Veronica and the New World

By J.Hamilton

Transported to the new world they name N'weden, Veronica and Billy Swife Fox discover they have landed on a planet under seige by the evil vampire mage, Bra'thid. They rescue the wild girl Ga'hamram and rename her Sharon. The beautiful golden haired girl turns out to possess serious magic but has no idea how to control it. Between the tuteledge of Veronica and the amazing firesteed, Sparkle, Sharon learns how to control her magic but then has to learn how to control her fear. In order to save the planet, tribes from the four corners of the known part of this strange world come together under the leadership of Veronica. Bra'thid has learned how to connect his black magic to powerful computers from his own world from which he escaped. Veronica and her friends soon understand that only magic can defeat Bra'thid. The silver warriors, Il'ana and Ma'nam, can only destroy Bra'thid's technology after his magic is broken.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.Hamilton
• Release date: Oct 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465764010

J.Hamilton

Author and visionary J.HamiltonAuthor, Visionary, Coach and Believer that by re-enabling our natural state of connection with Source, we become the means by which viable solutions become available for a planet in need of a few good ideas.My interests revolve around teaching personal empowerment based on fundamentals. By re-enabling our natural state of connection with Source (Innate Intelligence), we partner with the Order that everything shares. In this capacity, we become powerful beyond belief, i.e., we exhibit the characteristics of compassion, unconditional love, a solutions-orientation that knows no bounds, and a capacity to deliver solutions to a world in need of a few good ideas!I have been fortunate. I have been meditating for 40 years (since 1973). When I was young, I learned how to combine goal setting and meditation and retired when I was 30. After a number of years of big boat sailing, I started to do consulting and then wrote my first book, Visionaries Thrive In All Times. I now have three books and about 120 articles and a system based, in part, on neurofeedback for rapidly advancing personal (and collective) consciousness.It is my belief that the only solution for a planet seemingly a bit out of control is for the human species to become more conscious (mature). Meditation is great as an introspective tool but takes a lifetime or longer. CORE Resonance TrainingTM is a means of rapidly advancing consciousness by quieting the brain and nervous system through proprietary exercises such that the brain "cleans itself up" - itself! No programming or other invasive techniques, but the end result might be similar to defragging a hard drive, i.e., performance jumps significantly.As we quiet the brain, our very subtle connection with Innate Intelligence becomes evident and we learn how to build on this connection. As we build this connection "home," we begin to relax. As we relax, our personal reality creating begins to shift for the better. As we build this partnership with Innate Intelligence, we begin to become more whole (mature). We begin to see with "new eyes," new perceptions and new capacities for contribution.In partnership with Innate Intelligence, our true and rightful persona, we make far better decisions and inadvertently more usefully influence the whole. In partnership with Innate Intelligence, Presence and Guidance become available and we become exponentially contributive. In this partnership, Innate Intelligence delivers solutions "through us" to a world in need of a few good ideas.We become hosts for Innate Intelligence expressing and experience "the ride of our lives." It's what we came here to do.Build what’s next..TapRootTM by CORE ResonanceIntentional Communities and Intentional Corporations~harnessing the power of groups~CORE Resonance ColoniesTMProblems are of the mind;Solutions are of the Divine..TMAlignment before ActionEach and Every Day~stay tuned~TMFor additional information:Imagine a Solution: CORE Resonance ColoniesTMThe Twelve Premises of CORE Resonance ColoniesTM

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Veronica and the New World

Book Two of the Veronica Trilogy

A Fantasy for Young Readers

by

J. Hamilton

Copyright © 2010 by J. Hamilton Publishing, Smashwords Edition

All characters in the publication are fictitious

and any resemblance to real persons,

living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any

means, without the prior permission in writing of the

publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form

of binding or cover other than that in which it is

published and without a similar condition including

this condition being imposed upon any subsequent publisher.

In memoriam

Elis Hamilton

1917—2009

Veronica and the New World

Chapter One

A brief, brilliant burst of light flashed between the timberline and the top of the mountain. The girl, standing in a clearing of the forest, caught a glimpse of the flash out of the corner of her eye and paused to see if it would occur again.

When no other light flashed, the girl decided that it had probably been one of the large crystals falling from the mountaintop, the mountain her people called Hamram, the forbidden place.

Jutting up out of the dense forest of conifers, some so large that a grown man could not reach around a single tree trunk, Hamram was topped by such large crystals that, in the sunlight, it seemed to be a beacon of multicolored lights. To the people who lived at its foot, Hamram was a sacred site. The huge crystals at its peak caught the sun and threw out rainbows of color.

