Flickr Story 4: The Spine of the Gods

It's time for another Flickr story and this one was a fun one to write.  If you've read the Flickr story from December, you'll see a familiar character in this one (actually both are the same.  The hero was originally named Lailoken in "Aimee's Quest" but I changed it just before posting it).   It wasn't intentionally created as a sequel or alternate story, but it does come across that way.  Maybe one day I'll write the adventures of Lailoken and Brida, but for now we have another fantasy piece featuring two of my favorite characters.

The picture was found on Flickr, though I'm not sure where the actual place is.  I loved the colors and the massive mountain in the distance.  As I stared at the image, the story started unfolding.  What you have below is what I came up with.  Please share the story with others and feel free to leave a comment below.  I appreciate any and all feedback.  Thanks!


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The Spine of the Gods

“They are beautiful, aren’t they?” Lailoken asked.  He and his snowcat Brida sat along a high ridge overlooking a verdant valley dotted with brown and red.  The late autumn air swirled around them.  Brida looked up, nudged her head against Lailoken’s thigh and laid her head back down.  

“The Spine of the Gods.  Don’t you know what this means?” he asked.  Brida didn’t move.  “Well, if you were any kind of snowcat Brida, you’d know.  We’re almost at the edge.  Once we cross over, who knows what awaits us.”  

Lailoken gazed across the valley to where it ended abruptly in sheer grey cliffs that rose high in the sky.  They looked like a giant beast lay down and died, leaving an enormous skeleton.  The cliffs rose like vertebrae in the sky from which it earned its name Spine of the Gods.  From this vantage point, they looked impassable.  What lay beyond…that was stuff of legends and that was where Lailoken and Brida were headed.

Lailoken rubbed Brida’s snowy white head.  The giant cat purred loudly.  “Come on, we need to get down there before nightfall,” Lailoken said to Brida.  The cat purred louder.  “Brida, come on now,” Lailoken said as he stood up, brushing the dirt and grass from his woolen pants.  Slowly, Brida rose and stretched her long frame, letting her sharp nails poke from her paws as she did.

It took them close to four hours to make their way down to the valley floor.  They walked along a stream that bubbled and gurgled until they came to a small village nestled in the middle of the valley.  There were only four roads, more like two that intersected in the center of the village.

“Brida, stay out here until I can find us a place to stay.  They might not be too welcoming to a large snowcat like you,” he said as he scratched her under her chin.  She rubbed on his thigh almost knocking him over.  “Brida, you’ll be safe out here.  I’ll be back soon.”  With that, Lailoken walked on towards the inn.

“Welcome to the Dark Dog Inn,” the innkeeper said as Lailoken walked inside.  The room was dusty but comfortable.  Once inside, Lailoken froze.  The innkeeper had the face and head of a giant dog, like a retriever of some kind.  He’d never seen a real caninian and the sight of one startled him.

“Some kind of stranger, eh?” the dog faced innkeeper asked.  His face was a deep brown with large brown eyes and a full set of teeth.  His long ears hung down to his shoulders.

Lailoken struggled for words.  

“Yeah, you aren’t from around here.  Not too many visitors from out of the valley.”  The innkeeper raised his snout and sniffed the air.  “You brought a snowcat here?”  

Lailoken looked at the innkeeper carefully.  “Yeah…yeah I did.  She’s harmless though.  She won’t bother anyone.  I was looking for a place we could stay.  But…”

“But what?  You think we can’t handle a snowcat around here?  We’re caninian, but we are civilized.  My name’s Gorthe.  Welcome,” he said and flashed a smile that was at once warm and threatening.  He reached out a hand that was all human.  Lailoken cautiously shook it.  

“Come, let’s get you settled in.  So what brings you here?” Gorthe asked.  He motioned for Lailoken to follow him down a hall to a small room at the end.  

“Just passing through,” Lailoken said.  Gorthe eyed him and nodded.

“Here you are,” he said waving a hand to the empty room.  “You can stay here, but your snowcat will have to stay outside in the stables.  No animals are allowed in the inn,” Gorthe said.  Lailoken wanted to protest, to say how could half-dogs say any such thing, but thought better of it.

