The World Without Part 3: Rise of the Fras

By Glenn Ric

Following the return of the seven lost Life Elements to the World Without in Part 2, A land in Peril, Rise of the Fras, Part 3 of the World Without trilogy sees the Marou and Fras rediscover many of their lost powers .

With this came a new prosperity and short-lived peace, leading to complacency and disunity among the Marou. Seizing new op

• Language: English
• Publisher: GRS Communications
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9780648054559

Glenn Ric

Glenn Ric is the pen name used by Glenn Schaube. 'The World Without-Last Days of the Koonung' was inspired by the games of his children, and events of his own childhood while playing by the local Koonung Creek in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. As active boys, they had little interest in reading so a wrote a story with them as the lead characters involving games and events that occupied their lives. After seeing numerous the kids read the book cover to cover, Glenn was inspired to re-edit and publish the first story 'Last Days of the Koonung' as well as complete the World Without trilogy with 'A land in peril' and 'Rise of the Fras' 'The World Without-Last Days of the Koonung' the author was inspired by the games of his children, and events of his own childhood while playing by the local Koonung Creek in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. As active boys, they had little interest in reading. In the hope of inspiring and interest in books, Glenn wrote a story with them as the lead characters, that involved games and events that occupied their lives. After seeing the story capture the imagination of numerous kids who read the home printed book cover to cover, Glenn was inspired to re-edit and publish the first book 'Last Days of the Koonung' and complete the story as the World Without trilogy with part 2 'A land in peril' and part 3 'Rise of the Fras'. Laced with themes of hope, responsibility and caring for others and the environment, he hopes that more kids will be inspired to read, imagine and create their own positive reality.

Book preview

Chapter 1. Septus my friend

‘I have it!’ The boy held out his hand.

Septus took it eagerly, and stared into infinity. His eyes glazed over, enchanted by its beauty, overwhelmed by its power. ‘The silver-white Element of the Void—mine again.’ He smiled at the boy. ‘Never before has a guardian understood. Adrian, you are indeed a friend of the Fras. What will be your reward?’

‘I don’t want anything. I just want to put things right,’ the boy replied, his intense blue eyes returning the gaze of Septus.

‘And so, you shall. Now as the true Keeper of this element, I will restore the balance. All shall be well again.’ Septus opened the rear door of his private chamber. It opened into the Sassafras—the Fras hides, the centre of their strength and power.

At all times guards stood outside this door. Never again would the Marou steal into his private chamber. ‘Tell Hypnoss and the Fras leaders to come immediately. Fortune has smiled upon us once more,’ he ordered. The guards disappeared into the gloom. Immediately, two more replaced them.

Septus returned to his chamber and sat behind his table, its smooth polished emerald green surface reflecting the iridescent light of the tiny creatures that filled the ceiling. He stared into the Element of the Void again, fascinated by the power it promised.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Adrian.

Septus did not answer.

‘Septus?’ repeated Adrian.

No reply.

‘Septus!’

‘Be still—all shall be revealed,’ Septus replied at last.

Adrian waited in silence, looking around the room. The craftsmanship and airy bright appearance of this chamber and its furnishings were impressive and, just like Adam and Tom before him, Adrian was surprised that a Fras such as Septus would choose such a place as his own.

And just like Tom, Adam and Mason had described to him, Adrian saw light created by millions of tiny creatures in the ceiling, mirrored around the room by the many crystals laid into the walls. The floor of polished stone looked clean and smooth, vases of fresh and dried flowers were beautiful, and oil burners filled the air with a scent that lifted his spirits, reassuring Adrian that he had made the right decision in giving Septus the Element of the Void. He believed that someone who loves beautiful things would only want to set things right and could not destroy or hurt the world or any of the creatures in it.

Hypnoss, leader of the Beast Fras; Ness and Lock, male and female, equal leaders of the Swamp Fras; and Grybern, leader of the Fire Fras, entered the chamber together. Three others followed—Grimor, Earth Fras leader; Santor, leader of the Ape Fras; and finally, Llumos, the great Fras woman, leader of the black-Light Fras. All gathered in the chamber of Septus in response to his call.

