A Tale of Two Worlds

By Susan Waterwyk

“The Earth, once asleep, has awakened, from deep in her belly come cries; her mountains and valleys are shaken and seas rise up to the skies.”

The ancient Keepers of Akosh can do nothing to prevent the catastrophes. They have known since the sinking of Atlantis that the living world of Earth would awaken. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis threaten the people of the Earth so the Keepers spent thousands of years terraforming the primitive world of Lantamyra to serve as a sanctuary for the refugees from Earth. Now the Gathering begins.

The dragons that rule the three Great Houses of Lantamyra need the giant myra crystals from Atlantis to strengthen the large array in the House of Gaia Jade to be able to return to their homeworld, Lanluong. The Keepers of Akosh authorize a mission to Earth to locate and retrieve the crystals before the earthquakes bury them deeper in the abysmal depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

Recently arrived from Earth, Tylya Lansing has been trained in the Secrets of the Ways and knows how to use the powerful myra crystals. She is now a keeper of dragons in the House of Gaia Jade, and her first-hand knowledge of modern Earth makes her the best candidate to command the mission to find and retrieve the lost crystals of Atlantis.
Tylya’s lover, Josh Hamilton is also from Earth and trained in the Ways but chose not to serve the dragons. He is a crystalseeker working in the mine at Queen’s Heart located near an active volcano. The job is extremely dangerous since long exposure to myra crystals causes crystal sickness, and worst of all, ghosts of seekers are hungry for living energy and they wait in the myra crystals to feed on him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Waterwyk
• Release date: Oct 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9780991041701

Susan Waterwyk

My writing career began in 2005 with a dream of a lengthy conversation with a dragon. After discussing it with my family, we agreed it would make an interesting story. On Mother's day of that year, I wrote the first seven pages. Seven years later, I published Lantamyra: A Tapestry of Fantasy. Now, another year later, I have published A Tale of Two Worlds. My fantasies still include the company of dragons along with ancient extra-terrestrials that terra-form sanctuary worlds for species in danger of extinction. I live in the quiet woods of California's Sierra Nevada and admit that it has provided much of the inspiration for my books. I have a fondness for Nineteeth Century classical literature and poetry and encourage others to to enjoy them. I like to include a few of poems or songs in my stories because I believe every good story shoud have a song or a poem to add a bit of magic. "Starting with a melody, she'll lead you far away...down passages of poetry where dreamers often play."

Book preview

A Tale of Two Worlds

By

Susan Waterwyk

Copyright © 2013 by Susan Waterwyk

Waterwyk Arts

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Publisher’s statement: This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Chapter One…The Gathering Begins

Chapter Two…The House of Tara Snow

Chapter Three…Christmas in Dragonwood

Chapter Four…Ruins, Relics and Revelations

Chapter Five…Gathering and Retrieving

Chapter Six…Tribute to a Ghost

Chapter Seven…The Dance of Two Moons

Chapter Eight…Retrieving the Crystals

Chapter Nine…A Chance for Honor

Chapter Ten…Favors and Expectations

Chapter Eleven…The Prize of the Survivors

Note from the Author

Chapter 1

The Gathering Begins

Twelve light-years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation, Leo, a yellow star held in orbit the world Lantamyra.

On a stone paved courtyard outside the Hall of Crystals, under a night sky with two moons, a tall woman in a long dark-blue dress walked to the stone wall that overlooked the Valley of the Queen. Her height, a trait inherited from Danish ancestors, clearly exceeded two meters. Sitting atop a mass of long dark hair was a platinum crown engraved with two moons, the symbol of her office, Nightkeeper of the House of Gaia Jade. Kyra Starszyn came often to this spot for inspiration; here, she would sit and enjoy the sound of the waterfall as it tumbled down the cliff face to the moonlit valley floor.

On this night, she carried a large notebook full of stories, poems, and secrets written over the last few years. The light from the windows of the Hall of Crystals and from the moons was bright enough to allow her to read, so she opened the notebook and began reading aloud.

