by Richard Wood
Standing outside of the mass, playing, the fastest of the Horde reaches Jesse. The warrior was a disgusting looking creature, with twisted gray skin, a half exposed skull, and one eye missing. His teeth were broken into chards, fingers were missing on both hands, backbones were rotted and decayed, and his torso was hollowed out. It was a nightmare just to see him. The creature reaches down and captures Jesse, using both hands. As he raised Jesse inches off the ground, a blinding flash of light burst from the birthmark and pierces the warrior, reducing him to a pile of blackened ashes. Cutting through the Horde, the beam goes deep into the dry lands, destroying everything it touches; reducing creatures to ashes, and reducing trees, huts, shrubs, and stone to piles of dust. Little Jesse drops to his feet and begins to walk around, totally unaware that he has become a living beacon. As he moves, the beam continues outward, opening up a path through the Horde. Above, there is an eagle possessed by Quygon and the Essence, flying and watching the event unfold. In the Caverns of Ness, Quygon is shocked into silence as he orders a forced retreat. The Horde turn and run, obedient to the very orders of Quygon. As they are leaving, the villagers stand silent watching Jesse. They are in complete shock and awe of what had just happened. Jesse proceeded to look for more rocks as his childhood innocence crept back in. He finds a stone he doesn’t like and tosses it aside, completely unaware that he just saved the village. Eli slowly makes his way through the crowd, searching for the parents of the child that is lying limp in his arms. As he hears a scream of horror from a couple, he approaches them with the child. The father takes his son from Eli and falls to his knees. Holding his son close to his chest, he cries out in uncontrollable sorrow. Shaira runs over to Jesse, spinning him around, expecting to see wounds from the Horde warrior. Jesse is unhurt; not a blister, a blemish, or scrape on his little body. She drops to her knees and embraces her only child, picks him up in her arms and begins to walk home. The crowd watches, speechless, as Shaira walks by. As she breaks past the crowd, a single voice rings out loudly, “Thank you!” The two keep moving forward, with Jesse in his mothers’ arms, examining the stones.
Above, the eagle watching over the event looks down on the child. Quygon focuses the eagles’ perfect vision onto Jesse. As he examines the boy, he sees an emblem. It sends shock waves through Quygon’s black heart. He sees that on the child’s left side of his chest is the Royal Crest of Elamor. It was the king of Elamor who banished him to Terra-Cova and he hates him with every ounce of his being. He thinks back to the moment the king announced his sentence. The thought shocks him into a state of such fear that it stopped the flow of the un-dead living within the beast. The spidery creatures inside, lose the ability to torture and for a brief moment, are frozen in time. The torture of the mass ends and their churning ceases. For the next few seconds they are free from the agony of Ness; still imprisoned, still in darkness, but not tortured. The mass rejoices, for the first time they realize there is a power greater than Quygon. In a blink, those precious few seconds are gone but never forgotten.
In her home, Shaira lays her little hero down for a nap. Jesse falls asleep right away, unaware that his victory over Quygon has changed the course of his families’ future. Shaira walks over to the seat by the fire and sits down. She buries her face in her hands and begins to weep, as she has lived a lifetime of emotions within just a few minutes. Eli walks in and sees Shaira. He sits down next to Shaira and consoles his wife by putting his strong arms around her fragile state. He glances over to Jesse sleeping in his bed. Neither he nor Shaira expected anything like this. Word of what happened will get out and Jesse will be sought out by all of Terra-Cova. Some will want to use him for a prophet, or protection. Others will want him dead. Eli breaks down; the giant man becomes a trembling, weeping heap. They both know that little Jesse will never have a normal life. As long as they have him though, they will do all they can to protect him. Eli and Shaira will teach him to always do the right thing and to protect the broken and the poor.
In the twenty-seventh year of the new king, Jesse is now nine years old and loves being with his father. After a long day of being with his father in his shop then playing with his friends, Jesse comes in and sits with his mother, Shaira. As he watches the flickering fire, he asks his mother, “Mommy, why are the lights brighter when we sleep?” Puzzled, Shaira asks, “What lights do you mean, Jesse?” Looking up at her he says, “The lights during our sleep time. We see them when we are sleeping”. “What do they look like?” Shaira asks. “You know mommy, the big ones that talk to us”, he replied. “And why are the lights during sleep, brighter than the ones we see when we are awake?” Shaira takes Jesse by the hand and asks, “What do the lights look like, Jesse?” “I don’t know mommy, there’s not a name for their colors”. Shaira lowers her face to Jesse’s level and asks, “What do the lights say to you?” Jesse squints his eyes as though in deep thought and begins, “The lights tell me that I’m stronger than other people, they say I’m very smart. They say when the time comes to answer questions; I will know the answer very fast. The lights tell me to listen closely to you and daddy. They say they will be with me when bad people try to hurt me, and to always help people”. Shaira puts her arm around her little boy and asks, “Are you afraid of the things they say?” “No mommy!” he answers quickly. “They show me things I can’t see!” Little Jesse leans back and asks his mother, “What do the lights say to you mommy?” She thinks for a moment, wanting to answer the question in a way that doesn’t frighten or confuse her son, then says calmly, “Mommy and daddy don’t have the lights, Jesse. They are just for you”. Somehow her little boy seemed to understand, and then he went off to play. Shaira rises to her feet and watches her little boy fly through the door. She has no idea how to raise this little man of hers but will always love and comfort him in any way she can. Will always take the time to listen to what he says.