No one knew that the girl had actually climbed as high as the edge of the timberline to get a better view of the site that was so fearful for her people. Nothing had happened to her though she had been warned that to set foot on Hamram was to surely die. The only mortal allowed to walk up the mountain, so she had been told, was Mylek, the shaman.

But she was convinced that such a restriction came not from the mountain god (if there even were such a thing) but rather from Mylek himself who used the people’s ignorance and superstition to maintain control over the tribe. She knew that Mylek feared her, the strange girl he had found abandoned near the timberline twelve winter seasons before.

Believing his own falsehoods, he had been afraid to leave the baby to die on the mountain. When he returned to the tribe bearing the squalling infant, he told the people that she was the child of the mountain god who intended that she be cared for by their tribe.

Although frightened of this strange baby girl with golden hair and eyes the color of the summer sky, the people had agreed to adopt her as their own. They called her Ga’hamram, girl of the forbidden place, and gave her to Merqid, an old woman whose husband and sons had been killed many years ago in a war with the Ka’alaq tribe.

The old woman had been all too happy to take in the strange infant since it meant that the people would provide her housing and food in exchange for her raising the child. She had already lived longer than the usual life expectancy of the people and providing for herself had become more and more difficult as she grew older and more feeble.

Though Merqid, like the other tribe members, was initially afraid of this strange girl who grew until, at the age of ten winter seasons, she was already head and shoulders taller than the boys her same age, the old woman formed an attachment to Ga’hamram not unlike that of a doting grandmother.

Ga’ (as the tribe’s children called her) did not return the affection of the old woman, at least not as a daughter or granddaughter. She was respectful and helpful around Merqid’s house, but there was always a reserve about the child. More than the people of the tribe, Ga’ was aware of her being different. There was no one, not even Merqid, she could talk to or explain the difference that went way beyond the physical. Yet she knew, deep within herself, that her intelligence was far superior to that of any of the tribe, including Mylek, whom she looked upon with thinly veiled contempt.

At a very early age, Ga’ had not only mastered the language of the people but had also discovered that she could read their thoughts. Mylek had been able to manipulate the people with his religious pronouncements but he had not been able to deceive Ga’ who knew that his every word was manufactured out of his own lust for power and control.

To test that idea, Ga’ had once gone up the forbidden place to almost the same spot where she had seen the recent flash of light. Except for the cold and the sharp edges of the huge crystals that lined the peak’s surface, she might have gone all the way to the summit. Still, she had gone far enough to prove to herself that Mylek’s certain death warning to anyone but him who went there was clearly a lie.

Her return to the tribal village with a fragment of one of the mountain crystals had alerted Mylek to the fact that Ga’ had set foot on the mountain. Even though she told no one about her trip and only Mylek knew about the crystal, Ga’ was a constant threat to Mylek’s superior position. Yet his hate for the girl was tempered by his fear of her as well.

That she had climbed the peak and returned unscathed only added to his fear that he might have been right all along. Perhaps this girl was the offspring of the mountain god, a lie he had told so often and for so many years that he had come to believe it himself.

Mylek was unaware that every time he hid in the forest to spy on Ga’hamram, she was mindful of his presence. Through the power of her mind, she saw him as clearly as if he were standing out in the open in front of her very eyes. Although it irritated her that he was spying, she was equally amused that he had no idea that she could keep such track of his whereabouts.

Still somewhat puzzled by the flash of light she was sure she had seen on the mountain, Ga’ brushed some strands of her long, blonde hair out of her eyes and pondered whether she should try going to the spot to see what was there. More than just having seen something, she also had the feeling she was receiving some sort of mindspeak, though she could not make out any language she had ever heard before.

She understood and spoke the language of the people as well as the languages of various surrounding tribes, such as the dreaded Ka’alaq, a once peaceful people who had become warlike and frequently attacked the people, taking their bounty and making slaves of the ones they carried off alive. Her ability to speak their language had saved the people on more than one occasion, for the Ka’alaq, like her own tribe, were frightfully superstitious and viewed the strange, yellow-haired girl with something akin to awe.

Finally, taking one last look at the mountaintop, Ga’ decided to return to the village. She had seen no other burst of light and the mindspeak she thought she had heard ceased. Perhaps tomorrow she would go and investigate, but at the moment she needed to return to check on Merqid, who was now so old and feeble that Ga’ had to bathe, dress and feed her. The old woman could still walk if she leaned heavily on Ga’s arm, but she was blind and almost completely deaf. Only because of her gift of mindspeak could Ga’ understand anything the aged woman needed.

