The Portal to Forever

By Bonnie Sullivan Raymond

The peaceful Kingdom of Ashmirl has been taken over by the evil wizard Soldrin. The rightful King and his heir have been captured and imprisoned in the dungeon deep beneath the castle walls. Soldrin has sworn to keep them prisoner until the great book of "The Elven Chronicles" is turned over to him. The Elven Chronicles holds the secret of the Portal to Forever and must not fall into the hands of anyone who would use it to gain power and domination over others. The wizard has unleashed hoards of demons, trolls, gargoyles and other monstrous creatures on the kingdom to kill and destroy at will until the Chronicles are turned over to him. Prince Leerec, younger son of the King, is brought back from the human world to defeat this threat to the kingdom and restore his father to the throne.

When Prince Leerec falls victim to an assassin’s murderous attack, his son and daughter are also transported from their home in the human world to use their special powers to save his life and find a way to defeat Soldrin and his evil army. The children journey across the kingdom to find the ancient dragon Falon to enlist his help in destroying the demon Groz who serves the Wizard Soldrin. In their travels they becom acquainted with many of the amazing creatures and places to be found in their father’s elven world which now, so desperately, needs their help.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 25, 2009
• ISBN: 9781452058245

Bonnie Sullivan Raymond

The author was a lifelong resident of the State of Maryland. She lived in the beautiful town of Havre de Grace on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband of 41 years and their 3 cats. She enjoyed computers and computer games, baking cookies and reading with her cats in front of the fireplace. Her foray into writing began more than twenty years ago when she started writing computer software and hardware reviews for publication in print as well as on the Internet. "The Portal to Forever" is her first novel to reach publication. She died of cancer and kidney failure in November of 2020.

Book preview

Contents

In the Time Before.....

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

Who’s Who in the Kingdom of Ashmirl

In the Time Before.....

In another world, in a time long forgotten, there existed powerful, godlike beings known as the Ancient Ones. They observed, and all too often interfered with the lives of those mortals who worshipped them. Some of these Ancient Ones were good and benevolent beings who truly cared for the well-being of their followers. Others allowed themselves to be corrupted by the awesome power that they possessed. These beings were the ones responsible for the Great War that devastated much of the known lands. It was they who created the Portal to Forever that would allow them the means to conquer other worlds.

The Portal to Forever would provide the Ancient Ones with a lust for power, easy entry into other worlds close to their own. With full knowledge of the magic needed to use the Portal, one could also travel forward or backward in time to any of the these worlds. It was through the Portal to Forever that they planned to enter these worlds and conquer them by any means necessary.

The Ancient Ones who thirsted for more and more power, seduced many of the greedy magic users of that time to aid them in their plans of conquest. These wizards, witches, sorcerers and many others with differing degrees of magic ability and powers gladly believed the promises of greater and greater wealth and power to come their way.

With their hunger for power and wealth, all the evil ones joined forces to battle the other good Ancient Ones who had banded together the remaining wizards and magicians and any others who used their knowledge for good. The battle was long and furious, but in the end, as we have been taught must happen, good triumphed over evil and the corrupt Ancient Ones were banished from the lands forever. The Ancient Ones on the side of good withdrew, vowing to never again interfere in the lives of the creatures dwelling upon the Earth. The lesser creatures of evil were destroyed while most of the demons were imprisoned forever to protect all from their madness and destruction. A few of the more intelligent demons went into hiding and were never seen again. No-one knew what became of them.

A hundred centuries passed until most believed the Great War, or the War of Spells, as it came to be known, was just a fairy story told to frighten small children. It had been a long time since the world had seen evil of that magnitude. It is the nature of mortals to forget that which is unpleasant until History repeats itself.

In a time and land far distant from that War of the Ancient Ones, the descendants of elves who fought in that Great War would be drawn into a conflict that would link their lives and fates with the Ancient Ones and the choices they had made centuries before.

And so it Begins Again..........

Chapter One dragon.jpg

In another World and a far distant time where no one had ever heard of the Great War or the Ancient Ones, the Sun brightly shone down from a crystal blue, cloudless sky. It was a glorious day for flying.

A tall man with slightly shaggy brown hair, blue eyes, and elfin features, strode confidently across the tarmac towards the waiting airplane. This was to be just a short business trip and he was anxious to be on his way. The sooner his business was completed, the sooner he could return to his family.

He wore casual clothing which should have allowed him to blend in with the crowd but there remained a commanding air about him which drew more than a passing glance from others walking towards the plane. As if from nowhere, two men dressed in the uniforms of Airport Security Police, appeared on either side of him. The young man showed no surprise at their sudden appearance nor at the quick but reverential bows each accorded him. They spoke briefly and then the three moved rapidly out of sight in the direction of the Airport’s Security Office.

Anyone watching the trio would have been astonished at what happened next. As soon as they were out of sight of the main terminal and any casual observers, the three figures disappeared in a blinding flash of green light. A flight controller rounded the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of the event, and immediately went to his supervisor and requested a leave of absence for health reasons. He was convinced he was having a mental breakdown.

