  He felt as if he were falling into her, overwhelmed by his desire for her embrace, for her comforting arms to wrap around him. “David…you are not like them; don’t you ever forget that. You are…special” she finished, leaving the words hanging off her tongue like a lure on a line.

  Her eyes sparkled as the firelight danced in them. David had never seen anyone so lovely. He slowly started toward her, his body aching to be against hers, to press against her lips. Suddenly, something hard fell on David’s head.

  “Ouch!” He cried, rubbing his head, and turning to see what hit him. Erin backed away, embarrassed, and began gathering her things to turn in for the night.

  Orin and Rex were sitting across the fire, laughing hysterically, making funny kissing motions with their lips, and slapping their legs.

  David looked down and saw a small stone lying beside him, no doubt the object of his recent attack, and scolded the two jokers, throwing it back harshly. They easily dodged it, only bringing about more laughter.

  He turned and saw Erin was already lying down and drifting off to sleep and decided he should do the same, knowing the moment had been ruined and it was pointless to stay awake any longer. He walked to his bed and lay down, drifting off to sleep faster than he had expected.

  ✽✽✽

  Startled, David bolted upright to find himself in a cold sweat surrounded by a foreign landscape. The ground was covered in a strange brightness he had never seen before, almost like a bright mist enveloping the forest. It was as if the light itself was coming from everything around him. The plants, the trees, the ground, and the sky all emitted the same strange supernatural light. He heard a whisper in his head compelling him to get up, so he did.

  The voice commanded his body to walk forward…it replied without his consent, taking him far from his bed and towards a towering building made of smooth white stone. There was an arched doorway and in it stood what appeared to be a group of men and women. They were shrouded in the mysterious white light so he couldn’t see all of their features, yet somehow their presence felt familiar to him and he wasn’t afraid.

  “Come closer child, we haven’t much time” they spoke together, yet separate all at once.

  The mere sound of their voices ran chills down the back of his neck, yet still he complied. In a trance-like state he stood before them, helpless like a child. He felt a huge wave of shame and modesty overcome him, and he bowed his head, knowing he stood in the presence of something great and mysterious. Tears silently streaked down his cheek and off his chin. As they spoke again, their voices were sounding in his head.

  “David, do you know why you were brought here?”

  He couldn’t find the words to say, so he stood silently, knowing they already knew the answer.

  “This world needed you, because it is you who can wield the orb and you alone, David. If you fail, this world will fall into darkness. You have been given a great responsibility, and with it the fate of this world lies in your hands. He will try to open the Abyss, David. Y
ou must try to stop him…you know who it is we speak of.”

  He finally found his voice and with great difficulty asked the one question he knew was most important. “I know…you speak of General Krauss. But I don’t understand, how can I stop him? He has an entire army at his command, and I’m just….me.”

  They stood silent for a moment before answering. “You are never alone, David, for we are with you. The journey ahead will be difficult, but when it has been travelled all things will become clear to you. You will know when the time is right what must be done. Follow the Northern Pass – there you will find your help”

  Their voices began fading in and out as they repeated their last words “Follow the Northern Pass, David, it will guide you to the answers you seek.”

  Slowly David’s vision began to fade. The last thing he remembered was the intense beating of his heart before all was dark and silent.

  Chapter XII

  David woke with a start, searching left and right for the building and the mysterious people who invaded his dreams, but he was back in his makeshift bed just a couple of feet from Erin, who was still fast asleep.

  He sat up, rubbing his head, looking around the camp. Orin was up gathering berries from a nearby bush and Rex was nowhere to be found, probably out scouting the area, David assumed.

  He got up and brushed off the weariness from his eyes. What a strange dream, he thought. He recalled the events of the dream and the words the mysterious beings had said. “Follow the Northern Pass and you will find the answers”.

  What does that even mean?

  He shook it off and decided to go ask Orin what he thought they should do next. They were safe for the time being, but he knew the soldiers wouldn’t stop searching for them and it would only be a matter of time before they were caught if they didn’t get moving soon.

  “Ah you’re awake. Good. You can help me get some water from the stream.” Orin said when he saw David walking towards him. He handed him a small wooden bucket he had made out of thin, twisted branches that he had lined with clay before pointing in the direction towards the stream.

  David gladly went about the task, anticipating the fresh cool water that would soon be at his disposal. He was extremely thirsty.

  When he reached the stream, David dipped his hands in the cool water and gulped down a few mouthfuls of the crystal-clear water. It was refreshing and cold.

  Once his thirst was quenched, he filled the bucket with the water and headed back to the campsite. Upon his return he saw that Erin was up and moving around, gathering up the dried meat and packing it to keep it away from the insects. David set the bucket of water down and went to see how Erin was doing.

  “How’s it going?” She asked with a smile when she saw him approaching.

  “Good now that I got some water, I was parched.” he replied with a slight smile. “How about you, did you get some good rest last night?”

  “Yeah, I suppose as good as I could, given the circumstances. I had some terrible dreams though. I couldn’t stop dreaming about soldiers coming and taking us away in the night, it left me kind of restless.”

  “Yeah…I know what you mean. I had some strange dreams myself…” He rubbed his shoulder and told Erin about the dream he had during the night.

  “That’s strange…” Erin replied, with a curious look. “That sounds like the Mystics were trying to communicate with you.”

  “So, you think that those beings in my dream were the Mystics?” asked David.

  “I don’t know for certain, but it sounds like it could have been. Your description matches almost perfectly what the old writings say, ‘They were bathed in the light of the Supreme Being and spoke as one but many’.” explained Erin.

