Chapter One
His Beginning

What am I? I am a Twyla. Don’t know what a Twyla is? That’s fine, I can explain. We, the Twyla, ordain all magic. We are supernatural beings who live on a higher plane of existence, and it is we who decide what incantations or rituals cast which spell, and why. We give magic order and purpose to protect the mortal realms, otherwise there would be chaos.
But this story isn’t about us. It’s about a young boy called Doelan, a mortal I’ve been observing for some time. You see we, the Twyla, try not to interfere in the affairs of mortals, but sometimes, to prevent darkness from destroying them, we have no choice. There are times when we must give mortals a fighting chance, and one of the best ways we can do that is by watching certain people whom we know have a great destiny. Whether they devote their lives to fighting evil, or just happen to be at the right place at the right time, we make certain they have everything they need to fight the good fight.
This young boy, Doelan, is one such person. You may ask what was so special about him, and why the Twyla would watch him. You might wonder what great destiny could possibly be in store for him. My answer is simple.
I do not know.
You see sometimes not all Twyla can foresee a particular future. As it stands only our esteemed queen, the greatest of all Twyla, knows exactly what this Doelan will do, or try to do. She is the queen of the Twyla, and of magic itself, and she is convinced that this boy is destined to be more legendary than any hero before him. However, there are some who would question her judgment.
There are a few reasons for this. For starters, the land Doelan called home for the first few years of his life is Halhor. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but Halhor is home to the gislers, who are not considered a very strong people, owing to their eternal youth. That might not seem such a bad thing, but other races grow up big and strong while the gislers are locked in the bodies of children throughout their entire lives. They do not die of old age, but as weak as they are no one has ever wanted them as allies during wartime. War, it has been said, is the work of men, not boys.
The gislers tried many times, most notably during a council with the winged eagle men, who were waging a war against snake-like monsters called slefah, one of the evilest dark creatures of their world. The gislers wanted to help, but the eagle men Chieftain said, “It would be dishonorable to bring children onto the battle field. I am sorry young ones.”
At the time, the gislers were still under rule of the Ciniceros Empire, where the human emperor declared, “I understand you want to help, but you must stay under our protection. It’s for your own good.” However, some gislers at the council believed that the other races merely envied their youth, and one mayor of Halhor infamously declared, “Too bad we cannot fight against time itself, then you’d be scrambling to be our allies.”
It didn’t go over well.
Whatever the reason, most other races view the gislers as weak or in need of protection, while the gislers disagree. They view themselves as just like any other species, and this is the race that Doelan was born into, an eternally young species called the gislers, also known as the Ageless Ones.
Or so it seemed.
What Doelan saw for the first few years of his life wasn’t exactly true, you might say. However, he would not discover this for some time, so for now, let’s pretend everything he saw was as it seemed so we can focus on Doelan himself.
The second reason one might question the Twyla queen’s interest in him is quite simple.
Doelan grew up in an orphanage, the kind of place you don’t expect someone great and legendary to come from. He was raised under the care of attendants, not parents, in a stone building with many rooms for the various orphaned children. Not that Doelan knew what stone was when he was young, but the building was made of it all the same. Actually not knowing about stone caused him a bit of confusion once. Only a few months old and just learning to walk, older gislers (boys and girls who looked no older than fifteen) would pick him up and take him to the window to let him look outside. He couldn’t go there yet, but they let him look and he saw the gisler houses; richly decorated marble cottages with impressive looking columns holding up the porch roofs. They were pretty to look at, unlike the drab stone building Doelan lived in, but he didn’t really know that. Since he had never seen the exterior of his building, he naturally assumed that it looked like the marble ones on the outside.
It was when he turned one year old that he discovered the truth. By that time he was allowed to go play outside. It wasn’t so bad at first. The grass felt cool and soft beneath his feet, and he had tons of fun chasing bugs and stomping on flowers, until he noticed that his building was as unpleasant to look at on the outside as it was on the inside; just a block of stone with windows. When he saw other children playing around those shiny marble cottages, and with their parents no less, he realized he was different, but he couldn’t be certain how.
Now Doelan didn’t remember this, as he was too young. But he kept seeing those buildings and making that same conclusion, so when he did start remembering things he would look at those houses and just know it. To him, it was as if he had always known he was different. However, it wasn’t until he started talking at five years old that he learned how. He was being tucked in by a gisler who was twenty, but of course looked fifteen, when Doelan decided to ask a few questions.
“Why do we live here and not with our parents in the marble buildings? And why are there more children here?”
“Well Doelan,” said the older gisler. “This is an orphanage. We take in children whose parents can’t take care of them.”
“Why can’t they take care of us?”
The gisler answered, but Doelan was still at that young age when older people, especially adults, felt the need to protect him from the truth. “They had to go on a journey,” he said. This of course meant they had passed away. In Doelan’s case, however, the circumstances were a little different, but he wouldn’t find out how until later…as I understand it. At this point, the older gisler just covered him up and said, “now go to sleep.”
So now he knew. He didn’t have parents to watch over him, and that’s what made him different. However, that wasn’t the end of it. You see Doelan was expected to show respect for his elders. He learned this by asking questions about people that visited Halhor. He would look out the window, see the cyclops people in their huge suits of armor and ask, “Is their armor really indestructible?” Or he’d notice the eagle men with wings on their backs and would absolutely have to know, “Can they really fly?” He also saw that the eagle men had feathers instead of hair. The only hair they had was for beards, and Doelan was tempted to ask if they had feathers in their armpits too. However, he knew he would probably just get scolded for asking rude questions, so he kept that to himself.
However, he would still ask a dozen questions and the elders would respond in one of two ways. They would either remind him of his manners, telling him to say “yes sir,” and “no sir” respectfully or they would send him off with, “Doelan, I’m busy.” But still, Doelan learned to use manners with his elders.
Now his elders were eternally young, so by human standards they looked fifteen. This didn’t bother him at first, for he knew the taller ones with deeper voices (more so than his own at least) were the ones to say “yes sir” and “no sir” to. Therefore he could always tell who was of a greater age, and with whom he should show respect. But one day, something happened. Doelan was seven by this time, and the mayor of Halhor came to the orphanage. He was said to be forty-six, but he looked like a fifteen year old, skinny blonde boy with blue eyes. His clothes were fairly regal; a sort of scarlet cloak compared to the normal brown cloaks most wore, but that was it.
Erid, the head of the orphanage, was supposed to be thirty-two years old, but of course he didn’t appear to be. Before this day he had always looked like the oldest person in the room, and acted like it as well. This day he looked like the oldest, if only by a little, but didn’t act like it. As Doelan looked back and forth between the two of them he could not tell what made the mayor older than Erid, who bowed to the mayor as if it was so. Erid was dark haired, big for a fifteen year old and even taller than the mayor. He said “yes sir” and “no sir,” the way all of the orphans were expected to, and Doelan just didn’t get it.
He went up to Erid later and tugged on his shirt, “Erid, is the mayor really older than you?”
“Of course he is Doelan. Why would you ask that?”
“He doesn’t look any older than you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Neron looks older than me, and those…um…eagle people who came here had grownups who looked old…but you don’t.”
“Oh the eagle men aren’t gislers Doelan. We stop ageing, but we really are adults.”
“How do you know?”
Erid sighed in irritation, “We just know, now please stop bothering me, I’m busy.”
Erid walked off, and speaking of Neron, that very same boy was listening. He, a dark haired and freckled boy who was seven at the time, came up to Doelan and grinned.
“You don’t like it when we stop growing up! Oh! You don’t want to stop growing up! You want to grow old!”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do. You want to grow old. Hey everyone! Doelan wants to grow old!”
“Stop it!” cried Doelan.
“Neron!” cried Erid from across the room, “Stop!”
Neron stuck out his tongue at Doelan and ran off; from that moment Doelan knew once again that he was different, even in the orphanage. Little did he know that it was just going to get worse.
Neron started talking to the other orphans, and wherever Doelan went they would make fun of him. Doelan hadn’t exactly made a lot of friends before this. The other orphans had always seemed more interested in playing soldier than learning about the strange visitors, so he didn’t have much in common with most of them, but they had never treated him cruelly until now.
He couldn’t walk anywhere without a child saying, “should I get a cane for when you get old?” Or “Don’t you know you’re not allowed to be older than the mayor!” And then there was the chanting, “You want to grow old! You want to grow old!” It was more than Doelan could bear.
You might not think it such an insult, but then again, you’re not a gisler. Eternal youth is what makes a gisler a gisler, so Doelan not understanding it was like a bee not understanding honey. It was almost as if he was a wasp raised in a beehive by mistake, and unfortunately for Doelan the other gislers’ words stung, just like a swarm of bees.
Eventually most of the orphans lost interest, being told off by the elders for their behavior, but Neron and a few of his friends kept tormenting Doelan. He learned to avoid them, and those boys were scolded, but for a long time Doelan had no friends while Neron continued to be a nightmare. He was the gisler who didn’t understand eternal youth, and he was alone.
Then, one day when he was ten years old, Doelan couldn’t take it anymore. As the orphans were playing outside in the gloomy evening twilight, Neron said something worse than anything he had said before, and then began chanting with his friends, “You want to grow old!” over and over. And this time Doelan snapped. He hit Neron and jumped on top of him! They attracted a crowd of children, some of which weren’t orphans, and eventually, Erid showed up.
“That’s enough!” cried Erid. “Stop!”
But he could barely be heard over the screams of children shouting, yelling and surrounding two fighting boys, one on top of the other. They were in the grass field, not far from the marble Halhor cottages, and some people among the cottages were looking towards the scene.
“Out of the way!” Erid called again. “Move!”
He seemed more like an adult now than ever before as he came up, pulling Doelan off Neron. Doelan struggled in Erid’s hands while Neron got up and made a move towards both of them.
“Enough!” cried Erid, making the boys freeze and the young crowd silent. Despite his deceptively young age, he had a commanding presence. “Neron,” he said to the boy across from him. “What is this?”
Neron had a hard scowl on his face as he spoke. “He hit me!”
“Is this true?” Erid asked Doelan.
“He said I wasn’t a gisler,” Doelan shouted. “He said I was a freak, he...”
“That isn’t what I asked Doelan,” Erid said sternly.
Doelan didn’t answer right away, but he did, reluctantly. “Yes.”
Erid released his grip a little but Doelan didn’t run at Neron again. Instead he turned around to look at Erid, keeping his head down.
“You see,” said Neron. “He did hit me.”
“Neron,” said Erid. “Did you call him a freak?”
“But he...”
“Neron!” Erid looked the small child in the eye. Neron didn’t answer, but fidgeted.
“Neron, answer me.”
“He did call him that,” said another boy, about eleven years old. “And he started a chant with some other boys.”
Doelan didn’t recognize this boy, which meant he probably wasn’t an orphan.
“You heard him?”
“Yes.” The boy nodded his head quickly.
“Neron?”
The guilty child swallowed. “Yes sir.”
“Why?”
Neron still hesitated. “Well he...he...he keeps going on about how the grownups here don’t look grownup. It’s...he’s just weird.”
“So? I’ve heard this. It’s a little strange maybe but hardly grounds for this kind of behavior.”
Doelan wasn’t feeling any better.
“He was teasing him sir,” said the eleven year old. “He kept saying that he didn’t belong in Halhor because he was different. He said he wasn’t a gisler, and that he was a freak.”
“Ah, that explains it.” Erid put his arms on his hips like an adult and looked at both of them. “Neron, remember when those human boys teased you about being an orphan?”
“Yes.”
“Well, next time you want to tease someone, imagine them feeling the way you felt when you were teased.”
“Yes sir.”
“As for you Doelan, you should never attack someone in anger, because one of these days that anger is going to make you do something you’ll regret, like hit someone who will hit back. I don’t care what that person has done, anger never solves anything. You know what you act like when you attack in anger?”
Doelan just gave a blank stare.
“Doelan, it’s dark creatures that act like that, and we are not dark creatures. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir,” said Doelan. That was one of the ways adults talked to children, no matter what race they were. They would tell them not to act like evil dark creatures, such as ogres or slefah. It made Doelan feel worse.
“Now I don’t want either of you to fight again or there will be consequences, and I want you both to apologize to each other.”
The boys looked at each other and said reluctantly, “I’m sorry.”
“Good. Now you should all be going inside. It will soon be time for bed.” Then Erid raised his voice. “And I do mean all of you, even the ones who are not under my care.”
He walked towards the stone orphanage building as the children he was responsible for followed.
Doelan walked slowly, a little ashamed that he’d been in trouble. He was the orphan, the one who didn’t get what made a gisler a gisler, and now he was a troublemaker. He was feeling more alone than ever.
As he walked a voice sounded in his ear.
“Are you alright?” asked the eleven year old that had spoken earlier.
“I’m okay,” said Doelan gloomily. “Thanks for helping me.”
“You’re welcome.” The boy smiled. “You’re name’s Doelan right?”
“Yeah.” Doelan gave a weak smile.
“I’m Liri.”
“Hello.”
He kept walking, and wasn’t going to speak since he couldn’t think of anything to say, but Liri kept speaking.
“Hey…uh…did you know that the eagle men live in a nest?”
Doelan stopped, “What?”
“The eagle men live in a nest.” He grinned.
“But I’ve always heard they live in a palace.”
“They do…but it’s made of wicker…or something like wicker. Bits of wood woven together, so it looks like a nest. It’s even been called that on purpose. The nest palace.”
“How do you know?”
“My family goes on vacations…I’m not old enough to go yet, but they tell me everything. Did…did you know that their palace flies?”
Doelan was getting more interested by the minute. “It does?”
“Yeah, it…”
“Liri!”
They looked over to see an older boy.
“Is that your brother?” asked Doelan.
“No that’s my father.”
“Oh.”
“It’s okay. I gotta go, but would you like to hear more about the eagle men later?”
Doelan thought about it, “Yeah.”
“Great, you’d be the first. Well, bye.”
He ran off, and Doelan watched Liri leave with his father, a sight that still somehow seemed strange to Doelan. He knew he should at least be used to it by now, but it wouldn’t stop feeling strange. Still, he decided he didn’t care. As Liri looked back at Doelan, they waved Goodbye to each other, and for once Doelan didn’t feel quite so alone.
Well, that’s his beginning. Perhaps you still wonder why the Twyla queen would take such an interest in this boy. After all, he’s done nothing legendary yet, but then again, no one ever became a legend at the age of ten. Except maybe a few elves, but that’s a different story.
This tale has hardly begun, along with Doelan’s trials, for he still doesn’t know that our queen watches him, nor does he know the circumstances surrounding his parents, and how he came to the orphanage. Finally, he does not yet realize that things in his home, in Halhor, are not entirely what they seem.
But that is a story I cannot tell. One Twyla watching him is enough, but two will definitely be detected by his enemies. I will have to leave Doelan alone and attend to my duties regarding magic. My queen will look after him for now. My part in the telling of this tale is over. If you want the rest, you will have to observe him for yourself.
****

