Duality

By Stuart Richardson

Book II in the Aelf Club Series

Sara Devere is fifteen, and has a new friend in the Aelf Club - Ella. She's is absolutely amazing, but her twin brother Cole is an Aelf who doesn’t quite see eye-to-eye with the others. There are only two things on Cole’s mind – independence and power. But his plans could get him into some very serious trouble.
Ella wants to help keep her brother out of trouble, and Sara volunteers to assist in whatever way is needed. They use the mysterious power of the Mercury Gate in their quest to save him – but Cole doesn’t want to be saved. He is on the cusp of getting exactly what he wants, and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals.
Meanwhile, Sara’s boyfriend Josh has been forced to move to the other side of the country – Sara is absolutely crushed without him. But the sweethearts use their incredible Aelven powers to visit each other every once in a while – via the MoonGate. Their suffering only seems to make them stronger as they continue learning about their amazing heritage.
Together, Sara and her friends in the Aelf Club struggle to help each other to be the best they can be, to be of assistance to those in need, and to enforce the great Aelven Protocol that has kept the world moving forward for thousands of years. The epic battle between the Light and the Dark continues...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stuart Richardson
• Release date: Apr 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005992200

Stuart Richardson

I'm an author with 5 books published, and I'm working on another two books. I've also written a few screenplays, and work as an entrepreneur and electronic specialist.

Book preview

Chapter One

Sara Devere absolutely loved to daydream – it was one of her favorite pastimes; and due to Sara’s particularly potent imagination, it was also one of her many specialties.

Sara loved to spend lazy afternoons in her backyard couch-swing after her homework was done, just imagining the future and what it might bring, or reminiscing about various events of the past.

On this particular day Sara quietly reminisced about how she had come to learn of her ancestors – the Aelves, who showed their presence in nearly every legend from ancient times. Sara had once thought – like most people do – that Aelves were tiny creatures that only existed in stories. She now knew that Aelves were, in reality, indistinguishable from humans – at least in the physical sense. It was the mental, emotional and spiritual differences which had created such a gulf between Aelves and humans.

Sara was thinking about the Grand Aelf Union she had attended a couple years before; it had been the first one Sara had ever attended, and was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced in her whole life.

And with her history, Sara thought, that was saying something.

Sara’s memories of the event were crystal clear – they played out like a movie in her formidable mind.

Jeannie – Sara’s friend and fellow Aelf – had invited Sara over to spend the night with her at her grandmother’s house that night; the young girls had been absolutely ecstatic about the prospect of going to the Aelf Union, and they loved the fact that they never had to hide any Aelf secrets from Jeannie’s grandmother – who was also ‘of the blood’. The older woman had a very sharp mind for her age; she had told many stories to Jeannie over the years, and Jeannie had since related many of them to Sara.

As the three sat in the energetic older woman’s living room, their bright-eyed elder told the young girls about her earlier years, in a time when it had been far more dangerous to be an Aelf. She explained to them about how many things had changed over the years; as a woman, she hadn’t even been allowed to vote in those early days – and it had been far worse for those in other minority groups.

But being an Aelf was different than being from any other minority group; it could be truly dangerous, because of the very old and immensely powerful establishment that had always feared the formidable force represented by the Aelves. It was easy to forget that only two hundred years earlier many Aelves were still being murdered for who they were, due either to their powerful capabilities, their forward thinking, or their genealogical charts which indicated that the Aelves still existed in the world. Even after the nearly two thousand year-long Aelven holocaust, the great Church hadn’t quite succeeded with their deviously ambitious plan – the plan of killing all direct descendants of the great Shining Ones of old. Their immense plan had not only included genocide – it also consisted of spreading carefully prepared propaganda throughout society so that, over a long period of time, the public would completely forget that the Aelves had ever even existed. And if anyone did remember anything about them, it would be with memories of fabricated stories that completely smeared the true memory of the noble group.

But the Church had nearly succeeded – the Aelves that remained were now few and far between, a handful of seeds scattered by the winds of time. And most of society had forgotten – the Aelves were now nothing more than a whimsical, fantastical myth in the eyes of the average human.

The greatest beings that had ever existed on the face of the Earth had now been successfully marginalized.

Jeannie’s grandmother reminded the young Aelves how lucky they were to live in modern times – times of much greater personal freedom.

She brightened up a little after a pause.

"Are you two ready to start actively preparing for the evening?" she asked the girls, her own eyes sparkling with excitement.

Sure - just tell us what to do, Grandma! Jeannie exclaimed with happy anticipation.

She and Sara shared enthusiastic looks.

Jeannie’s grandmother instructed the girls a little more about the Aelven specialty of projecting the mind outside of the body, enabling them to travel anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. She told them about how they should go about harnessing and storing some extra ‘etheric’ energy before their departure, to ensure a strong and long-lasting trip. She said the added energy would help them to be able to bring back as many solid memories of the grand excursion as possible, before the memories would have a chance to begin fading away due to the extreme difference between the waking state of the mind, and that of the etheric projection.

