Full Circle at Last

By Seth Giolle

Ikals had wanted answers, and drawn into the Veshod, an unlimited world, he gets some, but even here, he finds more questions. And he learns of an ancient evil the heroes of old had thought they’d destroyed, but that in truth has lingered and been quietly active all these centuries.
The evil that threatened his world was their evil as old as time itself!
He takes this knowledge and a newly refined magical skill back to find and cleanse the Heart Stone. He returns to his world in the hopes that he can make a difference and stop what no one else could stop all this time. In order to free the dragons and man from the trappings of a history bound to ultimate destruction, he’s going to need to find a way to undo centuries of taint.
Even if it means undoing time.
And himself!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667137865

Seth Giolle

Seth Giolle was born on a small, rural farm in southeast Ontario. After Travelling throughout Canada in all its splendour, he once again makes Ontario his home.

Book preview

Chapter One Q.419

The Veshod

Ikals groaned softly and struggled to lift his head. A dull headache pounded from his ears around the back of his skull. His body felt weak, like rubber, and breathing was hoarse.

Why was his throat dry? Where was he anyway? All he saw around him was a blur of browns and dull reds streaked by black lashes as his eyes lazily parted.

The last thing he remembered was … the library … the door. The trip on foot and horseback came back in bits while he rolled over on his back and gazed up at a checkerboard ceiling of carven wood. He recalled the farmland in splintered thought, then the mountains, the dragon, and Davergen.

Back to the library, more memories came clear: using the sword to open the arm crank, studying up to find the answers, relying on his instincts to solve the real puzzle, and then, there was that last step through.

Ikals gently rubbed his temples, taking the chance to look his garb over. It was the same as when he’d left Atvian. Somehow, he’d expected to be like the others and come up with fancy, different clothes at every meet.

But there he was, somewhere no living person had ever been, and he was still wearing the wide-armed, brown shirt, open partway, held shut just after the elbows; emerald green shirt beneath; comfortable brown pants; and brown suede shoes. He’d changed clothes on his trip. Why wasn’t he wearing any of those changes? At least the clothes were clean here, and he didn’t smell bad. There was that at least.

He absentmindedly felt his shoulder-length, light blond hair. It was clean too. And smooth. He could never get it to stay smooth. He was going to like this Veshod after all.

Now if only they made their floors softer!

Ikals squinted: floors?

Sounds of quiet mumbling caressed his ears, and he glanced around, this time at more than the ceiling. He was in a library! This wasn’t like the one he’d left, but he was surrounded by books!

From what he could tell, too weak to get up and race across the room, it was a perfectly round space with eight alcoves around a central stairwell that went up and down. The floor was much like a gear with its teeth feeding out to each alcove and small grooved gaps between each where a person could stand and look over the brass railing that ran along the low honey-stained wooden barrier. The floor and shelves were wood too, and the air smelled so clean. And those alcoves were filled with books!

He tried to stand, but couldn’t make it beyond sitting. Was this the Veshod? He wouldn’t mind if it was, but he had expected a lot more!

He recognised one voice above the others. It wasn’t loud, just one he knew, and he glanced to the nearest alcove with its sturdy reading table and considered the people sitting there. Ethan sat, rolling something over in his left hand, staring at it for a moment, then, rolling it over again and study that side. He wore the soft blue shirt, leather pants, and the boots he’d been wearing the first time Ikals had seen him. The suede jacket was gone, but the wavy brown hair was the same.

Standing over Ethan’s right shoulder was a young man bearing a wide grin. His eyes were locked on the wooden puzzle in Ethan’s hand. It looked like he had a million words to say, but the eagerness to speak didn’t break the silence that filled the task at hand.

Ikals thought he looked familiar, but he hadn’t seen this person before, even with all the other guides he’d met travelling from Atvian to Davergen. The young man wore a light brown travelling cloak and had a wide hood resting upon his back. His boots were made of fine leather, some kind of animal hide with black lacing running from near the toe to the very top. Suede pants and an off-white shirt combined with the rest, suggesting this man was not a warrior.

Then it hit Ikals: he looked like his father.

