This story was recently sent to me by Larry Hooten
And is a sequel to his previous story "Family Secret"
Larry can be contacted at lmhooten@socalix.com
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did !
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The Black Ring Long ago, Men looked at
the world in a way different from that which we presently do. They saw magic
in the life and light around them, in the very air they breathed. They knew
that Creation was more wonderful than they could possibly imagine. And so
they would see things around them which modern man in his prideful egotism
simply cannot see. Modern
scholars scoff at ancient reports ¾ “tales”¾ of mermaids, dragons, elves, gnomes, unicorns, and
other “fantastic” creatures. But who is to say that in truth, Bigfoot and
Nessi are only the most careless of a host of creatures which men find hard
to ‘see’. There was a time when as a
young man I came across anecdotal evidence that things are not all as we
assume. An old friend of the family designed a series of meetings with me,
partly to fulfill an old obligation, and partly to help prepare a young man
to discover his destiny. I was then left to find my own way for half a
lifetime. Naturally, the day-to-day cares of the world left their mark, and
for years I found myself being carried along with the tide of humanity,
forgetful of the wonders I had been privy to. Until the day my daughter
Jennifer brought home a ring. It was a simple black finger ring, maybe an
inch around and half an inch wide, apparently of polished bone or horn. The
inside surface was striated and irregular, yet trying it on, I found it was
still comfortable to wear. I asked her where it came from and how she came to
possess it, even though something in the back of my mind already suspected
the truth. She told me a wonderful
tale, of her first meeting with my old friend, Francine, who had indeed
helped me find my destiny, although perhaps not in the way she had expected.
She also explained that the ring was both a greeting and an invitation to me,
whom she had not forgotten long ago as I had assumed. I took the ring,
thanking Jennifer for delivering it, and withdrew to my study, to better
examine it. I placed the ring on my
right hand, admiring its simple beauty and imagining it to be the sort of
thing a wizard or a sorcerer might wear. Too bad it was too big to really
wear. But as I thought this, it seemed that the ring did emanate some
sort of power, enveloping me in a kind of bubble I could not define. It was
either some sort of a protective sphere, or an incipient tesseract ready to
whisk me off to god-knows-where if I wasn’t careful. I quickly took control
of my thoughts and the sensation vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Strangely, the ring now fitted my finger perfectly. I was going to have to think about this! And do a little
testing. I called Jenny over and tossed her a baseball; “Throw it to me when
I say, all right?” I said. Standing in the middle of the room, I flexed my
hand, wondering how a sphere of protection could work, but defining the ball
as a ‘threat’. “Throw it now.” I said.
She tossed it easily toward me, but I made no effort to catch it.
Instead of bouncing harmlessly off my chest, however, it somehow passed through
me as if I had not been standing there at all! Jenny screamed as the ball
crashed into some glass figurines, then bounced down to roll away under the
coffee table. Seeing her fear, I quickly swept her up, telling her not to
worry, that everything was fine. She squeezed me, making sure I was real and
still her daddy. Pushing her hand into my chest where the ball had passed
through a moment before, she asked, “How did you do that? I thought I saw…”
“I’m not really sure, myself,” I responded, “Did Francine tell you anything about
this ring?” Jenny shook her head, not certain she could trust her voice.
“Well, I’ve had two ideas about how this ring works, and it seems I was at
least half right. I want to find out about the other possibility, but I don’t
want you to be afraid. Go off and play for a while with your friends. I need
to write all this up anyway.” She watched suspiciously
for a while as I fired up my computer and pulled up a Notebook file. Labeling
it ‘Unicorn Ring’, I began placing my notes into it as to how I thought it
might work. After a while, she left to go play, so I stood up, and walked
toward the middle of the room. Concentrating on the ring, I felt it begin to
manifest its power all around me. I then thought about Francine, recalling
her long, flowing locks and deep blue eyes, and remembering her promise that
we would meet again someday. I felt a moment of disorientation, and then
realized that the image of Francine’s face was no longer just in my
imagination. She really was standing only inches before me. Taken completely
by surprise, Francine startled backwards half a step and ‘shouted’ a
challenge before she realized that I was not a real threat. “WHO ARE YOU?”
the still flustered creature shouted again at me, her telepathic question
backed by a squealing vocalism I had never heard before. She menaced me with
her horn as if it were a sword. Did I mention that my friend was a White
Unicorn? “Hey! Easy with that! It’s
me, Larry!” I replied. “Remember? The Washington forests? The trip with my
sister, Joy? 25 years ago?” Francine relaxed visibly. “Oh, it’s you. My, but
you’ve changed! You’re fat! And you’ve lost your hair! I like your
beard, though. So, you figured out how to use the ring, I see. I didn’t think
you would have much trouble with it.” “Actually, I’m still figuring it out.”
