Bound in Strength: The Mejuarian

By zola blue

An exciting epic fantasy that delves into the creation of new races and their adventures in a world filled with aliens. The story revolves around a newly formed race known as the Mejuarian, who find themselves in a problematic situation that compels them to leave their homeland. Mejuarian, created by their god Thire-los, are beautiful, part human, part majestic animal creatures, making them primarily human with lovely tails, ears, and hairs.

As they embark on their journey, the Mejuarian encounter various other races, including the Dragonors and Arvunglies. The Dragonors possess imposing and awe-inspiring qualities, while the Arvunglies, described as "little people," may have hidden agendas and motivations.

The central quest of the Mejuarian is to locate their missing loved ones, and they rely on the help of the Dragonors, Arvunglies, and potentially other allies they encounter along the way. The story unfolds with thrilling adventures, unexpected alliances, and perhaps conflicts as the Mejuarian navigate this new world and face the challenges that come their way.

This book is an engaging and captivating read for fans of epic fantasy who enjoy imaginative world-building, the exploration of new races, and quests driven by personal journeys and the pursuit of loved ones.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zola blue
• Release date: Jul 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223786863

zola blue

As a reader, I have enjoyed numerous books throughout my life. As a writer, I aim to create engaging stories that captivate and leave readers wanting more. Now semi-retired, I can devote more time to writing and building a relationship with God. At the same time, I work on my creative journey. Living on a lovely island in Canada with my husband, two dogs, and one cat is a beautiful and serene environment that greatly inspires my writing. Drawing from my experiences and surroundings, too, I believe, adds richness and authenticity to my stories. Nurturing my passion for writing and exploring the realms of fiction and fantasy with dedication and creativity, I hope to continue to craft captivating stories that resonate with readers and provide them with an enjoyable reading experience.

Book preview

Bound in Strength

Stance Upon Heart Ache

Book II of The Mejuarian Series

Published by Zola Blue in 2020

Copyright © Zola Blue

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Zola Blue asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

First edition

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my Heavenly Father God, my husband, and my mother, whom I will never forget.

Prologue

The Mejuarian Kingdom was one of fantasy dreams; the sun cast its bright rays upon the village all year round. Rainfall controlled by mountainous rock surrounding most of the region, sophisticated weather devices limited the amount of water falling on the Kingdom grounds. Only gentle sprays fell upon their lands. The showers watered their gardens, cleansed their lands, and supplied the lovely lakes and streams running throughout the enchanted Kingdom.

Sunlight casting upon the blades of blue-colored grass in the Kingdom's amazing gardens, exotic plants fashioned a delightful, fanciful place of meditation for the Mejuarian. Pretty flowers shaped like vials rested upon beds of shiny golden leaves; effervescing brightly, upon the peculiar grass, they appeared to float across blue crystal waters.

Extraordinary pointy flowers with sharp-cupped petals garnished the gardens in colors of pink, green, yellow, and purple. Their spindly green stems reached several feet into the air, towering to the heights of branches on tall trees. As infantry soldiers preparing for battle, tall and erect, their cups open as umbrellas protecting the flowers beneath them from droplets of falling rain.

Stone roads running throughout the Kingdom, simple buildings made of rock pillars, tiny apartments, houses, Mejuarian shops, and the collective social grounds neatly lined the main street. Roads curving off into the distance led to farming, animal-naturalist lands, and sectors with the grand buildings they used in their daily lives.

One of the most magnificent structures within the Kingdom, the king's castle, stood splendidly at the village road's end. The castle's three towers stood high into the sky. Their walls formed from some type of clear material, the steeples themselves were almost transparent. Except for metal beams and doors that hid its hallway, its view was dynamic. The rest of the palace formed out of a mysterious white granite; metal particles changed their hues depending upon the darkness or light that beamed against it.

Atop of the cone-shaped peaks, banners flew proudly, showing the Mejuarian crest. One would expect that the villagers might appreciate having their flag fly admirably over the king's castle as in any kingdom. In the Mejuarian Kingdom, this was not the case. These banners symbolized their origin from a god called Thire-los, and the flags caused contentions between the highly intelligent animal/human beings.