After going through the energy exercises for a while, the three Aelves took a little break; then nine o’clock finally came, and the three re-convened ceremonially in the living room, each in their nightgowns. The young girls reclined comfortably on the sofa while Jeannie’s grandmother took her spot in a soft, old easy chair next to the sofa.

Together, they closed their eyes and started breathing deeply and rhythmically, each using their own preferred technique in preparation for leaving their bodies behind, and projecting their spirit-bodies up and through that most wonderful and mysterious of Gateways – the MoonGate.

Sara already had a couple years of practice behind her, and within a very short time she found herself whooshing through space alongside Jeannie and her grandmother. They were now free of the physical realm, although they could see the physical world flying by below them.

They were also no longer in their nightgowns; in their glowing astral state, the girls could ‘invent’ their evening attire using willpower alone. Jeannie and Sara, being young and lacking experience, found it difficult to concentrate on their clothing, and the lack of focus caused the beautiful adornments they had created only moments before to quickly fade away, leaving behind what was known as ‘residual self image’ – this included their average, everyday clothing they usually wore to school.

The three glowing Aelves arrived at their destination within only a moment, and when Sara finally gazed around she couldn’t believe what she was seeing; they had exited the United States very quickly, and were now drifting above an ancient temple somewhere in Thailand. The temple’s incredibly intricate stonework hinted at Aelven craftsmanship.

About a thousand or so Aelves had already begun to gather in an immense semi-parabolic formation a few hundred feet above the temple, their astral bodies glowing brightly before a waxing crescent moon that shone through the mist in the background. Beautiful music poured out from within the great circular formation of Aelven spirits – the music seemed to emanate from the two figures that were in the center of the circle.

As Sara and Jeannie got closer and closer to the perimeter of the group the girls noticed that the two figures making the music in the center were not just random Aelves – it was their own Aelf Club mentors, Mr. and Mrs. Maccabee!

The august couple faced each other in mid-air at the apex of the formation, eyes closed and arms outstretched. Although these great Aelves were both in their early seventies in everyday life, in their momentary spiritual state they had all the vibrancy of many couples half their age; as they performed in the spectacular but temporary aerial auditorium, the couple’s hands and fingers danced around, shooting rays and various other forms of multicolored, brilliant light in every direction. The incredible music emanated from their very auras and minds, as well as from the light that seemed to flow effortlessly out of the two shining entities as their crescendo built to higher and higher levels of power and complexity. Both Aelves knew very well that without their physical bodies – bodies that were quietly slumbering a half a world away – they could fly around as pure light, and they were now taking the fullest possible advantage of that fact.

Sara and Jeannie gawked at each other in amazement, each of the youngsters exuding their own excited bursts of radiant energy as they enjoyed the awesome spectacle before them. They shared their excitement with Jeannie’s grandmother, who drifted happily beside them; she was absolutely glowing in a beautifully flowing evening gown, adorned with a virtual wealth of sparkling, shimmering jewels. Sara’s eyes beamed with surprised glee, and the older woman reciprocated with the utmost grace, her now more youthful visage made possible by the incredible altered state of astral projection.

The amazing music - after having reached a carefully crafted plateau of stunning, masterful chords – finally climaxed, sending a kaleidoscope of lights in every direction; then it ended very suddenly, and with the most beautiful chords Sara had ever heard. It was a magical sound, one that completely filled Sara’s heart with the most wonderfully harmonious energy; it made her feel immensely satisfied – and completely at peace.

Sara heard a strange kind of applause, but as she looked around she didn’t see anyone clapping – the other Aelves all had their hands outstretched before them, palms out, each participant sending a wave of positive energy toward the elated couple in the center. The Maccabees glowed more and more brilliantly as they received the graciously offered energy from their myriad admirers, and refracted it back toward their donors, creating an even more dazzling display of light and sound.

About a half hour later the circular formation of Aelves had disbursed, and now they gathered into various clusters slightly closer to the ground. As Sara and Jeannie made their way toward their mutual friends, they saw many gracious and friendly Aelves who greeted them warmly in passing. Jeannie’s grandmother had stayed behind to meet with some old acquaintances.

Jeannie and Sara caught sight of Rapha – their fellow Aelf Club member – who was waving at them wildly in the distance; he and Thomas raced through the air to meet up with the girls. They then approached their larger group of friends who invited them into their drifting circle. They all said their hellos, each one making a brief comment about the brilliant spectacle they had just witnessed.

Sara approached Mr. and Mrs. M., and declared to her two august teachers how amazing their performance had been from her perspective. Mrs. M. beamed, and the elated couple thanked Sara kindly, expressing how happy they were to share Sara’s first Aelf Union.

