Legends of the Tulpa

By Y.L. Sansom

How do you battle against your own creations?
Thousands of years ago, the civilization of Tusania learned the unfortunate reality that without the powers of those the prophecy speaks of, those battles cannot be won.
After millenniums of war between the Tulpa and the descendants of Tusania, things may finally change.
That is, if Sabrina, Sam and Sara can be be convinced that magic does exist, and that they are the ones who can destroy the Tulpa.
Fighting their own inner battles, they must make a decision.
Fight or Walk away.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Y.L. Sansom
• Release date: Jun 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301515837

Y.L. Sansom

Y.L. Sansom originates from Canada and is currently living in the United Kingdom with her husband, two youngest children and cat Tom.

Book preview

Legends of the Tulpa, Book 1

Tusania

by

Y.L. Sansom

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 by Y.L. Sansom

www.Tusania.com

All rights Reserved

Cover design by Robin Dibben and Dean Brooks

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, writings, symbols and creatures are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Dreams

Chapter 2 - The Garden Shed

Chapter 3 - The Great Witch

Chapter 4 - Lessons

Chapter 5 - Preparations

Chapter 6 - New Friends

Chapter 7 - Illness

Chapter 8 - Yorbi

Chapter 9 - The Sorcerer

Chapter 10 - The Pond

Chapter 11 - The Forgotten Realm

Chapter 12 - The Vision

Chapter 13 - Tusania

Chapter 14 - Celest

Chapter 15 - Trogg

Chapter 16 - Battle Fatigue

Chapter 17 - Eldebrok

Chapter 18 - The Ultimate Sacrifice

Prologue

Sabrina!.... Sabrina, where are you?

Sabrina heard her mother calling for her as she sat amongst the wild flowers in the field behind their house. It was one of her favourite places to just sit, think and be surrounded by nature. The wildflowers emanated the most beautiful and intoxicating fragrances Sabrina had ever encountered. She felt so lucky to live in such a beautiful place in the country. She had gone to the city once with her father, but had hated every minute of it. The mere thought of it sent a tiny shiver through her as she wrinkled her nose at the memory. The only time she felt truly happy was when she was at home with her mother, younger brother and sister.

Sabrina was the eldest of three. Granted, she was just five years old, but she was the eldest and projected a wisdom from within her that seemed to be as old as the land itself. Everyone in the family except Sabrina’s father seemed to share that wisdom, which confused her greatly. Her father didn’t even appear to notice it, yet most of the people in the quaint village nearby did.

Sabrina looked towards the house from where the sound of her mother’s voice was coming. Sitting there staring at the home she loved so, she noticed a strange light just above one of the lower roofs. The light looked like a star millions of miles away. As she sat there mesmerized by this strange light, it started growing, opening slowly in the middle. Sabrina was transfixed, not able to take her eyes off it, wondering what it was, and what was inside it. Just as the center opening became larger, she noticed a dark light coming out from within it. The air around her became cold, and a swift breeze blew her long, auburn hair around so hard that it was almost sticking straight out. An intense fear gripped Sabrina, so much so that it seemed to penetrate her heart. Then, just when she thought the dark sinister light and fear would engulf her forever, her mother’s voice rang out over the field and shattered all that threatened to overwhelm her.

The breeze died away and again the air was filled with the warmth of the sun and the familiar smell of wildflowers. Sabrina glanced to her left and saw her mother walking towards her looking worried and frightened, a look she had never seen before. She quickly looked back to where she had seen the strange star like light. It was gone. Nothing but clear blue sky filled her eyes.

Sabrina’s mother was a pillar of strength and warmth. Her name, Alcamy, was as unique and endearing as she was. She had been named after her great-great grandmother who was said to have possessed powers not of this earth. Everywhere Alcamy went people would stare in awe as this beautiful woman passed by. Her long blonde hair flowed like silk and her huge green eyes revealed a wisdom so ancient no one could fathom it. Alcamy projected an aura so calming that even the angriest of people saw their mood instantly change in her presence.

Sabrina had never seen her mother upset, never mind looking worried and frightened. She sat frozen with a new fear as her mother approached. Alcamy kneeled down in front of her daughter and laid a gentle hand on her young shoulder. She smiled lovingly at her and gently asked, What’s wrong my little dove? What did you see?

