Solar Twins

by Jason F Crockett

  He looked at the Mwene and then around at the fearful crowd and leaped into the air. He did not soar through the shield but blinked out of sight with a loud clap of thunder. Everybody’s ears popped with a pressure change. Jacinto and Rakhabi wrapped the babies gently. They still glowed from within.

  What had been done to them? They seemed O.K. What was the gift they had been given? What did the prophecy mean? They had so much to think about.

  The Mwene and his guards and then the crowd slowly came out of their stupor. It seemed like a dream to them; one that they would never forget. It would replay itself many times awake or asleep.

  The crowd began to clamor for an explanation. The Mwene gathered his guards and with their added strength, projected to the entire crowd.

  “Good citizens and guests. I am thankful that the yulupalexa deigned to appear and confirm the uniqueness of the times in which we now live. Will you accept his charge as you did mine?

  “We will,” came back almost in unison.

  “Then let us celebrate this day as we have never before, for we mark the end of one age. Today we usher in another. No longer shall we mark the passing of each turn based on my reign, but on the coming of the Children of the Stars as heralded by the great yulupalexa. Today shall be day one CoS. Let us celebrate!”

  He was already linked to the guards and he quickly re-created the portal; only low enough for him to step through easily. He motioned for the others in the ring to follow and Yakobe and Barilio ushered their soul mates through ahead of themselves. After the guards entered, the Mwene shifted the portal high into the air once again. The craftsmen began the celebratory light show and fireworks once again.

  Socotini stood quietly next to the other four Powerball winners feeling quite overwhelmed. But for the softly glowing ruby dangling from his neck, his friends would never believe him. It truly was the dawning of a new age.

  He walked over to one of the remaining guards and at a nod from him, stepped past him into the swirling crowd. The conversations around him buzzed and it seemed all the threads were the same. The prophecy of the children of the stars fulfilled in their day was foremost followed closely by the appearance of the yulupalexa and his strange prophecy. No one seemed to remember that he had just won Powerball. “All the better,” he thought as he pushed his way through to a food vendor. He didn’t normally like to be the focus of all the attention. Well, the attention he got while climbing trees in the city, that was different. It was Arborer pride.

  “I’ll have a string of your peanut butter taffy, please,” he said to the vendor who was quite tall and dark and clothed in fur with boots of iguana skin. He was probably from one of the nomadic tribes Sid thought as he held out his hand over the I.D. scanner. His parents would pay the bill. They had practically given him free rein for today. He swung the taffy string around his neck next to the ruby on the necklace and sucked on one end of it as he looked around for the nearest tree. He just had to get out of the crowd pressing in on him. Ah! There. He headed off towards the tree. This was going to be a fun day.

  Meanwhile, the Mwene guided the two couples and those of his retinue that were not out celebrating, into the public counsel chamber.

  The council chamber was much smaller than the throne room. That wasn’t saying much really. It was still a large room. The walls formed an octagon. On the face of each wall was displayed in some form identifying features from each region under the Mwene’s influence. On some walls hung great tapestries of varying colors depicting various items and events. On other walls were displayed exquisitely carved objects of great worth grown from beautiful gnarled wood and multi-colored grained woods. One wall was stone and was framed on each side by great pillars. Another looked like a window into the sea in which marvelous creatures swam above moving, ever-changing sand art showing a living history. One wall was laced with clouds and a veritable rainbow of colors that shifted around shelves set into the wall displaying cultural items of interest.

  The entire vaulted ceiling glowed softly and displayed events more specifically related to the Mwene’s reign. Already the evening’s events were re-playing, slightly offset from the center where the Mwene’s family was depicted.

  Rakhabi and Yakobe found themselves distracted by the wealth of history and culture. Not until the Mwene sent a guard back to get their attention did they hurry over to sit at the long table in the center of the chamber. The guards took up position next to the single point of entry. No one sat in the chairs that lined the walls.

  “Now, that went well,” Mwene Crisópraso, said, simply understating their meeting with the yulupalexa and the wealth of information overload they had all just experienced.

  Barilio forced himself to remember to whom he was talking as he responded. “Just how much of what happened out there was part of what you had planned?”

  The Mwene sidestepped the question slightly. “I hope that you are not too much in shock by the yulupalexa that honored us with his presence. No matter how prepared you are for a meeting like that, it is always a shock.” He surveyed those around the table as he spoke. He seemed to have recovered his senses and they could see the ideas growing in his mind though he kept himself well shielded.

  “You two couples are perhaps beginning to realize the enormity of the decisions you have made. Do not be concerned though because you not only have my backing and promise of support, but that of the people in my mwendom and, it appears the yulupalexa are in support of you as well. When the children are old enough, they will have the best training available to them. There will be many unknowns that we will have to work through with them. They are not like us and have been blessed by the yulupalexa. Only time will reveal what that truly means for us and for the children.” He then nodded to his nearest advisor. “We have a lot of studying to do to understand the yulupalexa’s prophecy. You will move that high on your priority list.”