Looking from Ethan to this young man, the likeness was definite. A third person, a young woman a little older than the first, sat across the table from them with a mischievous grin. She bore the same family resemblance and likeness for leather. She wore leather pants and boots, a woven dark brown embroidery starting above the heel and running up to the hip. She wore a short, white jacket and black top, and long blond hair fell over her shoulders, hanging down in small ringlets.

He’s awake, the young man noted.

Ethan looked over and nodded. Good, he said. I’m tired of staring at this thing anyway. Here, you solve it.

He handed the round puzzle over to his daughter and shook his head, the young woman laughing.

I already solved it, dad. Don’t worry, she said, patting him on the hand. I’ll save it for you to try later. She laughed some more and rose, looking at Ikals for a moment, then, turning and walking away, vanishing into thin air mid-step.

Welcome, the young man said, looking to Ikals again with an amused smile. It’s good you’re finally awake.

Yes, Ethan agreed, nodding thoughtfully.

Ikals nodded slowly. How long had he been out?

I’ll go tell Millosai he’s awake, the young man said, if she doesn’t already know. I’ll see you tonight? he asked, turning back to his father.

Ethan nodded. At the campsite, he confirmed. Just leave the puzzles somewhere else.

Laughing quietly, the young man opened his arms wide. There’re plenty more where that one came from. The Shewesse have a device made from metal and wood that is supposed to take five turns to unlock, if you get it right, and the gnomes are coming up with so many more. Ethan rolled his eyes, and his son nodded. I’ll go. See you later. Be bowed to Ikals and turned towards the book shelves, fading like his sister had.

Children, Ethan groaned, they’re worse than brothers some days.

Ikals sighed. He wouldn’t know either, not having any of the above. How’s your head? Ethan checked. The cross-over’s hard on most people, not that most people cross-over. Still?

It’s pounding fine, Ikals replied dryly, touching the back of his head like it would help. It didn’t. He examined the small pillow they’d given him. No bed!? I didn’t know you had children.

Just the two of them, and some days, they’re more than enough. Are you thirsty? Or hungry?

Ikals thought for a moment. Not really. Should I be?

No, but some instincts from your spark will remain. Here, in the Veshod, your body and spirit won’t need food. Even sleep is more instinct here than anything else. Don’t fight it. Just don’t get worried if you start finding that you don’t need any. It just means you’re adjusting.

Oh. Ikals tried to stand again, but returned to sitting a second time. His stomach was not up to it yet! Ethan was standing, looking at him as if concerned.

Ikals tried his most confident grin, which he was sure failed. This is the Veshod? he asked weakly, yawning, and shivering for some reason.

Ethan crouched and glanced around. No, well yes. But no. Ikals was feeling dizzy enough without riddles! Ethan smiled as if having read his expression. This is a library that you created upon crossing over.

I. Ikals had to think hard on this one. I created?

Yeah, Ethan joked, scratching his nose and chuckling warmly. Most people arrive in one of the caves where the crystals grow or on the plains. We prepared a campsite above Kan Tanpas for you actually, but you somehow managed, he mused, glancing around thoughtfully, to arrive in a library that didn’t exist. At least, not until you got here.

Ikals glanced around again.

He’d made all this! How!?

I don’t know this many books, he insisted. His head felt so heavy that he had to cradle it gingerly in his hands. Why am I sleeping on the floor?

It isn’t safe to move someone who’s crossed over, Ethan explained, until they’ve awoken. We did give you the pillow. Ikals supposed he should be happy with that much? If you’re ready, we can find you a more comfortable bed though, well a bed roll, but it’ll certainly be better than a floor.

Ikals didn’t want to leave, but he needed something to stop the headache, and he knew he was shivering from fatigue. The cross-over had done such a number on his body! He allowed Ethan to help him up, supporting him under his right arm. He hadn’t seen a door in his glance around.

Where did the books come from? he asked.

You’d be amazed how many people here like to read. You created the space, and they’ve been filling it up. Hold on.

Why? Ikals managed, just before the library blinked out of existence and he found himself standing in a rather rudimentary-looking campsite under a bright blue sky. He instantly felt himself drained further, and he drooped further from Ethan’s shoulder!

This is Kan Tanpas and the Veshod proper, Ethan introduced. And here you go.

Ikals was basically carried the last few feet and lowered onto a brown and beige bedroll. It was surprisingly comfortable, and Ikals quickly sunk down into it and released a long sigh.

