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“We are now trapped…” Onyx stated. “What are your idea’s?”
“Well, surrounding it is out…” Alex joked.
“Your bravado betrays your hopelessness.” The priest mocked.
“Is that why you turned so willingly to the darkness?” Alex asked, walking towards the priest. The priest took a step backwards. “You can’t be scared of me, Pastor.” Alex said quietly. “Where’s your pomposity, your power now?”
“I have no need of it for you are no threat to me; you have no power over me.” The priest balked.
“And you have no power of me, so I guess that makes us even.” Alex stated. He’d backed the priest against the pulpit now; knowing how dangerous cornered animals could get Alex sat down on the first pew. “And since we’re not going anywhere I suggest we talk.”
“I agree, Creator,” Onyx said, interrupting Alex’s train of thought. “But they exist in a part of Bellkipeg that is difficult to get to. You may be the only one that can actually guide us there. I have never, in all my travels, found them.. or know of anyone who has…”
“So how am I going to find them?” Alex asked.
“With patience and love and light, Creator.” Onyx answered, aware of Alex’s building emotional turmoil. “But we must allow the village folk to regain their normal lives after such a period of enslavement.”
“Creator.” Onyx cautioned. “I would advise against this, the Deluge is outside and threatens to crush the Church.” Onyx looked to the windows and Alex followed his gaze. “It knows that it can not enter here so it will do everything in its power to bring the entire edifice down.”
“You worry about the people here,” Alex replied. “I’ll concentrate on the pastor and the church will look after itself. Things aren’t what they seem, and I believe he holds the key.” He said motioning to the priest.
“You expect me to help you?.” The priest snided.
“Oh, I don’t want you to help,” Alex stated. “I just want to talk. I want to know more about why you willingly turned to the dark.” The priest seemed uncertain of Alex’s motives. Onyx turned to the crowd, trusting Alex implicitly. “We’re trapped and neither
of us can go anywhere. I don’t know what to do, I’ll be honest. Hurting you will not get me anywhere, but between us we may be able to find a way out.”
“I will be freed once you have been assimilated by the Deluge.” The priest stated, matter-of-factly.
“You think?” Alex smiled. He felt completely in control of the situation. He knew that the Deluge was outside gathering up enough strength to crush them all, but there was no way that he was going to worry about it. He shook his head as he answered. “I don’t think so. In fact when the Deluge crushes this church it will flatten you as much as everyone else!”
It was obvious that the priest hadn’t thought of this for all the bravado and venom drained from his face.
“No.. The Deluge will allow me to pass unhindered.” He said bleakly.
“I don’t think so.” Alex stated smugly. “You’ve failed, Pastor, for we’re still alive.” The truth of the situation dawned on the Priest and his whole demeanor drained along with the colour of his face. This was precisely what Alex wanted; now he could talk to the person behind the conceit and hate. Now he could understand what had made the man give in and, therefore, find a way to escape the Deluge.
“Tell me what happened.” Alex asked as the priest sat down next to him, the look on his face one of utter defeat and helplessness, ironically the very feelings he had wanted to instill in Alex.
Alex was a little surprised that the priest had given in so easily; he had put up little resistance to his arguments.
“It wasn’t just one thing.” The priest replied. It never is, Alex thought to himself. “But what you must understand about this village is that we feel things more than other places.”
“How do you mean?” Alex asked, trying to draw the priest out, to re-establish the connection with his true self again.
“The Heart Stone connects to the whole of Bellkipeg, therefore whatever happens we feel the ramifications of whatever happens elsewhere.” The priest explained. “We felt The Presence long before it had manifested in the form of the Deluge, and as I am the priest of the village, and more in tune with the Stone, I felt it more than most.”
“What did you feel?” Alex inquired.
“At first I noticed a shiver in the Stone whenever I touched it.” The priest explained. “I didn’t understand what was happening and didn’t think anything of it at first. We’ve had energy fluctuations in the past but that is the norm. Energy is constantly fluctuating, so I ignored it.”