"According to the Akoshic records, the Sagittarius Arm of the galaxy is a cosmic garden of living worlds, and connecting them is a physical dimension of pure energy known as the crystalrealm. The Keepers of Akosh, ancient beings with the power to open doorways into the crystalrealm, traveled the stars to many of these garden worlds.

"Thousands of years ago, they discovered a young world where volcanoes had shaped the land, and retreating glaciers had scoured it to bare rock. Life was scarce, concentrated mainly in the oceans and coastal forests. This world had a wealth of precious metals and minerals. At several sites scattered across the main continent, they discovered rich deposits of rare myra crystals—the primary source of Akoshic power. They named the world Lantamyra, meaning mother of crystals.

"On a large island with three volcanoes, the Keepers of Akosh found a treasure beyond price—giant myra crystals, the rarest of all. With these giants, they assembled a crystal array in a chamber deep inside the mountain to provide the power to search the stars beyond Lantamyra for other living worlds.

"A nearby yellow star held in orbit a world abundant with water and diverse with life. They named it Eadlan, meaning garden mother. Nowadays, it is called Earth.

"On an island where the living energy of Earth flowed strong, they built a crystal chamber to house a smaller crystal array, thereby providing precise control of the doorway between the two worlds.

"They explored Earth in crystalships, gathering life and teaching the people how to grow gardens and build cities. Many humans traveled to Lantamyra to tend the gardens of the Keepers of Akosh.

"As the years passed, the first city of Earth became known as Atlantis, which simply meant Port of the World, and it grew into a mighty metropolis surrounded by farms and gardens. Gold and silver from Lantamyra bought plants and animals from Earth, and Atlantis flourished from the trade.

Using the array in the crystal chamber of Atlantis, the keepers opened viewing portals to search the stars beyond Earth for other living worlds. They soon discovered a nearby planet abundant with water and life. The keepers brought more crystals from Lantamyra to strengthen the array in Atlantis and succeeded in opening a doorway to that new world. When they visited it, they learned that the sentient beings were giants with a civilization tens of thousands of years old. They called themselves Dragons, so the Keepers of Akosh named the planet Lanluong, meaning world of dragons. They also learned of a tragedy unfolding. The planet was experiencing tectonic upheavals, which threatened to destroy most of the species, so the keepers formulated a daring plan to save the dragons….

Kyra looked up, and silhouetted in the light of the large golden moon was the unmistakable shape of a graywing owl flying toward her. Mr. Hoo, I’ve been expecting you.

He landed on the wall. The crystal on his forehead glowed as he greeted her. In his talons, he clutched a small rodent.

Is that a present for Keeper Dorothy or your dinner?

Hoo!

Well, my dinner will be delivered soon, and we can dine together. While we’re waiting, we can chat. Secrets have been whispered. The Earth is awakening. Esmendara believes that the Keepers of Akosh will soon begin the Gathering.

Hoo?

Teacher Esmendara, the Keeper of the Ways, she’s day-people and a bit of a pessimist. She believes that all the great technological achievements of modern man will be of little use when Mother Earth shakes and breaks the cities.

###

Beneath the Hall of Crystals in a secret room, a polished mirror of pure silver was mounted on the stone wall. The black-porcelain oval frame was four meters tall, inlaid with bands of gold and studded with large myra crystals. Around the circular room, eight tall archways seemed to lead nowhere; under each one was the bedrock of the mountain. Between the archways, niches held crystals on gold pedestals, each connected to the frame of the mirror.

Crystals embedded in one of the arches glowed brightly. The bedrock vanished, and from the gloom of his sleeping chamber, a man with dark-brown hair and close-trimmed beard stepped into the room. He appeared to be about forty years old. His long black robe was trimmed with gray silk; on each sleeve just above the elbow a crescent moon faced inward. A large moonstone medallion hung from a silver chain around his neck, and on his head, a slender crown of gold held a triangular crystal, in his hand, a long crystal scepter.