After the departure of the young man from the boarding party, the rest of the passengers took their seats and the plane took off without further delay. The plane was in the air only a short time before hijackers took control of the aircraft. Many of the passengers used their cell phones to call family and friends and learned that other planes had also been hijacked by terrorists and had been deliberately crashed into important buildings. The passengers spoke quietly among themselves and after weighing all their options, decided they would not go down without a fight. They made a brave attempt to overpower the hijackers and regain control of the plane. Their struggle ended when the hijackers flew the plane straight into the ground at such a high speed that the plane and all aboard were apparently pulverized leaving only a crater and very little else. No bodies were ever recovered. A memorial was later erected on the site to honor the brave men and women who died there.

Several hours later the wife of the man who had been escorted from the airport, was notified that her husband was among those lost in the crash. With no reason to doubt this information, she grieved for her lost love and then got on with her life and raising their two small children.

The young man who had been spirited away from the doomed airplane, was called Leerec. He and the two men posing as security guards had disappeared silently, in a flash of light and just as quietly reappeared in a dense forest of tall evergreen trees. They were now deep within the Elven kingdom of Ashmirl. This was the world where Leerec was born. This was home. The air was clean and cool with the fragrance of moss and moist earth. There was no hint of the smog and pollution of an industrial world and no sounds of planes, cars or busses which were unknown here. The trees that towered high above were so dense that any sound was muffled and carried only a short distance before dying away. The late afternoon sunlight barely filtered its way through the thick branches to the ground. Butterflies, moths and dragonflies fluttered above the them in the sparse patches of Sunlight as if the sudden appearance of men was a natural occurrence and not worthy of their notice. The only audible sounds were from birds high up in the trees and the wind rustling gently through the branches. A creature that looked much like a blue jackrabbit ignored the new arrivals as it busily nibbled purple clover blossoms nearby. They should be able to speak freely without anyone overhearing their conversation. This was definitely a different place and time than that of the airport they had just left.

All three men still wore the clothing of that other world and looked strangely alien to their surroundings. Leerec turned to his companions and said You are my most trusted friends. I know you would not have come for me unless there was a problem of the gravest nature. Tell me what has happened. Are my father and brother in danger?

The first to speak was Flan, a taller than average elf, with longish brown hair, deep blue eyes, and a countenance that reflected the gravity of the situation. "Your Majesty, the Kingdom has been captured by soldiers of the vilest sort and demons controlled by the wizard Soldrin. King Eldric and your brother Prince Nedric, have been imprisoned in the dungeon.

The second, slightly shorter elf with shoulder length blond hair, known as Trev, continued. Soldrin is holding the King and Prince as hostages until the Book of the Elven Chronicles is delivered to him. He plans to use the secrets of the ancient Elven spells that have been preserved in the Chronicles, to increase his power and make himself ruler of our world and all those worlds that join ours through the portal. The Chronicles hold the secret of the portal which he needs to accomplish this.

Soldrin thinks you dead and has no fear of a rebellion from our people, Said Flan But our people will never surrender. They await your return and will follow you into battle to free the King and your brother. They are willing to die in the effort to liberate the kingdom from Soldrin. He finished with sigh and a look of deep concern on his face as he awaited a response from Prince Leerec.

The Prince was quiet for a moment and his next words seem to surprise his friends. I have a family in the human world through the portal. My wife and children must be protected at all costs and their existence will remain a secret. Until this crisis is resolved and my father is back on the throne, my family will be allowed to think I am dead.

When we searched through the portal for you, we went too far forward in time and learned that the airplane on which you were a passenger, had been hijacked by terrorists shortly after taking off. The passengers fought back bravely against the hijackers but all aboard were killed when the plane crashed. We returned to the portal and managed to go back in time to come for you before you could be killed with the others. Your family will think that the plane was the instrument of your death. Explained Flan. We could not in good conscience allow the others on that plane to die in that manner. The plane and all aboard were transported through the portal at the point of impact with the ground leaving a crater with some debris behind. The authorities of their world think them dead but they are all safely in our world. It was their destiny to die in that crash so they cannot be returned to their lives in the human world. It would alter the future of that world and time which has already been set. They must remain here. Their memories have been altered and they will live out their natural lives as our honored guests and the heroes that they are. They have been welcomed into the settlement of Men in the far eastern wilderness of the kingdom. The hijackers have been dealt with and have been placed where they can cause no more harm. The plane is where it will not be seen again.

Thank you my friends. It would have troubled me to know that so many people had died senselessly at the hands of such evil men. Their families will grieve for them now, as will mine, but some day they will know the truth. My wife, Sandy, is a strong woman and will raise our children well. She will teach them of their Elven heritage when the time is right for them to understand. I pray that one day I can return to them and resume the life of my choosing, said Leerec. As the younger son of King Eldric, I have no desire to become King. I will assume that role only until my father can be returned to the throne. He declared.

Trev pointed to a small clearing a short distance away and said, We have horses, more appropriate clothing and provisions for the journey to the encampment where our forces are gathering. Together we will free the Kingdom of Ashmirl and remove the threat of Soldrin and his forces from all the lands.

Leerec smiled sadly and said, You make it sound so easy, my friend. I hope you’re right. I fear much blood will be shed before we are again free of this menace. The three walked over to the area where