The warm touch and loving smile from her mother melted away all Sabrina’s fears. As mother and daughter sat amongst the wildflowers, Sabrina told her mother everything she had seen and felt. As she went on with her story, her mother’s eyes seemed to lose some of their sparkle. By the time Sabrina was finished, Alcamy felt a horrible sickening fear pierce her heart. She knew that what needed to be done had to be this night and that her children’s lives would change forever. Everything her precious children knew to this day would never again be the same. She had long prayed that this day would never come, but come it had and, despite her misgivings, she was ready.

As Alcamy tucked her beloved children into bed that night, she silently prayed that this would not be the last time she saw them. She tried so hard not to show her pain, but Sabrina sensed something was wrong. She decided not to ask questions because she knew deep down her mother wouldn’t answer them. The children were still too young to be told the legends and the sad stories behind them.

Alcamy waited until her husband, Peter, was asleep before she slipped out into the night air. He could not know what she was about to do. He had made her promise to leave that life behind when Sabrina was born. Alcamy had tried in vain to explain things to her husband, but he insisted none of it was real.

Alcamy knelt in front of the small fire she had made, silently praying for her husband’s forgiveness, and weeping for her children. She knew she couldn’t change what had started thousands of years ago and, as she prepared for what was to come, she hoped against hope that once done, her children would be safe.

This was the last night Sabrina saw her mother’s loving face.

Chapter 1

Dreams

11 Years Later

Why do I always have to go up on the roof to get everyone else’s stuff? Sam grumbled as he climbed his way up the thatched-roof of his house.

The next time Sara and her silly little friend get their ball stuck up here they can get it themselves.

Sam always disliked going up on the roof. There were several different levels and angles that were quite steep and whenever his little sister, Sara, got her ball stuck up there, it always seemed to be in the most inaccessible places. Sam also got a very strong feeling that someone was watching him every time he went on the roof, even though no one else was there. He often got the same feeling of being watched in other places as well, but it was always worse up on the roof. The only place he felt truly safe was in the house. He knew he would feel safe in his mother’s garden shed, he just sensed it, but he and his sisters were not permitted in there. He tried to tell his older sister, Sabrina, once, that he felt as though someone or something was watching him, but she told him it was nonsense.

There isn’t anyone or anything watching you. She had said.

Their mother had disappeared eleven years ago almost to the day. Sam could not remember what his mother looked like no matter how hard he tried, yet each night as he was falling asleep he was sure she would kiss him on the forehead. Sam was only two and a half when his mother disappeared, and he and his two sisters had been raised by their father, with the occasional help of a house-keeper. Peter was a good father, who loved his children very much, however his wife’s disappearance had hurt and affected him deeply in many ways. Sam always suspected that his father was hiding things when it came to his mother. She was never mentioned in front of their father, nor had he ever told them anything about her. All he told them was that she had died. Sam had never believed his father, nor did his sisters for that matter.

Sabrina would tell Sam and Sara all she could remember about their mother, her gentle touch and warm loving smile. No matter how bad something seemed their thoughts of their mother always made them feel better. Sam and Sara always wanted Sabrina to tell them over and over again all she could remember, but, as much as she wanted to keep her mother’s memories alive, Sabrina was finding it more difficult each year. It seemed the older she got the less she could recall. Her heart ached for her mother and she believed it was her fault their mother was gone. The one thing she couldn’t forget, nor would she ever, was the last day she spent with her mother, telling her all about the dark sinister light. She had never told anyone else about that day and she never would.

One day while Sam and his sisters had gone into the village, a woman Sam swore was at least four hundred years old, had come up to them and addressed each of them by name, claiming to know that their mother was still alive. Sara had been so scared she burst into tears, Sam was intrigued and Sabrina was downright perturbed.

As they had walked away the old woman called after them in her wizened voice, When you are ready I have the answers you seek.

Then, she vanished.