Rest, Ethan instructed.

Wait, Ikals mumbled. Can I go back? To visit my library?

Ethan laughed lightly. Eventually, when you’re better rested, he reasoned. Aliis can teach you how.

Ikals glanced the way they’d come, but it was all lush forest with a mountain climbing high above it. There’d been a library there a moment ago! Where? he managed, supremely confused.

Your library isn’t done growing, Ikals. Until it does, it exists. Ethan paused to phrase his next words. It exists out of place. It’s nowhere really, not yet, but it can be visited and made use of, and it is being made wide use of. Now rest. We’ll answer more questions when you’re better ready for them.

I thought I was in a rush to get here, Ikals mumbled. The sense of urgency returned. There’d been three days left when he’d gone through the portal, maybe less. Being underground in that library, time had been hard to figure.

To get here, yes, Ethan agreed. Ethan crouched again and started speaking with his hands. And on your spark, the world, as of when you left, had, or has, depending on how you look at it, two and half days left, maybe three, but time doesn’t flow the same here.

Ikals tried to gather what he was being told. He also tried to sit again, but didn’t make it. He rolled over, almost throwing up! What? he rasped, trying to stop the world from spinning so quickly.

Lay down, Ethan urged, helping Ikals get comfortable again. You’re fine here. The world, Millosel, your spark and all of our sparks are fine. There still is a time factor to your quest, yes, but a minute in your world, on your spark, is as two or three soltie here. So, for now, try to just relax. Okay? Ikals nodded, but he wasn’t sure why. When you’re ready, I’ll give you the tour, and when you’re ready, we’ll tell you how you’re going to help save your world. That is why you were brought here after all, to save Millosel.

Ikals nodded again and lay down. Aching body or not, it was good to lie down, and he was soon fast asleep.

When he awoke next, those successive, short bits of coherent thought, the people around the campsite’s low fire changed. At one point, Ethan was joined by his brother, Elin with his dusty brown hair, calloused hands, light brown cloak, and worn leather boots. Like his brother, the sword was gone, but the dagger still hung from his hip, and he bore the same excitement to do battle. As well as the same childish mannerisms.

Other times, Aliis and Grocia were there, speaking quietly, huddled close before a dazzling, red and gold sky. She wore her weathered brown cloak, pants, and boots. She carried no sword, and her long brown hair came down over her open hood with bright green eyes aglow. Grocia was similarly garbed. His sword rested by his left arm, a knife in his boot. Sighing, she turned to him and ran a hand through his hair, mingling fingers while they spoke. There was love, but there was regret in those eyes and touches as well.

Of the red and gold sky – where were the suns?

There was an image of a tall woman in white speaking to Shanea. Shanea wore a comfortable green shirt and white shawl. The armour he’d seen in his own spark was gone from her legs as well replaced by dark green trousers and red-brown boots. Her long hair was tied up behind her neck. Elin showed in a blur of motion. They kissed and left, the tall woman leaving as well.

More confusing images were there too: Ethan and a woman who became two others? Ikals remembered, rather groggily, trying to sit, but he’d slipped under fatigue once more. Was there soup or water being ingested? Maybe.

Still, he had a clear sense it was true that the lady with a young attentive face had really been there. She’d worn a dark beige, hooded cloak with dark brown pants, long curly white hair, and black leather boots.

But she’d blurred and two other women had emerged where she’d first been! The one woman wore a white flowing dress. Her dress dipped in the front showing off her attractive thin figure. It was tied at the waist, and she had long blond hair down her back. That woman offered Ethan a deep passionate kiss before turning, grinning, and walking off.

The second woman wore a long, dark green dress interlaced with a tight white, braided, stitching pattern. She wore elegant silver shoes and had long brown hair down her back. She remained longer, and Ethan walked off with her.

Two moons. Darkness.

But those moments, and those people, paled in comparison to one glimpse. Ikals struggled to fight fatigue and stay awake, but it was a steadily losing the battle, even with some warm chocolate they’d supplied. On that glimpse, she’d come. Not just any woman.

He didn’t need her name. It was obvious who and what she was: Millosai.

She wore a light brown cloak, tied in place by a dark red ribbon. She smiled freely, long brown hair flowing from around a small bright face and lips that moved with such poetry. Each word was a song, a string of notes he yearned to hear, yearned to hold.

