The Tale of the Twin Planets

By Janna L. Ruck

Professor Nicholas claims to be a man of science, but that might change after he and his wife take their five adopted children (A.J., Adam, Rachel, Allison and Cinnamon) on a trip into outer-space. The space traveler’s journey takes them to two distant planets. One of the planets is yellow and the other one looks much like Earth. The five children and Mrs. Nicholas can’t explain it, but they feel strangely drawn to the yellow planet. To their amazement the yellow planet draws their ship the Star Clipper towards it. After landing on that yellow planet, the Professor, his wife and children are soon caught up in an adventure. Part of this adventure takes place on the yellow planet which they learn is named Willow Weath. The other part of their adventure leads them to the earth-like planet. It is known as Tellus. Both planets are involved in a crisis. Nomis, the Head Servant on Willow Weath, is the one who sends the visitors and three helpers (Brandon, Anissa and Ann) to Tellus. While the adventurers are there, they find out just how serious the situation is. During their time on Tellus the travelers out run the agents of the evil Queen Ragnus onboard the submarine Dawn Star. The Nicholas’ then return to Willow Weath where they and the three helpers set out on a quest. Along the way they learn how the Trio: Sum, Crio and The Rider on the Clouds are always with them. However, as the family proceeds down the trail a foul being known as Mr. Furis tries his best to convince them otherwise. While on Willow Weath the adventurers stay in a tree castle. They also travel through an enchanted forest, a quarrelsome village, a dreary desert, a dark terrifying valley, fight a fierce battle, and climb a lofty peak. Along the path, the earthlings meet many people and learn many lessons. Are they the fulfillment of The Prophecy of The Seven, will they be successful in delivering the Mourning Stone to its proper home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984553607

Janna L. Ruck

Author, Janna L. (Rogers) Ruck, was born on February 10th, 1961. She grew up in the rural community of Waverly Colorado. As a child, she roamed around the family’s 160 acre farm. Across the road from her home stood an old orchard. This orchard became her favorite place to commune with God and nature. Janna and her three brothers played in the orchard with the neighbor kids. They often played knights and ladies while riding on their ponies. From a young age she was fascinated by all things that had do with the middle ages. When Janna was nine she read the chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. She fell in love with the series and hoped that she might write a similar story someday. In 1985 Janna married Ron Ruck. They have three children Adam, Allison and Janna’s stepson A.J.. She earned her degree in social work in 2008. Janna worked at various kinds of employment over the years including substitute teaching which was by far the one job she most enjoyed. The author struggled with ill health for much of her life. In 2013 she was diagnosed with a very rare sinus cancer. At this present time, Janna is a five-year survivor. It was this battle with cancer that enabled her to complete “The Tale of The Twin Planets.” Throughout the cancer journey Janna began to realize more and more deeply that the creator of all life is constantly by our side. She hopes very much that others may also become more aware of this reality. Janna lives in Northern Nevada near the Sierra Mountains. She enjoys spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren (Ezreal, Cinnamon and Ann) along with numerous other family and friends.

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Copyright © 2018 by Janna L. Ruck.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 10/08/2018

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Have We Arrived?

Chapter Two

On The Yellow Planet

Chapter Three

The Pathway

Chapter Four

The White Castle

Chapter Five

The Time Weaver’s Tapestry

Chapter Six

The Battle For The Mourning Stone

Chapter Seven

Frustrater Succeeds

Chapter Eight

The Plain of Decision

Chapter Nine

The Gate Keeper and The Rider On The Clouds

Chapter Ten

On Tellus

Chapter Eleven

The Big City

Chapter Twelve

Queen Ragnas Makes Plans

Chapter Thirteen

The Voyage of The Dawn Star

Chapter Fourteen

On Cornu Tallus

Chapter Fifteen

The Library

Chapter Sixteen

The Forest of Indifference

Chapter Seventeen

The Village of Discontent

Chapter Eighteen

The Toll Both Operator

Chapter Nineteen

The Desert of Desolation

Chapter Twenty

Into The Dark Valley

Chapter Twenty-one

The Candle Watcher

Chapter Twenty-two

The Battle of Harvest Field

Chapter Twenty-three

Jubilee Mountain

Chapter Twenty-four

The Potter and The Blacksmith

Chapter Twenty-five

Starlight Lake

Chapter Twenty-six

Through the Mist

Chapter Twenty-seven

The Garden

Chapter Twenty-eight

Discoveries

Chapter Twenty-nine

Home Again

DEDICATION

To my husband Ron who has supported me in all of my trials, joys and ventures for over 30 years. Thanks to my parents Chet and Shirley Rogers and my Grandmother Georgia Sutton. These three encouraged me to write from the time I was a child.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As the idea for this book began to take shape, I started to recognize that so many wonderful people had come into my life over the years. It was this realization that caused me to want to write a book that was a gift to God, my family and friends as well as anyone who might choose to read it.