Morlen Dair, First Keeper of Akosh, walked to a carved-wooden bench, sat down and stared at his reflection in the mirror. The crystal on his crown glowed, and the image changed. The ancient city of Atlantis appeared—magnificent, prosperous.

Dark eyebrows narrowed over his blue-gray eyes as he watched the horror of the catastrophe unfold, buildings collapsing, fissures opening in the ground, people panicking with nowhere to run as the city slid beneath the waves of the sea.

The guilt for the tragedy rested on his shoulders. Holding open the doorway to Lanluong was a dangerous gamble because the living energy of that world was unstable. He had tried to compensate by channeling power from Lantamyra though the chamber of Atlantis to Lanluong. The plan succeeded, and a few dragons from each of the three Great Houses made it to Atlantis; however, it disrupted the energy field of Eadlan causing massive quakes and a great flood when Atlantis went into the sea. An ice age followed, and many species of life perished. The total number of humans was reduced to less than forty thousand. It took centuries for the population to recover and even longer for the great forests to return.

The tragedy also caused severe damage to Lantamyra’s crystal chamber, and it took thousands of years to find the new crystals to repair it and bring the dragons to Lantamyra.

During that time, the Keepers of Akosh discovered that deep inside the living world of Eadlan physical events had been put into motion that would once again bring devastation to the planet.

The reflection in the mirror changed to present day Earth. Morlen moved his viewing portal down close to the surface over Mexico, across the gulf to the Caribbean Sea and hovered over the water where Atlantis used to be.

The humans were about to experience what the dragons of Lanluong had suffered millennia ago… a living world awakening.

###

In the Garden of the First Mother, the reflection of thousands of stars twinkled in the calm waters of Belakosh Bay. The towering ancient tehnorahn trees from Lanluong encompassed the entire garden and provided a living sanctuary for the few water dragons that were saved. Brought as hatchlings on the crystalships of the keepers, they were the first dragons to reach the safety of Lantamyra.

The Temple of Luong with its tall marble columns and magnificent crystal-covered dome stood on the shore near the narrow entrance to the bay.

On the courtyard near one of the fountains, a spiral of purple light appeared then a black oval doorway formed. An adult male tiger cautiously stepped through, looked around and sniffed the air then the crystal on its gold crown glowed. A woman stepped from the doorway; her black hair, oriental eyes, and golden skin suggested her origin to be the Middle Kingdom of China. In her black silk gown, she moved like a shadow as she walked to the stone wall, the tiger close beside her. She raised her scepter to summon the First Mother of the Luong.

Rising from the water of the bay, the dragon approached the wall. Her long jade-green body, larger than the dragons of the air, had golden scales on chest and abdomen, two short-finned wings and four legs like a crocodile. In place of horns, she had two tentacles, a sharp talon at the end of each. She bowed her head respectfully to the Keeper of Akosh.

Tassa Lin bowed in return. Blessings of life, Dawn Ember. Several significant events have taken place since last we spoke. We now have enough giant crystals to open viewing portals on Lanluong. Tragically, it is, as we feared. The temples and the great Houses were destroyed, and we do not know if any dragons survived.

The large crystal on the dragon’s crown glowed as she spoke telepathically. In timeless time we have waited for the crystal chamber to possess the power to open a doorway to our home. We hold to the dream of returning.

And, we hold to our pledge to help you return. The tragic devastation of your world was far worse than that of Eadlan. However, the Great Change approaches, and humanity will soon experience similar catastrophes. The Council has decided the Gathering on Eadlan will begin this day, but we can only save a few select species.

###

Light-years away in the country of England, the sun had just set on Salisbury Plain. Inside the ancient megalithic temple of Stonehenge, a large group of neo-pagans listened to the priestess lead them in an ancient prayer for the Living Mother, Earth.