Sam finally found Sara’s ball wedged in the crevice of where one of the upper and lower roofs joined. As he bent over to retrieve it, a strange prickling sensation on the back of his neck made him pause. Straightening back up, he caught a fleeting glimpse of something at the edge of the field. Sam stood there scanning the area, trying to locate what had caught his eye. He was just about to give up when he saw a small ball of purple light rising up. As he stood there, he watched it rise higher and higher, until it was straight ahead of him. Without warning, he saw a tall, slender woman with long flowing blonde hair draped in a cloak running towards his mother’s garden shed. The woman paused briefly, looked back over her shoulder and Sam saw the most beautiful large green eyes he’d ever seen. As she reached the door to the garden shed and went inside an invisible force hit Sam square-on, knocking him clear off the roof.

Sara and her friend were in the garden when Sam hit the ground, smacking his head on a plank of wood. Both girls heard a loud thud and whipped around to see what it was. There was a brief moment of silence and then both of them started screaming as Sam laid there, flat on his back, a trickle of blood creeping down his neck.

Peter was over by the paddocks mending a fence when he heard the screaming. He dropped all his tools and started running towards the sound, almost colliding with Sabrina as they both came around the side of the house at the same time. They briefly looked at each other and then continued running to the front of the house, but stopped short when they saw Sam lying sprawled on the ground. Sara was kneeling beside him with tears pouring down her face, her friend standing beside her, her small body shaking with silent sobs. When the scene before him fully registered, Peter rushed forward to Sam’s side. Kneeling down beside his son and stroking his face he began calling his name, hoping beyond all hope his son would answer him.

Sam.....Sam, can you hear me? Oh please, answer me. SAM!

There was no response. Peter was relieved to see Sam’s chest rise and fall with each breath, even though it was very slight. ‘At least he’s still breathing’, he thought with a sigh. When Sabrina knelt down beside her father he looked at her with tears in his eyes, his face white as a sheet. Sabrina, quickly, take the horse and fetch the doctor.

Sabrina stole a quick glance at her brother’s pale face and then ran towards the paddock. Peter wasn’t sure if he should take Sam into the house or leave him where he was until the doctor arrived. In answer to his unspoken question, Sara slowly stood looking at him with determined fearful eyes and in a quiet yet firm voice told her father to take Sam into the house immediately. Peter tore his eyes away from Sam and looked at his daughter with more than shock etched on his face. What Sara had spoken had not been a suggestion, it was more of a command. In that instant Peter truly realized just how much Sara was like her mother had been.

Peter had obviously taken too long for Sara’s liking because she looked straight at him, her frustration very apparent, as she again insisted, Father, please, you must take Sam into the house and up to our room immediately.

Peter was about to ask why when Sara cut him off. Father. NOW!

Peter scooped Sam up in his arms, his son’s limp body draped across his arms like a rag doll, his hair soaked with blood. Peter hadn’t noticed how much blood there was until, he lifted his son off the ground, and the sight of it made his stomach clench and he felt weak in the knees.

Sara gave him an understanding look, I know father.

As they walked into the house, Sara started giving orders. She told her friend to go get clean linens from the laundry and just as Peter was about to lay Sam on the sofa, she told her father to get him upstairs. When she was satisfied that everyone was doing what they were told, she rushed into the kitchen to get a bucket of water.

Sara began walking up the stairs with the bucket and suddenly stopped unsure of what was happening to her. ‘How did she know what to do? Where had this commanding demeanour come from, and why did she so strongly believe that the only safe place for Sam and the rest of them was inside the house, specifically the nursery’? Then she realized that Sabrina wasn’t back yet and a cold chill ran down her spine. The sound of her father’s voice calling her, snapped her right back to the reality facing them at this moment. Sara ran up the stairs as fast as she could, splashing water over the rim of the bucket as she went.

When she reached the nursery, her father had already wrapped strips of linen around Sam’s head to try to stop the bleeding. Sara approached Sam’s bed and leaned over to inspect her father’s handy work before setting the bucket of water on the floor. Her strange behavior continued as she proceeded to walk around the room in a counter-clockwise direction lighting all of the candles and said as she lit each one, May this light burn eternal throughout this room, and into the darkest corners, driving out all darkness.

She didn’t know what it meant or even why she felt compelled to say it each time, it just felt right. She went to each window and closed not only the drapes but the shutters as well, as though she was sealing the entire room.