Six months later, little Jesse is walking through the trees beyond the shrubs. It’s a place he knows very well. He comes here on a regular basis to cut wood with his father. Jesse feels at peace among the sounds and aromas of the trees. He can smell the cypress in the air; feel the crackle of leaves and twigs under his feet, hear the sounds of animals from all directions, the birds in the trees. He absorbs it all. Suddenly, the Sounds of Elamor begin to ring louder. Jesse has learned the sounds of danger. Instantly he stops and tries to hear every possible sound through the trees. Then his senses are altered. He begins to feel a darkness coming from behind him. Slowly he turns and from the corner of his eye he sees a dark furry figure. While still turning, he sees this figure half hidden behind a tree. It’s a large black wolf. As the wolf growls, his sharp, jagged teeth glisten, even in the shaded area it was in. Its furry ears are raised and pointed toward Jesse. Then Jesse hears movement from behind and in all directions. Jesse’s little body begins to shake as a chorus of hellish growls blast from all directions. The pack is on the hunt and Jesse understands that he is the prey they are seeking. The Sounds of Elamor sing loudly in his heart yet Jesse is still frozen with fear. Suddenly he remembers the advice from the Lights of Elamor. “If you ever need help”, the Lights had said, “Call out to Elamor”. Little Jesse raises his face upward and screams out, “Elamor!” At that moment, a burst of blinding light flashes the Jesse is back to walking through the trees, enjoying the sights and sounds. He realizes these are the exact feelings he had just five minutes prior, then understands that if he walks the same path as before, he would end up amongst the wolves again. He looks toward the direction of the village, turns and begins to run. As he runs past the tree line and through the shrubs, he reaches the village border. Jesse calmly strolls into his father’s shop and sees his father working the billows to blast the fire. He walks over and gives Eli a warm hug and helps his father in his work, keeping his experience with the wolves a secret.
In the twenty-eighth year of the new king, Jesse is ten years old. His body is beginning to take on a taller, leaner look. He has had many amazing dream about
Elamor but is instructed to keep them all a secret. The lights tell him that other people don’t have the ability to understand. They explain that it is easier to see the impossible than it is to describe it. As he grows in knowledge and experience, he learns to ask the lights questions as well as listen to their instructions. Jesse is taught the art of looking past the present and into the future. He is taught that things you do in the present are amplified in the future. Secretly, Jesse has a burning desire to see Elamor and talks to the lights about it. They remind him many times over that all things have a time, and his will come. But until then, he must learn and live.
One day, while the sun was setting, Jesse walks to open the door to his home and looks outside. The daytime birds were flying to their nesting sites. He listened quietly to hear any movement from the nighttime animals, as they sometimes come out early. There was none to be heard. Slowly, Jesse begins to feel a deep sadness, something he is not at all acquainted with. He walks over to his fathers’ chair and sits down. Somewhere in his soul, he begins to feel the longing for a faraway place. He couldn’t understand it. It was like his soul needed warmth that the fire could not provide. Then suddenly and without notice, the Sounds of Elamor silenced, replaced by a hollow silence as empty as a black sky. Even though he was in the same room as his mother and the fire, he felt cold and alone. The hair on the back of his neck began to rise, his pulse sped up, and a frigged chill filled the room. It felt like the room was closing in on him and he could sense accusing eyes staring at him from all directions. He glanced over to his mother, as she is busy at the table kneading dough. Fear gripped his heart and his fists became clinched. Deep inside the pit of his stomach, a terrifying scream began to build. The sound blasted past his guts and silently echoed out in all directions. The screams are replaced by a hollow blackness that seemed to fill his whole body. Jesse is hopeless and frozen in fear. The sounds are gone, the lights are gone, and his courage is gone. In an attempt to hold onto life, Jesse grabs the arm of the chair and clinches tightly. In his heart, Jesse screams out, “Elamor!” But there was no help from Elamor. He looks over to his mother as she is bent over at the fireplace adjusting coals, getting ready to bake bread. Suddenly blasting down from somewhere above, he hears a powerful voice shout out, “Jesse, come up!” Without any effort of his own, Jesse flies out of his home, through the roof. He looks down to see his home but only sees a speck of which is Terra-Cova. In a blur, he passes the sun, countless specks of light, and all the stars he can imagine. He moves into a light that is too bright to see with Terra-Covian eyes. It’s like his senses were always dead. He feels with emotions he never felt before, he hears sounds that are not able to be heard, he tastes things he has never tasted, he could feel things without touching them, and he can identify aromas never known. Looking down, he finds himself standing on nothing. As he sees himself, he is surprised to see the light doesn’t shine on him. It shines through him and becomes a part of him. Jesse looks to his right and sees a ten-foot tall wall with what appears to be a roof on top of it. As he reaches out to touch it, he feels a surface he has never known before. The object is still but has a movement that shows the evidence of life. As he looks up, he sees an image too high to see the top. For the first time in his young life, Jesse is in a world he knows nothing about, full of objects