Just outside the circle of stones, a spiral of violet light appeared. The chanting stopped. Some of the people cried out and pointed. The priestess turned and saw the spiral stretch into a black doorway. She raised her hands to calm her followers, but before she could speak, an amplified voice emanated from the doorway.

Blessings to all, we mean you no harm this night. Keeper Scarlet Connely, an elderly woman in a black dress and a hat with a veil that covered her face, stepped through the doorway carrying a crystal scepter the length of a cane.

A Keeper of Akosh followed her. Aldyra Key appeared to be no more than thirty years old with full-flowing red hair. Her gown of green velvet had runic symbols woven into the fabric with golden thread, her crown adorned with jewels. She carried a tall crystal scepter.

Giving the awestruck group no time to react, she raised her hand and swept it slowly in front of her, putting them to sleep.

A crackling voice cried out. Wait, Keeper Aldyra!

A second later, just two were still awake, the priestess and an old woman. The priestess helped her to her feet, and they stood before the keepers.

Thank Goddess, you’re here Keeper Aldyra, the old woman said. I was beginning to believe you had abandoned us. This is my daughter, Elizabeth. I taught her the Ways, so she could take my place.

Fiona, it is truly a blessing to see you once again. Aldyra embraced her. I have missed your companionship these many years. The council has not allowed journeys to this world until now. The time of the Gathering is at hand. This is Keeper Scarlet Connely. She will explain to you our needs. Please, follow her as you would me.

Fiona bowed. As you request, Keeper Aldyra—

Scarlet interrupted. I will need safe passage to Ireland, and we should leave before these people awaken. We have already created quite a spectacle.

Yes, Aldyra agreed, Elizabeth, why did you bring so many people this night?

We have to be a religious organization with a certain number of members present, or they won’t allow us here. We have to get permits—bureaucrats run the country, she explained nervously. We’re a small organization, and it wasn’t easy to convince them to allow our ceremony. This celebration doesn’t fall on any particular pagan holiday. We couldn’t tell them our ceremony was timed to the solstice of another world. They wouldn’t have believed us.

"A permit—needed to stand here? Aldyra placed her hand on one of the massive stones and closed her eyes for a moment. Ten thousand mortal years ago, the followers of Morlen Dair raised these stones to mark the spot where the Keepers of Akosh would appear. This place is a focal point for the living energy emanating from this world. A few lintel stones have fallen, but the rest have endured. I believe these stones will remain standing when the bureaucrats are long forgotten."

If the shaking of this world does not drop them. If the ice does not return and push them aside, Scarlet warned. This world is restless and soon to change.

###

On the Giza Plateau of North Africa, a young Egyptian man, Ahmed Nassar sat on a low earthen wall near an excavation site, next to him, a briefcase and several books on Egyptian archeology. Earlier that day, he received word that he was officially accepted to work on a state sponsored archeological project here in Giza and another in the Valley of the Kings. Excited by the good news, he chose to stay behind after everyone left. He wanted time alone to reflect on the great work of ancient man. It was now hours after sunset, and the gibbous moon provided enough light to view the pyramids, but his attention was devoted to the enigma of the Sphinx.

Suddenly, a spiral of violet light appeared in front of one of the huge paws; he stared amazed. The spiral grew larger. A doorway formed, and a black cat with a glowing crystal on its forehead stepped through then a woman appeared. Like an image of an ancient goddess, her sleeveless white gown draped from one shoulder and complimented her beautiful dark skin and hair. She wore a gold crown, gold bracelets coiled around her arms, and she held a glowing crystal scepter. The doorway behind her vanished.

Ahmed sat perfectly still and tried to convince himself that what he was seeing was just a figment of his imagination, but if this was a dream, it was so enchanting that he wanted to watch it unfold.