I replied, “ I know it can take me elsewhere, so I think it can keep
me out of physical danger. And I suspect that I can go anywhere I can
imagine, if I only can get a clear image of where that is. Problem is, I
don’t know what 6 of your 7 worlds looks like.” “An old man is nothing like an innocent virgin, but I
suppose I owe you a map to go with the ring.” “OLD? Well thank you so very
much! Old. Fat. Hairless. Care to add any more insults? I’m only 46 years
old, and planning on at least another 46. Admittedly, at 6’2” I’ll need to
lose a few of my 295lbs to reach that particular goal. But I seem to recall someone
once admitting to 825 years. And that was 20 years ago!” “Do you want the
maps or not?” Came the sullen reply. Feeling the rebuke, I sat down on the
ground before her, bowing my head in shame. “Sorry,” I said. “Sometimes I
suppose I am a crotchety old man. It’s just that I don’t feel
old.” “No one ever does.” She replied, “Until…” Francine stopped for a
moment. “Well, until we really are old.” She approached slowly, her
forelocks falling across my cheek as she drew near. I closed my eyes and drew
in the floral scent of her, imagining the worlds she had seen in all her
years. The ring also seemed affected by her presence, and soon it felt as if
we were three beings, united as one, yet separate in some essential ways. It
was not a religious feeling, and we certainly were not godlike. I have
difficulty explaining the sensation, but when the merging was completed, I knew
the how’s and where’s of travel to anyplace in any of the 6 worlds Francine
had visited. I also knew about the Seventh. “Now I remember why I
always liked you so much!” Francine mused almost to herself. “You are
certainly not a virgin, but there is definitely something…innocent… about
you. How can that be?” she continued, “I’ve just seen your battles; your
losses, and your victories, but it feels as if your victories are not truly
your own. You believe your world sees you as a failure, Foolishly, you often
agree. Yet, it makes no difference in your outlook. An Optimist? You can see
almost anyone’s point of view, and weigh other’s opinions evenly with your
own. An Empath?” She paused, and
then pranced away for a moment, lightening her tone as she teased, “Besides, you
were thoughtful enough to give me that hat! It was delicious, you know! Thank
you!” As she spoke, I had the opportunity to look around, and realize that I
knew nothing about where I was. Although nominally a forest, it was obvious
that it was not like any forest I had seen or heard of on my world. With gigantic trees and
mushrooms the size of Volkswagens, and riotous colored flowers everywhere, I
found myself, almost without meaning to, looking for fairies among the
foliage. A moment later, my eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw
a four-inch tall ‘person’ sporting moth antennae and dragonfly wings speed
across the path and dart to a halt about 8 ft in front of me. He paused for
only a moment, and then continued on his way in a manner that reminded me of
a hummingbird. “Um… Just out of curiosity, where are we?” I asked.
Francine made a sound I had never heard from her before. It was almost a
nicker, but quite un-horse-like. As she did, her normal voice echoed through
my mind in its usual way. “That’s right, you surprised me so, that I never
had the chance to greet you properly. Welcome, Lord Larry, to the Faerland.
And thank you for allowing me the honor of being the first to greet you
here.” That was a bit much for
me. Lord Larry? What was that about? Francine must have read the
confusion on my face, because she continued a moment later. “Don’t look so
shocked! Don’t you remember those evenings we walked and talked, you, your
sister and I? You know I generally deal only with the females of your line,
yet how many times have you and I crossed horns? I have waited centuries to
see this day. And now it’s here, and you’re here, and the task that was
prophesied so long ago can now be accomplished!” Apprehension gripped my
heart and my eyes grew large as I listened to Francine’s excited speech.
Prophesy? Task? This was beginning to feel like an elaborate D&D game,
with a unicorn playing the part of the Mysterious Stranger. A Stranger I just
happened to know from my past. “Um, Francine, uh, just-- who do you think I am?” I asked.
“You are the Believing Skeptic. The Practical Dreamer with one foot on each
of the Seven Worlds, The Visitor Without a Home.” I thought for a moment.
Other than that bit about the Seven Worlds, that was a frighteningly accurate
description of my life up to the present. But I had always hoped
circumstances would eventually change. Could this be the opportunity of a
lifetime? Things were moving awfully fast for me, but I was tired of letting
one opportunity after another slip away. If I can only hold onto my
nerve… “Let me try this again.