Chapter Two
His Enemies

The bonfire burned bright and hot, and it seemed every gisler in Halhor was there, sitting around it. Doelan sat crossed legged in the grass with the rest of the orphans. Despite the heat from the fire, he was still pretty cold, so he huddled up in his cloak as best he could, watching the older gislers tend to the blaze. They looked exactly like fifteen year old humans, but some were far older. Normally, this bothered Doelan, who was only eleven by then, but he wasn’t thinking about that this night. That's how special this night was. As it stood he was more interested in Halhor’s visitor, a magician from Linicai, capital city of the Ciniceros Empire. The center of the empire was ruled by humans, and this one was supposed to be fifty years old. Doelan had seen older humans, but never one this old. He was curious to see what someone who aged normally looked like after living so long.
A few of the other orphans were giggling. Doelan looked but promptly looked away when he saw Neron. Neron would probably tease Doelan later; something stupid like, “you want to look like that weird old guy that came here!” So I think adults here all look the same? So what? Doelan thought, trying to brush it off. However such talk would upset Doelan more than he wanted to admit. He was just thinking of an excuse to move away when he heard a “Psst!” off to the side.
He turned and grinned when he saw Liri at the edge of the group. Doelan made his way through the rest of the orphans and sat down. Liri was twelve, only a year older than Doelan, and always had an impatiently exited expression, as if he had something to tell you and just had to say it. As it turns out, when Doelan sat next to him, he did.
“The magician’s going to show us the storm wars, when the goblins used dark clouds to wage war on surface dwellers like us! I’m so excited!”
“Me too,” said Doelan. “I’ve never seen goblins before.”
“Well, you’re about too. This magician’s going to use magic to tell the story.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, my mother said I’d find out when we watched, but that means we’ll see what goblins look like, definitely.”
That was certainly a good thing in Doelan’s mind. He had never seen any dark creature with his own eyes. He had only heard them described, and now he was going to see them. He was expecting creatures with slanted eyebrows and sick grins.
“What do you know about goblins?” he asked.
“Well,” said Liri, “Not much. All I know is that they’re kind of like bugs. Dragonflies really, they…are you alright?”
As it was, Doelan was not alright. He looked at Liri, the color draining from his face.
“What did you just say? About the goblins?”
“They’re like bugs. They…Oh. Right. You don’t like bugs do you.”
“Bugs, spiders…if it has more than four legs it gives me shivers.”
He turned towards the fire and almost shivered right there. The idea of large bugs…
“I’m sure the goblins won’t be too scary,” said Liri.
“I’m not scared,” said Doelan.
“Fine. Oh look! Is that the magician?”
Doelan looked but saw nothing. He was about to ask when he felt Liri flick something off his shoulder. He looked at Liri, a little shocked.
“What was on my shoulder?” he asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
Doelan thought about it. “No,” he said. “Not really.”
Liri giggled a little.
“Gislers, young and old!” cried the voice of an old man.
Doelan and Liri looked to see him. The visitor had arrived, and he stood next to the fire.
He was human, dressed in a white linen robe with one arm fully clothed and the other arm bare, along with the shoulder. He had grey hair, wrinkled skin, and a solemn expression. This really was the oldest person Doelan had ever seen, and he hadn’t expected this. He had been told that older humans were hunched, with their skin hanging as if it was a bag on their bones. In person, Doelan found that this description, though it had some truth to it, was quite exaggerated. That seemed to happen a lot when other gislers described old age.
The old man spread his arms out.
“I come to speak of the goblins wars, and how they ravaged our lands. It began with the eagle men.”
From his pocket the magician took out something which smelled like herbs to Doelan. He threw it on the fire, which blazed brightly! A ball of fire flew up, floating above the rest of the fire, and beneath that a patch of smoke shaped itself into what looked like a castle floating on a nest. It was illuminated by the fire ball like a small sun. Doelan and Liri watched and listened eagerly.
“As many of you know, the goblins never come out during the day. The bright sun is our only protection against them. One day, however, dark clouds obscured the sun in all nations, taking that defense.”
Another cloud of smoke obscured the fire ball, the smoke palace went dark, and small smoke figures flew around it. Doelan wondered how he could see as well as he could.
“The goblins descended on all, and the war was brutal. In the end the spell was broken. Magicians gathered together from all nations, and all together cast a simple spell to make it rain. The black rain was like a poison, but it, along with the clouds, faded away, and once again we were safe from goblin attacks.”
The smoke didn’t imitate rain, but cleared, revealing the fire ball sun, once again shining on the nest palace. Doelan figured that rain, in this form, was asking for a bit much. The next moment all the smoke cleared, but then started forming another figure, like a human.
“Many died in the wars and poison rain, but we won, and all was safe again. But remember, if you go out at night, beware these creatures. They are deadly, and show no mercy.”
The smoke solidified, and even gained color, and Doelan, for the first time, saw what a goblin looked like. It was not very tall, and rather skinny, but as thin as it was it had strong looking muscles. It still seemed as if it could break your bones with ease. It wore a loin cloth and at its side was a sword made from a single piece of metal. It had a large, round and bald head with a thin lipless mouth and two slits for a nose. However its most grotesque features were the ones that gave Doelan shivers.
It had compound eyes on its face, and wings on its back, like those of a dragonfly. Doelan couldn’t remember the last time his skin crawled so much.
“And listen,” the old man continued. “Listen for their screech. If you hear this screech, run!”
The smoke figure bellowed out, and Doelan heard a sound that for a second reminded him of crickets chirping. But this wasn’t chirping, it was a bloodcurdling screech!
It ended, the smoke figure faded away, and the old man walked off, gislers everywhere clapping, except for Doelan. He was panting. Panting hard.
Then he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder!
“Whoa! Doelan? Are you okay?” asked Liri.
“I’m fine. Uh…everyone’s leaving.”
And sure enough, the rest of the gislers were getting up.
“Are you sure…” Liri began.
“I’m fine.”
“Okay. What did you think of the magician?” he asked as they stood to go with the rest.
“Uh…” Doelan hesitated. “He was okay I guess.” Doelan didn’t want to mention that the goblin scared him. Something about the eyes. Doelan always imagined dark creatures and evil sorcerers grinning menacingly, but what he saw from the magic smoke…it was emotionless.
It was like this creature wouldn’t hesitate to kill you. It wouldn’t take pity on you, nor would it savor the moment before killing you, giving you time. It would just kill you.
Of course Doelan knew he was being silly. He had no idea what goblins were like. What he saw was an apparition, like an artist’s interpretation.
Even so, something about those eyes. Those big compound eyes had disturbed him.
But he wasn’t going to tell Liri. “I never knew about the black rain,” said Doelan. “Did you know about it?”
Once again, Liri had that impatiently exited look. “Did I?” And of course Liri would tell him everything he knew about the subject. Doelan smiled, happy to listen and to talk about something else.
…
Back at the orphanage, Doelan couldn’t sleep. He huddled up in his blanket, looking around. In his bunk, surrounded by sleeping gisler children, he watched. He remembered what the magician said about goblins coming out at night. He knew he was making a fool of himself.
After all, he thought. Goblins have never come into the village before. Why should they now? That didn’t stop him from watching for them, and listening for their shrieks.
He tossed and turned. He heard the gisler in the bunk above him groan. He knew he needed to stop, or he’d wake his bunkmates up. He kept thinking, this is stupid, this is stupid, this is stupid. Then he turned over and quickly hid under covers!
He had seen something in the room!
He stayed underneath the blanket. It was hot, or at least it felt hot, but he didn’t dare come out, for he was certain that he had just seen a goblin! Right there in that room!
Still, he didn’t hear anything. Cautiously he peeked out. He saw nothing. He poked more of his head out, and still nothing. Maybe he had imagined it. That was probably the case. He still saw nothing.
A little relieved, he stayed still, hoping to get some sleep. He still knew he was being silly. There was nothing out there. Nothing.
Slowly he closed his eyes, and managed to get to sleep.
His dreams were not pleasant.
…
The last thing Doelan can remember is running. He’s running away from the cottages screaming! It’s something about goblins. He sees them…or he had seen them. He isn’t sure any more. But he has to run. He has to.
Gislers call after him, but he runs. There are goblins! He knows it! He can’t see them clearly but they’re there. He runs. He runs!
That’s the last thing he remembers.
…
Doelan woke up in a not so comfortable bed. He knew immediately it wasn’t the same bed he usually slept in. This bed was from the doctor’s wing from the orphanage. He knew it hadn’t been a dream. He really had been running from something. He looked around for a second, seeing the stone walls, more uncomfortable beds, and the gisler nurse, who of course looked fifteen. The petit, fussy red head girl in a white uniform was actually twenty five, but Doelan was too groggy to feel weird about it. He turned over and tried to go back to sleep.
Though he wondered what happened to him.
…
Much later Doelan’s head was better, though it was still throbbing a little. The nurse had spoken to him earlier, but with his head still pounding they didn’t talk much. All he knew was that he had run off, and had been found after that, past the edge of Halhor. How much later he didn’t know, for in the end the nurse had let him get some rest. He watched that same red headed gisler nurse scold another boy across from him. Doelan was still a little out of it, but he was back to normal enough to find the scene strange. The boy would turn fifteen soon, and be a man, so he looked the same age as the girl, but she was scolding him like a child all the same.
He knew that these thoughts kept his mind off of his throbbing head, if only a little bit. Even thinking about his head was better than thinking about those…creatures. He needed something else to think of fast! He got it, but it directed him back towards his head.
“Hey Doelan,” said Liri’s voice. “How’s your head?”
“Fine,” he said unenthusiastically as he turned over. “Fine. Hello Liri.”
“Hello,” said his friend with a concerned smile.
There was a pause for a moment. Doelan leaned back and closed his eyes and Liri just looked at him awkwardly.
“The nurse told me,” said Doelan, still with his eyes closed, “that I was found outside the village, knocked out. That was after they attacked me with questions of where I’d been.”
Liri laughed, and then tried to cover it up with a cough.
“Don’t worry,” said Doelan smiling, his eyes. “I meant it to be funny.”
Liri smiled back. “I see. Well, you really were found asleep you know. I was worried, and I was also wondering where you’d been.”
Doelan sighed. “I don’t know why everyone keeps asking me that. How long did it take them to find me anyway? An hour?”
“You mean you don’t remember?”
Doelan opened his eyes and turned on his side. It took him a second to get comfortable again, and another second to rest his throbbing head on the pillow properly.
“I don’t remember much, no. The last thing I remember I was running away from the village but…” he didn’t want to tell Liri he had been scared of goblins. He was too ashamed. He figured he had probably imagined them anyway. “That’s all I remember.”
“You just ran off and can’t remember why?” asked Liri, who sounded as if he almost didn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I can’t explain it,” said Doelan. “It doesn’t make sense to me either. I don’t know why I ran off, and I don’t know why I collapsed.”
Liri swallowed nervously.
“What?” asked Doelan.
“Um,” said Liri. “Doelan, I was there when you ran off. You didn’t collapse. At least…no one saw you collapse. You kept running, and as long as it took to find you…you must have been running for long time.”
It took a second for Doelan to process this. He tried to speak a couple of times but words seemed to fail him. He didn’t understand.
“But that means...Liri? How long was I gone?”
Liri swallowed again. “A week.”
Doelan lay there with a stupefied expression on his face. An entire week? He had been missing that long? What could he have done in that time?
“I’m sorry Doelan,” said Liri. “I don’t know what happened either. Are you sure you don’t remember why you were running?”
Of course Doelan remembered, though he wished he didn’t. In his stupor, he told the truth, “Yeah. Goblins.”
“Goblins?” asked Liri in disbelief. “What about them?”
Doelan was shuddering just thinking about it, “I thought I saw some.”
“In Halhor? I think other gislers would have noticed.”
“Maybe I imagined them,” said Doelan.
“What do you mean?”
Doelan thought about how to explain it. “You remember that magician?”
Liri thought about it. “Yeah, the human. He told us the story about the goblin wars.”
“Well when he told that story last nigh…I mean…I guess that night…a week ago…he told that story and…it scared me.”
“Oh,” said Liri silently. He didn’t say anything else for a few moments. Doelan waited patiently, and then Liri said, “Is that why you were running?”
“I think so. I can’t remember much, but I remember thinking that there were goblins around me. I don’t know.”
“That doesn’t explain where you were.”
“I know.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. Doelan huddled up a little. Liri looked at him with pity. They might never figure out what had happened to Doelan. Still, Doelan was worried more about something else. Something that he knew was coming. He shivered some more, very scared. Liri noticed, and realized…
“You’re afraid you’ll see goblins tonight aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Said Doelan flatly. “I know they come out at night, when it’s dark. That’s when I’ll be scared again.”
Liri thought for a moment, and then spoke, “You know Doelan, you aren’t the only one whose been afraid of things at night.”
“What do you mean?”
“This human kid who came to Halhor, who was probably just being mean, told me that there’s this kind of dark creature that hides under your bed at night. Adults can’t see them, so they can’t check for you to see if it’s safe.”
“Really?”
“No. My father told me that this is an old tale…just made up. Anyway, he also told me that, to stop being scared at night, I should count.”
Doelan stared in disbelief. “Count?”
“Yes. Count until you can’t imagine the creature anymore, because that’s where the creature is. In your imagination.”
Doelan didn’t believe it, but then, “I suppose I can try that. Did the dark creatures go away for you?”
“I don’t need to count any-more.”
Doelan still wasn’t sure about it, and Liri noticed.
“Doelan, could you at least try it? I…I don’t want you to disappear again.”
Doelan looked at Liri, who stared back nervously. Doelan didn’t want to disappear again either. He knew, for his own sake and Liri’s, he was going to have to be brave.
“Okay Liri, I’ll try.”
They smiled at each other, though secretly Doelan believed it wouldn’t work. Still, it was all he had, for he knew that he would have to face the darkness again.
Soon.
…
Awake, late at night, Doelan was scared again. Those bug eyed creatures with their bloodletting shrieks…He huddled up, as if the blankets could shield him. He was still in the hospital bed in that wing of the orphanage. He was alone, so he felt nothing to inhibit him from crying.
Every time he heard a creak, or some other noise, he imagined a goblin. He looked around. Every shadow moving made him cringe and want to hide. Then…like before…he saw what he thought was a goblin.
Crying some more, he thought…remember what Liri said. Count.
“One…two…three…” he wasn’t feeling any better, “four…five…six…” at least he wasn’t picturing goblins any-more, “seven…eight…nine…ten…” he calmed down a little, “eleven…twelve…thirteen…” he peeked out, not seeing anything. He sighed in relief that he hadn’t seen any goblins, with their empty eyes, their sharp swords… “Fourteen…fifteen…sixteen…”
He kept counting. It kept his mind off of goblins, and eventually he got to sleep.
…
He woke up the next morning, and the first thing he did was breathe a sigh of relief. The sun was out, and that was a comfort. He breathed in and out, thankful that he had gotten through the night.
“Are we feeling better?” asked the red headed Nurse with breakfast for him. She had just entered the room when Doelan looked up.
“Yes, thank you,” said Doelan, who was famished. He sat up, ready to eat.
“I don’t suppose you remember where you where?” the nurse asked as she places a wooden try filled with bacon, eggs, and water on his lap.”
“No,” said Doelan. “I still don’t.”
“Alright,” she replied before leaving.
As Doelan ate he thought about it. He didn’t know where he had gone. He wondered if he ever would.
In truth, after that day, inquiries were made, but no one ever found out where Doelan had gone. Nothing strange happened for a while, so it was eventually forgotten, if not completely. It was the mystery that was never solved. Where a young orphan had been for an entire week.
At that moment, though, Doelan was happy, thankful he had a way to fight his fears. He was also thankful for Liri, and Liri’s father. Doelan stopped eating for a moment. He suddenly felt sad that he didn’t have a father to tell him this kind of stuff. However, he was glad Liri shared his father’s advice with him, and was eager to thank Liri again and tell him how it worked.
He really was thankful.
Still, he knew his fear of goblins would haunt him for a long time. This wasn’t just an imaginary creature under the bed. The goblins were real, and it his fears of them wouldn’t go away so easily.
And someone watching him knew it, all too well.
Doelan was being observed by a mind. The person who owned that mind wasn’t watching him with physical eyes, but observing him through pure thought. She had no need to watch him in person, and as far as she was concerned she had more to learn by watching him with her mind, for what she would see in person was different than what she saw now; a boy eating bacon and eggs in a bed.
So strange, she thought, as she gazed at him. His fears of my goblins allowed him to see them. I didn’t know that was even possible. It even allowed him to get away…even if it was for a short while. What’s even more amazing, though, is that he was sent back to us. He isn’t particularly important, so far as I can tell.
Still, one more little boy in my fold will be helpful, if only by a little. And now that he has a way to block the goblins out, his fear of them shouldn’t cause any more trouble. Still, I might want to keep an eye on him. I don’t foresee him causing me too much trouble directly, but if he alerts other gislers to my presence that will set me back a while. Let’s just hope my goblins can keep him from escaping again.
Little Doelan, I’ve got my mind on you.
For now, Doelan was safe, and happy eating his breakfast. But he had caused trouble, and was bound to cause more.
****