As a result, the story is overflowing with characters. All of which have touched my life in a special way and left their images on the tapestry that makes up the scenery of life. I could have included so many more, but the volumes would have been too numerous to count. I thank God for all the characters in my life both in the pages of this book and in my heart.

Many thanks to several children and teens who previewed the book, they include the following: Christian (Chris) and Orlando (Ory) De Leon, Payton Finley, Emily Page, Chloe, Maranatha (Mara), Brook and Eden Ziegler.

Much gratitude is also owed to the following adults who previewed the story and provided feedback: Leela Kelso, Andrea De Leon, Betty Mayne, Leona Kinsley and Vivian Olds.

Finally, a debt of gratitude goes out to the special family members who helped with editing and the development of ideas. To begin, thanks to my wonderful daughter-in-law Amber for ideas and editing. I’m very grateful to my awesome son Adam for technical assistance. Thanks to Allison my incredible daughter who helped me come up with the title and for technical assistance when desperately needed. To my amazing stepson A.J. who encouraged me to draw the illustrations for this work. Dear Rachel for agreeing to be a character in the story. Last but not least, sweet grand-daughter C.J. (Cinnamon) for coming up with the idea for the flying carriage out of her fertile imagination. I could not have accomplished the task of writing this tale without their assistance. Thank you all so much!

Believe

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CHAPTER ONE

Have We Arrived?

It all looked so unreal, thought the children. They were five siblings, and from the oldest to the youngest they went by the names of: A.J. (which stood for Arron Jerome), Adam, Rachel, Allison and Cinnamon. The children were gazing out the portholes of the Star Clipper. Blue, pink and yellow colors drifted by. They were breathtaking. Twirling and weaving themselves around the stars and the planets that made up this little solar system. The Professor had told them that the colorful clouds were made up of dust and gases. But the children thought it was more fun to think that they were smoke from a magician’s wand. Sometimes the children could see shapes in them. Some looked like animals and some looked like people’s faces.

The Star Clipper and its passengers were traveling to a solar system on the edge of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The children’s reflections looked back at them through the glass of the portholes. A.J. had wavy brown colored hair, his eyes were hazel and he had a bright smile. Brownish-red hair topped Adam’s head. He had lazy brown eyes, round glasses and a small narrow face.

Rachel gazed out the porthole with a dreamy look in her dark brown eyes. She had a very gentle looking face. Stop twisting your hair so much Rachel, you’ll twist it into a knot and I don’t want to help you comb it out! As Allison said this, she glanced critically over at Rachel, who was at that very second nervously twisting her light blonde pigtails with her fingers. This was something she often did when she was excited as you can imagine Rachel was right at this moment.

Stop bugging Rachel. Said A.J., a note of impatience in his voice. As the oldest child, A.J. had often found himself having to correct his younger siblings.

Allison sighed, sorry Rachel. She said and then turned back toward the porthole. Using it like a mirror, she pushed her pink framed glasses up the bridge of her nose and smoothed her long light brown hair. Allison had a lovely dimpled chin. She gave herself an approving look and then leaned her forehead against the glass. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? Allison questioned, her sea green eyes glistening.

Are you talking about the stellar clouds or your reflection? Rachel asked teasingly. The boys and Cinnamon snickered.

The stellar clouds of course, silly! Allison giggled, nudging Rachel on the arm, her face turning slightly red.

Cinnamon’s lovely short dark brown hair bobbed up and down as she wagged her head in agreement. Cinnamon had to stand on her tiptoes to see out the porthole. Her deep brown eyes glowed as she watched the scenery glide by.

Yes Allison, it sure is! Adam replied, gently patting his sister on the top of her head.

As for me, I can’t wait to see where we’re going! A.J. announced, in his usual enthusiastic manner.

That’s it! There’s where we’re headed! Children, come here and look! Professor Nicholas was standing on the observation deck, peering through a telescope. A.J., Adam, Rachel, Allison and Cinnamon ran across the control room and clamored up a ladder. This ladder led to a platform that had a dome surrounding it. The dome was made up of many panes of glass. It wasn’t glass however, as the Professor had explained. It was much stronger and unlike glass, it was extremely unbreakable. Here was where the Professor stood. When the children reached his side, he turned the telescope towards A.J. so he could gaze through it.

