by Troy Hooker
“Don’t be afraid, son. They just want to get to know you,” he whispered to him.
“Yes it is,” Sam squeaked at the Chancellor.
The Chancellor took off his glasses.
“We mean no harm here, Samuel. Just tell us the truth about everything you know. Can you do that?”
“Yes sir.”
He put his glasses back on the tip of his nose and appeared to read something again on the table before him.
“It says here that you have never before been to Lior, is that right?”
“Yes that is right. This is my first time,” Sam said, a little more confidently.
“How do you like our little city?” the Chancellor said, smiling an awkward but comforting smile at Sam.
“It’s nice. I would like to stay here.”
A soft rumble of chuckles could be heard throughout the chamber upon Sam’s words.
The Chancellor turned his spectacles back on Jack, clearing his throat and lowering his gaze.
“Jack, you understand that in order for us to establish his true descendancy …” the Chancellor waived his hand as if dismissing the thought. “Regardless of his background, we must have solid evidence that he has received the gift of Light from the Creator,” he said solemnly.
Jack opened his robe and took out a small silver device much like the surfing discs that Bogglenose had given them. He tapped the center, which immediately produced a blue hologram image in his palm. Then, as he placed the disc on the podium, the image suddenly sprang from the disc and portrayed a massive version of itself in the center of the amphitheater.
“The Protector’s Office received this late yesterday morning,” Jack told them.
Then the voice of the image began to speak, and out of the corner of his eye, Sam caught a glance of Harper Cooley stand halfway in his chair to glare at the image.
“It will be noted in the records that an event was captured by Chorim while in the Seer chamber,” the man said calmly. “This is event number four hundred thousand six hundred twenty-seven.”
Then the bald man disappeared and an image of the clearing back in the forest flickered into view. A blurry image of Sam could be seen standing in the clearing with a hooded figure in front of him. He was only the shadow of a man in the hologram, but Sam remembered the face of Arazel clearly. His heart leapt at the images, and his stomach felt suddenly sick. Smoke shot from Arazel’s outstretched palm to meet the large bolt of blue Light from Sam’s palm.
The amphitheater erupted into hushed whispers and surprised chatter at the event. The Chancellor squinted at the hologram through his spectacles while Talister Calpher sat in his chair beside him, looking uneasy as the Council grew restless. Then, as suddenly as the holographic recording started, it ended.
Jack Sterling picked up the silver disc and the images disappeared.
“As you see, Chancellor, this young man has not only been gifted by the Creator, but he possesses extraordinary abilities that most Descendants at his age do not normally have,” he said.
“I see,” the Chancellor said once the room quieted down. “Does the boy have any previous experience with the gifts?”
Mr. Sterling looked down at Sam, nodding his head to answer the question.
“Uh, no sir. I never really knew about it,” he said meekly.
The Chancellor sighed deeply, then looked around the amphitheater.
“As you may know, there are some who believe that there may be some truth to the Dark Force’s claim on the Prophecy. While I don’t share those sentiments, I must make inquiries on the behalf of the regions that are concerned.”
The Chancellor looked down to Sam suddenly, a look of sympathy on his face. Then he once again looked around at the members in the room.
“Some of you have even expressed concern that this boy may even be connected to the Prophecy.”
The room erupted in hushed whispers.
What? They actually believe it could be me? Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Sure, it was a fleeting thought, but now Council members were believing the nonsense?
Sam looked at Mr. Sterling, who had a downcast look upon his face. It was enough to tell Sam that he hadn’t heard the whole story.
“I do find it prudent to inquire into the boy’s past,” the Chancellor continued, and the crowd was silent once again. “I have taken the liberty of doing some research on my own,” he said, then looked down at the paper in front of him once again. “You grew up in a place called ‘Grand Rapids,’ with Phillip and Sylvia Forrester … your foster parents, is that right?”
Sam was a bit taken aback at the information, but not surprised that they knew. They had the Seers, the Sons, and many other connections. Instead of questioning how they knew, he chose not to show emotion, only nod.
“I understand they weren’t the best of role models, were they?” the Chancellor looked to Sam for an answer, but received none.
“What can you tell me about your true father and mother?” the Chancellor tried a different angle.
“They were killed in a car wreck when I was young,” he said loudly, swallowing any emotion attached to the information because he had said it so many times before.
“I see,” the Chancellor cleared his throat. “I am very sorry to hear that. You have been staying in White Pine with your grandfather … Amos?”
“Yes.”
“What can you tell me about him?” the Chancellor asked while looking down at the paper in front of him.
“Well, I don’t know much actually,” Sam began to say, but was suddenly interrupted by commotion from behind him.
He turned to see his grandfather standing behind him in the entrance of the amphitheater, wearing a flowing red robe of the Thalo hall.
***********************
“I suppose he could just ask me himself. Isn’t that right, Almeous?” his Grandfather said loudly, causing more commotion from the amphitheater.