Sara became lost in her own thoughts. ‘What is happening to me? Where are all these feelings coming from and why? Why do I know that something terrible is coming and that the three of us have to stick together no matter what?’

Sara had been so engrossed in her thoughts she hadn’t even noticed that Sabrina had returned with the doctor. When she heard Dr. Potts’ voice she let out an audible sigh of relief.

The two girls were ushered out of the room and sent downstairs while Dr. Potts examined Sam. Sara’s friend was pacing back and forth like a caged lion when Sabrina and Sara returned downstairs. She desperately wanted to go home and tried leaving, but Sara wouldn’t allow her to go. You need to wait until Dr. Potts is finished with Sam.

Please, Sara I just want to go home.

Terina, as soon as Dr. Potts is finished he will take you safely home. Ok? Just wait here with us.

But Sara...

Terina please. It’s going to be dark soon. You can’t be out by yourself in the dark.

Oh Sara, there are at least a couple of hours of daylight left. I’ll be home long before it gets dark.

There is a storm coming. The sky will turn as dark as night and there will be no moon, nor stars to light your path.

Sabrina stood there staring at her sister. Sara, don’t be silly, it’s clear and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Stop trying to scare Terina.

Sara was visibly upset when she looked at Sabrina, I’m not trying to scare anyone. I don’t know how I know, I just know.

Sabrina just stood there, a mixture of confusion and pity all over her face. Sara had always done and said strange things from the time she could walk and talk. But this.....this was even a stretch for her. Sabrina was genuinely worried that her sister was becoming unhinged, that Sam’s accident was too much for her. Sara had been just a year old when their mother disappeared, robbing her of ever knowing their mother. Sara and Sam were closer than most brothers and sisters. Sabrina believed it was because they were only a year and a half apart and neither of them had any memories of their mother. All they had were the stories Sabrina told them. She started to think that telling them those stories had been a bad idea.

Sabrina’s thoughts were interrupted by Dr. Potts coming down the stairs with their father, which was probably a good thing because Sara was looking positively murderous. Before Dr. Potts even reached the bottom of the stairs, Terina jumped up from the sofa and ran towards him.

Dr. Potts, can you please take me home?

Of course Terina, we’ll leave in just a moment.

Terina rushed over to the front door and waited. Peter looked from Terina, to Sara, to Sabrina, clearly confused. Normally he had a small battle on his hands getting Terina to go home, but not this time. Peter believed it was more than her being shaken by the accident, she looked absolutely petrified. Peter looked to Sabrina. What’s going on?

Before Sabrina could say anything Sara answered. It’s alright father. Everyone’s nerves are in a delicate state at the moment. Nothing a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure.

Sara, where is all this coming from? You are acting very strange.

Dr. Potts laid a gentle hand on Peter’s arm. If I may Peter. This has all been very traumatic for everyone. I suggest you leave it be for now and focus on Sam. You all have a few very strenuous days ahead of you.

He turned to the children and continued, Now girls, Sam needs to be kept comfortable. Here is a list of things that need to be done for him until he wakes up. I’ll come back tomorrow to check on him.

Dr. Potts tore a piece of paper off his note pad and handed it to Sabrina and then walked towards the front door. Peter walked with him to the door and shook his hand thanking him, and then bid both Dr. Potts and Terina farewell as they stepped outside. Peter watched them leave, went outside and stood for a moment studying the sky. Girls?

Sabrina and Sara walked out the door and noticed immediately the strange orange hue coming from behind the black clouds.

Peter looked towards the girls, There is a huge storm coming in. I haven’t seen clouds that black in years. We need to get the shutters closed and make sure we have plenty of candles ready.

All the colour drained from Sabrina’s face at the sound of her father’s words.

Father, do you think Terina and Dr. Potts will make it home before the storm rolls in?

Yes Sara, I believe they will make it in plenty of time. The storm is still about half an hour or so away. Don’t worry, they will be just fine. Peter told the girls to go back inside and prepare everything while he went to secure the barn and let the horses and cows out into the fields.

Just as they had finished closing up all the shutters and retrieving extra candles, the storm hit with a force they had never experienced before. Sabrina opened one of the shutters at the back of the house to check on her father. It was so dark she couldn’t see anything past the garden. She looked