After adjusting the lenses, A.J. could see two small planets. One was a blue color, much like earth. White clouds were dotted about here and there. Large brown and green patches appeared through the clouds and seemed to be land masses. The other planet was a yellowish-brown color. It gave off a yellow glow that looked like a desert sunset. A snow-white moon orbited each planet. A.J. could barely tear himself away from the magnificent sight. He finally had to however on account of the fact that Adam, Rachel, Allison and Cinnamon were pulling at his arm and all of them were pleading, come on A.J., let me see, it’s my turn and so on, until he finally had to give in and let the rest of the children have a look. When each of them peered through the telescope they were amazed at what they saw. A chorus of oohs! ah’s! and wows! were to be heard coming from the children’s lips, accompanied by wide eyed facial expressions.

We should reach the blue planet’s atmosphere shortly. Said the Professor.

But, I like the yellow planet. Allison sighed.

So, do I! Added Rachel, as she looked down on the floor with a disappointed look on her face.

Oh now, my dear girls! The Professor exclaimed. That planet is obviously uninhabited.

Cinnamon cocked her head to one side and said to the other children in a low voice, uninhabited? What does the Professor mean?

He means nothing lives there. Adam whispered back.

No, we’ll be going to the blue planet. The Professor said emphatically. We must be scientific about this children. You see the yellow planet almost certainly has no oxygen. We wouldn’t be able to breathe and there’s most likely no plant life or water, (some might think the Professor felt drawn to that planet too but was trying to ignore that feeling as hard as he could).

The children were very disheartened, for there was something about that yellow planet that drew them toward it in a way they couldn’t explain. Rachel murmured under her breath, but it’s such a beautiful place.

Beautiful. Allison repeated. The girls had similar tastes when it came to things that were beautiful and seemed to fill one with a sense of wonder. These similarities often involved beautiful scenery, pictures, or magical stories that had often comforted the girls in past difficulties.

A.J. and Adam felt much the same as their sisters but didn’t say so. As is typical for most boys, anything that captured their sense of adventure seemed to call to them and that yellow planet seemed to be doing precisely just that.

Professor Nicholas took no notice of the children’s disappointment. This was probably because he was even more excited than usual. He bounded down the ladder and began turning knobs, pressing buttons and flicking switches on and off on the control panel. All the while, he was talking to his wife Mrs. Nicholas, who sat calmly working on her knitting project.

Going to Mars and Pluto was nothing compared to this! Imagine, Mrs. Nicholas, (he always called her Mrs. Nicholas). A whole new solar system! Perhaps we’ll find life here!

Yes dear. Mrs. Nicholas didn’t get nearly as excited about space travel as her husband did. She would only glance up from her needle point now and then and say, yes dear and no dear and you’re absolutely right dear.

The Nicholas’ had adopted A.J. Adam, Rachel, Allison and Cinnamon a year ago. The children liked them both very much. However, they couldn’t bring themselves to call them Mom and Dad as yet (they usually called them the Professor and Mrs. Nicholas or sometimes Mrs. N). The youngsters still missed their own parents too much, even though their real parents could no longer take care of them. The Nicholas’ seemed to understand this and didn’t pressure them to do so. The children’s time with their birth parents had often been difficult. Their parents had a lot of problems. Even so, the Nicholas’ had assured them and the children knew in their hearts that their real parents still loved them very much.

The Nicholas’ never had any children of their own, and when they had decided to adopt, the adoption agency showed them a picture of these five beautiful children and they fell in love with them right away. That doesn’t mean that everything went smoothly right away. Indeed, at times, it was far from perfect, for the children still had hurts and fears that lingered in the back of their minds and hearts. As time went on however, the children began to accept and feel more comfortable in their new home. They slowly began to trust that the Nicholas’ loved them as their own.

Adam thought that Mrs. Nicholas must be the kindest person he’d ever known. She wore wire-rimmed glasses and had kind blue eyes. Soft grey curls framed her round face, which sat atop her equally round body. She was so unlike the Professor, who was tall and skinny, with a long face and a sharp chin. His hair was a brownish grey color and nearly always looked uncombed. His eyes were dark brown like deep pools of ink which turned even darker when he got excited as he was right at this moment. Mrs. Nicholas was very patient and calm, while Professor Nicholas was excitable and energetic.

Back on earth, just like his father before him, the Professor had worked for the space program. When he was a little boy, he had helped his father build a ship in a lab, located in a huge basement under his childhood home, the house in which they now lived. His father had died before the ship was finished and Professor Nicholas had promised his father he would finish her, and someday fly her into outer space. They had built The Star Clipper out of odds and ends that were thrown out. Things that the space program thought were no longer useful. Because the material was collected over many years, much of it was different from what we might see in rocket ships today. Instead of touch screens, as mentioned earlier, the control panel had knobs, switches and buttons on it.

