The Blessed Land

This was written while in sixth grade, for a class. I think my teacher was named Miss Lindl. Her grading notes written in the margins include "Neatly done," "good word" (for my use of "capitulating"), and "Interesting ideas." The original paragraph breaks have been maintained.

Daimon unsheathed his sword as the kobold approached. A kobold is a fur-covered human with a dog's head. His sword gleamed in the autumn's twilight, but the kobold showed no sign of capitulating. The kobold barked an unknown word and two others appeared. Daimon knew that kobolds were fierce, unmerciful fighters who, after defeating their enemy, promptly ate it. The kobold's approached. Daimon slashed at the one nearest him separating a drooling tongue from its owner. The kobold yelped spitting blood from its mouth. The other kobolds looked at their companion. Was there a hint of fright in their eyes? Yes, there was. Daimon took this chance and attacked the others. He leaped high up in the air slashing downward with his sword. Upward, downward, soon two kobolds lay on the soil-covered ground with blood streaming from their heads. The last one looked at Daimon in panic and quickly ran away.

Daimon stood there for a moment, catching his breath. Soon, he washed himself off in a nearby stream. As he looked up he saw a hint of smoke just above the treeline. He gathered up his weapons and equipment. As he walked through the forest the hint of smoke grew. Daimon walked into a clearing. There was a crude hut made of branches. The roof was pine branches covered with clay for waterproofing. Out of a primitive chimney ran a stream of oddly colored smoke. On the side of the hut was a humongous pile of wood. A door was slightly ajar letting a strong voice's singling be heard. Here is what Daimon heard.

Across the valleys, green and wide.
Across the forests, tall and proud.
Across the oceans, blue and grand.
Lies the blessed land.
Yes, the blessed land.

Promised to us long ago.
By the roaming gods who know.
What it is like to go.
To the blessed land.
Yes, the blessed land.

But, now the great ones, they are dead.
All we need is a dragon's head.
To open up the doorway.
To the blessed land.
Yes, the blessed land.

Finally the song ended. The voice from inside the cabin said, "What's that lad? You think someone's come a-waiting? Well, by all means, go welcome our guest!"

Daimon was very much surprised when the blink dog appeared. A blink dog is a dog who can teleport from one place to another. Daimon was very much enthralled by the singing, but his train of thought was totally disrupted when the blasted dog appeared in front of him. As Daimon drew his sword the dog just flashed to somewhere else! Daimon was quite perturbed. He sheathed his sword as a kindly old man appeared in the doorway. "Yo ho! Me laddie's greeted you! Well, come in, come in." Daimon dumbly stumbled forward. Soon he was in the old man's hut. On one wall was a cupboard. On teh other wall was a cane table with a candle on it. Next to that was a bed. Across the room was a table with two chairs at it. "Sit down!" Daimon did. "What's your name?"

"Uhhh... my name is Daimon. Who are you?"

"My name is Alexander. I am a member of the Bear clan, but they banished me because I dabbled in magic and the unknown."

"Well, uh... Alexander, I'm just looking for my father and mother."

"What happened to them lad?"

"Well, last year, our village's harvest was going very poorly. Many months had gone without rain. Our elders blamed the drought on Darkfox, the evil weather wizard. The council held a vote to see who would venture to his castle and defeat Darkfox. My father was chosen. My mother insisted she went with him. They left me with the herbist, Leif Johnson, so someone would take care of me. In April of this year, I decided to go look for my parents."

"Well, you may stay for the night with me. I'm sure me laddie won't mind. Will ye?" He laid his hand on the dog's head. The dog blinked out and appeared on Daimon's lap. Daimon fell backwards surprised. "Ha, ha. Well. Would ye care for a bite to eat?" Daimon nodded. The man got up and walked to the cupboard. He brought back a wooden bowl filled with stew. "Just cooked it before ye came." He set it down on the table in front of Daimon. In moments Daimon had finished the heavily spiced stew.

"Alexander, what was the 'blessed land' you were singing of?"

"My homeworld."

"What do you mean?"

"Many centuries ago, my clan lived in a world Greyland. Greyland is on a different plane than this world. Our oracles told me that very powerful wizards were having a war down on this plane. Our world was constantly falling apart and changing because of their magic. Our most powerful magic-user's opened up a drift in time, or a portal, to your plane. We came through to here to try to stop the are. After the war the portal was destroyed."

"Why?"

"Well, an evil wizard named Blackbird created an evil land where the terrain is ever changing. You see, his land is where our portal was."

"Oh, what's a plane?"

