King Thinkalot's Archive: Tales from the Time of Magic

By James D Robinson

A collection of 19 original, short fantasy fictions, all set in those long ago days when warriors sought adventures, animals could talk, and the forces of good and evil
were frequently in conflict. Presented in an easy to read 'old school' style of writing; each story providing a portal to a world of pure escapism, where the only requirement you need is the willingness to believe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James D Robinson
• Release date: Oct 3, 2020

James D Robinson

James D Robinson was born in Darlington, County Durham, England, in 1949.He worked for a local Council Authority for over 30 years and took early retirement in 2005.Outside of work, he studied traditional Black & White printing and Photographic Portraiture in the mid 1980's at The Darlington College of Technology, whilst also pursuing other interests in the arts ( mainly with Drawing.)His photographic work is represented in the permanent photo collections of both the UK's : National Portrait Gallery, and the Picture Library of the Royal Society, and to date, he has self published 3 books of photographs.He only developed an interest in writing and creating books in 2005, but has now self published 10 books in all.He has also had material - both photographic and /or writing - published in several magazines, including, Popular Astronomy magazine, The Journal of the Royal Photographic Society, The Best of British magazine, Amateur Photographer magazine, and North East Life magazine.In the academic arena, he has an interest in Cosmology, and beyond that, he is also the creator of a Time capsule, now stored in the Archive Department of the UK's Durham County Record Office, where it will remain unopened until the 21st of March 2317, making it - at the time of this writing - a time capsule with the 5th longest period of closure on record.He now lives in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, England.

Book preview

KING THINKALOT’S ARCHIVE

TALES FROM THE TIME OF MAGIC

JAMES D ROBINSON

SMASHWORDS EDITION

First Published in 2019

by

Eocrantis Publishing

Copyright : 2019 : James D Robinson

The right of James D Robinson to be identified as the author of this work is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act of 1988.

No part of this publication should be copied in any way or form without the written permission of the publisher.

Cover Design : James D Robinson

Smashwords Edition : Copyright : James D Robinson : 2020

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, and should not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

If you are reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for you only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

THE MYTH

THE AVENGING FISH

THE HOUND OF KENSHER

HELPING HANDS

THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SPRING

THE GREAT BEAST OF THE SEA

THE FIELD OF WOE

THE TEACHING OF MASTER NOIT

THE DAY THE SKY BEGAN TO FALL

BRANDERVERG

THE VOYAGE OF THE SEA ROVER

THE FAIREST OF THE FAIR

THE BEE KEEPER

THE SEVEN RHYMES OF CASSEED

THE CHARIOT RACES OF CALTHUSA

BEYOND THE UNDERWORLD

THE TREE AND THE GOLDEN ARMY

BRANWIN AND THE QUEST

A TALE OF WONDER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James D Robinson was born in Darlington, Co Durham, England, in 1949. He studied traditional b/w photo printing and photographic portraiture at the Darlington College of Technology in the 1980’s though he has many other interests which, in addition to writing, include: drawing, graphic design, and in the academic arena, cosmology, for which he retains an amateur status.

His photo work is represented in the permanent photo collections of the UK’s: National Portrait Gallery, and The Picture Library of the Royal Society, and he is the creator of a time capsule, now stored in the Archive Department of the UK’s: Durham County Record Office, where it will remain unopened until the 21st of March, 2317, making it a time capsule – at the time of this writing – with the 5th longest period of closure on record.

OTHER BOOKS by JAMES D ROBINSON

The Authenticated Meteoric Falls of the Britsh Isles

The Pseudo Meteoric Events of the British Isles

This & That – A Photographic Album

The Day the Bridges Fell

Historica Personica – Photographic Portraits captured at Living History events.

Photoworks – A Multiverse of Images

The Poster Designs of James D Robinson

Musings on the Cosmos – Going beyond the Box

King Thinkalot’s Archive – Tales from the Time of Magic

The Non-Zero Universe – A New Look at the Logic of a Cosmological Evermore

The text in this book is without indents

PREFACE

It is said that long ago when the mountains almost touched the sky, and men believed in many gods who had all seeing eyes, that on a high plateau between the four poles of the world, there was once a great athenaeum called ‘King Thinkalot’s Archive.’

And if a stranger might ask how came it by that name, wise men would say that it was made so by the people of that region to give due honour to their potentate, King Magna Philosophus, for he it was who designed the great storehouse of knowledge being a man predisposed towards a lifetime of learning.

And if a stranger might then ask who was this much loved king, wise men would say he was the noble ruler of Myrocea: a large kingdom having seven domains therein, the throne of which he ascended on the same day that a bright comet was seen to transit the heavens, which was taken to be a good omen by the holy men of that era.