Chapter Three
His Friend

It was a chess set of wood, but finely carved with the pieces colored purple, green and gold on one side with red, white and black for the other; the squares were green and red. It had a sort of jester, masquerade theme to it. The king was a jester sitting on a throne, and the queen was a jester woman. The bishops next to them were jesters with recently fired bows, arrows in their heads, and sad expressions. The knights were jesters trying with great difficulty to mount horses while the rooks were towers with jesters hanging upside-down from the battlements. And lastly the pawns were comedy masks, each portraying a different emotion, and a few rude faces.
It was with this chess set that Doelan and his friend Liri sat down to a game. By this time Liri was thirteen, dark haired, and a little taller than Doelan, who was twelve. The two of them were dressed in cloaks, sitting down in a clearing with one tree in it. In the distance a set of quaint marble cottages, a city of sorts, could be seen, and on the other side of the boys the sun was low, casting a yellow light over everything. Doelan and Liri were looking at the game, ready to make their moves, well, for the most part anyway.
“Are you sure you want to play this game?” asked Doelan. “Playing against me can’t be too hard.”
“Oh come on Doelan,” said Liri. “You’re getting better.”
“I can tell,” said Doelan sarcastically. “Last time we played instead leaving me with just my king, like you first did, you left me with my king and a pawn.”
After a second of silence they laughed.
“Well, that is better,” said Liri. “Even if just a little. Now, it’s your move.”
Doelan thought for several seconds and then moved the pawn in front of the king forward one space.
“You think about it that long?” Liri inquired. “That’s been your first move every time we’ve played. I know it’s good to think about it, but only if you do something clever. Moving the same first piece every time isn’t clever.”
“Well,” Doelan hesitated. “I don’t know I...”
“Doelan!” cried a boy’s voice from in the distance.
“Oh,” said Doelan. “That’s Erid. I guess I’d better get back to the orphanage.”
“Already?” asked Liri, checking the sky. “It’s hardly sundown.”
“You know how Erid is,” said Doelan. “He’s really annoying that way; worse than a pack of flies.” he began to imitate buzzing noises. “Bzzzzz.”
“Doelan you really shouldn’t disrespect to your elders like that.”
“Ah yes, everyone says that Erid, Mayor Aralor, and all the others are our elders, but I still can’t believe it. I mean...”
“Is this the problem where you think they don’t look that much older yourself?”
“Well, Erid is supposed to be thirty two, and the mayor is supposed to be Forty one, but they look the same to me. And they look exactly the same as the other elders too, even though they’re supposed to be over a hundred!”
“Well that’s a common thing for our people. When you’re a gisler you stop aging when you turn fifteen. That’s why outsiders call us the ageless ones.”
Doelan grunted. He knew that, but it still seemed odd. He couldn’t really understand why he felt that way. If he had known his parents then maybe they could have told him. If Doelan had a gold piece for every time he thought something like that...
That his parents could explain things…
“Doelan!” cried the same voice again.
“Sorry Liri, I need to go.”
“Wait, hold on,” said Liri, putting the chess pieces in a wooden box that was behind him. “We can talk some on the way.”
After a second the pieces were put up, Liri took the box, Doelan took the board, and they were off, walking toward the buildings.
“Well,” said Liri. “I don’t care how much time we get. I’m going to help you improve your game. I think it’s a skill everyone should learn. That’s what my father says.”
“It more than anyone else has ever done for me. Thanks.”
They smiled, and Liri said, “you’re wel...”
“Oh look!” shouted another boy; Liri and Doelan looked and saw him in the distance, nearer to the village. “It’s the gisler who doesn’t want to grow up! He wants’ to grow old with wrinkles and a beard!”
Even from that distance, Doelan could tell the boy was imitating an old man, hunched over and walking with a cane. Doelan couldn’t see anyone else, but he heard the faint sound of mocking laughter from other boys.
Doelan glared him. So Doelan didn’t get that the elders were older. So what? This Neron didn’t have to be so...
“Neron, you stop that this instant and get inside!” came the voice of Erid. Neron stopped hunching and ran off. Doelan continued to glare at him for a few seconds.
“Just ignore him Doelan,” said Liri. “You know he’s just a jerk.”
“Yes, I know.”
Doelan relaxed his gaze and sighed. They were getting closer to the village now. In fact Doelan could see the giant Polophor flowers clearly. Red flowers the size of birdbaths with their faces pointed straight upwards, and there was a flower in front of every house. He could see them clearly now, though normally he didn’t notice them. Since he was close enough to see them, he knew it was almost time for him to part with Liri for the night.
But speaking of time, Doelan asked, “how long will it be before your family goes on their trip to see more of the world?”
“This year Doelan, after my…well…both of our birthdays. This year it will be my first time going, now that I’m old enough.” He grinned for a moment at that. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’ve told me about the other trips your family went on. They saw the human capital of Linicai, the nest palace of the eagle men, and other places. I’m just saying, you could just do what you’ve been doing and stay here, learn about it when they get back. It’ll be pretty boring if you aren’t around.”
Liri sighed. “I know Doelan,” he said. “I know. But it’s a family tradition, and I do want to spend time with them.”
Doelan figured he would say that, but still thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Part of him envied that Liri had a family, so he couldn’t really blame him for going.
“Alright,” Doelan said. “But listen, you tell me everything you see when you get back.”
“Of course,” said Liri, grinning. “That’s what friends are for.”
They shook on it before Doelan heard his name being called again.
“I’ve got to go,” said Doelan.
“Alright,” said Liri, starting to go off in another direction after Doelan handed him the chess board. “But remember, my parents say you’re old enough too. You could come with us.”
“I remember,” said Doelan as they went their separate ways. Doelan walked towards the orphanage slowly. Yes he had been invited to go with Liri on their trip, but Doelan wasn’t sure about that. He would definitely miss Liri, but there was something else holding him back.
He wondered if his parents would ever come for him, and didn’t want to be gone if they did.
He sighed as he neared the stone building that was his home. He picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the wall. As it clattered, Doelan stopped. There was something eerily familiar about that action, throwing a rock at a stone wall. It was almost as if he had done it before, though he couldn’t remember when. As he stared at that wall, he also got the feeling that something wasn’t right. It was as if this time should have been like that time he couldn’t remember, as if what he was seeing right now wasn’t real. It was similar enough to something that had happened, something he couldn’t remember, but it wasn’t real. However, he couldn’t explain it, and these thoughts were so confusing that they threatened to drive him mad, so he passed by, looking over his shoulder at the wall one more time.
“Hey Doelan,” said Neron, leaning against another wall as Doelan walked by. “I think I know why you’re parents left you here. They knew you’d want to grow old, and couldn’t stand the idea of their child becoming so wrinkled and ugly…so they abandoned you.”
Doelan walked past, trying to ignore him and the annoyingly sniggering boys surrounding him. However, Neron was not so easily ignored, and he followed Doelan.
“I know I’d abandon a child if I knew he’d turn all old and gross,” said another gisler boy.
Ignore them, Doelan thought. Just ignore them.
“Why I’ll bet that’s exactly what went through their minds,” said Neron. “They’re never coming back. Doelan They’re never…”
Doelan’s fist found Neron’s face before he realized what had happened, but he wasn’t sorry. Neron groaned on the grass, and Doelan stood over him. Very angry. The other boys backed away nervously.
“Doelan!” cried Erid.
Doelan looked up and his heart sank. Erid was coming, and Doelan was in big trouble.
…
Doelan sat huddled up under the large, sheltering oak tree outside the city of marble cottages. It was still an early morning sunrise as Doelan sat there, surrounded by dew covered grass. There were tear marks on his face. He wasn’t crying on the outside anymore, but on the inside he still felt empty.
“Doelan?”
Liri came from behind the tree with a concerned look on his face.
“Doelan?” he repeated.
“They were teasing me again,” said Doelan. “Neron and the others. Same stuff. I’m weird, I don’t belong in Halhor, you know.”
Liri sat down next to Doelan. “Doelan they’re just mean and dumb. So what if you find eternal youth strange? I don’t understand you either sometimes but I don’t call you names.”
“I know. That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
Doelan took a second to answer. “Erid.”
“The head of the orphanage? I can’t imagine him calling you names.”
“He didn’t, but he said he doesn’t understand me either. He also said I fight and hit the other boys a lot. More than anyone else.”
“Well you get teased the most.”
“I know, but he still noticed I’m different.”
Doelan huddled up some more and Liri looked at him with pity.
“They’re not right about you,” said Liri.
Doelan sighed. “Sometimes I think you’re right.” he said. “But sometimes I’m not sure. Having no parents and all, I sometimes just can’t help but wonder how different I really am.”
Liri didn’t respond, but stood back awkwardly. Doelan would have liked Liri to say something. Anything, though he Knew Liri couldn’t help. He huddled up some more, when…
“Oh look!” said an all too familiar boy’s voice. “Doelan’s taking his old person nap!”
“I’m not asleep!” said Doelan angrily.
He looked up to see Neron approaching with a stupid smile, and a black eye. Doelan wished he could hit that grin off his face, but that would get him in trouble with Erid for sure. Then Doelan noticed the curious gisler girl behind him, about Neron’s age. So Neron brought an audience again, Though Doelan. Wonderful.
“Leave him alone Neron,” said Liri. “We’ll tell Erid.”
“I’ll just say Doelan hit me again,” said Neron. Doelan looked away. He knew that was true. Neron went on, “Though I’m surprised he likes hitting people. If he doesn’t stop ageing like normal gislers, he’ll grow old and break his hand hitting people. You want to break your hand with frail old bones?”
“That isn’t funny,” said the gisler girl.
Neron looked back at her confused. “What?” he asked.
“You said you’d show me something funny. This isn’t funny.”
Doelan was as confused as Neron, and so was Liri.
“Well sure it is,” said Neron. “He thinks it’s weird that we don’t grow old like other things. That Erid or the mayor are still young. He’d rather not be a gisler. He’d rather grow old. That’s funny.”
“Oh,” said the gisler Girl, who thought about it a moment, and then replied, “No. It’s still not funny.
With that she turned and walked away.
“Wait,” said Neron, walking after her. “Ailean wait.”
He followed her as she left, leaving Doelan and Liri, both open mouthed and speechless.
“Liri,” said Doelan, standing up. “What just happened?”
Liri stared ahead at the two departing figures. “I think you’ve been saved by a girl.”
“Weird,” said Doelan. “I wonder if she can save me from being beaten at chess.”
A second passed, and then the two of them burst out laughing!
“I doubt anyone can save you from that Doelan,” said Liri. “Come on, let’s go skip rocks or something.”
“Good idea,” he said, and followed Liri. However, he stepped on a rock, which he picked up. Struck with a sudden idea, he threw the rock at the tree. As the rock thumped against the tree he once again he felt he had done this before, though he couldn’t remember when, and again he felt like this time was wrong. This time he felt that the rock should have clattered as if against stone, not thumped against wood, which he knew was silly.
“Doelan!” cried Liri, which made Doelan follow.
From somewhere unseen a mind watched him, thinking, he’s figuring it out again. Extraordinary! But she did not like it. And of course, Doelan had no idea he was being watched.
Doelan caught up with Liri and said, “Remember, after our birthdays my family’s trip is coming up. You’re still free to join us.”
“Oh,” he said. “I remember.” But the truth was, he wasn’t looking forward to that day.
…
Doelan and Liri’s birthdays each came and went. For Liri’s birthday Doelan got to spend time with Liri and his other friends. They seemed to think Doelan was weird like everyone else, though at least they didn’t make fun of him. For Doelan’s birthday he just spent the day with Liri, feeling no need to invite anyone else. During this time, he noticed that Neron spent less time harassing him, and more time with that girl, Ailean, and that made him relieved. After that Doelan starting waiting for Liri to leave on his trip. He wasn’t looking forward to it, and there was something else going on with him, something he couldn't explain. It started when he threw a rock at that wall. All of it led up to this day.
Doelan and Liri, now thirteen and fourteen, each a year older, were playing chess underneath an oak tree yet again. The early morning sun shone under red clouds and reflected off the dew on the ground. It was a beautiful sight, but the boys didn’t notice. They were concentrating hard.
But while one concentrated on winning the game, the other didn’t. Doelan had other things on his mind.
“Interesting move Doelan,” said Liri as Doelan sat there rubbing his chin. “I didn’t know rooks could move diagonally.”
“Hmm?” said Doelan, seeing his mistake. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
As Doelan corrected his mistake, Liri looked at him suspiciously. “You seem distracted Doelan. Is something wrong?”
Doelan froze with his hand on one of the chess pieces. Something had indeed been on his mind. He had this feeling that nothing he knew was real, but he couldn’t tell where it came from, and he didn’t always feel that way. He also didn’t understand it, but it still weighed heavily upon him. He just couldn’t get rid of it.
And of course it all started with that rock and stone wall.
It had been on his mind quite often lately, and he had been thinking, deciding whether or not to tell Liri, for he sometimes felt he had to tell someone. But of course Liri was about to leave, and his family had already decided where to go. They would see the land of the cyclopses. The question was whether or not to tell Liri before, or after he left.
Until he decided, he figured he would stall. “Nothing,” he said.
“Doelan, you haven’t made such an elementary mistake at chess in a long time. I know, you actually beat me for the first time last week.”
Doelan couldn’t help but grin, “Yeah, I did. Alright, I’ll tell the truth,” but he wasn’t going to tell the truth that was on his mind. “I’ve been thinking lately about...maybe...getting out of the orphanage for a while.”
“With us on a trip?” said Liri hopefully.
Doelan chuckled. “Well, not out of Halhor yet, maybe someday...but that wasn’t what I meant. What I mean is that I might want to get out on my own for a while, right here.”
“Why?” asked Liri, who obviously didn’t understand.
There was no easy way to say it. “I wanted to...to ask around, you know, about when I was found on the outskirts of the city and...” He sighed. “I want to try to find my parents.” It was only part of the picture, but it was enough of the truth that Liri nodded his head in understanding.
“I see. What’s brought this on?”
Wanting to find something that was real and not…false…is what Doelan wanted, but he didn’t say that. Instead he said something that he hadn’t been thinking of lately, but was still true. “I want to find people who are more like me.”
“This again?”
“What do you mean ‘this again?’”
“You’ve been on this before.”
“Well I’m still different. I still don’t get the whole eternal youth thing and you’re still my only friend.”
“It’s not as bad as it was. No one comments on it anymore, and even that kid Neron doesn’t make fun of you anymore.”
“Well, yes that one person seems to leave me alone now, and the others are nicer, but that’s really all anyone besides you has ever been. Just nice.” Doelan sighed, and Liri looked like he could do the same. “But Liri, you are literally my only friend. It’s just that I want to find my family.”
Liri nodded his head. “I suppose I can’t really say anything against that. I have my family after all, and I love them.”
“And I want the same. I want a family I can go on trips with.”
“You could you know,” said Liri hopefully.
Doelan smiled. “I appreciate it, but it’s just that...it still leaves me with unanswered questions. That’s really my problem. You naturally belong in Halhor; I don’t. Liri, I don’t have a place I belong and people I belong with. I don’t know where I come from.
“I just don’t know who I am.”
“I’m sorry Doelan, I don’t know what to tell you. We really are leaving soon.”
“I know,” Doelan sighed. “I know…but I do want to stay.”
“Alright,” said Liri. “I understand. Will you see me off at least?”
“Of course,” said Doelan, smiling. Though their mood was more subdued after that. Neither was looking forward to being separated.
…
The Halhor border was set in a field full of bright, colorful flowers. The border itself was made of several marble huts with fences linking them. It was here that Doelan saw Liri off. Liri’s family, made of his mother, father, two sisters and brother, were already at the hut to check out with the border guards. Doelan thought the guards looked silly. Teenagers in armor, though he figured they weren’t really teenagers. Really though, he was sad. He wouldn’t see Liri in a while.
He stood and faced Liri next to him.
“Well, this is it,” said Liri.
“This is it,” said Doelan. He considered telling Liri his problem, about things seeming not real. But he didn’t. He just said, “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye,” said Liri a little mournfully before joining his parents. They were cleared by the guards, allowed through the fence, and then they left. Doelan watched them until they were out of sight, and then marched back.
He’ll be back. Doelan thought. But until then, he knew he would miss him.
On the way back to the orphanage he passed that same wall, and saw the same rock he had thrown earlier. Out of curiosity, he picked up the rock again and threw it.
He saw himself throwing not at the wall of an orphanage, but the inside of a cave.
He suddenly felt very nervous. He felt as if it was a memory. A memory of a time he had run away from Halhor, and been gone for a week. No one ever figured out where he went, not even Doelan himself, but he was certain this memory was from that time.
He picked up the rock and threw it again. Same image. Again and again he threw the rock, and the last time it clattered against the wall he stopped, for out of the corner of his eye, he was certain he had seen a goblin!
Could it be? No. He was imagining things. He was certain of it.
Then he looked and saw that girl, Ailean, looking at him with a confused expression.
“Oh,” said Doelan nervously. “I was…practicing my throw for skipping rocks.”
“Couldn’t you do that at the lake?” asked the girl.
“Uh…I didn’t feel like it.”
“Okay,” said the girl, still confused, before walking off.
Doelan took a deep breath, and considered throwing the rock again. Then he decided he didn’t want to see a goblin again. His skin was already crawling. Those things just…he shuddered!
He walked away, wishing that Liri was there. He really needed a friend.
From somewhere unseen, that mind that watched him thought, Yes. He’s definitely seeing through my veil again. And she was not pleased.
****