"You see, our universe has many planes, or levels of existence. The higher a plane is the [more] advanced its culture and people are. The lower, the less."

"Where are we located?"

"Somewhere in the middle."

"Why did your clan banish you?"

"They're not my original family, really. As we went through the portal, I was thrown through a mindwall. A mindwall is a wall built of mental energy. It sent me to a primitive part of your world."

"I see. How far are we from the top plane?"

"This world is fifth down."

"How many are there in all?"

"There are nine."

"Oh. I see," Daimon said. "Thank you for the stew, it was very good."

"Your welcome." Alexander picked up the bowl and walked over to a basin of water. Soon he had rinsed it. "Well, it's getting dark, we should build the fire."

"I'll go get the wood for you." Daimon walked out and went over to the wood pile. He heard a growling noise. Then there was a crackling of leaves. He looked in front of him and saw a huge monstrosity rushing him. "It's an owlbear!" he yelled. He drew his sword and slashed at the creature. His sword bounced off its hide. The owlbear tackled him and Daimon hit his head against a log. Blackness overcame him.

***

Daimon woke up to find himself in a bed. He sat up and pain surged through his body. He fell back with a groan. "What happened?"

"Don't try to speak. I heard your yell and ran out to find an owlbear on top of you. I scared him away and dressed up your shoulder."

"What happened to my shoulder?" He touched it and groaned.

"Don't touch it yet, Daimon. The owlbear ripped it up."

"How'd you scare it?"

"I told you I dabbled in magic. I just created a phantasmal force."

"Oh." Daimon's vision started getting blurry.

"You're delerious. Close your eyes and relax." Soon Daimon was asleep. Alexander walked over to a chest by the table and opened it. He pulled out a book and opened it. He started reading aloud. A glow surrounded him. In a moment he was gone and a small, winged cat appeared in his place. The cat opened the door and sunlight streamed in. It spread its wings and flew away. The door closed silently behind him.

The hilly terrain passed quickly under Alexander. The trees were a dark green blur. The cat, Alexander, sniffed the air and changed its course slightly. Soon, the cat was flying over a large lake. Suddenly, the cat's wings stopped flapping. There was a flash and a screaming Alexander, plunged into the icy water.

A canoe left the shore. A frightened Indian paddled quickly out towards where Alexanger fell. He grabbed a branch and fished around in the water. In a minute a drenched man lay panting in the canoe. The Indian paddled into shore, and ran into a hut. The Indian, and another man came outside. They picked up and carried Alexander into the hut.

[***]

Daimon woke up and glanced around. Where was Alexander? He got up and ran outside. He looked around the hut. He ran out into the forest. He heard a twig snap. Daimon whirled around to have a wooden club brought down on top of his head. Daimon blacked out.

[***]

Alexander cam to to find himself in a very dark place. Pain surged through his mind. He had flown into a mindwall! Impossible! They only appeared in between planes he had thought. Someone must have built it up for a special purpose. He must find out what it is! He heard a groan. He stumbled through the darkness. He bumped into something. A cot? Yes! There's a man laying on it. Alexander lit a piece of tinder. The light shone on the man's face. It was Daimon.

Alexander made sure he had everything that he had taken from his hut. He shook Daimon. Daimon groaned and rolled over. Alexander slapped Daimon. Daimon sat up and looked around panicing. He saw Alexander and said, "What happened?"

"It seems you were hit on thead my friend."

"Why did you leave?"

"I had an errand to run. I flew into a mindwall and ended up here."

"Flew?"

"I have many different bodies."

"I see. Ouch!" Daimon rubbed his head and lay back down. Alexander walked around looking for a fireplace. He found one and lit a small fire. The fire's glow produced enough light for reading so he got out his spell book. He started studying some spells.

[***]

The Indian guard was quite mad. He was asking a girl to marry him when the chief came up and asked him to go keep watch on two stupid prisoners! He stomped over to the hut and noticed that inside there was a fire going. He opened the door and walked in. No sign of the prisoners. Could they have escaped? Couldn't have. He turned around to walk out. A silvery blade sliced through the air. He never knew what hit him.

Alexander and Daimon crept out of the hut and ran toward the woods. A shower of arrows flew through the air. An Indian's shout could be heard above the din of evasion and pursuit. The Indians let the two run on. No use chasing them.

"Boy!" Daimon panted. "Are they still chasing us?"

"I don't... think so," Alexander said as he ran. "Let's stop at the next clearing." They kept on running until they came to a huge open area. "Whew!"

"That was close."

"Yeah. Oh my."

"Let's rest awhile."

"Good idea," Alexander said. The two men lay down on the soft grass. Soon, both were asleep.

A few hours later they awoke. It was dark out and the forest's night noises filled the air. "Let's start a fire," Alexander said.

"No the Indians'll see it. We better go back to your hut."

"Okay." The two men started walking through the forest. After many hours of walking Alexander said, "It seems that we're not going in the correct direction. I[t] seems like the path keeps changing to a different direction after we pass over it!"

"Yes, wemust have ran off in the wrong direction. Let's just walk over this hill and then look around."

"Okay." They climbed quickly to the top of the hill. On the horizon they could see the crumbling remains of a once majestic castle. The rising sun shone on the ruins. Shadows played with the men's eyes, distorting the true shapes of the castle. "Daimon, if I remember correctly, this is the ancient ruin of Castle Erorn. Millenia ago, the great wizards created this as a gateway to different planes."

"How could they do that?"

"You see, they built a similar castle on every plane of existance. The wizards then blessed every castle at the same time. Therefore a magic portal was crated."

"Let's go look around." Daimon started walking down the hill.

"Watch out for the guardian!"

"What?" A screech filled the air. A leathery flap of wings accompanied it. Daimon looked up to see a gargoyle swooping down toward him. He drew his sword.

"Don't let your eyes look at the beast!"

"What?" Daimon turned around. All he saw was the gargoyle's gleaming eyes. A violent sensation swept through Daimon's body. He had turned to stone. Alexander grabbed his dagger from the folds of his robe. The gargoyle's claws raked his flesh, ripping the flesh to shreds. Alexander fell down panting. The gargoyle ripped open his throat and flew off.

Minutes later a beautiful woman appeared in the doorway of the ruins. Daimon's mother wept.

Speech

This was probably written around the same time as the previous post. The original paragraph breaks have been maintained. "Wagner Bros." is a reference to a grade school friend, Alan Wagner. Other friends from the time are mentioned by name. Alan and I used to draw at school together. I actually drew issues of some of the comic books mentioned.

Hello, I am Heath Row; Editor of "Exciting Comics Company." Have you ever read a "Wagner Bros." comic? Most people haven't. I admit, I have. But I threw it away after I finished the first page. But my company's comic books are great. They are printed on high-class quality "Xerox" paper. They are also colored. They star heroes like "Blooperman," "Laserman," etc. But, who ever heard of "Hose-nose the Kleenex king"? Who ever read a comic book called "The American Aardvarks vs. The German Gerbils"? I haven't. Also, he wants companies like "Marvel," "D.C.," and "Whitman" to go out of business! I think those three companies are the best, next to me, of course. Also, my company features artists such as Eric Hendreksin, Andy Nelson and me. But, his artists are him, him, and him. Also, his company is called "Wagner Bros." I'm surprised he hasn't gotten sued by "Warner Bros." yet. But, my company's name is original.

His comic books cost 60c while mine cost $1.25. I mean, 60c doesn't make his comics sound very good. But $1.25 makes my comics sound great, superb, fantastic! Usually people buy something because it costs more. I mean, if "Brand F" cost $2.00 and "Brand A" cost $10.00. The person'd probably buy "Brand A" because they figure it's better quality. Also, my comics are sold at drug stores while his are sold at laundrymats! Who'd buy a comic at a laundrymat?

He once said, "Give me comic books or give me rocks!" Even though they gave him rocks he was brave. Bah! He already had rocks in his head. But his comics are okay. At least he doesn't publish parodies of my comics. Well, comic book readers of America; this is is why I think you should vote for me as "Comic Book Editor Of the Century." Thank you.

Alan, if you somehow come across this, email me. I'm curious what you're up to!

Halloween Night

I wrote this story around 1983, when I was 10 years old. I would have been in fourth grade. Paragraph breaks have been added to ease reading.

Beware, for tomorrow is October 31st. Halloween night, the worst night of the year! Halloween is a time of zombies, ghosts, and last, but not least, the living dead. Now that you know what to watch out for, let's zap to October 31st. There now, here we are. Sit back, get comfortable, and keep calm, if you can! Ohhhhha-ha-ha-ha!

***

It was October 31st, 1983. It was about 9:04 p.m. My mother had just told me to go to bed. But, I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed and walked towards my closet. I opened it, and stepped in. I turned around and shut the closet door. I sat down on the closet floor and closed my eyes. In a few minutes, I was asleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a room unlike any other room I'd seen but quite familiar. The room had one window, one door, one closet, and a table with a lamp, pad of paper and a pen. I walked over toward the window and tried to open it. It opened easily enough, but, when the window was open fully, the room lit up so bright I had to close my eyes. I slammed the window shut, and the light began to dim. I started to walk toward the door. As I heard a loud click, I started running toward the door. It had locked.

I ran toward the table and turned on the lamp. I wrote on the pad, "Help! I am being held prisoner in a room with one window." I put the pen down and picked up the letter. I folded it over as I walked towards the window. I opened it just enough to slip the paper through and shut it before the light got too bright.

I walked over to the corner of the room and waited for something to happen. In a few minutes nothing had happened so I sat down to rest awhile. As I was falling asleep, I was awakened by the sound of wood splintering or splitting. I looked toward the closet to see a bald man with a pale face, bloodshot eyes, and clothing torn to shreds. The zombie was walking toward me with his arms outstretched, ready to strangle me.

I ran to the other side of the room while the zombie said, "You try to escape your fate. You don't like me." The zombie turned around and started walking toward me again. It got closer and closer. Just as it grabbed at my throat, I ducked and ran through his legs toward the window. I stood, back to the window as the zombie screamed and started running toward me. Just as it reached my throat, I ducked and the zombie flew through the window.

After a few minutes of silence the door swung open. I walked slowly toward the door suspecting a trick. As I got to the door, I looked cautiously out and around. Outside the door was a hall that looked like it went on forever. At the end of the hall was a door. I stood looking at the door, wondering how long it would take me to walk down the hall.

I started to run down the hall. I got to the other door in at least a few seconds. I leaned against the door and thought about the hall for a few seconds. Before I turned around the door swung open, and I fell into the room. As I hit the floor, the door slammed shut and clicked loudly. I got up, dusted myself off and looked around the room.

Again there was 1 window, 1 door, 1 closet, but instead of a table in the center there was a bed with a pillow, a sheet, and a blanket on it. I walked over to the closet and opened it hoping not to find a zombie ready to strangle me.

Relieved that I hadn't found anything, I locked and shut the closet door. As I walked over to the bed, I took off my shirt and threw it across the room. When I got to the bed, I took off a candle out of my pocket and placed it on the bed board in case I needed some light. Then I got in bed and dosed off.

I was awakened by the squeak of a door opening. I struck a match and lit the candle. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and looked around the room again. The window slowly opened by itself. A gust of wind blew through the window and snuffed my candle out. I jumped up and stood on the bed looking around frantically.

At the foot of the bed I saw someone or something materialize out of nothing. The thing had a face badly burned and it was swinging an ax at the air. "Wh-who are you? Wh-what are you doing here?" I asked it frantically. The thing groaned back, "I-i am h-here to k-kill you dor the p-p-pain you have c-caused me."

The thing swung its ax at me. I jumped and placed a drop kick at the thing's chin. The thing materialized and laughed like a maniac. I felt the ax singe a few of my hairs. I jumped from the bed and ran towards the closet. I opened the closet and waited. I felt the thing run at me. I dodged and shut the closet door. Then I locked it. I ran over to the door as the creature screamed, "Noooooooooo!" I opened the door and ran down the hall.

This time the hall looked short but was very long. The hall was very damp as if it were underground. At the end of the hall was a spiral staircase. Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, I saw a bookcase. I walked up to the bookcase and took out a book. The bookcase swung open like a door. Behind the bookcase was a dimly lit staircase. I dropped the book and started to walk down the staircase.

About halfway down the staircase, there was a twelve foot gap, and then more stairs. I backed up a few stairs, then I started to run down the stairs. At the bottom of the first section of stairs, I jumped, hoping to hurdle the great chasm. But, to my surprise I didn't even make it halfway across.

I fell round and down, round and down. Then I hit something. Soon, I blacked out. When I regained consciousness, I saw that I had fallen in a mud puddle. I stood up and looked around. I looked like I was in a cemetary. It was raining and it was very foggy. The fog, rain, and shadows made the gravestones look like monsters. I heard a noise like leaves rustling under someone's feet. I turned around to see a man in torn clothing walking towards me.

He looked alive, but yet quite dead. I turned around and ran into another. I fell down, but I got back up and ran to the side. I ran into another, fell backwards, bumped into another, and fell forwards into a mud puddle. They looked at me with eyes full of hatred and moaned. I sat there and covered my eyes with my hands waiting for them to get it over with.

The next thing I knew I was in my closet screaming. I got up, walked out of my closet and turned on a light. In my hand was a piece of paper folded over saying, "Help! I am being held prisoner in a room with one window." It was all a dream, or was it?

***

Pretty scary story, eh? Oh, before you leave, Happy Halloween! Ohhhhha-ha-ha-ha!