Isis Pyr, Keeper of Akosh, looked up at the face of the Sphinx and recalled a time when it had the face of a lion, long before it was carved into the face of a pharaoh, a time when thousands of her followers awaited her arrival in this place. Many centuries had passed since she told them to look for her no more. Over the millennia, she rarely returned, and when she did, it was always at night. This night, she was here for a purpose—to retrieve the last remaining records in the secret room. It would be a waste to allow them to be ruined by the water that would soon inundate this place. Long ago, she had left a few scrolls for the archeologists if they ever found the secret room, but they never did, and it was unlikely that they would find it before the floodwaters struck. The crystal on her scepter glowed brightly, and in the stone of the giant paw, a doorway appeared.

Ahmed watched her step into the blackness and vanish. He exhaled quietly, convinced that the vision had been the result of an over-active imagination. He would certainly never tell his professor about it. As he reached for his briefcase, he noticed a faint glow near the ground in front of the Sphinx and realized it was coming from the crystal on the head of the black cat. Instantly, every muscle in his body froze. If the cat was real then the woman was real. He watched the shadowy figure of the animal pace slowly back and forth waiting for her to return.

Once again the doorway opened, and the woman stepped into view carrying a bundle of scrolls under one arm.

Overwhelmed by what he was witnessing, Ahmed could not prevent himself from saying the name, Isis, aloud.

The cat heard him and warned the woman.

A small spiral of purple light appeared in front of his face, surprising him. He scooted backward. Inside his mind, he heard her voice.

It has been thousands of years since mortal man called to me here at the Temple of Leo. Come to me, and tell me who you are, and why you are here this night.

Chapter 2

House of Tara Snow

In the bright afternoon sky above the snow-covered plains in the northern region of Lantamyra’s largest continent a huge spiraling vortex of violet light formed. Out of the pitch-black center flew a gigantic dragon, followed by another. Their powerful wings spanned more than fifty meters. Each dragon carried a single human rider, a keeper from the House of Gaia Jade.

Tylya Lansing tightened the chinstrap on the fleece-lined leather cap, adjusted her goggles and glanced at the eastern horizon. The large moon, Shiva, had already climbed high into the sky, and the small red moon, Kali, was just above the white peaks that formed the jagged line of the Crystal Blade Mountains.

Tylya’s first eighteen years had been spent on Earth. After half a year on Lantamyra, she was no longer the same young woman that arrived here with her lover, Josh Hamilton and her grandmother, Lenora.

During those six months, she had trained in the Secrets of the Ways and received a crown and medallion with myra crystals on them. The last phase of the training required her to undergo the complex physical process of mind expansion, which increased her analytical ability to handle complex tasks of logic and mathematics. It linked her mind with the crystals and provided her with special powers: telepathy to communicate with dragons, keepers or wards, the ability to move at super-speed, and the ability to send her mind into the energy dimension of the crystalrealm, and from there, she could open viewing portals to see beyond her normal range of vision.

However, the altered personality came with a high price, no emotions allowed when the mind was focused to task. Now, most of her time was devoted to work, and the days seemed to be slipping away depriving her of those leisure moments of passion and joy that made life worth living.

She still possessed some of her former personality traits, her love of music and dancing, nice clothes and good meals. She still made an occasional sassy remark and usually spoke with the colloquial expressions of her former self, but when necessary, she could easily revert to the formal language of the House of Jade. More importantly, she still held onto the memories of her previous life, tucked away in the back of her mind like precious photographs stored in boxes in the attic.

These days, she seldom laughed, not much reason to anyway. Josh was gone. He could always make her laugh with his clever remarks, but the mind expansion had given him a new personality that was cold, intellectual, and not interested in retaining his former traits. After the training, he had ended their engagement and left to become a crystalseeker in the mine at Queen’s Heart. Five weeks had passed since she had seen him, and her heart longed for her lover. However, this was not the time for yearning, so she put her love in a box and placed it in the back of her mind.

Leaning forward in the stirrups clipped to the crystal collar around Shadozzar’s neck, she looked down over his shoulder at the pristine white landscape, and there, shaped like an enormous sapphire-jeweled snowflake was the House of Tara Snow.

Stretching for more