Chapter Four
His Secret

In Halhor when a gisler turns fifteen he stops ageing and that is when he becomes a man. Most Gislers would get excited during that time. Most gislers would be very exited.
Doelan, a young fourteen year old boy from Halhor, was not.
And he stood at a lake skipping rocks with Liri, who noticed.
“Doelan,” said Liri, skipping a rock three times. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” said Doelan, who only managed two skips with his own rock.
“You say that every time I ask,” said Liri. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You seem distracted sometimes, like your mind is somewhere else.”
Doelan didn’t answer at first.
The truth was Doelan did have something on his mind, and had for a while. It was that problem that had come up when Liri left on his last trip. The feeling that things weren’t real, that nothing he saw should be the way he saw it. He couldn’t explain it, and it baffled him. That is, until he started seeing goblins around the village.
That’s when it truly frightened him.
It was as if something was hiding these goblins, and he was seeing through it. Horrible creatures they were, with those big, round, bald heads, thin yet muscular bodies, compound eyes and wings like a dragonfly. They wore loin cloths and carried swords, and most of all…
Doelan was more afraid of them than any other creature.
Still, he had learned to shut them out. As long as he didn’t think of them, he wouldn’t see them. But then he would remember his feeling that nothing around him was real and start seeing them again. It didn’t happen often.
But he didn’t want Liri to worry. Even though Liri had come back from his trip, Doelan hadn't told him for that reason. “It’s nothing,” Doelan said after a moment.
“Okay,” said Liri uncertainly.
That happened a few more times. Liri would ask if something was bothering him, and Doelan would say no. It didn’t happen too often, after all Doelan didn’t see goblins frequently. He figured he would keep shutting them out, and he did. He did for the longest time, right up until Liri left again for another one of his family’s trips. Even with that deadline, he put off telling Liri anything.
At the Halhor border, in that field of flowers, with marble guard towers linked by fences, Doelan said goodbye again.
“Goodbye Liri,” he said.
“Goodbye. I promise I’ll be back for your birthday. Fifteen years old! A man at last.”
“Then I’ll be up to speed with you. It’s still hard to believe you became a man so recently.”
“I know.”
“Uh huh. You also know that my birthday isn’t far off. It would have to be a short trip.”
“It is. I’ll be back soon. If I’m not, you can…push me in the river.”
Doelan grinned, “Alright. Deal.”
They shook on it, said goodbye again, and Liri left with his family. Doelan watched, knowing he would miss him. The last time Liri had left, he had been so lonely.
And that’s when he’d started seeing goblins again.
No, Doelan thought. Don’t think of that. He pushed that thought away as he watched Liri leave again, and even as he realized he should have told Liri sooner. Even though he was afraid to.
When Liri disappeared he turned and walked away. He looked back though, expecting the border guards. Silly looking people who looked like fifteen year olds in armor. Such was the curse of adult gislers. What Doelan really saw was horrifying.
They were wearing ragged leather that obviously wasn’t made for them.
He only saw it for a second before they looked like they were still in armor, but it was enough to terrify Doelan. He turned and ran back, thinking that he should have told Liri about everything, for he knew…
It was getting worse.
…
In the city of Halhor, the quaint marble cottages sat under a gloomy grey sky. In the mostly empty town square a fourteen year old Doelan sat next to a simple stone fountain, thinking to himself.
He was nervous. More than nervous really. Of course it was tied to this feeling. Looking at something normal, like the fountain behind him, and suddenly getting the feeling that it wasn’t right. He looked at it, a simple stone column with water pouring out of it, and somehow it felt like the fountain itself was a not really there.
And then he’d started seeing things, things that couldn’t be real. Now he no longer thought he imagined it, but wished he imagined it. If the kinds of things he had been seeing were indeed real...
And it was getting worse.
He was starting to see gislers in tattered animal skins that didn’t fit properly, using pickaxes and shovels and other tools, or carrying wood or other objects. He would see the inside of houses or buildings look like caves.
And of course he was still seeing goblins.
Anywhere, everywhere, goblins just watching, waiting, while no one else could see them. They had begun to truly make Doelan terrified. He had never liked insects to begin with, but these goblins were still horrible.
It was like that time he had run away from Halhor, convinced that goblins were chasing him. He didn’t remember what he had done in that week he was gone, just that he was scared of goblins. All he knew was that he thought he had seen those things in Halhor. Afterwards he figured he imagined it, but this time he wasn’t sure, and this had been going on for a year by now.
Still, there was one thing that helped, for now he could see, or stop himself from seeing them by concentrating. But whether or not he ignored them, he couldn’t tell if they were real.
Either way, they were not something he wanted to see.
There weren’t any at that moment. He wasn’t trying to find them. He was just imagining them as he looked about, huddled up just a little. Still, even as he shut things out, it was getting worse. The way he saw gislers in different clothes was new. He knew it was a problem, but there was one thing he didn’t know.
Should he tell someone?
Naturally, the first person he would have told was Liri, but Liri was off on one of his family’s trips, seeing parts of the world. He would have told Liri before he left, especially when he started seeing goblins, but it still seemed so unimaginable, how would Liri believe him? Now though, he found he had to ignore the goblins more and more to not see them. It really was getting worse, and he had to tell someone. The question was, who?
Erid, the head of the orphanage, was...well...sensible. Doelan could imagine him saying, oh you’re imagining things Doelan, or, it’s probably nothing Doelan.
Not exactly what Doelan needed now.
Just then, behind Doelan, an announcement was being made.
“People of the city,” shouted a boy Doelan recognized as mayor Aralor. He stood on a pedestal as he spoke. “In a few weeks I will be journeying to Linicai for our first political negotiations with the Ciniceros Empire since we negotiated our independence from them. As such I will need volunteers for ambassadors, whom will be selected before I make the journey. That is all. Good health to you all. Thank you.”
He turned and walked away. He had been making that announcement regularly now, and it seemed so trivial compared to the problem Doelan had; and Doelan still thought it funny that a fifteen year old, or one who looked like it, was making decrees for people who looked the same age as him. Still, the mayor was smart...Doelan didn’t know whether to call him a man or a boy, but he was smart, and if there were goblins in the village, he should know.
He turned away and saw, leaving the marketplace, Neron, a boy he had grown up with in the orphanage, and he was with a gisler girl. The first thing Doelan remembered was how Neron had teased him about the way he didn’t understand the defining feature of gislers; eternal youth.
But then he hadn’t been doing that so much lately, not so much this year. Neron, at that moment, even glanced at Doelan for a second, but there was no teasing, not even a smirk before Neron just left. Doelan figured that even though Neron had teased him before, and actually ignored him now, he still didn’t deserve whatever the goblins had in mind for all of them. Still, he was the last person Doelan would talk to, not the first. Neron probably would call him crazy anyway.
Then there was the girl Neron was with, Ailean, who recently seemed to make friends with Neron, so maybe he was less of a jerk now than before. After all, she seemed nice, the few times Doelan had heard her speak, but Doelan hadn’t actually spoken directly to her and wouldn’t know how to bring this up.
If he was considering her, someone he hardly knew, he must have been getting desperate to tell someone. Anyone.
It was at that moment, when Neron and Ailean disappeared around the corner that Doelan asked himself why he even wanted to talk to someone else about this. Liri was his friend, and the others were just people he knew.
Maybe he just wanted to be ready, to know what to say to Liri, because every time Doelan put his problem into words, it just sounded crazy. He wanted to tell Liri, but he was truly...
Afraid. And somehow, he knew his fear would only get worse.
…
It was a horrible dream. Doelan was being dragged away by goblins! Their clammy hands clinged to him, taking him away from Halhor, and Liri watched.
“Liri!” Doelan cried desperately. “Liri!”
“Where are you going Doelan?” Liri called back.
“Help! It’s goblins! They’re dragging me away!”
“There are no goblins in the villiage. There never have been. You’re imagining again.”
“No! Liri help!”
“Bye Doelan,” said Liri. Walking away.
“No! No! Help! Liri!”
Doelan awoke with a start. Giving a gasp! He breathed heavily as the other orphan gislers in their bunks moaned and told him to be quiet. Then Doelan gasped again when he saw a goblin in the room! He dove under the covers, remembering that trick Liri had taught him.
“One…two…three…four…five…” he counted, concentrating as hard as he could on those numbers, and when he finished he looked out. The goblin was gone.
He stayed under the covers. He was thankful he could still shut the goblins out, but knew he would see them again. It made him cry. He tried to keep quiet, and did. He couldn’t let the other orphans know. Someone would start teasing him again, and he couldn’t bear that. Not now.
There was only one thing to do. He had to tell Liri. He was afraid Liri wouldn’t believe him, but he had no other choice. He was seeing goblins more and more.
And he was no longer convinced that they weren’t real.
…
It was five days before his birthday, before he came of age officially. Doelan was anticipating the ceremony of the hourglass. He held his small, simple hourglass in his hand, looking at it; it still flowed sand for him, showing that he was ageing. On the big day, at midnight, he would hold it up, turn it over, and at the stroke of twelve the sand would stop moving, much like his age. This hourglass would be his keepsake, signaling that he had achieved eternal youth as all gislers did.
However, that wasn’t why he was looking at it. It was because Liri was returning today, returning from one of his family’s trips to see the world. Liri, before he had left, had promised to be at Doelan’s ceremony.
But the ceremony wasn’t important now, not really, so he put the hourglass back into his cloak. What was important was that Doelan had decided he needed to tell Liri something, and that Liri was the only person he could tell, at least for now.
It was about his feeling, and what those feelings made him see. Horrible things he saw...
Doelan waited near to the border guard huts carved from marble and spaced all in a line with fences connecting them. It was set in that bright field full of very colorful flowers and on the opposite side of the border was an old, twisted oak tree.
Waiting anxiously, Doelan saw in the distance several figures approaching. Doelan counted in his head and it was probably Liri and his family. About six gislers, and judging by the height of them it would be Liri’s parents, Liri’s sisters, his brother, and him.
As they approached, Doelan could see Liri. They waved to each other and Doelan even got a few waves from the others. He had to wait for them to be detained by the border guards and take the hourglass test. Gislers as a general rule were the only ones allowed into Halhor apart from guests, ambassadors, or rulers. They had, of course, just managed to gain independence from the Ciniceros Empire and were just learning to defend themselves. It showed too.
Doelan still thought the armor looked a little silly on the border guards. He had only ever seen armor on grown men of humans. To see people who looked like teenagers wearing it and standing guard was new to him, though he was the only person who felt that way.
Yes, coming of age apparently hadn’t changed him one bit.
He still would rather wonder at children in armor than think about what he knew he had to do. Would telling Liri the truth drive him away? Doelan didn't know.
Doelan saw Liri take the hourglass test, show his hourglass to the soldiers, and then run up.
“So how was it?” asked Doelan as Liri stopped.
“Well, I can say that both myself and my family are glad we’re home now,” said Liri. “That being said, it was fantastic! The cyclopses really do have clothes woven from metal. Look.”
Liri pulled out from his pocket a silver cloth that shimmered and he handed it to Doelan. Doelan looked at it with a grin on his face similar to the one on Liri’s face. The cloth was metal, but felt as warm as any fabric Doelan had ever felt. As the two of them studied it they began to walk with Liri’s family not far away.
“That’s steel,” said Liri. “Steel wool of the highest purity.”
“Brilliant,” said Doelan, handing it back to Liri, who put it back into his pocket. “It’s even as warm as real wool. What else did you see there?”
“Their soldiers,” said Liri. “They have the finest armor there is.”
“Is it really indestructible like I’ve heard?”
“No. That’s just a rumor, but from what I saw it’s pretty close. It does come with a drawback however.”
“What’s that?”
“Well it’s only a drawback if you’re a cyclops. Their eye is still exposed. They can’t wear a visor since they only have one eye; not having very good vision and all. That’s why they don’t sell their armor to outsiders.”
“That makes sense,” said Doelan, the grins had disappeared from their faces but both were still just a little exited. “What else was there?”
“I learned a lot about their history.”
“We already learned about that in school,” said Doelan.
“Well it’s different from the source.”
They walked a little bit in silence. Doelan brought out the small hourglass again and looked at it. Liri didn’t notice this time but something was bothering him, the same thing that Doelan had been feeling lately. The same feeling that had been making him see things.
“Still flowing?” asked Liri.
“Yes it is,” said Doelan, watching the sand go from the top to the bottom.
“Let me see,” said Liri.
Doelan handed it to Liri who held it up. Immediately the sand inside stopped flowing.
“It’s working,” he said. “So, you ready for the big day?”
“And the big night when the hourglass will do that for me.”
“Then you’ll be a true gisler, and a man,” he handed the hourglass back to Doelan who put it away again. “Eternal youth at last.”
“Yes,” said Doelan, staring off into space. “Won’t that be strange?”
“What do you mean? Is this that same thing again?”
“Well...yes. Getting older and yet looking the same. It’s like how I look like the elders now but I’m really much younger than them.”
It was at that moment that Doelan started feeling like a parrot. Repeating the same things over and over. It was even starting to get on his own nerves, but he never had anything different to say on the matter.
“Doelan,” said Liri. “I’ve known you for a long time now, and you’re the only gisler I know who doesn’t understand eternal youth.”
Doelan laughed. “Some of the others at the orphanage used to joke that I’m not a gisler. It wasn’t really nice.”
“I remember, and I still think it’s silly. Why would you be left with us if you weren’t one?”
More silence. They were still walking through the field of flowers.
“Well,” said Doelan. “I don’t mean to say that I’m not a gisler but sometimes I don’t really think I belong here.”
Liri was a little confused. “What do you mean?”
Doelan hesitated, wondering if he should tell Liri his real problem. “Well, you are the only gisler I get along with.”
“That never bothered you before. If it did, then why wouldn’t you come with us on our trip? We’ll probably invite you every year at this point.”
“Well what if my parents come back? I don’t want to be away if it happens.”
“Oh. I remember. You said that before. I guess I know how you feel. I wouldn’t want to be separated from my parents either.”
They were nearing a little marble cottage in the distance. In front of the building stood large tree with red fruit and a large red flower the size of a bird bath. Next to that was a large vegetable garden. Doelan had told the truth, he did want to be there if his parents ever came back, but that wasn’t what was bothering him at the moment.
“There’s something else,” said Doelan, a little nervous. “Something I...” He hesitated.
“What?” asked Liri.
“I don’t really know,” said Doelan. “Things have been a little weird lately.”
“What do you mean?” asked Liri, a little confused. “Has something happened?”
“No it’s just...” he faltered again. “Things seem different. It’s almost as if I am looking at things from a different direction.”
“Which is?”
Doelan breathed out quickly. “I don’t know. I don’t know why this is but I can’t help but feel like...like...like nothing is real...”
He stopped talking. He could not believe how ridiculous he sounded. It all made so much more sense in his head, but he just couldn’t explain it. And then he looked at Liri, who seemed troubled. Deeply troubled.
“Like they’re lies.” said Liri. “Like you look at something and you feel that someone is lying to you but no one is talking. Except...except when talking to people. The other gislers I mean. Friends and family are the only things that seem real.”
Doelan thought for a minute. “Yes. I never thought of it that way but yes. That’s what it’s like.”
They stopped moving.
“Liri,” Doelan asked in a low voice. “Have you been...seeing things...too?”
Liri turned to watch his family, they were approaching but were still at a good distance away, so they couldn’t hear. He turned back to Doelan.
“Yes, yes I have.”
“Would they be...maybe...goblins?”
Liri sighed, seemingly relived, partly worried. “Yes.”
That confirmed it; the things he’d been seeing lately were seen by Liri as well. He hadn’t imagined it. He didn’t know how long Liri had been seeing things, but he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was something really wrong happening in Halhor.
He was a little scared.
Doelan glanced back towards Liri’s family and then back.
“They don’t know do they?” he asked.
“No,” said Liri, “I was afraid people would think I was odd, especially my family.”
“That didn’t bother me,” said Doelan, trying to put a brave face on things. “I wasn’t afraid people would think I was odd. I told you and all.”
“People already think you are odd.”
There was silence for a moment as they looked at each other, and then they started laughing.
“That’s true,” said Doelan. “That’s very true.”
Liri sighed as he finished laughing. “So what do you think it all means? Is it real or are we just imagining it?”
Doelan considered it for a moment and said, “I don’t know.”
“Well whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together. Friends?” He stuck out his hand.
Doelan took the hand and they shook. “Friends,” he said.
Then they turned and continued to walk.
****