“Thank you Gorthe.  I’ll need to show Brida where she can stay.”  Lailoken left the inn and walked back to where he left Brida.  He found her laying in the tall grass away from the road watching for people passing by.

“You won’t believe it Brida.  They’re caninians!”  Brida didn’t flinch.  “Did you hear me girl?  They are half-dogs!  I thought those were just myths.”  Brida licked her paws.  “Well come on, I found us a place to stay.”  Brida rose and trotted to Lailoken’s side.  She followed him down the road to the inn where he led her to the stables.

“I know it’s not the best, but it’ll do.  I’ll bring some food later.  Rest up, tomorrow we go to the Spine.”

The night passed without incident.  Gorthe gave them a few small loaves of dense bread for the trip and wished them well.  Lailoken and Brida were gone before the little village woke from the cool night.    

It took most of the day before they were at the base of the Spine.  The sheer grey cliffs rose high into the clouds where they couldn’t see the top.  Brida growled as they stood marveling at the sight.  “What is it girl?  You knew we were going here.  We are going through Brida.  We’re crossing to the other side.”  The snowcat licked her paws unconcerned.  

Lailoken pulled a map from out of his sack, unrolled it and thought.  He scoured over the ancient markings.  “Ahh, yes…there it is,” he said out loud, rolled it up and put the map away.  “Brida, we go this way,” he said pointing to a barely noticeable crack in the solid wall.  They walked closer and Brida’s ears perked up at the sound of a low humming noise.

They walked closer and stopped just outside the crack.  Inside Lailoken watched in wonder as a glowing portal in hues of blue and purple shimmered before him.  The hair on Brida’s back stood up and she growled a deep menacing growl.  “Brida,” he said softly, stroking her massive head, “it’s ok.  This is the way through the Spine.  We step in there and it takes us to the other side.”  She hesitated as Lailoken stepped forward.  “Come on, let’s go,” he called to her.  With a hesitation not normally shown, Brida carefully walked towards him.

Lailoken stepped in the shimmering portal first, his leg breaking the vertical plane.  Brida followed.  Just as her head broke through the portal, Lailoken heard a shout behind him.

“No!  Stop!  Don’t go in there!”  It was Gorthe running towards them, his large ears flapping with each step.  Lailoken looked back at him, confused.  “Stop!  The caninians…don’t go in there!”

It was too late.  Lailoken’s momentum carried him forward.  On the other side of the portal, a new race of beings emerged.  They came to be known as the felinians.  

Flickr Story 3: Aimee's Quest

This month's Flickr story is a fantasy piece with a familiar twist at the end.  As I wrote it, I wasn't sure how it was going to end, but after some thought, the ending came to me.  I'm sure many of you will pick up on the inspiration.  (If not...we need to talk!)  I have no idea where the picture is from but it caught my attention when I found it on Flickr.

I hope you enjoy it.  Please share and leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

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 Aimee's Quest

I stood on the cliff’s edge with my long brown hair blowing in the wind, shielding my eyes against the sun as I stared at the dark forbidding castle below.  It was my destination.  I’ve travelled many days in search of Castle Morrigan, and there it stood in all its gory beauty.  I knew all along going there might mean I never return.  It was the price I intended to pay.  I had no choice.

Borma the dark wizard kidnapped my beloved Aimee and brought her to this decrepit castle.  I followed the trail, alone but for my unfailing partner Brida.  Brida is a snowcat, immense in size with a temper just as large.  She protects me fiercely.  I’ve had her since she was a cub and now in her full grown state, she inspires fear in others and safety in me.  Without Brida, I might never have made it thus far.

And there we stood, the wind blowing her white fur this way and that while I looked at that castle of misery.  

“Brida, we’ve made it,” I said.  She turned her head upwards at me and back towards the castle, growling as though she knew what lay ahead.

We followed a well worn path that ran down the cliff, zig-zagging and crossing back and forth until we reached the bottom.  I knew we would be spotted by any guards at the castle, but at this point I didn’t care anymore.  My mind was singularly focused on Aimee.