and emotions totally foreign to him. “I should be afraid”, he thinks to himself. Yet, in reality, he knows that he is completely protected. It felt like no power or authority created could hurt him. Standing there alone, he felt as if he was warmed and protected by the universe. Then from behind him, Jesse hears a familiar voice. “Master Zel-Elcon, welcome to Elamor”. Jesse turns and sees one of his former childhood Guardians. Jesse asks him, “Did you call me Master Zel-Elcon?” “Yes, Master. Here is Elamor, that is your name”, the Guardian replies. “It’s time for you to meet our king”. “But I’m just a boy”, Jesse says timidly. “Here in Elamor, age has no bearing on who you are Master. Here Master, you are every age you will ever be”, says the Guardian. Jesse looks puzzled and asks, “How do you do that?” As he speaks, Jesse is keenly aware that his voice has taken on a deeper, heavier pitch. He looks down on himself again and sees that he is standing higher somehow. Instantly, he knows that he is six feet tall. He examines his hand and arms. They are both muscular and very powerful. Shocked by what he sees, he asks the Guardian, “What happened to me?” The Guardian replies, “This is who you are, Master”. “How old am I?” Jesse asks. “You are thirty-three, Master”, the Guardian explains. Jesse asks the Guardian, “How old are you?” The Guardian replies, “I’m an age that your world doesn’t have a number for yet Master”. Jesse cautiously looks into the face of the Guardian and asks, “When will I meet the king?” The Guardian smiles and says, “You are meeting him, Master Zel-ElCon. He’s right there beside you”. The Guardian points toward the ten-foot wall. “You mean this?” Jesse asks as he touches the wall. “This is your king?” “No, Master”, the Guardian replies, “That’s the bottom of his foot!” Jesse jerks his hand back and quickly walks away. “That’s his foot”, Jesse asks loudly. The Guardian smiles then says, “He can’t move or talk in your presence, if he does, you will die”. “He will kill me?” Jesse yells. “No Master”, the Guardian replies, “He will not kill you, but you will die”. “You see our king has so much authority that one tiny movement could realize enough power that you couldn’t survive it”. A sense of calm flows over Jesse and he realizes once again that he is unknowingly safe. Jesse asks the Guardian, “Why aren’t you as tall as your king?” The Guardian replies, “We are all the same size here Master, but our king is too highly honored to lower himself. I am his servant and not of his authority. So I am here representing him”. The Guardian continues, “Master Zel-Elcon, our king wanted you to know his greatness. You may see him as beyond strength and power but this is just a tiny fraction of who he is. But for now, this is all you are able to understand and endure. In the future, our king will show you more of his dominion and dimensions. Our king wants you to know that he is always aware of your needs. He also wants you to know that no matter how you feel or what you are going through, he is always watching over you”. The king himself would one day meet with Jesse in person, in the Plains of Dust. That single event will change life in the Plains forever. Instantly, Jesse sees a blur and is suddenly back home with his mother. She’s bent over in the exact same position as she was before he went to Elamor, adjusting the coals on the fire, ready to bake bread. He looks at his mother as he leans back in his fathers’ chair, who glances back with a smile. He tries to find words to describe the amazing event that just occurred but Terra-Covian words are not designed to describe such things. He glances back to his mother, watching as she places a metal tray on the coals to bake the bread. He puts his hands together; interlocking his fingers, and lowers them into his lap. This is the beginning of the Great Impossible, as Jesse would soon call it.
At the age of eleven, Terra-Covian boys are old enough to become apprentices so Jesse starts to train with his father, Eli. It was a time of great closeness between Jesse and his father; he loved him and wanted to be just like him. If his father worked the metal, so would he. He paid close attention to everything his father said and did. He not only learned to work the metals, he also learned how to treat the villagers. His father always addressed the women as ma’am, or madam and the men were always addressed as sir. Promises were always sealed with a handshake and a smile, and most of all; the poor were always treated with respect. Unknown to Eli, while he was teaching his son during the day, the Lights of Elamor were applying those same lessons to life at night. His father taught him how to strengthen the metal, through phases of heating and cooling, combined with the pinging of the hammer. During the nights, the Lights were teaching him how to become stronger through phases of tribulation and ease by ways of attacks from the unseen. Eli taught him how the combining of metals made them useful for certain purposes. The Lights taught him that combining different people together made
them good for certain purposes. Jesse learned from his father how to form farm tools, how to shape household items like table knives and fire pokers. He created axes, mulls, shovels and picks. During the night, the Lights taught him how to shape soldiers and leaders. They taught him how to speak with authority and walk in greatness. The Lights taught him that broken people made the best leaders. They taught him how to hear the conversations of people beyond what they were speaking. He learned to listen to their hearts and to feel the things people meant to say. Jesse found himself explaining to parents what their babies were saying; he would explain to them how their children felt about the world around them. He also found himself explaining to children and babies the same things about their parents. By the age of twelve, he found himself being consulted by adults about important issues in life.