The Chancellor was obviously shaken by Sam’s grandfather’s entrance, and for a moment he had to move his spectacles around his nose until he could see him properly.
“Chancellor Ramis?” he said, which brought an immediate eruption of surprised conversation from around the room.
“It has been a long time,” his grandfather said once the noise died down. “You have been foolish with your alliances I see.”
The Chancellor cleared his throat and sat down in his chair.
“Ramis, we have been working to secure those alliances that best suit our needs as a people,” he said defensively. “But politics cannot be why you have surprised us here today.”
“No,” his grandfather said. “I have come here to represent the boy you have put on display here, as his grandfather, Amos.”
Hushed whispers once again filtered through the Council as they recognized the connection between the former Chancellor and Sam.
“You are the boy’s grandfather he calls Amos?”
Amos nodded.
“For reasons I cannot divulge, I have been in hiding,” he looked at Sam, “until recently.”
Sam looked at his grandfather, who wasn’t the same person he knew from White Pine. The flannel shirt and jeans were gone, and he showed remarkable confidence in the presence of so many people. The spirit about him was so powerful that when he spoke, the room grew silent.
The Chancellor stared silently at the three on the platform for many moments.
“We are merely surmising this young man’s abilities, former Chancellor Ramis. He shows abilities that surpass most other Descendants.”
“Of that, I am sure. I was aware that some of these possibilities exist, but let us get to the deeper question, shall we?” His grandfather stepped forward to the podium. “You are silently assessing his potential for fulfilling the legend of the Dark Prophecy—which, I should say, is a lit
tle premature, is it not?”
“Ramis, some on the Council are concerned with the boy’s unknown past. It has been heard that the Dark Forces believe that one from Creation will become the second to the one called Nasikh, The Dark One,” the Chancellor said, eliciting another round of rumblings from the Council.
“There have been many to come to Lior from Earth,” his grandfather interrupted. “He is only one.”
“Yes, yes,” the Chancellor countered. “But the Dark Forces would have him—”
“Meaningless,” Amos answered him.
Sam knew it was true, because Arazel told him that very thing in the forest. Believing it, however, was something he would never do.
“Ramis, you understand we must have full disclosure on the boy’s past to be sure. What can you tell me of his mother and father?” the Chancellor pressed.
Amos looked to his grandson and a look of concern poured over his face. He then raised his eyes to meet those of the Chancellor.
“That is hardly the topic we should be discussing in a public Council, do you not agree?”
The Chancellor looked as though he was going to argue, but then paused and gave thought to the words.
“I agree … but what of the gifts he possesses?”
His grandfather nodded slightly.
“Yes, they are powerful, perhaps rising out of some lost Descendant lineage somewhere. But they hardly mean he is to become the leader of a massive army of Darkness. They are undeveloped and in need of guidance. Guidance that could be found here in the City.”
The amphitheater erupted into hushed chatter at his words, and the Chancellor stood and raised his hand to quiet them.
“Is there anyone here who wishes to speak for or against the boy at this time?” his voice boomed throughout the room.
No one spoke at first, but then a younger man with a blue robe stood and raised his hand.
“I wish to speak,” he called loudly.
“The Council recognizes the Council member from Telok,” the Chancellor boomed.
The man in the blue robe stared down at Sam.
“I know he is just a boy, but the people of Telok believe it would be a mistake to allow the boy to go on unguarded,” he said, but was immediately cut off by arguments around the room.
When the Chancellor stood again to stop the conversation, the amphitheater quieted down, allowing the man to continue.
“In the North, we have been experiencing more attacks than usual on our convoys to Nais, and we have heard reports that Dark creatures are more active, not to mention we have confidence that this activity is a result of the boy’s arrival in Lior.”
At his words, the room erupted once again, even louder than before. It took Mr. Sterling projecting a massive holographic map of Lior in the center of the room for the noise to finally die down.
“Friends, Chancellor, if I may answer that charge with a statement from the Protectors Office,” Mr. Sterling said loudly from the podium. “While we too have been seeing a rise in activity around certain portions of Lior, as you can see by the chronological sequencing of the activity from the past until now, the map showing the sections of Lior covered in Darkness from the time of the fall of the Old City hasn’t shown any significant growth.”
The Chancellor peered at Mr. Sterling, then back to Sam.
“You know full well, Jack, that the events as of late have been unusual in nature. We must consider those as well,” he said grimly.
“Yes, you are right, Chancellor. We believe at the PO that there is something covering Lior, like a shroud meant to deceive us into thinking we are immune.”
Again the room burst into commotion, with some angry shouts being called out from various regions. Some even called out portions of the Prophecy.
“Jack, are you saying that we can’t really see what is happening in Lior?”
At that moment, Sam understood the Chancellor’s motive in the Council meeting. While it seemed at first that his request to see Sam and Mr. Sterling was an interrogation, it was evident that it was quite the opposite. Through the questions, he was merely making light of a larger, more dangerous situation, and he wanted the Council to understand the gravity of the situation.