Chapter Five
His Confession

Doelan took a deep breath as he held the hourglass up, glowing in the light of the bonfire under a bright moon. At midnight, precisely, it stopped flowing. Doelan was now fifteen years old, and was no longer ageing. He would be locked at that age for the rest of his life; an eternity if he was lucky. In gisler society he was a man, but the words of Erid, the head of the orphanage that Doelan had lived in for so long, came back to him.
You’ll always be that strange, funny, special little child to me, he had said.
Doelan didn’t consider Erid a father figure. Not really. But he was an important figure in Doelan’s life all the same. He was kind to Doelan, like he was kind to all the orphans. His attention was just divided. At that moment, looking at Erid clap with the rest of the gislers, he thought of him as one hundredth of a father, because he had to be father to one hundred children. Still, Doelan couldn’t blame Erid for thinking of him as a child.
It didn’t make what Doelan had to do any easier.
Outside the marble cottages of Halhor, in the grass field, Doelan looked at Liri, smiling and clapping for him along with all the others. Liri was his only friend, but at least no one teased him anymore. Now many clapped for him, encouraging his ascent from boy to man.
And he knew that if he said what he and Liri needed to say, then he would lose what little respect they had for him.
But Doelan and Liri had agreed. They would wait until after his birthday, once Doelan was a man. Then they would be on equal ground, but Doelan knew better. Doelan couldn’t tell his elders apart, and as far as he could tell he was the same age as they were. He was their equal, but he knew they wouldn’t see it that way.
You’ll always be that strange, funny, special little child to me. He would be that strange, funny little child to them forever.
Maybe Liri would have more clout but how were they supposed to say it? How were they supposed to say that they had been seeing goblins in the village from time to time? How could they explain about those creatures, the animal skins they saw people wear, or the pickaxes and other tools they carried? The cave walls?
Who would believe them if they said what they thought, that all the gislers were in an illusion? That the goblins were using them to work, and they didn’t even know it. Another thing Doelan didn’t know is what exactly they were being used for, aside from digging as the tools suggested. Even so, he didn’t want to know, and figured that whatever it was it couldn’t be good.
He remembered when the two of them had figured it out. Liri, said Doelan. I honestly think we’re the goblins’ prisoners. Kept in some sort of illusion so we don’t run away. Everything we see is false, and I think we’ve all been in goblin caves our whole lives.
I think you’re right, said Liri. Other people are the only thing that’s real. We have to tell them, Doelan.
They did have to tell them. Doelan didn’t feel any particular connection to any gisler apart from Liri, but Liri felt every bond possible. Besides, no one deserved this fate any more than the two of them did. Yes, they had to tell. He looked at Liri smiling, but behind that smile he saw nervousness. Both of them knew it would not be easy.
Still, Doelan smiled, doing his best to enjoy his coming of age. Things were about to change, as everyone knew. Doelan just wasn’t certain how much.
As he thought these thoughts, a mind that had watched him for so long, also had thoughts.
So this is it. She thought. He’s actually going to do this. I’ll have to be clever to keep the rest from breaking out of the illusion. First he sees my goblins, then he forgets them, only to see them again, and then that other boy starts seeing goblins too. This has to end. They can leave my illusion if they wish, but I won’t let them take the rest with them.
…
“You can do it Doelan,” said Liri, pushing him towards Erid.
“I’ll do it when you start walking towards your parents,” Doelan replied.
They were standing just outside the orphanage. That large stone building cast a shadow over them. Erid was leading a young troop of children. Liri’s family was nowhere in sight.
“I’ll tell my family, I promise,” said Liri. “It will be okay. Just remember how we agreed to do this. Tell them about the goblins. If we can get them to see goblins then we can explain our theory about the illusion.”
“I know the plan.” Doelan took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said, marching directly towards Erid, who was just leading the children inside, handing them over to another gisler attendant.
“Alright, in you go,” he said. “Onward. Oh, hello Doelan.”
“Hello sir,” said Doelan shakily.
“So, a man now. Have you found work?”
“Not yet,” said Doelan, wishing he could just spit it out. Unfortunately, Erid seemed more interested in making small talk.
“Hmm…I see. Where are you staying then?”
“I’m staying with Liri and his family until I make ends meet.” This dragging on was almost a relief to Doelan, not having to actually say anything, but it was also annoying.
And Erid noticed. “Is everything alright Doelan?”
Doelan hesitated for just a moment, but said, “No. There is something wrong. It’s…Liri’s been having this problem too…we…” Erid was getting confused, which made Doelan more nervous. “It’s a real problem and…Liri has the same problem…”
“Doelan…”
“We’ve been seeing goblins in Halhor!”
That took Erid by surprise, which, ironically, Doelan didn’t find surprising. The same could be said about Erid’s response.
“Doelan, that’s very serious, but don’t you think that if there were goblins in Halhor we’d be seeing signs?”
Not if were in an illusion, Doelan thought, they wouldn’t want us to see signs of them. However he only said part of that thought. “Well, maybe they don’t want anyone to see them.”
“And you say Liri’s been seeing goblins too?”
“Yes sir.” Normally, Doelan found that adult words like sir were hard to use for a person who looked only fifteen. However, this time he swallowed his feelings on the matter and did what any ‘sensible’ gisler would do.
“Wow,” said Erid. “You called me sir. I thought we looked the same age.”
“Erid, please. Liri and I are really scared.” That was true. That was so true, and that made Erid’s response hurt all the more.
“Doelan, you’re probably imagining things. I’ve seen you two, always talking about the stuff Liri brings back from his family’s vacations. You’ve got your head in the clouds all the time, instead of here, in Halhor. Now Doelan, please, just try and concentrate on what’s real.”
As Erid walked back into the orphanidge Doealn felt like screaming, THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO GET YOU TO DO! But of course he didn’t. He turned back, feeling worse than before.
…
“It didn’t go well with Erid did it?” asked Liri as Doelan entered the room.
“It is that obvious?” asked Doelan, plopping down on a chair.
They were inside one of the marble cottages, Liri’s to be exact. Inside were more of the same marble columns from outside, wooden furniture, woolen rugs, and bright candles. It was all somehow rich looking, like nobility housing, and yet accessible, like a commoner’s home, and all Doelan could think about was how none of it was real.
“How did it go with your parents?” Doelan asked, but one look from Liri told him that it hadn’t gone any better. No one was going to believe them.
“You know,” said Liri. “Not long after telling them about goblins they talked about leaving me behind on their next vacation.”
This surprised Doelan. “Why?”
“They think I’m getting too many ideas. All the tales of battles from other nations are going to my head.”
“If only it were that simple.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve heard the stories. The cyclops sorcerer who shot lightning from his eye, the eagle man and goblin wars, the slefah invasion of the Ciniceros empire, even some of the older stories about the Twyla. The difference is those stories didn’t scare me. This does.”
Doelan knew exactly what Liri was talking about. The old legends seemed so distant that no matter what happened in them they weren’t too frightening. Stories where the ancient Twyla trapped a sorcerer and cast every dark spell he had cast back into himself was less frightening than goblins in the village.
Because that wasn’t an ancient legend. It was real, and it was happening right then and there.
“It doesn’t really matter,” said Liri. “It’s not like anything I saw on those vacations was real. Eagle men, cyclopses, none of them really exist. At least…I think they don’t. I’m not sure anymore."
Doelan didn’t answer. He hadn’t really thought about exactly how much was real. It was as frightening an idea as anything. However, he knew he would have to consider it. Something told him that even though they were surrounded by an illusion, some things were real, or at least it was based on reality. But he would figure it out later.
“Well,” he said. “Our guardians didn’t help. We’ll keep trying. We’ll tell anyone who will listen.”
He knew that would be harder.
…
It was.
Liri tried to tell the rest of his family about the goblins, while Doelan tried talking to anyone he could. He remembered walking up to the first random stranger he could find; a brown haired gisler boy just strolling through town on a bright sunny day. For all Doelan knew he could be thirty or forty. Doelan walked right up him in the town square, right next to the central fountain and said, “Excuse me sir.”
“Oh, there’s no need to call me sir,” said the other gisler. “I’m only sixteen.”
Not that much older than Doelan, who felt a little embarrassed. There’s no need to describe the painful scene of Doelan trying to get the worlds out. Suffice it to say the conversation didn’t end well.
“Oh please. I stopped telling stories like that when I was ten,” the other gisler said before walking off.
Doelan sighed, but he wasn’t going to give up that easily.
He tried gisler after gisler with no success. Apparently Liri hadn’t had any progress with his family because he eventually joined him. They told everyone they could find about the goblins, but no one believed them. They didn’t mention the illusion. People were already calling them crazy, so they didn’t want to push it.
Later that evening they stopped and played a game of chess underneath the oak tree outside the village. The twilight was gloomy, much like their moods.
“So,” said Doelan, making his move. “How many people called us mad?”
“I counted seventeen,” said Liri. “This was not our day. So…now what do we do?”
“We keep trying.”
“For how long?”
“As long as it takes.”
“But what if no one ever listens? Doelan…what if it’s impossible to get them to see the truth…what if we have to leave without them? ”
Doelan didn’t answer at first. He didn’t want to leave anyone, but he would if he had to. He wasn’t sure if Liri could. For his sake, they had to keep trying.
“Liri, anything is possible. I once thought it impossible that I’d ever have a friend. I once thought it impossible that anyone else could see things the way I do. Okay, maybe both of us seeing goblins isn’t so great, but you get my point. And I also thought it impossible to beat you at chess once. Let alone three times in a row. Seriously, my winning streak proves anything is possible.”