‘Your wait has not been in vain!’ Septus announced triumphantly. The snarl, his permanent expression, contorted into an ugly smile. He opened his hand and revealed the silver-white Element of the Void—the Element that creates and fills the void of space.

‘You have it!’ cried Grybern, Fire Fras leader.

‘Yes, I have it, and this time I will bring a rightful order to all things.’

‘Are you sure you can?’ said Grimor, leader of the Earth Fras.

‘You doubt me?’ snarled Septus.

‘The Guardians are the Keepers now, and Lionheart is the Keeper of this Element,’ replied Grimor with equal force in his voice.

‘As usual, you cannot see what is before you, dirt monger.’

‘You insult me Septus, but Lionheart overcame you and took the Element for his own as I recall,’ replied Grimor.

'You can see that I have the Element now and remember he only took it from me with the help of Adam, Tom and the Marou. This time it will be different,’ replied Septus.

‘What makes you so sure?’

‘This time Grimor, we will move in secret. We will restore order between the worlds before the Marou can interfere.

‘And what about this new Guardian, Adrian?’ asked Ness the female leader of the Swamp Fras. The Fras leaders turned their attention to the boy.

Septus placed a hand on Adrian’s shoulder. ‘I do not doubt him. He returned this Element to us. He is a loyal friend and he has helped to set things right again.’ Adrian looked down self-consciously. ‘And now you had better return to the World Within,’ continued Septus.

‘Guards!’ shouted Septus. Two large Fras entered the chamber. ‘Make sure the Guardian Adrian has secret and safe passage to his Gateway.’ Septus took Adrian’s hand clasping it in his own distorted hands. ‘Our plans must not leave this room. You must keep our secret. Now be safe my friend.’ Adrian nodded and left the chamber.

Before the door to the chamber of Septus closed behind him, Adrian heard Septus talking to the Fras leaders.

‘Soon the World Within will be diminished. Soon it will not foul our world. Soon the people of the World Within will be silent.

Adrian was aghast. What was Septus saying? He turned and rushed back into the chamber, ‘You said you would put things right!’ he shouted.

‘Yes, and that’s exactly what I plan to do,’ relied Septus.

‘You said you would use the Element to save our worlds,’ said Adrian.

‘No. I said I would restore the balance and the only way to do that is to get rid of your lot.’

‘You liar!’ shouted Adrian. ‘Give the Element back to me. I should never have trusted you.’

‘Take this fool to the dungeons. Without the Element, Lionheart cannot return to Mixed-up Made-up, and now that we have this Element, we can deal with the other two Guardians and the Marou.

‘Is that right’ said Grimor. ‘What about the battle of the Cleft? Even without the black Element of Light, the Guardian Adam commanded the power of light against us and the Guardian Tom made the earth quake beneath our feet even though he did not have the bronze Element of Earth and Stone.’

Septus straightened to his full height. ‘What do you want to do then? Hold hands with the Marou and hope that we are restored?’ he replied.

‘I would rather join our ancestors in Cleft Rock,’ Grimor replied.

‘Then you accept that we are changed forever?’

Yes, I do, Grimor nodded.

‘Then you know that the only way back to what we were is to get control of all seven Life Elements again and put an end to the World Within,’ continued Septus.

Grimor nodded again, ‘Providing there are no Guardians in our way. You cannot forget that it was their father, a guardian himself, who as a boy defeated all of us and caused the Diminishing when we were Koonungi. He did this even though we were the true Keepers of the Seven Life Elements.

‘I do not forget. That is why we must act quickly before any of the Guardians return to Mixed-up Made-up,’ Septus replied.

‘Good, then we finally have a real chance to pay back their father for what he did to us,’ Grimor snarled at Septus in reply.

Septus raised the Element of the Void above his head—‘It is death to the Marou, death to the Guardians, and death to the World Within,’ he cried.

The other Fras leaders raised their fists and repeated Septus's words.

‘Now, take this fool away,’ Septus growled.

