Everville: The Rise of Mallory

by Roy Huff

  “What will happen to me?” Owen asked.

  “Just before the moment of Mallory and Rathlar’s departure to the land of the giants, I will transport you in your Alarian form to Rathlar. It is then that you will have to convince him to give up the element. If you succeed, you will be transformed back to your human form and will exit the mountain bluff from whence you came. The knowledge of your life as an Alarian will be erased, but you will possess the knowledge that you succeeded, though, you won’t know why. You will also retain the character and understanding of honor that you experience as an Alarian. It won’t be a literal knowledge, but rather an implicit wisdom that adds to your own inner self. You will be a greater man, but you will not be aware of the change.

  “So which will it be? Will you destroy the dragon or will you make the latter choice?” The Third Pillar of Truth asked.

  By that time, Owen had forgotten there was even a choice. Instinctively, it was clear that the latter choice must be the right thing to do. He did think about it for a second, though. If he destroyed the dragon, the dragon would be dead and nothing else would have changed. Of course, that’s assuming that The Third Pillar of Truth would let him go through with it if it was the wrong choice.

  The second choice also had potential pitfalls. Owen would not only have to keep the knowledge of Earth and his world a secret, he would also have to stay true to what he believed was right and just. Still yet, he would have to convince the dragon using that knowledge he gained through his experience as an Alarian. More importantly he would have to have the patience to see it though. Tens of billions of years was a long time.

  “I’ve decided to pick the second choice,” Owen said.

  “The second choice it is then,” The Pillar said.

  Owen was transformed into an Alarian child, freshly hatched on a distant planet in an unknown universe billions of years in the past.

  Owen opened his eyes with a form that was unknown to him, yet strangely, it felt familiar. He possessed all the instincts that an Alarian child would while retaining every last bit of knowledge of his human life and his experiences in Everville.

  Owen tried to communicate, and he felt that he could speak and even take human form. He quickly caught himself, though, as there is no way that an Alarian that had just hatched would have knowledge of humans, their shape, or their speech. As such, he acted like a newborn Alarian, oblivious to what was expected or how to speak, but possessing the instincts that would lead him in the right direction over time.

  For a species that was from another universe, the Alarians had customs and social conventions that were oddly similar to those of Earth. There were families, most of them nuclear, but some not. The children went to school; some excelled, others didn’t. Most of the adults had jobs, but some were destitute and a few were lazy and chose not to work.

  What Owen found most striking was that the Alarians rarely shape shifted, but instead, held their ancestral form for most of the time. There were times, though, in moments of extreme emotion, celebration, or exploration that the Alarians did shape shift.

  There was one thing, though, that was vastly different from the human culture. The fact that Alarians could shape shift and the nature of their physical composition meant that they usually did not feel pain and they rarely died. They did not have disease, and it was almost impossible to die from what would be a conventional attack. Most other forms of war generally required energy, which would only make the Alarians stronger.

  The Alarians’ difficulty at engaging in self-inflicted physical harm drove introspection and built character among the species. That did not, though, prevent evil. Emotional harm was still quite possible. Theft still existed in the form of stolen energy and power. The greatest capacity for evil, though, came from the Alarians’ ability to inflict harm on others.

  There was a constant internal struggle within the social and political structure between those who had developed a great character through introspection and those who sought to maximize their power through theft of resources from other species, even intelligent ones. There were also many shades of grey, and then there were also those who lived outside the struggle and chose their own pursuits—some who cared and others who didn’t.

  Early on Owen developed great friendships. One friendship in particular would transform his life as an Alarian while deepening his understanding of what it meant to be human. In Alaria Owen was called Alvaro.

  “Hi. My name’s Chesna,” a girl said to Alvaro in the Alarian language of clicks and musical sounds that Alvaro now understood.

  “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Alvaro,” he replied.

  “You know, I don’t really know anyone here and I don’t want to study alone. Would you like to go study at the library?” Chesna asked.

  “Sure. That would be great!” he replied.

  It was Alvaro’s third year in what closely approximated a university. Alvaro had lived his childhood learning what it meant to be Alarian with the memory of humanity etched into his shape shifting brain. Now, though, he had exceeded his experiences as a human. He had lived longer as Alvaro than Owen Sage. The first two years at the university were uneventful. He held deep platonic friendships with longstanding friends. This year was different, though. Alvaro knew that he had tens of billions of years in front of him, and it was time for him to truly live as one of them.

  Several months had passed into Alvaro’s third year and his feelings for Chesna had deepened.

  “Chesna, would you like to go to park this afternoon?” Alvaro asked.

  “Sure, I’d love to!” she responded with enthusiasm.

  They arrived there a few hours later. He gave her his hand and helped her get comfortable after finding the perfect spot.

  It was a beautiful day. The twin suns shone down with the perfect amount of illumination on the colorful, temperate vegetation of the region. They sat there together facing the families that walked by.