Liri looked at him grimly. “Except winning four times in a row.”
“What?”
Liri moved a piece and said, “Checkmate.”
Doelan stared at it, and sure enough it was checkmate. Liri’s win. It was at that moment that they both burst out laughing!
“Alright! Maybe not everything is possible! But Liri, we figured out the truth, and so can they. That’s possible. We’re not giving up.”
“Okay Doelan. Okay. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for.
They set up for another game, not sure how they were going to convince people of the truth.
…
Something was different that morning amid all the marble building and cottages. Doelan could feel it. No one was out. Everyone was inside. As the sun hid behind a layer of clouds, everyone else hid in their homes. Something was different.
Were they hiding from him? He looked and saw a window close, right before he looked at it. Yes, they were avoiding him. No one was going to listen. No one.
This was probably it. He and Liri would have to leave without the rest of them. He knew it would break Liri’s heart. And besides, they would be alone facing…what exactly? Was Liri right, and the whole world was fabricated? Was there a real Ciniceros Empire? Eagle men’s nest? A real Halhor?
Could the goblins have created a whole world from their imaginations? Doelan thought of how hard it was just to come up with a new chess strategy. A whole world would have been maddening!
He thought about it, and then he realized perhaps there was a real Halhor, and everything else…and he knew why. He was just about to tell Liri, to soften the blow of this news, when…
“Doelan.”
He spun around to face the last person he expected. Neron. He looked at Doelan stoically.
“I suppose you’ve heard about what I’ve been saying,” said Doelan. “And you have something to say about it?”
“Nothing mean or hurtful if that’s what you’re expecting.”
It was what Doelan expected, “Why did you stop teasing me anyway?”
“Ailean. Apparently she had been teased about her voice. It used to be a bit…goofier…before I met her. Left a bad taste in her mouth when she saw me doing something similar.”
“But why…”
“Because I found I liked her company more than I liked teasing you.”
And Doelan was grateful for that, but he wasn’t sure.
“I’m not here to tease you about this,” said Neron. “I admit, I had thought of some things to say in that regard, but I keep those to myself these days.”
If Doelan had though it strange to watch Erid act like an adult when looked fifteen, it was something else entirely to watch Neron do it now. Neron had always been the most childish person around him, and seeing him act like this when Doelan had given him every opportunity to jibe with this goblin issue…
“So what are you here to say?” asked Doelan.
“I’m here to say that your stories have gotten to people. There’s been talk and…people have started seeing things.”
It couldn’t be. “Goblins?” asked Doelan.
“Yes. I thought I saw some to.”
“Do you think they’re real?”
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”
It wasn’t a ‘no.’ And a ‘not a no’ from Neron could almost mean a yes from anyone else. Things were looking up. Maybe they could bring the other gislers along after all? Maybe they wouldn’t face the outside of the illusion alone!
…
And then they were brought to court.
Made of cold marble, the courthouse of Halhor was set up like an amphitheater, with seats in a semicircle around the judge’s podium, also made of marble like the columns around the room. The mayor, Aralor, stood where the judge usually did. Despite looking like a child in his teen years he had a commanding presence, but that just added to the hopelessness that Doelan and Liri were feeling. As it turns out people had been seeing goblins, but then this meeting was called to discuss it. It had been ruled that the goblins had been imagined by people who got scared by a tall tale. This was the final decree on that issue.
“This is a very serious matter,” said mayor Aralor. “Two gislers, one of them just reaching the age of a man, spreading this kind of rumor. People afraid to come out of their homes, whispers that this might be real, and all because of these two making up wild stories.”
Doelan and Liri would have objected, but with one glance at each other they knew it would only get them in more trouble.
“It pains me to do this,” the mayor went on. “But I can’t have panicked citizens hiding from shadows. Life must go on. Therefore, if these stories of goblins keep getting passed around, those telling them will be arrested. I’m sure it was meant as a prank, but this cannot go on.”
Doelan and Liri lowered their heads. Of all the things that could have happened, this was the worst.
They had failed.
They left as the other gislers left, pouring out of the building. Some gislers shot angry glances at them, but they paid no heed. They only wished they could have helped them. They didn’t dare mention any illusion now. It would only make things worse.
They went to that oak tree, but didn’t’ play chess as usual. They just sat there on opposite sides feeling glum.
“I don’t think that could have gone worse,” said Liri.
“It couldn’t have,” Doelan replied.
“So what now?”
Doelan hesitated, but said it. “I think we’ll have to leave without them.”
Liri didn’t answer for a moment, and when he did, what he said couldn’t be denied. “I’m scared, Doelan.”
“So am I Liri. So am I. We’ll make up our minds tonight.”
“Liri!” called a stern voice. Doelan saw it was Liri’s father, who looked exactly the same as he did when Doelan first met Liri, except this time he was angry.
“I have to go,” said Liri, walking off.
Doelan watched. He remembered when the two of them had met so long ago. They were still children in the eyes of gislers. Liri’s father called to him, and Liri said he had to go. His father was the same, but Liri was so different. Like now. So much around them had not changed, but they were different. They saw things no one else did, and they knew they would have to make a choice. To stay, or to go.
It was a choice that he wasn’t looking forward to, and he knew Liri wasn’t either.
Invisible, the mind watched Doelan, and she thought, It worked perfectly; whispering to everyone that it was all tall tales. Whispering to the mayor that it was a prank was perfect! It’s not over yet, but if Doelan really wants to leave without other gislers, he’s more than welcome to.
…
It was a starry night sky over the small city made of quaint marble cottages. Inside Liri’s cottage sat Doelan and Liri. Both were nervous; the kind of nervous that comes before making a decision; and what a decision they had to make.
“Are you sure about this Doelan?” asked Liri apprehensively.
Doelan didn’t answer right away. “I don’t...no, I’m not certain.”
“We don’t know what we are getting ourselves into.”
“Well...that’s why I’m not sure.”
“I mean, would it really be so bad to stay? Say we are in an illusion set up by the goblins and our bodies are doing something else. What harm is really coming to us?”
Again, Doelan took a second to answer. “None to us, but whatever the goblins are using us for, I don’t think it can be good. I don’t know about you but I don’t like the idea of being used for something sinister; not one bit.”
Doelan shook his head nervously and crossed his arms. Liri still seemed uncertain.
“Well I can’t say I like it any more than you do,” said Liri. “But suppose the real world is nothing like what we know? We could end up lost forever.”
“I don’t think so,” said Doelan, loosening his arms a bit. “Why would the goblins give us knowledge of them in the illusion if they created it from scratch? We know what they are, and that let us figure out that they were in control of this illusion. If the goblins had invented this world they could have avoided this, keeping us from knowing what they were, but they didn’t. In the end I think it’s probably much easier just to copy the real thing than it is to make something completely new.”
Liri also crossed his arms, but with a much different attitude than Doelan.
“You do have a point,” Liri said. “You’re best chess strategy so far has been to copy my moves until the right moment, rather than make your own.”
Doelan smiled.
“That’s where I got the idea. Besides, if I’m right, there will be gislers in the real world.”
“That’s alright for you Doelan,” said Liri without any ill will. “But I have family here. I’m not an orphan. I have people to leave behind.”
“Liri, I don’t want to leave anyone behind either, and I mean anyone. Mayor Aralor is a good leader. Aileen and Ivilin, Neron's friend and the inkeeper, are nice to us. Even Erid, who practically raised us. Neron...I’d have to think about, but like I said I don’t want to leave everyone else either. But we tried to tell them, and they wouldn’t listen. The way I see it we can escape and come back to save them, but then we'll have help.”
Liri didn’t answer right away, but when he did he was resolute in his answer. “Yes, yes that sounds better.” He loosened his arms as well.
“Then what do you think?”
“Doelan, you are the one who’s thought it through, and much better than I have, I have to say. Why are you not sure?”
Doelan didn’t expect this question, and had to think about it. However he didn’t have to think about it long. “I am sure about what we need to do. We need to escape.”
“Then I trust you,” Liri replied. “But promise me we will come back to save the others, especially my parents.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Good,” Liri answered. “So what do we do?”
“Well, it was our hunger for truth that let us see it. So focus on that.”
“Okay.” He became grave. “I wish I could say goodbye to my family though, but they still don’t understand this.”
“I know,” Doelan sighed. “I know. Ready?”
Liri hesitated for a second, but then said, “yes.”
They nodded to each other and closed their eyes, both of them focusing on the truth. They began to chant, just to keep it in their minds. Over and over again they whispered, “I want the truth. I want to truth.”
Over and over again.
“Doelan I think..,”
“Shh...” Doelan said quickly.
They continued to chant, “I want the truth,” again and again until...
“What’s happened Liri? Something just happened.”
Doelan opened his eyes to see that he was in a musty cave tunnel with no visible light source, and yet he could see well enough.
“We’re out! We’re out! It’s the real world! Liri we did it!”
He was holding a pickaxe, but he didn’t notice it, all he noticed was that Liri was not there. Panic started to settle in. This wasn’t right. They were supposed to escape together.
“Liri? Liri? Liri?!”
He dropped the pickaxe and continued shouting Liri’s name over and over. He shouted until he thought his neck would burst, but stopped and froze when he heard a sound, as if crickets were making bloodcurdling shrieks. The goblins had heard him.
It came from one end of the tunnel, so he ran the other way. He didn’t dare call Liri’s name again, though he wished he could. He ran from the goblins, terrified, but through his fear he thought one thing.
Liri! Where are you!?
And from somewhere he couldn’t see the mind laughed at him. She thought, I promised myself I’d let you leave without the other gislers. And she laughed long and loud.
****