Nothing about her was forced, and though concern showed on the edges of her lips as she, Ethan, Shanea, and Aliis spoke before a single sun and red-gold skyline, there was such grace to her presence that Ikals felt no danger. He felt no threat at all.

And she’d turned to look at him and smiled, and she’d spoken to him, but all he’d heard was a feeling, a knowledge of safety against all odds, but at same time, keeping him silent, drawing him back, was something else.

A disbelief. An anger.

But why should he feel these things!?

She seemed to understand and left him be. He was left feeling very much a prisoner in a cell he couldn’t see, tortured by something he couldn’t escape. Such was his first sight of Millosai, one he vowed he’d never forget!

Chapter Two

Unlimited Worlds

When he finally fully awoke and felt fatigue’s grip gone, there was no one at the fire pit. The fire had gone out, and it wasn’t cold, but for some reason, he wanted the wood to blaze.

He instinctively rolled onto his side and staggered to his feet. And he searched out the side of the campsite where he felt sure they’d come in on, just to make sure the library wasn’t there hiding behind those bushes.

It wasn’t.

The sound of rushing water and chirping birds brought him across the campsite to that edge where he looked out in wonder at where exactly he was.

Kan Tanpas, he discovered, was a world unto itself! The campsite was situated on the edge of a cliff halfway up a mountain ring that surrounded a forested valley floor below. There was a tall water fall that streamed down to his far left ending in a sparkling pool, set of rapids, and winding river that fed the forest. It was all so lush and vibrant in its colours!

There was a large hole in the valley floor which he found a little odd. There were stairs leading down into it, and short people moved about in those shadows. It was such a contrast from the colours and life that filled each and every other corner of that enclosed paradise.

There were birds in the sky he’d never seen before, and deer and other animals flitted around in the valley bowl below. The air smelled like Spring.

Hugging himself for warmth, he noticed some more details he hadn’t picked up before. Horses moved through the forest to the far left, some stopping under the nearest boughs; only, they weren’t horses.

They were unicorns.

Taking a tentative breath, feeling completely out of his mind, he took a step back. A rather large head on an equally large, lumbering body eight times the size of any man moved into and out of view in the hills just above where the unicorns grazed!

What was that? he asked, scared to talk too loudly.

Trying to convince himself he’d just misunderstood what he’d seen, he stepped forward again with his eyes opened wide, breath still, and mind racing. Newer details came into focus, and he found himself feeling completely lost!

It just, well, it couldn’t be. Could it?

There’s a lot of everyone out there, Shanea said, coming up beside him, wrapped in a heavy white shawl. A cold wind blew, rustling her and his hair, playing with their clothes, and causing dirt devils to form at their feet. At least everyone’s getting along for the most part though the ogres just don’t seem to want to get along with anyone.

Ogres!? Ikals asked, frowning heavily. There are ogres down there? I thought, never mind. I don’t know what I thought anymore.

At the base of the roaring waterfall amid those step-like foothills, he spotted more lumbering giants carrying freshly-hunted kills over their backs, and his eyes moved over the crystal blue pools and saw splashing and heard such wondrous singing.

Mermaids, Shanea whispered with a grin. You may want to keep your distance when they’re singing though. It can be very hypnotic.

He nodded numbly.

There were ogres in the forests, seven-foot, dark green shapes. Behind them, smaller, waist-high blue creatures followed, and Ikals was sure he could see something moving along the tree tops, something fast.

Mermaids, unicorns, giants, ogres, Ikals mused, wanting so much to doubt his own eyes. Are those dwarves down there? Dwarves are real? he asked.

It wasn’t short people inside the large hole in the valley floor. Silver armour flashed against the sunlight, and double axes were swung, private fights fought. They were dwarves! There were young and old. At least, they looked like dwarves. They even had beards, unless he was just making up details in his mind.

Shanea crossed her arms and nodded. Yes, she confirmed. They left your spark. The world had turned quite distrusting of them. They returned the once for a short stint. They live on the gnomes’ spark now. Everyone you’re seeing here, keep in mind, is dead.

Dead? Ikals checked. I don’t understand. I mean, if I’m seeing them, they’re real. Aren’t they?