Hurrying through the sweet-smelling forest, Ga’ felt the eyes of Mylek staring at her and anger rose up in her throat like bitter bile. One day, she knew, she would have to confront the evil shaman but she knew she was not strong enough to face him down just yet.

***

Mylek had, indeed, been watching the girl. After she had passed out of view, he pushed aside the brush he had hidden behind with one sweep of his powerful arm and stepped out into a small forest clearing. He was large and formidable, his sleek dark skin glistening with the oil he anointed himself with daily. His calloused bare feet hardly made a sound on the tree needles that littered the clearing as he moved stealthily so as not to alert the girl.

Pure hate glowered from his slitted eyes and his massive chest rose and fell with breath made heavy by his frustration. More than anything, he hated the fact that the only person in his world he feared was this golden-haired foundling, Ga’hamram.

Mylek bore the scars of the ergh’s razor claws across his muscular chest. One of the giant bear-like animals had attacked him when he was alone in the forest the summer of his fifteenth season. Fearlessly, Mylek had fought the beast, bringing it down with a blow of his large club against the ergh’s head.

Before returning to the village, Mylek had skinned and decapitated the great beast, making a headdress and a ceremonial robe for himself. When he walked brazenly into the village wearing his bloody, grizzly costume which proudly displayed the oozing wounds on his chest, even the village elders cowered and bowed down to him. At only fifteen, he became the most feared and respected man of his tribe.

Likewise, Mylek was fearless in battle. When the people had become aware that other tribes lived in the Meadowlands across the river, he had led raids on them fighting savagely against those who had dared to oppose the people. Only the Ka’alaq were undaunted by his bravery. It had been the ga’ who had repelled that warrior tribe when she stood up to them face-to-face and spoke their language.

Ga’hamram, Mylek thought with his look of hate turning into a malicious grin, the name I gave her. The word ga’ in the language of the people meant either girl or she-dog and, while the people all thought of her as The Girl of the Forbidden Place, Mylek only saw her as a dangerous she-dog who stood between him and total control of the people. One day he would defeat her or, at the least, banish her from the tribe.

Sure that Ga’ was far enough away not to see that he had been spying on her, Mylek headed for the village, taking the customary long strides of his muscular legs and causing his short skirt of dak-il tails to sway in his wake. The dak-il were wolf-like animals that had also fallen to Mylek’s bravery and the skirt he wore every day (unlike the ergh ceremonial costume which he wore only on special occasions) was a constant reminder to the people of his supremacy.

Ga’ who had a special affinity with animals despised Mylek’s dress—the dak-il skirt, the ergh robes and the keshdi arm and ankle bands he wore constantly. The keshdi were large reptiles that Mylek had battled successfully whereas most men who met up with one ended up ripped to shreds. Most of all, Ga’ hated Mylek’s necklace of the ergh claws whose hides covered his large hut in the center of the village. Mylek was the only man in the village who killed solely for the sake of killing, the thrill of destroying life.

Aware of his hate, Ga did her best to stay out of Mylek’s sight. Instinctively, she knew that the day would come when she must face him in mortal combat but she also knew that her twelve seasons were no match for his twenty-seven. And, while the people held her in an awe that was akin to fear, they revered Mylek as a god, accepting blindly the pronouncements he convinced them were given to him by the God of the Forbidden Place.

Yet, that night, as Ga’ lay sleepless in Merqid’s mud and thatch hut, she had the disturbing feeling that there was something or someone out on the mountain who could touch her mind as she had always been able to touch the minds of the people. Whatever (or whoever) it was might either represent another danger or possibly an ally to help her in the struggle against Mylek.

***

The flash of brilliant light Ga’ had seen on the mountaintop was Veronica Wilde and Billy Swift Fox emerging from the Cave of the Wind into the New World they had chosen to inhabit. Both of them knew that they would never again return to the lives they had enjoyed on the mountainside on Earth. Yet, there was a determination etched on their young faces as they stepped out into the light of this new world and both of them felt the powers they had acquired while undergoing the trials of the cave.

Veronica, now fifteen years old, and Billy, sixteen, were eager to see what new adventures lay ahead of them as they stood hand-in-hand, surveying the panorama below. Unlike their Earth mountain, the top of this one was a solid formation of giant crystals, dazzling in the morning sun. But below the timberline, the tall conifer trees were not at all dissimilar to the pines of the world they had left behind.