  Chesna watched as the small children played with their siblings and parents. She imagined having a family herself one day.

  “Alvaro, what do you think it all means?” she asked.

  “What does all what mean?” he replied, knowing exactly what she meant.

  “You know, everything, our place in the universe, life, family, the future?” she asked.

  It had been a while since Alvaro had to parse what he said for fear of violating The Third Pillar of Truth’s warning not to tell others what he knew about Earth or his understanding of things outside of Alarian society. During this time in their development, the Alarians were at a similar cultural and technological development as Earth was during the early twenty first century, with substantial differences in certain things.

  Alvaro continued. “I don’t know. I guess that’s the big question, but I think there is an absolute truth. I believe in family, friendship, and honor. I think it’s important to live a good life and do what you think is best for yourself while helping others find what’s best for them. I think happiness is the ideal, and perhaps you need to be true to yourself and have good character in order to find that happiness.”

  Chesna’s heart fluttered.

  “You are the wisest man I know,” Chesna said to Alvaro while leaning over and giving him what would be considered a gentle kiss by human standards.

  Alvaro blushed. It was a very rare occurrence of shape shifting that he let slip, allowing color to appear on his otherwise black body. It did not go unnoticed by Chesna.

  Two years had passed since Chesna and Alvaro met, and it was the year after their graduation from the university. Their love and deep affection for each other was stronger than it had ever been.

  Both of them had settled into their careers and had their own hobbies. Alvaro loved stargazing. Chesna liked to paint. They both attempted to try each other’s hobbies, though Alvaro was less successful at painting than Chesna was at stargazing.

  One evening after work, they were together in an open field where they frequented. Alv
aro was gazing at the stars and Chesna was gazing at Alvaro.

  “Chesna?” Alvaro said after he turned away from the sky and towards her.

  “Yes, Alvaro?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, Alvaro! Yes! I will marry you!” she replied without hesitation.

  A feeling of joy rushed through them, more joy than either of them had ever experienced. It was a moment Chesna had been anticipating for a long time, and a decision that Alvaro knew he was going to make for quite some time.

  Several more years passed, and their relationship continued to deepen.

  “Alvaro?” Chesna said.

  “Yes, Chesna?”

  “We’re going to have a child!” she said with excitement.

  “Really? That’s wonderful!” Alvaro exclaimed.

  They had wanted a child for a while now, and once her egg hatched they would finally have one.

  Several more years passed, and their son was already in school. They had a wonderful life. Their family was strong, and they had jobs they loved. Both Alvaro and Chesna shared friends, most of which were equally happy. They lived a fulfilled life. Up until this point, the only regret that Alvaro had was that he was unable to tell his family about his life as a human and his experiences on Earth and in Everville. Years more passed, and then decades more.

  “Dad?”

  “Yes, son?” Alvaro replied.

  “I’m getting married!”

  “That’s wonderful!” Alvaro exclaimed.

  “Honey! Come over here! Our son’s getting married!” he shouted.

  The passing decades turned into centuries, and then several millennia moved with the unimpeded march of time. Alvaro’s memory of his life as Owen Sage continued to fade, but never completely.

  Alvaro found that having a strong foundation of good character was what was most important. He lived his life. He raised his children and his children’s children to be honorable, trustworthy, and to live their life doing what they loved to do most. He encouraged them not to be afraid to dream impossible dreams or to do impossible things.

  Time continued to march. A billion years passed, two billion, five billion, and then ten billion years had come and gone. Alvaro and Chesna have lived together for an unimaginable amount of time, but eventually, their universe was coming to an end and so was their time together.

  Like the universe where Alvaro lived as Owen Sage, the Alarians’ universe was expanding. In a few short years, the expansion would rip apart all matter in their world, including the Alarians themselves. The trillions of Alarians that were scattered across the galaxies were nearing the end of their existence.

  Most Alarians had lived for tens of billions of years and were content to let nature take its course, but several million decided to push on. Chesna was not one of those people. Despite her love for Alvaro, she felt content to die, and he wanted so much to stay with her until the very end.

  “Chesna?” Alvaro said

  “Yes, Alvaro?” she replied.

  “Will you reconsider? Won’t you come with me? I can’t image my life without you. If you stay, I will miss you so much and it will be difficult to live on,” he pleaded.

  “Then why don’t you stay with me? You don’t have to go. Let’s stay here together and meet our end naturally, and then it will be all over, but it will be over on our terms, together,” Chesna replied, not understanding why Alvaro wanted to escape to another universe.

  Alvaro could not stay. The promise that he’d made to The Third Pillar of Truth prevented him from expressing what he really felt. He was hurt that he could not share that with her.

  “I can’t, Chesna. I just can’t. It’s not time for me to die,” he said, barely able to contain his emotion.

  Alvaro had never completely let the memory of Earth or Everville fade away. He had been patient all this time. Alvaro had enjoyed his life as an Alarian, but he had been so meticulous, so careful to do the right thing. The moment had come after all these years, and he was going to go with the Alarians to cross over to the other universe, the universe where he had originated in what now was a distant memory.