Ness and Lock took the struggling Adrian by the arms. ‘Let me go!’ he shouted. They shook him violently. ‘Shut up or you’ll get what for. Now let us go,’ shouted Lock in reply. Adrian attempted to pull away and threw himself on the floor. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ They shook him violently again. ‘Get up.’

‘No!’

‘Adrian, get up! It’s time to go.’

‘No! I’m not going anywhere with you.’

‘Adrian, get up! You’ll be late for athletics training.’

I’ll be late? thought Adrian, confused. He woke up with a start. His mum was standing by his bed gently shaking his shoulder. ‘Wake up Adrian, or you’ll be late for school,’ she repeated.

Adrian looked around, bewildered, rubbing his eyes, auburn hair ruffled, his bright blues not yet full awake or focussing on anything in particular. He was in his own room.

‘Whatever were you dreaming?’ asked his mother.

‘I was having a nightmare,’ Adrian replied as he sat up in bed. Not that dream again, he thought. He climbed out of bed and went to the phone, dialling his cousin’s number. It rang a few times and Mason answered. Adrian told him about his dreams.

‘Adrian it’s only a dream. You are not a Keeper, and you do not have the Element of the Void in real life. I have it so it has not happened. And anyway, how could you get the Element when it is here with me?’ Mason reassured him.

‘But the dreams must mean something or why would I keep having them?’

‘A Gateway hasn’t opened up for you, so you couldn’t get in anyway. Don’t worry about it,’ said Mason.

Adrian thought about this for a moment, but the dream continued to haunt him. ‘But I could fall through a Gateway, like I did at Hanging Rock.’

‘That only happened because you were with us and Adam was carrying the Element of Heat and Fire with him, and we were close to the Chamber of Fire.’

There was silence on the phone again. ‘Okay,’ said Mason. 'If it helps, the next time I go through the Gateway I will tell the Marou about your dream, but I doubt that anything will happen.’ Adrian stayed silent. ‘Look, if it does happen, just retrace your steps. Go back exactly the way you came and the Gateway will be there.’

This seemed to appease Adrian a little and the boys said their farewells. Is it just a coincidence,’ thought Mason afterwards, that he has had those dreams and I have had visions of him with the Fras in Mixed-up Made-up? Better not tell him though. If the Chamber of Fire had been my first experience in Mixed-Up Made-Up, I would be just as scared as him.

Chapter 2. The China trip

Some months had passed since the boys attended the great celebration marking the return of the missing Elements and ending the terrible sickness that affected all living things in the World Without.

The Marou had revived and Septus and the Fras had kept within the bounds of their territories. The boys were busy and back at school. Homework, music, dance and sport kept them fully occupied with no time to go through the Gateway to the World Without. During this time, the Marou worked hard to rediscover the Power of Life, held within each of the Seven Elements, relearning many lost skills and improving their lives and the conditions of their homes. They prospered and grew strong again.

For Adam and Tom, school was anything but ordinary. This was the biennial year for the Year 7 student trip to China and a visit to their sister school in Beijing. To help pay for his fare, Adam had saved for months, and used much of his spare time to earn extra money over and above his pocket money.

The week before the trip, time seemed to drag far more slowly than Adam expected, but departure day finally came and all the parents, teachers and students gathered at the international airport. With bags and luggage checked in, money changed, farewell hugs and kisses dished out in abundance, the anxious parents waved off their scared but very excited children. This was Adam’s first ride in an aeroplane. He felt so excited he could hardly contain himself. He gripped the armrests tightly when the engines roared and the huge plane accelerated down the runway, the G-forces pushing him back into his seat.

An anxious ‘Whoa!’ escaped his lips as the front of the plane lifted into the air. He was not alone; this was the first plane flight for many of the students in his class. They gazed through the windows watching the ground fall away beneath them. ‘This is nothing like riding a flycine,’ Adam whispered to Tom.

Tom smiled, ‘Yeah, the flycines are more fun,’ he replied.

The pilot switched off the ‘fasten seat belt’ sign and people moved around the cabin. Some of the kids exchanged seats and their friends Digby and Claire joined Adam and Tom. All the activity on the plane kept the students entertained. Flight attendants came and went with drinks and the smell of hot food filled the cabin, making them wait in anticipation for the flight attendant to ask: ‘Would you like the chicken and rice casserole or vegetable quiche?’