“But it didn’t go away did it?” Alex interrupted.
“No, it didn’t. The feeling increased until the stone became cold to the touch.” He paused before continuing. “I know that might sound an odd thing to say, but in many ways the Stone is alive. It was always warm to those that could feel the energy moving.”
“And that no longer happened…”
“No.” The priest said.
“And then one day a visitor came to the village.” The priest hung his head low as he recalled the incident. “There was nothing unusual in that. People always came to the village; normally to connect to the Heart and find their own still-point. But this visitor was different; he was hooded, and wore ill-fitting clothes, similar to what your friend wears, but much shorter. Rather than walk up to the stone he came into the church to find me.” The priest shook his head.
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“Creator, we don’t have much time!” Onyx shouted, and Alex looked up at the roof and walls. They were starting to shudder as dust fell from the rafters and a low rumble could be heard. The church wouldn’t hold out much longer.
“The villagers need to reconnect to the Heart Stone.” Alex shouted back. “They used
to be as one with the heart and draw from its strength and they can now do that again! We can use that strength to protect us in here until we have all the information we need.” Onyx nodded his head and instructed the villagers to do as Alex said. The villagers were reticent at first but soon all bowed their head in deep thought. One by one they started to hum, a resonance that built into a crescendo that filled the very air around them with a vibration of such purity and power that the walls no longer shook and the Deluge was kept at bay. Alex turned back to the priest.
“This man… what did he say to you?” He asked.
“He spoke to me about the coming darkness.” The Priest replied. “I was surprised that he knew of such matters. Only those that are Recluse know of the feelings of Bellkipeg.” He saw the confusion in Alex’s eyes. “The Recluse are those that live only to commune with our land. They eat off the land and draw their life force from it; it is said that the Heart was laid by the first Recluse among us.” Alex nodded. “But this man was not a Recluse. I sensed a cold energy from him; as the Stone had become, however I never made the connection until it was too late…. He spoke of the changing cycles and how there would come a time when the Light would no longer be able to protect us, that the Stone had been cut off from its Source. I thought nothing of it, just the ramblings of a lonely man… But he had so much conviction.”
“What else did he tell you?”
“He told me to go to the Land of Open Doorway;” The Priest continued. “This is where the energy is at its purest and acts as the boundary to other places, if one knows where to find these doors.”
“How do you mean, other places?” Alex asked, curious now. “Where is this place?” Alex had a strong feeling that he knew exactly where it was.
“It’s deep in the wooded soul of Bellkipeg, many miles to the South.” The priest replied. Alex knew that he had first woken up in the Land of Open Doorways; that was where he saw the deer, and encountered the boar.
“What did you find when you traveled to the Land Of The Open Doorways?” Alex asked, intrigued.
“Once I had known it as a verdant green paradise with magnificent trees proudly displaying their branches, welcoming everyone to enter and share of their love.” The priest bowed his head. “But all the trees had become warped and huddled, worn and grey, covered in dense, thick brambles. None had any leaves and the sun light was weak and insipid grey, filtering through forlorn branches. The wood was cold, empty and had turned to despair.” Alex was shocked by this, because he had remembered the wood as being exactly as the priest had originally described.
“When did you travel there?” He asked.
“But two weeks ago.” The priest replied. Alex couldn’t believe he’d been in Bellkipeg for that long. He’d assumed that The Presence had been threatening the land for longer, years! But all this had happened in just two weeks? How long had he been in Bellkipeg? It was so hard to tell. “As part of becoming a priest we are birthed through a tree that rests in the Lands in a ritual. I frantically tried to find my tree, which had been a sturdy oak. But it had become petrified.” Alex hung his head, feeling the priests utter despair at seeing the tree in such a state. “My thoughts were ultimately selfish; if The Presence could do that to such a tree, then what would it do to me? How would I be able to stand against such a power?”