"And is real alive? Shanea asked, enjoying Ikals’ bewildered expression. Keep in mind, she added softly, that I’m dead too. Ikals inhaled slowly. He’d forgotten about that. Everyone you see here, Shanea explained, is from the Auswix Chaz. They’re the spirits, like myself and the others, of people, dwarves, and others who’ve died and passed beyond. We’re gathering here now as one for what’s to come."

And what’s to come? How’s this Veshod connected to my Millosel. He stopped to gather his thoughts, hoping it would help. There’s a plan to save my world. Shanea nodded. Can you tell me what that is? Why have I been brought here? What am I supposed to do?

Shanea smiled. I’m not sure I’m the one to ask, Ikals. Your best bet is either Ethan, Duril, or Millosai herself. Ikals perked up at the thought of speaking to Millosai.

What’s she like? he asked. I saw her, when I was sleeping, when I awoke the once, sleeping, and I saw her, but I mean, what’s she like in person?

Like anyone else, Shanea replied, resting a hand on his shoulder, only, she knows a lot more and possesses a lot more patience and understanding than anyone you’ll ever meet, so in a sense, she’s not like anyone else. Laughing, she patted his shoulder and crossed her arms once more. Don’t worry about speaking to her or what to say when you do meet her, fully awake. She won’t.

It’s the thoughts and feeling, Ikals said with a sigh. Aliis said as much before, on Jor’s farm.

Shanea nodded thoughtfully. That’s pretty much the truth of it, she confirmed. I was about to go for a ride. It’s not as grand as all this, she mumbled, motioning to the valley below, but I find it relaxing. How about you join me?

She was pointing out beyond Kan Tanpas now to what he assumed was the greater world of the Veshod. He wasn’t even sure he could handle this much.

Did he want a closer look? Out there?

Ikals wasn’t sure he did, but creatures from a past he’d once thought of as pure fable were walking around, hunting, and singing below him. They might only be spirits, but they looked so alive to him, and he did want to know that life!

Do I have time, what with the moons and such? He looked up while asking. There were two moons in the Veshod. Like before, one sun hung in the sky with a dim, white aura to it. The other two suns must be behind the mountains or distant horizon.

We’ll be back here by nightfall.

Nightfall?

She found them horses by the river’s edge: caramel mares with soft, charcoal-coloured manes and tails. Moulded, leather saddles had been fitted into place, and reins hung, ready for use, and they mounted.

How many of them are still alive? Ikals asked as they started down a trail he hadn’t seen, Shanea leading them down a slight grade that started as a gap between two flat boulders, becoming a widening trail that wove ahead between small green bushes and earthen walls.

They mentioned something about, what was it, whalms, Ikals continued, ducking under a branch. I don’t even know what they are for that matter.

The trail turned left, moving into caves within the cliff face, around under the water fall, and out the other side. Light filtered in through the roaring water giving the ride a light blue mist and unearthly atmosphere. Light blue crystals, lodged in the roofing, corners, and one solid wall added a shimmering touch to the mood.

Do you mean on your life spark? Shanea asked. Her words were nearly drowned out by the sounds of water overhead.

Ikals shrugged. What’s a life spark? he asked, speaking up to be heard.

They came out the other side, Ikals wringing his ears. He looked on to a zigzagging trail down the mountain side. This side of the waterfall, the foothills below were alive with white blossoms and green underbrush, as was most of the way down to them and after.

What was that? Shanea asked.

A life spark’s a place where you live, right? Ikals asked.

Shanea weighed the question for a moment. It’s a life source, a life stream you’re borne and tied to.

Then, yes. How many of them are still alive on my spark?

She nodded and started them down. The whalms are alive, she noted, living far underground. When they come up, their prey doesn’t survive to tell anyone anything, but they spend most of their time hunting underground creatures: Rangchore and others, many of which I’m sure you’ve never seen or heard about. Whalms are the ones following the ogres down there, the blue ones. They’re quite vicious, even after death. We’ll steer clear of them.

Ikals nodded his thanks. That sounded like a good idea. The trail wound left, dropping a few feet. Something black-brown and weasel-like rushed out of the bush on their left, racing between the horses and disappearing into the bushes on the other side.

