Whistlestop (11 page)

In the one hundredth year of his
leadership, one of the younger seers attempted suicide, which was a
grievous crime and did not make sense for a man of his intelligence
and potential. Arthur visited the young man, named Carl Insight, in
his hospital room. The man was terribly distraught and had to be
strapped down to his bed to keep from attempting to take his own
life again. By the time Arthur could come, the man had gone insane,
screaming and crying all day long until he would pass out from
sheer exhaustion. Carl was asleep when Arthur entered his room and
sat quietly at his bedside. When he looked at the sleeping man,
Arthur could feel the desperation and terror in his mind and wished
there was a way to help him. As he sat there, the young man opened
his eyes wide and screamed, “Kill me!” He claimed to have seen
himself ruling the universe as a violent and maniacal killer,
maiming others for the pure pleasure of it. When the young seer
passed out again, Arthur reached out with his mind to discover what
had happened.

In the mind of the delusional seer,
Arthur found Karl August Galantine Armstrong. The seer had seen the
horrors of the emperor’s rule and mistook the evil dictator’s name
for his own. He became convinced that the visions were of his own
future, and decided to end his life rather than becoming such a
monster. Better able to handle the flood of information, Arthur saw
the extent of the emperor’s avarice and depravity. He also saw that
the Pastoral Realm was his next target. He removed the visions from
the young seer’s mind and then hatched a plan to abandon Asterpast
and send the residents into other realms where the evil dictator
would never find them. Most were sent to the Empty Realm, and many
ended up on Earth.

Arthur, his wife and one-year old
daughter left their home world forever and began a new life in
Baton Rouge, Earth. There were so many refugees from other realms
that they had no problem fitting in. Although the seers had
promised to keep in communication, all of them knew that would not
be possible. If the emperor sensed their activity, his legions
would destroy the humble humans of Earth. Even though he had
several tons of gold and jewels, Arthur decided to get a job in
order to have more in common with his neighbors. As the Foreboding
of Asterpast, he knew his talents could best be used selling
insurance. When he would visit a potential client, he already knew
what risks they faced in the future and could offer the exact
coverage they needed. He became very successful and his customers
loved him. He was prepared to live out his life in Louisiana, until
he sensed the Knights of Winterpast living on the West Coast, so he
moved his family to help protect them.

Lilian was cheering and clapping her
hands, while Lynn looked on in disbelief. “You’re kidding,
right?”

“
I have no time for this,
pumpkin,” he said and walked out the door.

Lynn jumped from the bed and pulled
the door open less than a second after her father left, but the
hallway was empty. She looked left and right, wondering what had
just happened. “Where did he go?” she asked.

“
Over there, Mommy,” Lilian
said while pointing out the window toward the marble
cliff.

Jerry had managed to fall asleep,
which had been difficult with the multitude of dragon voices
speaking in his head. The temperature in the cavern dropped
precipitously, causing him to shiver but not awaken. The dragons
huddled together for warmth. Twenty ax-wielding monsters suddenly
appeared in the room. They pushed the dragons away from the cell.
Two more monsters appeared, holding a large box. After them, the
Emperor of the Universe appeared. He was smiling and seemed to be
very happy. “Master, we have done as you asked,” Archimedes said in
a rough slurred voice.

Karl walked over to the cell and
looked at Jerry sleeping. “So, it would seem, dragon. I appreciate
your help. Give it to them boys,” he said to the two beasts holding
the box. They set it down and pulled off the top. They reached
inside and removed a large red and black egg and set it next to the
emperor. “Here is the reward I promised.”

“
It’s the wrong color,” a
voice said in Jerry’s mind.

“
Red and black, what tribe
is that?” another asked.

“
We demanded black and
silver, isn’t that right Archimedes?” from yet another.

“
Enough!” Archimedes voice
shot through Jerry’s brain, waking him up. “An egg is an egg. For
all we know, it is the last one.”

“
Is something wrong?” Karl
asked.

Jerry was watching through half-closed
eyes now. He had already learned the emperor could not hear the
dragons’ thoughts as he could and wondered why.

“
No, nothing is wrong,
Master,” Archimedes replied, struggling to breathe and make sound
without blasting his visitors with flames. “A blessing on your home
for your generosity, my emperor.”

“
Well said, dragon,” Karl
replied. He walked over to the bars and banged on them with his
hands. “Wake up, Knight of Winterpast. It’s time to see what the
universe is really about.”

Jerry stood and faced the emperor.
“What did you do to the rest of their children, Karl?”

Several of the monsters laughed. “I do
not appreciate your informality, Jerry. You must show some respect
for your liege,” Karl announced.

“
Send the dragons to their
home on Evermore and return their children. You have to earn
respect in order to get it, Karl.”

The emperor pulled open the door and
walked forward until he stood one foot in front of Jerry. “These
filthy creatures are damned lucky I didn’t kill them too.” He put
his hand on Jerry’s shoulder and they flattened, shrank into a line
and disappeared altogether. The monsters then disappeared, leaving
the dragons to themselves.

The dragons huddled around the oddly
colored egg.

“
I suppose it is a pretty
thing,” a voice said.

“
I am just thrilled to have
a child among us,” said another.

“
I will miss the human,”
Beatitude sighed.

“
Do you think he will help
us get back to Evermore?” another asked.

Archimedes lay with his nostrils a few
inches from the egg and replied, “God willing, yes he will. But we
must remember that our entire civilization was destroyed by the
emperor. If we have to rely on Jerry to save us, then; all truly is
lost.”

“
Are you suggesting we help
him?” another asked.

Archimedes sighed and looked hopefully
at the egg. “I don’t know. I wish we could, but I fear we will die
along with him.”