The archive itself, which took 12 years to complete, stood some four storeys tall and was built of chiseled granite, whilst in extent the area covered by the entire structure was of such magnitude, it was said that a man on a camel would need the better part of a day just to complete one circuit of its perimeter wall.

Other features of note were its entrance porch, across which ran the verse: Let naught impede all those who tread the path to wisdom, and the interior of the archive, which took the capacity for storage to a whole new level, for stacked across its many shelves were over 20 million scrolls, each accessible for study in exchange for a modest fee, by scholars and lay persons alike on any day of the year. Visitors could even rent accommodation, if such be needed, in a nearby hostel where multi-linguists were on hand to assist anyone from foreign shores.

Needless to say security was a high priority, both in the hostel and in the archive itself, but this was adequately provided for by the king’s well trained ‘men at arms,’ who had the authority to apprehend anyone causing a fracas, whereafter the guilty were removed and fed to the royal corcodiles, regardless of age, sex, status, or whoever they may be. A similar fate was also dealt to those who tried to deface or destroy a scroll, for it was judged to be the equal of stealing a royal treasure.

The mainstay of the archive was, of course, the large number of people who worked therein, many of whom lived locally in the thriving town of Torinthina. Those who were not so fortunate could rent a room in a separate attachment to the archive, which also housed a large facility for the conservation of the scrolls.

Another structure, sited on the roof of the archive, operated as a kind of relay station, where, day after day, hundreds of pigeons would ferry messages to and from distant sources, mainly carrying answers to questions or questions in need of an answer.

Eventually, as one might envisage, changes gradually came about for once the king and his descendants had all passed into the afterlife, the archive increasingly fell into disarray and then finally into ruin, first, from the aftermath of an earthquake, and susequently from the ravages of wars in later times. Thankfully by then, many of the scrolls had been copied by an army of scribes and dispersed around the world into other notable archives, where they have since been translated into many languages.

As to the inspiration behind the king’s grand enterprise. Most scholars believe that the simple memo (as presented in the following pages,) puts us all to the wise on that question, whilst also acknowledging the work of his many emissaries, for it was their travels across the world which made the king’s vision a reality and the great storehouse of knowledge such a worthy asset for all mankind.

Royal Memo: Date and author unknown

HOW IT IS THAT ECHOES OF THE PAST

STILL LINGER IN THE PRESENT

King Thinkalot was one day talking with his chief adviser Master Noit, about the discovery of new lands far beyond the Southern Sea. And as the sun approached the zenith in a clear blue sky, the king spoke thus:

Good friend and mentor. You have the wisest of minds in all my kingdom, therefore, let me ask of thee, what measure is this world to which we are ever bound?

And Master Noit replied: Beloved majesty. You favour me with a knowledge which I do not yet possess, for although my feet have travelled far, they have not yet rested at the edge of the world.

Then pray tell, requested the king, whatever facts you can, for what greater gift could thou give than to make thy king a wiser man

And hearing this Master Noit took stock of his learning, for the learning he possessed was very great indeed. And by and by he revealed the essence of it to the king, and the words with which he did so were spoken as these: Sire. From all that I have heard said, seen by eye, or have read, the following I believe and hold to be true.

"This world was formed from stardust by the deepest mystery

and its face has been scarred by both man and history.

The sky is like an ocean where the cloud people dwell

and the moon is made of daylight held within a crystal shell.

Strange creatures roam the lands and seas of north, south, east and west

where magic spells are common place as sailors can atest.

Beyond this are the dark lands where no flower ever grows

and beyond that are the voids of which

only heaven knows."

And when the king had weighed awhile on everything which had been said, a great passion came to him and placed the thought inside his head, to gather all the worlds knowledge so that none might be forgot, and this he voed to come to pass, be it easy or not.

And so it was, over years, that his emissaries learnt and wrote, of people and places and happenings of note, which now tell of those times many centuries long gone, when the world was full of magic – and thus all lives on.

~

AND SO

DEAR READER

ON WE GO

TO FOREIGN SHORES

THAT FEW MAY KNOW

THERE TO RECALL

THERE TO EXPLORE

THINGS THAT ARE

AND

ARE NO MORE

THE MYTH

It has come to me o seeker of knowledge, that in the desert of Addado, such being a region of land in the western part of the world, there is, standing at its centre, a great mountain of rock which elevates most high from the barren ground around. And this mountain be part of an ancient myth which sayeth that for the first mortal who can reach the mountain top, and there complete a certain task without assistance from the gods, then great wealth will they enjoy for every day of their life, along with the blessings of good fortune and the absence of strife.