The air was sweet and clean, free from all the pollution that had surrounded their birth planet and they took in great breaths of the refreshing atmosphere. A long distance beyond the surrounding forest, Veronica and Billy saw vast expanses of rolling plains, covered with flowing grasses and dotted here and there with copses of trees similar to the great oaks of Earth.

Finally, after taking in all the view, they turned to face one another. The clothes they now wore were of a strange fabric that molded to their skins and kept them perfectly warm in the crisp air of the mountaintop. Perhaps, as a concession to their former lives, on top of the skin tight garments were coverings patterned after the Indian garments they had worn into the Cave of the Wind.

Billy had a breechcloth of a leather-like material and his eagle feather still dangled from the thong tied around his head. Veronica had a dress similar to her doeskin garment that was beaded around the neck and sleeves. The beaded pouch she always wore at her waist had been replaced with something of the same nature and, reaching inside, she found the magic crystal which had provided light and power within the dark confines of the cave.

I’m hungry, Billy spoke first.

Me, too, Veronica replied, brushing aside an unruly strand of flaming hair. They had had no need of food while inside the Cave of the Wind, but now in this strange new world, hunger pangs were gnawing at them.

We’re not going to find anything to eat here among these crystals, Billy observed, we’d better go down the mountain and see what we can find.

Wait! Veronica said, turning her gaze toward the forest below, Billy, there’s someone down there picking up our thoughts. I can hear her. Yes, it’s a girl, but I don’t understand the language she’s thinking in. She’s not trying to send anything but she’s aware of our presence.

I get the sense of it, too, Billy said, but I don’t understand anything either. There’s another presence not far away as well.

Yes. I feel that, too. Whatever that is, is certainly not friendly. It seems to be a large man, intent on harming the girl in some way. Billy, I think our work here has already started, Veronica said.

Yeah, I guess you’re right, but we’re not going to be very useful with our empty stomachs, he answered, I suggest we get started looking for food.

So they began their way down the mountain, coming first into the tall trees that looked and smelled so beautiful that Veronica began to hum, forgetting that the sound of her voice might alert something threatening behind the thick foliage of the forest.

Billy, with his Indian training, was more circumspect and kept a watchful eye out for any unsuspected danger. Veronica stopped her humming when Billy pointed out the tracks of a rather large animal which bore a striking resemblance to the black bears on their mountainside home.

After walking some distance, they came upon a small clearing where berry bushes had luscious looking fruit. Using her magic, Veronica determined that the berries were safe to eat and they fell to gorging their empty stomachs. Like the juicy blackberries of Earth, these were sweet and filled with liquid. The difference was that here, the berries were twice the size of blackberries and the juice was thicker and more filling.

After they had their fill, Veronica and Billy continued on down the mountain. They marveled at the birds, generally larger than they had known on Earth and certainly more colorfully plumed. Small, furry creatures darted here and there in the underbrush reminding the children of the squirrels and chipmunks that had been their early playmates.

They’re not exactly like the animals we know, Veronica commented softly, but they seem to be the same in personality and behavior.

You’re right, Ron. They don’t seem to fear us much. I hope that means that whatever people are here, do not hunt them for sport like they do on Earth, Billy said.

Moments later, coming upon another small clearing, they spotted an animal very much like the deer that roamed the mountain in New Mexico. It was graceful and had the same large eyes of an Earth deer, but again, was somehow different. They watched the beautiful creature for a long time until it wandered off into the forest.

Ron, we’d better think about some kind of shelter. I don’t have an idea yet about the weather here and I’m sure there are enough wild animals that sleeping out in the open would not be a good idea, Billy said.

Yes, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I can feel that the village that girl is from lies near here, but I don’t think we should just show up there, either. We have to feel our way carefully and try not to make the mistakes that were made in our world, Veronica commented.

I’m thinking that some sort of tree house might be the best thing for us, Billy went on, some of these trees are huge and would give us protection from ground predators.

I agree. Let’s start looking for a likely place.

If I shaped-changed into an eagle, I might be able to find something faster, Billy suggested. Will you be all right alone for a while?

Of course, Billy, Veronica said a bit huffily, what could possibly happen here that could be worse than what we faced in the cave?

Billy chose not to answer that question. He realized that Veronica was reacting as a girl who had had her bravery challenged. How different things were between them than what it had been like on the New Mexico mountain. A part of him longed for those days again, but another part of him was beginning to enjoy the new and different relationship between them.