“The PO is looking into the matter, Chancellor.”
Chancellor Almeous sat back in his chair, waiting for the room to grow quiet once again.
“This land has been free from the threat of Darkness for many years. Many here say the Darkness is growing again, but there is no proof that I can see, and no word from the Seers of this activity. We must get this proof somehow.”
Sam remembered the wall of Darkness outside the Old City, and the thick mass within the swamp. Why weren’t the Seers able to see it?
“We have already sent out some PO agents to the spots the young people saw, but there was no sign of new growths—”
“Because there are none!” hollered a young Council member from Nais, at which point the amphitheater erupted into multiple shouting matches between members of different halls, as well as their own.
“Send him out of the City!” cried another. “He is a risk to Lior’s safety!”
It took a massive eruption of Light exploding from the outstretched palms of the Chancellor to bring everyone to silence.
“As you can see, we are having trouble coming to a conclusion,” the Chancellor sighed heavily. “I do remind those skeptical of the ability of the Dark Forces to orchestrate such a deception that only fifty years prior we were forced to build a new city simply because we chose to be blinded to their power. We buried many that day, some of whom were your family.”
The Council remained quiet at the Chancellor’s words, but one older member from Themane stood and looked compassionately at Sam.
“If there is one thing I have learned in my many years traveling back and forth between Lior and Creation, it is that young people have the incredible ability to see what we cannot,” he paused to catch his breath, and still no one challenged his words. “Often we are blinded because we refuse to look past our own hands…” he held them up in front of him, “… and the Light which we hold is often the same Light that blinds us.”
The man’s words were stunning to say the least. He had incredible wisdom that he had gleaned over the ages, and the Council seemed to calm at his words. Whether they believed him or not, that was a different story, but at least the tone of the meeting had changed.
“What do you suggest we do concerning the boy, Chancellor?” Talister Calpher spoke suddenly, his usual wide grin now only a smirk on his face.
The Chancellor peered at Sam.
“The High Council will make that decision, based upon their region’s demands—”
Sam’s grandfather stepped to the podium suddenly, as if to relieve Mr. Sterling from his quickly rising anger with some of the members of the Council who advocated sending Sam out of the City.
“Former Chancellor Ramis, unless you see another way?”
“I do, Chancellor,” he said loudly, sternly. “My dear brothers and sisters of the Council, have we considered the dragon? He can determine the boy’s true gift, can he not?”
Again there was chatter throughout the chamber as the Council members considered the former Chancellor’s suggestion. Nearly all of the members from two of the regions, Telok and Themane, were in agreement, while large pockets of Nais and Thalo members held out with some concern.
Suddenly a light-skinned member from Nais stood and waited for the room to be quiet once again.
“The dragon’s intuition on Descendants has not been called upon for hundreds of years. We only keep one here as a symbol of tradition and strength, not upon which to decide our membership!”
“Aye! I agree! Dragons are fickle creatures that can’t be trusted! We must rely on research and the Council for making the decisions!” hollered a thin tal
ler man from the Thalo section.
“What other choice do we have?” a younger member from Nais called out. “It’s not like we can send him back into Creation with his knowledge of Lior! It’d be a major security breach if I ever saw one!”
A larger, older gentleman in the back of the Thalo region stood carefully as the arguing died down.
“Might I say a word?” he spoke feebly. “It may be noted that in the cases in the past where the dragon has been summoned, the truth has always been revealed.”
“And the other times have left that someone dead!” someone called out anonymously from the back of Thalo section.
Dead? What is he talking about?
Talister Calpher stood suddenly.
“Citizens and Council members, I want to welcome this boy in our City as much as anyone, but the dragon? Placing the boy at its mercy is foolish! We cannot trust the security of our City to a—a giant lizard that is thought to have spiritual insight, can we?” he steadied himself on the railing in front of him. “I implore you, former Chancellor Ramis, don’t make this mistake. He is just a boy.”
The Chancellor nodded at Talister’s words, then peered at Sam’s grandfather.
“Yes, it is dangerous, Ramis. Only Descendants with the true gift of Light come back from Ayet Sal on the back of the dragon. If the boy has any connection with the Darkness, he will not return.”
Sam froze where he stood. There it was again. The name—Ayet Sal. The Valley of Death. Why does the name keep coming up around him? Unless the old woman, Miss Wrenge, was right. The Valley of Death … It—whoever or whatever—was calling him, just as she had said.
“We can’t just force a human boy to go to the most dangerous place in Lior alone. No, I suggest we continue in the search for the boy’s ancestry, for his father. Try the earthly records another time.” Other members tried to make their case from the various halls.
Sam was tired of hearing them talk about him. His safety, that he is just a boy … he was sick of listening to it, listening to them decide his fate with him right there in the room. It was the same old politics, no different than Earth. The same diplomatic mumbo jumbo he had heard from his foster parents and their friends. It was easy to talk about someone else until it happened to you. Then it was amazing how fast things changed in the political world.