Chapter Six
His Destiny

Doelan had never felt so miserable in his life, stuck in that dark, cold cave. Liri was gone. He hadn’t really been with him in the real world. Doelan’s eyes had pierced the illusion, only to find that Liri wasn’t there. He was alone, running as fast as he could. When he had the strength that is.
There were other things that got to him. The animal skins he was wearing didn’t fit properly, and irritated his skin. His stomach was grumbling, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten. Of course he realized that anything he remembered eating was probably part of the illusion. He shuddered to think of what the goblins really fed him. His feet were the coldest part of him, touching the stone floor. Even with no light source he could somehow still see, but all he saw was more cave, and nothing else.
He hadn’t seen any goblins since he first broke through the illusion. He had lost them, but a lack of goblins probably just meant that these caves were really big.
He might never get out.
Eventually he lost the strength to run. With no goblins around he just walked through the cave, randomly picking directions when there was a fork in the tunnel. He didn’t know where he was going, all he knew is that he wanted to get out of the cave.
He didn’t know how long he had been down there. Days? Weeks? Months? No, it couldn’t be that long. He had no food and no water, and he knew it was true with his rumbling stomach and parched throat. He would never have of lasted that long anyway.
It still felt like forever.
His feet seemed heavier with each step, and he was losing hope. He felt like curling up and dying right then and there. What could he do? Except, he heard sloshing. He ran ahead, turned a corner and…he froze…his heart pounding…there were goblins!
They hadn’t seen him. They were drinking from some sort of subterranean lake in a wide cavern. Doelan had to force himself to move. These were no illusions. They were real.
He backed away around the corner and hid against the wall. He realized he had been holding his breath, and his heart was beating so fast he felt he might faint. He breathed as quietly as he could. He would have run, but with water so near…He was so thirsty.
Then he heard buzzing. Loud, terrifying buzzing…that slowly got quieter…and then disappeared. Doelan stayed still for a few moments, and then inched forward. He peered into the cavern. There were no goblins, just water.
He slowly crawled forward towards the water. Then he stopped by the edge and cupped his hands, taking a drink. It tasted horrible, but it was water. He drank, then rested.
He thought. Liri was gone. His people were gone. No…that was wrong. He was the one that was gone. His people were still where they were, in the illusion. He might never see Liri again. But no. He had found water. It wasn’t much, and he was still afraid, but it was something. He drank as much as he could bear, but since he couldn’t carry any with him he went on.
He walked through more tunnels, and more still. He started getting thirsty again, but he had more time…though how much time he couldn’t tell. He kept going and going, and saw nothing but bare rock, but he kept hope that he would find something, anything.
Later, as he walked through the cave, looking at the earth around him, he wondered if Liri was still in the illusion, or if he was doing the same thing, wandering about these caves with little hope. He stopped, and almost cried right then and there, but no…he couldn’t break down now. He shook himself and kept going. He had to get out. He had to…he…
It was strange that the shriek could remind him of crickets, and yet chill his bones at the same time. He turned around, his heart pounding instantly! They were far off, but he wasn’t going to waste time. He picked up speed.
The shrieking came again, faster this time. Doelan picked up more speed, his breathing getting faster. Then, when the shrieking was loudest and Doelan was convinced they were coming directly for him, he broke out into a run!
He ran for his life.
He got to the end of the tunnel, only to find more tunnels. He started picking directions randomly, searching frantically for escape. The shrieking behind him got louder and louder, and eventually he could hear buzzing.
The goblins were getting closer!
Where’s the way out?! He asked himself as he ran. How do I get out?!
He nearly screamed when he saw it, a bright light at the end of the tunnel. He had found the way out! The joy lasted a split second when he remembered he was being chased. He ran towards the light. It was far off, but if he could just get there…
He heard the shrieking and the buzzing, louder than ever this time. He looked but he still could not see them. He was beginning to feel wind, as if from a thousand wings beating at once.
He kept running, that bright light getting closer and closer. He was almost there!
And then he looked back.
He could see them, the goblins. They were coming for him. He didn’t want to see them. He didn’t want to see those skinny, yet muscular builds, or their big round bald heads. He didn’t want to look at their two slits for a nose, their thin lipless mouths, their dragonfly eyes and wings, or the swords that hung from their loin cloths. Yet here they came, ready to kill him!
He ran, getting closer and closer to the exit, and the goblins flew, getting closer and closer to him. He was almost there. Just a little further. He thought. Just a little further. Just a little…
And then he tripped.
He fell face first on the stone, and felt a pain in his ankle. He tried to get up, but the moment he put pressure on his ankle he cried out in pain and fell back. He had sprained it. He turned around he crawled backwards. The goblins were almost on top of him! One raised his sword to strike! Doelan covered his eyes!
And then nothing happened.
Doelan could still hear the angry shrieks, but they weren’t attacking. He felt himself shaking and sweating, and his heart pounded in his chest. Slowly he looked, and saw something strange. The goblins were stopped, as if held back by an invisible force, but that wasn’t what was strange. In front of the goblins, floating, were pink leaves, also held up by some invisible hands. The goblins couldn’t pass the leaves. Doelan didn’t know why, but they couldn’t pass those leaves.
Doelan stood as best he could, not putting weight on his ankle. He started limping towards the exit. He turned back, thankful, and then saw the goblins with a torch!
They reached the torch out and began burning the leaves one by one. Doelan limped as fast as he could. The Goblins got more torches, and burned more leaves. Doelan was almost to the exit, almost to that bright light!
When the last of the leaves burned the goblins came on! Doelan limped as fast as he could! He was right on the threshold of the light! The goblins were almost upon him and then…
They cowered!
He had reached the light! The bright blinding sunlight that the goblins feared. He was safe, but he didn’t stop. He limped on and on until he was out into the sun and then…He fell down on the ground, remembering nothing afterwards.
…
“We’re out! We’re out! It’s the real world! Liri we did it!”
Then he noticed was that Liri was not there. Panic started to settle in. This wasn’t right. They were supposed to escape together.
“Liri? Liri? Liri?!”
Doelan awoke to a strange sensation, as if he was suspended in the air. No, there was something under him, but it swung back and forth gently. It felt smooth, whatever it was. He opened his eyes. Above him was a bright blue sky, and below that were trees, unlike any he had ever seen. They had pink leaves, like the leaves that had held the goblins back.
The goblins. It came rushing back to him, and he wished he could forget.
He realized he was in a hammock. It was white, and it shimmered in the sunlight. Silk, that’s what it was made of. He was in a silk hammock in a forest clearing with strange trees that were too dense for him to fit through and had silver apples. He could literally see his face in those apples, resting with the pink leaves of the trees.
He wanted to cry. Where was he? Who had put him in this hammock? Where was Liri?
He almost did cry.
Then he heard a buzzing, but not like goblins. It was quieter, like a real insect. That still made him a little uncomfortable, until a tiny man flew into view.
Doelan wiped his tears away and looked at him. It was an old man in a cloak with insect wings coming from his back. He had a grey beard, a solemn expression, and a small gem tipped stick in his hand. He was small enough to stand in Doelan’s palm. He flew over and stood on a nearby branch.
“Hello,” said the small figure. “My name is Tulbor.”
“Doelan,” he said with frailty. “Where am I?”
“Filia Forest. The home of the fairies. Us.”
“Was it you that saved me? Sent those leaves? And…” he realized something. Hi ankle didn’t hurt. “Did you heal my ankle?”
“Yes, that was all us. We used our wands.”
He lifted the gen tipped stick in his hand, which Doelan supposed was the want, and pointed it at a tree. A leaf fell from the tree and hovered in front of Doelan.
“The trees of this forest,” said Tulbor, “are enchanted to repel evil. It makes a good protection.”
“Oh,” said Doelan, who was still getting over the fact that he had never heard of fairies before; or Filia Forest. Where was he? And where was everyone he had ever known?
“You seem distracted,” said Tulbor. “Let me ask you, what are you?”
“A gisler,” said Doelan.
“Hmm, yes. That is a…complication.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve never heard of fairies before. Have you?”
“Never.”
“That is because we do not exist in the world you are familiar with.”
“The world I’m familiar with is…” he hesitated. He still didn’t want to think about it. “An illusion. The goblins made it to trap me. I don’t know for certain if anything I remember is real.”
“I’m sure it is,” said Tulbor. “While I’m certain this illusion you speak of has false elements in order to be deceiving it must have real world elements in it to be convincing. This illusion is probably a copy of the real thing.”
I knew it! Thought Doelan, feeling sliver of hope. I just need to find gislers in the real Halhor! It must be pretty far away since I’ve never heard of fairies, but if I can find them, maybe they can help me…
“But you cannot go to the places you are familiar with here in the real world.”
“What? Why?”
“Listen very carefully. This will be very difficult to explain, and you may not understand it. The world you are familiar with is one of many. These worlds are connected only by magic. You could travel as far as you liked and never find another world. The only way to reach other worlds is to open a doorway through enchantment. You, Doelan are from a world where there are gislers. In that world you would recognize a great deal. Civilizations, histories, and other species. In this world, there are no other gislers, and you will recognize next to nothing. Do you understand?”
No. He didn’t understand.
“How do I know any of this is real? How do I know that there are other worlds? Beside my own?”