Afterwards they flicked through the in-flight movies, tilted back their seats and watched the latest instalments of super hero movies. Adam and Tom hoped they might learn something useful about magic. [But as you know from their previous adventures in Mixed-up Made-up, it is not magic that enables them to make things happen, it is the greater energy of that world, which they are still learning to understand, feel and use.]

The flight took them across the equator, arriving in Beijing after 13 hours in the air. It was early April. Spring, colourful landscapes, new season flowers and festivals greeted the tourists. The mountains around the city had recently burst into fresh green, and flowers flourished in the gardens and open spaces of the city.

The first ten days of their trip sped by as the visitors took in the local sites. They visited the 100-year-old pines on Qinglong Hill; went to restaurants and sampled new and wonderful foods, and visited the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Summer Palace. On day trips to ancient Buddhist temples, Adam could not help but wonder why Buddha was usually fat. There were museums displaying objects and craftworks dating back centuries, and endless gardens filled with flowers. They participated in Wushu classes, which Adam particularly enjoyed, and the teacher commented how gifted he was in executing the various movements.

Nearing the end of their trip, they travelled to Xi'an, in China’s Shaanxi province and the home of the Terracotta Warrior army. Built as the tomb of the first Qui Emperor, Shi Huangdi, two thousand years ago, 7,000 terracotta warriors were buried with him in battle-ready formation to protect him, and hidden to all the world until they were discovered and excavated in the 20th century.

Arriving in Xi’an on the overnight sleeper train was exciting, but arriving at what some called the city of death had Adam, Tom, and the rest of their schoolmates peering anxiously through the bus windows, as they approached the tombs. They were not disappointed, for what greeted them was simply overwhelming. They walked around the compound looking at ceramic and bronze sculptures of cranes, horses, chariots, stone-carved armour, pottery and weapons. Finally, they arrived at the huge arched building that covers and protects the terracotta army.

Adam, Tom and their friends Digby and Claire waited for their teacher and guide to arrange their entry tickets. The grey paving stretched out behind them as people wandered in and out of the museum. Several minutes passed before Tom whispered to Adam: ‘Can you feel it?’

‘I was wondering if it was just me,’ Adam replied.

‘What do you think it is?

‘It’s weird,’ said Adam.

I’d call it creepy,’ said Tom.

It feels like something is wrong with the world,’ said Tom. They looked around anxiously. ‘I think it’s coming from inside the museum,’ Tom observed.

‘Look, they are coming back with the tickets,’ cried Claire excitedly.

‘Everyone please stay together. We are going to do the tour first and then you have an hour to look around on your own,’ their teacher announced.

They crowded through the entrance and entered the building where the Buidong army of terracotta warriors were sheltered. About half the length of an Australian Rules football field, Pit 1 is a rectangular area enclosing 6,000 soldiers and chariots standing in rank formation, ready for war. The group followed their guide as she explained the rank and duties of the various groups, from foot soldiers to chariot drivers and so on. In Pit 2, an unusual figure stood among the pink painted faces of the other warriors. The guide explained how this figure caught the interest of archaeologists as he was unlike any other in the Buidong army. ‘While the whole body of this figure was originally painted light green, today only the paint on the face, neck and ears remains,’ their guide explained. ‘The whites of the eye and black pupil are strangely sharp and clear,’ she continued, ‘as if they had only been painted yesterday. And notice the detail of the black eyebrows and beard, the scarlet hair band and ochre hair bun and hair.’

The group of students paused for a minute, while cameras flashed capturing photos of the strange and unique soldier. Then the group moved on, but Adam and Tom did not notice and continued to study the soldier. Their group moved some distance away. Tom pointed to the soldier: ‘He looks like he’s waiting for something.’

‘That weird feeling is really strong around here’ said Adam.

Tom nodded. They leant over the railing to get a closer look, staring at the figure for several minutes. The soldier seemed to be looking over his army. Moments passed. Then the head of the soldier turned sharply towards the boys