Then Sara finally saw Josh…

Chapter Two

Thinking about Josh suddenly pulled Sara straight out of one daydream and directly into another. Little had either Sara or Josh known that the summer after that first Grand Aelf Union would represent their last remaining moments together.

Josh’s father was an engineer who worked contract jobs – jobs which were usually a year or two in length; his contract had expired that summer. Since the economy had slowed down, he had been forced to accept a contract position on the West Coast, two thousand miles away from Sara – the two young Aelves had been absolutely crushed.

It was now a year and a half later, and Sara was a sophomore in high school. She was fifteen years old and, like Josh on the other side of the country, she was among the youngest of her classmates, many of whom were already driving.

Sara missed Josh terribly, and she knew that he felt the same; they had been torn apart right when their feelings for each other had finally been mutually acknowledged. It had been a rather clumsy romance – two thirteen year-olds each having their very first romantic experience together.

It had been extremely innocent, of course – holding hands sheepishly in the hallways at school, sharing ice-cream together. They had never even kissed, as they were each apparently too shy to make the first move.

Neither of them had the slightest idea that they were soon to be yanked apart so abruptly, so soon; they had each felt just fine about taking things nice and slow. They really just loved hanging out, talking about a million different things and reminiscing about their first year in the Aelf Club together.

But now Josh was gone, and Sara’s heart felt as if it had gone missing too, leaving a massive hole where it had once been.

Of course, as Aelves, Sara and Josh had something no human couple in their position would ever be fortunate enough to have – they had the MoonGate, that magical frontier of astral light!

They met every other Friday night in secret rendezvous within the Ninth Kingdom, usually high above Sara’s neighborhood. They already shared a very strong psychic connection, so they both instinctively knew exactly the right moment to project, after their parents had gone to bed and both households were still and quiet.

Although Sara and Josh had the power to go anywhere in the world together on those enchanted Friday nights, they soon discovered that neither of them really had much of a desire for grand adventure. They were both consumed with just being together, and neither of them wanted to get the least bit sidetracked with the myriad diversions that world travel would inevitably present them with.

Usually they would just meet locally and talk, sharing their high school experiences together, or telling each other about their lives at home.

But sometimes they would come together and immediately embrace – that very special MoonGate embrace that was quite akin to real fireworks when they finally melted together high in the sky, a shining vortex of brilliant, multi-colored light exploding from their purely spiritual – and quite literal – union.

The experience lasted only a brief moment as far as any clock was concerned, but to each of the young Aelves it was timeless – a blissful encounter where they both seemed to be magically shielded, at least during the moment, from the otherwise noisy world that surrounded them. When they united in the MoonGate, without their dense physical bodies, the young Aelves could join together spiritually, coexisting for a moment within the same singular space. It was as if they were existing as one, directly sharing their thoughts, feelings and memories – it was the most intimate and holistic experience imaginable!

But they were young, so neither of them had the skill nor the power to stay in the MoonGate for much more than a half hour or so. This always limited their already sparse time together.

Of course they made up for it by talking on the phone for hours at a time. They both had unlimited national calling at their houses, so neither Sara’s mother nor Josh’s father could really say anything about it. That was unless either of the adults had a pressing call to make, which was seldom.

So, even though the young couple had the amazing gift of the MoonGate, along with fairly impressive telephone privileges, both of the young Aelves were absolutely miserable with the current state of affairs.

Sara pictured Josh in her mind’s eye, with his cute hazel eyes and light brown hair. She couldn’t wait for the following week when she and Josh would be able to have another one of their little secret getaways!

Chapter Three

It was a chilly autumn day to start off the week; Sara’s mother said goodbye as she dropped Sara off at the Maccabees’ house for their daily club meeting after school.

Have a nice time, Sara – I’ll see you in a couple hours, she said happily.

OK Mom, see you at five, Sara called back as she waved goodbye with only a couple fingers.

Sara was always so excited to get together with the Club, even though she came to the M.’s house every single weekday.

The Aelf Club never got old!

Sara walked through the door and guessed from the empty living room that they would be convening on the back patio. She made her way through the Maccabees’ old rustic house, glancing once again at all the cool little things her mentors had gathered over their many years. Mr. M. had been Sara’s math teacher at the middle school, and although he was said to be the greatest mathematician in the state, he and Mrs. M. had many other interests; they actually had more ‘hobbies’ than any married couple Sara had ever met – and their vast collection of books, statuettes and various tidbits went quite a ways in illustrating that fact.

Just as Sara was approaching the Maccabees’ back patio door, Mrs. M. popped through it heading in the opposite direction.

Oh – hello, Sara! Mrs. M. said happily, exuding her ever-present positive energy. We’re meeting out back today – feel free to join the others while I tend to something for a moment.

OK – thanks Mrs. M! Sara said with a genuine smile as they scooted past one another.

Mrs. M. put a gentle hand on Sara’s shoulder and gave her a warm smile before heading toward the front of the house.

Sara met the others on the patio, and they all greeted each