It is a myth which has prevailed for countless generations amongst those people who bide on land adjacent to the desert. And whilst many intrepid adventurers have sought to fulfil the challenge, only madness and misery has been their reward, from the various hazards encountered along the way.

Now it came to pass, one day, that a traveller on a king’s errand heard tell of the mountain and the myth, whereat he set about to discover all available facts on the matter through consulations with the chieftain of the local people. Sadly, however, such information as he was able to acquire proved to be very discouraging, though none the less of interest to one with an academic mind.

It is a fool’s errand. said the Chieftain. A task the land gods have devised to test man’s spirit of adventure, and all to spite the mighty sky gods with whom they have a grievance.

And how came that about? asked the traveller, earnestly.

By this manner. replied the chieftain. Whereupon he bagan to offer up the following discourse :

"Long ago, when the world was young and the land on which we now sit was equal to a paradise, all was kept in good order by the gods of the land, aided by the gods of the sky. And after the Moon has circuled the heavens for a hundred millennia, Tamos, the king of the sky gods was obliged to choose a successor; someone possessed of sound judgement who could carry the Spear of Destiny, by which all things above the land were kept in good order by the ‘will’ of the one who carried the spear.

Now at the time, Tamos had two sons, of equal age, whose names were Atol and Zal. And although he loved both with equal favour, only one could rightfully carry the Spear of Destiny, for such was the ruling amongst the gods and they were not for changing. So Tamos was left with a quandary, which played upon his mind until, after weighing the matter carefully, he declared that the victor of a contest would henceforth carry the Spear of Destiny, and the contest to be judged would be carried out in the following way:

Two targets, each with a centre circle, would be placed at either end of the great arena which exists above the clouds, where, Atol would stand by one of the targets, with Zal beside the other. The spear would then be stood in the centre of the arena, so that equal was its distance from the targets. A horn would then be sounded for the contest to be begin, at which point, the two sons would simply strive to gain the spear and thence throw it (from a certain distance) at the target allocated to his sibling. The son who could hit the centre circle first would then be declared the winner. If, however, the thrown spear should miss the centre circle, the contest would begin again and continue likewise until a winner was achieved.

Ah! said Zal, mockingly, on the day of the contest. Tis but an easy matter brother. Why not give up thy claim now and avoid your blushes once defeated.

But Atol spoke not, retaining instead his composure, for such had always been his counter to Zal’s snide indignities. A moment later, when the starting horn sounded, the two brothers raced forward to claim the Spear of Dsetiny.

Zal was first to reach it and raised it ready for throwing, but Atol engaged a sliding tackle, knocking his brother off balance, which sent the spear on a flight which overshot its mark.

The advantage next fell to Atol, when the contest recommenced, and thinking to outsmart his brother he used the shaft of the spear to pole vault over Zal’s headlong charge, racing away thereafter towards Zal’s target, with the intent of closing the distance before throwing the spear. Zal, however, was quick to give chase having turned on the spot, whereafter, at the very last moment, he was able to dive at Atol’s shoulders, thereby stalling his brother’s throw, and sending the both of them crashing, headlong, onto the sky arena floor.

A tussle then ensued whereby their bodies shifted closer to the edge of the playing area, whilst the spear was sent flying about uncontrollably; one moment whirling in the air, the next bouncing about the arena floor. Its shaft eventually flexed in such a way that when its tension was released the spear flew up into the clouds before returning to land, blunt end first, at the very edge of the sky arena, whereafter if fell from view before anyone could reach it, plummeting down afterwards to the earth far below where it came to rest on a mountain top, the very one which now sits in the centre of the Addado desert, and there it has rested ever since, broken beyond use – according to those who have the power to see the world through visions."

The chieftain now took a brief pause whilst the traveller made notes, using a short hand script as taught to all archivists. Then, at the taveller’s bidding, the chieftain resumed his narrative in the following manner:

"Now when the spear hit the mountain, the gods of the land were much aggrieved, because its impact made such a clang that it set the whole world to tremble for a day and a half, causing many rocks to tumble and break, and many acres of land to be flooded where no water had flowed before. Tamos, for his part, could only apologise for the chaos when he sought to have the Spear returned. Even so, his earnest appeals were rebuffed.

Tis in a thousand pieces,said the gods of the land, and we have not the bother to gather them up.

Tis no matter. said Tamos. My sons, who caused its breaking by their witless carelessness, can remedy the same if you will but allow them passage to walk upon the mountain top.

But the gods of the land were unmoved and refused their coming, and to spite Tamos further, they put a curse on the mountain, such that the shattered spear would remain there until all the fragments were gathered together without the