In my head I envisioned her chained in a dungeon, dark and afraid.  It fueled my anger.  More than once I used that anger to push myself harder and farther in search of her.  Now that I could see the means of her captivity, it blinded me with rage.  Nothing would stop me now.  Not even a heard of snowcats or a kith of giants.  My anger burned ever brighter.

I unsheathed my sword and approached the castle, its dark gloomy walls rising higher in the air.  It was settled in such a way as to force visitors to climb down into a shallow valley making the castle rise higher giving the illusion of power and magnificence.  I felt its weight hovering over me but I couldn’t let it overcome my singular focus on recovering Aimee.  The castle itself was partly in ruins, hardly ever used anymore.  It was so far away from anything that its significance long ago faded.  

It was perfect for Borma, the dark wizard of the mountain.  Once forced from his refuge deep in the snow capped Middle Mountains, he retreated to this desolate dwelling, knowing none would stop him.  I believed he’d have some guards serving him and approached as though he did, wary of a crossbow bolt yet still carried forward by my anger and rage.

Its gate was open and I heard no sound from inside.  Brida growled a low menacing sound, the kind that often forced her prey to flee in terror.  We walked inside and found ourselves in a large courtyard.  It was grey and dirty, the walls rising up all around us.  I noticed many of the crenellations were crumbling or missing altogether.  

It was so quiet leading me to think maybe the occupants were gone.  I hoped at least Aimee still resided within those drab decaying walls.  The only place we could go was up a flight of stone steps off to our right, so we did.

At the top of the steps, there was a small landing with a large wooden door.  We approached wary of the impending ambush.  Brida moved slowly and stealthily at my side.  As we neared the door, I jumped and held my sword in front of me as a raven that must have roosted in a broken section of the wall near the door suddenly burst out, flapping its black wings and cawing at us madly.  My heart beat faster and faster until I calmed myself when I realized what happened.  Brida’s eyes were wild.  “It’s fine Brida, just a filthy raven,” I said calming her.  

I stepped to the door fearing the worst.  I knelt closer listening for sounds on the other side, but it was quiet.  Wary of any hidden surprises inside the door, I crashed into it, hoping to catch the guard inside unexpectedly.  I tumbled forward into darkness, falling to the floor.  Brida followed me inside, growling and scanning the room.  

It was empty and silent, no sign of anyone.

I stood up confused, dusting myself off.  Surely I was in the right place.  “Brida girl, where are they?” I asked.  She sniffed around and suddenly broke off down a dark hallway.  “Brida, wait!” I called out.  

I noticed a torch on the wall.  I sheathed my sword and reaching into the bag around my waist, I took out the flint and steel I carried and struck it, igniting the tar soaked torch.  I pulled out my sword and carried the torch in one hand while my sword I held in the other as I followed down the dark corridor in search of Brida.

I tracked her paw prints in the thick layer of dust on the stone floors until I came to a large room that had a small cot and a desk with a chair.  Brida stood in front of the desk sniffing and growling.  “What is it girl, do you smell something?”  She didn’t turn her head.  I saw a small piece of parchment on the desk and approached it.  I lay my sword on the desk and picked up the parchment, reading it by the torchlight.  

You are persistent Myrddyd.  However I am much too clever to let you catch me here.  Your darling Aimee is alive but no longer here.  By the time you read this, she will be with me in another castle.  Her blood is important to me.  I need her pure crimson blood for my greatest spells.  Fear not, I will not let her die.  I wish you could understand, but alas I know you do not.  

-B

“No!” I cried out loud, my arms raised high.  “Aimee…where are you?” I bemoaned.  Brida howled a hideous, terrifying sound.  

My beloved was gone, taken to another castle.  

Red filled my vision.  I vowed to never stop searching until I found her and killed that wretched Borma.  

My search continues to this day.

Clouds

It's time for another Flickr story.  This is one I wrote in the spring of 2014 after seeing this picture from the Twitter account @ThatsEarth.  If I remember correctly, I think it's Abu Dhabi, but I can't swear to it.  All I could think of was what's under the clouds?  Read on and you will find out what my answer was.  

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Clouds

Jonah flew in his personal flight vehicle, or PFV as they called it, dodging the buildings and traffic around him.  The protective sun shade was drawn down to protect him from harmful flare-ups and reflections off the buildings.  It was another flight home after a long day and week of work.  He needed this week-end badly.