This strange change between the adolescent Billy and Veronica was, perhaps, the only thing Grandfather White Feather had not prepared Billy for. It had never occurred to the old man that time would run out for him and he would not be able to prepare his grandson for the changes he would face as he got older.

Likewise, Veronica’s mother, Barbara Wilde, had put off talking to Veronica about relationships between a boy and a girl as they grew into adulthood. So, not only was this world entirely new to them, but also their personal interaction had changed into something neither of them entirely understood. Yet they both had enough early training to feel confident that they could handle whatever life presented them.

Billy shape-changed and flew off above the tall forest trees. Mind-linked to him, Veronica could see everything he was seeing as a giant eagle soaring above the forest top. The landscape was breath-taking with lush, green trees and a swift river running past the far side of the forest. Without coming too close, Billy made one pass around the village of mud and thatched huts where the girl had gone. He took disapproving note of the large hut in the center covered with what appeared to be bear hides.

Through the eagle’s eyes, Billy and Veronica took note of the people, dark skinned and scantily dressed, as they went about the business of their daily lives. Veronica noted that the women were subservient to the men and appeared to be doing most if not all of the work. Some women were even busy building a new hut for a young man who had reached manhood and was taking a wife.

The only occupation of the men seemed to be sharpening and fashioning weapons—bows, arrows, spears and vicious looking clubs. They worked only with branches and flint-like stone, however. They appeared to be unfamiliar with any kind of metal. Even the ornaments they wore were made of bits of bone and shells.

Though Billy, as an eagle, could not mindspeak with Veronica, they both took note of the shells, realizing that there must be an ocean or sea nearby.

Finally, Billy spotted the perfect place for their tree house and flew back to pick up Veronica. He was very careful to fly far around the village so that no one might catch sight of a red-haired girl riding the back of a gargantuan eagle. Such a sight might easily lead to panic among the people or, even worse, the rise of a new superstition-based religion!

This looks perfect, Billy said after he deposited Veronica on the ground near the base of the tree that would become their new shelter and changed back into his human form.

You’re right. Let’s get started, Veronica said.

Using her magic, Veronica carved out a large space halfway up the monstrous tree. While she was busy dong that, Billy set about making a vine ladder they could use to climb up and pull in after them, offering them protection from any ground-based danger.

Once inside the hollowed out tree, Veronica arranged the area into three sections—a common room for cooking and eating and two small sleeping quarters on either side. Then she cast a warding spell around the tree, making it impossible for anyone to see the opening to their shelter. Afterwards, using the vine ladder, she returned to the ground and collected large gourds and other natural things she found which could be fashioned into cooking and eating utensils.

By the time they were finished, the sun had already begun to disappear behind the mountain and both of them felt ravenously hungry. Veronica returned to the forest floor and searched out leaves, roots and fruit she could use to make them a fine dinner. She was overjoyed at the abundance of edible things she found, not to mention the large number of herbs, barks and roots that she collected, suspecting they contained remarkable healing qualities.

After they ate their vegetarian dinner, Billy did not sleep in their new shelter. Changing once again into his eagle identity, he found a perch higher up in the tree where he could wake to any possible danger during the night. Veronica curled up in her bed of soft leaves and almost instantly fell into slumber.

During that first night, Billy watched in fascination as the man he would later come to know as Mylek entered the clearing underneath their tree. He was dressed from head to foot in the hide of a bear-like animal, complete with the animal’s head transformed into a ceremonial headdress. Clearly, the man was dabbling with some strange magic that he had little idea how to control and Billy’s first impulse was to warn him of the danger.

But on second thought, he decided that it was too soon for him and Veronica to reveal themselves. He changed back into this human form and tried reading the man’s thoughts. He did receive images of hate and violence but the language was such that he could not make out anything verbal the man was thinking.

Mylek built a small fire and drew symbols on the ground with handfuls of colored sand. Inside these symbols, he laid an effigy of a girl with strands of yellow animal hair on its head and wearing a crudely fashioned dress of bits of leather. Then he began to dance around the small figure and chant in a raspy, hideous voice. Billy felt chills run down his spine as he watched the obviously vengeful ceremony.

Finally, Mylek stopped dancing and chanting, threw off the animal skin costume and bent down to pick up the tiny, grotesque effigy. His dark-skinned body glistened with sweat as he held the figure high above his head. At that point, Billy could see his eyes, glistening with hate and violence and then Mylek threw the crudely made doll into the flames of the fire he had built, threw back his head and gave out a cruel kind