“
But what do we do
now?”

“
We must build a fire so we
can have embers to hatch our new baby,” Archimedes
smiled.

As they had progressed across the open
space, Jeremy and his grandson had watched elves tossing one
another around and practicing fighting with staffs. To their right,
several elves were practicing archery. When they turned back to
face the front, the Foreboding of Asterpast was waving to them.
They climbed up onto the stage and walked to where Arthur had set
up three chairs facing each other. He motioned for the others to
sit. “I’m glad you came promptly today, Jeremy.”

“
Why are we here,
Arthur?”

“
Honestly, I thought you’d
know already. It’s time you two began your training.”

“
Training for what,
Arthur?”

“
I would have thought that
obvious as well. The demonseed came to Earth to eliminate the last
remaining Knights of Winterpast. Have you forgotten the hanged cat
and the beasts that broke into your son’s house
already?”

“
What hanged cat,
Granddad?”

Arthur patted little Jeremy on the
head and said, “No actual cat was harmed, young man. It is just an
expression. You both need to be trained to be true Knights of
Winterpast!”

“
Awesome!” little Jeremy
cheered.

“
I remember well enough,
Arthur, but I’m not a young man anymore. How can you expect me to
become a soldier? Look at me!” Jeremy exclaimed. “Not to mention
that my grandson is a young child. He could not stand up to armies
of those monsters.”

Arthur pointed up at the cliff only a
hundred yards away. “So you surrender to them, right? You might as
well throw yourselves off the cliff then, because the demons will
not stop until you are dead.”

“
I thought we would be safe
here, Arthur. Isn’t that what you said?”

“
That’s what you said,” the
younger Jeremy confirmed.

“
Please relax. This is a
complex matter that cannot be discussed in mere moments. Just
listen to me, okay?” Arthur begged.

Jeremy groaned and said, “Go ahead,
Foreboding, tell us what you want us to know.”

“
I would like to jump
directly into the subject of transmutation, but I think a
discussion on the nature of the universe must come
first.”

“
Is this school?” the boy
cringed. “I thought I was going to be a knight. When do I learn how
to fight like those elves?”

Arthur chuckled and continued, “This
lesson is the beginning of learning to be a knight. I promise not
to be too boring; also, I am not trained in fighting and weaponry.
Your cousin Lydia will be here to train you about that.”

“
I think I remember her,
Arthur. She was just a baby when we fled Winterpast.”

“
Yes and the Abbot of the
Temple of Light raised her after her father was slain. But let us
begin. Most people on your planet Earth feel that someone is
watching them from time to time. In some cases, they are being
watched by the police, stalkers, or thieves. Most of the time, they
just feel it and can find no evidence anyone is around. The answer
is that there are ten dimensions of physical space. Only those
Beings who share all three with any of us can be seen or detected.
Imagine a person who lives in a reality sharing one or two of the
dimensions where you exist is nearby. They could be right next to
you, or even in the same spot as you, but you wouldn’t know it. You
might sense something however. Can you imagine that?”

“
That is so cool!” the boy
laughed.

“
Pardon me, Arthur, but I
already understand about the dimensions of space and time and spoke
to Jeremy and my son about it the night before last. Plus, I think
the scientific content will be lost on little Jeremy
here.”

“
Okay, that’s good to
know,” the Foreboding asked. “What else shall we discuss today
then?”

“
How about fighting with
swords!” little Jeremy shouted. “I want to fight like a real
knight!”

Arthur smiled and continued, “That
training will begin soon, so please be patient, Son. Jeremy, did
you also discuss the basics of transmutation?”

“
No, but you must recall
that it’s been a long time since I was trained in that.”

Arthur replied, “Good. The most
important skill you can learn is transmutation, or what some call
folding. When you are aware of another realm, and the different
dimensions that make it, you can change the dimensions that you
occupy. By changing two dimensions for your little group, Jeremiah
transmuted you all to Whistlestop. As soon as one dimension
changed, the monsters could have attacked you with their axes, but
they could not hurt you, because in reality, you were no longer
there.”

“
Let’s do it now!” the boy
exclaimed. “I want to learn right now!”

“
I’m afraid it is not that
simple, young man,” Arthur answered. “Each realm of the universe is
in constant motion, with planets spinning and revolving, stars
being born and dying, earthquakes and tornadoes, floods and fires.
In order to transmute, you must sense the other realms with your
mind, find the appropriate realm and place therein before you jump.
Otherwise you could appear in the center of a star or volcano and
be incinerated.”

The boy frowned and dropped his head.
His grandfather asked, “If I live in these three dimensions, how
can my mind go outside them?”

“
That’s a great question,
old friend, and the answer is your mind exists outside the
dimensions of physical space.” The two looked back at him with
glazed eyes. “Your mind, or spirit if you will, lives outside the
realm where your physical form resides. It lives eternally with the
Creator. She and our spirits made all of the realms. You could say
reality only exists in our minds, but the physical experience
appears to contradict that. Yet, it is true. Your mind is
constantly touching all the dimensions, although you are only
consciously aware of the three dimensional realm in which you live.
When you can accept the truth that you are greater than this bone
and flesh vessel, you can see the other realms and having found
where you wish to be, you can change your location with a
thought.”

Jeremy sighed heavily and asked,
“Okay, what do we do now? You have to know I’m getting a terrible
headache just thinking about this.”

“
Over the coming nights, an
elf will escort each of you to the different realms of existence.
To you, it will seem like a dream and you will awaken refreshed,
but you will have learned. When you are ready, either Jeremiah or
Jedidiah will begin teaching you the techniques so you can
transmute yourself anywhere. That ability, along with your fighting
skills will make you both true Knights of Winterpast.”