He engaged the auto pilot as soon as he started in hopes of relaxing on the three-hundred mile flight back to his home when he drifted off to a fitful nap.  It technically wasn’t outlawed to nap while flying, but it was certainly frowned upon.  Jonah figured it wouldn’t be long before some do-gooder with an axe to grind would get the law passed.  But for now, he drifted off while the PFV flew a familiar course on its way back to his home.

No sooner had Jonah fallen asleep when his PFV made a sudden course correction that jolted him sideways.  His head hit the glass windshield.  “Ouch!  What are you doing you stupid thing?” he said out loud.  The glass was reinforced to eliminate breakage, or at least reduce it to almost non-existent, and when his head hit it didn’t budge or crack, which was bad for his head.  He reached up and rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a nice knot starting.

Of course his PFV didn’t reply, only continued on its path.  Jonah looked out at all the buildings protruding through the clouds and felt confused.  He wasn’t sure if the hit on the head caused it or if it was because he was somewhere he’d never seen before.  The buildings looked…different.  

He was used to seeing flat roof tops with green plants and trees and gardens and swimming pools.  What he looked on now were sharp tips of sleek buildings that extended much higher than he remembered.

Frantic, he checked out both sides of the PFV and there were several spire topped buildings, glass and metal reflecting the evening sun.  “Where am I?” he said out loud.  He clicked the onboard nav system and spoke out loud.  “Computer, where are we?”  

“Cordero sector, section 19-563” the female computer voice explained.  Jonah frowned.  Cordero he thought.  Why are we here…and where is Cordero?  “Computer, return to home course immediately,” he said.  

Nothing.

“Computer, return to home course now!” he said louder.  

“Course set.  Continuing,” the nav system replied.  The PFV didn’t change direction but continued towards the tallest of the spired buildings Jonah spotted far ahead. 

He didn’t notice it at first, but as he looked around, he saw that the traffic had dropped off considerably, almost to the point where it ceased completely.  

Jonah switched the nav system to manual.  He grabbed the steering wheel and tried turning but the PFV didn’t change course.  It was as if the switch didn’t work.  “What the…” Jonah said.  He tried rebooting the system, a tricky maneuver while flying, but not out of the ordinary when a system wide crash like this happened.  Nothing turned off.  The entire PFV defied his attempts and continued on its course for the spired building now growing larger and larger in view as they approached.  

Frustrated, Jonah stopped trying to reboot the PFV and decided to wait until it reached whatever destination it had in mind before he’d either have it repaired or grab public transport to take him home.  

All day he dreamed of going home to relax and do nothing all week-end.  This delay aggravated him.  He didn’t need this after the terrible week he had.

Suddenly, the PFV dove down and banked to the left, circling the large spire topped building until it set down on a landing pad on the backside of the building just above the clouds.

The PFV powered down and opened its hatch, the ladder extending down to the platform.  Jonah looked around and saw no one.  He thought a moment then climbed out of the defective PFV.  “Why not, it’s better to be out of that stupid machine than in it I guess,” he said as he climbed down.  He wanted to be home now sipping a cold beer and watching mindless television but instead he was off in “Cordero Sector” and he was lost.  He walked over to the door at the end of the landing pad that he assumed led to someone who might be able to help him.

When he stepped inside, he saw sleek black walls with fluorescent blue lights illuminating the halls in either direction, but no desk and no sign of help.  Anger growing inside, Jonah spotted an elevator to his right.  He walked over and pushed the button.  Within moments, he heard a whoosh as the hyper speed elevator flew to his floor.  The doors opened with a chime and he stepped inside.  There were only four buttons on the control panel.

“What the hell?” he said out loud.  From the looks of the building on the outside, there must have been at least a hundred floors, yet there were only four buttons.  And they were labeled.  The top button said “Food.”  The next button down said “Restroom.”  The third button down was labelled “Sleep,” while the bottom button was labeled “Home.”  Jonah hesitated, unsure what button to press.  “Well,” he said, then pressed the bottom button.