Alex now understood why the priest had turned against his own faith. In many ways it was not entirely his fault, his connection with the oak had been severed in such a brutal fashion, there was no way he could draw strength from the land so he did the only thing he could in the circumstances. By becoming part of The Presence forces, and turning the village against the Heart Stone he had actually saved them. Alex explained this to the Priest.
“That is an immense kindness that you show to me, Creator.” Alex turned to look at the congregation. They were still deep in chanting, and had been ever since Alex had
asked them to; the power that they were exuding was immense, it had created an impenetrable barrier that kept the Deluge at bay. If only it could be more focused, they might all stand a chance of escaping! The priest sensed Alex’s quandary and spoke.
“Use me, Creator.” He said, solemnly. “I will be the focus to all the energy. Together we will banish the darkness from this village."
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“You know what will happen if we use you as the focus, Father.” Alex warned.
“I do; but all of Bellkipeg is in danger because of what I have done. I allowed the Deluge to block the energies and gave it free reign across this land. It is only fitting that I do my best to make amends.” Alex placed his hand on the priests shoulder and allowed his love to flow into him.
“If it hadn’t been you then it would have been someone else, surely you realise that.” He said, knowing that his words offered no comfort to the man. “You saved your congregation though. By allowing them to be taken over at the time, you have actually given us the ability to use them now.” The priest nodded his head. “I believe that everything happens for a reason and that the seeds of the future salvation are often planted in our pasts for us to find.”
“That is very true.” The priest agreed, “And that does bring me comfort, but now is the time for us to strike. In many ways I am the perfect weapon because I still have The Presence inside of me and can use that against the Deluge. This has been pre-ordained, Creator, and so shall it be.”
Alex nodded his head solemnly and looked to Onyx. Onyx and the congregation stood around the priest in a circle, placing all of their hands over his forehead. Alex stood directly in front of him.
“Thank you for doing this.” Alex said, his words failing him.
The priest smiled. “I know that this will not be in vain and I thank you for this chance
of redemption. Now.. use me as the focus of your energies.” He closed his eyes as Alex nodded.
The congregation began humming again, allowing their voices to grow louder, moving up an octave and widening their sound so it became a nasal hum full of power. Alex joined, in feeling the sound resonating at the roof of his mouth. His whole body vibrated with the energies flowing from him.
He could see the priests colour shift from a dull pink glow to a brilliant white radiance. Onyx then broke the circle by stepping to one side, allowing the priest to walk through; his expression was one of utter peace and serenity as he walked to the church door, the circle closing behind him. He turned back, faced Alex one last time and said:
“We are all one another, Creator. We need to face our darkness, not run away from it; for we only run away from ourselves.” Alex closed his eyes and concentrated on the energies circulating through the priest as he opened the church door and walked out.
No sooner had Onyx shut the door than an enormous blast of energy threw the doors open, knocking him off his feet; followed by an unholy roar then an unnerving silence. All in the church stayed completely still, unsure of what had transpired. Soon birds could be heard in the distance and they knew that they were safe once more. The priest had dispersed the Deluge, but at such a cost.
“The Deluge has indeed been disrupted, Creator.” Onyx finally spoke. “But it has not been destroyed. All the time there is the capacity for darkness then the Deluge will be there, growing in strength.”
“But is it safe to leave now?”
“It is. We have nothing to fear from the Deluge for the time being. The Priest gave his life to disrupt its energies. But we need to leave now.” He continued as Alex agreed.
“We need to find the Unicorns, I need to find out how I can save Bellkipeg. Too much time has been wasted on these minor skirmishes; freeing the guardians and dispersing the Deluge.. I need to find out what the source of The Presence is if I’m going to defeat it.” Alex felt sickened for some reason by the priests sacrifice. The priest had done the most noble deed but Alex felt that he should’ve been the one to face the Deluge. He was also troubled by the priests final comments. What did he mean by running away from inner darkness?
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