  “And they said the General was going to try to open the Dark Abyss? I wonder how he plans on doing that?” She sat thinking for a moment before continuing, “The Northern Pass…that’s a pass leading up the Draconian Mountains just south of the Great Plains. It leads to a region called Ravenfell. It’s home to a sprawling community of mountain-folk, mostly a bunch of brutes who defected after the war.”

  “Yeah, that’s what they said” replied David, scratching his head. “I wonder why they want me to go North, when Eldergate is East…”

  “I’m not sure,” said Erin, “but if that’s where they are saying you should go, maybe we should talk to Orin and Rex and see if they can think of anything that would be useful for us there?”

  “Yeah…that’s probably a good idea,” agreed David.

  The two of them hurried along and finished cleaning up the camp. When they were all set for the road ahead they decided to sit with Orin and eat a few handfuls of berries and strips of dried meat from the night before while they all waited on Rex to come back from wherever he went off to. They figured their questions could wait until both Rex and Orin were present, so they could discuss their options all at once.

  ✽✽✽

  An hour or so later Rex returned from the forest with a grim look on his face.

  “You’re not going to like the news I have for you.” he said solemnly. The companions gathered close to hear what the barbarian had discovered.

  “While I was waiting on you all to get up, I decided to go back to town and see what was going on. It was all a mess. The whole town’s been ransacked and is full of soldiers from the Royal Guard. I think they were all looking for you. I heard them talking to a group of men from the town. They were saying something about King Eldergate being imprisoned…along with some Elder.”

  Erin gasped, “So the King isn’t dead!” She quickly shared a look with David at the news, “and the Elder…that must be Tyrius! That explains the sudden disturbance that caused the Elder’s to leave so suddenly. He must be in trouble!” she shouted, renewed worry beginning to build for her mentor and friend. She had all but forgotten he had gone to the palace to speak to the King just before all of this craziness started to go down.

  “If the King is alive and he and Tyrius are in trouble, we have to go help them, before it’s too late!” cried Erin, panic-stricken.

  “But I thought the Elders already went to go help him?” said David, reminding Erin of their hasty disappearance back in the capital.

  “You’re right…that must mean…” she gasped, putting her hand over her face in horror. “They…failed…”

  “No let’s not jump to conclusions so hastily!” chimed in Orin. “The Elders are much more powerful than they look. And besides, we can’t just go running into the palace,” said Orin. “The four of us can’t take on the entire army, let alone the Wolf Guard, on our own. We have to trust that the Elders will handle the rescue of the King and Tyrius, they are far more powerful together than we are as we currently stand. At least until David learns to harness his powers.

  “No…If we want to be any help in this, then I’m afraid we must find others to join the cause and help us take back the kingdom.” he finished solemnly.

  “Well…I may know of some that can help…but it isn’t going to be easy getting it, mind you!” said Rex. “I sort of pissed everyone off back home.”

  “What do you mean?” asked David, turning to the large man.

  “I come from a place called Ravenfell. It’s the home of my people... outcasts from society who would no longer pledge their loyalty to either Kingdoms after the war. Most of them felt betrayed, having to fight brother against brother, for the sake of two old men with a centuries old grudge. After the war ended, we decided to claim the land between the two kingdoms as our own. We built a life for ourselves there, started raising families of our own.” Rex shrugged his shoulders. “On second thought, it’s probably best we don’t go there…” He trailed off.

  David and Erin quickly shared a meaningful glance. That must be why the Mystics in his vision wanted David to travel North to the Northern Pass! To enlist the help of these warriors!

  “Rex, if you could convince them to help us, we could have a whole army of soldiers on our side ready to fight a
nd take back the kingdom! Isn’t that worth a shot? Right now, we have no other options. What do you say, do you think you could get them to help our cause?” asked David eagerly.

  “Ahh…well, I don’t know…I don’t think they would take too kindly to me coming back and asking them to fight another man’s war again” he mumbled, scratching his beard.

  “We need them, Rex. You’ve got to convince them to help us; it’s our only chance to save Tyrius and stop General Krauss!” cried Erin, pleading Rex to try.

  “You’re right. I have to try…this cause is noble, and the fate of the world seems to depend on us stopping this General guy.” he said, coming to his decision.

  “Great! Let’s get on the road. To Ravenfell!” said David holding his hand in the air for a high-five. Everyone looked at him with a strange expression on their faces, wondering why he was holding up his hand. Eventually, he dropped it, realizing that high-fives probably didn’t exist in this world. “Never mind…” he mumbled to himself, embarrassed.

  Rex pointed to the south. “It’s a few day's journey that way, first through the Outer Woods and then across the Great Plains into the Draconian Mountains” he said. “Then, we take the winding road up the side of the mountain to reach the Northern Pass that crosses the peaks and leads into the valley of Ravenfell. It will be a hard journey. If we start now, we can reach the edge of the forest by mid-day tomorrow.”

  They gathered their things and started off into the forest, Rex leading the way and the others following suit.

  As they walked, David tried to comfort Erin. “I know you’re worried about Tyrius. Once we get some help we can go back to the palace and I swear we will do everything we can to save him. Plus, as far as we know, the Elders could be working to free him and the King as we speak!” David noticed his attempts to cheer up his friend had little meaningful impact.

  “Thank you, David. But something inside tells me that Tyrius is in danger…he’s all I have left. He’s been like a father to me, and now I can’t help him when he needs me most. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him.” She grew silent as they walked, trying her best to hide the tears but they flowed freely down her cheeks despite her efforts.