Immediately the elevator rushed downwards.  Jonah steadied himself on the wall as the g-forces pulled on him.  The trip lasted well over a minute, and even in a hyper speed elevator, that was a long time.  And that worried him.

No one had been down to “street level” in his lifetime, at least not that he knew.  Ever since the Winter Wars raged across the planet, the surface of Earth had been nothing but a boiling, heaving mass of pollution and worse.  That’s where all the clouds came from.  Above them, the world looked beautiful and inviting, but from the pictures he saw in history books and the news, the surface was uninhabitable.  Nothing lived there.  It was utter waste and destruction.  The surface was boiling from the nuclear waste and the evaporation rose up to create the manmade clouds that blocked the sun from ever reaching down to it.  

Jonah thought of all these things as the elevator slowed and finally stopped, opening with a chime.  He looked out of the elevator to a sleek black hallway very much like the one he left moments earlier.  He hesitated but stepped out hoping to find anyone to help him.  The elevator doors closed behind him and he heard the whoosh sound as it ascended upwards.  Panic started to creep into his thoughts and he fought to push it down, hoping to be out of here as soon as possible.

He turned right and walked along the hallway until he came to a door on his left.  He looked around before he grabbed the handle and pushed down.  To his surprise, it opened up.

Stepping through the door was like entering a different world.  He stood in a large hallway that was like nothing he’d ever seen.  Glass walls rose high in the air, curving above him.  Outside he could see lush vegetation.  He spotted snow covered mountains off in the distance and birds in the air.  It looked light outside as though the sun shone down here, but that was impossible.  Everyone knew it couldn’t penetrate the dense smog.  He looked on the verdant world before him with wonder and astonishment.  He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life.  The problems of his week felt so petty and worthless compared to the awesome beauty he gazed on.  

He walked slowly along the glass lined corridor admiring the trees and brightly colored flowers on all sides of him.  At the end of the corridor was another door, a glass one.  Above it in bright green letters it said “HOME.”  He smiled and tried the handle.  It opened.

A rush of warm tropical air flooded over Jonah as he opened the door.  The scents were mesmerizing.  The sound of rushing water and birds chirping filled his ears.  “Home,” he said in bewilderment.  

Stepping into the warm air, Jonah was overwhelmed by the lush beauty.  He hadn’t seen anything like this in his life.  All he knew were clouds and skies, nothing like the wonderous landscape in front of him.  

Home he thought over and over again.  He was home.  

Suddenly, his thoughts turned to his real home, to his PFV, to the towers above the skies.  He started worrying he might be intruding on something malevolent.  But the green expanse in front of him and the water rushing and the animals making sounds…all of it felt comforting.

“Where am I?” he said out loud.

“Why…you’re home Mr. Pelinski.”

Jonah jumped to the side, his heart racing fast.  He hadn’t seen anyone when he stepped into the tropical garden.

“Who…who are you?” he said through shallow breaths.  His heart threatened to burst through his chest.

“Please do not worry Mr. Pelinski.  You are safe, you are home,” said a small robot, about the size of a cat.  Jonah hadn’t noticed it sitting still, like a large rock, when he stepped through the door.  His gaze was too fixed on the wondrous colors to notice anything else.

Jonah looked at the small robot with trepidation.  It looked like a mini-human with two legs, two arms, and a face with eyes, nose, and a mouth though Jonah couldn’t understand why.  

“You are home Mr. Pelinksi.  It was your time.  We have brought you here because you belong.  This is for you Mr. Pelinksi.  You have free roam,” the tiny robot said with a theatric wave of its arm.  The robot was entirely grey except for its yellow glowing eyes.  

“But, I don’t understand,” Jonah replied, his confusion showing on his face.  He rubbed his head trying to take it all in and process it.

“Understanding is not required Mr. Pelinksi.  Just accept.  It is yours.  There are others, but you are all welcome.  You are home,” the robot repeated again.  

Jonah stared off in the distance, looking over the small robot.  

Others?  It was my time?

Jonah’s eyes went large as a thought grew within his mind.  

“Where am I?” he said to the robot.  It looked up at Jonah and a smile formed on its metallic face.

“You are in Heaven Mr. Pelinksi.  You…are home.”