As the story goes, before the Mejuarian existed, many ages ago –or as the Mejuarian call it, cen-cycles— a race of masterful magic users called Ercutians lived. Blessed with long lives, an ability to create terrible magic enchantments, conjurations, and make mystical potions, earthlings reached out to them for their talents. The people received high esteem from the lessor earthlings. The once humble people lost their humility and control and domination over every living creature they sought out. The ruthless magic users played with earthlings as pawns in their dominance games, ignoring their laws of kindness.

To stop the barbarism on Earth, ancient sorcerers and wizards with spells of teleportation available to them, whisked the unruly magic users away from the world they conquered. This ended their tyranny, and they all inhabited a planet far away from Earth's atmosphere called Ercutis. On this planet, they built themselves a paradise of comfort and luxury that even the wealthiest earthling could never imagine. They called themselves Ercutians.

Because of decay and rot in their lands, four imposing magic users combined their magical powers into one terrible staff. Thie, Lotus, Ireania, and Os, made up the Great Thire-los. Thire-los saved their lands, but the magic users were too late to sustain the Ercutians lives, and the people lost the ability to bear young. Saddened by their fates, Thire-los employed the staff's extraordinary powers. With a single drop of blood from an earthling animal, they became the mothers and fathers of the Mejuarian race.

Chapter One

A Simpler Time

The cafeteria was always busy for the third lunch session. Students occupied the small room as the middle grades readied themselves for their lunch period. Sweet smells of peanut butter cookie dough, baked pizza, and the steaming meat goulashes in warming ovens saturated the room. Hungry kids enticed by the aroma of the fatty foods, and many who just wanted to get out of the classroom, rushed through the two doors, all wanting to be the first one in line to get their tray of food.

The cafeteria, also the auditorium, had a stage nestled near its front entry. Tall satin deep red curtains hid most of the scuffed wooden platform from prying eyes, and the music teacher held her lessons in the auditorium. A sizeable grand piano sat in front of the drapes. Two boys in the band played around on the keyboard, banging out some catchy tune, hoping to get applause from their classmates.

Three women stood behind plastic clear shields dishing out cold fries, hotdogs, lumpy mashed potatoes, and something he suspected was chipped beef, gripped at the line of hungry youngsters. They barked out orders, demanding that they hurried along when the teens dawdled through the line, trying to decide what crappy food to have first. This spectacle made the room a real cafeteria, Ren believed.

Mrs. Parson, the social science teacher, sat at the end of the line in front of an old black manual cash register. She gave change for milk quarters and took tickets from those on the welfare program. Robert John, how many times must I tell you, if you want a carton of milk, then give me a nickel.

I aint got no nickel, Mrs. Parson.

Then go to the office and get a free ticket, she told him. Take this milk back to the cooler.

Ren stared at the kids sitting at the fold-out tables, now covered in crumpled paper bags, lunch boxes, and cafeteria plastic trays filled with greasy food. Too many conversations going on at once.

What shoes should I wear to the football game?

I think I am going to go to the movies with Tom Lee.  

With too much chatter from the kids in the room, Ren blocked out the babbles around him and thought about the ceremony he was attending tonight. He ate the baloney and cheese sandwich Mrs. Cheazemina made him for lunch.

Mary Lee strutted over, followed by Suzie. Hi, Mark. How are you?

Just peachy, Mary Lee, Mark answered, then shrewdly eyed at him, Franklin, and Sam then grinned.

The football game was great, the pretty young blonde blushed. It was apparent she had a crush on Mark. Then again, what girl in the school didn't.

Yes, I know. Five touchdowns, Mark shrugged. Mark, fourteen, the quarterback on the junior football team, and a joker, was his best friend. An olive complexed Adonis, Mark spent time playing football, constructing schemes and jokes, and spending his father's money.

He had a way with the girls as well.  Ren watched his buddy put on the charm with Mary Lee. Susie was there, too. The two girls were never seen without each other on the school grounds. Both cheerleaders, they were the prettiest girls in school, Ren believed, especially Suzie. According to most boys in the school, the second member of the duo, a dark chocolate sugar baby, stood next to her friend and smiled. Ren smiled back. He knew she was out of his reach. He was quiet and reserved, and she was a popular girl, and although she spoke kindly to him, it was nothing more than that. Also, she had a boyfriend already.

Ren smiled nervously and tried to show off in front of the cute pompom girl. He commented, I have to leave right after school, my dad is getting his award tonight.

Way to go, Franklin congratulated. A close friend, as well, Franklin was most like Ren of the other three. They both had black fathers; however, Franklin's mother was a lovely Mexican lady that made the best chicken tostadas and beans. Afro Mexican with golden tan skin and reserved nature, he was the most serious of the four of them. Fifteen in a couple of months older than Mark, he made sure to keep the four of them out of trouble when he was around.

Yes, he says he is the first black man to get the award. He is pretty jazzed about it.

Are you going Ren? Suzie asked, smiling as if she were an angel. 

Ren nodded his head. Yeah. It's at the Hyatt Inn at 6:00.

They have good food there, Sam piped up, stuffing the last half of his hotdog in his mouth. Sam, shortest of them all, was the youngest and pudgiest; Thirteen years of age, he was Ren's junior by three months. Sam acted much more immaturely, causing other kids to call him Baby Sammy. Sam never bothered with the opinion of the other boys. His mother, an overly neurotic caregiver, convinced him he would be president by his thirties. Dressed in bow ties, knitted vests, and nicely pressed shirts, she sent him to school to the students' ridicule. This made him strong, though, and he was a scholastic genius.

Geez Sam, who cares about the food? The whole thing does not matter. I am just going because I have to. Ren lied. He only wanted the other kids around to think him cool. Celebrating his black father, who was getting an award presented by some of the best white veterinarians in the state, was a big deal.

Stop your lying, spaz. You only talked about your daddy getting that award, Mark told him.

Well, I think you should be proud, Ren.

Me too, Suzie agreed with Franklin

I want to go for the food. My dad took us there after church one Sunday. Sam stuffed a twinkie in his mouth. Hmm...the cakes are so good there.

Sam, you got to stop stuffing your face like that, Franklin scowled, then chuckled at the cream around his mouth from the overstuffed cake.

I know, Franklin, but my mother says I am a growing boy, and I need to eat.

Yeah, expanding out of that chair, Mark chuckled, and the rest joined in.

Eat what you want, Sam. We will be here to roll you around, Ren laughed.

Sam stood up in his perfectly ironed plaid shirt, tan pants, and sleeveless cardigan. Extremely neat, he looked as if he wore a uniform on his chubby body.

I am off to get some cake. Everyone laughed.

Ren tell your pops I am proud of him, Franklin told him, stood up and left the table. Later. I got to study for science.

Me too, Ren said, wrapped the rest of his lunch in the torn baggie, and stuffed it back into his Spiderman lunch box. Nervously, he stepped around Suzie, slightly bumping her with an arm. He froze and looked into her face. Large brown puppy dog eyes gazed warmly at him, and her curvy pink lips smiled. I am sorry, Suzie.

That’s alright.

Ren shoved his lunch box into his book bag and followed Franklin toward the classroom.

Hey, space boy, come help me understand this stuff, Franklin yelled. Man, your dad’s like some type of Sammy Davis Junior, your mother is beautiful, and you going to Nasa one day. Your family is just too awesome.

Yes, I am just awesome. But what about Brooklyn, Ren chuckled.

She probably gonna marry Prince Charles or something.

You know it. Ren stepped into the classroom. Hi, Mr. Jensen.

Ren, Franklin, you are early.

Yes, I know. I have a question.

Shoot, my fine gentleman.

Do you think the Russians will land on the moon before America?

A Life-Changing Event

When Ren walked through the door of his home after school, his mother stood there in her blue chiffon dress. A thin matching lace scarf draped around its v-cut neckline. It fell nicely down and around her shoulders. Brown skin on her slender neck and petite shoulder and arms, she was lovely. Its skirt, which flared down to her calves, showed off her firm calves and small feet. White Cinderella shoes sparked a tiny bit. She was like a princess when she smiled at him. All the pressures at school just seemed to go away. Her dark auburn curly hair pulled back into a big puff on her head, her face gleamed like one of the women on the Miss America Show.

How is my son today? She walked up to him and hugged him. She smelled like coconut.

Good.

Any adventures today?

Well, Suzie talked to me.

Did you talk back? she grinned, bent down to face him, and looked into his eyes.

I told her about dad’s award.

Wonderful. There you go. Speak up. She will love you just like I do.

Mommie. His three-year-old sister ran up and grabbed his mother around the legs.

I love you, Ren, she winked and picked up Brooklyn. Now hurry, we have to be ready when your father gets home.

A meteor and destruction

After the event, Ren lay back against the seat of the car. He listened to his mother and father chat on about how great he was. The celebration was as he expected; everyone wanted to shake his father’s hands. So many congratulations in one night, he could not keep track of them. He really did deserve the credit, and the grant money, if he accepted the research project. The two of them talked about the possibility of buying one of the old plantation plots, so he could move part of his practice to their home.

The two of them were so incredibly happy. Ren closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant life God gave him. A moment later, Ren looked out of the window; it had started to rain, and a massive lightning bolt lit up the sky. In the far distance, he saw a blazing red light. A meteor, he cried out and watched the burning rock hurtle downward. It's so far away.

Right now, it is, but soon it will come closer, his mother lovingly said.

Hubert, his mother yelled suddenly. She jumped up and leaned against the back of the seat. Ren assumed she was making sure that Brooklyn was buckled in, who slept peacefully beside him. Moments later, he saw bright lights, felt a crash, and his mother flew back into the windshield of the Chevy Malibu. Ren felt the impact; snagged by his seat belt, he bounced around the back of the car as it slid down the edge of the gully and stopped. It rocked gently.

THE CAR'S PASSENGER DOOR jammed. Someone yanked at it, struggling to pull it open. Ren hung upside down, woozy; his body hurt, but he was still alive. Almost torn from the seat, the belt hugged his bent body loosely. No matter what he tried, he could not manipulate his tangled body out of its upside position and the grip of the belt.  He worked desperately at trying to open the latch with his good hand because his other arm hurt severely when he tried to move it. He smelled gas, felt pouring rain, all while thick darkness gave him an eerie feeling. Who was trying to get into the car? Ren struggled to look around.

Headlights on the vehicle still on, they lit up the forest in front of them, and he realized that they were no longer on the road. Brilliance from a lightning strike lighting offering a flash of light in the darkness, he saw Brooklyn, still snuggled in her seat, yawning quietly in confusion as if she were on a strange ride at the zoo. Through the dim dash lights, he saw his father dangling out of the window. Ren heard his moans. Dad, is it all right? Where is mom? Is she upfront with you?

A short time later, the belt across his top legs now, he tried to wiggle himself the rest of the way out when another tug at the car door caused it to shake like it was suspended from pieces of rope. At last, it flung open, and Ren saw the hermit from the dale glaring at him. Like so many rumors about the old man, he was afraid of him.

Come, boy. With a firm yank, the man broke the seat belt, and Ren tumbled to the roof of the car.

The old man gently pulled him out of the car and flipped Ren across his strong shoulder.

You need to get my sister and mother and father.

The old man said nothing but kept dodging through thick brush on the trip down the slope. Wet rock, still slick from the mossy brown growth upon it, he lost his footing halfway down but held on to him tightly as the two of them slid down. A large bush stopped his fall. At last, on flat ground, he laid Ren down upon a bed of wet leaves.

Stunned, Ren watched in horror as the old man left him. He knew he was saving his family, but fear held him hostage since he was a warlock, according to the town gossip. The old man once again scaled the side of the gully. His father’s Malibu wedged between a mountain slope and two large fir trees growing out of it, the vehicle teetered from side to side. Gradually, the car dropped, shifting closer to the rocks. Soon it would crush his father if he could not get away.

Dad. Try to get yourself out of the seatbelt, he yelled frantically.

Moments later, the old man, with skill like an acrobat, jumped into a tree that held the vehicle, then climbed a branch to above the window. Carefully, he stretched his upper body into the car window, grasped her by the collar, and dragged Brooklyn from the vehicle. The hermit never touched the unsteady vehicle.

His father finally awoke. Where is my wife? My children, his father sobbed sadly. Come back, find my wife.

Dad, Ren yelled, but he did not hear him.

The hermit balanced her small body in the crook of his arm and steadied himself on the way back down. When he lay her next to