Even though she was made out of spare parts, she was a beautiful ship. The outside of her was made out of shiny silver plates. These were placed next to each other in rows so that they looked like silver armor. She had silver wings that stretched backwards towards what the Professor called her stern. The observation dome in which they were now standing, sat on top of a passageway, that from the outside looked like a slender neck. Rachel said that she thought the ship looked like a dragon. Big black letters, flecked with tiny specks of silver spelled out the name Star Clipper on both sides of her. Not too long after the children were adopted, the Professor had taken them to the laboratory and shown them the vessel. The children all vowed not to tell anyone, not even the friends they had gotten to know at school about the existence of the ship.

The children were allowed to go anywhere they liked onboard the ship, except for one room that is, the engineering room. The Professor told them that the ship’s engines were in there and it was far too dangerous a place for them to be. Still, the children were curious about the room. A low humming sound, like a soft beautiful song flowed through the closed door.

After finishing building the Star Clipper, Professor Nicholas then figured out how to travel faster than the speed of light (the children wondered just exactly how the Professor had discovered this, but then he was a very bright man and his lab was full of charts and graphs and any number of scraps of paper with mathematical equations on them). He had already taken his wife and the children on trips to the other planets in our solar system. Going to Mars and Pluto had been exciting, but now that they were traveling into deep space. The thought was frightening. Now however, as they watched the sights fly by the observation dome, the children were glad they had come.

The Professor had descended the ladder and was standing at the control panel in the control room. ‘There, that should do it! Professor Nicholas said as he gave a knob on the control panel one last turn. We should be well out of reach of the yellow planet’s gravitational pull."

Are you sure dear? Mrs. Nicholas asked. That does really look like a lovely planet. She had said this because of the fact that The Star Clipper was traveling at an amazingly fast speed. By this time, the children no longer had to look through the telescope to see the two planets. They could clearly be seen through the many paned glass of the dome.

Mrs. Nicholas, of course I’m sure. After all, I’m the one who brought you all on this trip and it’s up to me to see that you’re safe. Landing on an empty planet is by no means safe. In fact, it would be most unsafe, not to mention extremely unwise,______extremely unwise! He muttered as he turned his attention to the viewing screens that were above the control panel.

As this seemed to be the end of the conversation, the children could do nothing but gaze out the dome and watch as the yellow planet and its lovely white moon began to slip from their view. In a short time, only the edge of the planet could be seen along the side of the observation dome. It quickly began to look like a giant yellow sliver and soon, it disappeared completely. The children’s hearts sank.

I guess we better get used to the idea. A.J. grumbled as he slumped down onto the floor of the observation deck. The other children did the same. They sat and watched as the stars slipped by the dome. Deep down, they all knew the Professor was right. It was silly to think that they could land on an empty planet. They would not be able to survive. But somehow, for reasons they could not explain, they_____ were drawn to that yellow planet.

As the moon of the blue planet came into view, these thoughts were running through their minds. However, all at once the children slowly became aware of something. That something was the fact that the Star Clipper was slowing down. At first, it wasn’t noticeable, but eventually they could tell.

What the devil is going on here?

Anything wrong dear? Asked Mrs. Nicholas.

I can’t figure out why the ship is slowing down! He said.

The children got up and ran over to the rail that encircled the inside of the dome. They could see the Professor below them in the control room frantically punching buttons and twisting knobs. However, it seemed to be doing no good. Now not only was the ship slowing down, it was going backwards!

A.J., Adam, Rachel, Allison and Cinnamon watched as the rather dull moon of the blue planet slipped away and was soon replaced by the lovely white moon of the yellow planet. This moon had a beautiful white glow and craters on its surface that made it look like it was smiling at you. Soon, everything was going by as quickly as before, only this time, the other way. In a little while, they could see first the edge of the yellow planet and then quickly, the whole planet came back into view. The Professor was scratching his head and muttering, this shouldn’t be happening. It’s impossible. I tell you impossible!

It looks like the surface of the planet is getting closer! Allison exclaimed.

Yes! I think you’re right Allison! Professor, we’re moving towards the surface of the planet! Adam yelled down to the control room.

Awesome! Cried A.J. Allison gasped. Rachel swallowed hard. Cinnamon laughed gleefully and clapped her hands together.

Yes Adam, I know and there seems to be nothing I can do to stop it either! Children, come down here, get into your seats and fasten the belts around you. You do the same Mrs. Nicholas!

Yes, I suppose you’re right dear. Remarked Mrs. Nicholas in a calm voice. Right after Mrs. Nicholas said this, the ship began to shake violently.

Are we entering the atmosphere of the planet? Asked Adam in a shaky voice.

Yes, that appears to be the case. The Professor shouted in answer. Children, get into your seats as quickly as you can!

Due to the fact that the ship was shaking so violently, they all had some difficulty doing so. All the members of the Nicholas family looked like a bundle of flailing arms and legs. But, eventually they