“You are a gisler. You will remain a fifteen year old boy for a very long time. Perhaps magic spells can grant this, but the world you remember is the only one where people are born that way. There are no such people here.”
“How do you know about gislers?”
“We have many secrets that we protect. How we know such things is one of them. I cannot tell you more than that.”
“But what about enchantments to reach these other worlds? Surely you must have some!”
“Though we know about them we have never had use for them. The only enchantments we know of that pass through these worlds belong to the goblins, and I doubt you are ready to face them again. I’m sorry.”
This couldn’t be happening. A world without gislers?! He was different enough when there were gislers. Now he was without his friend or creatures like him.
He was truly alone.
…
Lir? Liri?! Where are you!? Liri!
Doelan woke up in the hammock on his third day in Filia forest. He wasn’t crying anymore, but that didn’t mean he felt better. At least he wasn’t hungry anymore. The silver apples in the trees melted into a honey in his mouth and quelled his growling stomach. Now he wasn’t hungry and miserable.
Just miserable.
The worst part was not that he was alone. He had been used to that once. It was that he couldn’t save anyone else. He felt powerless. Simply powerless.
The next moment Tulbor flew into the clearing, buzzing over Doelan.
He said, “It is time for you to leave.”
“Now?” asked Doelan.
“Now.”
Doelan got out of the silk hammock slowly. It wasn’t as if he wanted to stay there, he just wasn’t certain what he wanted. And there was something else he wasn’t sure of.
“Where will I go?” he asked when he stood up.
“There is a man that you will meet outside this forest. He sells magical trinkets. Trifles really. We’ve determined that he should be a suitable guardian for you. He doesn’t know about us, or you yet, so you will have to explain, but it should be safe to tell him your story.”
Doelan didn’t know what to make of this. He stood there, confused, as Tulbor raised his wand. The trees next to Doelan started moving away from each other, making a grinding sound in the dirt. When they were done they revealed a path. Doelan followed Tulbor down it, and behind him the trees started closing. All around him were more fairies, climbing in and out of trees, even fairy children. Pixies. That’s what the children were called, or so Tulbor had said a day ago. He thought in passing that they were adorable, but it wasn’t enough to make him feel better.
“I’m sorry you cannot stay here,” said Tulbor. “But as I said we fairies keep many important secrets. We cannot let outsiders in. Your circumstances were fairly extreme, but I must warn you, the chances of someone else getting into our forest are very unlikely, and as for someone getting in twice…start with unlikely and see where that takes you.”
Doelan followed sadly. They reached the edge of the forest. The trees parted to show a wide field, and a very surprised older bearded man who was halfway through his hair greying. He was pushing a cart, or had been. Doelan saw him and thought he looked nice enough, but didn’t know what to think.
“There is where we part ways,” said Tulbor. “Farewell.”
The fairy turned back and the trees closed behind Doelan, perhaps forever.
“Well,” said the old man. “How extraordinary. Filia forest opens up, and a young boy walks out. I’ve never seen an outsider in there. How did you get in?”
“That’s a long story,” said Doelan. He wasn’t sure, but he had no one to turn to except this man. So, as difficult as it was, he told his story.
…
Liri! Doelan heard his own voice inside his head. Liri! Where are you?! Liri! He saw the faint images of a cave and him standing in those horrible animal skins, when suddenly he was pulled from his thoughts.
“Are you alright boy?”
Doelan looked with surprise at the man in front of him. Doelan was sitting with his back against a normal, brown and green tree that was right outside Filia Forest. No fairies could be seen at the moment, and despite the pink it was somehow ominous; you just knew there were secrets in there. Doelan has a glimpse of the inside, something many from that world would pay dearly for, and yet he didn’t care.
He was too sad.
“I’m fine sir,” he said.
“You may call me Gafal,” the old man replied warmly. “And you don’t look fine.”
Doelan sighed. “I told you my story.”
“Yes you did,” he said with pity. “And I can understand how you would still be upset, but this is a different kind of upset isn’t it? What’s changed?”
Doelan didn’t answer immediately. In fact, he hardly answered at all, but rather asked a question of his own. “Why do you care?”
“Well, if the fairies told you truthfully, I am an appropriate person to take care of you. I don’t know about you, but taking care of someone who escaped from the goblin caves sounds like a big job, and I wouldn’t mind living up to that. Besides, helping someone in need is just good manners.” Gafal smiled and Doelan, as sad as he was, couldn’t help but smile back.
“Alright,” was Doelan’s reply, his smile passing. “Alright. I escaped from the goblins and their illusion, but it doesn’t feel like much of an accomplishment.”
“Accepting everything you knew as false was in of itself a remarkable thing to do.”
“I know, but...I couldn’t convince anyone else of that, and I lost my only friend who did know it. Add the fact that I barely escaped the goblins with my life and wouldn’t have without the fairy’s help...I just feel so...so...”
“Powerless?” offered Gafal.
“Yes.”
There was a pause, Doelan looked away from the old man and said, “I don’t want to just leave my people down there. I don’t want to leave Liri there either. I just don’t want to leave things as they are when they’re so bad.”
“There isn’t much you can do about it.”
“That’s just it. That’s my problem.”
Doelan saw Gafal from the corner of his eye, and the old man had a thoughtful expression. Gafal was also rubbing his chin, and Doelan wondered what he could possibly say that would make him feel better.
“Feeling you can do nothing,” said Gafal, “is a hard thing to deal with. I will admit. However, I think the only thing you can do right now is wait until you actually can do something about it.”
What?” Doelan looked at Gafal. “You mean do nothing?” He was a little angry.
“Think about it for a second. I don’t like the idea of the goblins using them either. That won’t bode well for anyone, but at least for now they are not in any immediate danger, being in the illusion and all. You just need to wait until you are ready to do something about it, and perhaps until you have help. Some problems cannot be dealt with until you grow up.”
“I don’t grow up.”
Gafal gave a sly grin. “Not in body maybe, but in mind you learn more and become wiser. You do grow up, you just don’t know it, and when you’re ready, I’ll wager the goblins won’t know what hit them.”
At the mention of the goblins a shudder passed through Doelan, but only briefly. The truth was, he didn’t like the idea of waiting, but this man, this Gafal, seemed confident about him. Somehow, after a moment, he did feel better. Maybe he this man was right.
He looked timidly up and Gafal. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, and I hope I can continue to help you through this as long as you stay with me. Now, I believe we’ve stayed here long enough.” He walked around Doelan and behind the tree to a sort of peddler’s cart, filled with various odds and ends and decorated with a simple star. “Coming?”
Doelan stood up. “Coming.”
Doelan followed, but carried nothing, for he had nothing to take with him.
However, as he took one last look at the forest, he still hoped that someday he might just do it, and go back for what he left behind.
From a distance a figure watched him leave, a beautiful woman in a red dress with jet black hair. She had watched him with her mind while he was in the illusion, and grinned in satisfaction. You wanted to leave my illusion Doelan. You escaped my goblins, but now you are alone. Again. Just try to come back. Unless you see reason, the cost will be your life!
“But your version of reason is purely…superficial, isn’t it?” said another woman’s voice.
“Ah yes,” said the woman turning. “Queen of the Twyla! I thought I sensed you watching him.”
But she turned away instantly from the figure behind her, “Ugh! Why do you appear in that form!”
From behind her the other woman said, “You know I put myself on equal ground with those I speak with. This is what you really look like. The form you have here is another illusion. A mere thought you have projected to watch this boy.”
“Liar!” the woman in red shrieked. “I am as beautiful as I ever was! Take this form away!”
“Fine.”
The woman in red looked back. Now she saw an equally beautiful woman with red hair, green eyes, and a dress fit for a princess.
“There,” said the woman in red spitefully. “That’s better isn’t it?”
“I much prefer beauty of the heart.”
“The heart is ugly. The only hope for that is to hide it under fair skin.”
“That’s not what I mean. Take Doelan for instance. He doesn’t really feel a connection to the people he lived with, except one, and it is because of that one that he feels as strong a connection to them as he does. That’s heart.”
“Hmp. Useless. Like that underground prison you have for me. It won’t hold forever.”
The queen of the Twyla just grinned. “Perhaps not. You do have your servants, like the goblins. Creatures who follow you blindly. But for me, I rely on agents with a good heart and strong will.” She looked at Doelan, walking away. “One of them is more powerful than a hundred of your creatures.”
“You really think that boy could stop me? Why don’t you do it?”
“I fell for the trap of doing everything for mortals before. It won’t happen again. The best way is not to do everything for them, or to enslave them against their will, but empower them to fight their own battles.”
The woman in red smiled mysteriously. “That’s still a hard road for mortals isn’t it? You’re making things easier for me.”
“Then I have the advantage, for the right way is never the easy way. That boy will return, and he will have my help. You want all worlds to rule? We’ll make sure you only get the one we put you in. A dark, dank, cold cave of a world. It’s the perfect fit for you. It matches your heart.”
Then she disappeared, leaving the other woman scoffing.
“We will see,” and then she disappeared.
Little did Doelan know, as he walked off, that he was in the middle of something greater than he could imagine. All he knew was that he had a job to do. Get stronger and come back for his people. He looked back to Filia Forest in the distance. There were many ways to enter the goblin caves in his world, so why not this one? There must be other caves. He shuddered to think of it, but he vowed.
He would return.

To be Continued
In The Ageless One: Book One, Fate of Worlds

If you enjoyed this story, check out more of the author's work at http://www.theworldoftheagelessone.com

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.09.2011

Alle Rechte vorbehalten