  “As you wish, your Excellency. I am looking forward to investigating and understanding this whole situation better.”

  “Rakhabi and Yakobe, I want you to remain here through the remainder of winter. When the rains of spring have receded from their initial flooding, you may return to your home, but I will continue to monitor your child’s progress and provide monetarily for his needs. I will work out something with Mwene Crisólito for the child’s education in his early turns. When he reaches eight turns of age, we will begin to expand his instruction into every field we can.”

  Yakobe broke in with consternation, “Do you mean to tell me that he will be taken from us at eight turns? You can’t…” he corrected himself, “Surely there is another way.” Rakhabi just sat there stunned.

  “I understand how you feel in this matter,” the Mwene sent out feelings of reassurance. “However, more is at stake here than you realize. I will gladly allow him to stay with you during his training, but that will require sacrifice on your part as you relocate regularly depending on where we need to take him.”

  Yakobe and Rakhabi exchanged glances as they discussed the situation in the privacy of their minds. The discussion was more instantaneous than if they had been speaking, it was more like a sharing of ideas collectively rather than one at a time. “It is normal to allow relatives and acquaintances to have input in the training of one’s child. Normally this happens in the immediate vicinity of the parents of the child in training, not across the continent under a wide range of unknown instructors. The Mwene did say that he would be providing the resources necessary to raise our baby. The extent of that needs to be confirmed. If that were truly the case and they were given the means to survive…”

  Yakobe looked Mwene Crisópraso in the eye. “We are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to be able to stay with our child if you are truly prepared to…I mean you have said that you will help to provide for the needs of the child. Will you provide lodging for us when we move from place to place? Can you help us find employment and other necessities in those moves?”

  “I will gladly provide f
or your needs. That will help the child to have a better sense of belonging. It will be hard enough for him without being separated from his parents.”

  “Jacinto and Barilio,” he said turning to address them. “It will benefit both of the children if they are in close proximity to one another. I will provide the same for you if you also wish to remain close to the child. What do you say?”

  They had been mentally discussing that very thing and Barilio spoke for them both. “We are willing to make the sacrifice and accept your terms.”

  “I want to continue to have access to the observatory even via portals if necessary,” Jacinto added.

  “That will not pose a problem,” Mwene Crisópraso said. “This whole affair will require a lot of input from many individuals. It is something I am prepared to pour our energy into. We all have a lot at stake in these two little guys. I will send Healer Gaio by tomorrow to check on the children’s health. You may not see much of me in the next five to eight turns, but do not hesitate to contact me or my advisors.”

  “Thank you for everything,” Rakhabi said, sensing that the meeting was at an end. The others heartily joined in.

  After the four had left, the Mwene and his advisors devised an intricate plan for the raising of the two babies. A lot rested on these Children of the Stars. If they failed, it would not be because Mwene Crisópraso had not done everything in his power to see them succeed.

  Stalag language

  Credit -Stalag currency

  Karamu-Small otter-like river creature

  Kwila-Large strong trees where some build homes

  Marks (of the dial)-Hours

  Mlaikha- Servants

  Mwene -King

  Ma Mwene-Ancestral family of kings

  Mwendom-Kingdom

  Nlaikha -Servant

  Pwiya -Lord

  Fourth Realm-Realm of the Yulupalexa (alternate dimension/universe)

  Skilled-Trained in aspects of the realm of the Yulupalexa

  Yulupalexa-Dragon

  One turn-One year

  About the Author

  Jason Crockett was born in Canada and raised in a mountain valley in the heart of Papua New Guinea. The freedom found in this wild expanse encouraged his equally wild imagination to grow and soon became a healthy foundation for his writing. Jason’s teachers and parents further invested in his imagination by encouraging him to both read and write. Authors like Terry Brooks and Raymond E. Feist were great early inspirations and helped to kickstart Jason’s love for fantasy and science fiction.

  Jason received degrees in Missions, Computer Information Systems, and Networking and Security. He has invested in the arts over the years not only with his writing but also with music. He plays several instruments including trombone in the Lake Area Jazz band, violin in the Lake Area String Orchestra, and electric bass in the church band.

  While not having actually written a single word of this book, Nicholas Crockett is credited with authorship due to the sheer amount of his involvement in the creative process. Nicholas grew up in a world of his own design, spending ample hours thinking, creating and imagining his own worlds where everything was possible. Nick spent hours upon hours dreaming up Magellan and Stalagdon with his father along the side of soccer fields. While only a child at the inception of this work, Nicholas is now a Computer Science student at Southwest Baptist University and continues to create and imagine worlds soon to be discovered.

  May you get as much enjoyment from reading this as Jason and his son Nicholas did while dreaming together as they established the content of this book prior to pen ever meeting paper.

  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasonCrockett/