stardustcboy's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...Shadows of Doubt... the jungle was a labyrinth of dark, twisted trees; thorny vines; and thick foliage. all around him were the dried, dessicated remains of those who came before him. those heroes who went in search of the Eternal City and never returned, lost forever in their memories and delusion. he had wandered for seemingly endless hours and seemed to be no nearer his destination than the hour before. he was lost. from beneath the jungle canopy he could not see the golden spires of the City. in an attempt to get his bearings he climbed one of the large trees, but it was though the canopy was inpenetrable. the higher he climbed the denser the branches and leaves became. exhausted and hopeless he returned once again to the jungle floor and sat pondering his next course of action. as he sat in quiet contemplation and figure emerged from the shadows. with a start he jumped to his feet. "julius! no! it cannot be. you died in the Chambers of Balgrath, slain by the sword of the godking Baalgorgon." he drew his sword and all was bathed in its brilliance, but the figure remained solid and unmoving. "back phantom! you cannot deceive me! come any closer and i will strike you down with my sword!" "you are correct, friend. it is i, julius, but a shade, a ghost damned by the darkness of Baalgorgon to walk the earth forever. sheath your sword, there is no need. i bring you news..." "julius, no, forgive me. i could not save you from the dark blade and the mark hard as i tried." he sheathed his sword and moved towards his friend. "never fear, it was ordained as such. only you can free me, only you can free the world." "what is the news you speak of? tell me." "you have been gone long friend. your absence is felt by those you loved. the dark armies are marching and soon they will devour your beloved homeland." "i am so close julius! i just need to find my way. once inside the City i can make my way to the Chamber of Dreams and awaken the Dreamer. please, help me to find my way, for the jungles are dark and convoluted." "with this i cannot help friend. i only know that your friends, your family...Elesa...they have lost faith in you. they think you dead." "no! they cannot give up!" his heart sank. "Already they flee to the woods and caves...already they have foresaken you. Elesa mourns, she has tied a blue ribbon about her throat." "oh Elesa, i am sorry...sorry for leaving you...if only there were some way i could speak to her...some way i could tell her that all is not lost and that my journey is near its end..." "they all believe you are dead...just like the many you see here in the forest, they believe you are never to return." "but they must have faith! why do they doubt me? am i not strong? have i not been fast enough? i have traveled too great a distance..." "friend, it has been a year since you have gone. the demons approach and there is no sign, no omen, no portend that you are to return. the prophets have looked into the Pools and they cannot see you...you are dead." "i am not!" "how long have you wandered in this jungle? how long have you looked in vain for a path to the golden spires of the Eternal City? do you know?" he fell silent, his body trembling. how could it be? was he yet at the mercy of this god-foresaken jungle? all the time spent, was he now but a husk, like all the others, overgrown with moss and roots and vines? "what are you saying julius? am i truly dead?" his friend was silent. the shade turned his head and motioned to an area overgrown with roots and vines. "oh great father! no!" he cried. beneath the gnarled vegetation he saw himself, hand still clutching the Sword of Heartlight. "you are but a shade, friend...a shade like myself." julius said solemnly. he quickly went to the body, overgrown by the jungle. he looked into the empty lifeless eyes of himself. "this cannot be! i am a fool! oh great father, why? what am i to do? all that i love will fall and Baalgorgon will rule. the world is truly at an end!" he collapsed sobbing upon the ground. "i am sorry, friend. Baalgorgon is strong, and his evil magics powerful, there is no hope. come, let us walk together, your quest is done. there is nothing to do but watch and wait." his sobbing was uncontrollable. he had let everyone down and all was truly lost. he cursed himself for not realizing the jungle had him. "oh..." he cried. "how i have failed. forgive me great father, forgive me mother...father...i tried but i am weak and a fool." his tears were unstoppable in his sorrow. "above all, forgive me Elesa, forgive me and my foolish quest. i could have stayed with you forever, we could have hid from the armies of Baalgorgon. at least then, i could have been by your side, we could have died in each others arms. but no, i died alone, in the darkness of this acursed jungle...alone in my dream..." the shade drew nearer. "come, there is no weeping. all is done. take my hand and we will walk together. When the time comes and all fall to the godking you will see Elesa again." julius reached out his hand it was pale and translucent. he remained on the ground weeping. "Elesa...i am dead now...dead to you. in your heart you have already mourned...in your heart i am but a shade now. i was so close...why? i am truly gone...lost forever..." through his tears he looked to the shade of julius, hand outstretched. he reached out, ready to take the hand of his friend, ready to walk with the shade; but he stopped short. "wait..." he hesitated. "what is it? quickly, let us leave here." julius urged. he looked at his hand and at the hand of his dead friend. he was opaque, solid, while julius was insubstantial. he withdrew his hand quickly. "No! you try to fool me again! damn this jungle and its tricks of the mind!" he stood and leveled the sword at the shades throat. julius was unmoving. "you are mistaken friend. you still fight, don't you see it is over now? put the sword down you no longer need it. you see the evidence...look again...at the base of the tree. it is you!" "no, no, no, no! get away from me! i am still alive! this is a trick! you are a figment, a phantom of my mind! just as Elesa in the cottage. get back! i swear i shall strike you down foul demon!" julius laughed, a dark and mocking laugh. "silly. you never listen do you? always you push on, always you search. you are a fool! and you shall die a fool as well!" the shade bristled, his visage twisting into an evil mask of hatred and malevolence. "you will not make it to the Chamber of Dreams! Baalgorgon already has you! you will die and all will be lost!" "i refuse to listen to you foul mockery! sick apparition! you who were once my friend, i shall free you of your torment!" he swung the sword in a wide arc. the blade sung through the damp air and cut deep into the ghost-form of julius. its light burned through him and he howled in pain. "ah! you bastard!" julius began to fade. "i am defeated, but the godking will have you! i swear by it! he will devour you, he will destroy the world and all things! he is unstoppable!" "you are wrong julius! Baalgorgon is defeated, by my own hands he fell in the Chambers of Balgrath, you saw it yourself with your dying breath! do not try to fool me." he laughed, even as his form disappeared into nothingness, he laughed. "ha! you will see...old friend...soon...you will see..." and he was gone, his laughter echoing into silence. all was still again. he surveyed the jungle around him then held the sword aloft, its light penetrating the gloom around him. "i am not dead!" he yelled. "i am not dead!! though my loved ones may believe it so, i know for certain that my heart still beats and the blood still courses through my veins. as long as this is so i can finish my quest!" he charged forward, slashing his sword through the trees and foliage and snake-like vines. he chopped and hacked in a straight line, hoping to cut through the very heart of the jungle itself to his goal...the golden spires of the Eternal City. "there is no path but the path of my making! foul jungle, i will slice through your very center! you have no power over me!" he kept cutting. his arm guided by the blade, he opened a swath through the dense undergrowth, pushing further and further. he was impervious to the thorns and bits of bark and vegetation. back and forth his arm moved, to and fro, until at last, breathless he stopped and stood in awe. before him was the great golden wall protecting the Eternal City. he had made it at last. beyond the high wall he could see the spires silhoutted in the darkening sky. his heart rejoiced at the sight. at last, his journey was nearing an end. he had made it beyond the evil jungle, fought his own phantoms...now, all that stood in his way was the wall. he would be in the City by morning...and by the end of the day...the Dreamer would awake and the world would be made anew... ~B-) 3:20 p.m. - 2002-10-17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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