What task do you think I can accomplish better than anyone you have met
in…845 years?” “Put that way, I suppose it does sound unreasonable, doesn’t
it?” Francine admitted. “But look at it from my perspective. When I began
this search, I had peasants and knights errant to work with. All the peasants
I met had had their dreams burnt out of them. And knights were known for
their imaginative attempts to kill unicorns! Obviously, this was
totally unsatisfactory!” “Conquistadors were obsessed with gold and God. They
didn’t see me even when I had to run one of them through with my horn! Stupid
Spaniard thought I was a demon.” She shuddered at that thought. “Then there
were the ones who could see me. Sailors have enough freedom and vision
to see through the barrier well enough to see mermaids, but Wally simply did
not have the education or initiative to succeed. He and Erin McGraw were both
killed by the Creature before anyone could do anything about it.” “Hold on a sec! Who was killed? By
what? And what are you getting me into?” I interjected. “Erin and Wally were
killed by a being named Chrysaor. He is old, and evil. He seems to be
immortal. We think he is at least 5000 years old. No one is certain how long
he has been in our world. But there are rumors that he was born on your
world.” Francine paused for a
moment, with a far- off look in her eye, before continuing her narrative.
“Wally was just a simple seaman, but he was of the Line, and his heart was
good. I thought he could succeed if given the chance. His failure hurt me
deeply. Erin was an Irish shepherd with a voice like an angel’s. He also
wrote songs and hymns. I think he could have been a cleric had I not
interfered. His death shames me. I suppose that was why I stopped trying for
so long. But the Fair World is dying now. If no one does anything, this will
be the last generation my world will see. Look around you! The Dryads are not
to be seen; the Faeries, Centaurs, Gnomes, and Merfolk have all but
disappeared. Even the Forests are greatly decimated. This is one of the
fairest areas left, and even here there are few songs to be heard.” Now she
was scaring me. What did she think I could do to stop all that? Still, the
problem seemed to stem from… “Francine, what can you tell me about this
Chrysaor creature?” “It’s been said that he was born of the blood of the Medusa, although, I am not certain what that means. I am sure that Satan has an agent in the Land. No one knows who it is, but Chrysaor is a prime candidate. You know that Satan is already loose on your Earth. We have suspected for some time that he is trying to expand his empire, here.” We don’t know that Chrysaor is the Creature, but...” I stared at her for a moment, and then looked away with an exasperated chuckle. “Oh, great. So I’m supposed to find and kill a creature who you can’t positively identify, who might not even be on this world.” “Um, well, yes,” Francine replied, “But it isn’t so bad. If you are pure of heart, you will know a dark heart when you see one.” I blinked twice at that. “Francine! You haven’t spoken with me in over 20 years! I’m 46 years old, time spent on a world you said Satan was loose on! What makes you think I have any purity of heart left?” “You are our last hope. If you fail, nothing will matter here anymore.” Hearing her tone, I realized that she was tired and almost hopeless already, so I stopped questioning her for now. Remembering how she loved being curried, I wished I had a brush, and then realized I might be able to use the Ring to get one. Envisioning the brush on my bathroom counter back home, I found myself a moment later standing before it. Picking it up, I again engaged the Ring, and was once again standing beside Francine, my momentary absence seemingly unnoticed. Not a bad trick! Starting gently at the top of her neck, I began combing her coat out, massaging rock hard muscles with bristles and fingertips as I considered the proposition. To save a world, even one I had always considered pure fantasy, was no small matter, if it were even possible. Two men had already died in the attempt. I made a mental note to ask how that had happened. “You need not worry about your purity of heart, Lord.” Francine said. “Whatever else may have happened to you, I can still feel that which drew me to you that first night, so long ago.” “Why did you wait this long, then?” I asked, wishing she would stop calling me ‘lord’ “If it was truly a matter of survival for an entire world, why wait another 20 years?” “There are rules which I must follow. It is important that your Line continues, and so I needed to wait for your children to be born. I will not destroy your Line as I did Wally’s. Your experiences in your own world were also necessary training for the coming contest.” “Right. The mysterious enemy. Tell me, how did the other two men die? I’d like to be prepared as much as possible when the time comes.” Francine’s muscles bunched again. This was not going to be easy for her. “Of course, milord. But as you said, you need to be prepared. Use the Ring. Follow me as quickly as you can.” And with that, she was gone. I blinked, then realized that I could follow her. A moment later, I was standing beside her once again, this time at the entrance to a cavern. “Not bad for a first try, but then that wasn’t your first try, was it?’ she asked, looking deliberately at the brush in my hand. “I’m getting it. Don’t worry.” I replied. “Where are we?” |
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