  “Chesna,” Alvaro said, holding her hand for one last time.

  “Yes, Alvaro?” she replied.

  “I love you. I love you with all my heart,” he said as his entire body changed colors.

  They held each other’s hands for as long as they could, not wanting to let go.

  Alvaro and the other Alarians could wait no longer. The molecules of everything within the universe were about to be ripped apart. In that instant, they departed.

  Seconds later, the Alarians’ universe died. All the particles that existed in it were ripped apart by the force that was making their universe expand. Their memories, society, and culture would live on, though.

  Alvaro, as did many other Alarians, felt a great loss. He felt the greatest pain that he had ever felt. His love of tens of billions of years was gone. There was now a great void within his heart.

  It was not the tens of billions of years that tested Alvaro, it was the tens of thousands of years to come that would be the greatest test. It was not lost on Alvaro that he was forced to live out the tens of billions of years as an Alarian after having initiated the destruction of The City of Worms, even though it was not his actions that gave the worms sentience, requiring their destruction.

  Now, though, with the loss of his wife and most of his progeny, Alvaro shared in what he imagined the Alarians in the future might feel with the destruction of their offspring, and it was unfathomable.

  Thousands of more years passed in the new universe. The Alarians lived out their lives on the large moon that orbited an ice planet.

  Alvaro did the only thing he knew to ease the pain of his loss; he spent time with the descendants of his offspring. Though the pain never completely faded, the passage of time slowly made it better. He wondered what the moment would be like when the time came for the memory of his life to be taken. He was torn as to whether the burden that would be lifted would be greater than losing the memory of his life and his love. Only time would tell.

  The day that Alvaro waited for had finally come. Rathlar and Mallory were about to transport to the land of the giants and destroy Everville and the entire realm once and for all, but The Third Pillar of Truth pulled Alvaro from the second city on the large moon. He brought Rathlar and Alvaro together. Alvaro would now have to convince the dragon to freely give up the element or else Everville would be destroyed.

  CHAPTER 15

  ALLIANCES

  The remnant armies of Them that surrounded The Other In Between possessed a connection to the Alarians. Them were alerted to the Alarians the instant the worms were given sentience. That connection brought awareness of the Alarians’ impending attack.

  From the time Mallory stole the juvenile worm, they knew exactly who had murdered the vast majority of their species. It was no longer a question of what race was responsible. They knew exactly who they were, where the came from, and what they were about to do.

  While Them thought as once cohesive unit, they were able to divest themselves partially from the whole when possessing the body of another, the body of a willing host, like those creatures who were generally loyal in the surrounding lands of The Other In Between, lands like The Dark Forest and The Valley of Darkness. It was most often done for the sole purpose of creating physical armies, as non-corporeal forms could not kill. It was also necessary, though quite rare, to take possession of another body when Them could not come to a decision on the best possible course of action.

  Them took the bodies of three creatures from the same species. Them called each other by the names from which they originated before the merging: Milrod, Lax, and Samil. Each of the three represented the current main competing thoughts of Them, which were the source of indecision.

  Samil spoke first. The creature whose body he possessed was the most wretched thing he had ever encountered. It was a dull grey covered in snot and mucous.
It had boils and scabs all over its skin with long pointy ears and a long thick nose that rounded on the tip.

  Strangely, Samil was happy to take his current physical form. After his death at Easton Falls and new existence in The Other In Between, he had forgotten what it felt like to be solid.

  “Listen,” Samil said while clearing his throat and coughing up the mucous that blocked it.

  “We must form a temporary alliance with The Keepers. If the Alarians succeed in defeating the armies of giants and of Everville, we may lose our chance forever to defeat them. Now that they are in possession of the element, thanks to the artifacts provided by Mallory, their strength will soon grow beyond what we can defeat. They must be stopped now. If we hesitate, we will lose that chance,” Samil said firmly.

  “Oh. No. No. No. We will not join or align ourselves with The Keepers. We should let Mallory betray them first. That way, we can kill two birds with one stone. The Alarians will destroy the giants and the armies of Everville, and then Mallory will destroy the Alarians,” Milrod said.

  “Listen you idiot! First of all, we want the pleasure of killing the Alarians ourselves. They murdered our people and nearly made us extinct. More importantly, if Mallory succeeds in killing the Alarians, his power will be unstoppable,” Samil added.

  Lax jumped in. “Why don’t we team up with Mallory?”

  “Don’t be stupid. Mallory has no reason to join forces with us. If he did, he would have already done it. It’s clear he has no purpose in the collection of power other than to collect it. A plan with no purpose is no plan at all.

  “It will not benefit our end to join with Mallory. He is as much the enemy as the Alarians. He may not be responsible for the genocide of our people, but it was precisely to stop those who would seek our eventual destruction that we decided to slough off the physical in the first place,” Samil replied.