Ganee, Shanea explained, smiling at Ikals’ shocked expression. She kept them riding, the horses trotting comfortably along. The ogres, tree dwellers, and other creatures are gone from your spark though, Shanea noted sadly as they rode. They’ve all been hunted out, even the doyun. Man expanded too far, grew fearless, and came on with numbers they just couldn’t face.

You sound sad about it. Aren’t they viscous?

Oh, they are vicious and deadly, and mankind is the main part of their diet, yes, but they have the same claim and right to live. They count as races and have a right to life. It’s as simple as that. Just think of all the history you’ve learned in a matter of minutes. No one else on your spark knows any of that. That is what’s lost when an entire race dies.

I think I understand.

She pointed towards the foothills. Something moved down there, but what was it? Wild brown fur covered muscular arms. Claws stretched over a foot long, ending in a cruel hook. Their jaws were large and wide and housed long sharp teeth, and they walked on all fours with their legs twice the size of their arms.

Halkanien, Shanea explained, another race, animal in this case, you’ve never known, another loss to the errors of time and the vanity of man.

Shanea tossed out other names as they went: Taquieth, glool, Weslo-Wen, and Lanchir, pointing to caves or hills or small groves.

Does everything really pass over? Ikals asked. I always figured Millosai was pickier than they said. I mean, animals and creatures. He squinted. Dragons?

They pulled up part way down between two trees for Ikals to get a good view. There, flying across the horizon, were dragons of different sizes and colours. Some had four wings; others, two. Some were his size and worked hard to keep up with the rest.

Telloa, Ajelara, Ylenshui, all of them, Shanea explained, they end up in the Auswix Chaz. Where you end up when you pass over depends on how you’ve lived, but everyone and everything passes over to the same place. Only those who’ve reached Tenredt or Shilen are here with us now though. Those of the Diemr remained. Don’t be fooled though, spirits or not, like the whalms, everything here has its own nature. Peaceful or not, they might still attack, and they can do you harm.

Tenredt? Shilen? I don’t understand. Maybe I should have waited.

They continued down, Shanea picking a blue flower from a tree as they passed, enjoying its scent. And she paused to think a moment. How about we stop at this much, she suggested, tossing the flower aside, the Auswix Chaz has three levels to it: Diemr, Shilen, and Tenredt. If you’ve lived a good, clean life, if you’ve been a hero in your own sense and tried to be a worthy person, you will be allowed to walk the Trial of Millosai. Passing that, you’ll end up in Tenredt, a beautiful place of life and comfort, at the centre of an even more beautiful world.

Where you guys ended up?

That’s right.

He had to ask. If it’s so peaceful, why are you guys so well armed all the time?

Shanea smiled. Peace must be earned, and against the kind of evil we’ve known, it’s more often hard fought. Not all peace is peaceful.

That was ominous!

If you’ve lived a good life, Shanea continued, but you went astray. You weren’t there when your friends needed you, or someone or something led you astray, but you have a good heart, you will end up in Shilen. The Dark Riders govern Shilen.

I thought they were just stories people told their children to scare them, Ikals joked.

The oldest of legends had Dark Riders in black cloaks, skeletal figures that rode a fiery path wherever they went, doing the bidding of the dead in the land of the living. Ikals assumed these Dark Riders and those Shanea was talking about were one and the same.

They’re her marshals, she confirmed. If you’ve lived any other kind of life, you find yourself a walking corpse, or something worse, and you find yourself in Diemr. She smiled reassuringly. That wasn’t too bad. Was it?

Ikals shrugged. It wasn’t too bad. No. But he still had no real clue how it all fit in with where he was or what was going on. How did a spirit travel from the Auswix Chaz to the Veshod? How had they been travelling to his spark all that time and helping him cross Millosel?

They’d been using existing spirit energy to stay, yes, but beyond that, how did it all work? And how was he getting home to do whatever it was he was supposed to do to save anyone?

His questions were paused a moment as he considered his mount. He was still a little tired and sore, but it didn’t hurt to ride. Maybe his frantic horseback flight from the dragon on his trek to Dwarf Peak had done him some good after all.

Would Lomnes pass the Trail? Was he there doing it as they spoke? Ikals smiled. He was sure Lomnes would pass, even if he had to steal his way over the goal!

They rode out through the foothills and out a back trail exit, leaving the ringed valley of Kan